A mother is only as happy as

...her unhappiest child. I read that somewhere and I believe it to be soooooo true. Five of my kids can be as happy and content as can be, but if even one is unhappy in any way, I feel anxious and antsy all the time. With four kids starting a new year of school, at least one was bound to be left a little unhappy. :(

Ammon started 8th grade and has nearly every class with his best friend and other good friends in many of his classes as well. He is excited about his courses and seems very content.

Hannah ended up in the same class as her BFFT, Haley. They were crazy excited, of course, although the year has not been without drama already(cue eye roll). Their teacher is very nice and she is loving school.

Surprisingly, it is Lizzie that has a bit of a hard start this year. She is always so easy-going and happy that it hurts to see her sad. She didn't have any of her friends in her class and the teacher was a little stricter than she would like. On the first day of school, she came home, told me she didn't like her class and went to her room to cry. :( She seem to be doing a bit better. We encouraged her to reach out to kids in her class and she has made a few new friends. Lizzie is a lot like me so I know how difficult it can be for her to put herself out there like that. We love her so much and are so proud of her. We're sure things will turn around. P.S. Do you notice her new bangs?

Emma Sue is our girl who struggles with the family anxiety issues, but she did great this year. She is happy with her teacher and her class and has been excited to get up each day. Now, if only she speaks to her teacher before Thanksgiving, we'll say it is a successful year, lol!

My buddies! Last year Caleb was very sad when Emma went to school, but no problems this year. Bekah is finally old enough to be a fun companion. In this picture you can really tell that they are only 20 months apart! Bekah is surely growing up. Caleb and Bekah are doing "homeschool" preschool with Mama and love it.

Oh how I love my sweet children! I often wish I could take their every pain, every sorrow, every sickness, every humiliation, every fear away. I know that it is for their good, but it still pains me to know that they are hurting and I can't fix it. I have to let them work out some of their own problems. Makes me think of how our Heavenly Father must feel watching us.