The Ross Family: Smiles for Days...

Grace had her first field trip with her school! They went to Dewberry Farm. She rode the bus there and loved it. While at the field trip with Grace, I got to talk to Ms. Scott, the bus driver, and immediately had a sense of peace about allowing Grace to ride the bus home from school each day. This is a huge step for us, but one that the Lord has so tenderly prepared us for, much like He did when calling us to send Grace to our public school from the private school that we absolutely loved. God's ways are always best, even when they are hard, scary, or down right mortifying!

Don't let Grace's skunky face in this picture fool you, she had a great time!

Grace was so proud of the pumpkin she picked!

Sweet friends! Love how this sweetie looks after Grace!

My handsome Cub Scout had pictures with his Den last week.

Field Day fun! One of the highlights of Field Day was getting to spend time with Abby and "the girls." These precious girls are triplets and all have autism. Abby has loved them like family since the day she met them in Kindergarten (they are all in 4th grade now). "The girls" are celebrities in our family, when Andrew sees them at school he always tries to get them to say hi or interact with him in some way. One of the girls uttered her first word at 6 years old when she wanted to communicate with Abby who was playing with her during recess. God has used that day to remind me of the much bigger picture that He is weaving together when we can only see the painful and uncertain situation before us. I will never forget being in the hospital with David and Grace in Boston (I can't remember which of her heart surgeries it was). On that particular day, we had received a call in the middle of the night that her doctors were concerned that Grace may be having seizures. We were obviously concerned about her very sick heart and now we faced the prospect of having to battle seizures too... it was on that day we got an email from Abby's teacher (she was in 1st grade at the time) sharing with us the celebration that had taken place at school when this amazing little girl (one of "the girls") had spoken for the first time. Abby had no idea and still doesn't totally get the magnitude of that day because in her mind she was just hanging out with her special friends. It was that day that God hit me square in between the eyes with the clear reminder that He was doing a much bigger work than the fears and concerns that were right under our nose. It's as if I had been living with my head starring down at the bland, cracked, and uneven pavement and He gently took my chin, ushering it upwards to take in the beauty of the scenery, His creation around me... the radiant fall leaves, crisp air, and beautiful architecture, occupying every inch of space around me. All that to say, the Lord has used "the girls" in our family's life in ways that far exceed what Abby or the rest of us could ever give them. The PE teachers allowed Abby and her friend to be partnered with "the girls" for Field Day, so I got to do games and even an obstacle course with them too!

Then, I got to hang with my sweet boy and his buddy. Lately, I've wondered if Andrew even cares that I attend his field trips, come to eat lunch with him when I can, etc (because he doesn't show it as overtly as Abby), but the giant smile on his face when he saw me, the run, and huge hug that followed confirmed that my presence there did matter. A hot, but blessed day all around!

Grace's bestie came to watch her soccer game! Grace would run down the field and then stop to make sure Sadie was watching, she would say "Sadie cheer for Gracie!" and then proceed to blow her a kiss and/or give her a thumbs up! These two are too much!

The cutest besties EVER!!!