Together Again

On the soccer field these 2 best friends that live in different towns got to show their stuff on the same turf in the same jerseys once again!

Thanks Wichita Rojos for asking Caden to guest play with you for the weekend you were in Kansas City!

For the love of Band-Aids and forever

This dirty face little girl is in love

 with all things pink and that includes Hello Kitty Band-Aids

 I find piles such as this in every room of my house.

 Nothing goes unbandaged

NOTHING!!!!!

This is a phase that I am not really all that excited about.  Those beautiful pink bandages stick to everything but skin.  So I have to say, that I will not miss this phase or the fabulous pink Hello Kitty Band-Aids once they are gone.

These three on the other hand can stay forever!

When you sit forever and the fish don't bite

When you sit for 5 minutes and the fish don't bite.....You skip rocks to pass the afternoon away!

A new beginning

A lot has happened since the Christmas post on this blog, but I don't even know where to begin to bring it up to date so I will just start anew.

As many of you know the Bressler Bunch made a big change in our world; in July we moved from Wichita to Paola, Kansas. Phil took the job as the Principal of Paola High which meant that a new adventure was created for the rest of us. It has been a challenge as we moved from what we had come to know for the last 11 years as a family to something that was all new and very unfamiliar. It has been a scary ride with some really big hills to climb, but I think we have adjusted fairly well and things are starting to feel a little more like home here.

So here is an update on each member of the Bunch:

Phil: He has adjusted very well to his new role as head of a building and is loving what he is doing. From what I can gather in watching the interaction between he and the students at events, they have taken a liking to him and respect him and what he stands for. He has received a lot of really good feedback on things that he has done to improve the school already and when feedback is good it seems to make life here good as well. It has been a little bit of a challenge going from a school the size of Campus to a school with about 630 students in it but, as always, Phil is about the students and their well-being and he has risen to the challenge and takes it one day at a time.

Caden: Turned 10 shortly after we moved and has managed to make this move with little difficulty,or so it seems. The first few days we were here he would walk the dog around the neighborhood looking for kids to play with. He would come back home and give me a report and usually it was, "Mom, I didn't meet any kids but Stater made a new friend." It always broke my heart but I knew that it was just a matter of time. There was a glimmer of hope one day when he came home with a smile on his face and said to me "Mom, I didn'tmeet anyone, but there was a car load of boys that drove by and they all waved at me." He was smiling from ear to ear and was thrilled that at least he knew there were kids in the neighborhood. We soon found out that baseball is a very long season here and most of the boys his age were still playing baseball and staying out of the heat during the day as to not be worn out for practice and games. Baseball is serious business here!!!

One day shortly thereafter, our door bell rang and our house has never been the same. Two boys walked through the door like they had known Caden forever and went downstairs to play X-box and for the first time our house felt "normal"; there were kids here to play with, noise was everywhere, and friends were made. A couple of days later he was throwing batting practice for their 9U tournament team and we all know that when he is on red dirt, he is at home no matter where it is. Life was good! He started school with lots of friends and is loving every minute of school, the neighborhood, friends, and starting a new sport last week. For the first time Caden is playing flag football. We were shocked to find out that flag football is bigger here than tackle football for kids all the way though 6th grade. We are excited for a new adventure and seeing something new for him.

Reece:  Reece had a much tougher time than Caden and, for the first time, I think we realized that our boys really are polar opposite personalities and kids. He kept telling me not to worry about him not having friends because he would make friends when he went to school. I am a mom and I did worry about it because I knew that it went much deeper than that for him. He does not have the out going personlity that his brother has, his athletic ability is different than that of his brother's, and while he tried to fight the tears there were just days that they couldn't be fought. He really missed his friends at home and he really missed all things familiar to him. He had to grow and stretch in ways that were sometimes hard to watch, but we all knew that he would conquer it and be better for it. He did just that!

He started school and after a rocky start and fear of the unknown, it is now old hat to him and he, too, has lots of friends. It is so much fun to see him at high school football games with "HIS" buddies and not his brother's buddies. He has his own group of friends and that is a good thing. He has a couple of friends that are his age in the neighborhood and that makes life great!!! Reece is also playing flag football (for the second year in a row) and is loving every minute it and once again is the beast of the team. It doesn't seem to bother him that he towers over every kid and my hope is that it never does.

Ellee: Well Fancy Ellee is just that: "Fancy." She is changing, growing, and becoming more girlie every day. She has the athletic ability of her older brother and the imagination of her younger brother and that makes her the perfect mix of the two. She did not like being left behind when they went off to school and she does not like it when they leave for school and she is still sleeping. She is always happy when they walk in the door after school and she is always willing to "help" them with their homework. She has taken a love for books and will pick up a book and make up her own story. It is fun to just sit in the other room and listen and it is a reminder that she is growing before our eyes and before we know it she too, will be hopping on a bike and headed to school. *sigh*

Me: Well I have good days and I have bad days. Living in a small town again is an adjustment for me and being the "PRINCIPAL'S" wife is an adjustment too. When we decided to make this move I stepped into very unfamiliar territory. I had never moved my family before and left behind everything we knew and everyone that had been a part of who we were for 11 years. As a wife you worry about your husband and a new job. You know that when they are in a position such as being in charge that sometimes there is bad that comes with the good and how in the world was I ever going to handle the negative that comes with his position in a small town where everyone knows everything and nothing is private? How was I going to take care of 3 kids needs all by myself most nights because with this job we get to see him Sunday? There were so many things that I worried about and still do worry about and that is just with him, that didn't even include the kids. As a mother you worry about everything from will they be outsiders to letting them ride their bikes. Emotions with kids are a constant roller coaster because while you want them spread their wings and fly at the same time you want to hold on tight put them under your wings and never let them go. I worried, and still do, about me because I left a group of moms and friends that were the sisters I got to pick myself. They saw me through many personal struggles, life, kids, let me bounce things off of them before I faced any situation head on, and were there for me no matter what. If I was in a bad mood they understood that, if I just felt like crying they cried with me, if I wanted to crawl in hole and hide from the world they hid with me. If I was in a good mood they enjoyed it with me, they shopped with me, tried on clothes with me, went swimming suit shopping with me (which is every girl's nightmare, no matter what size you are). I miss them all every day of my life and somedays I pray that they will ring my doorbell and be standing there saying it is going to be ok. I have been so blessed that so many of them have come to see us and stay with us, they meet me in Emporia for lunch and when my phone rings and it is one of them checking to see how I am doing that day, my heart smiles.

Everyone in this town has been over the top nice to us. They stop to meet us, they have written great articles in the paper about us, they talk to us when we are out walking and I know that friendships don't just happen overnight. Friendships are grown, and over time, become a great part of your life. That for me has been the hardest because everywhere I go, I hear the dreaded words "that is the new principal's wife." Sometimes I think they think that the things coming out of the side of my head are horns instead of ears. I do have a name and I am not just the principal's wife. I just smile and keep walking because I know that just comes with the territory and it is what it is but my heart on the inside is crying to go home to familiar faces and people that know my name and love me whether I am wearing sweat pants or high heels.

I know that the only thing certain in this life is change and with change, there are good things and bad things. I am thankful for the good and know that the bad will all one day fade away. I am blessed with a beautiful, healthy and happy family and God has been so good to provide, no matter what the need and I have no doubt that he will put some amazing friends in my life here, just as He did in Wichita. I know those girls there are my forever friends and no matter the distance, they are the sisters I got to pick myself and have my back no matter what.

So with every new beginning there is a tomorrow and today I thank God that HE is already there!!!