Almost a Texas Driver's for my girl and teacher store

Yesterday was an exhausting day for my sweet 16 year old.

Over a year ago Abby turned 15 and she immediately signed up for an online Driver's Ed course. She was highly motivated to get it done and do it quickly.  I think it took her a month to complete the online class. Which was fast!

Once she was done, we drove to our local (Indiana) BMV and she nervously took her written driver's test. She passed!  The driving began that cold day in February. It was both strange and exciting seeing my baby girl behind the wheel.  Thank goodness she is super cautious and observant. She had lots to learn but I knew she would not be careless. For that I was grateful. What more could a mother ask for as her teenage daughter would be driving the whole family around town?  Just a little nerve wracking.

These pictures were taken in Indiana when Abby first took her written test. She had just turned 15 years old.

Once she had her written test out of the way it was time to sign up for the driving classes with an instructor for 6 hours. Her instructor (Jerry or Terry, we never really figured out his name) was super nice and patient as he let her drive around Avon practicing stops and starts, roundabouts, and the highway.

Only a few weeks after she got her driver's permit, the kids and I drove to Texas for spring break and Abby volunteered to help with the drive. I was a little nervous to turn the wheel over but once I saw the greatness I was all in.  I think she drove 13 of the 14 hours drive to Texas. I was blown away at her confidence. It was so nice to have some helping with the drive. I just sat back and read the whole time. It was then that I began to get a glimpse of what the future had in store for us. Ever since then I have been so pumped to have another driver in our family.

We knew that the age requirements in Indiana were 16 and a half to get your license. Kind of a bummer that it wasn't 16 but that was the law so there and absolutely nothing we could do about it. So, for the next year and a half we would practice our hearts out.

In August we decided to move to Texas and were pumped when we found out that the age requirement here is 16. Woohoo! When Abby turned 16 she quickly set up her driving test and began preparing to take her driving test.  We practiced, practiced, practiced. Finally, the day came. Abby was prepared and ready. Although, she was nervous and anxious she put things in the Lords hands and off we went.

 Lance was willing to stay home with Sam, which I was so grateful for. Sitting in a dirty DMV with my sweet 16 month old (who is so darn active and curious and independent)sounded like a form of torture.  The DMV was close to an hour away in downtown Ft. Worth. We arrived an hour early with all our paperwork ready in hand. We were both feeling pretty anxious. Once we arrived at the DMV and waited 35 minutes for our turn we learned that the Texas law requires anyone under the age of 18 to carry a Texas learner's permit for 6 months before they can receive their license. So no driver's license for now. We must wait 6 more months.

We were bummed! We decided to go to lunch in Roanoke and get some lunch and then visit the candy store. Surprisingly it did help out moods.

Some of Ethan's friends brought Abby flowers latter that night. So sweet to cheer her up.

Emma and Kate are really into playing school lately. I am all about encouraging this. When Grandma and Grandpa Georgia asked what they wanted for Christmas I suggested gift cards from our local teachers store. You can see by the girls's faces that they are so excited to shop.

They picked out some cool posters for their room. I can't wait to see how it turns out.