EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it......

I am sooo proud of Brady.  He is adjusting and transitioning into Simmons Middle School like a pro...I am NOT surprised there!  He also earned a spot on the newspaper staff...I am NOT surprised by that either!

What I am very proud about (a maybe a tad bit surprised by, but not much) is that he did it all on his own!  What do I mean by that?  Transitioning to middle school has DEFINITELY been a transition.  I can be quoted as saying: "I feel like we went from having our hands held (Bluff Park Elementary) to being kicked in the teeth.  It would be nice if they either started letting our hands go toward the end of 5th grade or ease us in by letting our hands go during the first month or so of middle school BEFORE they kick us in the teeth."  What do I mean by that? At Bluff Park teachers communicate with you frequently - at least weekly - with what is going on, what is due, what is coming up, what is expected, etc.  The school as a whole sends out a weekly newsletter with school-wide information AND papers come home - fliers, etc. so you know what happenings there are.  At Simmons Middle, EVERYTHING is electronic, specific to that particular teacher, placed solely in the hands of the student, and there are NO papers!!

So now that the stage is set, I can go into my story about why I am so proud of this guy!  I looked on his 6th grade team's calendar, newsletter, or something online and saw that the newspaper staff was taking applications until Sept. 1st to all students who were interested in applying.  There was a link in which to apply online.  I saw it a couple of times, but each time I was not with Brady and I would think "I need to mention this to Brady; he might be interested".  When I was with Brady, this thought NEVER came to mind.

I thought about it again on Tuesday, 9/5 while I was at my desk at work and thought "oh no!  I think we missed the deadline." I got online and checked, and sure enough, we had missed it.  There was even a list of those who were chosen posted to congratulate them and I scanned, looking for Brady's name, just in case he took the initiative and applied without me knowing.  I did not see it!  I was sad - not even sure that he wanted to apply - because I felt mom guilt that I forgot to say "Hey, Brady.  I saw online that you can apply to be on the newspaper staff.  That sounds like something you would like; do you want to apply?"  For some reason - not sure why - I felt particularly guilty that I forgot to mention this.

A few hours later I am picking Brady up from school per usual.   I ask him about his day as I always do and - in pure Brady fashion - he tells me ALL about it.  As part of his speech he says "Oh, and Mrs. Simms (his homeroom teacher & Language Arts teacher) announced that myself and Knox Redmond were given a position on the newspaper staff.  She said we were the only two on the 6-1 team."  I said: "WHAT?!", with tears filling my eyes, "I did not know you applied.  I have been feeling guilty ALL day because I meant to mention the opportunity to you several times before the deadline and kept forgetting."  "I even saw the list and your name was not on there." In true Brady fashion - concerned about my feelings - "Don't feel guilty Mom, it is not your fault if I don't apply. I just did it myself.  I filled out the application and I had to submit an article so I wrote an article about Donald Trump." Meanwhile I am trying not to cry; I know makes no real sense.  I said: "When did you do this?"  He said: "I think it was the night you had 6th grade parent night so you were not at school.  I got on my chromebook and did it; Dad was home."  (It turns out they had not updated the post about newspaper staff and it was the congratulations for the 2016-2017 staff; in my guilt I had overlooked reading that detail.)

I am PROUD because there was something he wanted to do and he just did it, without any prompting or hand holding.  I am PROUD because he is transitioning well and accepting the "I need to stay current on what is being posted for my team and my school online" position well.  I am PROUD because he cared about my feelings and has the compassion and emotional intelligence to recognize that, if he is in a position where independence is expected, it is not anyone else's mistake/fault/problem if he does not get something done or go after something.

Good job, Brady Mac, good job!!

Playing Catch Up

Yikes!!! I have not journaled in so long that I am just going to quickly play catch up and write down the things that I have made notes on - mental or otherwise - so that I can have these sweet memories captured for posterity sake.

Quite some time ago, my Nephew - Nicholas - and his girlfriend broke up.  Of course these are never easy times and conversations were heard by my boys regarding the end of this relationship.  One day I am in the car with Evan & Maddox and one of them broaches the subject.  In the midst of that conversation it was very evident that they were hurting for Nicholas and did not understand why someone would stop dating him.  Evan makes a comment along the lines of how silly Miss _____ (insert girl's name) is for choosing to stop dating Nicholas.  He further goes on to say how sad he is for Nicholas and how he will be praying for his heart.  I adore Evan's kind, compassionate heart!

Maddox, in recent months, received his first "love note".  Our sweet Caroline Goodwin wrote Maddox a love note on a paper towel during their brothers' karate class.  She presented it to me - so proudly - and it read, among other things, "I love Maddox".  I read it, and asked her "Does this say 'I love Maddox'?" She looked at me with confidence and said "Yes ma'am" and then smiled her sweet smile with just a touch of pink in her cheeks and walked away to go sit where she had been sitting.

This kindergarten year has apparently created a little Ladies' Man out of Maddox.  He gave out his digits (my digits) to a sweet girl in his class.  Her mom - who happens to be a friend of mine - texted me and informed me that Norah came home from school declaring "Maddox gave me his phone number".  She said he gave out the right number.  I guess that is something.  When I asked him about it he said "Yeah, I gave it to her." I then asked him why (curious of his response).  He said "Because she asked me for it".  Oh my, I might have to lock this one up.

Maddox has many little friends at school, from living in the community, from going to preschool in Bluff Park, and from having older brothers.  His closest buddies are Shepard Nations (who he has known his whole life because his mom & I are such good friends) and Cooper Gossett (who he has been friends with since he was 2 years old because we have been in small group with his parents that long).  The three of them have became quite a little crew in kindergarten last year.  Cooper & Shepard ended up in the same class so they got to know each other.  At BPES, the entire grade is on the playground for recess together so Maddox was able to play with them both and they formed a little bond. One day after school, Maddox was talking to me about this group and he refers to them as "The Bros".  I said "The Bros?"  And he said "Yeah, that is what me, Shep, and Coop call ourselves".  Trying not to laugh, I said "Oh Yeah.  That is cool." He responded with "Yeah, and I am the leader of the Bros."  Me: "Oh, really, how did you become the leader?  You are younger than both of them.".  He answered with "Yeah, but I am taller and I can run faster when the girls are chasing us on the playground to kiss us"  OH.MY.WORD!! This kid!

Brittney's wedding was a bit crazy to say the least, with the ice storm and all.  We did end up having a lot of fun, especially when Evan started off the dancing....yes, Evan!!! I have never seen that side of him before then. It was AWESOME!  He started dancing on the dance floor, kinda toward what seemed like the end of the reception, people were starting to leave, all the "have tos" had been done, and it was COLD.  The DJ was playing some kind of fun, dancing song and Evan was out there just doing his thing.  Then others joined him - Britt's Dad, her uncles.  Next thing you know lots of us are out their cutting a rug.  It was a lot of fun and, I know, something Brit really wanted her wedding to have - fun dancing - so I am glad we (Evan) finally got the party started.  Watching him continue to bust moves, smile so big, and have fun was so heart warming for this Momma.  People would form a circle around him on the dance floor as he was dancing, it was GREAT!  Since we have never seen this in Evan before, at one point, Chris asked him: "Hey, Bud.  You having fun dancing out there?"  Evan's response: "Yeah.  When I feel the music I just wanna move my legs"  PRECIOUS!!!

First Tooth

Maddox naturally lost his first tooth last week.  Sunday, 1/15/17, Maddox lost his first tooth the old fashioned way.  He had a tooth extracted from the dentist a couple of years ago after falling at the playground at preschool and hitting that tooth but this was the first time he lost a tooth the "normal" way.  He was very excited AND you could tell he felt so proud, so big and grown : )

MLK according to Maddox

My cute little kindergartner came home from school on Tuesday, 1/17/17 (they were off on 1/16/17 for MLK Day) and told me about what he learned at school:

"Mommy, today we learned about Mawthen Luthen King at school.  He changed laws mom.  Did you know that black people used to have to use a different water fountain than white people?  If black people sat at the front of the bus, they got arrested.  Mommy that is tewible (terrible).  Why would people be so mean like that? Mawthen Luthen King changed all that, Mommy." 

It was so touching to hear him talk about learning about MLK and feeling so much compassion for the people of that time period. 

I am so glad he learned about that at school and so glad it left an impression on him.

A new school year with some BIG firsts

My sweet loves 💙💙💙 started another school year today. We had two big firsts today....my baby started kindergarten today, his very first 1st day of school at BPES. My oldest love - Brady Mac - started 5th grade today, his last 1st day of school at BPES as next year he will be on his way to middle school.  WOW!!! In the blink of an eye....I entered into a new book in this mothering journey.  📕.  

There have been so many emotions.  

They were all happy walking into school this morning and - PRAISE the GOOD LORD - they were happy when they climbed into the van this afternoon.  

Evan was such a sweet big brother this morning...climbing down from his bunk bed, half asleep, he said "Don't worry, Maddox" - as he put his arm around Maddox - "I will help you. I will make sure you get to your classroom this morning". And he did just that!

I love how they love each other.  

After school today, I got a sweet email from Mrs. Shipp letting me know how well he did and telling me that he is "a sweet sweet boy".  She included 5 pics of his first day which means so much to this momma's heart.

LOTS of growING

I feel like my boys are growing soooo much and soooo fast lately....not sure how to handle it all.  Some of it has been exciting and fun, some of it is hurting my heart - of course it is inevitable and there is not a thing I can do about it.  I think the pain of their growing comes with the fear of regret. 

- what if I look back and it was not enough?
- what if I fail them in some way and when I see it later and I long to go back for a re-do?
- what do I say to them when they walk away from me as an adult - to college, work, their own place, the military - that will accurately encapsulate my love, my hopes, and my dreams for them?
- what if I regret choices I made, time I did not savor, patience I lost?

URGGGHHH!!! This mommy thing is sooo much harder than anyone could have conveyed to me.  I know how unhealthy it is to live in the past, to dwell on "what ifs" and wallow in regret.  I hope it is just enough to remind me to cherish the times, the moments, however hard they are at times.

Soooo in the past few months my oldest turned double digits - 10!!! Oh my, that is quite a milestone birthday.  We celebrated with a trip to the beach with Uncle Rich and family - to Mark's place at Isle of Palms.  He hit the 4'9" mark, so he is at the "it is okay to move out of a booster seat" height...no more booster for this big boy.

My "baby" finally broke 40lbs.....what a thin little guy he is.  While he is small, he is mighty!! He was on swim team for the first time this summer at Shades Cliff Pool.  He struggled a bit in the beginning and only participated in practice for most of the season then he swam in the very last swim meet and won the HEAT....he was sooooo excited and sooo proud of himself...it was AWESOME!!!

We are preparing for three BIG firsts in our house - (1) all three kiddos in the same school at the same time - this is a first and a LAST...I get one year for all my babies to be at the same school (2) Brady's first day of his LAST year at BPES...oh my, this will be a hard one for me and, even harder still (3) my baby is starting kindergarten....first day of big school for Maddox....WOW!

Hard for this Mommy in soooo many ways but proud for me as well.....blessed to call them mine!

So much cuteness, such little time

I have had a lot of "oh, that is too cute" and "that is too precious not to document" moments over the past few months.  Unfortunately, if I do not grab my phone or laptop in that moment, time and my memory get away from me.  I am going to try and capture some of the recent cuteness that I can remember:

* a month or so ago, Maddox was heading to the bathroom.  He told me he had to poop.  A couple of minutes later, he calls from the potty: "I did not need to poop, I just gassed."

* During Dr. Seuss week  at Bluff Park Elementary, Brady and Evan had a day where they were to dress up like what they want to be when they grow up.  Evan decided to dress up like a baseball player.  On the way home from school, I looked in the rear view mirror at Evan in the back of the van with his baseball hat on and thought he looked so handsome.  I said "Evan you look so cute dressed up like a baseball player."  He just shot me a cute smile.  Then I said: "You look like a boy that I would have wanted to talk to when I was in school" (I always have had a thing for baseball players).  He just looked at me and smiled with his big, magnetic dimples.   I said: "do you know what that means, Evan?" (referencing the statement I had just said prior).  He said: "Yeah, I do."  I said: "What does it mean?"  He said: "That you want to marry me."  LOVE the thought process of these little people : )

* My little love bug - Evan - is so thoughtful...I came home from being out somewhere and they were home with Chris.  When I got home, Evan had a "vase" of flowers for me:

I know there are many more sweet moments, conversations, etc. that have happened over the past few months that I am just not remembering but - for now - I am documenting these or I will keep being too busy to get them down in print.  

 

Love my boys!
 

My brother, Brady

So my first born just prayed to accept Jesus Christ as his SAVIOR!!!! I am beyond thrilled, rejoicing with him and with HIM.  I feel so honored to have been with him when he felt this prompting from the LORD.  As Brady's mother, there is no other joy I can ever imagine feeling on this earth.  I am fighting my flesh on the skepticism and cynicism that, unfortunately, is woven throughout me like tendons and ligaments.  I know the LORD is in control of this, not me.  For many, many reasons, Chris and I have always wondered about the authenticity of children's salvation, the skepticism greater the younger the child.

Over the past 2-3 years Brady has asked us very poignant questions at different times regarding GOD, salvation, faith, etc.  We have always answered them and - I think out of a fear of pushing an agenda - been somewhat "when you are ready to ask Jesus in your heart, you will know.  You are still young and learning." because we did not want to "are you ready to say THE prayer" persuade him into a decision that was not a decision of GOD.  He would often say to us: "Yeah, I definitely believe in GOD and believe Jesus died for my sins but I am not ready to ask HIM into my heart yet.  I am young.  I am still learning." So, we would just continue praying for him to come to that decision through GOD's urging at a young age and not because he felt "this is what I am supposed to do. This is what is expected of me".

So tonight at his Upward basketball celebration, there were these two AMAZING guys that are slam dunk performers...Team Big Air.  They performed some incredible stunts and one of the guys shared his faith, his salvation story, and his career path.  At the end of the celebration the pastor of Green Valley Baptist Church prayed for all the kids and prayed for them to want to surrender their lives to Christ.  When the celebration was over I went to pick up Brady - the kids sat together with their teams - he handed me this postcard that was optional to fill out. He checked the box saying he asked Christ into his heart, the box that he wants to be baptized, and the box that he wants to speak with a minister.  He says "Mom, I need you to fill out this part"; the part for phone number and email address.  In that moment I said "Brady, do you know what all of this means?"  He said "yes, mom, I know" I said okay, filled out the info and he gave the card to his coach.  

I got the boys home, in the bed, story read, sound machine on and then stood on Maddox's bed - the bottom bunk - to talk privately with Brady in the top bunk.  I asked him about his decision, I asked him what it meant, I asked him how he felt, I asked him if he felt ready or if he felt he was supposed to make this decision because they handed out cards.  I talked with him for about 10 minutes and I felt he was genuine, I felt this was from GOD and I felt my own prompting, my own moment with GOD "child, why do you doubt, why do you lack faith?. I have come for all." Oh the conviction!!  My fear of Brady - all my children - not REALLY being saved - has allowed my own sin...doubt...and Satan to sully the best moment in parenthood.  Thank you, LORD, for shaking me in that moment and opening my eyes to see the blessing, the answer to a decade long prayer that almost passed me by!  I asked him if he wanted to pray, he said "I pray a lot after Evan & Maddox have fallen asleep and I am laying in my bed by myself awake" I said "okay.  If that is when you want to pray about it you can or you can pray with me now too, if you want."  He looked up at me and said "you want to pray with me?" DO I WANT TO PRAY WITH YOU?!?!??? (this is a dream come true my precious child) Of course I just  answered with, "I would LOVE to baby.  I have been praying for this since you were in my belly."  He grabbed my neck, bowed his head and then looked up at me and said "wait, I do not know if I know what to pray" I told him the great thing about praying is that it is just talking to GOD so you can say whatever is in your heart.  He bowed his head again and said a myriad of beautiful words "I am a big sinner.  I want you to live in my heart GOD.  I know you died on the cross for me, Jesus. Holy Spirit please live inside of me and lead my life" and so many more melodious words all through tears.  I asked him when he was done praying why he was crying he said "I am just REALLY happy, Mommy." Oh.my.word. I cried then too...I had been fighting them back all this time (again the cynicism...I did not want my tears to force him into an emotional decision).  I told him how cool it was that now he is my brother and we hugged it out.  BEST.DAY.EVER!!!! Praise you, LORD, Jesus Christ!!!!

We called it!

Chris and I have always known that we have been blessed to be boy parents for 9.5 years without a trip to the ER with a broken bone or stitches.  We have also known for quite some time that Maddox would be the one to take us there first.  We knew it!  Luckily it was not a broken bone or stitches but he did have to have his tooth extracted.  I got a call about two months ago that Maddox had fallen on the playground at preschool and landed on his front teeth.  I took him to the dentist and the verdict - his injury could lead to damage to one of his adult tooth - so we had to extract the baby tooth to prevent damage to his permanent tooth.  We called it!  Poor little guy...a bit young for a tooth out already but, he handled it like a champ and - of course - is still has cute as can be.  He was also very excited about the tooth fairy visiting him. 

 at the dentist right before his extraction; last pic with that front tooth

my brave boy in the dentist chair

 Maddox's first visit from the tooth fairy; he was very excited!

It.has.happened!!!!

About a month ago or so, Brady came home and told me he likes a girl.  He told me her name - a girl I know from school - and then made me swear not to tell ANYONE.  I told him that I would not tell anyone and we chatted for a bit about her, why he liked her, and how he gets nervous around her.  It was a bit hard to hear....this is my BABY.  At the same time it warmed my heart....he CHOSE to talk to ME.  I hope it is always like this.  I hope he is always comfortable enough to want to share his heart with me.  Later when he talked to both Chris and I about his first crush, Chris asked him why he liked this girl.  He looked at us and said "She is just so beautiful!" Awwww...

   Brady and I on the way to his field trip

This GUY!!!

Evan participated in his very first karate tournament in October.  He had only been in karate since August and he did soooo well.  He won both a first place medal and a second place medal...so proud of this kiddo....and so excited to see him really enjoy an activity....his focus clearly reflects his interest.

He really is a little artist

Because of our eVan Gogh's interest and talent in art, Chris and I decided to sign him up for art class with Jayne Morgan .  She is a local artist in Bluff Park and offers art classes for Bluff Park Elementary School students at her studio after school on Tuesday afternoons.  He has made us so proud with his paintings.   He has been the youngest one in her classes, and he has impressed us with his work.  He enjoys it so much.  For our active, does not always prefer to sit still, little guy, the fact that he sat still and focused for Jayne's classes and produced such beautiful work, tells Chris and I this may be his thing.  For his birthday his grandparents all chipped in to pay for a week of art camp with Jayne in July....the perfect gift for this gifted artist.

Sophomoric Salvation Chapter 2

A couple of weeks ago while reading the Bible to the boys, heaven and salvation came up.  I mentioned that truly surrendering your life to Christ and asking him to be your Savior is the way to have eternity with HIM in heaven.  As soon as I could get the last syllable out of my mouth, Evan pipes up with "I have already done that"  with complete conviction and sincerity.  So I asked him, "You did?" and he said - very seriously - "Yes, I told GOD that in my bed". I dug further, "what did you say?"  He answered, "I said 'GOD, I love you.  I want to be with you in heaven when I die'".  I was amazed at this private moment he had with GOD, and touched, also unsure - with his age - the level of sincerity of this encounter.  Does he truly understand the seriousness and depth of what had occurred.  I do not know but I know I do not want to minimize this moment in his life.  I said "Evan, that is awesome! That makes my heart so happy."

LORD, I pray for this salvation and surrender to be genuine in all three of my boys' lives.

Sweet Nothings

My Madman is such a sweet snuggle bug.  He is so thoughtful and precious in his little sweet nothings to his momma.  Earlier in the summer - we had a rare moment - Maddox had a sleep over with me.  Chris was out of town for work.  Grayson & Olivia Kim spent the night so their parents could go to the Dave Matthew's Band concert.  The four older children had a slumber party in the den.  I did not want Maddox to feel left out so I invited him to have a slumber party with his Mommy.  He was lying next to me and he reached over and patted my back and - very sweetly - said "I love you Mommy".  Several times throughout the night, he patted me and draped his arm across me to hold me.   It was SOOOOO precious!  I love this little angel.

Tonight while watching a movie with the boys, Maddox snuggled up to me and said I like this movie, Mom.  He then said I LOVE you, Mommy.  Short pause - "and I LOVE GOD!"

LOVE this sooo very much!

The Protector of the house is....

Evan.  I just overhead Evan - while getting ready to try Karate (his chosen Fall "sport") - "Brady are you coming to my karate?" Brady - "yes, I am coming." Evan - "I am excited to try it.  I can't wait to see how strong I am.....how strong I need to be to protect this family.  Because that is what I want to be - the Protector of this Family" ❤️ it!

Proud of this kiddo!

Brady has played t-ball since he was four.  However, this Spring was his first Spring to play rec ball - instead of Upward.  Needless to say, the difference is obvious from what he experienced with Upward and what the kids in rec ball have experienced.  There was an obvious difference in his baseball abilities and the other boys.  It was a lot of fun to watch him play, grow, and learn during this season.  We were blessed with awesome coaches and great families to cheer the boys on with.

I have discovered, in my almost 9 years as a mom, that we can learn sooooo much from our children.  Watching his attitude, patience, joy, and overall fantastic attitude during this baseball season has been so refreshing to watch.  On multiple occasions his coaches said something to either Chris or I about his great attitude, respect for the coaches, willingness to do anything asked of him, and constant smile. 

I love baseball.  Watching Brady play has reminded me of how much I enjoyed playing softball and of how much I miss it.

BIGGER - I love Brady and watching him do life makes me want to be a better person and how much I am missing.

He is a GREAT kid that has a lot worth emulating....when his coach handed Brady his trophy he told him what a great kid he is and told him "any chance I get, I am going to have you play on my team". 

On a baseball note he told Brady that he was the team's most improved player.  He told him that in all of his years of baseball experience, he has never seen someone improve as much as Brady had in just one season.

My MJ

 This little star did AWESOME at the Bluff Park Elementary School Living Museum.  All the third graders are assigned to choose a famous person that is either retired from their known profession or deceased.  They have to create their background and research, write, and memorize their biographical speech.  They are all lined up in the halls of the school and as visitors approach them they introduce themselves and then recite their speech.  Brady chose to Michael Jordan and he rocked it....absolutely nailed it!  He enjoyed this school project a lot!  He was one of the only ones that memorized his whole speech and he had A LOT of facts!!!

Thankful Little Soul

I am enamored with Maddox's thankful spirit.  He has a way of noticing all the little things in the world and pausing to thank GOD for them.  So often he will say "I want to tell GOD ______" and then he will bow his head and say "GOD thank you for _____".  Just last week Maddox and I were driving in the van and he said "Mommy aren't the trees that GOD made beautiful?"  I told him yes and then he said "I am gonna tell GOD."  Then he said "GOD, thank you for the beautiful trees."  This continued for a while as he prayed for everything and everyone that GOD created.  It was so precious.....love it!

My sweet pea praying at school before lunch

eVan Gogh

Evan has really impressed us lately with his artistic abilities.  We do not spend much time with other 5-year- olds but we are quite impressed with his art work.  He has really blossomed in his talent.  We have had several "WOW!! Did you do that by yourself" moments.  We have even considered enrolling him in art classes to further his talent and invest in something he enjoys so much!  Our own eVan Gogh : )

a banner that Evan made for Brady's basketball team...the Ducks

A penguin Evan colored for the brochure he made for his class' presentation on the Arctic

Sweet Rudolph that Evan drew in December of 2014

Art project that Evan came home with on 2/19/15

The best Daddy

Yesterday while having lunch with my caboose at our kitchen island, Maddox looks at me and says "you know who the best Mommy is?"  I answered: "Who?" With his yummy grin he says, "You, Mommy."  Then he says: "Do you know who the best Daddy is?"  Assuming the answer, I replied: "Daddy?"  He said: "No, not Daddy?" "Cwis, that is his other name, you know, Cwis (Chris)."  He is quite funny this little guy.

Winter fun at home....fort building