Thankful

It's December. Thanksgiving is over and the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is here. But I'm still feeling very, very thankful.

Thankful for a healthy boy who loves music.

Thankful for a church family that constantly encourages and loves.

Thankful for a Sunday School teacher who makes my son feel like the most important person in her world, not just this night, but every time they interact.

Thankful for a wonderful, loving piano teacher who teaches a whole lot more than music.

Thankful for a Daddy who sprints through an airport on 2 bum knees in order to arrive just in time to hear his son sing.

Thankful for a sister who beamed with pride after her brother finished.

Thankful that God chose me to be this boy's Mama.

Thankful. Just so very thankful.

We're Back!

So I obviously haven't posted in a while. 478 days, to be exact. Since this blog serves as my scrapbook, here's a quick list of the things that have happened in our life since I last posted:

2 Thanksgiving plays
1 Vacation Bible School
2 business trips
2 camping trips
20 baseball practices
26 baseball games
1 new niece/cousin (and she's the sweetest thing!)
9 weeks of summer fun
478 nighttime prayers
1 trip to the beach
1 birthday tea party
1 birthday campout party
1 piano move
1 trip to Disney planned
1 awesome Halloween
1 triathlon (Austin's first!)
1 trip to the beach
1 school play audition
11 school play practices
3 school play performances
25 wet willies-yuck!
1 FSU football game
10 soccer practices
16 soccer games
1 appendix removed (are you still reading?)
1 trip to Disney rescheduled
50 show and tells
2 trips around the bases at Turner Field
1 aquabike race
1 Easy-Bake oven dessert (eew!)
24 piano lessons
13 months of knee pain (Scott)
4 Easter Egg hunts
50 Miley Cyrus songs
10 basketball practices
16 basketball games
50 spelling tests
50 Bible verse tests (still reading? You must really love us!)
17 church session meetings
30 Junior League meetings
1 Disney trip finally taken
25 trips to the library
400 "I'll Love You Forever" songs
100 Justin Beiber songs (really just that "Baby, Baby" song played 100 times)
1 miniscus repair on Scott's knee
1 post-miniscus-repair infection
10 softball practices
15 softball games
5 amazing discussions with my children about what Heaven is like
25 Accelerated Reader tests
2 good checkups (Praise the Lord!)
2 meltdowns over getting a flu shot
Too many funerals
1 set of training wheels given away
5000 trips around the cul-de-sac on a princess bike
10000 shots taken on the new basketball goal
1 Brunswick Stew cook-off victory
35 church choir practices
70 church services
200 shots taken from bb guns
1 book report
1 Peyton and Eli Manning obsession
508 carpools (not an exaggeration)
1 Justin Beiber backlash (Thank goodness!)
31 socks without a match
2 Father/Daughter dances

Whew! It makes me tired just reading all that. Now you see why I've had no time to keep up with the blog.

I keep a color-coded Google calendar for our family. Each of us has a color. Most weeks, it looks like a rainbow. Very little white space. If it's not on the calendar, and therefore sync'ed to my phone and Scott's phone, we probably won't remember it. But I wouldn't trade our life for anything in the world. Life is good. Really good. One of my friends posted on Facebook today, "I'm drinkin' from my saucer 'cause my cup has overflowed." That's just how I feel. And I'll try to do better at updating the blog. Because when the children are grown and out of the house, I'll wish the kids had some activity for me to take them to. That's when my "scrapbook" will really come in handy. Love to you all, if you made it this far...

Finally!!!

Well, it finally happened. Austin lost his first tooth. At 7 1/2 years old. We wondered if this day would ever come. Austin waited, sometimes impatiently, as friend after friend lost tooth after tooth. His best friend Christian has lost about 8 teeth now. It didn't make it easier that in First Grade, his Weekly Reader at school asked students to fill in how many teeth they had lost. His had a big, fat goose-egg. He was so embarrassed. Every 6 months when he went to see Miss Emily at the dentist's office, he'd jump into the chair and say, "Miss Emily, I think I have 1 or 2 loose teeth." She'd check, shake her head, and explain to him that it might take a while, and that that was perfectly OK. Miss Emily would show him his x-rays that revealed every single permanent tooth, working their way closer and closer to the surface. But it wasn't happening fast enough for my boy. I myself have been OK with the wait. I hated losing my teeth, so much so that the last few had to be pulled. It just creeps me out. Besides, all those permanent teeth on the x-ray? They're coming in as crooked as can be. I know there are braces in Austin's future. I made sure to get some good pictures this summer, before those pretty baby teeth go away.

So this is the first-tooth story. Austin got into the car from school last Friday saying that he had a loose tooth. Sure he did. I've heard that more times than I can count. But when I asked him to wiggle it for me, it did. Get out! And there was a nearly full-grown permanent tooth directly behind the loose one. I started wondering what kind of parent lets their child grow a huge permanent tooth without even noticing. Austin was so excited that we called every immediate member of our family at least once over the weekend to let them know. He even insisted on posting on Uncle Ron's Facebook page: "This is Austin. I have a loose tooth!!!!!" Uncle Ron responded: "That's great. Don't forget to put it under your pillow. I hear the tooth fairy in your neighborhood leaves $100s." Thanks so much, Uncle Ron. Your baby that's due in June? He or she will receive a drum for his or her first Christmas. Count on it. Anyway, I had my dental checkup on Monday. I had strict instructions to inform Miss Emily, which I did. She sent him home a prize from the prize wagon. Miss Emily said to just wiggle it a bit every day, and eventually it would come out, and the permanent tooth would move into its spot. So I told him this. He did lots of wiggling. Tonight we sat down to supper. We had pork chops, green beans, and corn on the cob. In the middle of dinner, Austin said, "My tooth is gone! My tooth is gone!" I was terrified that he had swallowed it, so I went into search mode. I found it right there on top of his corn. Kendall started crying, because she didn't know what was going on. Austin started pumping his fists. You would have thought it was Christmas morning around here. He wanted to tell everybody he could. Granddaddy happened to be here to witness this joyful event. Austin called Grandma. He posted on Uncle Ron's Facebook page. He wanted to call his teacher, but I assured him it could wait until tomorrow morning. I'm sure everyone else will get a call tomorrow night. The best part was when we explained to Kendall that it would be a few years before she lost any teeth. She said she didn't want to lose any. Austin said, "Kendall, you know the best part? You'll feel like such a big girl when you lose one. I feel like a big boy now!"

Needless to say, we put a very happy boy to bed tonight with a tooth under his pillow. He is a little worried that the permanent tooth is there. He'd prefer for there to be an empty hole, like a badge of honor, but he's still over the moon. Our little boy is growing up. And it's all happening a little too quickly for this mama.

Super Bowl Champs!

Austin's flag football season ended last Thursday with the big Super Bowl. His team was the #1 seed. They had only lost one game, and the team that defeated them earlier in the season was their Super Bowl opponent. He got into the car after school on Thursday all excited: "I'm playin' under the lights tonight, Mama!" He also inquired as to whether his team's supporters could arrange a "blackout." It was great to see him so excited about the whole thing! The game went back and forth, but his team finally pulled out a win. There was a huge pile-up of kids at the end of the game. It was a great season. Next year: real tackle football. We can't wait, but with Kendall's soccer season over now, we're looking forward to a bit of a break before the holidays!

Charles Benson

We have friends who we've known for a couple of years now. We have lots of the same interests. We go to the same church, we love sports, we love camping, etc. We have lots in common with the parents, Chase and Allison. Austin has lots in common with their 8-year-old, Davis. And boy, oh boy, does Kendall have lots in common with 4-year-old Charles. Actually, she calls him by his first and middle names, Charles Benson. When those two get together, watch out! T-R-O-U-B-L-E. But they are so cute, and they have so much fun together. They spent lots of quality time together last fall while their older brothers were playing football.

Lately, they've been calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend. (Yikes! What will we do when she's 16?!) Last night, as they were leaving church choir, they exchanged I-Love-Yous. Allison and I exchanged horrified stares. It's a good thing we all really like each other! Here are a few pictures of Kendall and Charles Benson at their best:




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A Baby!!!!!

Not ours, silly! My brother Ron and his wife, Ally, are expecting a baby sometime in early June. We're all really excited. Austin thinks it's really cool: "This is the second baby I'll see at the hospital!" Kendall just wants a little girl to play with. She will hear nothing of the possibility that it may be a boy. At all. I'm just wondering if the baby will be born with its Daddy's hairline. (Sorry, Ron, I couldn't resist!)

It's so exciting being on this side of things. I can't wait to fire my sewing machine up and make itty bitty things! Congratulations RAlly! We can't wait. Here's to a happy, healthy pregnancy.

More from Austin and Kendall

With fall activities started off, we're really busy right now. We have football practice on Monday, soccer practice on Tuesday, church choir on Wednesday, and games on Saturday. Plus anything Scott and I have going on. So that's the reason I haven't had time to blog. But I thought I'd let you know a few funny things the kids have said lately.


Austin and Scott were buying some waterproof boots yesterday. Austin gave Scott a $50 limit to spend. He said, "Daddy, you can only spend $50 for your shoes." Scott said, "Why can't I spend more than that?" Austin told him "You need to save your money so you can spend it on me, Mommy, and Kendall. You know Dad, you're really good at spending money on Mommy, me, and Kendall. Actually, I think that's probably your best sport." That's right - not basketball, or golf, or baseball. Scott's best sport is spending money on us.


When Kendall tells me what they're doing at school, she keeps mentioning Carfax. I was wondering if Mrs. Nina was teaching the children how to buy a good used car. Then I finally discovered Kendall was talking about the Boxcar Children book they were reading. Well, she's only 2 letters off...


And finally, we really try to teach our kids to give to those less fortunate, but I had to draw the line when Austin wanted to give his old toothbrush to Goodwill.