Ethan Says Farewell

The 2011-2012 school year has once again come to an end. The kids go home with a lot more knowledge and the teachers with a sigh of relief that they survived another year.

As a mom, when your kids are babies you look forward to the next phases in your child's life. Crawling, walking, talking, sleeping through the night, eating baby food, then solid food. You anxiously wait for their personalities to develop. Who will they act like? Who will they look like? You can't wait for them to grow...and get older. Then one day you wake up and realize years have flown by and now your overcome with sadness. Sadness that your child, in my case, my first born, is no longer a little boy. He's turning into a young man. In 2 years he'll be a teenager. You still want to look into the future, to see what it holds, but now for different reasons. Will he go to college? Will he marry and move far away? Will he still love you as the only girl in his life(minus the baby sister)? Thoughts, that as a mother, scare me to pieces.

When I was in school, you were of elementary age until you ended 6th grade. Now, this day and age, most elementary schools only go to 5th. Why? I say it's just another way for corporate America and the government to make our children grow up even faster. Whatever it is, I hate it.

I do look forward to his future. Just miss my baby boy. He's a bright kid, full of spunk and the determination of a king. I know he'll do great.

So, as of today, May 31, 2012, Ethan rolls into summer happy, excited, full of spirit and nervous of the future to come...and says a final farewell to his elementary school career.

My 31st Birthday

This birthday was easily one of the best that I can remember in a LONG time. This is probably because I usually don't celebrate my birthday. Since having kids, I just believe birthdays are for kids. After all, I had plenty before they came along. Now, it's all about them.

This year, for whatever reason, God decided I should have a special day(weekend really). I started off my birthday/Mother's Day weekend with Muffins for Mom at the boys school. I've never gotten a chance to go since I always work in another country it seems. So this was very special for me.

After breakfast, I headed off to work. There my awesome co-workers, whom I've only known for 3 weeks, threw a birthday party filled with food they all made by hand just for me. Got me cupcakes, pizza and even a gift certificate for a scrub shop in our area. As if that weren't enough, they let me off 2 hours early to go spend my present.

Matt and Taya joined us for lunch and surprised me with beautiful pink roses.

The next day, on my birthday day, I started off the day at my folks for a garage sale...until mother nature decided we were threw. After that, made a family trip to Walmart(always fun...NOT) then home for a short nap with my favorite little princess.

After we were well rested and rejuvenated we headed out for a family fun night of bowling at Strikz in Frisco.  We had a blast. I'll let the pics do the rest of my yappin'.

The reasons I'm a mom.

Brian and Ashlie.

Me and my love.

My Lemondrop shooter...SOUR!

Chocolate Cake shooter.

Our faces are PRICELESS!!!

ALL the men in my life!

Us girls!

My mama love.

My precious family.

Everyone I love, minus my niece, Nikki.

Thank you to my brother for always having my best interest at heart.

Thank you to my Ethan for teaching me it's easy to love someone that's not so easy to parent.

Thank you to my Corbin for making me laugh and smile everyday.

Thank you to my Taya for somehow thinking I hang the moon.

Thank you to my husband for loving me so unconditionally, the way only you can.

Thank you to my dad for still, at 31 years old, calling me your baby girl.

Thank you to my mom for showing me how to be the best mom ever.

And thank you all for being the family that I know I need :)

Amazing Grace

This past Sunday we attended a new church. Sherman Bible Church. A lady my brother, Brian, works with attends and just raved about it. Brian and his girlfriend, Ashleigh, started attending and fell in love. They got my parents to attend, they too, fell in love. So, we thought our family should give it a whirl. We're falling in love.

The childrens ministry looks and sounds really neat. Taya will be in the Transformers class, Corbin in the Powerhouse class and Ethan in the Youth class. Yes folks, I said the YOUTH class.

Since it was our first visit in a new place, we decided to let the kiddos attend "big people church" with us. The pastor was hilarious. Spoke in a way and related to things that my non-church going self to understand. I even think the boys got the jist of it, too, at some points.

Picture this: Corbin on the inside, then Brian, Ethan, Matt, Taya, me, my mom then my dad.

Anyway, we had a quiet time of prayer, where you can pray silently or you can pray in small groups with people you may or may not know. My folks were praying silently, as were Matt and I. Taya had her head bowed thinking about who kows what. I look to my left and see Ethan and Corbin, heads bowed and Brian praying aloud with them. It melted my heart and honestly, brought a tear to my eyes.

As if that moment weren't enough to give me peace, at the end of the service, everyone was up singing songs. They have 2 enormous movie screens with all the words on them just in case you aren't familiar with them. Well, I notice Ethan singing along which was neat. I was holding Taya in my arms singing along and I look at my beautiful girl and hear and see her singing along! It happened to be a song I love that we hear on the radio, so she new the words by heart and was bee boppin' along. Caputured that moment in my heart FOREVER.

Needless to say, we're all looking forward to going back this Sunday for some more Amazing Grace.

Corbin's First Pitch

This past Friday night, Corbin pitched his FIRST baseball game EVER. He was super nervous(as was I) and did great! He walked the first batter and STRUCK OUT the second! He had 5 strike outs in all! He did amazing. Grinning from ear to ear. Hopefully, we'll see this master in action again tonight! We love this kid. He's a priceless gem.

It's Not Nice

Tonight the kids and I were driving home chatting. I was explaining to Corbin the difference between owning a home and renting one. I told him we ultimately are striving to buy one. However, there is literally little to nothing to choose from in our great old city of Tom Bean. This means we must rent for now. Boo, I know. There are a couple homes we love out here but they are foreclosures so it takes FOREVER for the banks to list them. The inquisitive mind that is Corbin asked what a foreclosure is. I ran through the whole gammit on what it was and why it happens. Just as I was finishing up the conversation, I hear Corbin next to me in the front passenger seat say "It's not nice to take lunch money from little kids at school." I asked him where the heck that came from. His reply..."I don't know, it's just not nice." Have I mentioned I LOVE this boy???

Missing My Grandma

Today, April 16th, is my grandma's(moms mom) birthday. Twenty yrs ago, when I was 10, breast cancer took her from us. She fought it for 4 yrs until her frail body could fight no more. She left behind a legacy. A legacy that my parents, my brother and I and so many more people that still love her carry with them to this day.

I remember spending pretty much every weekend at the lake with my grandma and my papa Linc. We went to Tanglewood Resort at Lake Texoma and spent a ton of time there. I still have pictures of us on their boat and in the pool.

I only had her in my life for a short period of time but she made a HUGE impact on my life as a child. I wish everyday that my children, my niece and my husband would have all gotten the great pleasure of knowing and loving her as we all did. I know she is looking down on us all from heaven. I believe my grandma had a GINORMOUS part of God giving me Ethan. She wanted me to have a taste of what my parents did. I know this because Ethan is so much like me, it's frightening. Stubborn. Fearless yet timid. Pain in the rear yet so dear to my heart.

She was such a special person. So genuine. So selfless. I miss her so much but thankfully I am blessed with a mother JUST LIKE HER.

I will admit, there are times my family members tell me I'm just like other members of my family that I'm not so keen on. However, my mom tells me all the time that she sees my grandma in me everyday. That I'm just like her. My witty-ness, my sense of humor, the way I tell it like it is and don't mince words. She is one person I am HONORED to be compared to. If I'm half as special and great as she was, I'm a pretty lucky gal.

Turning 11

Last week our Ethan had yet ANOTHER birthday. I tell ya, seems like the older they get, the more often these birthdays come around. The special thing is that no matter how old you get, there are only a few birthdays that are actually milestones. In my mind these are: 1(for obvious reasons), 5(you start "big kid" school), 10(you enter double digits), 13(you become a teenager), 16(you can get your drivers liscense), 18(you become an "adult"), 20(you're no longer a teenager when just a few years earlier you were so over joyed to be one), 21(you can drink "adult beverages" if you so choose), 30(just because), 40(you're "over the hill, whatever that means), 50(you're half a CENTURY old) and 100(self explanatory). Last year was the first BIG birthday I think Ethan even remembers. Turning "double digits", and being a DECADE old.

This year he turned 11 and he decided he wanted to have a campout. So, we dug out the good ole' tent, which I think all 3 kids were more impressed with than our home, mowed the mile-high grass, set up the Longhorn bean bag toss game and prepared for a feast. Those that know Ethan VERY well will know that you ask his favorite food and he will not hesitate to tell you RIBS! So mommy's mema and pepa bought him 3 racks of ribs. DELICIOUS! Ribs, mashed potatos, corn on the cob, garlic bread and salad. Oh and let's not forget the quacamole! My mom makes the best. Seriously, she could jar it up and sell it for a premium price. I baked him cupcakes and Matt formed them into an army tank and decorated it.

Matt mowing.


The ole' great tent.


Even though this birthday wasn't one of the "milestones", it was still special. It was still Ethan's birthday. He's a good kid.


No matter how much he pushes my buttons, tests my patience or just plain gives me a run for my money...He has a huge spirit and a loving heart. He just wants to make us proud. We are. I adore this kid.