Cruz - Halloween Parade 2013 LAP

Today is one of those days... my last "first" Halloween parade at LAP. 

Yes, I'm sentimental and it's incredibly bittersweet. 

Cruz L-O-V-E-S Elmo, but he just wasn't sure about the costume being over his head. 

Such a precious little class. So blessed to have Ms. Teresa & Ms. Elaine love on my last little boy!

Noah - Kindergarten Field Trip 2013

I was so blessed to be able to take the day off work to go with Noah to his first ever school field trip! 

The entire kindergarten grade went to Owen's Spring Creek Farm's Great Orange Pumpkin Patch. This year is especially sweet because they are closing down the farm this year.  

Noah absolutely adores his teacher, Mrs. Shumaker...and so do I! She has been teacher kinder for over 25 years, has been named, "Teacher of the Year" (multiple times) and is definitely doing what she was created to do! 

This is truly a special class. 

Random Funny Cruz

I completely adore my baby...even though there's not much baby left. 

I love that he tells everyone he is, "Mommy's Baby!"

I love that when he takes a bath and wants soap he says, "Dot Dot Not A Lot!"

I find it hilarious that he thinks he can put anything in the dryer and it magically comes out clean! 

Halloween Duckies in the Tub!

Granny & Gramps sent Cruz a "Mommy Approved" Halloween treat - rubber duckies for the tub! 

 Both Cruz and Noah had fun counting, arranging & squirting them. 

By the time they were done, our bathroom floor was as wet as a Slip N Slide! On the bright side, after I cleaned it up I didn't need to mop this week! 

My beloved boys, 

You will never know how hard I try to be the godly mother you deserve. You will never understand the depths to which I strive for perfection. Being a parent is hard. I do not know everything, but I know the One who does. It is that I place my hope for you. My job is to carry out God's discipline in a way that captures your heart and draws you to him. With God's grace I will get a little better at that every day. I've got a long way to go, but Praise the Lord I'm not where I used to be. More than anything else in this world, Father God has used you to perfect me. 

Forever loving you, 

Mommy

CHILDREN OBEY

All the Way

Right Away

With a Happy Heart

Proverbs 19:20, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”

Colossians 3:20, “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”

Ephesians 6:1-3, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Parenting that Facilitates Healing from Sin

Psalm 103:8, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

Proverbs 14:29, “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.”

Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

James 1:19-20, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

First Day of School 2013!

I've made it! This year all three boys are in school (or preschool!) As a mom it's such a strange dynamic. On one hand I can't stop crying. The separation and letting go is a physical ache in my chest. On the other hand I am jumping for joy at the small freedom this brings a mom who has been in the "baby trenches" for 8 years. 

These milestones in life are always bittersweet chance for me to pause & ponder where our family is in its evolution and reflect back at how far we've come. I always flash to the moment of each boys' birth. It is a moment in time that will forever be marked in my mind and heart. With Noah, I also think back on those moments I watched him stop breathing and have to be resuscitated after his pyloric stenosis surgery. I then flash to first Christmas', birthdays, preschool graduations...all precious moments that have defined my life. 

Today is one of those days I want to document. Each boy is growing and special in their own way. We are beginning to see spiritual gifts develop in Luke and are praying for revelation in to his Godly purpose in life. Noah is inherently sweet (although NOT a morning person), has completely departed from anything baby and has transitioned in to a real "boy" boy - outside, dirt, bugs, worms, sticky, messy. Cruz is my baby and I'm holding on to every last little bit of that I can. I know I'll have to loosen my hold, but right now I just can't bear the thought of my last baby boy growing up...and moving on. No one ever tells you how hard this paradox of motherhood is. 

Here are a few pics of each boy on their first day of school. I am bursting with pride, swallowing tears, reveling in the quiet and can't wait until they come home to my arms.