Kate's Turn

An impromptu photo shoot took place this evening because discussions of family scrapbooks occurred and at that point, I realized I had never taken Kate out for her birthday photos. Kate turned eleven in May. I am rocking this mom gig. In my defense, there was a wedding sprung on me that month and I only had six weeks to throw that little shindig together so a lot of other details fell through the cracks.

So Kate and I literally decided today worked for us and within minutes had the camera in the field and later at the park for a little session. She has bigger photo plans for birthday number twelve which she believes is just around the corner. Slow down baby. I am not ready.

Middle school hasn't been as kind to Kate as we had hoped for her. She has one amazing teacher and one extremely unhappy teacher. Kate's belly hurts daily as she internalizes stress. There are a lot of tears at bedtime and as she is working up the nerve to board the bus each morning.  We have already had one discussion with the teacher and anticipate the next one will have to include the principal. We are in prayer about what is best for Kate moving forward as she enjoys the social aspects of school and is pulling straight A's but the emotional garbage has a pretty hefty price tag.

Gymnastics starts back up tomorrow and she has her first choir concert at the end of the month. She loves spending time with friends, tumbling, swimming, camping, boating, creating, reading, watching old Phineas and Ferb videos on Netflix and shopping. She is still the sweet one in the family and hasn't outgrown snuggling with her mom. Despite the delay in capturing Kate exclusively, she is pretty special.

Weekend R&R

Brutus turned 12 on Friday. The old boy still has some puppy-like moments but is full of grumpy old man sass too.

Makenna and I took Kate and her friend Grace to see good friends in Edinburg this Saturday. We ate well, talked for hours and supervised some eleven year old shopping. Grace's family takes Kate camping. I take Grace shopping. It is good to stick with your individual strengths, I believe.

Ty was invited to a little girls' birthday party. He adores that special friend and was so excited to attend despite being the only boy invited. He was able to adopt this cat and make it a collar with beads. At some point during the celebration, he decided to teach a room full of little girls the song, "I am sexy and I know it". We are rocking this parenting gig.

On Sunday Lauren and Makenna joined me in downtown New Albany where I was somehow talked into a pair of skinny jeans. There is a strong possibility they will be returned this week. Makenna discovered she landed her first job when we visited our favorite consignment store. Makenna is so excited to be working where we already enjoying spending time.

This man spent the weekend smoking a pork shoulder for pulled pork sandwiches. He is awesome.

Someone pretty special made me jewelry at a birthday party this weekend. He used lots of colors so I can wear it every day as it will match everything.

He is a pretty good shot and loves the time we spend shooting together.

We pulled out all three bows and both targets on Sunday. Ty, Kate, Greg and I spent some time working on our aim. One of us is planning to deer hunt in the coming month. Another one of us would like to join him with the camera at some point but her promise to yell, "run Bambi run!" has eliminated her invitation.

We were well supervised. We always are.

Kate has been working on her scorpion. She is getting pretty close!

Heavy Heart

Have you ever have the kind of day you joke it must be a full moon? This was a week full of those kind of days and what do you know? It was a gorgeous full moon after all. On top of the normal ups and downs of daily life, several families we know are wrestling with some difficult challenges. I have found myself unable to shake sadness as I continue to pray for each of them.

It is easy to let feelings run my life into chaos as I am far more emotional than analytical in my response to others pain. I wrapped up the book of John where he shares in horrific detail the crucifixion of Christ. He points out how the casual bystander saw the circumstances and assumed Jesus was at his most vulnerable and obviously losing in those final days of his life on earth. In truth though, He was very much in control throughout the entire process as his death was the perfect point. Jesus knew how it ended and allowed that to play out. I find peace in that message as I struggle to understand the pain others are experiencing. In this season of political hatefulness, worldwide suffering at the hands of evil and the difficult circumstances facing the people I care so much about, I have assurance Jesus is still in control.

Big Fish and Full Weekends

Makenna worked four presentations of Big Fish this weekend as an assistant stage manager. It was her personal all-time favorite show but after keeping the hours of 6am-11pm for an entire week, she is happy to see it wrap up. I loved watching the final performace today as a family. It was a beautiful story about taking time to enjoy the people in your life.

Erin recalled her short stint with the theater after the show. She was required to hold hands with a boy and she was not happy about it. They negotiated with her and allowed a pinky finger hold. She claims she accepted those terms "because the show must go on" which she stated with air quotes. She was six. You don't have to spend much time with Erin to realize the whole world is literally her stage.

Our neighborhood yard sale took place Saturday morning. Lauren talked me into participating and we did so together with two other families . No one got rich but we unloaded a few things and made enough to help pay for dinner on Sunday evening. We hoped to check out a newer restaurant on the river we have heard great things about but after being rerouted a dozen times and encountering an hour and a half wait time, we ended up back at our old local favorite burger joint. No one complained. The kids are already counting down to the next family dinner out which is traditionally on Ryan's birthday in December.

We had friends over for dinner Saturday night.It appears to be a regular event lately which is a more than pleasant way to tackle weekends.

Ty and I took a walk this morning to our neighborhood creek. I was sipping tea and toting my camera; the significance of 9-11 resonating in my heart. I wish our country had remained as united as we were in the aftermath of the attacks. I felt compelled to live the day in gratitude of having this beautiful life despite the chaos and turmoil of the world.  Today I was grateful for laughter, tears in the theater, my boisterous family, friends, dinner I didn't have to prepare or clean up, the joy on Ty's face as he splashed in the creek, Kate's giggles with a friend, an evening walk, sunset, sweater weather this evening and the promise of cooler mornings on my swing. Oh! And leftover pecan pie. Life is beautiful.

Dreaming of Pumpkins

Like every previous September,  I ushered the month in with visions of sweaters, a tea kettle simmering all day, and pumpkins dancing in my head. I am craving cooler weather, the scent of fallen leaves, family and friends gathered around bonfires and chilly mornings begging for a hot chai tea (pumpkin spice latte of course) while I hold down the porch swing. I have friends still clinging to summer and this week of temperatures remaining in the nineties is keeping them content . I, on the other hand, have two pumpkins on display and have baked an apple crisp. Candy corn hides in my cabinet away from the littlest family member who inhaled a basketful the first day it was displayed.  I can cozy up my space and deny reality if it suits me.

We are fully in the throws of back-to-school since that season starts in the heat of July around here. We have had two occasions to grab a light jacket on our way to the bus before sunrise thus far with promises of more opportunities on the horizon. Bring it. My friend Robbin crocheted a beautiful sweater for me to use on my swing. I cannot wait to wrap up in it.

Makenna managed to maintain straight A's while holding down more than 25 hours each week in the theater since school started. The show they are presenting this weekend is described as whimsical, endearing and beautiful. She is proud of Big Fish and the crew working it.

Erin has entered a relationship after spending a few months getting to know Jake. They each introduced the other to their families last weekend before agreeing to date. Between the relationship status and her new job, we see very little of Erin these days but she is happy. However, out-of-the-blue requests to stop by for grilled cheese sandwiches can still occur without warning.

Lauren is managing Taylor's training well but she misses him and is anxious to receive his first phone call. We all want updates and miss him. We've enclosed photos in letters to him in hopes of brightening his world a little. Rumor has it she will get to join him in Texas in January while he wraps up technical training. Lauren is clinging to that date but there is a part of me not quite ready to let her go.

This weekend holds dinner plans with friends around the patio table, a group attending the theater to see Makenna's show and the entire family (plus one) is going out for dinner afterward. We rarely go out to eat as a complete family so there is some anticipation of laughter, relaxation and togetherness in which someone else cleans up and keeps tea glasses full.

An Army Guy Needs Glasses

Ty has this habit of blinking his eyes in such a way that I have questioned if it could be a habit. My sister called to ask if he was in pain after spending a weekend with him. I thought perhaps he had allergy eyes because the rest of the world reports they do. I asked a nurse friend for over the counter suggestions to combat this little issue. After she ran through a series of questions, she determined he needed an optometrist not allergy medicine. Allergy medicine would have been easier but we have a smart and kind optometrist so an appointment was made.

I informed him he had an appointment after school the day of so he wouldn't have time to get too worked up about it. Ty is sensitive to lights in his eyes and people in his face. He gets this from his mother. After his initial meltdown, he opted to wear his army uniform so he would be brave and strong like Taylor. He then walked into his appointment ready to cooperate.

After they spent an hour and a half with him running and rerunning tests. He was a trooper but it was determined he is having muscle spasms behind his eyes because he is straining  to focus.

His new camouflage frames arrived today and he is pretty excited to join his sisters and a friend who get to wear glasses at school. I emailed his teacher this evening in preparation of his new specks tomorrow. She answered, "oh I already know because he is so very excited".