On Saturday, both of my brothers were able to come over for Michael's birthday celebration. Avery is set to start dance lessons in a couple of weeks, so I was telling my sister-in-law about the struggles of fixing her hair in a ponytail because it's so thin with lots of flyaways. I wanted to get my sister-in-law's opinion since she was a dancer for several years. She had SO MANY good tips! I felt like I needed to rush & write them all down as things to try!
She texted me later that night to be expecting a package in the mail. Today that package arrived-- addressed to Avery Kate! It was filled with fun hair things like a mister, rubber pony tail holders, and a collection of alligator clips in fun patterns! In a separate box was the book "Angelina Ballerina" and Avery was enthralled!
Of course she wanted her hair in a ponytail right away so we spent an hour looking for her brush (no lie) and we began doing different hairstyles in our "salon" (aka our dining room table). Such a fun afternoon! We are well prepared for ballet class hairstyles now!
Today, we woke up with a 9 year old in the house! Michael turned nine today and I can just hardly believe it! I can totally remember everything about his birthday. He was born at 4:32 pm and weighed a surprising 8lbs 14oz! He was a very long baby and wore newborn clothes maybe twice. :) He's since grown to be a thriving big boy who loves to give hugs and smiles. Especially with the week we've had, his smiles and hugs have been a comfort to many. Michael is a treasure and I'm so beyond blessed that God placed him into our home to be our first child.
Dear Michael,
You are so full of life and for this I am very grateful! Since you're my first born, I often struggled with knowing "am I doing this parenting thing right?" and "wow, how can this be going by so quickly?!" You've overcome SO many struggles in your life so far and I know that God has been with you through each one of them. You are braver than you believe, son. Your life has shown me so. You are the most timid of your siblings and I credit this to your way of processing things around you since you've walked roads that neither of your siblings have had to walk. With that being said, you're the most generous with your hugs and your smiles. One of your many gifts is to be a comfort to others. You're very empathetic and offer many words of encouragement.
You love being around people! You thrive in church "Wednesday work days" and in attending church each Sunday. You love to greet your fellow church members with a smile, and you dole out your cherished hugs to grandparents and great grandparents. You love starting out each school year with the mentality of making several new friends and you ALWAYS succeed!
You're a great joke teller and an awesome reader. I am so excited to see you so excited about the books your class is reading. God's hand was so evident in the teachers that you got this year, and I'm relieved each day to see you thriving in school and looking forward to attending each weekday.
Although you cherish your alone time and probably need more of it than you get, you are still an amazing big brother. You have never once left Noah standing alone on the side walk after morning drop-off. You always wait for him to get his backpack and walk inside together. (How do I know? I hear from your grandmas who take you to school!). :) I know that when Avery joins you next year that you'll be a great comfort to her as well.
After school and on weekends, you love to engage your brother and sister in imaginative play. You are always up for a board game or family video game nights as well. You're reaching the age where you like to sit down together and watch a movie, and "Secondhand Lions" has become a recent favorite.
During your visits to the endocrinologist every few months, you like to make a whole day out of our time together. We frequently get lunch before the visit as well as a treat in the gift shop of the hospital. You are grateful for these moments together as mom, dad, and Michael, and we are so grateful for special time with you too.
You're so excited to be nine years old and I am so looking forward to what this year will bring for you.
We weren't expecting this to happen today or this week or even this year.
In May, my grandparents moved to our area from central Florida. My mom and dad live in the neighborhood across the street from their house, and I live a couple miles up the road. Having my grandparents nearby was such a blessing these past few months as they've been able to eat dinner with us a few times and have attended our church and watched their great-grandchildren play.
My Popa was always eager to do projects together when I was growing up. I helped him change out a phone and a light fixture in the beach cottage when I was a teen. I also worked on various projects with him in his garage in my late teens and early twenties. I so enjoyed spending time with him & my Nana during the summers. I remember that he let me drive his friend's (very slow) golf cart all the way through his retirement community to the swimming pool one summer afternoon. We then played shuffleboard together, and when some "pro Shuffleboarders" were rude to us, he made a point to gently set them straight so that we could return to our game without further ridicule. He was a great listener, and a good storyteller. I LOVED listening to him tell me about growing up in upstate New York. How I wish I had heard more of his stories.
Popa, I miss you. I would've certainly been over for more visits had I paid more attention to time. Now I know for sure that I must always be intentional with my moments. I love you and I know where you are, which is the greatest comfort during this time. I will see you again and I am so very excited to see you whole and healed. I will look after Nana. I promise. I love you.
Today you are four years old! I remember my own fourth birthday, so it's odd for me to think of you as potentially forming memories of your life that you'll look back on when you're 33! I am so proud of who you're becoming. You are precious & sweet and you are very sure of what you want. I love listening to you play & sing & pretend to read.
You were surprised this morning that it was your birthday, although you were sad that your brothers still had to go to school & couldn't spend the day with you. I did manage to get a "Happy Birthday" picture of the 3 of you and I treasure it.
For your birthday dinner, you chose spaghetti (your favorite) and you happily said "I want cake so I'm eating all my dinner!" After dinner, five grandparents and two great grandparents came over for the birthday celebration! You blew out your candle right when we began to sing so I lit it again during the song so you'd have something to blow out at the end. Your cake was unicorn themed and you had unicorn plates to match.
With each present opened, you let out a squeal of delight. It was such a joy to be in your presence and to be a part of your moment.
Oh this one is good. Elevation Worship has a new hit song called RATTLE! We LOVE when it comes on the radio, and I downloaded it into my Amazon Prime music as well so I can listen to it in my classroom in the mornings before school.
Saturday was silent Surely it was through But since when has impossible Ever stopped You Friday's disappointment Is Sunday's empty tomb Since when has impossible Ever stopped You
This is the sound of dry bones rattling This is the praise make a dead man walk again Open the grave, I'm coming out I'm gonna live, gonna live again This is the sound of dry bones rattling
Pentecostal fire stirring something new You're not gonna run out of miracles anytime soon Yeah, resurrection power runs in my veins too I believe there's another miracle here in this room
This is the sound of dry bones rattling This is the praise make a dead man walk again Open the grave, I'm coming out I'm gonna live, gonna live again This is the sound of dry bones rattling
Yeah Whoa Do you hear it? Do you hear it? Do you hear it?
My God is able to save and deliver and heal And restore anything that He wants to Just ask the man who was thrown On the bones of Elisha If there's anything that He can't do Just ask the stone that was rolled At the tomb in the garden What happens when God says to move
I feel Him moving it now I feel Him doing it now I feel Him doing it now Do it now, do it now
This is the sound This is the sound of dry bones rattling This is the praise make a dead man walk again Open the grave, I'm coming out I'm gonna live, gonna live again Open the grave, I'm coming out I'm gonna live, gonna live again Open the grave, I'm coming out I'm gonna live, gonna live again This is the sound of dry bones rattling, rattling, yeah
I hear the sound (I hear the sound) I hear the sound (I hear the sound) I hear the sound (I hear the sound) I hear the sound (I hear the sound)
And the bones began to rattle Rattle, rattle Rattle God said live, God said live Hear the Word And this is what He said
Live, live Dry bones hear the Word of the Lord Live (live), live (live) Dry bones hear the Word of the Lord Live (live), live (live) Dry bones hear the Word of the Lord Live (live), live (live) Dry bones hear the Word of the Lord Live (live), live (live) Dry bones hear the Word of the Lord Live (live), live (live) Live, live, live, live, live
This is the sound of dry bones rattling, yeah This is the praise make a dead man walk again Open the grave, I'm coming out I'm gonna live, gonna live again Open the grave, I'm coming out I'm gonna live, gonna live Open the grave, I'm coming out I'm gonna live, gonna live again This is the sound of dry bones rattling Dry bones rattle Dry bones rattle
Rattle, rattle, rattle Live, live, live Live, live Live, live
*******
My favorite lines are "My God is able to save and deliver and heal
And restore anything that He wants to Just ask the man who was thrown On the bones of Elisha If there's anything that He can't do Just ask the stone that was rolled At the tomb in the garden What happens when God says to move."
SO GOOD. It's such a great reminder that nothing is impossible with God.
At some points, I'm sad that summer is over. At other times, I'm glad that we're transitioning into fall with such an early start to school this year! I went back last Monday for a few days of in-service to get prepared for the upcoming school year. The kiddos went back on Thursday, so we're really off to the races now and all systems are go!
Both boys and I enjoyed our first couple days of school and I'm hoping that's a testament to the blessing that this year will be. I'm so pleased with all of the ways that God is orchestrating His hand throughout our days. He has made several things become possible that I didn't think would come to exist. He provided both boys with my "first choice" teacher options, and I know they'll excel in these classes.
God transitioned my dad into getting a new and fantastic bus route, and to see my dad so happy makes me so happy. This also meant that I changed the bus route that my kids ride on so that they can come directly to me in the afternoon and not get dropped off at home. I was nervous about who their bus driver would be, and I hoped it would be someone my dad knew from being part of the transportation crew. God worked His hand, and the bus driver not only is someone whom my dad knows but is a good friend of my dad. This bus driver is fully capable of managing the delicate balance of treating Michael for low blood sugars while maintaining focus on the bus route. I am very comfortable placing my children in the care of this bus driver, and these first couple days of bus drop off have been very smooth. That makes my mama heart happy! The boys then follow me inside of school in the afternoon and we work in my classroom for a bit (meaning they have a snack or drink, and I prepare my boards for the next day). They like for us to walk up to the front office when we're finished so that they can meet other teachers and hopefully see some of our church members who also work at the school. My mom said they will remember these special afternoons and make good memories from them. :)
I have met each of my classes one time so far, and they each seem to be a lively bunch. I just went over the syllabus and class rules with them this week and we'll get into our instructional material next week. It's so funny to me when I'm preparing the upcoming lessons and making sure I have things printed off because I'll check the material topic and think "wow, is this right?! It seems like I just taught that topic to last year's students!" I'm taking this to mean that God is making me comfortable enough with this subject area that He's enabling me to experience excitement (instead of nervousness) about what's coming up next.
In non-school related news, we've got two birthdays coming up this month! I'll be buying birthday decorations and wrapping paper in the upcoming weeks to get prepared for Avery's 4th birthday and for Michael's 9th! I have steadily purchased fun things for Avery when I've come across them, so she's pretty set for her birthday gifts. Michael is my "expensive taste" kid, so he has put a few things on his birthday list knowing that we'll probably choose just one or two to get for him due to their prices. He's okay with this and is eagerly anticipating what could be chosen! He's decided against a school party or friend party this year and just wants family members to come over and enjoy his day with him. That's okay with me-- less prep! My goal is to have both of my August babies enjoy their day and truly know how special they are and how they make this family complete.
