On the advent of my first babe starting kindergarten

It's been a while since I did a non-Three Thought Thursday blog post. Tonight I had plans of finishing up some laundry, starting the dishwasher, maybe responding to an email or two. Typical things. But since it's not a typical night, I felt myself more drawn to sit down and write a bit.

My little boy starts kindergarten tomorrow.

A special day, no doubt. And a special little boy. I find my heart filled with a sense of completion and a sense of beginning all at once. What a remarkable five (nearly six!) years it has been with my Kolbe. I'm so proud that we've made it this point! Mark and I certainly don't profess to being perfect parents; we're nothing of the sort. But we're here. We made it. We have a smart, funny, happy, charming little boy who is so, so excited to take on the world.

I've shared my journey through motherhood on this blog since Kolbe was about eight-months-old. You've seen the ups and downs, our joys and sorrows. And every single second has been worth it.

I love being Kolbe's mama.

There's nothing in the world quite like it and I'm bless that God has chosen Mark and me to be his guides on the journey. And to be honest, I can't wait for the new journey ahead. This is one extraordinary kiddo we've got on our hands!

And I'm so, so glad that I still get to be Kolbe's mama. Still get to be the one he trusts, the one he looks to for advice, the one to teach him morals, to show him how to love others and to love God. To teach him how to clean toilets, make spaghetti, write a good paper, or ask a girl to dance. Till the day I leave this earth, and hopefully even beyond, I will always be Kolbe's mama.

It's the best feeling.

For several years leading up to this point, Mark and I wrestled back and forth with what path we should take when it came to the education of our children. From the beginning, we've been firm believers that parents are responsible for the education of their children. And for a long time, I struggled with what that meant for us. Public school? Catholic school? Home school? Could it be possible for my kids to be academically educated in one arena and morally/spiritually educated in another? Time will certainly tell, but for now, Mark and I both have deep faith that we've done our best in bringing Kolbe to this point and we're certainly not going to stop now. We send him off to school with great excitement and confidence that he can and will be the salt among his peers. And it's our job to continue to cultivate that in him (and our other boys too) at home. Best of all, we're surrounded by so many friends and family members...those who send their kids to public school, those who choose Catholic school, those who homeschool...all who have been nothing but supportive and encouraging in our process of reaching this point. We're so blessed to not be alone in this crazy ride called parenthood!

So with a joy, excitement, and great confidence I will load a little thirty-eight pound boy into the car tomorrow morning. Beaming with pride, I'll take his hand and walk to his classroom with him. We'll smile and our hearts will know just how deeply we love each other.

And my little boy will take flight.

The little boy who made me a mama

Life couldn't be better :)

Three Thought Thursday- 8/22/13

Hello, world! We're baaaaack!
I can't exactly use the phrase "a little behind." I think that applies to two, maybe three weeks. Not two months. Shameful, I tell you. I mean, really...twenty-some-odd years from now when I want to revisit the summer of 2013...my thoughts, the little nuances of life, the ups, the downs....I'll have nothing. Well nothing except scrolls and scrolls of pictures! So here's to that: a close-out to the July and August of The Summer of 2013.

We took a trip to Brenham, TX for the 4th of July to visit Andy and Abby and we had a blast! On the 4th we enjoyed an adorable little small town parade in Chappell Hill. Really, the cutest parade ever.

And no trip to Brenham is complete without a visit to the Bluebell Ice Cream factory. Yum, yum! 

We had all ages represented- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And it was impossible to get a good shot of all 5 without at least one making a break for it!

This little man...

Little Will is just the cutest ever. He's such a pleasant, mellow little guy!

We had a great time with the Hefferlys and can't wait to go back!

When our plans to go swimming at the country club fell through, we hit the kiddie pool in the front yard. True American style.

And then shivered a bit as the sun was setting.

What 4th of July is complete without Bomb Pops?

Even if they make you look a bit like a vampire.

And of course we finished it off with a small town firework show. Such a fun little trip!

Our next adventure was a "glad we did it but never again" success story of a trip flying standby on Southwest to Lubbock. We're so, so glad we did it and were so thankful for the free tickets, but never again with little ones. If I had been keeping up with the blog, you would have heard a long tale of dramatic woeful proportions but I'll simply leave it at standby during the summer saves you nothing. Including sanity. 

But we got to enjoy story time with Papa Jeep.

Wrestle-mania with Uncle P (who happened to be in town for a wedding!)

A trip to the movies with grandparents (in outfits to match the movie, no less!)

A backyard BBQ with cousins on both sides of the family

Two best buddies catching up like old times. (and Mark and I got a night to catch up with adult family and friends too!) 

Backyard shenanigans (yes, I let my kid run around like that. He got bit by something and I was trying to make sure he didn't breakout too badly!)

Just being adorable, as always. 

Time catching up with Krista never goes by too slowly.

And guess who loves tire swings?!?

No trip to Lubbock is complete without a visit to "Castle Park."

Swinging with his grandparents....

And checking out bunnies with buddy Jacob.

And then there was the flight home...all this made the trip well worth it! SO glad we got to visit Lubbock this summer!

So beyond our two trips, what else have we been up to??? Oh, just things like...

My cousin having the sweetest little baby girl ever who I fully intend on kidnapping...

...Mark smoking his first set of ribs, and man, were they good!....

...the annual summer trip to Chuck E Cheese...

...and don't even get me started on this. Root canal + Laura's lupus = epic fail.  Horrible inflammatory response which resulted in having to have my tooth filed down so the back two don't even touch now. And to think I still have to have the crown done! Grr!.....

...but that episode was redeemed by a fun trip to see the Astros play with Pinkie and Pa and the Hefferly Clan (Andy's family)...

...We had a blast at Minute Maid Park...

...sat up in the rafters and enjoyed every minute...

...and then I got to go on a date with this little slice of heaven...to pick out school supplies and talk about life...

...and somewhere amidst the summer, my baby turned into a boy...

...and a little boy room got a massive makeover (that's still in progress- waiting on a new dresser this weakend!)...

...And these two cheesers celebrated seven years of marriage with a night out....

...and a night in--as a family tradition, we always celebrate the birth of our family (our anniversary) with a candle-light dinner for the whole clan, in hopes that we teach our boys the importance of marriage, love, and commitment. And on the fine china and with a table cloth!)...

So hopefully back to our normally scheduled routine. With school starting on Monday and a weekend getaway for Mark and me to follow, I certainly have lots to "talk" about. See you soon!