Mother's Day tea

The best quote about motherhood is "the days are long but the years are short"  Some days, I honestly don't know if I will survive.  Other days I go to bed at night wishing for just one more hour with the kids.  As I watched Drew preform at his Mother's Day tea program, I couldn't hold back the tears.  Just two years ago, he sobbed at his first school program.  He kept motioning to me - through huge tears- to come and get him off the stage.  This year though, he stood their with confidence and preformed his heart out.  I am so proud of Drew.  He is a kid who is great at everything - no matter what sport he tries, he excels.  His grades are amazing - so much so that the teacher gave him extra work this year.  But, the best thing about Drew is that he never brags, in fact, he always tries to do better and encourage others to do better too.  He is such a bright, shining light.  

Conner and Mommy's Field Trip!

Conner and I had SO much fun at the one-room school house!  It was an amazing field trip.  My favorite part was the spelling bee - Conner got the word "laugh" and spelled it LAFE.  His teacher, Mrs. Olejnik and I just winked at each other as Conner is definitely a phonetic speller!  I love these days!

Heavin's Farm

We always have the best time when we visit Mimi, B, Mac, Mas and Makenna!  Conner drove us around the farm this time - which was really strange.  We have drug him around that farm in a baby carrier, a carseat, in our laps and now he is driving.  We found out that Drew is a cow whisperer!  He stayed back and held one of the baby calves for most of the evening.  Brenna loved feeding more babies!  She and MaKenna are quite the pair!  We are so blessed to have such great friends that teach our children about things we could never even begin to know!

Hail No!!

One thing I have learned over the past nine years is that kids make everything better - even when you are watching golf ball sized hail beat up your home and all three of your cars - they watch with amazement and excitement only thinking of the fun things they can do as soon as they get outside!  The kids loved having "winter in the summer" and even enjoyed hail snow cones!

Drew turns 7!!!!

I smile with tears in my eyes when I look at these pictures.  See, in these pictures he looks like a silly kid - which - sometimes he is.  But, these days, most of the time, he is a young man.  Drew is serious and studious.  He is given challenge words for spelling each week and aces every test without trying. He tries his hardest at everything he does - from math to learning a new sport or a new game.  He LOVES basketball and hockey right now and his coaches LOVE him - because he listens and learns and plays his heart out.  Drew is patient and proud.  His teacher told me today that her favorite thing about Drew is that he leads others in his class by his actions - he comforts others and is the first to make another child feel like he/she has friends.  Drew is mischievous and creative.  He is so empathetic that he knows how to push buttons and get away with murder.  On the other hand, he creates tree houses out of sticks, will study rocks and look for them for hours and his imagination is somehow even bigger than his heart.  My hope for Drew is that one day he will be able to fully see and appreciate all that he is and all that he does - without ever giving up, always being humble and ALWAYS including everyone.  I am so proud to be his mom!

Spring Break - 2017 - Windrock!

We had such an amazing time on Spring Break!  We snuck away for a couple of days to enjoy some much needed sunshine, lack of cell-phones, wifi and electronics and just time to be together!  The weather was beautiful and the trails and the scenery were amazing.  The kids loved packing lunches, eating in the middle of the creek or the middle of the woods, finding coal and petrified wood, walking through old coal mines and finding frogs and poisonous salamanders!  We can't wait to go back!  

Basketball - 2017

It was SO MUCH FUN watching Conner and Drew play basketball his year!  They both did an AWESOME job!  I am so proud of them!