4th wedding

I love spending time with my kiddos one at a time.  Doing something special with them individually is so much fun!  Daryk, Elizabeth, and I took a trip to Chattanooga this July and went to a dear friend's wedding.  It was on the campus of Lee College and it was gorgeous!  Libby clearly enjoyed herself.  We put curlers in her hair and spent all sorts of girls time prepping for the day.  We drove up to the wedding and then got dressed in the parking lot just before we went inside.  Didn't want to mess up our dresses!  

This girl enjoyed every minute of our time.

Such a ham.  

Every event from now on should have a photo booth.

All of them.

So much fun!  

Oh my heart.

Here's hoping she always thinks that we are the coolest people she knows.

Amber

In case you wanted to know what 15 years of friendship looks like...

2 years in a college dorm.

3 marriages--2 are mine.

4 cities... those are hers....

5 kids--3 for me and 2 for her.

a handful of forgotten messages and a couple of random thoughts.

a few road trips to see concerts and boys that we shouldn't have....

during college... not recently.

And finally, a reunion in NC while traveling.

Funny, God has awesome plans that are so much better than our own.

Shortly after our visit Amber called me and couldn't speak because she was so distraught.

Come to find out, her mom was really sick and she needed to come to GA to be with her immediately.  I offered our home for her and her family as long as they needed it.  She came and stayed with us for a whole week.  I got to cook and entertain the children and help.  It was lovely.  Catching up with an old friend is so much fun.

Sadly, her mother passed away about a week after she left and went back to NC.  I was able to be with her again and enjoy her family along with her dad!  I'm so grateful for a relationship that picks up where it left off, no matter the distance or time or space or life that gets between it.  God was able to use our bizarre reunion for a connection that was needed.  

I love my friends.

Graduation Tears

Every single year, it never fails that a piece of my heart walks out of the school building on the last day of the school year.  Some years there are more pieces than others, but there is always at least ONE.  This past spring these ladies walked through our halls for the last time as a student and they crossed a stage to receive a diploma.  The tears I cried that day were immeasurable and they pride I felt was just as grand.  I am so excited to see where the journey beyond AHS takes these young ladies.  They are genuine women of integrity and I cannot wait to see what their lives hold. 

This year was unique for me as a teacher.  I had the privilege of watching my brother in law's younger brothers graduate from AHS.  My brother in law is a Marine and I'm very proud of him for choosing to do that.  There is a point in the graduation ceremony where our administrators have all graduates who are joining the military stand to be recognized.  As a mother, sister, friend, teacher, and general human being I sobbed at that moment in time.  The pride and fear and overwhelming sense of amazement at those men and women was indescribable.  I was so grateful that these young people were capable and willing to make a decision to join a noble force in our world. 

What an honor to have known and taught SO MANY SOLIDERS!

My Britt--starting at LSU this fall.

My Bailie--starting at JSU this fall.

My Jamie--starting at school in Ga this fall.

Favorites

Sooooooooooooooo, these girls happen to be our favorites.  They rescue me when I'm having a bad day.  They pick up my kids when I can't or don't want to.  They come over and help me fix dinner or fold laundry or play with the kids so I can take a nap.  Jordan and Hope are two girls that I'm going to call my friends for a long time.  I see them at family parties and vacations and eventually at the weddings of my 3 little people.  They will be welcome at my house anytime and I'll always love them as my own.  

Jordan (on the right) happens to be one of the first baby sitters that Hayes ever had.  She came to my rescue several times in that first year and she's always the first one we call when she's home.  She left us to go to college (lame) and we miss her terribly.  I am proud of her and what she's doing with her life, but I'm also selfish enough to say that I MISS her and want her home all the time.  

Hope (on the left) is still technically our student at school.  She is a cheerleader and wrestling manager and she keeps me in line.  She's my lunch buddy and a one of a kind girl who could never be replaced.  Her honesty and level headed thinking is just something you don't find in a child, who's almost a grown up.  Sorta.  She has a fantastic sense of humor and I cannot wait to see what happens with her once she leaves us in the fall.  

The Other Kid

The other kid came home to see us a few weeks ago.

I'm sure she came to see other people too, but I don't really care about them.

I was so glad to see her!

We hadn't seen Jordan since she left for school in August and we were SO used to seeing her daily that it was REALLY hard for me to adjust to life without her.

The kids were thrilled to see her and so was I!

She spent some time playing games and taking pictures with Libby on her phone.

Both Hayes and Libby drew her pictures for her to put on her dorm room walls.

I think Hayes was really proud that she wanted to use his pictures!

Friends, this was the night that I realized that Hayes has learned how to write his name at school.

We talk about school, but his answer is typically something about seeing his friends.

He doesn't really give me details about anything else in his day.

Except maybe when he brings snack and it is trail mix.

He likes that a lot.

He loves school.

He loves his friends as well.

He speaks highly of his teachers.

When I questioned my special source about his teachers, her response was...

'They are the best.  You don't get any better than those ladies.'

I was so excited to think that my boy would be well cared for!

I was so emotional upon realizing that my 3 year old can write his name...

forward and backward, mind you.

He says all the letters in his full name and he's learning all of ours too.

He has grown up so much in the last 2 months that he's been in school.

I'm no longer worried that he won't be ready for PreK next year.

I know that he will be ready.

And I cried when I saw him do this.

Chubby fingers and crayons writing a name is something more precious than I ever imagined.