blessed beyond measure

Oh, the excitement of the school year's end. There's nothing like it to make you want to simultaneously melt into a puddle of relieved nothing on the floor and also paint half your face blue, raise your sword and scream, "FREEDOM!" But as always, there was precious little learning and much fanfare to put a bookend on the year. Both boys worked very hard to finish their Awana books this year. Aden is officially done with Sparks and next year will begin his T&T adventures. Trey is officially done with Awana and next year will move to youth group. [Silence] Youth. Group. For the love, y'all, what is happening to my world? Deep breath. I know I can't do this and yet I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me so I'm just gonna keep breathing. Field day was ho hum fun, anticlimactic for being right slam in the middle of about eight straight days of solid rain. No obstacle courses, no water games, no running wild. Still better than b...

Y'all. All the feels. Because I still see this. Trey graduated from the fifth grade last night. Amid all the pomp and circumstance that a tiny, middle of nowhere community could muster, our boy along with fifty of his friends serenaded us with goodbye songs, were honored for good grades and hard work, made all their teachers misty-eyed, and reveled in their last gasp of being big fish in a very small pond. We are so proud of Trey. Even though the night meant nothing to him, except what an embarrassment it was to have to dress nicely among nicely-dressed friends. I pause here for a massive eye roll. But it meant a lot to us. The Lord has used school to grow and change Trey, to help pull him out of fear and give him confidence and identity, to give him great friendships that we pray might stand the test of time. We love being along for this ride, this journey that is rarely the same on any given day, and of course we look forward to seeing what the future holds for Trey. ...

This one will go down as one of those dreadful, shameful, completely unredeemable life events. I'm just sorry. We learned a few years ago that the penultimate elementary school field trip at the boys' school is a roller coaster design contest along with a day at Kings Dominion, a big-deal amusement park about three hours from us. It's been in the back of my mind ever since then, that of all field trips to go on, this is the one . My family went there many times as I was growing up, and always always had a great time. Trey was iffy about going. He doesn't like rides beyond the ferris wheel, but he decided to go just for some time with his friends. So naturally I asked my ride buddy, my Dad, to come along and keep me company in those two-seater coaster cars. Trey preferred to not acknowledge his built-in chaperones at the park, so we passed him off to a larger group and set off for fun. After backtracking several times and trying to figure out the map, we were to...

Here's to what is most likely the last Mother's Day that I will be the tallest. What a gift they are, and what an honor to be their Mama. Love you, boys.

It's been long overdue, the updating of the boys' rooms. Trey's walls still baby blue, and his bed fashioned from pieces of the Target-clearance toddler bed he graduated to when Aden stole his crib. The screw that held the footboard to one side of the bed fell out every week or so, leaving one mostly-stripped screw to try and hold the bottom of the rickety frame together. A low-dollar nightstand whose, um, wood had years ago split from repeated climbing incidents, now wobbling side to side. An even lower-dollar dresser whose drawers fell apart regularly and whose top simply rested unattached. Aden's walls still nursery green, and the monstrous seventies poster bed we inherited from my great-uncle having been used about ninety-nine times too many as a fire pole or tree or periscope or rappelling rope or insert boy activity here. No screws to tighten in this ancient giant, so climbing in always came with a shimmy and jumping in with a sway. Toys everywhere , over ...

And a happy anniversary it was. Yes, Brandon and I did shirk off our parenting and other life duties for a long, magical weekend at Myrtle Beach that, aside from a mildly annoying sinus infection, was everything we have been dreaming about really since we stepped in the door of the house fifteen years ago after our honeymoon. A break so needed, so appreciated, every moment so very soaked up. We shopped at our favorite stores, ate at two of the country's most delicious local well-kept secrets, watched a Blue Angels airshow from our hotel window, enjoyed some scheduleless QT, and pushed all our own elevator buttons. All by ourselves, y'all. My only pictures are of the beach because this is my peace. My God meets me here every time. I walked a half-mile and sat for almost two near-sunset hours listening to the roar and watching the ceaseless motion and feeling the strong ocean breeze and smelling the salt, be still my heart. In the crash of waves, in the whip of ...