TEN

Dear Addison,

You are officially out of the single digits.  Which is agonizing for your mama.  How did that happen so fast?  It couldn't have been ten years ago that you were born and your Dad and I looked at you with such love and wondered WHAT IN THE WORLD HAVE WE DONE?!  You, our daughter, multiplied our love in a million different ways and shattered our confidence at least that much, too.  I'm not sure that there were two more ill-equipped people on the planet to parent you.  Or mostly just me - your daddy has been a rock star from the beginning.  You are a reminder that God's grace is sufficient.

This year we watched you walk through tremendous heartache and grief.  Loss after loss, the hurt just kept coming.  In those hard moments, we saw God's victorious hand building your Faith.

We watched you navigate a difficult friendship that turned into bullying. We watched you stand your ground. We saw the freedom standing firm brought you.

I've watched your silliness, your compassion, your mothering heart, your sass and attitude and your drama.  OH THE DRAMA.  I'm buckling up for the next 10 years.

What I'm trying to say is that we are watching you develop character.  We see you growing up and practicing principles of God's Word.  And we are not just watching, Addiecakes.  We are in the trenches with you, covering you with prayer and love and grace and mercy.  We couldn't love you any more or less because of your actions, but watching growth in your life is one of the most amazing treasures of motherhood.

I pray that 10 will be such a sweet year for you.  A year with much joy.  A year of extraordinary.  Because that's who our God is.  He is extraordinary and His plans for you are extraordinary as well.  So if those plans include hard, so be it, because we have seen you do hard things, babygirl.  And He doesn't include hard with no reason.

A few months back when talking to your Uncle Brian, he was commenting on not knowing how to parent a 9 year old girl.  He thought it was because they adopted your cousin only a few months before that.  But then I told him that your dad and I didn't know any more than he did - that this was our first try at parenting a 9 year old girl.  That sums up how I feel about you being 10.  You are our first double digit kid.  And I'm not sure how to mother a 10 year old.  All I'm saying is, go easy on us, ok.  We are AMATEURS.

I love you the morest,
Mom

 

Things We Randomly Discuss

We like to talk. A lot. And about a lot.  Here are some non-deep things we like to discuss:

• The Olympic Trials.  LOVE me some olympics.
• Wanting to roadtrip with the kids. Brandy is OUT. She has no interest in that kind of crazy.  But Dareth and I feel very up to the challenge.
• Our Framily Cruise and a Trip to London (YES, both of these things are in the works, and yes, I did mean to type Framily. That's friends and family.)
• The fact that Addy is about to hit the big 1-0.  No more single digit birthdays. Hold me.
• Our first world problems. And how spoiled we are. (This is a bit deep sometimes)
• Sister Wives. And what does and doesn't appeal to us about the lifestyle.
• Magic Mike, Christian Gray/Grey and our disdain for them. 
• The heat.  It is hot every single day.  And we talk about it every. single. day.  
• Quotes from Big Bang Theory. Namely, "We are all pathetic wosers." 

What are some random things that you talk about with your friends?

 

road trip

We went on a weekend road trip. All of us.

"When we first talked to each other 

I knew we would always be friends.

Our friendship has kept on growing

And I'll be here for you to the end." Rachel Ellis

 At the fair!

 Lots of love.

 Silly mama.

 Laughter.

 Happy.

 Sea World.

 New friends.

 Family time with an ocean breeze.

Watching in wonder.

  My brother's family

Astronauts

Could it be?!

Koleson,
It is your third birthday today.  I don't have the words to express to you the plethora of feelings this evokes in me.  It has been three years since you surprised us with your early birthday.  In three years, the face of our family has changed.  You and your sister have endured and thrived under the challenges of those changes.  You two are my constant reminder at the unending Love that is our God.
Koli, You will start preschool today.  You are going to love it!  You approach life with a manner that takes it as it comes and always strive to make the best of it.  Parenting you offers me a new perspective.  You and your sister are so different, but so complementary.  She is your biggest fan, Koleson.  Even though you two will have battles in this life, she is always on your side.  She is the classic big sister and sometimes it will annoy you that she always thinks she knows best.  Please remember that she really is motivated by her desire to love and protect you.  Well, that and she really does think she knows best ;)

Three things I want to remember about you from this age:
*The way you yell "Mommy!" each time you see me after we have been apart.
*Role call:  Many days you take stock of where each person is: "Alivia at school, Addy at school, Brody at school, Gabe at school, Hudi at home, Mommy at work."
*The way you say, "I wub oo, Mom"  It melts my heart.  Every.single.time.

My prayer for you this day is that as you grow you come to know the love of the Lord as your own.  He is your champion, Koleson.  He has big plans for your life.  I am ever so grateful to have been chosen to be your mom.  I love you more than there are words.  Love, Mommy.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." Ephesians 6:10-11.

It's time for an update...

...none of us look like those pictures anymore. Unfortunately, I just got on my computer for the first time in years, so I don't have any more recent pictures in my digital possession. And my camera is broken. And I don't actually know how to put pictures on this thing unless it's in a post. Yes, I am that lame.

So, apparently this post is useless.

Happy Wednesday.

a catch all of sorts

Koleson:

...just qualified for preschool which is making his mom happy and nostalgic all at once.

...is playing soccertots. Which is an adorable mix of little people running and kicking and shouting "GOAL". Love.

...is beginning to speak in full sentences, which also makes his mom happy and nostalgic all at once.

Alivia:

...is loving the new found freedom found in the ability to read and write. I love this phase!

...just began a dance class which she is in love with. She seems to have the touch for tap, but girlfriend got her dad's flexibility, so ballet is NOT her dance.

...has begun memorizing scripture and reading it from her bible. This makes my heart incredibly happy for her.

Dareth:

...I have a new job that I love. Playing with babies and getting paid for it?? :)

...I am thankful that the Lord allows me to be really honest and raw in our relationship.

Happy Monday, Friends!