Growing up.

I love this boy with all of my heart. 

And in just one short day, he'll be back in school, walking the halls as a first grader, and to be completely honest? 

I don't like it. 

I know parents are supposed to be happy for their kids as they grow and mature and move on in life, but it is a hard thing for me to do. I don't want to send him back. Not yet. Summer's not over for me and I want him here with me and his sister each day enjoying these beautiful moments with us. 

I always have heard of parents jumping for joy when the song and business of Back to School starts, but I will never be one of them. I can promise that.

Because really...this summer was epic. 

Maybe not in the sense of the word "epic" that most people would think about, but for me it surely was. 

This was the first summer that Magdalen was talking like a big girl.

The first summer that Maddox was reading.

The first summer that both of them could swim by themselves in the pool without me. 

The first summer that they really rode bicycles together.

The first summer that they slept in a bit and woke up excited to play together before coming to us.

The first summer that Maddox fearlessly started mountain biking with Chad. And was a natural!

The second summer of him playing ball.

(Even on the days when he would finally hit the ball after the 25th pitch, he never gave up. He never acted stressed. He just gave it his cheerful, happy all and always wore a smile. While my heart was silently breaking on the sidelines for him. )

I could go on about how amazing it was, but you get the idea. It was a Big Kid Summer.

So, this Maddox....my eldest....my boy.....

He has always had my heart and he always will. 

He truly is a joy to parent and love and watch mature.

He loves his sister with a fierceness and it was a beautiful thing to watch them become best friends again over the summer and truly enjoy so much time just the two of them. They made up so many games and ideas together and I wish I could bottle that up and live in it forever. 

But of course that is unrealistic. And on the other side of the being-sad-coin is the pride and thankfulness I feel in watching him grow. 

He is such a gentleman.

And creative.

And patient.

And persevering.

And an intelligent little guy.

He was my reading buddy all summer and he probably knocked out 25 real chapter books all by himself since Kindergarten ended. I was impressed at what a little bookworm he became in such a short amount of time. 

More proof that he's growing and it's never going to stop.

So......Thursday morning we'll wake up, do the first day of school rush, take the obligatory front porch photo with his baby sister and off we'll go to drop him off for another wonderful year at his school. (Where I force my tears behind my smile, because let's get real....what really kills me is watching him and Magdalen hug and say goodbye to each other. It's torture! )

And I'll embrace the school year once again, like a good mama letting her baby fly.....while secretly wishing for the next summer to hurry, hurry, hurry and get here. ; )

9 Things Before Nine{AM}

It's almost the end of July. I honestly don't believe it and am not really accepting it quite yet. Here's my 9 before Nine for the day.

1.  School starts in 2.5 weeks and I'm in denial. I keep wondering why everyone is shopping for school clothes and supplies when I'm out in the stores. Wha????!!!

2. I quit Facebook last Thursday night. How's that for a mini surprise? : )

3. I finished my 14th book of the year last night at midnight. I hope to post a list of my favorites later this week.

4. Yesterday, Chad and I got the kids back after they were at my Mom's for 4 days. Partly for our anniversary and partly for a mini vacation at home. It was blissful. Thank you, Mom!

5. We celebrated 13 years of marriage last Wednesday. I still don't feel old enough to have been married that long!

6. Our house has been on the market for 10 days and no one has looked at it. Discouraging? A little, but it's either meant to be or not, so....

7. Chad surprised me BIG TIME with a new MacBook Pro last week as his gift to me. I'm typing on her right now. And loving it. Thank you, love!

8. Back to the house thought....we can't decide where we want to live, if and when this house sells. City + convenience + close to work/school or country + land + privacy + farther away. I'm tired of thinking about it and so is Chad.

9. I went shopping! I bought dresses! I feel pretty! ; ) Just kidding. I had some extra money allotted for clothing which is a rarity and it was so nice to go and get the things I needed.

I'm sure I'll elaborate on one or more of these items later in the week. Happy Monday!

9 Things Before Nine{AM}

Hmmm...so much to talk about from this past week. I'll stick to my tidy list for this morning and post some fun things later in separate posts. : )

1. Yesterday, we attended our very first Pine Car Derby at Maddox's school and even though it was 6 hours long, we had a great time! Watching his face light up as he watched his car succeed was so fun for us and even more priceless was how he accepted the cheering and trophy. He is his father. Humble, yet quietly confident. Love you, baby boy.


2. Chad finished reading The Hunger Games last night and when I came to bed, I saw it on my night table where he left it for me and my turn with it. I'm excited to start this series! Is anyone else reading it or read it already? I've heard it's really great.

3. Magdalen is talking a LOT. It has amazed me. Apparently, it has impressed Maddox because this morning at breakfast, as his sister was jabbering away, he looked at me and said "Maggie is really talking all the time now, isn't she?" with a huge grin on his face. He's so proud of her. : )

4. We ate lunch with my dear friend Ashlie and her family on Saturday after a long time of not seeing them. Every single time that happens, it makes me chuckle inside. Ashlie and I spend the entire time talking as fast as we can and jumping from topic to topic because we can't catch up fast enough. She's one of those  amazing friends who gets me and we can always pick up where we were last time. I think I have a post on that whole idea coming soon.

5. We are thankfully safe from any storms we had this past week, although we did hide out in our storm shelter for a little bit. Unfortunately, my hometown was hit hard again less than a year after the original tornado destruction. Please keep all of the people affected in your prayers.

6. Chad and I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of our babies playing together in the hallway and in their bedrooms back and forth. Laughing and giggling and teamwork. A most beautiful sound. We have finally made it! ; )

7. My dad won this amazing award recently at a big event. He won the Man of the Year Award at CASBA (Cookie and Snack Bakers Association) Conference in Orlando last month. It is a huge honor and he was totally surprised, which is a hard thing to do with my dad. ; ) This group has been around since 1970 and Dad has been a part of it for 10 years. I'm proud of him and the hard work he does and the success he has achieved in his own business. Way to go, DAD! (Thanks to my stepmom, Donna, for the photo.)


8. I have been asked to do a guest post by one of my favorite bloggers. I am pretty excited about it and obviously, will share the link after I submit it and she publishes it. A cool post on something she has written is coming soon here, as well. 


9. I'm thinking today on all the posts I need to catch up on. Some randomness, some deep thoughts that were triggered from attending Blissdom, and some PARTIES!!! I have slacked on posting some of the parties I've done or have co-planned. So many great ideas and photos to share. I'm thinking of doing a week of party posts. How does that sound? ; )


Happy Monday!