Happy 9th Birthday Zander!

Dear Zander,

You are officially nine now!  I am officially in shock that we are already here!  How are you in third grade??  This year you have faced so many milestones.  The most important event of this year was accepting Christ as your Savior and following in believer's baptism.  I will always feel that this decision will be the most important one of your life and am so thankful that you are passionate about what the Lord did for you all those many years ago.  You enthusiastically memorize verses each week for AWANA.  You are going to finish your second book for the year in just a couple weeks.  You also love leading worship in KidStreet and being the laser pointer to help students follow along with the words.  You have discovered a love for reading this year by reading the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books.  You will stay up late into the evenings just so you can finish a book.  We currently have the book fair going on at school and you have decided to take some of your birthday money to buy a few more books from the series!  Also, you continue to be an incredible mathematician.  You have all of your multiplication facts memorized and can do many math problems in your head.  I equally love that you aren't arrogant about what you know in school.  You never mention to others what you know compared to what they may or may not know.  I am thankful you are a good friend to so many.  This year you tried soccer and basketball for the first time.  You loved both and have a natural athletic ability that you didn't inherit from your mama! haha  You seem to grasp each new sport quickly and have the motivation to really try to do your best.  This past weekend you were asked to pitch for the first time ever in baseball.  I was a nervous wreck since we had never practiced this skill but you struck out your first batter!  You also had an incredible double play as shortstop to end the game (tagged the runner going to third and then touched 2nd base)!  I also appreciate how kind you are to your brother (at times ;)).  You are getting better at sharing with him and also ensuring he is able to join you in whatever activity you are involved in at the time. He looks up to you and will continue to do that his entire life.  I pray you always give him a positive example to follow.  I am so thankful you are the boy who made me a mommy.  I can't imagine starting this journey of parenting with anyone else.  We have learned so much over the last nine years and I can't wait to see what the next nine years olds..... although time can slow down just a little bit! ;) I love you with all of my heart!  I hope it was a wonderful 9th birthday, Lil Z!

Love, 

Mommy

Last night as an 8 year old, at Maddox's ball game....

Tucking in my eight-year-old for the last time....

Zander created the tradition of breakfast in bed for birthdays.  He requested flaky layer biscuits and fruit..... he was just waking up here!

First birthday ever celebrated at school on his actual birthday!  Age 5 was on a Saturday,  Age 6 was on Easter Sunday, Age 7 was "sheltering at home" and Age 8 was a "Work from Home Wednesday".....

I brought cupcakes to his class at lunchtime.  He also got a picture with his "birthday twin", Mrs. Townsend!  She said since they celebrate their birthday with Queen Elizabeth, they must wear crowns! haha

Zander came home to a new bike from Grammy and Grandpa!  He needed a bigger bike and they got him the perfect one!  Z ate dinner at a local Mexican restaurant with Aunt Lindsey, Emerson, Eli, Grammy, Grandpa, Daddy, Maddox and Mommy! 

On Saturday, we celebrated with his first "official" birthday party since he turned 5!  The birthday boy requested laser tag so we went to Spare Time for bowling, laser tag and arcade games!  A lot of his classmates joined us!  We also enjoyed having the Bakewells, Kennedys, Whites and Williams' family to celebrate the birthday boy! The 15 kids played laser tag first and then Daddy and the uncles (by marriage or by friendship) took their kids for round 2!  It was so much fun to watch all the kids have a blast!

A few other memorable moments from the week..... Zander's game where he pitched for the first time!  Grannie and GranDan came to visit and got to see a great game!

The Kona Ice truck came by school one day last week.... Maddox is living his best life!

Maddox had a game this past week.... check out his stance in the outfield!

We had our spring festival at school so while the boys were at the baseball field, I was getting pied in the face over and over again!  I kept telling myself it was for the children! haha ;)

Easter 2022

 Happy Easter from the Houstons!

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

This is what happens when Zack gets the camera! ;)

After church, we went to Grammy and Grandpa's for a delicious Easter lunch.  The kids got to have an Easter egg hunt as well!

We were able to celebrate Aunt Lindsey's birthday with a delicious dessert!

After rest time, we went on a little adventure hike!

Other events from the weekend included breakfast at Waffle House.  Zack always loves picking tunes on the jukebox and I love that he is passing along that passion to our oldest!  Zander used some of his allowance money to pick a few favorite songs while we ate.

Also, we were able to participate in our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  This was another event that hasn't taken place in two years, so it was wonderful to see our neighbors at the playground up the street!

The Easter bunny visited our house.  Zander has started to ask if mommy and daddy help Santa and the Easter bunny, and I have had to say "yes".  He hasn't asked many more questions about the logistics, but it is bittersweet to watch them grow up!  Maddox almost caught the Easter bunny coming down the hallway with a bag full of candy, so it is always an adventure ensuring the holidays include some of that childlike wonder!  I pray my boys always remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas and Easter.  What an incredible Savior we have that would come to earth as a lowly baby and die a horrible death to take away the sins of the world.   His resurrection proves that he not only conquered sin but death as well, giving us a hope and a future eternity in heaven for all those that believe in Him.  Happy Easter!

Spring Break 2022

We had a very full and fun spring break!! Thank goodness we still have the weekend to "recover" and relax before we start back to school to finish strong!  Grandpa took all the boys (and me) to the Martinsville race last Saturday night.  It was a great way to start our spring break!  While it was quite cold and there was some rain/sleet prior to the start of the race, we were able to see all 400 laps under the stadium lights and even got to walk on the track prior to the start of the race!  It was definitely memorable with the weather and the cars racing around the short track!

On Monday, the boys and I made our annual bike ride/run around Salem Lake.  We tried this for the first-time last spring break and the boys wanted to tackle the seven-mile loop again this year! I am so proud of them! There was no complaining at all this year... they really are growing up!  Maddox loved seeing all the turtles sunbathing as we made our way around the lake.  He would have me stop to take pictures periodically to document the turtles!

On Tuesday, we loaded up a 15-passenger van and made our way north toward West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Boomer and Zack had to work, but Linds and I had the same spring break which made it a perfectly timed trip to see some old friends, say goodbye to Great Grandpa and Great Grandma along with driving around the town Grandpa grew up in.  The kids did great in spite of the many miles.  They definitely kept us on our toes and probably made it easier to get through the tougher parts of our trip.

Great Grandma had requested her ashes be spread at a local Methodist camp (Jumonville) where she would take in the views of the town (Brownsville) she grew up in down below.  It seemed fitting that we could make this happen on what would have been their 73rd wedding anniversary, April 13th.  While the forecast was calling for rain the whole day, we had the most perfect weather.  I am still in awe of how God works even the little things out to make for a positive opportunity to say goodbye one last time.  Fortunately, there was no one else at the top of the mountain as we were spreading both of their ashes and we were able to have a few moments to remember them both.  We played "Deep Purple" (Grandma's favorite song) and "Georgia" (Grandpa's favorite song) along with singing a few hymns that Grandma always loved.  I am always impressed with how Grammy knows just what to say to make any experience applicable for the next generation.  She was able to articulate what we were doing for the kids to understand while also intertwining scriptures that support our faith that we are formed from the dust and to the dust we will return.  While we know they are no longer on this earth and pray they are experiencing an eternal future that is so much greater than anything we can comprehend, we still miss them deeply.  I continue to trust the promises of Revelations that show we will reside in a place where there are no more tears, and all will be made new.... what an incredible time that will be!  I pray that if you are reading this, you will be joining me in that perfect place one day.  I also hope that these pictures capture the experience of saying "so long" to one generation as the latest generation enthusiastically takes it all in.... it is bittersweet for sure!

After we spread their ashes, the sun started to peek through a cloud right over the cross.  It was such a gentle reminder of God's promises and provisions.  It is not lost on me that we were able to do this between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.  A week where our Savior went from being celebrated to despised to crucified and rejected to victoriously conquering the grave!  It is because of this week that I have a hope and a future, one where all these generations will come together one day to celebrate our Risen Savior!

After visiting Jumonville, we stopped at the local cemetery to see my grandpa's parents and siblings' gravestones.  We also ate lunch at the diner where my grandparents and dad had many fond memories!  It was so special to have my dad show my kids where he grew up.  He was able to point out his childhood house and little league field where he played baseball.  It was such a memorable day for many reasons!  I am so thankful that Grandpa was so intentional about all the stops we made to help the next generation connect to his childhood.

We took the kids to swim in the indoor pool when we got back to our hotel.  They needed some time to get their energy out and the pool was the perfect place for that!  I always loved indoor pools on our travels as kids so I hope they will remember this part of the trip as well!

Both nights we stayed in a hotel in West Virginia.  This gave us the opportunity to see one of my dad's best friends.  Their family is like family to us.  Leigh is the reason that Linds, Zander and Emerson have "Leigh" in their name.  We had to take a picture to document all the "Leighs".  

Today (Good Friday), we were able to dye Easter eggs at Grammy and Grandpa's house!  The kids did a great job with minimal spills.  Each year this experience seems to get easier.  I think that just means that these cousins are growing up!  I am so thankful they have each other to share all of these holidays with!

Back to Baseball!

The boys started out with baseball as their first organized sport they ever played years ago and are back at it for the spring season.  While the t-ball games are long gone, these boys are still enjoying being on the field with Z playing kid pitch (minors) this year and M playing machine pitch!  The weather has been a little wet this week which made for some rescheduled games, etc.  Zander was able to play one game this week (mommy forgot to actually take pictures while we are at the game) where he was walked during one of his at-bats and he struck out on his second time up to the plate.  He had some good plays in the infield and while he says he believes this is his last season playing baseball (to focus more on soccer), he is enjoying the time with his teammates!

Maddox had two games this week and had singles or doubles with RBIs at each of his times up to bat!  He also tried playing catcher for the first time (even after never practicing this position) and had a great play as "pitcher" to get the runner out at home with a quick pass to the catcher behind the plate!  He is loving every minute of this season and might hold onto baseball a little while longer.... which mommy secretly hopes he will! ;)  One of Maddox's best friends from school came to watch him play last night which was so sweet that Austin wanted to come out and encourage his friend! I love the friendships these boys are making at church, at school and on the ballfield!    

When #10 is not on the ballfield, he is helping daddy with yardwork.  He loves helping daddy plant the flowers, move the mulch and pretty much any activity he can do that keeps him outside!

We had our Sunday school class's Easter egg hunt this past Sunday.  After two years of no egg hunts due to Covid, it felt great to experience some normalcy and watch kids (young and older) run around scooping up eggs filled with candy!

We lost power on Tuesday night due to an accident that happened down the street from us.  We took it as an opportunity to get a few extra cuddles and enjoy time together as a family by candlelight.  I will admit that while I won't want the power to go out on a regular basis, it was nice having a few moments with my boys without the obligations of schoolwork, housework or technology distractions!

I helped coordinate a field day for kindergartners who had won an incentive for collecting the most money for LLS.  It was so fun getting to check in on Maddox throughout the morning, another perk of mommy working at the same school! ;)

Mrs. Mize is one of our school counselors! I love how she loves on our kids and helped me implement this field day.... it was definitely a team effort to wrangle approximately 125 kindergartners and 30 student council members that were facilitating each station!  (As you can see, I needed a megaphone! haha)

On Thursday night, we had our annual Leap into Kindergarten event to welcome our rising kindergartners to our school.  We provided each child with a bookbag and filled it up with school supplies as they moved between each station where they were also able to meet our kindergarten teachers!  This year, Emerson was able to participate.  Eli enjoyed the stations as well and is equally optimistic about joining Aunt Megan in the near future!  Until then, I can't wait to have Emmy walking the halls of our school in a few short months!

After a very busy week, we are officially on spring break!  Stay tuned for all our fun adventures.....