Fair Fun

 We have had a busy few weeks with fall sports, church fun and finishing out the first quarter of the school year! Today was a teacher workday and I got pictures throughout the day of the cousins having fun with Grammy! She is the best!

Beau continues to enjoy being a Houston!

We went to the fair on Monday night! Our main reason for our visit was to see Maddox’s artwork which was featured with our elementary school’s exhibit. We also enjoyed seeing other crafts, petting some animals, playing games, seeing monster trucks and eating yummy fair food! (Maddox did throw up most of the night afterwards so it might be a few years until we return!)

I got to attend Bailey’s wedding with friends last Saturday! She is such a beautiful bride! Carmen and I enjoyed a golf cart ride back to our cars afterwards!

My former student, Jacary, came to see my school and it was the coolest experience to introduce him to my own third grader (the same age he was when I was his teacher)!

Maddox was ready for picture day! Stay tuned for the prints!

Zander sometimes comes to our school from middle school. He loves seeing other friends that are dropped off too!

Maddox (and one other friend) were the first two to be multiplication masters in 3rd grade! He already knows all of his facts through the 12s! So proud of our boys! They both definitely love math as their favorite subject!

Maddox's Baptism: 09/29/2024

Maddox's baptism was on Sunday, September 29th.  Here is the video of the service. Maddox asked Jesus to be his Savior earlier this year on Monday, March 25th, after a very special Palm Sunday service in our Sunday night AWANA program had him thinking a lot more about wanting to trust in Jesus.  He had always said he planned to wait until he was older to ask Jesus into his heart (which sometimes cracked me up as we would talk).  However, on this particular Monday night, he enthusiastically said he didn't want to wait any longer.  He made sure his brother was home and that we could pray together after school on that Monday.  It is such a blessing to know I get to spend eternity with both my boys after their public profession of faith in Christ as God's Son who came to the earth and died for our sins.  We are so thankful for this gift of salvation and the promise of an eternity with our Savior.  

We were blessed to have many family members, teachers and friends come to celebrate Maddox's special day. 

In the midst of a special weekend for our family, our town back home was flooded after Hurricane Helene came through.  This left family and friends without power and water.  Most places still don't have power and water as I type this.  Below is a picture of my high school's football field during the flooding and afterwards when the waters have receded.  Due to the lack of power and water, we had Grannie, Granny V, Uncle Grant, Sib and their two dogs join us until they could go back to the comfort of their homes.  Our house has been able to host our family which is such a blessing and we have enjoyed extra time with our family.  I know they are looking forward to getting back to "normal" but it has been an adventure we will never forget!  We are thankful they are safe and that we had the opportunity to provide help during these challenging circumstances.

As a catch up post, Zack and I got to have a dinner date a couple weeks ago... thank you Grammy!  I always love uninterrupted conversations with my favorite guy!

We have been cheering on our favorite left winger at his soccer games.  He had 3 goals and 2 assists to help his team win the game 7-0 last weekend!

Zander offered to help me make tacos last week.  Beau supervised from the wood floor!

Zack has decorated for fall... we have pumpkins, flowers and festive orange lights out front!

We didn't have school on Friday due to Hurricane Helene.  The boys love turning our dining room table into a ping pong game!

Testing out Burke's old costumes on Beau.... isn't he cute?!

Beau is starting to rest more when we are home instead of constantly getting into things! haha

We celebrated Grandpa's 75th birthday at the Seafood Shack! It was such good food and great company!  Can't believe he is 3/4 of a century and he definitely doesn't look it! I'm glad I have his genes! ;)

Maddox invited friends to AWANA last Sunday night.  We went for ice cream afterwards!

We spent the weekend at the ballfield as well.... cheering on Emmy at softball on Saturday and Zander at soccer on Sunday afternoon!

We celebrated Great Grandma Nancy's birthday on the 22nd.  In her memory, we played games and ate yummy food! I love that they had a September calendar from when she was alive in the 1930s at our table!  It was cool to think about she might have been doing at that time!

Quick Catch Up Post!

We continue to love our new addition! Beau is fitting in nicely with our weekly routine and is currently trying to grab a Saturday afternoon nap while I work on my blog! No more accidents but still very much a puppy, getting into everything and having to be constantly monitored!

Maddox started his soccer season today! He had two goals and two assists today while playing striker and left back!

We got to celebrate Emma’s first birthday! Love this little girl and am blessed to be her Auntie M!

Zander’s 6th grade school picture!

Celebrated Mollie’s 9th bday! I sure do love this M & M!

Zack was in Chicago for a week of work…. I made it to all the drop offs and pick ups and we survived his absence! We were thankful when he got home Friday night!

 

Favorite Teacher!

Do you remember your favorite teacher? The teacher that made the biggest difference in your life? I got a text this summer that one of my former students (from 2006) was talking about me as his favorite teacher ever and the principal at the school he is currently working at ensured that a reunion was made possible. It is hard to understand one’s influence on a daily basis but I’m so thankful that Jacary showed me I was making an impact all those years ago. He said I taught him how to be a leader and be responsible. He said I would never be forgotten for the impact I had on his life. Talk about a day to remember!:) I’m so thankful for this opportunity to see the young man I met as a boy in third grade. A young man that is a talented artist (designed his school’s logo for this year- see it in the picture above), a hard worker and has a heart for helping others.

We took the boys to see the local Carolina Core soccer game! We had a blast until a couple lightning delays caused us to only see part of the first half of the game! We hope to be back in the future!

Beau (a.k.a. The Log in this picture) continues to keep us on our toes… thank goodness he is cute! Maddox wanted to take the picture below…

Cheering on #70 on the soccer field is one of my favorite things in this fall season!

We had an iguana walk into our yard and fortunately Chris came to the rescue while Zack was out of town with Zander at a soccer game! He has now been relocated to a reptile zoo….. what on earth?? It was the strangest thing!

Zander was picture day ready this week! You wouldn’t even know he shaved a portion of the top of his head with his daddy’s razor as he was using it like a brush one night in the shower….. boys…. Enough said!

Back into the Routine!

We are starting to get into a “normal” school/work routine. Beau is also adjusting to life in the Houston household! He enjoys his crate when we are away for the day and then  gets excited about his family returning in the evenings! He is quite the climber and loves to dig into plastic bags… two habits we are trying to break. He continues to have a positive attitude and allows us to get uninterrupted sleep through the night!

Emerson and Maddox are having fun in the mornings before school in my office and Maddox sometimes helps me with car rider duty in the afternoons.

Maddox kept me company while giving blood this past week! I continue to be surprised at how calm he is without his brother, cousins or friends around! Haha 

We were able to have our annual pool day with Zack’s college friends! 

Zander is back on the field for soccer! He made two of the five goals in his first game this weekend …. Helping his team win 5-3! He has two more games, at least, for this tournament weekend. 

Zander is learning how to play the violin in orchestra and has rocked the first two weeks of middle school! He came home from school on Friday and got the grass mowed before his soccer tournament weekend! I’m loving having this sweet middle schooler in our home!