Happy 11th Birthday Maddox!

Dear Maddox,

I cannot believe you are 11 years old! We were watching an old video of your two-year-old self saying your name ("Maddox Whoston") and I just cannot believe how fast these years are flying by!  You are doing awesome in 5th grade, getting all As for the first quarter of school and representing your class as a student council representative (such a great leader for your class and within our school).  I appreciate how well-behaved you are and see other 5th graders not making the right choices and continue to be thankful for your discernment and patience with your classmates.  Some of my favorite things to do with you right now are looking at old pictures and videos as we cuddle before bed, practicing your lines for our children's choir Christmas performance (that will be a whole separate post in December), discussing the books you are currently reading as you are practicing for the school's Battle of the Books team, going on car rides with you to soccer practices/games and cheering you on at each sporting event (right now you are currently playing all the positions in soccer and are such a leader on your team-- giving directions to teammates and following the coach's advice during the game, within the next month you will be getting back into basketball). You have finished all the verses in AWANA to successfully earn the Timothy Award at the end of the year (being the first fifth grader within your cohort to do this).  You continue to be a leader at church as well, helping as a media operator on Sunday mornings for the audio visual team. You recently ran for student council president and I loved that your speech focused on being a leader who is kind, encouraging, respectful and smart.  You shared how you would help get additional recess equipment for the playground areas and create a Book Buddy program to help students make new friends.  You have such a tender heart and continue to show empathy to others (sharing anything you have and helping to ensure others are having a good day).  You had a lot of sugar on your actual birthday- cinnamon rolls for breakfast in bed, ice cream and donuts (thanks to Sage having a birthday the same day) at lunch (and thanks to Grammy for bringing Chickfila since daddy had a meeting), ice cream with dinner at the Loop and donuts with your soccer team at the end of practice to finish out the day.  This year's birthday was on the same day of the week you were actually born.  I kept thinking about what I was doing that day, leading up to your birth.  As I waited for soccer practice to end, the moon was full and huge in the night sky.  I decided to research the name of this particular full moon.  It was called the "Hunter's Moon" (supermoon) and I thought I remembered there being a full moon on the night you were born.  Sure enough, after a quick Google search, there was a "Hunter's Moon" (supermoon) on that same day 11 years ago! The weather was perfect for your 11th birthday and I think you had a blast from start to finish!  You even got a surprise the night before your birthday with a Happy Birthday sign in our front yard (thank you Grammy).  I love how you still enjoy the magic and mystery of moments like this, spinning a whole story of how a fairy could have placed those letters out front like the tooth fairy still collects your teeth.  I want to soak up your childlike innocence for as long as possible. For your birthday celebration with friends this year, you decided to go to Partee Shack for unlimited miniature golf and go kart racing.  You invited four of your best buds (Junior, Beckett, Jackson and Austin) to help you celebrate #11.  I think this birthday will be hard to top but there is always next year! ;) I love you so very much and continue to be so grateful that God gave us YOU! 

Love, 

Mommy

Wedding Weekend in Maine

Linds and I had a sister adventure this past week. For the first time in almost 20 years, we got to take a flight together just the two of us. Without our parents, husbands and kids in tow, I don’t think we were quite sure what to do with ourselves at first. However, after a caffeinated beverage from Starbucks and a couple hours of catching up while waiting for our flights, we quickly settled into a sister getaway to see our youngest cousin get married in Maine. 

As soon as we got into the Bangor Airport, Aunt Glenda picked us up from the airport and we headed to meet the family for an intimate dinner at the Pentagoet (owned by two of Casey’s friends). We were able to spend time with our extended family and celebrate Connor and Caleb’s birthdays. 

We went into Acadia National Park on Friday, stopping at Thunder Hole and Jordan Pond. While the temperatures started to drop and the precipitation came in, we were able to get some pretty great pictures of the family in the park. We stopped in Bar Harbor for a lobster roll and some shopping in the afternoon before getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. 

Casey and Ryan hosted the rehearsal dinner at their home, The Belvedere. We had oysters and pizza. It was a laid back evening in the barn before the big wedding day.

On the wedding day, we kept ourselves busy setting up for the reception with a “camp” theme. Ian and Kaitlyn travel to many national parks and it was evident that they love outdoor adventures through the little details of the reception (s’mores by the fire, custom bandanas, lanterns, fresh flowers, etc.) While it was quite cold for an outdoor wedding in Maine, Casey and Ryan’s property was the perfect location for a beautiful night. We danced the night away, moving from the wedding tent to the barn which offered more heat. Congrats to the newlyweds! It was a wonderful weekend celebrating them, surrounded by family and meeting new friends. 

Soccer Saturdays, Sundays and all the other days of the week!

With both boys in travel soccer this year and Zander playing on his school’s middle school team, most weeks have us on the soccer field 6-7 days! This past weekend was no exception. Zander had a local game Friday night and then a tournament about an hour away on Saturday and Sunday. We had the remnants of a hurricane come through our area which made for wetter and colder conditions on Saturday. The boys and I stayed in the car between games, reading books, resting and playing on some technology as we waited for the next game to start. Both were soaked as they enjoy being on the turf regardless of the weather! Fortunately, I packed extra clothes to ensure the ride home (and the wait time between games) had us in dry clothes. Zander’s team won their tournament and were very excited to get their champion medals. Zack got to enjoy the post game celebration on Sunday while I was back home with Maddox for his home game and Awana at church. Maddox’s team won 7-5 and Maddox earned a hat trick scoring at least three of the goals on Sunday. The weather warmed up and dried up before the first whistle of his game (although the warming up process before the game was rather wet). Maddox finished his 4th awana book on Sunday and has officially earned his Timothy Award for his 5th grade year. He is the first fifth grader to do it this year and we are so proud of his commitment to reading and memorizing scripture. In other soccer news, Zander’s middle school team finished its season yesterday by losing in the playoffs to Wiley. The KMS team has shown so much growth this year and Zander loved playing with some of his buddies from previous travel seasons. The team finished up 2nd in their conference. For now, we will continue our evenings and weekends in the world of travel soccer as we await the start of boys’ volleyball (Z’s tryouts are next week) and basketball (for Maddox). Finally, we are embracing fall at our house. I love the simple ways that Zack adds details to our front walkway to connect with whatever holiday or season is approaching.  Hello Fall!

All the Sports

We have fit in a lot of sports this past week! In between all the soccer (Houston boys), softball (Emmy) and baseball (Eli), we continue to see friends (thank you Carmen for meeting me for weekly runs while Maddox has practice) and work hard on all the academic tasks within the week (homework and reading books). You will see below that Maddox sometimes fits in his nightly reading on the car rides home from soccer practice. He also works hard memorizing his weekly Bible verses for AWANA (he is almost finished with his fourth book, and then he will have earned the Timothy Award). I feel so blessed to have been able to cheer on Z at three soccer games this week (two for his school team and one for his travel team). Maddox had a tournament this weekend and Zack took point on the Saturday games while I was with Zander (complete with a Waffle House breakfast before his local game). I made the trek with Maddox early Sunday morning for the second day of the tournament. They came up short in the semifinals with a 2-0 loss but it was fun to cheer on both soccer stars this weekend! I also love that I can catch the Kennedy kids in action. It is such a blessing that they live close so I can see them for weeknight games nearby. Finally, Maddox found out this week that he holds the current pacer test record for his school. I was testing students in the classrooms right outside the gym on Friday so I was able to snap a picture of him while his class cheered him on as he beat the previous record from earlier in the week. ;)

Fast Forward Toward Fall

I’m always sad when summer is over. I love the warmer weather, the longer days and the more relaxed schedule that summer has to offer. It has been fast and furious as we have headed into fall. We are busy every evening after finishing a day of school and work! I worked on our October calendar last night and noticed it was quite colorful with all our extracurricular commitments. It is a blessing to be in this busy stage of life where we enjoy events at church, school and within the sports’ arenas. The kids are enjoying school and continue to excel academically. We’ve fit in some dress up days which always amp up the excitement in an elementary school. The boys continue to enjoy the high intensity on the soccer pitch and they are gaining leadership roles at school and at church. This past week, Zander found out that he was voted on as the treasurer of Hawk Leaders at school. Maddox (as a fifth grader) helps on the audio/visual team for his children’s church services in Kidstreet and he was voted on by his class to be their student council representative. One of my favorite things from this past weekend was driving Zander to his soccer game about 1.5 hours away from home. Talking to my teenager the whole ride there made me truly appreciate the stage of life we are in. We were able to celebrate Grandpa’s birthday this past week and my parents made it happen for me to get Cracker Barrel “take out” in memory of Grandma Nancy’s 95th birthday. I’m trying to catch up with friends whenever possible. Carmen met me at Maddox’s practice last week and we were able to chat and run while Maddox had soccer practice. I’m truly blessed by the family, friends and schedule I’m currently experiencing.

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer

Now that Zander is playing for his middle school team and BOTH boys are playing travel soccer, we are fitting in a lot of time on the pitch these days! Zander played three games in the last seven days and Maddox played two. It has been quite warm in the afternoons and weekends which means mama is having a “two shower” day to account for all the sweat! Haha! Zander played goalie for a bit this past week for his school team which is something he has never really done but did pretty well in the position. Although I will add that I enjoy seeing #10 (school number)/ #70 (CCFC number) playing his typical offensive position as winger or striker. Maddox got recognized for his stellar performance at the tournament a couple weeks ago by being nominated for Team of the Week! While he has played goalie in the past and does it quite well, I love watching him as a winger, striker or in the 10 spot! Here’s to a lot more soccer this fall!

Grammy and Grandpa joined the three youngest cousins for Breakfast with a Buddy at our school on Friday and made these kids super happy to begin their day! Finally, we got Zander’s 8th grade school picture and Maddox’s Fifth Grade Fly By submission. It’s hard for me to believe how fast this year is already going …. Please slow down time!

Labor Day Weekend 2026

Zack was out of town all last week for work. Due to some missed flights based on weather delays, he drove through the night from DC to make it home to us on Friday. Beau enjoyed keeping us company as we shuttled the boys to all their extracurricular activities! On Friday night, we got to enjoy Carolina Core’s final game of the season. An added bonus was getting to join Aunt Kelly and her family in her company’s suite for free food and air conditioning! On Saturday, the boys invited their best friends (Jackson and Austin) over to enjoy Partee Shack and then a sleepover. We took the boys to church on Sunday. Zander went to lunch and Top Golf with his youth small group afterwards. On Monday, we spent a few hours at Urban Air. We did the ropes course, the sky rider, the climbing wall and trampolines. It was a fun family outing after all the plans we’ve had recently! I can’t believe it is already time to head back to work and school for another week! The weekends go by way too fast!