Happy 7th Birthday Maddox!

Dear Maddox,

You are SEVEN years old!! I can't believe it!! You have been so excited the past few weeks as we counted down until your birthday!  You were able to have your first birthday party in three years and were so excited to personally pick each child that attended your party.  You had 23 kids come to the local bowling alley to help you celebrate turning 7.  It was so much fun to watch you cheer your friends on when they knocked down all the pins.  You smiled BIG when everyone sang "Happy Birthday to You" and enjoyed opening each present!  You are still taking time to dig into each gift this week as your party was on a Sunday and we had to head to school the next day!  You have such a big personality.  You are so kind, offering others anything that is yours.  You love going to church, learning at school and playing all the sports.  You love Pokémon (especially Pikachu), Nerf guns, Hot Wheels cars, board games and any outdoor activity.  You are rough and tumble and continue to keep me on my toes!  I can't give you too much independence yet as your impulsive side kicks in and you will make careless mistakes when I try to give you a little more space to explore and discover.  You are very tender-hearted and still love cuddling with your stuffed animals (and mommy) before bed.  Taking away your stuffed animals as a consequence for bad behavior is your least favorite punishment at this time.  You are in the highest learning group in your class, and your teacher constantly tells me how smart you are.  She says you are one of the very best writers with your handwriting and adding details to your sentences.  You can read books now and do simple math computations in your head!  You love getting a goal in soccer and do it quite often!  You enthusiastically practice your memory verses for AWANA and love being a helper in the Sunday morning children's church program.  I love having you as my baby boy (even though you are no longer a baby).  I pray you continue to grow in your knowledge of Jesus as your Savior, continue to excel at making friends and continue to do your very best in all areas.  I love you so much!  You will always be my Madman! ;)

Love, 

Mommy 

The night before turning 7... last night as a 6 year old!  Maddox is upset here because we took his stuffed animals away for some poor choices at school that day.  He has had a great year but struggled with some extra impulsive behaviors his birthday week.  We have decided that he doesn't know what to do with all the additional attention leading up to turning 7!

Breakfast in Bed.... a new tradition we started for all of our family members!

Daddy brought birthday lunch from Chickfila for the family and also picked up InTown Donuts for Maddox's class to celebrate his birthday!  Grammy was volunteering on M's birthday so she got to celebrate too!

Maddox's impulsive week continued when he cut his hair at school on his birthday.  He had to take his birthday money to pay for a haircut.  He had a substitute for his special's class that day and as I have noticed, he makes poor choices during unstructured times.  Please pray for this mama and my Madman!

Also this week, Grannie and GranDan came to M's soccer game last Saturday.  Z played goalie last weekend too!  I love watching him cheer for his teammates when they score a goal!

We got to celebrate Luke and Laurel's birthday last weekend too!  I forgot to take pictures of the birthday boy and girl but I got to be Emerson's partner in one of the fun games they planned for the birthday celebrations!  I love my sweet niece! ;)

Zander loves 4th grade!  We had a Rock Your School Day last Friday.  The kids enjoyed all the fun activities the teachers planned throughout the day!

We had Career Dress Up Day yesterday.  Here is a police officer, Army officer and an Olympic marathon runner! ;)  Z had a fun day of end of quarter review rotations (a teacher sent me the picture of him in the glow room).  Maddox had a great fall party.  Mrs. McKillop (Mollie's mommy) and I were able to put together games and snacks for an afternoon of fun!  I love being at the same school as our boys!

Aunt Kelly's Wedding Weekend!

We were so excited to celebrate Aunt Kelly and Uncle Jonathan last weekend! The weather was absolutely perfect for an outdoor ceremony and reception!  Friday night, we had the rehearsal dinner to practice all of our parts.  Mommy was a bridesmaid in the wedding and the boys served as ushers to help the 7 month old ring bearer get down the aisle.  It was so much fun to get all dressed up on Saturday and celebrate this union!   

Here are some of the professional photos that Aunt Kelly sent me after the wedding weekend....

Here are some of the other fun things we have been up to since my last post.....

Maddox had a field trip to the local corn maze and pumpkin patch.  He also got to mine for gems.  I was able to go as a chaperone!  It was a fun day!

Zander decided to run for vice president of our student council.  He was selected to represent his class as one of the two representatives.  Due to his leadership position, he had the option to run for a officer position.  The elections are today!! I feel this is a great experience for him..... win or lose, it is an awesome opportunity to practice leadership skills at the school level! :)

After missing two weeks of soccer due to a hurricane and visiting family and friends back home, we were back on the soccer field on Sunday afternoon!  Maddox missed his games on Friday and Saturday due to the wedding festivities but each boy has a game this upcoming weekend and one more weekend of games before the season comes to an end.  It is so much fun cheering on these boys when they are doing something they love!

We love helping out with our church's AWANA program on Sunday nights! Last Sunday was pajama night!  (Mommy didn't change after the soccer game as you can see. ;))  We had a sliding contest and you can see that these boys get their competitive nature from their mama! ;)  Check out Z's face in this picture below.... haha!  I enjoyed racing against Maddox (even if he did beat me)!

Fall Fun!

I will always love a good fall day, wandering through a corn maze and enjoying all the festivities surrounding this season.  On Saturday, we were able to meet up with the Badens for the perfect fall outing.  All five kids enjoyed the day and found ways to entertain themselves through pumpkin bowling, cow trains, inflatables, local livestock, a picnic lunch, funnel cakes and a corn maze!  Liz and I had the opportunity to catch up in person which only happens once or twice a year.  This type of day always gets me excited about the season ahead... cool evenings, leaves changing colors and bringing out the warmer wardrobe!  The day could not have gone any better.  We had the best weather and the best of friends to spend a Saturday with!

 

Just for fun, Liz and I tried to recreate (some from memory) pictures we had taken 16 years ago when the four of us adults had a Saturday corn maze adventure.  With five kids added to the mix, I am pleased to say that the day was just as much fun in 2022 as it was in 2006!

After the corn maze adventure, we made our way to see our family members.  We loved watching the cousins play together! Grannie, GranDan, Granny V and PawPaw spoiled us while we were in town!

Here are some more honorable mentions over the last couple weeks....

We went out to dinner to celebrate Carmen's US citizenship!

We had picture day at school and I was able to snap a quick picture with my boys!

Maddox and I went to the local football team's JV game on Thursday night to cheer on one of my former students.  Maddox enjoyed the sweet treats while at the game!  Z and Z went to soccer practice while the "Ms" were at the football game!

I fulfilled my part of a bet by wearing Angie's winning team's jersey.  Florida has only lost to Tennessee twice in the last 18 years.  I am hoping this is the last time I have to wear the Tennessee orange colors!

At least Maddox was able to represent our Gators. ;)