our hopes

the parent becomes the student

today was a sad day. spencer turned in all of his football equipment.

last night the team finished the season with a win and a perfect 6-0 record! the past eleven weeks I’ve become a student to my wise thirteen year old son. I’ve learned so many things about myself, my son, and of course football. these are a few of my favorite photos of this awesome season with my most important lessons learned sprinkled in.

where you start doesn’t determine where you’ll finish.

spencer started the season on third string defense. he spent all of his early practices doing “drills” while he watched others practicing plays. he finished the season as the starting outside linebacker and second string wingback.

“you never get anywhere with fear in your way.”

I was fairly sure football was going to be out of Spencer’s comfort zone, but I didn’t realize how much until I read these words that he wrote inside a thank you note to one of his coaches. how true are his words? at times we’ve all let fear prevent us from traveling down an unexplored road.

there’s life on the sideline.

the myth is that all the action takes place out on the field. I now know there’s a lot to be learned and a lot to be shared when you’re watching from the sideline.

dedication...putting your entire self into it.

spencer never hid from responsibility. he was always willing to do what needed to be done to make the team better. from carrying equipment in from the practice field, to filling in at a new position, to practicing it one more time, he was dedicated to being the best football player he could be.

isn’t it funny how sometimes the parent becomes the student.

pressed

(a self portrait from cer's memory book)

I'm feeling a bit pressed for time this week.

last week of school- enough said.

one memory book luncheon, one field day, one slurpie walk, four baseball games, five exams, year-end gifts, many thank you notes, a haircut, three father's day gifts, and a weekend road trip to pack for makes me a very pressed mama. I'll be back when summer has started for us.

lunch box notes

during spencer's elementary school years, I added little notes to his lunch box. sometimes hand written, sometimes a lunch box note from a book. not every day or every packed lunch, but enough to let him know I'd be thinking about him while he was away from me. but moving onto middle school meant a stop to mom's little notes...until now.

so I had this idea. what if the note was small? small enough to be "hidden" in the bottom of his lunch box, visible only to him. something he wouldn't have to take out of his lunch box to read. something he could just glance at and know that I still think of him each day. the "what if" turned into these customized lunch box notes.

I typed my meaningful messages up on the computer; printed them out on white cardstock; matted them on black and then colorful paper; ran them thru the laminator; cut them out; and now they're ready to go into the lunch box.

I know you'll have phrases specific to your children, but these are the notes I started with:

*do your best, and we'll be proud of you!

*say "hello" to a student you don't know today.

*do something nice for someone today!

*you make wise decisions.

*you are a great friend!

*have fun at school today!

*make wise choices today.

*help a teacher today!

*you are fun!

*go out and learn something today!

we're entering the time in spencer's life when:

he needs to know I'm here waiting for him.

he needs to know he's special, just as he is.

he needs to know wise choices are rewarded.

this is just one little way I can keep reminding him of things he needs to know ... more than anything else, that I love him.

the first full day

while the boys' actual first day of school was yesterday, today was their first full day. which means it was also my first full day home alone in twelve years! the morning rain subsided long enough for both boys to ride their respective buses to school, and as I walked in the back door, I thought to myself, "so now what?"

my "now what" turned into cleaning and purging room by room. spencer's dresser needed a good purge and straighten; connor's toys got the same treatment; and our bedroom was put back together after our weekend away. after working in the kitchen, I started my laundry loads, had a bite of lunch, took a quick nap, then started working my business.
I left these little notes for the boys as I left each of their rooms. I'm thinking my lunch box note idea needs to take some physical form tomorrow.

I learned a few things today:
* raising independent, confident young men is bittersweet.

* the house is extremely quiet when the boys aren't here.

* I find comfort in cleaning and organizing.

* routines make me run smoother.

* too much stuff makes me tired, so I have to purge it.

* my boys bring activity, noise, conflict but even more love, joy, and fun!

* thoughtful emails from close friends give comfort in difficult situations, thanks lease.

my day finished with the first sight of fall in michigan

game time with connor

and the love of a good magazine.

I want to seize the new opportunities this time gives me, enjoy new experiences, and grow and mature along with the boys. Lord, stay with me as I go day by day through this year.

extreme room makeover

so, poor connor has been a traveler of sorts over the past few months, while we have been making slow progress in his room makeover. I purchased the bedding and rug several months ago. mark removed the window {that the previous owners left after an addition was put on the back of the house}, and we patched it the best we could. then the progress slowed. painting the ceiling and repainting the walls was just too much for me to tackle without mark. every so often I would get really inspired and clean out connor's room as to motivate myself to continue making progress. he would then sleep in either spencer's room or ours, while I decided what I was going to do. poor little guy. no bed for his little head.

if you're anything like mark and I, you get some extra gumption when you know family or friends are coming to visit. we have this happen each time someone comes to stay. some are small unnoticeable changes, some are large obvious changes, but all are on our list of house projects needing a little push in the right direction.

so uncle rich, aunt linda, and andelyn came to stay for this past weekend. guess what had to be finished? yep...connor's room HAD to be done before they arrived friday night. I'm happy to say it was!! but only because mark and I worked together as a team to complete the work.

here are a few photos of our semi completed room- I say semi only because I want to order a saying from Uppercase Living for his large wall beside his bed and need to find a poster frame large enough for clone wars to be hung up. enjoy...

on thursday after we completed our work, mark made this sign to post on connor's door:

when connor realized he couldn't go into his room until after school, he made this sign for mark:

connor pre-reveal:

we got a thumbs up of approval:

I learned a few things during this process.

1. mark is the starter; I am the finisher.
2. mark cuts in; I roll.
3. I don't have to do everything by myself.
4. it's fun to have a partner working with you.
5. little changes mean a lot to a five year old.
6. be prepared for your older child to envy your younger child.
7. be sure to have documentation of older child's previous room makeover at the ready.
8. have lots of pain medicine on hand for body aches.
9. simple is best.
10. I find joy, joy, joy in a little boy's smile!

the end of phase 1

lots of teeth happenings around here today! spencer completed phase 1 of 2 today by getting his braces off and retainers in.

this is a photo from our appointment to get his braces on:and a good shot of him late in the process with braces:
and the most beautiful...braceless spencer!

dr. brust predicted over the next month spencer would loose 4-5 baby teeth. they're all loose and ready to break out. guess what? one came out today in a french toast stick at lunch! not sure it made it home, but one down, 4 to go.

september saturday summary

back to school

our week has been filled with wonderful memories.

it feels like just yesterday that I was taking spencer to the "kindergarten doors" and pushing baby connor in the stroller. it was all so new and so emotional. now spencer is in fifth grade and allowed to {finally} ride is bike to school alone. yes, I said alone. and yes, I allow him. we're ten minutes from school by bike, and he meets a few friends along the route. we took a few trial runs on monday for timing and bike lock practice, and tuesday he was ready! {isn't he handsome?}

next up ... kindergarten for connor

excited doesn't begin to describe how connor was feeling wednesday afternoon as we prepared to drive him to school. while dropping spencer for the first day seemed to be so emotional, this year I couldn't be sad with a little guy who was so happy! he was full of anticipation, readiness, and pure joy in being a kindergartner!

while spencer's big adventure was riding to school, connor's was riding the bus! I had planned on driving connor to school the first week {after all, I drove spencer his entire kindergarten year!}, but connor had different plans. he announced on thursday that he would be "taking the bus." alrighty then. this is actually riding on friday ... thursday he got on and off too quickly for photos!

I continue to struggle the first few weeks of September with sadness. my struggle began when spencer started first grade and started riding the big yellow bus. every year since, I seem to be melancholy, sad, and emotional at the start of school. thursday was my really sad day. lucky for me, I had a show scheduled {my first of the new season}, so I had a few tasks to finish. {note to self} be sure to schedule a show or shows during the first week of school to keep my mind busy. by friday, I was looking forward to the time alone in the afternoon and feeling a little less blue.

The speed at which time is passing ... oh my, oh my.