Ezra is NINE!!

Happy 9th Birthday to my boy, Ezra. This is an extra special birthday for him. Ezra got baptized today!! Out of nowhere last Sunday night, he said, "Mom, I want to get baptized. I want people to know that I believe in Jesus. And I want to do it on my birthday. 💓Ezra accepted Jesus as his Savior a couple of years ago, but he was ready to tell the world and obey Jesus in this next step. And in typical Ezra style, he made a decision and that was that. 😄Oh, I love that kid. He was born with strong, natural leadership abilities. God is going to do big things with my boy! For His glory. Happy birthday, buddy! Soo proud of you! 💖

I ask my kids these same birthday questions every year on their exact birthday.  Here are Ezra's responses on his 9th birthday. :-)

1.   What is something that Mommy always says to you?  I love you.

2.  What makes Mommy happy?  Hanging out with me

3.  What makes Mommy sad?  If your back is hurting really bad.

4.  How does Mommy make you laugh?  Tickles

5.  What was Mommy like as a child? A nice girl.  

6.  How old is Mommy? 38

7.  How tall is Mommy?  5 foot 6...is that a good answer?

8.  What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?  Family pictures with our family.

9.  What does Mommy do when you're not around?  Hang out with friends

10.  If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?  Photography

11.  What is Mommy really good at?  Photography

12.  What is Mommy not very good at?  Riding my hoverboard.  

13.  What does Mommy do for her job?  Photography

14.  What is Mommy's favorite food?  Tacos

15.  What makes you proud of Mommy?  Hanging out with me.

16,  If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?  Cinderella

17.  What do you and Mommy do together?  Hang out, go to Chickamauga Dam, Talk

18.  How are you and Mommy the same?  We both like tacos and pickles

19.  How are you and Mommy different?  You like photography; I don't.  I'd rather go out into nature and hike rather than take pictures of it.  

20.  How do you know Mommy loves you?  She hangs out with me. 

21.  Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?  Starbucks

22.  What makes you happy?  Hanging out with friends.

23.  What makes you sad?  Being lonely or when people don't want to play with me.

24.  What makes you laugh?  Tickling

25.  What is your favorite thing to do?  Soccer

27.  What is your favorite color? I like red.  I like them all though.  There is one color I don't like...brown.

28.  Where is your favorite place to go?  Disney World 

29.  What are your favorite movies or TV shows? Movie- New York Minute; TV Show- The Flash

30.  What is your favorite book? Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The End of an Era- My Baby Goes to School

This...is a big deal for me. My youngest child is going to school.  I have had babies (or toddlers or preschoolers) at home with me for over 11 years now.  And now here we are.  The end of an era.  I'm so excited to be homeschooling Sophia this year, but this year will look differently.  No more babies in the house.   

School is something that Amos has looked forward to for a looong time now.  I cannot tell you how many times he asked me if he could go to school last year after we had dropped Sophia and Ezra off.  I knew it was time for him to go to school.  He has an August birthday, and he misses the Kindergarten cutoff by 5 days.  However, I was able to get him into Pre-K.  I knew this was the best decision for him.  

The night before his first day of school, I was praying for him while laying beside him in his bed.  I did not expect the tears to come.  But oh how they came! I'd had this child in my direct care for almost 5 years.  I knew what his days looked like.  Who he was hanging out with.  The experiences he was having.  And now I would not know exactly what those days looked like, but I knew that he was in our heavenly Father's care.  

The night before school started, I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.  You can imagine how my heart felt when he said "Teacher." 💖  I had never heard him say that before.  Amos would be a great teacher.  

The morning of our first day, he woke up a little grumpy.  I'm not sure that he quite understood that he was really going to school.  But when I had him put on that backpack.....oh his eyes widened and smile grew.  He said, "I'm going to school!!"

As we were walking into school that morning, he was just bouncing along on the sidewalk.  I loved seeing him so excited.  My mom told me later that day that she remembers me bouncing into kindergarten with my backpack bouncing with me.  💕

His teacher's name is Mrs. Thomas, but he calls her his "Thomas Teacher." 💗💗

It was time for me to leave him, but yes, I was the creeper mom who stayed and spied on Amos while his class went to breakfast.  LOL.  I just couldn't stop watching him and seeing how he was doing!  (He was doing totally great.)  Thankfully, one of the elementary teachers in the hallway assured me that "we all have been there." Every parent is a creeper parent at some point.  Haha. 

When I picked Amos up that afternoon and asked how his first day went, he gave me 2 thumbs up.  He loved it! :)

 Oh how I'm going to miss my baby and his multiple hugs and kisses all day long!  My family is entering a new season this school year.  It brings me to tears thinking about how grateful I am that I have had the privilege of being home with each of my babies in their early years.  What a blessing!  I don't take this lightly.  I can look back and say I have no regrets in this decision.  I will treasure these memories ALWAYS.  But babies don't keep.  I'm choosing to embrace each stage of parenting that the Lord allows me to go through.  And I know He will be by my side through it all. So honored that the Lord allowed me to be a mother to these 3 beautiful children.  

Amos is 5

I ask my kids these same birthday questions every year on their exact birthday.  Here are Amos' responses on his 5th birthday. :-)

1.   What is something that Mommy always says to you?  Good words and letters

2.  What makes Mommy happy?  Ummm, Chuck-E-Cheese?

3.  What makes Mommy sad?  Toys

4.  How does Mommy make you laugh?  Funny about books; Funny things.

5.  What was Mommy like as a child? Love each other

6.  How old is Mommy? um...56

7.  How tall is Mommy?  What about 55 maybe?  55 bigger.

8.  What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?  Presents.  You have presents for your birthday.

9.  What does Mommy do when you're not around?  Playing outside

10.  If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?  Watching something

11.  What is Mommy really good at?  You're good at baseball.  And you're good at football and basketball.  Girls can play basketball.

12.  What is Mommy not very good at?  Football  

13.  What does Mommy do for her job?  Playing with your friends

14.  What is Mommy's favorite food?  Chocolate chip pancakes

15.  What makes you proud of Mommy?  Probably toys

16,  If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?  A racer car

17.  What do you and Mommy do together?  Sliding at the playground; swimming

18.  How are you and Mommy the same?  Playing football together

19.  How are you and Mommy different?  You could be Emily, and I could be Ezra Kirk.

20.  How do you know Mommy loves you?  (He reaches over and hugs me and shakes his head yes)

21.  Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?  Marcos Pizza

22.  What makes you happy?  McDonalds

23.  What makes you sad?  Playing with Alistair because he won't let me play with him.  I was playing something else for me.

24.  What makes you laugh?  Playing games

25.  What is your favorite thing to do?  Playing at McDonalds with some friends

26.  What is your favorite food and drink? cheese pizza and water

27.  What is your favorite color? orange, blue, black, white, pink, red, purple, and one more color...brown.

28.  Where is your favorite place to go?  Chick-Fil-A and Chuck-E-Cheese

29.  What are your favorite movies or TV shows?  Storybots

30.  What is your favorite book? the numbers book

Sophia is ELEVEN!

Sophia's 11th birthday was on a school day, but her day was still filled with lots of sweetness.  I woke her up to "11 things I love about Sophia" on her door, pancakes for breakfast, and presents at the table.

 

Morning birthday pics before school. :)

I love these kiddos. 

 

Mommy's Girl

I brought Chick-Fil-A to Sophia for lunch and doughnuts for all of her classmates.  She's wearing the necklace I got her for her bday.  It says, "You make the world a beautiful place."  And she does. :-)

That evening, we picked up a friend and went downtown and got ice cream at The Ice Cream Show and walked around.  It was a gorgeous evening. 

My sweet girl

This is what eleven looks like. LOL.

Chattanooga, you are such a beauty!

For the first time since Sophia was 4 years old, we were unable to do the birthday questions on her exact birthday.  :( We were both so tired when we got home.  My perfectionist girl (who happens to have a semi-perfectionist mother, ha) hated not doing them on her actual birthday.  But it's okay. Not everything in life is perfect. :)  I sure do love you, Sophia Grace.  You are smart, funny, and caring.  I know that God has big plans for your life.  So proud of you!

*We did these questions the day after her birthday. :-)

1.   What is something that Mommy always says to you?  Wake up.

2.  What makes Mommy happy?  When we love her and do what we're supposed to.

3.  What makes Mommy sad?  When we are being mean and not doing what we're supposed to be doing and when she has to tell us over and over when me and Ezra are fighting.

4.  How does Mommy make you laugh?  When she tickles me, when she tells really funny jokes, when she dances or tries to do "the floss."

5.  What was Mommy like as a child? Kind of like me.  Maybe more obedient.  I don't know.  She was probably really nice and kind to other people, and when her parents told her to do stuff she did it.  As Papaw says, she was a little angel.

6.  How old is Mommy? 37 

7.  How tall is Mommy?  5'5

8.  What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?  Read God's Word and go to church and learn about Him.  She says you can learn something new even if you've heard it a million times.

9.  What does Mommy do when you're not around?  Cleans or babysits Alistair or is maybe with her friends while we're with Dad.

10.  If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?  Photography

11.  What is Mommy really good at?  She's good at photography, being a Mom, and cleaning.

12.  What is Mommy not very good at?  I don't want to be rude, but she's not the most athletic person.  She's getting stronger.  She doesn't really know how to play any instruments or anything.  But she is good at cooking.

13.  What does Mommy do for her job?  Photography and babysitting

14.  What is Mommy's favorite food?  Steak

15.  What makes you proud of Mommy?  You do basically everything.  You clean the house, you make our food almost every morning, you take care of the boys.  I mean, I'm awesome.  I'm amazing.

16,  If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?  Ugh. I never know on this one.  I know this is weird, but on this show named Jessie...her name is Jessie and she is a nanny and takes care of the kids. 

17.  What do you and Mommy do together?  We go on girl dates, we do questions every birthday, we sleep together. 

18.  How are you and Mommy the same?  We both have really thick hair.  I'm not good at facial things (like shapes), but she says our noses are the same.  She says our eyes are blue.  We're both girls.  I think I'm gonna be close to the same height.  We both like puzzles and using our brain.  And we both love math and testing.  

19.  How are you and Mommy different?  I can't type that fast.  Your hair is thicker.  You're older than me.  Obviously.  I'm bad at jump-roping, and she's really good.

20.  How do you know Mommy loves you?  She says it all the time.  And I had an awesome birthday.  She hugs me and kisses me.  And she wouldn't get me a necklace that says "You make the world a beautiful place" if she didn't mean it.  

21.  Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?  You love just being at our house.  You love going to church.  You love to go anywhere they are serving steak.  

22.  What makes you happy?  When no one is fighting.  When I get my report card and I see all A's.  When I have a good grade on tests.  When Mommy has great birthdays for me and does awesome things for me.  

23.  What makes you sad?  Mom and Dad got a divorce.  It doesn't make me super sad, but it's not a plus.  When I get bad grades...I mean I don't get bad grades on my report cards.  When we see our cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc. and we have to leave their houses.  And also having to clean. (She laughs.)

24.  What makes you laugh?  When someone tickles me or tells me really funny jokes or Mom makes funny faces and when she does "the floss."

25.  What is your favorite thing to do?  Hanging out with family and friends is my favorite thing to do.

26.  What is your favorite food and drink?  Food- Steak; Drink- Cherry Coke

27.  What is your favorite color? Light green; not completely neon where you think it's yellow.

28.  Where is your favorite place to go?  Well, I don't know it yet, but maybe Heaven.

29.  What are your favorite movies or TV shows?  TV Shows- Jessie, My Little Pony; Movie- The My Little Pony Movie

30.  What is your favorite book? Diary of a Wimpy Kid series