Ezra is THIRTEEN!!

T*H*I*R*T*E*E*N 

Happy Birthday, Ezra!! So proud of him. 💙 

2 teenagers in the house! 😱 Just kiddin. When they were little, I remember not necessarily looking forward to this stage. But now that we're here, I can absolutely say that I love it (most days 😉) So many good, deep conversations and thoughts. So neat to see who God is making them to be. 

We went bowling for his birthday. 

His request: fresh from the oven, undercooked, chocolate chip cookies. 

We celebrated with the fam last weekend!

He still sat on my lap the early morning of his 13th bday. 😍

"What's it like not being a teenager? I wouldn't know."- Ezra Sartin, day after he turned 13. 😂

I love this kid!!!

Amos Turns NINE!!

 Happy 9th Birthday, Amos! He asked me in the car tonight why everyone kept asking him if he was having a good birthday. He sincerely asked, "How can you not have a good birthday?!" :) This is my boy who never has a bad day. For fun, I just asked Sophia to describe him. She said: funny, free-spirited, happy, and chill. I'll add...and oh so cuddly! God for sure knew I needed Amos in my life. He's a gift indeed. 💖

Every year I ask my children these same questions on their exact birthday.  These are Amos' answers at 9 years old.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?  Do you love me?

2.  What makes Mommy happy?  Hugs

3.  What makes Mommy sad?  When a family member dies. :(

4.  How does Mommy make you laugh?  You make me smile a lot, not laugh. 

5.  What was Mommy like as a child?  I mean, you didn't really tell me much about your childhood that much.

6.  How old is Mommy?  42

7.  How tall is Mommy?  5'6

8.  What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?  To hug.

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

10.  If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? Probably about like having the best photo shoots

11.  What is Mommy really good at?  Photography

12.  What is Mommy not very good at?  Running

13.  What does Mommy do for her job?  You make cute photos and then send them to their parents. 💓

14.  What is Mommy's favorite food?  I don't think you have a favorite food. Like a favorite favorite one that you love the most. (Shrugs shoulders.)

15.  What makes you proud of Mommy? I mean when you're like happy about what you've done. Like when you're like...yes, I did it.

16.  If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?  The mom from Encanto.

17.  What do you and Mommy do together?  Play card games.

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

19.  How are you and Mommy different?  I'm good at running, and you're not.

20.  How do you know Mommy loves you?  Because how much she does for me.

21.  Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?  Go to Nashville to meet friends.

22.  What makes you happy?  Sitting down and watching TV.

23.  What makes you sad?  When I make a bad play in sports.

24.  What makes you laugh?  Sometimes when Dad comes up with something dumb and then he makes it like even dumber.

25.  What is your favorite thing to do?  Hang out with friends.

26.  What is your favorite food and drink?  Food- I have multiple favorite foods, but one of them would be cookies. Drink- Dr. Pepper

27.  What is your favorite color?  Blue

28.  Where is your favorite place to go?  Can I say vacation?

29.  What are your favorite movies or TV shows?  There's this new Ninja Turtles movie.

30.  What is your favorite book?  Caps for Sale!

Sophia is FIFTEEN!!

What a day to celebrate LIFE! Happy Resurrection Day AND Happy 15th birthday to my daughter, Sophia! Her first Easter birthday. 

(Throwback to Sophia holding a bunny💓)

So abundantly grateful for the significance of this day. My Jesus conquered death by His love and power. He is victorious...even over death itself!! He is alive. He gives life. He IS life. He is my abundant hope.

Fifteen years ago, the Giver of Life allowed me to become a mother! So so grateful for my sweet Sophia. She's genuinely one of the brightest spots in my life! She's smart and funny with a kind and caring soul. She was born for such a time as this! And I'm here for it! 

I ask my kids these same birthday questions every year on their exact birthday.  No prompting.  Here are Sophia's responses on her 15th birthday. :-)

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

2.  What makes Mommy happy?  When we help you out with stuff or when we tell you that we love you.

3.  What makes Mommy sad?  When people aren't nice to you or other people.

4.  How does Mommy make you laugh? You don't even do it on purpose...you just do weird things all the time, and it's so funny. 

5.  What was Mommy like as a child?  Good. According to your music taste, you said you were basic. I'm sure you were still weird. 

6.  How old is Mommy?  41

7.  How tall is Mommy?  shorter than me...like 5'2 ish (haha, not really..she knows I'm 5'5!)

8.  What is Mommy's favorite thing to do? Relax, sleep, go to the beach, like chill

9.  What does Mommy do when you're not around?  Aside from talking to "folks" and spying on my entire life obviously, you work or hang out with your friends. 

10.  If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? The most likely situation would be that you would be a famous person that talks about Jesus or marry someone famous. Please marry someone famous.

11.  What is Mommy really good at?  Being a mom

12.  What is Mommy not very good at? Keeping up with trendy words and doing technology stuff

13.  What does Mommy do for her job? You work part-time for kids ministry and do photography.

14.  What is Mommy's favorite food?  Steak and pasta

15.  What makes you proud of Mommy?  How hard you work

16.  If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?  It's not a cartoon character, but you're like the mom on Liv and Maddie. She's crazy like you are. But not a bad crazy.

17.  What do you and Mommy do together? We ride in the car a lot together. A lot.

18.  How are you and Mommy the same? Our personalities are similar. But there are things about our personality that are different. There are aspects about our personality that are similar. 

19.  How are you and Mommy different?  We look different in ways. We're pigmented differently. Lol.

20.  How do you know Mommy loves you? One, she tells me. Two, she works very hard for me, Ezra, and Amos. 

21.  Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?  The beach or just home.

22.  What makes you happy?  When people say good things about me. Just hanging out with people and relaxing. Or just by myself. I love listening to music and playing Minecraft or just sitting outside.

23.  What makes you sad?  When people are unfair to other people or mean to me.

24.  What makes you laugh? Myself. And other people. Other people's existence. It's funny to watch other people sometimes.

25.  What is your favorite thing to do? I really like just relaxing or just talking with people or hanging out with Lagen on FaceTime or video games.

26.  What is your favorite food and drink?  This steak at Jay Alexanders. It's the best food I've ever had. My favorite drink is Dr. Pepper or Lemonade.

27.  What is your favorite color?  I don't know. Just all cool colors. Like blue, green, purple. 

28.  Where is your favorite place to go?  I love going to big cities. 

29.  What are your favorite movies or TV shows?  I really like My Little Pony, Power Puff Girls, and The Rookie. And the Spy Kids movies...they are sooo good!

30.  What is your favorite book?  Can I say Romeo and Juliet? It was so good. (She recently read the play at school.) And I love The Tattooist of Auschwitz.