It’s not goodbye!

Saying goodbye to the school year also meant saying goodbye to some very special friends! Over the course of the last two years, Leah got to be good friends with Alex and Shelby Strong! It started when she and Alex had the same 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Gerhardt, and then quickly realized they are both on the swim team. And while she loves getting to know Alex, there was an added bonus...his little sister! Shelby and Leah were so fortunate to swim together on relays this year, even making it to state! They also loved to talk violin! We are certainly going to miss them, but Peoria isn’t that far away. On their last day together we had lunch at El Corral, hit up Fletcher Park and gabbed Ice Cream comes at Krekels. When we said our farewell I reminded the kids “It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later!” And I sure hope that’s the truth!

Schools Out!

Saying peace out to 2018-2019 school year!!! Leah had her awards ceremony for 5th Grade on Monday. She took top honors for solo ensemble competition with her friends on the violin. She got an AR award, and had straight A’s for the year. They forgot to call her name at the assembly but Mrs. Rozanski made up for that with her very own special certificate! Don’t worry, Mr. Thacker came and gave her the real High Honors certificate the next day. She also played piano at the talent show and did a wonderful job!

Next year Kiersten will be moving on to 4th Grade at Intermediate. She loved her time at Grade and we are so grateful for the teachers that have been there for her these past few years.

And finally, today we said goodbye to McGaughey. Five years passed in the blink of an eye. What an amazing group of teachers. It’s a strange feeling to think we won’t be in that building next year. Hattie had a blast at Playday and we know that good things are in store for her at Grade next year. Look out 2nd, 4th and 6th grade...here they come!

Lucky number 11!

So Leah’s birthday this year felt a little different than birthdays past. But that’s okay. Since I’ve been working all year I wasn’t able to step in and bring her lunch and treats for her class. Thankfully, Gigi stepped up. She brought subway and cookies to school for a small celebration. Of course we started the morning at home with giant cinnamon rolls and Ms. Kim has special birthday cupcakes waiting at the Junior High!

That night after tennis we let Leah open her gifts. The real fun took place on Friday night. She has several friends show up to celebrate her at at Heroic Age Arts Center here in Mt. Zion. We did a virtual reality party. In hindsight we had too many kids but they didn’t seem to care and had fun all the same. They snacked on Arbys sliders, Pringle’s and cookies and played a card game called “Not parent approved”! There was lots of laughs and that’s what’s important!

On Sunday we finally got around to getting our traditional birthday ice cream cone. Happy birthday sweet Leah. It’s been a joy being your mom.

Big Love

Small towns can do big things. They can show big love, compassion, kindness and more. They can lift you up higher than you ever thought possible with their prayers. These little ladies may be small but they played big tonight in honor of our Jackson.

I’m so grateful to be a part of a community that does things big. I’m overwhelmed by the messages of support, people offering to help with the girls, gifts for our boy and more. Thanks for loving us big Mt. Zion.

Tonight our team had a sub...Regan Reatherford. We know her. She was on Kiersten’s team last year and her mom was Kiersten’s Kindergarten teacher. After tonight’s game I got the nicest note from her:

I just wanted to thank you and Mitch for his help tonight but mostly for raising a great kid! I know kiersten is a great kid but tonight my daughter was on the receiving end! Kiersten was sure she knew every players name, talked to her when warming up and even took the time to explain some rules to her during the game. Thank you and thank you Kiersten. -Brittany Reatherford

Hattie’s prayer

Nothing sweeter than a child’s prayer. Just found this little gem in Hattie’s school folder. She said she read it to her class:

I like Jackson. He is a very good cousin. He is fun. Jackson makes me laugh. He has a nice smile. I hope you get out of the hospital soon. We pray your name to the Lord, Amen. ~Hattie

Lady Braves

The Bug had her first tournament of the season for the 8U Lady Braves and they brought home the trophy!!! She was thrilled! She had lots of hits, spent most of her time behind the plate and the highlight was catching a line drive at 3rd base and turning 2.

Mitch said it was exciting to win but the highlight was seeing how kind these kids are. He said they consistently were positive and cheering each other on, they were kind and gracious to their opponents and were inclusive with one another...always making sure there was room for everyone. That’s the real win in my book!

37 days

37 days...that’s how long it’s been since our lives have felt “normal”. It’s been 37 days since the diagnosis...the kick to the gut that still leaves us struggling to breathe. Today after 37 days we got some semblance of “normal”.

These two girls both have birthdays this week. It’s been our tradition to be together to celebrate every year. The first time was when Leah was 3 and Macy was 6. But the following year we started a tradition at Gigi’s. It’s usually Mother’s Day weekend...we celebrate these girls that made US mothers (and a grandmother). They decide what we eat for dinner. They pick  out their cakes, we sing, they blow out candles.

We didn’t know if it would work out this year. But somehow God made the stars align so that we could celebrate together. So that Cynthia and I could celebrate our girls together. Sure we were missing our Jackson who was at home with Matt. His little body isn’t ready to be around other kids, yet. But for the most part, it felt normal. It felt so good, and we are thankful.

Hattie reads

I just love when teachers go out of their way to recognize kids and then make sure that the parents know. Getting this picture from Mrs. Cravatta made my day. Maybe because the year started off rough and she knows what a struggle it’s been. But as a reward for good behavior Hattie got to read to her class. She was thrilled, my heart was happy, and thankful for amazing teachers!