How Did This Happen?!

2 weeks from today, this girl turns 13.  THIRTEEN.  How in the world did this happen?  I have a child who is about to be a teenager.  She is 5 years away from being a senior, and I am having a little bit of a freak out feeling creeping in.  Don't get me wrong, I love watching E and J as they grow and develop into these amazing people--it's just sometimes the fact of the impending "release" gets to me.

Right now we are smack in the middle of middle school and all of the usual highs and lows that go with it.  We are all learning to balance school, sports, music, homework, girl drama, occasional boy drama as well, church, responsibilities, etc.  It is a crazy time, but it is fun to see, too.  E is a pretty fun girl to be around (well, most of the time 😉), and I'm grateful I get to be her mom.

I know that I'm going to blink and it'll be Josh turning 13, so I intend to live in the here and now and enjoy it as much as possible.  But I'm sure you'll forgive me if you see me hiding in a corner crying on the 15th as the truth of TEEN sinks in.... 😄

Twelve!

I don't know how it happened, but I now have a twelve year old.  Emily Grace entered the world a little before midnight on December 15, 2003.  And now here we are, twelve years later, maneuvering the preteen world of middle school.  It happened in a blink--but what a great blink it's been!

Now that Emily is in middle school, her birthday is right in the middle of end of quarter exams.  She had to take a math test on her big day--however, she topped that off with a 100, so I guess it turned out okay. :)

Her day started with balloons on the wall in the shape of "12" (at least they're supposed to be).

 She then was surprised by special birthday donuts (as well as cards/gifts from a few family members):

She headed to school wearing one of her favorite outfits:

 After school, we went to dinner, and Emily got to sit on the saddle:

And we finished the night with yummy cookie cake:

We're going to Great Wolf Lodge over the break for her birthday, so that will be her gift/party.

Emily, I am so thankful for you and the special bond we share.  You are a handful, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love watching you in your many activities (soccer, basketball, piano, and band to name a few), and I love how you are a leader both on and off the field and in the classroom.  You are full of life; you are beautiful; you are a blessing to me.  I'm so thankful for your love for Jesus and for people, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for you next.  Happy birthday, dear E!  Love you more.

Recital Time

Last night was Emily and Josh's fall piano recital.  Emily has been in piano for 2.5 years now, but Josh just started piano in June, so this was his first recital.  After Tuesday's rehearsal, he had declared that he didn't want to do piano and didn't want to do the recital, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go.  I tried to keep it low key with him the rest of the week, and we just kept telling them that they were playing to glorify God and to have fun.

Both kiddos were nervous last night, but they kept it under control pretty well.  Emily had a friend come to watch her (and then spend the night), and Josh has several friends his age who were also in the recital, so I think that helped them both.

They played 5th and 10th of the 11 who chose to perform this semester, and they both did great!  It is such a joy for me to see them learning to play a beautiful instrument, and I am so proud of them for overcoming their fears and stepping on that stage--and the recital was in the worship center this time instead of the chapel, so it really was a big stage in a big room!

Thank you, Daniel, for teaching my children how to play piano, and thank you, E and J, for using what you're learning to bring joy to others.

Soccer Saturday

Today was FULL of soccer!  Josh had 2 games, Emily had one, and the kids were signed up for the Lauren Holiday Experience, too.  For those who don't know, Lauren Holiday is on the U.S. Women's National Team (soccer), and they recently won the World Cup--and her club team won the NWSL Championship a couple days ago for the 2nd year in a row.  She is retiring after the USWNT Victory Tour, so this is likely one of the last times she'll do an event like this (anytime soon anyway).

Both E and J had a couple friends at the Lauren Holiday Experience with them, and Jeff was out on the field as a "helper" coach during the clinic part of the morning.  There was a Q&A time, and they handed out some questions ahead of time to a few kids to get things going.  Josh was supposed to ask one, but he passed it on to Emily, so she got to talk in the mic and ask Lauren what her favorite smoothie is (the event was sponsored by Smoothie King).  After the Q&A, they did a little bit of the USWNT warm-up drill, and then we got in line for autographs and smoothies.

Emily's friend and teammate, Madeline, is currently undergoing chemotherapy for osteosarcoma, so E and her friend asked Lauren to wear a Madeline Strong bracelet and we got a picture of her in it.  She also signed a picture of our Manchester team for Madeline.  We were so excited to get to meet her and have her help us to support sweet Madeline.  (And Josh smiled and got a picture and autograph, too--he is just a lot more chill about the whole thing.) ;)

It was a great Saturday of soccer that finished with a nice win by Baylor--my favorite kind of Saturday in the fall!  Now if only I didn't have a red neck and red cheeks....oh well!  It was worth it!

D, E, and K waiting for an autograph

Josh with Lauren

J and Lauren again

E and Lauren

Showing off her #madelinestrong bracelet

Signing our team picture

FIGHT ON!

Autographed picture the kids got

Field Trip!

Today was Emily's first middle school field trip.  We found out about it several weeks ago, and once I found out it was a trip to the George Bush Presidential Library, I immediately hoped Emily wouldn't mind if I chaperoned--thankfully, she didn't! I'd never been there before and have been wanting to go, so I was excited for the chance to not only go there but to get to go with her class.  Who knows how much longer she'll let me hang around....I'll take all the chances I can get!

We went to the Meadows Art Museum, Jason's Deli for lunch, and then the Presidential Library.  Things were a little rushed at both the museum and the library, but it was still a fun day.  Emily even wanted me to sit with her on the bus ride from school since her friends weren't in our group.  (Again, who cares about the reason--she wanted me to sit with her on a middle school bus ride!)  She did eventually link up with a new friend from history and sat with her on the ride home, which was fine with me.

It was fun to see her among some new friends today and get a taste of 6th grade life.  And I loved the presidential library--now I just want to go back and have more time to actually read all the signage and sit through the short movies playing throughout the rooms.

All in all, definitely a thankful Thursday. :)