Christmas 2024

The years truly do flyby. Another Christmas has come and gone. I’m laying here in Claire’s bed, listening to her hum as she finishes up her shower. I am waiting for her so I can tuck her in and reflect on this lovely day.

We had a lovely morning at home like always mixed with presence and grandma’s cinnamon raisin bread. I think the kids got more than they expected, which is nice. They got lots of things from their gift list as well as trips in January.

Max Ellie and David are going to Hazel‘s in Scotland. Claire mommy and Gramma are going to Orlando for a trip to visit Disney.

Ellie got lots of clothes and makeup products and face care. She also got some books.

Max got five Lego sets and two new PS5 games which seem to be his favorite. He also got lots of clothes. He’s growing so fast right now. This year he grew 4.5 inches! 

Clair got almost everything she could have imagined including her first iPhone with a new cell number, a fancy new composite bat, games, books, a drone and so much more. 

We had some time to relax in the afternoon And David and I were able to get in a little walk. I also was able to grab a nap.

This evening we had the Latimer‘s mom, dad and G over for dinner. I had made lasagna yesterday so it was pretty low-key. We even managed to get a game of elf charades in. I didn't capture any pictures from the evening unfortunately, but I guess that's a sign of a nice evening. 

I’m thankful for these crazy busy holidays. I can’t imagine them without the kids. As they grow, I envision what the future could look like when they’re not here. I hope we always find a way to celebrate Christmas together.

Ellie is 17

Ellie celebrated her 17th birthday at home with her family and her friend Shams. 

As it’s been tradition for the past few years, she insisted on making her own cake, chocolate with peanut butter icing. She asked for grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner and of course I had to add bacon for the boys.

She seemed like she enjoyed the day. She got lots of fun gifts. It was a school day, so there was limited celebration. But I think her friends made her feel special in school and that’s very important at this age.

Ellie is still doing great in school. She has a 4.0. She loves art and is getting into oil painting as of this birthday. Granny gave her oil paints and oil brushes and canvases for this new journey.

Ellie plays the piano very well. I love that. She still practices learning new songs. When she finds a song, she like she tends to play it every day. It’s great hearing her work at it.

She also got into tennis this fall a little bit. We’ll see if that goes anywhere.

She is learning how to drive and she is really quite diligent. She doesn’t seem in a hurry to drive but she’s working through it.

She has soft spoken and kind most of the time. She loves Young Life. She says it’s what turned her into a real Christian. I’m happy she has that group of people and that outlet.

On ellie‘s 17th birthday if I could give her one thing, it would be confidence in the ability to use that confidence with her voice. I can’t wait for her to stop worrying about what other people think and just live in them being who she is, and who God made her to be. 

Happy birthday, sweet baby girl.  I love you and I always will. 

Sadly, I didn’t get a picture with her on her birthday this year. But I got her and her brother and her cousins. We have somebody in the family in each grade at Linganore this year. I love that.

Ellie is turning 17

Tomorrow is 17 years since I became a Mom. I can’t remember much before I became a mom. Well, some days I can, but it was all peanuts before. Nothing quite matters in life like building your family and raising your children. 

On the night before her 17th birthday I’ve set up the birthday tree, wrapped the presents, and put up a sign. There’s still more to do while she is in school. 

These days she likes to make her own birthday cake. This started about three years ago.

My parental reflections are probably slim because I am so tired and it is bedtime. I just cannot believe it’s been 17 years. I say the days are slow and the years go by fast and I really feel that these days.

I hope ellie has a wonderful birthday and an amazing year ahead. My biggest wish for her is for her to see herself in the way that we see her.

Love you girlie! 

School pictures

Each year I begrudgingly buy these school photos and I’m so glad I do. They are great ways to actually slow down time and see the physical changes that occur in a year of the kids life. 

Ellie is a junior already! She talks about business and psychology as job options. 

Max is a freshman and increasingly talking about going into the military. 

Clair is in middle school and loves it. She still wants to be a pediatrician and she shows great interest in coding. 

First day of school

The first day of school seem to be unsuccess for all three kids. Ellie started her junior year. Max started his freshman year. And Clair started sixth grade. 

Clair absolutely loved her day. She has been telling me over and over how amazing it was. She said her favorite point in the day was when her math teacher told her to get out their notebooks and he actually proceeded to have them do math. She is so excited to be in an algebra class as a sixth grader. Some of the kids caught her a genius which embarrassed her and also made her feel somewhat proud. Clair told me that middle school is much better than elementary school and she thinks it’s going to be a great year.

Max told me he had a good day. He was worried at breakfast that it would be hard to find somebody at lunch. But he did find a couple friends to sit with at lunch despite them not being his best buddies. He says that he likes his teachers. He should have a Good first half of the year because two of the four classes he has he has repeating from eighth grade. He got bees in them and quite frankly didn’t really mastered the material so we wanted to try to start high school properly.

Ellie said she had a good day. She’s enrolled in a community college class so enjoyed the freedom of not having any class during that period of the day. I think she’s finally feeling comfortable at the school and Knows her way around and what she can get away with and what she has to take care of. I didn’t get to talk with her too much about her day because she went home with her friends to celebrate their birthdays. I hope to hear more about at least day tomorrow. 

I did take the obligatory first day of school photos this morning, although they were quick and basic.

Clair met Olivia so they could walk in together. We got a couple cute pictures of them, leaving behind the elementary school and moving on to middle school together. It was great having each other as they started their next journey.

Finally, this one doesn’t mind getting pictures with me and even even Still holding my hand. I know this won’t last for long and I am trying to soak up every minute left.

T’Was the night before school started?

Another summer has flown by with the kids. Tomorrow Ellie starts her junior year of high school. Max starts his freshman year of high school. And Clair starts her first year of middle school.

It’s weird, not having anybody in the elementary school after 11 years 12 years something like that. They went to great elementary school.

Each of them have things they’re looking forward to when they return to school. For Ellie and Max it’s more social. For Clair, she’s excited about some of her classes and some of the social side of things.

The summer flew by and each of the kids got to do things they enjoyed. There was also a lot of hanging out at the house as we were not spending a lot of money because I’m still not working full-time.

The highlight for the family beach week. The highlight for ellie was probably Young Life camp week. The highlight for Claire was probably math camp week. The highlight for Max was probably spending time with his friends at the lake.

As we embark on another school year, I pray for God protection over the kids in the schools and that he shapes them as he wishes them.

This afternoon we had a little fun at adventure Park with Gramma to celebrate the day before school starts. The four of us had a really nice time.

Max is working

 Max has to earn $950 for a computer he busted this school year. So, he's working with David a lot this summer. He's cleaning up and don't some manual labor. He's learning a little bit about carpentry and construction, but mostly, he's working hard as a laborer. I think this is great for him. I think it's good for David too. 

On day 1 I get this picture of his finger wrapped in duck tape. He cut it pretty bad and learned a hard lesson about working with knives. 

Max came into my office after Day 2 to tell me how tired he was and also how he felt like he had really accomplished something today. He says working with Daddy makes him feel good about his day.  This makes me so happy! 

Last week he went away with David for a few days to work on a project. This picture is them taking off. It's taken nearly 10 years for David to use the passenger seat in this van!

I hope he keeps growing. I know he will. Sometimes the maturity is visible, and other times it's not. I guess this is what teen years are. 

Keep striving Max!

Ellie loves Young Life Camp

 Ellie decided to try Young Life camp last summer and loved it. She's been looking forward to going this summer since returning last summer. 

I think she loves the silliness and the independence. The camp seems to be non-stop fun and silliness, with little oversight and rules. I would probably struggle, but she loves it. 

This year was a success again. Except, unfortunately, she hurt her feet badly within a couple hours of arrive by jamming them into the bottom of a pool from the slide. (No way that should have been possible and I think that the facility should be adjusted to be safe, but I digress.)

She had 5 nights away in NY State at a lake. She was in a cabin with no AC. She played in the lake. She made new friends. She took a lot of videos. She managed to deal with her foot pain. She really enjoyed herself. 

As a parent, it was really hard to be away from her knowing she was in so much pain. I was worried she needed a Xray and I still think somethings not right. I'm praying these feet will heal. 

She tells me that she's making a video and I'm looking forward to it. 

This was the only picture I got all week, other than of her painfully black and blue feet. 

Good times!

Day 4 drop off

She’s ready to go! 

Math Camp

 Earlier this year, Clair was introduced to the opportunity to earn an invitation to Math Camp. Clair loves math and generally feels she is rarely challenged in it. She loves when it's hard. So, this idea of Math Camp became a strong goal for Clair. 

After much work and initially thinking she did not qualify, she got the invite in May. We quickly took the opportunity to sign her up. And, here we are, in New Jersey for the week, at Math Camp on the college campus. 

Clair loves the idea of college. She's my youngest and she's the only one who has asked to visit a college campus. She has her journey planned out already.  I'm really excited for her and for her interests. I love visiting college campuses and traveling. So this is super exciting to me too. 

We arrived on campus Saturday and got all checked in. The camp runs a total of 5 days. She was excited and not too nervous. Her only nerves come around when she thinks others are looking at her, such as when I'm picking her up and dropping her off. 

The camp is a mix of competitions and lectures. The things she's learning are somewhat over her head and somewhat interesting. She says the most fun has been meeting a couple of new girls she enjoys talking to. She does also enjoy the competitions, but finds it disappointing that the majority of the kids in her group speak Mandarin during the competitions and she can't follow. Yes, most of the kids have come from China for this competition. 

Each day she gets more confident and independent. She is managing the day with little help. She's on campus for 12 hours and 2 meals a day. She has independent time too. She doesn't reach out to me much except to tell me she needs an app or that she's ready to be picked up. 

She was giving me a hard time about all the pictures I took Saturday. I was capturing my visual memories. 

Last night she didn't want a hug when I picked her up and people were watching, but as soon as we got out of the car at the hotel, she was her snuggly self. I can see her growing each day - more independent and confident. I know it's good for her. I am excited for her. I am also just a little sad to see these snuggly years coming to an end. 

She's still my girl and loves hanging with me and doing adventures. What a great week for her!

This about sums it up kiddos

Max turns 14

 Max's birthday always comes at a busy time of year when school is ending, sports are ending, and summer vacation is starting. It's even been celebrated at the beach at times. This year was no difference.

We celebrated at home with his favorites and presents. He had a lot of Legos on his list this year. 

Max is getting tall. He keeps saying he's taller then me and I refuse to admit it, but he's right. He's also showing some signs of making better choices. Middle school years have been rough and I'm praying high school suits him better. 

He will have his friends over for a sleepover later in the summer to celebrate his birthday. 

This year he shared his birthday with Father's Day. It has happened before and both Max and David are relaxed about it. As long as there's lots of meat served, both are happy. 

Happy birthday Maxers! 

Max is promoted to High School

Thursday morning Max had a promotion ceremony at his middle school. His class really missed out on all the promotion fun from elementary school. So I am really glad they celebrated them this week. 

Today he gets to enjoy an end of year picnic. He’s had a lot of fun this week with his friends too. 

My wish for you Max is that you remember how proud of yourself you are when you make good choices and that you continue to make more good choices in how you approach all aspects of life, including your grades! 

I love you buddy! Keep enjoying the journey and aim for the stars! You can be anything you want to be! 

The end of elementary school

For 11 years we’ve had someone in elementary school. These are the easy years of parenting I think. 

This week Clair is wrapping up her time at NMES with all the fun stuff. She was the MC for her talent show. She enjoyed business days which she had been looking forward to and had planned for several years now. The fifth grade party was a success and she got soaked by the fire truck. 

All the fun and feels wrap up today. I walked her up the path, holding her hand, and giving hugs and kisses as per her request before she headed through the doors. NMES has been a happy place for Clair. She has flourished there. It’s been easy for her. I pray that continues all through her education!

Clair Bear- you rocked it just like we knew you would! Keep enjoying each step of this journey my love! 

I’m going to soak this in

Today is Monday of the last week of elementary school for  Clair. She is a happy girl. She loves her school.

After losing my job in December, I would have to say the greatest treasure that’s come from. It is getting to take Clair to school again every day for the past six months. She really appreciates me taking her. She grabs my hand when we get out of the car and walk up the hill together. She giggles and talks to me. She kisses and hugs me at least once every single time before she goes into the school.

I know this is rapidly coming to an end. I can’t imagine she’s gonna grab my hand when she’s walking to middle school or she’s going to reach up and give me a kiss and kiss her cheek before she goes in. I understand that this growth is natural. And even though it is natural, and I’m so happy for her growing up and being happy and loving this journey, I still somewhat more the loss of this innocence and sweetness.

So four more days of walking her up the hill and holding her hand, and I will cherish them. Will cherish them this week and I hope I can remember them to cherish them always!

Fifth grade clay project

Claire seems to be going all out in school this year. This seems to include her fifth grade clay project. She is more clay than I think I was given in all elementary school to create a plate that holds cupcakes and a cake on it. This thing is expensive. It’s about a foot and a half in diameter for the plate just to give size perspective. She worked on this for months. She’s pretty proud of it but wishes she would’ve done a little bit more detail in the painting. Remember, I will be able to keep it. 

Great job Clair Bear!

Clair turns 11

Clairs birthday celebration was very busy this year. 

Happy 11th birthday Clair!

Today we celebrated Clair. She was busy from sun up to sun down doing things she loves -practicing for her leading role in the upcoming school play, working hard in school, and helping her softball team pull off another miracle win. In between all that we still found a little time for presents and cake and her favorite birthday dinner - homemade Mac and cheese! 

She’s one awesome kiddo! I love watching her grow and getting to be her Mom!