Max and David head to Scotland

on November 3rd  David and Max embarked on their adventure to visit Granny and Millar for a long weekend. I’m excited for their adventure. 

We took them to the airport and ensured they got checked in, and saw them off through to security. Max was excited; Clair was a little sad. She says she will miss Max a lot. I love how much they love each other and rely on each other’s friendship. 

We had them find the check in counter using the Map. I love that they like these challenges navigating. 

Max looks really grown up here. 

Clair was genuinely sad. 

They had a great trip. Grannie spoiled them both and they seem to survive the jet lag quite well, definitely better then MammaH on the returns from Poland. 

Genuine care and sweetness

I’m amazed sometimes at how caring Clair is. When she sees me upset or even uncomfortable, she provides physical touches such as hugs or back rubs or sweet kisses on the cheek with genuine care and desire to soothe. She is so heartfelt. I don’t know who taught her this and her parents can’t take credit for it. I truly think she gets this from relatives pat she has never met. 

Tonight I’m doing a nose rinse and she reaches over and starts just rubbing my back. 

Fall sports and activities have Clair running like crazy

This girl can’t pick favorites and she’s very vocal about it. So, for fall she is playing travel soccer, rec softball and trying to stay engaged with Girl Scouts. She’s a busy girl. 

She has also started playing the Cello is school. 

She loves every single one of these activities. She is happy to go and wants to get getter with each practice and game. She tells me she doesn’t know which she prefers and wants tj jeep doing it all. If only there were more days in a week and hours in a day for her to try more of the amazing fun activities life has to offer. 

First at home Cello practice was immediately after getting home after her first lesson. 


She also insisted on entering the voluntary school pumpkin contest. This is her Wilbur!

Fall soccer - Max

With the return of my favorite season we find ourselves spending our weekends at soccer games. 

Max is local to frederick. He’s playing on  14 u rec team. He feels under sized and over powered. He’s not enjoying it as much. We tell him to keep working hard. These years when you are the youngest on the field are great for character building. 

Last weekend he had two games. One was very tough for him with a lot of missed goals. But a second one turned out better and he was happier when he managed to score a goal. 

Cleared for Jujitsu

I’m really proud of this girl. She has worked so hard to recover from her OCD repair of the ankle in February. She has had months of growling PT and hard work to get to the point where she was cleared to return to full physical activity finally. 

She started back to Jujitsu this Wednesday and it was such a great feeling for me and her. 

I started to see glimpse of my physically strong Ellie at the beach with surfing and boogie boarding. It makes my heart happy to see her able to be active and do what she wants again. 

Yes, I miss watching her play softball but apparently that’s not where her heart is. Most of all, I want her following her heart and finding her place in this world. 

I snapped this photo right when she walked back in the house. 

Bubbles - pure childhood joy

I love these moments is simple joy. I probably failed to appreciate them with the older two, but with watching everyone grow up and become their own young individuals, i think it makes me appreciate this even more. 

I captured these moments after turning this new gift on. She was so happy. She enjoyed watching the bubbles land on the surface of the pool. 

I absolutely love the expressions on her face. 

A month into school already

After 3.5 weeks of school all the kids seem to be off to a great start. 

Ellie has adjusted well to the high school schedule and classes with minimal hiccups. She really is a smart girl on figures how to get things done. I hope she learns to enjoy the community aspect of high school too. She’s finding a good rhythm with keeping up with her existing friends. 

Max is trying hard for straight As this year after last years disappointment. So far, he’s achieving it. We will see how long it lasts. I told him if he gets straight As for his final grades in 7th grade he can have a special trip with one of us. He’s made some new friends he also seems to be enjoying and that’s a key to happiness for Max. 

Clair is off to a good start. She likes her teacher and enjoys her classes. Her grades are great too. She loves going to school still and that’s the key for me