Lately…

We are living life to the fullest…and then some here…so lemme catch up on the as of late…

FIRST…our little man slept through the NIGHT for the FIRST time last night! So proud of him:) Makes me want to do a toe touch…but I could never do that…but look who can:)

Every day he gets stronger. He isn’t always digging our PT outings…but we are seeing improvement…and we, proud parents, just had to share this…

Our other little man–Frankie baby…has taken one for the team and at 21 months he started his first year of preschool so mommy and little brother could go to PT, OT and FT appointments and get stronger while he plays. This was VERY hard for this mommy…but he LOVES it. Frankie-baby had his FIRST day last week. They only went for a couple of hours and this week he will go the full 9:30-12:30 hours just 2 days a week. He walked in both days last week VERY proud…and our buddy Jack had the honor of escorting him in (the sentimental thing about this…is that Jack ALSO escorted Laney in on her first day!!!) Here is my little heart going to preschool last Wednesday for the FIRST time!

We of course had to do the annual sign picture…which I always put together their FIRST day with their LAST day (at age 5…oh–I can’t bare to even THINK of that one)

And…HE’S OFF!

I thought I’d cry…but I held it together—they say that happens by #3;)

Instead of running from the door–our Frankie baby KNOCKED ON THE DOOR! Gotta LOVE that kid!

THEN on Thursday—we discovered that Isaac has trouble hearing as he failed his hearing tests in both ears. The ENT wants to do surgery ASAP for tubes–SO please keep Isaac in your prayers as he will have surgery at 7:40am tomorrow. After his ear discovery–it all made sense why he hasn’t wanted to talk on the phone. We explained to him that Frank could make all his phone calls for him—and he agreed to let Frank be his translator…so he called Magdalyn Rogers to make sure she knew he was okay…because we knew…of all people…Mag pie would be worried about him;).

To say it was frustrating NOT to hear his Mag-pie’s voice is an understatement…

We talked about the fruits of the Spirit and self-control…long-suffering…and his favorite of course was the love part:) He calmed down and was able to finish his conversation being translated through Frankie baby…I mean, he had A LOT to say…

And I have to say–the sweetest part was when Mag-pie apparently told Frank that she wanted to SHOUT something to our little man…

Don’t you wonder what she said?!

It must have been sweet because THAT is really what made him touch his toes:)

And then he thanked Frankie baby for translating…which Frank WAS happy to do…KIND of;)

SO…tomorrow is our BIG day! Please pray for all the legistics of working out pick up and drop offs for the kids schools to coordinate easily and smoothly–and most of all for Isaac to be calm and to trust me when I take him in. Pray the surgery is successful and relief for our little guy quickly follows. Pray the tubes stay in well and do their job. THANK YOU!

Last but NOT least…we had our 1st baby’s 6th birthday party this weekend (is our craziness wearing you out YET?!) He wanted to have it at Chuck E. Cheese—and since we also call that place germville, Isaac and Frank stayed back with Nana and Papa (his FIRST time to have a sitter!) so he would be well for tomorrow. The doctor gave us strict orders to do breathing treatments around the clock all weekend and to keep him away from germs—so we did our best so we’d have a clear chest on Monday for clearance. It was HARD for this momma to part with him for the first time–but my first baby needed his momma there too to celebrate. Here is a sneak peak of our birthday fun…

Africa hearts were well represented at Chuck E. that night! Henry (pictured in the far right) is expecting his little brother from Uganda this Fall!!! We are praying Charles Tucker home this Fall with all we have!

My bestfriend Kelly (who I met in the SEVENTH…yes 7th!…grade) and her son Luke…

So much fun!!! We ALSO had my niece’s birthday the same day…and you-know-who of course got into stickers and candy…

Here’s one to go on. At my sister’s home–I couldn’t find Frank or her youngest Anna Kate. I looked around the corner–and they had taken a candy basket and were getting as much in their hands as they could. When Anna Kate saw me SHE TOOK OFF running…she has the same personality as Frank;). They are QUITE the pair, huh?!

Ok…guys–come back tomorrow for a peak at a really cool story about what God is doing at Wiphan and how YOU can be used to make an impact! Now THIS has kept me up ALL weekend…I’m SO pumped and can’t WAIT to share!

AS IF this post isn’t long enough—my friend Staci shared this article with me this morning from the Boston Globe. Now, these days as a mom for you might be CRAZY. They might be HARD. But this article summed up for me really how PRECIOUS they are…so no matter how crazy or hard…I hope this reminds you how dear these crazy days are…and how much you will one day miss them.

From the Boston Globe August 22, 2010
By Beverly Beckham

I’m glad I’m not a young mother shopping for school clothes and new backpacks, studying the bus schedule, filling in the calendar with “No school day’’ and “Early release,’’ scheduling gymnastics and dance lessons, switching gears and mindset, getting ready to give my children back to the world, bidding this long, hot, summer goodbye.

I never liked September when my children were young. It meant the end of something, not the beginning. Every year, when they walked out the front door and down the walk to wait for the school bus, a little taller and a little wiser than they were just 12 weeks before, my heart ached because I knew that when I got them back again in June, they wouldn’t be who they were now.

Children grow in the summer, too, I know, but it’s different when school starts. They seem to grow faster then. Everything seems faster.

There is a song from “Big: The Musical’’ that sums up the bitter sweetness of raising children. It’s called “Stop Time,’’ and the first time you hear it, it stops your heart. “Nobody warns you of this parent’s paradox. You want your kid to change and grow,’’ the song says. “But when he does, another child you’ve just begun to know, leaves forever.’’

Even when you win, you lose. That’s the truth of the song. And that’s the truth about kids. You love your children at every stage exactly as they are. You love the way your baby fits snugly in your arms, the way he opens and closes his tiny hands, the way he sighs and leans into you when he’s sleepy. And you want to stop time. But you love it when he’s bigger, too, when he sits up all by himself. And you want to stop time, then. And when he learns to crawl. And when he walks and talks. And look. He’s starting kindergarten. And he’s learning to read. Can it get any better?

It does. It gets better and better. Parenting is filled with bests and a million happy tears. But it’s filled with lumps in your throat, too, and yearning for what was because even as you’re snapping pictures and head over heels in love with the moment that is, a part of you misses the moments that are not anymore. The infant your child was. The 2-year-old you pushed in her carriage all over town. The 5-year-old who said “pinuter’’ not computer. The 6-year-old who raced in from school every day eager to show you what he’d colored and learned and made.

September whisks kids away and entertains them and beguiles them, but returns them not as they were but changed and in a different size. That’s why parents cry as they wave goodbye. Because first grade becomes fifth grade becomes high school becomes college even as you watch.

How is this, I wonder, that a day alone with a colicky baby and an I-don’t-take-a-nap-anymore 2-year-old can feel like a year? But 18 years can go by in a blink of an eye? How is it that both my daughters, who just yesterday were upstairs trying on their new school clothes, are this year dressing their own children ready for first grade?

They’ve bought new clothes and a lunch box and a backpack. Just as I bought new clothes and a lunchbox and a backpack for them, just as my mother bought new clothes and a lunch box and a green cloth book bag for me.

It’s a big step, first grade, the first in a journey that will take their children physically, emotionally, and spiritually to places they cannot begin to imagine. And not only will their children change, but the world will change, too.

The kids are excited. We’re all excited. A stop-time moment is on its way.

But time won’t stop. It won’t even slow down. That’s why we’ll pay attention and take pictures. So we’ll never forget the day. So that even when it’s passed, it will remain.