The Latest

Everybody knows that parenting teenagers is not for the faint of heart, and mine are no exception. I've made and will make plenty of mistakes along the way. But I also don't want to forget the beauty in this season.

Sophia- I don't want to forget how she excitedly shares with me what's going on in her required school reading of Frankenstein, sharing every detail. I don't want to forget how she loves chemistry and will explain to me something neat she has learned when I have no idea what she's talking about. I love that many days she asks my opinion on which shoes would go best with her outfit. When she's shopping and I'm not with her, she'll text me her outfits in the dressing room, asking what I think. She texts me all the details about the college visits and field trips she takes. Sometimes she just needs a hug and she will ask for one, and I will gladly oblige. She texts me cool paintings from her art history class. Her friends will wave at me in the school halls and say hello on the phone. She shares with me secrets and hard things. She thinks I'm funny. :) Her only makeup is occasional mascara (with the exception of her dance makeup pictured below.) She's comfortable in her skin, and oh so beautiful.

Recently, my van battery died. I went to Auto Zone to replace it. After buying a new battery, while they were installing it, I found my old receipt which told me that my old battery was under warranty. I hate to admit that I was going to overlook it. "Well, I already bought a new one. They are already in the middle of changing it. I don't want to cause too much trouble. It's fine, it's already done...." Sophia said, "Mom! That's $200! You have to tell them it's under warranty. If you don't, I will!" Her push was just what I needed to jump out of the car and tell the man under my hood about my warranty. Lol. My Sophia gave me courage! She is so brave, and I'm just so proud of her. God knew I needed her. 

Ezra- Ezra is on the last lap of his middle school years. From my experience thus far, middle school years are the absolute hardest. It's been so neat to see him grow over the last year. Not just emotionally and mentally, but also physically! He seems to be growing by the day, so handsome. He makes me laugh out loud. Just this morning I asked him to help me open something. He couldn't get it the first time, but then made this charming, funny comment and did this movement and then got it open. It made me laugh and say out loud, "Ezra, I love you so much!" He's such a charmer.

I don't want to forget that he recently took it upon himself at 14 years old to order stuff for soccer online with his own money. He had never done that before. He didn't wait for me to get home and look over what he was doing. I got a text that said, "They ready whenever u pick em up. They close at 9 I think." 😂 I'm so thankful he had them sent to the right place! Hahaha. Ezra doesn't overthink things. He's a man of action. There's a lot of good that can come with that. We recently went suit shopping for an upcoming dance. This guy loves to look sharp! Sitting at school in a desk all day is not easy for Ezra. But his words, "Mom, I try so hard!" is enough. I believe that he does! Can't wait to watch him in soccer this spring. Man oh man, I love that kid.

Amos- Amos is a buddy. One of the kindest souls on the planet, I'm sure. A recent story with Amos....I had folded the laundry for the kids. I told Amos to put away his pile of laundry. The response of most kids when you tell them to put away laundry is either to complain or possibly ignore altogether. When I told Amos to put away his laundry, he responded, "Yes!!! I needed a refill of socks!" How this touched me to my core! Amos sees the positive perspective in life. He never has a bad day. He's the first one ready for school in the morning. He can make a new friend anywhere that he goes. He enjoys reading our Bible story together at night. He's responsible, smart, sensitive, and loves sports and video games. He already talks about being a dad one day. 💙Math and P.E. are his favorites. Amos likes to and wants to do the right thing. He's Momma's cuddle buddy for sure. 

As a family, we love playing the license plate game. We start fresh at the beginning of each summer and try to find all 50 states. We find most of them within the first couple of months. We've been down to 3 states for several months now, and on the same day, we found Hawaii and Vermont. Sounds silly, but we were so excited. I treasure our drive time together in the car (though I don't treasure the traffic.) We pray; we discuss our schedules. We have our best conversations in the car. I also want to remember the relationship that all three kiddos have together. They are close. I recently learned that Sophia asks Amos every single day what he learned at school, when she picks him up from his classroom. I had no idea! I'm truly grateful for this season of motherhood. Some days I'm so worn out that I could cry. But all days, I'm so glad I get to raise these beautiful human beings. What a gift from God.