Young Party of Four

So, here it is. The end of "preschool." Note: "Preschool" and "VPK" are not used interchangeably for the purpose of our discussion. In the sense of the word, Kenzie is done with "preschool" and next year will be in "VPK". Eek! That's not allowed. Kenzie's first official year in school is now done. She is one year older, one year wiser, one year more stubborn. It's crazy for us to think back that just a few short months ago we were going to her Meet the Teacher day and we were both having some major anxiety about our baby going to school. I remember the first day of school plain as day. I thought she might have some apprehension. Nope. None. I probably shouldn't have been surprised. Kenzie went in like she owned the place. There was a day that her teacher mentioned that Kenzie was one of the quiet ones in the class and rarely spoke. I'm still not sure that she was thinking of my Kenzie. Maybe I had been dropping of...

Okay, okay. It only took about 2 hours, but we still made it around the world. A few months ago we stopped in Mexico at the World Showcase and picked up a couple of Duffy the Bears. They are these cardboard bears that you decorate and then take around the world. At each country's pavilion you find the Kidcot area and there is someone there to stamp it. There are also Passports you can use, but I think you pay for those and this was just a fun thing for us to do on an afternoon so we used Duffy. Plus, half the fun for the kids was decorating them. That day we had them stamped at about 3 countries but we decided that one day we would take a trip back with the sole intention (and maybe a few other things) to go all the way around the world. We left the house a little after lunch (and after a quick afternoon nap for Will) and made it down to Epcot around 1:30. After a sunblock stop outside of the car of course, which takes way longer than I remember every time we do it because puttin...

Something pretty cool happened on Monday at Kenzie's swimming lesson. Not only did she do awesome during her lesson, but her teacher, Ms. Shunda, wanted to share her testimony with me. She told me that years ago when they had their first child, her family felt that the Lord was calling her to stay at home with her children. So, she left her engineering job that she loved and was pretty good at to become a stay-at-home mom. She said she knew that the Lord would provide for them. They did not have the funds to purchase Florida Prepaid and believed that once her children were college aged, they would have a way to make sure they attended school. Her daughter is now about to graduate from high school. She is in the top of her class and did very well on the ACT. She was given a full scholarship to attend Tuskeegee, but did not really like the school. She wanted to attend UF. She was admitted, but with no financial aid. Then, she was offered a full scholarship to Howard University. The L...

Happy Mother's Day (tomorrow) to all the moms out there. Whether you are a mom by birth, adoption, fostering, or a motherly relationship with someone, you are an amazing woman. Almost 4 years ago I became a mom myself for the first time. That little girl came into my life and made me understand what it means to have your heart live outside your body. I didn't know a type of love like that could exist until her. Then, a little over 2 years later, a little boy arrived and somehow he made all the love I had multiply. I remember being afraid that I wouldn't be able to love another child like I did Kenzie, but my own mother told me that it isn't that you have to worry about splitting your love. Instead, your love just grows in ways you never thought possible. This Mother's Day I want to wish a couple of very special ladies an amazing Mother's Day because they mean the world to me. I have learned so much from these two women about what it means to be a mom. My own...