John Paul is 15 which means the insurance rates just went up, again. That's okay, he's cute so we'll let it pass. It's time for the first birthday letter of the year. Let's get to it, shall we? Dear John Paul (the Great), You're halfway through with your freshman year and already I'm thinking, 'where did the time go?' I wish it was possible for me to adequately convey what a bright spot you are in our home. You are the funniest person in the house. I love how you grab a sparkling water from the fridge, pop the top and wait for me to look up and make sure you aren't drinking one of my Dr Peppers. That never gets old, does it? It's totally awesome how you work ahead on … [Read more...]
East Coast Adventure: Sweet, Sweet North Carolina
Over the next few days, I'll be sharing bits and pieces of our epic road trip to the east coast. It was 13 days filled with joy, sibling fights, a bazillion rest stops, one major meltdown on the side of I-10, great memories and lots of hugs with awesome people. Oh, and we saw a ton of cool stuff, too. You can read all about it by city: New Orleans, LA; Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Washington, D.C. and Knoxville, TN. Praise sweet baby Jesus that the drive from Atlanta to Charlotte was way more enjoyable than the last drive. We timed our early morning departure with a just-in-time arrival at Billy Graham's Library at lunchtime. Literally, just as we pulled out of the parking lot I got a text … [Read more...]
East Coast Adventure: (Not) Hotlanta
Over the next few days, I'll be sharing bits and pieces of our epic road trip to the east coast. It was 13 days filled with joy, sibling fights, a bazillion rest stops, one major meltdown on the side of I-10, great memories and lots of hugs with awesome people. Oh, and we saw a ton of cool stuff, too. You can read all about it by city: New Orleans, LA; Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Washington, D.C. and Knoxville, TN. The drive from New Orleans to Atlanta was easily the absolute worst of the trip. Everyone was still settling into the close quarters, we hit Alabama beach traffic and it rained, rained, rained. It's stretches like that when Scott and I wonder if we are legit bananas. One … [Read more...]
East Coast Adventure: Easy Living in NOLA
Over the next few days, I'll be sharing bits and pieces of our epic road trip to the east coast. It was 13 days filled with joy, sibling fights, a bazillion rest stops, one major meltdown on the side of I-10, great memories and lots of hugs with awesome people. Oh, and we saw a ton of cool stuff, too. You can read all about it by city: New Orleans, LA; Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Washington, D.C. and Knoxville, TN. Here. We. Go. Because our sweet, reliable, amazing Honda Odyssey was hovering close to 230,000 miles on her, we opted to let her sit this 3,700-mile road trip out and rent a van. What was originally supposed to be an 8-seat capacity Suburban turned into a 12-passenger … [Read more...]
Dear First-Time Mama of a High School Senior
I know, I know. You looked at yourself in the mirror this morning and asked, "How, how do I have a senior in high school?" Then you either a) started hyperventilating, b) teared up, c) swelled with pride or d) all of the above. I'm sure moms who have gone before us are already smiling, reaching out their arms to embrace our conflicted hearts. But, I suspect while this letting go thing may get easier, it will never get easy. Can I get an AMEN?! I feel like we are bombarded with something called the "oh sh*t" list. As in, "oh sh*t" I didn't know we had to do that. And so it goes. It's quickly followed by a "I guess we'll scramble and figure it out" list. Followed by a list of … [Read more...]
