Blessed Life

 This is the time of the year that amps up for the boys but slows down for me. I am not needed to be a Mom Taxi every day. There are times that I'm by myself at the house, surrounded by quiet as the boys are at work or deer camp or golfing or fishing or hanging out with a friend. Part of me relishes in the slower pace and quiet. Part of me isn't ready to be an empty nester sooner rather than later.

But, the quiet gives me time to reflect. This morning I woke up before the sun and enjoyed hearing the creatures wake up after me. We don't live in the city so I fall asleep to crickets and frogs doing their nightly thing and wake up to birds chirping and our chickens laying their eggs. Once the sun was up, I got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen to make P breakfast before he left for work. I stood at the kitchen window, filling the coffee pot, admiring the view of the massive pine tree that borders our property. I love standing there, watching the sun come up, our neighbor walk her dog, Rob drive up, or the boys playing ball in the yard. My kitchen window and the sunroom window are my favorite views from inside the house.

After P grabbed his breakfast to rush out the door for work, I walked out to the front porch. I watched him drive away to work and I stood there, counting our blessings. His truck isn't new but it's nice and it's paid for. In fact, none of us have new vehicles, boats or side by side but they're nice. After he drove down the road, I walked around to my okra patch to cut fresh okra to can later. I absolutely love gardening and I have enjoyed canning the abundant crop of okra that has been growing for the past couple months. On my way back in, I stopped to admire my beautiful roses and the crepe myrtles that add color to our landscape.

Our house is not new and needs more repairs/updates that we can afford at the moment (Thanks Trump!). It's outdated and very few things in it are modern. But, I LOVE our house! It's my favorite house I've ever lived in. Every time I drive down our little road, a sense of pride hits me when I see it. 

There has been laughter, yelling, tears and some really hard moments in our house. It is our home inside of a beautiful house. To say we are blessed is an understatement and I do not take our house, our neighborhood or our community for granted. I love it all and thankful for the blessings that they are!

Proud Mama

 Fall is always a busy time for us! Once school begins, our lives are in full swing, and we don't have much downtime. It also means appreciating our boys and what they accomplish, while still maintaining good grades at school.

P's Senior year is proving to be a good one so far. With only 2 classes, he goes to school a few hours a week and works about 30 hours. He got a new job, and so far it's a good fit for him. He's been given a lot of responsibilities, and it's appreciated by his co-workers, boss and customers. Even though he's working 5-10 more hours a week than at his previous job, the store closes an hour earlier during the week and he only works 5 hours a week on Saturdays vs the 9 hours on Saturdays that he was working at his old store. He also went out on a limb and decided to try out for a travel baseball team. He found out a couple weeks ago that he made the team so we are excited about that. On top of working and starting baseball in the next month or so, he is still on the school Golf team and Bass Fishing team. I love that he's getting a glimpse of adulthood while still enjoying his teenage years.

As for the future? He's undecided. I am a planner, so it's difficult for me to sit back and not know what he's going to do after high school. I also tend to be a tad bit of a control freak so I want to tell him where he's going to college after graduation. But, after a heart to heart with him last week and a lot of prayer, I have made the *difficult* decision to let him decide what he'd like to do with his life. Ha! I can't live his life and my job is to guide him, not control him. So, as much as it pains me, the decision has to be his.

E is keeping me hopping as his "Mom Uber" and makes getting a hardship license look more appealing every week. He works 2 days a week, goes to baseball clinic 2 days a week, and has youth group one day a week. He decided not to play school football this year and it's been a relief for me because I don't know how he would've fit it all in. He decided to focus on baseball, hoping to make the team again as a high school student. So, he has started going to a Fall baseball clinic to refine his skills. It's a grueling 2+ hours twice a week, but I've seen more growth in him this past month or so than I've ever seen. It's been fun watching him develop and hone his skills. He does all of this, has an active social life and maintains good grades in advanced classes.

All of this makes me one proud, but exhausted, mama! I love watching our boys grow up, finding their way in this world. This is a phase of life that has become my favorite. I cherish our time together as a family- fishing, golfing, traveling, watching football- but I also just enjoy watching our boys live their lives in a way that makes them happy and makes them shine for the world to see! It doesn't get much better than that as a parent.