Harper is EIGHT!

Dear Harper,

My goal is to some day print all of these blog posts out and have them bound to give to you so you can read your mama's thoughts one day should you choose (and given the fact that you are VERY sentimental I have a feeling you WILL choose to read them).

Happy 8th birthday! This birthday is hitting hard for some reason- maybe because it seems 8 is that *magic* number where you move into the next life stage. Maybe because I remember much of my 8th year and for a very long time it was my favorite year of childhood. More freedom came with 8, I had my favorite teacher, Mrs. Matthews, when I was 8. I felt like I was grown up but still protected and innocent. Anyway sweet child, enough about me!

Your Daddy and I count our blessings daily that God gave us the responsibility to raise you. You are an amazing little girl and I pray you will always know that! You are KIND. You are SMART. You are BEAUTIFUL. Beautiful because you were created by a God who loves you so much he knows how many hairs are on your head. Who knows every mistake you will ever make and loves you deeply still. Harper you care so deeply about so many things. You care deeply for people- those around you and sometimes people you've never met but you hear their stories and you want to pray for them, help them, join them. You care deeply for animals- you want to be a vet right now because you think loving on animals and helping them all day seems like a dream job! You care deeply for our world- even when you were little you used to fuss if you saw litter and say "The world is not your trashcan people!". You get indignant about when trees get cut down (you and Daddy will have plenty of discussions about this later on), you mourn when you see a lost pet sign, you are incensed when someone does not treat another person fairly. You see yourself as a champion of justice, which is a wonderful quality but difficult to act on at this age. You have a strong faith and you love God in a way I could never fathom a child could.

You have been through more in life than most of your friends and have handled it with grace and courage. And because you handle tough things so well I often forget to check in and see how you are handling the normal "stuff". I pray that you will always know it is okay not to be okay and that we can be open about when things get hard. You do not have to always be tough- it's okay to need help!

Harper- you are turning into an amazing young lady and I am so glad we get to be a part of your life!

Love,
Mom

Harper had a Harry Potter sleepover this weekend to celebrate turning 8!

 Hogwarts wouldn't be complete without the Great Hall with floating candles!

 Platform 9 3/4 courtesy of Grandmother!

 The children got to make their own wands and even helped fill out their wand licenses!

 They also enjoyed learning some "spells"

 We attempted to make glow in the dark slime for potions class...they may have needed a new instructor!

 The Marauder's Map took them on a scavenger hunt!

 They played Quidditch on brooms!

 In "Potions Class"

 With their adopted owls, wands, and wand permits!

 They wanted a jumping picture (this captures the energy level well!)

Below: eating their Butterbeer (basically a rootbeer float with cream soda and butterscotch)

We had to include Moaning Myrtle! ha!

Jack is 4

Four years ago we met Jack. And said goodbye. Each year it continues to seem like a lifetime ago and yesterday all at the same time. And each year I will continue to post- not to gain sympathy or pity or to wallow in grief but as an ebenezer. In the Bible (1 Samuel 7:12) Samuel takes a stone and raises it up at the place where his army was able to defeat the Philistines, even though they were surely going to be overtaken. He used the stone as a way to mark the place where the Lord had helped them so they would always remember. And that is what I want to do today, to mark this day, so I can always remember. Ebenezer means 'stone of help' and in addition to wanting to remember Jack I also want to remember how God has helped us. He has drawn us near to him, drawn us near to each other, given us friends to comfort us and love us. Given us prayers upon prayers from people we know intimately and those we will never know. And God has given us this pain as a platform to share His love and tenderness with others. He would never cause such pain but has allowed it so others can know they are known and loved by the maker of the universe. And we've already seen Jack's short life make an impact for the kingdom. His story exemplifies the gospel in such a beautiful way. On the heels of Easter Jack's birthday is the perfect remind that God did send help in the form of Jesus. And because of Jesus our family has the hope that Jack is whole and healed and that we will be reunited.

 "Thus far the LORD has helped us"

(1 Samuel 7:12)

Loss is tough. In so many ways. It sneaks up on you during the most random of times. A few weeks after Jack's birthday last year we moved to a new house (which was hard because our old house was the only one Jack had ever lived in). And during all of the unpacking and decorating and organizing that comes with moving into a new place I wanted to hang pictures of the children in the long hallway upstairs. We have gorgeous pictures of both Harper and Hendrix. And when it came time to select Jack's picture it hit me. We will only ever have this finite number of pictures to choose from. Harper and Hendrix already had hundreds of pictures we could use to frame. But not Jack. And that was such a hard, sad thing to realize. This task which should have fun or at the very least, just a simple task, became a reminder of what we do not have. I am so thankful for sweet friends who listened to my broken heart and gave me words of comfort that day. Eventually I ordered Jack's picture and put it in the frame on the wall (the black and white photo you see above). Because even though this was hard and I struggled it was something I knew I needed to do. Something I WANTED to do. To have my second child, my first son, on the wall with my other children. Ignoring or forgetting him just because it is hard is more heartbreaking than actually grieving the lack of pictures.

And in an effort to not ignore or forget our family continues to use his birthday to give back to our community. And we'd love you to do the same, if you feel so led. Here are our favorite organizations that are making real change for children in our area and state. 

Sonshine Day Camps

Day camp is the primary way our summer mission camps bear witness to the love of God through academic enrichment and Christian education to children. It is also one of the ways we build relationships that overcome cultural, racial and age barriers. In the rural communities where we serve, children often have very few opportunities for organized activities during the summer. Many of their schools communities are under-resourced and struggle to prepare them academically. In some cases, their home environments are tense and difficult to manage for various reasons. At day camp, we want to create a fun, safe, caring space for kids to know and feel God’s love while being enriched in their reading and writing. Donate here

Big House Foundation

Every Spring BigHouse provides new swimsuits and new beach and bath towels to children in foster care in Alabama. These children have entered care in the last 12 months and their social worker places a request for them to receive this donation. Each towel is embroidered with the child's name to make it extra special and uniquely theirs.
Help provide this sweet summer necessity to children all across our state by making a donation here!

Junior League of Lee County

The Junior League of Lee County is making a difference in the county by the Weekend Backpack Program in Partnership with the Food Bank of East Alabama.

In the past 2012-2013 school year, the League has packed and delivered 800 bags of food.  This is program has served 80 children in Lee County Elementary and Middle Schools.

The Goal is to serve the chronically hungry children in Lee County Schools who would go hungry over the weekend. Donate here.

 

Harper is 7!

This SHOULD have been posted September 24, 2017...
I am officially a slacker blog mom. ;-)

For Harper's 7th birthday we chose an experience rather than a party. And what an experience it was! Jason, Harper, and I got to spend the night at the Georgia Aquarium! Although we didn't sleep much it was SO worth it! To lay there and see a sea turtle, grouper, rays, and whale sharks swimming over you was surreal! Harper had a blast and whenever we go to the aquarium she likes to stand in the tunnel and say "I slept RIGHT HERE!". Such a fun adventure. They only allow children 7 and up to spend the night so if your child is an animal lover I'd definitely look into it!

Harper continues to be my sweetheart. Her kindness to others really shines and it makes me so proud to be her mother! This year we've seen her confidence drop which has been a hard thing as parents and I don't know why exactly we've seen that. Her time in Taekwondo definitely helps with that. And we've seen her stand up to other children when they are being teased, etc so I am glad she is confident in that. I've included some pictures from her fun birthday!

 Coolest place I've slept by far!

 The sleepover also included a behind the scenes tour! So cool!

 We got talked into getting her a stuffed otter at the aquarium.

We made aquarium cupcakes!

Hendrix is two (almost a year late)

Because we moved a week before his birthday and then were without internet for weeks after that I never got his birthday post made. And it blows me away how much he changed just a few months after this post! I have included what I posted on his second birthday because I know I won't remember what he was like at that age. He has grown up so much in the past year!

"Happy birthday Hendrix! I can't believe this sweet, loud, big boy is TWO! He is saying quite a few phrases now, including "Want more chocolate", "Henny cracker", "No Mama, Daddy rock rock" (when he wants Jason to put him to bed). He loves to eat (fruit, meat, crackers), loves to read, loves watching the "big beeps" move dirt, loves anything with wheels, adores his sister (he woke up asking for her), loves yelling "Amen" after the prayer, loves his "Tob Dog", and loves his family. Hendrix, life with you is exhausting, exasperating, exhilarating, exciting, and we wouldn't trade it! We love you!"

We had a small party with just family at our new house (we literally had moved in one week before the party...not pictured boxes shoved in the corners.). The day we had his party was his Aunt Katie's actual birthday so we celebrated her as well! Then on his actual birthday we had spaghetti (his favorite) and let him have another cupcake!