The Beach Series Part 2: Evan and the Ocean

Evan took to the ocean like a fish. I can say I was pleasantly surprised. Evan is my cautious child. He likes to know where everyone is. He likes when his family is all close. He wants everyone to be safe. So when he took off into the ocean like it was a swimming pool, I can say I literally stood there with my mouth agape.

I guess ignorance is bliss for the little guy. #istillhatefish

Evan quickly made some new friends on the beach. He had one particular boy, Mason, who he sought out everyday. Mason was 11, but "small for his age" (his words not mine) and very adventurous in the ocean. Mason and Evan went boogie boarding, caught fish together, and learned the art of burying a body in the sand. If I ever lost sight of Evan, I always found myself looking for Mason to find Evan.

This is not uncommon for E. He is the kind of kid who would go into the white stranger danger van without candy or puppies as an incentive. He just doesn't know a stranger. (Disclaimer: if you are a white stranger danger van owner, I apologize for the stereotype. If you are the stranger in the white stranger danger van, please get off my blog.)

He loved everything about vacation. At one point we had this conversation:

Evan: I wish I could live at the beach.
Me: Yeah, that would be nice, but we have our house and our school and our friends and mommy and daddy's jobs all back in TN.
Evan: Well I could go to another school.
Me: What about your friends?
Evan: They can come visit me.
Me: Well honey, mommy and daddy's jobs are in TN. We gotta work.
Evan: You can get a new job!
Me: What would I do?
Evan: You could work in construction and change your name to Gill. Daddy can still be John.
Me: .....
John: sputter sputter laugh laugh laugh
Me: {evil eye to John}
John: cough cough
Me and John: Howling laughter

I mean...where does he even come up with these things??

The Beach Series- Part 1: They liked it, They really really liked it!

There are way too many Evan one liners and pictures to put in one post, so this will have to be broken up into installments. I am sure you understand!

This is our first (real) family vacation. I had no idea how it was going to go. Would the boys make the 7 hour car ride? Would they be able to sleep in a different place? How in the world were we going to keep them quiet when the rest of the condo was asleep until 8am and they get up at 6am?
But as mentioned in a different blog, I had to let that all go and just experience it.
I mean, people go to the beach with their kids all the time...and keep going back. It would be fine...

They did great on the way down thanks to the God given right to technology in the car. We have a DVD player in the car that has only been turned on once. My rule is we have to be traveling over an hour to watch TV in the car. I think the kids were so excited about watching DVDs in the car, they actually wanted to get on the road.

Luke, who I thought would be the most difficult, was actually the most relaxed about the car trip. He watched his little movies, ate his snacks and smiled most of the way down.
Evan asked me 900 million times which state we were in. I guess that is better than "Are we there yet?" but seeing we staying in MS for about 6 of the 7 hours, it got a little old.

Once we made it to the beach (I cannot really discuss the Mobile to Orange Beach traffic situation. It was scarring. I might not recover.) I knew the boys would want to go down and see the ocean. But that was all I was planning on doing...just looking. I didn't even take towels. Angela and I took the kids while the guys went to get dinner. Angela mentioned changing into a suit just in case. I didn't think I would need it, but decided to do that too. Much to my surprise...my BIG surprise, the boys ran straight into the water without hesitation. Both boys were full of smiles and giggles the entire time. I was soaked but had to best time watching them experience the ocean for the first time.

One of the greatest things about that night was the big surprise. Nonna and Pop planned a vacation to Orange Beach with some of their friends the same time we were there! I didn't tell Evan or Luke that they would be there.  I wanted it to be a surprise. When Evan saw them for the first time that evening, he was screaming with joy! They were able to play in the water with them until close to 7pm. Even though they were both hungry, they didn't want to leave the water.

I was ecstatic the boys took to the ocean and sand so well. It really set the tone for the rest of the visit.

Part 2 coming soon...

Yoga Gives for St. Jude

Warning...long blog post. If you don't want to read it all, just click here and donate.

I am so proud that a St. Jude Hospital resides in Memphis. Not only does Memphis house St. Jude, but Memphians support St. Jude. It is the hope that so many of these families need in their time of grief and despair. From the moment patients and their families arrive at St. Jude  they do not have to pay for anything; no deductibles, copays, worrying about eating, lodging, anything! In some cases they don't pay for their travel to St. Jude.  Not only does St. Jude pay for all the patients expenses, it operates totally on donations and fundraising. That means the cost of running the hospital, all of the labs, all meds including chemo, radiation, housing and staff are paid for by people like you!

 

There is a dear student at St. George's name Carson who just found out in March she has cancer. I have taught Carson since PK. Carson has ALWAYS been a spunky courageous gal, but now she is in the fight of her life.

So why is this blog post full of yoga pictures (lol - trust me I have more...)

I have been looking for ways to support St. Jude and #teamcarson since this all happened. I was doing all the usual suspect, praying, sharing her CaringBridge site, telling people her story, etc. But it never felt like it was enough. When I friend sent me the Yoga Gives opportunity, I knew I had to do it. I gave up running a while back. I enjoyed the time half marathons and I spent together, but now I have a new love. Yoga. Now I get to use Yoga Gives to help Carson.

I have spent a year improving my yoga practice, but a day long yoga practice scared me. What if I didn't have the stamina or endurance? What if I couldn't keep up? What if I fell? (I fall at home all the time and only have my family to laugh at me!) What if I couldn't walk the next day? But then these were all the things I feared during my half training, and I am sure Carson and her family fears everyday. So I will keep training....keep pushing...just like sweet Carson.

This is where I need your help. First, please pray for Carson, her family and her team of doctors. Second, donate in the name of Team Carson. I have until June 7th to raise as much money as I can. I would love your help. Every penny helps. Can you skip your Starbucks once this week and help me? Can you and your family forgo dinner out and put that toward research for St. Jude via a donation? Like I said, every penny counts. CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

People laugh when I say I would love a $1 donation, but I am absolutely serious. If everyone that reads this blog, that views my Facebook, that reads my Twitter feed, that scans my IG profile donated a dollar, I would burst through $1000 easily. Donate because you have a healthy child. Donate because you were a healthy child. Donate because you know a healthy child. Donate because EVERY DOLLAR counts.

Kindergarten is over!

Evan finished up SK last week. They ended their year with an Field Day and End of the Year Parties. Evan deemed this the best day of the year.

Thankfully the tears didn't flow like they did before The Night Before Kindergarten, but it is still bittersweet to see him as a first grader now.

First Day of Kindergarten and Last Day of Kindergarten

He's grown in leaps and bounds this year. His reading has sky rocketed to where he is independently reading chapter books with great enthusiasm. His patience for himself and others has grown. He's learned he doesn't have to be right the first time and it's okay to ask for help. And his heart...his heart has always been big. Even when he couldn't count to 30 or read one word, his heart for people and others is his strongest feature. That has been nurtured through school, church and home. I can see the young man he wants to be and I want to do whatever it takes to help him get there.

This school wrap up wouldn't be complete without an amazing shout out to Evan's two amazing teachers, Mrs. Finney and Miss Monroe. I wish I could capture what these two ladies mean to me. When I turn my child over to a teacher for a full year, I do it with confidence and apprehension, hope and worry, faith and fear. These two women have help Evan become who he is through personal, academic and spiritual growth. I am lucky enough to work with them as well, and I am able to see what amazing people they are everyday. Thank you ladies...thank you.

Take me out to the ball game

This was Evan's first year to play baseball. After properly assessing his skill level in our backyard (we have the greatest neighbors who tirelessly throw the balls back over our fence) we skipped t-ball and went straight to Junior Coach Pitch.

The first time I saw him in uniform I almost died!! I mean, these kids looks SO flipping cute in their uniforms! I was so happy to be a baseball mom. Someone asked me if I was excited about it because I played. After I caught my breath from laughing so hard, I tried to explain. He's played soccer and I wasn't this excited. Watching him play basketball would be painful (Book genes...sorry dude) and football just scares me. I am not sure what it is....I like watching him play baseball.

Junior Coach Pitch allows every team member to bat. Each child gets 7 tries to hit the ball. It was a great intro into the real game. Evan was great at batting. He hit the ball every time, but once, when he got up to the plate, the whole season! While there were kids hitting home runs every now and then, for E's first time playing, I was so proud of him!

Evan was so lucky to have two of the best coaches! What I loved about them is they were more concerned with the kids learning, having fun and improving their skill than winning. This was a complete God thing. We signed up too late to play on the team with all the St. George's boys, but Evan wasn't too concerned and neither was I. He just really wanted to play. So we had no idea who we'd get for a coach. When we were placed, I learned his coach was a friend of mine from high school's husband! But when I say it, I mean it, Coach Matt and Coach Corey were a GOD send for Evan. Exactly what he needed.

But it was fun when we did play the all SG boy team! They were so cute catching up during game. :) (Photo cred: Stacy Smith)

Evan's biggest improvement was fielding. He learned about grounders and pop flies. He now consistently catches throws in the backyard. Toward the end of the season he got a couple people out during the game!

 

He's super sad it's over, but I promised he could play again next year.

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day this year was so special. I really couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

The celebration started on Friday when Evan had his Kindergarten Spring/Mother's Day Program. He did so good. They sang old favorites like, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, This Little Light of Mine, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, Oh Susannah, and a couple songs about mothers that didn't leave a dry eye in the room.

Evan had a special part. He played the Doctor in Miss Polly had a Dolly. His long time friend Lila was the dolly's mom. He did really really well during the program. I can honestly say I was a little worried. In the dress rehearsal for the school, he stopped the entire show because he forgot his bag. Everyone was in place, the teacher was about to start the rhyme and all the sudden Evan says, "Wait, wait wait!!! I forgot my bag!" and ran off stage. When he came back he said, "Okay, I'm ready!" Let's just say there wasn't a dry eye in the room for a different reason.

We are so very lucky to have the grandparents live in town. They are always make a nice cheering section. 

 

We had a family cookout on Saturday night. Gran, Jed and Grandmom all joined us to celebrate moms! Nonna and Pop were at the boat and were missed, but we got to wish Nonna a Happy Mother's Day over the phone.

Sunday I was able to do yoga, relax by the pool (with kids of course) and go to church. My boys got be this beautiful necklace that I LOVE! But these four arms around my neck are my favorite accessory of all.