Another Milestone

We had another milestone in our lives this weekend: our first sporting event. We entered Micah into a golf tournament and were all looking so forward to seeing how he did, if he liked it, and if this might be a sport we pursue in the future. He was in an age group of 4-7 year olds and was the youngest by 1.5 years and the smallest by a foot and probably 15 pounds. It was adorable to see him dressed for his big day carrying a golf club and sipping a special drink he had picked out the day before. We had no expectations. We didn't know if he would do well, if he would feel pressured, if he would be so far behind the other boys. Our little boy made us so proud. He did well in the tournament, scoring a 28 on five holes. Each hole was a par 4 for his age group, and his score put him in third place. But it wasn't his score that amazed us as we watched him on the course. He was so poised, showed such confidence without being arrogant, watched the other little boy in our group and offered encouraging words (not within earshot of Jack, but we heard him) and stayed focused and consistent. I told my mom afterwards, I just feel so humbled to have such a special little boy. We never went over how he was to act because we had no anticipation of how he would respond to the pressure of a real tournament. To see his true colors come to life on the course was such a special gift. We will always remember our sweet Micah and his first golf tournament with such fondness.

Matt was Micah's caddy. I think Micah was impressed by his name tag on the back of Matt's vest.

Vitamin water. He had to have a sip after every hole. He was very excited to have his own big drink for the tournament.

One of the best shots of the tournament. He flopped it from the rough and actually hit the cup-so close.

Very happy with that shot!

Micah had an extra "dad" there. My brother loves golf and came to watch his nephew. He offered some good advice and might even play in another tournament with him in a few weeks.

Owen enjoyed a ride on Gramp's shoulders. I know he was happy for some attention too.

Priceless!

Micah at the scoreboard. He didn't earn a trophy, but is excited to try for one next time.

My sister-in-law and me -1.5 weeks away from meeting our babies. We waddled along together, talked about our contractions, and hoped for two healthy babies to arrive quickly.

Catch-Up

Sometimes, when you are very pregnant, it is about survival. So, I haven't been as diligent as I like to be about keeping the blog updated. I am really getting the itch to have everything ready as we approach the full-term mark (even though I have never had early labor, you never know!) so I want to update two big events.

The Beach

One Monday afternoon (I think I was 32 weeks pregnant and had sworn I wouldn't travel for the uncomfortableness of it) Matt said, half jokingly, "you wanna go to the beach this weekend." The beach is 8 hours away, but the beach is my favorite place to be. I said "yes, can we?" He was flabbergasted at my response, but like a wonderful husband trying to help his wife get through the agonizing last weeks of pregnancy, he came home and quickly found us a cheap place to stay. Within a few hours, we were officially taking a beach trip and leaving in less than 4 days. Thankfully, I survived the car ride with only about 15 bathroom breaks. Because the boys were so excited and we were borrowing my in-laws van, the trip flew by peacefully. We arrived at the gulf to hot temperatures and a seaweed filled ocean, but no one cared. We were together, we were at the beach, and we were so happy (seaweed filled bathing-suits and all!) We ate delicious seafood and ice cream cones, sat on the balcony in the breezy evenings, took a long beach walk (where we saw a huge blue crab, baby shark, and two sting rays) during a beautiful sunset, swam in the pool, and praised the Lord for allowing us a wonderful family vacation.

First Day of School

Last week marked a big milestone: the first day of school for both my boys. We knew that this day was coming and had been planning and anticipating its arrival. This day meant lots of things: Margot would be here in a month or less, I was going to have two full mornings a week to be alone until Margot arrived, Owen was officially old enough to go to preschool, I am officially old enough to have CHILDREN-plural, in preschool, I had made it through the long hot summer and enjoyed myself! The boys were very excited. We tried not to make too big a deal out of it because we all tend to get a little nervous with big changes. Micah sailed right through the good-byes, walked into his new classroom, put down his back-pack, and got to work. I was very thankful for this as I was rushing out the door so I could show Owen what to do. He was very nervous, had his head down, and a little bit of a quivering lip as we walked into his busy classroom. I took him to the bathroom, helped him line up and snapped a few pictures as they walked to devotions. I stayed and watched my boys worship and was so happy to see Owen participating with a big smile. I could tell when I picked them up, that this was the right decision. They were so proud to show me their work and tell me about their day. I tackled a bunch of errands that needed to get done before we have another little one in the house. By Friday, we had Owen running a high unexplained fever and two unruly, fussy boys making me doubt my initial reaction. After a bunch of hugs, tears from three of us, a patient and loving dada treat of Mexican, and a good night's sleep, we are all "back in the game!" I have to remind myself that change is hard. Here's hoping to a better next Friday!