six...

happy birthday wyatt...

hard to believe you are 6 years old, seems like time is passing much too quickly.

you fill a place in our hearts unlike any other...

simply, you complete us.

you make our family of 4 so much richer to have you.

when wyatt got his dodger schedule he quickly noticed that there was a game

on his birthday...a home game against the st.louis cardinals

a friday night firework night...

he wanted to go.

so for his birthday we went...

the cutest dodger fans around

honestly, these two are the best of friends...

camryn was so excited to spend wyatt's birthday at the

dodger game with him.  

she wouldn't have it any other way...

it's the unspoken between them that's amazing

camryn knows that her life in no way would be the same 

without her brother, her best brother.

and this picture just makes my heart smile.

jason & wyatt

they love the dodgers, they love baseball...

and they love being best buddies

i love the way wyatt is looking at his daddy

what better birthday present than a 

dodger win!

complete with wyatt's favorite player, 

andre ethier hitting a home run!

wyatt was so excited to go on the field to watch fireworks

in fact he wanted to sit in right field in honor

of ethier

yep, he bleeds dodger blue

wyatt is a sports nut and i have no idea where he gets that

he decided he wanted a usc birthday party, because

the trojans were playing stanford

yep, a boy after my own heart.

we had a very fun day celebrating wyatt with family 

and a few of his best friends

many thanks to those who came to celebrate 

our boy wy

he had lots of fun playing boys against girls...

oh my i could see it all beginning

and since it was over 100 degrees we brought out the blow up pool

and lots of water fun!

isn't this the cutest face ever?

yep, we love our sweet p

the kids splashing and playing...

what fun to add in school friends with life long friends

jason & i are so very thankful for the circle of friends

wyatt has...his world is much bigger than it 

once was and we couldn't be more grateful.

waiting for cake...love these little faces

wyatt and eisley...

the best of friends

love the special friendship 

of these two

six years ago our world became very full with little guy

he brought a most special gift to his sister

and completes a place in our hearts

wyatt is our daily, moment by moment, megaphone

of the lord in our lives saying

"i'm not finished, wait, hope, believe...a most precious gift is coming"

a bike from papa & grandma...

(love the sign made by my dad)

they boys being boys...

one of the blessings on village is the friendship of these two

oz & wyatt

they are the sweetest of friends and i cherish 

the friendship they have

and as oz's mom and i say...

"this is for their senior page."

wyatt,

you are the best boy we could ever ask for.  you make our hearts smile.

we remember waiting for you to come, waiting to see just who you'd be.

and no doubt about it, you sweet boy are exactly what we need.

you continue to amaze us with your sweet heart, stubborn spirit,

amazing abilities, driven personality, aim for perfection.

you the best...our best.

we love you 18 hundred 1 million 3 thousand times.

love,

daddy & mommy xoxo

and as camryn's card said to him

"i can't believe you are six.  you are the best brother ever. love your big sis, cam"

mommy's going back too...

so this summer i made the decision (with much encouragement from jason & my bosses) to go back to graduate school.  in no way is this a decision that i would have come up with, but with some visionary leaders in my life the lord open the doors for me to pursue a master's in educational leadership at apu.  

i did the whole gideon from the bible thing of laying out my fleeces for the lord.  i ask him to make it clear to me when i went to an appointment with dr. marcos at apu that i would know with certainty that this is the path for me.  as i drove out to apu a path i have traveled numerous times i was caught with nostalgia...i first drove out to apu 19 years ago to start my freshmen year.  wow, so much has changed.

i met with dr.marcos and was super impressed by her, she was wonderful.  we chatted about life, her's eerily foreshadows mine (both 8th grade history teachers, married to pe teachers, with a daughter and a son).  she was great...but the whole time the fleece loomed.  we started talking the real issues of going back to school.  how many classes?  how long?  how much money?  and the lord was as he always is, in the details.  since i already have a master's from apu i am waived 12 units of work, as well as all the admission fees.  crazy i thought.  all to say i have 4 classes, that's it...which will take me one year.  i sat there amazed at the lord...really?!  dr.marcos encouraged me to take advantage of the program, and that she would be my advisor all the way through and to take my classes online since i am working full-time, and a mommy of two.  

again the lord has directed me back to a place that means so much to me.  i did some of the most important growth with the lord in my life at apu.  had incredible mentors and leaders through my undergrad and graduate programs, and now i go back for more.

i went out there again today to buy my books...it's orientation weekend with lots of freshman and there is a buzz of life there beginning.  i was amazed at even though it's been 15 years since i graduated, and 10 years since my masters, apu is home.  there is a quality there that i love.  

i am thankful that the lord continually opens doors, when it is needed.  nervous?  absolutely, but again like gideon i feel like the lord long ago brought the people in my life to lead me to risk this jump...because it is a risk, but one that i am very excited for.

so, mommy starts school tomorrow...yikes!  

first day of school...

both camryn & wyatt were super excited for school to start, they had been anticipating finding out their teachers and who was in their classes for the last weeks of summer...finally, the lists were posted.

camryn was thrilled to have miss e and even more excited that her friend p was in her class.  we have said over and over how very blessed cam was to have a wonderful second grade year with some of the best girlfriends ever.  camryn was happy to get her supplies for third grade and even more surprised that she had to get WIDE ruled notebook paper.  "wow, mom this is big kid paper."  yes, it is...all the while thinking how in the world is she this old?!  yikes!  camryn picked out a hello kitty lunchbox, complete with a hello kitty thermos!  she is loving it!

wyatt informed us that he is a "big boy now."  guess first grade is no longer the little grade.  he was very happy to get mrs. a...and have some of his friends in his class.  this summer wyatt has seemed to grow so much, maybe not physically (he's still a little peanut); but emotionally.  wyatt is more sure of himself and confident and this was so noticeable to us as he prepared for first grade.  he was super excited to go to school...he truly loves to learn, which is so fun to see.  he picked out a cars lunchbox, complete with a cars thermos...and he too is loving it!

watching these two navigate the first two weeks of school has been priceless, even more grown up than i thought.  they were excited to be back in the familiar territory of village and even more so with their friends.

 they are silly, crazy, fun, and everything in between.  love that these two make the days of going to work even better, watching them come into their own in their own little pieces of the world is wonderful.  they have blossomed in ways that i never thought possible and i am ever so thankful for their teachers who guide them each day.

many thanks to miss e and mrs. a who constantly love on my kids.  teaching them responsibility, math, reading, spelling, computers, and everything in between.  but, most importantly to love jesus...to experience his great love for them and growing to love him too.  for this there is no price to high to pay...for them to be daily loved by people who pray for them, love them, and thank jesus for them.  i could not ask for more.

there are many things that could be said for the journey that brings us to today...but, the one word that comes to mind when i look at these two faces is grateful.  these days are a gift.  period.  i longed for them and wished for them many days ago when all just seemed so dark.  but, the sun shines now...and these faces capture the greatest words my heart needs to hear.  he loves us.

who would have thought three years ago this little miss was struggling just to live.  a lot of things have changed since those days...hair is a lot longer, she is taller, she is older, but even in all the changes some things remain.  cam is a fighter, she is survivor, and she knows that she was so incredibly sick and jesus made her better....and she loves that he made her better with this face...

wyatt.  he is growing into his own person and challenging us in ways we never thought possible.  and yet, regardless of the moments his life screams loudly in my heart that the lord is never finished, he is so far ahead of us that even when we think we know, we have no idea.  hard to believe this little guy will be 6 in about two weeks.  

six years of parenthood which in no way has been what we thought it would be.  you cannot plan for your child to have cancer...and yet, when i see where we are i know that it is only through walking through the storm clouds, that we get to see the rainbow.

and yes, the rainbow of a promise...that god loves us, oh how he loves us.

so, we start school another year of normalcy and we cherish it beyond measure.  thank you jesus for giving us these days...and even the days these past six years to bring us to this day.

thank you for loving us...and staring school with us too!