All good things must come to an end.

Four years ago we enrolled Hensley in the Wee Shine Preschool program and we blinked and graduation day is here! How? You always here the older you get the faster time flys by and when you have kids it goes even faster. Some how the trips back and forth to his school are over. Some how the afternoons sitting in the car rider line watching him play on the playground with his little friends are over. Some how this little perfect place with these amazing kids and incredible teachers who love him as their own are over!!!

I'll never forget the first day of school when Andy and I dropped him off kicking and screaming, and Hensley was pretty upset too! :) He cried and clung to me every single morning for weeks, maybe even months. We wondered several times if we started him to early or if it was cruel to leave him this way every morning. However his teachers loved him. They loved him so much. I had never felt so comfortable leaving Hensley with someone until Mrs. Cindy and Mrs. Sharon. They were so amazing and kind. By the end of the year Hensley was a different kid. He was more outgoing, independent and sociable. He still had a lot of growing to do but he reached so many goals and made huge accomplishments in such a short time.

So here we are. At the end. The school parties are over. The days of pushing each other on the tricycles in the adorable little playground are no more. It's time to move on. To face the next adventure. But first.......we celebrate!

We took Hensley out for a celebration dinner at his choice place and he chose Cracker Barrel! We had a few gifts for him and I couldn't wait to see his face :) 

Hensley has been asking for an airsoft gun and since he loves zombies so much we got him a zombie one with a zombie target! He loved it so much!

I am so proud of this boy. 

Then we were off to the church! We planned to get there early to take a lot of pictures with everyone who came to celebrate this great accomplishment....and get perfect seats :) 

 

Another gift before the ceremony! Thanks Hayes Family. 

Time for the ceremony :) 

Getting his diploma :)

I think the kids favorite part of the program was the last song they sang, "Hey Hey Hey Goodbye"! They sand their little hearts out!!

Everyone was so proud of him. Proudest day for me as a mom so far :) And I was pretty proud of myself too because, I didn't cry!! :)

One more gift this one was his favorite from Uncle Brandon :) 

There was a beautiful reception afterwards and it was nice to sit down, eat cake and fellowship with all this classmates and their parents one last time. Our little ones ran around the gym playing chase just like they had so many times before at the annual Thanksgiving luncheons and at the Fall Festivals. It was nice bring it all full circle. 

Each year he has grown and made new friends and every single year we were more in love with the school and the program. The teachers were always so incredible. Never once did we worry about him while he was at school. My son's life will forever be changed by this school and the people in it. No amount of thank you cards or gifts could ever let them know what they truly meant to us or how much they impacted his life. GOD always has a plan for us and ever since Hensley was born I have prayed that Hensley would be put on a path that would always make him a better person and surround him with people who love him and uplift him and those prayers were answered many times over during this time at Wee Shine. Time to start a new adventure, but first......It's SUMMER TIME!!!! :) 

Do not worry about Tomorrow

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matt 6:34 NIV

You know that feeling when you want something so bad you can taste it (as the old saying goes)? Something you feel so deep in your soul that you just know it has to happen? I have had several of those moments in my life before and for the past year there has been something that consumed my thoughts. Something that I prayed about every single day, sometimes multiple times a day, for the past year.

In February of 2013 I started to think about Hensley going to kindergarten. Only 19 months before he ever entered kindergarten ( I am a planner ). I started thinking about where he would go and how where he went would effect the rest of his life. Being someone who loved school all my life and also someone who changed schools twice in my life time I knew how that effected me and I didn't want that for Hensley. I wanted a great school and I also wanted him to attend a school district I knew he would stay at through the course of the next 13 years.

I did some research online and quickly learned that the school district  near our home was not exactly exceptional. So my brain started to turn. I Googled my little heart out. Soon I came realize there was a whole other option beside private versus public. I had never myself heard of charter schools but quickly learned the ones in our area were pretty awesome. They were smaller then public schools, privately owned, had lots of one on one opportunities with great technology, with all the great things public schools offer such as sports and after school clubs. And the best part was that they each had what all private schools had with no cost! I couldn't understand at first why more parents I knew weren't putting there children in these schools, and then I realized it wasn't that they weren't trying. The only way to get in was to be lucky!!! Each school held there own private lottery drawing each year to enroll new students. And once I learned how few spots there compared to how many applied each year I was shocked.

Still Andy and I were very curious to see what all the buzz was about. We toured a local charter school in February 2013 and were amazed. It was an outstanding school with a fantastic staff and so many opportunities that just aren't available to public schools. I knew when we left that night from the tour that this was the type of place I wanted Hensley to be. I felt it in my bones. We prayed, we researched, and we prayed some more. I found out that there were many charter schools in our area and they all were pretty great. So instead of picking one and applying I decided to apply to them all and see what happened. Six in total. I believed that with so many around the chances had to be pretty good that we would get accepted to one, at least. There were some we liked more then others, some that were closer, and little things that made some more of a match for us then others but we knew and trusted that God would lead us to the one where Hensley would be his best.

Going back for a moment we went through this similar situation way back in 2010 when I started feeling so strongly that Hensley needed to be in a preschool program. We prayed hard about that issue and were lead to Pleasant Garden Baptist Church, a church we had never been too and knew no one at. I had no idea why I felt so strongly to visit that church and at the time we had never left Hensley with any one but my mom but I felt compelled to take him to the nursery that day and see what it was like. It was very out of character for us to do either one of these things but at the same time it felt so right. We learned that day that they had an amazing preschool program and sign ups were coming up. Hensley has been there ever since and it's been the greatest decision we had ever made.

As March 2014 approached we anticipated the charter school lottery drawings and knew it would be a scary time. We kept the faith and trusted in GOD each and every day knowing he would point us in the right direction and lead us to the best place for Hensley. We knew in our hearts that we had been led down this path for a reason, however that did not stop me from worrying constantly.  As the lottery drawings came and went we were finding ourselves on every waiting list. It was frustrating and sad. There were many times I cried and many times I thought maybe I was trying to make myself believe that we were suppose to be on this path. As the last lottery drawing was held I was a ball of nerves knowing it was our last shot as well as the drawing for the school we sought after the most. Many people had told us not to lose faith just because we were on the waiting list because those people get called all the time for open spots. It was a nice idea but being 24 on the list and even higher at some other schools (124, 211, etc) was very disheartening.

Driving away from the final school drawing that day I was emotionally drained. The past year this subject had taken over my thoughts and worries. And the past month had consisted of disappointments one after another. We were number 24 on the waiting list. The lowest number on any of the waiting lists we were on. But this school was smaller, only 44 in the two kindergarten classes. All I could think was that there was no way 23 other people would pass up a spot at this amazing school in order to give Hensley a chance. I cried leaving the lottery that warm March afternoon. I knew all the drawings were over. It was time for plan B. However I no idea what that plan would be.

Crushed. That's the word I would use to describe me from that day forward. For a few weeks I just let it all set in. That this dream was over. That my gut was wrong this time.

Then Andy and started talking about other options and even decided during one conversation to just let him attend the local (not so fantastic) school district and try again next year for charter schools. This decision never felt right. It never settled with me. I knew it just wasn't what was meant to be. I starting filling out paper work to get a change in public school districts and we even considered moving, which had always been in the back of our minds to do anyway, and started looking at houses. I knew it was going to be a long summer leading up to the Fall when this journey would really begin for us. Still we prayed. For guidance. For peace with what all had happened. For strength. We prayed and we trusted.

This past Thursday Hensley and I did our usual routine of coming home from preschool and letting him check the mail. "Just junk", he said as he handed me the mail. This was his usual response the mail unless a package or colorful envelope arrived. As soon as I looked at who it was addressed to my heart started beating. TO THE PARENT OF HENSLEY WHITT, it read. Not a usual envelope. I glanced at the top left corner to see the return address, CLOVER GARDEN CHARTER SCHOOL. eeeekkkkkK!

I ripped open that letter faster then the speed of light!! I only had to read the first line....."This letter is to formally announce the acceptance of your child Hensley Cole Whitt into Clover Garden Charter School."

This was it. The moment we prayed for. The moment I knew deep in my soul would happen. I had questioned myself and I had doubted my gut but never during this whole process I never stopped trusting GOD. After all this time of feeling like I was carrying a huge boulder, it finally felt like someone had taken it out of my hands.

And I cried.

I cried because I was so happy. So relieved. So thankful.

I am no longer dreading the upcoming school year. We are excited. So excited!

I think we are all to quick to give up on a dream or a prayer and as much as we WANT to trust GOD I have learned that if we truly trusted him with all our heart we would never have a day or worry in our lives. SO even though I trust in Him and love him and know he will never leave me nor forsake me I pray nightly for my trust in him to grow strong enough that I never have another day of worry in my life.

Preparing For A New Journey

2014 hasn't been the best year so far. Don't get me wrong it's held many blessing and good times so far but it's also brought a lot of heartache. Watching my Grandma slowly slip away since late January and finally being with her as she lost her battle with stomach cancer in mid March was a very hard and dark time for me.

Just when the healing started to begin my Mom began to get very sick. She was having a lot of issues and pain with her stomach and it was honestly very scary. Hoping for the best but preparing for the worst was my frame of mind. A few weeks of back and forth to several doctors finally confirmed a diagnosis of diverticulitis. A common disease that produces abscess pockets in her intestines and colon. She was treated with some antibiotics and sent home. A few weeks later the pain returned with a vengeance and this time surgery seemed to be the answer.

A two week hospital stay, pretty routine surgery and a lot of prayers later my Mom seemed to be on the mend. She was healing quickly physically  but emotionally it was hard. She is a very emotional person and everything going on with her health was really effecting her mentally and emotionally. She seemed to have reached a good place and was heading home from the hospital in a few short days when an unexpected visit from her doctor took place. He had popped in periodically while she was recovering to check on her and chat about her recovery but this visit was different. He wasn't just popping in. He came in with a distinct purpose.

The type of surgery she had done was removing part of her colon to take out any of the abscess and infection that the diverticulitis had caused. They removed about 14 inches of it and also removed her appendix which he assured us was a common practice in order to avoid having problems with it down the road. Routinely, what is removed during surgery is sent off to be tested to make sure nothing else more serious could be lurking. We never really thought much about the results because us nor the doctor were expecting it come back abnormal.

The results that day were shocking. They were life changing. And they HURT. They hurt so bad emotionally. The results confirmed that she did indeed have colon cancer. Immediately I became very angry. I was mad because it didn't seem fair. We had just dealt with this. We had just lost someone we all loved so very much and seen the pain it caused her every single day. My mom is young. She is pretty healthy. She had no signs or symptoms. It wasn't fair that she was going to go through this after being by my Grandma's side constantly watching her slip away from this terrible disease day by day.

We were full of questions and uncertainties. We had no idea what stage it was or if it was all removed during surgery. We had no idea what was going to happen next or what to expect in the coming days, weeks and months. Her doctor ordered some blood to be drawn and it came with even more bad news. The cancer was in her lymph nodes. I began to quickly research every thing I could online about colon cancer and the stages, what the survival rate was, how long chemo would have to last and what to expect while she was having chemo.

I was wondering what my part in all this would be. I knew my Mom would need me....a lot. And I knew I would be there for her for any and all of this journey. She had done such an amazing job taking care of my Grandma and I knew I wanted to do the same for her. I knew she would need someone to cry to and someone to make her laugh. Someone to sit with her during those long hours of chemo treatments and someone to hug her tight and just say "I'm here" during all of this.

Hearing this news puts so many things into perspective. We get so busy doing the day to day mundane tasks, rushing here and there to do things that at the end of the day aren't even important. I realized that day after hearing the diagnoses that I wasn't going to have any regrets. I had regretted not accepting what was happening to my grandma sooner. I had regrets about being in denial for so many months and not being with her more. Not telling her I loved her every single day. I had something very important that I had wanted to tell my Grandma for months and months but never got the courage until standing alone beside her casket in the funeral home that day. I regretted that so much.

I wasn't going to have one single regret with my mom. There wasn't going to be one single time that I was going to look back and say " I wished I was there with her for that". I wasn't going to let a day go by without calling or stopping by to see her.

She has an appointment with the cancer doctor in a few days and I will be there with her with all of my questions. I am scared for her and scared for me. I am unsure of the unknown but there are three things I know: My mother is strong, prayers are answered every single day, and I will be by her side through it all.

So bring it on cancer. We may be scared but we are strong and God is on our side.

And we have each other.

Easter Sunday 2014

Happy Resurrection Day!!!!  Easter was this past Sunday and it was really the year that Hensley understood what Easter was about, the religious side and the commercial side. He learned so much at school and church this year about why we REALLY celebrate this amazing day and he really understood the story and told so many other people about the true meaning of this holiday. He was also OBSESSED this year with Easter eggs and hiding them over and over and over again!

We did a lot of fun stuff this year leading up to Easter. There were several Easter eggs hunts, a trip to visit the Easter bunny and a lot of memories made. Here goes :

One of the first events we had was an Easter egg hunt at Hensley's preschool. It's an annual tradition and one of many that I will miss dearly next year. This year Hensley's goal was to find the one gold or sliver egg hidden in order to get an extra surprise. We were fast and we looked high and low but ultimately some else found it. He wasn't phased he was far too busy going through the TON of eggs he did find.

It was wear purple to school day....the only thing he owned was this hat! HAHA!

HUNTING!

The Haul :)

 My boy is getting so big. 

We hit up Chick-fil-a for lunch after with our friends Gabe and Amanda. It was an absolutly beautiful spring day. 

Spring finally came to stay around here and we have been spending as much time as possible outside. Hensley received a new bike for his birthday from his Granny and Pawpaw and one evening I looked out to discover him already "working" on it. :) 

We also spent a weekend updating our front yard. Hensley was a huge help as you can see but the end result was amazing!!

Next up was an egg hunt and resurrection trail at our church. We invited some of our friends and it was a great time :) 

The resurrection trail was 12 tables set up with a person at each station. Each child received an egg at each station with an item inside to symbolize a part of the Easter story in the Bible. They were also read the verse that corresponded with that item.  It was a very neat way to teach the children more aspects of the real meaning of Easter. 

We made crafts as well and played a game of soccer and lastly we had the big egg hunt. There were prizes for the most eggs found and ...... Hensley won!! He had a total of 106!!!

I would say there would be no shortage of Easter candy this year at our house!!

We had amazing grand plans the Saturday before Easter to go to Lazy 5 ranch and have a glorious day and hunt eggs dropped by a helicopter but.....it rained all stinking day!!!! 

SO.....we visited the Easter bunny, grabbed lunch, hit up the bounce house and came home to dye Easter eggs with our friends ;) 

We did not let the rain ruin our fun day :)

Finally it was Easter Sunday. The Easter bunny had clearly been busy the night before! Hensley had a ton of stuff to look at and open. He was absolutely adorable on Easter morning. We raided the Easter baskets, ate breakfast and did a quick Easter egg hunt and a little photo shoot before we were off to church :) 

We left carrots out for the Easter bunny. 

He ate all Hensley's carrots and left him a little note :) 

  

Happy Easter! Remember to not only teach your children about the real reason for this holiday but to also remember it yourselves. :)