(Note: This post was written November 30, 2021 when whomever had decided my computer’s operating system can’t load wordpress anymore – or any other website haha!)
We found ourselves ending the month with a visit to the Palatka campus of St John’s River State College. Becky and Kimberly were doing college stuff. The littles and not-so-littles-anymore found themselves doing schoolwork at a stone table in the warm sunshine on a frosty morning. By 11am, though, it had warmed enough to allow for shedding of jackets. (This is Florida anyway, locals know autumn calls for bundle with layers in the morning, regular clothes by noon, swimsuit at 2pm, all clothing back on by 6pm, and windbreakers at 8.)
Lucas took a little stuffed animal and started playing hike (his version of one-boy football).
Thea yells, “look, scissors jumps!” *does a few scissors jumps, “tuck jumps!” *does a few tuck jumps (I’m impressed, she’s landing on both feet simultaneously) and other gymnastics steps as she stays in “the warmness” (aka sunshine).
Jillian finishes with bases and exponents after too many, “Mom! X equals what am I doing?” because when she’s in a hurry, she forgets to read the directions. She promptly joins in the grassland fun (now Lucas and Jillian start a wrestling match).
Jaquline lags a bit behind as “poetry has too many grammar errors!” (Her assignment is to edit the grammar errors and rewrite.)
We meet people we know! (Okay, people whose children I know.) Lucas lands in a prickly bush and waddles up with “prickles in my butt like Pooh” (Pooh Bear landing in a gorse bush, anyone?) which I have to pick off without laughing.
Jillian wants to do pull ups on the big tree limbs but can’t reach them. Even with her biggest high jump, she is still too short. Jaquline’s attempt to help her up is hilarious.
Thea plays with squinkies at the stone table. Jillian says “both college schools have stone tables.” (They had given nicknames to places we did school at the Saint Augustine campus before Christina was a driver.) Lucas “made friends” with the ants – not something I would suggest.
Throwback pictures to The Tortuga aka the gazebo over the center of the water at the Saint Augustine Campus of St Johns River State College.
School at The Tortuga
Finding turtles at The Tortuga
“Picture me, mommy!”
I love how my children can find entertainment in any situation. From grass, trees, imagination, or teeny tiny toys they bring along with them everywhere; there is always something to do even if we are at a brand new college campus on a lazy late autumn day!
As I drove to work, I noticed the goldenrods in bloom. My mother always told us that meant six weeks to cooler weather. Everywhere I have lived, that bit of seasonal information has held true. From Virginia to South Carolina and, yes, even in steamy Florida.
The thought of seasonal change made me smile and reflect on the seasons of life our family is shifting into this year:
Christina started her first day at an “away” college. She’s a junior at Embry-Riddle. Her literal first day of classes was today. A season of independence for her – her eighteenth birthday is looming closer than I want to believe. Secretly, I already consider her an adult. I’m so excited for her and pray for wisdom in her new ventures!!
Rebeccah got her first request that wasn’t family for her art. Her birdies are almost old enough to sell. Her hobbies are blooming the imaginative artist within her! She has been raking up driving hours with us… Sixteen is too close.
Kimberly has taken on teaching roles at home, at gym and at church. She loves teaching. She loves tutoring. She is growing patience and understanding. She is facing tough decisions between CAP and Xcel Team gymnastics. Her goals, respectively, were officer rank and team. Made one! The new restrictions and the lack of social interaction at CAP versus the unlimited freedoms, friendly faces, and encouraging camraderie at her gym. She asked me to make her decision… I have to let her decide and I will support her decision.
Kimberly and Jaquline
Jaquline is maturing into a young lady. Mom may not be ready for that! She loves gymnastics and thrives in her books – she, just like her older sisters, is a bookworm. Jaquline is beginning to enter her realm of personal responsibility and leadership.
Jillian is learning to manage friendships and learning to discern when to follow and when to lead.
Lucas entered school “officially,” as he’s first grade. He is enjoying his new challenges!
Big sisters like to take pictures and selfies…
Thea started Gym-N-Learn at WGV Gymnastics. Mom isn’t ready for some of the skills she tries, but her ability to learn from others and take direction? Yes, that is so awesome!
Each season is a new discovery of challenges. Of fun and fabulous adventures… Of making new friends, finding new loves, achieving new goals…
Life constantly moves forward. You can never go backwards in life. If you missed something, start over. Renew. Rejoin. Always move forward. Someone said to me, “you’re such a dreamer, you’ll never have your own (house).” But I believe in God’s timing and plan for the future while living in the present! I embrace this new season nd pray for wisdom to guide my younglings (and not so young younglings) through their new seasons of life.
I hope as this season starts for you, you remember the awesome past, look to the future, and build memories in the present!
Look out world! Here comes a full confident young woman who continually amazes her family! #ProudParent #WeLoveYou
And… IT Happened!
January 9, 2020
I am at work, minding my own business, trying to focus solely on work.
*BLING* No noise, though, because my phone is on silent like it should be.
I glance at it laying on the desk.
WHAT!
“Mom, which day is good for University tour? I need it for my scholarship application next year.”
I reread that with bugged out eyes.
Yes, next year. Like, application to be delivered in the beginning of fall 2020. Where did time run?
Fast forward to the day before said university tour date (I’ve already asked for the day off months ago & am really excited about visiting this place!).
*BLING*
Um… Really? It’s lunch, though (oddly she seems to understand the no-phones-during-work concept already), so I look.
I get a picture… it’s an outline of our entire day, which not only includes the long drive, university tour, campus discussion, and such, but also squeezes in “appointment at DMV.”
Wait. What appointment? It’s Jaquline’s 10th birthday – my mind instantly pops to Kimberly and Jaquline’s open request for their FL IDs. Nope. Three dots (means she’s typing another text) pop up…
“Oh, that’s because 01/07 is when I can get my real driver’s license & I already booked the appointment so we will just make it if there’s traffic.”
I laugh out loud.
I could say impressed, but I’m not really. I know my young woman very well. She knows that if she wants something, she has to set it all up and make it happen. Expecially since I’ve been working full-time now, all of the girls have become far more independent. Before it was my policy that if they wanted something (plan an outing, attend an event, join a club/group, get a job, etc.) that wasn’t a family thing, I would help research and direct, but they had to do the paperwork, calling, or whatever else that had to be done. Now, though, my free time at home is taken up with the younglings doing really basic stuff like verifying schoolwork, going over new concepts again, attempting to train basic manners and such in two of three hours without feeling like a joy-leech (more on that to come later), and other such. Sometimes I feel like I never get to talk to my teens & preteen.
Driving them places was my only dedicated time to talk with them… I’m not sure I want her to have her license…
Nothing is going to slow her down.
I love that she’s so independent and self-reliant. I love that she has goals and makes things happen to reach them.
…I’ve been in thought too long, the three dots come back…
“It shouldn’t take too long. I made an appointment.”
So I send a smiley face. (I didn’t even realize the DMV was open that late)
*Pause for the tour… and the sweet story of this picture!*
The above picture was her grabbing a “quick selfie” with me as Dad stopped for his breakfast after the tour – “we have to have one picture from the tour with both of us!” (My heart almost melted, I had several pictures of her, just none of me... she meant she wanted a picture with me.)
Fast forward to January 7th, and I’m typing on a blog after driving Christina to her appointment. I’m waiting for my sixteen year old to get back from her test. She’s about to step into a new level of independence.
I’m not really scared – though most people say I should be.
I trust that she’s learned well. I trust that she will make safe, wise decisions. Mostly, this peace I’m carrying is because I know regardless of what I want, I can only hold her hand for so long – I have to let her grow. I let her go into God’s hands… back into God’s hands, actually. Not that she ever left His care, just that he entrusted Louis & I with her for a while. A few short years in the span of life… we get to hold, love on, teach, and enjoy our younglings as they learn in a safe, protected environment.
The ultimate test is what they do once they leave.
I see her trying to hide her excitement – CAP has taught her that – as she comes back in. She needs me to come to the agent’s window. I smile as I mentally ask myself, “is this the last time I’ll need to sign something for her to give permission?” (She’s not 18, so silly question, but that’s what my mind says to me.)
She passed (no, I’m not surprised) and we drive home. I tease her that I could take a nap in the backseat now.
Someone asked me, “aren’t you worried about her driving the interstate after…?” They didn’t complete it but my head did, “…you just lost Mary there.”
No. “Why not?”
I asked myself the same thing as Kimberly and Christina loaded up in “Old Blue” (her name for her car) in their ABUs and my oldest and preteen drove out on their first solo drive. “Why aren’t you worried?” – and I give myself the same answer I gave that person, “Jesus is in charge of my heart and hers.”
I’m secretly thrilled beyond measure of the whole university experience she will launch into next year. I’m excited for her getting to drive at 16 (I was 19 when I got my first driver’s license). I’m so proud of her I sometimes feel my heart might bust. And this is just the beginning… New stage, for me and for Christina.
This year, 2020, has already seen my first university tour (Christina), first fully licensed driver (Christina), and Kimberly’s first long trip away from home. 2020 will include: oldest trio’s first summer camp together, Christina’s first solo flight, Lucas’ starting kindergarten, Becky’s learner’s permit, and Kimberly’s Vyteen account. By their plans; Kimberly wants to take the PERT, Jaquline & Kimberly plan to be team gymnasts, Kimberly wants to be C/Sgt before summer… and those are just the ones I currently know about… I’m blessed to be their mom. I’m super excited for them.
Jesus is in charge of my heart and theirs. I have a peace as they grow that some people just don’t understand… but my joy in their achievements is something everyone can relate to!
Who
knew my thirteen year old would be bouncing all over the county (okay, not literally) this semester in
her activities?
Becky
decided on two courses this semester. Her
online class turned out to be a half-semester starting after her birthday. Her Macroeconomics started last week. She has Tuesday and Thursday classes for an
hour and a half, getting off just in time for Grandma to pick her up from
college on her way to work. This is nice
because it gets Becky to her 4:30 gym class which I would be late for! (Logistics is getting to be a Tetris maze
because we have four young ladies involved in four different activities at
varying times plus normal household stuff and four jobs between the three of
us! – This may ease up when Christina becomes an independent driver!)
Becky
has Tuesday & Thursday college, Thursday gymnastics, Wednesday youth group,
and periodic meetings with people adopting her little piggies. She’s doing an online coding class, doing
regular schoolwork, assistant teaching, babysitting, and just decided to start
her own website to show people her little farm critters.
Becky wants to be an orthodontic
surgeon at the moment; although that has fluctuated from brain surgeon,
midwife, obstetrician, dentist, orthodontist, her direction will likely be
medical. She studies all kinds of fun
things along the way: conjoined twins (brain
operations to keep their brains intact successfully), whole body health,
nutrition, how nutrition affects the teeth, how a healthy smile affects a
person’s confidence, brain development and chemicals, the effects of stress on
the body… you name it, we’ve likely heard Becky popping up from some research with,
“hey! You know what?” and relaying all
this new knowledge. She likes to read
opposing views, research, and experiment to see what result she gets.
She’s anxiously waiting for braces;
hopefully that happens soon – as she wants a “smile I am proud of.” (But I don’t know how we’ll squeeze another
item in our family schedule!)
I’m thoroughly enjoying this discovery stage Becky has been traveling through. I smile when I think of her being almost 2-years-old using my phone charger as a Doppler to “hear” Kimberly’s heartbeat and later handing my midwife the instruments as she named them during the first part of Kimberly’s birth. That started Becky’s love of health, the human body, and eventually medicine. My little scientist. Animal lover. Comedian. I pray she finds her path as God leads her and enjoys her journey along the way!
A birth story of our little angel (and a slideshow of proud siblings & family!)
February 22, 2019
The Story of Baby Thea
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I was growing my seventh little angel.
Today, I get to write the story of her arrival!
On February 19th, a beautiful Tuesday morning, my day started normally. During my 32 minute drive to work, the Baby started thinking there was not enough room and my body did the stretching contractions (Braxton-Hicks) that is very normal for me in the last month or two before birth. I didn’t think much of it, really. After my boss left for appointments, one of my office companions, Lily, a beautiful brown and white pittie belonging to my boss, started laying at my feet and wouldn’t let me go anywhere without her! This was a bit of a warning to me because Sheba (my Aussie mix) always does this to me when I’m in active labor. I left at one (normal time) to get to Christina and then my midwife appointment.
Christina had been babysitting, finished some errands at the college so she would be ready for the summer semester, caught the bus to 207 (the road I take into town), and was waiting for me. Along the way, my midwife texted to reschedule the appointment to Thursday and I laughed during my voice-text because I was very tired and that worked great for me. I added, “or when Baby is ready,” as a joke because my babies have all come on or after the due date. Everyone had been rooting for a February birth since the official “due date” was February 24th, and except for Lucas, my wee ones were between 9 and 13 days “overdue” so I usually ignored the due date and just gave a general month (in this case, I’d been saying March).
I got Christina, teased her about driving (she’s recently received her learner’s permit), and we headed home. Sheba was acting odd, I was starving; Louis had made lasagna Monday so I ate a huge plate and took a short nap.
When I got to gym with Becky (her class is on Tuesday, the others are all Wednesday), the contractions were still there, but, like I said, that is normal for me. It had been happening off and on already for about a week and a half, so I just went about work because they were easy to ignore. Some friends and I chatted about babies as I was leaving, and someone said, “you know about your body by now, right?” I laughed, “each is different, but I’m still thinking March.”
Wow, was I wrong.
As Becky texted Christina and Louis to tell them we were off & headed to pick up Christina at CAP, Becky said, “Mom, I can’t drive us home, but if the baby keeps contracting like that, maybe Christina can.”
We laughed. Part of the driving restrictions on a learner’s permit forbid night driving for the first few months; but we always teased Christina that she’d have to drive home in the dark if I was in labor.
Home, I was starved, but my belly felt full after four strawberries. I took a shower and crashed. I kept waking up every couple hours, but I’m a light sleeper so that’s also normal. Each time, though, I noticed contractions. I’d check my phone just to see what time it was. Midnight. 1:40. 2:30. 3:50. At almost 4, I realized I was sweating and I decided to wait for fifteen minutes (so the water softener cycle was finished) and take a shower. The next glance at my watch showed 4:19. I took a shower and the first contraction after the water hit was very strong. I felt movement inside me. “Wow, you sure you’re ready?” I asked. I was sure that was just a fluke and usually the warm water calms contractions down. When the next two made my legs feel like jelly, I got out of the shower and crawled back into bed. The phone said 4:35. I wasn’t about to wake anyone or call Misti for three oddly strong contractions.
I tried to sleep. I had about two hours before I had to get ready for work.
At somewhere before 6am, I tried getting ready for work. I had to stop and breathe through contractions that were easy to time and I felt the baby moving slowly down inside of me. I was about to wake Louis but ended up stretching through a contraction. We have a mind link, I think. Louis woke up as I was stretching. He goes into mega cleaning and question mode. This is his serious mode. He has been through it enough to know we were going to have a baby this morning – or at least today. He told me to call Misti, he woke the kids up to help clean (normally, we clean before bed, but they had been in a non-cleaning mood the previous night), and directed the house with efficiency. I was restless, so kept walking around in between. Christina and Becky didn’t want to get out of bed. I went into the barracks to find out why not.
“Mom! You can’t have the baby in here!” Christina shrieked, covering her head.
“So, get up please and help Daddy with cleaning. Y’all should have done that last night. Once you finish, you can go back to bed, but he’s really stressing about the house and people coming so please help.”
No answer. I could feel another contraction creeping up. “Okay, you have about 20 seconds before I get another contraction and…”
Christina bolted, “MOM! I’m up! I’ll help Dad! GET CONTRACTIONS OUT OF MY ROOM!”
Becky was up too. Kimberly was definitely awake. Mission accomplished. I went back to the kitchen table. My “leave” alarm reminded me to text or call my boss. 6am though, I figured I should just text – plus I didn’t want to talk to anyone at the moment.
Misti showed up (can’t remember if the house was clean, but based on the voices and giggling and a movie being on, I’d guess it was straightened). Mom was on the way, she told us she had to be at one of my brother’s promotions at 8am. The girls had turned on “The Two Towers” and as Louis walked by during the Uruk-hai production scene and he ordered, “Turn that off, you can see a real birth soon enough.” I can’t remember if the result was “Wild Kratts” or “Dumbo” but there was something far less messy on the tv a minute later. (I did hear one of the teenagers or preteens quip, “Mom will sound like an orc.” Louis and I laughed. We’re nerds.)
By 8:30, I was immune to the world. I heard Misti’s voice, smelled Louis (I was leaning on him), and faintly heard background voices. I was focused on this job.
8:42am and our little one came into the world, veiled. Misti took the bag off and the Baby screamed to test the limit of her lungs! (We didn’t know Baby was a “she” just yet!) Baby opened her eyes fully and stared up at me. Then she screamed to rattle the roof again. The dogs were barking. We discovered our Baby was Thea!
Welcome to our crazy world, Theadora Taliesyn Tart. You are loved and cherished!
Theadora (after her great-grandfather Melvin Theodore Pearson) means “gifted by God” and Taliesyn (feminine form of your grandfather’s favorite character from a Celtic legend) means, “one with the shining brow, one who sings wisdom.” And Daddy chose the nickname “Thea” because he likes it. (Your uncle texted that he’d call you “3T” – yes, Daddy searched for two “T” names we both liked!) I kept both names the same length, since that’s what we’ve done – all of the children’s names have the same number of letters in the first name and middle name. Theadora 8 letters, Taliesyn 8 letters – told you we are nerds.
Mom (Grandma Joanne in the pictures) came back with a shower of baby girl goodies! (And, yes, this is why she’s in such cute clothes once we managed to get them on her!)
Theadora, I pray you always feel the love of your family as you wiggle your way up to adulthood. I pray you feel the warmth and see the light of God’s love reflected in the faces of your sisters and brother, mother and father, aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. We have accepted the honor of being your guides to lead you to Jesus, to raise you in love, and to give you room to find, develop, and follow the passion of life God has rooted within you. You are a daughter of God, a precious gift to us, and chosen to bring light through your smile.
Becky said I can’t post a baby story without her pictures! So here is a little slideshow:
Lucas kept trying to “pet” and “kiss” Baby Thea
Christina & Thea (oldest & youngest)
Lucas said “you are my love, Baby Thea!”
Grandma Joanne & Thea
Christina and Becky are already vying for who gets the baby
Teenager now has a learner’s permit… Mom is going nuts!
January 8, 2019
Newly Licensed
I’m a bit freaked out.
(Okay, I’m frantic!)
My oldest child is now legally allowed to drive my car…
(AHHHHHHHH!)
Seriously, I’m sure she’s watched my driving enough to know how to be safe (um… she’s also watched Louis… I’m FREAKING OUT again!)
At one point yesterday at the DMV, I had to sign an electronic document that read something like “you are assuming responsibility for everything this minor does in a motor vehicle.” I laughed because it reminded me of the pages I signed for her Camp Blanding encampment that read something like, “your minor child is at risk of major bodily damage including death and you verify that you understand this and promise not to sue us.”
At the end of this ordeal (I just signed some documents, presented my address and identity as her so-called legal guardian), I walked out with a fifteen year old girl next to me who now has a tiny plastic card that allows her to sit next to me in a 2-ton vehicle and maneuver it down roadways filled with crazy drivers.
My teenager has a learner’s permit.
(*Giant gasp, frantic breaths, mentally remembering where I put my inhaler*)
Okay, maybe you can drive to Publix… but she’s disappeared because she doesn’t want to make the left turn from Publix back onto Wildwood just yet.
Nothing has changed. (YIPPEE)
It’s just one small step toward independence for Christina, one giant leap in freaking out for Mom.
