Asa and Jude turn 8

How in the world is it even possible that these two are turning 8? It seems like only yesterday. I remember every detail which I can't say about Titus or Abe's delivery. We weren't expecting it. It wasn't time. At about midnight, I woke up to go to the bathroom and my water broke. We fumbled around like we had all the time in the world. We drove Darby to my parents because she was our first dog child and took our time packing bags.

Once we arrived at the hospital, reality set in that the two of you were being born. It wasn't time. I was 35 weeks. Then, the reality set in of what "could" happen. The next morning, you two were born via c-section because yall were all twisted in there like an L shape.

Ya'll were perfectly healthy at 5lbs 8 oz and 5 lbs 9 oz on that memorial day weekend. I remember every visitor, every pain, every emotion. You two made me a momma. It was a learning milestone. Now, there are 4 of you and we say on a regular basis that the two of you got our best parenting. We were not tired. We were not dreading the next milestone because we had never experienced it. We embraced them all. I love all 4 of you equally, but in all honesty, I remember the firsts you two had the best.

I couldn't wait for you to walk and talk and run. You were our lives. We spent our undivided attention on you. Honestly, you grew us into parents.

We used to spend time  in your room at our old house just holding out our arms and waiting on you to run to us as we giggles gleefully. Nothing made us smile as big as your firsts.

Titus came along as you were toddlers. You took all that his first months of life entailed like it was nothing. It rocked our worlds and holding the two of you helped us through those days.

For a long time, we were convincedbthat you loved B and SueSue more than us. Here lately, you want to be with us and it melts our hearts still.

You had a love for baseball early on and it was because of B. You knew all the Giants players better than you could recall family because while we were working, you grew a love for the game. In this season of life, we will divide our attention amongst that love, Titus' desire to play flag football and having a baby, because we are crazy. At the end of the day, making sure you have brushed your teeth, said prayers with daddy, and while I quietly sneak upstairs to make sure you are tucked in, I simply smile. We have made it 8 whole years and you are still here.

You two are smart. You make our mornings easy. You wake up ready to conquer the day. I remember watching the Jetsons at 3 o'clock on the dot while we fed the two of you thinking we would never get passed those days and nights. Now, I relish in the moments you crawl your big selves into my lap on family Bible nights and pray with all my heart that in those moments God conquers your hearts.

You are great students. You strive to do the best you can in all you do. You love your friends. You love new things. You love school. You love learning. You exceed our expectations daily. God could not have given Titus and Abram two better big brothers. We see the way they look at your. The way Titus mimics you. The way you two make Abe belly laugh harder than anyone and we smile.

You made us parents on May 28, 2010 and we are forever grateful. That day, we died a little inside to ourselves because we had you. God gave us you. My prayer since that moment has been that He use the two of you to do great things for His kingdom.

You were our firsts in everything. We have failed so many times, but trust me when I tell you, you got our best parenting skills. ha. We have teachers, friends, parents of friends, church leaders and many others tell us all the time how well behaved you are and we smile silently inside knowing that even in the rough and ugly, you came out just fine.

I literally am having a hard time with this 8 year old milestone. In ten short years, you two will be out on your own to conquer the world. My prayer from here has changed a little, yet remains the same. Not only do I pray that God gets your heart and you do great things for His kingdom, I pray that it is soon. I pray that through your daddy and I, you see Christ and He brings you to Him. People are not lying when they say the days are long and the years are short. I can't believe we are 8 years in this parenting journey.

You made us and Mom and Dad and you make our hearts swell with joy and pride as we celebrate both of you.

Asa of base(as I lovingly call you), you are the first born and so much like your daddy. You love deeply and think silently on everything. Words of affirmation make and break you. You are a great big brother and herd our flock of kids the best. The little people, even Jude rely on you. You are the oldest. I get that part and I work everyday to meet your needs because we are almost polar opposites. Sometimes, you get away with more than Jude because I know you are your daddy and you are passionate about your stand.

Jude(Man has stuck from day 1), you are me. You look the most like me. Your heart is the most like mine. You are me in a relationship with your daddy and your twin to a T. Yall are basically little David and Jae's. Parenting you for me is definitely the hardest because you are a mini me. I know where your hear and head are. I see me every time I high five and spank you. I pray more specifics for you than anyone because I know that heart. I see it. I love you all equally, but I KNOW you. You are me. Sometimes, you get away with a little more than Titus because I know that thought process.   I know you have weighed it all in your little head and I hear you.

I love you both to "Jesus and back" {as you used to pray}. Being on this journey the last 8 years with the two of you has grown us as parents and humans. I pray that we point you to the cross even in our failures. Happy 8th Birthday to our firstborn twins which still blows my mind. We love YOU BOTH!!!!!

Happy 8th Birthday, Asa and Jude. We are so blessed to be your parents. You still eat like you are at the ballpark even at home, although, Jude is still the best eater(he gets it from his momma). Your brothers look up to you two and yall both make the baby laugh the hardest. I am still convinced B is your favorite person as yall look to him for answers over us to this day. I hear "Call B and ask him" more than I like to admit. You LOVE your friends and see no faults even as you tell us stories of what people say at school and we cringe at times. You love the beach, pool, water, respect sleep the best out of all 4 children(see the above about getting our best parenting), you both love going to church and still name each other as your best friend to which makes us swell with happiness. You two will always have a bond most wish to have, especially Titus. He is dying for people to say Abe is his twin.

Love you sweet boys,
Mom

Discipline is an Issue

So, it has been a while! I am going to attempt to get back into this.

Today, I want to address some school stuff. I am not even touching mass shootings. That has been covered plenty and I will say we have a major people problem, a generation of undisciplined adolescents and it is scary.

Now, this is pertaining more to discipline as a whole. I am not in a school currently, but I have had a plenty of time to read articles, teacher posts, converse with past colleagues and just watch. Honestly, partly for this very topic, I needed a mental break from it all. Ten years of this escalating trend made me hate what I loved at times. It made me mentally exhausted. It took time away from my own husband and children because I had NOTHING left to give when I got home. There is a HUGE problem in schools with discipline.

There are districts claiming numbers look good and it it under control. There are districts flat out lying on data. There are districts with blinders on pretending there is no issue. There is a massive problem.

When a child is written up by a teacher for a legit (I use this because there are some coocoocachoos that live in a false reality) reason and the child has directly violated the Code of Conduct or a rule, there should be a consequence. The discipline should be handled in a timely manner so that the child understands the cause and effect relationship.

You want to know why test scores across the state of Alabama didn't look great? I will let you in on a little secret. It is because the schools are out of control.

In my classroom, I used PBIS. Positive behavior is a great tool and works wonders with some kids. However, there also were times when there was nothing to positively reinforce because it was a direct violation of a behavior that had repeated itself. It clearly needed to be handled in a different manner.

There are teachers in classrooms frustrated beyond frustrated because they are not having the support needed. There are districts saying the numbers look good. Another little secret...you know why they look good? Nobody is keying the issues into the computer. In school detention or In school suspension is often given and isn't counted. Referrals are trashed because of a variety of reasons. The teacher is questioned for a behavior of a child and punished more than the child. Students are wasting countless hours in classrooms across the state mindlessly copying paragraphs while it is being called "reflection." Those "reflections" aren't helping test scores either.

The problems are not being fixed. The issues are swept under the rug and then escalated. The teachers and parents are out of control because there are NO consequences enforced with regularity and clarity. It is KILLING the classroom teacher. There is no resolve at this point.

Now, does this all fall back on the administration? There was a time in my building where that would have been a definite, "yes" shouted from the rooftop. However, that is not always the case. Sometimes, the district is at fault. They are so worried about numbers that they keep kids from alternative schools that need to be there, they want only x number of referrals, and they make it near impossible to expel a child.   You know who is suffering here? Your children. The ones sitting in the classroom not learning because little Betty Sue has learned she has no consequences and literally destroys the room and takes all of your child's instructional being corralled by the classroom teacher.  

There is a major problem. I have noticed a running theme in the "fixing" of it. They claim the numbers are good, the data supports it and then pretend there is no issue. There are PHENOMENAL teachers leaving the profession because of this. Everyone thinks these mass school shootings are an issue now. Give the kids in the elementary schools that are now running the buildings a few years. You haven't seen anything yet.

We have a REAL problem!

Summer is Nearing the End

Summer is ending soon for our house. I go back to work next week.

The twins turned six the day school got out and we've been going and having fun ever sense.

We went to eat with some baseball friends and got to see there little farm and all the animals.

The following week we had VBS in the park with our church. The boys had lots of splashpad time this week.

We've spent lots of time lounging and playing with our friends, the Eflo's.

We've pet snakes and hissing cockroaches and all sorts of other animals. We've been swimming. We've played with bunnies and had balloon sculptures made. There have been faces painted and yard sale adventures. We've rode horses and spent days in my classroom. We've been to Atlanta to a mets game and of course visisted Ikea. We've been to McWane and shot fireworks. We have colored and built and worked puzzles like crazy. I've learned a thing or two or fifty from the littles about how to use a Kindle. We've caught frogs and had tons of icees and icecream to beat the heat. We've eaten fancy popsicles and spent 8 days at the beach. We've shopped and laughed running through the sprinkler. We have found worms and caught lightening bugs. Cops and robbers and Avengers have been played more times than I can count. We had a sleepover with a friend and learned to swim. We had rode go carts and trains and airplanes. We played putt-putt and swam in the ocean. We had friends birthdays and family birthdays galore.

We have had fun and we are not ready for it to end. I cannot believe we will have two first graders in a few weeks and I will have my tenth group of students in my class. It has been a blast this summer and I love being home with the boys, but it is time to regroup and get in school mode.

This seems just like yesterday. Time flies when you are having fun. Even in the seasons of life that are challenging and hard, the days still pass just as quick. They may seem slow at the time, but you will blink and have kids in school.

Our Summer So Far

We have had lots of fun with friends and enjoying the sun. We have rode horses. There have been several birthday parties. A spend the night guest came. We enjoyed a week of Summer Blast VBS. We went to the magic show at the library and got to paint a bunny. We've done the summer Reading Kick-off and had a ton of fun. The redneck pool has kept everyone happy and made them sleepy on days at home. We have watched soccer galore. I have officially banned balls on the main level of the house, call me Carol Brady...whatever! If one more thing gets broken I am going to break someone. The final straw was when the TV wouldn't come on. Death wish to someone on a rainy day:)