Happy Birthday Clayton!

Today was a big day at our house.  It was the first full day of school.  Well yes, but the reason it was important is because we celebrated the birthday of our first child!  He is nine years old today.  We started our day with donuts at NeNe's.  (I do not have pictures.  As mentioned above...it was the first full day of school and I was a bit frazzled.)  Please know that the boys totally enjoyed their treats.  Andrew's order was priceless..."I want donut holes.  They are yummy!" 
We continued our celebration once the boys got home from school with a few presents.

 Then we moved the party to PI Pizza for a little more celebrating with the Snow Family, Mun, Janice and Mimi.  Clayton asked for a giant chocolate chip cookie with peanut butter frosting.  It may not look beautiful, but it was yummy...in the words of Andrew. 

 Fred's parents celebrated with us Saturday.  I'm not sure how it happened, but I don't have any pictures.  This Friday is Clayton's friend party so I'm sure we'll have another update.  Good day.

I love that little fella in the picture above more than my own life.  I remember holding him by myself after he was born and feeling a tremendous responsibility to him.  I remember being up in the middle of the night in a dark hospital room with him.  He was wrapped in a white gown and a white blanket and he was looking up at me with his big, wide open eyes.  I unwrapped him and just marveled at his tiny little fingers and tiny little toes.  Moonlight was shining through the window and all was well with the world.  For a moment it felt like time was standing still.  Since that moment time has not stopped.  It has just marched on.   What a privilege and pleasure it has been watching God work in his life over these last nine years.  Nine years old.  Wow.  It just doesn't seem possible!

First day of school

First and fourth grade?!? How did we get here??  Everyone was excited Monday morning!  Jack woke up all smiles at 6:10 am.  He told me he knew his teacher was going to be sweet.  He also said, "I will be a hard worker for her."  Our friend Mr. B is not in our class this year and it is a hard adjustment.  He told me B was not in his class and that was just the way it was going to be. Bless his heart.  I'm sure B will come over and play after school! 

 When you are in the fourth grade you are too big for your mother to walk you to class.  (That is my way of saying I have no pictures of Clayton after he left my house.) When you are in the first grade you are not too big to hang with your mother.  You are too big, however, to have your picture taken at the door of your class.  You must do it around the corner from the room, with your arms folded and a nonchalant look on your face.   You are, however, too big for your mother to kiss you and tell you she loves you in ear shot of other people.  This makes little/big six year olds blush.  I learned this the hard way. 

Meanwhile back at the house, Andrew and I had a big day.  I reclaimed several areas of our house that had been overtaken with boys during the summer.  I picked up 10,000 Legos and declared us full of Legos.  I also vacuumed the floors.  Goodbye summer, hello routine and clean house!  As much as I resist change, each season of life seems to have a silver lining, doesn't it?!?

Tower Tri

We were all up bright and early this morning for the Paris Tower Triathlon.  This was Clayton's second year and Jack's first year.  Everyone was excited!!  Having two participating proved to be a challenge when it came to cheering and capturing each moment. 

Clayton is exiting the pool.  When he exited the pool I had to wait on Jack to start the swim so I couldn't get Clayton in the bike transition area. 

 Jack is exiting the pool here.  He did great in the swim.  I couldn't help but smile watching him.

 I didn't get to see Jack on his bike at all, because I would have missed Clayton finishing.  Can you tell I was torn the entire race?!? 

 I don't have pictures of Jack crossing the finish line because I waited for what I thought was an appropriate amount of time and then I did what any other self-respecting mother would do...I ran the course backwards to find him.  Once I found him he was walking, but still smiling I encouraged him to run with me and we finished the run together. 

 Here is the entire crew after the race.  It was hot.  Once we got home I declared that I was sitting inside the rest of the day under a fan.

 We have a great crew of kiddos that participates in these races and below is a picture of them all, complete with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Camp Mimi and Tee

While Fred had revival in Alamo last week we loaded up the boys for a few days of fun at Mimi's house.  The cousins even came in town!  They ate donuts, swam, played video games, shopped, played at Chuck E. Cheese, went to Jump Zone and pretty much did whatever Mimi and Tee would let them do...which is a lot more than is allowed at my house. ;-)  It was a great week!  Can you tell we are trying to squeeze in everything we can before school starts again and ties us down?!?

Before our arrival my mom did a search on pinterest.  She put the word "grandsons" in the search line and this sprinkler came up.  It was a huge hit!!  I took a video of it on my phone, but I'm having trouble getting it to load.  If you would like to see it just click here.


                                          

Five on Monday

Five on Monday doesn't have the same ring as Five on Friday, but in the summer I just can't seem to get myself together.  I mean seriously, these boys are hungry all the time.  All.the.time.  I feel like all I do is go from one meal/snack to the next.  What will life be like when they are 16, 13 and 10.  It kind of makes me shudder.  I'm thinking two refrigerators.

Here goes...
1.  Fred is tall.  You may not know this, but his clothes are NEVER on a sale rack.  Never.  We were at a yard sale the other day and I saw a sport coat that looked long.  I picked it up and couldn't believe my eyes.  It was Fred's size.  Then it just kept getting better.  It was $3!  Yes, $3!!!  We bought that jacket and took it to the cleaners and it's as good as new.  Our total investment was $8.  Not to bad, huh?!?  Just to satisfy my curiosity I googled the brand and found the exact same coat online for $250.  I know, what a deal.  I still smile when I think about it.
2.  Fred's parents take the boys for a week each summer.  It's lovely.  It's like a vacation right here in my house.  In fact, it's so quite as I'm writing this that my ears are almost ringing.  I have a to-do list for the week, which for me is nothing new.  I think my heart would quit beating if I didn't have a plan.  One thing I'm looking forward to is going to dinner with my husband at Jasmine tonight.  Oh, I do love Jasmine.  I bet I don't have to ask anybody to SIT DOWN one single time while we are eating.  Nice. 
3.  Clayton made brownies for all our company by himself.  They were delicious.  But seriously, what could go wrong with a Symphony bar inside a brownie??!  He proudly announced to the crowd that "he made the brownies and they were not healthy!" 
4.  Jack really still needs a nap.  He just gets tired and grumpy.  He gets really mad though when I ask him to rest.  Really mad.  He crosses his arms, pouts, stomps, kicks, talks ugly, etc.  It's not pretty, especially for a kiddo that is usually pretty easy going and happy-go-lucky.  The other day during one of his fits he said, "I'm not tired!  I'm just worn out!"  Right on, son, right on. 
5.  Andrew is into everything.  I don't remember my other boys being this busy.  (I'm sure over time the memories have just faded.)  For example, I walked in to the playroom the other day and he was standing on the dresser.  Standing.  Fred and I looked over the situation and still cannot figure out how he did it.  Maybe he's Spider Man?!?  Well, one of his favorite past times is to empty out a drawer from the activity table we have and sit in it.  He doesn't just empty it though.  He dumps each organized tubs I have in the drawer.  The drawer he likes has two tubs, one with 1 million matchbox cars and one with 100 monster trucks.  He completely dumps them on the floor, dumps everything in the closet and then sits in the drawer.  It drives me crazy, but who could resist that smile?!?  What a mess...the room and Andrew!! 

Clayton's Baptism

Clayton is an analytical child.  He thinks through a lot of things before he reacts.  Unless he's tired, and like his mother he just can't seem to control his tongue...I digress.  He has been making little comments over the past year about becoming a Christian.  Just little questions here and there.  Nothing earth shattering, but I could tell his wheels were turning.  Last week while we were at children's camp we had an evening worship service and the camp pastor asked those in attendance if anyone was interested in talking to someone about making Jesus their Savior to just stick around and talk to a grown up.  I sat in my chair for a while and no one came to me.  I looked to my right and Clayton was just sitting by himself.  I went over to him because I thought he was waiting on me.  I asked him why he as still sitting there and he looked up at me in a matter of fact way and said, "Mr. Robin said if we wanted to make Jesus our Savior to stick around and talk to an adult.  I was just waiting on you to come over.  I'm ready to do that."  Just.like.that.  I couldn't believe it.  I talked to him that night and told him we would talk to Fred when we got home.  Sunday morning came and Clayton and Fred sat in the dining room.  Fred talked a little while and then Clayton prayed a silent prayer asking Jesus to be his Savior.  Whew...nine years of answered prayer.  We all rejoiced over his decision and then called family to meet for his baptism. 
This picture is kind of fuzzy, but in my mind it is clear.  The sight of my husband with my oldest child following in baptism will bring me to tears for years to come.  I pray that he will never turn from the left or the right as he follows after the one who died on the cross for him.   

 We took a quick picture of the group that came to celebrate this day with us.  You can only imagine that getting this group picture was a major undertaking.  In true Shackelford style, right after we took this picture and were heading for the house Grandma Beulah walked in from the side door.  She should be standing between Papa Ray and Fred.  Too funny!  Maybe someday I'll photo shop her in. 

I do not take the people in this picture for granted.  They are our family, but they are also our family legacy.  They blazed the trail for us and showed us what it meant and still means to serve and love Jesus with everything inside of us.  They have all been around during different parts of our journey and I know they will be with us as we enter this new journey to disciple the next generation for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. 

Swim Weekend

Swim weekend is the creation of my Aunt Janice.  Basically, it is a weekend around July 4th where my mother's side of the family meets and swims...all weekend.  Did I say swim??  I meant to say eat as well.  Aunt Janice has it all planned out, every last detail.  You can come and go as you please, but food is always available around meal times and the pool never closes.  

I do not have words for the hat that is upon my head.  All I can say it that I forgot my trusty visor and this beauty was in the pool house.  When one reaches her thirties she must protect her face from the sun at all costs!  Also in this picture Andrew obviously has a mouth full of something!?!

 Andrew is eating banana pudding here from my brother.  This is a huge deal because up until this point Andrew has been afraid of my brother.  Terrified.  Why?!?  My brother has a boat and he has had the audacity of taking us out on the lake in it.  Oh the horrors.  Andrew was terrified of him (and his boat) until Jeffery showed up with this bowl of pudding.  It was a real turning point in their relationship.   

 The big boys and cousins are here with my mother brother, Mike.  They played and played together.  

 Good times hanging out in a diaper...Andrew, not Fred.

 This is my mother's brother, Jim.  My boys just love him.  One of my favorite highlights of swim weekend is that Jim and I get to walk together each morning.  I love those walks with him, always learning so much and cherishing each moment. 

We had a great time this year and cherish all the memories that we made.  We are grateful to Aunt Janice and all her hard work to bring this weekend, and all of us, together!  Until next year...