The White White House: Marching Onto Spring

January and February are gone and we are halfway through March. I think spring is here to stay. We aren't complaining. We enjoyed a few snowfalls this year but nothing substantial (on the ground) at the White house. Yes, it was somewhat disappointing but that all changed for Jackson last week. He saw snow, and a lot of it. He went skiing for the first time ever last week, with the Brewer family. They were blessed with a big snowstorm which dumped 29 inches of snow on the mountains at Wintergreen, Virginia. Jackson had a great time and didn't want to come home.

Webb and I celebrated our 16th anniversary last month. We went to dinner and a movie. It doesn't sound like much but then again, it doesn't take much to make us happy anymore; a quiet dinner with just conversation between the two of us will suffice these days.

We adopted Cali, three months after we got married. She's still going strong, just like our marriage:-)

The West Raleigh hats are out, though they're never all put away during the offseason. Jackson was drafted to a team with several former coaches and players and he's very excited about that. We are looking forward to games beginning in a few weeks. We are also looking forward to seeing new WR hats in the family. Andrew and Bennett playing this spring at West Raleigh.

School is going great and in some ways, things have gotten easier. Jackson and I both have moments of being totally distracted. I often feel pulled in 100 directions; Both boys have different needs and it's up to me to keep things running smoothly each day. I used to worry more about Sawyer being a distraction to Jackson since Jackson struggles with staying focused anyway. Sawyer has little use for our spelling lists and history readings so he will interrupt from time to time. I recently realized that sometimes those distractions aren't necessarily bad. Life is full of distractions. Sometimes we have to figure out what's most important and other times we have to figure out how to stay focused on our goals. That's life and Jackson is learning a lot about it, and not just skills that he needs to learn to move on to 6th grade. Isn't that really what's important? We don't have it all together but we're figuring a lot out along the way. At times, it's kind of exciting. I'm learning how be more patient, how to multitask and manage time. I've gotten really good at baking muffins and making hot chocolate all while calling out spelling words. I hope that I'm setting a good example. I also hope that Jackson is learning from my mistakes. That's a real education, right?

Cole, Addi, and Sawyer decorated the fence this week, with sidewalk chalk. Beautiful messes- LIFE:-)

Jackson had his yearly testing last month and did great. He's worked so hard to overcome his reading and spelling struggles. We are so proud of his perseverance. We will continue to work hard. Next year may be tough because we will really work more on writing, which seems to be his biggest challenge at this point. I feel like we are close to the mountaintop now and that the hard work has paid off. See, there's an education in life lessons:-)

Sawyer is picking up on letters and I attribute that to "Brother" spelling each morning at breakfast. He will often try to spell his name or tell me where the "A" for Addi is, or the "B" for Bennett, or the "C" for Cole, or "D" for Davis. It's obviously true that young children enjoy learning about the things that are most relevant to their lives. He loves to pick up books and "pretend" to read. He learns a lot just from watching Jackson. He's also become quite the basketball dribbler, again from watching his brother. I'm sure having a basketball court in the neighbor's yard doesn't hurt. He still loves his "pappi" (paci) and I don't think he's giving it up anytime soon. I know that he won't take it to college with him so I'm fine if he wants to keep it awhile longer. He's been asking about Disney lately mostly because the Flythe family just spent over a week there. He tells me weekly that he is going to Disney. No trips to Disney yet but he began taking trips to McDonald's for breakfast with Granddaddy while the girls were at Disney. He's a sweet boy with good energy and spunk. He isn't afraid of too many things; he really doesn't mind leaving me but he doesn't always like when it's the other way around. His biggest fear is spiders. He was cleaning cobwebs from the ceiling, just the other day, and a big spider fell. He screamed and cried. He'll pick up dead snakes but do not show him a spider! He can get quite upset if he thinks one is going to get him, which Jackson has teased him with. I know, that's not very nice of Jackson but he can also be a stinker to his big brother at times. He adores Jackson, most of the time though. The sweetest thing Sawyer says right now is, "I love you too much, mom." I know what he means to say is "I love you so much" but it's especially cute that he says the other. He loves singing and dancing, even when he doesn't know all of the words. He thinks that every picture of Jesus is "Baby Jesus", which reminds us of that crazy movie, Talladega Nights.

This week, Webb joined us on a field trip to the zoo. It was so nice to be able to do that as a family.
We got to see the two baby gorillas, and at least one baby chimp. The adult chimp, Jonathan, always seems to be extra friendly to the boys. He sat up against the glass with his fist touching the boy's hands. It really is the sweetest thing and seeing him makes the trip there extra special.

We met for our monthly preschool art day yesterday. Laura had spin art, Easter treats, and an egg hunt for the kids. It's so much fun to get together with cousins and friends. The kids are always eager to participate. It's exciting to see them interact and play. I'm really thankful for the time we get to meet each month.