Family...Friends

The boys and I had lunch today at Applebees. This is their last week before school starts, and I think there is a definite possibility that I'm going to miss them. I sat across the table from both of them this afternoon and just stared in awe of the two of them. When did they grow up so much?
First there is Casey, now driving and will be a junior in high school. The kid is so unbelievably dependable. Every morning he drives himself to football and straight home after. I've never told him to come straight home...but he always does. He recently had his first heart break, and that is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to go through with him. I remember how young love hurts.
Next I have Charlie. Charlie will be a freshman. I've never known anyone with more personality, trying so hard to find his place in the world. He heard the term 'march to your own drummer' and took off running instead. Sometimes it gets him into trouble, but his dad and I always try to understand why. The top picture was Casey's first day of kindergarten. Charlie and I dropped him off in a room full of new faces and an adorable teacher. But...I'm a mom, and my emotions must have been apparent, to Charlie anyway. Charlie squeezed my hand and said "Don't worry mom, we'll get him back". I'll never forget it. That is one of my favorite 'Charlie stories'. It's classic Charlie.
So, now, here I am with 2 kids over 6 ft. tall, both in high school, one of them driving, and I still see two little boys. My boys, and (thank you Jesus) my best friends.

My friend, Terri, and I spent the afternoon boxing and addressing packages for anysoldier.com. We are so blessed to be able to contribute to this program, it's such a wonderful feeling to help...even if it's in a small way. And to top it off, my friend Katy in Ohio called me as I was taping up a box to tell me how her home is turning into a warehouse from all the stock she has for anysoldier.com. And better still...she heard about anysoldier.com from this blog. Remember that 'wonderful feeling' I mentioned before? Insert it here too. :)

To tidy up this post for today, life is good and I am blessed.