Heartbroken

Today has been a rough day for our boy. This year at school, none of Tyler's closest friends from kindergarten are in his class. As usual, he was not phased by this at the beginning of the year. I was a little more phased by it, which is pretty typical. Thankfully, within the first two weeks of school, Tyler came home talking about a new friend in his class. He and Cole hit it off immediately and became very fast friends. He talked about him often and always wanted to have him over to play. We found out about a month ago that Cole was moving to Chicago sometime this year, then it became this semester. You see where this is going - today was his last day at school as they move to Chicago tomorrow. Cole's birthday is Monday, so they had a party for him after school today. Tyler was one of just a few friends who was invited. It was so cute to watch them together; they really just enjoy each other's company. After an afternoon and evening of games, laser tag, mini golf and more, it was time to say goodbye. The boys said goodbye without emotion. By the time he got to the car, Tyler was near tears and my child who rarely shows emotion broke down. He cried the entire way home (which was 20 minutes) and continued once he got home. My heart breaks for him. It is so hard to say goodbye to your best friend. While he has other friends in his class and gets along with everyone, there isn't another Cole in his class and it won't be the same for him when he goes back to school on Monday. If you think about it, please say a prayer for him this week.

Our Budding Cartographer

Tyler has developed a keen interest in maps over the past year. He likes to create them, study them, even memorize them sometimes. What amazes Kevin and I is his ability to draw a map from memory. This summer, when we were in the Panhandle, he decided to create a map of the ranch. In reality, he has only been there a handful of times at this point, definitely less than 10. However, he proceeded to draw an incredibly accurate map with almost every rode at the ranch included straight from memory. So, yesterday, it was raining (again) and they couldn't go outside for recess so they had inside time to draw or read. He drew a map of Texas (freehand and from memory). Then he put all of the places we have been recently on the map. Unbelievable! Have a look. It will be interesting to see what career path he takes because he certainly seems gifted in geography. It is difficult to tell from the photo but all of his cities and towns are in their correct locations.

Sleepy Girl

Megan stopped napping a while ago, but some days she just can't push through the day without sneaking in a little snooze. Last week, between picking Megan up from school and picking Tyler up from school, she crawled up on the couch and fell asleep. Kanga seized the opportunity for a little snuggle time.