My Summer Learning Curve

Fortunately, we are still on summer break.  And I don't know what I would have done without these last 3 weeks.  We spent the summer doing and going and it was great!  But the last 3 weeks of just unwinding, hanging out at home, and catching up on pumpkin projects has been refreshing.

But we're now down to just a handful of days before we go back to school and I feel the sadness seeping in. As a mom, summer is a time I learn so much about my kids and myself.  Although I am a list maker, I've decided summer is not a time for lists.  I will no longer make a "bucket list" for the summer and I will no longer say, "That would be a good summer project."  When you put a list in front of me, I will not stop until it's complete.  No matter what.  The list sits there...taunting me...stealing my joy...creating expectations in my kids.  Down with the summer bucket list!

I also learned some pretty great things this summer.  Spring starts with Cooper's birthday and the summer ends with Layla's.  This means we now have a 9 year old and a 6 year old.  Like every mom out there, I'm not sure how that happened.  I have enjoyed every year of my kids' lives even more that the previous year.

Layla works in the gift of mercy.  It's amazing how God is using that in her life.  She feels things deeply and is very perceptive.  There isn't much that gets past her unnoticed.  I'm amazed at her observations of people and situations. I do not have her gifting of mercy.  I don't always understand the deep emotions and processing that go along with it.  At times, it frustrates me.  But when our lives aren't full of a hurry and the urgency of a schedule or list, I have time to understand her better.  As a result, her gifting has come to amaze me. She is mature beyond her years. She is extraordinary.

Cooper is such a...boy.  But having an older sister he adores grounds that crazy boyness in him...just a bit.  He is so rough and tough, but he has such a sweet, gentle heart.  There are times I just want to scream, "CAN YOU PLEASE SIT STILL FOR JUST ONE EVER-LOVING SECOND?!?!?!"  But I also take great joy in seeing the freedom in which he runs through this life.  It's in our down time that I get insight into his emotions.  It's when I'm in his world, riding 4 wheelers, cruising around on the golf cart, looking for night crawlers for fishing, that he'll share his deep thoughts.  There aren't many, they only come in a sentence here and a sentence there.  But they usually blow me away.  He goes through life with a happy-go-lucky attitude without paying much attention to what's happening around him.  It's in our quiet moments that I learn he feels things deeper than I think and observes more than I thought.

In a few days I will send them off to Kindergarten and 3rd grade.  After I drop them off on the first day I will go have a good cry.  Then day 2 will come and it will be a little easier.  We'll get in our routine and I will soon enjoy the freedom of moving around my day to day life by myself...no explaining every move, every conversation, every reason why or why not.

And the next time I reflect on a summer gone by I will have a 7 year old and 10 year old.

Locks of Love

Six months ago, Layla was talking to one of my friends about cutting her hair shorter.  My friend told Layla she should donate her hair to Locks of Love.  Layla was all in.  About 3 months later, she wasn't sure she could make it.  She had a lot of hair and it was hard for her to manage.  But, she had to grow it long enough that she could cut 10" off to donate and still have length left on her own head.  The waiting was miserable for her.

Then God gave her a little incentive...she saw a little girl at a basketball game who only had a few small tufts of hair left on her head.  I didn't see the little girl, but it changed Layla's perspective.

Layla later told me that whatever that little girl was going through was way harder than Layla having to wait to cut her hair. Then she asked me, "Mom, do you think I'll have enough hair to donate for the people to make the medicine that girl needs?"   Uhmmmmmmm......what?!?!?  Clearly I hadn't explained things very well.  Layla was under the impression that scientists took donated hair and made medicine that would cure people of cancer.  And, the only reason people are dying from cancer is because not enough of us were donating our hair. Oh, if only it were that easy!

Soooo, we got that all cleared up!  And today was hair cut day!  You've never seen a girl so excited to get a haircut.  The sacrifice for Layla was growing her hair for 6 months, not actually cutting it off.  She is ONE HAPPY GIRL!!!

Life Lessons

A friend recently describe my current season of parenting Layla as the character building season.  It's so true. The season where I'm working every day to fulfill her every physical need are over.  Now, it's about her deciding who she will be in this world.

Layla is dealing with a tough relationship in her life...an adult she loves very much, but doesn't understand. As we were talking through choices, we talked about how she can choose to forgive, like God forgives us. And how we can choose to love, because God loves us and instructs us to do the same.  Big stuff for an 8 year old.

Towards the end of our conversation she said, "Choosing to love might be the hardest thing I've ever done." I assured her, it's not a "skill" I've mastered!  It's a journey I'm still on and will be until the day I die.

Then she asked me, "Why can't everybody just be lovable so I can love everybody and just move on?!?"

Ha!  She's reflective, thoughtful..................and very no nonsense!

San Antonio

It's quite wonderful that the first round of the NCAA tournament is always the week of our kids' spring break.  And even more wonderful that ISU has made it to the big dance the last 3 years.  This year the Cyclones took us to San Antonio and we had a great time!  The kids aren't overly interested in going to ISU games with us during the season, but when tournament time rolls around, they catch the fever.

We had never been to San Antonio.  What a fun city.  We took in the River Walk, the Alamo, and the Tower of the America's.  The kids got to enjoy swimming outside and staying up way too late!  Cooper pointed out that it was his first time in a taxi and a water taxi, a big highlight for him!

The best part of the trip for all of us was the games.  The kids were so engaged.  As we waited for the refs review of the final seconds of the North Carolina game, Layla was a wreck!  She told me, "Mom, I just can't take it.  My stomach hurts."  OK, maybe a little too engaged.

The kids loved the pep rallies before each game and they got to high five all the players and coaches as they loaded the bus to make the trip from the hotel to the AT&T Center to play.  They thought that was so cool and now talk about the players as if they are close, personal friends.

Please note I am posting this blog update from home.  Where's Dave?  Oh yes, he's in New York City for the Sweet 16.  This mama couldn't miss her baby's birthday today or the party that's scheduled for Saturday. I will not, however, be missing the Final Four!!

My Boy

This little man decided that he would turn 6 today.  He is a joy.

Layla Lately

Second grade has been a GREAT experience for Layla.  Her teacher has brought out the best in her.  I cannot say enough about that woman!  The biggest change for Layla this year is that SHE HAS NOT SHED ONE TEAR ABOUT GOING TO SCHOOL AND BEING AWAY FROM MOM!  This is the first year this has ever happened.

Layla loves her classmates and has such a great group of girlfriends.  Most of them have been together in school for 3 years and since class sizes are very small they have sweet bonds.  Layla continues to love horses, 4H, country living, basketball, church, and is excited about any new experience. She's incredibly insightful and has amazing intuition about people.  I adore this girl!

Winter Adventures

Once pumpkin season ends and the holidays have come and gone, this Handsaker family takes to the road...and skies.  The last 3 months have been full of adventures, including the kids' first snow skiing adventure in Breckenridge.  It was a huge hit and one of our favorite family trips.  It even beat out Disney World...for which I am secretly thankful!

When it got too cold here in Iowa, we escaped to Florida and spent time taking in the sights and catching up with great friends.  Cocoa Beach was a little chilly, but the kids didn't care.  They love the beach and the ocean!

The kids' choice park in FL is Sea World so we knew we had to make a return visit.  Cooper's favorite thing (besides his souvenir sword) was the lecture by the Sea Rescue doctors and trainers.  Yes, a lecture.  In defense of his 5 year old self, these doctors and trainers were from his favorite TV show. Halfway through the lecture he turned to me and said, "I can't believe we're seeing the real Sea Rescue people!"  It was his most memorable moment of the trip.

Disney Magic

Lego Happiness