Blessing Ceremony

The night before Troy’s birthday I decided to have a blessing ceremony for him. As he enters into manhood I wanted to do everything in my power to set him up for success. A few months ago I asked all the men in his life to write a letter to Troy giving advice or encouragement. I also prepared a few other little things I wanted to speak over him and the Lord gave me a few ideas, as well. I took him to a beautiful bluff at sunset and I explained what a blessing ceremony was, let him read his letters, prayed over and anointed him with oil, we listened to worship music and I gave him a sword to symbolize and memorialize the night. It was such a peaceful evening and I pray it is something he remembers always and that the Lord uses as Troy steps out on his own in a few short months. 

Homecoming

Homecoming is always packed full! Wednesday we went to the parade and the parking lot pep rally. Friday the boys had a team breakfast, there was another pep rally at school and the game that evening! Troy asked Harper to be his HoCo date this year. 

The game was an exciting back and forth, but we came out with the win! All the senior boy moms wore a mini mum that another mom made for us. All the senior girls were so beautiful in their homecoming dresses. Harper looked cute in her mum and Julia won Homecoming Queen!

18

Kelby turned 18!! I tried to make the house a little festive for the month of October and the two big birthdays!! I also made Kelby a birthday treat tower. We all went to Ichiban for dinner to celebrate. Welcome to manhood, Kelby! Let the fun begin!

College Visit #3

Troy applied and was accepted to Sam Houston, but has never been on their campus. We spend the day on a tour of the campus and the housing. We also saw Richard’s friend Jason and ate at a cute little cafe. Huntsville is a college town was a lot of spirit. Now that he’s seen both campuses it is time to make a decision. He is still debating, but within a week or so he will need to pick his top choice! 

Acceptance letters

This week was a fun week of Troy receiving acceptance letters from both Texas Tech and Sam Houston. We haven’t visited Sam Houston yet, so we will do that in a few weeks, but he is happy to know he has options! All his hard work in high school is paying off and I’m sure no matter where he chooses to go, he’ll be successful! 

Family Fun Nights

This year I decided to make one night a week a Family Fun Night. With it being the last year with all the boys at home, I thought we should try to enjoy a dedicated night to being together. The first week we went to the movies to see The Forge, but I forgot to get a picture. The next activity was Paint a Portrait. We each chose a name out of a hat and painted that person. It was hilarious seeing the final results. 

Then, we had a bake off. Chef Troy prepared a sweet and savory chocolate chip cookie lightly dusted with sea salt and Chef Teague prepared a cherry shortbread cookie with a chocolate drizzle. Richard was the judge, but he said they were both too good to pick a winner. And I agree they were both delicious and it’s nice to know the boys can bake if ever they need to! 

Next up…s’mores night! I thought walking s’mores would be yummy and less messy but it didn’t turn out how I was thinking. The boys enjoyed it anyways! 

Movie night! 

Next was Christmas tree decorating! We ate cookies and decorated the tree like every other year, only this was the last one with the boys at home. It will look different next year with only Teague at home so I made sure to soak it all in! 

Next was looking at lights