Hello Tweenager...

Aaron's at it again!

All smiles with their Virginia souvenirs

Right now we're in my favorite time of the year. October weather is beautiful! The busy schedules of August and September are behind us. Fall has arrived and we've settled into our routines. I'm balancing the needs of our home with the needs I see all around me, dividing my time between friends, church, and family. While many days I feel like there's not enough of me to go around, things have a way of working out. God is much bigger than my needs, and He proves it to me daily.

Now that Braylen's finishing his first quarter of middle school, I'm seeing some changes in him.

• He wakes himself up every morning with his alarm clock.
• No more evening showers. Braylen showers every morning now.
• I've spent some time in the skin care aisle at Walmart, wondering what products are best for a 12 year old boy.
• Braylen is much more mature in public than he is at home. I'm glad he still has some little boy in him at home. :)
• He checks his email all the time, and reminds me every day of his wish for a cell phone.
• There's this 6th grade girl who captures his attention...
• I found Derek giving Braylen tips on how to treat this girl...
• Next we find out (from someone else) that our son has a "girlfriend."
• When asked what it means to be "going out" in 6th grade, Braylen replied, "It just means we like each other."
• Derek and I are in new territory here. I'm so thankful I'm not dealing with this on my own!
• We had a nice chat with Braylen about these tweenager things...

Things sure are changing in our lives. I feel like we're starting all over with our parenting. What in the world are we doing? It's like bringing our newborn home from the hospital. "Okay, now what?"

One day at a time. One issue at a time. Lots and lots of prayer. I really love how this brings Derek and me closer together. All of a sudden we have new things to talk about. And this is just the beginning. :)