Dear Malachi,

Today, you finally turned 6 years old! I say finally because being in a public school, you barely missed the cut off for starting kindergarten last August. So, most of your friends have been 6 for at least 6 months, now. AND the fact that we had your birthday party a week early to try to get some of your school friends to make it. We knew going into it that you would be a "young one." At times, you were proving our fears right. At times, you proved us wrong :) You have always been a child who HATED change. You have also seemed to have developed strong "fears" that only come out at certain times. However, this past year was a HUGE success for you!

You survived kindergarten & kindergarten survived you. You started out the year crying and crying and not wanting to go to school. The AP at your school literally had to climb in my car and drag you out (only for a few days). Then, you gladly did it on your own and had a great attitude! You had so much change to deal with the first few months of school. Your little brother went into the ICU for the second week of school. One of your grandfathers passed away in September, and you had to miss a whole week of school to travel back to NC. Then in October, Z went back into the hospital for another week. You would think it wouldn't bother you too much, but, again, things were different, and you don't like change.

Around that time your teacher, Mrs. Pattie, went on extended maternity leave, and she was concerned that you would not be able to read or "get your act together." Mrs. Lam took over. When Mrs. Pattie returned, she was pleasantly surprised to see that you were doing well reading and had adjusted to kindergarten quite well! Your reading skills were right on target (average) for your class. You excelled in math and earned on level on most things. You were even Excellent in things like science and social studies! Your behavior was on green everyday minus about 3 days, for the whole 2 semester. You are sooooo smart! I mean it, because most kids can't fully "catch up" after being behind in reading skills. Trust me. I know. I taught middle schoolers who couldn't read much better than you :(

So, needless to say, you finished kindergarten on level and with great behavior! I think Florida might be a little advanced from other states, which might put you at the head of your class elsewhere :) Even if you are still just "on level," your dad and I are so proud of you! To be one of the youngest kids in your class and succeed like you did, it something truly amazing.

From Christmas until the 4th of July, you grew about a whole inch! Your body has gone through a great growth spurt in the past few months. I could tell by the way you looked, how short your shorts were getting, and how tight your shoes were getting. You wore the same pair of tennis shoes all school year! I let you throw them away the next-to-last day of school. You never complained about them hurting your feet until then, and there was no way those shoes would be worn by Z. You wore them out! I was so thankful! You also got to throw your Mario lunchbox and Lightning McQueen bookbag away after the last day of kindergarten. Those could not be re-used either! You got your money's worth out of those :)

It's still surreal to me that I will have a young man starting 1st grade in a month and a half. You don't want to go to 1st grade, though. It's not because you don't like school, because you LOVE it. It's because you don't like change and would like to do kindergarten over again :)

Sometimes I wonder about your fits that seem to come from deep-down fears. I don't know where the fears come from and why they are so intense, but I realize that we just have to work through it. You are an awesome kid! I wouldn't trade you in for anyone else, and I try hard not to compare you to your brother. You are smart, incredibly handsome, and a people-pleaser. I guess I can claim all of those traits as coming from me, but your dad has most of those traits, too.

One other bragging point that I have to bring up is how you were able to share about Jesus with your friends in public school. I know you were only 5, but for you to tell your friends that Easter was not about a bunny but about Jesus is amazing! There were other things, too. Your Daddy got to lead you in a prayer of salvation in the car, on the way home from school around Easter time. I'm so proud to know that you are a light in a dark world! Don't ever be ashamed of Jesus! He paid the ultimate price for you to live this abundant life.

I can't believe that you are 6! I can't believe that you "graduated" kindergarten. You are my firstborn child. I am so thankful that God blessed us with you! I love how you love going to church! I love how you are truly your Daddy's buddy and will still crawl up in his lap now. I can't wait to see what you and your dad can dream up to build with all those new legos!

I love you, Malachi James, with all my heart. You are a true gift from God! What a blessing you are to our family and to this earth!

-Your Momma

Cow Appreciaton Day at Chick-fil-A

Today was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. The boys got free kid's meals for their outfits. Daniel, Grammy, & I got a free entree (sandwich/salad) for wearing the iconic "Eat Mor Chikin" signs. It was fun!

The Back is Back

A little over 2 weeks ago, on Father's Day, Daniel and I were rolling up and moving the inflatable slide that we used the day before for Malachi's birthday party. I'm a lot heavier than I used to be and should be and have been so stressed/tired that I haven't been very active lately. So, needless to say, I strained several back muscles. At first they were concerned about a herniated disc, but we found out a few days later that it was just muscles. It is the worst pain that I have ever experienced. Every time I moved, it hurt. At times, it was hard to walk or even get to the toilet. I'm thankful that my husband was around to take me to all the appointments. He said that he was "driving Ms. Daisy."

It hurt to sit up. The only thing that didn't hurt too much was laying on my back. Monday, I didn't do much and thought the pain would go away. When it didn't go away by Tuesday, Daniel took me to a chiropractor. He suggested I go to the doctor and get pain meds. That was the best suggestion of the week! So, after spending an hour at the chiro, we got lunch. I hurt too much to eat, so it was just the boys eating. Then, we went to the dr., who gave me 2 shots, one was for pain, the other a steroid to decrease the inflammation. I left with 3 prescriptions (vicotin for pain, prednisone steroid, and a muscle relaxer). I felt MUCH better after the 2 shots. We, then, went to the chiro, again, and let him do some more therapy on me. It still hurt a lot to sit up, but I was dramatically better.

Wednesday I went to the chiro for therapy and tried to rest and sleep (thanks to the meds). Still in a lot of pain. It was also our anniversary. We made it to Moe's for lunch, but that was still hard for me to sit through.

Thursday, I made it to the chiro, again, and this time he felt comfortable in adjusting me. It made me more sore, but it helped more in the long run. That evening I felt up to doing a "sit down" restaurant. So, we took our family of 4 to Texas Roadhouse.

Friday morning came, and I was feeling much better. Went for another adjustment and therapy at the chiro. I still had to ice my back and rest a lot, but I was feeling like I could move a little without pain. Friday evening I took the last dose of meds. Saturday morning, we decided that Daniel would go and be a counselor at the SC district kids' camp with our friends from Beaufort. So, it suddenly became busy. We had to start packing. We took the boys to see Cars 2 at 2pm. We had an hour drive to church at 5pm. After getting home from church, at around 7:15pm, Daniel cooked dinner and mowed the yard. We packed up a little bit and went to bed.

Sunday morning rolled around. We feverishly packed whatever we would need for the next 2 weeks. After driving to Beaufort that afternoon/evening, we stayed with our friends. Monday morning they headed out early to camp. The boys and I were on our way to NC for the next two weeks. I had 4 hours to drive on my own. My back was ok until the last hour when we got into Charlotte. When I had to keep moving my foot back and forth from the gas to the break, it caused a lot of pain in my lower back. Thankfully, the boys were well-behaved. I didn't make it to the chiro that day.

Tuesday afternoon, I painfully made it to our favorite chiro, Dr. Love. He was able to adjust me, and I began to feel TONS better. I went twice to Dr. Love on Wednesday and once on Thursday. Each visit, I felt better and better. Now, I am just trying to move carefully and not strain the muscles and ice my lower back several times a day. I'm thankful that I can move, again, without any pain. It took about 2 weeks, and I still need to ice it, but I am thankful for getting somewhat back to normal.

...and that I picked Daniel up on Friday, July 1st, to help me and be with me. I miss him when he's gone.

Hinson Great-Grandchildren

Daniel's side of the family is a different H. It was nice to get some pictures of all 5 of them together today. In order from left to right, our boys (Ezekiel - 4 years & Malachi - 1 week shy of 6 years), Chris and Miranda's son (Bryson - 8 months), Nathan & Felicia's girls (Ivey - 2 years & Aubri - 4 years). Ezekiel is 2 weeks older than Aubri. So, they are definitely the closest in age.

Thanksgiving 2010 was the first picture of all the 5 grandkids together! From left to right, Ezekiel (3 years), Malachi (5 years), Bryson (3 weeks), Aubri (3 years), & Ivey (17 months).

Fun with Grammy

The boys enjoyed making cookies with Grammy while Mommy iced her back and rested. I don't think the mix was that great, but they had a blast helping.

Later on the boys helped pick up sticks and take them out to the road. They got eaten up by mosquitoes in the process :-/