Happy Birthday Zachary

Dear Sweet Zach...Three years ago this morning in the 10 hour, you claimed my heart. Everything about you from the first moment has been perfect. God created you and made you into this precious little man...a perfect fit into our family. You are a McClain, there is never any doubt in those beautiful blue McClain eyes and your Gram's face. You are amazing.

I have enjoyed every moment of your little life. I love watching you and Charlie play together. You adore your older brother, saying EVERY single thing that he says, mimicking every move. You want to be like him in every way, but you are your own. You have your own heart...sweeter, more thoughtful, more giving than anyone I have ever met. You will give ANYTHING to anyone, they just have to say please. When you get a treat, you always say, "I need one for my Charlie too, please." You love the people around you fiercely and you are verbal about it. "I need a hug from you...you are my good friend...I love you..." Never lose that quality...ALWAYS share with those around you how you care about them.

I love how shy you are sometimes...making me realize that we are so lucky to receive your affection. I love how, like your father, you always do the nice thing. You are the word police, "Mom, WE don't say stupid (or but or hate or ugly)" You dream these huge elaborate dreams. Just last night you yelled out, "I don't WANT to slide down the elephant's trunk!" In your dreams, you always fight the bad guys and you always save the day. Little man, you will do that when you grow up, too. I adore your passion for food. I love how you are convinced that you are a BIG boy and I am a little lady, so you need to take care of me. I love how you squeeze your eyes shut and talk so freely to your God. May you always look to Him and lean on Him. I love that you talk incessantly. I love all your phrases, "Ooots, I so sorry...I am a BIG boy, see my muscles?...I hurt my tum (tongue)...I am a pteradactyl dinosaur bird, fap fap fap...But MMOMMM!...Mom, WE don't spank bottoms!...Dad is at the HOS-TI-PITAL, he's saving the day..."

This has been a hard year of growing up...your older brother started school, soccer and was in Cubbies. You wanted to do all this so badly. But instead you stood on the sidelines of all his events (usually in shinguards and cleats) yelling, "Whoooooo, go Charlie!" You are his biggest fan...and I am yours.

I love you love you love you, my sweet boy. May your third year be full of happiness and wonder. May you never lose your precious spirit.

Mom

Soccer Days

3-4 year old soccer is a sport like none other. You laugh until you cry, you pull your hair out. It is nothing short of wonderful.

It has been a lesson in FOCUS for Charlie. It has been so hard for him to learn to care about the game. It has been precious! Today, he KICKED the ball. No, not scored, but ran fast enough to catch the "pack" and make contact with the ball! This is HUGE for him! I have never seen him so proud! We have been working all season to stay focused on the game and today was the day. He really got the idea. Thought I would share a few pics from the season. While he hasn't been "into" the game, he is so happy and truly enjoys himself out on the field. These are all pictures taken DURING games.






Here are some common things you might see:
Someone kicking the wrong direction.
Scoring for the other team!
Throwing dirt on each other
Needing a kiss from mom when you fall down.
Running right out of your pants because they are too big.
Running with a shirt over your head to hide from the others.




Pretending to be a dinosaur and roaring at the kids, the ref, and the coach (this was NOT my favorite)
Oh no! Don't pee on the field!
Kids climbing the goal net.
Picking pretty blades of grass.
Crying when someone kicks YOUR ball.


By far--this is my favorite thing to see. My child LOVING the game...with his dad.

Pickin Pumpkins

We took our playgroup to the pumpkin patch last week. It is amazing how much it has grown in the past year! It started with 4 or 5 moms and has more than doubled. What a blessing!


Playgroup is a time that my boys have really grown to love. It is wonderful to see them develop relationships with their friends. Having moved a lot, I never had a friend that I grew up with. Chuck is always saying, "I have known him since 1st grade"...it is a really special feeling to see my boys connect with these kids and know that they could very well be in each others weddings. We will blink and be sending them to Kindergarten, high school, and then college.

I hope that they realize that in a world that can be so cruel, a good friend makes all the difference. I want for them to learn that a friend worth keeping is the one who builds you up and makes you feel good. It's not the cool, the good-looking, or the popular kids. I want them to not only seek good friends, but BE that good friend. I love all these little kids. They have such amazing personalities already. Is it because I love their families so much...bacause I KNOW that these moms want their kids to grow up to be Godly, no to mention share, not hit, spit or cuss... and all the other important things? Is it that easy to pick your kids friends?? Surely I am still in the sheltered world of a toddler. I don't want them to grow up.


Zach made sure that he got the PERFECT pumpkin. He was so proud. He kept saying, "Mom...this is SO heavy! But I am strong. See my muscles?" It is here that he would drop his pumpkin to the ground from a waist high level to show his biceps.




Charlie loves picking up 3 or 4 before he gets the perfect one.




I was so grateful that a friend took a picture of me with the boys. I realized that from 3600 pictures in my photo file, this may be the only one of me with the boys. Sad--but I'm always the one snapping the pics.




All in all, it was a wonderful day. Lots of laughs, not too many catastrophes. Beautiful fall weather, even prettier scenery.

Here we go.

Well here we are. The McClains. That is, the Chuck McClains. The Chuck, the Stacy, the Charlie, and the Zach. 36, 32, 4, and 2. I, Stacy, am the author of this thing. Chuck is my amazing husband of 7 years, boyfriend of 10. He is my friend and my life. He is also the most incredible dad I have ever encountered...In our house, he is the man. While he is so very funny--it took me YEARS to learn when he was kidding--he is also very compassionate. He puts everyone before himself. He has a life rule: "Always do the nice thing." He follows it religiously. I will blog about his life rules sometime, they are impressive. When he talks to someone, he looks INTO his or her life to see how they are...Not just at the surface. It was once said of Chuck, "Still waters run deep." He is my deep. He is insightful, calm, and balanced. He is steady. I am most definitely the turbulence: running fast (from one thing to the next), always changing (my mind, it seems)...I often wonder if it is my personality or my stage of life. Are they one in the same? Regardless, we balance each other perfectly.

We have two beautiful boys. 99% of this blog will be about them...They keep me so busy, so humored, so frustrated, yet so happy. They are inseparable and are best friends. I pray this will never change.

Charlie is actually Charles Morris McClain IV. He is one incredible little guy already. A fighter since before he was born, his daily journey through life inspires (and exhausts) me. He has the sweetest spirit. It is never broken by life's tough trials. One of my hopes is that he grows up with many traits from Charles the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. They are all remarkable men.

Zach, or Zachary Marshall McClain is named after two of his great-grandparents. He will be three on Halloween and is a little man who is daily "coming into his own" with this growing up thing. He is precious precious precious...And is daily changing before my eyes. He is sensitive, emotional, and VERBAL about both. I can never get enough of him.


I don't know a thing about this blogging stuff except that I LOVE to read other peoples stuff. I have loved catching glimpses into the crazy days of people very much like myself. I reminds me that this life that seems so out of control is really quite normal. My sister-in-law, Sweet Jennie is an avid blogger and I have been so inspired by her insight to life.

So I am going to blog. Why? More than anything, I have come to realize that I will NEVER remember all the sweet, crazy, unbelievable moments that flood every day. How can I let them pass by? Fair warning: I am in no way a writer. I know this is not what is important. What matters is that a certain memory is saved forever.

So, here we go. Here is our life.
Thanks for being a part of it.