Taylor update to come

I'm feeling guilty that I haven't added a Taylor post yet. There is so much to say that I need a good, long moment to summarize. She continues to be precious and largely a happy gal - we're seeing strong progress in some areas and continued need for faith in others. In general, the road continues to be at times inspiring, joyful, challenging, testing, and long. Always, we love her deeply and we're so grateful for her sweet smiles. More to come soon....

Dancing Shoes

Sunday was a special night. It was the annual mother/son dance at our country club. These years are precious for many reasons, but one of the things I love right now is that Jake is excited to go on a date with his momma. And, I'm lucky that he can learn from the best - David has taken this opportunity to ensure Jake knows how to treat a lady down the road. Growing up in the south, I love good manners, so it's fun to see him put these skills in action.

Jake wanted to look handsome for our big night, so he got a long over-due haircut and had David take him shopping at the Gap for a new shirt. They went on an oh-so-secret outing and then returned. That night, Lauren helped me get ready. I chose a dress and she didn't think it was fancy enough, so she picked out what she deemed appropriately fancy attire. After I culled down the piles of jewelry that she picked out, I went downstairs to meet my date.

While later on I was definitely the only mom in the room in a gold sequined mini skirt, it was worth it to see his face when I walked down the stairs. He told me how pretty I looked and he looked incredibly handsome. Best of all, he took great pride in giving me a beautiful white rose corsage. It was very sweet and really cute how fun it was for him.

Then, off we went to the big night. He was careful to walk slowly with me in my heels and once we got to dinner, he happily posed for pictures with me. Then, we saw many of his friends and their mom's and needed to choose a seat. Most of the boys were sitting together for dinner with the mom's at a nearby table. Jake wanted to sit with me - my heart melted. He said, "It's our date, Mom. I want to sit with you." For being my wild and crazy boy at times, he has such a heart of gold. We loaded up on food at the buffet (Jake had three plates) and I could tell Jake had been coached to let me go first in line, etc. We had a nice conversation over dinner.

Then, the dancing began. Jake was a bit shy at first, but quickly wanted to organize a congo line. We had a great time dancing for hours. He had many friends there and it was so cute to see all his buddies cutting a rug. I know these years will go quickly and with each year, I'm so grateful that I had such a happy and willing date. And a dad who will help him grow into a good man.