Locklear Land: September Slid By

Suddenly September! Was here and then it was gone! We had a busy month, and I managed to not blog about a single thing. Here is a long recap:

The month started with one of the most difficult things our little family has ever gone through. We said goodbye to our friend Carson Thomas. At one month shy of 4 years old, he left this world very unexpectedly, but brought immeasurable joy while he was here. A lover of Ninja Turtles, adventure, and attention, Carson captured our hearts as just a baby when he and his parents, Cody and Michaela, started attending our church. Cade and Carson were fast friends, and while Carson was younger than Cade, he kept up with him pretty well and followed in his footsteps as an usher and a helper after church. We became friends with Cody and Michaela after sitting with them for many services, and shared in their joys and lots of humor as our boys grew up. Carson had a knack for saying exactly what was on his mind, which is why our whole service celebrated with him when he had his first poop in the potty one Sunday. Carson loved the Ninja Turtles as much as Cade, and was very excited about becoming a big brother in December. On the day of his memorial service, everyone was asked to wear Ninja Turtles gear. Our kids both wore shirts in his honor, and Cade attended the service with us.

It was a very emotional time, and challenged us to address some concepts with Cade that we didn't think we would have to until he was much older. Thank goodness we serve an amazing God, who puts people and books in our lives to help explain His will when we do not understand. Heaven is for Real has been very helpful for all of us, and we know that Carson is very happy in heaven and will always look down on all of us. We do miss that little guy. The Camo for Carson bracelets were a fundraiser for his family.

Football season is where most of our time and energy is focused in the fall, and this season we have 2 teams that keep us busy! Chance is still coaching the Cougars, and Cade is playing flag football with Upwards. His team is called the Aggies and he is #12. Love it!

Cougar football games are both hectic and fun. Annie likes to spend her time climbing up and down and up and down and up and down the bleachers, which is exactly what her brother did at this age but her mama is 5 years older! Cade is a member of the Cougar Crew, which means that he gets to run through the big helmet before the football players after halftime.

Seeing Daddy after the games is a major highlight!

Cade also loves seeing his favorite Cougar football players, especially Desmond.

One week, we were blessed with lots of extra Cougar fans - Papaw and Melly, Nana and Papa, and the Lippencott family all the way from Alabama!

We had dinner at Jan and Bill's the next day to spend some more time with Sunni Renae, Nathan, Aiden, and Trey. Sunni is Jan and Bill's granddaughter, so she is technically our niece but she feels more like a cousin since she is our age! She and her whole family are super sweet and it was fun to watch our kids play together. Cade and Aiden had met one time before, and they had a great time running around the house and rough-housing with Chance.

The Varsity games on Friday nights are fun, but some of my favorite games are the JV ones on Thursdays. These games do not have all of the excitement of a Friday night game, but they are also earlier, less crowded, and do not have assigned seating. Kids that are free to run around are happy kids! Especially when one of those kids is allowed to go on the field with Daddy!

Cade's Aggie football team plays on Saturday mornings. They have had 2 games so far, and we think they have won both. It is hard to follow the score, especially when keeping Annie off of the field takes our full attention. Chance has been able to see at least part of both games, which is awesome since he works on Saturdays. Here is Annie's face when she saw her Daddy walking up to one of the games.