Nine weeks down...

...and I'm out twelve bucks for all A's for these two school boys. They don't get an allowance or money for chores, but for lost teeth and all A's on their report cards...

...you bet yer bottom dollar.

Oh, and don't forget the occasional slip of a dollar bill from Aunt Steph for apparently no reason at all. I tell her to save her money for her own kids, but she never listens. She makes me look bad.

And yes, if you must know, I cried at both conferences. I'm really not this unstable. I am just overwhelmed at the goodness of God. I'm amazed that even when a boy is silly and social and forgets to bring his homework home from time to time, he can still sit still long enough to open his mind and earn all A's. And I'm passionate about a boy who had some social bumps in the road last year, who has worked his tail off and has trusted God daily to help him become respectful, humble and full of integrity in the classroom.

And then I lost it when Trey's teacher told me about her son who died in a car accident when he was 15. She reminisced about her boy for a moment, and I grabbed her hand and we both had a good cry. And then I decided not to get on Trey so much for forgetting his homework a couple of times.

Conferences are only fifteen minutes a piece. How I packed this much emotion into 30 minutes I'll never know. But if you're a mom, you know. Well, as much as I know, anyway.

They captivate us. They get into our hearts and change us and challenge us. They make us proud and keep us humble. They remind us what it's like to have childlike faith, and then sometimes they have more faith than we do. They're honest to a fault, if there was such a thing.

I am a proud momma this week. Not because they brought home all A's. But because their teachers see a difference in them. How I pray that they see a difference in all of us. Our mission this school year? To be a family who stands out for Christ. Not to be perfect, because that'll never happen, but to care about the things that really matter.

Loving God and loving people. It never gets old.