The End

Well, today marks the end of Madison's Middle School years.  In just three short months, she will be moving on to High School.  I've felt so many different emotions today - pride, happiness, sadness and longing.  I'm struggling to stay happy because even though the summer is about to begin (and I'm lucky enough to spend this time with her) time is going by waaaay too fast and this makes my heart ache!  The past three years (the middle school years) have gone by in a flash; I don’t even want to think about how fast the high school years will go by.

Yesterday morning I took a few pictures of Madi before she went to school.  It was her 2nd to last day and she looked so pretty that I had to capture the moment.  It hit me then - that sadly the end of her middle school years was here.



"Oh no, here she comes with that camera!!"



Laughing at me because I made a big deal about her cute little braid .

Finally, she looks IN the camera and smiles her pretty smile! 

School let out at 1pm yesterday and after a choir party from 1:30 to 3:30, Madi and I spent the rest of the afternoon baking cupcakes for her teachers and cookies for her friends. I was so thankful for her help - she's getting good at this baking thing! 

Our Vanilla Bean Cupcakes for the teachers.



Cupcakes and cookies

Cupcakes in cute little black and white boxes.

 

Snickerdoodle cookies. I got the packaging idea from Pinterest. We filled cellophane pouches with the cookies and then folded and stapled pretty scrapbooking paper over the top. Turned out nicely!

This morning, Madi was ready to go enjoy her last day of middle school – she didn’t want to take pictures (imagine that!), but I made her stop for a moment so that I could get a few pictures of my 8^th grader for one last day! You’ll thank me for it later in life, Madi. Of that, I am sure!

the last time she’ll be dropped off at this spot in the morning!! L

Bella’s sad about it too!  

 As you can see, she’s grown SO much this school year!  She’s almost as tall as I am (5’7”)!  I’ve got a feeling that grown chart that I did on her back in my first semester of college is correct – she’ll be at least 5’9”!  But, we’ll see. 

*Madi , it's hard to believe that another year has gone by and that middle school for you is now over!  This has really been a great year!  You have accomplished so much; you've kept your grades up (well, there was that one C on your report card!), you swam two to three times a week, ran on the Cross Country Team as well as the Track Team, you made it through an entire year of athletics (only missing one day) and survived the athletic couches! You got 4 out of 4 stars (stars or checks??) on your algebra EOC (WOW! that's super awesome!) and you completed three years as a choir member making Mrs. Martinez's "Three Year Choir Kiddo's" list.  You've stayed true to yourself and have made some hard decisions; like where to go to high school and whether or not you would swim on the High School Swim Team or run on the High School Cross Country and Track Teams.  You've surprised your Dad and I with both of your decisions, but we have supported them as they are both great ones - it's just not what your ol' Mom and Dad had envisioned.  We had plans all mapped out for you (since you were in 5th grade); you would be a swimmer all through high school, as well as at A&M where you would go to college, and you would be graduating from Belton High School rather than Belton New Tech.  Though it left our heads spinning for a few days, you’ve made some great choices for your future (with our constant guidance), and so we're okay with the changes and are proud of you for having the courage to explore other options and step out of your comfort zone. You’re so brave!  Your Dad and I couldn’t be prouder...well, if it weren't for that one C, we couldn't be prouder. ;) 

We love you completely, Madi.  You make our lives so much fun!