Our House

Okay guys - here are some pics of the new house.

Jacob's awards assembly

Jacob had a good year this year. He earned some good awards. He made the honor roll all 6 out of 6 of the six weeks of school. This is quite an accomplishment. He also got a Merit P for citizenship. Amazingly he never had to pull a bear which probably means his teacher was pretty tolerant - just kidding. He worked really hard at being good. He also received the Word Wizard award which was for reading the boy who read the most words in his class - something like 600,000 or so words. This was really good for him since he doesn't really like to read. Here are some pics of him getting his awards.

Summertime

Well it is officailly here - SUMMER. My boys are already geared up and enjoying themselves. It's 8:00 and they are out in the pool. I can hear them laughing and playing and yes of course bickering every now and then. I love the sound of them together. Even though Nate is a teenager and 5 years older than Jacob, he always finds a way to make the pool fun for his little brother (secretly I think he is having as much fun). I hope Nate remembers he is still a kid and will enjoy his childhood before growing up too much. Jacob will forever be young - he takes nothing that seriously. Nathaniel on the other hand is such a serious kid with so much going on in that head of his. It scares me sometimes that one day he may look back and wonder where his childhood went. I hope he can recall those good times. I am looking forward to some relaxing days in the pool myself and some time to catch up on some much needed family time. Summer is always good for us in that we get to just play - something we don't get to do much of throughout the school year. We get so caught up in our busy lives, we forget to play and instead its all work. I hope to play alot with my family this summer.

I was sitting here watching graduation and the thought that in just 5 short years, we will be there watching Nate graduate. That is a scary thought for me. I've always had the notion that girls grow up and stay close to mom whereas boys grow up and go away. I don't want my boys to just go away. I hope they will always want to be close to mom and dad.

We will be celebrating Jacobs birthday this weekend. Wow he is going to be nine. Where did those first 8 years go. They went fast. To my friends who have little ones. Enjoy every moment because like the song says "Dont blink" your babies will be grown and they will be moms and dads (paraphrased of course). It's true - take advantage of every moment you have with them and take nothing for granted.

God Bless Each of you. Be good role models for your kids and for those kids who don't have role models.

The List Gets Shorter

Moving is a long process. However, our list is getting shorter. This weekend was a productive one. We spent all of Saturday getting light fixtures up and making sure they all worked properly. We went to church on Sunday morning and then started working on things outside the house about 2:00 Sunday afternoon. We got the pool up and the trampoline up - we finally finished all of that around 9:00 Sunday night. The boys have already been in the pool - even though it was ice cold. They enjoyed it. I can't wait for summer. We are going to have great fun. I hope you all had a good weekend.

3 day weekend - yeah

I am so ready for a 3 day weekend. I am ready to just relax a little bit. We still have some stuff to do to the house but like all things it is a "work in progress." Eventually it will all be done. We are loving the new house. I cleaned it for the first time yesterday - WOW - it is much bigger than my last one. I have learned in the last few days that I turly do have some amazing people in my life. Thanks to everyone who helped iwth th moving or just offered words of encouragement. We are all very appreciative. I hope you all have a great weekend and remember to pray for our men and women who are fighting for not only our freedom but the freedom of others. I pray God's shield of protection over them all and a quick and safe return home. What amazing people they are !!!!!

Baseball is over

Jacob had a great season and lots of fun. Richard coached, so you know who really did the coaching. Just kidding. Jacob loved having dad as a coach.

Seven More Days

Seven more days of school and we are so excited to start a new summer season. We always have so much fun in the summer just being together as a family and enjoying the time we get to spend together. I can't wait for what lies ahead. We have a busy summer planned with several trips. THe boys are taking a "boy trip" with the church which means I get to take some "girl time" with my mom and sister. I am so looking forward to that !!!!! Then Richard and I get to leave for Coaches Outreach - this is such a refreshing time for our marriage and a time we can grow our marriage spiritually. Please pray for us as we are leading a small group this year. THEN, Nathaniel and I will head out for Dallas for the big acting expo - Nathaniel is so excited about that and we are hoping he lands something. Then and finally - OUR TRIP TO SOUTH PADRE. We are so excited about this. Both Richards family and my family are going and there will be 17 of us making the trip. We are all very excited about this adventure. We are going to have a blast. AFter all of that we can slow down and enjoy the rest of the summer. We will spend alot of time just resting up I'm sure.

I hope all of you have a great ending to what has been a fast year with lots of changes and new experiences. More to come as we finish up a great year and head into a wonderful summer.

Life

Man life has thrown me 2 curve balls this week. First of all for those of you who don't know, my position at LaMesa has been cut due to enrollment. So that means next year I won't be teaching 1st grade at LaMesa. The good news is I still have a job, we just aren't sure where yet. So be praying that God's will be done in this area. THe second curve ball I can't discuss right now. However I can say it was one I knew was coming but that still didn't make it any easier.



You know God is amazing and he puts amazing people in our lives. We learn so much from our friends and we grow with them. To you my friend I say this: you have been a part of my life that I cherish deeply. You have been my confidant, my pal and my strength. You have made me laugh when I wanted to just cry and cry when I didn't know what else to do. You have brought so much to my life and shared so many things with me that I could not have ever experienced without you or your family. You mean the world to me and I will love you always. Miles can only seperate us physically. Phones can keep us closer than you can imagine and love will bind us together forever. You will always be in my heart and my thoughts. I love you dearly and will pray for you daily. I know God is guiding you and leading you.

Fun Time

Well life threw me a curve ball this week. I found out I was being reassigned to another campus. They are cutting my position at LaMesa and moving me to Thunderbird to teach 1st grade. When I found out I was devastated, but after absorbing it all, I know that I can trust God because his plans are so much better than my own. I know he is placing me where I need to be for whatever reasons there are. I am sure all will work out well.

Nathaniel had his end of year awards assembly today and he got many awards. Here are some pics of that.

We Are There

Hey everyone. It's been forever since I last posted. My life has been totally consumed with moving - day and night. We are in the new house and we are very excited. Everything is unpacked and done - except for some curtains, light fixtures and one wall. Other than that we are living in it and loving it. I will post some before and after pics soon.

We had a great weekend - getting everything done and working together. We went to church on Sunday and celebrated Mothers day. They were doing a little tribute to mothers and I literally sat and cried for about 45 minutes. I can't tell you guys how amazing my mother is. She has devoted as much time as I have to our move and quite literally worked her back end off getting things done. I could not have gotten it all done and put together if it had not been for her. She is one amazing person. Mom thanks so much for all you do in my life. I would not be the person I am today or the mom I am today if it were not for you. You have made me who I am and I am so thankful to hav you as my mom. I love you so much.

Everyone has worked really hard to get things done and I truly appreciate all their help. Debbie and Brandon and Cory - we could not have done it without you guys. Chris - wow you are amazing too - that is a big yard to mow. Rosie and Vickie same to you guys thanks for keeping me sane.

To all my friends who I have neglected - and you know who you are - I am so sorry. I will make it up to you.

Have a great day.

We're Closer Than We've Ever Been

Richard always says to me or the kids - "We're closer than we've ever been." Whether or not were close is not the issue the issue is that we are closer at the present time than we were even 2 minutes ago. So with that said - We got news yesterday that we are closing on Thursday at 4:30. Now I can get excited about the new house and a little nervous too. So hopefully you will all be getting an invite to see it once we get in and get settled.

Nathaniel had his first photo shoot yesterday and it was amazing. The photographer was great and did an awesome job with Nate. His pictures are great. I couldn't believe it was my son we were looking at.

Other than that - life is rolling right along. I'll let you know more when I know more. We will be posting pics of the new house soon and as soon as I get Nate's pics back we will post the link to those and some pics also.

We're Almost There

Well it has been one busy weekend. It started as soon as I left work on Friday. I guess we started painting the house we are in now on Friday about 4:30 and kept on until 12:45 Saturday morning. Thank you Nate for taking your brother to the movies. Thank you Doug for coming over and helping us paint. It was nice to have someone tall who could reach the top of the wall without needing a chair :). Mom, there aren't enough words to say thanks. You helped me start pulling things off the walls and pack on Thursday and then you came and painted this house on Friday. Saturday felt like a repeat. We got up early and headed out to Jacob's baseball game. It was freezing but fun. Then off to Brownfield to paint the house we have there to prepare it to put on the market. We are praying that God will send us a buyer soon. We know God will take care of it so we are just going to trust and pray. Now it's Sunday and we are finally done painting this house and almost done packing - YEAH. We could not have done it without the help of my mom, dad and sister. They truly helped us get things done faster on Saturday. Thank you guys you are awesome. Brandi thanks for letting the dogs out - it helped us out alot. We are praying that we will close on the new house this week, however we are prepared if things don't work out. We will look at it in a positive way. We have done our spring cleaning here and have newly painted walls to hang everything up on!!! However, I will be sad but it will be okay. That is what our weekend held for us. The cool thing is that we did it all as a family. Even the boys helped and it truly showed us how we can get things accomplished if we work together as a family.

I am blessed with.....

GREAT FRIENDS. Brandi thank you so much for lifting my spirits immediately. You are truly the best. I know God blesses us with the people in our lives and that we have all become friends for a reason. You guys are all awesome. I had 3 phone calls from my friends today to just check in on me. Katie thanks for the encouraging note - Amy and Laurie thanks for calling to check on me. Brandi - again you always know how to make me feel better. Jessica thanks for offering to help. God has put so many wonderful people in my life and I am truly blessed. I know I can count on all of you to help me and mainly to encourage and pray and that is the best thing you guys can do for me. I love you all.
Mom - there are no words to express how thankful I am for you in my life. You came over tonight and we tackled it and we got so much done. Thanks for helping and for dinner. Dad - you were awesome too - and Richard - even you did an amazing job from the sofa. He actually did all the packing up - we just carried it to him and he got it wrapped and in boxes. We almost have all the walls cleared off so we can paint this weekend.
Nathaniels room is almost done and if you guys knew what his room looked like (Brandi you do so you can appreciate this) you would know that his room being almost done is HUGE. Jacob is next.
Again, my spirits are lifted and you guys are the best. I am saying a prayer of thanks for my wonderful friends and for the sacrifices they are willing to make for me. I love all of you with all my heart. And yes I will probably be calling on you for help soon. Good night.

Prayer

Okay guys. Here is the deal. I need prayer in a bad way right now. I am finding myself a little frustrated with all that is going on in my life and all that I have to do. Let me clarify that statement. The things going on in my life are wonderful. I think we have a definite yes on the house and should be closing next week and getting to move in. My boys are busy busy and that is a good thing too. The thing that is frustrating is trying to get it all done without much help. Richard is such a big help in my life and now that he has a broken foot he hasn't been able to do much and I'm trying to pick up the slack and feel like I can't get it done. Mom, thanks for coming into my room this morning and giving me a much needed hug and wiping away the tears of frustration and annoyance. I shouldn't be having a pity party. God has blessed us with so much and I should be on cloud nine. So with that said, I'm going to try to have a more positive attitude and just get it all done. So guys, just pray that I can be more patient and less high strung and frustrated. Love you all.