Hi. Welcome back?
So, uhhm, I am terrible at keeping up with my blog. I knew it had been a while, but I didn't realize I hadn't written here in over a year and a half...A YEAR AND A HALF!!! At least I've kept up with my two blogs for my kiddoes a little bit better. (Don't look for them, they're currently kept private. One day I'll probably share.)
I hate that I have let this much time go by, because even though I've never done if for a huge audience, just family, I have been keeping this blog off and on for like 6 or 7 years. It is the closest thing to journaling that I have been doing since I got married.
Oh well. I'm back. Something with the new year or 2013 makes me want to catch up and get back on the blogwagon.
I'm not promising much, though. I probably won't keep up with it well. I'm just warning you ahead of time, keep your expectations low, very low. I will do the same, maybe that will keep us both from being disappointed.tt
Where to start? Maybe one day I'll go back and catch up a little bit. For today, let's just attempt to go with a month by month recap of 2012. As much as stands out in my mind, at least.
Hawkins in 2012~
January 2012 marked 3 years of living in Houston! Mini-rewind: We spent the holidays here at home, with my family (Hays) coming in to help us celebrate Christ's birth. This is the second time they have joined us here for Christmas, and we are very thankful for the time at our own home with our kids on Christmas morning. It was Briley's first Christmas~Noah is 4 1/2~and both kids enjoyed all the festivities and family time. Noah put cookies and milk and carrots out for Santa, and Santa brought him a pogostick, among other things, which he played with for all of maybe 15 min. B of course doesn't understand any of it, but she does enjoy the lights and sounds and presents under the tree that she can bang around. At Christmas time she was not walking yet, but could scoot around where she wants to go, and Brad accidentally taught her how to climb the stairs, which she now loves. In Jan. Matt and Carrie also went on Winter Retreat with our teens, and I stayed home with both kids for the first time ever. I have always tried to go for part of it, maybe going a day late or leaving to come home early. I just wasn't ready to leave Briley overnight with anyone for three days, nor was I up to the 4+ hour drives.
February we got to celebrate my sister Carrie's 30th birthday, and we planned a fun little weekend for her. We took her to Red Robin as a family, which has always been the place that she goes with friends to celebrate birthdays, and that was nice. I gave her a Visa gift card with enough money to go sky diving, and the promise that I'll go with her, whenever she decides that she's ready to do that. She's always wanted to go, and I think it meant a lot to her. I also was able to give her a little scrapbook that I had put together with letters/notes and a few pictures from many of her friends who sent stuff in. Not everyone replied, and I had to follow-up with people quite a bit, but I think it meant a lot to her, too. After Red Robin, we returned home and a handful of friends came over to our house for yummy cake and icecream. Carrie always loves parties, and loves celebrating people, so I know I could have done something bigger and she would have enjoyed it, but I still think it was nice. We got some cute pics from the night, and Briley decided to really start taking a few steps with all eyes on her, so I think that was cool. Also in Feb. Carrie and I took a day trip to Galveston and had a lot of fun. We went during Mardi Gras week and they were having a family-friendly parade on the coastal highway. It was very cold, but we took some fun jumping pictures, got tons of beaded neclaces, laughed alot, and ate at the most yummy Mexican place on the water, called Tortugas. Also found a Rita's Italian Ice that I did not know existed :)
March brought on Noah's 5th birthday. Carrie helped me plan a super fun Mario Bros party for him at the church. I made Mario and Luigi hats for all the kids and we had moustaches for them to wear. We set up a few Wiis and the kids played Mario Cart and hunted for golden coins. We had toadstool cupcakes and pizza and multi-colored snacks. It was pretty theme-y, but I thought it was pretty cool. I think Noah had a blast. I'm always worn out after his birthday parties! During Spring Break Carrie and I took the kids to Galveston beach for the first time. Briley loved feeling sand and ate quite a bit of it while I attempted to get some cute pictures. Carrie played in the waves with Noah most of the time, and it was a messy but successful day, which concluded of course, with more Rita's.
April...can't remember a whole lot to be honest. Easter egghunts at church and coloring eggs with the kids, of course. Briley's 1st birthday was a quiet celebration after the crazy big one we had for Noah's. We just had the Porters join us for dinner and cake and opened up presents at the house. The weekend before I had her 1-year photos taken by Shannon Wright, who took her newborn ones. I brought a smash cake and balloons to the park, and I LOVE how they turned out. We have yet to print any enlargements for the walls yet, but the coloring turned out great, and she smiled perfectly for the pics. Oh, I know...April brought the end of my sister's time here in Houston, as she decided to take a job in Colorado at Golden Bell. So April was filled with a lot of doing things with her "for the last time." Sad, sad. It was an incredible year having her here with us.
May brought my birthday--uneventful I suppose, as I don't even remember where we went to dinner! Hard transistion for us, not having Aunt Carrie here anymore. The end of school was close and I know I struggled a bit with telling my principal, but very greatfully resigned my position for the coming school year. I packed up my classroom and gave many things away to new teachers, with hopes that I may not be back to full-time teaching for a while.
June was very typical for us---youth camp with the teens the very first week of summer--& I actually went this year. Guess the kids stayed with Michelle, because I can't remember doing anything else! It was a great week, with very little problems or conflicts from our own group and lots of fun times. I struggle with the teens not wanting to participate in games and things, and not feeling very connected to many of them because of working full time during the year/missing FUEL, but we did have some good moments and taught everyone how to play Spoons. Matt left for RTA in Colorado as usual and was gone for the typical 10 days. I made plans to keep us busy while he was gone and we had lots of fun together, going swimming, to Pump It Up, the Zoo, playdates with friends, etc. When Matt returned from RTA, we turned around and left for Florida within 24 hours. We planned 3 days in Orlando before heading down to Vero Beach for the Mark Robison wedding. Matt's parents met us in Orlando and we checked into our very nice hotel, with just enough time to have some Moe's Mexican and catch a night time swim. We went to Magic Kingdom the first day and Hollywood Studios the 2nd. Noah loved both days and it was so fun to see him enjoy Disney for the first time. Matt's parents were very helpful and allowed us to go on almost all the rides with him. It was really quite rainy the first day, but that kept it cooler and less crowded than it could have been. Noah was really into getting the characters to sign his autograph book. We got Merida, Goofy, Jessie and Woody the first day. I even got to rendevous with my college roommate Beth and meet her husband Rick for the first time while at MK. So random! At Hollywood Studios both kids really loved the Disney Jr. show with all the characters from the cartoons we watch, and Noah got to meet Jake and Phineas and Ferb. Matt and I enjoyed the Rockin Roller Coaster and I regretfully took Noah on the Tower of Terror, which he and I both ended up hating. Good days, both days. Great first Disney trip as a fam.
In Vero, we went to the beach twice and hosted a little party time at Wendy Kramer's and invited people over to hang out. It was the best way we could think of to see the most people in our short time. Matt did the wedding for Mark, and Noah was the ring boy. They both looked handsome and it was special to be able to be apart of all three of their kids weddings. Had very little time to spend with the Robisons, though. We saw most of the church people at the wedding, but did not have very much time to talk or catch up. I left immediately after the reception to fly with the kids to Kansas, and I left feeling really bad that I had not made the effort to see a few specific people more. It was good to see people, but i should have planned better. I had a lot of inner conflict over who to share time with though, and I knew that the kids only had a few days left with their grandparents, too.
July: The kids and I flew into Kansas to catch the very last morning of the Hays family reunion. A few of my cousins had already left, but almost everyone was still there. It was great to see them if only for a few hours. We had breakfast and a morning worship time together, then went swimming and fishing with who was still there. Noah got to "help" my dad fish for the first time, which he talks about quite a bit, but really did very little. I, however, caught 3 little fish on my own! It has been so long since I did it, but I grew up fishing with my dad quite a bit. Good memories. Noah loved playing with his newly found cousins, and Briley was as cute as could be. We left the reunion and drove over with my parents and Carrie for a couple of days to Oklahoma City, where we got to spend time with my aunt Mary and cousins. Noah and Bri got to jump on the trampoline with his 2nd cousins Savannah and Riley and we went to a splash pad with them. On the 4th, we enjoyed our first 4th of July parade and BBQ time with the Busic families. That night, we picnicked out on the front of BFC and watched fireworks together. It was a very busy, but great 2 weeks of vacation! Matt, by the way, flew home from FL instead of attending the reunion/OK and took our teens on a mission trip to Nashville, TN...which, I hear, went very well. Matt and I celebrated 10 years of marriage when he returned from the trip by going to Cheesecake Factory and a little chocolate place downtown called The Chocolate Bar. Kind of typical that we would have to be apart on the actual day of our anniversary, (July 6), and of course I wasn't thrilled about it at first...but I am so honored to be married to the man of God that I am, I shouldn't really complain. We have spent many an anniversary at the local steak and potato bar after sneaking away from youth camp. That's just our life. We were able to buy a new flat screen t.v. with money from Matt's grandmother, as an anniversary present to each other. :)
January 08, 2013
June 15, 2012
The World of Q
So it's been quite some time since I blogged here. Thoughts on my mind, but too busy to take the time for it, I guess. I don't blog for anyone but myself, anyway. So I only get around to it when I really get everything else in my life balanced or when I have something on my mind I need to work out/think thru.
This week I have some extra time on my hands (Matt is gone on RTA--a 9-day backpacking trip to CO with our sophomore class) and so I'm trying to keep my mind busy in hopes that the time will go by quicker. So, I have (finally) started in on the world of couponing. I have recently learned that it takes approx. 8-12 weeks of collecting and printing coupons to be able to purchase most items at their lowest prices (by using the coupons at the right times) thus being able to create a thorough stockpile of items...so although I am jumping right into it, it will be somewhat of a gradual process with a big learning curve. As I begin this week, I have learned quite a bit already! I would like to blog about my journey towards saving my family money and see where we can go with it. I have a feeling it will start slowly and be a learn-as-I-go kind of deal, but then quickly pick up. There is so much info out there on the web that I have already found to help, and after my first trip to some drugstores, I already feel an addiction coming on. Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves yet.
So I'm currently what they call a coupon virgin. I've always loved using coupons for restaraunts and fast food places, and for % off at retail places. Who doesn't like free food and discounted clothing? But, I have little to NO experience with using coupons at the grocery store. I can not think of a SINGLE time I have used a coupon for groceries before. There have been times when I have skimmed thru the manufacture ads on Sunday and found things that I normally buy--clipped the coupon, but then one of two things happen: 1) I never end up taking it with me to the store, or 2)I do, but only after the Q has already expired! I definitely am very conscious of food prices---most items I buy regularly, I could probably tell you within 10 cents how much I regularly pay for it and which stores sell it the cheapest. I also have experience taking advantage of the Buy one Get one (BOGO) sales at grocery stores and feel like I have to explain to Matt how I am "stocking up" on a great deal. But using coupons on a regular basis? A big huge NO. No experience. Before this weekend began, I couldn't have even told you the difference between manufacturer and store coupons without thinking deeply about it. I had NEVER heard of STACKING coupons or considered that you could be allowed to use coupons on Buy One Get One deals. In fact, I admit that my opinion of people who use coupons is that they must really be desperate to be saving, for example, 50 cents on 3 boxes of cereal. I would think, "REaLLY? Like that's really going to save you money? I never buy those cereals anyway, or not 3 at the same time! You're getting fooled into thinking you should buy that with a little 50 cent savings." Like I said, I have already learned a lot.
So I think I started on Sat. afternoon. I have been tempted to check into it for the past 6 months or so because of recent posts on Facebook from friends of mine who are already in the club. I also have seen an episode or two of the Extreme Couponing and some famous couponing gals on the Today Show/Nate B. show. My first research came from The Krazy Coupon Lady website and today I found Southern Savers thru a link from Fbk. I have read up on the couponing for beginners on both sites, and here's the things that I have learned so far.
1.) Stacking. Most stores allow you to use two coupons for an item at a time--a manufacturer coupon and also a store coupon/sale.
2.) CVS and Walgreens both have cash (credit) back programs where you actually get savings in whole "dollars" that you can use on future purchases. Many, many items can be picked up virtually for free by combining coupons and the credit offered thru these drugstores.
3.) Stockpiling takes quite some time--up to 3 months of consistent saving coupons before you are able to get "Rock-bottom" prices.
4) Getting 4-6 Sunday papers is really the best way to be able to stockpile items when they go on a great sale.
5) You should save ALL coupons, even for items that you would never consider actually purchasing, because many times these items can be gotten for free or earn you credit that can be used on other items. Plus, these items--often personal products--can always be donated to charities. I would love to do this!
6) There are many sites out there that are doing all the work for you--matching up current sale ads with recent coupons. They even tell you the exact date a Q was released, how much your saving could be, and a scenario that would help you get your best bang for the buck.
7)
This week I have some extra time on my hands (Matt is gone on RTA--a 9-day backpacking trip to CO with our sophomore class) and so I'm trying to keep my mind busy in hopes that the time will go by quicker. So, I have (finally) started in on the world of couponing. I have recently learned that it takes approx. 8-12 weeks of collecting and printing coupons to be able to purchase most items at their lowest prices (by using the coupons at the right times) thus being able to create a thorough stockpile of items...so although I am jumping right into it, it will be somewhat of a gradual process with a big learning curve. As I begin this week, I have learned quite a bit already! I would like to blog about my journey towards saving my family money and see where we can go with it. I have a feeling it will start slowly and be a learn-as-I-go kind of deal, but then quickly pick up. There is so much info out there on the web that I have already found to help, and after my first trip to some drugstores, I already feel an addiction coming on. Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves yet.
So I'm currently what they call a coupon virgin. I've always loved using coupons for restaraunts and fast food places, and for % off at retail places. Who doesn't like free food and discounted clothing? But, I have little to NO experience with using coupons at the grocery store. I can not think of a SINGLE time I have used a coupon for groceries before. There have been times when I have skimmed thru the manufacture ads on Sunday and found things that I normally buy--clipped the coupon, but then one of two things happen: 1) I never end up taking it with me to the store, or 2)I do, but only after the Q has already expired! I definitely am very conscious of food prices---most items I buy regularly, I could probably tell you within 10 cents how much I regularly pay for it and which stores sell it the cheapest. I also have experience taking advantage of the Buy one Get one (BOGO) sales at grocery stores and feel like I have to explain to Matt how I am "stocking up" on a great deal. But using coupons on a regular basis? A big huge NO. No experience. Before this weekend began, I couldn't have even told you the difference between manufacturer and store coupons without thinking deeply about it. I had NEVER heard of STACKING coupons or considered that you could be allowed to use coupons on Buy One Get One deals. In fact, I admit that my opinion of people who use coupons is that they must really be desperate to be saving, for example, 50 cents on 3 boxes of cereal. I would think, "REaLLY? Like that's really going to save you money? I never buy those cereals anyway, or not 3 at the same time! You're getting fooled into thinking you should buy that with a little 50 cent savings." Like I said, I have already learned a lot.
So I think I started on Sat. afternoon. I have been tempted to check into it for the past 6 months or so because of recent posts on Facebook from friends of mine who are already in the club. I also have seen an episode or two of the Extreme Couponing and some famous couponing gals on the Today Show/Nate B. show. My first research came from The Krazy Coupon Lady website and today I found Southern Savers thru a link from Fbk. I have read up on the couponing for beginners on both sites, and here's the things that I have learned so far.
1.) Stacking. Most stores allow you to use two coupons for an item at a time--a manufacturer coupon and also a store coupon/sale.
2.) CVS and Walgreens both have cash (credit) back programs where you actually get savings in whole "dollars" that you can use on future purchases. Many, many items can be picked up virtually for free by combining coupons and the credit offered thru these drugstores.
3.) Stockpiling takes quite some time--up to 3 months of consistent saving coupons before you are able to get "Rock-bottom" prices.
4) Getting 4-6 Sunday papers is really the best way to be able to stockpile items when they go on a great sale.
5) You should save ALL coupons, even for items that you would never consider actually purchasing, because many times these items can be gotten for free or earn you credit that can be used on other items. Plus, these items--often personal products--can always be donated to charities. I would love to do this!
6) There are many sites out there that are doing all the work for you--matching up current sale ads with recent coupons. They even tell you the exact date a Q was released, how much your saving could be, and a scenario that would help you get your best bang for the buck.
7)
April 25, 2011
Easter Weekend
On to the rest of the weekend!
I hope to come back and post pics when I can---for today though, I am writing this from my hospital room as we await the baby's arrival!
Friday Matthew and I spent 7 hours looking for a new car for our family. Matt had already spent countless hours researching cars and checking out things both on the internet and in person this week. Friday was my first day to be able to help him though. After a long day in Houston humidity (for this 9 mo. pregnant gal, 88 degrees was ridiculous!) we finally agreed upon and put money down on a 2008 Saturn Aura. Which is kind of a strange pick for us, since it is the only Saturn we looked at and a bit out of our normal style, but we both love it! It has a real pretty brownish exterior--it's called Golden Cashmere---and black leather interior. It's a mid-sized sedan. We really like it for the space it seems to have in the back seat and the classy console/doors inside. Gas mileage will be a bit higher than some others we looked at, but hopefully not too bad.--it is a V6 and has tons of pep. I'm so excited to get a car that Matt likes so much! He says it will be mostly MY car, but that just means that he'll most likely drive the other car to and from work most days and that we will try to not put as much mileage on this one. I don't see myself driving around town a whole bunch during the summer. We are getting great financing on it, which I am hoping will balance out the fact that we are having to purchase a new car at probably the most stressful financial time for our family!
Friday night we were also supposed to be going to a brown-bag concert at Chick-Fil-A for Gungor, but after the looooong day I had to pass on it. Matt skipped it too, but went to his two softball games and Carrie kept Noah at the house while I took an unexpected nap of 2 hours. I was disappointed to not go to the concert, because we had both been looking forward to it for a while, but I was thankful to have Carrie and the rest, which apparently I really needed.
Saturday was the kids egg hunt at church. Noah was so excited about Easter this year! I really think it is his favorite holiday. He loves, loves, loves to hide Easter eggs. The KidStuf program happens first, which Matt actually participated in this time again--doing the teaching portion (and as several people mentioned to me, he does so well at it.). Then the 3 minute frenzy where all the little ones run out and grab all the eggs that are scattered on the playground. Noah is a little disappointed that they are not hidden better----but then he remembers they have candy in them and he's just fine. I bought him a big basket this year, and with out thinking about it, the kid really cleaned up and I had to suggest that we stop early and start emptying out his candy, so there would be eggs left for the slower 4-5 year olds. He was good with this, but totally hyper all day. Carrie took him home after this and let me have a quick alone trip to BabiesRUs, so that I could finally purchase our car seat for the baby. I had registered for two, and Bev and Wendi got me the other one I registered for, but when I got it home I realized that it doesn't have an adjustment on the front of the seat at all....that's a huge deal breaker! So I picked up the one we liked from BRU. We spent most of the day cleaning house--Matt worked on the yard and the small things in the baby's room that needed done. I finished up laundry and kitchen and bathrooms. Carrie was a big help with all of the above and with letting us keep Noah at home again so that we could get our shopping done.
Mom flew in Saturday night, and Carrie picked her up at the airport. They got back about 11:30 p to the house, so we got to talk just a bit. Yesterday, Easter was a good day--about as I expected it to be. I tried really hard to focus on the whole meaning for the weekend, but admittedly, it was really hard to focus on it when I had so many questions and comments about our baby-to-be-born soon. At least it was a nice family day. Noah woke up the whole house early and had grandma make him his "eggs and toast". We went to church early so Carrie could help with greeting, and this gave me lots of time to be visible to people from both services---not exactly what I would have preferred--looking VERY pregnant and answering the same questions over and over---Yes, my due date is 2-3 weeks away, but we're going into tonight---YES, I said tonight! Yes, we are mostly ready, yes we are getting excited. No, it's not a boy. Yes, I know I haven't really dropped yet...it just goes on and on. People are really sweet and caring and I know that they only mean the best, but they just have no idea how redundant their questions and comments are! Even close friends say the same thing over and over! I hope this gets engrained in my head, the things not to say to pregnant friends in the future! We came home from church and mom helped me finish our home cooked lunch---mighty yummy, I must say! Pork Roast, potatoes, carrots, corn, fresh fruit salad, and crescent rolls. Not bad for the busy day/weekend! We spent the afternoon doing our last minute things---me, putting final grades in the gradebook! Everyone else took turns hunting/hiding eggs with Noah and watching him play in the new sprinkler set he got for a Big Brother gift. I laid down for his nap with him and got to spend a few special moments with him. We read the Easter Story out of his new little Bible and we talked about mommy and daddy going to the hospital. He seemed fine with it all and really wanted to go to Michelle's house last night. No big deal for a 4 year old!
'About 6:30p we starting getting ready for leaving. I made a few phone calls and packed up our last minute stuff, took a shower, and then talked with mom and Carrie for a few minutes about our plans for the next couple days. I don't want to talk about my feelings and emotions a whole lot on here---this isn't a private forum if someone's out there reading this right now---but I gotta say it's a pretty weird feeling knowing when you're going to the hospital to hopefully/expectfully have your baby. One minute I am so excited about it and yet quite nervous all at the same time. It has been so long-time coming, and then in other ways it feels like I'm not at all ready or prepared for this new stage of our lives to actually be beginning soon. I'm practically anxious out of my skin for this delivery process. In some ways I feel like I should know what to expect, and in other ways I don't want to expect that it will be anything like it was before. If it IS similar, can I handle it again!?!?! It is easily the most difficult thing to endure I've ever been through. Then, there's the whole anxiety about family dynamics. Having one child was scary enough---i'm nervous to see how adding our second will change our lives forever! I'm not nervous for how Noah will do in the long run--I know he is sooo sweet and will be a great big brother...but I'm nervous for the transition time. I'm hoping that knowing how to care for a newborn will come back to me, because 4 years feels like soooooo long!
So here we are, waiting it out. It is now 9 a.m. I slept off and on through the night--every 20]5 minutes you wake up for the nurse checking on you or the constant beeping. Matt is quietly asleep beside me on the pathetic little pullout chair. I hope he's getting better rest. I'm a little restless at this point. My doctor should be in any moment to check me for the first time. The nurses checked me last night but I wasn't dialated yet. (Not at all?!? Are you kidding Me?! a little disappointing) I've been having some increased contractions, and discomfort, but nothing active labor type. So I got started on a cervix softening med and may need another one for another 12 hours. I'm okay with this slow start as long as that doesn't set the stage for the whole process. I am really, really trying to avoid C-section unless it becomes apparent that this is the very best or only option. That's the whole reason why we are inducing 2+wks early. I pray that this is the best decision for baby and for my body as well. I guess there's some excitement to come!
I hope to come back and post pics when I can---for today though, I am writing this from my hospital room as we await the baby's arrival!
Friday Matthew and I spent 7 hours looking for a new car for our family. Matt had already spent countless hours researching cars and checking out things both on the internet and in person this week. Friday was my first day to be able to help him though. After a long day in Houston humidity (for this 9 mo. pregnant gal, 88 degrees was ridiculous!) we finally agreed upon and put money down on a 2008 Saturn Aura. Which is kind of a strange pick for us, since it is the only Saturn we looked at and a bit out of our normal style, but we both love it! It has a real pretty brownish exterior--it's called Golden Cashmere---and black leather interior. It's a mid-sized sedan. We really like it for the space it seems to have in the back seat and the classy console/doors inside. Gas mileage will be a bit higher than some others we looked at, but hopefully not too bad.--it is a V6 and has tons of pep. I'm so excited to get a car that Matt likes so much! He says it will be mostly MY car, but that just means that he'll most likely drive the other car to and from work most days and that we will try to not put as much mileage on this one. I don't see myself driving around town a whole bunch during the summer. We are getting great financing on it, which I am hoping will balance out the fact that we are having to purchase a new car at probably the most stressful financial time for our family!
Friday night we were also supposed to be going to a brown-bag concert at Chick-Fil-A for Gungor, but after the looooong day I had to pass on it. Matt skipped it too, but went to his two softball games and Carrie kept Noah at the house while I took an unexpected nap of 2 hours. I was disappointed to not go to the concert, because we had both been looking forward to it for a while, but I was thankful to have Carrie and the rest, which apparently I really needed.
Saturday was the kids egg hunt at church. Noah was so excited about Easter this year! I really think it is his favorite holiday. He loves, loves, loves to hide Easter eggs. The KidStuf program happens first, which Matt actually participated in this time again--doing the teaching portion (and as several people mentioned to me, he does so well at it.). Then the 3 minute frenzy where all the little ones run out and grab all the eggs that are scattered on the playground. Noah is a little disappointed that they are not hidden better----but then he remembers they have candy in them and he's just fine. I bought him a big basket this year, and with out thinking about it, the kid really cleaned up and I had to suggest that we stop early and start emptying out his candy, so there would be eggs left for the slower 4-5 year olds. He was good with this, but totally hyper all day. Carrie took him home after this and let me have a quick alone trip to BabiesRUs, so that I could finally purchase our car seat for the baby. I had registered for two, and Bev and Wendi got me the other one I registered for, but when I got it home I realized that it doesn't have an adjustment on the front of the seat at all....that's a huge deal breaker! So I picked up the one we liked from BRU. We spent most of the day cleaning house--Matt worked on the yard and the small things in the baby's room that needed done. I finished up laundry and kitchen and bathrooms. Carrie was a big help with all of the above and with letting us keep Noah at home again so that we could get our shopping done.
Mom flew in Saturday night, and Carrie picked her up at the airport. They got back about 11:30 p to the house, so we got to talk just a bit. Yesterday, Easter was a good day--about as I expected it to be. I tried really hard to focus on the whole meaning for the weekend, but admittedly, it was really hard to focus on it when I had so many questions and comments about our baby-to-be-born soon. At least it was a nice family day. Noah woke up the whole house early and had grandma make him his "eggs and toast". We went to church early so Carrie could help with greeting, and this gave me lots of time to be visible to people from both services---not exactly what I would have preferred--looking VERY pregnant and answering the same questions over and over---Yes, my due date is 2-3 weeks away, but we're going into tonight---YES, I said tonight! Yes, we are mostly ready, yes we are getting excited. No, it's not a boy. Yes, I know I haven't really dropped yet...it just goes on and on. People are really sweet and caring and I know that they only mean the best, but they just have no idea how redundant their questions and comments are! Even close friends say the same thing over and over! I hope this gets engrained in my head, the things not to say to pregnant friends in the future! We came home from church and mom helped me finish our home cooked lunch---mighty yummy, I must say! Pork Roast, potatoes, carrots, corn, fresh fruit salad, and crescent rolls. Not bad for the busy day/weekend! We spent the afternoon doing our last minute things---me, putting final grades in the gradebook! Everyone else took turns hunting/hiding eggs with Noah and watching him play in the new sprinkler set he got for a Big Brother gift. I laid down for his nap with him and got to spend a few special moments with him. We read the Easter Story out of his new little Bible and we talked about mommy and daddy going to the hospital. He seemed fine with it all and really wanted to go to Michelle's house last night. No big deal for a 4 year old!
'About 6:30p we starting getting ready for leaving. I made a few phone calls and packed up our last minute stuff, took a shower, and then talked with mom and Carrie for a few minutes about our plans for the next couple days. I don't want to talk about my feelings and emotions a whole lot on here---this isn't a private forum if someone's out there reading this right now---but I gotta say it's a pretty weird feeling knowing when you're going to the hospital to hopefully/expectfully have your baby. One minute I am so excited about it and yet quite nervous all at the same time. It has been so long-time coming, and then in other ways it feels like I'm not at all ready or prepared for this new stage of our lives to actually be beginning soon. I'm practically anxious out of my skin for this delivery process. In some ways I feel like I should know what to expect, and in other ways I don't want to expect that it will be anything like it was before. If it IS similar, can I handle it again!?!?! It is easily the most difficult thing to endure I've ever been through. Then, there's the whole anxiety about family dynamics. Having one child was scary enough---i'm nervous to see how adding our second will change our lives forever! I'm not nervous for how Noah will do in the long run--I know he is sooo sweet and will be a great big brother...but I'm nervous for the transition time. I'm hoping that knowing how to care for a newborn will come back to me, because 4 years feels like soooooo long!
So here we are, waiting it out. It is now 9 a.m. I slept off and on through the night--every 20]5 minutes you wake up for the nurse checking on you or the constant beeping. Matt is quietly asleep beside me on the pathetic little pullout chair. I hope he's getting better rest. I'm a little restless at this point. My doctor should be in any moment to check me for the first time. The nurses checked me last night but I wasn't dialated yet. (Not at all?!? Are you kidding Me?! a little disappointing) I've been having some increased contractions, and discomfort, but nothing active labor type. So I got started on a cervix softening med and may need another one for another 12 hours. I'm okay with this slow start as long as that doesn't set the stage for the whole process. I am really, really trying to avoid C-section unless it becomes apparent that this is the very best or only option. That's the whole reason why we are inducing 2+wks early. I pray that this is the best decision for baby and for my body as well. I guess there's some excitement to come!
First Blogpost in nearly a year!
Hello? Anybody out there? I can't imagine I have a single faithful reader out there left...after all, it looks like it has been nearly a year since I wrote! I'm surprised I remembered my own password! Maybe this will show up on somebody's blog roll and they'll check it out. Either way, I always blog more for myself than for anyone else. So if you are the lone soul out there reading this today, welcome back and thank you for still having that interest in my life after all this neglect! I hope to not bore you with the details I'm about to write down!
Today is Monday, April 25, 2010....I am writing this from the hospital bed in Houston, TX as I await the coming birth of our second child! Matthew and I arrived last night about 8p for my scheduled induction. The hospital was quite busy last night and I didn't get started on any meds until 11pm. It is now 7:45 a.m. on Monday morning and I still haven't made much progress. We may not be having baby until tomorrow, at this rate! But I think that is okay all things considered. I am still early--37 1/2 weeks, and I'm not feeling stressed for time. As long as my doctor thinks we are okay, I'm not going to stress over it.
We decided to schedule the induction for this weekend after much consideration and advice from my doctor. Baby girl Hawkins has been measuring ahead the entire pregnancy--at our 20 week ultrasound she seemed to be almost 2 weeks ahead of expected size, and our other appts. as well. I have been gaining plenty of weight myself and it has ALL been in the front---I look like I am seriously hiding a basketball in my tummy. Ohh, the stretch marks I will be enjoying for the rest of my life due to this baby! Good thing I'm not a bikini wearer of any sort. I sure hope they fade. Anyway, since Noah was a 9 lb, 3 oz.er and I had the complications with his delivery, we decided pretty early on that the only chance I had of avoiding a c-section would be to try to take the baby a few weeks early, before she got as big. My dr. told me at my 34 week appt. that she felt very comfortable scheduling this as soon as we hit 37 wks. Well, the only thing about that is that it has happened over Easter weekend. So, with Matt being in ministry and with having a 4 year old, I wanted to try to wait just a few more days.
Thus, our arrival here on Sunday night at 8pm, Easter evening. We had a great weekend, even though the whole time I was nervous that my water would break and put an immediate chaotic turn to the festivities! Thursday was my last day at school, and I was soooo very thankful for that. Making it that last week was pretty tough. I was feeling quite a bit of increased Braxton Hicks and just overall crumminess. My feet were swelling each day so much that my LARGE comfortable flip flops were still tight on my toesies! My partner teacher was really sweet to me and had the kids bring in a couple dollars and do a little mini shower for me. She made me my first diaper cake (cheesy, but cute and sweet still) and gave me a little diaper bag with baby's name on it. It's not one I would pick out, but it can be an extra carrying bag. The kids all made me a big card and have also been making little signs for me. Then on Wed. my 5th grade teachers/team had a surprise breakfast and flowers and gift card for me, also unexpected and very sweet. Everyone at school has been great, asking how I've been doing and offering support. I hate accepting help, but haven't really had much choice lately! So many things in my room needed covering and cleaning in preparation for our state testing next week, and they were things I just couldn't do. God provided a great last week of work for me which made it possible for me to finish without taking work off. Half of my kids in each class were on science field trips 2 days last week and that left it possible for me to do some science videos/games and grade papers, clean, and sort thru my room. I LOVED having that time to prepare for my long term sub. I actually feel pretty good about the way I was able to leave my room and plans she has for next week. I don't have to do lesson plans for while I'm gone, but I wanted to get her started off right. My kids still have a big science test on Thursday and I can only trust that I have done all that I can and that they are ready.
It was a REALLY good feeling coming home on Thursday. No work! For who-knows-how long! I love that feeling. It is even better than the last day of the school year. I don't know my status for my job next year but I am determined to not allow myself to stress over it unnecessarily. There is nothing I can do for a while! With all the budget cuts in our state and with teaching, I am lucky to still, at least at this point, have a job. I was for a while on the "excess list" from my school, which means that I was one of the last 12 people hired at McFee and that I would hopefully still be offered a job elsewhere in the district, but not at my school. Well, I got off that list officially about 2 weeks ago, but it's still quite uncertain what will happen. Best case scenario is probably that I will have to change grade levels, and I have let my principal know that I am highly interested in a job-share position, which would mean working part time (half days) with a teaching partner. I am praying that this works out for next year so that I can only put baby into part time daycare setting. Maybe even having Carrie and or a friend like Michelle Anderson keep her for the morning. At this point, my principle is only TALKING to people about switching grades, and nothing is set in stone or will be until the state makes their decisions about the budget and then our district can make more final plans.
Today is Monday, April 25, 2010....I am writing this from the hospital bed in Houston, TX as I await the coming birth of our second child! Matthew and I arrived last night about 8p for my scheduled induction. The hospital was quite busy last night and I didn't get started on any meds until 11pm. It is now 7:45 a.m. on Monday morning and I still haven't made much progress. We may not be having baby until tomorrow, at this rate! But I think that is okay all things considered. I am still early--37 1/2 weeks, and I'm not feeling stressed for time. As long as my doctor thinks we are okay, I'm not going to stress over it.
We decided to schedule the induction for this weekend after much consideration and advice from my doctor. Baby girl Hawkins has been measuring ahead the entire pregnancy--at our 20 week ultrasound she seemed to be almost 2 weeks ahead of expected size, and our other appts. as well. I have been gaining plenty of weight myself and it has ALL been in the front---I look like I am seriously hiding a basketball in my tummy. Ohh, the stretch marks I will be enjoying for the rest of my life due to this baby! Good thing I'm not a bikini wearer of any sort. I sure hope they fade. Anyway, since Noah was a 9 lb, 3 oz.er and I had the complications with his delivery, we decided pretty early on that the only chance I had of avoiding a c-section would be to try to take the baby a few weeks early, before she got as big. My dr. told me at my 34 week appt. that she felt very comfortable scheduling this as soon as we hit 37 wks. Well, the only thing about that is that it has happened over Easter weekend. So, with Matt being in ministry and with having a 4 year old, I wanted to try to wait just a few more days.
Thus, our arrival here on Sunday night at 8pm, Easter evening. We had a great weekend, even though the whole time I was nervous that my water would break and put an immediate chaotic turn to the festivities! Thursday was my last day at school, and I was soooo very thankful for that. Making it that last week was pretty tough. I was feeling quite a bit of increased Braxton Hicks and just overall crumminess. My feet were swelling each day so much that my LARGE comfortable flip flops were still tight on my toesies! My partner teacher was really sweet to me and had the kids bring in a couple dollars and do a little mini shower for me. She made me my first diaper cake (cheesy, but cute and sweet still) and gave me a little diaper bag with baby's name on it. It's not one I would pick out, but it can be an extra carrying bag. The kids all made me a big card and have also been making little signs for me. Then on Wed. my 5th grade teachers/team had a surprise breakfast and flowers and gift card for me, also unexpected and very sweet. Everyone at school has been great, asking how I've been doing and offering support. I hate accepting help, but haven't really had much choice lately! So many things in my room needed covering and cleaning in preparation for our state testing next week, and they were things I just couldn't do. God provided a great last week of work for me which made it possible for me to finish without taking work off. Half of my kids in each class were on science field trips 2 days last week and that left it possible for me to do some science videos/games and grade papers, clean, and sort thru my room. I LOVED having that time to prepare for my long term sub. I actually feel pretty good about the way I was able to leave my room and plans she has for next week. I don't have to do lesson plans for while I'm gone, but I wanted to get her started off right. My kids still have a big science test on Thursday and I can only trust that I have done all that I can and that they are ready.
It was a REALLY good feeling coming home on Thursday. No work! For who-knows-how long! I love that feeling. It is even better than the last day of the school year. I don't know my status for my job next year but I am determined to not allow myself to stress over it unnecessarily. There is nothing I can do for a while! With all the budget cuts in our state and with teaching, I am lucky to still, at least at this point, have a job. I was for a while on the "excess list" from my school, which means that I was one of the last 12 people hired at McFee and that I would hopefully still be offered a job elsewhere in the district, but not at my school. Well, I got off that list officially about 2 weeks ago, but it's still quite uncertain what will happen. Best case scenario is probably that I will have to change grade levels, and I have let my principal know that I am highly interested in a job-share position, which would mean working part time (half days) with a teaching partner. I am praying that this works out for next year so that I can only put baby into part time daycare setting. Maybe even having Carrie and or a friend like Michelle Anderson keep her for the morning. At this point, my principle is only TALKING to people about switching grades, and nothing is set in stone or will be until the state makes their decisions about the budget and then our district can make more final plans.
July 27, 2010
Last week of "Summer" Post
So this is it...
...my last week of lazy summer days before I start all my staff development for the new school year. And when I say lazy, I DO mean L.A.Z.Y. We have had a B.U.S.Y. summer in some ways---June, at least. Matt has been extremely busy, and I myself have taken 3 trips and been gone from the house more than 3 full weeks, (more on that in a sec.) But the days that Noah and I have been home, we have re-laaaaxed. The kind where you don't change out of your jamas or shower until well after noon, enjoying cartoons and reading and lounging all morning. Then in the afternoons we often eat a late lunch (due to our late bfast) and occasionally make a trip to the library or a park or maybe the pool, but even the pool takes a lot of energy from me! It has been a GREAT couple of weeks, this July.
I haven't blogged all summer, so I have some catching up to do...I'll try to be quick and brief. [Don't LOL here!] Let's try sentence fragments here. At least when possible.
JUNE--gladly wrapped up the HARDEST school year...
...SIDENOTE: & this can't go unmentioned: found out the last week of school that after all our stress and hair pulling, my kids actually DID WELL on their state tests (90% passing rate) and that I, along with the other 2 5th grd. math teachers, should receive a BIG BONUS check next Dec.!!! What a huge surprise and blessing from God. We have gotten so behind since living here and it will not be ill spent in any way.
Anyway, JUNE: last day of school=teens' Out of School Pool party--big turnout. First full week of summer: Youth camp. I went for first 4 days, came back Thurs. night. Noah did well staying with our friend Michelle. Good camp; first time I'd been back at camp for more than a day since Noah's birth. Enjoyed it, but feel old...er. Had a the weekend and a few days off, then the next Wed. packed up and flew to SC for 48 hours with Hawkins family... good stuff...swimming, eating, a movie, got to see Emory -my niece-for the 2nd time--she was now 5 mo! Fri--drove up to NC for the weekend with the Robisons' wedding--Matt and Ellen. Matt and Noah were in the wedding, Noah did well. Very nervous about him actually walking down the aisle on the big day, but bribery works wonders. Both looked adorable--Matt had to wear teal. Nice. Loved spending time with the Robisons. Miss them terribly. Also got to Tom & Cheryl Kincaid and Wendy and Johnny. Disappointed more people from Vero didn't drive up. WE came from TEXAS!!
Then, Matt and I flew from Charlotte, NC out to Sante Fe, NM to join our youth group and sponsors on a 10 day backpacking trip to Colorado we call RTA. Noah stayed with Gigi, Papa, and Aunt Leah in SC. We had a great trip, albeit 3/4 the group got the flu/diarreah and one of our girls had to get Life Flighted out of the canyon we were in, both events which drastically changed the course of our trip. But relationally, the kids grew closer and had some cool God moments, and that's most important. Everyone returned home healthy and happy. After the trip, (we got home on Sunday evening at 9p) Matt and I both flew out the next morning less than 12 hours later. Matt went up to OKC for a pastor's conference and I flew out to Augusta, GA to get Noah. Noah and I came back the same day, finally getting in to Houston around 11p, but only after a delayed flight, missed connection, and RUNNING thru the entire Atlanta airport to catch a standby flight. Noah did GREAT at the airport, ran the whole way with me, and we BARELY made it...it was awesome...and as we entered the doorway to the plane, Noah says to me, "Mom, can I WALK now?" It was so cute, and hilarious. When we got back to Houston, my mom was already here waiting for us, having flown down to Houston from OKC herself on Monday. She had to wait a good 6 hours or so for us, but was patient of course. Mom got to spend the week with us here, and we slooooowed down during that week; went to the library, some stores, and the Aquarium together and rode the rides. Matt and my dad got in on Thursday night from the pastor's conference, and got to stay till Tues. We went swimming together during the weekend , went to Chuck E. Cheeses, and had a Fourth of July block party at church. It was very nice to have my parents visit for so long.
...my last week of lazy summer days before I start all my staff development for the new school year. And when I say lazy, I DO mean L.A.Z.Y. We have had a B.U.S.Y. summer in some ways---June, at least. Matt has been extremely busy, and I myself have taken 3 trips and been gone from the house more than 3 full weeks, (more on that in a sec.) But the days that Noah and I have been home, we have re-laaaaxed. The kind where you don't change out of your jamas or shower until well after noon, enjoying cartoons and reading and lounging all morning. Then in the afternoons we often eat a late lunch (due to our late bfast) and occasionally make a trip to the library or a park or maybe the pool, but even the pool takes a lot of energy from me! It has been a GREAT couple of weeks, this July.
I haven't blogged all summer, so I have some catching up to do...I'll try to be quick and brief. [Don't LOL here!] Let's try sentence fragments here. At least when possible.
JUNE--gladly wrapped up the HARDEST school year...
...SIDENOTE: & this can't go unmentioned: found out the last week of school that after all our stress and hair pulling, my kids actually DID WELL on their state tests (90% passing rate) and that I, along with the other 2 5th grd. math teachers, should receive a BIG BONUS check next Dec.!!! What a huge surprise and blessing from God. We have gotten so behind since living here and it will not be ill spent in any way.
Anyway, JUNE: last day of school=teens' Out of School Pool party--big turnout. First full week of summer: Youth camp. I went for first 4 days, came back Thurs. night. Noah did well staying with our friend Michelle. Good camp; first time I'd been back at camp for more than a day since Noah's birth. Enjoyed it, but feel old...er. Had a the weekend and a few days off, then the next Wed. packed up and flew to SC for 48 hours with Hawkins family... good stuff...swimming, eating, a movie, got to see Emory -my niece-for the 2nd time--she was now 5 mo! Fri--drove up to NC for the weekend with the Robisons' wedding--Matt and Ellen. Matt and Noah were in the wedding, Noah did well. Very nervous about him actually walking down the aisle on the big day, but bribery works wonders. Both looked adorable--Matt had to wear teal. Nice. Loved spending time with the Robisons. Miss them terribly. Also got to Tom & Cheryl Kincaid and Wendy and Johnny. Disappointed more people from Vero didn't drive up. WE came from TEXAS!!
Then, Matt and I flew from Charlotte, NC out to Sante Fe, NM to join our youth group and sponsors on a 10 day backpacking trip to Colorado we call RTA. Noah stayed with Gigi, Papa, and Aunt Leah in SC. We had a great trip, albeit 3/4 the group got the flu/diarreah and one of our girls had to get Life Flighted out of the canyon we were in, both events which drastically changed the course of our trip. But relationally, the kids grew closer and had some cool God moments, and that's most important. Everyone returned home healthy and happy. After the trip, (we got home on Sunday evening at 9p) Matt and I both flew out the next morning less than 12 hours later. Matt went up to OKC for a pastor's conference and I flew out to Augusta, GA to get Noah. Noah and I came back the same day, finally getting in to Houston around 11p, but only after a delayed flight, missed connection, and RUNNING thru the entire Atlanta airport to catch a standby flight. Noah did GREAT at the airport, ran the whole way with me, and we BARELY made it...it was awesome...and as we entered the doorway to the plane, Noah says to me, "Mom, can I WALK now?" It was so cute, and hilarious. When we got back to Houston, my mom was already here waiting for us, having flown down to Houston from OKC herself on Monday. She had to wait a good 6 hours or so for us, but was patient of course. Mom got to spend the week with us here, and we slooooowed down during that week; went to the library, some stores, and the Aquarium together and rode the rides. Matt and my dad got in on Thursday night from the pastor's conference, and got to stay till Tues. We went swimming together during the weekend , went to Chuck E. Cheeses, and had a Fourth of July block party at church. It was very nice to have my parents visit for so long.
May 09, 2010
A Look on Life, May
Happy Mother's Day!
This looks like my first written post since New Years Day. Wow. Facebook really has taken over as my form of communication! This blog will continue to be the place I write when I just want to journal my thoughts out without the fear of criticism or input from random "friends". Not that you can't comment, if you would like to! It's nice to have a place to communicate with my TRUE friends and family. I do want to keep up with the big things of life here and record stuff for reading in the future.
We have had a great week at the Hawkins' household. It began with my birthday and will likely end here with Mother's Day. I have been spoiled all this week and am enjoying a quiet afternoon on the couch thanks to my husband who took Noah in for a Daddy-Son nap. Hope they both get some good sleep while I catch up with some alone time.
Let's see...as for lately...Monday was my 31st birthday. Two years ago it was on a Sat. (a fun birthday, Matt arranged for a boat trip for us!), last year my 3-0 was on Sunday! (Ughhh!!!) So glad the excitement of the big #-0 is over for another 9 years! This year was just another birthday! And was by far the quietest, most normal "birth"day I remember, maybe ever. A few years while teaching, I have taken my birthday off from work, just to have a day to myself without anyone at school making a fuss of me. Well, this year, I have run out of sick/personal days, so I had to go. Thankfully, only one or two teachers read the agenda for the week and wished me a happy birthday. I'd rather it go unnoticed! My co-teachers didn't remember until Tues. ;-) Interestingly, I ended up totally stressed/rushing home during my lunch period because I had accidentally taken both sets of car keys with me in my purse, and Matt was stuck at the house without transportation. THANKFULLY, it was on the same day that he had to wait for the air conditioner guy to come fix our a/c in the house, so it wasn't as BIG of an inconvenience--the only bad thing was that Noah didn't get to go to daycare until 2:00--after nap time...which means Matt wasn't really able to work from home, as planned. And the a/c guy didn't show up until 1:30, right before I got there. So, that was my school day!
I left school right after the kids did and gave myself an hour (or two!) to get Starbucks/ leisurely walk thru Target, one of my favorite stores ;-) and picked out a few things with birthday gift cards/money---a black purse, a wallet, and a little black blouse--all things that I will love.
I picked up Noah close to 6:30 and headed home---showered and changed, and then headed out again when Matt got home. The evening of my birthday I attended a ceremony for my friend from church, Amy, who was awarded the Spotlight Teacher of the Year. I was not really expecting to go alone, but everyone else bailed on me, and to be honest, I rather enjoyed the quiet time. I don't get much quiet time! I sat in the balcony, wrote thank you notes to people, and enjoyed hearing all the 100+ tributes to the best teachers in our district. Anybody else would have been bored to death, but I enjoyed it. I really wanted to go and support her, too. When I got home, Noah and Matt had sweet little gifts for me, which were perfect things I will love--a watch, some perfume, and a makeup kit. We were supposed to go get icecream at ColdStone's, but as we headed to the car, Noah had a melt-down (remember, No nap for him) and so we gave up and stayed home afterall. Matt made me some chicken quesadillas for dinner and I got to play with Noah for an hour before he went to bed, which was nice. Not at all a totally, special day, but spent doing what I wanted to do.
Tues. Matt had planned to take me out to eat for my birthday. After another afternoon of rushing around at school, we took Noah to a friend's and finally about 7:30p arrived at P.F. Chang's for my "birthday" dinner. It was nice. We have only been there once or twice, 5+ years ago. Nice date night in the middle of the week--but got home close to 10p! Dinner and babysitting were a gift from a friend as well.
Wed. was church night...Thurs. was a MultiCultural Night at school (I got home after 8p), and Friday night was our last Friday Night Event night of the year. Those three days passed by as normal life seems to---very busy. Then we had a nice quiet yesterday--sleeping in past 10a.m...breakfast/brunch at IHOP, cleaning the house together till afternoon nap time, hitting a local pool and Splash Pad with Noah's friends while Matt went to dinner with our pastor/wife and a missionary. Worked out well since we would not have been able to take Noah to that nice dinner and Matt would have not wanted to go to pool with the mom's club/kids. Noah and I stayed and played at the playground for quite a while and will be frequent visitors to the sand box this summer, I think. Gotta get him a shovel and bucket set, though. Hoping his ears will be okay from swimming---first time since his surgery.
Today, Mother's Day---nice day at church together of course. Noah told me the whole way to church this morning, "Mama, I LOOOOVE you"....and "You are so PRETTY!" His daddy has taught him well. Noah told EVERYONE today Happy Mother's Day and gave lots of hugs to ladies who I know were blessed to have one. We sang some of my favorite songs of late---None, but Jesus, & Jesus Paid It All (contemporary version). "Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow...oh praise..." Missionary from Northern Europe spoke about the mission work going on in the part of the country that once brought us the Reformation...interesting to hear they are only 10% church goers, etc. As my heart is stirred, I still wonder if we'll one day end up on the mission field. I told Matt that with all we've done this week, I just wanted to hang out at home...so he picked up Chile's To-Go and we came home. Perfect. The best part of today would be that we were able to give some gift cards/money to a family that I know is not able to go out to eat...and we're hoping it'll be quite a blessing to them today. Matt also gave me a coupon to have family pictures done together, which he knows I've wanted to do (and he hates to do!) Such a sweet man I have in my life.
Well, I've enjoyed this time to myself, but I need to head over to Noah's blog to catch up on all the things he's been doing/saying lately. Thanks for "listening" and letting me share life with you. If you're a mother, I hope you feel as blessed as I do this day at what a wonderful life I live and how lucky/blessed I am to have my family. As crazy as things get, it is truly my two boys that keep me going and make life worth the living. I am thankful to my heavenly Father, as well, for blessing me with my son and letting me learn what it means to love unconditionally as He loves me.
This looks like my first written post since New Years Day. Wow. Facebook really has taken over as my form of communication! This blog will continue to be the place I write when I just want to journal my thoughts out without the fear of criticism or input from random "friends". Not that you can't comment, if you would like to! It's nice to have a place to communicate with my TRUE friends and family. I do want to keep up with the big things of life here and record stuff for reading in the future.
We have had a great week at the Hawkins' household. It began with my birthday and will likely end here with Mother's Day. I have been spoiled all this week and am enjoying a quiet afternoon on the couch thanks to my husband who took Noah in for a Daddy-Son nap. Hope they both get some good sleep while I catch up with some alone time.
Let's see...as for lately...Monday was my 31st birthday. Two years ago it was on a Sat. (a fun birthday, Matt arranged for a boat trip for us!), last year my 3-0 was on Sunday! (Ughhh!!!) So glad the excitement of the big #-0 is over for another 9 years! This year was just another birthday! And was by far the quietest, most normal "birth"day I remember, maybe ever. A few years while teaching, I have taken my birthday off from work, just to have a day to myself without anyone at school making a fuss of me. Well, this year, I have run out of sick/personal days, so I had to go. Thankfully, only one or two teachers read the agenda for the week and wished me a happy birthday. I'd rather it go unnoticed! My co-teachers didn't remember until Tues. ;-) Interestingly, I ended up totally stressed/rushing home during my lunch period because I had accidentally taken both sets of car keys with me in my purse, and Matt was stuck at the house without transportation. THANKFULLY, it was on the same day that he had to wait for the air conditioner guy to come fix our a/c in the house, so it wasn't as BIG of an inconvenience--the only bad thing was that Noah didn't get to go to daycare until 2:00--after nap time...which means Matt wasn't really able to work from home, as planned. And the a/c guy didn't show up until 1:30, right before I got there. So, that was my school day!
I left school right after the kids did and gave myself an hour (or two!) to get Starbucks/ leisurely walk thru Target, one of my favorite stores ;-) and picked out a few things with birthday gift cards/money---a black purse, a wallet, and a little black blouse--all things that I will love.
I picked up Noah close to 6:30 and headed home---showered and changed, and then headed out again when Matt got home. The evening of my birthday I attended a ceremony for my friend from church, Amy, who was awarded the Spotlight Teacher of the Year. I was not really expecting to go alone, but everyone else bailed on me, and to be honest, I rather enjoyed the quiet time. I don't get much quiet time! I sat in the balcony, wrote thank you notes to people, and enjoyed hearing all the 100+ tributes to the best teachers in our district. Anybody else would have been bored to death, but I enjoyed it. I really wanted to go and support her, too. When I got home, Noah and Matt had sweet little gifts for me, which were perfect things I will love--a watch, some perfume, and a makeup kit. We were supposed to go get icecream at ColdStone's, but as we headed to the car, Noah had a melt-down (remember, No nap for him) and so we gave up and stayed home afterall. Matt made me some chicken quesadillas for dinner and I got to play with Noah for an hour before he went to bed, which was nice. Not at all a totally, special day, but spent doing what I wanted to do.
Tues. Matt had planned to take me out to eat for my birthday. After another afternoon of rushing around at school, we took Noah to a friend's and finally about 7:30p arrived at P.F. Chang's for my "birthday" dinner. It was nice. We have only been there once or twice, 5+ years ago. Nice date night in the middle of the week--but got home close to 10p! Dinner and babysitting were a gift from a friend as well.
Wed. was church night...Thurs. was a MultiCultural Night at school (I got home after 8p), and Friday night was our last Friday Night Event night of the year. Those three days passed by as normal life seems to---very busy. Then we had a nice quiet yesterday--sleeping in past 10a.m...breakfast/brunch at IHOP, cleaning the house together till afternoon nap time, hitting a local pool and Splash Pad with Noah's friends while Matt went to dinner with our pastor/wife and a missionary. Worked out well since we would not have been able to take Noah to that nice dinner and Matt would have not wanted to go to pool with the mom's club/kids. Noah and I stayed and played at the playground for quite a while and will be frequent visitors to the sand box this summer, I think. Gotta get him a shovel and bucket set, though. Hoping his ears will be okay from swimming---first time since his surgery.
Today, Mother's Day---nice day at church together of course. Noah told me the whole way to church this morning, "Mama, I LOOOOVE you"....and "You are so PRETTY!" His daddy has taught him well. Noah told EVERYONE today Happy Mother's Day and gave lots of hugs to ladies who I know were blessed to have one. We sang some of my favorite songs of late---None, but Jesus, & Jesus Paid It All (contemporary version). "Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow...oh praise..." Missionary from Northern Europe spoke about the mission work going on in the part of the country that once brought us the Reformation...interesting to hear they are only 10% church goers, etc. As my heart is stirred, I still wonder if we'll one day end up on the mission field. I told Matt that with all we've done this week, I just wanted to hang out at home...so he picked up Chile's To-Go and we came home. Perfect. The best part of today would be that we were able to give some gift cards/money to a family that I know is not able to go out to eat...and we're hoping it'll be quite a blessing to them today. Matt also gave me a coupon to have family pictures done together, which he knows I've wanted to do (and he hates to do!) Such a sweet man I have in my life.
Well, I've enjoyed this time to myself, but I need to head over to Noah's blog to catch up on all the things he's been doing/saying lately. Thanks for "listening" and letting me share life with you. If you're a mother, I hope you feel as blessed as I do this day at what a wonderful life I live and how lucky/blessed I am to have my family. As crazy as things get, it is truly my two boys that keep me going and make life worth the living. I am thankful to my heavenly Father, as well, for blessing me with my son and letting me learn what it means to love unconditionally as He loves me.
March 02, 2010
Birthday 3 Begins
Here's a vid of Noah opening up his first birthday of the season, a box from Grandma and Grandpa Hays.
O, Happy Day
Here's Noah singing his new favorite song from Kids' Stuff. We were driving home from dacare/work.
March 01, 2010
Baby Emory!
Here's Baby Emory, my first little Niece! Jessica and Jonathon welcomed Emory into the world on Jan. 13th...yes this video is quite behind. We got to go see them when Emory was a week and a half old.
February 28, 2010
January 01, 2010
2010, huh?
So this year started off pretty good, I'd say...a fun party with the teens, Noah staying up till 2 a.m. on his sugar high (thank you, youth workers), and then sleeping in because my wonderful husband got up with Noah when he woke up, hearing, "It's a Sunny Day! Get up, dad!" It feels so good to have a few more days of wearing fleece pajamas till noon. I have...just one more day, I think.
Then I realize it is New Years Day, and I think...oh great, this is not the way I'm supposed to start a new year! But, no big resolutions for me this year. I never keep them. Just a few, small goals for the coming year:
1.) Spend more time in God's word than I do on Facebook.
2.) Memorize another 24 (or more) scriptures with Beth Moore, like I did this year--best resolution I've ever made/kept.
3.) Get our family back in the black.
I think that's enough, don't you?
I don't know where 2010 will take us---whether I'll continue working full time, switch schools, etc...whether we will add to our family or not, the health of family members, how God will choose to bless /challenge us, but I do have faith that He will continue to be faithful to us, as He always has been, and that whatever it brings, will be good. Not necessarily always FEEL good, but BE good. And FOR our good.
Thank you, God, for the blessings, provisions, and lessons of 2009...and may 2010 proove to be a greater experience of your presence in our lives.
Then I realize it is New Years Day, and I think...oh great, this is not the way I'm supposed to start a new year! But, no big resolutions for me this year. I never keep them. Just a few, small goals for the coming year:
1.) Spend more time in God's word than I do on Facebook.
2.) Memorize another 24 (or more) scriptures with Beth Moore, like I did this year--best resolution I've ever made/kept.
3.) Get our family back in the black.
I think that's enough, don't you?
I don't know where 2010 will take us---whether I'll continue working full time, switch schools, etc...whether we will add to our family or not, the health of family members, how God will choose to bless /challenge us, but I do have faith that He will continue to be faithful to us, as He always has been, and that whatever it brings, will be good. Not necessarily always FEEL good, but BE good. And FOR our good.
Thank you, God, for the blessings, provisions, and lessons of 2009...and may 2010 proove to be a greater experience of your presence in our lives.
Mmmm....Christmas....
~Hawkins Family on Christmas Eve~
~Hays & Hawkins Families on Christmas Eve~
Well, it is now Friday the 1st of Jan (more on that later), and my sister just left this afternoon....so we have had family at our house for the past 1o days. It has been great. I wasn't sure how it would go, since we've never hosted a holiday and since we were trying to not spend a bunch of money going out to places = tons of family time at the house. But it was okay. (We had only a handful of incidents. ;-) Thankfully, we have two "living" spaces, if you count the playroom, so people could always retreat to the upstairs if they'd had enough of what was going on downstairs. And we did, a few times. Mostly we just hung around and played games and cooked together. The guys went to 3 movies in a week's time (I went to two) and Sherlock Holmes was a VERY good choice for our Christmas Day movie. They also saw Avatar in 3D and Invictus. I watched the Blind Side for a second time with those who hadn't seen it yet. Here's some pics of everyone hanging out with Noah. 
The best thing of all though, was probably the playground set you can see below, that Matt and my brother Brad put together for Noah the day before and the day after Christmas. Some good friends from church have given it to us for Noah, since their grandkids moved out of the house and Noah is always playing on it at their house (once a week we go there for Bible Study.) It took a full two days to take it apart at their house, drive it across town to our house, and then restructure it together. The rest of us helped minimally, but both of these guys spent the whole 6 hours each day on it. I am so greatful! Noah loves it, and although it has been raining nearly every day since, I know we will get TONS of use out of it as it warms up.
We went to the Christmas Eve service at church, which is where we got some of the good family shots above, and although I spent the evening in the nursery with Noah and 3 other little ones, it was a good evening. We found a place open to order our Pizza Hut, and although we had to take it to the youth room to eat it, it was okay. We read the Christmas story with one of Noah's books when we got home and opened up our pajamas. Then a game or two of Rook and a present-wrapping marathon. We tried to watch the Muppets Christmas Carol, but nobody really made it all the way through. I was in and out doing gifts. I think I finished after 1:30 a.m.! Whew!
Noah LOVED Christmas this year, needless to say for a 2-almost 3-year old. But he really did. He loved opening up gifts, but he was very patient in doing so. And so very thankful for each gift. The family brought wrapped gifts when they came, so for 3 full days Noah watched those things under the tree and only occassionally brought gifts to us, asking if he could open them. And he was very good when we said, "Not yet, TWO MORE DAYS till Christmas!" My favorite response was the first gift he got to open on Christmas Eve, his jammies. I told him as he was opening them, "Now Noah, this is not a toy, or a game, but a special gift for you, okay?" And when he opened them up, he cheered, "Ooooh! THANK you Mommy! THANK YOU!" And held them close to his face. We asked, "what is it, Noah?" "CLOTHES!" It was pretty darn cute.
We also played the Santa thing up with him for the first time. . .we did not take him to the mall to meet Santa, but talked about what he wanted to get from Santa and how Santa would bring him toys if he was good........but we really didn't have to say much because apparently they had talked ALL about it at day care. He did not know what the "chimney" was, but knows all about the sled and the reindeer. We made cookies together---peanut butter blossums, this year--and put them, milk, and carrots out for Santa and the reindeer. It was pretty fun. He woke up Christmas morning, telling me that Santa had not come, so apparently we neglected to tell him that Santa would not actually wake him up and he wouldn't get to SEE Santa. Thought we had covered that one, but maybe not. Next year, we will have more set out for Noah to play with he wakes up--this year, we wrapped his Thomas the Train set, but should have already had it put together for him. He got a ton of things given to him, so each gift he of course wanted to play with right away, instead of opening up more gifts. I think next year we'll do one gift a day, like Hannakuh. That way he can really appreciate them all equally. His favorite gifts are probably the train set we got him, a set of blocks (that look just like some my brother made and had let him play with the first couple of days) and the game Memory. He is a pro at that already.
We also played the Santa thing up with him for the first time. . .we did not take him to the mall to meet Santa, but talked about what he wanted to get from Santa and how Santa would bring him toys if he was good........but we really didn't have to say much because apparently they had talked ALL about it at day care. He did not know what the "chimney" was, but knows all about the sled and the reindeer. We made cookies together---peanut butter blossums, this year--and put them, milk, and carrots out for Santa and the reindeer. It was pretty fun. He woke up Christmas morning, telling me that Santa had not come, so apparently we neglected to tell him that Santa would not actually wake him up and he wouldn't get to SEE Santa. Thought we had covered that one, but maybe not. Next year, we will have more set out for Noah to play with he wakes up--this year, we wrapped his Thomas the Train set, but should have already had it put together for him. He got a ton of things given to him, so each gift he of course wanted to play with right away, instead of opening up more gifts. I think next year we'll do one gift a day, like Hannakuh. That way he can really appreciate them all equally. His favorite gifts are probably the train set we got him, a set of blocks (that look just like some my brother made and had let him play with the first couple of days) and the game Memory. He is a pro at that already.
The best thing of all though, was probably the playground set you can see below, that Matt and my brother Brad put together for Noah the day before and the day after Christmas. Some good friends from church have given it to us for Noah, since their grandkids moved out of the house and Noah is always playing on it at their house (once a week we go there for Bible Study.) It took a full two days to take it apart at their house, drive it across town to our house, and then restructure it together. The rest of us helped minimally, but both of these guys spent the whole 6 hours each day on it. I am so greatful! Noah loves it, and although it has been raining nearly every day since, I know we will get TONS of use out of it as it warms up.
So, here we are, after the holidays, resting and recovering. We had a very relaxing first two weeks, but it's a different kind of quiet now. I have tons of papers to grade and lessons to plan for next week, laundry to do, but at least I have my holiday decorations put away and a rather clean house. We are having company over tomorrow, in attempt to break our un-hospitable track record early in the year. Plus, if we don't do it soon, Jan. will get VERY busy, quickly. Coming up this month: Winter Retreat (100+ teens and 4 days) and the arrival of Baby Emory (trip to Nashville).
And today marks our ONE-YEAR anniversary of being Houstonites. We have lived here ONE FULL YEAR!
And a few pics from Sunday church.
December 22, 2009
Happy Christmas Week!
Hello, blog friends. Are you still out there?
So today is just a glimpse into the past 6 months. I will probably have to do a few catch up posts--pictures, mostly--because I just cannot let the whole season of fall go by without our happenings and pics. It is usually my favorite season of all! But this was NOT my favorite season of my life. In fact, in many many ways, I hope I never have another one like it.
Well, let's jump in there and start with it already!
First, our best/recent family pic...I included it in B&W and then color for your viewing pleasure---please note that the color combo is what happens when you are on vacation away from your house and you do not plan your outfits for the photo opportunities you forget you will have. ;-) Still, I like it both ways!
Today is Tues, Dec. 22nd. Yep, Christmas week! And we are SOOO excited around this house. As you may have read in the previous post, this has been an extremely busy fall for us, and just getting to Dec. 18th has been our goal for quite a while. And now that we are here, we are committed to enjoy every bit of it. We did take one Saturday a few weeks ago to decorate the house a bit, but it has been so cluttered that it took me most of 3 days to just get everything back in order. Can you say 12 loads of laundry??? (Blankets and towels in there, too, btw.) I still need to redo the tree (A REAL TREE! My first EVER!!!) because Matthew let Noah help him put the ornaments up, and well, it looks terrible. Matt and I have attended many a Christmas dinner or party already---7, I believe is the count: Combined Life Group Party(with the classic ugly sweater/white-elephant gift exchange), All-church Potluck Dinner, Church Board AND Staff Progressive Dinner, JUST-the-Pastoral Staff Dinner, Senior-High Party, Junior-High Party, and then Sunday was just-OUR-Life Group Party. They were all nice, but some of going thru the motions. There was also a Street-reach dinner in there that we were both sick for and could not attend--the one I wanted to go to out of all of them! Noah had I have been to two birthday parties this weekend! So we have had plenty of opportunity to celebrate this season with friends, but JUST this weekend I am finally able to BREATHE & feel & ENJOY the spirit of the season. I had to get all my school load off my back first. Now that I have my house in order, I can enjoy the hot chocolate, the music, the lights, the shopping, the traffic, the present wrapping, the decorating, the talk of Santa coming and the anticipation for Christmas morning with a 2, almost 3, year old. Oh, I can't wait!
The best thing about it is that WE ARE NOT TRAVELING!!! This is the first year in our married life that we have not traveled twice a winter for holidays. My family is on their way here, TODAY, from Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee. We finally have a house big enough to host and sleep our family, and with Noah being over 2, he doesn't fly for free anymore. So, my family all agreed to fly south for the winter. And we are so so so excited to be here with Noah, to see him run downstairs to see what's under the tree. And in the backyard--someone is giving us their huge playground set, and Matt's goal is to put it together Thurs. and surprise Noah. (yeah right, Noah will be out there "helping" him build it.) He's also really excited to share presents with his aunt and uncle and grandparents. I am looking forward to hosting my family, but since I don't have much practice with that, it might be interesting! I pulled out my Christmas dishes last night and played around with what the table will look like for Christmas dinner. I've had these stinkin plates for over 5 years and never used them for a real meal! Groceries have been bought, but I have not stressed over the meals we will eat. I think I'll let my mom take charge of the kitchen. I want to ENJOY the week! They will all be here till next Tues., and then Carrie will stay through New Years Day and then fly back.
Well, I think this was a good start for my return to the blogworld! I will try to post some pictures later when I get my memory card to work...it's not cooperating right now.
Much love to you all! Merry Christmas week!
So today is just a glimpse into the past 6 months. I will probably have to do a few catch up posts--pictures, mostly--because I just cannot let the whole season of fall go by without our happenings and pics. It is usually my favorite season of all! But this was NOT my favorite season of my life. In fact, in many many ways, I hope I never have another one like it.
Well, let's jump in there and start with it already!
First, our best/recent family pic...I included it in B&W and then color for your viewing pleasure---please note that the color combo is what happens when you are on vacation away from your house and you do not plan your outfits for the photo opportunities you forget you will have. ;-) Still, I like it both ways!
Today is Tues, Dec. 22nd. Yep, Christmas week! And we are SOOO excited around this house. As you may have read in the previous post, this has been an extremely busy fall for us, and just getting to Dec. 18th has been our goal for quite a while. And now that we are here, we are committed to enjoy every bit of it. We did take one Saturday a few weeks ago to decorate the house a bit, but it has been so cluttered that it took me most of 3 days to just get everything back in order. Can you say 12 loads of laundry??? (Blankets and towels in there, too, btw.) I still need to redo the tree (A REAL TREE! My first EVER!!!) because Matthew let Noah help him put the ornaments up, and well, it looks terrible. Matt and I have attended many a Christmas dinner or party already---7, I believe is the count: Combined Life Group Party(with the classic ugly sweater/white-elephant gift exchange), All-church Potluck Dinner, Church Board AND Staff Progressive Dinner, JUST-the-Pastoral Staff Dinner, Senior-High Party, Junior-High Party, and then Sunday was just-OUR-Life Group Party. They were all nice, but some of going thru the motions. There was also a Street-reach dinner in there that we were both sick for and could not attend--the one I wanted to go to out of all of them! Noah had I have been to two birthday parties this weekend! So we have had plenty of opportunity to celebrate this season with friends, but JUST this weekend I am finally able to BREATHE & feel & ENJOY the spirit of the season. I had to get all my school load off my back first. Now that I have my house in order, I can enjoy the hot chocolate, the music, the lights, the shopping, the traffic, the present wrapping, the decorating, the talk of Santa coming and the anticipation for Christmas morning with a 2, almost 3, year old. Oh, I can't wait!
The best thing about it is that WE ARE NOT TRAVELING!!! This is the first year in our married life that we have not traveled twice a winter for holidays. My family is on their way here, TODAY, from Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee. We finally have a house big enough to host and sleep our family, and with Noah being over 2, he doesn't fly for free anymore. So, my family all agreed to fly south for the winter. And we are so so so excited to be here with Noah, to see him run downstairs to see what's under the tree. And in the backyard--someone is giving us their huge playground set, and Matt's goal is to put it together Thurs. and surprise Noah. (yeah right, Noah will be out there "helping" him build it.) He's also really excited to share presents with his aunt and uncle and grandparents. I am looking forward to hosting my family, but since I don't have much practice with that, it might be interesting! I pulled out my Christmas dishes last night and played around with what the table will look like for Christmas dinner. I've had these stinkin plates for over 5 years and never used them for a real meal! Groceries have been bought, but I have not stressed over the meals we will eat. I think I'll let my mom take charge of the kitchen. I want to ENJOY the week! They will all be here till next Tues., and then Carrie will stay through New Years Day and then fly back.
Well, I think this was a good start for my return to the blogworld! I will try to post some pictures later when I get my memory card to work...it's not cooperating right now.
Much love to you all! Merry Christmas week!
Busiest Fall Ever...
Well, hello there, blogger readers. Are you still there?
I have no perfect words to describe how I feel about the fact that it has been OVER 6 MONTHS since I posted on blogger. Shock? Frustrated. Sad. That has NEVER happened before. I can't believe it happened THIS time. But I guess it just goes to show how BUSY my life has been the last 6 months. Like REALLY, REALLY busy. I know several of you reading this know what that is like. Why do we let life get like this? I hate it, really.
Thus, here begins my catch-up posts. I'm going to entitle this one.....WORK.
Just got to get it off my chest first. (Not for the weary-at-heart readers.)
The last couple of months have been extremely stressful due mostly to my work schedule and responsibilities at school. Yes, I knew going back to work after being at home with your baby for 2 years would be hard. But boy, is that an understatement! The long and short of it is it has been a very demanding school year so far. To start with, the school where I am teaching is in a very low-income and highly disadvantaged area, and the expecations they have on us as teachers is simply unrealistic. They have huge expectations for our students, and in order to meet those goals, we have had planning meetings, data-analyzing meetings, getting chewed-out meetings, special seminars, etc. nearly every planning period and both before/after school. We are required to tutor after school and participate in Saturday school a few times a year. It's just all together TOO MUCH. On top of this, I had to take 40 hours of classes since the middle of October in order to be qualified to teach math in our district and gifted and talented students, which apparently my position turned into "unexpectedly". The deadline for all these classes was also the last day of school for the month, Dec. 18th...so for the last 2 months, every spare minute I wasn't working on lesson plans, grading papers, or calling parents, I have been online trying to complete these requirements. I even had to work on about 10 hours during Thanksgiving break at my inlaws house. It has been crazy.
And it has been all consuming at times. I feel like I have hardly spent time with my husband or Noah in the last 2 months without having school on my mind. Matt has been REALLY good to me during this time. He has taken up so much at the house and with Noah and there is NO WAY I could have made it thru this time without his support. Frankly, I'm not sure how we made it at all. Most days, driving to school, I just prayed that I wouldn't quit that day. It has been so tempting. But we did it. I turned in my final documents on Thursday and finished my final wikispace posts by the 5:00pm deadline Friday---about 15 min. early. And although I have a huge stack of papers to grade that I have gotten behind on, I have hope that next semester can't possible be as difficult. I'm hoping after Christmas, my family will help me get caught up so that I can start the next half of the year without being so behind.
So, all that being said, any teachers out there wanna give a shout out to unrealistic expectations! What struggles have you had this year? I know my father-in-law has had a very difficult year as well. If you're not a teacher, let me tell you---they truly have the most difficult job. I don't know that I would ever know this if I wasn't in education. And it gets worse all the time. I love it, and I hate it! I think that can be said for many jobs, but maybe not so many times each day ;-)
Okay, now on to happier posts!
I have no perfect words to describe how I feel about the fact that it has been OVER 6 MONTHS since I posted on blogger. Shock? Frustrated. Sad. That has NEVER happened before. I can't believe it happened THIS time. But I guess it just goes to show how BUSY my life has been the last 6 months. Like REALLY, REALLY busy. I know several of you reading this know what that is like. Why do we let life get like this? I hate it, really.
Thus, here begins my catch-up posts. I'm going to entitle this one.....WORK.
Just got to get it off my chest first. (Not for the weary-at-heart readers.)
The last couple of months have been extremely stressful due mostly to my work schedule and responsibilities at school. Yes, I knew going back to work after being at home with your baby for 2 years would be hard. But boy, is that an understatement! The long and short of it is it has been a very demanding school year so far. To start with, the school where I am teaching is in a very low-income and highly disadvantaged area, and the expecations they have on us as teachers is simply unrealistic. They have huge expectations for our students, and in order to meet those goals, we have had planning meetings, data-analyzing meetings, getting chewed-out meetings, special seminars, etc. nearly every planning period and both before/after school. We are required to tutor after school and participate in Saturday school a few times a year. It's just all together TOO MUCH. On top of this, I had to take 40 hours of classes since the middle of October in order to be qualified to teach math in our district and gifted and talented students, which apparently my position turned into "unexpectedly". The deadline for all these classes was also the last day of school for the month, Dec. 18th...so for the last 2 months, every spare minute I wasn't working on lesson plans, grading papers, or calling parents, I have been online trying to complete these requirements. I even had to work on about 10 hours during Thanksgiving break at my inlaws house. It has been crazy.
And it has been all consuming at times. I feel like I have hardly spent time with my husband or Noah in the last 2 months without having school on my mind. Matt has been REALLY good to me during this time. He has taken up so much at the house and with Noah and there is NO WAY I could have made it thru this time without his support. Frankly, I'm not sure how we made it at all. Most days, driving to school, I just prayed that I wouldn't quit that day. It has been so tempting. But we did it. I turned in my final documents on Thursday and finished my final wikispace posts by the 5:00pm deadline Friday---about 15 min. early. And although I have a huge stack of papers to grade that I have gotten behind on, I have hope that next semester can't possible be as difficult. I'm hoping after Christmas, my family will help me get caught up so that I can start the next half of the year without being so behind.
So, all that being said, any teachers out there wanna give a shout out to unrealistic expectations! What struggles have you had this year? I know my father-in-law has had a very difficult year as well. If you're not a teacher, let me tell you---they truly have the most difficult job. I don't know that I would ever know this if I wasn't in education. And it gets worse all the time. I love it, and I hate it! I think that can be said for many jobs, but maybe not so many times each day ;-)
Okay, now on to happier posts!
July 03, 2009
Two trips down, one Big one to Go...
Hey blogger world friends---
We are back in Htown for just a few days---literally, a two-digit amount of hours--and so I thought I'd throw up a few new pics before we head off to the Mid/NW for 10 days.
Matt and I are going on the mission trip with 30 of our teens and sponsors from church. We are headed to do inner-city work in Columbus, Ohio. Noah is going to spend a wonderful time with Matt's family and Aunt Carrie in Nashville, TN while we are gone.
Pray for us, if you think of it. I've never left Noah for more than a 4 day weekend. I'm more than a bit nervous. More for me than him! He'll be fine, I'm sure.
So here's a few more pics of the house and a few from our recent trip to FL for General Assembly and then 3 day trip to Vero Beach to see our church family there. 
The only family pic we took the whole week-Sunday after lunch at General Assembly.
Noah "ready" to swim at the Snodgrasses pool in Orlando (their rented house for the week). 
Momma and Noah swimming in the Robisons' pool.
Noah and Kim at the Bowling alley in Vero---look at his little shoes!
Noah and Kim at the Bowling alley in Vero---look at his little shoes!
Living Room, showing the fireplace better.
Noah helping me paint our gameroom while Matt was gone.
And finally, Noah's new cars and trucks room!
We'll be back online sometime after the 15th of July. Have a great 4th and emjoy the summer heat!
June 13, 2009
MayJune catchup
Awwww, blogger. 
I have been quite negligent of you lately, but I have a nice, quiet afternoon alone, so I'll try to briefly catch up. And I have pictures to post! I have been using facebook lately to update friends and family, but I know that some of you only check my blog, so, Sorry!
This last month sure has been crazy! A whirlwind of events if you will. We have officially been IN our house for 2 weeks. The month of May was spent living with much anxiety and anticipation as to whether or not we were really going to be ready and able to close on the house at the end of the month. Finally, the weekend before our closing date, still without a final word on whether our finances would be approved, I decided it was time to start packing. Packing of the apartment compared to packing up our house in Vero was soooooo much easier! We had left as much as possible in storage, so I really only had to work on wrapping up glassware in the kitchen and securing boxes again. I probably spent a few hours for three or four days, and then just here and there stuff while the t.v. was on or Noah was playing by himself. Still, I don't want to see another cardboard box for a LOOOONG time!
*
So we closed on the house on Friday the 29th, beginning around 11a.m. and finally getting the keys at 4:30. It was a long and nervewracking day, but we had friends from the church and our Life Group that helped, and so it was relatively easy once the moving truck was in motion. Matt's parents were able to come in on Sat. morning and stayed thru Tues. night, which was such a blessing to have their help. Mostly, they just helped by being supportive and by helping watch Noah while Matt and I carried on with the meetings and schedules and the normalcies of our life. Too bad life doesn't just stop for a week when you decide to move. This was one of Matt's last weeks before the summer frenzy begins, so it was just as busy as ever. We enjoyed our time with Gigi and Papa, but it was all too quick.
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And we love the new house! There are several things we really like about it, but my favorite things are (1) the openness the downstairs has, with the living room and kitchen being open to each other and the main entryway/stairwell right there. It's just a unique set up we had not seen in any of the other 40 (yes, forty) houses we looked at.
I also love (2) having a large master bedroom and bathroom, and CLOSET! which we've never had before. I could lay in my bed and just look around the room with a big smile on my face for a loooong time! 
We have hardly been upstairs at all, so the gameroom area is my next to tackle. Hence, no pictures of the upstairs! Noah's room has his new bed in it, but it needs some character and paint. And finally, (3) the backyard is better than we expected! There is a cement slab off the breakfast room with a covered patio, with a grill, and a yard that is great for Noah to play in. I really wish we didn't have to wait a while before getting Noah a swingset!
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The last two weeks have been quite a bit slower for me: changing all of our services over and trying to track down our mail...running errands and shopping trips for curtains, pillows, vacuuming cleaners and finally, groceries. (We were without a fridge for the first week at our new house, and lived out of a cooler and fast food!) Matt has been very busy getting ends tied up for the mission trip we're taking to Ohio in July and for the backpacking trip he left for yesterday (10 day trip to CO). Somehow, he managed to get done what he needed! Noah has gotten to go swimming 4 or 5 times in the last 2 weeks, and he LOVES jumping into the pool! He has absolutely no fear, and will literally swim till he pukes...which yes, has happened a few times. Check out the picks and videos I just uploaded to facebook when you get the chance. We just went to our neighborhood for the first time this morning...and I'm tempted to go back again when he wakes up from his nap!
*Also in these last 2 weeks, I interviewed for and accepted a teaching job for next fall, teaching MATH for 5th grade. The school is relatively close (for Houston) to our new house and tho it will likely be a challenge, I am really excited about it. Mostly, I'm excited that I don't have to fret over getting a job all summer! Especially with us being gone as much as we will be, I was quite nervous as to how that would work out. I have also put in my 2 weeks notice at the tutoring job, because after we leave for FL (General Assembly and 3 days of vacation) I won't really be able to work much more and will need to enjoy the short time I have before school starts.
So, as I said, alot has been going on! We are greatly looking forward to the mini vacation we are taking to FL, because after all this, we need some time to recoup a bit.
*How about you? How's your summer starting out?!? Leave me a comment or message!
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