The new family member

Here is our newest family member. We tried this beautiful girl out this weekend. She is almost 2 years old and is so docile. They had her named Sheba, but we are changing it to Zeiva (Zee-va). She is a beautiful girl and the kids adore her.

Belly Shot #1

So....it really isn't a great picture of me, but I had been cleaning all morning and never did blow-dry my hair after the shower. But if you disregard the upper portion of this photo, you can see my belly. I feel like over the last week it has grown. I really can't suck it in anymore and after I eat, it looks like I have swallowed a watermelon. :) Everything seems to be going well. I have gotten my energy back, and my allergies have pretty much disappeared, so that makes for happier mornings. :) I am almost 18 weeks prego- which is crazy! I go in 3 weeks for the "big" ultrasound. Hopefully we can find out what it is. I have a feeling it is a girl, but my MIL thinks it is a boy. So we shall see.

Work is keeping me busy, as well as the boys baseball games. I am co-team mom this season, since the other team mom is prego as well. I enjoy it and I get a closer view of all the plays. The hardest part of that is not yelling out all the time. I am working on that. :) Work, is .....well it is work. I am trying to catch up as I got several new students in at the beg of the year, but I am getting it all done- slowly but surely. I am also trying to get all of my lesson plans done for when I am out for Maternity leave. I have to have them all ready for the sub. but other than that I have a decent group of kids and I finally have all the testing done, so we are starting on individualized/group work. All in all I am doing well, and looking forward to meeting this little one!

Riley's Day

Well, after taking a blogger hiatus (not intentional, but it was the first month of school- CRAZY times in this house), I thought I would do a few posts and make one about each kid. So I started with Riley. In the coming weeks, the boys will be featured as well has the hubs. We are hitting the ladies in this family first. :)

Riley was dressed to the hilt this day. We have made many grocery store trips with a fancied up Riley, but this day took the cake! She was posing and dancing around- and was so much fun! She is loving school and is so excited about the baby. She tells me all the time that it is a girl and we are going to name her Hiley, since it rhymes with Riley. I told her we would decide on the name after we know. She will pat on my belly and give it kisses. she is going to be such a great big sister! She is learning so much and growing up so fast! it is nuts how quickly my baby has grown. I get told all the time now that she is not a baby but a big girl.

Picture coming soon!

Well I had an appointment today at the dr. Riley went with me and she was able to hear the baby's heart beat. It was pretty exciting. next month we go for the big ultra sound. Hopefully we will be able to find out what we are having. I am honestly hoping for another girl. Riley needs someone to play with like Ian and Caleb have each other. My nausea has gone down, I think the allergies are starting to go away. I have only gained 8lbs in 15 weeks which I think is pretty good. I know being back at work helps- LOTS of walking and I am on my feet almost all day long. Plus being active with the boys baseball team is good too.

Kids are enjoying school and Ian is doing well with Kindergarten. Caleb is doing great with 1st grade and next week his is the star of his class. We will get to decorate a bulletin board for him, eat with him and send in a special letter. I am super excited for him.

We have made it though 3 weeks of school and 4 of me being back at work. It is going well, getting back into a routine. Hopefully by the end of August I will be getting it all done well. :)

I'll post some pictures of the kids soon, and maybe one of me, if I can get a good one! :)

Private Time

If you are reading this, hopefully you were able to get on ok and view our blog. I will do an update later this week, but wanted to make sure that everyone can see it!

THE first day of school!!!!

*Ian and his teacher Mrs. Jernagan
*Siting at his table (her room is a beach theme, so they colored Hawaiian shirts)
*Best shot of all 3 this morning. (I have to work on getting Caleb to open his eyes- I had so much trouble with that when I was his age!)
* Ian wanted a special picture with just Riley- they may fight like cats and dogs, but they truly love each other!


Well- Today was the official start of school! The boys were so excited- I went to wake them up and all I said was "Good Morning!!! It is the first day of school!" and they were at the stairs before I even realized it!! :) Once we got to school, Caleb joined the 1st graders in the gym. Ian, Riley and I sat near the Kindergarten side. When they told us to head to the room, I went over and told Caleb that I would take Ian to class and then go to his to get a picture. He politely told me that he didn't want me to and he really wanted to go by himself (insert knife!). Do being the good mommy that I am, I cried and begged to get just one picture (really I just asked again) but was refused. So I hugged my BIG boy and let him to on his way. (sniff) We got to Ian's room and His teacher Mrs. Jernagan was there and said there was a message on the board. So I read it to Ian and he did as he was supposed to (put lunch box up and hang back pack up) then he sat down to color his picture. I managed to convince him to get a picture with his teacher, and then he patted me on the shoulder and said "Mommy, time for you to get to class". And that was it. No long hugs (on his part) and no worries. We hugged and I told him I would pick him up at Mrs. Sabrina's (she runs the learning center there and was Ian's pre-k teacher 2 years ago- they have phase in days this week).....and he said "bye" and continued coloring. that was it...bye. That's all!! So again, I was the good mommy, and smiled though the tears that were threatening to pour out of my eyes, got Riley in the car and drove safely (well...we drove fast since I still had to make it to my school on time) to school, where Riley went in with out so much as a bye, hug or kiss. When did they become such little adults???? But I got a huge hug from each as I picked them up and I heard all about their days. So I know, they are in good hands and that they did miss me and were excited to see me. I just wish they didn't grow up so fast!!

First Day

Fist of all, thanks to all who have emailed me with your info or left a comment. I will be making the change towards the end of this week. I will alert you before i do it just so you all know.

Monday if our first day back at school. Caleb will be starting 1st grade (!!!!) and Ian will be starting Kindergarten. It is so insane that they are old enough for this- seems like only yesterday we were all at home and they were so little! But they are growing, and even though it makes my heart ache for the times past, I am so eager to see them in the future. I can't wait to see what they do with their lives.

I will have pictures, and all the good stuff Monday evening. At this moment I am working on things I didn't get done for my classroom and getting all their supplies ready to go.

Going Private

After much thought, Matt and I have decided to make our blog private. I know that since I update pretty infrequently, that many of you may not even read this (sorry!!). But just for the safety of our family, we think it best to go private. I am looking into all that goes with it, but if you want to continue to read out blog and want to be updated, send me an email and I will get you on the "safe" list. Thanks for being understanding as we make some changes to our blog.

Not this time

This time, the job passed me by. It would have been a good one, but I have a feeling that since teachers are due back next week that they decided to go with someone else instead of transferring me. I was told that might be a possibility. So I will stay at Good ole LHS for another year and try again next year. Luckily, Riley loves her Pre-k teachers and I have good friendships there. Plus with a few new group of kids, I am bound to be on the upswing :) Positive thinking will get me far! Thank you for keeping this in your prayers. I know that God has something more wonderful planned for me and I will be patient and wait for it.

Today is the day!

*UPDATE: Still have not heard from the school........trying not to stress or worry. Maybe tomorrow- oh well. Lesson in patience?? :)



I should hear something about hte job I interviewed for today. I am trying to be ok with what ever happens, but I have to admit that I will feel upset if I don't get it. Let you all know soon!

Interviews

If all of you could say a little prayer for me today. I just returned from one interview and I have another interview in a little bit. I am hoping to get into a school closer to home and to the kids. The first one was with the middle school right next door to the kids school, and I would really LOVE that job. Please pray that if it is the Lord's will that I will meet the requirements and needs for that job. I also have another one in a hour, that I would love as well. It is more behavior oriented, but not any closer to home, or near the kids. Please pray that where ever the Lord desires for me to be, that it will work out and I will have a peace no matter where that may be. Thank you all!

Not much going on

There is not much of interest going on this week. The kids are at Lee and Linda's , so it has been VERY quiet around here. Too quiet to be honest. I have the tv on just to get some noise!! Silly I know, but when you are so used to having others around, it gets a little lonely. But we will be heading that way tomorrow after Matt gets off work- SO excited to see them. I have been cleaning and sorting toys and trying to get caught up on everything that I have been lax on for the last month. I have bursts of low energy, so I try to keep myself going, but about 2ish, I am almost spent. :) I have been feeling pretty decent. I always have to be drinking something, just to help with the neausea from allergies (and it frustrates me that the otc meds don't seem to be helping!) and just having a dry mouth. Just thought I would update. I will have pictures after this weekend. Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!!

Here we go again.....

Well for those of you who know us- you can take a decent guess at where this is going and get it right! :) We found out this week that we are expecting #4. Huge shock to us. But since God has seen fit to bless us with a fourth, we will enjoy these times. After my c-section, we will be making sure this is the last one for us. Any further c-sections are risky and for the safety of myself and our family, an additional surgery will happen.
We are growing excited and if my allergies would cooperate, I wouldn't be sick at all. :) Lovely allergies. Our due date is early Feb, but since they normally do c-sections at 38 or 39 weeks, it may be the end of January. At least this time the kids are older so I will have LOTS of helpers. :) If you will say a prayer for us as our family grows and changes.

My First Attempt

I think my first attempt at homemade bread turned out pretty good. We will be eating some for dinner tonight. I almost tried it after I made it, but decided to wait for Matt. I got a little worried when I was making it, since the power went off right towards the end. But it all worked out (just left the door shut and let it bake for an extra 5 min). I got this recipe from Stacey, and I have 2 more of hers to try. I just have to get a few ingredients. I have to admit, I was nervous going into this, but it was pretty easy and I enjoyed the work. Plus, my home smelled heavenly while it was baking! :) I will post another picture once I make the other one. That will be sometime next week. It looks a tad more complicated- so I will need some quiet time, and since the kids will be at my in-laws, that will be the perfect time to try it for the first time.

Football Camp

The boys were able to attend Football Camp this year. Every year the HS Football team (Coaches and players) teach kids K-8 the techniques for playing. They boys really enjoyed it. Little Miss and I would drop them off and then pick them back up. They slept really good the next few nights. They played on the field and in the indoor commons area. Outside on the field, they had 6 stations set up that everyone rotated through. So they learned the positions, and what each one does. They had many, many drills for agility and speed. Each kids got to try kicking and throwing. Inside, they had an obstacle course that they boys enjoyed. You had to run, jump, do sit-ups and push-ups. They kept saying their legs and stomach hurt :) I told them it was building muscles, so they lived through it. Enjoy some of the pictures from Camp. :)

Short Update

Not much going on here. My oldest is with his grandparents, and we have a friend staying the weekend with us. I haven't taken any pictures so there is not much to post. I will try to get some here soon, and get them posted for you. I do have pictures from football camp that the boys attended.

I am also thinking of making this blog private. the more I think about it the more I am certain I would like to do that. I will let you know when I decide. :)

Do you ever wonder?

Have you ever wondered what God is trying to teach you at certain stages in your life? There is a ton going on here, and I am wondering what I am being taught. Patience is one, I know. Trust in Him is another. I am trying to learn more about Him and the kind of mom he has planned for me to be. I am learning a lot, but at times feel a little overwhelmed about it all. But then I realize, that is where He is teaching me to lean on him and trust him- fully. Amazing how I keep having to re-learn this lesson. I keep pulling back the reigns of my life and trying to control it. Maybe this time I will learn it for good, and not try to take it all over.

Ian's first game of the season (FINALLY!)

As you all know, Ian broke his arm at the beginning of the season, so he has missed a lot of games. We were not sure if he would be able to play at all, but one they took the cast off we decided to let him play. He has played about 3-4 games now and even got a game ball at his last one on Sunday. He is super proud of that one and LOVES to play!! I think we are going to move him up to the pitching machine next year. He hits it off the t really hard and he already can hit it when it is pitched. I think that will be a good level for him.

Kindergarten Celebration 2009

Wow! This year has flown by for Caleb. Seems like it was just yesterday, when we were dropping him off for his first day of school! His excitement has not waned. He is still loving school and enjoys every min of it. We attended the first ever Kindergarten Celebration at EPE. At EPE, they use Covey's 7 Habits as a leadership model. It has been so neat to see how what Caleb has learned at school transfers to life in general. Mrs. Koehn, Caleb's teacher, read a poem that made all the mom's cry, and then as I watched my first born walk up to shake her hand and get his award, I realized, that I need to toughen up for his senior year!!!! I was all teary eyed and trying to to cry. She has been an amazing teacher and I pray that Ian has her next year. All the K teachers put together a binder that has work from the entire year. It is amazing to look at how he has grown and how much he has learned. Saturday we get his work binder along with his report card. I know he is excited about going to 1st grade. My baby's first year of school is completed. Way to go Caleb!

Pre-K Graduation 2009

The Learning Center where Ian and Riley go, held their Awards/Graduation ceremony Thursday evening. It was so neat to see them up there singing and showing us all they had learned that year. Ian received the awards of "Lost in Space" and "Little Devil". The lost in space was in reference to his daydreaming and to the fact that he will replay a whole Star Wars scene in his head while he is supposed to be listening. He received the little Devil award as LHS's mascot is the blue devil. Riley aptly received the Most Outgoing award and Drama Queen reward- no explanation needed. :) We had great time celebrating their year!