August 19th made six years of marriage for Shannon and I. Tonight, I'm all by myself- Emme's at a friends, Shannon's out of town, and I'm at home, I was thinking about all that can happen in six years. I think I'll reference this post next time I want to buy a new car, since 72 months is the financing magic number these days.
Anyhow, in six years, we've bought two homes and made them home. Probably the best part about buying a home is finding those neighbors who really make it feel like a home. We've been blessed in both neighborhoods we have lived in to have made great, reliable friends.
We've bought four cars. Double ugh. Alas, I think we have vehicles that might last us and the crazy gas prices.
I've taught for 5 years. 25% of my way to retirement. Yeah, right.
We had a baby! And we survived. If we make it through the 2's, well, never mind.
2 of the 3 of us have had our heads cut open and put back together.
We've had 3 roommates. All, whom we miss!
We've joined a church, twice.
Most of all, in six years, we have learned to love through it all. We've loved when it's good, when it's scary, when it's bad, when it's brutal, when we didn't want to, and when it was hard. In six years we've had a lot of ups and downs, good and bad, boring and fun, exciting and scary, triumphs and trials. Best of all, we've had each other, and today I might just be happier than the day we started this journey six years ago. Time flies!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Wait, what happened to Summer?
It seems like just a few weeks ago I was writing my last blog post and school was almost out for Summer. Well, here we are, and school has already started. We have had a whirlwind of a Summer, but it's been awesome.
I decided in the Spring that I wanted to go back to school to get my Ed.S. (Education Specialist) degree and possibly (hopefully) pursue my Doctorate after that. I took my first two classes in June. It's the first time that I have taken school seriously in my life. It paid off, I learned something and I made two A's. School was always easy for me if I even slightly applied myself, but I was a little unsure of how I would do going back to college. I worked my butt off, but, it was enjoyable. I learned things about the education world that I never paid attention to before because I was always going to be a coach. I now sport my first college 4.0 GPA!
After working fast and furious to get a 15 week course packed into 5 weeks done in 2 weeks, we set off on our great Summer Adventure. We spent a week in Cleveland, Branson, and Daytona Beach, with stops in St. Louis, Dallas, Bentonville, and Cincinnati. Shannon and Emme also spent 5 days in Kentucky. After 6 weeks straight on the road, we had about 5 days to recover before I had to go back to school. Each of those days incorporated a 3 hour nap for us all. We were exhausted! I'm not sure we will ever pack that much travel into one summer again, but I enjoyed every moment of it.
We have also found a new church home! Shannon, Emme, and I now call Life Assembly in Mt. Juliet our home church and I couldn't be more excited. I believe that Life Assembly is a place that God put in our path for a reason. Life has a FABULOUS children's ministry and I'm counting down the days until my Emme can become part of the Rainbows program (only a few more months!). Rainbows and Royal Rangers are a program specific to the AG church. The most exciting part about Life for me is the opportunity for mission work. The have a Buddy Break program that provides respite one Friday a month for parents of special needs children. I have already volunteered to help with that program. I'm also hoping to find a mission trip that I can participate in real soon. I think I'm ready!
School started July 26th for me and August 1st for all my kiddos. I suppose the first week went well. It's always nice to see how much the kids have grown over the summer along with their sweet faces on the first day. I requested a transfer last year because I wanted to teach older kids, but nothing became available. It was bittersweet for me because I was so glad to see the kids I have been teaching for 5 years on the first day of school, but it wasn't where I thought I wanted to be. Needless to say, God has perfect timing for everything, and I know this situation is no different.
Emme is doing great! We are working on learning her shapes and colors (she's almost there), letter and number recognition, and of course her favorite past time, singing. She knows more nursery rhymes than I do and I sometimes hear her singing them in her bed (when she isn't in ours!) I ask for you to pray for her, we have her in a 3 year old classroom (she's 2 1/2) and she is the youngest which is sometimes frustrating for her. I've struggled with this decision, because I'm not sure if I should be pushing her so hard- she came home with homework last week. I often forget she is just 2. She is so grown up, has the attitude of her Mother (Lord help us all) and sings like her Daddy (WHEW!).
Shannon is feeling better after an allergic reaction to some medication that caused his joints to stiffen and swell. Thankfully, most of those symptoms have subsided and he is transitioning to another medication. His schedule has been a little light this month, therefore, he has been home quite a bit. Although this is a financial strain on us, I think it was best for him after such a chaotic summer. He really needs the rest and I enjoy his help when he is home.
We are getting ready to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary on August 19th. It seems like only yesterday we were married. Of course we have had our ups and downs, but I know he was God's special gift to me. I'm hoping we can take a little mini vacation in December when we go to Dallas for Christmas, just the two of us. We've only been able to do that one time since Emme was born, but it was SO wonderful! Shannon already blessed me with our anniversary gift, a new Keurig coffee maker. I'll blog about that later but just know it's wonderful! He always says that I can't hold a secret, but he gave it to me the day he bought it. He knew I had a tough day at school (Friday) and he thought it would make me smile. I'm sure he was a little excited to have a cup of coffee too!
I suppose this has been more of an update than a blog, but I guess whatever goes when you aren't updating your blog on a regular basis like you should! Stay tuned friends, I'll try to keep you posted.
I decided in the Spring that I wanted to go back to school to get my Ed.S. (Education Specialist) degree and possibly (hopefully) pursue my Doctorate after that. I took my first two classes in June. It's the first time that I have taken school seriously in my life. It paid off, I learned something and I made two A's. School was always easy for me if I even slightly applied myself, but I was a little unsure of how I would do going back to college. I worked my butt off, but, it was enjoyable. I learned things about the education world that I never paid attention to before because I was always going to be a coach. I now sport my first college 4.0 GPA!
After working fast and furious to get a 15 week course packed into 5 weeks done in 2 weeks, we set off on our great Summer Adventure. We spent a week in Cleveland, Branson, and Daytona Beach, with stops in St. Louis, Dallas, Bentonville, and Cincinnati. Shannon and Emme also spent 5 days in Kentucky. After 6 weeks straight on the road, we had about 5 days to recover before I had to go back to school. Each of those days incorporated a 3 hour nap for us all. We were exhausted! I'm not sure we will ever pack that much travel into one summer again, but I enjoyed every moment of it.
We have also found a new church home! Shannon, Emme, and I now call Life Assembly in Mt. Juliet our home church and I couldn't be more excited. I believe that Life Assembly is a place that God put in our path for a reason. Life has a FABULOUS children's ministry and I'm counting down the days until my Emme can become part of the Rainbows program (only a few more months!). Rainbows and Royal Rangers are a program specific to the AG church. The most exciting part about Life for me is the opportunity for mission work. The have a Buddy Break program that provides respite one Friday a month for parents of special needs children. I have already volunteered to help with that program. I'm also hoping to find a mission trip that I can participate in real soon. I think I'm ready!
School started July 26th for me and August 1st for all my kiddos. I suppose the first week went well. It's always nice to see how much the kids have grown over the summer along with their sweet faces on the first day. I requested a transfer last year because I wanted to teach older kids, but nothing became available. It was bittersweet for me because I was so glad to see the kids I have been teaching for 5 years on the first day of school, but it wasn't where I thought I wanted to be. Needless to say, God has perfect timing for everything, and I know this situation is no different.
Emme is doing great! We are working on learning her shapes and colors (she's almost there), letter and number recognition, and of course her favorite past time, singing. She knows more nursery rhymes than I do and I sometimes hear her singing them in her bed (when she isn't in ours!) I ask for you to pray for her, we have her in a 3 year old classroom (she's 2 1/2) and she is the youngest which is sometimes frustrating for her. I've struggled with this decision, because I'm not sure if I should be pushing her so hard- she came home with homework last week. I often forget she is just 2. She is so grown up, has the attitude of her Mother (Lord help us all) and sings like her Daddy (WHEW!).
Shannon is feeling better after an allergic reaction to some medication that caused his joints to stiffen and swell. Thankfully, most of those symptoms have subsided and he is transitioning to another medication. His schedule has been a little light this month, therefore, he has been home quite a bit. Although this is a financial strain on us, I think it was best for him after such a chaotic summer. He really needs the rest and I enjoy his help when he is home.
We are getting ready to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary on August 19th. It seems like only yesterday we were married. Of course we have had our ups and downs, but I know he was God's special gift to me. I'm hoping we can take a little mini vacation in December when we go to Dallas for Christmas, just the two of us. We've only been able to do that one time since Emme was born, but it was SO wonderful! Shannon already blessed me with our anniversary gift, a new Keurig coffee maker. I'll blog about that later but just know it's wonderful! He always says that I can't hold a secret, but he gave it to me the day he bought it. He knew I had a tough day at school (Friday) and he thought it would make me smile. I'm sure he was a little excited to have a cup of coffee too!
I suppose this has been more of an update than a blog, but I guess whatever goes when you aren't updating your blog on a regular basis like you should! Stay tuned friends, I'll try to keep you posted.
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