Kyler's 6!!

Tues. Nov. 2, 2004...Election Day
Where did the time go? I cannot believe that my baby boy is 6 years old! I still remember everything about the day before and the day of his birth like it just happened last week. He is turning out to be a great kid and I am so thankful for that. He is doing great in Kindergarten. His teacher says he is very helpful and friendly, he's doing great with his work, and needs to working on his attitude when he loses at something. At least he got his father's competitive spirit! :) I am so proud of him. He played Fall Ball this year for the Yankees and they came in 2nd place...he held his own very well! He loves his sisters and is very helpful around the house (most of the time). He is also starting to notice a lot of the things they talk about at church. I think it's finally starting to click. I feel so unprepared for when he starts asking questions, but I pray everyday that God will give Ray and I the right things to say at the right times. He is having his first sleepover at our house tonight to celebrate and I'm getting mentally prepared for having 4 boys over all night! ;)

If you still read this blog, thank you. I know I've not been keeping up with it very well. This is a very busy season in our lives and somethings have to give...I don't think my family would appreciate it if I gave up cooking and cleaning to blog. :o

Wow, what a decade!

When the new year rolls over, I usually look forward and plan what my next year will hold. For some reason this year, I have been looking back a lot. Maybe it's because I'm older, maybe it's because it the end of a decade. Whatever the reason, it's what I'm doing this year.

New Year's Eve was an interesting evening for me. Nothing interesting happened but I had a lot of things swirling through my head about where I was ten years ago. I can remember exactly where I was, who I was with, what I was doing...even what I was wearing! It's sad, I know...I was cursed with a semi-photographic memory. The thing that was so interesting was that I had no idea 10 years ago that I would be where I am now. I had just turned 21 and thought I had it all figured out. Wow, was I ever wrong! I started the decade engaged to my high school sweetheart and thought that ten years from that night I would be married to him and we'd have two boys in our modest house in Murfreesboro. HA! Was I so far off. :) I wouldn't trade my life now for anything. God really does know what he's doing!

In the last decade I have (in no particular order):
graduated college
moved 7 times
sang in two amazing operas
gotten married
went on my first cruise
had 3 beautiful kids
taught middle school (my dream job)
joined an amazing church
started my own business
quit my own business
been to Brazil
lost 2 grandparents
watched my grandfather forget everything
gotten a dog
gained two beautiful nephews and a gorgeous niece
discovered how hard marriage really is
turned the big 3-0 (and I LOVE it)
grown closer to God and pulled away from God
realized how much I love being a mom
...the list could go on and on.

I hope that you have an amazing 2010 and it's everything you want it to be...but keep in mind that you have your plans and God has His. Guess which one wins out in the end??!

Wow, has it really been that long??

So sorry to the three people who actually read this blog! I haven't posted since the summer for good reason. Well, partly b/c I was lazy, but mostly b/c life just gets in the way sometimes. I need an outlet again for my feelings and a place to vent and share life, so I'm back up and running. Let's see...what has happened since I last posted.
Oh, yeah.
I HAD A BABY!!!



Juliana Isaias was born on Oct. 11 @ 4:54 am. She was 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 1/2 in. It was a quick labor and I had her all natural (and almost without the doctor...again). She is now 5 1/2 weeks old and beautiful. She is more of a snuggler than Aaliyah was, but not near as much as Kyler was. Her brother and sister love her so much that they can't seem to keep their hands off her, which bugs me to high heaven! There isn't much jealousy at all and I am thankful for that. We were worried that Aaliyah would have serious problems if we had another girl, but she has adjusted great. We are slowly getting back into a routine around here and I hope to have Juliana on a semi-predictable schedule soon.
What else is going on, you may ask? Well, in August we moved into a nice little house not far from where we were living before. It's smaller, but works great for us. I'm already looking around for projects to do in the spring. :)
We have also started dabbling in photography...and by "we" I mean my husband. I'm learning a little bit from what he's telling me from classes, websites, books, and discussions with other photographers. We will just have to see where it goes, but so far it's looking promising.
I'm on maternity leave from Walmart and looking to get back in the classroom in the fall, God willing. If His plan is to keep me at home, I'm up for that, too (as long as I can start singing again somewhere).
That's all I can think of for now. I have a Thanksgiving-type post mulling around in my head so maybe I'll get that down before next year! ;)

Have a wonderfully blessed fall day!