30th Birthday Bash

On the 19th of this month it happened. I turned 30. Unlike most I spoke to I looked forward to the day. Don't know why. No real reason. I just liked the sound of 30- it excited me.

My birthday started off fabulous with a slew of wonderful handmade gifts from kids, that they did all on their own.

Then, that Saturday, I went out to Baker Street Pub and enjoyed a wonderful night with my friends. I couldn't have ask for a better way to spend my birthday. I truly am one blessed girl.

Back to School

With the first week of school behind us I can sit back and reflect- and thank my lucky stars that I'm not homeschooling this year. Not that homeschooling wasn't a wonderful experience, but I have a feeling it's one that will take years for me to fully appreciate.

All of the little darlings have had a wonderful first week. Everyone is loving school, making new friends, and enjoying getting away from each other for a few hours.

The biggest perk has been that everyone has been up bright and early and going to bed post haste when bedtime comes (can I get an Amen!) . The first week was such a success that I look forward to what this year brings...


Sidenote: Not everyone in the house was excited for the first day of school. These two took it pretty hard:


But, I am happy to say, both have adjusted nicely.

Things we take for granted...

Tonight I was perusing blogs for neat clothing ideas when I ran across this blog. Excited that I had hit the mother load I began scrolling through the posts. At the top of one of the posts, that I almost didn't read, there was a link to this blog. So, of course, curiosity got the best of me. Who was this baby that had fallen into a canal and what had become of her? I began reading the blog of this poor family who very unexpectedly lost their daughter when she fell into a canal. There were so many things that struck me about this blog, besides the obvious tragedy.

The first thing I noticed was the fact that in the midst of all this poor young couples pain they still give glory to Jesus and used the tragedy and their blog to reach out and explain Jesus to those of us who may have stumbled upon them out of morbid curiosity. The other thing that got my attention and had me crying so hard that I actually had to go outside and get fresh air was the normalcy of this blog. Only days before the tragedy this lovely young mother was regaling her friends and family with little Preslee's first trip to a splash pad and then days later little Preslee was in a hospital fighting for her life.

There are several reasons that this post hit home for me. The very obvious reason was that I of course thought of my own children and how quickly they can be taken from me and how I should make the most out of every moment I have with them.

The second, which still has me choked up, is how much it reminded me of how lucky I am. It has taken me 4 years to actually come to terms with how drastically different my life could have been. 4 years ago this past June Kamryn jumped into a swimming pool and for all intents and purposes drowned. Only by the grace of God was she discovered under the water, resuscitated, and gotten to a hospital with little to no injury. To some this is an old story. I've told it a hundred times, with almost the same reverence as I've told the story of how Kamryn was chased around the room by a friends dog hanging on her diaper.

When I first went to the hospital and spent those 2 long weeks with Kamryn recovering in the hospital I took it all in stride. I did what needed to be done and when we were out I filed it into the back of my mind as just another thing we made it through.

You hear everyday of children who drowned who weren't nearly as lucky as we were. Every time I hear one of those stories I thank God that it wasn't me on the other end of that story. But, it wasn't until reading this poor little baby's story that the gravity of the situation hit me. almost 5 YEARS LATER. My little girl almost died and it was truly a miracle from God that she is still with us today. And how have I repaid God's favor. Well, I haven't, not even close. Most of the time my kids seem to get in my way more than I appreciate the fact that I should be thankful that they're even there to be underfoot. Most of the time I whine and cry to God about the things he hasn't done for me or hasn't given to me, that I forget to take the time to thank him for the things that I have. I will definitely begin looking at things from a new perspective and new heart from today on...

Playing Catch Up

I haven't posted anything in a while. It's certainly not because nothing has been going on that's for sure. We have enjoyed a busy, sometimes, almost kid free summer. Kamryn visited with her grandparents and aunt for 2 months and did a lot of fun things, like go to Schlitterbahn and Sea World. Some very dear friends of mine from Spicewood also threw her a wonderful birthday party. Siarah spent 2 months with my step-daughter's family in Temple. She was also given a great birthday party by them. Melanie and Stacy both visited there this summer, also. We have gone to movies, visited realtives, hung out at church and spent a lot of time at the pool. The Hardin kiddos also got to see their mom for the first time since December of '08, so that was a big milestone this summer.

The kids will start school in 2 weeks. That's right. School. We decided that it was best. If Kamryn starts lagging behind I will definitely pull her out and homeschool again. I will not sacrifice my kids for my convience, but socially I think she needs school. We shall see...

We are still in the same house... which is crazy for us, given our penchant for moving. I am still steadily working on making the house into our home, which is so hard to do in a rent house.

That about wraps it up for now...

Spring Break 2010, the beginning

Spring Break... oh, what to say about Spring Break. There were ups (like the rockin' Health Museum), there were downs (breaking down in tears in line at the Space Center) and little in between. Our big plan was to go to San Antonio and Austin but for budget reasons we bought City Passes for Houston. The City Pass included the Space Center, the Zoo, the Aquarium, the Health Museum, the Natural Science Museum and the Children's Museum. If you want to check out Houston for a good price it is certainly the way to go. However, when I bought them I didn't think about the price of gas to drive back and forth to Houston everyday so we had to cram everything in two days. You can read about our adventures in my next few posts.
Before we began our journey our girls had...

THE SLEEPOVER

They invited three girls from church to come and stay the night while the boys went on a camping trip with their dad.

There were lots of laughs

and life long friendships were made



however, maybe next time I should invite a friend for Melanie.

It was a great start to a wonderful Spring Break.

Karate

We are now the parents of two official white belts! The boys have studied hard for this. They may even compete in their first competition in April. What a fun time. We are very proud of you Tony and TJ.

Pomp and Circumstances

I did it. I made the plunge. I am registering for the Fall Semester at the community college. This has been such a long time coming. I have used a million in one excuses why I couldn't finish and I guess God decided he was tired of hearing them. I woke up this morning, sat down at the computer, and had this ovewhelming feeling. I went to the financial aid website, applied, got my response. Before I could change my mind I went to the college website, looked up my degree plan (from 10 years ago!) and picked right back up where I left off. The good news is I can take all of my classes online. It's weird the things that the Holy Spirit puts on us. I have been searching my heart for a long time to try and figure out what God's purpose for me is. This morning I woke up and realized I've always known and had such peace with the decision that I knew that I wasn't making a mistake. So, who knows? Stacy and I may end up going to college together. Wouldn't that be a hoot!

Back... for good

YAY! I'm back. Hopefully for the long haul. So much has happened that I can't possibly catch up so here's the general idea...

Homeschooling- So far not going at all as planned. We're still trying to find our niche, but I can tell you that we must be close because we've exhausted a million and one ideas that don't seem to be working. I'm going to try the Unit Study approach after Spring Break and see what becomes of that... wish us luck.

Our house- what to say, what to say? The house has proven to truly be a blessing from God. It was freezing cold in the winter and hot as blazes in the summer, but everyone has their own space to go off and be and that's worth the extremely high water bill from cooling off showers and the extremely high gas bill from having to use the oven for heat!

Our family- Everyone is great. Greg is still loving his job! That's always good. The kids are great. Stacy, Siarah and Kamryn are playing softball this year. The boys are doing karate. Their first white belt test (although I don't know yet if they'll be able to take it) is Thursday night. Keep them in your prayers. They REALLY want that white belt. Stacy is doing good in school and had her first formal event this past weekend- The Military Ball for ROTC. She was voted Freshman Queen. Very exciting. Melanie gets bigger and smarter everyday. She is talking so much and has such a fun personality. She is a ton of fun to be around.

We also have two additions to the family. We inherited the best little doggie in the world from a friend of mine. That dog makes my day (until I step in poop at three in the morning, but I try not to dwell on that). We also were adopted by a cutie kitten the same night that we got Mox. Her name is Binx and I think she's having serious doubts she chose the right family to come to.

Church- Greg and I landed at a church that we really love last October. The people are great. It's a very traditional, small church that has great classes for the kids. The kids loved it from the first time they went. It doesn't have Wii's or anything fancy but yet they still cry if they have to miss it. That's the sign of something good, if you ask me. The girls have made a lot of friends. In fact, they're having a sleepover with three sisters from the church on Friday. We're all excited about that.

Anyway, I plan on blogging away every little thought so be prepared... I have a years worth to catch up on :-)