I tried something new...

So I got brave and tried something new.....I put a background on my blog. It isn't hard, just have to make sure that everything lines up. So what do you think? ;)

Steel Drum band :)

This is a picture of the band playing. My sister is dead center (long blonde hair). My nephew is off to the leftalmost cut off.

Here is one selection from my sister and nephew's steel drum band concert Saturday night. They are both on the left side. You can barely see my nephew...he is the last person on the left in the back. He is standing behind a guy who looks to be of Hawaiian descent. Sorry for the "blurriness" - I don't have the best camera.

Thanksgiving

Well - as Thanksgiving approaches, I shall follow along with many other posters in writing what I am thankful for......

My Lord and Savior. He has blessed me, loved me, protected me, guided me, pushed me, been there for me. I don't give Him the credit He so deserves.

My family. My husband, Rebecca, mom, dad, inlaws (yes - I did say inlaws), grandparents, sister,nephew, and EVERYONE else who I consider to be my family.

My job. I love my job and I am grateful for having it. It is tough some days (more here lately than before) but I love my kids and seeing their successes!!

My freedom. I am thankful for being able to have the freedom to do as I please, well, within the law. :) There are so many in other countries that don't have this freedom.

There are so many other things I am thankful for, just not enough time to mention them. I am thankful today for the opportunity to go see my nephew's steel drum concert. I will post pictures later when I get home. I have a video to post as well.

Tomorrow we are having our Thanksgiving Dinner with my mom, dad, sister, nephew, and grandfather. We are also celebrating my sister's birthday, which was the 20th. Her favorite meal is Thanksgiving dinner. We put the two together since we dont' get to make it to my parent's house on Thanksgiving Day.

Night all!

P.S. - I am thankful for my friend - S. - who just found out she is going to be a MOM!!! WHOO HOO!! God is soooo good!

Getting a head start...

We are getting a head start on laundry.....This is from a while back, just getting around to posting. :)

He did it...

Well - My dear hubby played a full day of golf...in the rain. And tonight, he speaks of playing
golf again. :) I thought I would never hear that word again here in this house. Guess I was wrong.

My baby is 10 months old today. 10 MONTHS OLD! OH MY GOODNESS! I took a picture tonight and I will get it posted as soon as I can get it uploaded. She is so funny. I came home from school today (by way of getting my hair cut and going to the store) and she followed me all over the living room and kitchen until I picked her up. :) I had better be off my cell and be able to put everything down as soon as I walk in the house because she just wants her mommy! ;)

Say a prayer for me on Tuesday - I have two assistants out tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!! YIKES!

Rainy Rainy Day

Well - we need it and I shouldn't complain, but it is a nasty dreary rainy day. I haven't been outside yet. Believe me - there is plenty enough to keep me busy inside. :) Oh wait a minute....I went out long enough to put my mums out in the rain to help keep them alive. The last time I had mums, it was after my wedding and I killed them. :( I thought I would give it a try again.

So what I have done today? Balance my checkbook. YIPPEE!! hehehe I was two months behind. I always know what is in my checkbook (give or take $100) but it needed to be completely balanced. I am one of those crazy people (unlike one of my good friends who NEVER balances her account) that balances my checkbook to the PENNY! I can't stand it if it is one penny off. I can be a little anal about that. I guess that can be good and bad.

That is about all I have gotten done as far as work. I slept in a little....Rebecca got up at 6:00. That was nice either way! I fed her and put her back to bed. She slept until 9:30..I think. Sometime close to that. I fed her cereal and yogurt. She loves yogurt! We then played for a while. I got some laundry going. And here is it 1:00 already! WOW!

Jason is playing golf today for the 1st time ever! And it is raining. I hope they are having a good time. He is playing a charity tournament with his dad and brother. They should be done here soon. We are going to his parents for dinner tonight....Spaghetti!

School was OK this week. OH OH OH - I drove the school bus for my first field trip yesterday. It was a manual bus too! My kids laughed at me the whole way to walmart. We were shopping for the ingredients for our Fall Celebration ( AKA Halloween party). We cook our own food. I let the kids pick their own recipes and then make their shopping lists. We had a good time. I have one more group to take on Monday.

Time to eat lunch. Got to eat while Rebecca is sleeping. :) Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure.

Oh my - where has the time gone?

I am such a slacker! Well - life just keeps me busy!! I am at my parent's house for my dad's surgery, so I have some time to post while things are slow. I have time to do lots of things without the responsibility of being at my own home. :) How come it is much easier for me to pitch in a help out with house work when I am somewhere other than my own home??

Well - school is - school. My kids keep me hopping! That is primarily the reason that I can't post much. We have lots of exciting things going on - most important - preparing for our Fall celebration (AKA - Halloween party!). My students have selected their own recipes. They are typing them on the computer and finding pictures of ingredients. Then we go shopping!! I can't wait. The do a great job with that! Most of them can manevure around Wal-mart better than I can.

Rebecca is MOBILE now! She is scooting and semi-crawling everywhere. I will put her on the floor and go into the kitchen. Next thing I know - she is peeking around the corner at me. She eats everything I give her. We have started some table foods, but only softened mild things. She babbles all the time and some words are even recognizable. Dada and mamamamama and oh wow are the most noticable. At her 9 month check up last week she weighed 18lbs 6 oz and 28 inches long. It is a crazy thought that my sister has already asked us what kind of cake we want for her birthday in Dec!

Well - time to get my nephew from his friend's house. We are expecting company tonight to visit my dad. Maybe I won't be such a stranger to the blogging world!

Toodaloo for now!

I like it, but I am not good at it.....

Well - I have decided that while I really like blogging, I am not good at remembering to do it. I guess I am so involved with everything else in my life, I tend to forget about my blog. Maybe when school gets back in session I can make the time each day to try and write something, even if it is just a little paragraph. Who knows.

I can't believe how fast the summer has gone by. Seems just like yesterday the last day of school was here. Here we are now talking about registration and orientation days! YIKES! Where has the time gone??!!???!!??!!??

We haven't done much this summer until the last week or so. We went to Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg for a few days at the end of July. We had a great time. Rebecca did great on the trip down. She slept well in the pack n play and seemed to enjoy the time at Dollywood and the Ripley's Aquarium. She seemed mesmerized by the fish in the tunnel at the aquarium. :) In the past - Jason and I loved to ride the rides at amusement parks. We were talking while walking through Dollywood - it didn't matter a bit that we just walked and looked at everything. We didn't ride a single thing. We laughed because we realized that in a few short years, Rebecca will be wanting to ride everything!!

This weekend we (along with my mom, sister, and nephew) are going up to Washington DC to visit our family up there. I have a great aunt and uncle and two cousins there. One of my cousins has a little girl 3 months old. I hope that she and Rebecca will be buddies as they grow up. I am looking forward to visiting a few places but most of all, just enjoying the time with family.

Well - I hear my girlie waking up. Once again - I am going to try to keep up with writing!!!!

I just can't think of a title.....

I am sitting here feeding Rebecca and thought I should really should post something on my blog. I think I will do a conglomeration (I think that is how you spell it) of thoughts.

The first thing that comes to mind is that I am very blessed. I have a husband who loves me very much. I have a beautiful daughter that we have waited 4 very long years for. I have a family that will do anything for us if we ever asked. I have a great job (although very hard somedays). I have awesome students -even the ones who are aggressive. I have a church family that is the most loving church family I have ever been with - there are some that are SO very close - Bluefield comes to mind. I can go on and on forever. I often take for granted how blessed I am. I have more than many people in this world. I should never take that for granted.

I have a Lord and Savior who loves me more than any human being on the face of this earth could ever love me. Do I think about that every day....no. Should I.....oh you bet! I have another blog that I read. The author of this blog has been through some of the most incredible pain that one could possibly imagine - the loss of a child. Yet - she reaches out to others through her love for the Lord. She inspires me to go beyond the normal limits of my being. Do I do enough.....no, but I sure need to change that.

Whew - it sure got heavy there for a little bit. Let's lighten it up some. We are going to spend the weekend at my parents. WHOO HOO! I am excited to go. We are leaving tonight. Saturday we will be going to the lake with the praise and worship team from my church.
It will be fun! We did a ladies retreat there last year. We spent the whole day on the lake. Might have to revisit that idea this year with Rebecca here now. I am taking her floaty ring (from my secreat pal at work!) to put her in the water near the condo. I can't wait to see how she reacts.

Let's see - how has Rebecca changed......where do I even start????!!!?? Well - here goes..............
Sitting up.......she is sitting up independently now. I still put a pillow around her sometimes depending on where she is sitting. Today, I was packing bags for the weekend on my bed. I had her in the middle of the bed playing. :)
Solid food...... we started cereal back at the beginning of June. Since then she is eating and loving the cereal. We moved to squash. Slow going, but now she loves it. I tried apples the other day...NO GO! Didn't like those. I am going to try something else later. I made my own apples. Lets she if she likes them. I hope so!
Talking...I have got a talker on my hands. :) :) She loves to talk and laugh all the time. In the morning when she wakes up, she is saying "mama" without the full sound. Does that make sense? It has the sound of it anyway.

Well - enough of my thoughts for now. I have lots I still need to do before we leave. More later.

For my Nonnie & Papaw

This is for you!!! Love you all!

Summer is here!!!

And I am spending the first three days of my summer vacation learning how to drive a bus. It isn't all bad, but it would have been great to sleep in this morning. 6:30 is really nice when you are used to getting up at 5:00!! :) :) :)

SO I must take off and get to work! More posting to come after Wednesday - when I will then be done!

I did it!!!! :)

I added my music playlist!!!!! Go check it out! I am so excited about this...I have been wanting to do this for a while.

A nice day off....

It has been so nice to have a long weekend off! I feel like I have gotten lots done. We had a yard sale at my grandmother's house on Saturday. Made a few bucks! Came home with less! Nice trade off don't you think....

We went to a cookout with the neighbors yesterday. It was a GORGEOUS day! Temp was just right! Rebecca took a long nap after church and was in a great mood. She let her grandpa carry her around all afternoon. I think she is going to be an outside girl. She loves being outside all the time. She isn't sure about the wind though.

School is almost out! We have 8 days left with the students. I can't

believe the year has gone by so quick. It just seems like yesterday my

students were putting the countdown cards on the chalkboard. We put up 41

cards - now it is 8. WOW! I don't plan on teaching summer school this

year. Would like to stay home with Rebecca. Have lots of plans with

family and friends.

I Remembered!

It is Saturday and I finally remembered I needed to post....well thanks to a colleague!! ;) I seems like the days just go by so fast and I always remember about my blog right before I go to bed.

All is good around our house. We went and bought the rest of the flowers we wanted for our house this year. Jason's mom has a cousin who owns a greenhouse. We go there every year. I try every year to buy things that come back each year, but I have such little knowledge of flowers, that I get stuck in that rut to buy the ones that last only for the season. hehehe

Only 14 more days of school. I think. I know it is close to that. Might be 13. It will fly by - especially since we are taking the kids on field trips every Friday. We went to see the new Narnia movie yesterday. It was good and the kids were well behaved. I was a little lost because I hadn't seen the first one, but I eventually caught on once they pulled it all together. Next Friday we are going to a Safari Park about an hour south of the school. It will be fun. It ties in the unit the students have been doing in Agriculture class on animals.

Rebecca is growing by leaps and bounds. She is starting to really laugh! You can tell when she thinks something is funny. She is still sleeping through the night - but gets up earlier in the morning. Anywhere between 5:30 and 7:00. I think one night she got up 3 times, but I didn't have to pick her up. Just covered her up and put her binky in her mouth. She hasn't started rolling over yet, but she is close. I think it will be any time now. She still loves to swing. Our neighbor gave us their old baby swing. We hung it under the deck. Rebecca has only been in it once, it has been too chilly, but she loved it! As a matter of fact, she fell asleep in it. :) It was so cute.

It is a gorgeous day outside - time to get moving and get to work!!

Saturday is my night!

Keeping up with everything that i enjoy as well as what needs to be done can be a challenge. So - with that in mind, I am going to try to make Saturday night my blogging night. That is unless something cool comes up! :)

Last week seems to have gone by really fast. Not sure where it went. I know it was full of trying moments with some of my students at school. The crazy thing was that the full moon isn't until this week.

Ok - here it is Wednesday and I didn't get my post done Saturday. Oh well - I had more important things to take care of.

Found out today that we are taking our annual trip back to the local indoor/outdoor waterpark at the end of may! I hope that I get to go this year. Last year I had three students who didn't earn the trip and had to stay behind. I haven't been told who might possibly earn the trip or won't yet. Need to check on that. We shall see!

Time for dinner! Let's see if I can get my Saturday post on Saturday this week!

40 days to go!

Wow - it has been a long time since I posted. Life is busy, seems busier every day. Thank goodness summer is around the corner. We did a countdown with my students today at school....40 more school days left! Can't believe it. Of course, my year has been short since I was out for three months.

We are busy at school making an "All about me" book. In special education now, there is a BIG push for the student taking the lead in their yearly education plan meetings. So - I decided that my students would make books about themselves. It is going well. The students are doing a GREAT JOB! It is so funny to see the pictures they find to represent themselves. But it is truly what they see and enjoy. I will have to take some pictures of their books for all to see when they are done.

Family life is good. I enjoy every minute at home with Jason and Rebecca. Rebecca and I took a walk today while Jason mowed the yard. She was tired and fussed some, but I think she is going to like riding. She is pulling herself up more now when she sits on our laps. She leans that head up and tries to sit up taller! She loves to look around anywhere we go. We were in the grocery store the other day and she stayed in her car seat most of the time, but near the end she fussed. I got her out and carried her the last three aisles. She was great! She just wanted to look around. She is going to be a curious one! Watch out in the future. :)

Time to get ready for bed. The girlie is down and all is quiet. Maybe not so much time between posts this time!!

A Week of Milestones....

The week is finally over!! We had quite a few new things happen this week.
*I went back to work. YUCK!!

*Rebecca went to the sitter's every day. That is kind of expected since I went back, but it is also the longest time she has stayed in one day....8 hours! I had only left her at most 5 hours before.

*My dear husband went on a trip with some of his uncles to KY for the annual truck show. He went last year and had a great time! I didn't have the heart to tell him no when he asked to go this year. (Man, that sounds like I control his every move - nah, I don't - he always asks before he takes off somewhere) He comes back tonight!!!!!! Rebecca and I have been doing girlie things while daddy has been gone!!!

*My baby turned three months old on Thursday. Wow! I can't believe how time flies. She is such a joy to have here. I weighed her on our scale....she weighs 12.6lbs now! Almost doubled her birth weight. She laughs and giggles all the time. :)

This weekend's plan is to hang out here at home and get caught up!!!!

I made it!

The day is over. I made it. Not sure I would, but I did. I didn't cry, but Oh did I want to. I got up on time and even had 6 minutes to spare before I left this morning for my first day back at work since Dec 21st. I got to the sitter's house and was greeted with a smile. She didn't rush me away, but let me take my time saying goodbye for the day.

Got to school was greeted by a sea of "Welcome Back's". I put on that smile, but really didn't want to be there. It was my busy day of teaching....4 classes, all day. It made the day go by faster. Tomorrow will be easier.

I was so glad to get home this afternoon. I held my little girl almost all evening. It was great!

More later - I have to print out wedding music for a friend.

Only two more weeks...

I knew this day would come. It never hit me until I turned the calendar to see March. I go back to work on the 25th. UGH! I am looking forward to working with my students again and having a "schedule" during the day. However, I will miss the "freeness" (if that is a word) of my day with Rebecca. Doing what we feel like doing and the things that have to be done. Running errands when I feel like it instead of the evenings and weekends and being rushed to get it all done.

I never thought I would enjoy staying home with my children (well, only one at this point), but I really do enjoy it. It is all true, what they say about having children.....they change you completely!

Well - there is good news....when I go back to work, I only have to be back for about 10-11 weeks until summer. No teaching summer school for me this year! I think I can make it that long. I have enough to keep me busy from the very first day I return.

Here is an updated picture (at the top) of Miss Rebecca....growing like a weed!

Life is Good

Those are the words the pastor used to describe the life of my friend's father who past away. That was his motto in life because Jesus was Lord of his life. He was a true man of God. He believed that he could handle anything in his life because he had Jesus in his heart. He told the pastor in his last few days that the only thing he knew to do when he was diagnosed with cancer was to give it to the Lord. That is the way he lived his life.....he gave it ALL to the Lord.
That got me thinking....I need to give it all to the Lord...ALL OF IT. No matter what comes in my life....I need to give it all to the Lord and let Him take care of it all the time.
They also sang the well known song "Blessed Be The Name of the Lord". Here are the words.......

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

Andy, thank you for living your life the way you did! Life is even better for you now with Jesus!

My first trip......

I will be making my first trip alone with Rebecca tomorrow. I am excited but a little nervous to be driving in the car with her with Jason. We went to my parent's house for the day yesterday. I am on the alumni council for the college I attended. We meet twice a year in Roanoke, where my parents live.
While I was there, my very good friend, Amy, called my mom (because she couldn't get me) to tell us that he dad has passed away. He was suffering from stomach cancer. We knew it was coming, but didn't know when. He made it 10 months. However, we are sad, but rejoicing at the same time. Her dad was a strong Christian man and we know where he it today! As my friend's 5 year old daughter said, "He is in heaven singing with Jesus and eating good food!" Children are so precious.
SO - all that to say I will be returning to my parent's house in Roanoke to support my friend during this time of sadness. The funeral is Tuesday. I will be leaving tomorrow morning. Jason has to work so Rebecca and I will be going alone. It will be good to spend time with my parents but also good to give Jason some alone time that he hasn't had since Rebecca was born.
My inlaws are on their way up to visit with us. Well - they are really coming to visit with Rebecca! Jason went to get a new battery for my car, it is dying! Rebecca is sleeping in her car seat - fell asleep on the way home from church. And my cat Rascal is running around here somewhere. Me - I am going to fold the first batch of laundry for the day....5 to go!! hehehehe Anyone want to come do it for me?? ;)

We made it!

Wow - what a weekend! We survived our first out of town trip with Rebecca. And - I only forgot one thing - my bottle brush for her bottle and the pump bottles. I did pretty good I think!!

It was a busy weekend for my grandfather's 90th birthday party. I don't have pictures yet...I need to get my sister to send some to me. I had to pretty much hold Rebecca the whole party. There were so many people there. It was at my mom's house b/c you are NOT going to get my grandfather out of his "big man's chair" to go anywhere but the bathroom or the doctor's office. Both of which are a chore sometimes. My mom invited about 100 people....I think there were close to 70 there. Rebecca and I hung out in the other room and made our appearances every now and then. We had a lot of family and friends who had not seen her yet come to the party. Overall - she did great, but was definitely a momma's girl all weekend. Even daddy couldn't console her. She slept good at night considering she was in a completely different house and bed. I am a PROUD MOMMA today!

We also had our first family pictures taken yesterday. Mom had a photographer come to the house to take our family pictures. Last time we had this done was right before or right after J and I got married. Rebecca did great - we got some good pictures! I can't post them yet b/c they are copyrighted, but we have seen them. Once we get them I will scan them . I am going to have a hard time choosing which ones I want.

Today is hanging at home getting caught up day! I am on my third load of laundry. Rebecca is catching up on her naps on the couch. I also made her 2 month check up appointment for the 27th. Shot time!! :(

Oh - pictures at the top - my nephew, Landon with Rebecca :)

Going to look at more pictures...I have 144 to look through.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!! :)

Well - a day early. Jason and I will be celebrating our Valentine's day tonight. It is the only night I could get a baby sitter. WOW - that sounds weird to say - a baby sitter!! My neighbor, who happens to be an ER nurse, is keeping Rebecca. I hate leaving her, but I have nothing to worry about - she is in good hands! I am looking forward to a good evening with Jason. It will be our first "date" night since Rebecca was born.

It is nasty weather today. Icy and rain. Supposed to be all rain by this afternoon. YUCK! Guess Rebecca and I will be staying home today. My errands can wait until tomorrow.

That is all for now - time to go surf for hotel rooms for my friend. Her daughter has messed up her computer. Hope she gets it fixed soon.

My first Blog!

WOW - I am entering the world of blogging! Well - as much as I can. Being a new mom is very time consuming, but wonderful. I am enjoying my time off with my little girl, Rebecca, until the end of March. Then back to the grind.

We are, well I am, enjoying nights of at least 6 hours of sleep in a row now. My dear husband gets up at 3:30 in the morning to go to work so I get up with our daughter at night.

We will be traveling this weekend to my grandfather's 90th birthday! It will be our first trip with Rebecca. We are looking forward to it! I will post about it with pictures when we return.

This is very cool! I hope that I can keep it up!