Happenings...

The past few weeks have been brimming with activity.

I took 6 credit hours so that I can be ready for an experience and educational increment raise in the fall!  Woohoo!  That sure will be exciting considering our pay has been frozen for 5 years due to budget cuts in our state.

I took an enormous leap of faith and finally opened up my TeachersPayTeachers store.I am excited, hopeful, nervous and scared all at the same.  I have been praying about what to do, and have taken some steps that are way out of my comfort zone, but I trust that Jesus will "have my back!" Even if I am able to help other teachers with just my free products, I'm okay with that.  Do I want to help offset the cost of school for Ema and Caleb?  Of course!  So selling the products would be such a blessing, too. But over the last couple of months, I am realizing that this will be a venue for me to be able to share what I've learned over the years with less experienced teachers that may be looking for ideas to use in their classrooms.  That would be an even bigger blessing.  Whatever God's plans are for the site, I am leaving them in His ever-so-capable hands.  I've had enough experiences in life to know that it really is not my job to question, but to sit back and watch what He does.  I have witnessed some pretty incredible things, and I am so grateful that He has opened my eyes and my heart to see them.

The kids and I took a trip to see Grandpa Buick and Cheryl.  They were fabulous hosts--as always.  

We love hanging out down there and relaxing with our family.  This time around we were able to see all of our family.  That was such a gift for me.  It's been a couple of years since I've seen my brothers and I was so glad to reconnect.

My eldest brother--Jaymes

My older brother Tom and our cousin Robin.

 Tom and I with Matthew and Emaleigh.  Joshua was at work and Caleb was golfing with Grandpa.
Oh how I miss his goofiness!

Oh my...the kids are sure growing up.  Caleb, Emaleigh, Matthew, Grandpa Buick, Dylan and Joshua

Matthew, Mika and Joshua

Aminta, Jaymes and Dylan

Here are a few highlights from the trip.

Caleb's view as we approached Tampa.

 Much of our time was spent riding in the cart, riding the bikes or hanging out at the pool. So relaxing.  Just what I needed to stop my school brain from continuing to work.

A trip to the Mote Marine Aquarium.

A selfie with the boys!

Craziest seahorse we've ever seen. Those "branches" are a part of its body.

 

Always fun to touch the stingrays!

Beach Days

Lunch at the absolute cutest hotdog stand I've ever been seen! And then some bowling with the kids. Lots of fun...

A day at the Ringling Brother's Circus museum.  An experience I will always remember with fondness.  Thanks Cheryl!

These three caught hold of this magnetic word display and decided to create the longest sentence ever!

 

The largest miniature circus I've ever seen.  Pretty awesome.  So many details to look at.  You could stay for days.  Unless you have two teenage boys with the attention span of two toddler boys!!

These two photobombing this little girl's photo!  (Accident, of course, but so funny!)

We went to a circus performance during out visit.  The ringmaster was just 16 years old, and one of the performers was Dolly Jacobs.  The daughter of Lou Jacobs, one of the most famous Ringling Brother's Clowns.

Caleb--hanging out in Lou Jacobs circus car.

Ema has always had a fascination for horses.  I wonder if she'll venture off and join the circus to ride them while standing up?!!

Our trip was fantastic, as always.  While we wish we lived closer and could spend more time together, these trips are very special.  The memories we make each time are held very close in our hearts.

Goodbye Florida Family.  We will miss you.  Until Next time!

So Much for Regular Posting

Several months back, I had every intention to begin regular postings again.  I guess life gets carried away and with the addition of instagram to my life, I find that I have not been true to my convictions of doing so.

Well, I'm not giving up.  I know how important it is to keep a log of my kids growing up, and I believe this is truly the simplist of ways to do it.  If only I wasn't so busy.  If only I wasn't so tired.  If only I didn't have to do such and such.  But, these are all just excuses.  I have to be more diligent in being consistent in my postings. 

Craig and I were talking just the other day of how quickly this time is going.  Over and over, we remind ourselves that we just need to take advantage of the moments we have left with the kids in the house.  Of course, we can't predict what the future will hold, but I gather that they won't want to live with us forever.  I know that they are on temporary loan to us and that we must let them venture off and fly.  And I'm okay with that.

For now, I plan to slow down, as much as I can, and be better about recording the little moments.

Like this one...

A few weeks ago our compassion child, Josselin, turned 16.  We celebrated her special day with a homemade double layer white cake with yummy chocolate frosting.  We lit her candles, sang happy birthday to her, and prayed for her physical, emotional and spritual health. Josslin has been in our lives for 4 years now.   Even though we've never had the opportunity to meet her in person, she is a part of our family. We've been so blessed to watch her grow up, just as we've watched Emaleigh and Caleb grow up.  We are so grateful God brought her to our lives.

Got Prayer?!

Have you ever had a moment where you felt like you were being led in a direction that you weren't anticipating?  Well as of late, I've been having that feeling.  This year has been somewhat of a transition for me, with my daughter starting high school and my son getting ready to turn 13.  In the back of my head, I keep hearing this voice that says "It's approaching quickly."  "Are you ready?"  I think to myself, of course I'm NOT ready!  How can any parent ever be ready to let go?  Well, of course, I will let go, but I have this suspicion that it's going to be a lot more difficult than I am willing to admit.  If I think about it too long, the sadness starts to well up in my heart and moves very quickly to my eyes.  

 The smiles that these two bring to my heart each day is such a gift.  Sometimes I just can't believe that I get to be their mom. 

I know that God's plan has always been to loan these people to their dad and I for a season, and that He will eventually take them back.  The reality of my having to return them to Him is really getting a little too close for comfort.  But I know that a whole lot of trust, and a whole slew of prayer will surely see me through.

How does this relate to a new adventure?  Well, with Ema being in high school, the thought of college is not too far behind.  Craig and I have worked very hard the past several years to become debt free (except for our home) and we've been feeling very passionate about helping our kids by offsetting some of their college costs.  It is simply crazy how much a college education costs.  How is it possible that it is more than $100,000 for BA from a state school?  Anyhoo...with my only working part-time it really isn't feasible for us to help out much. So, I've been contemplating going back to teaching full time.  However, there is another option that I am feeling called to.  Have you ever heard of Teachers Pay Teachers?  Well, in the past few months, I have had several things that have led me to believe that I should start selling some of the things I create to help out other teachers.  The crazy thing about this idea is that I would have the potential to earn some extra money to help the kids with their school costs.  I'm not sure if this is the route I am to take, but I am trusting and praying that God is sending me in this direction for a reason.  Am I scared?  Absolutely?  Am I willing to do the work?  Surely?  Am I excited?  Yes!  The best part is I am open to where ever He wants to lead me.  Whether it's back to the classroom full-time, or benefiting from selling my ideas to other teacher, I just want to do what God desires for me.  If you are reading this and you believe in the power of prayer, I would graciously accept your prayers on my behalf. 

In the next few weeks, I hope to have a new "sister" website up and going.  When I do, I will pass it along and if you know of any teachers, I would be be delighted for you to share it with them.

For now, I am just nervous excited about the changes that are in store for me and my family!

It's What Day?

March 6th, you say?

How is that possible?  It was just December 23rd.  I know it was.  Just look at my last post!  Oh for the love of Pete.  Time.  It's a crazy thing.  The older I get, the faster it moves.  Unless of course, I am anticipating something:

Like a ski trip with my favorite peeps.

It was a beautiful Saturday in January, so we headed to the mountains to enjoy the outdoors!

Or a mini vacation.

We took a quick trip to Lake Havasu to visit Grandma and Grandpa last month.

Or a date with my husband.

A date?  What's that?  Haven't had one of those in so long, since we've been too busy living our day to day life!

How come time moves so crazy slow when I am waiting for those things, and yet, the day to day business of being a wife, parenting our kids and teaching future generations to appreciate readin', writin' and math seems to whiz on by? 

God has a funny sense of humor like that, doesn't He? 

Well, I am looking forward to slowing things down a bit (hopefully) and carving out some time to do the things I love to do...like posting this ol' blog of ours!