Home Sweet Home???

It's Friday again!  Yay!

Sitting at my desk eating my lunch and answering the phone when it rings.  Taking a late lunch today to go look at 2 more houses.  UGH!  We still have about 8 more days to wait before we find out if we "get" the house we put the offer on.  We did find out, however, that the doctor that put the other offer on that house..well..he put a CASH offer!  UGH!  But...like my friend Holly told me yesterday...no one is going to get our house.  God has it and is saving it for us for just the right time.  I believe that!

Taking a break this weekend to head up to WR to see my family.  We are going to the state Fair on Saturday!  I am SO excited!  We are taking both my kiddos and my 9 year old neice!  We figured she and Millie could ride rides together!  I'm trying not to have grand ideas in my mind of how I want this to go...I'm just going to roll with it!  My mom and Larry are coming too, so that should be fun.  (Minus the fact that my mom told me she may have to get a wheelchair) (long story)

Tucker has had a cold this week.  Of course that makes sleeping really hard when he cant suck on his passie and breathe at the same time.   Poor guy.  I went to Walmart at 7:00 this morning and got him a humidifier for tonight. 

I also picked up The Little Mermaid!!!  I am thrilled!  Millie loves Ariel, although she's never seen the movie.  We are going to have movie night tonight complete with blankets, pillows and popcorn.  That usually lasts about 15 min if we are lucky, but I'm hoping she will be up for the whole movie....I know I am!

I've gone from uber organized, on time, put together mommy to "Oh, it's show and tell day?" in all of ONE MONTH of Millie being in Preschool.  THANK GOD for Nana!  She is just on the ball...packs Millie's snack that I forgot and found something for show and tell that started with an F.  I must get it together!  At least I had the tuition check in her bag!

I will no longer be a temp employee starting Monday!  I will officially begin working for the city!!!  AND...I found out I will be making $2.20 more an hour than I was originally told!  PRAISE THE LORD!!!

I started Weight Watchers this week!  After going to the doctor last week, my eyes have been opened.  I'm feeling the motivation and determination WAY more than I have the last 300 times I've started and stopped dieting!  I'm down 9 pounds in my first week!  GO ME!

Well, I think that just about covers it all.  Peace and Love!

Until Next Time,
Sam

CA-RA-ZY!!

Happy Friday!

This has been one CA-RA-ZY week!  Seriously!

Monday, Clint left for Savannah for the week for a business trip.  I have been DREADING this week for quite a while because I knew I’d be in charge for 4 whole days/nights!  Thankfully it hasn’t been that bad and the kids have slept pretty good!  Oh, and we put an offer on a house we love!  We had to raise our offer due to finding out someone else put an offer down too.  We shall see!

Tuesday, we get a call from the lawyer’s office that is handling the closing on our house in Thomasville.  Well, basically they waited until the very last minute to get the papers to us to sign, notarize and overnight back to them.  It was a big ole mess because Clint was out of town.  And on Tuesday he was on a 15 passenger white van going on a farm tour, farm to farm to farm.  He was at a loss as to how he was going to get his stuff signed, notarized and over-nighted.  Thankfully people overheard the 435 phone calls he took and helped him out.  They stopped in Vidalia (The Onion Capital) and he was able to go to the courthouse and the post office.  Long story short…we closed on our house!  All the little details worked out and with a wire transfer of a chunk of money…SOLD!

Wednesday was normal.  I got to watch the new Nashville!  It is amazing that I now can stay up until 11:00!  Don’t have to be up as early with my new job and I just sit at a computer so I can be dead to the world for a little bit!

Thursday rocked my little world.  Well, God rocked my happy little Samantha world!  I had an 8:00 appointment for Worksmart which is through the hospital to get my drug screen and physical since I am a new hire with the City of Tifton.  WELL….looong story short…the doctor comes in and small talks for a bit.  He tells me about his 80 year old mother and his mentally challenged adult sister and the fact that he too is trying to find a house so he can move them from Alabama to Tifton so he can take care of them.  One thing led to another and we found out that HE IS THE OTHER OFFER on the house we put the offer on.  I’m not joking!  We were flabbergasted!  We even had a little church up in that doctor’s office.  God did that.  He did that for me.  For little ole Samantha!  I want that house so badly…In my mind, I KNOW it is perfect for us.  We are still waiting to hear if we got it or if we didn’t.  But now, after my experience yesterday, if we don’t get it, I will not be sad.  I will not be disappointed.  I will know that someone else needed it more.  I will put my head on the pillow and thank the Lord for my healthy children.  I love HIM!

See, I told you it was crazy!

Until next time,

Sam

Randomness

1-      Millie got her first order from Scholastic book clubs today.  She was THRILLED!  Made me happy to get to do that for her.  Well…to be honest…I didn’t.  Her Nana saw her looking through the order form and threw $40 on the kitchen table and said “order you some books baby!”  That she did.  My plan was to stick a few away for Christmas, but she got to them before I did.  Makes me smile!

2-      My sweet Tucker boy has a photo shoot on the 23^rd for his picture to be in a calendar.  It’s a fundraiser for newspapers in education so that is neat.  The only not neat thing is that the professional photographer that is doing the pictures called and said I have one time slot, one day and one place I can take your sons picture.  If you can’t be there, then he is out.  RUDE!  On a Monday at 12:30 in the afternoon, 20 miles away.  Clint is going to make it work.

3-      Almost…ALMOST fell in love with a 2400 sq ft house.  Realized it was in the Historic District of Tifton…which apparently comes with a lot of rules and regulations about what you can and cannot do to the house.  Fell out of love when I realized it was built in 1948.  That scares me!

4-      Our house closing has been changed to September 25^th.  UGH!  Just want to get out from under this house!

5-      Going home this weekend to visit my family.  My grandma is over the moon excited and cannot wait!  It has been a while!  My mom has officially retired from teaching due to all of her health problems.  Makes me sad.  I just hope she doesn’t  take it as an excuse to sit around all day. 

6-      Found out another pastor left from my old church/school.  I will say it again…I got out just in time!  There are other awesome people still there, and I know God has a purpose in them being there.  I’m just glad our purpose was to move on.

7-      I’m excited Xfactor is back on!

8-      In fact…all the good shows are coming back.  I keep asking Clint to sit down and make a schedule.  We don’t have DVR anymore, so I know it would help.

9-      I would love some pizza right now.

10-   Clint is covering football tonight.  I sure miss him when he is gone, but I know he loves to do that, so I just deal!  I need to pack anyway!

11-   13 minutes til I can go home! YAY!

12-   Need to contact my sister in Denver to see if she is okay with all that flooding.  Sad.

Until Next Time,

Sam

The House Hunting Begins

It’s Friday, Friday…….

I forgot how much I looked forward to Friday’s while I was home all summer.  Now that I am back to work…I totally get it!

Still working hard at learning all the ins and outs of the natural gas world.  My boss is admittedly off the charts, scatter-brained and CANNOT stay on task, so things are being learned at a slower pace.  It’s all good.

We are going to look at our very first house tonight to start the house hunt.  It is a nice home, only had one owner and has about 700 more square feet than our old house.  The main catch is that it has 4 bedrooms.  I am desperate for a playroom/office area, but we shall see.  My other preferences is a pantry…because our last house didn’t have one… and a laundry room rather than a laundry closet.

I know that “beggers can’t be choosers” so I am just thankful that we get to entertain the idea of buying another house.  I am thankful that all of our stuff is in storage, and that we have a place to stay until we can move in.  There shouldn’t be anything “hurrying” us like it happened the last time.  No apartment lease to be out of or stuff like that.  I know my in-laws are ready to reclaim their home as their own,  but they are the most patient and giving people I’ve ever known.  I can only hope I am half as awesome as they are when my children are grown.  They are the definition of “we will help in any way we can” type of people.  It also helps having really cute grandchildren for them! ;)

Millie went to her second day of preschool today and I am anxious to get home to her to see how that went. 

Last night, she was pitching a fit in the bathtub about washing her hair.  I told her that she was being unkind to mommy and that it wasn’t nice.  I asked her if I should tell her teachers that she was being a mean girl.  She absolutely straightened up!  It was kind of neat.  I’ve had parents tell me as the teacher that they have used that tactic, but I got to witness the power first-hand.  Kind of funny.

I know that every parent thinks their kids are the cutest/greatest/smartest in all the land.  I get it.  But my Millie is SO SMART!  Even Pre Preschool.  Her reasoning skills and thinking skills blow me away.  Yesterday, her Nana was on her way out the door to go to WalMart.  The night before, Millie’s Dora soap in the bathroom ran out.  On her own, clear as day, Millie asked her Nana “Nana, I need you to buy me some new Dora soap, mine’s all gone!”  I don’t know why that catches me as being so smart, but it just does.  I can’t take it!

Alrighty…..

Until Next Time,

Sam

Thursday

Happy Thursday!  I love Thursdays.  I always have!  You can feel the weekend and the excitement of that, but it isn’t SO close that it is practically gone.  Does that make sense? 

I am currently at my desk, eating tuna and crackers, “working” through my lunch break to make up the time that I missed yesterday from taking Millie to school and leaving early for a doctor’s appointment.

It is REALLY slow during the 12:00 lunch hour, so I am trying to pass time. 

Tucker is 6 MONTHS OLD today!  I am amazed at how fast that happened.  He is such a sweet sweet sweet boy!  His favorite thing in the whole world to do is sit on the front porch swing and look around.  He doesn’t need a thing with him either.  I, along with his Nana, am convinced that he says “Hey” to us.  It sure does sound like it!  He is an eating fool…well except for the whole bottle thing.  He really acts as if he cannot be bothered by a bottle…except at 2:30 a.m.  He is eating veggies AND fruit which I started a little early due to the fact that he acted as if I was abusing him by stopping at ½ a container of veggies.  Im not sure how long he will last on ½ veggies, ½ fruit, but we shall see.  He still doesn’t have any teeth, even though he is drooling like a mad man.  Very strange since Millie had 2 teeth at 4 months old.  I just know he’d love some puffs, but he has to have teeth for that!  We are taking him on Saturday to get his 6 month pictures taken.  I am excited to get some good shots since Millie’s 6 month pictures were my all time favorites!  I know, I know…stop comparing! J

I found out this morning that my Grandma has been diagnosed with Dementia.  I am not sure what all that entails and will be catching up with my mom this afternoon to get more details.  It really makes me sad.  Especially knowing the kind of woman she has been all her life.  I do love her so much and want nothing more than for her to be involved with my babies, but it isn’t looking like that is going to happen.  She is very paranoid and cannot handle loudness…which is hard to control with 2 little ones.

I am just praying that she is peaceful.  What a scary thing to have to deal with.

Well….I must run.  Picking up dinner tonight while Clint and Larry are picking up the VERY LAST load from Thomasville.  Things are happening!

Until Next Time,

Sam

First day of Preschool....Millie Kaye

Um.  Excuse me.  I just dropped my baby girl off for her first day of preschool. 

I’m not screaming and crying like I expected, but I did tear up just a bit.

Her teacher’s are sweet as pie and were there to greet her with big smiles.  She already is calling the kids in her class her friends, and she sat down by a girl named Natalie.  She was eyeballing mommy and daddy as we made our way out the door, ready to boo-hoo, but she held it together and ate the froot loops at her table.

She really wanted to read the books on the shelf.  Her teacher told her no.  I get it, I really do.

When I went in to wake her up this morning she asked where we were going.  I told her it was her first day of school.  She replied first with asking  where Tucker was going to go and that she was going to miss him.  Second she said…and my heart smiled…”I just want to sleep some more!”  Gave me a glimpse into the future for sure.

I made some cute little tags to put on bottles of lotion for her teachers.  They said “Here’s Hoping for a SMOOTH year.”  Millie put them on her teacher’s desk.  She unloaded her snack into her basket and her change of clothes (in case of a potty accident) too.  She hung her bag up.  Smiled by her cubby for her daddy.  Hugged mommy.  And that was that.

Unreal.

I’m at work.  Headed to the vending machine…I need chocolate.

Who, What, When, Where

Weekend: This weekend we had the opportunity to take a little trip to St. Simons Island for a wedding.  Clint grew up with the groom so we decided to make it a little family get away.  Clint’s parents, brother and his family and us went early Saturday morning.  We enjoyed lunch at a place called Iguana’s.  I had broiled shrimp that was to die for.  This place had free ice cream with all the fixins for dessert.  It was the neatest thing!  We checked in to our hotel and had about 2 hours to get rested and ready for the wedding.  Clint’s brother wasn’t going to the wedding so they offered to keep Millie and Tucker for us.  It was a nice little break.  The wedding was beautiful.  It was held in a small room at The King and Prince with the beach in the back ground.  The craziest part though was when they announced that the Bride and Groom had been married since March due to having to live together.  I felt a little duped, but it certainly wasn’t about me!  It was also pretty neat to see them ballroom dance together and surprise everyone with their skills.  The food was delish, but way WAY too fancy for me!  Sunday we took Millie to a big play area where she had a blast.  I believe she would have stayed there all day if she could have.  We had lunch at Outback to celebrate Papa T’s birthday and went to a little mall before making the trip back home.  It was a very enjoyable trip and made us look forward to our beach trip over labor day!

House: We got our very first offer on our house on Friday, August 2^nd.  We countered, they countered, we countered, they accepted!  Hallelujah!  They just had the inspection on the house yesterday and we just found out that there is nothing that they are requesting for us to do!  Another Hallelujah!  The next step is the appraisal!  Hoping and praying for continued smooth sailing!  Clint and my father-in-law are going Friday of this week to get the rest of our stuff out of there!  We had to rent another storage building to store it all in, but that is a small expense compared to a mortgage on a house that we aren’t living in!  Once everything is said and done, we will start the search for a house in Tifton.  We have a little more time to be picky…pantry, toy room, laundry room etc.  We shall see!  We are just so incredibly grateful!

Job: I started my new job with the City of Tifton about 2 weeks ago.  I am an assistant to the director of the Natural Gas department.  It is certainly not teaching, but it is really interesting.  I answer the phone, and do purchase orders, fill in information about pipe lines and do a lot of editing.  Sometimes it feels like grading papers.  It is nice to be able to go to the bathroom, have a snack at my desk, get my work done and even call home to check on my babies.  I even get to have lunch on a regular basis with my husband…who needs date night when you can have date lunch!  Haha!  I have no idea where this will take me, but I am content!  Millie and Tucker stay with their Nana and Papa everyday.  Another thing that I am just so thankful for! 

Millie:  Oh my sweet Millie!  She is so full of life and drama!  She has recently been having a hard time going to sleep without pitching a fit.  She wont let us turn on her night light because it “makes monsters on her walls”…the shadows.  We’d let her look at a book so she wouldn’t cry, but now she can’t even see a book!  She is so funny!  She starts preschool next Wednesday.  I can’t believe it!  She is going 3 days a week from 9-12, so it is very minimal, which I am thankful for, but I just know she is going to love it!  We also signed her up for dance classes.  We have her open house this Saturday.  We will be purchasing her dancewear that day too.   I’ve been told to bring my checkbook! Ha!  The things that I dreamed about are all right in front of me and I am so so very thankful!  I am so thankful the Lord saw fit to give me a little girl!  My heart could just burst!

Tucker: Tuckerboy, T-man, Tucky, Mommas baby!  Oh.my.soul. do I love that boy or what!  I had NO CLUE it would be like this!  I will do whatever that baby wants me to for the rest of my life! HAHA!  He is so so sweet!  He is nothing like his sister, whom he adores.  He is still not sleeping through the night.  He LOVES baby food.  He is irritated by having to drink a bottle.  I swear he’d chew food with no teeth right now.  He watches every bite we take.  He is scooting around army-style and is so ding-donging cute doing it.  He is getting up on all fours, rocking back and forth and then collapses.  I just love it!  He goes on the 29^th for his 6 month check up.  I cannot wait to see what we can do about the bottle issues and the non-sleeping issues.  Momma needs her sleep!

Life is good and we are blessed! 

Until next time,

Sam

"So, what do you do?"

This is the first time in a while that I have been asked this question.  I went to the eye doctor this morning. (Not a good appointment.  Something is wrong with my left cornea, so I have to go back Saturday after not wearing contacts for three days to see if it has healed itself. UGH!)  Anyway, as the doctor was writing things down, he asked me..."So, what do you do?"

And for the first time in 9 years, I had to pause before I answered. 

I rambled around and finally spit out that I start a new job, working for the city, tomorrow.

I've taught for 9 years.  It is all I've known for 9 years.  And, starting tomorrow, I have a whole new way of thinking to learn.  Like, not shoving my lunch down my throat since I get a whole hour.  Or, to get in my car in the middle of the day to run an errand isn't a weird thing.  Of course this list could go on, but I won't bore you.

I'll be honest, I'm kind of having an identity crisis.  I know for a FACT that it was time for me to be done at my last school.  I know for a FACT that God opened the doors for us to move where we have family.  I know we've done the right things and that we are where we are supposed to be.

However, I can't shake the whole "not-teaching" thing.  I am hoping once the shelves are cleared of the school supplies and once school is officially back in session, I will be over it.  Maybe I will be over it when I can walk in the door at 5:15, drop my stuff and hug my babies and not worry about grading this or writing that or reading this or calling that parent. 

I love being a teacher.  I really loved what went on in the classroom...all the rest of the nonsense, not so much, but actually teaching, I loved.  I hope one day to get back to it, but for now am anxiously anticipating what our new life looks like. 

So, from now on, when I am asked what I do, I will say it proudly and hold my head high. 

Stay tuned for details on my new job...

Until next time,
Sam

Millie Turns 3!

**I will back track another day.  I need to update on current stuff for now!

UPDATE: My grandparents are both home and doing okay.  My grandpa is doing a ton better now that his medication is all straightened out.  His doctor gave him permission to go back to normal activities.  That would be golfing three times a week and working around the house.  I talked to him yesterday and he sounded great!  My grandma is a whole different story!  My mom took her to the doctor yesterday and the doctor pretty much told my mom that my grandma is in the beginning stages of dementia.  This explains her paranoia, not eating, not leaving the house and repeating her self a million times.  It really makes me sad.  I just know the "normal" that I knew months ago, will never be the same.  We are going to have to continually adjust to a "new normal."  My grandpa will be her primary caretaker for now and we are just having to take it one day at a time.  She sounds normal when I talk to her, but you can tell something is a little off.  I am really thankful for the progress of my grandpa.  Two going down hill at the same time is going to really take a toll on my mom, as well as my sister and I.

MILLIE turned 3 last Saturday!  I know I will say this every single year of her life, but it is hard to believe that I have a 3 year old!  She woke up on her birthday morning, boldly announcing "It's my birthday today!"  We were non stop after that!  She came out and got lots of hugs and kisses and was ready for presents!  She opened some clothes, a cupcake set and a basketball goal from us.  THEN, she got a card from her Nana and Papa that told her to go outside to the carport...there it was...a pink Mini Cooper!  She was so excited and loves driving it!  She has some trouble steering, but it wont be long before she is driving to the mailbox to check the mail!

After presents she came in for a breakfast of a chocolate donut with 3 candles on top.  She blew and blew and blew, but couldn't quite get them.  I really didn't mind helping her!  She played with her new stuff and we all got ready for her party!  She had her party at Stevi B's pizza where we had our own private room.  A bunch of family came and we did all the normal birthday stuff!  She really likes the game room so to spend a lot of time in there with her cousins was a dream come true I'm sure!  She got quite a few fun toys that are presently strewn about in the living room.  She is one lucky little girl!

We came home for naps and a lot of toy fun!  We finished off the evening with breakfast for dinner!  She really had a great time and I did too!  It was by far the most laid back, stress free party we've had in her short 3 years!  I would certainly do it again!

My Millie is the sweetest little girl and I love her so stinkin much!  She welcomes us each morning with a sweet "good morning" and gives us hugs and kisses.  She is about 75% potty trained and I am convinced she will be good to go very soon.  She can count and sing her ABC's and recognizes most numbers and letters.  She amazes me with the words she knows and the things she says.  (Mom, I'm totally full!)  She loves her brother more than anything in this world and always wants to know where he is.  She loves to sing and her favorite song right now is "If you're happy and you know it" to which she says "Shout Purrrrray!" Instead of Hooray.  I will never correct her!  I had NO clue what a little girl would do to me, but I am SO THANKFUL for her life.  I am so thankful that the Lord saw fit to giver her to Clint and I while we walk this earth.  We are fully aware that she is truly His child and we are doing the best we can to show her Jesus every day!

Happy birthday to my favorite girl in the whole wide world!  Mommy loves you!

Until next time,
Sam

My Grandparents

My grandparents are some of the spunkiest people I know.  They have been around for most of my life.  They have been involved in many aspects of my life even when they didn't belong.  They have always loved me, even if their way of love hurt...badly.  There have been years of my life that my grandparents and I were not on speaking terms because I tried to stand up for myself.  Seriously, I could write a book on the trials I've been through with and because of them.  But on the flip side, I have so many great memories of my times with them.  I respect them and in some ways, look up to them. My grandpa is 81 and my grandma is 78. They have been married for 58 years and are each others best friends.

As of right now, my strong, retired Navy, golf-3-times-a-week, grandpa is in the hospital.  Over a year ago he got shingles and has been dealing with chronic pain from that for a while.  I guess he has really been struggling lately and has stopped eating.  Yesterday he fell twice and they took him to the ER.  He also has a UTI and is dealing with that.  They have told him if he doesn't start eating soon that he will have to have a feeding tube put in.  He doesn't want that so hopefully he will start eating!

What makes this a little crazier is the fact that my mom is the only person they have to help them.  And, she was diagnosed with Lukemia in February. (More about this later) she is weak and tired and sick.

My grandma is struggling with severe depression and anxiety and I know this recent situation with my grandpa isn't helping matters. It all makes me so sad.  I am an hour and a half away and am totally willing to head that way, but they all just keep telling me to stay put.  I will stay put for now, but I am praying for relief for all of them!

Thank you for your prayers!

Until next time,
Sam

January- A Change is coming!

It is so HOT!  Just had to get that off my chest!  Sheesh!  Currently, my 2 (almost 3) year old is laying on her bed with my Kindle watching a show.  I admittedly allow her to do that every single day at naptime only.  She lays down for 10 minutes and then I take it away and she goes to sleep...most of the time.  Otherwise it is a knock down drag out fight just to get her IN the bed, not to mention asleep.  I am picking my battles and 10 minutes of quiet, show time is so worth it to get her to go to naptime calmly.
My 4 month old is swinging in his swing, in need of a much needed nap.  He usually goes right to sleep but today he is in there cooing and babbling away!  Too cute!  I love it when Millie and Tucker take their naps at the same time!  It makes for a peaceful afternoon!

Okay, back to January!

January, we thought our only decision would be whether to make the trip to Denver, Colorado to see my sister get married.  I knew I would always regret it if I didn't try.  I was 8 months pregnant and had to get the go-ahead from my doctor, which thankfully I was granted.  We decided to take the trip.  3 plane tickets, 3 nights in a hotel and an enormous amount of food was to be purchased and the price was astounding.  BUT...money doesn't really matter when it is such a big event!  We did it by saving some Christmas money and knowing we'd have a tax return soon after.  Thankfully that is all paid off now, but boy was that scary!  I am SO SO glad we went!  Millie flew okay...about as okay as can be expected.  I did have to change a poopy diaper, thousands of miles in the air, in a teeny tiny airplane bathroom with my big huge baby belly.  That was an experience.  Millie did throw her very first ever public humiliation fit going through the Denver airport.  Poor thing was just exhausted and didn't know what she wanted.  I was crying right there with her.  Looking back, I don't know why we didn't just STOP and wait it out.  Ahhhh rookies!

Dani's wedding was beautiful.  She was gorgeous and everything happened as she wanted it to!  I read some verses in her wedding and didn't make it through without crying...I felt bad, but it was such an emotional time and remember, I was pregnant!  Millie was the CUTEST flower girl ever!  She did a great job for being 2 1/2 years old.  She really liked dancing and had everyone smiling and laughing.  She made her momma proud!

In November, Clint had an interview with the University of Georgia, Tifton Campus for a public relations position.  In my gut of guts, I knew he would get that job.  I knew our life was about to change.  I was so scared.  Well, he found out that he did not get the job.  I was okay with that, life would just keep rolling like normal, with the exception of adding one to our family in February.  Hah!

A few weeks after he was told no, he was called back and told that the people made a mistake and that they really wanted him.  Shocker!  We had a few days to decide what we were going to do.  We prayed about it and knew that God opened this door for us.  Clint had wanted to get out of the newspaper business for so long and had a hard time finding anything else...this was it.  Clint gave his two week notice and officially started February 1st.  We had to change up child care a ton due to Clint being Millie's primary caregiver, but our babysitter was wonderful and willing to work with us.  Clint's mom also stepped up and went above and beyond typical Nana duties and watched her a ton.  We put our house on the market...still is...really need that bad boy to sell.  I let my school know that I would finish up my contract, but as of June 7th would no longer teach and that was that. 

As scary as all of this was/is, Clint and I are positive that we made the right choice and we know and trust that God is going to work every single little detail out for our good.  He has done a perfect job of it so far and I know he will continue to.  Clint LOVES his job and has been praised so much already.  He works Mon-Fri 8-5.  No more NIGHTS and No more SATURDAYS!!!  What a blessing to get to be a "family."

Well, time to go take the Kindle away!

Until next time,
Sam

July-December 2012

July 2012- We started off this month finding out we were expecting our 2nd baby!  What great news!  We also celebrated our sweet Millie turning 2 years old!  She had a Minnie Mouse party and had a great time.  She really got into the unwrapping part and oooed and ahhhhed as if she knew just what to do.  We also got to meet my sister's boyfriend Andrew and spend some time with them since they were in town from Colorado.  We had a great time!  We celebrated Dani turning 25 with a bowling party and lots of friends and food!  We even took Andrew to Lane Packing which is the peach picking company!  It was really cool!

August 2012- I don't remember much about August other than HORRIBLE morning/noon/night sickness!  It was awful!  WAY worse than when I was pregnant with Millie.  I know I went back to work and started my 9th year of teaching too, but it was all kind of a fog due to being so sick.  Clint was still working at the paper and Millie was still going to Ms. Sara's in the afternoons.  Life was "normal" and manageable.  Oh yeah, my sister got engaged!  Planning a January wedding!

September 2012- I seemed to be over my sickness and starting to really enjoy my pregnancy.  I turned the big 3-0 with a fun fiesta party at a yummy Mexican restaurant- thanks to my awesome sister in law, Megan for getting that ball rolling!  My hubby did a great job too!

October 2012- Things got a little more interesting here.  We had the date set to find out if our baby was a boy or a girl.  It seemed that that was the only thing we were focused on.  Until one Saturday morning my love woke up with a pain in his side.  We googled and decide for him to head to the ER.  I didn't have anyone to watch Millie so I had to stay home and wait to hear from him...I was SO sad to know that he was doing that by himself!  I called his parents and they immediately came before really knowing what was going on.  Sure enough, his appendix had to be removed!  I stayed with him as much as I could.  He was a trooper!  We were so thankful we listened to our instincts.  A few days later I had my dr appointment to find out the sex of our baby...what an exciting day!  To this point we knew that if it was a boy, he would be named Tucker Nathaniel.  If it was a girl, we knew for sure the middle name would be Danielle, but were very unsettled on the first name.  If I had to pick a top 5 they would be: Mallory, Laney, Clara, Cora, Bailey.  But, as you know, it was a BOY!  We were SO SO thrilled!  Not sure if those girl names will be needed one day, but we were glad to lay that argument to rest!

November 2012- I'm sure there was Turkey involved.  I'm a little out of it when it comes to remembering November.....hum!

December 2012- The long awaited 2 weeks out of school!  My mom spent Christmas in the hospital due to some health problems so things were WAY not "Normal" but still somewhat enjoyable.  Millie was a doll on Christmas!  She got a big easel, some princess barbies and a slew of other stuff!  She is at such a fun age!

2 more months til baby comes...and at this point, that is the only thing "big" we thought would happen!  HAHAH!

Until Next Time,
Sam

No Excuses-One YEAR!

It is hard to believe that a year (almost) has passed since I last blogged!  SO much has happened in that year and I really don't want to forget it.  I plan to take some time during these hot summer days to get it all out there...the good, the bad and the ugly...about what has happened the last year of our lives!  I go back rather frequently and read my old posts on here and am so happy I blogged when I did!  I don't want to regret not blogging and having these memories stored up!  I am going to make a list of the blog topics to come...

1- July-December 2012
2- January-The month of decisions
3- Tucker's birth story
4- Maternity Leave
5- The "move"
6- Religion vs. Relationship- Goodbye Christian School
7- Realness

I am sure there will be more, but that gives me a skeleton to work with.

Until Next Time!
Sam