A few thoughts on Prayer

I know many of you have been following the blog recently for the start of the chapters to my book. But, I wanted to share this with you...

A story about my own personal past with people saying, "I'm praying for you (or so in so)." I shared it tonight with a friend after he told me that he and his prayer group prayed for me and my family. "For what it's worth," he said. Here's what it's worth to me. 

When my mom was in the hospital dying of breast cancer, she got sick fast and we couldn't let people in the room anymore. At first it was her request for sleeping and then it was because of how sick she was. So people would sit in the lobby and pray for her and I would get so mad at them. Mostly because I knew they couldn't cure her. And it just pissed me off. Really deep down.

Over the course of the 22 days, over 100 friends said that they were praying for her; via Facebook, at the hospital and around memphis, probably even the globe. The night she died was easily the most peaceful and oddly beautiful night we had had. 

My sisters and I read to her and said our Havdallah and Hanukkah, it was the 4th night, prayers. And we all kissed her goodnight the way she would us. And each of us had some time with her. Geoff and I decided to go downstairs to the cardiac surgery waiting room where the hospital chairs turned into beds and get some sleep. We took baby Lissy with us and quickly went to sleep. 

And my mother drifted quietly away from us in her sleep that night.

The next morning, her best friend, who had stayed with us since it had started was sitting with me. And she looked at me and said, "wasn't that so gentle and peaceful?" And I agreed.

And she said, "you know. It takes a whole lot of prayer to make something so awful seem so peaceful." She had no idea when I was hugging those "prayer warriors", disingenuously thanking them and smiling at them; I had the nastiest thoughts going through my head towards those very kind, well meaning people. And from then on, I have had heartfelt absolute appreciate for anyone who ever said they were praying for anyone I even remotely thought maybe possibly might need help. 

So I assure you, your prayer or prayer list or prayer group, is worth a whole heck of a lot. At least to me.

For what it's worth. 

Making things and teaching...well, myself

Today was an interesting one. 

We just came back from fall break and I forgot to finish all of my planning for when we returned. (I was also late with my meal planning yesterday...)

So today I mapped out this week and then the rest of the 2nd quarter! I then proceeded to write the pretests, reviews, chapter tests, semester exam study guide and the semester exam! Then, I went through my files from last year and figured out what I would be yang again today. I also managed to photocopy the project instructions for this quarter. Not to mention, I got TONS of grades put in the computer! Whew! 

Know what we call this? Progress!!!

So this afternoon I met a mommy friend for a play date. Mostly to hide from my laundry, but also for our kids to play. 

See? 

Wouldn't you want to hide from that?!?

 While at the park, we commiserated over small babies, getting back into working out and trying to lose baby weight. I got some great feedback and shared some of my ideas for the blog. I'm thinking of sharing my breastfeeding tips, writing a workbook/planner of things to do for yourself/kiddo kind of like a book of yearly checklists, and (maybe) sharing some of my more personal tips regarding being married for 14+ years. Some days are great and some days well, they just aren't. 

I have found though that approaching parenting like teaching really helps. One piece of this, I discussed last week when I said that I had gone to the bank and was told to start by setting small goals. Well, guess what? I had a list of to-do's and one of them has already paid off!!

So, don't try and do all your laundry at the same time. But maybe set a goal for a load a day? What great tips do you have for managing it all? 

Some days

EToday the University of Memphis beat the University of Mississippi Rebels in football for the first time in a VERY long time. Our fair city hosted many new friends and the whole town was finally rooting for the tigers together without hardwood being involved. 

My oldest daughter, ran the Lebonhuer Pumpkin Run 5k and came in 3rd in the age group (even though she accident it aged herself up during registration!) and then went to finish swim practice! (For those with kids, this is a great race to go to and play while your family member(s) runs. They have a bounce house, face painting, snacks and music while the race is going on AND it supports our awesome Children's hospital.)

While Annie was at swim practice the little girls and I went to the park and played. We met some kind boys who helped the girls on the spinner, they both conquered the GIANT spider web, Dill pushed Georgia on the swings and both of them expressed clearly how tired they were getting from such an active day! 

Then we went home, made some baby gifts for our impending cousin, finished up a pair of pants for Georgia, got nails done, napped, played and did this...

For all my "togetherness" as a mom, I'm constantly pushed to up my game, stay on my toes and be reminded that I am human! Dilly has seen all of the Tiger blue around the city, she watched the game and saw kids with blue face paint, and then stumbled upon in our swim meet pouch that we keep in Annie's swim bag. Complete with sharpies. And guess who became an "awesome blue tiger"? Yup. And I have to admit, I was VERY impressed with the speed in which she did it! 

All in all, fall break has been a wonderful week. I've sewed, baked, cooked, organized, cleaned, played and snuggled with my family. It's my love language and I loved getting to "speak" it to my children. I hope we made some memories they'll cherish. 

Sometimes normal is just normal

I've noticed a lot of friends on Facebook and in day-to-day life ponder if their child's behavior is normal. (Maybe because sometimes our threenager's behavior is so awful we want to believe it must be a possession, complete with a need for a Linda Blair level exorcism?!) We all want to make sure we're doing the right thing, but also that our kid is, as the docs might say, WNL (within normal limits). Even after 5 kids, I still struggle with making sure everyone is ok, doing the right thing, and within normal limits. 

The same is true for marriage and relationships. But things are also a little different. Children grow, they change. In some ways, so does your marriage. Who you and your significant other were when you set out on this journey has, most certainly, for better or worse, changed. 

For example, when my husband and I met 15 years ago, I was 19 and he was 25. Both of us had not graduated from college, we had no children, all of our parents were still alive, etc. etc. over the course of our relationship, we have both grown and aged as people separate of our relationship and within our relationship, but so has the relationship. We have friends we've made as a couple, friends we had before our relationship, whom we now share and experiences we share that have changed our relationship, for good and for not so good. 

Ultimately, what I'm getting at is that after 5 kids and 15 years of marriage, what I know to be normal is a bit wild and crazy, but it seems to be normal for everyone. Teenagers will talk back, test boundaries, speak more for themselves, slam doors, help with more chores, develop their independence, smell bad, among other things. Smaller people will need to be reminded of boundaries, safety and appropriate coloring surfaces, convinced that it's ok to go to bed first, not watch EVERY SINGLE CARTOON EVERY MADE IN INE SITTING, and that sometimes we have to keep our shoes on. Marriages will be stressful, wonderful, easy, hard, emotional journeys. 

All of this is what makes life worth living. It's a great beautiful world and though my husband and children sometimes (often) help me have more stress in my life than I would alone, they make each day richer. 

So, if you're life feels like your constantly being pulled and you feel like it's a struggle. Please, hang in and hold on. You're not alone. We all feel it. Let your wall down and ask for help, or go to bed with a book and a sink of dishes. It may not seem like it right now, but you're worth the extra 5 minutes. 

I promise, you're doing great and I'm proud of you. 

A mural in downtown Memphis, with the right message. 

Tuesday equals second monday?

I don't know about you, but the start of school for 3 of my children and teaching takes a lot out of a person. There are days that I feel like I'm really on the ball and on top of things, and then there are days that I feel mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. Do you have those days?


Since losing my mom, I spend a lot of time feeling like something is missing in my life. And there is, it's my mom. That's not news. I don't know if that feeling is ever going to go away. Some people say that the pain of losing someone you love will not be as strong as time goes on, I'm not sure if that is true or not. While I can talk about my mom with friends, family, my students, even strangers, without getting all teared up, I don't miss her less. Maybe I'm more comfortable with the loss than when it first happened?

Right now, I'm having a hard time. Not only am I missing my mom and having some general morale issues with being a teacher, I'm actually and acutely jealous of my friends right now as a result of my life choices. Please do not think I am say I regret my children. That is not what I am saying. I am saying that I'm looking at my friends who have one or two children and I'm remembering the simpleness of that compared to where we are now and I'm missing the more simpler part of my life. I'm sad for my friends who are struggling to get pregnant. I truly do not understand why I can get pregnant so easily and they cannot. How is that fair? What is it about my family that makes it so that I lose so many people I love in such a short time, and have 5 children without much effort? Why do my friends get to watch their parents grow VERY old and I don't? Why do I get to have 5 kids and some of my friends can't have even one? How does that make sense? Some people say it's G-d's way, but that leaves me feeling lost. So, I'm not sure what the answer is and that frustrates me.

Some people read my blog or see me in person and think that I have it all together. Please believe me when I say, that I so don't. I work hard at a few things that are important to me and I make the required effort at the others. Organizing and planning are things that I enjoy doing. Checklists make me feel like I am in control of the situation I am in, even if I'm not. I do not have a clean house, but I have a clean classroom. My space is organized at school because it is more conducive to learning and a fast-paced environment. My home is slightly more chaotic because I do not have imminent domain. My kitchen, bathroom, laundry area, well, my whole house; is not immaculate, but my children are well fed, they have clean clothes, they are bathed and they are loved.

Is it perfect? No. 

Does it work for us? yes.

For now, let's celebrate each other's good things. I'm going to try to be grateful for my kids today. I'm going to try to look for a silver lining and work on cleaning my house this afternoon, since I carved out some time to do it. I'm going to share with a friend who isn't getting pregnant, how much I love her. Will I be able to fix it for either of us? Probably not, but I'm hoping a coffee and a hug will let her know I care about her. Hopefully, cleaning a room, with my checklist and hugging my friend will help us both.

Community Values

Today was a busy day. And it's not over yet!

It was the start of the fall swim season with a meet 30 minutes away. This pool is one I enjoy because they have a front "lawn" where my girls can run around while we wait for my oldest daughter's next event. It was rather chilly today, so we ended up moving inside the building. Still space to move, but not as much as we like to use. I got to have a great conversation with a mom friend who I have not been able to talk with in a while. Her kids swim on the same team as my daughter and I really appreciate her perspective on things. 

We came home for lunch, naps and getting ready to go to events #2 and #3. Event number 2 was the Homecoming Fall Festival and 5k at my high school. Each year this event gets better and better. More booths, more kids coming out, more teachers/administrators participating and (most importantly, I think) more alumni coming out! My swim team sold "This is Sparta" yard signs to raise money for going to state and lots of students and alumni friends came out and participated! (photos by the 3 year old!!)

Event number 3 was Annie running in the Zombie 5k. My cousin Greg is a runner and offered to help her train for the St. Jude Half Marathon in December. When she said she wanted to run in today's race, I knew I wouldn't be able to but she asked Greg and he seemed delighted to do it. They had a great time and she finished well! Beating her PR by 1mibute and smashing her goal time today by 5! 

A photo finish for sure!!

In the midst of all of this, we realized I forgot to buy Brauts for dinner tonite! So instead it was grilled cheeseBLTs and fries. Trust me when I say, they were amazing! 

It was great to sit around the table with my whole family and hear everyone talk about their experiences with everyone today. 

Tonite, I'm heading back to my school to serve my time as a dance chaperone. In hoping not to be there too late, but I'm excited for the dance to have returned! 

What's the point of all this? Community. 

We all want our kids to feel safe. We typically want them to ha e fun, make friends and enjoy life. But through it all we want them to grow in a community that is strong, diverse and encouraged and nurtured them to develop into their best self. Today's event have several different communities, but ones that I'm grateful to be a part of. Communities I'm proud to see my children be a part of. Today I watched my students play with my children and my students were all having a great time sharing great experiences. It may be one of the greatest gifts of being a teacher and a mom. I'm proud to support both of these communities. 

What are you proud of in your communities? How are you helping to nurture positive experiences for your kids? 

I am Jewish

Growing up, I wore my religion on my sleeve. I loved being different. I loved being asked questions about my religion and answering questions.

In high school, that changed. I was called names and made to feel that my differences were bad. I was ridiculed and bullied and administration couldn't stop it. Ultimately, I left my school for a semester to allow things to calm down. 

In college I went to a Jesuit college. The Brothers encouraged my attendance and participation and nurtured my curiosity in other faiths. I was accepted. When I moved to a bigger university setting, I still felt accepted. 

After college I worked for faith based and non-faith based companies. Now I work for a public school. We have a very diverse student population, but there is a strong division between church and state. I don't overly broadcast my Judaism, but I don't try to hide it. There are other teachers who are Jewish and they make sure that we are treated fairly for religious holidays and the like.

But we are in the midst of the Days of Awe, the High Holiday Days, and my Judaism feels more special. More like a gift.

Last week, we celebrated and commemorated Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On this day, Jews are called upon to recognize a lot about themselves; their brokenness, their position in this life, wrongs that they may have committed, and really take note of the person they are becoming.

Generally, in our faith, bringing someone to services is considered a mitzvah, a good deed. It is meant to be an invitation to share in our celebrations, not to be proselytizing, or trying to get someone to change religions. We don't usually bring "outsiders" to the High Holiday services. But, this year was different.

I have not attended or participated in High Holiday services since my mother, of blessed memory, passed away in 2011. I have been harboring some difficult feelings that I was not all-together ready to face. Frankly, I was pissed off at G-d, and frustrated with my "beautiful religion" as my friends would say and I was sick of hearing things like, "She's in a better place", or "it was her time" or, my least favorite and hardest to swallow, "It was G-d's will". Like hell it was.

So, this year, I asked my friend to come with me. She is someone I have a lot of respect for. She'll shoot you straight, tell you how she's feeling and she says no. That last one is one I'm hoping to learn from her. She will say no when she can't, won't or doesn't want to. I don't know how to do that well yet.

The service this year featured a sermon by our newest Rabbi. She shared, beautifully, how important it is to be vulnerable. To recognize our brokenness, our lack of always knowing and that sometimes it's totally fine to lay it all out there. Rabbi Wohlner is a little quirky in some really great ways. She has an insane amount of confidence, a beautiful voice for cannon and song and a great wit. But she's fiercely intelligent and very well positioned in the South, though I don't think she is a native.

this spoke to me

Her sermon, like most sermons I've heard lately it seems, spoke directly into my heart and soul. It sounded something like this... "Rachel, it's totally cool that you're livid at G-d. You have that right. It's awesome that you came to services and probably wise that you brought a friend to share the awesome parts and be there if the bad stuff gets too bad. Some days we all have great days, but it's those bad days that we push through and hold closer to our faith, whatever it is, that really define who we are. Can you recognize the bad day in someone else? Can you be responsive to that in a supportive and kind way? Are you ok with the idea that we are not all perfect?"

Members 10 years or less

So, I've decided that this is where I'll share my Judaism. There's lots of questions out there....so shoot. Ask me. I'll share my thoughts on our holidays, how my family is participating or give my personal commentary on my synagogue's sermon or activities that week and you can ask me anything you want to know. And if I don't know the answer, maybe I can get Rabbi Wohlner do guest blog at some point. She may be cool like that...

Let me tell you something...about a swim meet

Some of you may know I'm a swim mom. And some of you may now. 

This weekend I was reminded why I do all the things I do. 

Swim meets are notorious. They are notorious for being hot, long, somewhat boring, exhausting, exhilarating, quick, isolating, friendly and so many other things. 

When my daughter asked if she could bring her boyfriend to this particular meet, I was slightly hesitant. Not because I don't like the kid, he's great. 

I wasn't quite ready for that, but I'll be ok. I was hesitant because this meet has some pressure on it. It's called a "last chance" meet for our kiddos because it's their last chance to make the cuts they need before our regional championship meet. (It's a really big deal.)

But this weekend, my kid was surrounded by swimmers she has been training, loving and racing with for nearly 6 years. 

My children all played together and supported their sister, even the little girls yelled for their Annie. And I got to chat with some of the new members of our team and their delightful parents. Our team has some really interesting and delightful people. 

But the best part, and I do mean the best part; was one that didn't have anything to do with my family. It was this, my friend's daughter met and exceeded a goal. 

And I got to witness her special moment with her mom. These two women are delightful. But it's the moment right after this brief millisecond that is so wonderful and has stuck with me. That mom said the 4 most important words that parents can say to their child... "I'm proud of you." These words are so profound. It was a wonderful moment to bear witness to. (And I was thrilled to be able to capture it on camera for them.) 

After this picture, I got to watch my daughter swim and unfortunately not meet the goal she had set for herself, though she did meet a goal today for herself; and I repeated those words; "I'm proud of you". 

Let me tell you, that moment was profound. As it should have been. Her face lit up. As did my friend's daughter. It was wonderful. My heart lifted. I don't doubt her spirit soared. 

Share a moment with your own child today. And tell them how proud of them you are. Enjoy them. 

Rachel

A funny thing happened on the way to...life

Last week Annie's boyfriend came to my dad's River house with us. Yeah, let that sink in.

Annie. 

Annie my first born. 

Annie my sweet, wonderful, delightful child who can not possibly be turning 13 in just over a month and a half. 

That's the one. 

She looks like a grown up, right?

Anyway, this sweet kid got brought to my dad's house on the Tennessee River only 1 day after being picked up from summer camp. (Clearly his parents are pretty fab.) So, this sweet boy is sitting with us at dinner and we're all making happy conversation. And low and behold, this amazing kid antis up that his mom writes one of my favorite blogs!!! Have you been over to http://www.jennyslark.com yet?

Here it is. The menu of the first time I discovered Jenny's Lark. The first time I found her blog, I thought, "I love how she writes, but how the hell does she cool so much and plan everything out so sell?!?" 

And then I remembered that she only has 2 kids. I decided it was at least worth reading. 

Back then, I was pregnant with number 4 and still, licking my wounds from my mom dying. (Well, who are we kidding, I'm still licking those wounds.) I didn't have a good hold on reality. Maybe I still don't. Lol, who does?!?!

It's so funny to me that the world is so small that one of my favorite blogs is written by the mom of my daughter's favorite boy person (I refuse to say boyfriend). I guess that's part of the brilliance of how life works. 

Want to run?

Many of you know and some of you may not, but my dad is a prostate cancer survivor. Many of you also know, I do NOT call myself a runner.

Several years ago, my dad underwent surgery to remove the cancer and has remained cancer free since then.

Here in Memphis, there is a run coming up to support the research and work being done to cure this disease affecting millions of men each year.

If you are interested in participating, this year's run will start at the Botanic Gardens at 7:30am on April 27. You can register here. If you'd rather just give to the cause, the website found here, has lots of great information! The event is sponsored by the Conrad Pearson Clinic and is part of a national event.

Obviously, I think this is an important cause, if you do too, or you just want another half marathon in before summer, please join us!

In my running shoes!

Just some ramblings

Do you play the "do you remember what we were doing this time last year?" Game???

Geoff plays that game when we go on vacation.

The first day we're back, he'll say, "do you remember what we were doing this time yesterday?" 

The first week goes about that way.

Then randomly one month after the vacation, he'll say, "this time last month we were on the beach (or wherever we were)".

Well, the closer we get to my mother's , the anniversary of my mother's death, the anniversary of the worst day of my life, I can't help but feel like I am heading to an impending doom. It's so strange. I am literally dreading the day. I don't know why. It's not like seeing the date on the calendar is going to make it any worse or any better. She's not going to rise from the dead and haunt me like some awful ghost.

Ultimately, I think it's just the culmination of realizing that not only have I survived the first year, but I'm really not that worse off for the wear. It seems surreal to say, like I should be incapable of functioning or something. There was an episode of Criminal Minds with the kid from Malcolm in the Middle. His girlfriend gets killed in front of him and he goes totally spastic and kills the guy who killed his girlfriend and then he sleeps for days. When they find him, he's been listening to his girlfriend's voicemail on her cellphone over and over and over again so he can hear her voice. It's soooo sad. And I know EXACTLY how he feels.

My mother and I had just begun to become friends. We were sewing on sundays, she was talking with Geoff and the kids when she wanted to and they were calling her when they wanted to, she was picking the kids up and her students were doing murals at my kids' school. It was really the beginning of finally being able to appreciate all the things that my mom knew how to do and wanted to share with me and my kids.

What's the worst part of all of this? I feel completely and totally selfish for all of this. My mother was sick and in pain and somewhere in there, she didn't feel like she could physically do it anymore. I am and was truly blessed to have had such an incredible woman to call my mother. She taught me how to love, tie my shoes, paint a circle and draw a straight line. I'll never be half the artist that she was, but I will spend the rest of my life working to be half the mother and teacher that she was.

As we come to the end of the first year without her, all I can think is that I have to do the absolute the best that I can to give my children the best memories together that I possibly can.

I love her and I love the legacy that she has left me.

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween for us was a little bittersweet this year. In years past, my mom has been a big part of our Halloween night, seeing the kids in costume, having dinner, or some other fun event. This was our first Halloween without her and it certainly resonated.

Since I had class, the plan was originally that Geoff would take the kids over to a friends house and they would all go trick-or-treat together as a big group. However, that challenge presented new challenges and ultimately didn't happen.

I was really excited to take the kids trick-or-treating since it was MelissaJane's first year to actually be able to walk up to a door and do the whole thing herself. (She's got so much personality and is so cute, how could anyone resist the idea of seeing her!?!?!?)

So, we drove over to my parents' house where there were of course, two GrandPumpkins! Took the requisite pictures and off we went!

She totally got the hang of it! She loved carrying her hot pink pumpkin bucket, required both Annie and myself to hold her hand and loved waving bye to everyone at their doors. I promise it was the most adorable thing anyone saw that nite!

Something to celebrate!

It's always nice to be able to share good news!

We got the test results from Dilly's chromosome test...she does not have Trisomy 23, also known as, Down's Syndrome. We are so grateful for this small blessing, but it does still leave a few questions that will need to be answered. For now, we will be monitoring her with our doctor over the next few months and if necessary we will run the applicable tests...But for the moment, we get to have smooth sailing. (Remember, when you have kids, you just never know!)

 Annie goes today for her MRI of her foot to see if we can figure out what is going on with her foot. Think happy thoughts that this saga ends soon!

My soccer player!

My sweet son LOVES to play sports. Right now we are in the midst of fall soccer. (I know it's been a while since I talked sports on here, but let me confess that I am so glad that my son does not play competitive soccer or basketball or baseball right now! Yeesh.
But, he had a game this past Saturday and finally got a win!!!

Yeah!

He looks so cute out on the field and I can tell he is really trying hard to learn the game and get better at what he is doing...

No game this weekend, but I am sure he will be out in the back yard working hard to get even better!

(Did I mention it's really hard to take pictures of your own child at a soccer game?)

Happy Birthday Annie and Jonas!!!

I am a shameless, hopeless goofball....most anyone who knows me is well aware of this fact. If you were not already aware, now you are.

Well, Annie and Jonas were born about 3 weeks apart. When they were small, they got separate birthday parties that were all their own...now....now, we can do big and awesome joint birthday parties that are awesome and amazing and soooo much fun!!!

This year I left Geoff in charge of putting together the birthday party shenanigans...and let me tell you, when you say waterslide to a man, he thinks WATERSLIDE! and gets the biggest waterslide he can find.

We had a great day and saw plenty of friends and it was just a wonderful and fabulous day.

It's hard to believe these pictures are 6 years apart!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little people.

Lillian is 4 months old!!

 Happy 4 month Birthday, Lillian!!!

Time flies when  you're having fun! Or at least, that's what people say.

My sweet little Dilly baby is now a whopping 4 months old! I can't believe how quickly we have gone from having a teeny tiny baby to now having a little baby with a personality.

She had her 4 month appointment the other day. She got her shots, we attempted to give her the Rotovirus vaccine. The new vaccine delivery method is to have the kids drink it. Well, for my drooly baby that is easier said than done. But we did our best!

She weighed in at 14 pounds and 8 ounces and is now 26 inches long! My little baby is growing into a BIG baby! In a more stressful world, we have decided to do a chromosome test. There are some things going on that our Doctor wants to check out and we need to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep her safe and happy.

Times like this I miss my mom even more. Some to tell her about how quickly my baby is growing up and how sad I am that she isn't here and some to tell her how scared, worried and concerned I am about my baby and the world of the unknown. No matter what I know that she is watching over my sweet little family and loving us.

Happy Anniversary

It's now been officially 11 years since I married my husband. I don't know who is crazier, me or him for marrying me.

In the last 11 years, we have experienced the following craziness:

My mother's breast cancer, job changes (several), car changes (several), the birth of our first daughter, the birth of our first child, the insanity of 9/11, the death of Geoff's grandfather, lots of high school graduations, Geoff's brother's first child/daughter, Geoff's parents' divorce, the birth of our son, I finally graduate college, Geoff's brother's second child/daughter, people moving away, friends passing away, friends getting married, friends having baby, buying our first house, my first major car accident, I finally graduate college with my Bachelors, going through a crazy point in our marriage and nearly getting divorced, fertility issues, totaling my car on a deer, more fertility issues, my aunt passes away, graduating with my first Masters, my dad has cancer, even more fertility issues, being told we are not having any more children, first year teaching, surplussed...finding a new school, Geoff becomes a stay at home dad, We're having another baby?!?!, a new little girl!, surplussed...again, finding a new school....at WHITE STATION (my alma mater), graduating with my second Masters, accepted to the PhD program!, We're pregnant AGAIN!?!?!?, the passing of Geoff's grandmother, buying a new car, my mother has cancer, Geoff graduates!, the passing of my mother, mommy's funeral, the death of one of our pets, trip to Puerto Rico, loosing my contract, welcoming baby #4, new school!, the death of another pet, accepted to the Leadership PhD program, Lissy Jane goes to school!....and life just keeps going.

It seems like more when it's in a list, but at the same time it feels like it's not as much. I could never imagine all of these things happening in the last 11 years, but I know that I couldn't have survived it without my husband by my side. He is an incredible man and a wonderful husband and a a great father and daddy. I love that he is the man I am married to and I wouldn't change it for the world!

And, I'm back!

I've been gone for way too long! So much has changed since my last post.

1. I now work at Westside Achievement Middle School as part of the Achievement School District.

2. Anna and Jonas are back in school.

3. Annie is now learning to play the violin!

4. Jonas is in cub scouts! :)

5. Lissy started preschool!!! She goes to Buntyn Preschool and we love it! She is so happy and we are so pleased with the love and care that she gets on the two days a week she attends.

Hopefully, I can get back to being consistent with posting and keeping everyone up to date on all the awesomeness happening in our lives.

Thanks for stopping by!
Rachel