Our Little Monkeys

Trojans and Eagles

2012-09-05T10:39:00.001-05:00

We're finally here! Summer's that have as much uncertainty as this one has sure are hard to recover from! We've made it to Troy home of the Trojans and for the most part we're unpacked. This house is much smaller than our Reform house, so we're having to be very creative about storage. We thought we had gotten rid of tons of stuff until we put it all in this house. There's nothing like moving every your to make you realize just how much stuff you have. Not only are we here, but our townhouse in Clanton is being rented which is a tremendous blessing! We think we have found a church here. The kids really seem to like it. They just started the contemporary service, so there is not an option for Sunday School yet, so it's hard to get "plugged in", but we're trying. Elizabeth seems to be doing well in school. She and Jonathan are at Goshen and are Eagles now! She brought home a pack of papers to be signed and it was all A's and a B. She was very upset about the B, but I told her that the B wasn't going on her report card. It would be mixed with tons of other grades so that will help her. She wants to make all A's and gets stressed when she doesn't. She's only in the second grade, so we've got a long road a head of us. I started my first teaching job! I'm teaching a 3 year old and 4 year old class right here at home with Sarah and Cole. We have good days and bad days. I'm spending a lot more time with my kids than we did before we started school, but it can be rough. Both children are extremely stubborn. It's very difficult to work with your own children when they are so moody! We're working through it though. Today is day 3 and Cole is showing signs of improvement. I think the structure of our day is really good for him when he isn't trying to resist it, that is. We've worked on the letters A, B and C, the numbers 1 and 2, and circles. We do songs in the morning and then move on to work. Sometimes they enjoy the work and sometimes they don't. I try to mix in color sheets that go with what we're working on too so they have fun things to do while they work. We've used the computer and apps on our kindle a lot to keep them interested. Jonathan seems to be doing well. Football is going too, but not so well. School is going too, but it's just school. I think we're doing ok here in Troy. I wish there was a way for me to meet more people, but it's hard for moms that stay at home to meet people. I'm working on it though.

Pouring out my heart

2012-07-27T23:45:00.001-05:00

Warning: This may be incredibly long, but I have to get it out... I have always known that God has a plan for me. In high school I knew where I wanted to go to college. I was told I had to get the tuition down to what my parents would pay at a state school and somehow I managed to do it. I met my husband there and while I don't use my degree (religion and psychology) I know why I was there. Before we got married my husband got a job at Cascade High School near Shelbyville. I was there that we met some awesome kids (that are no longer kids) and parents that we still see today. They were our kids and we have gone to graduations and weddings (unless they were in Iceland) because we truly loved those kids. After 3 years there my husband was pink slipped and we moved into the back of a market for a few months. The market was owned by some friends of ours and they allowed us to live in the apartment rent free. That's where we took Elizabeth home from the hospital. The next school year I kept my job as a special ed teacher's aide, but my husband could not find a job, so we moved in with my parents (all 3 of us) and lived there for 9 months. We moved from there to Auburn for a year and from there to Cullman. God lead us every step of the way. While we were in Cullman we had Sarah and met some very wonderful friends. From there we moved to Clanton and we were blessed there too. We met some amazing people and were a part of the lives of some very special kids. Clanton will always hold a special place in our hearts. We had Cole while we were there. When he was almost 2 months old we almost lost him. He was very sick and before he was admitted to Children's in Birmingham he was lifeless. He was so dehydrated that neonatal nurses had a hard time with his IV and he could not even cry. There were no tears instead he made the strangest sound. It's amazing he's still alive! He was severely dehydrated from pyloric stenosis and had surgery to fix the problem the next day. If if hadn't been for his pediatrician sending us for an ultrasound that day Cole might not be here. God brought us through that and it wasn't until after the situation was over that I realized how severe it had been. From Clanton we moved to Reform and while we were only there for a year it was a great place and we met awesome people. We had some very special experiences there like winning a state championship. We were also luck to be blessed by a good school nurse when Elizabeth was going through so much trouble with her eye. Again we were always right where we needed to be at just the right time. This summer has been more difficult. Jonathan was pink slipped the day after all the other pink slips were given out (we thought we were safe after that day). A few days later our renter in our townhouse in Clanton had to move out. Maybe we should have moved to Clanton right after school, but I was convinced that God would take care of us just like he always has. We thought we had it take care of, but it didn't work out until right after we had made plans to move to Clanton and my husband drive back and forth to Troy (an hour and a half one way) we rented our townhouse. Today we went to Troy and found a house. We signed a lease and set up for utilities to be turned on. We are moving on Thursday, but on the way home we get a call and find out that the townhouse is not taken care of. I will be completely honest with you...this afternoon I have really struggled. We've been through a lot this summer and this was the LAST thing we expected to have to go through. I know that God has a plan for us and has sent us to Troy and Goshen High School for a reason. I also know that it will work out. It always does. Although we're tired of the roller coaster we know who is controlling it and we know we'll be able to get off soon. Please keep us in your prayers as we move on to Troy and continue to find someone wonderful for our townhouse in Clanton!

Adventures in Parenting (The things no one warned you about)

2012-06-10T19:11:00.000-05:00

For the summer we had a goal for each child that we wanted to accomplish (or have them accomplish)by the end of the summer. By the end of summer we want..... Elizabeth to tie her shoes. Sarah to stop sucking her thumb. Cole to be potty trained. When we set these goals I don't think we imagined they would be so hard to accomplish. I'll start with Cole. He is doing a super job of going to the potty! I am pleasantly surprised with how well he is doing. We promised him that he could go to a baseball game with his daddy if he did really good, so this week they are going to a game (if it isn't rained out). Hopefully next week we will be confident enough in progress that we will be able to put him in undies. You may ask why this excites me like it does, well I will tell you. Elizabeth will be 7 in a few weeks. She was still in diapers when Sarah was born, and Sarah was still in diapers when Cole was born, so we've been doing diapers for 7 years! Elizabeth claims that she knows how to tie her shoes, but it never works out right. She says it's not her fault. I am not convinced. You see, she's the child that did not start walking until she knew her balance was just right (13 months). She's a perfectionist that makes straight A's and gets upset when she makes less than a 100. She says she doesn't want to play sports because she doesn't want to loose. It is my opinion that she does not want to try to tie her shoes because she doesn't want to get upset with herself when she doesn't do it exactly right. Anytime we practice tying shoes she gets upset and it doesn't matter who does it with her. This perfectionist thing does NOT come from me. I'm pretty sure it's not from her father either. It's one of those things that can be a stumbling block because she doesn't want to do anything she's afraid she won't be good at. Sarah is my stubborn, sweet, but sneaky middle child. We bought her a thumb guard because it was recommended by her dentist. The kit came with 2 guards and 60 bracelets in different colors. She was excited about it because like her sister if they do well they will get to go to the movies and that excites them. She wore it with pride and never fussed about it the first day. We put her to bed and she was worried she wouldn't be able to go to sleep. I went to check on her and she finally fell asleep sucking the other thumb. :( I was beginning to think we wouldn't be able to break this habit. The next night we used both thumb guards and she told her sister she couldn't sleep and slept in the bed with her (I will add that she also we her sister's bed. It was a LONG night). That night I had to pull her fingers out of her mouth! :( She's been doing better. Her sister helps watch her at night and one day we even forgot to take her thumb guard off her right hand (She only wears that one at night. She wears the other one all day.) She never fussed and once we notices (which wasn't until lunch) we cut them both off because they were wet inside. Here's the part no one ever told us about. No one tells you when you think about having children how hard it can be to potty train a child or how expensive it is to do diapers for 7 years! No one ever told me how hard it would be to teach my perfectionist how to tie her shoes. AND No one ever told me how hard it would be to get my Sarah to stop sucking her thumb (or thumbkin as she calls it), so I thought I would take the time to let those of you who don't have a almost 7 year old, a 4 year old and a 3 year old in so you would be informed. Now you know!

New Adventures

2012-05-16T09:16:00.000-05:00

It's been so incredible long since I have updated because I was so busy with student teaching, doing homework, and taking care of my hubby, kids, and home. I'll be honest...I did forget about the house most days just to spend time with the kids. I am finished with my student teaching now and officially have my Masters in Special Education. I am working on my certification and am looking for a job for the fall. Jonathan's basketball team won the state championship and he should be getting his huge ring sometime in the next month or so. We should find out next week if he will be able to work at PCHS next year. Elizabeth is finishing up first grade. In spite of her problems with her eye she has managed to make straight A's! She's such a smart cookie! Her eye is much better. She has been infection free for two months or more! It's so hard to believe that she will be in second grade in the fall! She is becoming such a smart, beautiful girl. Sarah Grace has learned so much this year. She can spell almost all of her color words and can write her first name. Honestly, I think she would be ready for kindergarten, but her birthday is too late, so she has another year before she can do that. She tells me she learned how to be smart from her sister. She's just as amazing as her sister and just as beautiful! Cole, well as his teachers say he's just Cole. He never stops. He can be outside for just a few minutes playing and his hair is stuck to his head with sweat. He has learned so much in school and he's only been there since just before Christmas. He knows the days of the week and can count to 20 sometimes higher without messing up. He's absolutely wild, but when he looks at you with those big brown eyes it makes it hard to get on to him. Despite the fact that he gets intro trouble, he's just so stinking cute! I guess that's about it. We're good. Kinda in limbo at the moment because we don't know about the job situation, but we're good.

Heaven

2012-05-16T08:06:00.000-05:00

I have just read what I believe is the most wonderful book ever. If you have ever wondered if heaven is real you absolutely MUST read it! It's called Heaven Is For Real and it's by Todd Burpo. It tells the story of his three year old son's trip to heaven and it is intertwined with scripture that backs up what the little boy says he saw while he was there. It is absolutely incredible and exactly the kind of book I love to read as a girl who majored in religion for my bachelors. It did get me thinking though. My own son was very sick when he was just a few weeks old. It was to the point where he didn't move or cry. There were no wet or dirty diapers and all he did was breathe. You couldn't make him cry if you wanted to. He was just there. It made me wonder if while he was so sick and we were so scared of losing him was he sitting in the lap of my Savior who was showing him things that I may not see for a very long time. Now, if you know Cole you know he if my little wild man. He is full of life and never stops moving. He wiggles in his sleep. He can drive me bananas, but he can also be so sweet that he makes you melt. Reading that book just made me wonder if while we were rushing around between Birmingham and Clanton was my Jesus holding my son in his lap and showing him the wonder that is heaven. Did he meet my Great Grandma Ruby, my Mammaw or any of my other great grandparents? Did he see angels or even the face of God? I may never know that, but after reading this book I am almost certain that he did!

Jeepers, Creepers Elizabeth's peepers!

2012-02-04T10:28:00.001-06:00

Over Christmas break my mom was reading with Elizabeth and noticed that her vision was much better in one eye than it was in the other and suggested we have it looked at. We did and found out that she had some scaring on her cornea. It has effected her vision in her left eye tremendously and we have been seeing a cornea specialist on a regular basis since then. Last week we had a bit of a set back. She had an ulcer come up on her eye. It must have been extremely painful because she didn't open that eye for DAYS! She had to go to Birmingham to see the specialist 4 days last week. She got to go spend the weekend with Grammy and Peepaw and her vision was much better on Monday when she went back. It's been a long journey and we're thankful for those who have helped us out. I never dreamed that so many health issues would come up when I started student teaching and could no longer be home every day. After all that last week and her missing school Tuesday of last week through Monday of this week, we get to school yesterday and she throws up all over the van! She stayed with me until her Daddy could come and get her. He's been so helpful since I can't take off very much. So thankful for my helpful family and the concern that Sarah and Cole showed for her while her eye was hurting so bad. While she was at Grammy and Peepaw's they both cried for her. They love her very much although they do not always show it. They were so happy to see her come home and we were very relieved to know that her vision went from 20/400 at one point last week to 20/60. She was supposed to see the cornea specialist again yesterday. That didn't happen, but we have a standing deal for when she goes back on Monday. If when she goes back her vision is 20/20, WE'RE GOING OUT FOR ICE CREAM! It was her goal. I was shooting for 20/40. We'll just have to see what happens on Monday!

The little old lady that lives down the hill

2011-12-12T12:30:00.001-06:00

There is a little old lady that lives down the hill from us. She has the cutest little dog that she walks every time we drive by her house or so it seems. Normally when we drive by she points her cane at her dog like she is threatening to shoot the poor thing if it moves before the car goes by. I've always smiled and waved at her. Usually I get a dirty look back, but today was different. I smiled and waved, and.......she smiled and waved back! Maybe it's the Christmas spirit or maybe she's finally used to this little family driving by and waving that she decided to return the favor for once. Today she made me smile!

Cole goes to school!

2011-12-12T12:26:00.001-06:00

Last Friday was Cole's first day of school. Since it was Friday I picked him and Sarah up after lunch as is my normal routine. He's quite the character. He refused to let me take his picture as is our first day of school custom. I did get some pictures after school, but they were more action shots than then were pictures because I was literally chasing him all over the place. He didn't cry, and seemed to have a good time Friday. All I could get out of him though was that he ate lunch at school. Today he rides the bus, so maybe I can get a little more out of him. I would also like to report that mom has been managing these drop offs tear-free! I may not be very productive while they are gone, but emotionally I am doing well with everyone being gone.

The tooth story!

2011-12-12T12:22:00.001-06:00

I've been holding on to this story for about a week, but I have to share it! All the teeth Elizabeth has lost have been loose since before we moved to Reform! About a week ago we noticed that they were just barely hanging on. I cannot pull teeth. I am too afraid I will hurt her, so her Daddy decided he would be the man for the job. I had the job of hand holder while she screamed. After talking with her last night we decided that the fear of the pain was much worse than the actual pain. Anyway, he pulled on tooth one night and another on the next night and last night he pulled on on the bottom. She is now missing her front teeth. Her bottom two below those are in, but their neighbors on each side are gone too. I'm not kidding when I tell you that you can already see the teeth that are coming in! She still insists that we could have waited a while, but we were seriously worried that she would swallow them! The second front tooth is the one with the story. Daddy was wiggling it and she was screaming. I was holding her hands. She wiggles and Daddy throws her up and says, "Don't swallow!". When she wiggled his finger bumped the tooth slightly and it came out. It's a good thing she didn't swallow it. I don't think the Tooth Fairy comes if the tooth is swallowed.

Another year

2011-10-30T17:49:00.000-05:00

You guessed it...another year has passes. My sweet Sarah Grace is now 4 and my Coley Bear is 3! It's hard to believe they are this big already. It seems like yesterday (well, it would be 2 different yesterdays) that they were born. They are so big! Sarah is going to Head Start. She loves her teacher and her friends, but HATES naps. She hates them with a passion. She is very smart. Her teachers told me that she was the star student one day because she was the only one in the class that could spell their spelling words (red and blue). She can also recognize and spell her first name. She can write the number one and draw circles. She's 4 going on 14. She can be quite sassy, but is usually very sweet. Coley Bear is still home with me. We are waiting to see if Head Start has a place for him now that he's 3. We're hoping we can get him in soon. He LOVES to go to football practice with his Daddy. The "football babies" are his heroes! He loves football games too. He calls them "putball" games. He loves to ride his tricycle and shoot basketball. He is talking so much more and it is getting to be so much easier to understand him. I always worry about sending my kids to school before you can really understand them, but they always get better just before they turn 3. Elizabeth is doing well too in case you were wondering. She was the student of the week for first grade last week and got to have ice cream with her principal. She was so excited that she talked about it for days. She reads all the time. She is so smart! Regular season for football is over, so now we're doing play offs for state stuff. I am half way done with my last Master's class. I have 4 weeks left, and I should student teach in January. We might actually have 2 incomes next fall. That will be a first since we've had kids!

Going Home

2011-10-10T11:14:00.000-05:00

We spent the weekend in Clanton, and it was just like going home. We saw all the girls' old teachers,and got to see all their best friends. We went to the Pumpkin Patch, and got to go to our old church. We had a BLAST, but were so tired!

Spiritual Drought

2011-09-28T09:53:00.000-05:00

I have decided to be completely honest with myself and in turn with others. I have been faking it till I make it for far to long now. I'm not sure when it began, but at some point I thought I could do it all on my own. FAIL! I am an over worked, under paid, mom of three that is also a Master's student. Life is not always easy especially when you have 5 people and one income. For some reason I have thought I could handle it all on my own, but I feel like I'm running on E. I almost think it took moving for me to realize that I can't just get by from what I get on Sunday mornings at church. At our last church things were a little different and you could feel the Spirit during worship. Maybe it's me, but I'm not getting that here, so starting today I'm doing more on my own in order to get that back. I miss the closeness I once had with the Lord, and I'm not going to fake it anymore.

NO TEARS!!!

2011-09-19T14:07:00.002-05:00

Last week was a bit traumatic for both my Sarah and myself. She started riding the bus to Head Start last week. The first day she was excited. The second day she cried. She cried four days last week when it was time to watch for the bus, and I don't mean sniffles. This was an all out DON'T MAKE ME GO TO SCHOOL cry. I told the bus driver Friday that I was going to try taking her to school and let her ride the bus home afterwards. We did that today and although she didn't want to go because she doesn't like nap time she agreed when I told her that she had to at least go turn in her homework she had worked so hard on. She was ok with that, so as we were waling in I asked her if she would want to play with her friends for a while and she said yes! She went right to her teachers and I stayed to help for a while. She is so smart! She answered all the teachers' questions. So proud of my girl! In other news I know some of you have wondered about Cole. He has made a miraculous recovery. He goes back in a few weeks, but if you look at him now you would never know that just over a week ago he had hernia surgery. He's amazing too!

My Sweet, Sweet Sarah

2011-09-15T08:31:00.000-05:00

So I posted about being the Mom of the Year the other day because I sent my Sweet Sarah to school crying when she had a fever. Today she was crying again. It seriously breaks my heart. I'm not sure why she is not liking school, but I hate it for her. She LOVED preschool last year. Things are different here though. She rides a bus to school and home. She goes from 8-2 instead of 8-12, and she has to lay down for a little while. She also goes 5 days a week instead of just 2. I don't know what it is that is causing her to not like school, but it's killing me. I hold it together until I get in the house (can't let her see me cry), but it truly breaks my heart! Any ideas on how to help her?

SNAKES!

2011-09-14T13:32:00.001-05:00

We are currently renting the house we live in. When we moved in the house had an AC, but it didn't work, so there were 2 window units we used. In less than a week the AC unit in the house was replaced, but the transformer on it didn't work, so we have to turn the air on and off from the breaker box which is in the office. The office is another story....The foundation of the house shifted at some point, and the office is messed up. There are holes and cracks in the wall. I'm assuming that one of the holes in the wall was just big enough for a snake. Yesterday I went in the office to turn the air on and I saw a snake skin in the floor. Being the girl that I am.....I FREAKED OUT! I called my husband and told him that the AC and the office had to be fixed ASAP because I wasn't going in there anymore! I like wildlife as much as the next person, but the fact that wildlife came in my home makes me feel violated!

Mom of the Year

2011-09-13T12:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a good day. Sarah started Head Start last week and yesterday the bus came to pick her up and she was SO excited. Today....not so much. Every day since school started she's done the same thing her sister's done. ("My head hurts. My tummy hurts. I don't want to go to school.") They don't like to wake up early and go somewhere. They don't mind waking up before 6 on Saturday or Sunday though. I know....it doesn't make sense to me either. Anyway, Sarah cried this morning and said she did NOT want to go to school. I thought she needed to go. I don't want to let her think that every time she cries, I'll let her stay home. I carried my little crying child to the bus and kissed her this and told her bye. Fast forward to around 11:30. I get a call from one of her teachers. She has a temperature of 101. Yep, that's me. The mother of the year.

Precious Angels

2011-08-18T07:56:00.002-05:00

Lately the kids have been angels, and by angels I mean almost completely the opposite of an angel. It has been quite rough. Anyway, we were in the van after taking Elizabeth to school and Cole and Sarah were singing David Crowder's version of "Never Let Go". There were so sweet. Just like the little angels I see glimpses of from time to time.
There is something that I absolutely LOVE about this house. Every night before I go to bed I check on each one of them and I watch them sleep for a while. They look the most angelic then and so peaceful. It's my favorite time of day, and not just because it's the ONLY time the house is quiet, but because watching them while they sleep reminds me of how precious they can be (when they want to, of course!).

First Grade

2011-08-11T09:26:00.004-05:00

Elizabeth's first day of first grade was a success. She already has a "best friend" although she does not yet know her name. I told her we should work on that today. She said she would. She also told us that she has a boyfriend, but that she hasn't told him he's her boyfriend yet. She told me that she loves her teacher and thinks she is very nice. She really seemed to have a good time. I am SOOOOOOO relieved because I have prayed for her to find friends and love her new school. I'm so glad she does even though she doesn't like to get up in the mornings.

Adventures in House Hunting.....Shedd style!

2011-07-18T09:36:00.002-05:00

Jonathan and I spent a day in Reform house hunting. We went through all our normal channels in order to find a place to live. We stopped by apartment complexes, got a newspaper, and a shopper's guide and came up completely empty! We were upset and didn't know where to turn. We came home and that's when the phone calls started coming in.

We were getting phone calls from Booster Club members and other people in the community who were on the prowl for the perfect house for these five Shedd's. We got a call from a coach who said he had found a house for us to come see. We went the very next day, and the owner of the house had an emergency in Birmingham and couldn't get to Reform with the key that day. Four hours in the car....wasted. We were getting really frustrated, but we made plans to come back in a few days and try again.

Our next attempt was more successful except for the part where we got there around 10 and couldn't see that house until around 6. The coach did have another house for us to see, so we went to that house. It had holes in the walls and the ceiling and there was pink insulation on the floor. Sarah called this the soft house and she loved it because it was soft and pink. I, on the other hand, was not to impressed. The houses around it kinda scared me and there were bad words written on the sliding glass doors leading to the back yard. Not my number one choice obviously.

We killed time with the kids for what seemed like forever. We went to City Hall and talked with a lady there that had called us. She gave us a few more leads, and we called about one. The lady I talked to was selling her house, but it had been on the market for over a year. He husband had been the former principal at the school Jonathan will be at next year. She told me that the school was closing and that there was no way they would do a lease to own deal with us on their house.....it was like getting a phone call that the world was going to end. After calling our coach friend back and talking with the lady at City Hall we were reassured that the school had it in writing that the school would not close for at least 3 years.

I was still not convinced and was thinking about the worst....me here in Clanton with the kids while Jonathan lived in Peewee's hotel in Reform during the week. Not quite what we were hoping for, but we toured the elementary school with Elizabeth anyway.

Finally the time comes to see the house we'd tried to see before. Although the carpet needs to be replaced and the walls need some paint it has everything that I had wanted in a house. It's on the end of a dead end road, so there shouldn't be anyone out there. It had a huge front porch with a swing, a car port big enough for 2 cars, and a big back deck. Inside it had a long living room, a real laundry room (as opposed to the laundry closet we have now). It had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and an office. Although it had a few issues we were excited about the possibilities. We let them know we were interested and that's when our adventure began.....

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Fast Paced

2011-05-23T09:49:00.002-05:00

In all the hustle and bustle that was a typical Sunday with the Shedds I got to thinking. These little monkeys are growing so fast. Some days it seems like we're living life in fast forward with no way to slow down.

Elizabeth is in her final week of Kindergarten and it just doesn't seem real. She's had a wonderful year. She loves her teacher and has learned so much. She's such a smart little booger! She's reading above grade level and absolutely loves to do it. I do have to say though that this time last year she was so worried that her new teacher wouldn't teach her how to read. We've come a long way. She's good at math too. She did a "math exam" that she made the other day and although I was only allowed to see part of it I was amazed. She did 30-3 and 27-2 and every time she got it right.

Sarah has one day left in preschool! I really don't know where the time has gone! She has absolutely loved her teacher and her friends. She talks about them all the time. She decided who she is going to marry and already changed her mind. She's learned so much. She knows her colors and counts to about 20. We keep comparing her to her sister which is not completely fair to her. She's 6 months younger than Elizabeth when she was in this class. She is a little sponge though and absorbs almost everything.

Cole will be in preschool next year! Look out preschool teachers! With both him and Sarah I have been concerned about their teachers not understanding what they say, but amazingly the kids always seem to be able to speak more clearly by the time school comes around. I can't always understand everything Cole says, but we're getting there. He's definitely a boy. He's rough and tough and loves to climb and get into all sorts of things! He keeps me on my toes more than the girls ever did. This surprises me because he was such an easy going baby. I had hoped that he would stay that way...it didn't happen. He can be so sweet though. I had to be gone for a while one day and he had a babysitter. When I got home he said, "Mommy, I miss you!" He had never said that before and it just melted.

This has been a hard week for us. When we moved here we planned on being here for a few years and then moving on to bigger and better things. Plan failed...we loved the kids here and leaving them is a bit like leaving a part of our family. The kids have been so sweet though. They've written Jonathan letters and even signed his yearbook! I went last week and signed yearbooks too. I wish we could take them all with us! Anyway, as of now we're staying in Clanton. We're praying for one opportunity and not a choice. That way we know we're where God wants us. We hope to stay planted in Clanton for one more year! Then again that's our plan, and God has giggled at our plans in the past. At the end of the day as long as we're where He wants us we know everything will be ok.

Jobs

2011-05-05T09:25:00.002-05:00

About 2 weeks ago I was timing my 2 mile run with some of my running buddies. I got a phone call as we went down the first hill (my phone is almost always on vibrate, so this was really strange). It was Jonathan. He asked what I was doing and I told him I was running. He told me he'd call me back later that he had something to tell me. I told him to go on and tell me now, so he proceeded to tell me that his position was being cut due to budget issues at the board of education. We've been through this SEVERAL times before, so I was ok until we made the first turn, and that's when I lost it. You see, I know that God will take care of us. He always does, but these kids he works with at Verbena, well, they're part of our family, and the thought of leaving them.....well it still sucks.
Needless to say my time was ruined and we walked the rest of the route. Seems like there is so much more at stake this time. It's not just leaving those kids. It's the thought of Elizabeth changing schools and the possibility of having to sell our house and Sarah and Cole not getting to go to the most amazing preschool on the planet. Those are the things that make me sad about the entire situation.
We are trusting God through it all though. He says he will never leave us or forsake us and we are clinging to that. If God calls us away from Verbena we know that He will find someone else to love those kids. He just better find someone that loves them as much as we do! Although I am sad of the thought of leaving I know that it is in God's hands and we will be more than ok. We will be blessed.
The week before Jonathan's phone call I was telling my running buddies (God bless you guys!) that this has been a year of God calling me out of my comfort zone. My guess is that this is just another part of that. Please keep us in your prayers as we seek God's will for our family.

Preschool Sunday

2011-04-13T15:10:00.004-05:00

Sarah had her first Preschool Sunday at the Hydrate service at church. She was so excited to sing on the "big stage" she told me. She told her teachers she wanted to sing up there like her Mommy. I was so proud of her. She did such a wonderful job. Grammy and Peepaw were here to watch her sing.

The week before this Jonathan and I went on our first trip without kids basically since the summer after we got married. We had a good time, but we missed the kids badly. We left on Friday and didn't get home until Tuesday. I was afraid we'd get bored, but we had a good time. We did some shopping (which you can't really do with 3 kids) and played miniature golf. Sine we got married we've had a miniature golf war. Before we had kids I think I was ahead by one game. Can you believe that we tied in the only game we were able to play this time?

Grammy and Peepaw came down to get to get the kids on Thursday before we left on Friday. After school on Friday they took them back to Tennessee with them. Peepaw came back down with the kids and Grandma Sue and Grandpa Ed on Sunday so Elizabeth and Sarah could go to school. The kids seemed to have had a good time. They were glad to see us, but didn't want anyone to have to go back to Tennessee.

In other news we are entering some very frustrating stages in development. Elizabeth and Sarah have started arguing with me a lot. For some reason they seem to think they are smarter than I am. I love the rascals, but it gets frustrating at times. Cole isn't arguing with me yet, but he has moments where he is ugly to his sisters for no reason and his fits are the worst I've had to deal with. Now let me say that sometimes my kids can be the absolute sweetest kids in the world, but everybody has their moments, right? I know I do.

We're almost done with track season. This is the first time Verbena has had a team in a long time. They have been doing pretty good. We've been really proud of them.

I am 4 classes and a semester of student teaching away from finishing my Masters and Jonathan is on his second class. We should both finish in May.

Last Day at the Beach :(

2011-03-18T11:04:00.004-05:00

On our final day at the beach we got up early and had breakfast then headed to the beach for the last time :( We had a great time though and were there for over 2 hours. After we left the beach we went straight to the pool at the hotel where we stayed for quite some time. We went back to the room to clean up and have a snack before we went to lunch. We had lunch at the Dancin' Iguana and sat on the dock so we could watch the boats. After our lunch we had fried ice cream! When we went back to the hotel it was time to pack up our things and head back to Clanton. We were all very tired, but we hated to leave the beach.

Last full day in Destin!

2011-03-17T13:07:00.001-05:00

On our last full day in Destin we didn't go to the beach or the pool. We thought it was going to rain and Sarah's face was red and swollen (we think from eating shrimp). We spent the morning at the Emerald Coast Science Center and then headed to the Air Force Armament Museum. After that we went back to our room for lunch and naps. We work up from naps and went to Hammerhead's for dinner. After dinner we went to the Nike outlet (just to look) and then to Bass Pro Shop. Going to Bass Pro is a lot like going to the zoo for the kids only the animals don't move except for the fish in the fish tank. It was a fun day!

Destin Day 3

2011-03-14T21:38:00.005-05:00

Today started much like yesterday. We got up. Had breakfast and headed to the beach. It takes about an hour for us to eat and get ready to go to the beach. We stayed at the beach for about 2 hours. Elizabeth was the foreman on the sand castle construction job today. She did a good job, but I forgot to get a picture of it before she and Cole tore it down. The highlight of today's beach trip was when we were rinsing the sand off our sand toys before we put them up and headed to the car. Daddy would fill the buckets with water and throw the water on whoever he could catch. It was lots of fun. We even saw dolphins from the beach which is something we had never seen before. I didn't get the camera out in time, but it was absolutely amazing. We came back and de-sanded ourselves and went to lunch at Angler's.
After lunch we went back to our room for naps and slept too long. Tomorrow we will have to set an alarm so we don't sleep so long. We went to the outlet mall and got Sarah some new shoes and me some new sandals. We ordered pizza on the way back to the hotel and got back just in time to get it.
Tomorrow is our last full day here. I kinda don't want to leave because it's not very often that we're all together without the distractions we have at home. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but we have a few tricks up our sleeves.