Bah humbug - sorta

I've been so busy with school this year that I got a late start on actually decorating the house. We actually just got our stuff out this past weekend but we still haven't gotten our outside decor up.

This 1st semester of nursing school has been extremely rough. Not just b/c of school but because of other things happening in my life. Stuff I'm not comfortable enough to post here but have shared with my closest friends. Its getting better now. I had some anxiety issues and had to get them under control. Its been a learning experience.

I'm looking forward to my break... 3 weeks is gonna fly by fast :(

Christmas is just around the corner and this is going to be the roughest Christmas ever. I'm not asking for pitty... I'm just being honest. I'm looking forward to the day when we both have jobs and our kids don't have to do with out. I know its not about the presents.

Can't wait!

I think I'm just as excited as my kids about Thanksgiving in the mountains! I'm ready to go! I'm all packed up and the house is getting picked up so we can return home to a nice cozy house. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!!! Enjoy your famiy!

Slacker

I was just looking at my blog post and saw that so far this year I've only posted 86 times... compared to 284 post from last year and over 700 from the year before. What can I say... I'm busy! But I'm not too busy for my friends ;) I try really hard to keep up with you by email or phone calls. Please bare with me while I continue to push through Nursing school ;) Love ya'll!

Happy Birthday Darcy

Tomorrow is Darcy's 6th Birthday. We celebrated yesterday after church. I can't believe my little baby is already six years old. She's growing up too quickly! Thankfully she still lets me love on her :)

HELP!!!!

Last Friday we pulled into the driveway from school. The kids got out of the car and I walked to the mailbox to check the mail. As I was walking back from the car I heard the kids screaming. I walked around the car and saw Jeremiah on the ground with this dog on top of him! I freaked out and started kicking the dog... Jeremiah got up and the dog was chasing him and jumping on him!!! I'm running after them both while screaming at the other kids to go inside. Jeremiah gets away and the dog is still in my yard... he's wanting to play! I called 911 b/c I didn't know who else to call and they sent an officer out to the house. The dog belonged to a neighbor down the street and they were told to keep the dog on a chain. Because the dog didn't actually "bite" Jeremiah they didn't do anything to the dog or its owners. By the time things settled down I realized Jeremiah had a scratch on his forehead but it wasn't that bad... It was a very frightening experience for Jeremiah.

The next day... get this... the next day Matthew takes them to the park to play and their was a couple there with 2 dogs NOT on a leash. As they approached Matthew and the kids Jeremiah got scared and the owners told Matthew that their dogs were friendly dogs. Bout that time one of them takes off towards Jeremiah and Jeremiah starts running so of course the dog is chasing him. Matthew was able to rescue Jeremiah and the owners told him that the dog was just trying to play.

Okay so here goes my rant.... KEEP YOUR DOG ON A LEASH! Some kids (AND ADULTS) are terrified of dogs and being attacked in your front yard is a little scary! Puppys can play rough and they don't realize when they hurt kids... and kids don't realize when puppy's are only playing!!!

Surprise!

Michael was home for 2 weeks... we went to Clarksville, TN to have dinner with him and the family. We were supposed to be at the airport holding welcome home signs but his flight came in early and we missed it :(



Thats a proud big brother look on my hubby's face LOL

It was great for us all to get to spend some time with him. It was hard saying goodbye yesterday after Darcy's party. He's flying back tomorrow for 6 more months. Please continue to pray for his safey and Heather's sanity :)

Super Hero's!

Jeremiah

Jacob

Darcy

Chillaxin

I'm home today and tomorrow. Its great to be here... wish I could just sit back and relax but I've got to catch up on some housework. I also have to get some much needed studying time in. This weekend is gonna be a very busy weekend. I have clinicals Sat & Sun from 7am till 3pm in Selma. I'm not really happy about my clinicals being on the weekend.... that is the only time I have with my family!

This semester is wrapping up and I'm starting to panic a little bit. The Nursing Program is a lot harder than just getting my basics done. I'm struggling in one class but its b/c I didn't give it my best from the beginning so now I'm playing catch up. The first week of December is my finals. Then I'm off until Jan 5th. I'm starting to make a "To Do" list for that month off. I'm looking forward to the break. Maybe I can plan a road trip to the south and maybe one to the east too :) Those are quick and easy trips to do by myself.

Well I gotta get moving... daylight is a wasting!

whoo hoo

I'm so excited that I'm able to go with my family to pick up Uncle Michael from the airport. Now just pray he has a safe trip home with no delays! We're all so excited to see him!

Sunshine Farms 2010

Our 3rd year to visit Sunshine Farms in Maplesville. Our kids love it and I hope to keep it a family tradition for many years.

Papa D with his grandkids... notice Flannery is pulling Darcy's hair :)
My wonderful and funny kids
Jacob, Jeremiah, Darcy and Jessica

Thats Us! The B6 Crew

Oh and this is my first day of clinicals

It went well... I was really excited about it.

I survived

my first clinicals that is :) Spent 2 days in a nursing home and learned a lot (mostly about myself). My next clinical is in 2 weeks. Please pray for me b/c I have a lot of test this month and then finals. I'm borderline in 2 of my classes and I'm trying not to stress about it.

Yesterday we spent the day at Sunshine Farms in Maplesville. Its a pumpkin patch thats spread out on a large farm with all sorts of fun things for the kids to do. Its not crowded like the more well known pumpkin patch. We got there at 10am and tried to leave around 12:30 but on our way out some friends from church pulled in and asked us to stay so we did. We ended up staying until 3:30! We were tired and sunburnt - oh and very hungry!

Well I've got to get ready for church... today is membership Sunday and for the first time in my adult life I'm a member of a church :)

Exciting Days Ahead

I start clinicals this week. I'm so excited. I'm going to the nursing home. I probably won't be able to tell you guys the details and I'm going to hate that but with all the laws out there these days I don't want to risk getting in trouble. I enjoy the classroom stuff and I love the practice labs but I'm really looking forward to dealing with real people.

I'm almost done with my 1st semester - WHOA!

Promised Pics

More Changes

Back to Back Post
Whoo Hooo... I'm on a roll :)

Nah not really... I''m just avoided getting out from under my warm blanket. I need to be getting ready for church but its sooo cold.

Let me tell ya about my new church. We've been going for several months now. Its a presbyterian church . Matthew went to visit one day while I was out of the town and the kids were spending the weekend with grandparents. He called me that afternoon and was so excited. I knew he was ready to make the big move. If you don't know much about presbyterian's then I challenge you to check out the website. Up until recently I haven't been able to attend much with the family due to work. But the times I've been there I really enjoy the message and every thing about the church. Matthew was immediately asked to play with them during worship. He's been able to play his guitar, mandolin, banjo and sing lead vocals. The kids really like it too. It was a little rough with Jessica at first but she's really liking it now too.

On Wednesday's they have W.E.L.L groups that meet after different folks house. Its a pot luck dinner and then we have a bible study. The kids all still meet at the church for their activities. We're actually having a big Fall Festival picnic next weekend at a local park. They're setting up the stage and having the worship band play some fun songs. I'm looking forward to it.

Well I'd better jump in the shower!

Changes

Well I finally changed my blog... it took me forever to fix all the crazy stuff I'd done to it and I'm not even sure if its fixed ;) I'd asked my friend Crystal for help but she's crazy busy with ornaments so I had to do it on my own.

Other changes...
I quit my job. Its something I hated doing but I really felt like I had no choice. Yesterday was my first Friday off in a while and enjoyed every minute of it. My kids are out for Fall Break so we just hung out!

Jessica is looking at colleges - GULP! Doesn't that make some of you feel really old?? Crazy huh! I've been requesting information from different places... FSU, Marshall and Florida University. She's actually taking the PSAT today. I'm trying to encourage her to do whatever she wants to do and go wherever she feels like she can get the most from. Its crazy b/c I know that when she goes off to college, Matthew and I will be relocating so he can go to seminary.

School is going good. I'm failing one of my classes but barely. I know what its gonna take to pull it up and its doable. Its going to be easier to do it now that I'm not working.

My grandfather had a heart attack 2 weeks ago... it was pretty scary. He's doing better now. Besides my grandmother, I haven't lost anyone close to me. Matthew's lost both of his grandfathers. I was able to drive up and be with him for a few hours. I actually got to practice some of my nursing skills on him ;) lol

I'll try and post more often.... keep coming back ;)

LIttle People

Promised Pics

We painted our downstairs blue... we wanted it to match my candle holder. We hung up everything in different places which makes things look new ;)

My hubby bought me some more willow folks for our anniversary...

notice some of my angels lost their wings (bad behavior - true story)

Darcy loves to color

Jacob didn't want to have his picture made

I couldn't get Jeremiah's picture to load so I'll try again... and Jessica wasn't "fixed" so no pics of her today

Trusting in Him

I've had a lot of ups and downs lately. I quit my job, decided to stay and then quit again 3 weeks later. We've had some major financial issues so quitting my job was a really hard thing to do in the midst of a financial crisis. But the lesson I'm learning is; its not up to ME to fix everything. He doesn't need me to fix my problems... He wants me to trust him to take care of everything. Now my problem here is that I feel like God has given me a brain and I should use some common sense.... well he doesn't need my common sense either! HA!!! In fact, He wants me to be solely dependent on HIM! I'm not the head of this household anyways so its not my job to worry about making ends meet so if my husband is okay with trusting God and waiting on Him to supply all my needs then so am I.

Philipians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

It is up to me to raise my family. My ministry is my family. I'm trusting that the Lord will work everything out and guide me and my husband in every step we should take EVEN if it doesn't make sense to me or anyone else.

Towards the end of this I had to spank 3 kids and rescue dinner before it burnt so if it got all scattered in the end I'm sorry :)

Old pics but still cute

I promise to post some newer pics soon. Jacob is still wearing his cowboy hat every day.



Jeremiah is all smiles

Daddy and his girls!

Pics in the future

Matthew painted the downstairs for my birthday present... it looks really nice. It actually gave everything a fresh new look. I put my stuff back on the walls but in different places and that also makes everything seem new. The color is called New Hampshire Blue... I'll take some pics and post them soon.

I also took some pics of the kids yesterday. They're growing up so fast. The little ones are losing some of their baby features and it makes me sad. Jessica is getting taller... I have to ask her to get things down for me - not cool.

I can't remember if I posted this or not but we're going to a different church now. We were at our last church for 3 years but we felt God directing us elsewhere. We needed fellowship and something more than Wednesday evenings and Sunday's. We're attending Grace Fellowship. Its a PCA church (presbyterian). We like it alot. The kids like it alot too. It lines up with what we believe. The preaching (really teaching) is great. The music is wonderful and the fellowship is awesome. We have Well Groups on Wednesday nights. I can't remember what "well" stands for but its something important. The groups meet at homes and each group has a focus. We eat dinner, fellowship and do a study. Our group is studying 1 John. Most groups meet within walking distance from the church so our kids attend they're program while we're at well group.

School is going. Its consuming my time but its worth it. Work is also consuming my time but I can't say that its worth it. I love the people that I take care of but I'm not a fan of my coworkers (or atleast some of them). I'm trying to hold out until Christmas but I'm not sure if I'll make it or not.

Gotta go study before I leave for class.