It's a....

healthy baby at 16 weeks. We didn't want to find out if we are having a boy or girl. We actually hoped for a suprise when Carter was born, but a little miscommunication with the doctor meant that we found out we were having a boy around 15 weeks with Carter.

Right now the plan is for Carter to get a big boy room (currently the guest room) and move the baby into his nursery. The nursery is decorated with pale lime green walls and white beadboard and other pastel colors. It is a pretty gender neutral room. Several family members have voiced their frustrations with ,but for now we are not swayed! If only we could think of a name!

Changes

I posted this last night but it showed up in June instead of August. Instead of spending more time trying to figure out how to fix it, I am just going to copy and paste it here.

I have always been someone who looks forward to changes. I like to visit new places, try new foods, and I am often rearranging my furniture at home or in my class. Now don't get me wrong, I am big on traditions too. There are lots of things I don't want to budge on. I also like to change things on my terms. I want to make the plans and see them through. Over the past few years, I have grown to understand that I don't always get to plan when these changes will take place. I don't always understand why God makes me wait when I am ready to move on. In time it always makes sense but in the moment, I usually get a little impatient and frustrated.

This last year was really tough for me in a lot of ways. The most difficult aspect of this last year was work. It was just one of those years. I couldn't have had another one like it this year. When I finally made it through the year, Matt and I were focusing on what kind of changes we wanted to make to improve our lives. We thought about moving to Bristol to the FREE house waiting for us. Did I mention that this house is on the lake and was built only 2 years ago? There is a pictue of Matt, Carter, and Wayne taken at the creek about 200 feet from the house on my father's day post. We also though about staying here. As a matter of fact I applied for jobs in Bristol and surrounding systems and transfers in Knox County. I really prayed and asked for God's guidance in the decisions that we would need to make. If I get a job in Bristol do I move and let Matt stay here until he finds a job? Do we sell the house or try to rent it? If I get a job here, do I take it? What if I take it and then Bristol calls and offers a job? What if nothing happens and next year is even harder at school?!!

While I was trying to play the "what if" game, I was also really trying to turn things over to God. That's not easy for me. Remember, I like to be in charge. That's probably why I like teaching. I am in charge of about 20 little people all day long. If something isn't working, I can change the way we do it.

I also thought about all the times in my life when I was looking for what was going to come next, instead of fully enjoying where I was. When I was in high school, I couldn't wait to be more independent and move off to college. When I was in college, I couldn't wait to get married and start teaching. When I was living in an apartment I couldn't wait for us to buy a house. All of these stages were wonderful, but I didn't always appreciate them at the time.

I have to say that when I began focusing on turning things over to God everything became a lot more clear. I have more peace. My life is great, even though it is far from perfect. I am accepting the flaws and working on them.

As far as the big decisions in my life, I feel like God helped me out there. I just started a job at a Cedar Bluff Elementary School where I am teaching Kindergarten. The new building is being finished this year and I love my huge brand new room! It has an office and a huge closet! I will miss some wonderful friends and mentors at Pond Gap but I am ready for this change. I think God knew that I needed a new path to follow.

The week after I went on my interview for the postion at CBE, I began feeling sick. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, I just felt nauseaus all day. Of course (as you know by now), I was pregnant. Another way God was showing me he was in control! We just assumed we would have to go back to a specialist to make it a reality. This baby is such a blesssing. We had wanted a little brother or sister for Carter for a while. I am so glad that we did not have to wait as long or go through all the struggles that we went through before.

I am not the only one with big changes- Matt is going back to school. He started the MBA program at King College last week. He drives to Bristol for class once a week and spends the night. He is really enjoying the learning and I know he is going to do great!Carter also started preschool. We were so lucky to have Holly adopt him as her own the past two years, I was afraid we wouldn't find anything that we would be satisfied with. We still miss Holly, but he is doing well at his new school.

I am humbled by all of the ways our family is experiencing blessings right now. I hope that all of my friends and family who have showed me the example of truly turning things over to God will understand what an impact you have made in my life. I feel blessed to have such wonderful people to go on life's journey with. I pray that you are all well and will continue to live for Him.


Carter's first day at school! He loves his backpack. He left it on for the first 30 minutes each day that first week.

Thanks for taking pictures Matt! I had to be at work :(.

What other things we've been up to...

I'll give you a clue. Check out the new ticker to the right. :)

I also started my new job today! I was ready for change and boy are we getting some exciting changes!

Do you know the way to San Jose?

I do. Unfortunately it requires two flights from Knoxville and took about 8 hours, including layovers. When I flew from Dallas to San Jose, I kept singing the lyrics to this song. I could only remember that one line and the humming that comes after. Very annoying.

When I arrived DeAnna and the family were there to pick me up and take me to eat at the Cheesecake factory. When we finished and headed to their house it was about 9:00. That's 12:00 according to my body's clock! We finished driving to their house and I tried to stay up so that I could sleep later the next morning but found mysef waking up at 4:00 and again at 5:30 (7:00 and 8:30). Later, DeAnna and I went to have lunch in a little tea house in downtown Tracy. We spet the rest of the day shopping. It was so nice to have girl time. We had a lot of fun shopping and I enjoyed helping her find a lot of cute things. I found a few for myself also! I tried staying up again but still woke up very early on Saturday. I went ahead and began getting ready for a day of sightseeing in San Francisco. That brings another song to mind, and no I did not wear flowers in my hair.

We all went into town and spent the WHOLE day traveling around. I'll fill in the details when I can upoad the pictures to go with the commentary. After visiting DeAnna's church and staying for a cookout after church, we headed back to San Fran for more sightseeing on Sunday.

Today I have been getting my email inbox cleaned out, reading, taking a long relaxing bath, and reading. It has been so nice! I feel selfish spending all of this time on myself, but I have to admit- I like it!

I miss Carter and Matt and I know I will be ready to get back to them, but having a fun and restful visit with my sis and her family before returning to school feels like such a blessing.

Headgear

If you haven't been around Carter much, you may not truly understand his love for sports. Not only does he like to play the games, he really enjoys all the equipment that goes along with them. His favorite piece of equipment is probably his glove or his batting helmet. He also really likes his football helmet. He recently went with Brittney to see one of her friends playing football in a summer league. Of course, he had to take along his football and his helmet. Here are some of the shots Brittney's friend Megan took.

Playing with Brittney


Water Break!


What a cutie!

What we've been up to...

If I had been blogging as regularly as I really should have these are some of the pictures I would have shared. I will spare you all of the details for each picture, just a way to catch friends up on some of the things we have been doing the past few weeks.

Playing in the Pool


Gardening in my PJs with Granny


Watering flowers (result of gardening with Gran)


Brushing the goats with Lauren at the Knoxville Zoo


Feeding the ducks with Daddy


Playing baseball


Mini-golf with Grandaddy - notice the batting helmet, it's worn at least an hour each day!


Playing at Fort Kid


Look at how dirty I got!


What toddler wouldn't love for a picture like this to be show to future girlfriends!


Hopefully that will catch you up on some of what we have been doing! I can't believe the summer is coming to an end in just a few weeks! I have really been enjoying my time with Carter!

It Worked!!!

Last week I had a popcorn kernel stuck between my tooth and gum. I know you have all been there! I flossed and brushed and picked at it but I could not get it out! I irritated my gums so much that I decided to but some ora gel on it. Yes of course that made my gums feel better, but that is not where the story ends.

Apparently, I left the ora gel in the pocket of my new shorts. This was not discovered until they had gone through the wash and had been dried. &$%*! 3 of Matt's work pants, 2 pairs of his shorts, a pair of my capris, and the pair of shorts got grease stains on them. And they had already been through the dryer. How do I redeem myself for this lazy mistake. We really couldn't afford to replace all of these things...

I went to the trusty internet and googled "grease stain removal" and read through lots of suggestions. One tip I saw over and over suggested to apply Dawn (this was the specific name brand given) to the stains. The theory is that it cuts through grease. After working on the spots I put water in the washer and added 1/2 cup of simple green all-purpose cleaner and my regular detergent then added the clothes and washed them. Of course, as you already know- it worked! I have thrown away so many clothes that got grease stains from food, I know I will use this tip again. As a matter of fact I have a shirt I wore recently with a stain on it because I just didn't want to give it up!

Just thought I would share my little victory with my friends out there! Hopefully it's a tip that might save something you want to hang on to!