Hi Y'All!!!

Holy Cow! It is the middle of May already! Is it just me or does this year seem like it is flying by? I guess that is a sign of “aging”, huh? Seems to me that time just goes by faster and faster! Boy, that sounds old. LOL

So much has happened since my last post….I just feel like we are running a marathon lately! I told my friend Kelli that having this third kid has really pushed me over the edge for some reason! There is just never any “down” time it seems. Oh well! Scott and I always say that we wouldn’t have it any other way! The kids are just the light of our lives and we don’t know what we would do without them and the craziness that they bring!

First, let me tell you that our Vera Bradley Shopping Day was a ton of fun! Joy, Jodi, my Mom and I all rode over to Ft. Wayne together and we had a blast! We had lots of good conversations, laughter and of course, shopping! Laura (Hair-dye) and her mom followed us over, so we had lunch with them too. It was just a super enjoyable day! I am sure that was in part to being in “my happy place”! The prices weren’t as good as they were last year, but we still got some great deals and I got lots of presents bought…and too much for myself, but I digress! LOL It was a great, great day.

Now, let me just do my normal…person, play-by-play! Here goes:

Scott: He finished up the patio and got all the tree trimmings off to the dump and the yard looks so very nice…if it would just stop raining! I LOVE it and I am so proud of him for doing it…with LOTS of help from my Dad, but he still did it! He really takes pride in his yard! We have really enjoyed being on the back patio and the kids playing on their swing set. We had Bob and Joy and their family over for dinner one night and it was just so nice! We also had a party at our house this past weekend that I didn’t tell him about until a bit last minute! He was a trooper and got up early on Saturday (which is really hard for him to do) and started working on the yard and got done just in the knick of time! So, he is doing good…allergies are bad for him this time of the year. I am very, very excited because he is going on an Emmaus Walk this weekend! For those that aren’t familiar with that, it is a weekend-long Spiritual Retreat that is just amazing. I hope he loves it! I take him to the church tomorrow night and he doesn’t come home until Sunday night! So, it will be a long weekend without him, but very much worth it! So, keep him in your prayers this weekend! And me, I guess! LOL

Isaac: He is doing so well in school – I just can’t tell you how proud of him we are! His report card is all E’s and S’s (Excellent and Satisfactory). He is “above grade level” or “at grade level” average in everything and really excels in math and reading. I can’t believe that he is almost done with the first grade! Man, time flies…(there I go again, sounding old!). He had his first coach-pitch baseball game on Monday night. He did good! He had to use the tee for his first at-bat…after 7 pitches if they don’t hit it, they pull out the tee. But for his second at-bat, he hit it! I was very proud of him! He is already talking about football and anxious to start that….I am not since that is every day! So, luckily we have a bit until that starts! His school program was really cute and he did a great job and so was his church program. He has watched the video of that several times already! He sure loves to see himself on TV! I am still amazed by him every day because he is so much like my dad in some ways – very, very tender-hearted. He is so patient and loving with his sisters, even when they are hitting him! He has his moments, but for the most part, he is so good with them.

Faith Anne: She is also just growing up so fast! She had her dance recital a few weeks ago and it was very good…lots of laughs! She was probably the best (maybe I am a bit biased) at following the instructor – except for the one time when she realized that people were watching her and she had to put on a little show for them. We have watched that a few times too and she loves to see it. She loves to look at herself in the mirror, in the TV…really wherever! She sometimes will watch herself cry in the mirror! So funny. She had a program at her school last night and got a “diploma”. It was very cute and she did a great job singing really loud! Preschool has been so very good for her! I am amazed at how much she has matured this year socially and academically. I guess we really notice the difference because we didn’t send Isaac to preschool. Faith Anne is definitely a leader in her class, as her teacher has told us. They have a picnic next week on Thursday and then they are done for the summer! I know she will miss that!

Gracie: She is still a hornet, as my Grandma calls her! She has a very unique personality! I honestly think they switched her at the hospital and she isn’t our kid – except for she looks too much like the others! She is very strong-willed and free-spirited! Can we say…CHALLENGE?!?!? She is starting to say more words, finally! For a while there, we really only heard her say Papaw! But now she says a lot more. We have to really watch her all the time because she gets into EVERYTHING. The other day she got into the bathroom and had my pads all over the floor…and some stuck onto the wall. She is very ornery, but adorable! She will literally be looking at you when you tell her to stop something (like pulling on the curtains or getting a knife out of the drawer or hitting her sister or biting Isaac…basically anything bad) and she will look you right in the eye and keep doing it! I have never witnessed anything like it! The other two were NOT like that at all….so it is very interesting, to say the least! But I love her to death!!!

Me: I am doing alright! I have lost over 50 pounds now! I weigh in today, but I am thinking I will be up to about 54 or 55 pounds after my weigh-in. So, that is going good. It is so exciting to wear smaller clothes and to see the progress! I have a pretty empty closet right now because nearly all of my summer clothes from last year are way too big this year….but that is a good problem to have! I gave about 6 bags of stuff to Scott’s sister! I am getting rid of the stuff because I am planning on NEVER going back to that! In fact, I think I am going to try to become a PT Weight Watcher’s Leader once I hit my goal. That would be a great way to stay accountable to keep the weight off…and it would be very rewarding, I think. So…I still have a LONG way to go to that, but I am shooting for that! Aside from that, everything else is going alright. I am a little concerned about my job right now because of the economy. There have been some job eliminations around me….not in my “department”, but in some very close to me. The only people who are really “safe” are the branch employees. So, I could always go back to the branches, but I would lose my flexible hours. We’ll see….I could be worried for nothing, but it is a bit scary when you see others that you work with lose their jobs. If I did lose my job, I would get about 20 weeks of severance pay, so that would help while I tried to find something else. But….the job market isn’t the greatest right now! So….that is weighing on my mind some. At this point, I have no reason to think I would lose my job, other than speculation. So, you all know me…just something for me to worry about!

Umm…everything else is going fine with me. I am really enjoying reading my Bible every day and spending more time in prayer. It really is amazing how much better my days seem to go when I stop and spend time with God. I really think that is why I am also doing so well with losing weight this time too. I have really worked on addressing ALL aspects of my weight issues and not just what goes in my mouth. I really do recommend that study that we did, “Lose it for Life”. It is a great study!

Mother’s Day was really great – or I should say the weekend was really great! Saturday we had our “impromptu party” at our house. It ended up being a Birthday Party for Mayce (Jodi’s oldest foster-daughter)/Mother’s Day get together! It was a beautiful day and the kids all had so much fun and it was great to visit with “my girls”…the cousins! Poor Mandy just looks so miserable and ready for Baby Boy to make his entrance! We tried to play corn-hole and get him moving, but he is being stubborn! Every day I keep thinking that it might be the day that we get the call! Anyways, we had a great time! It was so neat to see Mayce and how she reacted to everything…I think it was really special for her. Then on Sunday, we had Scott’s mom and sisters over after church and that was nice. Scott grilled out (while under the umbrella) and it was a good dinner! Oh, I forgot to mention that I was woken up by Scott, Isaac and Faith Anne putting a plate in my face and yelling Happy Mother’s Day! They made me an egg sandwich for my “breakfast in bed”. Scott also got me a gift card to Sephora – one of my favorite stores at The Greene. I had a very nice Mother’s Day, thanks to my great Hubby!

I guess that is about it for now! Sorry this is so long. I guess when I only post once a week or every other week I have a lot to say! Love you all and hope you are enjoying the month of May!!! Hopefully we will be able to share news of Baby Boy’s arrival soon!