Grandparent's Day

Last week was a busy week! I feel like I'm settling into a new routine and trying to find the balance between doing the things I would have gotten to do if I was at home and doing the things I can do now that I'm working. It's hard work! 

 I had two days that were just crazy with the juggling! Wednesday, we dropped Anna-Kate off at school, then dropped Derek off at work and then I took Thomas to Amanda. Then I headed back across town to help with a party at Anna-Kate's school. Friday was her student teacher's last day at school, so they threw her a surprise party on Wednesday. I brought made-from-scratch-brownies and then helped set up and stayed for the party. THEN I headed to work! 

I know that it was a little crazy, but I honestly LOVE being able to help out as much as I can at school. I love making fun little treats or just getting to set up the parties. I've always wanted to be really involved in my children's school activities. But I think that I'm just surprised how hard it really is! 

Friday was Grandparent's Day at the Academy and Anna-Kate's class was performing after chapel! I COULDN'T miss that! Despite it being a bit of a crazy morning, I was worn out from the week and slept a tad late! Thankfully, Derek's parents loaned us their truck and so Derek was able to drive Anna-Kate to school while I got ready! So after the morning scramble to get Anna-Kate out the door, I fed Thomas and got us ready. Then we headed to Harding and got to see Anna-Kate perform! I even was early enough to visit with Derek's parent's and his grandmother and then sneak over and say hi to the girls! 

They always make me laugh! 

I got to sneak up to towards the front and see them perform! I have a couple of funny videos but I can't upload them!! 

I had to bolt out of there after her performance to catch the baby sitter, but I left my camera with Derek's parents and they took pictures for me! 

So after Anna-Kate and Kristen sang, Ryne was VERY excited to perform! 

Can't you tell?? ;) ha! 

This is Anna-Kate's new thing, she does this and then says "I'm going to eat you up!" ha! She's really so goofy! 

So I dashed out of Anna-Kate's performance, met the babysitter and then rushed to work! I'm telling you, this scrambling thing is tough work! I know I'm going to get the balance eventually. Until then, I'll have to deal with the craziness!  The fall seems extra busy anyway, with the holidays and parties and all, so I'm sure that's not making things any easier! It really makes me even more grateful for my Grandma- I can't imagine how she managed me and my sisters! ha! 

On a positive note, Derek and I have gotten good Insurance news! Our car was totaled (who would have thought that'd be good news) and since it was, we don't have to pay on our loan anymore. Plus, the value of our car exceeded the loan and we are getting that back! So we are relieved that things have worked out well. Hopefully we'll be able to save up for another car soon. I'm thinking of getting a super cool mini-van! Seriously, all that room seems SO nice after driving my corolla around!

I've been looking forward to this week! I love my job, but I'm excited because I have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off! I'm planning on doing a little craft project with my friend Amanda and doing some extra holiday baking! I can smell the pumpkin bread already! ;)

Anna-Kate has a half-day on Wednesday too, so I'll get some extra time in with her! Thursday is MOPs and then we are leaving for a trip to Franklin to spend some time with my family!

I know that God is taking care of us! It's so nice to have a good week and another great week to look forward to! 

Sweet, Busy Summertime

I am really enjoying this summer! I've been keeping Derek's sister Monday- Thursday from about 10-4. Although I might cut it down to just three days a week. Most of our days are spent just around the house or playing outside.

The girls are still figuring out how to share, so I spend most of my time trying to make peace. I've been thinking a lot about how to get them to treat each other nicely. Especially my little rascal. Anna-Kate is really a sweetheart but she gets frustrated easily and usually acts aggressively by hitting or screaming. Whew that's hard to admit! I've begun to realize that she understands the idea of friends so I've been trying to approach things from that angle. Kristen is our friend, we don't hit our friends, we love our friends. We want our friends to be happy, so we share our toys.

It's really neat to see how the girls are growing and developing. They are starting to understand how we treat other people, so I know it will soak in eventually.

Derek has been home on Fridays and boy did I love it! It was so nice to have a break and get an extra day of family time! It really made us feel like we actually got a weekend! Derek and I spent most of those days working in the yard! We just finished the front yard, so look for a post about that soon!

Derek started one night class in Little Rock the first of June. Tuesdays and Thursdays he's able to come home and get dinner to-go then he's gone until about 10:30 or later. On top of that he's got an online class with deadlines on Wednesday nights. He has one more meeting of this class in Little Rock. They got tonight off since they have a paper and presentation due Thursday. Last week he finished one online class on Wednesday (with a paper and final on top of his usual postings) and then he turned right around on Thursday and started yet another online class. Thankfully that one is his LAST ONLINE CLASS!! Yipee!! Poor Derek also had a portfolio due last Friday. That required him to write a paper and turn in an updated resume. Poor thing had a really rough week! He starts another class that meets in Little Rock sometime in July. Then HE'S DONE! Wahoo!! We could not be more proud of him! He will be graduating with his Master's of Business Administration on July 31.

Two weeks ago Derek and his dad and brother got to go on a float trip! They left around 8 or 9 in the morning and did not get back until about 8:00 that evening! That was actually part one of his Father's day gift. They all had so much fun. I was really glad that they got the day to bond. I did not sit at home though! :) Derek's mom and I took Thomas and went to Little Rock! We went to the Container Store (my favorite) and then to Garden Ridge and finally to Sams. It was a lot of fun! The girls stayed at the house and had so much fun playing with the babysitter! Cara and I got in around 4 and unloaded and then I made homemade pizza for us girls!

Last weekend we went on a trip to Saint Louis!! It seemed to hit right when Derek needed it, so I was really excited for him to get a break! Derek LOVES the STL Cardinals... I don't even know if love is a strong enough word!! I think he's counting down to the day that he can have a room in our house to put all of his Cardinals things! He was just so excited to get to share that with the kids. We left on Friday morning and drove to Lepanto, where we stopped for lunch and then drove on to STL.

Derek reserved the room through what is called a blind booking. Basically that means he chose a general location (downtown STL) and the rating (3-4 stars) and then you book the hotel without knowing any other details. We had heard this was a great way to get a nice deal on the hotel. We ended up with the Crown Plaza Hotel, just a few blocks away from the stadium. The room is not actually assigned until check-in. When we went up to the room we opened the door and realized we had been booked in a suite! So we really did get an amazing deal! We spent about 20-30 dollars less than a regular room would cost!

We changed clothes and then went swimming on the roof! That was Thomas' first time to get to swim! At first he just clung on but after a bit he started kicking and splashing. That didn't surprise me though because he LOVES bath time!

After the pool we got cleaned up and then ate dinner and went to the ballgame. Poor Thomas was tired before dinner, so I worried he'd be a challenge! It was a really hot evening and the seats were packed but the kids did really great! Thomas fussed a bit but we held him off with Cheerios and one of Anna-Kate's toy cell phones. He would have gone to sleep but there was just so much to look at! Anna-Kate loved so many aspects of the game. She did really good until about the 8th Inning and then she was asking to go back to the hotel. We stalled and got to see the end of the game. The Cardinals won, so it was pretty awesome!

We walked back to the hotel and gave them a bath and then got their jammies on. Anna-Kate slept on a pull out sofa bed and Thomas got to sleep in a little crib. Both of them went right to sleep around 10 and slept until 8 the next morning.

Saturday we woke up and checked out of the hotel and then made our way to the Zoo! Anna-Kate was so excited to see the animals! We got a Safari Pass so we could see the Sea Lion show, get into the children's zoo and ride the train. We could have gone on a motion simulator ride and rode the carousel but we were all too tired! We also got to see a penguin exhibit! That was my favorite part. We actually got pretty close to them.

Derek took Anna-Kate to see the giraffes while I fed Thomas. When she got there she said "oh no! I forgot to wear my giraffe shirt!" Derek told her that it was okay, that Mr. Giraffe would understand. Anna-Kate then said "Can I talk to him?" Of course Derek said that she could. So she said "Hi Mr. Giraffe! I have a shirt that's just like you but I forgot it." haha! She's so cute! :)

The zoo was tons of fun, but it was SO hot!! We were almost miserable, but thankfully there was plenty of shade and a few indoor exhibits! I'm not a fan of being hot and it seems like I'm increasingly hot natured these days, so I'm not sure how I survived! :)

After the Zoo we ate and then headed back to Lepanto. We stopped in Sikeston and ate at Lambert's, where they throw the rolls and pass around all of the food! There was an hour and 45 minute wait, but it was worth it!! I have a large appetite, so it was my kind of place!

Monday we picked up our newest addition! Her name is Maddie and she is a yorkie/ poodle mix. She was adopted almost a year ago from a puppy mill by a family with four younger children. The husband left the mom and she was a little overwhelmed and needed to get rid of the puppy, so we took her! She is SO sweet and loving! She sleeps all night in our bed. Anna-Kate is so excited to have her! She has followed her around and made sure Maddie is taken care of! Last night at dinner she said, "I'm going to let Maddie watch my beggie tales, hers going to borrow it. Maddie's going to think it's funny when that boy falls on the tb" haha... Derek and I were rolling!

So June is almost over and hopefully things will calm down after the baby shower and wedding shower that I've got this weekend! But who knows, things seem to stay a constant pace of crazy around here!

Well I'm sorry for the long update, but I think that about brings everything up to speed! I'm afraid that this post is too large to upload photos without it being crazy, so stay tuned for another post with just pictures!

Snowmen and Sinus Infections

Well it has been a rough winter to say the least. I'll wait while the northern readers attempt to contain their laughter at us hicks in the south. Ok, I know that cities south of the Mason-Dixon typically shut down for flurries but we have had a fairly active winter this year.

Early January gave us a good hard snow with several inches of accumulation. I love watching snow fall. I especially love the really big flakes and the wind blowing. Snow never lasts long here so we like to enjoy it while we can.

Over the next couple of weeks we dealt with what we hope is the culmination of the illness we have all suffered these last few months. Anna-Kate had been developing an increasingly bad cough and then we noticed what looked like pink-eye. Off to the doctor she went. She was a big girl for Dr. Eddie and he said she had bronchitis, pink-eye, and a double ear infection. I was shocked that it was that bad. She was sick, no doubt about it, but she was pretty calm about it all and did little complaining. She stayed mostly on the sofa the next week while she recovered.

We have all been cruddy the last few months with one thing or another. I think it's the same virus that keeps coming back stronger in each of us and then gets passed on to the next one. Seems like we may be over the worst now though.

Anna-Kate was better just in-time for the second half of our January book-end snow storms. We got an overnight ice followed by 24 hours of snowfall. Gorgeous. We had our first experience sledding and it became fairly obvious that Anna-Kate is not as big a fan of snow as I would have thought. She was ready for it to melt!!! Maybe she'll learn when she starts going to school full-time (twice a week now) and understands the rarity of Arkansas snow days.

Not sure if we have many pictures of our adventures but if we do Nicki will post them.

Pomp and Circumstance

Last week, I walked out of Dr. Alan Frazier's Comerical Banking class. In a short few moments I realized that I had just finished my last undergraduate class EVER!!! My first class at Harding was Dr. Ireland's New Testament Survey in the fall of 2004. I met my wife in that class. The last few years have been a wild ride.

We certainly didn't choose the easiest path. Marriage at a young age, having a baby a year later, a second by 23. Not the way I ever thought it would be, but better than I could have planned. The fact that in a few days we will be college graduates is a big source of pride.

Of course, we couldn't have done it without a lot of encouragement and support from our families. I personally am thankful for my family making personal and professional sacrifices to send me to Harding from Kindergarden through college (and Master's degree hopefully). It is a unique and rare blessing. I hope I am as good a parent.

The past week hasn't been without it's tough moments. Last Friday an email went out regarding a friend of mine, Micah (Rine) Pate. She was reported missing by her husband after she didn't come home from a jog the previous night. Micah was a few years older than me but at a school as small as Harding Academy, it's hard not to know someone. Her dad was a teacher and coach there as well. I had just seen Coach Rine and his wife earlier in the week and it was hard to imagine their fear and pain. The situation went from bad to worse Friday night when her husband, Thomas, confessed to accedentally shooting her in the back of the head. He lead police to the body, was charged with 2nd degree murder and plead not guilty. He is out on bond at the moment and is with his parents in Atlanta.

This situation has really hit the Harding family hard. The funeral was held at the Academy and over 2000 people showed up. I hope that the coming weeks provide answers and closure, the Rines are good people and I hurt for them.

Main thing I keep thinking is this. We never know what the future holds. Be it life or death, as in the Rine's case. Or our post college plans, as in my graduation this week. It's simply a series of decisions we must make. If we make the right choices, we get the desired results. God is the only one who knows for sure...seems like a good idea to ask his opinion every now and then

25 or 6 to 4

I really couldn't come up with a good title for this post since it covers so much so I just used the title of my favorite song of all time.

Christmas was a blur for the most part. We spent time in Lepanto with my Dad's family which was a blast. I love the Kelsos (Dad's cousins). They're so much fun. We did a dirty Christmas present swap and our choice of a pig cookie jar worked out perfect for Steve who got stuck with it. Could not have been better. We went from there to Franklin for about a week and enjoyed a couple nights with Nicki's dad before spending a few days at her Grandparents. I finally got to meet Sara's man Jeremy and I absolutely loved him (in a completely heterosexually way of course). Finally we got back home to have Christmas as a family. By the time we got back I was fairly stressed with all the travel and ready for 2009.

We rang in the new year with my mom's family in Fayetteville. It was good to see them after a long time away. We spend the first day of the year with some good family friends, the Hankins. Steve Hankins was a college friend of Dad's at Harding and a former executive at Tyson Chicken.

After returning home we were blessed with the good news that T Lamarr was ready to hire Nicki full-time. I am so proud of her. She is such a true professional. She's up every morning at 5 and out the door by 6:15. I've even started getting up with her so we have more time together. It isn't all roses. We miss each other plenty but with me still busy with school it seems like it may get easier over time.

In addition to Nicki's career advancement, Little Miss Baby Cakes is growing like a weed. We don't have many new pics since Nicki left her camera in Franklin. She got a baby doll and she loves to hold it, rock it, feed it, etc. She is getting so mature and I am one proud daddy.

As for me, I'm finishing my final 6 hours of undergrad and am already doing some grad work. I hope to walk with my BBA in May and my MBA in 2010. I hope to have a job by May here in Searcy somewhere in the banking industry. I have become very facinated with it recently....yeah I'm a dork.

It's been tough lately watching all of my friends working and seeing Nicki having career success while I'm still in school. I'm so ready to be done. So far so good though, we are moving into that adult phase of our lives, family, jobs, and no Spring Break!!

A Busy Summer...A New Role

Sometimes things get so busy. Nicki is smack in the middle of her internship in Little Rock so I am Mr. Mom this summer. Since I only work Friday-Sunday, I am at home throughout the week and it has created a strange role reversal. Meanwhile, I am enrolled in summer classes at Harding and I am busy myself with studying. Things have died down a bit as of late but it is still kind of hectic.

I wouldn't have it any other way though...

Nicki and I agreed a long time ago that, while we acknowledge the traditional roles of husband and wife, we have to be willing to pick up the slack for each other when it comes to the family running smoothly. So for now I am the homemaker, and she is the breadwinner (in part at least).

I don't really feel feminized though. I feel more masculine because I am, in some ways, providing for my family by staying home this summer. I feel a man's role in his family is leadership. Earning income, paying the bills, setting the example, etc. are all ways this has traditionally been done. I still do almost all of that anyway, but doing laundry, washing dishes and changing diapers is a way to keep this family on track toward meeting our goals. I define that as leadership. I love that Nicki and I have that understanding without fear of resentment.

It has been tough feeling out this new world we've been a part of for the last year. But as busy as we are, as stressed as we get, it is all worth it in the end.