Prayers needed....

Well, sometimes, when it rains, it pours. About a month ago, my mother-in-law, Linda, began having a lot of pain in her back. She has always suffered from back pain, but it got a lot worse. She went to the Dr and they diagnosed it as degenerative disc disease. There really isn't much that can be done for that, except medicine. So, she has been taking medicine every four hours for the last week (maybe longer) just to survive the pain. She's basically been bed-ridden. Well, 3 weeks ago, she fell and fractured her heel; she's been in a boot since then. She also is having chronic bladder infections, so she will probably be on medicine for that for the rest of her life. Well, she went to the Dr this week because she has apparently been having nose bleeds a lot. They ordered blood work and when the results came back it showed that her bone and liver enzymes were elevated, so they ordered a sort of "emergency" MRI. When she got there to have the MRI, her blood pressure was so high that they had to sedate her to be able to perform the it. Anyway, she got the results of the MRI today and they saw some type of mass/tumor on her back and she has to go on Tuesday to have a biopsy. Needless to say, she needs your prayers. Obviously, she's scared (as is Joey) and we are all praying that whatever they have seen turns out to be nothing serious. If it IS serious.....well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
God is so much bigger than any of this and I know He will be faithful to see us through whatever lies ahead. I just pray that wherever the road ahead leads us....we'll praise Him. He is still all-powerful and He will sustain us.

It's Game Day, Folks!!!!

And the Lancaster kids are ready!!!!

Naked Babies

Aren't they adorable?

A little more clingy...

Makinley's nose has been running all week long and today she is finally really acting like she doesn't feel well. Her nose is running, her eyes look weak, and she has been especially clingy to me. She is also running a low grade fever. I'm not sure if she is fighting something or if all of this is stemming from the fact that she is FINALLY getting some teeth on top. I can see one and the other one is swollen and red. Whatever the reason, she is pitiful and I'll be glad when she is back to her normal, chipper self!

As promised.....

here are pictures of our new house. Get ready, I think I took one from every angle!

the front of our house (obviously)
the view from Tripp's doorway

from behind Tripp's chair
from Mak's doorway

from behind Mak's chair

looking out into the hall

another angle

don't you love this sign? (And, yes, Mak's room is much bigger than Tripp's. However, as she gets older, we know she will spend more time in her room than Tripp ever will!)

one view of the dining room

another view of the dining room

the office

one view of the living room

another view of the living room

eating area of the kitchen

the kitchen

from the doorway of our bedroom (we have to get furniture for the sitting area one day)

from the sitting area of our room

Well, there you have it, in all of it's splendor! :-) We definitely love it and we have so much space. There is also a bonus room that I didn't take a picture of because it's so boring right now. But it is my mom and dad's personal space when they come b/c there is a full bathroom and closet up there as well. I must also admit how much I love having a basement because it's such a wonderful place to hide the stuff that we don't need/use on a regular basis instead of having to junk up our garage (there were times I thought we could compete with Sanford and Son). Anyway, we look forward to many, many, MANY years here and are so grateful that God has blessed us with this beautiful place to call home.

Celebration month ahead!

September is going to be a fun-filled month for our family. There are several big events to look forward to. My brother turns 25, my husband turns 30, my daughter turns one, and my parents celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary! Whew! We will be "celebrated" out by October.....right in time to head into the holiday season!

A "broken" nose!

It looks like both the kids may be trying to fight off a cold. Since yesterday, Tripp has been walking around saying "Uh oh, Mommy, my nose is broken!" He can't breathe out of his nose.....so to him, it's broke!

What a hottie!

Joey got glasses about 3 1/2 years ago so that he could see things far away. Well, this week he decided it was time to get contacts. I have to admit that I LOVE it! I've gotten so used to seeing him in glasses that it's taking me some time to get used to him not wearing them anymore but he looks so good! I think it makes him look younger to not have them on and (as corny as it sounds) it's reminding me of when I first fell in love with him. Since most of my posts are about our kids, I thought I would dedicate one to my hot husband! :-)

Thanks to my wonderful brother and future sis-in-law, Joey and I were able to go out dancing last night with a group of friends. I can't remember the last time we went dancing and we had a blast!!! AND, we stayed out until almost midnight. I know we haven't done that in over a year. It was so nice to have some time alone together and relieve the stress of the last few weeks on the dance floor!

(p.s. Today is the final curtain and picture hanging day, so pictures of the house are coming soon!)

Closer and closer to a year....

Growing up so fast......

It is amazing to me how fast time goes by. Makinley is 11 months old today and I really can not believe it. Each night as I rock her to sleep, I look at the pictures in her room of her in the hospital and it blows my mind that it was 11 months ago. I'm having an even harder time with her growing up than I did with Tripp and I know it's because she is my last (or at least that's what my husband says!) I've begun the planning of her birthday party and I know the day will be fun, yet sad. I really wish there was a bottle big enough to put both of my kids inside and seal it tight! Their innocence and sweetness right now melt my heart each day. I know the "big, bad world" is out there and I want to protect them from it for as long as possible!

I knew it would be tough.....

to blog once I went back to work! Working full time and taking care of two kids is no easy task! Add moving on top of it and it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks. We will spend our first night in the new house tomorrow night and I am SO excited! I can't wait to get all of our stuff in there and situated.

School has gone really well this week. I've been pleasantly surprised. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have those few that are going to be a challenge behavior wise. BIG TIME. But, I'm enjoying the independence level and the fact that school is an old hat for these kids. I didn't tie shoes all day and they are able to read something when I write it on the board. My schedule is really good too. I have a 1 1/2 hour block of Language Arts first thing in the morning, then specials, lunch, Social Studies, recess and then a 1 1/2 block of Language Arts in the afternoon. Our specials are 50 minutes each day so that's been really nice. Plus, I get a 3 hour break each day from those that give me a fit behavior wise in my class! In my afternoon class, I have some special ed kids so I have 2 other teachers in the room with me. It's been really cool because we are able to spend the entire time in small groups. Each of us takes a group of 4-5 and teach a lesson and then rotate. It gets a little old repeating the same lesson 3 times, but we are able to keep a handle on behavior problems this way.

My kids are doing well. The transition to staying at a sitter full time was hard on all 3 of us and there were a lot of tears shed on my end. A LOT. But each day has gotten a little easier. I just have to accept that no one is going to do things with them exactly as I would. The lady keeping them is wonderful and I can tell that she really loves my kids. Tripp calls her "grandma". :-)

I'll do my best to get pictures of the new house up as soon as possible!

A new school, new grade, new year....

One day down.....179 to go! It will be interesting to see what God has in store!

The fourth grade team! The girl right beside me in black is my parapro....she is wonderful!

It's officially ours!

We closed on our new house yesterday! We are really excited and anxious to get moved in. The painters came today and painted both kids' rooms, the dining room, kitchen and master bath. We had already painted the master bedroom (or I should say the builders did). I will get pictures up soon but probably not until all of our furniture is in. It looks beautiful and I'm so grateful for such an awesome house. I plan on making many, many happy memories there!

On another note, one more day of preplanning and then school will start. Preplanning has been quite overwhelming but I'm starting to feel a little more sane. I had no idea how much I was going to feel like a first year teacher all over again. I'll try to get pictures of my classroom up soon too!