Updates

Okay, here's the latest (in no particular order):

1. the RRC women's retreat in Charleston was much fun - thanks to BJ and Adrienne (what were their stage names? I can't remember)!

2. our old riding mower is still sitting over the hill where it died a slow death last summer, and we knew the push mower needed some TLC - we just didn't know how badly. The tire just fell off while I tried to mow the grass for the first time this season!

3. Annie is not the least bit afraid of being outside and she will even walk down our road a little ways (which terrifies Ben). I guess all the times we walked the hill this winter caused her to think that's the way to go!

4. a winter trip to the cabin was fun with snowboarding for some and sledding for others! (this is my sister Tabby and my niece Addy taking Annie down the hill with them)

5. coloring Easter eggs is a tradition at our place - a messy tradition, but fun no less. Annie got to sit in her high chair and put stickers on plastic eggs this year so that she could participate, too!

6. Ben can dress himself (which thrills me) even though he often gets clothing on backwards or on the wrong feet. Hey, if it doesn't bother him, it doesn't bother me!

7. oh, and I had bright red highlights put in my hair (thanks, Yvette) which I really love but my family is not so sure. I think they're getting used to it. No really good pictures - sorry!

Back To School

Well, my application for grad school is lying on the table in front of me, sealed and stamped and ready to go in the mail tomorrow. Interestingly, it is somewhat an emotional experience for me.

I have prayed about this, and I truly feel like it is the next step in God's plan for my life, but it is still a bit tough. I guess I have mixed emotions about it. I am excited about the long-term outcome of becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner and the ways I will be able to use that training in ministry. I am intimidated by the thought of writing papers and studying for exams again, all while trying to raise 4 kids and work and keep up my life as it is now. I am excited about the opportunity to do something I enjoy, to stretch my brain, to re-gain a bit of the woman I have lost somewhere in my laundry room.

But I am also a good bit saddened by the closure this brings to the baby stage of my life. Annie is almost 18 months, not a baby anymore, and it's a little difficult for me to let go of the thought of another pregnancy. I guess God can always intervene on that one, but, with this transition in my life, Chad and I are intentionally moving forward and taking our family with us. Thankfully, God has given me a kind of vision for my family that we can only reach as my kids mature, both physically and spiritually, and sometimes that vision is the only thing that keeps me from holding tightly to the desire to being a mother of babies. Honestly, maybe I'm a little afraid. I feel confident in my ability to parent infants and toddlers, but I'm not as confident in my ability to parent older children and teenagers. I expect that fear is not uncommon but, nonetheless, it is mine.

So, I will mail my application tomorrow and wait patiently for a reply. I will anticipate the start of classes with both excitement and apprehension. As I wait, I will pray that God will give me the confidence to continue becoming the woman He is creating me to be for He promised me that He is not finished yet.

Mud or Poopie

Yesterday as we were leaving my mom's house, Ben said to me, "Mommy, don't step in that poop." As I glanced over my shoulder, I saw (what I still think) was a glob of mud on the stoop, so I said, "Ben, I don't think that is poop, I think it is mud." He proceeded to tell me, "No, mommy, you see, mud is flat and poop is big." So I thanked him for the instruction and laughed the rest of the day!

Oh, shoot, I'm still laughing over it!!