Behind

I am soooooo behind!  Time to catch up.....

Wordless Wednesday - Morning Brotherly Love

1st Day of 1st Grade

It's back to school time!  Daniel woke up ready to get his 1st day of 1st grade started.  Daniel is so excited about the new school year, he gave his teacher (Ms. Kasey) a big hug when he saw her this morning and I had to beg for a hug and kiss goodbye.  But, he was excited to to see me when I picked him up and immediately gave me a hug.  He said he had a great 1st day of 1st grade and talked nonstop about his new teachers (Ms. Kasey & Ms. Marie) and his friends (some old, some new).  We celebrated a great 1st day of 1st grade with ice cream at Snow White Diner.  (Yum!)

Schedule Change

Richard has been working 7 p.m. - 7 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday nights for the past 11 months.  We are thankful he has a job but HATE his schedule!  We have had one day a week to spend time together or work on major house projects or schedule appointments.  We need Daddy more than one day a week and Daddy needs some "real" time off. 
Richard starts a new schedule this week, he will still be working 7 p.m. - 7 a.m. but he will be working for days in a row (Wednesday-Saturday) which means we will have Sunday-Tuesday together.  Sundays always consist of Richard coming home from work, us rushing out the door to attended worship services and then home for lunch naps and relaxation.  That will not change.  What we are most looking forward to is that we will have 2 full days (Monday & Tuesday) in a row to be together.   

Boys in my House

There are boys in my house - and Spiderman shoes
And 200 papers in various blues.
There's Bob (he's a builder) and Thomas the Train,
There's a fireman coat to wear in the rain.

They have cars on their shirts and frogs on their hats
There's a glove and a ball and a red plastic bat.
There's dirt on a face and a smudge on a nose;
Grass stains on knees and sand between toes.
There's bath time at night with bodies to scrub,
And when we're all done there is dirt in the tub!

There's band-aids and bruises and curious bumps,
There's smiles and laughter and sometimes there's grumps.
There's odors most icky; there's boogers so green
There's more yucky things than I'll ever get clean.
There's piles of laundry; there's stories at night;
There's bedtime and bath time and dinner time fights.

There's cars and there's trains and there's books about trucks
There's Scoop, Lofty, Dizzy, and Travis, and Muck.
Sometimes there are bugs, and sometimes there are frogs;
Sometimes they are lions, or dinos, or dogs.

 

       There are cute little vests and darling neckties
Dragged right through the mud – oh what a surprise!
There's running and climbing and jumping and falling
And laughing and crying and hugging and brawling
And rolling and losing and finding and creeping
And whining and stealing and sometimes there's sleeping.
There's tantrums and time outs and extra loud noise –
There's love in my house shaped like three little boys.

-Author Unknown

Our Prayers

A year ago we were rejoicing that Richard had been offered a job after a long, grueling 2 year job search. The offer was a blessing in lots of ways but we were left with having to make a decision on where to live. Our lease on our home was almost up and we knew we could not really afford to renew our lease, the rent cost was way over our budget, Richard's commute was long, gas was costly and the list could go on. The decision to look for a cheaper place to live came pretty easy, it was something that had to be done. So the hunt began.....
We REALLY wanted to stay in the Gallatin/Hendersonville area but we our search to find a house within our budget was failing. We chose to expand our search to the Mt. Juliet/Lebanon area after discovering that those areas would actually be a little more convinent for Richard's commute. We found a house in Lebanon that had everything we were looking for cheaper rent, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, an office area, hardwood floors, a fenced in backyard and convinent. We breathed a sigh of relief when we got the call that the house was ours and started packing boxes. The move was hard. Richard was working full time. I was packing and getting ready for the move while being a full time mommy to 3 toddlers. Grueling!
We have lived in Lebanon for 10 months and while there are several things that we like about living here we are not 100% happy. Richard's job is not working out like we had thought it would. There were some promises made when he was hired that is not being followed through with. He started working 3rd shift in August and it has been TORTURE. But, we are thankful that he has a job in a time where there are a lot of people without a job.
Richard started a job searching before Christmas, his crazy work schedule does not leave a lot of time to job search but he has submitted for a a few positions and has had a few interviews.
My mom sent us an email on Thursday, March 15, there was an IT job for ISR Group posted in the paper. ISR Group is a company that Richard dreams of working for. We checked out the job posting and were excited to learn that Richard met the qualifications. Richard polished up his resume and submitted it on Saturday. We started praying immediately. A job at ISR Group would be PERFECT for our family. Richard received a call on Friday, March 23 asking if he could come in for an interview on Wednesday, March 28. Richard said yes and we begin planning and our prayers changed from asking for the interview to asking that the interview go well. Richard had to work Tuesday night which meant that I really needed to drive so he could sleep. We packed up the van and headed to Savannah after Richard got off work on Wednesday. While loading the van Richard made the comment that he sure hoped all the work was worth it. Richard napped in the van and had a couple of hours to prepare for the interview once we arrived to mom & dad's house. The interview went well and Richard's desire to work for ISR Group is even greater. We have been in constant prayers for Richard to be offered the job. The HR Manager said that they were interviewing last week, making a decision and offer this week and that the person would start in 2 weeks. We are ready! This job would bring such GREAT things for our family, more money, benefits, affordable cost of living, better schools for the boys, close to family and friends, a great church family and the list could go on. We both want this but don't want to get our hopes up. My hopes have been up since Richard got the call for the interview. I have prayed (more like begged) that this will happen. I am finding it extremely difficult not to get my hopes up. I know that God has BIG plans for our family and I trust him and will make the best of what he gives us but my thoughts are flooded with how GREAT a job with ISR Group would be for our family and I can't help but really, really want this and I am finding it extremely difficult to wait for God's answer.

Daniel's 1st Fracture

I received a call from Daniel's teacher a little before 1 today. She was calling to let me know that Daniel had fallen/jumped out of the swing when his class was coming in from playtime. He had landed on his left arm and knees. She said that he cried a little bit but she felt like he was not badly hurt but she wanted us to be aware of the accident just in case he complained of pain once he got home. My phone rang again about 20 minutes later and I noticed that the call was from Daniel's school. This time it was the nurse. Daniel's arm had started swelling right below the elbow and he was complaining that it hurt to bend or straighten his arm. I headed to the school to pick up Daniel and we immediately went to the ER at University Medical Center. The ER doctor looked at Daniel's elbow and arm and didn't see any visible signs of fractures. She ordered some x-rays just to be sure. The x-rays showed a fracture just below the elbow. The nurse splinted Daniel's arm and put his arm in a sling. We were sent home with simple instructions -
1.) keep the splint on
2.) keep the splint dry
3.) do not bear weight on the arm
4.) take Tylenol, etc as needed for pain
5.) follow up with orthopedic doctor in 2-3 days
We made a quick stop at Kroger for a few groceries and Wendy's for supper before heading home. Daniel spent the most of the night on the couch watching shows. We just got Daniel into bed with his arm elevated on a pillow. Our prayer is for him to have a pain-free night.