It definitely has been a transitional year for the kids. Jake is learning that he needs to put the
extra work into his studies and that teachers aren’t going to follow-up like
they did in middle school. He’s learning
this the hard way unfortunately, but he’s getting his act together. I miss the straight A’s he use to get, but
with three weighted honors courses, I’m proud of him even when he’s earning
those C’s and B’s. He has to work hard
for them. I sometimes think he can work
harder, but as a parent, you can push them so far but they have to fly on their
own. I know he can do it and he will
because I have faith in him. I will
continue to encourage and push him a little big, because isn’t that what
parents do? I’m incredibly proud of the young
man he’s turning into.
Oh my Rachel! What a year it’s
been for her! She is not enjoying the
amount of academic time that there is now compared to pre-school. She misses her nap times and longer play
times like she had in preschool. But we
are truly blessed with her wonderful kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Albright. As the year has progressed, we have seen such
growth in her maturity. With a late
August birthday, she is one of the youngest in the class and although
academically she can handle it, sometimes emotionally she lags behind a little
bit. She is incredibly well liked, but
she is extremely sensitive and wears her heart on her sleeve…hmmm, I guess the
apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Rachel
is quite the negotiator too…she loves to try and help change the teachers mind;
especially if it’s something she does or doesn’t want to do. She has trouble remembering who the authority
figure is and gets herself into trouble with her sassiness and her feisty
self. She is funny though! You never know what’s going to come out of
her mouth next. When do they learn to
filter before they speak?
Jake made the freshman basketball team for his high school as a
starter. He was averaging about 12-15
points per game with over a dozen rebounds.
Three quarters of the way through the season, he injured his knee. Initially, the orthopedic surgeon was sure
that it was damage to his ACL, but after an MRI we were thankful to learn that
it was only a meniscus tear. Jake still
needed surgery but his recovery time went from 9 months to only about 9
weeks! We were so thankful for that but unfortunately;
he was done for the season at school. He
was disappointed as well as us. We
really enjoy watching him play and the progress he’s made over the last year is
stellar. He recently was cleared to
start playing ball again and he’s being a little gun-shy which is to be
expected. He’ll get his game back, I
have no doubt!
Can you believe Dave and I are about to celebrate 19 years of marriage
on April 30th? I’m struggling
to comprehend that. I know we’ve been
together a very long time…28 years this coming August, actually…but it truly
doesn’t feel like we’ve been married that long?
And my wonderful husband is about to celebrate his 46 birthday on
Sunday, April 14th! It’s
crazy when I think that we’ve been together since he was 18 years old…more than
half his life now and 28 years of my life!
Seriously, I couldn’t imagine a more wonderful husband and father for
our children. I thank God every single
day for him!
We had a little health scare earlier this year when Dave saw a
dermatologist for two spots on his forehead.
I’m so glad I was proactive and made him an appointment to have them
looked at because they were cancerous and needed to be removed. We are thankful that once they were cut out,
he didn’t need any further treatment. He
will need to be monitored regularly since he is now prone to this type of skin
cancer. What a scary time for all of
us! He was such a trooper with the
procedures to have the cancer removed.
And I must say, incision areas healed very nicely too. Thank God no further treatment is
necessary!
I know in my last post, I mentioned that I started a new lifestyle
journey where I’m working with a personal trainer and exercising 5 to 6 days a
week. I know; crazy, right? I’ve never exercised consistently let alone 5
to 6 days a week. And the kicker, 4 out
of those 6 days, I’m up at 4:30 AM to be at the gym by 5:15 for my
workouts! I’m down 44 lbs as of last
week! Woot woot! I’m not perfect and I’m still going through a
“process” to make the necessary changes.
I like food, I really do. Who
doesn’t, right? I have made some drastic
changes, but each day is a battle and I realized that I can’t rely on myself
only, but rather I need to pray daily and rely on those who are sharing this
journey with me. I am so grateful to the
friends I’ve met along this journey.
I’ve been sharing my progress too and the support I get is incredibly
encouraging. I’ve been told that I’m an
inspiration by so many. I would never in
a million years think that I could actually inspire someone to get
healthy. Me, inspire something to get
healthy? The girl is has been overweight
since she was 13 years old?! I am
getting stronger each week and my body is molding into something that is so
foreign to me. I love it and I will
always need to continue to pray to stay on this trend.
My trainer has shared with me that we all hit “bumps in the road” on
our journeys. Well, I hit mine recently,
because last Monday I had to have knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear. Yup, exactly the same thing Jake had to have
done two months ago! I asked the surgeon
if he has a “two for one deal!” I am 4
days post-op and I have less pain now than I did before the surgery, so I’m
praising God for that! I started PT this
week and the therapist was impressed with my progress and how strong I am. So, being in shape is so worthwhile for when
you hit those “bumps in the road” that require surgery. The therapist even commented on the “rocks”
that I have for thighs! LOL. I had to laugh at that! Felt really good for someone to say that out
loud to me, which validates the hard work I’m doing. Tee hee!
We have a new addition to our family since I last blogged. My sister Sandy, and her husband, Marion, in
North Carolina, are in the process of adopting another little one. Quincy joined their family about a year and
half ago now through fostering and they are now working with a lawyer to
finalize his adoption. I’m so excited
for them! Our family is growing by leaps
and bounds! My niece, Mary Anna, is also
pregnant and is due in September. It’s
been a long time since we had a tiny baby in the family. Please keep her in prayer! She is a single mom and has lots of changes
heading her way.
I’m not going to promise to update my blog more regularly, but I will
do my very best to not wait a whole year to do it!
Here are some updated pictures!
I know, look how much my kiddos are growing?
Rachel's First Day of Kindergarten! Look - she has on her own locker!!!
Jake's first day of high school!!! Not sure where the time has gone!
Yep, sums it up in this picture. Sweet and Sassy as they come.
This is the young man, Tristen, who Rachel is very fond of this year. He is pretty cute!
Love my girl!
Believe it or not, a few minutes later, she totally fell backwards all the way down! Scary moment!
Mommom and her two grandbabies!
Rare family picture.
Jake is worse than his sister in getting a nice smile out of him! Geesh!
Our Christmas tree.
Jake and Rachel putting the star on the tree.
1 comment:
Your family is beautiful, I hope we don't have to wait too long to hear your family adventures.
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