This Crazy Life

Life can be crazy! Hectic! Busy!

Tonight as I settled snuggly into bed with my laptop after a long day, I was greeted by a John Deere tractor and a toy car Jackson had left here earlier while playing. I had to smile! I went in his room to check on him because he has been running a fever this afternoon, and couldn't help but smile at him sleeping so sweetly. While reading with Jackson in his Bible tonight about Noah and the ark, it was so sweet to see him so excited about Noah, and he wanted to hear the story twice tonight. Do I think he understands why God sent a flood or what the rainbow symbolizes? No, but I'm thankful to see his interest in reading his Bible daily.

You know...life is crazy, hectic, and keeps you on your toes, but I love this life! I constantly am busy keeping up with a very active 2 year old, keeping up our house, pursuing my degree, or just being a wife or mother, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Let the vacation begin!

Let the vacation begin! I have finally finished another clinical rotation for grad school, and I'm on vacation for the next month! I can hardly believe it! This is my first real break since grad school began 2 years ago. I have had a 1-1 1/2 week break here and there, but generally I've still had class work to finish up, etc, but not this time! I'm excited about the many projects I'm hoping to tackle here around the house, and hope to be able to enjoy some family time and maybe a mini-vacation before school starts back up in high gear.

I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I really enjoyed my last clinical rotation. I had no idea I would glean as much knowledge, and grow so much as a clinician during this last rotation, but I'm thrilled that I did, and very thankful I had such a knowledgable supervisor who was so easy to work with. I look forward to my next clinical rotation next month, and am so happy to say I only have 2 left before graduation! This has been such a long journey, but to think it will all be over with in only 9 short months is overwhelming but so exciting! Donald and I are earnestly praying about what direction we will go once graduate school is completed.

Baseball

Today is Donald's day off work this week, so we're enjoying the day together as a family. I think I recently mentioned that Donald's job decided to go to 4 day work weeks for the time-being, and it has been great for our family. Jackson enjoys having Donald home 3 full days a week, and it's great that we have time to do something together as a family. We had planned to go to the park this morning, but it is a bit too warm to go to the park today. We may end up going later today or we may save that outing for another day.

Donald and Jackson have been playing baseball this morning, and I've enjoyed watching them and cheering them on. Jackson has become quite good at hitting the ball with his baseball bat, and he gets so tickled and has such a great time with his daddy.

Hope y'all are enjoying your day with whatever you are doing today. Summer is going by so fast! Tomorrow is my last day of my current internship, and so I hope to be able to enjoy the rest of the summer before embarking on my last months of graduate school.

Wedding Weekend

What a busy week we had last week! Donald's brother David was married this past weekend, and we spent this past week tying up loose ends before leaving for the weekend of wedding activities. We had a busy, but enjoyable weekend. We try to stay in contact with our friends we have had for years and years, but it's always so hard with us all living in different places and many of us now having children, but we were able to spend lots of time with friends and have already planned our next time together.

Here's my favorite picture from this weekend...a sweet picture of Donald and Jackson before the wedding. Jackson was determined to spend time with his daddy before the wedding. He would continuously tell me, "I need to talk to daddy," and he would make his way over to daddy to say "I love you." He'd come back to where I was sitting and do the same thing again. He sat through the entire wedding ceremony and only said he wanted to be with daddy 1 time which I thought was quite impressive.

Where have we been?

Here at our house, we have been quite busy now that summer is here. Jackson and I have been enjoying the weather as we can, but it's been a little hot the past few days for us to get out until later in the evening.

Good news! Donald is now working 4 day work weeks for right now. We are still adjusting a little to his new schedule, but Jackson and I have enjoyed him being home a extra day during the week. We're not sure how long this schedule will last, but it works out great for us during the summer, and we'll enjoy it while we have it.

Hopefully more posts will be coming in the coming days along with some new photos of Jackson.

"Ants In Your Pants"

Jackson has become very animated in his everday talk an his language has grown tremendously recently. Today, he has been so very active so this was our conversation:

Me: Jackon, do you have ants in your pants?
Jackson: No Mommy! It's pee pee.

I just giggled. This is such a sweet age!

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. We enjoyed some great family time, and enjoyed having Donald home from work. We grilled hamburgers on the grill, and then headed to Clayton to enjoy the fireworks. We set off a few smaller fireworks in the yard and had sparklers here at the house, but Jackson was scared of those. As soon as we lit those fireworks, Jackson ran to us with open arms saying "Mommy-scared!" I didn't know if he'd like the "big fireworks" as Jackson calls them, but when we got to Clayton, we found a nice grassy area to put our blanket down, and we enjoyed strawberries while waiting for the fireworks. Jackson had a great time, and was sad when they were over.

I'm truly thankful that we live in a country that gives us the freedoms that we hold dear. Were it not for the men and women who faithfully fight for our country, we might not enjoy those freedoms, so thank you all that you and your families sacrifice for our freedom!

Potty Training and Update

So, I thought I would work with Jackson on potty training at the end of this month when I'll be home more because clinicals end at the end of July; however, Jackson has shown a great interest in potty-training lately, so this weekend he has using the big-boy potty almost exclusively. He usually has 1 accident a day, but that is a major accomplishment in only a few days. I'm letting him do this at his pace because I know how difficult it must be on a 2 year old with our current schedule. On the days I have clinicals, Jackson and I leave the house at 5:45 AM, and no 2 year old is worried about using the potty that early in the morning. I'm so proud of him and the little boy he's becoming! I'm sure this potty-training phase will have ups and downs, but I'm proud of how far he's come in just a few short days!

I realize I haven't said much about my current internship lately, so I thought I'd give a brief update. I'm truly enjoying it! The 8 hours that I'm there really fly by because it is such a face-pace, upbeat environment. I wasn't sure how I'd like working with adults with swallowing disorders, but I have come to really enjoy it, and often look forward to going into work so I can see the patients and the progress that they are making. I wanted to become a speech-language pathologist because of this type of environment, but the course of events over the past few years changed my mind in some ways and made me think I would work in the public school system. The caseload is varied and challenging, but I'm learning so much each day. I'm not sure what God has in store for me, but I'm excited about the possibilities. To think that in 10 short months, I'll graduate and be finished with this chapter of my life is overwhelming at times, but I will be so glad to be finished!!! I've started studying some for the Praxis licensing exam as it will be such an in-depth exam asking me to recall things from undergraduate which seems like forever ago! Hopefully by December, I'll be ready to take the exam so that I can begin my search for employment.