change of plans

found out my "later morning" schedule is not going to work out after all. i'm pretty bummed about it, but i'm trying to look at the bright side. i've struggled lately with feeling like it's not fair that i don't get to stay home with my kids like all my other friends. i think i have only one "mama" friend who works outside the home right now. i don't say that to make anyone feel sorry for me, just to say i've struggled lately with it.

anyway, in church on sunday, i don't really know how, but God reminded me of something that that one friend (who works) told me. we were eating dinner a couple months ago and we were talking about working, etc. she told me that we're our husbands' helpers, and if that means helping him out by making some money to provide for the family, then that is a privelege that i can be his helper in that way. i never thought of it like that before, and i had kindof forgotten that conversation until sunday. it really hit me, that my attitude should be thankfulness that i can join with my husband as his helper, and we can together provide for our family. anyway, i am bummed that i don't get my mornings with my girls like i had hoped, but i know God will work it out for good.

this is how i found avery when i went in to check on her during naptime yesterday. the book on her lap is her new Bible that her friends rebecca & cooper gave her for a late birthday present last week. she has been attached to that book every second of every day since she got it. it doesn't look that comfortable, but she was out cold.

speaking of avery's strange sleeping positions i am posting an old picture of her when she was about 16 months old. i came in during naptime to check on her and found her hanging on the rail of her crib, not crying or fussing, just very sleepy b/c she hadn't been able to fall asleep. it was pretty hilarious actually! her face was all red, but she was just contentedly sucking on her paci, trying to fall asleep like that. her head did have some padding b/c it was resting on the diaper hanger full of diapers. so it guess it might've been comfortable. anyway, it was about this time that we started thinking about moving her to a big girl bed.


lastly, i just got off the phone with the head volleyball coach at brian's school. it looks like my big tough husband is going to be the freshman girls volleyball coach this fall!!! i know it sounds funny, but we've actually really been praying that he would get the job. volleyball coaches get paid really well, practices are before school and it's a pretty short season with only two games per week after school! this way he will still be able to focus on his master's degree (which he starts next week) and make some money to help pay for it too!!! they weren't sure they wanted a man to coach, but they couldn't find any women to do it, so brian was the next best thing! praise the LORD!

poor tatum... 5 teeth!!!

here she is 14 months old, and sweet tatum still has 7 teeth. well a couple days ago, i noticed she is finally cutting the other bottom one, which would make an even 8 - 4 on top, 4 on bottom. she's been really fussy, a little sick and will not let me out of her sight the past few days. i knew she was cutting that tooth, so i've tried to be patient. anyway, today it was just unbearable, so i started feeling around in her mouth (ouch!) and found that she is also cutting at least 4 molars all at once. i couldn't be sure, but there was definately teeth popping up all over her poor gums. i cannot imagine the pain! i tried rubbing baby tylenol on her gums where i felt the teeth and she loved it! she sucked on my finger like it was candy. obviously i can only do that a few times per day. she's not a big fan of teething toys, so i really don't know what else i can do. i don't remember what i did for avery when she was teething, but i'm pretty sure she never got 5 at once! if anyone has any advice, please share!

baby news

no, we don't know what the gender is yet, but i did go to the doctor today and i got to hear the heartbeat. it was 150 this time. according to jennifer's advice, that is a more "boy-ish" heartbeat than last month's checkup when it was 172. it also took the nurse a LONG time to be satisfied with what she was hearing. i could hear the heartbeat perfectly fine, but she kept moving the little monitor around on my belly like she was trying to detect something different. finally after about 3-4 minutes of her searching (all the while i could hear the heartbeat loud & clear), she finally said it was 150. i don't know what that means, maybe there's more than one baby in there??? anyway, next month when i go, i will get an ultrasound, and the mystery will be solved, hopefully.

speaking of jennifer, congratulations to her and her precious family of boys who just welcomed baby KATE, their little princess! she is beautiful and we can't wait to go meet her in a few weeks!

after some time in prayer today, i am planning to make some calls tomorrow to arrange my schedule to teach in the later mornings. i have agonized over this decision probably much more than was necessary, but i feel like it's a really big deal. anyway, since my post a couple weeks ago, i have gotten some good advice and prayed alot, and i feel like i really wouldn't feel happy without my mornings with the girls. Lord willing, the scheduling will work out and also a spot in a different Mother's Day Out program will open up for the girls.

here's the verses i've been reading lately:
"Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass." Psalm 37:3-5

we're currently in a position that is requiring us to "feed on His faithfulness" because we really are unable to feed on our own abilities. not only does God want me to "dwell (be content) in the land," but He also wants me to be delighted with Him in the midst of it. i must admit this is not very true of me right now, but it's my prayer for myself.

colorado vacation

we're back! we spent the past week in durango, colorado with brian's family and we had a blast! we took avery with us, but tatum got to spend the week in SA with my parents. brian's mom & dad, aunt shelia & uncle terry were so fun to vacation with. here's what we did:

saturday, july 5:
flew from houston to albuquerque, NM - rented a minivan and drove 4 hours to durango, colorado. our cabin was so cute, and we had the upstairs all to ourselves (brian, avery & i). we roasted marshmellows and made s'mores around our campfire that night.

sunday, july 6:
brian fished. avery & i played at the local park, played horseshoes and threw rocks in the river. this was her favorite past-time... sitting by the river and seeing how big a splash she could make by throwing huge rocks in the river.



monday, july 7:
we took a bus from durango to silverton, which is an old mining town at about 11,000 elevation. it was cold, but it felt so good! the men went on a jeep tour while the women shopped around silverton. then we took a TRAIN ride back to durango! avery slept half-way on the train, but when she woke up, she loved looking over the edge of our open car at the scary view! that night we went to a chuckwagon dinner and show in durango. the food was delicious and the performance (5 guys with guitars singing cowboy songs) was suprisingly very entertaining!





tuesday, july 8:
the men & i played golf at the university golf course in durango, while brian's mom & aunt entertained avery. we didn't have clubs, so brian & i rented some. they gave brian a set of callaway's and me a set of pink & black cleveland's... by far the nicest clubs we have ever played with! we both played the game of our lives. i even kept my score on some holes, i was doing so good! and i think brian shot a 84! the golf course was in the middle of a valley surrounded by huge mountains with snow on top of them. it was gorgeous!

wednesday, july 9:
mesa verde national park - this place was cool. they have well-maintained indian ruins and cliff dwellings from about 1100-1300 AD. it was amazing to see the way the indians lived there, and we enjoyed hiking and climbing up lots of ladders to see all the details. avery was such a trooper. one lady watched her climbing a 12 foot ladder (with me close behind), and said "i can't believe she is only 3!"




thursday, july 10:
the men hired a fishing guide and fished all morning on lake vallecito. they came home with about 10 fish (previous to hiring the fishing guide, they had caught 1 fish all week). the women & avery walked around and found a nice rocky place to sit by the river. avery threw one of her pink crocs (shoes) in the river and aunt shelia chased that croc down as far as she could, but alas, it got carried away in the river. poor little pink croc. i kept the other one, but i'm not sure what to do with it now. guess we will need to get her another pair of those ugly rubber shoes, that we just really can't live without. anyway, later that afternoon brian & i rented a canoe. thanks to my training as a camp counselor at his hill, i rowed like a superstar while he caught one more fish for our fish fry that night. we told avery it was chicken (she is in LOVE with nemo right now), and she ate it all up. it was really good!

friday, july 11:
we drove to downtown durango and hit the shops. we bought heavenly fudge, a Cinderella PEZ dispenser for avery, some coffee for the folks, a smoothie at the same coffee shop, and i bought a BellaBand at the local maternity store. i have wanted one of those ever since i first saw them in a baby magazine, but i never felt the urgency to buy one. now, in my 3rd pregnancy, the need for BellaBand became so apparent that i just had to get one. i am wearing it right now over my pre-pregnancy jeans and they are fitting me like a champ! so far, it is so worth the money. it has so many uses, i think i will use it as a girdle after i have this baby!!! sidenote: speaking of babies, my friend bethany had her baby boy, noah, on friday. it was fun to talk to her on the phone and hear all the labor/delivery details. we got to meet him today and he is precious! that night, we played a couple rounds of trivial pursuit, the 1980's version. needless to say, brian & i were horrible at it b/c all the questions were so outdated, but it we all laughed and had a blast playing.

saturday, july 12:
drove forever (5 hours) from durango to albuquerque, NM. avery slept almost the whole way thankfully. then we flew from albuquerque to houston. it never felt so good to hear "the local weather is 93 degrees...welcome to houston" as we landed. i was so happy to be home!

avery with her "wings" on the airplane

dilemma

i'm mostly writing this post for myself to look at, but i'm also hoping somebody will offer some enlightening advice that might make this decision for me.
okay, so i signed my teaching contract back in may. although i've prayed otherwise, i feel peace that somehow God will get me through another school year. i'm really not complaining... i teach half-day, i really DO like teaching, it's just that i really really really like being home with my kids all day and not missing out on any of their day.
so here's my quandary: do i continue working early morning from 7:25-10:10 AM or do i try a switcheroo to later in the day from 10:16 AM-1:34 PM??? i've consulted both my school and my MIL, Sharla, who comes over to my house and keeps my kiddos while i'm at work, and both are fine either way. so really it is up to me. i hate when it is totally up to me. i really prefer sometimes to be told what to do.
anyway, i'm going to make a list of things that are good and bad about both options, and hopefully one will outweigh the other:


teach early morning (7:25 - 10:10 AM):
1. get work over with and am home by 10:30 AM - rest of the day to do whatever
2. students are usually better behaved during early morning classes
3. get to sponsor FCA (we meet before school)
4. can meet friends for lunch/playdates whenever i want
5. get to pick avery up from preschool on T/Th
6. get full advantage of girls' nap time to get things done

but,
1. when i get home at 10:30, i am TIRED and all i want to do is lay on the couch
2. tatum goes down for a nap right when i get home, so really i don't get to spend much time with her (however, that means good quality time with avery)
3. i feed them lunch, while we're all tired, we play for a little while, then they go down for afternoon nap - that's not very much quality time
4. i would have to float to two different rooms for my 3 classes - UGH!


teach later morning (10:16 AM - 1:34 PM):
1. get to sleep past 5:30 AM (with a new baby in january, this might be the decision-maker!!)
2. get to wake up my sleeping beauties, feed them breakfast, dress them, etc. they are so precious early in the morning!
3. get to take avery to preschool on T/Th and drop her off
4. i would have a built-in lunch break so i could get grading done at school
5. i am a much better mom in the first few hours of the day than i am after i get home from work, when i'm exhausted.
6. i would have the same classroom for all 3 classes (no floating from room to room)

but,
1. no playdates/lunches with friends
2. would have to find another teacher to sponsor FCA :(
3. my students might be NUTS in the afternoon
4. when i get home at 1:45, i may not have much time left of the girls' naps to rest/get things done


okay, looking at this list, it really doesn't help me decide. but i am leaning toward switching to the later morning simply b/c of sleeping in an extra hour or so. am i crazy? i don't know. any advice is completely welcome.