A few of the many things that have been going on in our lives/family lately:
*Brian's Grandpa in New York has been having some health issues lately. His heart is starting to fail and he has been passing out alot. We are praying for him to come to know Jesus in these last days of his life.
*Avery's screening test at school revealed that she is very bright, but she is having trouble with auditory processing. This is not a surprise, in fact it's pretty much what I thought, so it was good have it confirmed by professionals. Auditory processing disorders tend to mimic ADD, which is the other thing I thought it might be. She's not quite old enough to be tested for ADD, but we will probably need to look into that in the next year or two. For now, she is going to be getting one on one time twice a week with a special teacher who will work with her on speed, focusing, listening and transition skills. Our main goal is for her to love school again and feel successful in the classroom. I am so proud of how hard she is working and her efforts, and I can't wait to see the progress she will make in the next few months.
*I am working as a caregiver at church every other Sunday. I keep the young two's (Laney's not in my class) on Sunday and I also take care of the babies/toddlers during our Wednesday night Awana and Thursday morning women's Bible study. It's quite a leap from teaching high school, but God is using this time of my life to teach me simplicity and patience. I hope I am learning what He wants me to learn. I have found that taking care of little ones is physically demanding. I mean, I am definitely tired from taking care of my own kids, but keeping a nursery for 3-4 hours, 3 days a week, is exhausting. But it's a blessing to bring my kids to work with me and take care of them while I'm taking care of the sweet little ones in our church.
*Brian is enjoying being an AP so far, but he a lot busier than he expected. Some days he doesn't get to sit down to eat his lunch until 2. He already busted a kid for selling drugs at school and another kid for threatening to bring a gun to school. The mother of that kid was pretty mad that Brian sent her kid to alternative school so she called him "Mr. Crappy." Ha!
*Our crazy, hyper, sweet dog Belle is starting to have some heart problems. We started her on a very inexpensive heart medication a few weeks ago, and we're praying it works to shrink her heart back down to normal size so she will live a few more years. I got very emotional about it when the vet first told me she may only have a year left. She & Bandit were our first "kids." We got Bandit right after we were married and we got Belle about a year later. They are such a great dogs, and it's hard to imagine not having Belle around. We are going in for another checkup next week, so hopefully Belle' heart is responding to the medicine.
*We went to the Third Day concert on Saturday. They are always great, but I really loved the opening act, Matthew West. He is one of my new favorites now. I especially love "Strong Enough."
I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up, I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t You cover me?
Lord, right now I’m asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough
For the both of us
*Avery started volleyball and Tatum started soccer at the Y last weekend. We have been doing a lot of practicing in the backyard on both sports and they are both improving so much. It was so much fun to go to their games on Saturday. I told Brian I would love it if we always had some sports game to go to on the weekends. It's just fun to me. It was a nice day to be at the Y. It was freezing in the gym during Avery's v-ball game, then we went outside for Tatum's soccer game and it was hot, but with a nice breeze. Just fun.
Avery's team "Crush" is made up of 6/7 year old girls, most have never played volleyball before. Brian is coaching the team, along with a sweet high school girl. Avery got four serves over the net during the first game! Here's my little server below:
Tatum's team "New York" is co-ed four year olds. She has never played before, but she got the hang of it pretty quick. No picking flowers for this girl, she chased the ball down and even got to throw it in once.
Brian giving her some instructions during the water break. And her team meeting at the end of the game. I think they tied 1-1, but I'm pretty sure both goals were accidental.
And these two were great cheerleaders.
Yesterday, Avery received her first real Bible along with all the 1st graders at church. It is so cool and has the best pictures. She has not put it down once since she got it yesterday.
Here's our sweet girl, who always looks like she's just been in a fight. You can see the scars - one between her eyes and one beside her left eye. She always tries to do everything as quickly as possible and sometimes things like coffee tables or metal chairs just get in the way.
Brian will be 34 on Thursday and Bodie will be 6 months on Wednesday! I can't believe we've had him for half a year already! He is sitting up now, blowing raspberries, grabbing everything within his reach (which is why I got my hair cut short!), eating everything I put on a spoon, throwing a few fits too, but such a joy to all of us.
I just can't get enough of this boy. In some ways, these 6 months with him have gone by really fast, but in other ways, I feel like he has been a part of our family forever. All I know is, I already can't wait until I get to hold him again in the morning.
Avery's team "Crush" is made up of 6/7 year old girls, most have never played volleyball before. Brian is coaching the team, along with a sweet high school girl. Avery got four serves over the net during the first game! Here's my little server below:
Tatum's team "New York" is co-ed four year olds. She has never played before, but she got the hang of it pretty quick. No picking flowers for this girl, she chased the ball down and even got to throw it in once.
Brian giving her some instructions during the water break. And her team meeting at the end of the game. I think they tied 1-1, but I'm pretty sure both goals were accidental.
And these two were great cheerleaders.
Here's our sweet girl, who always looks like she's just been in a fight. You can see the scars - one between her eyes and one beside her left eye. She always tries to do everything as quickly as possible and sometimes things like coffee tables or metal chairs just get in the way.
Brian will be 34 on Thursday and Bodie will be 6 months on Wednesday! I can't believe we've had him for half a year already! He is sitting up now, blowing raspberries, grabbing everything within his reach (which is why I got my hair cut short!), eating everything I put on a spoon, throwing a few fits too, but such a joy to all of us.
We went to march-in on Sunday afternoon with our friends, the Kopp's. It was so fun to be back in Aggieland, even if it was just for a few hours. We didn't have tickets to the game, but we thought it would be fun to let the kids watch all the football players, band, and Corps march into Kyle Field. It was fun to see our kids experience some of the fun and excitement of being an Aggie. When the band marched by, I looked over at our girls and they were all mesmerized. Their eyes were huge and their little mouths were open. I've always loved the Aggie band, honestly that is my favorite part of the football games. So it was fun to watch the girls reaction to the band and all the Corps of Cadets marching by. Of course, they loved seeing Reveille walk by too. I realized after they marched by that I probably should've covered Bodie's ears, poor guy, but he seemed to really enjoy all the activity and noise.
After everyone went into Kyle Field, we walked back through the Quad and let our kids run around campus for a few minutes before heading to Layne's for dinner. We sat around and talked and watched the game on TV for a couple hours before driving back home.
I don't think we've had a good family picture taken of all of us since Bodie was born. So here we are with our little future Aggies. We look forward to the days when we can take them all to the games and enjoy the whole day here, but for this stage of life, this was just about right. All the way home, we heard occasional "whooping" coming from the backseat and we smiled,
Good start to the season too. We came out with a big win. Gig em!
My friend Bethany works every Tuesday, so she has entrusted me to keep her four little ones every Tuesday while she goes to work. Tuesday is everyone's new favorite day of the week. My girls ask me every day when is it going to be Tuesday again. We have thoroughly enjoyed having the Spenn kids at our house and getting to play with them all day. Yes. you counted correctly, that is 8 kids watching a movie after eating dinner and getting a shower.
Avery & Rylin don't get home from school until around 4 and Brian tries to get home from work around 5, so it is crazy at times, but overall, it is just alot of fun.
Tatum has been teaching herself how to write her letters, with a little help from Avery or me. I was so proud of her when she showed me this coloring sheet where had written the names of everyone in our family. Tatum is so driven, very internally motivated and determined. It excites me to think of all that she can do when she puts her mind to it.
And here's our little guy using his exersaucer for the first time. He loved it! I probably could've pulled it out of the attic a month ago, but now that it's out, he is a jumping pro.
This season of life is hard. I've started several different posts lately trying to put words to it, but I just don't know how to say it. I feel discouraged. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels, working my tail off, but not getting anywhere. Everyone has been asking me, "so how do you like staying home?" My short answer: "It's the hardest thing I've ever done." God is using it to show me lots of things, mostly humility.