Our Poor Blog

I suppose the day comes where time  just changes.  Over the last two years, my blog posts have diminished and in the recent months, they are just nonexistent.  I miss blogging.  I miss reminiscing on the pictures as I post them.  I miss the simplicity of life that existed when I used to blog.  But, times change.  Poor William will not be able to look at the blog and see his life documented.  That is hard for me, but it is how life goes.

Here we are.  What has been going on?  Why do I not have the pleasure of blogging?  The story is long, but I will update the highlights.  First to caveat the situation, think from my perspective as Dave had just spent 1 year in the middle east.  He wanted to get out of the military and go back to the middle east.  I fought with this choice, but in the end, the Lord told me it was right and I was willing to go with that.  Dave was only home for 6 months before he left again for another 15 grueling months and we found out we were expecting William 2 weeks before he left.  For the better part of 3 years, Dave was gone.  Sometimes I feel as though we made a pivotal decision of faith some years ago and we continued to make the choices to keep going, not in perfect faith but with all that we had.  During my weak moments of faith, I just look at the situation and think, "Well at this moment, I am in the middle of the deep, dark lake and I don't want to drown so I suppose we just keep going and hope it works out."  And here we are, a couple years later.

When Dave came back from the Middle East, he searched high and low for a job.  We knew we were taking a risk by having him come back without a job.  The Lord provided a way for him to come home and we took a leap, again.  Thankfully he was able to get the GI Bill to help pay the bills a little but that meant he was back in school again.  This was our plan C, but thankfully we had a plan C right?  Oh years ago when his military paperwork was messed up and we were mad about his student loan repayment not working out and instead they took the much needed money for the GI Bill when he elected not to get that, we didn't feel so thankful.  But come plan C, we were thankful.  So he started back to school in exercise science.  He ran into an amazing professor who offered him a volunteer position at a physical therapy clinic.  This experience has been life changing for him.  He just submitted his physical therapy school application!!!  Anyway, back to the job hunt, still nothing came up.  We survived for 6 months on the money we had saved and then 6 months into it, we ran out.  What were we going to do?  Yet somehow, the Lord continued to provide.  Our bills (despite the lack of money) were always paid.

One morning at church, one of the women brought me an envelop that had my first name on it.  Inside was $19.  No one knew where the money had come from.  That envelop (which I swear I threw away) reappeared three times with money in it.  It never had a lot.  But it always had just that little bit that was needed.  That is just one example of how the Lord blessed us during this time.

About 6 months into our adventure, I decided to get my substitute certificate.  We had no money and we needed some income.  Oh that took forever.  Yet 3 weeks before the end of the school year, I started subbing.  I worked EVERY day.  Then the summer hit.  I was worried about what to do.  And then Dave got a job!  He started working as the men's basketball strength and conditioning coach at a  local community college.  The summer was rough.  He didn't get as much from his GI Bill because of the school breaks.  I wasn't able to work.  And yet we survived.  As the school year approached, I was set up with a long term sub position.  And Dave took on two more teams!  It was amazing how things evolved.  And this is how my life changed...

During the spring, I had started working on everything I needed to get my intern teaching license.  It is a license that Arizona offers for people that have a degree and they want to teach, but they do not have a teaching degree.  Well, every hold up possible was encountered and I didn't get everything set up until after the schools had hired who they needed.  Oh well, Plan B... keep on subbing and try for next school year.  I started subbing in an autistic classroom and I loved it.  It was amazing.  I was supposed to sub for 6 weeks and 2 weeks into it, I got a call from the kids' school that they would like me to come in for an interview.  I had put in my sub application there but in doing so, I put on there that I am seeking a full time position.  I come into the interview very unprepared thinking about my autistic children at school.  And endured the HARDEST interview of my life.  It was horrendous!  I did not understand one bit why they were asking these outrageous questions!  I was only coming in to sub.  And then I was blindsided when he offered me a job teaching kindergarten.  I will spare you all the night of fitful sleep as I pondered this choice and the mommy guilt I felt.  And yet the Lord told me this was right.  Two days later, I walked into a bare classroom with 29 beautiful smiles staring at me 3 weeks into the school year and no plan.  It has been a fun ride.

Dave recently went on a scouting campout.  And while he was gone, I was able to glimpse the memory of those long years that he spent in the middle east.  In July, we celebrated him being home for a whole year.  He was home for EVERY holiday, birthday, anniversary and family function.  This was the first time in 7 years that this was true.  One of my greatest blessing through the last 15 months has been having Dave home.  The stress of no job and not enough money was/is horrible.  Yet, having him home has filled my life with love and blessings.  My children have cherished this time.  Tender mercies have dotted our lives.

So you ask, what does that have to do with the blog?  Well between our 5 beautiful children, my primary secretary calling, our group fitness/personal training side job, my kindergarten teaching job, and my masters degree in Early Childhood... my plate is over flowing.  But... I have to say that I feel blessed, loved, and totally at peace.

Encanterra Run

The week after Dave's marathon, we ran Encanterra Glo Run.  It is a local 5 k race.  Dave was nice to do the 1 mile with the little kids even though his foot was super bruised.

 Here are the 3 of us waiting to run the 5k.

 The little kids after the race.

 Us with Scott's family- I love running with other people

It was an awesome race.  First 5 k for the big kids in a long time and we can't wait until our next race in November!

Our kitchen

 So here is a picture of these yummy delicious spinach coconut pancakes.  I used coconut oil to make them so they had a heavy coconut flavor and we loved it!

I came downstairs one morning and saw this cute note from Haylee addressed to Laycee.  I love my children!

Spring Break Project

So, we had created a "gym" in our house when we first started our personal training company.  We come to find out that the ceiling is too short for that.  In addition, we started group fitness classes and the room isn't big enough for more than a couple people.  While Dave was in Iraq, we had bought the stuff to finish the garage.  So Spring Break became the time to do that.  Here is before.

 This was the worst part... moving the garage stuff into the house!

 Our little helper

 Finished floor

 Finished walls and floors

 pictures out of order

We love the finished product.  Now if only I could figure out how to get rid of enough stuff that the garage is clean.  I love having all of the equipment in the garage now.  It makes classes SO much easier.

William 14 months old

Here is a little of William at 14 months.  He loves balls and balloons.

 He has mastered stairs.

 He loves the trampoline.  Shortly after this picture was taken, we finally got a new net put up so he could actually play on the trampoline again.

 He hates the movies!

 He is on his last days with a pacifire.

 He learned to throw all out fits.

 He crawls/walks away when he is mad.

Gotta love him.  He is such a joy and so fun to have around.  He is ahead of his time and fits right in with the kids.  We love him!

Cubanapolis

Oh my sweet Trent.  Here he is ready for this year's Cubanapolis.  The rules of his pack are they make a cardboard box that must be held.  They have to wear a helmet, "goggles", and tie tennis shoes.  Trent doesn't have tie tennis shoes so he had to wear Haylee's.  

 Back by popular demand... custom license plate (last years UR2SLOW)

 Professional photo (kind of)

 He placed!  

We love Trent.  We love how he works at scouts.  We love his many leaders who work hard to make fun activities for the boys.  Scouts is where Trent finds himself and I am thankful for that.

Phoenix Marathon

March 2, 2013

It was a special day.  Dave completed his first marathon.  Here he is on the bus heading to the start line.

This is the start of the 10k location.  I ran my first 10k.  I have ran many races, but this was the first 10k.

I think he looks pretty darn good for having just ran 26.2 miles!!

So I ran my race and then rush a few miles up the road to meet my sister in law (who had these three kids) and to see Dave at mile 18.  However, Dave WAY overestimated his time and we missed him by 30 minutes!  The kids had to get back to the race finish line for their 1k race, so we left.  Unfortunately when we FINALLY got back to the finish line, it was time for the kids race... which HAPPENED to be when Dave was crossing the finish line.  We missed him.  I was in a panic wondering if he was ok and if he had finished.  We saw people passing out and people falling over.  I was so anxious.  Thankfully once the children finished their race, we were able to re-enter the racers area and I found Dave!  He is so behind the times and he doesn't run with anything... no phones, no music, no water.  He does run with nourishment though.

How did he do?  Well this was his worst blister.  He said he has no desire to run a marathon again given that it was "kind of a let down".  He said he didn't feel like he accomplished anything special lol. He finished in 4 hr 56 min.  He was AWESOME.

Running season is around the corner and I can't wait to see what we accomplish this season!!

Life in All Its Randomness

Here is life in all of it's randomness.  I am hoping to one day get caught up on here.  I would love to blog on life now.  I would love to outlet the joys and frustrations that so many of my friends post so elegantly.  Yet, here I am stuck in the past.  Wonder if that is a metaphor for my life right now?  It totally is.  But, on the plus side, here are some more fun pictures of the kids.

William going down the slide by himself back in March!  14 months old

 Oh another round of pink eye.  This past winter was a really bad one for us.  We had changed our diets over the fall and I think that come winter, our bodies were just a bit overwhelmed with the changes from the fall.  Or maybe it was just a bad winter.  But someone was sick in our house from October until April.  As luck would have it, we didn't have health insurance so we just had to fight it out.  Thankfully, (if you can count this as thankful) Logan and Laycee get pink eye often enough that I had medicine for that.  Each of the children missed about 7 days of school over the winter.  It was horrible.  BUT, we have had a very healthy summer!  

Our sweet William once again (14 months) eating with a fork.  He amazes me everyday

Orchestra Concert

Here is some footage from Haylee's Spring concert.  This was not the final concert of the year, but it was fun because it was a "glow in the dark" concert.  This encourages the children to be more familiar with their instrument.  I LOVED it

More Life

What is new in life?  Well lots of veggies.  Stuffed peppers (yes dairy is coming out of our diets next), salad and not pictured was spaghetti squash

 A day at the Dollar Theater to see Wreck It Ralph

 A night at the soccer fields

 My very first quilt square of my first quilt.  It is called, a Young Woman of Virtue in the making for Haylee's 12th birthday that she can take to girls camp and young woman events.

 One day, I photoed my favorite place in my house.  Whenever I walk in my bedroom, I instantly feel reprieve from the day.  I love to walk in there and see beautiful colors that calm my soul.  

They turn 6!

Feb 1, 2007

That is the day that changed the rest of our life.  The twins were born that day.  Weird saying Twins.  Yes they are twins in birth, but little else.  They love playing up the fact that they are twins.  Once when asked what are twins, Laycee said, "That means they love each other".  So fun.  I cannot believe they are 6.  The years have flown by.  Here they are opening presents.

 The annual 6 picture

 Can't skip the "twin" picture

 They had a sleepover with the cousins for this birthday.

I love these two and they have enhanced my life.  They have brought and taught me skills I didn't know I had.  Each milestone brings new experiences with twins and I love it.