School's Out!

Praise the Lord!!! School is out for a while for me....May last day was May 23rd. I said goodbye to my class of 5th graders a few days before that when they "graduated." My colleagues had a good bye breakfast for me and another teacher who was also leaving. I packed up my classroom and turned in my key to my principal. Driving home, I had mixed emotions....I thought I would be overjoyed to finally be a stay at home mom. Instead, I panicked. Who will Beau and I hang out with? What will we do with our days? Will I ever see my work friends again? After some prayer and an attitude adjustment, I realized that my dream was to be a stay at home mom. The Lord answered my prayer and I did not need to fear the unknown.

So,Beau and I had a great first week of the summer together! We played with family on Memorial Day, played with friends at the park and at the pool, ate lunch with daddy, and went to Target (our favorite place to go!).

I am so thankful for this next phase of my life and want to enjoy every minute of it! Here are a few pictures of our week:
Eating chicken
Trying to get my chicken with my fork Wearing Dad's hat and waving "bye-bye"
Beau loves to crawl to his diaper bag and get out whatever snack is in it..on this day he had puffs



Beau and Aunt Betty

Goodbye Paci!!

Goodbye "Nuk" Paci's!

Well, I read somewhere that is easier to take the paci away before a child turns 1. Beau will be 1 on June 9th, so I thought we would start the "bye bye paci" process now. Beau only has his paci when it is getting to be naptime or nightime, so I was hoping the adjustment to sleeptime with no paci would be fairly easy. I told Rodney to pray for us and I said a prayer for us too.

Friday morning I told Beau he was getting to be a big boy and big boys did not need paci's. So, we waved bye-bye to his paci and put it in a drawer. I put Beau in the bed with Mr. Bear and his blankie for his nap. Beau looked at me, and then put his head down. He had a great nap with no tears!His afternoon nap was very successful without a paci too! He went down for bed with no paci and no tears as well. I am so thankful that the "bye bye paci" process is over and was done with no tears (from Mommy or Beau!)

An Afternoon at the Park

I had gone to the Doctor earlier this day because my "virus" was still not getting better after 10 days. The Doctor told me it was not better yet because I had strep throat. I don't know that I have ever been so happy to get a shot before (besides my epidural!). Beau was a little cranky from being in the house so much, so we went to play at the park. Here are a few pictures:









1st pair of shoes!

Eating a Banana with Daddy

Play Time

Mother's Day, My Birthday, and Teacher Appreciation

These are 3 reasons why I love May.....Mother's Day, My Birthday, and Teacher Appreciation Week. I have been showered with tons of gifts, food, sweet cards, and emails over the past few weeks. It has been so nice!

My 1st Mother's Day was sort of sad...I had a 102 degree fever for most of the day and was quarrantined away from Beau. I did start to feel better that afternoon and Beau and I got to go Target for an outing. We always have a good time there! Rodney gave me the book, The Power of a Praying Parent, the short version :o). It has little prayers that you can pray over your children daily. It has been such a blessing to use it to help cover Beau in prayer every morning before I go to work. (by the way, only 5 more days of work to go!!!!)

I was reminded on Mother's Day of this verse, "For this child I prayed, and the LORD granted my request." 1 Samuel 1:27 Rodney and I prayed for 4 months for this child before the Lord answered our prayers and blessed us with a wonderful pregnancy with Beau. On the 3rd month that we had not gotten pregnant, Rodney and I went to our Church's 21 days of Prayer that was in August of 06. We prayed and sought the Lord for 21 days and believed with all of hearts that in August we would be pregnant. But, that was not the Lord's plan for us in August 06. I remember crying in the bathroom at school/work when I realized we were not pregnant. I gathered myself enough to tell the Lord that Rodney and I would still praise him, no matter what, and went back to my classroom to teach the rest of the day. Rodney and I were devasted that day, but the Lord definitely gave us the strength that we needed to still pray and believe for a child. On the 4th month, September 06, I took a pregnancy test and it came back negative. I was upset, but remained hopeful. Rodney and I went to church that night and during prayer time, I felt the presence of the Lord all around us. I felt like the Lord told me that we were pregnant, no matter what the test said. I can not explain accurately what happened next, but I had a sense of the Lord saying "Here is the child you prayed for", and felt Him extend His hand to my stomach. I did not tell Rodney about that experience for fear that he would think I was crazy. (Which is not how he would have received it, but I was scared). For the next 2 nights I had dreams of taking a pregnancy test and it being positive, so Rodney and I went to the store and bought the exact test that I had seen in my dreams. I took the test 3 days after my Wednesday night church experience, and it was positive! We were overjoyed and so thankful for the Lord's provision and faithfulness. The Lord blessed me with a great pregnancy and delivery. I have loved every minute of being Beau's mom and am so excited about the opportunity I have to spend more time with him in just a few days.

My Mom-Update

I am so sorry that I have not posted an update about my Mom. I have had 3 viruses in under 1 month. No fun! My Mom is at home and doing very well. Her pneumonia is clearing up very well. The Doctors said her heart is very strong, and there is nothing to worry about. She has a physical therapist, that goes to COTH, that comes a few times a week to help her get her strength back. I think my Mom's favorite part about being out of the hospital is being able to come over and see Beau! Thanks for all your prayers for her.