First Hair Cut

Anna Grace had her first hair cut. I had to have the mullett cut off.

Daddys visit to Charleston

These are some pictures of Marks visit to Charleston a few weeks ago. We had a nice time and we enjoyed our beautiful city.

Playing at the Park

Yes, I know that I promised several of my Texas friends that I would become a better blogger so that everyone could keep up with all of our experiences. Well, did I say that I was going to work full time, be a full time "single" mother to three children, a housekeeper, do homework on a daily basis, a chef and also try to stay sain? I think that I may be failing in several of these very important catagories. We do miss Mark! I thought for a while that I was doing a pretty good job juggeling all of these things, but once the first few weeks passed I realized that I needed to call in the reinforcements. Our housing arrangements are going great! We are staying with some really awesome people. They are very helpful to me when I need an extra hand with the kids. I love my job and know that we made the right choice to come back "home". I am very busy at work and some days I do not have time to take lunch. I do about 14 echoes a day for 6 different cardiologist. I am enjoying the patient contact again, it is a great opportunity to witness to my patients. The boys have gotten involed with AWANA's on Sunday afternoons at church. They are memorizing bible verses at an unbelievable rate. I am having a hard time keeping up with them. Ethan has been reconnecting with some of his friends from before. He has been having a Tues. after school play date with Emerson. They have been having a blast together. Ashton and his friend Jack are pals again and it seems as if they just picked up right where they left off. Anna Grace is doing very well with our friend Starla during the day. She has a new friend as well. Her new friend lives a Starla's and has four legs, white and barks. Yes, a dog. Anna Grace has a dog for a playmate. The dog loves her and she loves the dog. They really do "play" together, Starla is going to take video to submit it to funnies video's. One day Anna Grace had woken up from her nap (upstairs) and was crying, Starla did not hear her, the dog came to Starla,barked and ran upstairs to the room where Anna Grace was. One last thing, please pray for our home in Keller to sell!

First day of school

The boys were very patient getting them registered for school. We met with the assistant principal, the principal and the guidance team. Ashton was welcomed back with open arms and everyone was suprised that Ethan was goin to be in kindergarten. The school nurse in the picture is the same school nurse that was here when we left and she just loves Ashton and was so excited to see him. Ashton was placed in a gender specific class that is something new this year at this school. They teach to the specific learning needs of the boys or the girls, he has 17 boys in his class. Ethan is in a class with 2 teachers and they are enjoying his kind spirit.

Saying Goodbye is never easy!

These are a few pictures of our "good bye" encounters. As we embark on a new chapter in our lives we knew that it was going to come with some sad good byes. We had finally come to a point in our Texas life where life was good. We had great friends and finally had God sent neighbors. Everything was going great! I have found when you are content in your circumstances is when God says, OK, it's time. A great opporutnity had been presented to us to move back to family and old friends. We knew that we would have peace about the situation if it was ment to be. Everything started to fall in place and the peace in our hearts were present. We are now back to Summerville SC and enjoying every minute. Mark will continue to work from our Texas home until it sells. My job is going well and the children have adjusted to the move and our living arrangements very well. It is Friday afternoon and we are preparing for some storm winds and a good bit of rain. RAIN that is, somthing that we didn't see very much in Texas.

Ethan and one of his best friends

This is Kade one of Ethan's best friends and our great neighbor. Ethan is going to miss his great friends that he has made recently. Ethan has had a great social life since our move to this house.

The special times

Ethan and I were having some "mommy time", we were going through a package that we received today in the mail. (we receive "freebies", promotional items that my awesome friend Leigh signs us up for). Well, one of the things was a tube of night time cream for my face. He wanted to know what it was so I read him the directions on the outside which read, "for younger looking skin". I looked at him and said, do I need this cream? He laughed his sweet little laugh and said, "I don't know". That was the perfect answer! He knows what to say to girls already....

Carolina here we come!!!!!

During our recent trip to South Carolina to visit our family and friends I realized how much our family was missing out on sharing such a precious time in our lives together. One week before our trip was planned, I received a call from one of the physicians that I worked with in the past. He was excited to tell me that he had a position for me in his office. After a few weeks of working out the details and coming to an agreement we have made our decision to head back to our roots. The boys are very excited, not to mention our family and friends in South Carolina. It is so bitter sweet, because we finally after 3 years feel content here and have a great church family and some wonderful friends. Our trip home just solidified how home sick the boys and I really are. Please pray for our family as we begin this journey of packing and moving.

Soccer

Ashton has really enjoyed playing soccer. He has been with the same team for 3 seasons now. They will be playing indoor for the summer.

Ethan without training wheels

Ethan and one of his new friends Kade love playing together. One day Kade, who is Ethan's same age was riding his bike without training wheels. I had to bribe Ethan to try it on Kade's bike, which was a little smaller. The first time, and off he went. It was so natural for him. So, off came the training wheels on Ethan's bike. He was so proud of himself. He is very cautious, unlike others in our home. We take great joy in knowing the the Lord would give us children with totally different personalities!

Soccer

Yes, We are still alive

What a long 3 months it has been for our family. I always come back to Jeremiah 29:11 which has been my personal verse for about 9 years now. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Ashton has spend 3 weeks inpatient and 2 weeks outpatient at Cooks Childrens for his depression. Praise the Lord for great physicians because Ashton is very stable right now. Ashton had to change schools becasue of our move. He misses his classmates from his old school but has a great teacher and has made new friends already. Ashton is playing soccer again with the same team. He really enjoys soccer and usually play goaly the seconde half of the game. Anna Grace is doing well, she has had 1 ear infection a month for the past 3 months. She is not a happy camper when her ears hurt. Ethan just holds on for the ride. He has been testing the waters and boundries lately. He has a halo held up with horns. Ethan is also playing soccer and scored 6 goals last week. He is really starting to catch on to the rules and has finally gotten aggressive with the ball. We have hired a nanny that comes 2 days a week. The children love her, she is doing a great job. Mark is still loving his job, he was recently moved to manage the warehouse and receiving. I am working 2 days a week at work and working as much as I can from home. I am so blessed to have the capability to do this. I have wonderful managers at work. I decided that we have been in Texas for 3 years and have never taken the Texas tradition "bluebonnet" pictures. Well,,,, we took bluebonnet pictures last week. It was the first and may be the last. I think that my children though it was torcher.

Relaxing at the Park

It was a beautiful day to spend at the park. Sat. was in the 70's and absolutley beautiful. Two days before it was in the 30's for a high. We met a friend of my and her children at the park. Ashton took his rollerblades and had a great time. Ethan; well, he played in the sandbox the entire time we were there.

Anna Grace's play date

Anna Grace had her first play date over the Christmas break. Ava is the granddaughter of one of my employees, Jihan. Ava is from Austin and was here visiting her grandma. Jihan had us over for a wonderful lunch. Ashton and Ethan had a great time playing with Jihan's son.