How do I feel?

Well, I cannot post any pictures this week because I do not have a camera. I'm not sure how I feel about not having a camera, but it is with my dear husband while he is traveling. The issue is not really the camera, but where Billy is traveling.

For those of you that don't know, Billy was one of the 100+ employees that had to be let go at Dayspring. Since this occurred in April he has been on a journey of deciding what he really wants to do. Go back to school to teach and coach, be a policeman, go back into the packaging or printing industry or ....... go to culinary school. The latter is where he's landed I think. I truly believe that this is his opportunity to chase his dreams and pursue whatever career he wants and I want to support him wholeheartedly. However, there are some sacrifices that come with him pursuing a new career path.

Right now, Billy has gone to visit a culinary school in San Fransisco. He is meeting with the admissions team tomorrow and then taking a "mini class" on meats and sauces to get a taste of how the Chefs teach and what type of food styles they focus on, etc. If he is still interested once this trip is over he will come home to find a job in a nice restaurant. This will help him gain experience, but it will also give him a taste of what cooking feels like in the real world so he knows that it is really what he wants. If this goes well he apply to attend the "Chef Track" program in San Fransisco starting next April and will be gone from us for no less than six months if he is accepted.

Of course he is nervous about going and being away from us that long and we are nervous about being left behind that long, but I believe that he is doing his homework before he goes and that he will be pursuing something he will love and be good at if he decides to attend.

All that to say, this little getaway represents a decision for our family.....a decision that could leave Billy and I and the kids apart for half of a year. Please pray that we will make the right decision together for our family and our future.

....OH, and if the decision is for him to go we'll host one big fantastic dinner party when he returns! : )

Happy Happy Birthday John Boy!

Happy Birthday John! We wish we could be there to celebrate with you, but I'm sure Katy will make it very special on her own! We love you and hope you had a fantastic first day back in school!

This is a ridiculous picture so I had to include it! You are supposed to buy those chairs before you take naps in them you know!

I'm sorry..........

......quite spunky for an old guy!

We Miss You!

As I've been posting some pics of Isaiah and his local cousins I started to be very sad that we don't have more local cousins for he and Alyssa. Here's my sister's family in Texas. We miss you lots and wish we got to see you more often.

ELISE

Elise, you sweet thing. We loved getting to spend time with you three times this summer. Once over Memorial Week-end, once in Colorado, and once in Arkansas. You are such a helpful and caring little lady and we are very proud of you. Isaiah misses playing with you and Alyssa misses how good you take care of her. I miss doing math in the car with you, of course. I hope you enjoy school this year. Remember who's watching you? Jesus is and I think you'll make him proud.

TAYLOR

Taylor. Gosh, we were just talking about how you were the first grandchild on my side of the family and Uncle Billy got to meet you when you were two. It is amazing that you are a teenager and starting high school already. You are growing to be such a Godly young man who stands up for the right things and is a Leader in a world where Christianity is not always cool. We are very proud you are our nephew and cousin. I hope you have a great school year. We were sad not to get to see you in Colorado this summer. Isaiah wanted someone to climb the mountain with more often! Alyssa just giggles when she says your name. Can you believe when you are officially an adult at 21 she'll just be 9!?! She'll think you are so cool.

We miss you guys!

Welcome to 1st Grade!

Here's my sweet boy all grown up and looking cool on his first day of 1st grade. Uncle Josh & Aunt Katy helped him pick out his new shoes and shirt and backpack. I realized my boy was truly growing up when he passed on the Batman backpack and chose a Swiss Army backpack instead!

Below he is sitting at his own 1st grade desk for the first time! A little bit of a forced smile I think.
Isaiah was a little timid as his daddy and I walked him to his class. He wouldn't hold my hand and there was no real hug good-bye this time. He sat quietly looking around at all the new faces he didn't know. I was very glad he had one girl from last year in his class and another boy that he knew from the next door class last year. He didn't seem to mind, just had big eyes taking it all in. I think I minded this transition more than he did.

Here's my big boy walking to our car in the pick-up line after school. The teachers all wore matching blue shirts and khaki pants for the first day.

If there was any reservation before school it was all gone! His face was all smiles when I picked him up! It took 45 minutes in the pick-up line and I got there 25 minutes before school got out. What a mess!

I'm so very proud of Isaiah and I love how much fun we have with him now that he is a bigger kid. However, it is sad to know how much they change each school year. I can't imagine that I'll have a second grader next year. I thought people with second graders were so far past where I was when Isaiah was born. Now it will be here before we know it. I'm going to enjoy this year and soak it up as much as I can.

On day 1 we got a packet sent home where Isaiah had drawn a picture of himself, of his teacher, written his full name and done some counting. With this packet there was this poem.

I think first grade is fun.

My teacher thinks I'm number one.

She says she loves us all--

Whether we're short or tall.

Here's how I looked today.

And how I wrote my name.

Please tuck this away for me

For I'll never look the same.

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow isn't here,

Today is so important --

Its the first day of my first grade year!

What a week-end!

For one week-end we decided to go away and spend a few "big kid" days with Isaiah before he started back to first grade. This proved to be something that made me feel very guilty as a mother. We chose to leave Alyssa behind for the week-end and it was very much against her wishes. We went to an indoor water park called Great Wolf Lodge and wanted to be able to enjoy our time with Isaiah and go down the slides and stay up late without a bunch of consequences like a grumpy baby or a grumpy mom and dad.

Anyway, we had the best time with Isaiah and his cousins as you'll see in the pics below. However, our poor baby walked into a closet door in the night and had her first trip to the ER without us. She's glued and sutured together and we are handling her with as much care as possible until she heals.

She looks rather pathetic doesn't she? Still just as wild and ornery as ever though.

So..on to the fun things that happened while we were away...

1) We spent three hours the first day alone in the water park!

2) We spent three hours on day two at Dave & Busters arcade!

3) What they bought with their arcade tickets definitely embarrassed me a few times in the elevator and the lobby!

They have whoopee cushions in their pants (in case you hadn't figured it out!)

4) Tired and going home!

Thanks Kacey & Breck for coming with us!