Back in the Saddle Again

A few days ago I went back to work. I had been cleared for everything by the doctor a little earlier than that but decided to stay out some more.

I was excited to try out Daniel's bike and the trailer. I had to bribe Grant with candy to ride with me, but he enjoyed it.



It's been a while since I had been on a bike, and this one is a little tall for me so it wasn't always smooth sailing. I was glad to be out enjoying the cool weather I love.



The day I went back to school I had first day jitters. The semester had changed and that meant a whole new group of kids for me. Some even thought I was the 'sub' for the class! I'm also teaching a brand new class that is brand new to the school. Every single year I've taught (7) I've had a new prep. One day I counted and I've taught over 17 types of classes! From computer programming to yearbook. That is SOME resume!

However, already counting down to summer.

The Space Shuttle Columbia

On February 1, 2003 I was in my senior year of college in Nacogdoches, Texas.  I remember that weekend vividly.  It was a Saturday and I woke up to a phone call from my parents.  I was trying to sleep a little late because I was going to have a busy Saturday, but that didn't work.  They told me I missed the sonic boom of the space shuttle Columbia exploding.  It was all over the news.  Then I began to call around to my friends.  People were already finding things on their cars.  

From there, I got ready for the weekend which was a church retreat with my friends from the Yellow House, a student union on campus.  We arrived to a retreat location out in the woods outside of town.  The owners had found this:

That is when things felt real. These 7 brave men and women died on re-entry to the Earth and their safe place for the l6 days of their scientific mission.

Word spread quickly that CNN was camping out on the downtown square, so I knew this must be the epicenter of it all.

My friends and I went about our business, and that night a news crew from Austin showed up as well as the county Sheriff.  He instructed us not to touch this part of the shuttle nor anything else that we might find.  I remember him saying, "We do not know what kind of chemicals are on these items, so don't touch it.  You might grown a third eye or something."  Now picture that statement with a big east Texas accent.  

 Come to find out, they just didn't want you taking things home as souvenirs   Someone on our campus got arrested in the middle of class the next week for trying to sell a piece of the shuttle on eBay.  He took government property.  The campus was all buzzing about the event.  I kept this issue of our school paper, so glad I found it today.

For the next 6 months or so, I met and saw men working from NASA who were temporarily relocated here to search for pieces of the shuttle.  After it was all over, they found 82,000 pieces of debris, or only 38% of the shuttle.

A year later NASA revisited Nacogdoches and put on a thank you presentation for the city for their help and hospitality.  

I was too young to remember Challenger, but I will certainly keep Columbia in my memory for a long time.

Wordless Wednesday

Family princess

Someone has gotten herself wrapped around these boys fingers!

Family Photos

Right after Christmas, we got pictures done of the family.  All are done by Jina Armstrong Photography.

The Heart Remembers

I debated on whether or not to post this, but it was on my mind.  This day last year, I suffered a miscarriage at 8 weeks along.  He/she was to be due in August, right before school started.  Grant had already named the baby "Frosty", which I thought was funny since the baby was to be born in the hottest part of the year!  The hardest part of the loss was telling Grant that Frosty was in heaven.   To this day, he will randomly ask about Frosty and why he/she is with Jesus.

People who knew the situation were so great and supportive.  Daniel and I literally felt the prayers that were offered up for us.  We know it could have been much harder if we didn't have our faith and faithful friends and family.  Thank you to those who sent us those thoughts and prayers.

On Mother's Day this past year, Daniel got me this James Avery charm that says "The Heart Remembers".  I wear it daily as a reminder of my baby in heaven that I will meet one day. 

They say everything happens for a reason, and I truely think it does.  Hindsight is 20/20 of course.  There were 'signs' that the pregnancy wasn't up to par that we didn't pick up on. 

 

In March, we became pregnant with whom Grant named "Snowflake".  He came up with that all on his own.  I thought it was fitting since the other was "Frosty".

 

Then of course, Snowflake was renamed Reagan and she just started smiling back at people today.  I am truely blessed.



Stepping into 2013

We rang in the new year with some friends while watching our kids struggle until midnight.  As soon as our friends left, Grant asked to go to bed.

During this holiday, I've enjoyed spending time with my friends and family.  Especially watching Grant and Reagan interact.

He makes sure to say good morning to her and always tries to catch her attention.  She turns her head when she hears him, has done so since day one.  Grant knows when and how to give her the pacifier when she is fussy.  He's a great helper.  I can definitely tell he is getting older.  As with any child, he still hates to clean up messes he hates though.  That is a daily struggle.  He is doing a lot more pretending on his own.  Its so fun just to sit and listen to him. 

Here he is with his bow he got from Santa.  We've hunted so many pretend animals with this bow already!

We've been staying at home for the most part due to the weather and the awful flu season. We did finally decide to take Reagan to church, it was fun getting her all dressed up.

 

Daniel's birthday snuck up on me quite quickly, but I was able to make him the strawberry cake he wanted.  Grant decorated it, he went heavy on the sprinkles!  I hope he had a great birthday, I love him more today than ever!

 Here is Reagan at 1 month.  I did my best to make her smile to no avail.  She didn't start smiling at things until a few days later!

Here are some pictures we took after the new year.  I can't tell you how many pictures we took to get some good shots!!!