School Days, School Days

It's that time again.

To broaden horizons. Do things you only dreamed of doing. Go outside of your comfort zone. Take a chance at something new. Make some new friends. Grow braincells. Try new things. Succeed at life.

Oh, and the boys are starting school, too!

This year was a different start for us. We are still "homeless" and yet were able to enroll the boys in the school they will be attending when we finally move into housing. Luckily, we got assigned quarters and even though they won't tell us the house number, we were able to get a letter stating what area we would be in so that the boys could start. It also happens to be the same school where my mom works, so it all fell into place! She has been able to take them to school for me in the mornings so I don't have to wake the baby and Brodie and drive the 18 miles to the school.

The boys are both excited to start this year! We met their teachers last Thursday and it sounds like they will have fun year! Randy is in what is called a "cluster" class this year. It's a class for students who are doing above average work. They work at their own pace so they can advance as they grasp the concepts and not have to wait for the whole class to catch up. He loves to read and do math and science, so it's a great adventure for him! Riley is in Kindergarten again. We decided with the difficulties we had with him at West Point, and the big change in ciriculums from New York to Texas, it would be best to give him one more year to establish his foundations in school. I'd rather have him ahead in Kindergarten than behind for the rest of his school years! He is exicited that his teacher loves bugs, so it was love at first "bite!"

As for Brodie, Colt and I... we are taking the more relaxed course. However, as soon as we get a house, we will be working our little behinds off, I'm sure!

Even though we hate to see the summer end, here in Central Texas, it truly doesn't end till about mid-November, so there are still plenty of Summer Fun days left!!

Cycle of Life

On 16 August, my Grandmother left her earth-bound body for a home with no boundaries. She had a long battle with Alzheimers, strokes and poor health. She now is without restraints and dances in the Grand Ballroom with Grandpa. I like to believe he was waiting there for her with open arms as he did for the past 64 years before he died.

As I looked through Grandma's photo albums, I saw her in a light I had never seen her in before. The young High School senior sitting on the picnic table with her sweetheart (grandpa) as they enjoy their Senior Picnic in 1938. I like to think they are young and free again, like in those picutres and can only imagine what they have seen. To think she knows what we strive to learn and know about God.

She no longer is blind to the beautiful sights He will show her. She can hear the precious sounds around her. Her mind is quick and sharp as it once was, with nothing to hinder her memory. I don't know what awaits us after this life, but I like to think it is something we can't even begin to imagine and picture. Best of all, she is aware of the friends around her and the love they have for her. She also knows we love her and miss her, too.

In all of our sadness, we do have something to rejoice about. My cousin TJ is coming down for the funeral tomorrow! I haven't seen him in over 20 years. We have talked a couple time through emails, but I am SOOO excited to see him again!

Home again...

exas... our Home!

....meanwhile back at the ranch....

The kids and I have been busy trying to find a place to live. We were going to wait for housing, but it seems they want to keep their houses to themselves and make us wait, so we're going to rent again. I found an awesome house and now it's just a matter of putting down the deposit!!

Several of the rooms are already painted and there is LOTS of room! Our old house is actually available, too, but I think we may upgrade this year! I'm about to go back to the new one and take measurements of the rooms to make sure our furniture will fit!

We're just happy to be back in Texas! The boys start school on the 25th, so we're trying to find something before then so they don't have to move schools after it's started again.

Other than that, we are taking plenty of time to rest and enjoy the remainder of our summer. We're tyring to get as much use out of the pool here as we can! It's been too hot during the day, but we make sure to take daily dips after dinner! What a perfect way to end the day... and it helps Brodie sleep ALL night!! YEAH!!!

This is the BBQ place we ate at in Texarkana. When we saw it, we HAD to stop... for obvious reasons! Not to mention it had been 15 months since I had TEXAS BBQ!!!Colt woke up one morning and was still very sleepy, so he sat down with Brodie on the couch. Isn't that precious?
And then he looked up at her and it got even better!!!

I'm slowly catching up on the pictures I've taken since leaving New York. I'm getting there, it's just taking longer than I thought. Even with being at my parents and getting a break, I still can't seem to find a lot of "down time" to do the little things I had planned to do! Guess 4 kids will do that to you! I'm still on the search for a house and that takes up most of my "online" time. It's an endless search and I'll be glad when it's over and we are finally in a house making it a home! Until then.....

Birthdays Galore!

In our family, August 10th is a BIG deal! Not only is it my mom's birthday, but also my parents anniversary, AND my mother-in-laws birthday AND my brother-in-laws birthday as well. What are the odds of that??

So, today we went down to visit my in-laws. We had a great visit, as always. It's been 15 months since we have seen them, and them us, so it took Brodie a few minutes to warm up to everyone, but soon she was getting Michele (my sister-in-law) to play every game they had, over and over again! It was cute! Michele also got the kids some temp tattoos, so we had fun sticking tattoos everywhere. Riley ended up with about 25 on by the time we left. I have to say, it was fun choosing from all those tattoos!! I got some ideas for my next one from them, too! Thanks Sis!!!

Colt took to everyone right from the start. He's such a ham! He LOVED standing in the stander that Michele put together and watching the dogs as the ran by.

It was good to see everyone again, although we didn't get to visit with Uncle John since he was at work. But it was cool to see his ferrets again! Makes me want to get ferrets again... NOT!!!

Hello TEXAS!

Just a quick note to say we made it to Texas...after 5 days in the car!  I am pressed for time now, but will be back with pictures to share and stories to tell!

YEAH!!! We're home!!!