Happy Birthday, Kenley!

On October 9th, Kenley turned 2. I am amazed at how quickly time passes by. The past two years have been the best years of our lives. God has truly blessed us with such a beautiful sweet little girl. She is everything we have ever dreamed of and more! The joy Kenley brings to our lives is indescribable and our love for her is abundant. We are excited about all of the memories we have made and will continue to make with her.



We celebrated as a family that afternoon. We made cupcakes together, had rainbow sherbet in pink cones, played outside with balloons, opened presents and played with them! it was fun family time:)











On saturday, we celebrated with family and friends. Kenley got lots of great presents. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time!

fun with friends

"Every woman should develop the kinds of bonds that will allow her to know she has someone she can count on. Someone who will give her the best advice, even if it is unpleasant. Someone who will expect the most from her...and someone with whom she can celebrate life."


Maya Angelou





God has truly blessed me with great friends. Last weekend I was priviliged to spend the day with two of my very best friends and their adorable children. We had a great time just being in each other's company. Jessica welcomed Tara and me and our kids to her home where we spent part of the day relaxing and playing. In the afternoon we decided to venture to the park and attempted to take lots of great pics. Unfortunatly, we didn't get very many good ones. It's hard to get a good shot of toddlers who are always on the move and although it was easier with the little ones, the sun was too bright for good quality pictures. Oh well! After the park we headed to McDonald's for ice cream and dinner...yes, we did eat in that order :) Kenley and Jacob enjoyed playing in the play place and Jarrett and Greyson were perfectly content just hanging out. We did manage to take a pretty great picture of all of us before we left the park.




Me, Jarrett, Kenley, Jessica, Greyson, Jacob, and Tara

I am so thankful for my friendship with these girls (and their kids!). It is such a wonderful feeling to know that I will always be able to count on them and celebrate life together throughout many years to come.

picture blog

I think Jarrett is teething. He is always chewing on something!


Kenley loves sitting on the counter while i cook. she is enjoying the last few drops of the grape flavored tylenol.


jarrett is really intrigued with what kenley is doing with chad's phone.


kenley loves holding jarrett, but he's not too thrilled about her holding him


i've been blessed with such a happy baby :)


he really is getting big


doesn't he look so sweet and innocent? :)

family time out on the golf course one evening.

it's nice to relax outside after a long day

sister-brother bonding

kenley teeing off on the back 9

kenley putting her putter away. on to the next hole.

trying to find some balance...

the last few weeks have been a little tough for me. i knew i was going to be taking on a lot all at once this year, but i am really starting to realize just how hard it is to fill each role that i have taken on. i am really struggling right now to find the balance i need in my life. I'm not unhappy by any means, but i can't say that i feel at peace. while i am thrilled to have the job i have waited so long to obtain, and i absolutely love it, i also can't help but feel guilty that i have to spend so much time away from my children. i feel like i'm missing out on so much. kenley has been really cranky in the evenings lately and that has been really hard on me because it makes me feel like a horrible mom. i spend all day away from her at work and then the time that i do get to spend with her before she goes to bed hasn't been hasn't been the quality time that i long for. chad and i don't get to spend much time together. we really need to get out and do something as a couple but i have been reluctant to do that because that takes even more time away from my kids. and needless to say, i don't set aside any time just for myself even though i have been completely exhausted and my emotions are starting to get the best of me. i know i need to take care of myself first so that i can do my best at work and take care of my family. but how in the world do balance everything?? i have such a longing to be "superwoman." i want to be the most loving and involved mom i can be to my kids, an attentive and loving wife to my husband, develop deeper relationships with those that i love, be a great teacher who goes above and beyond for my students, be a woman of god and grow spiritually each day, and take time to just be me. how do i do all of those things and do them all adequately? i know i will never be perfect and i'm not trying to be, but i just want to feel confident that i'm doing well in every aspect and that i'm truly giving all i have to give.

treasuring each moment

now that i have gone back to work, i have been trying extra hard to soak up every second i have with kenley and jarrett. they are growing and changing so quickly and i don't ever want to become so busy that i miss out on even the smallest details of their lives. they will only be little once, for this short time. these days are priceless and irreplaceable.

kenley is still an avid golfer. on sundays we pass the golf course on the way to church and before we even get close, that's where she thinks we are going. She says with excitement, "bolf, bolf!" every time :) she has recently develped a hobby of building a "house" with the couch cushions and likes to sit inside with her baby and a blanket and read her books. her vocabulary has increased tremendously and it's fun to hear her immediately repeat words that she hears. she loves to help and do anything that is repetitious. her latest thrill has been helping to wash dishes but she mostly just loves scooping and pouring water from one side of the sink to the other :) literally as soon as we walk in the door, she runs to the table and drags the chair to the kitchen sink. it's pretty funny. isn't she growing up???

jarrett is growing like a weed. he now weighs about 15 pounds. he has become a lot more interactive and he still loves attention. last week he giggled for the first time :) i have been very fortunate in that he has been such a content baby. it really doesn't take much to make him happy. when he is on his belly, he can push his butt up in the air and then use his feet to scoot himself around. this is what he does when he is mad and i have to admit that it's kind of cute and funny to me. he can really move pretty far. he has also become very good at reaching out and grabing things and also focusing hard on things that interest him. most of his toys are still too big for him to really hold since his hands are still little, so right now he plays a lot with his set of keys. i think i will probably be starting him on rice cereal soon. the doctor said i could at 16 pounds...one pound to go! his appetite has really increased lately and he's been waking up more in the night. he was just getting up once, around 4:30 ish, but now it's about 3 times! part of that could be that he hasn't been feeling well as he's had a bad cough. here are some recent pics of jarrett. could he look any more like his father??? :)

the kids have been doing great with the new babysitter, who is wonderful. kenley really enjoys being there and has even napped every day, which i didn't think she would do at first. every time we leave she makes a point to say bye to everyone, even the little dog. the first day she ran right up to it and kept saying "bye, goggy, bye goggy!" just wainting for it to say bye back to her. it was funny :) on the way home, i always ask kenley if she had fun and she goes on and on about the babies and the doggy.

none of us have been feeling well the last few days. i have had a terrible cold for several days now. yesterday was the worst that i have felt, but today i'm feeling slightly better. i can only imagine how miserable my kids feel :( i hate when they don't feel well, especially because they can't tell me.

hope you all are having a great week!

back to work

well school has started and that means that i have gone back to work. my first day was the 13th and then kids came the 14th. i'm teaching 1st grade this year, and i'm enjoying it. it is definatly a lot of work though, and i'm completely exhausted!! i've got a good class, but just trying to keep 16 first graders on task all day is exhausting in itself. i try not to sit down much at all at work and even at home until the kids go to sleep because when i do, i realize just how tired i really am and then it's hard to get moving again. anyway, i couldn't ask for a better place to be. i absolutely looooove our school and my co-workers. i remember a few years ago when i resigned my assistant position in huntington i just prayed and prayed that God would put me where he wanted me. at that time i thought for sure it was in a teaching position at huntington, and i was devastated that it didn't work out the way that i thought it would. it was such a hard time for me, one of the biggest struggles i've endured on many different levels. but now i know that this is what he had in store for me all along!! God DID answer my prayers, and blessed me beyond measure. it was all about timing...God's timing, not mine. my job at oj neighbours is the perfect fit for me. i feel loved and respected, inspired and encouraged, and honestly, i don't think i could ask for more. i am part of a school family who is incredibly supportive. i'm excited for this year and the ones ahead!

song in my head....

i am blessed, i am blessed.
from when i rise up in the morning,
till i lay my head to rest.
i feel you near me,
you see me when i'm weary.
oh lord, through all the worst and all the best,
i am blessed.




this song just popped into my head and God must have put it there because i have been needing that simple reminder. just wanted to share that with you. may you be reminded that you are blessed too :)