Loving, Losing, & Living

Update

Checking in with my blogging peeps. Hope you guys are all doing well - and keeping safe. Can you believe all the tornadoes and crazy weather we've had around the country lately?!

We're all doing well as the school year comes to an end we're anticipating lots of changes around here. The girls officially have 2 days of school left! WooHoo! I absolutely cannot wait to be home with them full time again! We're actually leaving the day after school gets out and heading to The Wilderness for a mini-vacation with D's family. Looking forward to that. I started training my replacement at work today. I'll go in tomorrow to finish up some more projects and with the exception of a couple more training sessions, I will be working from home the rest of the summer.

Audrey had an appointment with an ENT today because of her reoccurring Strep Throat and ear & sinus infections. She is scheduled for surgery June 28th to have her tonsils & adenoids removed. It is scary to think about her having surgery - as minor as it is these days - but I am so relieved for her. The success rate is 90% so she should feel a lot better and not get sick so frequently. He also mentioned that she should sleep a lot better (and hopefully cut down some of her crankiness). :) When we get the tonsil issues resolved, we'll get her in to the GI specialist to check on her possible reflux issues.

Speaking of ailments and procedures, I had my first retreatment of an old root canal on Thursday afternoon. That's right - as if it wasn't bad enough to have a root canal 7 years ago, an infection was found at my recent routine cleaning and x-ray. Once he got into it the tooth he found that 1) only 3 of the 4 roots were done to begin with 2) one of the holes was made too wide which led to an infection seeping in and cracking the wall of the tooth. So what does this mean? In addition to the $1500 procedure (ugh!), I will have to go in for at least 2 more treatments which is about 1.5-2 hours each time and recovery time of 3-4 days each. Are ya jealous? lol

Here's the 411 on my job situation. He has finally hired another person. Yay! She started today. I worked with her a couple of hours. She has a very limited schedule, so I won't see her again until next week. But, she is great! I really enjoyed working with her and talking with her when she was in last week. She's already a great help to me. And, when the time is right, I know she'll step right into my place with ease. :) I think he is also offering the job to another lady who will be in the office mostly doing administrative duties and promoting his fundraising line. I still have several things to catch up on, but it is such a nice feeling to know that I'm not the only one responsible and can have a little breather. I have one account and can work from home.

I'll leave you with a few sweet pictures of my girls. We've had some fun with field days, field trips, and family outings. Enjoy!

Field Day

Hiking at the Indian Seats

Playing with her BFF at the Sprinklers

Norton Catch Up

Just sitting here on a Friday night. The girls are sleeping over at their grandparents. First time they've done that in quite a while. I worked until 7:00 trying to catch up at the office. Now we're vegging out, watching a movie, and reading blogs. Yep, we're living the life. ;)

We've had a busy week (what's new, right?). Audrey had strep AGAIN. The doctors were quite impressed with her "kissing tonsils". We now have an appointment with the ENT to schedule having her tonsils - and probably her adenoids - removed. Not looking forward to the process, but will be glad to finally get her some relief.

My boss has finally started and almost completed the interviewing process for my replacement/help. What relief! This summer I will work from home about 8-10 hours a week and fade out by the time school starts in the fall. So grateful to have had the opportunity to work such a great, flexible job when I really needed it. Even more blessed that I no longer need it and can be home again with my girls!

Gonna have to have some expensive dental work done next week. Not excited about that. But, am grateful they found it before there was any pain. Apparently I'm going to have to have an old root canal redone. They found infection on my last x-ray at my 6 month cleaning. Not cool.

Derek & I usually splurge for our anniversary, so this year I chose a "Spring Cleaning" by a maid service. Four ladies came for a couple of hours yesterday. I will say that my expectations were a little too high. My house really isn't in bad shape and most of upstairs has been cleaned well since we recently switched around all the bedrooms & deep cleaned. So, I was really expecting a deep cleaning of the stuff I don't do every day - like the baseboards, windows, stove, etc. Not so much. Though it was nice to have everything done for a day. =)

School is coming to an end. Lots of exciting stuff going on. Audrey had field day last Friday. Monday she is having Fun in the Sun day. Thursday I'm going with Maddie's class to the new Sprinkler park. Yay! We have really missed the Splash Pad in Knoxville, so I think this will be really close. It just opened last month.

Saying some prayers for Derek. His dream job has opened back up. This company started pursuing him last year and then funding fell through several months into the interviewing process. (Yes, I said months!) They contacted him recently and he's had another interview. The only hangup is that Derek doesn't want to move to CA or NY, so they just have to decide if they want a remote employee. In other good news, he's one step closer to being approved to write a book. It's a technical book that the publishers requested. Lots of things happening for D right now. So proud!

So there's a little update on us. No deep thoughts tonight. :) Just keeping you all in the know.

Love, Sweet Love

It was 7 years ago today that I married the man of my dreams at his parents' home in the beautiful Smokey Mountains. We had not really told many people, as there were a few snarls of me "moving too fast". (We met 3 weeks before my divorce was final in October, engaged in March, and married in May!) OK, so it was fast! BUT.... it was truly a "God thing". I will admit that I was getting comfy in my cute little townhouse, living on my own for the first time, and getting some attention from the boys. lol It was certainly playing to my insecurities! However, when I agreed to go on a blind date with a guy that I knew I'd have very little in common with, was the opposite of what I was looking for, but was everything I needed... it was a much higher authority orchestrating this union! All I knew about him was that he was a Christian, loved to travel the world, was an amazing chef, and was working on a PhD. Um, other than God, that was pretty much the extent of our similarities. I really wasn't in to blonde hair and blue eyes either (I know, crazy, right?). LOL It was a "safe" date. I wasn't looking for a commitment. A free dinner was coming, so what did I have to lose? ...... Everything, as I would later learn.

After a nice dinner and a fun round of miniature golf (go ahead, roll your eyes & laugh), I thought 'this guy is really nice, but it's not going any where'. (And, had he known there was a hole in the bottom of my shoe, he would have been mortified and dumped me on the spot. LOL) Funny thing is, he told his mom the exact same thing... "aw, she was nice, but it isn't going anywhere." What we really meant was, "Aw, s/he's nice and this is going somewhere FAST."

Our second date was postponed because I got my first bought of strep throat. (We're just starting to learn that Derek may be a carrier of this lovely disease and also likes to spread it to his children.) We made up for that lost date with dinner & a home movie. The more time I spent with him, the more I wanted to spend with him. He exposed me to a lot of cultures (and foods) I had never known. (Did I mention the first meal he made for me ended with the most delicious Chocolate Souffle ever?!) We spent time hiking, UT functions, playing board games, and taking lots of walks. He met my family at Thanksgiving. I traveled to Pennsylvania with his family at Christmas. By the end of the trip, I was pretty certain he was "the one", but internally I fought it pretty hard. I still had so many "issues" to work through. (Medication helped with some of those things. LOL) When he proposed to me in March, it may have lacked some surprise since I knew he had been ring shopping all day. And, he was so excited to give me the ring that he didn't even wait until I got into the house. He proposed right there in the drive way. Haha!

So, the wedding itself was perfect. We put it together in about 6 weeks. I got my dress, I believe, two weeks before. It was completely laid back, comfortable, and fun - exactly what we wanted. Although we really didn't invite many people, we had about 75 show up. I had some special friends from an internet group I had been a part of for several years (though never met in person) come, as well as many students, friends, and family members. I walked down the wrap around deck (hand built by D, his dad, brother, and grandfather) in my bare, freshly pedicured feet. Ahhhhh. I actually walked across the winterguard floor that we had just used that season to our bluegrass show (it had been hand painted by a friend to look outdoors, meadow-y). We married in the little garden his grandparents took care of. And, my dear uncle (a Navy Chaplain) conducted the ceremony. The day was beautiful! The wystheria was in bloom. The wedding cake was perfectly designed by us. I really could not have asked for a more perfect day (followed by a perfect cruise!).

My husband is amazing. It just needs to be said. I do believe that he was handpicked by God for me. We are a great team. We are very different, but balance each other well. It has been a fun journey so far! We've made a beautiful family with the addition of our daughters and I truly could not be any happier! Happy Anniversary, D!

Production Notes

Hey, friends. I have been MIA for some time now. My apologies. I've been super busy with end of school activities, musical productions, and work. I'll share with you all some of the cuteness of the productions. :) I was so proud of my Audrey! And, my 2nd & 3rd grade flag girls were adorable.

We had a great day today! It was our last Women of Worship Bible Study this morning. Then I attended a free workshop at the Georgia Home Educators Association convention. It was a great Homeschooling 101 Conference. Wish I could go the rest of the weekend...... Anyhoo, had a sweet dinner with my girls and mother-in-law at our church's Spring Fling. Maddie even won the door prize! Tomorrow is Audrey's Field Day. I'm also judging a colorguard audition in the afternoon. Saturday hubster and I will be celebrating our anniversary. Big weekend!