Blessings

Realized I hadn't checked in in a while.  We have been so incredibly busy the last few weeks.  I wanted to update you on a few things.  First of all, got yet another diagnosis on my eye and it was not Shingles - shew! I was told it was either "Pink Eye gone bad" or some sort of cold sore in my eye.  Fun, huh?!  In any case, I did get my 3rd eye drop and it seems to have done the trick!  :)  The real test will be to see if it comes back or not.  So far I've gone the longest without it returning.

Derek has been traveling a lot for work.  He spent a couple of days in New York, came home, and then went back for a week.  He's in Boston today and will be going to Arizona for a few days coming up soon.  We miss him when he's gone, but I'm so grateful for the opportunities that he has.  He truly loves his job.  He also has started the process of re-admittance to UT to finish up his PhD.  He's been so close for so many years.  He just needs to carve out some time and get that dissertation done!  :)  Along with his full time job and request to write 2 books by two different publishers... oh, yeah and the contract work on the side... I'm sure he can find some extra time here and there.  LOL Poor guy!!  I'm so proud of him though!
First public reading =)

The kindergarten class she was reading to

Maddie got to hold the "Old Lady" that swallowed a fly.

Speaking of being proud, Audrey read for a kindergarten class today.  She did soooo well!  Anyone that knows her personally will know what a big deal this is for her.  A dear friend of mine is a music teacher at a local elementary school and she invited us to participate in a special day that they have where everyone wears pajamas to school and read all day.  I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for Audrey.  She has been talking about it for several days and practicing on her reading.  We got to class before any of the kids did and she sat down in the teacher's chair with her books.  She was so excited!  But, you should have seen her face when the kids walked in.  All the color left her face and I could see the terror starting to move through her body.  Mrs. Susan started class by singing some songs and loosened everyone up.  Then she asked Audrey what story she wanted to start with.  She jumped right in and started reading.  Granted, she didn't smile or interact a great deal, but she made it through both books beautifully!  She started to ease up quite a bit by the second book.  Huge step for her!!  I was very proud.  :)  She said she really enjoyed it and wants to find some other classes to read to, so we will absolutely be doing that.  It was a great experience for both girls today.  They both got to participate in the whole music class and had a super time!

Audrey is doing fantastic in cheerleading.  They've won all 3 competitions so far.  They have state championships in December and then we're off to Florida for nationals in January.  I can't wait!!  Audrey is just blossoming.  :)  She is doing perfect cartwheels and round offs.  Her jumps are getting much better.  She has even started working on a front hand spring.  She's trying really hard to do a back walk over.  We're hoping to start tumbling classes as soon as cheer is over.

As for school, I don't feel like we've done as much "traditional" schooling lately just because of all the activities we've had going on.  We've done a lot more real life learning, which I think is extremely important, especially at this age.  We've been to the zoo.  She helped me prepare for a dinner party at church and learned how to properly set a table.  She's been doing a lot of workbooks and reading, which she enjoys.  The math seems to be too easy and she's getting bored, so we're going to have to reassess that.  As I have talked about before, she really dislikes handwriting.  It's not that she can't do it, she just doesn't enjoy it.  She has been asking for several weeks to learn cursive writing.  I bit the bullet and got some material for her.  Experienced homeschooling moms out there, do you think it's ok to start?  I don't want to jump in too early on things, but if it's something she really wants to learn, I'm thinking, "Why not?".   One thing we are doing next semester is a school one day a week at a local church.  She'll be taking some supplemental classes (Science, Art, Spelling, and World Cultures) on Mondays.  I think it will be great (for both of us) to have something a little different.  She'll enjoy being with other kids and I'll get some one on one with Maddie.

Maddie is doing well.  She seems to do wonderfully at school, maybe even a little too well.  She has a few boys that are currently fighting for her hand in marriage.  LOL  She has a few little girls that also argue for her attention.  It so stinking cute, really.  She's such a sweet kid and so happy all the time.  I'm also learning that she's a bit of a perfectionist and gets a little frustrating with herself when she doesn't do things exactly right.  She's starting to write more, but she wants to do it perfectly and gets upset when she can't.  We're working on it though!  My sweet girl will be 4 years old next week.  Hard to believe!  We're going to celebrate at school on her birthday since it is a school day.  Then, we're going to have a big birthday party at Monkey Joe's over the weekend.  She's super excited about that.  =)  She also just finished up her first session of gymnastics.  We're going to start a new session next week, but it is a combo class of dance and gymnastics.  Can't wait to see her do that!

As for me, I'm doing so much better.  I've got a lot of the anxieties I was having under control.  God has been so good, truly.  I feel blessed more than I can possibly express to you through this blog.  The group of friends that He has placed around me are amazing.  They are strong, wise women that I respect and admire greatly.  They have taken me in as though I've known them my entire life. God is so good!  We have also been quite busy with numerous opportunities to sing lately.  What a blessing it has been!  It has been quite time consuming as we rehearse and prepare new music to share, but I love every second of it.  It has really pushed me to do better and taken me out of my comfort zone at times.  I really feel like I'm learning and growing both spiritually and musically as never before. God is so good!

In closing, I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there!  Thanks for hanging around even when it's quiet over here.  Take time to stop and think about what is most important in your life.  Never forget where those blessings came from!

Cheerleading, Birthdays, Halloween, and More!

Checking in, friends.  Didn't mean to keep you hanging on that last downer of a post.  I'm feeling a wee bit better today.  I actually went to the doctor this morning with what I thought was my 4th bout of pink eye!  Yes, I said 4th... in only 2 months.  Turns out I have SHINGLES in my eye.  How crazy is that?!  Needless to say, they are being more aggressive with treatment and I will be seeing an Ophthalmologist tomorrow.  Prayers are much appreciated as they said it is pretty dangerous stuff to have in your eye.  Leave it to me to be the weirdo.  LOL!

So, we've celebrated a couple of birthdays in the past few weeks.  Derek turned 37 and I turned 36.  Shew.  There, I said it.  I'm grateful for another year, but I'm not gonna lie... I'm a little freaked out that I'm crawling ever so closer to the big 40.  I do believe I will freak out when that time comes.  Ahhhh!!  Anyhoo... moving on.

My sweet little Audrey competed in her very first cheerleading competition on Saturday.  She did fantastic!!  I could not have been more proud of her!!  And, to top it off... they placed first!  It just does my heart good to see her so happy.  She truly loves it!

Yesterday was Halloween.  We started with a Fall Festival at church.  It rocked... as usual!  Then we met up with some neighborhood friends for some T&T fun.  Had a great time!  The girls looked adorable - if I do say so myself.  Granted, I don't think most people knew what they were, but hey - they were cute nonetheless.  :)  FYI, they were Lalaloopsy Dolls.  You can check 'em out here.  My girls love them!  Derek & Audrey picked up the wigs on a whim a few weeks ago when Maddie was sick.  We just found some cute outfits here and there to put together - and wha-la!  We have our own Lalaoopsy Dolls.

Since today is the first day of November and we're counting down to Thanksgiving, I wanted to say how grateful I am for my family.  They are incredible and I love them so very much!  My husband is fantastic.  He "gets" me.  He loves me.  He's an amazing husband and spectacular dad.  So thankful for that!  My kids truly light up my life.  They make me laugh.  They make me smile. They make me want to be a better person.  I love, love, love 'em!

That's it for now.  I thought I'd post some pictures of our recent activities... as well as catch up on some previous promised photos.  Enjoy!

These are the behavior lights I talked about here.

Little sister ready to cheer on big sister!

My cheerleader before the competition.

My cheerleader after the competition with her first place medal!

Our LaLaLoopsy Dolls

Our pirate ship in the front yard.  Ahoy, Mates!
 
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