My Children...

Okay, so I'm stealing this from Lisa, but I liked the way you told why you and Trent chose the names that you did for your kids. So I am going to as well. Well Madi's name: Madelyn Grace...Madelyn I first heard from Pine Springs the summer that I potwashed. Andy, (can't remember his last name) he was the youth minister at Golf Course Road in Midland, his daughter's name was Madelyn and I loved that name. At the time not many girls were named Madelyn. Madison was really popular, so there were lots of Maddie's and Maddy's Maddi's well mine's Madi...phonetically it doesn't make much sense, but that is what I wanted. Grace came from the actual meaning of the word. That was such a hard time for Nathan and I , b/c we weren't married yet, and it was so hard for me to wrap my mind around sin, forgiveness, and therefore Grace. I was picking out bridal shower selections and I saw this little plaque that said "Grace each day with thanks" and just knew that was going to be her middle name. At that time we didn't even know she was a girl, well...I take that back. I knew the day I found out I was pregnant that she was a girl. I even have a calendar from Anne Geddes that has a little blonde girl with blue eyes and curly hair about one year old that I found before Madi was born, that I knew Madi would look just like. You know how you imagine what your kids will look like? I just knew that's what Madi would look like when she was that age, and it matches soooo well, it's wierd. One day one of Nathan's friends was at our house, and I had that pic on our fridge and he looked at it and said, "what's wrong with Madi?" (The little girl has tears in her eyes) He didn't believe me that it wasn't her. Anyways, so that's Madi's name. Trendy, yes, but I love it and it's so fitting. She is such a Madi. My second choice would have been Sydney, but I'm so glad we chose Madi.
Kyle Jackson: His first name is for Kyle Wood, who was Nathan's best friend in high school. They grew up together, graduated from high school, and on November 3rd, 1999 (I'm pretty positive it was 99, I know it was November 3rd, b/c that's our anniversary. Nathan wanted to make a bad memory something special) Anyways, on that date Kyle was sit by a semi and killed instantly. It crushed Nathan. He was at LCU at the time, and a short time later he decided to take a job transfer to Tennessee to get away from things. When he came back, he got a job at Daybreak where Chrissy worked, who I saw everyday practically. You can never get enough free coffee. And the rest is history! When we were picking boys names the first time, we had chosen Jackson Lee, so we just did Kyle Jackson. (My dad's name is Jack) It's so funny how your kids names become so fitting for them. Could you imagine calling them anything else?

ECI

ECI came over today. We just filled out a ton of paperwork and talked a lot about Kyle. The lady we met with was very positive about Kyle's speech. She said that b/c he does babble a lot, that is a good sign. And to Kyle he may think he's making sense, but that he hears everything muffled. Kind of like hearing under water, b/c of the fluid in his ears. It was very interesting. In a little over a week, the lady from ECI and a speech therapist will come back to our house to do an assessment. I feel a lot better about everything.

Everything is going really good. Life is busy, but I'm still enjoying my job and the kids are doing great. My mother in law is keeping them right now. She comes over to our house and she cleans for us too. She does my laundry, she makes dinner. Tomorrow she is going to shampoo the carpets and then take the kids to the park or something like that. It has been soooo nice. My house is so clean all of the time. She is a much better house cleaner that me. Most of you saw my dorm room, so you can attest to my cleanliness, or lack of. :)

I have Monday off...I can't wait!!! And Sunday is Nathan's 25th birthday...he is a young one!

Pregnancy Update...

Freaked ya out, didn't I? No, I'm not pregnant. I'm talking about Suzanne. They have officially moved here now. All their stuff is here. She will go in a couple of hours on Monday morning, at then she will head this way. She went to her last doctors appt in Dallas, and Ryder is expected to be a pretty big boy. He's already 3 pounds. They moved her due date up again to July 22nd, and her doctor expects him to be 9lbs +...We were concerned that she had gestational diabetes or something. No, she's just big, and so is he. I can't wait for him to be here. I am an aunt for my other side of the family, but they live in Tampa and we only get to see them once a year. I'm so excited to have a baby around here again. I know what's going to happen. I am going to get an extreme case of baby fever...I just hope and pray I keep my sanity about me. Part of me wants a third, but a part of me is like NO WAY!!! Especially now that I'm working, b/c I don't want to even have to think about making a decision about staying home again or working. Being a mom is so hard for so many different reasons. But for now, I am just looking forward to having a little one around here again!

Last Day at Greenlawn

Play day!
Thanks Ms. Lisa for sending me these!!!

Last Day at Greenlawn

The Guppies Class

Teachers: Ms. Courtney & Ms. Lisa

Well another day another dollar...that's about how I'm starting to feel. I still am liking the job, but it was a stressful week. I can't remember if I mentioned that the first girl that they hired quit after one day, but yes that happened early last week. So a new girl started last Friday and by Monday afternoon she was "let go" of....and I'll just leave it at that. Well another girl is starting monday. But we all feel hopeful about this one. Third times the charm- hopefully in this case!

This was the last week of school for the kids. It kind of jumped up on me, and I wasn't prepared! They had a playday at Greenlawn, and then at Sunset Madi's class went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch on Thursday. I went with them for that. It was pretty fun.

We are dogsitting. His name is Tucker and he is a BIG black lab. We usually dog sit his brother, Tyson, who is a BIG chocholate lab. I'm not sure how we ended up Tucker, but the two dogs can't be together. Which is wierd to me, b/c they're together when they're at home, but I guess they misbehave when they're parents are out of town. One time the two of them stayed here, and I thought I was going to have to call animal control. They're very aggresive dogs towards each other and they were raring up on their hind legs and fighting in the back yard. It freaked me out. I mention all this, b/c Tucker is in the backyard and he won't shut up!!!!!! I hate barking dogs.

Well, dare I say what movie I just finished watching???? Brokeback Mountain...I hope you're still my friend. My dad about had a cow when I said I wanted to see it. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about and see if it was worth it. I will say it was sad. It took a very unexpected twist, that caught me by surprise. It was a good movie...regardless of what your beliefs are. The thing that bugs me about all the criticism that it got was that soooo many people were like, "oh my goodness I'm boycotting, and I can't believe that such a movie like that would come out...blah blah blah" well if we're really going to be christian, then lets not watch ANY unchristian movie, or t.v. show and watch your mouth, and put out that cigarette right now! I am not a fan of Hollywood and it's politics, I didn't want Brokeback Mountain to win best picture, b/c then it was like Hollywood kind of won, but I don't think it's fair to pick and choose what you want to like and not like, just because your not comfortable with the subject! Take a stand for what you believe in, ABSOLUTELY, but don't be hypocritical.

Okay I'm off my soapbox now. Other than that not a whole lot is going on. ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) is coming to our house on Wednesday to do an assessment with Kyle. They'll take his measurements, talk to him and then we'll go from there. I am ready to get the ball rolling with this thing. I want to know what to do, how to help, etc.

Well I'm going to go for now...have a great weekend!

Happy Mother's Day to all...

Today is Mother's Day. I had a good day, I hope all you other mother's out there in blogland did too. Nathan got me exactly what I wanted, a printer dock and a vacuum. I asked for the vacuum. I had about had it with the other one, so getting a vacuum for Mother's Day was something I really wanted. I always write stuff about me being a mother, so instead I wanted to write something about my mom and why I love her.

Why My Mom is so Great

You know how they say that each child is matched with the parents they're supposed to have? Well in my case, I had the best match ever with my mom. Although we have different personalities, God could not have given me a better mother. She has taught me to look at things with a different perspective, when at times I tend to have complete tunnel vision. She always buys me little gifts that remind her of me. She always makes me feel special, and she always gives me compliments. She is a lot of fun, and she always finding new and fun things for us to do together. She is why I am a good mom. She is why I do the things I do for my kids, and she is who taught me why being a mom so special. And my most favorite thing about my mom is that she makes really nice, fresh sandwiches. (that last one is kind of an inside joke)

Happy Mother's Day....I love you sooo much!

Cooper Cross

I don't know any details, but I do know that Chrissy and Brian had their baby on monday. It's a boy, and his name is Cooper Keith Cross. And that's about all the details I know. I'm sure she'll update her blog as soon as she can with lots of pictures. http://bcrossfamily.blogspot.com

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!

Update

Well Kyle went to the doc today. We will be visiting the ENT soon...and I really am relieved. I was pretty nervous about going this route, but we have come to the point where it's looking like his ears are just going to continue to bother him. They put him on a new antibiotic, omnicef. I feel like April C. and I are living parallel lives right now. The one thing that just made me really sad was that our pediatrician said that she did think he was a little behind developmentally, b/c he's just not saying enough words. I know lots of parents have dealt with this b/c of ears, it's just so hard to hear when it's your own little boy. You just want the best for your little ones...so we too will join the ranks of those visiting the ENT.

Madness.....

Well not a lot has happened...we had a nice weekend. Very uneventful....I hardly saw Nathan though. Eric (his business partner...I always clarify that b/c you can't say 'his partner' anymore, b/c then he'd be gay) ANYWAYS...Eric is in Vegas, and so he ended up working all weekend, and as soon as I got home today, he went back to work.

Kyle goes back to the doctor tomorrow. He's had a really bad diaper rash, and it won't go away. And I KNOW he has another ear infection. After a while you just know these things...or at least your not surprised when the doctor tells you. I've decided that as a mom you could probably get some sort of nursing certification pretty easy, in pediatrics anyways. You almost have to just to keep your kids alive and well. I really just want to tell them to just nip this whole thing in the bud, and lets go to the ENT. I would feel better anyways..............I just want him to feel better. I feel bad enough working full time now, let alone with all these problems. I have to say though, Kyle is doing sooooo awesome with me working. It has made me feel so good to hear from others that they think me working has been really good for him. If you haven't been around Kyle, he is such a momma's boy. I didn't do anything to him to make him that way, what can I say he just loves me. I have grown accustomed to him being attached to my hip 24/7. I couldn't leave him anywhere without him completely freaking out. Well since I have gone to work, Nathan has been taking him to school. He doesn't even cry. And you can tell that he is so much more adjusted than before. It makes me feel so much better. I would be a nut case if he was having a hard time. I still have my moments when I am really sad, but it really has been a good thing for us. I am so busy at work, I don't have time to get sad.

Speaking of work...I almost blew a fuse today. I finally told Gina that I kind of felt that I was thrown into a fire and I don't want to make that fire any worse. I was SUPPOSED to have training, but they're both too busy to train me, so I've basically been on my own. I'm winging it, I guess....but with a great deal of frustration. And suprisingly I can say I still like my job. I'm just ready for the new girl to start. Then Zach and I will work together, and Gina and this other girl will work together. If I can just hang on until then.

Anyways...oh by the way. I got a letter from Montery. I was not chosen to move to the next round of interviews. They chose 2 to move on and I wasn't one. Nathan thought I'd be really upset. I'm not at all. For one, they didn't want to hire someone until like 2023, and I just really believe that what has happened is for the best. I believe the job I have is where God wants me, so I really am A-OK. I am a little frustrated though...not with the job but something that happened at church a couple of weeks ago. I'm not going to rehash everything, but basically I got yelled at by the nursery attendent for allowing Kyle to have a cup that had medicine in it. EVEN THOUGH I told them there was medicine in it. This happened the morning of my interview at Monterey. I had to talk to the children's ministers about it, and they told me she wanted to apologize (I was somewhere between livid and really really upset) well she never did. She has pretended like the whole thing never happened. I don't know what to do. I'm having a really hard time getting past it, and I hate conflict. I don't want to have to say, "hey you really made me mad, and what you did is NOT okay" but I almost feel like that's what I'm going to have to do, b/c I think she just wants to play nice now, and I'm not really feeling a "nice christian attitude" about it. So I guess I have an obvious answer about what I need to do, I just have to get the courage to confront her.

Well I need to go. My son is running around naked with shoes and socks on....I'm trying to let him air out, but he can't go to long without a diaper......there's always an accident.

TGIF

I don't think I knew the "real" meaning of TGIF until today. I am so tired. My sister watched the kids today. She is in town this weekend, she wasn't planning on it, but they had some trouble with their house here...so she had to come down. I would go to bed now, but I have to change my sheets and I just don't have the energy to get up and do it right now. Kyle spilt a route 44 of ocean water all over our bed today, and I think if I understood correctly she got up what she could, but left the rest. So as you can imagine...it's a sticky mess. I can't complain...she was nice enough to help us out of a bind today, but man my room is a wreck and they're not ever supposed to be in our room. They messed up the t.v. in the living room, and Suzanne couldn't figure out to get the screen to come back on, so she took them into our room. She doesn't have kids yet, but when Ryder is born I have a list of words that I'm going to teach him, along with bodily functions, you know the basic things that you really want your kids to say and do in public. By the way my sister is not a rude disgusting person, but there just sooo many things you have to change when kids come into the picture. You can't call bad drivers, "hey stupid" which we have had to go over several times with Madi now, thanks to Suzanne. And the burping, oh the burping. It drives me crazy when Madi burps outloud in public. I can also blame Nathan for that one too. I used to burp a lot too....but monkey see, monkey do!! She will learn, oh how she will learn. And oh how I will laugh....very hard!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm still enjoying my job. They are hiring another processor. She should start part time next week, and full time in a week or two. I can't wait...there is just way too much for one to handle. I'm going to work with Zach, and the other girl will work with Gina. I'm very happy about that. I like Gina on a personal level, but she's a little bit harder to work with on a business level. I think Zach and I are just more alike.

I'm getting my hair cut and highlighted this weekend. I have to have my picture taken for the coldwell banker magazine that they send out. I feel really important. It's funny, for the longest time I have really neglected myself. I think I have taken care of myself spiritually, but other than that in any other way, I have really neglected myself. I haven't done it on purpose, but that just kind of happens when you're so focused on your kids. Well going back to work has really helped me to see how important it is to take care of yourself in every way. I have a lunch hour. A whole hour out of the day to do whatever it is that I want. That seems obvious, right? Well I can't think of the last time that I consistently had an hour or even half an hour to do whatever it is that I wanted. I have neglected myself physically. I have to get back in shape, I have tried off and on the past year, but with no real committment. It's so important for me to be at my best, so I can help others be at their best. I didn't realize that I can't see. After working with paperwork all week, I've started getting headaches. How long have I not been able to see? I don't know...I feel that in this last very long week...I have learned so much. As hard as it is for me sometimes, I really think this is so good for me right now. Some people may not understand how me being at work could be good for me personally, but I think I am kind of getting to know myself again. And I've changed a lot since my prechildren days.

Well I'm going to get off here. Kyle is asleep on the couch. We have had trouble getting him to go to sleep at night this week, and generally that is never a problem for him. So the last two nights he's stayed up with us and then he just falls asleep. It's cute, and he's so tired so he'll cuddle with you. I hope you all have a good weekend!!!

Well I am a working woman. It has been an adjustment to say the least. You just have so much more to think about when you're a full time mom and full time working woman. It's not even 6a.m. yet, and I've already been to Wal-mart. I had to get pantyhose. I think over the last 4 years I could have counted on one hand how many pairs of panyhose I owned. Well, now I own 2 more pair.

First off, I really like my job. By noon yesterday I was wanting to cuss, but by 5 I was liking it again. That's the nature of the loan business though, so I already knew that. If you own your own home you probably wanted to cuss at your loan officer, realtor, or underwriters a couple of times too, so you know what I mean. I like working with Zach...we both have the same kind of style as far as loan processing goes, so that has been good. They are going to hire another processor so that Zach and Gina will both have their own. And I couldn't be happier!!! That will probably keep me from wanting to cuss so much. ***Disclaimer: I don't have a potty mouth, I just like to say cuss. I think it's a funny word. My daughter keeps me and everyone else in check with their language. "Mom, we can say: oh my stars and oh my moons, and oh my goodness, but we can't say 'oh my gosh, or oh my god.' " In the words of my baby girl!!!

Anyways, the kids are doing great. Kyle is the one who I knew would cause more concern b/c he's younger, but he hasn't been crying when Nathan has dropped him off to preschool, and he's been having great days. I guess I'm the one who has problems, yes, it's me! And I will say I am doing much better. Yesterday was a good day. I'm so thankful that I'm so busy at work that I don't have time to be sad, and I really do enjoy what I'm doing there, so that is helpful. It's been the down time that I tend to get a little down. Monday was a pretty rough day. I think I cried off and on all afternoon after I got home from work. This is a huge adjustment, but the funny thing is that I know whole heartedly that this is what God wants for me right now. There are times when I do feel that I am in a cave, but I also know that when we're in the cave that's when God does his best work with us. I don't know what God is preparing me for and preparing my family for, but I do know he is faithful and he has lifted me up tremendously just in the last 48 hours. I know that this is not about a "job" this is about something far greater for me. What, I don't know...but God does and that's what is most important. I don't say that with tears in my eyes, but in full assurance that God is so great!!!!

Our lives have changes a lot, but I have to put things into perpective.
1. No one died.
2. I have great friends and family.
3. We are all healthy.
4. I have a job that I really like!!
5. I have God...what else do I need???
6. I have a very supportive husband who has been cooking a lot!!!! He also dresses the kids, drops them off at preschool, gives baths...etc. It's great!

I have to be more creative with time, and have quality time! Even before I had lots of time, but I don't know if I spent it right. In fact lots of times, I know I didn't. My kids hugs and kisses have to last me all day. And one of the best feelings in the world is when you come home and your little boy, runs to the door and yells, "mama!" And he means it with such love and admiration. That's the best feeling in the world. (Okay, so I'm crying now, but not a bad cry, a happy one)

I say it again and I'll say it forever: I am so blessed and so thankful. God has been good to me. I hope you have a good day!