Think Like Nordstrom?

I came across a post on Facebook that a friend of mine liked from Nordstrom. It read:

 

"We believe Thanksgiving should have it's own day so we will not be putting up any Christmas decorations (or selling any) until the Friday AFTER Thanksgiving (BLACK FRIDAY)."

 

All of my life my family has waited until AFTER Thanksgiving to put up our Christmas tree and we kept it up until after New Years so my sister, whose birthday is on December 29th, could have a "Birthday Tree". We used to always take down all the Red and Green decorations and exchange them out for Hot Pink Birthday Streamers. This was really special to Allison and looking back I think it is a really neat tradition!

 

As an adult I have only had a Christmas tree about half of the time and I have usually put it up after Thanksgiving if at all. When I was single and living in an apartment, I did not bother in getting an artificial tree or real tree and usually just put up a wreath or garland in the Kitchen. Real festive, right? I wasn't really in the Christmas spirit! Now that I am married I have purchased an artificial tree and decorated it with ornaments Chris and I have received as gifts. Unfortunately, my beagle, Oxford, chewed through the branches of this tree while we still lived in Shawnee so this year I get to purchase a brand new tree.

 

However, I have yet to decide when to actually put up my tree and all my other Christmas decorations. Now that I have such a large house with multiple options and locations to decorate, I want to go "All Out" and make my home a "Winter Wonderland"! With all this decorating I want to have these decorations up for as long as possible since so much work will go into it. Yet, I still feel like I should not just over-look Thanksgiving... especially since it is one of my favorite Holidays!

 

A part of me really wants to get my tree up and decorated and start to transform my home now, especially since I am already listening to Christmas music at work and with my classes. But I just cant bring myself to do it! I want Thanksgiving to be about Thanksgiving!
What are you thoughts?

 

God is Good... All the Time!

Back to the old "GRIND"

Friday, November 2, 2012

 

This week has been so very long and tiring and i will go ahead and say it has been the week from well... you know where! I went back to work on Monday and since then, I have slept maybe 20 hours and have been physically and emotionally exhausted.

 

My nearly 5 month only who has been sleeping through the night for quite some time is deciding he needs to wake up on and off in the middle of the night and as soon as I am ready to walk out the door. I think it is going to take Luke a little while to get used to both Mommy and Daddy working and him spending the day with Gigi Jackie. Fortunately he has had great days while with Jackie but I can just tell his routine is messed up and it is going to take him a little while to adjust. On Monday and Tuesday he barely napped at all. Luckily yesterday, Thursday, he was able to nap for about an 1.5 hours. This helped alot and I know his sleeping schedule will continue to improve as he adjusts to his new daily routine.

 

Natalie has been acting and behaving fine but she is still dealing with "Clowns"  It all started at the AWANA back to school party where a clown was making balloon animals. One of the balloons popped and due to Natalie's sensitive ears she got really frightened and now associates that loud scary noise with clowns. Every night she says "No clowns", in fact she says this multiple times a day! When we say our nightly prayers she asks God to protect her from the clowns and says a memory verse that helps her remember God protects us! I am glad she is praying and turning to God for help and protection. I just don't know how to help her get over this fear. In fact, we did not even go to our church's Fall Festival because we knew there would be a clown there and it was going to be the exact same clown that scared her in the first place so we did not take any chances.

 

On Monday when I finally got back to work after 11 weeks off, SO MUCH had changed that the day itself was OVERWHELMING! In fact there were NUMEROUS times during the day that I just wanted to pack up my things and NEVER COME BACK! I was so very discouraged and upset. Now keep in mind that my emotions were running SKY HIGH due to having to leave the baby and a laundry list of other things but I was so very upset and discouraged at the end of the day!

 

I remember when I returned from Maternity leave with Natalie my band classes were a TOTAL mess and the kids were out of control and had BARELY learned ANYTHING! It practically took me the rest of the semester to clean up the mess that was made. This time around, my kids were great and under control. In fact, since there was a substitute, my classes were reading music and learning from a music textbook which I usually do not use since it is so basic and boring. A lot of my kids came to me this week and told me they actually LIKED the textbook. I am going to use these books more often now that I know they like them.

 

It wasn't my kids that had me discouraged but all the "Behind the scenes" and "Paperwork" stuff. I now know that we have faculty meetings EVERY Monday for 1.5 to 2 hours after school. Alot of this has to do with the TEA score we received last year as a campus. This is so frustrating because I got into this level of music teaching to avoid after school duties and hours. I just got so upset thinking to myself "If I am going to be at work til 5... I might as well be doing what I LOVE... TEACHING BAND". All day on Monday this was my attitude. I kept thinking "I have a Master's degree and I am teaching word for word out of the book. They seriously DO NOT NEED ME! The average Joe could do this job! In fact, the AVERAGE JOE did do this job while I was gone! I just want to go home and hold my baby!" I feel so under-used and under-appreciated! This makes me so sad!

 

The week got better with each passing day but even today I feel like I should be doing so much more with my career. I know I have to hold on and endure this "TEST OF FAITH" for another 7-8 months until June 1! I am very grateful to God for giving me this job and opportunity!

 

I have a passion for teaching and a passion for music... but right now all I can think about it my beautiful kiddos and how much I miss them! I know over the next few weeks, I will get back into the "Grind" and "Routine" and my feelings will change... Patience!

 

God is good... ALL THE TIME!

Hats Off

Friday, October 26, 2012

It has been FOUR months and my how the time has flown by. It seems only yesterday that I was laying on a hospital bed waiting to see my new baby boy! I had dreamed of having a baby boy all my life and the day had come to cut me open and get him out. It was a beautiful sunny HOT day in Houston/ Conroe and David Luke was about to make his grand entrance. At 1:30pm, baby Luke graced us all with hi presence and my life has never been the same since.

Since that sunny and hot day, it has continued to be HOT and humid but my how my boy and my life have changed. I spent practically the entire summer months taking care of my newborn and that in an of itself was a full-time job. Too many sleepless and restless nights waking up 4 and 5 times and nurse him, Changing 10-12 diapers a day and rocking that precious bundle of joy. Whew... By the time August came around I was exhausted. I felt like I needed a vacation! Hahaha... Little did I know at the time but a mother of 2 DOESN'T GET A VACATION!

The month of August was spent taking care of Luke ad then as soon as he was done eating and burping, I would go and get Natalie up and feed her breakfast and whatever else she needed. Before I knew it, the time was 11am and NOTHING had got done. I still had not showered or finished any chores or housework. Then within what seemed like seconds or minutes it was lunch time and one for Luke to eat again. Soon after lunch was nap time. I was never lucky enough to get nth of them I nap at the same time. Several times they overlapped by 20-30 minutes and I usually took that time clean or pack boxes. Of course at the end of the month, Chris started back teaching and I was on my own.

September came around and our move into our new house was getting closer and closer. I had NO TIME to pack boxes or get Dan and Jackie's house cleaned up from us living there. I was constantly trying to get both kids fed, cleaned and taken care of. I remember on September 3rd, the day BEFORE my 30th birthday, my mom and sister took me to get a pedicure and I felt like I literally won a MILLION DOLLARS. In fact, that is what I would have paid for that pedicure at the time. It was GLORIOUS! Thank you Mom and Allison for taking me! I loved it!

The rest of September kinda dragged because we were supposed to close Mid-September on the 14th but ended up closing a week later on the 21st. So between trying to pack boxes and clean and then actually MOVE into our new house... My poor kiddos were exhausted and so was I. When we finally did get moved into the new house and we were able to sleep there, all I wanted to do was just rest... BUT WAIT, I still had to take care of my little angels. There were bottles and feedings and baths and play times (in the new "Kitchen" of Natalie's... which is AWESOME by the way). Wow... Thank goodness I was not working at the time... I don't think I would have made it!

October came and went so fast. I was able to get most of the boxes unpacked and even hang a few pictures on the walls. Much to the disliking of both of my kids. I guess they don't like the sound of a hammer to a drywall! Several times I would have to just put Luke in the swing and I would go and clean the kitchen or vacuum or decorate because if I didn't get it done before i went back to work, I knew it would not get done til January since the Holidays are just around the corner. Several times I would put him in the swing crying and eventually (Like 10 minutes) he would just fall asleep or give up on crying. I hated doing that to a 4 month old but Mama HAD TO GET STUFF DONE!

Bottom line... I DON'T KNOW HOW STAY AT HOME MOMS DO IT! This is HARD WORK. And I only have 2 kids.... How do moms of 3 and 4 even survive? I barely have a moment to myself... TO SHOWER, let alone do anything else like clean the house or go grocery shopping (in fact i usually take BOTH kids to get groceries, my LEAST favorite part of a week). I have so many friends who are "Stay at home moms" and they have such well behaved kids, a clean house and a beautiful demeanor about them. I, on the other hand, after only 4 months of being a stay at home mom, am ready to pull my hair out and my house is NOWHERE near close to as clean as I would like!

I just don't know how y'all do it! Anyone out there that has a suggestion, I AM ALL EARS! Hats off to you wonderful STAY AT HOME MOMS! You are AMAZING! Please send some of your energy my way!

I love my kiddos SO MUCH and i am so VERY GRATEFUL for being able to spend this time with them! I will never get this time back and they grow up WAY TOO FAST so I am so glad I got to be home with them when I did! God blessed me with this time and for that I am FOREVER GRATEFUL!

Even for this Non-So- Good Stay at home mom...

GOD IS GOOD... ALL THE TIME!

I Need Guidance... And Only Prayer Will DO!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Texas Children's Pediatric Associates Conroe

My baby is FOUR MONTHS old! It is hard to believe he already FOUR MONTHS. Yet at the same time I cannot believe it has ONLY BEEN FOUR MONTHS! It seems so much longer sometimes. My poor family has been through SO MUCH in the last FOUR MONTHS! I think Baby Luke is doing REALLY well considering all the change that has taken place. Between the move and his reflux he has done really well these FOUR MONTHS of life!

We went into the see Dr. Quarles today for Baby Luke's 4 Month Well-Baby Check. This was more of a follow-up for his reflux really. We had been patients of Dr. Pullium but she moved to Colorado in late August so we were forced to "Shop around" for another pediatrician. We went with Dr. Prohodia at first because she was available to see us on short notice when Luke's reflux got to be at its worst. She is very young and I liked her. She diagnosed Luke with GERD (Reflux) on August 30th and gave us some medication and advice to try to keep it under control. Since then Luke has had good days and bad days. I had changed Luke and Natalie over to DR. Prohodia as the PCP in September but after Dr. Pullium left the computer automatically put Dr. Quarles as our PCP so we ended up seeing her yesterday! This was alarming at first but turned out to be wonderful.

Luke has been on Nutramigen for the past 10 days and I have seen great improvements. He has been spitting up much less and in less volume and he is also taking the bottle much better (even from strangers). In the evening hours he is much less fussy and even laughs and plays more than the day time. During the past 10 days he has smiled for daddy just as soon as he gets home. This makes daddy so very happy. For most of his life Luke has screamed between the hours of 6-8 and he has begun to grow out of this and with the help of the Nutramigen he has been even more happy during these hours.

When we went in to see the Dr yesterday she answered a lot of my questions about reflux and medication but did not give me a definite path to take from here. She said that even though Luke seems to be doing better on the Nutramigen formula, he may still be able to breast feed if I cut out 4 of the major foods that effect reflux. These foods include milk, eggs, nuts and soy. I ha already cut out mill from my diet but not to the extremes she wanted me to. Absolutely NONE!!! She told me to look at labels for ingredients and if it had milk or eggs AT ALL don't eat it. I don't really eat these foods themselves very often but wow... EVERYTHING, I MEAN EVERYTHING I eat has milk or eggs in it. I love cheese and put it on most everything. I am not a great breakfast eater but I love raisin bran and of course that requires milk. Salad dressings, bread, tortillas, you name it... It has one of the four "No-No" foods. I guess I will be going on some form of Atkins. Man... I HATE THAT DIET! I would rather go back on HCG!

She gave me some advice about using the expressed milk I had been pumping in the freezer and also some expert opinion on Reflux but she did NOT tell me directly what to do. I am indecisive so I wanted this but I understand why she could not tell me what to do. She basically told me that I could switch to Nutramigen if I wanted to but she thinks overall Luke is just a "Happy Spitter" and is going to spit up no matter what. She also gave me the classic line "You have a LAUNDRY problem... not a medical problem". This made me feel better for Luke but a little discouraged for me. I wanted to know that the Nutramigen was the perfect fix and all would be well. Dr. Quarles doubled the medication of Zantac to 1.1 ML twice a day! After it was all over she sent us home to do yet another experiment. She said "If I were you, I would use all the milk in the freezer and breast feed him until you go back to work (10 days). If at that point pumping isn't an option or you still feel he is spitting up more with just breast milk, go back to Nutramigen. I just don't want to recommend an unneeded added expense." I greatly appreciate that aspect of it but I really wanted her TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!

Since Monday, I have decided to take her advice and go with the "PULL YOUR HAIR OUT" diet and try to get Luke to breast feed again! That was always a wonderful bonding time for both of us! Maybe that is JUST WHAT I NEED before I go back to work! I am going to start him on the breast again on Friday so that way I will have 2-3 days to get all the "toxins" out of my system!

I don't know what will come of this experiment but I just want Baby Luke to feel better and not spit up as much! I know God will show me the path I need to take!

God is good... ALL THE TIME!

Ten Free of Me

Sunday, October 13, 2012

A little over a month ago we discovered that poor Luke has GERD or infant reflux disease. He has been spitting up really bad since he was about 6 weeks old and it just kept getting worse and worse. I took him into the pediatrician on August 30th, when he was about 2.5 months old, to be examined and our new pediatrician diagnosed him with GERD. I had been researching this on the Internet and pretty much expected this diagnosis but was still a little upset to get the news.

Dr. Prohodia told us to keep on breast feeding and take an infants dose of the medicine Zantac. We followed her orders and started taking Zantac 3 times a day. We kept breast feeding and also began to feed in an upright position and keep him at a 45 degree angle for at least 30 minutes after each feeding. We even invested in a wedge to put in his crib at night so he would be elevated.

I have been weighing him weekly since his birth and he has continuously gained weight each week but the previous two to three weeks he has only gained an once or two each week. In my anal and OCD mind this was a red flag so I called the pediatrician.

After about a month on the medication we saw some improvemts but he would still spit up A LOT about 5-6 times a day. Pre-medication he was spitting up about 8-9 times and day and it was projectile vomit like. With the meds he was spitting up less in volume and frequency but still was continuously spitting up. Every time he would spit up he was happy and it didn't seem to bother him... Just me. In fact the first two weeks after starting the meds he barely even spit up and I thought he was "healed" but as time went on he began to spit up more and more. I had talked to friends who had reflux babies and they all said that he would more than likely have to start taking a type of formula for "cows milk" allergy. I was not happy about this since I really wanted to continue to breast feed him as long as possible.

With Natalie I was able to continue to breast feed well into her 8th month of life despite my low milk supply but eventually dried up after 8 months, 1 week and 5 days. Since I had a low milk supply basically the entire time of breast feeding Natalie, I expected the same with Luke so began pumping almost immediately after he was born. This made me have an overwhelming milk supply and in fact I have over 300 ounces on expressed milk in my freezer right now.

About 2 weeks ago Luke just kept spitting up and I was just so worried I called my pediatrician to ask for better meds or something. I spoke to our nurse and she said Dr. Prohodia wanted me to try an experiment with the special formula called nutramigen. She told me to have Luke ONLY drink Nutramigen for 10 days without any supplementation of breast feeding or break milk. I was told I keep "pumping and dumping" just in case the formula didn't help and I had to go back to breast feeding.

It has been the 10 days and we go and see Dr. Prohodia tomorrow for Luke's 4 month well-baby visit and shots. Overall I think the experiment worked and I think poor Luke has done a million times better on the Nutramigen formula than while on my breast milk alone. Sure he will still spit up every day but it is usually only 1-3 times and not projectile. I know with reflux there is no "magic fix" so he will still spit up until he grows out of it but I think with nutramigen and the Zantac he is doing much better.

We go and see Dr. Prohodia tomorrow and I am vey anxious to see what she recommends. I just pray for the health of my poor baby Luke. None of this has seemed to phase him but I just want him to be a healthy and happy baby!!!

Details of the doctors appointment to follow...

God is good... All the time.

Homesick

Friday, October 12, 2012

117 South McCall St

100 Arnold Dr

611 Imhoff St

2655 Brandywine Lane

3152 West Rock Creek Road

4339 Liberty Circle

16941 Wren Hill St

9923 Wing St

The addresses of my homes from my 30 years of life (Not including dorms...)

 Today I attended a funeral for my Great-Uncle Orville Dean Harlow. He died at the age of 85 in Oklahoma City, OK. I knew Uncle OD my entire life and he was extremely involved in my life growing up, especially for a "Great-Uncle". He and my dad were very close and this closeness was passed on to my sister and I growing up. Since he lived in Oklahoma City, I was able to visit him frequently while living in Norman and attending OU. We would go out for dinner and coffee on the weekends and I would even go over to his house to watch OU games with him and keep him company. He was a very generous and giving man and I will NEVER forget him.

Luckily, I have not had to attend very many funerals in my life but the few I have attended have been incredibly hard for my family and I. I was able to perform my saxophone at Uncle OD's funeral today an it was an amazing feeling to be able to perform knowing Uncle OD was looking down and listening. While my dad was preaching the final remarks of this funeral he reminded me that while Uncle lived at many addresses in his 85 years of life, he is now at his PERMANENT address.

This got me to thinking about the addresses I have lived at but more importantly, the address I will FOREVER remain at. At each of the above addresses, there have been many things I have loved inside the home. From square footage to bath space to kitchen layouts to yards. They all had pros and cons. Then of course, Chris and I just completed shopping for a new home a few months ago and we went and looked at some BEAUTIFUL homes that had EVERYTHING you could possibly imagine. We looked at some that were WAY out of our price range and I could do was just dream about living in a home like these. They had everything... WELL ALMOST!

In my final and permanent home there will be streets of GOLD and Mansions so big and beautiful. Things I cannot even imagine. There will be no more cleaning of carpets, no more mowing and watering the lawn, no more MOVING (can I get an "AMEN") and no more house payments. Just wonderful, beautiful and PERMANENT life among our Lord.

As I traveled back to Oklahoma, I got a little homesick and missing Oklahoma and all that it offers (Like LOW HUMIDITY... Can I get ANOTHER "AMEN"!). I started to even tear up thinking about how I thought of Oklahoma as "The good ol' days". I just missed my home. It wasn't until AFTER the funeral that my heart began to get homesick for another home... My PERMANENT home!

You see the addresses above are just that... ADDRESSES. Sure, they have provided me with a beautiful building to live in and they have protected me from the elements but obviously they have just been temporary! My mansion is waiting for me in Heaven and I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE IT! In fact, I am a little HOMESICK!

I know where MY PERMANENT home is... DO you?

God is Good... ALL THE TIME!

In a different "Zone"

Sunday, September 30, 2012

I have been in church my entire life... LITERALLY. My dad is a baptist pastor and has been preaching and teaching since long before I was born. In fact, I jokingly talk about how I was in church every time the doors were open since 9 months before I was born. Its a way of life for me and I want it to be the same way for my children and family.

Throughout my entire church life, I have been at the forefront of activities and events. When I was just a little girl I began singing at my daddy's church in Ulysses, KS at the age of 5. After that first initial song of praise I was hooked and began to sing solos in church all the time. My mom also has a wealth of musical talent and her and I would sing songs together frequently. Throughout my early years of life, between the ages of 5-12, I was singing praises to my God on a regular basis.

At the age of 12 my family moved to East Texas to Arp Emmanuel Baptist Church for my dad to continue his calling to God as a Baptist preacher. It was also at this time that I began my long journey of making music and giving it back to God. As a new 6th grader I was able to choose the instrument I wanted to play and luckily I was able to get to play the saxophone. This was a lifelong dream of mine and I am so grateful to God for allowing me this opportunity. I knew at that point that I would be forever grateful and give my talents, both vocally and instrumentally, back to Him.

For the remainder of my time spent at AEBC, I played my saxophone in the "ensemble" led by an amazing man of God, Bro. Tommy! He also allowed me to perform solos both singing and playing on a routine basis. In fact, Bro. Tommy made a schedule of performers and I was able to give my talents back to God nearly twice a month. I truly believe this is when and where I discovered my true calling in the church... To give my talents back to Him. Thank you Bro. Tommy for helping me realize this calling by allowing me to perform so frequently!

When I graduated high school and went to OU I knew I had to find a church to call my home and continue to give my talents back to Him. I visited several churches but ultimately found Bethel Baptist Church in Norman, OK. Ironically, this is where I found my husband too!

While at Bethel I immediately became active in the Orchestra and Band playing my saxophone. This came naturally to me and I was even able to help the music minister, one of my all-time favorites, Bro. Jerry as a music intern during my senior year of college. I was very active in the music department; playing my saxophone in the orchestra, playing my saxophone as solos during Worship time, singing solos in the Worship services as even sang in a Sunday night praise team. I was so very active in this music department that I also taught a 3-6 grade children's choir, which is where Chris and I met. I was at Bethel almost as much as I as at OU. It was an amazing time in my spiritual-musical life and I am forever grateful to Bro. Jerry and the entire Bethel Family for allowing me to give my talents back to God.

Shortly after Chris and I married we moved to Shawnee, OK for my band job at Grove Public School. Chris a I visited many churches in Shawnee but were continuously drawn to Immanuel Baptist Church. We both loved the pastor and his sermons but we also liked the flexibility of worship services. They had a traditional service like Chris liked and a more contemporary service which I enjoyed. Shortly after joining IBC, the music minister called and asked me to perform a solo with the choir on a upcoming Sunday. I performed with the choir and I immediately knew this is where God wanted me to be. Within weeks, I was asked to lead the orchestra. This was an answer to prayer as it gave me yet another opportunity to serve The Lord and give Him my talents. I continued to serve as the orchestra director for the following 6 years while living in Shawnee. A new music minister came after a few short years and my passion developed further for giving my talents to Him. Bro. Jason also helped me discover another calling of leading music within the church. This too was a wonderful time in my spiritual-musical life.

In the summer of 2011, Chris accepted a teaching job at Aldine ISD and we moved to Houston, TX. Within weeks, Chris and I were attending Mims Baptist church with his parents. This was not at all where I would have pictured us attending but it worked. I immediately started playing my saxophone in the orchestra and Chris even started singing in the choir. This all seemed natural to us and it seemed as if we would just pick up our old church lives from previous churches as place them into Mims. But since moving our membership over to Mims, I have been slowly taking a back seat in the orchestra/ music department (thanks to numerous other saxophone players and musicians) and in 15 months I have not played a solo or special music (feels so weird to me). I can feel myself moving more towards a different "zone". But Chris really likes the traditional music and for the first time in my adult church career, I LOVE our Sunday School class. So for this reason... WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!

In fact in most of the above scenarios I was incredibly active in the music ministry but rarely active in the education and Sunday School department. At IBC Chris and I never really "fit in" with any Sunday School class. At one point Bro. Todd started teaching a pastors class that we really liked but unfortunately when IBC went to 3 services, he had to give that up. That was a sad day for Chris and I because we really liked and learned a lot in that class.

On the very first Sunday at Mims in this Sunday School class Chris and I felt a connection with the families and couples in this class. Most of them are teachers and a few couples are even BOTH teachers, which is cool for Chris and I to interact with. Chris has always had a somewhat "dry" sense of humor and most of the time you either like him or you don't (at previous SS classes it was the later) but for whatever reason he is well accepted and appreciated in this class. Most of the husbands and even some of the wives love college and pro football and that is a topic of discussion most Sunday mornings before the lesson begins so Chris loves that! The class just seems perfect for Chris and I and I am so glad God called us to this church and this class. I can wait to see what else he has in store for us at Mims.

All of this is to say that for the first time that I can remember I am focusing less on my musical talent and gift and more on serving God in other ways within the church. I am currently helping in Awana on Wednesday night as well as other service opportunities that in previous churches and positions I would not have had time for.

I feel under-used and appreciated sometimes in this music ministry and slightly out of my comfort "zone". As mentioned above, in ALL of my other church life experiences I have been at the center of the attention and for the most part in the musical spotlight. Honestly, that is where I LIKE to be but clearly God has other plans for me in this stage of my life. I don't know what they are but I can't wait to find out.

I am blessed and I thank God for His blessings He has given me. Whether in the music "zone" or in any other service field, I will give ALL my talents back to Him.

God is good... All the time!!!

All My Bags Are Packed

Wednesday, June 12, 2012

A week ago today I got a text message from our realtor asking us to call the bank and check on the status of our loan and closing date. I had been contacting our loan officer practically every other day and heard little from her but when I did speak to her she said we would still be ready to close on Friday the 14th.

Come to find out, when I called our bank our loan officer was on vacation and the paperwork had gotten lost in the assembly line of people it had to pass through. Her voicemail said to call another loan officer in her department and I did but I still did not hear back from him on this day. I called the realtor and told her this information and she immediately sent a very professional email to the higher-ups stating that we needed information on our account immediately. After several emails back and forth and even phone calls between the manager of the loan account at our bank and our realtor we found out that we may still be able to close on Friday but more than likely not. In fact as it turned out after the appraisal was done around the last week of August it was supposed to go into final underwriting; however we learned that it sat on the desk of a bank employee while they were on vacation and didn't get into underwriting until September 4. Our loan officer told us that underwriting was taking anywhere from 6 to 12 business days to be complete so at that moment we knew we were not going to be able to close on Friday. Chris immediately thought this meant we would not be able to close this Friday on the and it would be more like the following Friday. I on the other hand still had hopes that perhaps we can close on this Friday maybe or on Tuesday but only time will tell.

Well this morning at 10 AM we got the phone call that we will not be able to close on Friday and it will more than likely be Monday or Tuesday of next week. But we also learned that the sellers are going to be out of town on a business trip this next week so even though we might be ready to close on Monday or Tuesday it could be as late as Friday. Chris and I immediately laughed thinking "with our luck with this whole ordeal it will be next Friday the 21st".

All of our bags were packed we were ready to go but God had a different plan so we will sit here this weekend and enjoy another weekend before the hectic life begins in the new house. I don't know why our move was delayed yet another week but God has a reason and I can't wait to find out what it is.

God is good... All the time.

Hymns of Faith: The Teacher Learns from the Student

Friday, August 31, 2012

"Many rely on God with extreme passion and dedication when facing an obstacle in life. I wonder how incredible of a change this world could see if God was pursued with that same passion regardless of the circumstance... Food for thought." 

This is a quote that a past student of mine from Grove posted on Facebook last week. He is in his second year of college right now at OBU and is a remarkable person and Christian. Since I have not lived in Shawnee for over a year I do not know the entire story but I do know that he had to have brain surgery last week. He posted this quote the day before he had the surgery.  T

he week before  this, Natalie and Luke had their 3 year and 2 month old pediatrician check-ups. Poor Luke had not been feeding well off of the bottle and seemed to be getting really friustrated easily while trying to take the bottle. The check-ups were simultaneously happening and I was so WORRIED about Luke that I didnt even think about anything going wrond with Nataeli Grace and her 3 year old check-up. It was during her routine visit that our prediatrician, Dr. Pulliam, said "Has anyone ever told you that Natalie has a heart murmur?" Stunned and shocked, I looked over at Chris with tears forming in my eyes. Meanwhile, Luke was laying over on the doctor's table just smiling and as content as ever! Dr. Pulliam went on to evaluate Natalie and tell us a little bit about her heart murmur. She was only checking her with the stephascope and was not able to tell us much more than "Its a heart murmur." She advised us to see a Pediactric Cardiologist to check to see if the murmur was benign. The rest of the visit was very tramatic and stressful for all four of as the tension was very heavy. As soon as we got in the car, I just bursted into tears and called my mom. Immediately after that I called and made an appointment with the Cardiologist to see Natalie. Of course, there was not an opening for over a week so we had to wait to see if this heart murmur was benign or not.

It was during this time that I learned of my ex-student's condition as his incredible faith in God as he was going through such a tramatic event in his life. I began to follow his story and updates via "Care Bridge" on the MD Anderson website. I was amazed as his speedily recovery and steadfast dedication to God. I was just blown away. How could someone who was facing such a grave condition be so at peace. I began to ponder this as I sat there thinking about my first born and the possibility that this heart murmur was more than just a little "Thump-thump".

I read his quote from above on Facebook and really thought about how I had been doing this. I am not a perfect person or Christian by any means but I too had been seeking God's face in the midst of my trials and tribulations and not as dedicated to Him during non-trying times. Like my ex-student said, what a revalation it would be if we sought Him even during our great joys and successes. That following week I made it a priority to not only pray and have my quiet time alone with God in the morning but in the evening and afternoon as well. I found myself spending time in THe Word during Natalie and Luke's naptimes and even staying up an extra 30 minutes to an hour after I put Luke to bed reading the Bible and praying. Now of course, I was still waiting to see the Caridologist at this point but I felt so revived and refreshed.

ON Wednesday, August 22 Natalie, Luke and I traveled to the Northwestern most part of Houston to see this Pediatric Caridolgist for Natalie. When we got there Natalie had to do the usual weight and height measurements but she also had to have her blood pressure checked and even get an EKG! THis was such new expereince for her and she DID NOT LIKE IT! After finishing these exams with the nurse we went into the Doctor's office and he listened to her heart and then did an extensive Ultrasound of her heart. THis was special because i told Natalie she was going to be able to do what Mommy did while Baby Luke was in her tummy. I had pulled out pictures of Baby Luke's ultrasound the night before and Natalie was excited to be able to see her heart on the screen. When the doctor showed her the heart she said "Look mommy, it Baby Heart!" This was so sweet.





After an extensive review of her heart via the ultrasound the Cardiologist informed me that Natalie's heart was 100% healthy and "Perfect". What a relief. I immediately said a grateful prayer to God. Now honestly, after this I would have gone back to my usual Christian self and had my daily quiet and prayer time but not at the instensity level I had been since the tramatic event had passed and all was well. But not this time. On our way home I began to listen to my iTunes and the hymn "Have Thine Own Way" came on. This may not seem like a song that would speak to soemone right AFTER this type of event but it did.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way 

Thou are the Potter, I am the Clay 

Mold me and Make me, After thy will
While I am waiting, yielded and still

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way
Wounded and weary, Help me I pray
Power, all Power, surely is Thine
Touch me and Heal me, Saviour devine

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way
Hold O're my being, absolute sway
Fill with Thy spirit till all shall see
Christ only ALWAYS, living in me!

Touch me and Heal me... Of course this was relevant to Natalie Grace and her heart murmur but it was also relevant to me and my Christian walk. I had fallen down and was having a hard time getting up. I had been failing at getting in the most time possible with God. No wonder I was tired and weary. Since then I have kept up not only my daily quiet time and prayer time but additional time with God. I have taken the nightly nursing sessions with Luke as my extended prayer time. I have been able to pray for family and extended family that I may have over-looked in the past as well as Sunday School and Church requests that I might have bunched into one blanket sentence in previous years. I feel like a completely new person.

It is amazing how the statement of one person can really open your eyes to your own Faith and relationship with God. Thank you dear Ex-Band student of mine for your words of truth and encouragement. I am a new Christian, Wife and mother! Thank you! 

God is good... ALL the time!

     

My Growing Boy: Month 3

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

I cannot believe it has been three months. He is getting to be such a big boy and developing right before my eyes.

Feeding

Around August 30, we learned Luke has a form or infant reflux and will need medication until at least 8 months of age. He has been feeding well but he would spit up frequently after each feeding and usually these spit ups would be projectile, almost like vomiting. Around that same time we noticed he would wake up in the middle of the night ever two hours. He had been sleeping for 6-7 hour stretches so this was alarming.

He has still been breast feeding only and has been eating every 3 hours or do. Sometimes he can go a four hour stretch but other times he will get hungry at the 2.5 hour mark. He has however; gotten the hang of the eat play THEN sleep routine this month which is good for everyone.

Sleeping

He has been sleeping pretty well this month during the nights. He will usually sleep for about 6 hours at a time. I can out him down at 9 or 9:30 and he will sleep into the 3 o'clock hour. On a rre occasion, about once a week, he will "sleep through the night" and sleep for about 8-9 hours. I have not figured out why he does this and how I can get him to do it more often.

He has been taking at least two Lon naps each day. He will usually get up around 8 or so and then go back to sleep for at least 1.5 hours or even 2 hours. That is usually when we have I go out of the house for errands or something. He also sleeps very well in the afternoons. I will feed him and e will usually dose off in the middle of the feeding. I then put him in his swing an he will take a good 2-3 hour nap there. These past few weeks this nap has aligned with Natalie's nap so that was a JOY!!!

Since Natalie has been going to school this past week, he nap schedule has been disrupted and I can already tell it will take some hard work to get him back on to some sort of routine. Both of his heavy solid naps have been disrupted and unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it. (we HAVE to go and pick-up/ drop-off Natalie... Sorry Luke)

Playtime

His playtime has been so much fun these days. He loves to lay on the floor on his playmat and move around. He has not yet rolled over from front to back or back to front (that I have seen... Chris swears he did roll per for him but it DOES NOT count til mama sees it!) but I think he will soon. You can tell when he is working on rolling over too; he will try so hard and grunt so loud. He just can't quite make it all the way over. He has also been following people and objects with his eyes so much better this month. Natalie will come and play with him on the floor and when she gets up he will watch her walk away an then CRY! He LOVES him some Natalie Grace (don't we all!)

Overall this month has been a whirlwind of a month for our family and I know next month will be even more hectic and crazy. My baby boy is growing so fast and I cannot believe what a beautiful blessing he is to me and my family! I love you Luke and pray for you EVERY DAY!!!

God is good... ALL THE TIME!!!

Grandmas are Special

Summer 2012

I have been lucky my entire life to have two amazing grandmas. They both have their unique and awesome features that make them special to me. Both sets of my grandparents lived in the Wichita, Kansas vicinity so I was able to see both of them anytime my family or I went to Wichita. I was also able to see both of them at all of the major holidays when we traveled from Ulysses (Kansas) or Arp (Texas) to Wichita.

My dad's mom, Grandma Pat, was an awesome Christian mother and grandmother to learn from and be around. She was married to my only grandfather and they were the perfect picture of a Christian marriage I have ever seen in my life. Anytime I was at their house I was able to sit in their living room and listen to stories of my dad and my uncles and their fun and humorous times of their life. They had a very huge, huge house outside of Wichita in a small town called Derby where my dad and his brothers grew up. They had a basement where grandpa and grandma and us would go downstairs after dinner and watch the nightly news and we would play and watch movies. But my grandma also had a bedroom on the upstairs part of her house that my family and I called "the peach room ". It was completely decorated in the color of peach. The walls were peach, the bedspread was peach and she even had a make up vanity that was peach colored. Anytime I went to their house that was always where and I stayed and it was very, very special to me since my grandmother had decorated it herself and everything in there had a unique resemblance of her. In fact I have a very petite rocking chair in my home right now from her "Peach Room". Grandma Pat would always take me or my sister to Braums ice cream on Sunday night after we would go to church with her and grandpa. This was always special and something my sister and I looked forward to every time we went to see them.

"Great"- Grandma Pat with Natalie Grace in April 2012

My mom's mom, Grandma Juanita, was very active in watching my sister and I grow up and she was always nearby. In fact, she traveled with my family and I on several vacations and even though she was a "grandma" she was never hesitant to do fun things with us like run the bases around a major league baseball park. She would be the first one to volunteer to go with me on the highest roller coaster at amusement parks and the first one to choose a very fun and cool restaurant to go eat at. She was always more fit and active than most grandmas out there which made her really fun to be around. She worked at a church in Wichita so when I would go and visit her I would go with her to work and play with my dolls outside of her office. She would take me around to all the other ministers and secretaries of the church and show me off to them. This was always really special to go with grandma and be the cool grand kid that came with her. I remember on her lunch break we would always go and drop off the mail or go to the bank for the church but then she would always make it a point to stop at Spangles for a milkshake. I would've never gotten a milkshake at home... Only grandmas give kids cookies, candy and milkshakes. She would also take me to the mall to go shopping when I was a teenager, which was really special to go shopping with your grandma. When I would go to visit her or when she was on vacations with us she would always rub my back before I went to bed and it became a ritual of some sort anytime I would see her. It was funny, after I had Natalie she came and visited me in Shawnee to help take care of Natalie and one night after I put Natalie down to bed she came into my room where I was still awake and she said "hey let me rub your back"! It was so special and I will never forget it.

Grandma Juanita and Virg at my Teacher of the Year Ceremony at Grove in May 2011

Both of my grandmas are very special to me and I'm so very grateful to God for giving me such remarkable and wonderful women in my life. I have always wanted for my own kids to have the type of grandmas that I had and luckily they're getting the same type of memories that I had.

This past month the kids and I traveled from Conroe to Arp to visit my parents one weekend. Poor Chris had to stay and work for new teacher meetings for the 2012 2013 school year so I decided I needed a break and headed towards East Texas. I didn't know what to expect going on a trip with two kids by myself but the actual driving part turned out to be just fine. When we got there, within minutes of arriving Natalie ran to Poppy and said "Poppy, I want to read a book". My dad immediately stopped helping me unload the car and read Natalie Grace the book. It made me smile knowing what a precious bond they have with each other.

Natalie has a special bond with my mom as well. "Gigi Shirley is her name and SPOILING is her game". This quote is an UNDERSTATEMENT for my mom! Ever since Natalie was born, she has spoiled that little girl rotten. I remember how my mom would come and just rock and sing to Natalie while I tried to get some sleep! For the past 2 summers, my parents have taken Natalie on a mini-vacation with them to see MLB Baseball stadiums. This is really special to me because it is exactly what my parents did with my sister and me! I am so very glad Natalie and Luke will have this opportunity as well. Of course, while on vacation my mother pretty much gives Natalie whatever she wants... cookies, candy, toys, teddy bears, you name it! This past time, Natalie came home with several new toys and items from their trip. Last time my mom and dad went to an Astro's game they took Natalie and then when they got home, Natalie had a new t-shirt and a new stuffed dog who she named "Astro".  

It really became apparent to me just how special Natalie is to my mom and mother-in-law this past month. While were were in Arp my mom and Natalie really bonded because on the first night there Natalie said "Gigi, can I sleep in your bed?" My mom didnt hesitate to say "Sure, Natalie!" You see, that is exactly what my mom wanted. She even told me, "I want to stay home and just LOVE ON YOUR KIDS!" As soon as we arrived in Arp I put the crib into my parents room as my mom was going to hold and rock Luke as needed so I could get some much needed REST. But since Natalie was going to sleep in Gigi Shirley's bed, Poppy and Gigi pushed the crib into the guest room where I was staying and Natalie slept with Gigi Shirley in her "BIG bed" as Natalie puts it. The funny thing was that Poppy had to sleep on the new Disney Princess sheets that mom had bought especially for Natalie! It was quite a funny scene to see poor Poppy wake up in those hot pink sheets. He too will do anything for Natalie Grace!

My mom and Natalie also got to spend the entire day together on Natalie's birthday this past Saturday. Chris and I went to a marriage conference and my parents and in-laws took care of our kiddos. While there my mom helped Natalie bake and decorate Birthday Cookies. When we got home from Natalie's party that evening mom told me "Don't be surprised next time you bake cookies with Natalie!" I asked her why and she said "I taught her to lick the icing off (Literally, straight out of the can)" All I could do was smile! I remember my Grandma always making cookie dough when Allison or I were there and she ALWAYS let me lick the bowl and the beaters! It's a grandma thing I guess.

Now since we have been living with Dan and Jackie, Natalie has really grown close to Gigi Jackie. Perhaps closer than I ever was to either of my grandmas, especially at this age. Natalie and Gigi Jackie do almost EVERYTHING together! Jackie will take care of Natalie while I have to go and do errands and she will even take Natalie with her to do her own errands. But this relationship goes much further than a trip to Kroger. Ladies and Gentleman, this is a Die-hard, unbreakable friendship. You see, when Dan and Jackie got DirecTV a few weeks back there was a station called "Baby First" on there. We had never watched it but wow, we were missing out. Natalie immediately fell in love with it and likes to watch it several times a day. It is a VERY educational show but nonetheless I try to limit her TV intake. Each and every night after bath Natalie will go down to Gigi's room and watch "Baby First" with Gigi. Jackie usually takes her bath at the same time so she will be ready when Natale gets down there. While Natalie watches the programs, Gigi Jackie will comb her hair and file her nails and loads of other stuff. One night I went in there and Gigi Jackie was sneaking her a package of Fruit Snacks as her Midnight Snack! Keep in mind that this is going on while some of Jackie's FAVORITE TV shows are on. I will go in there and ask Jackie if I need to take her and response is "No ma'am... I want her in here". The last time Dan and Jackie returned from a trip to Lubbock for a few days, Jackie just couldnt wait to have that evening "Routine" with Natalie Grace! This is LOVE ladies and gentleman!

For Natalie's 3rd birthday Jackie made Natalie her very own jewelry box like the one in Jackie's room. She sanded and painted it and then put a picture of Natalie in it! She also loaded it up with stuff like the one in her own as well as actual stuff that Natalie plays with while in Gigi's room each night! I teared up a bit when Jackie gave Natalie the gift this past weekend. You see, my grandma made me one just like that and I have it in my garage! I cannot wait to get over to our new house and show it to Natalie and tell her that my "Gigi" made me one too.

There are countless other stories I could reminisce about with my 2 grandmas and even Gigi Shirley and Gigi Jackie in the 3 years that they have been grandmas but I would not be able to stop. Gigi Shirley and Gigi Jackie are two of the best women I have ever met and I am so grateful that God has given my children such WONDERFUL grandmas and "Gigi"s!

I... no wait, WE are blessed!

You see, Grandmas are special and the relationships that a grandchild has with them is priceless! As mentioned above, I have been very fortunate to have 2 AMAZING women as my grandmas and I have an unbreakable bond and relationship with them just like Natalie has with my mom and mother-in-law. But I am even more lucky to have a mother and mother-in-law that will be these same kind of AMAZING grandmas to my children! I am forever grateful for GRANDMAS!

(Don't worry... I will post about the Grandpas and Poppys soon!)

God is good... ALL the time!

My Growing Boy: Month 2

Sunday, August 12, 2012

My oh my; how things can change in one month! During Luke's secon month of life he has changed do much and is continue to grow and develop at an amazing speed and rate... It's hard for me to keep up!

Feeding

This month we started really pushing the bottle and it is a good thing we did. We had tried to get him to drink expressed breast milk from a bottle during his fourth week of life but he would have none of that. So this month we made it a priority to work with him daily to take at least one feeding from a bottle. In fact I had three separate occasions where I would not be home with him due to team meetings and professional development commitments for work and Luke would HAVE to take a bottle so we really focused on this task.

During one of these all-day meetings Luke did not take a bottle from Chris or Jackie and went over SEVEN hours without a real meal. I felt so very guilt when I got home but also very worried. I am not going back to work until October and he will be 4 1/2 months old then but... I DO HAVE TO GO BACK TO WORK! After that whole ordeal I decided to call his pediatrician and get her opinion. She basically told me I had a "mama's boy" and I needed to stop nursing him completely and only bottle feed with expressed breast milk. During his 9th week of life I did this an it REALLY helped him learn to take and bottle and he is doing MUCH better. Of course, it's still a good thing I don't have to go back to work until October but e is getting better.

Besides bottle feeding I still nurse him anywhere between every three to four hours depending on his demeanor of the day and his appetite. He basically has 5 good mealtimes during the day at the same 3, 6, 9, 12 hours and often times stretches those as needed.

Sleeping

This month e has really stretched out his sleeping habits (which is MUCH appreciated by mommy)! For the most part during this month he would go 6-7 hours between feedings and sleep 5.5 to 6 hours at a time. He had a frequent wake time at 3:30am most night when he would wake and need to be nursed but 90% of the time he would go almost immediately back to sleep.

On four separate times during this last month he slept for over 7 hours an went 8.5+ hours between feedings. In fact he would do this about once a week during this last month. now of course anytime he would do this and have a WONDERFUL night, the following night would be TERRIBLE and he would wake up every two to three hours. Just my luck huh?

He takes 3 naps each day ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 hours each. He usually takes a short nap in the morning while I am getting ready. This one is usually the shortest of his naps and it lasts about 1 hour to 1.5 hours. This is because I have to go out and do errands or in the case of the coming months, I will be taking Natalie to MDO. His longest nap happens after lunch and it is sully in his swing (I know, I know... Babywise says to put him in the crib but he just won't have it). Thankfully this nap is at the same time as Natalie and it lays well over 2.5 hours and sometimes even 3.5. It has been great to be able to get house work and school stuff done during this time span. Oftentimes he will take another nap after the 3-4pm feeding and it too is fairly short. I am really working on getting him to take ALL I these in his crib but he really likes the swing and he WILL cry or soothe himself to sleep in the swing so it is still along he same lines as Babywise, just not in the crib. Hopefully this will change in the coming months.

Playtime

This month we have really hit the playtime and the developmental aspect of our new little man hard. There is so much more that they can do once they hit that one month mark. He is really beginning to hold his head up on his own and he rarely has any trouble with it. He likes to sit facing forward most of the time and he supports his own head very well. We have tried to do "Tummy Time" with him each morning but he, like Natalie did at this age and most of the time, does not like it at all. He will usually sit there on his tummy for about 3-5 minutes and use his arms to lift his head and shoulders up off the floor but then he SCREAMS LIKE A GIRL! Poor little guys hates it. I usually only have him do this for 5 minutes or so because I don't want him to hate it and cry as soon as he gets on his tummy. I remember with natale that she too hated it hit it did get better as the weeks pasted. Hopefully when I write the month 3 post I will be able to say he has improved.

This month has been incredible and I am really adjusting I having 2 kids. In fact Chris has been out a lot more for school trainings several times and I ave been able to keep both kids and even taken them both out to do errands a lot and I am still ALIVE!! There are times where I can even remember what it was like with just one. I am just so very blessed!!!

My handsome boy at 2 months!!!

 

God is good... All the time!

"No SOONER Left Behind"

2012-2013 No Excuses University Classroom

At my school we are a "No Excuses University" campus and this means that we follow a program that helps promote going to college even at the earliest of grades. I absolutely LOVE this because getting a college eduction is a HUGE priority to me and will also be to my kids. Not to mention the kids in the area of Houston I am teaching really need to go to college.

We have a weekly college day where each teacher has their home room class wear their college's colors and t-shirts (Let me tell you, it is HARD to teach a class full of 2nd graders wearing burnt orange! It's like I CANT FOCUS!) Each teacher also has their own college/ university that they decorate their classroom in and promotes all of that university's facts and figures throughout the year. Since I am the music teacher I don't have a home room and am unable to purchase 1000 shirts for each kid to wear on College Day. I am however albe to decorate my room and his year I was fortunate enough to be able to get OU. Last year, there was already a tracer who had OU (even though she was NOT an alum) so I had to decorate in UCO. No this year... I was able to get OU and let me tell you, my room is COVERED in Crimson and Cream. In fact, I call my room "No SOONER Left Behind"!

When I get back from maternity leave I plan on making Tuesdays OU days where we will sing and perform "Boomer Sooner" and "OU Chorale" on recorders, xylophones and other instruments as well as talk and discuss information about OU in each class. I have an awesome Pride DVD that I am going to show and I know they will really like that. I am also go to have them march into my classroom each day listening to "Oklahoma".

I am really pumped about this and for that reason alone I am a little upset about not being there until October (that's the only reason... But still!) however, it will still be football season on October 29th and I will give all these ut teachers and fans what for... Trust me!!!

Here are pictures of my classroom!!!

My desk (Chris did this for me and it turned out AWESOME! Thanks honey)

This is the area behind my desk and it will have my degrees and an awesome canvas painting of a saxophone a student from Grove made me when I get back from maternity leave in October! 

This is the front of my classroom COVERED in OU Crimson and Cream! 

It IS a MUSIC classroom so I guess I should post some music info! 

My "Drum Wall" and cabinets covered in O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A

I put up my mandatory "Word Wall" but added some personal Alumni decor! 

The room WOULD NOT be complete without

"There's Only ONE Oklahoma!"

Boomer Sooner Baby!!!

God is good... All the time!

Music Education Failure

The Thirtieth Olympiad- London, England

Chris and I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics these past few weeks. In fact both of us have basically just sat around for two weeks watching the games. Each afternoon we would have a full DVR of Olympic coverage from London. The first week of the games we were glued to the TV watching the swimming and the gymnastics events. It was awesome to see Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps compete against each other in the swimming pool and amazing to see the tiny gymnasts tumble and flip all over and how can I forget the "Three-peat" gold by the US Women's Beach Volleyball team of Kari Walsh and Misty May! However, what was the best was watching the USA win not only so many medals but so many GOLDS!

I am a very proud American and I consider myself to be very patriotic. I found myself tearing up during each medal ceremony as our national anthem was played (although I did not care for the arrangement that was being played). But some of these years were not just for the national anthem, it was for the lack of patriotism and participation from our very own Olympic athletes. I think I was able to watch at least 15-20 gold Medal ceremonies and probably during 90% of them the athletes not only didn't sing The Star Spangled Banner but some didn't even put their hand over their heart.

It was sad to see some the best athletes in the world just stand there with no emotion on their face as the national anthem from the country they were representing was playing. I know winning a gold medal is a huge achievement but they were not only winning medals for themselves they were winning them for the entire country. As they stood on the victory platform they were representing the millions of Americans that could not be there or perform the events they could and singing the national anthem and participating in its functions shows all of American and the world that they are there for a greater cause. 

I was very disappointed as a fellow American but even more so as a Music Educator. I feel it is my job as a Music Teacher to instill a passion for music into all of the children I teach. In fact, now that I am solely teaching General Classroom music, that is my primary goal and philosophy inside my classroom. I want to make sure that when students leave my class at the end of they year that they have a Love for music. Of course I want them to learn to read music and play recorders and laundry list of other things but at this age, I want them to LOVE music. But I also feel that as an AMERICAN Music Educator it is my job to teach our students about the history of our Nation in the music department. First and foremost is the history and the story behind our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. 

Every year on September 14th our nation's elementary music classrooms celebrate "National Anthem Day". This is a day where music educators all over the USA teach their kids about the history of The Star Spangled Banner, its lyrics and it melody. I have for all 7 years of my teaching had a very special activity on this day and even made it into a week-long event that incorporates September 11th and it's history as well. I have activities and games that we play about the words of the song. We have competitions in the order grades to see who can complete the lyrics the fastest on the Smartboard. We have "Sing-offs" in our choral time and lots of other stuff. But as much as I do I was shocked to see these 20 and 30 year olds at the Olympics not sing the words to The Star Spangled Banner, I don't know if it was because they don't KNOW the words or just didn't sing/ say them but either way I feel it is a disgrace to our country. 

Some athletes were as young as 16 and 17 years old and still didn't know the words to the song. I watched as young female phenom Missy Franklin stood on the podium of her Gold Medal ceremony and did not sing or even mouth the words. She is young enough that she should have been getting the education about The Star Spangled Banner during "National Anthem Day" which started to rise in popularity in Elementary Music Classrooms around the nation in 2003. 

I know I am on a soap-box here but I am appalled at the lack of participation and Patriotism from our athletes on that aspect of the Thirtieth Olympiad. I feel as a Music Educator we are not fulfilling our job requirements and I think this needs to be addressed ASAP! I know I will continue to do my part and I can only hope and pray other music educator and teachers in general will do the same. 

I am PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN and I will continue to help our children feel the same way! 

God BLESS THE USA! 

God is good... All the time! 

House Hunters: Davis Style- Part 5

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Today Chris and I decided to go out for yet another adventure of house-hunting. We knew that if we didn't find our house before he went back to school it would be very difficult to house hunt during the school year. We called the realtor and unfortunately she was going to be out of town but she set us up with her assistant to go look at four more houses. All of these houses were on the southern part of Conroe except for one which was in Willis.

The first two houses we looked at were in Legend's Run in Spring but was still in the Conroe school district. We looked at houses in this neighborhood before and we liked the subdivision as well as its location but we just still were not sold yet. The first house we went into was a very good size of 3000 ft.² but the layout was very odd with a private room above the master in it needed massive repairs. Were not talking about basic fixer-upper type of repairs...we are talking about hole in the wall type of damage. The paint on the wall was of terrible colors every room had a different color and they were on bright red or bright orange or hot pink. They were not only hideous colors but they were so loud it would've taken 2 to 3 coats of paint to paint over them. I immediately knew this was not the house I told the realtor "let's leave".

The second house was in the same housing edition but it too had major problems. In fact only walked into the house we saw that there were two stairs missing and the stairs themselves did not have carpet on them. We then walked into the kitchen and noticed that there were Granite counter tops except for they were not firmly attached to the actual counters. We went towards the master bedroom and found that it was locked and we couldn't even look into it. I told the realtor "I have seen enough". Chris said he wanted to make the most of it so he went upstairs to look at the remaining parts of the house but I knew this wasn't it.

The third house we looked at was actually in the same housing edition that my in-laws live in right now so it's only four blocks away from where we're currently living. This was a house that was built in 2009 and is approximately 3200 ft.². We looked at this particular floor plan with the builder of this housing edition earlier in the month when we thought we were going to build from scratch. We really liked the floor plan and we were just going to look at this house basically to see if it the floor plan would be functional for us. It's really hard to envision living in a home that's empty so we wanted to see what this particular floor plan looks like when somebody lived in it. We had no idea walking in that this was going to be the future "Casa de Davis".

The owners were there mowing the lawn and after walking through the entire house we both knew that we really wanted it so we stopped to ask the owners a few questions. The owners answered most of our questions about square-footage, approximate cost of electricity every month and other things that we wanted to know but they also said that they were willing to leave the high-end furniture with the house if the price was right. Chris and I both looked at each other with excitement because we knew that not only did we not have a lot of furniture but our current couch is broken. Now this furniture is not just basic furniture... this is high -end, high-quality furniture. We're talking leather, nail head trim matching ottoman style. This stuff in all reality is way too nice to own with two kids but at the same time so beautiful and luxurious that we both got excited at the possibility of owning the style of furniture. When we got into the car after leaving the house we both stopped and said a prayer because we both knew that this was a house that we wanted. We immediately started talking about how much we wanted to offer and what the next step was. Of course we still had one more house to go and see,even though both of us knew that it was pretty much going to be a waste of time, we decided to go ahead and look at it since the realtor had made an appointment.

When we got to this last house we were in for a total shock. This house is a 2400 ft.² home that had five bedrooms but it too was very under kept. It had what they call the real estate business "stained concrete floors". These were absolutely hideous. It looked like the owners had pulled up all the carpet and all the hardwood and basically threw a bunch of paint on their floor. The realtor informed us that in the high-end homes these were very popular and very classy but in all reality it was just tacky. We then went upstairs to see the very small five bedrooms all of which had numerous pet stains. Now don't get me wrong...my two dogs have had their share of accidents in the houses we have lived in but this my friends was disgusting. Some of stains looked as if their dog had gone and peed on the carpet and they never even took the time to clean it up. There were feces and urine every where. infected Natalie came up the stairs and said "mommy it stinks up here ". Again I knew this wasn't it ... especially since we pretty much determined house number three was going to be our future home.

We drove away from this last house and immediately called our actual realtor who was on a business trip and told her that we wanted to make an offer on the house in Montgomery Creek Ranch subdivision. During the short 15 minute drive from Willis to our house we learned that there was also another offer on the house that we wanted to own. This is very discouraging to us and in fact I almost cried because I really knew in my heart of hearts that this was the house that we were supposed to live in.

The rest of the afternoon was very stressful for both Chris and I and we felt like we are walking on eggshells all day just waiting for somebody to call us back and tell us "yay or nay" on the house. Around 8:45 PM that night our realtor called and said that the sellers sent us a counter offer. After reviewing their counter we decided to go ahead and give them a second offer for the asking price so we could secure that house. It was a steal of a house considering the owners had put approximately $20,000 worth of upgrades into it from the original builder's price in 2009. It was well worth the asking price and Chris and I would've paid up to $15,000 more for this house because it was in such great condition with tons of upgrades. About an hour later we discovered that they had accepted our second offer for the asking price and the paperwork had already begun. Around 10 PM Chris and I went ahead and signed the documents that were needed to put the contract on our home.

It was an amazing day full of ups and downs but through it all Chris and I remembered that God is in control. Anytime I would get nervous thinking about losing the house Chris would tell me "God is in control". Chris really was my rock and support through this day and without him I would never have made it. Thank you honey for being so practical and so supportive through this very stressful day. I love you!

God has given us so many blessings since we've moved to Houston but this house is at the very peak of these blessings and we cannot wait to move into it as a family of four. It is been a long 15 months since we've moved to Houston and been living with the in-laws but in just 45 short days we will be able to live in our own home. We didn't know when we moved here in June 2011 that we would have to wait 15 months to get into our house but we also didn't know that we would be a family of four when we did!

As I sit here typing this blog all I can think about is the amazing him "Count your blessings".

Count your blessings

name them one by one

Count your blessings

see what God has done

Count your blessings

name them one by one

Count your many blessings

see what God has done

Thank you Lord for this and the many blessings you have given me and my family. You are an amazing God and I am forever amazed at how much You love me. Thank you, Lord!

God is good… All the time!