The Month of August

It has been a very busy month and summer to say the least. My first news is that I FINISHED SCHOOL!!! For me, this is huge because I can now say I can live a normal life with knowing I don't have to go to class 2 nights a week or that I have a huge paper or presentation for class coming up. It is a great accomplishment but also a huge relief for me. When I do something, I give it my all and I dedicate a lot, if not most, of my energy to it. Now I am able to focus on the kids, my family, my friends and my home life. I guess work fits in there somewhere but that is a given.

 

I actually finished school on July 31st and we left for a family cruise on August 4th, hence the reason I am very behind on blogging. I needed a break from everything since I am on a computer 8 hours a day for work, then usually a few hours a night for school. So now I can say that when I get on the computer it is to do a fun project for the kids or the house or to blog about the happenings for the day.

 

The cruise was amazing. Grandmom and Grandpa Roger came up and kept the kids at the house which was a life saver. We skyped with them most nights which helped me. I know they were very well taken care of and had a great week getting spoiled. Hopefully the kids didn't wear them out too much. I know I was happy to see them when we got home! Below are some pictures that Roger took of their week together.

 

 

Our cruise was so nice. I hated to leave the kids but it was nice to spend some time with Aaron. My whole family went minus all of the kiddos - Mom, Dad, my sister and her husband, my brother and his girlfriend and my youngest brother. We stayed two nights in New Orleans (which I had never been before) and then 5 nights on the cruise. We were supposed to have 2 stops in Mexico, Progreso and Cozumel, but because of Hurricane Ernesto, we only stopped in Cozumel. I was fine with this since that just meant we had another day at sea laying out. In Cozumel we went to an all-inclusive deal and hung out on the beach with a very nice pool all day. It was probably the best day of the trip. We only took a few pictures the whole trip but we had a great time.

 

 

 

Oh and I got to celebrate my 31st birthday on the cruise! It was such a great week.

 

In other exciting news, my brother and his girlfriend Laura got engaged!!! It happened on her birthday when we got back and I am so happy for them. She will be leaving for one more year of Law School at Georgetown University this weekend so they have a lot of changes going on in their life right now. They both took the bar right before we left for vacation so the relaxing week was much needed for them as well. No word yet on wedding plans but I cannot wait for them to get hitched. They are so good together and I can't wait to get another sister!

 

 

Well that is all for now. I have so much more that has happened this month so I will update shortly!

One Year Later

One year ago today our lives changed forever. Someone very special to us left us here on Earth to be with Jesus. It’s still so surreal. Seems like it happened yesterday, yet still feels like a bad dream that I am going to wake up from and everything will be back to normal.

If you are reading my blog for the first time, HERE is my post from last year after my mother-in-law Paula passed away suddenly of a pulmonary embolism.

You hear it all the time – Only the good die young or God takes those who he needs with him in Heaven. But it still doesn’t seem fair…we needed her here. Blake, Kylie and John need their Grammy.

I keep thinking about all of the things that she has missed over the last year.

-         The birth of her 3rd grandbaby, John

-         Kylie’s 2nd birthday

-         Blake’s 4th birthday

-         Aaron graduated from Graduate school

With everything that Emma and Nathan had to go through for that little baby – preterm labor, preterm birth, many, many nights in the hospital – I am a firm believer that she was with them the entire time, just not in person. It is amazing what that little 3lb, 4oz little boy has grown to be.

Paula is missed by so many every single day. I know that my father-in-law Roger misses her so much as well as her mom, Grandmom. I can't even image losing my husband or my daughter. And Aaron and Nathan lost one of the most important people in their lives, their mom.

Paula was a very important part of my life and I miss her very much. I do know for certain that I have a guardian angel watching over my family and I every single day.