Randoms

 I just thought you should all see how awesome Layla's hair is after she's had it in a ponytail all day. Her crazy eyes say it all!

 This is a much delayed picture of their Halloween costumes. Josiah was Lightning McQueen again and Layla was a spider.

And this is one of the two cutest feet in the world. Josiah knows how much I love his little feet so he took a picture for me to find on my camera. Isn't he so thoughtful?

 Aunt LeLe and sweet Layla. Do you think they like each other? And yes, that is chocolate on Layla's mouth.

 Josiah was being uncharacteristically shy when we were singing Happy Birthday to him. He covered his ears and then lept into daddy's arms. Then he thought he was just hilarious.

Well hello, gorgeous!

I can't believe how much I took for granted my time in college. I had all the FREE time in the world. I can say that studying was never really an option for me. I would rather have been doing anything else. I didn't really care what my grades were. All I knew is that I was supposed to go to college, even if I had NO idea what I wanted to do with my life. So I went, not knowing what I wanted to do. And that continued until I graduated. Going into the real world I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. And I would say that up until a year ago I had no idea what I wanted to do. Well, now I do. I want to be a nurse... specifically a labor and delivery nurse. So I'm taking my pre-reqs to get in to nursing school. Since I graduated with an Arts degree, I only needed 2 science classes and it didn't matter which ones I took, so I took the easiest ones. And now, 9 years later, I am paying for that mistake. I have 5 science classes that I need to take (and 4 other random ones). And I can't take any of them online. So I have to go to school 2 days a week, for 6 hours just for one science class. Now I know that doesn't sound like a lot of time, but it really is. I have a job, so I am already away from my children 3 days a week, and adding 2 half days is really painful. I don't like being away from them. It sucks. But, I really want to get my nursing degree. It is, however, going to take a while. They offer summer classes, but they are every day and I can't do that since I have a job and 2 children to take care of. So I will be done with my pre-reqs December of 2014. Then I will apply to get into nursing school for Fall of 2015. And that will take 1.5 years. So I should be done with nursing school by Spring 2017. 4 more years from now. I will be 35. Why didn't I figure this out when I was in college?? I am, however, kicking butt in my classes because I actually want to do well and succeed and I know I need to have good grades to get in to the school I want. Okay, sorry for the pity party, but I am at the library doing my statistics class and my brain got overloaded with information, so I thought I would procrastinate and blog. Pray for me.

Happy Birthday, Josiah!!

I can hardly believe my little man is 3 today! What a true blessing he has been in our life. He has taught us about patience, unconditional love, kindness, gentleness, so on and so on. He has such a sweet disposition. He takes the role of big brother very seriously and is always looking out for Layla (which doesn't mean they don't fight). If I'm upset, he knows and is comforting me. He wrestles with his daddy and helps Chris re-live his own childhood. He loves learning about God's Word, and we pray that we are doing a good job loving our children as Christ loves us. We are truly blessed.

Celebration

One of our personal New Year's Resolutions came true on Valentine's Day. Chris got offered a job at Right Now. It's a ministry organization and you can check out their website at www.rightnow.org

We are beyond thrilled and are humbled by God's mercy and grace on our family. I am so proud of Chris for pursuing a new career path that will lead him towards Christ. We are truly blessed! If you think about it, congratulate Chris. He spend a lot of time in prayer and fellowship about this decision and I couldn't be more proud!

36 days of 2013

January came and went faster than the blink of an eye!! I finished Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and am now on day 7 of Get Ripped in 30. I have really enjoyed getting my butt kicked every day! There were many days that it was hard to fit in my schedule, but I was determined to do it, so I did. It's true what they say, do something for 21 days and it becomes a habit. Now if I haven't worked out before lunch I feel lazy and actually miss it. On the days that I work I have to wait until after the kids go to bed to get my work out in, but Chris is extremely supportive and encourages me, so that makes it easier and I don't feel guilty neglecting him for 35 minutes. I wouldn't necessarily say I've lost any weight, it has just redistributed to muscle and my pants fit better, and most importantly, I FEEL better. Now if I could only get my love for chocolate under control!

Chris and I are still reading the Bible every day. It's been awesome. We are both learning so many things about some of the main people in the Bible (i.e. Moses and Abraham) and getting to know God's character better. There have been several times when I have gasped out loud at what has happened or thought to myself, what an awesome movie the story of the descendants of Israel (also named Jacob) would make. Getting to read the New Testament at the same time as the Old Testament is pretty cool. Jesus refers to the Pentateuch often so it's getting to the point where I know what he's talking about! Like I said before, it's become a habit and one I will NOT give up!!

School has been going great! Chris took his first Economics test and made a 100!! I was/am very proud of him. I knew he would succeed, and now he knows it too! I have also been doing really well and actually understand what I'm learning. It's interesting how much I care to do well... that was not the case in college!
Layla and Josiah are getting cooler each day! They play incredibly well together and absolutely adore each other! Josiah is really good at puzzles and loves to draw while Layla bolts for the door every time it opens because she loves the outdoors. Have I mentioned her obsession with necklaces and blankets? Because the girl won't go anywhere without either of those. I am beyond blessed with my children and family and am so thankful for them!