First Day of School

Just a few pictures of Jackson and me before my first day of school. I am going to take pictures with him every year, and I am sure before I know it will be his first day of school too.

Today was a great day! I had four no shows so I only had 19 students today. That is a great number, I am crossing my fingers it stays that way. I have some of the tiniest students, they probably think I am the Green Giant:) I have a feeling this is going to be a special group of students.

And. . . I came home to a clean house!

We're Laughing Now

I have two stories to share that are funnier now then when they happened.

The night before my graduation in Beaumont we drove there to spend the night. I booked two rooms at the La Quinta Inn for us. There were two different hotels to choose from, one was 50 dollars a night the other was 100 dollars. So of course I booked the cheaper one. We pulled up to the hotel and checked in. It didn't look bad, just a plain hotel. Brian opened the door to our room and we found beer cans and bottles all over the floor, beds not made, just a complete mess. Needless to say we did not stay there. I guess this was the bad part of Beaumont because we went back two exits and found a bunch of really nice hotels. We ended up staying at super nice hotel and I wish we would have gotten there earlier to enjoy it:)

My parents left last Sunday evening. After we said our goodbye we came in and got ready for bed. Monday morning Brian got up and got ready for work. He was goingto take Jackson to the babysitters and he couldn't find his keys. He looked and looked and remembered he had them in my parents car. Too bad they were long gone by then. (We only have one set of keys for his car.) I called my dad and sure enough Brian's keys were in the seat pocket in my parent's Expedition. My parents stopped in the next town to find a post office and overnight the keys to us. Brian had to take off Tuesday morning and wait for his keys to arrive because if we weren't here the keys would go to the post office. They arrived right on time. Thanks mom and dad!


Since both stories include my parents, I will share some more pictures from their time visiting with us.

Hanging out

Garrison LOVES Brian!

Garrison swam everyday and almost all day

Each night when he got out of the pool he asked for "popcorn, movie"

Mom looking tired because dad got them all up at 6 so they would be ready by 8:)

Long

There is no other word to describe the week Brian and I had. I had meetings all week for school, in which I had to present information to other teachers on two of the days (always a bit nerveracking). I was at school later than normal helping the new teacher I am mentoring get her room ready and making sure others on my team felt ready. Brian worked past 8 o'clock two nights. So needless to say we did not see much of each other and the house work got neglected. I caught up on the laundry this morning and cleaned the downstairs, upstairs will have to wait till tomorrow. This last week of preparing at school was a bit harder having a baby. It was different when I went back after maternity leave because everything was already in order. The beginning of the school year is always a bit crazy and hetic. And somehow I am not stressed, maybe a little exhausted, but not stressed.

Jackson was exhausted too!

God sustained me each day and gave me all the strength I needed to get through. Each morning while working out I foused on praying for strength, my new students, and the new school year. I got to meet my students yesterday and they are soooo Cute! One thing already got broke. Parents seem to let their students run wild. I can't wait to teach some routines and procedures:)

I am off for some fun with Brian and Jackson and then out to dinner, courtesy of my first grade team. Have I mentioned I work with some awesome individuals?!

Graduation Day

I did it!

After 18 months of A LOT of work, I finished my Masters Degree. I remember worrying about the GRE and if I would be able to pass it:) I am so glad I decided to get my Masters. At times I wasn't sure why I had signed up and would have been doing other things then writing papers and taking exams. But, it was a great program! I learned so much and have already put so much of it into practice. Brian, thanks for all your support and helping out with Jackson so I could do my homework. Sharon, thanks for proofreading my portfolio. I think I am done with school for a while, but you never know:) I decided to go to Lamar University and participate in the ceremony. My parents happened to be here on vacation so they got to go with me. It was really nice to have them all there. I am not sure they were too excited to sit through the 3 hour ceremony. Jackson was well behaved the whole time and cheered really loud for his mommy:) We came back to Houston and went out to dinner to celebrate. It was a great day!

Before the ceremony outside our hotel (that story is for another post)

Garrison and me after the ceremony

My family

With dad, mom, Garrison, Katelyn

That is Jackson's proud face:)

A Major Mishap

Nothing a dip in the pool can't fix:)

Working Hard OR Hardly Working

I have spent the last two days setting up my classroom and I am done (besides a few little things I will work on here and there). Jackson came up with me today to school and got lots of love from my team. He is going to be a great student. Look how he was paying attention to what I was saying:)

Brian came to help me and when I walked out of the room this is what I came back to. So much for help! Just kidding:) He was a huge help! He put together easels and chairs for me, carried in bookshelves, rearranged furniture, and then moved it again because it was blocking a fire exit! Thanks for all your help Brian, you're the BEST!

As much as I hate to leave Jackson, I am super excited for school to start and my room looks Awesome (if I do say so myself)!

Jackson and Garrison

Jackson thinks Garrison is hilarious!
He laughs and laughs at his faces.
Although sometimes Jackson cries at the voices he makes!

Garrison is so sweet to Jackson.
He likes to rub his head, give him kisses, and lay on his bed.
Although sometimes he steps on his head.

5 Months

Jackson turned 5 months today, these are some of the shots we got:

Not so great because he can not lay still any more. I guess we will try again tomorrow.

Jackson you can already do so many things.

-You roll from your back to front and front to back without any problem. You even do it at night and it wakes you up.

-You eat veggies one time a day. So far you have tried peas and green beans and you LOVE them both. I think this is your favorite part of the day.

-You like our attention and are starting to cry when we leave you by yourself for a minute.

-You try to grab things to sit up. We are working on sitting up all by yourself.

-You love when we read you books. You especially love putting them in your mouth. Wait, you love putting everything in your mouth.

-You have two teeth, both on the bottom and boy are they sharp.

-You catch on to things very quickly.

-You are still a very happy, easy going baby. You love to talk very loudly.

-You are still a big boy, weighing in at 17.5 pounds, 27.5 inches long, and you are wearing 6-9 month clothes.

-Your smile and giggles make mommy and daddy smile too:)

Today was his first day back to the babysitter because I had a training today and tomorrow and then back to reality in a few short days. I missed this sweet boy and he missed me. Tonight he just wanted me to hold him and read to him. I love being a mom!

A GREAT Tip

We don't go out to eat to often as a way to save some money. When we do I like restaruants like Fuddruckers where you don't have to leave a tip or Applebee's where we both eat with a tip for less than $20. But, every now and then Brian will talk me into going somewhere that doesn't fit my less than $20 budget. We headed down to BJ's. Oh how I love their Honey-Crisp Chicken Salad, I never get anything else:) As soon as we sat down and our waiter left Brian said, "I feel like we are supposed to give this guy a really good tip." I like to just leave the 15%. Since this is a restaruant that does not fit my "rule" as it is, I was thinking no way. However, I said if that is what you feel, then ok (still thinking about what else I could use that money for). We wait for our food. I get my salad but Brian need not get his meal. I exhibited self-control and waited to eat my salad until Brian got his. About 15 minutes later we asked where his meal was. It was on the floor in the kitchen. Well, he did get a new one for FREE. All of this and we could leave our waiter a really nice tip and still be under $20. God always has a way of showing me that HE is in control and not to worry about money because HE always provides for me what I need.


Nothing to do with my story, but he is cute so I will post it anyways!