Boy, does time get away!

Well, obviously several months have gone by and so much has happened. This fall I continued my position as a paraprofessional at the same elementary school, but in a different classroom as a one-on-one with one of the students I have been working with. I am enjoying the change and have learned so much. I continued through my program and signed up to student teach in Spring. I did my practicum at a different elementary school and loved every minute. It was a challenging classroom, but I learned a lot during my 12-week stay.

Austin is continuing to grow up so incredibly fast and it won't be long until high school. We are wrapping up the Spring soccer season now and moving on to football. This mimi-session will give him an idea of what it will be like and to let high coaches see what he can do. This will also lead him into some other skills training and weight training during the summer.

Heath is working out of town and we miss him so much while he is gone. We look forward to going back after school is out to see him and spend some quality time as a family. He is working so hard and thankful for his job, but we are counting down the days til he can come home for good!

I have finished my degree program (not a moment too soon), and am looking forward to what is coming next! I am so excited for a certified teaching position, but I realize it may take a while to find a job with all of the job cuts and such.

We are excited to see our newest family member due to arrive in late June, Miss Kylee Grace O'Shell. Her two big brothers, Aiden and Evan will be her protectors! We are looking forward to spending some time with all of our family this summer!!

4th of July

We have had a busy few weeks. Austin went to Airsoft Camp, SuperWow, and then we were off to the Georgia Mountains to spend my dad's 70th birthday. We all arrived on Thursday after the 4th. Aaron and Pawk played golf on Friday while the rest of us went to downtown Blue Ridge to check it all out. It was a great little town with some amazing shops. Several sweet shops, but one in particular was fabulous. Chocolate Express had more sugar-free options than I have ever seen in one spot. Fudge, candy, you name it. This made Heath and my dad very happy!
Friday night we ventured out to the suggested eatery, The Pink Pig and it didn't disappoint! One of the best BBQ plates, sauce, and green beans ever...YUM!
Holly, Aaron, Heath, Austin, and I venture out and went ziplining for the first time. We ALL loved it! Pawk and Nana may have been a little worried that we did it but we all want to do it again! There is a 2-hour adventure that we will probably end up going back for soon.
We did decide to go on the 4-hour train adventure from Blue Ridge to McCaysville/Copperhill, TN. That was great and will be more beautiful in the fall when all of the leaves are changing.
On our down time at the pet-friendly cabin Amy enjoyed getting attention from everyone. Aaron and Austin played a lot of poker, UNO and foosball. It was nice getting away with some of our family and will definitely keep these cabins in mind for next time:) We did see some bear tracks but thankfully no wildlife up close and personal!

Busy already...

Summer is in full swing and we are having a good time. Last weekend I participated in my first 5k...I mostly walked fast but finished nonetheless. It was Miles4Major, a organization that assists families with purchasing hearing aids. I had fun and met up with some people from school and had a great time!

This past week I was able to meet up with some friends from school for lunch and to celebrate a birthday. This week Tina and Tim were in town doing some painting for Heath. This was a nice surprise that they were able to come and work and get to see them in the evenings! We all got to eat dinner with Jason, Leigh Ann, and our godson, Taylor too:)

We also had VBX this week too...what an exciting time we had. Austin worked with me in the NOAH ministry for special needs children. I love to watch him with them. He is great and they adore him just as much.

We took a quick trip to Birmingham on Friday to see Pawk and Nana. We gave them their belated 30th anniversary gift and celebrated Father's Day. Betty, Austin, and I hit some garage sales and found some great bargains. I'm always up for that:)

We took Heath and Terry to lunch today for Father's Day at Las Palmas...it was soooo good and we will definitely all go back soon! Thanks to Leigh Ann Powell for introducing me to this place with the best salsa I have ever had!!!!!!!!!!
Austin is looking forward to Airsoft Camp this coming week and then he's off to SuperWow with the middle school team in Fort Walton Beach. Lots to do while he is away!!!!

School's Out and Summer's Here!

It has been a little while since posting, but finishing up the school year, soccer season, and a little trip to Noccalula Falls kept us busy. We had a great time meeting up with some of our family and taking lots of pictures. We are looking forward to Teddy and Jessalyn’s new baby boy coming in August too! Aiden is going to be a great big brother and oh how he is growing. Hopefully we will work in a trip to Birmingham to see family and how Chris and Erin’s house project is coming.

Finally got to go see Taylor for his birthday, a week late. He is growing up so fast and his vocabulary is as big as his personality. So proud of this big dude and he’ll be in the first grade in the fall!!! It is also hard to believe but this time next year Austin will be going into high school. I will not rush this last year of middle school…he is threatening to be taller than me and I am sure he will be before our family vacation in Blue Ridge for the 4^th of July and Pawk’s birthday!!!

We are looking forward to one more week or so of down time before a slew of activities begin. Austin and I will be working VBX, then he has Airsoft Camp, then a week at Middle School SuperWow with church, then we all go to the mountains!!!! Looking forward to enjoying the summer with some school work mixed in tooJ

Glorius Day

Glorius Day...one of my very favorites by Casting Crowns!!


http://youtu.be/KqrqPGt11bA

Way too fast...

This year is getting away from me already.

We were able to go to Birmingham in January and saw a lot of family. Aiden loved Holly's doggies:)

In February we discovered Elevation and enjoyed our Valentine's Day dinner there.

Soccer season has started back and Austin had quite an audience last weekend for their second game. Pawk and Nana, Paw Paw, David and Melissa all got to come see him play. We enjoyed celebrating Terry's (Paw Paw) birthday too on St. Patrick's Day along with unveiling the green monster in the back yard:)

I am still plugging away in school and looking forward to my last summer in school. If all goes well, classes will end in December!

The weather in March has been fantastic and we are probably in for a very HOT summer!!! We are almost ready for Spring Break and only 8 1/2 more weeks until summer vacation.

I am looking forward to the next steps for our family and know God is in control of it all.

Happy Spring Everyone!!!

Merry Christmas Week

Our Christmas festivities began with a day trip to Birmingham on Friday. We enjoyed seeing part of our family, enjoying good food, and playing "Dirty Santa." Seeing our family was the highlight, especially the little ones, Kimber (almost 5), Aiden (1), and Isaac (9 months). There is something so sweet about children at Christmas.

We extended our celebration by heading to see Holly, Aaron, Pawk, and Nana after Christmas Eve service at church. We ate, visited for a while and exchanged gifts.

And on Christmas Day we hung out at home with Terry (Paw Paw). We had a nice lunch and napped a little. It is nice to spend time at home and not be rushed to go anywhere.

Now for a few more days off without any school or work....we will hopefully be a little productive, but definitely rest too:) Heath and Austin have more plans to hunt some this week....maybe we will have deer sausage soon!

Thankful

My Turkeys

I am very thankful to have been able to host Thanksgiving for my family this year. We were joined by my Dad, Betty (aka Pawk & Nana), Holly, Aaron and Terry (Paw Paw). I think most of us ate too much but had a good time anyway. Our spread consisted of ham and turkey with all of the delightful trimmings inlcuding a slew of desserts. So many leftovers and we will have plenty of ham and sides for quite a while.

Betty, Holly, and I ventured out this morning in search of bargains. We were pleasantly surprised that there weren't too many bad lines at 6am and ran into a few people from church. Found most everything we needed and made it back home before lunch time. Heath and Austin headed down south for a mini hunting trip and I am at home catching up on some things and preparing to go back to work on Monday.

Feeling very thankful for all of the blessings I have in my life and the beauty God has created all around us. Best wishes to everyone and don't forget to enjoy the journey!