Daddy To The Rescue

We are officially all moved in with my parents! And it only took a little bit of blood, sweat, and tears! :) 

My mom came down last Wednesday to stay with Lilly and me. I used her car to get the last little bit of what was left in my classroom since it's a lot bigger than my car. She kept Lilly and cleaned the house which was a HUGE help. Then she drove my car back to Sanford on Friday so I could pack the rest of our stuff in her bigger back seat. I went to work for about an hour to finish up some last min things and to say goodbye to my fabulous coworkers. That was hard and so bittersweet. I am really going to miss Grifton. 

Mike came on Friday and once again Lilly was SO happy to see him. I am so so so glad that phase 1 of moving back home is over. Being away from Mike for 4 weeks was the hardest thing ever, and he absolutely hated being away from Lilly. 

We spent all day Saturday getting the house ready. Mike put the "For Sale" sign in the yard and spent the whole day outside cutting the grass and hauling off stuff to the dump. Lilly and I stayed inside and finished cleaning/packing. By 3:00 we had packed up both cars and were ready to hit the road. But there was one problem..... 

I couldn't find my moms car keys! I started searching every single place that I thought a toddler would hid keys (trash can, toilet, couch cushions, all the bags in the car..) until I decided that they were nowhere to be found. A quick phone call home confirmed my worst fear... The keys to my moms car were in her pocketbook.. Which was with her.... In SANFORD! 

Thank goodness Lilly was staring at me, because I probably would have NOT kept my cool as good as I did. And besides... How mad can I be at the lady who is letting me move in to her house with a husband, toddler, and dog... For free! She's lucky she's so great! 

Daddy to the rescue!! My wonderful dad jumped right in his car and drove 2 hours to deliver the keys so we could go home. I have never been so happy to see the Lee County sign in all of my life... And wine! 

We got home around 7 and I unpacked everything into our new room. It feels so good to not have to be apart from Mike anymore! We celebrated Father's Day on Sunday with both of our daddy's and didn't have to drive 2 hours back to Winterville. I could get used to this :) Life is so good. 

Home Again, Home Again

I've been waiting a while to write this blog! The short version is that Mike got a new job, our house is on the market, and we are moving in with my parents. Yes, you read that right! Operation move closer to home is in full swing! 

Here's the long version:

We have been wanting to move closer to home for a while now, especially since having Lilly. We had our house on the market last year but took it off after 6 months. Mike looked up jobs daily around the Raleigh area. Nothing much was really happening. He graduated in December with his Masters Degree in GIS from NC State. He applied for a few jobs that caught his eye and we just waited and prayed! He got a call from the City of Durham and had an interview over Skype. We prayed some more. Then he got called for a 2nd interview, this time face to face. A few weeks later he got the call that he got the job (hubby brag: he beat out 60 people for this job!!!) And that is when we realized that life as we know it was about to get crazy! 

Mike started his job 3 weeks ago so we have only been able to see him on the weekends. He is living with his sister and commuting to Durham. Our families have been so great during all of this. Lilly and I are still here so I can finish out the school year. This part of our new journey has been HARD. Thank goodness for FaceTime. Lilly has had a hard time not seeing her daddy everyday. This past weekend absolutely melted my heart when she saw him. She just kept pointing at him and smiling and wanted lots of hugs. 

I've really upped my cooking skills. Instead of making plain spaghetti, I've spiced it up and added cheese to it. Thank goodness for my friend Amy inviting us over for dinner and playtime with Emma! That was super helpful and super thoughtful. And Lilly loves playing with her Emma. :) 

The hardest part has been getting us both up and ready in the mornings and dropping Lilly off at daycare by 7 am. She's cried a lot while dropping her off. That just makes my heart hurt so much. But just a few more days of that and then it's summer break!!! 

So the last part of this new crazy adventure is that we are moving in with my parents until we can sell our house here. When I thought about moving closer to home, I didn't realize I would be this close! But I'm sure lots of almost 30 year olds with toddlers and husbands and dogs move in with their parents... Right? They have been amazing though. The whole basement has been turned into a playroom with Lilly's toys. It's kinda scary because we don't know how long it will take for us to sell our house, but they have done so much to make sure we are comfortable during this transition. And now I get to raid my moms closet and makeup drawer whenever I want! Right mom!!? 

We have also put Lilly's TODDLER BED upstairs at my parents house. I'm sure there will be a blog about this soon as we transition her out of our bed into her big girl bed! Oh joy! 

I've also applied and interviewed at some schools and will update about that when everything is "official". 

All that's left to do is find a new daycare and pediatrician for Lilly. Any recommendations would be great!! 

So this is our crazy life right now! My mom is coming down on Wednesday to help me pack up my classroom and Mike will be here Friday so we can finish a few things at the house before we are out of here for good and can be together again. So bittersweet. Tune in for the hilarious blogs to come about living with your rents, husband and toddler. 

God is so good. 

Roots and Wings

Lilly is getting too big too fast!!! Each day I am surprised by the new words and songs she sings, but also a tiny bit sad to see the baby in her drift away. It's like one big tug-of-war match and I'm on both ends! These are some things I love right now and some things I miss. 

Love- all of this wild hair!! And the few times she lets me play with it and put bows in it. 

Miss- her peach fuzz and wondering what color it would be. For a while we thought she might have some redish hair. 

Love- her new pj's! They start making nightgowns in 2T size and she has a Minnie Mouse one. So incredibly cute. And she never wants to take it off in the mornings. 

Miss- onesies. Especially when it's hot and I could just throw a onesie on her and let her play, not to mention how cute her little tush looked in one. 

Love- all the running around the house and the sound of her little footsteps. That is a sound that makes my heart smile. 

Miss- the only form of transportation she had was the boot(y) scooting boogie. Lilly never really crawled, but instead she would scoot around on her booty. That's my Lilly! Always doing things in her own unique way! 

Love- the way she uses her imagination when she plays, wether it's cooking me some food in her kitchen or pretending to be Elsa from Frozen. Let it go Lilly, let it go... 

Miss- just sitting down and holding her, or nursing, or letting her nap on me, staring at that beautiful face and wondering how I got so lucky. I still wonder that, but 2 year olds like to go go go in case you didn't know. :) 

Love- the way she can ask for things and tell me what she needs, like milk, or a snack, or to go outside. Ok, sometimes it's more of a demand but we work on using manners everyday. 

Miss- all of those huge milestones babies have during that first year, like sitting up, crawling, walking, eating, first words. I miss the anticipation of it. I know she has a ton of things to still achieve and I'll make sure I'm her biggest cheerleader! 

Love- being her mommy. I will always love this. She is our biggest accomplishment. Bigger and better than anything else we have ever done. I pray that we continue to give her roots to encourage her to be a good person, and at the same time, give her wings so she can soar. The other day she helped put a band aid on her daddy's finger because he had a booboo. I asked her if she was going to be a nurse and she said, "Yes, I be a nurse." ... We shall see Lilly! You can be anything your little heart desires... Just slow down a little please. 

Terrific Twos

We officially have a two year old folks! Your life is very busy with two year olds so I haven't had time to write a blog recently. We have been playing with all of her new birthday toys and watching Frozen (over, and over, and over....) I sing the songs just as much as Lilly does (I'm sure Mike just absolutely loves this!) :) 

The morning of Lilly's birthday I found myself anxiously watching the clock. I kept telling her what mommy was doing at that exact moment 2 years ago. And then it finally reached 8:47 am and Lilly was officially two!! Wow!! That happened super fast! 

She had a wonderful party and her best friend Emma came all the way from Greenville so that was very very special. First Baptist was an awesome place to have a party. There were tons of toys for them to play with and they ran all over the gym. Perfect for two year olds that don't sit still, ever! :)  

So two has been awesome so far! Our little busy bee is talking up a storm, loves to pretend play with her babydolls (she calls every babydoll Ella Charles), loves her Disney movies, and LOVES to play outside. She gets cutier by the second and she is absolutely hilarious. We are just really enjoying life right now with our Lilly Bug. And even though we don't go out to dinner much and spend most of our time chasing her all over the place, two is terrific! 

Bye Bye Baby

Welp... It's the end of an era folks. Lilly hasn't nursed since Friday morning. I knew this day would come, and I knew it was right around the corner, but this mommy is experiencing all kinds of emotions right now. 

Excited: I'm excited for all of the new ways Lilly and I can bond. She's finally letting me put her hair in pigtails. I can't wait to braid her long hair and play beauty salon, and all of the other fun girlie stuff we can do! 

Scared: I'm so scared my "almost" 2 year old busy body will not cuddle with me as much as we did while nursing. It's how we started our mornings and ended our days. I'll still demand she gives me 15 minutes of cuddle time or I'm going to throw a huge tantrum...

Sad: I'm definitely feeling this emotion big time. When I nursed her Friday morning I remember telling myself that would probably be the last time I nurse her. She wasn't nursing much anymore and she was going to be with my parents on Saturday so I had already decided to take advantage of that situation and start weaning her. I was going to let her nurse if she threw a huge fit about it but she hasn't done that so I know we are officially done. She has still asked a few times but quickly forgets. I told her they were broken. That part is breaking my heart, but I'm hoping she will stop asking in a few more days. 

Hopeful: I am hopeful that I will figure out how to soothe and comfort Lilly in other ways now. I'm sure I will figure it out, but nursing was always our go to when she needed a little extra loving and cuddles. 

Proud: Gosh I am so proud. Proud of myself. Proud of my husband. Proud of my Lilly Bug. I never in a billion years thought I would nurse her past a year. But she showed no interest in stopping and I enjoyed our time so much, not to mention all of the healthy benefits she still received from nursing. She made nursing easy right from the beginning and I am very lucky we never had many struggles. It might not have been easy at times, but it has been worth it. 

Surprised: I can't believe how big Lilly looks to me now that I have my nursing goggles off. Um, she's a toddler!!!! How did this happen!?!? She says sentences. SENTENCES. Like "I want some milk" or "lay down mommy" or "I want a pickle please". But in all seriousness, my little baby is a baby no more. She is a free spirited, blue eyed, blonde haired, stubborn, hilarious, sweet, and energetic 23 month old little girl who will be 2 exactly one month from today. She has made our lives so full of joy and laughter and I love her more than words can say... and she will always be my little peanut. 

*to those mommies who reached out to me over the past two years with nursing questions, I am beyond flattered and proud of you too. I hope your nursing journey, wether long or short, was just as special to you as ours was to me. 

God is so BIG

God is doing big things in my life right now, and also in the lives of many people I know. I've been thinking about this blog and what to say and how to say it. I feel like God is telling me to share this so I'm just going to start typing and see what comes out. 

I grew up in a Christian family and we attended church every Sunday. I was in the youth choir, played the handbells, and went to Sunday school and youth group. I was baptized when I was 10 years old. Every now and then I would complain about having to leave my cartoons and PJ's to go to Sunday school using the excuse "I have to go to school all week, why do I have to go to Sunday school?". My parents never gave in to this though and I did love church. After church we would have Sunday lunch at my grandparents house with all of my cousins and aunts and uncles. My parents were doing their part of planting the seed of Christ in me. 

I graduated high school in 2003 and I was definitely living more for me than Christ at this stage in my life. I would pray but probably only when it was convenient for me. I received a bible from our church, just like all the graduates did, with a personalized note inside about always putting God first no matter what life had in store for me. That bible stayed tucked away in my drawer unopened for the next 8 years. 

I still went to church when I came home on the weekends and I still prayed when I needed to, but that was about all I did. Oh, and I still considered myself a Christian. 

I started hearing God talk to me around the time I got married. We definitely wanted God in our marriage and we decided to find a church to go to. I did start to pray that God would lead us to a church we both enjoyed. Many churches later and feeling like we might not find a good fit for us, we visited Memorial Baptist Church. 

We only attended the late service and we always sat in the back. People started talking to us and one older lady of the church kept inviting us to check out the Sunday school class she taught for young adults. We kinda blew her off and slept in instead. We decided to join the church though and Mike joined the softball team that spring and shortly after that we found out I was pregnant. Then we really started sleeping in and slowly stopped going to church altogether. I'm sure there were excuses that made us feel better like "we better sleep now while we can". And then Lilly was born.

Looking at that newborn baby that I grew in my belly was one of the most amazing moments of my life. THE most amazing moment of my life. I knew that we needed to raise this child to be a child of God. That was very important to me. As soon as we felt comfortable taking Lilly out in large crowds we went back to church. I was too scared to leave her in the nursery (she hadn't even started daycare yet) so Mike and I took turns standing in the lobby with her if she was fussy. Mike made the decision to get baptized one Sunday and I don't think I've ever felt so proud of him. We had a baby dedication for Lilly as well. We felt like we were on the right track with our relationship with God, but it wasn't always easy getting up and making it to church with a baby, and so we were still casual church goers. 

And then I lost my uncle. 

This completely devastated my family. My Uncle Mike was such a huge part of our family. He had this contagious smile and laugh. He was silly. He loved kids. He was a good person. 

I watched as the whole community of friends and family brought food and flowers and words of comfort. I asked myself how anybody could face the loss of a family member without God? I saw God through all of these people that came to comfort and grieve and laugh and share their favorite Mike stories. I watched my brothers cry. It was a hard time. I cried out to God to comfort us and help us through. That's when I started to see a change in my brother, Chad. 

If you know Chad, then you know what I'm talking about. He became filled with Christ's love. It completely overtook his body. At a time where he could have easily turned his back on God, he welcomed him with open arms. And it was contagious. And that's when Mike and I decided to join that Sunday school class. We were craving Gods love. It's been there all along. We just had to let it in. 100% let it in. 

God has spoken to me in two very specific ways since my Uncle passed away. Lilly last saw my Uncle Mike when she was 15 months old. We were recently looking at some pictures in a photo book and Lilly saw his picture, pointed to him, and said "Uncle Mike" clear as day. I'm not sure how she remembered him, but I like to think that she sees him in her dreams. I'm sure he's tossing her up in the air and catching her over and over. 

The second time I felt God was last weekend. I was driving home to Sanford to visit my grandparents for the day and to see my parents new puppy. Lilly was in the back seat sleeping like she usually does on our trips home. I was just crossing the Lee County line and I switched the radio over to my favorite station... Oldies 105.5! "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" started playing and I immediately started thinking about my Uncle. I have a specific memory of him singing this song while I was riding in the back of his truck with my cousin. He loved oldies music. I said a prayer and when I looked up into the sky I saw a perfectly formed cross made by two jets that had crossed each other at that exact moment. I felt God. I felt him wrap his arms around me. There's no other way to explain it. That my friends is not a coincidence. That is God. That is awesome. God communicates with us in many different ways. We just have to listen. Are you listening? Now's as good a time as any.

We have now been attending Sunday school every week since January and we have a new seat closer to the front during the church service. Lilly knows that every Sunday we go to church. We have started reading devotionals during the week and sharing what we have learned with each other. We have been emitional and cried with each other. We are just scratching the surface and we have so much to learn and grow but i'm glad we are on this journey of faith together. Now I know that God shouldn't just be a part of our marriage, he should be the CENTER of our marriage. We went down front one Sunday to pray with the preacher and have committed our lives to Christ. Again. 

And this time, there's no turning back. 

"Where was the Teacher?"

I was scrolling through Facebook after a particularly trying day at work one afternoon while Lilly ate her afternoon snack. I came across a post about something that had happened to a kid at school and my curiosity got the best of me so I decided to read through the comments... And there it was... A comment from a parent that said "Where was the teacher!?". 

Maybe it was because my day had been spent doing everything possible to make sure my students were safe and protected.. Oh yeah, and learning something... Or maybe it was just because I am a teacher... But whatever the reason, that comment irked me to my core. TO. MY. CORE. I wanted so badly to write some really sophisticated response to her comment but I decided to move on. But here I sit with that comment still on my mind like it was directed right to me! But in a way it was! It was directed at ALL teachers. If only these people would spend an hour in a classroom (or even volunteer a day!!!) I guarantee you that comment would never be made again. So, let me just answer your question as to where the teacher was. 

1. They were giving one of the thousands of assessments the state makes us do, either whole group or one on one. Don't believe me? Ask a third grade teacher specifically to fill you in...

2. A child was throwing up. 

3. A child had a nose bleed. 

4. A child had a bathroom accident. 

5. A child needed their inhaler or epi pen (yes teachers administer those) or other form of medication. 

6. They were on the phone with a child's parent because of the above reasons, or because their child was misbehaving, or because their child needed lunch money, or because their child said their Uncle Rico was picking them up today and you have no idea who Uncle Rico is. 

6. All of their time and energy was focused on that one student who didn't take their medicine that day. 

7. They turned their back for one second to write something on the board. FYI teachers really don't have eyes in the back of their heads.. Shhhh... Don't tell the students. 

8. They were hugging the child that was crying about their pet goldfish that had died, or about their daddy being in jail, or about being hungry because they didn't have dinner the night before. 

9. They were talking a student into putting down the gun they had in their hands. Don't believe me? Ask John Masterson, a middle school teacher at a school in New Mexico. 

10. They were TEACHING. 

Please don't automatically assume that the teacher was doing anything short of their job the next time you see or hear a comment like that. The teacher cannot control every single thing that a child chooses to do and they cannot stop every single action before it happens. Lets hold the child accountable for his or her bad choice. And please, now more so than ever, SUPPORT teachers. Pray for them. Somedays we need hugs too.