Justin's Driving Again!

My life has changed for the better today - Justin is driving again!!  I hope it's going to be a long time before I hear any complaining about running errands, going out to get dinner, or picking up Kate because he has waited for this day for six long months.  I'm not going to lie, it has been exhausting these past six months, but I can't complain because we have had a wonderful support system of friends and family who were always willing to help however they could.  I owe a huge THANK YOU to my mom, Aunt Katie, and Lanier (Justin's business partner).  Without them, I don't know how I would have made it.  Although it was an unfortunate event at anytime, God's timing was perfect in the sense that we were able to make it work with the least amount of conflict and inconvenience.  I was working part time during most of these last six months and since Justin was working for himself, he had the option to work from home or get rides with Lanier.

Tonight, Justin drove us to church with one stipulation:  he had to let me take his picture.   

Thinking back, the more appropriate picture would have been one of me in the passenger's seat with my legs propped up on the dashboard, relaxing.  Well, relaxing might be a bit of a stretch because the thought did cross my mind about how I was going to stop the car if he had another seizure while driving.  Thankfully, Justin is a small boy so I guessed there was enough room for me to squeeze in between him and the wheel if I had to - does that make me crazy?  Justin would say "yes" but I would say I'm "prepared if needed".  

In all seriousness, this has been a challenging time, but I'm so thankful Justin hasn't had anymore episodes and is able to get back to being independent. I had a couple moments here and there where I felt like I was drowning in responsibilities/stress, but God always had a way to make me realize how blessed I am and to help me keep things in perspective. I'm trying each day to remind myself to put my faith in God when I feel stressed or overwhelmed - "Let Go and Let God". 

VBS 2011

This past week was Vacation Bible School at Timberlane. Unfortunately I had to work late most of the week and missed two nights, but Kate and Justin were able to attend all week. Kate had two of the best teachers at VBS, Mr. Raymond and Mrs. Tracy, and some of the greatest friends to share the fun with.

Our theme - Sea Jesus.

VBS wouldn't be complete without Audrey to share it with.  I have no idea what they were looking at, but they would look anywhere the camera was not.

Watching the "Puckets" (each night there was a puppet show - the highlight of Kate's night)

Listening to a bible story (and side note: check out Kate's new hair-do). 

Can't wait for VBS next year!

10 Year High School Reunion

A couple weeks ago I went to my 10 year high school reunion - yikes.  I remember wondering in high school who would I be at my 10 year reunion : would I be married and to whom? what kind of job would I have? would I have any kids, if so how many? where would I live? Honestly the truth today are not the answers I would have given 10 years ago, but God has blessed me more than I could have imagined.  I might not have the huge house I dreamed of, or the fancy car, or the ability to stay at home with Kate, but my ordinary, everyday life is great.

I had a good time at the reunion and I'm glad I went.  I was afraid I would regret not going since you only have one 10 year high school reunion.  It wasn't life altering in anyway, but I didn't really expect that.  With Facebook, I can keep in touch with just about everyone I want to.  But there's something about seeing someone face to face that even Facebook can't compete with.  There's only so much personal conversation you can have over the computer.  It's nice to see an old friend, meet their husbands/boyfriends, and to watch them react to seeing you after 10 years (hopefully those were "it's great to see you" faces and not "time has not been good to you" faces). Haha.

Friday night before the reunion, Jennifer and Noah invited us over to their house for dinner.  We had a great time hanging out and the kids enjoyed playing together.  Betsy - I stole these pictures off your blog.  Sorry!

From left to right: Kyndall and Ashleigh-Anne, Me and Kate, Elijah, Betsy and Koby, and Jennifer

The kiddos.  Kate did not want to take her picture (can you tell?).

Saturday night was the big event.  I wasn't able to go to the picnic at Tom Brown or the tour of Lincoln High School earlier that day because I was working, but I made sure to leave the office and be on time to our reunion.  The minute we walked through the doors, it felt like a flash back in time seeing all the familiar faces.    

Jennifer and Rebekah (friends since elementary school) myself and Ashleigh Anne (friends since middle school)

With the husbands.

The Rebeccas. 

The three of us were all in the same second grade class so to avoid confusion, we had to go by Rebecca M. Rebekah S. and Rebecca C (me).  Even today we still refer to each other as that from time to time.  Somethings never change - well except that I am Rebecca E. now, but I'll still answer to Rebecca C.

My handsome husband.  If you would told me in high school the two of us would be married, I would have laughed.  After all, I did tell him before we went on our first date that I didn't think the two of us would last.  Thankfully God has other plans! 

First Prayer and New Songs

Tonight Kate said her first prayer with Daddy. She repeated after him, "Dear God, Thank you. Amen".  It was one of the sweetest things I have ever heard.  I love our bedtime routine.  Usually after dinner, Kate takes a bath and spends about 20 or 30 minutes just playing and singing.  After her bath, Justin and I read books with her in her room, sing some songs and say a prayer.  I have been so surprised at how well she can sing along to the songs.  Recently we discovered she knows "This Little Light of Mine" as well as the hand motions.  I keep telling Justin that I need to get it on video.  She also loves to sing "Jesus Loves Me", "Jesus Loves the Little Children" "Jesus' Love is a Bubbling Over" and "You are Holy (Prince of Peace)".  Usually Kate will belt out every third word or so in each song. When we were done singing tonight, she kept saying "more church".  Although I'm away from her most of the day, the hour or so before Kate goes to bed is the highlight of my day.

Mini Vacation

The three of us have just gotten back from a mini vacation in Destin!  One of my favorite places, but then again I haven't been to that many places.  Once a year, Justin's friends from Tennessee, Mike and Vickie Clayton and their daughter Taylor, come down to Destin for a work conference.  We love being able to spend time with them and catch up on everything that has been going on.  Justin was able to see the Clayton family last October in Gaitlinburg but I was not able to go because of work.  It has been a couple years since I have seen them, so this trip was long overdue for me.

We left Saturday morning and I convinced Justin to take Kate and I to the beach before we checked into the hotel.  Our normal beach spot was closed so it took us several minutes to find another beach access place that wasn't going to be too crowded (haha).  We ended up at Topsail Hill State Park, which was nice, but we had to take a tram to the beach which only ran once an hour.  I was a little uneasy about the once an hour ride, but it worked out.  

We learned that Kate does not like the beach.  Anytime sand got on her she started wailing and wanted us to wipe it off immediately.  She also hated the waves and there was seaweed everywhere, which didn't help.  When Justin set up the umbrella, he was missing a piece of the pole, but thankfully Kate was able to stay in the shade.  I managed to rock Kate to sleep (so rotten!) and she ended up a taking a decent nap on the beach.   Justin and I both got burnt, even though we put on sunscreen, but that was better than Kate getting burned. To sum it up, it was an awful trip to the beach. 

Lucky for Justin and I, the rest of the trip went great.  Thankfully, Kate was well behaved the entire weekend. We met the Clayton family for dinner on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon we hung out with them at their condo and then grabbed dinner together again.  I'm so glad we were able to go to Destin - I always look for a reason to go!

 The View

 The seaweed - gross.  Despite that, the location was nice because there weren't a lot of people there.

Waiting on the tram, eating Craisins (one of her favorites).

Kate and Mr. Mike

Kate and Mrs. Vickie

The family. 

I'm sad the weekend is over, but hopefully there will be another trip in my future!

Next weekend - My ten year high school reunion (yikes!).

4th of July 2011

We had a very uneventful 4th of July - but it was nice.  Justin, Kate and I stayed in town and got several chores done around the house; nothing exciting but it felt good to get a couple things marked off the "to do" list. 

We decided not to fight the crowds this year to watch a fireworks show like we did last year. Since 4th of July was on a Monday, it would have been a very late night to see fireworks and then have to get up early the next morning for work and school. Since the Tom Brown Park show wasn't starting until 9:30 or so, Justin and I decided to light some sparklers at my parents house and call it a night. My parents had invited us over for dinner and then we put on the "big" show in the backyard.

I'm glad we didn't put a lot of effort into our fireworks show because Kate wasn't too interested.

 

Happy 4th of July! 

Kate's Haircut

Here's my last post for the night... I cut Kate's hair last night.  At first I just trimmed it since her bangs were in her eyes, but Justin convinced me to cut some length off to try to get her hair to look a little more even and blended in with the sides.

BEFORE

AFTER

I promise it's straighter in the back than it looks in this picture.

It took me some time to adjust to it, but I think it looks cute.

Timberlane Small Groups

Our group at church has recently started meeting regularly for small groups and I am so excited about it! This past weekend was filled with small group activities. Saturday, David and Brittany Covan hosted a cook out/slip n slide party at Dave's parents house. Every time we are invited out to the Covan's I know we are going to have a great time.

The ladies (well most of them) - from left to right: Lindsey Burke, Tracy Reavis, Sarah Mullinax, Aunt Katie, Brittany Covan and Meredith Sullivan

Riding Audrey's wheeler and swimming in the pool - what more can two girls ask for?

Ms. Presley and Ms. Emeline riding Audrey's "big" 4 wheeler - one just isn't enough!

All the guys lined up at the slip n slide.  Fortunately no one was injured.

On the second and fourth Sunday evenings of each month, we meet at the host family's house at 4:30 for a great time of devotion, food and fellowship. This month, Jordan and Katie were gracious enough to host since Jordan has been one of the leaders in getting the small groups started.

 

Audrey and Kate - lined up to race down the hall.  This kept them occupied for quite some time.  Peyton missed this photo, but she was right there racing too. Audrey won every time. 

My goofy girl - always looking for attention!

Meredith Sullivan, Lindsey and Ben Threadgill

Lindsey Burke (holding Kendal Covan) and Brittany Covan

Jordan Swain with Mindy and Tim Fike (who actually work with me at Education)

Can't wait for our next small group event!

Splash Days

Kate's school has started splash days on Thursdays and Fridays. I never realized how much work it would be to get her ready for splash days and now I'm glad it's only two days a week. On top of getting her lunch made each day, I now have to send her in her swimsuit and regular diaper, a cover up, water shoes, apply sun screen, bring a towel, and swim diapers. Whew. But this picture makes it all worth while - she loves it!

Justin's 30th birthday and Father's Day

Kate is spending the night with Mimi and Papa tonight and guess what I decide to do?  Catch up with my blog (while Justin is watching a scary movie).  It has been several weeks since I last did a post and it has been on my To-Do list.

Recently Justin celebrated his 30th birthday! One more year and it will be me - yikes! Justin lectured me about not throwing him a surprise party (which I wasn't planning on doing) and instead we had a cookout at Mimi and Papa's with my family, both Reavis families and the Smyly family.  It was Raymond's 31st birthday two days earlier so it was wonderful to have all the families together to celebrate.

Being silly

While Kate and Audrey played with their toys, the big kids played with Lamar's newest toy - an air rifle.  

It was a low key birthday celebration, but a lot of fun!

On Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day by eating out for lunch after church.  Once again we were able to celebrate with Gigi and Grandaddy, Nanny, Uncle Jordan and Aunt Katie, and Mimi and Papa.  Kate and I are so blessed to have such wonderful fathers in our lives.  I couldn't ask for a better dad, father-in-law and husband.  We are lucky girls!

After such a full weekend, Kate passed out before we made it home from the restaurant.

Happy Birthday Daddy and Happy Father's Day!