Reasons this has been a good week

This has been a really good week for the Nelson family. We have so much to be thankful for each day. As we continue to pray for sweet baby Bennett and his family, I am so encouraged to see how many friends and family we all have out there in the world. It is amazing how comforting it is to see other people being prayed for each day, hour, and minute in difficult time. Blessed Be the Name of the Lord.

Here are some other (not as important) reasons that this is a good week:

1. We told our staff they could wear jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes all week. The first week of school is always so hard on everyone's feet. You can't imagine the morale boost this has been this week. I have loved wearing tennis shoes all week and it has been so fun to see our teachers so happy! :)

2. I got a new office over the summer. This one is literally a corner office with a window and it is so nice. I feel like I still get to see the beautiful days and with the sun shining in each morning.

3. Carley can sing (sort of) "This is the Day". It is precious to hear her sing scriptures. I just love it.

4. A good friend of mine who has been trying to get pregnant for about 5 years found out this week she is having twins! PRAISE THE LORD! She is so excited. Once again, God has answered a prayer of longing for this sweet couple.

5. My sister is closing on the sell of her house and the purchase of their new home. This has been something that they have wanted for a long time. The best part for me is that Lauren and Camryn are here for the week. Carley is loving her cousin time and I am eating up my "aunt" time. They are the sweetest girls. Tonight they are coming over to my house while Cody is at the station for a girl's night. We are going to play in the sprinkler and eat pizza. No boys allowed.

6. On the same note, since they are here we are eating dinner with my parents each night. It is so nice not to have to cook, but to still have those meals for your family. I am so thankful for my parents. They still look after me in so many ways.

7. This is the part of the Dawson's Creek reruns where Joey and Pacey get together. These are my favorite episodes so I DVR them on TBS and watch them after Carley goes to bed. Ah, young teenage love.

8. I have been a sneaky matchmaker lately for two friends of mine with two other people. So far it is working out good. I love to meddle a little bit! :)

9. Another one of my good friends bought a house on our street. Her kids are a little older than Carley, but it will be fun to be around. That is two people in my wedding with in a block of me! Fun times!

10. My best friend from elementary school, Marcy, called me last night with some exciting news for their family. Her husband Chris, who I grew up with too, is a wonderful singer. He signed a 10 month contract yesterday to sing on Broadway (in NYC) in the Phantom of the Opera! He moved from Lubbock this week and she and her kids move at the end of the semester. Can you imagine being a Broadway star? I am so happy for them.

Anyway, it feels like last week I couldn't find much joy. It was an exhausting and slow week. This week I really tried to look for great things. What good is going on for you this week?

Local Heroes

To my recollection, in my 200+ posts, I have never blogged about sports. I enjoy watching sports, but it is never a huge passion of mine. There are certain teams that I do keep up with, but none as faithfully as I have the past few weeks with a 12 year old Little League Team from Lubbock. They have taken our city captive with their sweet and enthusiastic interviews, great attitudes, and a reminder that dreams do come true.

The first night we moved into our new home back in May, our new next door neighbor, Taylor, was playing catch in the front yard. All summer we could find him right outside Carley's window with 2 other boys. Occasionally, I had to be the mean neighbor next door and ask them to not yell outside of her window after 10:00 pm and they were always so sweet about. ( I am sure they have a nickname for me though) In June Cody came home from the station and said that the guys at work were talking about our neighbor and a few other kids and that one day they would be famous. They even teased Cody saying that one day Taylor would be on ESPN and I would be bragging that I was the neighbor that told him to be quiet. We had no idea that would be just two months away.

It has been so fun to watch this team from Lubbock make it to the finals of the Little League World Series. They just lost in the finals today after a great season. One of the boys goes to our church and 5 of them go to Frenship. Two of the moms teach in Frenship and another mom has the same job I have in FISD in Lubbock. All of the boys are sweet and humble and so darn excited. It has been really neat.

At our district convocation the 5 Frenship boys spoke to us from Williamsport. They wished us a good year and said thanks for making their dreams come true. They were so funny talking about how they had been together for a long time, since they were 10 (they are all 12), and they knew they would be friends for life. One boy said that he had dreamed of this moment since the day he was born. Their perspective on lifelong friendships and dreams really made me smile. It is funny how our view of time changes as we get older and our dreams change too.

Congrats to these sweet boys and their families. I pray that my child has dreams that come true too.

Please continue to pray for Travis, Kelly, and Bennett Speck in my previous post. They need a dream to come true right now in a very big way.

Bennett Mitchell Speck

Please pray for this sweet baby boy. We was born on Monday with a serious infection. He and his mommy are in different hospitals as he fights a HUGE fight for a 2 day old and Kelly S. recovers from a C-section. Please keep Bennett, Kelly, and Travis in your prayers.

Here is a blog set up for Bennett. Please keep praying.

Exhaustion

I am so exhausted. It has been over a week since I last blogged and I have nothing to say. This is very weird for me. I guess I will just talk about my week and wait for something humorous or exciting to hit me.

Lauren, my three year old niece, was here this week. As always, she is hilarious, precious, and amazing rolled into one little red head. Sunday I saw her for just a minute. Monday she came over for a little while. Tuesday we went to Rosas for Taco Tuesday. Wednesday she and Nana picked Carley up from Granny's for me and then we all went to Chucky Cheese. Thursday my sister and sweet niece Camryn came in to join the fun and we went to Lujans. Friday we went to Taco Villa and Saturday morning we went to Lubbock Breakfast House. Yep, that is a LOT of eating out. It was so fun though. Lauren is a jewel and she gives the best hugs. Camryn has learned to say my name and my heart melts every time she sees me, reaches out her little arms and calls my name.

Since I do most of the staff development for our school, staff development days are CRAZY for me. When kids are in session, my job is easier because teachers are busy. When there are no kids, teachers have more free time which keeps me more on my toes. To start the week off my AWESOME assistant, Jeremy, was offered a promotion to go to our Central Office. Of course I supported him totally and was so happy for him when he got the position, but it totally broke my heart. We are great friends and we work really well together. For those of you who need assistants, I highly recommend hiring a male. They don't gossip, they come to work to work and then go home, they don't nest, and they don't take it all too seriously while at the same time they get a lot done, at least this is always my experience. So I spent the rest of the week interviewing for his replacement. All week I was very teary about his promotion. Good byes are so hard for me. I am so selfish and want to keep everyone I love and enjoy close to me forever. Nothing brings tears for me like good byes. I am just horrible about them. I think that is why I always tape and rewatch and rewatch and rewatch last episodes to TV shows and I read the end of a book a minimum of three times. I am just really big on closure. (and I am crazy) Cody was so great this week and was really supportive the whole time. He loves Jeremy too and knows what a loss this is for me.

I read a lot of books in the evenings. I have been kind of in a recluse kind of mood lately and reading is always good for that. I finished the Firstborn series by Karen Kingsbury and read the first on of her Sunrise series books. I also started Eclipse which is the third book in my vampire love story series. This books are so good. I can not stop gushing about them!

Finally Carley has been the light of my week. We have had so much fun having tea parties in the evenings. She is SO feminine which is SO funny considering I am her mom. She loves baby dolls, bottles, tea parties, bows, and all sorts of little girl stuff. Saturday she and I spent the entire day home together playing until Cody came home. She is in such a great phase right now.

I am exhausted. This week has been a killer. It is amazing to me each time I get this tired how much I feel God working in my life. Our God is such a loving and caring Father. He has answered prayers of energy, peace, and security for me this week a million times. He truly is our Daily Bread. My self reliance is such a joke and He patiently lets me know that in subtle ways. I am very thankful that my daughter and dog have already gone to bed and I am about to rest in the arms of my patient and caring husband and under the watchful and doting eyes of my Heavenly Father who delights in knowing that I am at rest and at peace.

I hope you have a blessed week.

Vegas Vacation

Cody and I are going to do a weekend get a way in Vegas in October. (anyone want to come??)
I have been one time and stayed with my BFFVV, Tiffany at the Mandalay Bay. It was SO awesome, but pricey. Since we split the room, it wasn't a big deal.

Anyway, Cody has never been. I want us to stay at a cool place, but I am not sure if it is worth it to drop the BIG bucks at a super nice place. Where have you stayed when you were there and what would you recommend?

Back in the Swing of Things

Publish PostWell, the transition back to working was much easier than I expected. Carley went right back to Granny's as if she had just been gone a weekend. She just marched right in with her lunch box and started playing. In fact, my feelings were a little hurt that she didn't cry for me or miss me. Keep in mind I said a "little". I am so glad she is happy there and well taken care of with Granny and Papa. Carley also has a new buddy named Hudson who is 3 months old and super cute. She thinks he hung the moon.

As soon as I got back to work it felt good. I forgot the energy that I receive from being in that environment. Everyone was great and I got to start training my favorite people, new teachers. They are always super excited and ready to get started.

I can't thank all of you enough for your comments, emails, and prayers as I started back to work. It is a blessing to be encouraged by so many friends. Leaving Carley is always hard, it always will be. Missing her sweet smile, funny games, and precious legs will always bring tears to my eyes in a split second. Thanks for understanding my post and supporting the decision that my family made.

In other news, my mom and I (mostly my mom) recovered the kitchen chairs. The fabric was the one my grandmother had when they were hers. The leaves reminded me of her, but they definitely were out dated and dark. I loved the new fabric. You can kind of see it here. It is navy, sage, and brown. I think it looks good in our kitchen.

Finally, some picture of Carley for no reason other than I think she is cute.

I'll come out and say I watched it....

So, it is the dumbest reality show in the history of reality shows. (which is saying a lot)
So, I hated all of the characters, including the "bachelor" Mark.
So, I am not sure at all why I watched it.
So, he choose the 25 year old who didn't even know how to make a salad.
So, it was trashy, trashy, trashy.

So, I admit. I watched it.

Anyone else?

The Post I Knew Was Coming

Well, friends, it is August. For those in the Education business, that means, "back to work". There are so many things I could post about on this topic.....how I will miss Carley, why I am ready to go back, why I work, what my job does for our family, what my fears are about being a working mom, how blessed I feel by my situation, how sad I feel to miss moments with Carley, the benefits of adult time, and a thousand other thoughts.

Tuesday is my first day back at work. Cody is going to be home that day for a special day with just him and Carley. They are going to go to the park, read books, and stuff like that and then Wednesday she will start back at Granny's. Granny and Papa are a retired couple that keep 4-6 teachers kids. They are such a blessing. Carley has missed them and her friends from Granny's over the summer. We have gone by every three weeks or so just to say HI. They are the nicest couple and they love the kids so much. Their house has a million toys and they are always doing fun things with the kids. I heard Carley talking on her play phone to Granny today and I teared up. I am SO thankful that Carley loves Granny and that she is blessed to have an extra grandmother in Granny. I also tear up because I know that Granny has a special place in her heart because of the time they spend together, which is time away from me. Carley has learned so much from the 3 and 4 year olds at Granny's. They have taught her to play run games like red light/green light, hide and seek, and she loves to watch them color. They kick the ball with her and stuff like that, which is sweet. I am so glad she has her friends there. She gets so bored here with just me sometimes and I am so glad she has new toys to look at every day there.

Being a mom is tough. It is a HUGE BLESSING, but it is tough. I think it is tough to stay home and miss out on adult conversation. I think that it is tough to stay home and actually stay home and not run errands all day or spend money at Target, like I do in the Summer. It is tough to provide for your family, especially retirement, savings, and stuff like that. Stay at Home moms sacrifice a lot to be with their sweet children and I know that it is very worth it. I also think it is hard to work outside of the home. I think it is hard to get up and out the door with lunches packed, bows on, and sanity at 7:10 in the morning. I think it is hard to give your all to other people and other situations all day and then come home and try to give your all to your kids, husband, and home. I think it is hard to miss out on moments and not feel guilty. I just think being a mom is tough. Of course, all of us would agree we wouldn't change it for the world.

The other day I was somewhere and a mom said, "I am not the kind of mom who could be away from her kids all day". I knew what she meant and that it had absolutely no condemnation or judgment on the moms that choose to be away from their kids all day. The comment has stuck with me though. I don't think that it is always that simple. I think that moms choose to work outside of the home for the same reasons some moms choose not to work outside of the home. I think that we all do it because we feel like it is what is best for our families. If I choose to completely stay home, Cody would have to work 48 hour shifts for us to keep up our bills. For us, Carley only seeing her Daddy two days a week. for a couple of hours, is not a better situation. This way she gets to see both of us every day. Not all husbands have nontraditional schedules like mine. That excuse isn't the same for everyone. Also, Cody and I get to have a lunch date every week. It is a special time for us and our marriage and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Also, my work and Granny's are 5 minutes apart. For some moms, if they worked outside of the home, they would spend their whole day in traffic going to and from work and daycare and home. I am starting to ramble, so I will cut it off, and just say this:

Summer is ending and I will miss my undivided Carley time. I loved the pool, Jump N Jungle, the park, Sea World, running errands, and cuddle time. I will miss our midmorning tea parties. Being away from her breaks my heart into a million pieces whenever I think about it. Being a Christian example to her is my most important job as well as providing her with love and security. I pray that I am not "screwing her up" by my choice to have a career outside of the home.

I will miss cooking so much for Cody and doing more stuff around the house. I had fun cooking big meals and taking care of all of the errands so that when he was home, all he had to do was play with me and Carley. I am looking forward to our weekly lunch dates at exotic restaurants like Taco Bell and Subway. I pray that I always save my energy for home and our marriage and I don't spend it on other people. I pray that he knows that he is my most important relationship on earth and I treasure him more than my career.

I am looking forward to going back to work. I love my job. I love problem solving and decision making. I love having an office and a desk and no pacis in my pockets. I love talking about adult things and not getting interrupted. My financial psychotic side loves know that we have savings, retirement, and some money towards college. I love having money for Sonic drinks. And honestly on days, where Carley has diarrhea, like today, I don't miss the smell. I also love being around nonChristians. I know that sounds weird, but I like inviting people to church, praying with people who are having a hard day, and telling people about Jesus. I am not saying at all that you can't do that at the grocery store, or the park, or wherever you are, I am just saying that school is the perfect place for sharing your faith. I love the people I work with and my job.

I know this is the longest post ever and I am super sorry about that. It is just some late night ramblings from a torn heart. I love being a mom and I love all of you out there. I know that many of you struggle with all of these same feelings and emotions. I am truly thankful for you, my blog friends, who support me in many ways. I am thankful for the ways that you choose to honor God's calling to love your families and the many different ways you do it. I am thankful that we have a relationship without judgment or condemnation, but instead of support and admiration.

Get your pencils sharpened, your folders labeled, and your new brown leather shoes. School is back in session.