Company Girl Coffee: The Flu Edition

I don't know about where you live, but here in Omaha, the stomach flu is going around BIG TIME!  I have had many kids in the school where I teach out with it~sometimes for a week at a time.  My brother is down with it today as well, and this morning as I was reading his post on Facebook I congratulated myself on keeping the bugs at bay for my family.  "Great job cleaning this week!" I thought to myself.  "Way to use the bleach and the Clorox wipes!"  BIG MISTAKE.

My class had just returned from lunch, and we were settling in for an exciting chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when the school secretary came into my room looking apologetic.  "I'm really sorry, but Evan is in the nurse's office with a fever."  (My kids go to school where I teach).  By the time we got home, his fever was 101 and he was very nauseous. 

What a wonderful start to the weekend!

Now, I am just praying that it doesn't spread to the rest of us.  My hopes aren't very high though! :)

If you missed my post earlier in the week, my biopsy results came back as completely normal!!  Thank you to all of you Company Girls who prayed for me.  I am so grateful.

When you're done reading this, you may want to use some hand sanitizer!!

Thank you LORD!

I am sending praise and thanks heavenward today!  I received good news on my biopsy...it was COMPLETELY  normal!  I don't have adequate words to express my relief.  I have so many symptoms of what they tested me for that I had completely steeled myself to get the bad news. 

I am feeling on top of the world!  Thank you so much to each of you who offered me your support and prayers.  It means so much to me!!

Now I am off to have a great end of the week!

Company Girl Coffee and OH What a Week

I am having afternoon coffee at my blog today!  Today was our second day back with kids, so I am sitting back and enjoying a cup of joe after a long day of teaching.  Thanks for joining me!!

This week marked my return to work after a FABULOUS Christmas break. Boy oh boy did I need those two weeks to recharge.  I enjoyed every second of it.

It was nice to go back and see my kiddos, and I loved hearing about their Christmas adventures.  However, it's amazing to me how quickly my body gets out of teacher mode.  My feet hurt from standing all day, and my throat hurts from talking all day long.  I need to build up my endurance again.

Yesterday was a bit nerve wracking for me.  I had to have a biopsy done, and am awaiting news on whether or not it is cancerous.  It would mean so much to me if you could pray for a positive outcome.  The whole experience has led me to think about how very blessed I am, and how very much I have to be thankful for.  I have a husband I adore, three of the best boys on earth, and a job that I love and feel called to do.  It doesn't get much better than that.  So, today I am thankful for all of my blessings, and I am hopeful that this health concern comes to a positive end.  I am finding comfort in knowing that whatever the outcome, the Lord is walking next to me, and will help me to face any challenges that may be coming my way.

Happy weekend everyone!  I hope you have many opportunities to enjoy your blessings  :)

Back to the Real World...

Tomorrow I head back to work.  I love being cocooned in the sense of timeless relaxation and rest that comes with Christmas vacation.  Sometimes I have no idea what day it is.  We spend large chunks of time in our pajamas.  We eat when we're hungry, play when we're bored, and sleep when we're tired, and NOT because we have to adhere to the crazy school time schedule.  I guess all things have to come to an end.

On Sunday, I could feel the inevitable end of break approaching, and as it happens every year, I get a crazy urge to organize the heck out of our house.  I have this thought that if everything is just so, our reentry into our regular schedule will be a little bit smoother.  And maybe it is for a little bit, but the crazies always come back.

At any rate, on Sunday the Christmas decorations came down and the regular decor went back up.  I hate to see the holidays go, but it is so refreshing in so many ways to put the house back in order and go back to the clean and orderly.

Yesterday, I cleaned out under the bathroom sinks, and I went to Target to stock up on supplies to reorganize and refresh cleaning supplies in each area of the house.  Then I REALLY went crazy and did a years worth of shredding and filing financial papers.  WHY do I put this job off so long?!!  It was boring as all get out, but at least it's done, and we will be ready to tackle the taxes soon.

Jeff has been home way more this vacation than he has been able to do in the past, and it has been heavenly.  I love getting to spend this time with him before the horrors of tax season begin.  It's the main reason I hate January.  It steals my husband away to the office.

Sigh...it's time, I know.  But I am going to be dragging my heels the whole way.

A Christmas Recap...A Little Late

We had a good holiday this year.  Charlie and Sammy are at a fun age (and I love that at Christmas time, they are both the SAME age!  This year they are 5!) where they are full of belief in the magic and wonder of Christmas and Santa, but they are also beginning to have a solid belief and understanding that Jesus is the reason we are celebrating.  I love watching their faith emerge, and see how important it is to them.  It's one of the many times I am glad we made the decision to send them to a private, religious school.

Here are some highlights from our Christmas celebration:

This is one of my ALL TIME favorite pictures of my boys.

I love getting the boys all dressed up for things.  I need to be better about making sure they have dressy wardrobe options.  It's something that I find easy to overlook with boys.

Jeff and I on Christmas Eve

Jeff hates having his picture taken, and rarely lets me get him in a good shot.  (This one was taken by Evan!  It helps to have someone else in the house who can click the shutter in an intelligent way.)  I am always a little sad when I see slideshows of couples at weddings, because pictures of Jeff and I are few and far between.  Our slideshow would have maybe five pictures.  So, I am super thankful to have captured this. 

It's a girl!!

My brother Creighton and his awesome wife Lindsey are expecting a baby in July.  This is my Mom discovering on Christmas Eve that IT'S A GIRL!!  We have 6 boys and now 2 girls as grandkids in our family.  This was a huge Christmas gift for all of us.  I can't wait to see these two become parents.

Sammy feeding "Elizabeth"

Someday Sammy may kill me for posting this picture, but I love it.  This year, my Sammy who is my rough and tough football obsessed boy, asked for a Baby Alive.  Jeff was slightly horrified and asked him why.  Sammy said, "I want to practice being a good Daddy!"  And how does that not melt your heart?  I love this about him, so Santa was on a mission to find a Baby Alive.  He named her Elizabeth, and I love watching how careful and gentle he is with her.  He is going to make a FANTASTIC husband and father someday.  You're welcome future daughter in law!!!

Evan's favorite gift of 2011

This year, despite my protestations, my brother Creighton and my BIL Luke bought Evan a TV for his bedroom.  Creighton also gave Evan an XBox 360 to go with it.  Evan loves his new additions to his bedroom...I'm just sad we may never see him again, as it's hard now to get him to come out of his room! :)

VERY early Christmas morning

This year my choir at church sang at midnight Mass, so this picture was taken very early on Christmas morning, after "Santa" had made his delivery.  I love this moment...everything frozen in a cozy Christmas scene, before the fun begins.

I hope all of you had a great Christmas too...I'm just sad we have to wait a whole year for it to be back.  I truly believe it's the most wonderful time of the year!!

Good Bye 2011

One of my favorite bloggers, Audrey McClelland from Mom Generations, says at the end of the year she likes to look back at three things: health, happiness, and family.  I really like this idea...to me these are some of the most important things in my life, with the addition of faith.

I struggled with my health this year.  In light of my Dad's death at only 58 from genetic heart issues, I am hyper aware of my health.  I know that what I do now can greatly affect how much time I get to spend on earth with my precious family.  My PCOS is getting worse, and I know this can also impact my heart health.  I feel great that my new diet, which is really more of a lifestyle change, is helping this.  I've already lost 10% of my body weight.  I have an appointment scheduled with a new specialist next week, and I going to be picking the brain of a very wise friend who also has PCOS to hopefully get more of my symptoms under control.  It's my goal in 2012 to do everything I can to get healthier.

There isn't a day that goes by that I am not thankful for my family.  We have had our challenges this year with both Evan and Charlie, but Jeff and I took positive steps in helping our children to improve in their academics and their behavior.  It's been hard, but I am so proud of us for working hard on these things.  Parenting...no one can prepare you for how HARD it can be!!  This year, I want to be more purposeful and present in my actions as a Mom.  Too many days I am just trying to get by and get through.  I don't want to waste my time with them.

And my husband...my wonderful husband.  Jeff is the greatest gift I will every receive from the Lord.  Having this man to walk next to in this journey is a blessing I am thankful for EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  I try not to ever take him for granted.  I fall more in love with him every day I have the honor of being his wife.

Happiness and faith have been so intertwined for me since September 28, 2010, the day my Daddy went to heaven.  In 2011, we continued to heal.  We are learning to be happy again.  But I have learned you never ever stop grieving, and the hole in our family will always be there.  You just learn how to cope with it...which for me is through faith.  It brings me such comfort to know that my Dad's life and death, and how it intertwines with my own, was known by God and in His hands long ago.  It brings me comfort to know that God is working great things in my heart through this experience, and that He has never left my side as we move through this new life without my Dad.  And above all, I take joy in knowing I WILL be with my Dad again, and I want him to be proud of how I carried on and the life I lead after he had to leave.  It's my goal in 2012 to make choices that both my Heavenly Father and my Dad will be proud of.

I'm looking forward to 2012.  I am hoping to have a year of growth.  I want to be a blessing to those around me. 

Company Girl Coffee AND a Long Overdue Update

It's been forever since I've done two things...

1.  Post something new on my blog
2.  Participate in Company Girl Coffee

SO, I am going to try starting off 2012 the right way by doing both.  Welcome to all of you Company Girls!  Please take some coffee (mine is Starbucks, fresh out of my coffee maker~wish I could send you some!) and relax with me for awhile.

So much has been happening here!  Charlie is LOVING Kindergarten.  So much so that he wanted to go back to school the Monday after Christmas.  Crazy, right?  He is doing a great job with learning to read, which is such a relief to me.  Evan, our oldest, was diagnosed with a learning disability when he was in Kindergarten.  School has been such a struggle for him, and it breaks my heart!  I have been praying hard for Charlie and Sammy that they will not have this hardship in their lives.

I have finally started to achieve one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2011, even though it happened late in the year.  I went to my doctor at the end of October, and told him how extremely frustrated I was with dieting.  I had been running 3 miles, 5 days a week and doing Weight Watchers for months and I was GAINING weight!!  Can you believe it?  I was ready to give up completely.  My thought was if dieting makes me gain weight, I'm going back to eating whatever I want!  Dr. A put me on a low glycemic index/Atkins type diet, and suddenly the weight started melting away.  Since November 6th, I have lost 21 pounds.  Such a relief!!  Since my Dad died, I've really been trying to get my health and weight under control, and I am so glad to finally be on the right track.  (Also, it's been lots of fun to get new SMALLER clothes for Christmas!)

So, with one of my long time goals on the right track, I am recommitting to making Sanctuary in my home in 2012.  This is an area I really let slide this year...as usual I am having a hard time balancing work (I am a teacher and always have lots of work to do at home, as well as at school), being a wife and mom, and somehow keeping my house clean.  I am looking forward to working with Rachel Ann and the other Company Girls at Home Sanctuary to achieve this!! 

Happy 2012 everyone!  My prayer for my family and yours is that it's a GREAT one!!!