Yee, Haw!

For Mairead's birthday, Aunt Ry, Uncle David, and Rachel sent some pretty cool gifts with a cowgirl theme!  There was a super stylish hat and neckerchief, plus a horse to ride on and some great books about Cowgirl Kate.  The gifts were a huge hit and even the boys wanted to have a turn with the hat and the horse.  Thank you, Heckathorns!

 

Happy Birthday, Mairead!

On July 29, our baby girl turned five.  Five.  These past five years have been incredible.  From the moment we saw her, we loved her more than we thought it possible.  She has amazed us, made us laugh, and made us cry.  She is smart, beautiful, sweet, and funny.  She is strong and resilient, and has already overcome more than many adults have. Every moment with her is precious and every accomplishment is a celebration.  We just love her so much!

 

We blew up a bunch of balloons and had them ready and waiting when she came down in the morning.  She was thrilled and the look on her face was precious.  Later in the day, some good friends came over to celebrate with us.  Again this year, the party was scheduled to be a pool party but the weather kept us indoors.  Maybe next year, this group will actually get to swim!

 

The pinata did not fare well, but everyone else had a great time!  We were very grateful that our friends could come and spend the afternoon celebrating our little girl.  Thanks, everyone!

We're Back!

This summer has been a whirlwind, with joyous highs and crushing lows.  We have come through stronger and optimistic, and now we are trying to get into a routine and move on to new challenges.  Many of you know that at the end of June, we were once again faced with the daunting task of finding a new job for Dave.  Though he had been very valuable at LHS, there simply was not a position for him.  So, we were back where we were a year ago, with no job and no options on the horizon.  Things were tough for a few months as we looked at every option.  We wanted to make sure, though, that the kids had a great summer and that they didn't suffer the stress that we were facing.  We have some great pictures and wonderful memories of experiences with the kids this summer, and I need to get started on posting them here.  We were so busy balancing fun with the kids and looking for work that blogging wasn't really on the agenda.  I didn't want to be sitting at the computer while the kids were outside having fun!

There have been big changes around here.  Dave is now happy to be working at North Shore Regional Vocational Technical School.  So far, he like is very much and is meeting some great people.  Mairead will be in her third week of Kindergarten this week and seems to be very happy, though 6.5 hours a day for 5 days a week is exhausting!  The boys are back to school, too, and are happy to be in Miss Joanne's class two mornings each week.  I am still working for the University of Phoenix, and I pick up some hours of online tutoring, too. 

We have no more diapers and no more pacifiers around here and the kids are growing and learning every day.  We are so proud of them and so happy that we can look toward a fun and successful school year!

Stay tuned for pictures of summer highlights including Jen and Mike's wedding!  Thanks for waiting!