First Day Of School

 Last month my grandmother went to Heaven.  And so far, I haven't even had too many sad moments just because my focus has been on how much better she is feeling, how much fun she's having with Aunt Nay, and the fact that I will see her again.  And considering how crazy I am about her, I am completely surprised by my reaction to her death.  

I have been reading a book on grief lately.  The thought occurred to me recently that I am in a place in life where I am close to losing many people (and a dog) that I hold dear.  I despise loss...like in a crazy weird way.  The loss of anything big or small.  And in an attempt to learn to handle this better I took a proactive step to learn about grieving in a healthy and resilient way.  I have no idea if this is the result of it.  

In Sept, I attended 3 funerals.  At one of them, the preacher said "If you know Jesus, you can look forward to spending more days in the future with your loved one than are behind you.  Oh Yes!!  That is what I'm looking forward to.  

My grandmother was one of my greatest treasures.  I hope to blog more about her soon.  But right now I am working with my daughter to create a book of Grandmother's memories for my mom and aunt.  Grandmother left quite a few stories of her life that I have been LOVING.  Such a gift she left us.  

So I thought I'd include some stories here on my blog in no particular order.  Don't tell my mom!!  A few will be my stories but most will be hers.  

First Day Of School

I remember the first day of school I was so scared. Some little girl, I don't remember who, took me in
the school house. I remember before going in, I looked up and all I could see were stairs going up to

the door. I had never seen so many stairs in all my life and I thought it was the biggest building I had

ever seen!

The little girl took me to my room and left me and she said later when everyone met in the auditorium
I could come and sit with her. So when I saw her there I couldn't hardly wait to go sit by her. The

teacher came up to me and hit me on the seat of my pants and told me to get back where I belonged.

Boy, did I hate that teacher from then on!

Sundays

 Church! Today Mike got to play electric guitar on the worship team and I visited a ladies' SS class for the first time.  Since we joined the church I've either been helping in kindergarten, or 1-2 grade.  

Lunch is almost always tacos.  So easy for the crockpot.  

THEN....my favorite.  Mike pretty much gives me the entire afternoon off and I lock myself away in my room.  But here's the completely nerdy part - I don't nap or read or take a long bath.  Instead I pay bills, budget, menu, plan the week, and catch up on any real estate stuff I can.  And I do it for FUN y'all.   It makes me feel so ready for the week ahead.  

My time for that is done now and I need to clean up my mess and put away my computer.  I hear my littles playing outside with the new neighbor kids and my others are probably wondering what's for dinner.

Tonight we will straighten up the house, I'll load up the little boys' school folder for tomorrow, probably read a chapter from our read aloud book and call it a day.  

Goodbye 2021

 Maybe, just maybe, 2022 can find me blogging again.  I kinda hope so.  

But just so I don't forget, here's our 2021 recap for just the remaining chicks in the nest.  The grown and flown kids are doing awesome too. 

In no particular order...

*Jesse graduated high school at Charleston even though we moved to Lavaca.  This summer he bravely endured getting his wisdom teeth out.  He's currently still working at UPS and hoping to stay on after the seasonal period.  He also has a construction job, an internship at a recording studio, and is developing a Youtube channel with Joshua.  He puts in quite a lot of time at our church and plays backup keys and occasional lead keys.  

*Nathan started full time as a senior at Charleston this year.  He participated in archery, and competed in the state golf tournament.  He plans to start baseball soon.   He still works at Subway.  He loves hunting and killing deer with G'ma and Nana.  And this year he's changed his style a bit.  He's very clean cut and actually likes different clothes.  

*Mallory finally found a solution to her TMJ issues with invisaline braces.  She bought a car, got her permit, and landed her first job!  She loves serving wherever she can at our church but especially likes the sound booth.  She has started a new hobby of paint-by-number kits. 

*Zeke also loves hunting in TX and has had a few more opportunities this year.   His cooking skills are still amazing and he won a dessert contest this year at church.  Zeke competed in the state trap shooting tournament this year with our homeschool group.  This year he plans to get fit and hasn't missed a day in our garage gym and even counts calories, plans his food ahead of time, and makes the hard choices necessary with all those health related goals.  

*Waylon and Bennett are the life of the party over here.  Both of them have lost teeth and learned to read.  Bennett also got glasses this year and is undergoing testing to see if he qualifies for vision therapy.  They are doing great at going to Sunday School without me.  Their days are spent with school, playing outside, building forts, asking for snacks, and hoping I'll let them play XBox.   They have learned to take out the trash every week, unload the dishwasher, and make their own scrambled eggs and instant oatmeal. 

*Owen and Noah came to visit this year.  They are such sweethearts.  I stalk them on FB but I doubt we will be seeing them again for awhile.  

*Both my parents turned 70 and Mike's mom turned 80! I love that we can all celebrate birthdays together. 

*We moved!! Those 2 words involve a lot of work.  But we love our new house. Since April, we have added a bathroom, added an exterior door, and updated the AC and electric.  

*A move also means we changed churches and love 1L. 

*My parents gifted us a super fun get away to Rainbow Lodge for our bdays and anniversary.  LB and Jared took the little boys and everyone else did great.  We caught a bunch of fish, ate amazing food, got massages, and I logged a lot of hours on the sunporch with my Bible, books, and planner. Ahhhh......

*They also took the whole family to Rocking Chair Resort for vacay!  Lots of fish, pontoon boats (!), campfires, food, and a birthday party.   Everyone came (except Ethan who had to work) and we all had a fun time.  

*We welcomed sweet Baby Kyron to the family.  I miss him just typing about him!  He has blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair just like his sister and likes to make his opinions known!! 

*Some of my kids went to the rodeo for the first time ever.  G'pa and Nana came and I don't know why I haven't gone to the rodeo every single year forever.  I love all of it.  

*Emo, Mangnay, and Shelley visited from CO! We haven't seen them in forever and I wish they'd come baaaaack!!!

*Mike switched jobs and is now working as an infrastructure manager at Yoderbuilt.  He also loves driving his truck and has developed a love for country music.  Someone help me.  

*At least 5 of us had covid this year and a few are still in quarantine now.  I'm about done with that nonsense.  

*Our business is growing and it makes me smile every day.  Except for the days I'm mad at it.  But that's hardly ever.  We have 4 rentals and another under contract.  We have great tenants that pay on time and I LOVE rent day.  This year we added a house, renewed leases, made several offers, learned a little about ADA guidelines for commercial property, hired a new bookkeeper, and bought a truck and a camper.  We plan to launch our camper rental business next month!!  

*I read or listened to 40 books this year!  A couple were even fiction but fiction is still a hard genre for me to enjoy. 

*I still enjoy subbing but have sort of found my niche in high school.  Especially at Lavaca.  I would've NEVER guessed I'd enjoy HS most! 

Lots of us have set a few goals for 2022.  Mine include learning Spanish by investing 1 hour a week on it, getting the kids into TKD, growing and developing my friendships, and growing my business (of course!) I would love a multifamily property or a self storage facility!