Merry Christmas Yall!

September Already?

I sort of can't believe that it's already September! However, I've been so busy, that it totally makes sense. On my last post we were having the floor redone. At the completion of that process, I was offered an elementary music job. After three years of applying and interviewing I had almost given up. However, this is the perfect place for me. I LOVE the principal and the staff. The students are great and I'm having a wonderful time. The school is about 10 minutes from the house, so I'm home in no time each day. :) Elementary is certainly different from middle school, but I feel like I really belong at this level. After two weeks of school, I've had the following comments from parents, staff and students.
-"You're the best music teacher ever!"
-"The kids really love coming to your class. They are excited to see what's going to happen today."
-"My boys haven't stopped singing that cow song that you taught them."
-"My kids think you are the funniest, best teacher ever."

I was really worried that it would take a while for the kids to like me. I guess it's going to be easier than I thought. :)

A New Floor!

So a couple of years ago, the dishwasher had a leak in the plastic tube in the back. We didn't know about it until the water had made it's way to the wood laminate floor and soaked through. Probably 6 months of leaking to get there. :( We decided to pull up that floor and put down tile the following summer. That was the summer we found out we were expecting Sebi - so the floor got put on hold. Now 2 years later we have a new floor! The guys just left and it will be completely dry by in the morning. Here are the pictures:

Old floor about to go:

What we found under the flooring - the original floor:

The new floor:I'm so excited! This is going to be so much easier to keep clean, since I can actually mop it.

Three kids, two dogs and floor work

We finally found a second dog to adopt. Her name is Chloe and she is a 4-5 year old beagle. She gets along with phoebe. I don't have a photo of her yet, but I'll try to get one soon. She has attached herself to me and follows me everywhere. :)
That said, it's time to redo the kitchen floor and replace the back door with a dog door. We've been talking about it for awhile, but I just picked out the tile and got the estimate. All in the same 24 hours of getting the second dog. We'll see how this goes with having three kids and 2 dogs locked upstairs all day long while the floor is being put in. It should be interesting!

So Much for Technology!

At the start of this year, I thought I had it set up to blog from my phone. Somehow, that didn't work. :) Since both of the girls like to spend time on the computer and Sebi likes to turn the computer off when I'm by it, I thought it would be the perfect solution. I guess I'll be rethinking that now.

So what have I been up to for the last 6 months? Everything!
-I've managed to walk over 100 miles so far this year and am well on track to reach my goal by the end of December.

-This summer I signed up for a group training class twice a week and can tell that things are starting to tone up.

-The girls are looking forward to going to their home campus for school this next year and I'm looking forward to a car ride with only one child. :)

-I've completed my level one Kodaly certification this summer. It was an intense three week course, but I had a great time.

-We have a new dog! Miss Phoebe joined our house last saturday. She's a beagle rescue that is 1-2 years old. She's already house trained (my favorite part about getting an older dog) and has settled into our house quite well. We hope to meet another beagle rescue this week that will join our family and be a playmate to Phoebe. Wait!! You might be wondering about Rusty. Well, he passed away in January. He had cancer and we knew that the time would come eventually. He stopped eating one day and then about 36 hours later, he started having trouble breathing. I had made an appointment to take him in to the vet while the kids were still in school, but he laid down and passed away peacefully right before I took the kids to school that morning. He was around 14 years old and had a fabulous life with us. :)

So now that the tears have been wiped up, here is a photo of Phoebe.

She's a little 19 lb thing that is adored by my kids! Speaking of kids, here are a few photos of the gang.

Ok I had a great time at the Fiesta Bowl even if we didn't win. I'll post a few photos later.
Right now I'm on the bus heading back to the hotel and thinking about 2010. Since I've been focused on my trip lately, my goals for the year haven't been written down. I know my word for the year is JOY, so here are a few things to complement it:
- exercise: I'm joining a Body after Baby challenge to help get rid of the baby weight (from a 3 kids). Goal is to walk 182 miles in 2010.
- more family game time (at least one a month)
- quiet time with Sean once a week
- complete 12 scrapbook pages this year (one for each month)
- keep up with the household budget
- sleep

All great things to bring JOY to my life!

365 Days

It's amazing what can happen in 365 days. This time last year Sean and I were just finishing up a lightening fast nursery make over. The bright yellow room was turned into a blue and green room fit for a little boy. We were all eagerly awaiting Sebastian's arrival.

His arrival has been the brightest spot this year. Dad's passing was the darkest. Even though it's been 7 months, there are still hard days. (Especially as Sebastian grows and gets into things.) I used to call my dad all the time to tell him what the girls were up to and it's hard not to do the same for my little boy. I know he's watching from above, but I miss that two way conversation.

As hard as the year has been, there are always bright spots:

-a visit from the whole family for dad's funeral

-a healthy, happy little boy that's now crawling!

-a wonderful summer spent playing in the pool

-two beautiful girls that love school

-a perfect TCU football season

my list could go on and on, but I think I'll stop there.

As I look toward the next 365 days I hope my life is filled with joy. That's my word for 2010 and what I hope to find in every facet of my day. What will be your word for the next 365?