three months, 42 pounds, a lot of change . . .

where to begin?  as maria would say, "let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start."

1.  my kids are so big, as pictures will prove later.  having a one and three year old is definitely a work out. when your one year old has been walking since around 9 months, life is never boring!  it doesn't make anything less calm when your 3 old is a crazy talker who won't potty train.  always an adventure.  they are also incredible sweet, adorable and fun.  liam is constantly learning and asking and amazing us with what he remembers.  if i was a better mother, i would have it all written down somewhere, but for some reason time slips away from me.  audrey is also becoming quite the talker and picks things up so fast we can hardly keep up, of course with her paci in her mouth, we don't always understand what she is saying. ha ha. 

audrey is much more fearless than liam.  she climbs, jumps, falls, and loves every minute of it.  she also is into everything.  no drawer, closet, shoe, or remote is safe with her around!  liam is an official computer, or should i say iPad and iPhone genius.  the boy knows what he is doing.  he can play games, read books, and and watch videos.  but before you think that is all he does, he is a playing, jumping, sliding fool at the park and jump'n jungle.  audrey is not quite as interested in the technical side of things as she cannot sit still for more than 5 seconds at a time.  move move move!  

healthy breakfast to start the day

our genius

social climber

2.  i am feeling a quite a bit lighter than i have felt in a while.  through weight watchers, prayer, and a little bit of self-control i have lost 42 pounds.  i look pretty good, if you ask me.  now comes the really hard part, keeping it off!! wish me lots of luck.  the ice cream, it calls to me!  also the spaghetti, queso, and fried rice.  basically if you can eat it, i love it.  how do you think i weighed so much to begin with.  

3.  getting older . . .  praise God!  we both aged one year, have been married 11 years, and we still like each other.  that is no small feat.  thank goodness for a sense of humor.  can i get an Amen!  how else do you make it if you can't laugh both at and with each other.  he truly is my best friend and i could not and do not want to go through all of this without him!  he is such an amazing father and husband, especially with the start of this new school year.

the birthday boy (yummy!)

liam reading daddy a story on his birthday = precious

which brings me to . . . 

4.  a return to full time teaching.  i will return to the 5 day a week classroom this year.  i will be the assistant theater director as well as the speech and debate coach at Frenship High School. (Go Tigers!)  i am both excited and terrified.  i know i will love it, i love teaching, but how will have the energy to teach  5 days and still enjoy my own kids at home?  i also have no idea how this beast called UIL works!  it is a new world, full of new challenges, which i probably really need.  i can get comfortable and complacent and this will be a good kick to the derriere to shake things up.  God has opened the door and i am walking through it.  it is going to be one busy and interesting year.  

start your prayer engines now and pray that matthew and i find time for each other, that i have the energy and endurance to take care of business both at school and at home, that matthew will not only be good at but enjoy being a mr. mom (he already is great, i just hope it stays that way), and that as a family we do not lose sight of God and each other.  

a busy but exciting school year ahead of us!  

on your mark! get set! go!

now for some random but adorable pictures of the kids:

crazy girl with crazy hair

working with tools like his daddy

doesn't need explanation

yea, we rock!

audrey before her first haircut

tuckered out

loves to swing

bucket buddies

nothing and everything . . .

this year has been . . . i can't seem to find the right word for it, and it is not even half way over.  so much has happened:  good, wonderful, awful, and heartbreaking.  when so much happens in such short time it really takes a while for things to sink in and for me to process them.  can you ever really process tragedy?  can you ever truly appreciate the amazing?   i don't know.


here is what i do (sort of) know:


there is nothing new under the sun.  everything we think we have discovered and invented is just a new way of doing something that has been done before.  heartbreak is not new and neither is joy.  these have been experienced by others since the beginning of time.


however . . .


everything is new to us.  our hurt and our happiness is new to us.  when something wonderful happens, it is not the first time, but it is our new experience with it.  the same goes for tragedy and heartbreak, we have all experienced it, but it feel brand new and just as terrible each time.  


we can question.  why good things?  why bad things?  but if we knew where would any joy be in our lives and how would we learn?  how would we trust and have faith?  


i know i feel much more hopeful, and at peace knowing that God is in control and i am here to watch and learn and share.  


nothing and everything . . . we have it all. 


okay, so i have purged my so called deep thoughts and will now end with a few pictures of my everythings!

cool super kids dude!

 sunrise at "the ranch"

 sweet kisses from daddy

 happy mother's day

 relaxing on the rock

 hanging with opa

 ready to play in the water

 "cheese"

 bathing beauty

 cousin fun time!

my how they have grown . . .

i know it is a cliche, but time flies and children grow up way to fast.  liam turned 3 and audrey turned 1.  crazy, i know!  here is a quick look back at where they started out and where they are today.  

i still cannot believe he was ever this small.  all 5 lbs of him.

and that hair?  where did that come from?

our pretty girl

how did he get so big!  3 years old.

precious 1 year old

the happy pirate

an angel

such fun!

we are truly blessed!

so much is happening, and so much is changing, it is hard to capture and remember every moment, but we try.

more to come.

love to all!

too long . . .

it has been too long since i have written anything.  matt says i have blog anxiety, that really all random small things give me anxiety, and it makes me angry that he is right. so, i am powering through.  i am not promising anything great, but i need to write something.  


january - a mixture of ups and downs. 


we started a new year.  new possibilities, new dreams, and really really cold weather!!  

the kids are wonderful.  growing and talking and getting into everything.  

     

sleepy big boy - 

he is learning his letters.  he has pee pee'd and poop'd on the potty several times.  not consistently, mind you, but it is a start. he is speaking in complete sentences.  he knows how to work the DVD player, almost too well.  he loves to do everything all "bout" himself.  he loves his sister, but he loves to push her down.  his blue eyes just melt your heart, and he knows he has blue eyes! 

    

crazy haired girl - 

she is a mover! we have taken several steps and it won't be long before she is going at a full out run.  she loves puffs and she loves to screech.  her brother is the funniest thing in the world.  she is almost, sort of kind of saying momma and dada.  she loves to wave hello and good bye.  she is almost a year old and i can't believe it.  time has flown. 

we took a trip to visit uncle j.e., aunt megan, will, kaydee, and clark in wichita falls.  it was a fun few days.  we got to relax and spend some time together.  liam loves his cousins and kaydee loves baby audrey.  i love that our kids get to spend time together. 

school started up again, boo!  back to the grind.  thankfully our classes have all been pretty good. now that matthew is dr. byars and the school work for him is behind us, our lives are both freed up and more hectic.  he may not have his dissertation to work on, but now he needs to work on getting published and going to conferences. so, still busy for matt none the less, but he does exceptionally well at all he tries.   plays are starting up again for me at school,  and we are doing VBS this summer at our church and i am going to be working on the theatrical portion of the program.  so busy busy mommy as well.  but better busy than bored! (although, sometimes, a little boredom is ok)

matthew and i tried our hands at glass blowing, well sort of.  we didn't actually blow glass, but we did get to mold and color molten glass into flowers.  it was amazing and so much fun.  we will definitely be doing this again! 

february - 

started off sad.  our sweet dog maddie of 11 years passed away.  she was a solid black german shepherd that looked more like a bear than a dog, but she was the sweetest thing ever.  she never met a stranger she didn't love and lick to death.  she passed away quietly at home with matt and i holding her.  she was a great dog we miss her terribly.

not much else going on, other than we have been doing the rounds of sick!  winter is awful and we can't seem to stay completely healthy for long.  at the moment matt is a bit under the weather, but all in all i think we are on the track to being healthy. 

i have started weight watchers.  tomorrow will be my second weigh in, and fingers crossed, i hope to have lost a pound or two.  of course it is hard to lose weight when you go to dallas for the weekend with your husband and son to see "the imagination movers"!  steak 'n shake, wendy's, and other fast food are not exactly on my diet!  but it was worth it for the fun we had.  

liam got to meet the movers after getting to see a super fun concert.  they were such nice guys.  they took the time to talk to everyone and sing some songs with them.  they really interacted with the kids and the parents.  mover rich and i had a conversation about one of their songs that i love.  

which bring us to today - valentines day.  what am i doing?  blogging, watching tv, and not much else.  matt had class tonight and there are these adorable kids to take care of.  valentines is not a big day in our house.  we say how we feel everyday and don't feel the need to buy flowers that will die or cards that will get lost.  what better way to say "love" than to just live your life with those that you love!  

thank you Lord for all those in my life that i love!