Christmas is finally over!

Well Christmas has finally came and gone once again! It has definitely been a rough holiday season this year. For starters we made the 15 hour trip to Alabama all in one day, there and back, which is a LONG ride. Thankfully we made it both times with no major catastrophes, and both of my children did exceptionally well in the car! I got to see some much missed friends and hate that I don't get to see them more often. Sorry this post is super short, but I'm in the middle of trying to get things back in order. Hopefully I can fill in some details later.

SORRY!

Sorry that I've been MIA for so long! It seems like the past month flew by in a whirlwind. To catch up everyone up to speed: Brad has had 20 baptisms, Carley got her ears pierced, me and Brad had a date night for the first time in like 4 years, we have had 1 christmas get together and are preparing for the next! Now to elaborate on all of that! The church is going great. It seems like every other week we have at least 2 baptisms. That just shows me that this is where God really needed us right now. We are definitely looking forward to our Christmas break and hopefully getting to relax for a bit(YEAH RIGHT!!!). Carley begged me one night while Christmas shopping to get her ears pierced. I explained that it would hurt a little, but she still insisted, so off to the mall we headed. She picked out her earrings and jumped in the chair like a big girl. She never cryed a single tear, just flinched a little. I was very impressed knowing the drama that child has been known to cause! Now on to our date. A couple here from church, who also happens to be a lady I teach with, offered to watch Jacob and Carley overnight while me and Brad went out. She said they wanted to do that for us for Christmas since our families are so far away( I am so glad somebody understands that!). We went out to dinner and finished our Christmas shopping, then had lunch before picking the kiddos up that morning. It was a much deserved break. Now if I could only make Brad take a break from church stuff, but we all know the days of miracles have ended! Last night we had our Polar Express Party for the kids at church here last night. It went well. We had hot chocolate and decorated sugar cookies and watched the movie. Everyone wore their PJ's and I think it was a success. Next Saturday is our Christmas open house for the church here. After that is over I will be packing like mad to leave for Alabama. We are hoping to leave early(like 2ish) Monday morning. It should take us about 12-13 hours or so. We are not leaving to come home until the 30. I have made plans to meet up with some much missed friends and hope I can work everyone in. I hope all is going well with everyone and ya'll are getting all prepared for Christmas. Hard to believe it is already that time of year!

Halloween!

Well I'm finally getting around to posting and letting everyone know what has been going on. This week has been an EXTREMELY busy week! We had 9 baptisms this week!!! That is such a wonderful thing for the church, but sure wears out the preacher and his wife. I had training again all week at work which kept me until 5:00 every night. And Brad had to preach a funeral yesterday. Any wonder why I woke up this morning and couldn't move my neck. Can we say STRESS!!! That extra hour last night needed to be about 5! On other notes the temps here are in the 80's. I can't recall a Nov. with 80 degree weather. The gas prices here have dropped to $1.92 as of yesterday. I hope everyone is having a wonderful fall and getting ready for Thanksgiving. As of now, I think I might cook my first Thanksgiving meal this year for just us. I know we will be invited to go places here, but it may be kinda nice starting our own tradition. If I decide to do that it will be something small like a turkey breast, but I'll let everyone know what I decide!

Yesterday was Jacob's eye appointment. Luckily everything went well. His vision was 20/25 in both eyes. The doctor said that wasn't bad enough to fight with glasses just yet. I know it's coming, but at least we put it off for hopefully another year. In other news, it has finally became fall in Texas. Today was the crispness in the air that we've been waiting on and we finally got some rain yesterday. It was just time time. This weekend is "Boo at the Zoo" in Abilene and we were hoping to go and not have to roast the entire time. Also our family harvest at church is coming up and we were hoping for a bon fire, but have been under a burn ban since June, so hopefully we got enough rain to lift the ban. Hope everyone is doing well and we miss everyone very much! Can't wait to see everyone at Christmas. Brad is actually getting off from December 22 to the 31!!! So plan a date and we will book you in LOL!

A Sad Day!

Jacob came home from school the other day with a letter from the school nurse saying he had failed his eye exam at school. I always knew this day would come since mine and Brad's entire family is blind as a bat (with the exception of Brandon-LOSER), but I at least hoped it would be later on. We have an appointment in 2 weeks and I hope that there was maybe a mistake, but chances are probably not. I will keep everyone informed on what happens and if we end up with glasses in the 1st grade!

Ways Texas is Different than the Tennessee Valley

This never happens (2 post in 1 day), but none of my family or friends has been to Texas and everybody ask what it's like here, so here it goes.

1. FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL!!! Everyone here is football crazy even though our Breckenridge Buckeroos aren't that good. They only won 1 game.

2. It is hot here, but it's a different kind of hot. Low humidity and always a breeze blowing.

3. Oil wells everywhere! Even in the parking lot of the elementary school.

4. People here don't complain about gas prices because everyone owns an oil well. MUST BE NICE!

5. No real trees. They have misquite trees which look like a big bush to me.

6. FLAT! It seems like you can see forever, which is pretty neat.

7. Windmills. I've never seen a real windmill until I came to Texas.

I guess this has been a good experience for us, and I am glad we decided to come here.

Well I've made it through another week. This week is homecoming and today all 3 elementary schools were bused to the high school for a pep rally on the football field. The actual game is tomorrow night and tomorrow morning they are having a parade. I still can't believe how over the top they go for football around here. Both the kiddos are doing good in school and luckily we've had no more incidents. I am still anticipating fall weather here. The highs today were still in the upper 80's and I can't even remember the last time we had rain. I think this will be the first homesick feeling I have, being away from the wonderful falls in Alabama and Tennessee. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year, but I'm afraid I'm going to miss it here. We do have some pecan trees in the yard here, so at least they should be pretty. I've already put out my scarecrow and mums, so that should at least make it a little better. Things are still going good with the church and we are working on planning a family harvest. I hope all is going well with everyone and I hope to get to see everyone soon!

A BIG Week

Well it has definitely been a busy week. Starting on Monday, Brad went to the Dallas Cowboys football game with a member from church. That was his first ever big football game, so I know he was excited.

On Tuesday, Carley lost her first tooth.

She was super excited for her first visit from the tooth fairy.

So far everything is going good with work except for me being worn out by the time I get home, but I'll adjust soon. Hope everyone is having a great week!

One Week Down!

Well I've have officially worked at the school for a week, and so far everything has went great. The hours work extremely well for us. I only live about 3 minutes from the school, and I leave every morning with the kiddos and usually pick them up from Brad at church by 4:00. All we did this week was testing for the new program. Next week we start our training with the trainer and we start the kids on Tuesday. It seems to be a really great program. It is called "Read Right" and seems to have phenomenal results. It is designed to make everyone a better reader including adults. We will be going through the program ourselves in order to teach it effectively.

FYI- We have had tons of e-mails and phone calls concerning Ike. So far we seem to be good. We sit about 100 miles west of Dallas and if Ike keeps the same path, it should miss us, even though we could really use the rain. The local weather this morning said we are suppose to get some rain today from the west, but said Ike looked like it was going to be too far east. I guess we will just wait and see. Thank you all so much for your concern and we love and miss you all so much!

Spoke Too Soon!

Well I blogged yesterday about how great the day was and I was loving being at home. When I got to school to pick Carley up her teacher motioned for me to come there. I thought great what has she done now. Well it turns out she hit a little girl in the mouth. The entire way home I was thinking of things to make her do to realize the mistake she had made. When we got home, I ask her exactly what happened. She told me on the playground a little girl was pulling on her shirt and Carley had ask her to stop and the little girl kept on, so Carley hit her in the mouth. I ask Carley if the girl had to change her color like she did and Carley said no, but back in the classroom she had to change her color for messing with someone else. At that point I didn't see the need to punish Carley any further since she was defending herself. I simply explained from now on to tell her teacher and no more hitting. School is such a tough place for corrective parenting. You don't want your child to hit and be a bully, but at the same time you want the other children to leave them alone. I will take any advice on this matter that anybody has. Jacob has managed to make it all the way through kindergarten without ever being in trouble and Carley only made it 1 week. Who says girls are easier?
On to other news, the principal called today and offered me that job. I was thinking yesterday on turning it down, but I've prayed that God would show me what he wants me to do so I'm assuming this is it. It really is hard to pass up since I would have all the teacher retirement, insurance, and days off. I guess this is his way of saying I've relaxed enough. I start on Monday with the children not starting until Sept. 15. I will be the reading teacher working with 5 students every period for a total of 35 a day. Tomorrow me and Brad are going to Abilene for our last day together to eat somewhere nice and shop for fall clothes.

A Good Day!

I am definitely adjusting well to the fact that both kiddos are in school all day. Yesterday I went with Brad to Witchita Falls(about 2 hours away) to visit one of our members in the hospital there. After our visit we had lunch at Red Lobster(Brad's fav.) and went to the mall and found Carley the cutest pair of boots at Children's Place. Today after I took the kids to school, I came home and cleaned my house and even got my floors mopped. I can definitely get used to this. I like the fact that I get time to just do whatever all by myself. We will see if this last.

Everyone Survived!

Well the first week of school has come and gone and everyone has made it through. Jacob is still acting a bit shy, but he has always been that way until he really learns his environment. I keep asking him if he has any new friends and he keeps telling me no, but last night we went to the football game and this little girl comes up and drags Jacob away and he is running around with her. When he gets back I asked him who that was and he shyly says "Rachel", so I guess he adapting just fine. Carley, as we all know, is fine. She has never met a stranger a day in her life (she definitely gets that from Daddy). When I ask her about friends she says "Timothy, but I don't know if it is a boy or a girl; Lucas who is in my class; and Sunshine(yes Sunshine) who is in another class and is a boy". Now coming from Carley I don't know how much is true, but that is just what she has said. I asked her last night if there were any girls in her class and she said yes and left it at that. I am noticing a dangerous trend here that I hope we get over before 13!
As for the football game, I always knew Texas was big on football, but I never imagined this. I am from Alabama and I thought I had seen it all when it comes to "football crazy", but I was wrong. First of all the school here in Breckenridge is a 3A school and the football stadium is the nicest one I have ever seen. Now keep in mind I was in the band and have seen some awesome stadiums including Hoover, AL and Vestavia Hills, AL, but this beat all I had ever seen. The football field is AstroTurf. I have never seen a high school with an AstroTurf field. They have this giant inflatable green helmet that blows up for the football team to run through when coming onto the field. Our neighbor across the street told Brad one day last week if he didn't plan an going to the football games, he might as well look for another job. I thought she was joking, but now I'm not so sure.
The Principal from South called me in yesterday for an interview for that aids job. he said he wasn't going to interview me, but had such a response that he was going to interview everyone and pick 2. I guess the interview went OK, but I told Brad I don't have a lot of confidence that I'll get it. The first thing he ask is "Where are you from" referring to my accent. I said Alabama and thought great he's probably thinking how can she teach reading with that southern draw. They speak southern here, but it is a little different. He also ask do you like reading? Now we all know the answer to that, but I told him I do like reading self help parenting and marriage books but don't really read any fiction. We will see. I'm not going to be heartbroken if I don't get it, I'll just sub some. Part of me had rather sub, but the insurance part would be really nice. I told brad yesterday I was going to let God decide what he felt was best for me. I have faith that it will work out for the best.

I wanted to add a picture of Brad and the kiddos. I took one the first day of school, but it somehow got deleted, so here is one from today.

We Made It!

The first day of school went GREAT! Jacob was a little worried when we got there, but he did fine. Carley, of course, did fine. She walked right in with a big smile on her face and sit right down. Today when I took them she let go of my hand and went and sat in her seat and never looked back. Today is going to be a little strange for me being here by myself and it being so quite, but I may get use to it.

Ready..Set...

Well we went to Jacob and Carley's school last night for "meet the teacher" night and everything went great, even though I did manage to get a little teary eyed (what in the world will Monday be like). Both of their teachers seem wonderful. They are both fairly young and seem to be great with children. As for the school I was extremely impressed. They are a title 1 school which basically means they get more money to work with. Every morning the kids meet at 8:00 in the lunchroom for a school wide breakfast which the school provides. On Monday the principal is having breakfast for all the parents, she called it her boo hoo session. They have a ton of parent activities through the year including a cookout, ice cream supper, and tons of other things. I had decided yesterday that I would turn in an application for subbing today and got a phone call last night saying that the principal at South Elementary (grades4-6) wanted to speak to me about a teachers aid position, so we will see what happens. I wasn't planning on working full time, but it would be extremely hard to pass up the insurance and retirement since Brad doesn't get any. I have never met him, but he just moved here and is a member of the church and got my name from someone he knows. Me and Brad decided last night to start a yearly tradition of taking the kids to the first day of school and then spending the day together kid free (what in the world will that be like). I will keep you posted and have some pictures of the kiddos first day.

1 Week to Go!

Well it is hard to believe, but my kiddos will start school next Monday! They are both ready to go. They each got a postcard from their new teacher Sat. and then we get to meet them on Thursday night. I've talked to people at church and both of their teachers seem to be really good. (The advantage of living in a small town!) As for me I have no idea what I'll be doing that first week. I'm sure I'll be bored out of my mind. I've thought about maybe substituting some just to maybe get out of the house, but I don't know. I don't want to go back to work right now just because I want that flexibility of being off with the kids. Who knows!!! I'll definitely keep you posted on that. Shoe tying is going GREAT!! They are both doing wonderful and just need to keep practicing in order to get it tighter. I hope everyone is doing well, as for me I'm getting Fall Fever. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year and this weekend has been rainy and cooler, so it makes me very ready for fall!

Well I feel as though I have accomplished a lot so far this week. I finally got the chance to sit down and go through pictures for my scrapbook and finished about 10 pages or so (yeah, I'm that far behind!). I am now working on the kiddos each a mini album (6x6 size) with some of the black and whites that I have. This weekend is our tax free weekend, so I'm planning to go to the vanity fair outlet in Mineral Wells tomorrow. I need to try to find some summer stuff for school since mine have just about ruined everything they already have. Hopefully I can find some cute stuff there CHEAP since we are still paying medical bills from Brad's surgery. Me and Brad have been working with the kids on teaching them to tie their shoes. They are getting there slowly. Note to parents- Shoe tying has become my new hardest thing to do as a parent. Up until now it was potty training, but shoe tying has definitely surpassed that.

Big Weekend!

Well we had a very busy weekend. Friday was Jacob's birthday and we let him pick what he wanted to do. First we went to IHOP to eat. Jacob loves pancakes, so he has decided that is his favorite restaurant. Then we went to see the movie Space Chimps, which was OK. It always cost us more for snacks than for tickets, but since it is a special occassion we have to at least spring for popcorn. After that Jacob wanted to go to Wal-Mart to spend his birthday money. We started out in the toy section and the first thing he picked out was a 97 cent car, that is definitely my child! After about 30 minutes he had managed to spend all his money and we came home to watch a movie and eat pizza with popcorn and M&M's for dessert(for anyone who has not tried that combo it is very good, the perfect combo of salty and sweet!!) Overall we had a wonderful day.

As for the canoe trip on Saturday. I guess it went OK for our first time as we managed to not turn the canoe over and stay afloat. There was an incident where we had all stoped to rest and could hear this horrible screching sound. One of our members looked to see a rattlesnake eating a rabbit!!! Now we all know how I feel about snakes. I jumped in the canoe and told Brad if he was coming he had better get in and we were down the river before I could see anything. Luckily I managed to not see a snake, but I tried to not look too hard. We started on the river at about 9:15 and finished at about 4:00. I have never been so exhausted in all my life. When we got to the end I didn't think I would have the strengh to walk from the boat to the truck. We came home ate supper and went to bed by 8:30. I guess we have somewhat recovered except Brad's neck and knees are sunburned and my tailbone is so sore I can barely sit. It was an experience we will not soon forget!

Almost There!

Well tomorrow is the big day, Jacob turns 7. It is so hard to believe that he has been in this world for 7 years! It seems like a lifetime ago that he was a baby (Becky and Lisa enjoy your girls, they'll be grown before you know it!). It is also hard to believe that I am the parent of a 7 year old-that sounds soooo old! I can say that I am pretty pleased with the way Jacob is turning into such a big boy. He is so not interested in "baby" things anymore and loves to do "big boy stuff". For his birthday tomorrow, he wants to go see the movie Space Chimps and then wants to go eat at IHOP (yes I know-strange child). Then he gets to go spend his birthday money from his grandparents. Last night after church he ask me when would he get to "blow" his birthday money. I will keep you informed on our big weekend coming up and let you know if I survived it!

Monday Monday

Well today is a very typical Monday in the Tate household. I usually start Mondays by catching up on email from the weekend then get started on laundry and cleaning. I have successfully accomplished the email, but haven't quite thought about the other yet. We spent all day Friday in Abilene getting school supplies and school clothes- FUN! I spent $85 on school supplies for Jacob and Carley and am still lacking some special pencils that Jacob needs. That also doesn't include backpacks or lunchboxes which we still have from last year- talk about CRAZY! I was able to find them some clothes this weekend which was a total shocker, especially for Carley since the style is made for those mothers training their children to be street walkers!

Yesterday at church we had a good day. There was a 11 year old girl baptized yesterday which makes 2 baptisms in just a few weeks. That helps Brad so much to feel that he is helping to make a difference in this world we are in. We also got roped into helping with the youth canoe trip Saturday. I have never been canoeing not because I'm scared of water, but scared of what is in it!! We have a babysitter for the kids because we are leaving the church at 7:30 and won't be back until 4:00. The river trail we are taking is 10 miles and I figured that would be too tiring for them. Plus I can't look out for them and worry about the snakes at the same time. Please pray that I do not see a snake and end up dead from a heart attack! I will keep you posted on that. Hope you all have a wonderful week and try to enjoy these last few weeks of summer!

Much Better Days

The last 2 days have been a lot better around the Tate household. Yesterday the kids went swimming at a ladies house a few houses down that goes to church with us. She keeps her 2 grandkids(1 boy and 1 girl) and invited Jacob and Carley over to swim in their kiddy pool for about 2 hours. That worked out perfect! The kids wore themselves out enough that by the time they got home, they didn't have the energy to fight with each other. Today me and Brad have a lunch date with a couple that has visited the church a few times so we can hopefully get to know them better. While we are gone the kiddos are going to Mr. Jim's with one of the teenagers from the youth group. Mr. Jim's is an awesome place here in town. It is a buffet pizza place that has an indoor gym for the kids to play. Everyone needs a Mr. Jim's! It has still been extremely hot here the last few days( I guess I spoke too soon in the first post). Tuesday night we were watching the news at 10:00 and the temperature was 98 degrees. I can't say I've ever seen it 98 degrees at 10:00 at night, but anyhow it is Texas so I have been expecting it. Tomorrow Brad is off, so we are going to Abilene to shop for school supplies-FUN! Wish me luck since this is the first year I will be buying supplies for 2. It is hard to believe time is going so fast!

Ready for school!

School starts here in 4 weeks and I am very ready! Not to wish my kiddos childhood away, but they are extremely board with the summer and driving me crazy. I just spent an hour cleaning a broken lightbulb up out of Jacob's room. He and Carley decided to play star wars and hit one of the lightbulbs in the ceiling fan with a light saber. We all know how much glass can come out of a little lightbulb. Thank goodness for my kirby vacuum that I felt was way too expensive 10 years ago! It has been too hot the last couple of days to play outside(yesterday was 109), so we are getting to the bare wire. If anyone has any ideas on keeping us sane I am very open to suggestions. We have a mall here with a really good play area but it is 50 miles away!

Birthday Party

Well we had the party today and everything went great. I'm so glad it is over as I'm sure all of you other parents can relate. It was nothing special, but the kids had a great time. Now we can prepare for our next big event, which at the time being is Jacob's actual birthday. I usually let the kids pick out what they want to do and make that day all about them. Right now Jacob is planning to see Space Chimps, but that is always apt to change. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Well I made the cake today. It turned out pretty well I thought for it to be my 1st time using fondant. I will post some pictures of it on Monday along with pictures of the kids party. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Life in Texas

Well the 1st thing that everybody ask me is "Is it hot in Texas?" Well the temperature so far stays around 100 degrees, but there is hardly any humidity and there is always a breeze blowing. It really doesn't seem that hot here like it does back home. The church here has been great so far. We have been here about 6 weeks and Brad has baptized 1 person and had 1 person be restored. The people have been great and we are really liking living in a small town. We have been pretty busy since we got here. We had our VBS last week and it went really well, but we were super busy getting everything ready. I'm having the kids a combined birthday party on Saturday. They both wanted Kung Fu Panda, so it was easier to combine and do 1 party instead of 2 separate parties. I'm attempting to make the cake, which should be interesting. I've made their cakes for the last 2 years, but have always used the shaped pan and just piped on the icing. This time I'm making a sheet cake and covering it with fondant and painting it. I just hope it turns out, if not we will be using plan B, cupcakes. I'll keep you updated on the cake situation.

HELLO!!!

Well with so many people in so many different parts of the country, I thought this would be the best way to keep in touch with everyone. Be patient with me for a few weeks until I can get the hang of blogging. I hope you all enjoy getting to glimpse into a little part of our crazy lives.