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!