The Newest Member of the Family

I got the best Christmas present ever!!! I have wanted a Yorkie for a very long time and I got one for Christmas. Her name is Ellie. She has settled in quite nicely. And by the way, she is spoiled rotten!

I forgot how hard it is to try and train a dog. All day today it's been pouring down rain, so I am trying to use puppy pads. It's not working too well. Anyway, Ellie is absolutely adorable!

It is finished!

As of this evening, I have finished my class on Operations and Productions Management. I can't tell you all how excited I am to be finished!! I should end up with a decent B. I'm am SO relieved!

Now I have almost an entire month off before I start a very hectic semester. I will be in class 3 nights a week starting in January. If y'all know any good people who clean houses- I would love to hear from you! Between work and school next semester, I'm not sure I will have time to sleep, much less clean my house. Ha! Seriously, if you know of anyone, let me know.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

A Week Off!

Well, I get a week off from school. I've had 3 tests and only have 2 to go!! I am so ready for this class to be over. I am pulling a B, but it's just barely a B. I'm trying not to be too concerned about it. After the 2nd week in December, I will get a month off before I start a VERY insane semester in the spring.

Lexi got her glasses and within 24 hours, they broke!!! I called Todd's office and they had Lexi come in. They discovered the lab cut the lenses wrong and so they had to send them back. So, hopefully we will have them back on Wednesday. I can tell a huge difference when she is not wearing them.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

My baby's gettin' glasses!

For those of you who are here in Bentonville and are around Lexi much, know that she has had issues with her eyes. Both of her eyes drift off and on due to the muscles in her eyes not working properly. When she was 3 or 4, she had to have surgery for this problem. So, this week my mom took her to see Dr. Todd Hook ( our friend from church) and he said that she has to have glasses. This should help keep her eyes focused.

Lexi is ecstatic! Her mama isn't, but I also don't want her to go through all the eye issues I've had my entire life!!!

Dr. Todd told us she will more than likely have to have surgery again, but he wants to put it off as long as possible. We will probably wait until her preteen/teen years to do it.

On another note, I took my second test online and still didn't do very well. I'm pretty frustrated, but I only have 3 more tests to go. LOL! This class will be over soon and then I can move on.

Have a good week. I can't believe the holidays are right around the corner!

What have I gotten into???

Well, I started my online class (which I've never done before) and I think I've lost it! I definetely learn better by seeing and doing, not reading! I turned in my first test which was over 3 chapters (108 pages) and made a C!!! Grrr! I don't have a clue what I am doing! It's been a rough week for me anyway, so this certainly didn't help. Pray for my sanity! I guess we'll try again next week when I take my next test. The work load is actually not much for this class, it just helps me to talk about the material because I learn better that way.

Enough whining... Hopefully the next will be better!

1 down, and who knows how many to go!

Well, I have officially finished my first class at Harding. I ended up with a 96%!!! I am in the middle of my PE class (Ha! I still smile every time I think about it). Today, I signed up for another class at NWACC. This spring, I will be taking SPANISH!! Yikes! I took it for 2 years in High School, but we all know how long ago that was :).

Today has been a really rough day! Work stuff... It's along story that I won't bore you with. Anyway, I guess that's about it. I'll write again soon.

It's almost over!

Well, this week will be my last class for Business Leadership. I have really enjoyed this class. I think I'm going to pull an A!!! A little drama...I was working on my last Powerpoint presentation and all of a sudden my screen goes black! I'm thinking-Oh crap! What now? Well, I shut it off and restarted it...NOTHING!!! I called my friend Brian. He said to bring it over. He dumped everything on his hard drive so that I didn't lose anything. After church today, I had to go shopping for a new computer. It's not exactly what I wanted to do, but I didn't have a choice! My sweet brother-in-law, Andy, went with me and then came over and took everything off my old computer and put it on my new one. I worked really hard and got my presentation done. Now, I just have to write a 5 page paper. (Ha!...just!!!)

P.E.- It still cracks me up that I am 33 years old and have to take a PE class! I am going to World's Gym 3 times a week and have to fill out a card on what I did and have someone sign it. I AM SOOOO SORE!!! I was doing so good working out at the beginning of the year with my mom and then when I started my job at Wal-Mart, I got out of the habit. I wish I wouldn't have stopped. I am paying for it now! :)

Last thing tonight... Please pray for my friend Shannon and her husband, Michael. They have tried for years to have a baby and they are in the process of adopting a precious little girl! It sounds like she could come anytime! They have faced so much heartache over the past few years. It's such an answer to pray that this baby is almost here. Please pray for peace, a healthy baby and birth mother, and joy for them that they have never imagined.

God bless you all and have a great week! I'll let you know my final grade after next weekend!

2 more weeks!!

I can't believe I only have two weeks left of my first class. I have managed to keep an A in the class. I did my first presentation last week and of course, my jump drive decided not to work! Man, that threw me for a loop! I made it through though and got a 49 out of 50 on it! Two more presentations and a 5 page paper to write. Next 6 weeks I am doing an on-line class. I also start my Kinesiology class at NWACC. I know, can you believe it- P.E! It only lasts 8 weeks. I'm pretty nervous about the on-line class. I've never done one before. I just keep thinking-I can do anything for 6 weeks.

Work is going pretty well. I am actually hoping to get a promotion. I have applied for 2 other positions in our department, so say a prayer for me. I really love working in the Ethics office. I work with a lot of really great people!

Lexi has been on break. She loves this part of year-round school! She's stayed with my parents, Dustin's parents, and even went to work with Dustin. She goes back on Monday the 27th. Have I mentioned how grateful I am to have family around? What a Godsend!

95%!!!

Well, it's been about 13 years since I've had to take a "real" test that I get a grade on. I must say I am pretty proud. I scored a 95% on my first test in Business Leadership! 1 down, 3 to go! My first presentation is in 2 weeks- I'm a little worried. It's not the talking part, it's building a good PowerPoint presentation. I've never had to do this before! I know that sounds crazy in this day and time, but I just haven't been put in a place where I have needed to do it.

This week, I am meeting with an advisor at NWACC to help me figure out when I need to take the rest of my classes. I have about 18 hours I will have to take from there. Six of those hours are Global Literacy. I know, you are probably thinking,"What is that"? Well, in a nutshell- I am going to have to take SPANISH!!! Can you learn a foreign language at my age? Ha! Well, I guess we will see. One of my bosses from work wants to take it with me and so does another guy I work with. I think that will make it fun! So, starting next semester, I will be going to class more than one night a week. And so the journey continues...

My Beautiful Baby Girl

Here is Lexi's 8 year old picture. Isn't she gorgeous? I know- she doesn't look 8, does she? She is an all around kind of girl! She loves to ride motorcycles and she also loves to play dress up.

Lexi is in the 3rd grade at Elm Tree Elementary. She really enjoys school. Her teacher is fantastic! I must say- 3rd grade is HARD compared to the other grades. I hear that from here on, it only gets harder. Lexi is a great student, though. She was chosen this year to be an ambassador at her school. This means when new students come in, she befriends them, shows them the ropes, and helps them out. She is such a mother hen anyway, so this is the perfect job for her!

I survived! (I think)

This past Thursday was my first class. After a full day of panic attacks, (HA HA!) I got there and things weren't too bad. I think I'm really going to enjoy the discussions in class. I have 3 presentations to make, a take home test every week, and several chapters to read. The book is not very interesting to read, but it is interesting to discuss. There are only 15 in the class- I really like that part! I think these 6 weeks are going to go by fast and then it will be on to the next class. Keep me in your prayers- this is going to be quite a journey! Thanks!

What a week!

This week has already been rough. As most of my blog readers know (all 5 or 6 of you), a wonderful man from our church was killed this weekend in an auto accident. I attended the visitation last night and I have never seen anything like it! I really believe there were over 1,000 people who attended his visitation. We stood in a line for literally 3 hours to be able to give our condolences to the family. For those of you that don't know the Carter/Howell family, they are the type of people who have made a tremendous impact on thousands of people! Malcolm Howell was such a down to earth, gentle, sweet man who has a wonderful wife and 2 beautiful daughters! Please pray for these families as they grieve and try to heal.

Well, this Saturday will be the 9 year anniversary of our son, Braeden's death. I can't believe it's been 9 years! Being at the visitation last night flooded so many memories and feelings! When I hugged the family, I was so overwhelmed with sadness, I couldn't control the tears. They actually told me how hard it must be for me to be there. Wow! How do I respond? I just hugged them and told them I would always be here if they needed to talk.

Some days I ask all the "what if's". I still want to know why I lost my baby boy. Why did Stephanie, Katherine, and Emma lose such a wonderful husband and father? I am baffled at why we as Christians go through so many horrible things in our lives. My friend Shannon and her husband, Michael, have been through so many heartaches in trying to have children, and now trying to adopt. Satan is so prevalent in this world! I have some other friends who are dealing with their teenage daughter who is severely depressed and often suicidal. What did we all do? We are good people- we don't deserve this! I am reminded daily of all my christian friends who have dealt with insurmountable heartache. Cancer, death, finances, children- is there no limit to what Satan won't hit us with?

I'm sorry for rambling. Please pray for our family, for the Howell's and Carter's, the Holman's, the Thompson's, the Lindsley's- I could go on and on. Satan wants us to believe that there is no God, or that He has abandoned us, or maybe that God is punishing us.

One more week until school. Yikes!

It's Official

Well, I am officially re-enrolled at Harding. My first class starts on September 25th. The cool thing is that I will be taking this class with several people from church! I hope it will help calm my nerves. I'm still waiting for the complete audit on my transcripts. I'm a little bummed because it looks like I am going to have to take more classes than what I thought. I'm trying to take my mom's advise to take it all in small bites and not try to figure it ALL out right now. I am very much a "big picture" kind of gal, but I am trying to slow down. I need to realize that I don't HAVE to finish in 18 months or less, it's just what I want. I will not be a failure if it takes me longer. My bosses at work are SO supportive! That helps tremendously!

On another note, I hope to have our family picture posted soon. I am waiting to get them back from the photographer and then I will scan it and put it on the blog. I think it turned out really good this year. It's the first one we've had done since Lexi was five! We were definitely due for a new one!

Please keep our family in your prayers as I start school. Thank you!

A HUGE step

For those of you that don't know, I am about to go back to school! I must say I am scared to death, but it's something I have wanted to do for a long time and just thought I couldn't (for many reasons). Life is about to get pretty crazy around here. I wonder- Can I do this? Can I be a mom, a wife, a full-time employee, AND a student?

There have been many people in my life who have encouraged me at one time or another to do this. Well, now's the time. As soon as all the application details are finished, I should start on September 25th. I am going to attend Harding University's Degree Completion Program here in Bentonville. Once I graduate, I will have a Bachelor of Arts in Leadership and Management. The program is still fairly new. The first class graduates this December. There are a couple of people from our church that will graduate then. Harding offers one on-ground class and 3 or 4 on-line classes every six weeks. It should take me 18 months or less to finish. I already have over 70 hours of college under my belt. I will have to take 2 or 3 classes from NWACC (our local community college) because I never took a history class (YUCK!). I might have to take a foreign language as well. We aren't sure about that one yet. All my previous transcripts are still being audited.

Please pray for me and my family during this huge endeavor! It wouldn't hurt every once in a while to remind me that I CAN do this! :)

This is a first...

Well, I am branching out into the blogging world. I've wanted to do it for quite some time, but have been too chicken to try it. Bare with me. I have no idea what I am doing. All of you bloggers out there-I will take all the helpful hints you can give me. I would love to make my blog look as cool as some of yours out there. I will give this a try and see how it goes. Check in often- I will try to blog at least once a week.