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.