still here

The past weeks (months?) have been a bit of a blur........preparing for the musical, keeping the classroom going, SURVIVING at home..... but this hurdle is CLEARED and I am happy to report that I came out of it in one piece.

This may sound silly, but this musical has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done. I guess I've had an easy life, haha. But seriously, it was a huge undertaking for me and it is up there as one of my biggest accomplishments. I was absolutely TERRIFIED about directing this, and coming out of it without it being a total disaster was just HUGE for me.

The aftermath? Turning my attention back to my home and family. We have definitely been in survival mode for several weeks. Kids fed, bathed, and wearing clean clothes? The day was a success. Now that spring break is here (YESSSSSSSSS), I am getting the house cleaned to my standards and getting the laundry caught up. I am planning healthier meals and am loving spending several hours a day with my sweet little boys, who just happen to be growing up at an unbelievable pace.

In other news:

- ISSMA (the final hurdle of the year) is in a couple of weeks.

- Mike has accepted a temporary position at our local newspaper. Praise the Lord for consistent income for awhile!!!!!! This is a very long story, but due to the restructuring of the paper, it is very likely that all of their design positions will be eliminated or relocated in 6 months, hence the "temporary" part of this. However, I just have this feeling that this is going to work out and he will end up as a permanent employee there. Very odd for me, as I tend NOT to be an optimistic person. (I'm not a pessimist either, just realistic). Anyway, we are praying hard every day that it works out, but even if it doesn't, we are thankful for the 6 months.

- Patrick SPEAKS! His words: Mama, Nanny, remote, hot shot, shoes, juice, milk, Izzy, hot, Dada. Daniel was on the late side with talking, so the fact that Patrick is saying anything before 18m is just fabulous to me. Oh, and I do know that this is still on the late side for first words, so please no comments about how your 15m old speaks in complete sentences. I know those kids are out there, and I know mine's not one of them. I'm fine with that.