It Must Run in the Family

Just a quick note to show y'all a little evidence to prove once and for all that being a chocolate lover is something you are born with. No doubt about it... So many people tell us over and over again how much Tate takes after Brad - and I have to agree. They do look an awful lot alike. However, my little Tater LOVES his chocolate and that, my friends, is all ME!

Back to the Grind

So it's official... school is back in session. For the past two years, I haven't dreaded starting the school year that much because I only worked three days a week. There's not much to complain about when Wednesday is your "Friday," you know? But as many of you know, my school district decided to change some things, including getting rid of "job shares" - which is what my position was considered. So I was given two choices: take the position full-time or resign. It really wasn't a hard decision, because I love the job and want to keep it, especially since Tate will hopefully be coming with me to school in just a couple of years.

So here we are on day three of a new school year. It's always good to see everyone and I have to admit, I miss my kiddos over the summer... Okay, so not ALL of them, but a lot of them! I've been busy with first week of school "housekeeping" and stuff. And because my room is located in the kindergarten hallway, I get the chance to be around all those little babies during their first experiences at school. I've overheard lots of things that crack me up...

A kiddo was lost in the hallways and said to his friend, "Oops, wrong alley."

Another kid was lost and when I asked him who his teacher was, he replied with tears in his eyes, "Mrs. Wiggles." "You mean Mrs. Wiggins?" I asked him.

Within the first five minutes of being in class on the first day, a kid ran up to his teacher (who was talking to some parents of another child) and yelled out, "I don't want to sit by that girl! She SMELLS!" Nice.

At lunch, a little one had the following conversation with a brand new teacher:
Do you have a husband?
No.
Do you have a kid?
No.
Do you have a baby?
No.
Do you have a dog?
No.
...Well... do you have a hamster???"

Ahhh, the joy of five year olds...

Anyway, good luck to all the kids heading back to school... And for those of you in Plano, only 176 more days left - not that I'm counting.

Love to y'all,
Tracy

D.O.N.E.

WHOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!! The floors are done!!! With the help of some amazing friends, Brad got done putting the floors down a couple days ago and this weekend was spent doing the finishing work and a heck-of-a-lot of cleaning. UGH. But the important thing is that all the hard work is done and now we can enjoy the fruits of our labor. FINALLY.

We still have to get everything back on the walls and continue cleaning the floors because the dust is still finding it's way back, but for the most part, we are now able to relax. I love the way the floors look (sooooo much better than the old ones) - they're much more our style.

I'm so thankful for all the hard work Brad put in to make this all happen as quickly as he did. As soon as he'd get home from work, he'd get started and usually come to bed around 1:00 every night for the past ten days or so. Needless to say, it's been a long month and boy am I glad it's over!

Love to y'all,
Tracy

Fifteen Weeks

I just wanted to write a quick update about my pregnancy... I'm about fifteen weeks now. I'm still feeling pretty good, except I've noticed my patience is not quite what it used to be (and it needed some work to begin with) - although I'm not sure if this is hormone-related or just three-year-old-little-boy-related if you catch my drift...

I went to the doctor this morning. The baby's heartbeat sounded great and I'm measuring right where I should be at this point. Because of the heart problems that Nash had, my next round of appointments will be a little different than a "normal pregnancy." I'll have a Level 2 sonogram at a perinatologist's office in a couple weeks and then a fetal echocardiogram of our baby's heart at a pediatric cardiologist's office a couple weeks after that. Please, please keep our little one in your prayers as the results of these appointments should tell us a lot.

Okay, better go... a certain little boy "NEEDS" some apple juice. Deep breath... Ahhhh......

Love to y'all,
Tracy

Why?

Of course I have a million questions surrounding what our family has endured over the past thirteen months. But the question of "why?" pops into my mind more often than I'd like to admit. I know that I will never get the answer to this, and most days I accept this for what it is. But this summer, I have found myself asking this question not only about me, but about many of closest friends as well. This morning I found myself asking it yet again, with some terrible news I received from a good friend.

For the sake of privacy, I won't go into details about any of my friends' situations, but I know three amazing women that all found out they were expecting in the past couple of months. These women all come from different heartbreaking circumstances of losing other children and then had regained hope with the news of their upcoming miracles. Their joys were short-lived when they lost their precious babies before they got the chance to hold them in their arms.

Any person's heart breaks for these friends of mine. And I wish there was something I could do to help them through this horrible time. I just feel like saying, "Enough is enough!" Why do things like this happen to these wonderful families, whose only desire is to have healthy children? I just don't get it... as I'm sure, they don't either.

It's a very scary realization that no matter how hard life is, no matter how many tears you've cried, or how many pieces your heart has broken into, you are still suseptible to more heartache. It's not like there's some master list, where once you have dealt with the most unbearable pain of losing a child, you are now immune to having other terrible things happen to you.

So please, please pray for the healing of my friends. Pray they find moments of peace and comfort. I know their little ones have now joined their siblings in heaven and they are all watching over their mommies and daddies.

Love to y'all,
Tracy