Amazing!

As time marches by, I am constantly reminded of how AMAZING McKade is! He is SO smart! I am so lucky to have been blessed with this wonderful little boy!! Thank you GOD!!!

McKade seems more and more "grown" every day. He is learning to speak properly, learning letters, numbers, and how to interact in society! He is writing the letter H! Why H? I have no idea, but it is the one he asked me to show him. I enjoy every second that I have with him and I never want to imagine life without him!

I just had to take a minute to share with everyone - I LOVE MCKADE SO MUCH!! He was fast asleep tonight when we got home... he never even grunted when I put him in the bed over an hour ago. Now as I sit here and watch him sleep, I know there is nothing on Earth more special than this! I love being McKade's Mommy!!

What a weekend!!

I have been stressed about this weekend for several weeks for all of these reasons:

• My three classmates and I have been working since the beginning of the year to plan and host our 10 year class reunion that was Saturday night!
• I helped to host my friend Stefanie's baby shower that was also on Saturday!
• I have been working on a MAJOR project that counted for 1/2 of my grade in my capstone course - project due Tuesday!
• I have an additional exam in the very same capstone course due by Friday!

All of these things coming together at once were rather nerve wracking! On Friday I made the pasta salad that was served at the reunion. Thanks to my friend Heather - the recipe was a hit! I also assembled my cheese ball for the shower. Miranda, Stephanie, Lee Ann, & I, along with a few others, decorated for the reunion and I showed up after the decorating was done to Stefanie's to drop off the baby shower supplies! Saturday couldn't have been better!! The baby shower was perfect! The class reunion was perfect! I think most everyone enjoyed themselves! I got caught up with some of the best friends ever!!

Today, between playing with McKade and trying to clean in the house, I have managed to bake for Austin, complete my project, AND take my final test - MY FINAL TEST EVER!!!

I feel like such a weight has been lifted from me! I feel truly blessed!

First week of summer!

Happy Summer everyone! Summer officially kicked off this week - Monday, June 21  to be exact. The start of summer for me almost directly aligns with the start of a new life. Near the end of Spring, I brought a much needed end to a relationship. As many of you may already know, Heath and I are no longer together. I will skip the nauseating details and cut to the chase. McKade and I moved out on May 7. He is doing great and I am actually able to sleep again. It is amazing how much our stress load has improved in the past 7 weeks. This chapter of my life will close this summer. I no longer question my best judgements. I don't wonder anymore if my decisions are being made for the best - I know they are. Here are some of the things that I am going through just in the first week of summer.

• Monday, June 21 - Happy Summer! Sad day at work. Today was my last day with some of the best people that anyone could ever work with. This was the final hours of my 7 on/7 off shift that I have been working with for the past 7 years. All of you know who you are and you are the best friends and coworkers anyone could ask for.
• Wednesday, June 23 - First "court" date. The first divorce hearing got underway. It should have been for temporary fixtures in the divorce such as temporary custody and child support. Instead it was a little more involved than that and we almost had to go before the Judge. The agreement was made. And the afternoon was spent swapping things back and forth.
• Thursday, June 24 - McKade's trampoline is now at our new home. I spent the morning washing the urine (I hope dog urine) off of the trampoline springs that were tied inside a plastic bag. That speaks a lot for character doesn't it? The trampoline is up now, only missing one spring. I'm not worried about it. Either it will turn up or I can order a replacement. I now plan to spend the afternoon getting my truck ready for Florida! Is it a little ironic that I have to get an oil change?
• Friday, June 25 - I begin my new shift at work. I know who I will be working with and they are all great people. With time I will get used to my new hours and my new coworkers and they will become "family" just like the folks on the opposite 7. I'm a little whiney, but I do get to see the dayshift techs all the time. I am going to LOVE my new hours! Also, who knows! Maybe I can swap to a traditional day job when one opens up! Then I will get the pleasure of working with everyone!
• Friday, June 25 - Today temporary visitation begins. I will drop McKade off at daycare and he will spend the weekend with his dad. He will be dropped off back at daycare on Monday morning. McKade has never spent many nights away from me. I hope he does fine. I know I will not sleep the same without him.
• Saturday, June 26 - Beach vacation countdown begins! Yes, that's right! McKade and I are going to the beach one week from this day! My sweet baby asks me daily, "Mom, is it summer?" When I say "Yes", he says "During the summer we get to go to the beach." This is heartbreaking when you think you will be unable to go. But thanks to my sister & extra room, we will be headed down to check the oil out for ourselves!!

So - there's my first week of summer at a glance. It very bittersweet. The summer will also be my very last semester at Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences. Who knows what else it may hold! All I know is that if I have handled this week, I can deal with the next weeks to come. God is with me and my family is behind me. I can accomplish almost anything.

A friend from school ends all communications with "PEACE". I started replying to that with "HAPPYNESS" playing off of the movie title "In Pursuit of Happyness". However, I feel that at least for now all of my communications will end in HAPPINESS. It is one thing that we should all work towards. There is nothing that brings joy to my life more than McKade, my family, and my dear friends. I already have happiness, so now it is time for me to remember it!!

HAPPINESS

Rain...

It's late (again) and I know I should be asleep, but I love to sit and listen to the rain. I have the window cracked. The splatter of water from the waterfall in the back yard water garden is relaxing all by itself. I've been listening to it since I made Heath go to bed at 1:00 AM. Now my peaceful sounds are almost being drowned out by the splatter of big raindrops on the house and yard. I love those big splattery drops too. The thunder and lightening caught me by suprise. I didn't realize that a couple of those flashes and booms were going to be so close. Nature wanted my attention; it got it!! I'm so thankful that Spring is here!

I kept McKade home from daycare today. We had Mommy & Mc day. He insisted on Burger King for lunch. He is the nosiest person alive. I took him for a haircut. No more looking like Paul McCartney for McKade. He actually dozed off a couple of times while Mrs. Beth Ann cut his hair. It was quite funny. I let him out of the carseat to sit on the "hunk" while we drove through the carwash. My sweet child is going to be easily amused like Mommy! We both watched in amazement as the car was cleaned in a matter of minutes. McKade watched the carwash gadgets, the water sprays, and the different colors of soapy stuff and yelled "I wanna do it again!" as soon as we drove out. On the other hand, my amazement stemmed from the wonder in the eyes of a 3 year old from a simple drive through the carwash. I'm going to have to remember the carwash trick. That could be a cheap reward. Who needs toys when you can clean the car and entertain your child!

Our friends' baby, Eli Kent, is heavy on my mind this morning as I get ready to take a "nap" before getting up for the long day ahead of me. If you will, stop a moment and send up a prayer for Eli, his parents, Nicky & Alisha Kent, and sister, Kylee. www.caringbridge.org/visit/elikent

It was so easy!

It looks like I have catching up to do! That's what I get for not posting since August!

Let's see... quickly... School has been a blur! I'm taking 12 hours this semester!! WHOA! Thanksgiving flew by; I was working. (Thankful to have a job, as many don't!) McKade turned the big 3 in December! Scooby Doo Party. We had a great Christmas & enjoyed the mountains with my niece, Shelby. Back to work for New Year's Day! No major sickness in our household this winter! The little bit of snow we got was awesome! McKade is now a pro at sledding. Which reminds me that I have still not seen pictures that Sandy made. (Yes, work again.) Papaw Brown's 95th birthday was in February. We had him a party at Fawn Grove Baptist Church; Papaw is STILL talking about all of the guests that he hasn't seen in years. 95 years is amazing! Heath got me a pair of Tom's shoes for Valentine's. Yes, they're ugly. Yes, they are the most comfortable thing I've ever put on my feet. Yes, I wear them in public. I can't believe that March is here already! 2010 is in full swing, Mc is growing way TOO fast! Three classes left to take this summer and I will have earned my Bachelor's degree in Radiologic Sciences!

McKade has has recently swapped to the 3-year-old room at WeeCare! Every day he comes home with new words and sentences. His coloring is AMAZING! A couple of years and he will be coloring better than me! I taught him to fly a kite a couple of weeks ago! Here are the pics:

Look how happy he is! He got it into the air himself!

Spidey kite! Go Mc!

McKade is such a little man! I love him! I recently bought him a stuffed animal in the hospital gift shop. I didn't expect much, but it was a prize for his good behavior. We refer to the stuffed dog as the Swirley Dog. He has never been much for stuffed animals, but he is sleeping with Swirley Dog every night and is no longer waking up to crawl around on the bed looking for me. Hence, I'm getting to blog uninterrupted!

I've been doing some "growing up" as well & have decided that it is time for him to learn to sleep alone. Even though (when Heath is on nights) I dread being all the way on the other end of the house without him - I know that he will sleep much better without me. I'm going to close tonight's rambling with a few pics from the last few weeks!

Pictured Above: McKade in his own bed with Swirley Dog, of course!

Literally, MIDNIGHT snack.

My little devil. (He claims that his hair is making dog ears!)