Our first WIN!!!!!!!

It was an exciting Friday night!!! We finally got our first win - what a good feeling. :) Look at that smile!



I was so glad my father-in-law was there to witness the win too. He hasn't missed a single game all season - even when it was pouring down rain! I stayed home that night, and it was the only game in Jamie's career I've ever missed, with the exception of one other game that took place the day after I had surgery back in November 2007. He's been a real trooper!!



I LOVE this one. If you knew Wes, you'd know that it's so unlike him to pose for a photo. I had to take this one twice, because the flash malfunctioned. He's so good to humor me. :)



The winning score!







My grandmother said she thinks this is the beginning of a winning streak...I sure hope she's right!

Overdue update

I haven't written a decent post in a long time. Things have been busy, but it's mostly been life as usual and I just haven't been in the mood to write. Our football season continues to be an experience in personal growth - we are still looking for our first win. Jamie and I had a really good talk about it recently. I told him that rarely do people grow during the good, easy times. It is the tough times that cause us to examine our lives, count our blessings, and learn things about ourselves that we may not have otherwise learned. I know this has been the case for me over the past few years as we've dealt with infertility. I truly believe Jamie is going to be a better person for having this experience...but it doesn't make it any easier as we are in the midst of things.

Elise had strep throat a few weeks ago and missed a few days of school. The good news is that no one else caught it. The bad news is that she will not get a perfect attendance award for this grading period. On the same day she got strep throat, I came down with pink eye. Weird coincidence.

My maternal grandmother fell and broke her hip a week and a half ago, so mom has been in Georgia since then. She had surgery the day following her fall and is thankfully recovering well. She is having a lot of pain, but seems to be healing on target with the doctor's expectations. Mom is going to bring her home to be with us as soon as she is cleared to travel. I suspect she will be at mom's through the rest of this year, and I am looking forward to helping as much as I can. At times like these I long to be a lottery winner, because I wish I could be available for my family on a more consistent basis. Alas, I will have to keep working until I pick the lucky numbers. I'm anxious for them to be here. I don't think I've gone this long without seeing my mom since college!

Halloween is less than 2 weeks away, and we all have costumes this year! Jamie and I were invited by Candace & Jeremy to a Halloween party. It's been years since I've dressed up, so I am looking forward to it. We will be able to take Elise trick-or-treating, then head out to our party a bit later. I hope the weather cooperates with us - I'm putting in my order for a cool, clear evening. :)

As the close of football season nears, I am beginning to think about baseball. This will be my first season as a head coach's wife, so it will be a new experience for me as well as Jamie. I wonder what adventures lie ahead...hopefully it will be a positive thing for us.

I know it's only October, but I've started the Christmas shopping. I have fallen victim to the Zhu Zhu Pet craze. It's quite silly, because I don't think Elise even knows what they are! But they are already sold out everywhere and going for two to three times retail price on eBay, and supposedly they are the "must have" toy for this Christmas. I fail to see the huge appeal, but nonetheless I stalked Wal Mart and Toys R Us until I had a full set with accessories. I've also been able to pick up some extras to help out friends who couldn't find them in their towns. I still can't figure out why I just HAD to have them. I also have the dress-up trunk underway (this will be Elise's Santa gift this year). I've got it about 1/3 - 1/2 way full, and will hopefully complete it when costumes go on sale after Halloween. I have an idea for Jamie's gift, which I am keeping under wraps for now...I know he reads this! ;)

So, in summary - sickness, adversity, holiday madness, surgery...did I say earlier that it was just life as usual?? Okay, maybe not! But really - isn't that what life is all about?

Ah, I do love this song

"I'm not who I was..."

Our Fairy

He should have been a hunting dog!

We've bought a multitude of toys for the dogs over the past couple of years. Dexter is strictly a rawhide bone dog - he could care less about anything else. Bailey loves stuffed animals - but not just any animal. He loves stuffed ducks. He can actually tell the difference between a duck and other animals. It's hysterical, and we've been through more stuffed ducks with him than I can even begin to count. Sometimes it's funny to imagine him in a duck blind. I think he would have been really good at it. :)

Pumpkin Patch

Pictures from our annual trip to the pumpkin patch!

A reader in the making!

Elise got her first book order back recently. She was so excited to have a bunch of new books to read. I thought it was pretty cute when I went to tuck her in and found her sleeping with all her books. I emailed the picture to her teacher and told her that she is creating quite the avid reader. :) She got a kick out of it as well.

Donuts with Dudes

Elise's school had Donuts with Dudes last week. I had to snap a quick photo before Jamie left to have breakfast with our little love at school. She was soooo excited that "Coach" was going to have breakfast with her. After they ate, Jamie got to walk her to her classroom. They both really enjoyed it.

My Loves and Puppy Loves

Bailey tickling Elise's toes :)

My birthday and fall decorations

I'll be another year older in a few days! We had a nice family dinner last night (thanks, mom!).

My birthday cupcakes



And the most awesome present ever! LOVE IT!



And a few pictures of our fall decorations. I don't do a ton, but I love fall and Halloween, so I like to put out a few things. :)

Transitions

I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I haven't been writing much lately...probably due to all the thinking! ;)

Our family is in such a transitional period right now. Obviously we have Jamie's new job, Elise starting school, etc. But I feel like there are other transitions taking place that are more beneath the surface and less apparent. For a while now I have started to feel the transition from life with a baby/toddler to life with an older child. All of a sudden I feel like I have time again. Elise is quite self-sufficient (she even showers on her own now!), and I've gained back time that I used to spend on more intense childcare. My house is a lot cleaner, we always have groceries, I am cooking a lot more, the laundry is almost never behind - heck, I have even bought about half the Christmas gifts already! It's nice in many ways, but it's also a bit disconcerting to me. I'm not sure why, but I guess it's because I feel less needed and almost don't know what to do with myself. I was standing in the kitchen earlier tonight while Elise was in the shower. I've already done the grocery shopping for the week. The house is basically clean. All the laundry is done. We had eaten dinner. There was nothing to do. And it was a bad feeling.

I know I should be thankful to be in this place. There have been many times over the past 5 years when I have felt completely frazzled and longed for boredom! But now that I'm getting a slight reprieve, I don't know how to handle it. The thought occurred to me that I should pick up some of my old hobbies again. But my main hobby was working out, and that still doesn't fit back into the schedule very nicely, because I do not like to be gone during Elise's waking hours in the evenings...and I am not liking the idea of working out later at night either because it keeps me awake. Honestly, I work too much to form many hobbies or make many friends outside of work.

I just find myself wandering around the house a lot these days and feeling a bit lost. It scares me a little, because I need to find myself again. Elise is growing and growing, and someday she will move out on her own. Being a mom is a huge part of who I am, but it can't be the only thing I am. At this rate, I am scared to become an empty-nester! Wow, I will really feel lost then.