Life As We Know It

I can not believe it is almost the end of September! I can not even really remember what went on this summer and now it is almost fall. I will admit that I am loving the cooler weather and warmer drinks (had my first pumpkin spice latte this evening) and fall is my favorite season, but it just seems like time goes by so fast and before I know it, it will be Christmas and then we will be looking into the face of summer vacation again.

Ever since school and work started back up again I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day for me to get everything accomplished that I want to get done. I have been getting up earlier to kick start my morning with some time in God's Word, a bit of exercise and just because I didn't want to be rightontime or late this year for work. I really hated slipping in the door or showing up to class five minutes late. I want to be regarded as someone that values others' time and my goal for the year is to be on time. So far so good.

The benefits of taking time to be quiet before the Lord and His Word each day has allowed me to focus on the important versus the urgent. I can tell when I haven't spent time to reflect and refocus in the mornings and it has not been pretty. My husband, kiddos and even I deserve better.

Also, I am starting to see the results of doing some toning exercises each day and really think it inspires me to  be active later in the day as well. My counselor encouraged me to be active and exercise because it is right and good for my body, not just to lose weight and be thinner. There are more benefits to being active than a smaller size pair of jeans. Although, the smaller size is going to fit nicely some day soon.

The kiddos are adjusting quite well to school - Cody is enjoying getting out at 10:30 AM and being able to work in the afternoons. He is starting to look at his options for school and even contemplating joining the military as an Army ranger. He is also hoping to have his license by December. It is hard to believe that in just a few short months he will be graduating.

Kari loves being among the oldest kiddos in elementary school - the 5th graders. She is a safety this year, as well as on the student council. She is continuing with her violin lessons and will be in chorus again. I was hoping she would apply for the performing and visual arts middle school, but she has decided to attend the feeder school and wants to be part of the orchestra and chorus there next year.

Noah is adjusting to the big changes in 3rd grade and is starting to settle into his own groove. He receives letter grades this year and is enjoying seeing As and Bs on his graded papers. He is taking violin lessons as well and can not wait to play in the winter concert with Kari. He is going to sign up to play basketball this fall and is really excited that he will get to jump and shoot.

Rick is working with two middle school students this year and I have a 2nd grader and 4th grader I am assisting. Rick's 7th grade student is much more challenging then his student last year, so he is adjusting to that as well as plugging along with school, coming up on his last two semesters before student teaching. I am so proud of him and can not wait to see him graduate!

I just completed my first ever 5K and am so happy I was able to do it!  I figured out that I am not a fan of running without a purpose, but enjoyed raising money for the clinic and spending the morning with Rick. He is a much better runner than me and I can see him participating in more 5Ks than I do.

So, that's life as we know it right now...school, work, trying to take better care of ourselves, hoping to make a difference.

Too bad I don't have any pictures to go with this post.