Time is tickin' away, tick tick tickin' away...

Well folks, it has been too long. Time has just gotten away from me and now it is the middle of May. How in the world did that happen? So, what have we been up to? Oh, nothing much, just Timothy in Kindergarten, Madeline trudging through third grade in a new school, Sadie

embracing being two, me running two half-marathons and hmmm… oh yeah, Josh started a law firm. To make a long story short it was his only option that would not only provide for his family (us- not his other family- they are on their own), but would also enable him to practice law the way he envisions it should be. The law firm is off to a great start; we really have been amazed at God’s provision. I was trying to continue to work in real estate and help Josh run the business side of things and it became quite obvious that I could not adequately do both. So, now I am working full-time with Josh. I love doing administrative work (I am serious!) and especially love working with Josh. You know, he is really pretty funny. I am also learning to work in the whole criminal law scene.

It is unlike anything I have ever done. Well, I did work for a seminary for a few years and there are criminals in the Bible- does that count?

Since I have not posted in a bit, I thought I should probably give updates with pics of my offspring. I guess I will start with the eldest and the one with the most amusing stories. Luckily for us things have been pretty even with Madeline this school year. She is in a great classroom where she is able to get a lot of attention and structure. She is blossoming into quite a little lady. I wish I had some pictures to show some of her latest fashions. I guess I will just have to tell you what she wore for Easter. A cute multi-colored striped cotton summer dress, pink and white snow leopard furry vest, rainbow Hello Kitty socks and rhinestone high-heeled shoes. When she showed me her outfit she said, “Don’t these shoes make me look SO grown up?”

Timothy has really helped with my prayer life and running speed. We just keep thinking that surely he cannot get more destructive or surely he will calm down. Not so much. He just keeps growing taller which means he can reach more- this is where my running comes in. I am getting really good at sprinting to catch or prevent something from flying across the room. I think my prayer life has grown so much by having him around- I don’t think I need to expound on this. He did do something super sweet last week. I was gone for a few days and when I came back he was so happy to see me that he kept looking at me and smiling and coming over to sit on my lap (for more than 5 seconds). This, to me, is progress.

Sadie, oh Sadie… I think she is going to give me just as many stories as Madeline. She is such a strong-willed little lady. She is also very funny and smart. I believe she will most definitely help me grow even more as a mother (just when I thought we were going to have an easy one). Right now she is in ballet and absolutely loves it. She talks about going everyday and will even show us some of her moves. Well, the other day I took her and the teacher came out at the end to give us a report. She said that the girls had had a rough time listening today, so she had to start a rewards system. She gave the girls stamps every time they listened well. She said that some got 3, some 2, some1 and even 0 stamps. Well, all of the little girls start pouring out and showing their moms how many stamps they got and Sadie ran to me and showed me her arm- 1 stamp. That’s my girl! I did see the Mom with the little girl who did not get any stamps, I have noticed her before because of how much she looks and acts like Madeline when she was 3. Poor woman. To show you how much I have grown, I could honestly care less how many stamps Sadie got, she is super adorable to me and I now know that my quality as a parent is not measured by stamps.