Anticipation

I feel like there are a lot of things in my life that I have either been looking forward to or dreading right now.  Since the summer I have been planning on the boys being back to school and Aubrey working on home school preschool.  Things have been going well for all but I do fear that Aubrey will be ill prepared for Kindergarten next fall.  I realize that preschool is mostly about socializing so we have Aubrey in several other activites including dance class, church groups, and story hour.  The boys are both doing well in their new grades and Hayden, as expected, has had no trouble adjusting to his new school. 
I took the summer semester off of school for myself and it was nice to not think about homework or classes during that time.  I have been fast forwarding to December in my mind a lot and thinking about the joy of graduation!  My final class is now half done and things are going ok.  Several items and tests have not been graded yet so I am unsure of how accurate my midterm grade of A is.  My goal was just to complete this class and graduate but now I realize that I need to give this class some more effort.  I am working to do this even though it is a class I would not have chosen to take on my own.  I realize that knowing a second language can be very beneficial and I do not know what the future holds so I may use it at some point, if I manage to remember any of it! 
We also have a big trip coming up after Thanksgiving.  We are going back to Orlando, this time with my in-laws.  I am a little nervous about the flight, I will be fine and hope my kids will do well again.  It will be the first time flying for my father in-law and niece and nephew.  I am also a little nervous about someone driving a 15 passenger van around while we are there.  I am super excited to go back to Disney and Sea World again and go to Legoland for the first time.  I know we are going to have a great time together and make lots of memories.  It will be a busy week but totally worth it.  The count-down is on at our house - 5 weeks and 2 days or 37 days!!
October has flown by, along with Hayden's 10th birthday.  I struggle at a mom with my children growing up so quickly.  I am so glad they are all healthy and growing but it is hard to watch sometimes.  It seems like we just brought Aubrey home from the hospital and now she is 4 1/2!  I am dreading her heading off to school full time next fall and the boys are just getting so big!  The fact that we have no more babies, and wont be, is set in and makes me a little sad at times. 
Many people ask me what I plan to do with my degree once I graduate and I honestly have no idea!  Earning my bachelors degree has been a goal of mine for a while and I had already put so much work into it that it just made sense to me to finish it while I was off work.  God has graciously provided for us during this time and I will graduate with no student loan debt.  The idea of looking for a job and working again is very stressful and I haven't even started anything!  I struggle with whether or not I should look for more families to provide daycare for or if I should reenter the workforce in another way.  I am sure that God will provide what he knows is best for me and our family when the time comes. 
I have been working on myself a lot this year and am happy to share that I have lost 25 pounds and kept if off over the summer.  I would like to lose 5-10 more pounds but want to make sure I do it the right way.  I have been with Advocare this year and also started Zumba on our xBox 360.  I am also in a Bible study group at church called Fit for Life.  We exercise and then do a Bible study, right now we are going through One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  It is am amazing journey and I highly recommend it to all.  I have started my gratitude list and am more aware of all the gifts around me. 

Fall Festival

Last week was Hayden's last flag football game - the went out with a win and it was a great team with great coaches.  They were a lot of fun to watch this year!  Saturday morning Nile had his last soccer game.  He is still in love with the game and bummed they are done already.  The next four saturday mornings Nile will be attending the football clinic to learn basic drills and plays to get ready for flag football next fall!  Things are slowing down a bit here and that is always a blessing.  We still have Aubrey's dance class once a week and she is loving it!  Hayden would like to play basketball this winter so we are considering that.  It would be December - January I believe.  Nile is also considering this.  His basketball would be January.  We have heard great things about the program and it is centered on fun and God.  In the past we have not done any athletic activities for the boys in the winter.  Nile is a very active child and we are thinking it may be good to have some kind of organized outlet for some of his energy in the winter time! 

Last saturday Jeremy was at the Iowa game for homecoming and the kiddos and I were home.  We headed out to the Fall Festival after the soccer game and enjoyed lots of fun activities.  The weather was perfect!  The kids painted pumpkins, rode the barrel train, petted a bunny and kittens, got their face painted, rode the hay rack, slide down a hay bale, launched a mini pumpkin, and lots of other fun activities.  When we were done we headed back into town and grabbed some lunch at DQ.  We got home intime to listen to the end of the Iowa game on the radio.  I kind of wanted to go to the Iowa game since it was my last homecoming game as a student but I decided that it was probably better for me to stay home with the kids.  There will always be more football games but my kiddos will only be young for such a short time!

Hard at work

Nile made Leo the blue ninja turtle, Aubrey made a "rainbow" pumpkin, Hayden made Cole the black ninja from Ninjago

Hayden is 10!!!

Today my first baby is 10 years old.  I can hardly type this post without getting tears in my eyes.  10 just seems so old!  I have been a mommy for a decade!  I couldnt have asked for a better first child.  Hayden was not planned by me but God certianly knew what he was doing when he gave him to me.  Hayden is kind, paient, loving, easy going, I could go on and on.  He is willing to try anything once and gets along with everyone.  He has a lot of his father in him and looks like him for the most part as well.  I went through some old photo albums and scanned a few pictures of Hayden through out the years.

9+ months pregnant

newborn

a family of three!

first Hawkeyes game - a few weeks old

getting bigger - and chubbier!

Hayden is a big brother!  2 years old

heading to the Good Guys car show in the 38 almost 3 years old

Hayden 3 Nile 9 months

2010 big brother again at 5 1/2 years

2010

2011

2011

2012

2012

2012 8 years old

Florida 2013

2013 8 1/2 years

2013

9 years

10 years old - 2014!