September 22nd, 2006
Another Busy Week!!!
So once again I feel compelled to apologize for the long absence on this blog. Let's just say it has been a crazy couple of weeks full of school, special trainings, birthdays, jury duty (don't worry I didn't have to serve... Though I really wanted to in some ways), and getting grades ready for our first progress report.

On top of all that, we were struck with some very sad news on this week-- Chris' Grandma Alderson died on Monday. It is amazing the kind of perspective something like this will give you. Growing up, I never got to meet my great-grandparents. They had all died before I was born. Chris and I feel so fortunate that Marlene got to meet Jack before she left us... But I am also so sad. Jack will never get to know her--or what an incredible woman she was. He'll never get to experience the wonderland that was Grandma's house at Christmas time, or hear her dry sarcastic wit. We'll tell him stories, and then explain that she left us shortly after he was born. I feel as if her passing will be a hole in our lives for a very long time.

It also feels like a passing of the torch in some ways. A feeling that as our family moves forward, and continues to grow, we must leave other's behind... But we will never loose their memories, their advice, or their legacy.

September 10th, 2006
So much to do... So little time!
It has been so long since I have posted anything, that I thought I needed to put a little something up. I am back at school, and things are beyond crazy there. We are starting our new "small school" (thank you Bill Gates), and thus far it has been a lot of work. To top it off, the school took the first week and took 250 kids to the beach for 3 days and 2 nights. While it was a really great experience, it was also a lot of work, and I came home beyond tired. Tomorrow regular classes start, and we'll see how it goes from there.
To top it off, Chris and I are in the process of learning how to do it all-- Raise a kid, spend time as a family, spend time alone, keep the house clean, keep it from falling a part, and working. It is a lot of balls to have up in the air, and there are times when a few are being dropped, but overall we are doing okay.
In other good news, Chris has promised me a babysitter this Saturday, so we can go out for my birthday. We haven't had too many date nights since Jack joined the family, so I am looking forward to the alone time. I think we are going to go see Little Miss Sunshine... But we'll see.
Well I have to see if I can get the office cleaned before 9:00 so I can get some sleep tonight. I promise to post more later.
PS-- The picture was taken last night over at Grandma Bell's house. It was Jack's first time on grass (our lawn is a dropped ball, and we can't let him sit on it). He was a bit confused at first, but once he realized he could pull it out he was pretty happy.

September 1st, 2006
Our Day of Cute

It has been a long time since a new post. This past week has been one of the craziest of my life. School is starting in a few days, and I have been busy trying to get ready. On top of that we have been moving my sister into our home (she'll be living with us, and caring for Jack), and last weekend I had the bright idea of holding a yard sale (the making of posters alone almost killed me). But yesterday we took a few hours off to get Jack's 6 month photos taken (since he is now almost 7 months old). This one was our favorite. It is hard not to love a face like that, even when his hand is stuck in our VCR (his newest trick-- along with crawling/scooting over to said VCR).