I've got a JOB!!!

No more sitting around the house eating bon-bons all day...I've got a job!!! With Lexie in school all day (and no new baby in the house) I knew I needed to find a job to fill my days. Of course I could've found LOTS to do around the house! But I thought I'd at least "look" for a job. I didn't think I'd really get one though with my limited schedule - no nights, no weekends - and not having had a job for over 6 years...I mean who would want to hire me???

Turns out our local library wanted to hire me!!! :) I am now working part time as a Page. I work 4 days a week (18 hours total) while Lexie is in school. It has taken a lot of getting used to. The first full day I started second-guessing myself - I came home with a headache, a sore back and aching feet and I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Who knew working at a library could be sooo physically demanding - lifting heavy books, pushing carts with TONS of heavy books all over the library, straightening shelves of heavy books, etc. (Did I mention that the books are HEAVY?!) Luckily after the first few days and a change in shoes (who cares if they're pretty, as long as they're comfortable right?), I am really enjoying myself.

I usually don't start working until 9 or 10 am so I still have an hour or two to myself in the morning. Then my workday ends around the same time Lexie gets out of school so I get home just in time to meet her at the bus stop. On my day off I plan on running errands and catching up on housework. That's what I "plan" on doing, we'll see if that's what REALLY happens. :)

So far it's been great having a job but there is one bad thing - I'm sooo tired at night! In fact I've been going to bed by 10pm most nights and even earlier sometimes! Speaking of which, my bed is calling to me now...

First Day of School

Lexie had her first day of first grade yesterday!!! She got up before I even went in to wake her up! (She only pushed her snooze button twice!) She quickly got ready and was so excited that she wouldn't even eat breakfast. We were ready early and were able to take a lot of cute pictures...




Then I drove Lexie to school and took her up to her classroom. Even though she didn't know anyone she didn't seem nervous at all - she just kept smiling. I, on the other hand, was very nervous - What was her teacher going to be like? Would Lexie like her teacher? Would she make any friends? Would she miss me too much? Would she like the lunch I packed for her? You get the picture - mostly I guess I was nervous about how I would do all day without my girl. :(

When I finally left (No, I didn't have to be asked to leave by the teacher in fact there was one other mom still there - of course her son was crying - but at least I wasn't last!!!), Lexie was sitting on the rug and didn't even care that I was leaving. That's always the hardest part - one more sign that she's growing up and doesn't need me as much.

Luckily my day alone flew by with lots of excitement - washing dishes, doing laundry and vacuuming - and before I knew it school was out and I had to go meet the bus around the corner.
As promised I brought Lexie her scooter so she could ride it home - like she'd seen some of the other kids do last year.
Once home I didn't get many details about Lexie's day just that she made a monkey, had Spanish class (she learned to say "me llamo Lexie"), had 2 recesses and made a new best friend Elizabeth. She also mentioned that she missed me and of course I missed her too. But I think we both did pretty well on our - oops I mean "her" - first day of school.

Addicted to Blogs

It's funny because a little over a year ago I didn't even know what a "blog" was. Now not only do I know what one is, but I have one of my own and, worst of all, I'm totally and completely addicted to reading them. I guess it'd be okay if it were just one or two blogs but it's WAY more than that! So I thought I'd share my addiction with everyone. You can thank me later. :)

The blogs I read can be broken down into categories.

First came the scrapbooking blogs:
Stacy Julian
Lisa Bearnson
Ali Edwards
Becky Higgins
Cathy Z
Elizabeth Kartchner
Donna Downey

Then came blogs I found thru the Bethany adoption forums - these are all written by women who are hoping to adopt or have already been blessed by adoption:
Our journey to adoption
William, Glenna & Isaiah
Blessed by 3 miracles
I love you more than there are stars in the sky
sugar & spice speaks out

One of the biggest problems with reading blogs (besides eating up your time) is that most blogs share links to other blogs (just like I'm doing right now). So you just keep adding more and more blogs to your favorites, like these:
Nesting Place
creative organizing
Recipes to Share
SouleMama
Hello my name is Heather
no time mom
Today's Creative Blog

So there you have it - my secret revealed. The first step in ending an addiction is admiting you have a problem...right??? Oops, I gotta go I saw a great idea on "Nesting Place" when I was creating the link!!!

Maybe I'll try to stop tomorrow...

Fall Giveaway at Simple Mom

What's your favorite thing about Fall? Mine is the weather, the leaves changing and going to the pumpkin patch & apple orchard. Now another great thing about Fall is a chance to win prizes! Simple Mom is giving you a chance to win over $200 worth of prizes! Just head over to their website and leave a comment telling them what your favorite part of Fall is. It's that easy! Good luck! (Hurry! The giveaway ends on August 25th!)

Touching Infertility Video

Though infertility is not what has kept us from being parents again, I can really relate to this video. (Thanks to Angie and Aaron for posting a link on their blog.) The only thing I would add is that instead of unsolicited advice I want PRAYERS (in addition to the other things listed towards the end of the video) - nothing can help more than that!

Cardboard Testimony

I found this video thru another blog. It made me cry and got me thinking about what my own cardboard testimony might be. Maybe "hopeless" then "full of hope."

We are all broken, but through God's Grace we are all made whole.
I'm so glad that no matter where we are, God is always there for us ready to welcome us to Him with open arms.

I pray that you are as moved as I was by watching this and that it gets you thinking about your own cardboard testimony.

Fun in Northern Michigan

We just got back yesterday from 2 weeks of camping in Northern Michigan. I don't have much time for an entry (lots of laundry, cleaning, planning and organizing to do) but I thought I would quickly share some pictures.

The first week was spent with my parents in Traverse City enjoying the Cherry Festival. We had a great time - ate cherries, watched the air dogs (one of our favorite events), attended the pet show, did lots of walking, watched an Indian Pow-Wow, ate tons of yummy s'mores, and spent time with lots of our old friends.

One of our favorite parts of the Cherry Festival is watching the parades. We were able to watch only one parade this year - the Children's Parade whose theme was the Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osbourne (Lexie was so excited about that).




The best part of the parade was that we got to watch it with some of our old friends. It was so fun watching the girls together - it was like we had never left.


We celebrated my 37th birthday while we were in Traverse City. We went out to eat and then played putt-putt.



We were all sad when it was time to leave (some showed it more than others)...


Our 2nd week of camping was in Gaylord with Dave's mom. Unfortunately Dave couldn't go with us but Lexie, Sandy and I had a great time anyway. We ate s'mores again (this time with Reese's peanut butter cups - YUMMMMMM!!!), walked a lot (thanks to Sandy), ate ice cream,
enjoyed the beach (the water was MUCH warmer than TC),

Lexie rode her scooter a LOT (she got really good at it), and spent lots of quality time together and with Grandma Nancy.

We were all suprised to discover that the Alpen Festival was going on while we were there. So one night I took Lexie (Grandma Nancy babysat Sandy) and she went on a few rides and played some games. Her favorite part was when she played a game and won a goldfish!!!
She kept saying, "I can't believe I actually won a fish!" It was so cute. She named the fish Josefina - like the American Girl doll -and she now lives in a fishbowl on Lexie's desk in the kitchen.

We had a great 2 weeks but we're all glad to be home together. The next big thing will be Lexie's 6th birthday party - better start planning!!!