Trial and Error

 

I may never give my husband’s computer back.  I have discovered that I can link it directly to my blog and it will allow for posts and creativity beyond what I have currently mastered.  May I just say-Wow!  So the next few blogs to come will mainly be trial and error.

The funny thing about trial and error is that you can blame your goofiness and wacky decisions on it.

   But then again, isn’t life one big version of trial and error?

I mean has anyone ever met the Master of it all? 

The one who has everything figured out?

Well if you have, I would love to meet her.

Yes I believe she is woman if of course she even exists because most mean can not even find a clean pair of socks.

 

 

I am not bashing men.   I love men!  Preferably my husband.  And he does do so much that I cannot  (and/or will not).

 

But this is not about him.  This is about mistakes and surprisingly exciting results.

Wow!  My house!  How cool is that?  My house, with its multi-colored roof which we plan to finish…. Eventually!

So many projects that we start and eventually finish.

Another example of life.

And this life, crazy, amazing, and full of surprises.  None of which I want to change!

 

A Year Flies by!

I cannot believe that it has already been a year. a year has come and gone since our lives changed. We were living the crazy fun life with little responsibilities when we finally decided to have a baby. We were pregnant before we had a chance to change our minds and it seemed we blinked maybe twice before he was born. And now, an entire year has past and we have just celebrated his first birthday.

It amazes me the person he is becoming. He is so full of personality and almost always excited and happy. Almost! There are those moments when he is mad, and let me tell you- he can really get mad. However, 95% of the time he is wonderfula nd 100% of the time he is PERFECT!

What really Matters

On April 10th, the Middles School in Fredericktown (Town I teach in) was burned down. The fire was so intense that everything was destroyed. All text books, student files, teacher resources... Everything. The fire was thought to have reached well over 2000 degrees because of how it fused so much glass together.

In the aftermath, as a community mourned the loss of a building in which so many memories were obtained from (it was our oldest currently used school), I prayed for the loss that so many had endured. For the students.. Their second home now gone. For the teachers... years of supllies and resources that they had collected-burned to nothing and unrecognizable. For the community... a landmark of their personal history.

It was a tragedy but no one was hurt or injured during or whiel fighting th efire an dthat is a reason to rejoice. All of the tools that were so easily counted on were lost- But the knowledge that those students had been taught all year along was not going anywhere. It coul dnot be burned in a fire. The passion that the educators had, still there!!!

I laid in bed last night looking around my bedroom thinking to myself "What would I grab if there was a fire? What could I not live without?" Nothing. As long as I had my family and knowing that God is there, that is all I need. It was a reminder, yet again, that the material things are definately nice but it is not about that. It is about God and everything he has given me. It is about th elove of my family and about the ease in knowing we are safe and healthy.

Did our community suffer? Yes. Is it th eend of the world? No. Will we be bigger an better with God's help that ever before? DEFINATELY!!!

A Beautiful Easter Break

I left school on Thursday, at 11:15am knowing that I had 5 and a half days of celebrating and relaxing.

This was Owen's very first Easter. The sun was to be shinning and his RSV seemed to be clearing up. And so, we started our weekend out right. We hit the park and we played.

Friday evening Owen stayed with his Aunt so that Bill adn I could have Mommy and Daddy alone time. Of course, we had to invite Jamie because she is a contributing force in our marriage and I do not know if we would be so successfully married if it was not for her. LOL

Saturday, Bill, Jamie, Keegan, Owen and I headed to Engler park where I was hopeful that Owen would enjoy his first Egg hunt. Well, they are definately discriminating ther because they said he had to be one. :( We did enjoy watching Keegan though.

Saturda night we went to church. I absolutely love my church. (Shout out to Meadow Heights!!!) I have heard the Easter service message every year for 30 years an dyet this year I heard something different and I walked away with something new. I love learning about God's love and I love celebrating it.

Sunday we got up and eagerly watched as Owen (with much assistance) went through his Easter Basket that the Easter Bunny had left. So sweet watching him and of course, everything had to get taste tested because we are currently in th estage that everything goes in his mouth. We then stayed around the house in the morning and headed to Robin's in the afternoon. It was a quiet but relaxing Easter Sunday. Very nice.

On Tuesday I opened Owen's first savings account. He currently has $102.50 in there. I was so proud and proud that my hubby and I had agreed to hold money out every month to put in. I want to set him up for success and I think we are really taking the steps to try. So he now has the beginnings of a savings account and he also has his college fund that we have taken from my check every month. He is on his way and he is only 5 months!

So much thinking lately. I think I spend 3/4 of my time thinking. I remember I once had a boyfriend tell me tat I think too much. (Of course later I caught him cheating and realized th ereason he wanted me to stay in the dark and minimumize my thoughts.) Last week i was watching the show "Do You Know Who You Are?" with Lisa Kudrow. Tehy were exploring her heritage and discussing her Grandmother's death in WWII when Nazis shot and killed her. They went in to depth about the execuctions of so many people. They talked about how there was 900 people who were stripped down and stood naked while they watched 3 people at a time step up and get shot. Then three more would step up and so forth. Men, women and children because hatred had no heart.

Immediately, as a new mom of course, I begin to think about how that would feel and the terror you would have to stand there naked and humiliated with your child knowing that there is nothing you can do to save them. The horror that those poeple faced. All of the life that each of of them were robbed from living.

As parents, our goal and dream is to have our children to grow up and have all the happiness that is allowed. We want to see them find love and success and we want to be there to witness all of it. I could take not being there if it meant that Owen would still get the oppurtunity to live his life but having to stand there knowing that his small life is about to end before it ever had time to get started would kill me before the hate-fileld monsters ever could.

How on earth can you get enough "I love yous" said for a lifetime in that small about of time?

Breaks my heart.

Owen, Owen, Owen

March is flying by and so is the fourth month of Owen's little life. I have reached such a bond of attachment and love for this small man that I am now a very emotional person when it comes to any harm to any child. It is amazing how I never considered myself one to take on th erole as mother and even a year ago when we decided to try for a baby I was still so unsure and now I am complete in so many ways that I never even sensed a void. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE him!

Relay for life is in swing in 2 counties which should be fun. I also too on being a team member this year and so I am really excited for that. Big funraiser at Vance Vineyards on May 1st. Wine tastinga dn bands, should be a great time.

MSTA is keeping me pretty busy as well. We had a Salary workshop, and Spring Delegate Assembly. April brings my favorite time of the year, Capitol Day. Can not wait.

On a side note, National Health Care Reform was passed this weekend. Lord help us all!

Motherhood is a busy Job

I always thought that my career ambitions kept me busy but since Lil O has joined our family I have realized the true menaing of busy. I cannot complain for 2 reasons: #1 I just do not have the time and #2 because he is pretty incredible. He is currently 4 months and weighs 15.8 pounds. He is 24 and 1/2 inches tall. his new favorite thing is doing raspberries with his mouth. All he does is raspberries. It is hularious! The down fall: I have to change his tops often because of spit pools. He is so funny though. Always laughing and happy. We are so very very lucky!

Meet Mr. Owen Jeffrey Gann

Owen Jeffrey Gann was born on November 4, 2009 at 5:56pm. He weighed 8 pounds and was 20 inches long.

He is an amazing little guy! We are so blessed to have him in our lives. I will post more as time goes on but for now here are our most recent pictures that Priester Photography took when Owen was 2 weeks old. Can not believe he is already a month old now! WOW!!!

Update for July

Things have been crazy lately. We are into our sixth month of the pregnancy and are happy to announce that this October we will be welcoming a baby boy named Owen. These days we are working on getting the nursery and our lives ready for the new addition.

I am officially on summer break and it did not come soon enough. After that ending to the year with the "tornado" and then that very long summer school session but at last we are finished and I am taking full advantage of resting and doing my usual lunches with friends throughout the summer.

Cash and Carter are doing well. Both were fixed last week and though Carter is not really missing much, Cash was a little older and realizes what is gone and is still harboring some ill feelings but I tell him (of course in private and not where is can be heard) that it was Dad's idea and that if I had my way he would still be complete. I think he is beginning to believe me!

Bill is enjoying the summer fishing (well he attempts) whenever possible and or riding on the Harley. Of course now that I have a growing belly and am high risk I am not allowed on the bike. Secretly I think Bill likes that. Guys will be guys.

Still thankful everyday that God has blessed me so much. Each day I remember that song.... God is great, Beer is good and People are crazy!

We are having a baby!

Well we have news. We just found out we are having a baby. We are about 5-6 weeks along right now and are due sometime at the end of October to early November. More news to come as we hear it. We have our 3rd appointmnet and 3rd ultra sound on the 24th.

Erie, PA to Watch Lyle and Colleen Sansoucie tie the knot!

Hello to all. this last month has been filled with crazy busy schedules for both Bill and I but we love it best when we are on the go. In December we headed up to Erie, PA to Lyle and Colleen Sansoucie's wedding. Bill drove up and I joined him several days later by flying in. I must say that when I left Missouri it was not too cold and the sun was shinning. I had a layover in Philly and by the time I landed in Erie, the runway was a blanket of snow and it showed no signs of letting up. Colleen said it was just flurries. Ok, well those kind of flurries are what makes our schools here in MO take a week of snow days.

Lyle was our best man and Bill was there to return the favor. It was a greta event and so beautiful and elegant. Colleen had said she wanted a winter wonderland as a reception adn well she sure did get it. It was a wonderful night and when it came time for my hubby to make his speech he was great! We also met some people while there that have already become good friends and we are looking forward to the next trip. The carivan of Missourians that went was long. Drew, Nicki, Thomas, Jason, Bill and I were just a few.

I enclosed pictures.