Slacker

Bodie Island Lighthouse, NC

I love my family!! Katie, Matt, Drew, Sammy, Mom, Christie, Crystal, David

My grown-up preschooler

I love looking at family and friends' blogs, but at the same time, I hate feeling guilty for not updating mine for the past 4 months!! I really don't have an excuse, it's just that my blog has kind of become like my journal. I get excited to report what has been going on in my life at first, and then lose interest and feel guilty for how long I've neglected to write. So, I resolve to throw the guilt out the window and enjoy blogging when I darn-well feel like it! Maybe if I don't feel guilty, I will start to enjoy it again.

Here's what we've been up to this summer:

We went to the great state of North Carolina to visit my brother David and his wife Crystal. My mom, sister, Christie, and brother-in-law, Sammy came too. It was fun to have a mini family reunion and especially fun to enjoy the beauties of NC and the beach. (We stayed a week on the Outer Banks where Hurricane Irene hit recently. It was strange to see places that we visited affected by the hurricane on TV.) One thing that I realized about my family this summer is that everyone is at different stages of their lives and they all define relationships differently. I've always wanted to be close to my siblings, but I need to be able to accept whatever stage that person is at and cultivate the relationship as best as I can. I love my family and I want to love them unconditionally. I am grateful for the family I've been given.

Matt and I have been training for a half marathon. I've always wanted to run a marathon just to say I did it. I knew that I was no where near in shape enough to run 26 miles, so I made a compromise. I thought I'd start with a half marathon since 13 seems much more attainable. Matt jumped on the bandwagon and we decided to train together. When we started out, I honestly didn't think it would be too hard. (I ran cross country after all! Even though I'm in denial that it was 10 years ago!!) Suffice it to say training was really hard for me in the beginning. I didn't know how on earth I'd be able to run 13 when I could barely run 3! After a few weeks of training, things started to feel better. Three miles feels really easy now. We just ran 8 today and it felt totally doable. It's been really fulfilling to work towards a goal with Matt. It reminds us that we can do hard things if we put our minds to it. We have 5 more weeks of training. Go us!!

Drew started preschool a few days ago!! I can't believe how big my baby is!! He has been so excited to go to preschool. Every morning for the past few weeks, he would wake up and ask me, "Is today the day I go to school?" He just goes 2 days a week for 2 hours, but I think I'm really going to miss him. He's been my little buddy for the past 3 1/2 years. The other day he asked me, "Mom, what are you going to do when I'm at school?" I told him I would be doing chores and thinking about him. But it did get me thinking. I have the itch to do something more with my degree. Since Drew was born, I've put my degree on a shelf, but Drew is growing up and I want to better myself and contribute to my community. I want to start teaching private lessons again. I've also thought about contacting the local music teachers to see if there is anything I would be of use to them. I've also thought about going back to get my teaching certificate. These are just thoughts that are mulling around in my mind. I definitely want to start teaching again. I feel like I'm not using the talents that God has given me right now and that makes me sad. Here's to new goals!!