Hello Summer..

I love summer. And it's here. I do not like being super hot, but it seems it's going to be a hot one. I love going to the farmers market, and I visit 2 at least every Sat :) Crazy thing is my kids have like a month to school starts now. THought I would do a little update on us!

I am still working and enjoying my new job, It takes a lot of me, so I am a beat by the end of the day. I am having sugery the end of next month, and need lots of PPT. Avery is doing well, and is going to be 14 in August. My baby sister is engaged, and will be married in about 13 months. YAY!! Grace finished the school year with All A's, and a whole bunch of awards for Reading. Aidan "graduated" from his behaviour mod class and is going to be in a regular classroom for 2nd grade. There bothing enjoying there summer camps at ETSU, and learning like crazy. Aidan is not so little anymore!! Aidan will be doing the weather on Channell 11 news on July 6th, so don't forget to watch!


I think that is all the BIG news from us... I have discovered a new cupcake shop in town, and I am in love with there yummy cakes!! It's called The Crazy Cupcake, check it out.. ( going to do a review too:)


Here is a few photos from the summer..

Deep Stuff/Part One: Forgiveness

"Our Saviour kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, 'I can clean that if you want.' And from the basin of his grace, he scoops a palm full of mercy and washes our sin. "

Max Lucado


Jesus forgives you just like that, all you have to do is ask. It's not so easy with your family, friends and more. My biggest goal for myself this year was to forgive those I need to forgive, so they no longer have that hold on me, and so that I am no longer filled with anger, rage, bitterness. And (insert deep breath here) ask forgiveness from those who I have hurt, lied too, or done wrong. I am no angel, I am not perfect, and I am not so naive to think it's everyone else's fault if I fail at a relationship. I have many people I no longer associate with, some I am even related too, some is for the better and some hurt deep. Rejection hurts when you ask for forgiveness and it's not given. Asking for forgiveness is nothing anyone wants to do. It reminds me of my son, Aidan when he has to say he is sorry for something he has done. He always goes SOreeeeeeeeeeee, and you can tell it's not something he really means at the moment. If it's hard for a child to forgive, we should know it's harder as an adult. Who wants to be wrong?



" Forgiveness doesn't make the other person right, it makes you free."

Stormie Omartian

I know that I can not move forward in my life, and move on into a deeper relationship with my Jesus till I have done this. So I have started working on it. Bridges have been broken, and I am building some great new ones, like Brooklyn Bridge sized ones, but I still hurt for the hurt I have caused others.

The next big step is for me to forgive myself. That one will take some time. It's easier for me to ask for forgiveness and then it is for me to forgive the people I need to forgive. Some people feel I shouldn't even forgive these people, but I need too. I want too. Some are easier then others.

I do not want to be one of these bitter miserable cussing you out for anything people. I listened to many stories from women in my church today, woman who have been through many of the things I have, and how they have moved on and are so close to Jesus now. How God has blessed there life now, and the road there now on. I heard the stories of women in the bible, and the one that meant the most to me, was the woman at the well. I relate to her, I know her pain, and guess what Jesus LOVED her too!

Check out John 4 and read her story.

I have been a little behind in some things..

I finally realized what it is I am suppose to do besides being a good mom. In high school, through out my gazillion major changes there was one profession that others had told me I should do, that had been in the back of my mind.. a nurse. I always have second guess, third guess, and more then that myself. Always had a reason why I wouldn't be good at being a nurse, the smells, blood, scared I would hurt someone,etc. I do know that every time I go into a hospital, I would feel a longing, to be there. Very hard to explain, but I had a moment the other day, when I was standing in a hospital, thinking, how I missed working in a hospital ( years ago, I worked in radiology in a hospital). I love to help people, some people welcome it,others not so much (I have lost friends because apparently it gets on some peoples nerves). Being a nurse I have a feeling someone will always need my help. It's not going to be easy getting through the educational part for me. I have some very real serious learning disabilities, but I am determined to do it and do it well.

SNOW DAY!!

Ok so I am not as excited as the kids are!! It's snow day which means I get to insane dealing with wild kids, good thing we can send them outside, hopefully we will find our sleds!!

I did enjoy sleeping late.... So haven't been around much and most of you noticed I have been having a hard time.

I suffer from something called SAD...

SAD:

With seasonal affective disorder, fall's short days and long nights may trigger feelings of depression, lethargy, fatigue and other problems. Don't brush this off as simply a case of the "winter blues" that you have to tough out on your own.

Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression, and it can severely impair your daily life. That said, treatment — which may include light box therapy — can help you successfully manage seasonal affective disorder. You don't have to dread the dawning of each fall or winter.

Symptoms
Seasonal affective disorder is a cyclic, seasonal condition. This means that signs and symptoms usually come back and go away at the same times every year. Usually, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the warmer, sunnier days of spring and summer. But some people have the opposite pattern, developing seasonal affective disorder with the onset of spring or summer. In either case, problems may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses.

Fall and winter SAD (winter depression)
Symptoms of winter-onset seasonal affective disorder include:

Depression
Hopelessness
Anxiety
Loss of energy
Social withdrawal
Oversleeping
Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
Weight gain
Difficulty concentrating and processing information
Spring and summer SAD (summer depression)
Symptoms of summer-onset seasonal affective disorder include:

Anxiety
Insomnia
Irritability
Agitation
Weight loss
Poor appetite
Increased sex drive
Reverse SAD
In rare cases, people with seasonal affective disorder don't have depression-like symptoms. Instead, they have symptoms of mania or hypomania, a less intense form of mania, during the summer. This is sometimes called reverse SAD.

Symptoms of reverse SAD include:

Persistently elevated mood
Increased social activity
Hyperactivity
Unbridled enthusiasm out of proportion to the situation

This is all from the Mayo Clinic.... I am trying hard to pull myself out of this, but with the wonderful weather we are having here in the Cold mountains it's pretty hard to do!! ( And if you know how I am in the Summer months, you know I suffer from reverse SAD too!!)

2008 Memorable Moments for Katy

So here is the top 10 Moments in my life in 2008.......

1) Flying in a airplane by myself for my first without children vacation as an adult to Las Vegas, NV, where I partied like a rock star, and realized I could never live a life like that...

2) Realizing I was pretending to be someone I am not in order to make someone love me, and then letting it go to only find the love of my life, in the most random way ever.

3) Losing enough weight to be under the 200 pound mark!!

4) Falling in love with Bobby, and getting engaged, and getting married!! Watching a man fall in love with my children, and be the best daddy ever!!

5) Our Van being totalled, and the fact my children were safe and sound, and not dead!

6) I have made many new friends this year!! And lost many I cared about who I thought were friends, but they were not!

7) Flying with 3 children to San Diego Ca, and not causing a plane wreck. Then taking my kids to Disneyland, to see the magic in there eyes.

8) Growing Closer to God, and realizing what Christian means, and what church is all about, finding a church I feel comfortable and loved at. And realizing many people say there Christians, but are not. And seeing how some people use that as a reason to be rude, nosey,snobby, and ugly.

9) Watching Aidan's transformation, and how much he has changed this last year!! Helping our community become more aware of Autism, and it's challenges.

10) All three of my children are in school!!! Wahhhh I have no babies!!! Watching Grace change and mature, and Avery started middle school. Seeing Avery become a caring young man, and not so angry all the time.

Where I been..

Well I haven't been doing the painting, my wonderfully talented boyfriend Bobby has done all the hard work( and who is right now putting deadbolts on all my doors so Aidan can no longer escape).

Before Kitchen:






After Kitchen:








Bobby also put the lighting in under my cabinets :)





Before Dining Room:





After dining Room:






Oh yeah theres more to COME!

Oh where Oh where have I been?

I felt like it's time for a update since my blog has been somewhat quiet!!


As for Me:

Well I have put in my notice at work, and will be starting school in 2 weeks!!! Another exciting year of dance awaits me. We have about a month to our trip to San Diego for Jessica and Peter's wedding!! ( and our trip to Disneyland) My bridesmaid dress finally fits!!

http://peterandjessicawedding.com/


The biggest news in my life is my new boyfriend Bobby!! Umm all I wonder is where has he been all my life?!?! He's the most amazing man I think I have ever known or have fallen in love with!! I am so HAPPY!! He can fix anything, cooks for me, babies me, loves my children ( and the love him), and is just so sweet!



About the Kiddos!!

Avery is turning 11 the end of this month, and is growing up to be quite the young man. He will be playing football again this year, and going into middle school in September. My biggest challange with him is getting him to shower daily. Oh yeah and he knows EVERYTHING! He melts my heart when he tells me he loves me or that I am the best cook ever, or how he cares for his brother and sister when he isn't picking fights with them.


Grace will be going into first grade, and has been my little trouble maker latley.She loves singing, dancing, and everything girly. My biggest challange with her latley is the fact she wants to color her body with markers. She melts my heart when she climbs into bed with me, and tells me how much she loves me, or stands up for her little brother and tells people to not be so mean, because he has autism.


Aidan is going to start Pre-K this fall, and is So excited about GOING TO THE BIG SCHOOL! He is having a rough few weeks, and is exhausting his mommy. He attend autism camp a few weeks ago, but he is wondering off more and more and more!! My biggest challange with Aidan is trying to remove the word STUPID from his vocabulary. He melts my heart when he tells me loves me, and cuddles up in the morning in my bed. Oh and the things he says are some of the funniest things I have ever heard!!

I love flowers....... and butterflies.

*~ Sunday Dinner at Our Home*~*~

I cook Sunday dinner for my kids, and other family most every Sunday... So here is some photos from this Sunday Dinner. We had NY Strip, with mushrooms ( cooked with wine, shh it's cheap wine, don't tell the wine gurus.. your not suppose to do that, ha ha), corn on the cob, asparagus, and a baked potato. And oh yeah Berry Buckle Cake for those who want dessert...... mmmmmmm.... Don't worry, I didn't have dessert,but I don't eat red meat often, and ugg I remember why know.

Side Note: Aidan ate steak for the first time.. WOO HOO! If you wonder why I am so excited, Aidan has serious food issues with autism! This is a big deal, his comment was mmmmm this is some good chicken!!

4th of July at Jenni's and Mike's

We enjoyed ourselves!!! It was great to make "new" friends. Avery made a great new friend, and he can't wait to see him again!! Here are some of my fave photos! Some of my fellow local bloggers,were there... Boni, Jeni, Mike, and Misty. Boni's Ava is the cutie in the door with her flag! The photos are clickables, so they get bigger. :)

Patience

Patience (ˈpā-shənz) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances. This can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be patient and why am I not?

This is something I have never had much of, for the past year, I have been trying to get better at it. Some days it wears thin, with my children, I think everyone has those days. Because the defintion says without becoming annoyed, I know I seriously lack in this virtue.

I have some very patient people in my life, and sometimes I test it. And to those people, I say I love you.


So some questions for you:

Are you patient?
How do you learn patience?

Flowers anyone?