Motivation

 I am in the middle of grad school finals... and if I do say so myself, this has been a DOOZY of a semester -- a full course load (3 classes, each 3.0 credits, all graduate levels), and the end is in sight.  I have a final project left for each class, and then I AM DONE.

That having been said, I do take great inspiration for this quote that I saw a few days ago:

Naps and Homework

 After our fun-filled trip, Sunday was filled with naps and homework... how do I apply for a switch in activities?

Mush

I want to do a blog post, because that it what I do before I go to bed... but my brain is mush.

I do not know where the weekend went or what I did.  Well, I do... Friday, we had friends over for the first time since before Christmas I think.  It was really fun, and then I tried to do graduate work after they left, but Brady woke up from his nap, when he really needed to sleep more, so I tried to cuddle him back to sleep, and I accidentally fell asleep.

Then Saturday I did grad school all day as much as I could, while running kiddos to birthday parties.

Then Hubby and I did the Rangely Mardi Gras party, which was all-you-can-eat Crab that they fly in specifically for this town fundraiser.  That was fun, but I was distracted because I still had a ton of graduate work to do (and assignments are always due Sunday nights... so I don't like to still have assignments to do on Saturday night - I like them done already). 

Then Sunday, I did graduate work all day long.  I listened to lectures while I made breakfast, I wrote discussion posts while kids were playing and arguing, I ignored them all and just got in the zone... and that's kind of where I still remain.  I have had airpods in my years listening to lectures or audiobooks all day... and it's pretty tiring.

It really does feel like I didn't have a weekend because I studied special education all weekend...and now I go and work in special education all week.

The silver lining is that we have something special planned for next weekend, and so I am trying to focus on that carrot out there... and get next week's assignments done early so I can truly enjoy next weekend.

Assignment

 I had an assignment for grad school asking that I create a name plate with the following information in a certain format including pictures of the following:

Favorite things from over Christmas break

Favorite place

Favorite fictional character/dinner guest

If you were a musician on tour, who would you bring as a surprise guest musician

Additional picture of my choice

Here is the name plate I create:

A Man Who...

 Marry a man who brings you dinner while you're writing a graduate paper...

and then enlists the kid's help to clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher so you can keep at it.

Run the Gamut

 Our week has had it all.

Deer.

Snow.

Halloween costumes/parties/candy.

Additional work.

Graduate school.

Jury duty.

Jury selection.

Foreman Jury duty.

House selling/buying demands.

IEP meetings.

Tears.

Sweat.

Blood.

Laughter.

Yelling.

Hope.

and

Despair.

We've really run the gamut this week.

The best remedy for that is tomorrow with some R&R, family fun, Michigan football, and maybe a few cocktails!

Who's with me?

Home Projects

I was very happy when Hubby completed his Masters Degree last Spring.  It was a huge relief, an exciting accomplishment, and a family celebration to watch him finish such hard-earned academic and career achievement.

Then, it was very meaningful to watch him attend his graduation ceremony in July.  We got to formerly celebrate the degree with classmates and professors.

All that to say, I had no idea how much his being finished with his degree would really change our day-to-day life.

I have a "To-Do Before October 1st" list posted in our kitchen... and every weekend, we check one or two projects off that list!

THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE IN OUR ENTIRE MARRIAGE!!!!

I used to have various To-Do lists, or Honey-Do lists made up, but they never seemed to get any smaller.  Our weekends were spent with Hubby working, and a little time with the family.  There wasn't any time for home projects.  Or, if one was completely necessary, we had no time as a family that weekend.  Hubby would work all week, do grad school all weekend, and complete the project I needed done.  Even getting the project done didn't feel like an accomplishment because it came at the price of time with our family and any chance for a rest.

This is a completely new revelation for me and I'm loving it.  We aren't under-the-gun with any of these projects, and every Thursday or Friday evening, we look at the list and brainstorm what might be feasible over this coming weekend IN ADDITION to time spent as a family and re-charging for the week ahead.

I had no idea how much graduate school really was a sacrifice of our family, but it really was.  That's not to say it wasn't completely worth it, and not to negate how proud we are of Hubby for all his hard work.  It's just to say that life post-graduate school is so much sweeter than I ever expected it to be.

 

Masters Pictures

Hubby and I will not be displaying all our diplomas in our family room for all to see (mine are hanging in the basement, Hubby's are hanging in his office)... but I do think I will be framing these pictures and hanging them on the main floor of our home.  I think these are really cool side by side pictures.

 

Party Time!

Way to Go!

I'm attending a very important graduation ceremony today...

Masters Complete

We have some big news... some really big news.

Hubby has completed all the requirements to earn his Masters Degree in Educational Administration.

This is a huge accomplishment and something that he (and we) have been working toward for over two-and-a-half years.  I don't mean to detract from his accomplishment by saying that we have been working toward it... but he began this degree when Tracey was ten months old and so WE worked toward this degree.  Every moment he was working on graduate school, I was manning the home front by myself -- first with one child, then with one child and pregnant with two, then with three children... etc.

Not only is it a huge accomplishment that Hubby has earned this Masters Degree, I just want to put this entire process in perspective for you... again not in any way to lesson Hubby's accomplishment, but to show you really, how huge of an accomplishment this is that he has earned this degree.

Hubby has been working toward his Masters in Educational Administration for 2 years, 6 months, 3 days... that's 915 days.

But what those numbers do not tell is that Hubby actually started work on a Masters Degree before we were married.  In fairness to him, there were a lot of teacher cuts happening around the state year after year at the time, and he was looking for job security, so he began a program about which he wasn't particularly passionate, but was usually in high demand -- Special Education.  He spent 1 year, 8 months, 14 days in that program... 623 days toward a masters.

Then, after we were married and we had settled in Rifle, and he had grown to love his school and community, he decided to stop the masters program in special education, and begin one in a subject that he did really like and that would further benefit his school -- Educational Technology.  He spent 1 year, 10 months, 3 days in that program... 679 days toward a masters.

Then, after Tracey was born, an opportunity was presented to him to move into the administrative realm of education.  Hubby was thrilled at the opportunity to make this change and decided that the administrative side of education was, in fact, where he wanted to devote the rest of his career.  He decided to stop the masters program in educational technology and begin a program that would let him pursue the administrative aspects of education -- Educational Administration.  He spent 2 years, 6 months, 3 days in that program... 915 days toward a masters.

I had to do these calculations last week because I was starting to unravel pretty fast, and Hubby and I were getting pretty snippy with one another.  By looking at these numbers I can admit that this has been a really long road, and it makes perfect sense that Hubby and I are completely whipped.

I need to point out in the below picture, that Hubby completed four classes before I created this check-list board.  I wrote it a year ago when I felt like there was no end in sight... it helped me to imagine that someday this graduate degree endeavor would conclude... and yesterday it did!

We have finished this marathon (maybe I should say triathlon since he enrolled in three schools toward three masters) not smiling and running with our hands in the air telling tales of our great race.  No, we finished this race limping, bleeding, barely still moving and vowing never to do anything like that again.

But, you know what... we finished this frickin race.

Hubby has devoted 6 years, 8 months, 11 days (2446 days) to earning a masters degree.  We've only been married for 5 years, 10 months, 9 days (2140 days) and we've only been parents for a measly 3 years, 3 months, 10 days (1196 days).

Pretty much the only thing that pre-dates his working toward a masters degree is that we have been in a relationship for 7 years, 4 months, 16 days (2695 days).

We almost don't even know how to process this relief and what we're going to do with this abundance of family time.

This is a huge deal.

Hubby's Master's Degree - COMPLETE!

One Focus

Our household is completely consumed with one focus right now... Hubby finishing his graduate program to earn his Masters in Educational Administration.

He has been working toward this masters degree since I was pregnant with the twins... but to paint a broader picture, he has been working on earning masters degrees in other specialties since before we were married... so this will be a tremendous accomplishment.

His semester ends April 30th, which means all of his final Capstone and Practicum tasks and requirements have to be completed, graded, and passed before April 30th.  We can have none of that turning in the final paper at 11:59pm on April 30th, because everything has to be graded and passed before then.

We have had a course assignment check list on our kitchen white board for nearly a year, and we started a final task and daily count down at the end of March to keep us motivated and keep the end in sight -- I say "us", but the fact that its in the kitchen where I see it all the time... its really for me.  I need to see that progress is being made every day and be reassured that we are nearing this end goal.

Hubby is down to his final four tasks, and his final nine days... although its really less than nine days, because again, nothing can be turned in at the last minute.

So, one reason I have done about five blog posts in a row about Easter and Easter pictures is because the only thing I can think about right now is how close we are to the end of Hubby's graduate school... and how stressed I am about him finishing while still working full time, checking in with us from time to time, and sleeping ever few days.

This is like the last 5 miles of a marathon, where we are so close, but we still have to run those last 5 miles.

I always thought it was sweet when people who accomplish something thank their families... but now I actually understand their situations.  Our entire family is in this together... every member of our family is making sacrifices in order for Hubby to complete this degree.  Our children do not see Hubby right now for more than a few minutes a day because he is working all the time.  Tracey has learned that when she sees Daddy in the morning, she should say, "I'll see you tomorrow, Daddy," because he's not going to come home until she is in bed that night... or later.  I definitely have times when being the only parent for several days on end really takes its toll on me and the degree of patience I show with the kids.

One of the hardest parts about this process for me has been the fact that I'm not the one earning the degree.  I'm the one crossing off tasks that someone else does... I'm watching the kids, I'm trying to encourage, motivate, nag when needed, but I am not the one completing the work -- all of this rests on Hubby's shoulders.  It is hard to sit on the sidelines when someone I love is working so hard.

So... all that to say, we have one focus in our home right now, and its all I can think about -- Hubby is almost done with graduate school... Hubby has nine or less days to finish all the assignments... Hubby hasn't slept in three days, I hope he's still making sense when he writes grad school assignments...

Please keep him and our family in your prayers as he completes the requirements for this degree and finishes strong.

 

When Daddy's Home

My handsome Hubby is in his last month... (last 36 days to be exact) of his post graduate masters degree in educational administration.  It has been a long road to this point... and he's got a few loose ends to tie in these last five weeks.

All that being said, he is working A LOT these days.  We do not get many full days that he spends at home, even over this past week of spring break from school.

When my children's father does spend all day with them, however, the sight is absolute heaven.  There is rarely a moment that at least one is not in his arms or on his lap... and usually more than one.

Keep up the hard work, Daddy.  We can't wait until you're done and be home with us more often!

Family Fun Binge

Hubby has been working like crazy since about last April on graduate school with the goal of being completely done with his Masters degree by October 31st.  He worked like crazy all spring, most of the summer, and this fall leading up to October.

Despite his extraordinary efforts and my being alone with the kids days upon days while he worked, he and I made the decision about ten days ago that it was not best for our family for him to continue with the October 31st deadline.  For the health, sanity and sake of our family we've pushed the goal of his earning his Masters degree to this Spring 2017.

All that to say, we have been on a family fun binge since making the decision to extend his graduate school completion deadline.

Almost every day since we've made the decision to take a breath from graduate school stress, Hubby has had some idea for family fun for our entire family.  This has been awesome -- except that some of us *ahem* still have work to do despite his breather from grad school deadlines.

That being said, we took a family fun day last weekend and went to a family fun park, and we spent Friday and Saturday of this weekend having fun as well -- walking in a Homecoming parade with Tracey's preschool, driving up to see the beautiful leaves changing colors, and fun fall pictures out in the woods.

We are officially on a family fun binge and we're in love with family life without graduate school -- what a celebration it will be this Spring when he is completely finished with this degree!!!

Here are some pictures from our recent adventures:

Tracey is in the go-cart with Chris, she's just really hard to see.

Preschool girls ready for the parade... I guess the town had a Batman v. Spudman contest and Tracey's school was on the Batman team, hence the masks.

The girls with their preschool teachers.

We were supposed to be representing Tracey's preschool... but our family was also sporting our Michigan pride with Michigan playing Wisconsin later that day. 

Fun family pictures with the fall colors... 

We were blessed with a free second-hand recliner from friends of ours... perfect timing for football games and Hubby's breather from grad school.

 

Oh Autocorrect

Gotta love autocorrect...

Nostalgic and Celebratory

Yesterday evening I was feeling nostalgic and celebratory... and these feelings may last for the duration of the weekend.

One year ago --
I had just decided to go ahead and spend 2013 working... working on earning my Orientation and Mobility Certification.  Chris and I had come together and discussed a lot of options and decided that 2013 would mean graduate school for both of us... and a huge commitment from both of us for me to earn this O&M degree.

We knew that, if all things worked out perfectly, I could complete the ENTIRE degree in less than 12 months, and by December 2013, I would be a fully certified O&M instructor, and it would be DONE!  I would have the qualifications to open new doors, and serve in new ways, and NOW was the time.  This was not a degree I wanted to get around to doing when we had young children, or when our children were in school.  2013 was the year to complete this.

That being said, we KNEW it was going to be a rough year.  I was working 50+ hours a week, and would need to complete an online class during the Spring semester (Jan-April).  Then, looking ahead, we knew that right after I finished the school year on Friday, I would have to move to Greeley for a month-long blindfold class all of June.  Then, the rest of the summer would need to consist of two practicum placements -- only the Lord knew where.  Coming back for another school year of teaching in Rifle, I would still have one last practicum placement to complete... and somewhere in there, I had to pass a University comp exam research paper.  THEN, after ALL THAT, I still had to pass a National O&M Certification Exam.

But, Hubby and I felt that this was the year to do it.  We felt that God was giving us a nudge to have me do this NOW.

We had no idea how we were going to pay for it -- tuition, travel costs, living costs for all the different practicum placements, exam costs.  We just knew God would provide, and now was the time.

... that was all one year ago...

Fast forward to Memorial Day Weekend... the last week of school... the week before I leave my husband for Greeley, CO to be blindfolded for a month.  Hubby and I found out were were expecting our first baby.  We were thrilled by the event -- and flummoxed by the timing.  Seriously?!?!  My first trimester of my first pregnancy was going to be spent away from my husband, BLINDFOLDED, learning to travel with a cane, then away from my husband in TUCSON, in JULY, all alone?!?!?!

Nevertheless, the plan was to continue with the O&M certification as planned.  If things went smoothly with my pregnancy, AND my O&M program, I would be fully certified before the baby was born, and we were very happy about that timing -- if everything (pregnancy and classes) went according to plan.  We worked with my doctors, and learned the dos and don'ts of so much work and travel and stress... and we stuck to the plan.  The plan for me to be fully certified by the end of 2013.

I was first-trimester sick (not to mention HOT) in Greeley and Tucson.  I was growing out of my clothes in Michigan.  Hubby and I felt the baby move for the first times in Austin.  And yesterday, nearly 30 weeks pregnant, as I took the National O&M Certification Exam, the baby was dancing and kicking like crazy.  I'm not sure if he/she knew we were finally to the end of a very long process, or if he/she was trying to tell me the right answers in Morse code.

Today, as I reflect on this past year, I am so grateful for God's faithfulness through this degree, and so proud of myself for completing it so quickly and so well.  I met all the University qualifications, I traveled from coast to coast to have quality practicum placements, I wrote a killer research paper to pass my University Comp Exam, and I passed the National Certification Test.  I am SO GLAD IT IS OVER, and I am proud of the job I did.

To be completely honest, I do not know exactly what way this certification might be used in the next few years.  Hubby and I have a lot of decisions we're praying about with the arrival of our new baby... but now, I HAVE the certification.  There are jobs I can consider today that I couldn't consider a year ago.  There are people I can help today that I couldn't help a year ago.

I look at the remainder of 2013, and I am SOOOO excited that I actually finished this certification BEFORE the end of 2013.  I have 6 weeks left of the year that I get to prepare for Christmas, organize for the baby, make arrangements for maternity leave, and ENJOY the holidays!

This year would not have been possible without the love, support, and encouragement of my Hubby.  He supported me every step of the way, he believed in me when I didn't, and he had faith when I doubted.  He ran the roost at our home while I was gone, and assured me that my students, our life, our home, our critters, our baby, and our marriage could withstand my absence and our time a part from each other.

WHAT A YEAR!

Studying

Lloyd was supervising my studying over the weekend -- making sure I was doing my work.

Any free moment I have had this week... and several moments that weren't really free have been spent studying for the national Orientation and Mobility (O&M) certification exam.

This is a culmination of all the course work I have completed since this past January, and before to learn how to teach children and adults who are blind how to travel, with a white cane, safely and as independently as possible.

To avoid confusion, I CAN teach O&M without taking (or passing this certification test).  Having completed my University coursework is qualification enough for teaching; however, if I wanted to work with other ages, or for a different company, this national certification would be invaluable.  I might as well take the test while just coming out of my university coursework and while the information is fresh in my mind.

So, Friday morning I will be taking this certification test.
Three hours.
One hundred forty questions.
Multiple choice.
One agency that prides itself on the number of people who fail on their first attempt.

Please pray for:

• many hours to study today
• a clear head with which to study
• the Lord's guidance on what to study and what to retain
• a good night's sleep tonight
• a chance to adequately demonstrate my knowledge and skill on the test
• a clear head and calm body (and baby) during the test
• that I pass this certification test with flying colors

I'll keep you posted.

Friday Letters: One Week in Austin Down

•  Dear Austin,  Thanks for a great first week.  I'm exhausted, but we're off to a great start... and my time with you is 1/3 of the way over!
• Dear Texas State Fair, HERE I COME THIS WEEKEND!!!!
• Dear Hubby, I will be back in your arms in less than two weeks.  I miss you like crazy...
• Dear Lexie and Lloyd, Life without animals is not a life I care to lead for very long.
• Dear Grey's Anatomy,  You start WAY too late for this tired pregnant lady.
• Dear Baby Jitterbug, I have loved feeling your little jabs and pokes this weeks.  You make me feel like there is a creature in my belly, dancing and squirming and trying to create more room.
• Dear Feet, You are so tired.  You could really use a foot rub from your hubby.  You could really use a foot rub from your hubby like every night this past week.
• Dear Grad School, Every day, I get close to BEING DONE WITH YOU!  When I complete that last assignment, the feeling will be SO sweet!
• Dear Vail, You got snow this week.  I'm sorry I missed it.
• Dear Austin, You are really hot this time of year.  I'm not really sure how to dress for your weather.

Summer 2013 Summary

Adios, Summer 2013.

Top row left to right:  Positive pregnancy test; Meeting our little Nugget with our 8 week ultrasound; Hubby and I were a part all of June; Lloyd competed in Dock Dogs

Second row:  Lloyd won a lot of medals; We bought our first outfit for our little baby; I completed my blindfold course; I saw my grandmother in Arizona

Third row:  Our niece, Zivah, entered the world; We were in St. Louis when Zivah arrived; While I was living in Tucson, I got to live with a tiny little dog about the size of our cat

Fourth row:  Hubby flew to Arizona to help me drive to Michigan; We were finally reunited with our Lexie-Girl; Momma had her 60th birthday; We announced to the internet world that we are expecting a baby

There are the good parts of the summer.  In between the lines feel free to read "working hard, time away from my husband, nausea, exhaustion, heat, and studying."