NOW, it is the end of a decade

Last year, I wrote a blog entry titled End of a decade. Well, that was wrong as it was the end of nine years. Now, it is the end of a decade. I began my reflection of the year earlier this week. I reviewed some areas which need correction, I smiled at the areas of improvement, and I heightened my expectation of the year to come.

Things have really been good this year. I have gained so much experience teaching that I will be a full-time faculty member in January. That is so awesome. I really enjoy teaching.

NyCee will be five (5) years old in March. We will be going to DisneyWorld to celebrate the grand event. I do not know exactly when yet because I am waiting for the terms of my contract to complete negotiations. Then I will now how much vacation time I will be allotted and so forth.

Tyler will be three (3) in April. I do not know what I will do for his birthday yet. I am so proud of him. He has spent two weeks at daycare without using pull-ups. His teacher sent home the pull-ups stating that he doesn't need them. She even talked to him about not wetting the mat at nap time. So he sleeps in his big boy bottoms and has not had any accidents. YAY!!!

I am on the countdown for completing my coursework. Eight classes and then comprehensive exams. The year 2012 will be devoted to writing and defending my dissertation. I am about a year away from being Dr. Dayna Carlisle Thompson. (I am still trying to decide which name I will put on my degree. The other two have Thompson.)

For the inquiring minds, I do not yet know what will happen with "my friend" and I. We talk about being together, marriage, family, etc. But we have not prayed about it together to see if that is what God has for us. Whatever the course, he is an amazing person and I am honored to be part of his life. He encourages me to push pass my pre-conceived limits.

Do not take old junk into the new year. Put that junk in a box, seal it with the blood of Jesus, and keep it moving forward. Expect great things and set yourself up for the great things to happen. Life can happen or you can choose to let the Master guide you towards your destiny.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!

He Shoots! He Scores!

My friend sent Christmas gifts to the kids. Apparently, UPS was backed up with its' deliveries because the packages should have been here the day before Christmas. A girl at work stated it took nearly 10 days for her daughter to get a package she mailed using UPS.

The kids were so excited to see the boxes. I told them they had surprises waiting for them at home. NyCee's gift is a Tinkerbell Laptop computer. It is such an awesome system. It is not really a toy because it is so advanced. There are many different levels of learning that teaches things such as matching, plural words, words that are the same such as dog and puppy, spelling, music, etc. She enjoyed playing with it.

Tyler LOVED the basketball hoop. He repeatedly kept shooting baskets. At one point, he walked into the kitchen, got the step stool, placed it in front of the basket to dunk the ball. Then he backed it up to make three-pointer shots.
Both kids asked for more playtime when I told them it was time for bed.

Christmas 2010

Tyler woke up around 730a. I actually work up earlier than the kids. I let them sleep and I began cleaning the garage. I heard the recycle truck in the neighborhood and was quite giddy. So I gathered as much as I could to get the can out front. While in the garage, I heard Tyler calling my name.

Tyler went into NyCee's room and started calling her name. "Sissy, time to get up." I walked in and asked if she were ready to see what Santa brought. She popped up and asked, "Is it Christmas?" I smiled and said, "Yes."

She walked out of her room and said, "Okay, everyone remain calm. We are going to see what Santa brought." I snicked to myself.

As I walked behind the kids, NyCee hit the top of the stairs, looked out and saw the Christmas Tree. She paused and whispered, "OH - MY - GOSH! That just what I wanted." Then she and Tyler ran down the stairs.

Like last year, Tyler clung to one toy. He saw the Thomas the Train and that is where he stopped. He was so excited about the train that he didn't want to open any other toys.

This was the first year that I wrapped the kids' gifts. NyCee had a blast ripping off the paper. Tyler needed help getting the concept of ripping off the paper.




But he finally, got the hang of it. We went to the movie theatre to see Gulliver's Travels. Tyler liked the movie. NyCee did not. NyCee just wanted to return home and play with her computer game.

God has been very, very good to us this year. I am honored to have had the opportunity to celebrate His Son's birthday. Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve 2010

We attended Candlelight Service tonight at church. The kids received Christmas clothes from their Aunt Camille.

After service, we came home, had dinner, tooks baths and showers, then relaxed to a movie. I spent yesterday and today cleaning the house for Christmas. We are ready for the big day.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Saturday Morning Hike

JD (in the yellow shirt and black pants) will be four on Tuesday, December 21, 2010. We celebrated his birthday at Usary Park. The kids went on a nature hike and a scavenger hunt.

It was a beautiful day. I actually enjoyed the hike. I would like to take the kids there again but would have to first learn the area. It would be too easy to get lost on a trail without some guidance.

Both kids made it home without falling asleep in the car. But after baths, it was wrap! I think they were asleep before their heads hit the pillows.

"What the Hell?"

I have a really bad habit of using the word "hell" in pretty much any sentence. (Let me preface: I do not use big swear words. "F", "S", "D," nor do I use the word "hell" towards my kids. It is in general conversation.) For example:

"What the hell is that about?"

"Where the hell are my keys."

"That is dumb as hell."

You get the point. So I picked up the kids from the sitter the other day and she told me NyCee was playing with a stuffed pony and exclaimed, "What the hell?" I busted out laughing because I would totally say that.

So keeping in the theme of this post, I told NyCee to get pjs out of the drawer and put them on her body. I went downstairs to finish dinner. NyCee came down the stairs exclaiming that she followed my instructions. I turned around and saw this:


What the hell is she wearing? My child knows how to match her pjs. All I could do was shake my head and laugh.

Night Time Wanderer

"Mommy. Mommy. Where are you?" He bellows out at nearly 3a.

I walk into his room and notice his bed was empty. I walked into NyCee's room and he was not there.

"Bubba where are you?"

"I am down stairs."

I have no idea what made him walk down stairs at 3a. I have a night light in the kitchen so he must have followed that light down the stairs. After he walked back up the stairs, I put him back in his bed. He asked, "Mommy, you lay down with me for a while?" "No, bubba. You are a big boy and can sleep in your own bed."

Side Thought: My oldest nephew turned 18 today. I was thinking about him when he was NyCee's age. Time really does fly by.

"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." James 4:13-14

Be sure to value everyday with those you love. Remember to tell those around you that you love and appreciate them.

All they NEED for Christmas

Why spend money on the toys when they will play with the box that stores the Christmas decorations?

New Tradition

As a child, my family used to put up the Christmas tree the weekend of my father's birthday. In explaining that to my "friend" he stated, "We need to start a new tradition because that is your daddy's birthday not mine." That, combined with my children's constant request to put up the tree, I broke down and put it up Sunday afternoon. We have contingently agreed to put up the Christmas tree the first weekend after Thanksgiving. That would be the week after his family and the week before my family's tradition.

The kids helped put the bulbs on the tree and of course they were all around the bottom. HAHAHA! The tree skirt is so cute. It has little shoes around the bottom. Thursday, I have to have my braces tightened. I am going to get purple and gold rubber bands to match the Christmas tree. How fun!!!?!?!?!!

Tyler was having a little trouble finding his happy. When he was told to remove himself from the picture, his happy quickly returned.