Skip to main content

A Fresh Start to Fall

So this has been.... well, it's been a month...

September 3, we marked the start of being parents to a High School Senior.  How DOES that happen!? Holy cats! This was also the official first day of Joelle starting pre-school.  It's always fun to answer the common set of questions, "so do you have kids?" "Yep, 3 girls." "Wow, 3 girls, what are their ages?" "18, 3 1/2 and 1 1/2" This is usually followed by blank stares.  However, I just heard about a family with 12 boys - ages 21 to 3 months old.... so I have a gap some others would have filled with more kids.  I still secretly enjoy the facial looks...
The Carter Girls! First day of school!

The Pre-schooler and the Senior!

Joelle - the Pre-schooler

Emma's Senior Year Begins!

Night Swim
And you read that correctly, we now officially have an 18 year old in the house!  Again, How DOES that Happen!?  Emma enjoyed a fun celebration over Labor Day weekend with 2 of her girlfriends. Having a sleep over out at Grandma and Grandpa Lundell's house that included some night-time swimming with glow sticks to light the pool, s'mores and movies.  I think the girls had a good time.  Joelle, Aryn and I also stayed at the farm that night, it was good for all of us!  I think Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed the sleepover too.

Birthday Cake!

September 4th, we celebrated Emma's birthday with family.  Enjoying a dinner out with Grandma and Grandpa Lundell, Mary & Phil Kelly, Kaylia, Grandma and Grandpa Carter, Katy and all of us.  It was a fun evening, finished off with a delicious slice of cake! Still hard to believe Emma is 18!







Happy birthday Emma!



The party crew



Aryn
The busy month continued with the start of pep band, high school bowling team, trips to the cities for me, church service screen design and so much more.

This past week was a special one for me, a great way to top off a month of accomplishments.  I met my birthday goal of losing 50 pounds!  And better yet, I beat it by losing 50.8 pounds total! I started on this journey January 21, 2013 and what a great feeling it is! No secrets, no magic wand, just a strong desire to make a change, a fantastic Weight Watchers leader, great support from my mentors and friends and love and encouragement from my family.  I now have 20 pounds to go to meet my goal for weight watchers. The scariest part is I have actually started running and I enjoy it!  Wow, never thought you'd hear me say that.  I'm starting small and slowly increasing my distance, but each day gets better and better.

My birthday this past week was also a great reminder of how blessed I am, through the wonderful words and Happy Birthdays posted on facebook, to the special cards in the mail, the beautiful flowers delivered by my aunt, the special message from my uncle D, the text messages and the gifts make this momma feel pretty darn special and pretty darn blessed.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Today.... The next chapter

And here we are... October of 2020. I'm not sure where the time has gone, while struggling between feeling it has gone too fast and yet being ready for things to move along and leave a few chapters in the past. To say that 2020 has tested our strength is a bit understated. But, even on our worst days and weeks - we have come out smiling.  Don't get me wrong, those smiles aren't always easy and sometimes they mask the exhaustion, the grief and the tears. But boy when they are truly out of happy moments and seeing how we survive from these difficult times, those smiles are worth millions. Today... was a day that hit me hard... unexpectedly hard. Today, being everything I need to be right now is hard...  it's exhausting... it's daunting... it's what this chapter is.  Today... oh boy today has been a hot mess... It was a recognition of how much I'm grieving and still so thankful for this life we have. I'm so thankful to have an amazing friend, Erica...
Post a Comment
Read more

And here we are in 2019!

I've gotten away from regularly writing, and with the start of 2019 I decided now is the time to revisit writing! It's a great way to look at events happening in our lives and remind ourselves of the blessings we have no matter how busy or complicated life gets! Part of 2019 includes returning to school work for me. As I look at my future goals for my career, I decided the time is now to look at getting my degree in Organizational Leadership.  I applied for admission to Metropolitan State University ( www.metrostate.edu ) and started courses in January! 1 week in and I'm already wondering why I thought this was a great idea. This first semester back at it will most likely be the most difficult as I'm taking on 3 courses - if I survive this, I'll be able to make this happen! What this means is fitting in course work during lunch breaks and after the girls head to bed, and of course hours on the weekends. If I look a little tired, this may explain the bags under m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is never easy, in fact it's one of the most difficult things to do.  Our strength is being tested today as we make the decision for Botti that means we have to put his needs before ours. I will never forget the day we drove to get Botti.  It was a complete surprise to Emma, a Minnesota spring day, March 2006.  She was grumpy about having to go to the Twin Cities with us, thinking it was about getting stuff for the store.  But then we pulled up to Petco in Eden Prairie, again she thought we were just picking up things for the cats and Rosie.  Then we got inside and met up with the animal shelter there for pet adoption day and asked to see the collie puppies we had inquired about.  That's when we met Botti and a few of his litter mates.  His eyes captured our hearts.  Emma's smile was priceless when we asked if we should bring him home. Botti hasn't had an easy road health-wise, but he made it clear that he would always watch over...
Post a Comment
Read more