Kindergarten

My sweet Hadley -

As I am writing this, you are in the midst of your very first day of Kindergarten. My heart is full of pride for the sweet, sensitive, kind, loving, smart, generous little boy you are. And at the same time, I am a total mess of emotions. I can't believe that you are already old enough to go to "big school" and a little part of me wants to just hang on to the little, innocent boy that you have been.

My prayer for you, as you grow, is that you will always remain as kind and sensitive as you are now. I pray that you will always be sensitive to others' feelings, and be mindful of those feelings in how you speak and act. I pray that you will grow to be a caring young man who remembers how to treat others and be respectful of others. Most importantly, I pray that you will remain strong in your love for Jesus and your knowledge of what is right and wrong. I wish I could bottle up your precious innocence and prevent the world from touching that innocence. But I will just pray that you make wise choices each day and remember what you have learned and what daddy and I have tried to teach you.

I love you so much, Hadley Max. You will always be my baby, no matter how big you get. I can't wait to see your handsome face this afternoon, and hear all about your first day of big school. I love you more than all the ninja turtles put together!!

Mama

Comparison

Today Hadley started his second summer at TCS. It's hard to believe how much he has learned and grown in the past year.

June 2012

June 2013

Three Long Years

Two years ago Eric started the Radiology Tech program at Grayson College, and, as of yesterday, he is officially done with that program. Before I elaborate, let me go back...

April 2010 - I still remember the day I came home from work to hear the words that would change our lives for the upcoming future. Eric had learned that day that his position as an Ag teacher was being eliminated due to budget cuts. So, basically, we had two more months of the status quo before our household income would be cut in half (literally). Awesome. We spent the remainder of that spring and the following summer sending out resumes, traveling to interviews, and waiting for phone calls. The result: no one wanted to hire someone with Eric's education or experience. Again, awesome.

Fall 2010 - At this point, we made the decision that Eric would go back to school and pursue a completely different career in medicine. He was planning on attempting to be accepted in the Radiology Technology program at Grayson College. In order for that to happen, he needed to complete 2 prerequisites (that, of course, could not be taken simultaneously).

December 2010 - We moved from Gainesville to Sherman. I was already working in Sherman, driving back and forth 30 miles each way every day. And the college was in Denison, just outside of Sherman, so it just made good sense to make this move.

January 2011 - Hadley started going to a new babysitter (necessary because of the move), and that turned out to be a huge answer to prayer since we quickly grew to love Mrs. GiGi. Eric started his adventure back at college by taking Anatomy & Physiology I (and realizing he was going to have to study a lot for this stuff!).

Summer 2011 - Anatomy & Physiology II began for Eric, as well as the application process for the Rad Tech program. Eric received his acceptance, attended orientation, purchased scrubs, and prepared to begin the two year program.

Fall 2011 - Radiology Technology program begins for Eric.

Spring/Summer 2012 - A big change for Hadley when we learn that Regina (Mrs. GiGi) will be going to work at TCS and, therefore, not keeping kids in her home any longer. We decided to follow her to TCS, and enrolled Hadley in TCS. The transition went fairly smooth, and has been a good decision.

May 11, 2013 - Pinning ceremony for the Radiology Technology class of 2013. I could not be more proud of Eric for completing this program.

May 15, 2013 - Eric's last final exam. Officially done!

May 18, 2013 - Grayson College graduation (which we are actually skipping, but this will be his graduation date.)

The last three years have been long, hard, stressful, crazy, exhausting, proud, fun, etc. Now we see where this "new future" will take us.

First Day of School

Today is the day...Eric's first day back to teaching. I think I was more nervous and anxious about today than he was (but then, that's pretty normal!). I will be very curious to hear all about it when he gets home this evening.

I know there are a lot of you out there who had their "first day" today so I hope everyone's went well and you are looking forward to the rest of the year. The start of school always makes me kind of wish I were still teaching...there's just something about all the school supplies, setting up your classroom, getting an empty new grade book, and starting fresh with a whole new group of kids that makes me think about going back to teaching. (Keep that in mind in the coming months and year!)