Not much to post

Sorry for the delay in posting(those of you who are actually interested in our life!). Not too much has been happening other than packing (and PACKING) things up and getting stuff moved. We got a lot done yesterday and took 2 car loads over to Ruston...even got Landry's crib taken down. Then I remembered she would have to sleep in the pack n play for 3 nights in a row at our house. I just never have been a fan of those things, but she will be fine. I attended a workshop for new teachers in Lincoln parish today and everything is starting to become 'real' to me.

It was 7 years ago in September that God led me to Benton. I desperately needed a change of scenery and a mentor of mine in college suggested that I move in with my grandparents and do my student teaching over there. I was apprehensive at first but LOVED my student teaching experience. Coach Blackburn was my coordinating teacher and gave me a great quarter with his students(elementary PE at Waller Elem. in Bossier). He even talked me into refereeing some private school basketball games...if you ever have some time I have got THE STORIES. Not a good idea for Suzanne, but we have laughed and laughed about them! During this time I decided to break it off with a longtime boyfriend and was set up on a blind date by non other than Coach Blackburn. The guy also happened to be his nephew. Matt had played football for and graduated from Tech, but our paths had never crossed. Matt was/is from Bossier and went to Airline. We went out for the first time in November of '01, were engaged in December of '02, and married in Dec.'03. We joke about being a rare couple who had no children on our third anniversary and 2 on our fourth...try to beat that one(with 2 separate pregnancies). Our anniversary is 12/13. Jake was born 12/15/06 and Landry 12/10/07. And just to make sure we aren't busy enough, Matt's birthday is 12/7. Whew, I feel broke just thinking about it:).

Little did I know that 7 measly years ago I would meet the love of my life, some of the absolute greatest friends I could ever ask for, find the best church family and learn a lot(but still have tons more to learn) from teaching every age group K-12 and 2 subjects...PE and special ed, and some where in there was talked back into coaching cross country and track. I know some of you may be thinking 'oh get over it' and you are probably right, but I won't. We love it here and I know we will keep in touch. All of Matt's family lives here for heaven's sake. But yes I still am emotional about it.

And hopefully 7 years from now I will be thinking of all the fun memories and friends we have made in the Ruston area. I sure hope so for I don't keep up with too many friends(most have moved away) in the area. As for now I am off to bed. Have a good night!

Houston Weekend

Wow! We had a great weekend with Matt's co-worker's their spouses. We were wined and dined and spa-ed(Matt wanted to go to an Astro's game but was a good sport)and everything was great! Most of all we didn't get out of bed before 9:30 either morning...that hasn't happened in 2 years:)!!!! This is the third time we have done a "Home team" weekend and the last with this group. We will truly miss them as Matt has made a lot of new friends in his district. We do look forward to meeting all of the people in his new Ruston district as well and making new friends. Did not take that many pictures....we just enjoyed our weekend!
Here is the Matt's district with their spouses.
Matt's district without the spouses
At the spa before our couples massage
Waiting in the lobby before dinner Saturday night
Before dinner

Jumping Jupiter

I met Tracey VanHoy and her 3 kiddos at Jumping Jupiter yesterday for some playtime and Jake had a blast. This place has only been open for 2 weeks and it is such a neat idea. It is just a big room with 5 huge bouncies.


Landry would not look at me! She was trying to locate her brother.
Tracey and Emerson posing with me and Landry
Jake had to have help getting to the top of the slides and in his down time he rode the toys they had laying around.

School hasn't started yet and I already have a new job that I feel MUCH better about! My resignation goes through tomorrow in Bossier Parish and I was laying in bed 2 nights ago and wondering what in the world happened over the last 2 weeks. I really wasn't sure about teaching an autistic class because I just wasn't qualified. Well, I got a call yesterday and will be teaching inclusion at Choudrant Elementary(pronounced Shoe-drant for those of you not familiar) and I like that idea a lot better. The commute will be maybe 15 minutes, which still beats my 30 minute commute to Parkway.

The babies go to their last MDO today as it is over for the summer. Mom spent the night with me last night and she will stay until tomorrow...she and dad have Landry for the weekend while we are off to Houston. We are going to the spa on Saturday(yes,Matt is too!!! ) and I am super pumped:). But today I am meeting an old running buddy for lunch and plan to catch up with my good friend Mary Catherine as she is in from Baton Rouge. Her dad had back surgery in Shreveport yesterday. I haven't seen her since she was married in January:(. Have a great day.

Outings

I had lunch yesterday with 3 friends that I teach with at Parkway. Rachel, Ginny, and Katie make teaching at Parkway SO much fun!!!! Ginny(in the purple dress) is due in August and she looks really good. We had a lot of fun....it was great to catch up.
Jake slept through his last Gymboree class yesterday, so when he got up we went to the Boardwalk to buy him some new shoes. He is growing out of EVERYTHING. At dinner we let Landry suck on some lemons. She really liked them and they entertained her well!
Jake's new thing is to wave at everyone. Anyone who came into the restaurant got a wave from him, even if they didn't look his way. He is campaigning early!
Daddy and Jake

This weekend we are going to Houston for a get-together with the people in Matt's district. His company pays for the entire weekend, plus the flight. I am looking forward to one last getaway before the rush to pack up and head to Ruston phase begins!

Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BODHsU3hDo4 Don't forget to watch him tonight on Primetime at 9 central on ABC. Have a good day!

Yesterday

We had our summer treats yesterday as Jake tried to cool off with a popsicle and Landry had her cookie-type treat!
Jake working on his golf game at Aunt Lou's house(she cooked us yummy shrimp bisque)
I thought Landry looked just like her brother in this picture.
Matt and his family playing rook after Sunday lunch.

Big D came over to play with Jake and Landry yesterday too! We had lots of fun.

Several of you have asked me where I will be working in Ruston. There was an opening at Glen View Elementary in the autistic class where they needed a certified teacher. Although I am still working on my special ed. certification, I have already passed the Praxis in the spec. ed. and have a teaching certificate but it is in PE. I started working on my special ed certification 3 years ago when I was a displaced teacher and Parkway needed someone in that department. Didn't really like it at first, but have come to really enjoy my job. I love the people I work with and will miss them dearly. The fact that I am (almost) certified in 2 subjects and can teach grades 1-12 helped me since I was restricted to teaching just high school or elementary. Yes, this will be a challenging job but I had to get my foot in the door. It may or may not be long term, depending on if something else opens up later in the year or if I happen to like what I am doing.

Last Lecture

ATTENTION!!! On Tuesday night at 9pm(central time) on ABC you need to stop what you are doing and watch Primetime. It is about Randy Pausch and his "last lecture" at Carnegie Mellon University. He has such a POWERFUL testimony and I promise it will be worth your time. His book(I have mentioned it before) is a bestseller. He has pancreatic cancer, 3 children under 6, is married to the love of his life, and has the most amazing story. Please watch the show if you haven't seen it before. It'll be WELL worth your time. I just saw the commercial and got excited because I wanted to see the lecture again. I cried like a baby the first time it aired last spring.

We are still working on what we are going to do in the next 2 weeks. Matt is so against renting-he thinks it is throwing money away. So I will live with my parents(always said that I could NEVER do that but God is humoring me!) until at least September( Matt's territory will not change until October1, so he will be in and out until then) and we are looking into buying a smaller, older home while we sell the one here. Then we may rent it out in the future to students or sell it. Either way, renting or buying a small home, we are looking at the same amount of $$ per month. So who knows!

Here are a few pics:

Jake at MDO last week during water day. He wants to know what I am doing here while he is trying to play;). Just documenting your entire life is what I tell him!!!!

Landry is now holding her own bottle, but I always have to urge her to eat more. She might weigh 15 pounds now. Good thing about this is she has hardly grown out of any of her nice clothes. She'll catch up one day but for now she is my dainty princess....and perfect!