It's For Real!!!

Okay, my chance to update has somewhat diminished.  Especially with pictures.

Our move to Virginia is now officially happening.  I had an interview with Capital One the last day in June, got offered the position on July 2nd and I start working as an Executive Assistant in McLean, VA on Monday, July 12.  July has started off in a whirlwind.  I leave for Virgina on Saturday (that's tomorrow). WOW!!! This is really happening.  My family is going to be back together, with a small temporary delay.

To help with getting adjusted and situated, my kids will be spilt between the grandparents for the next two weeks.  This will give me the chance to locate daycare/summer care for the kids.  We have located a rental home in the Ashburn area and plan to move in at the first of August.  Thank you Lord for such wonderful parents between myself and Mark.  1)We are so grateful for their generousity and willingness to take care of our children for a lengthy period of time, and 2) That they only live about 20 minutes away from each other, and 3) That Virginia is a border state and our new town is about 4 1/2 hours away from Raleigh.

July is going to be a very challenging month, mainly emotionally, with a lot of adjustments.  I ask for all your prayers as me and my family are about to open up another door of opportunity, adding new experiences into our lives.

Thank you to all you have helped me and my family along our journey and stayed up-to-date with our current situation.  I thank the Lord for the journey he has taken us on.  I am blessed to have been able to stay in North Carolina and further develop strong relationships with my own parents and my parents by love, other family members and friends.  It has enriched my life in so many new ways and I will cherish every moment and memory.  It has been a true gift for my kids to have been able to make such loving bonds with their grandparents.  I know that they will cherish the memories they have made with them as well.  I also would like to thank my brother-in-law, Eric and Jenny for being flexible with their schedules and helping us out with taking care of the kids when the grandparents were not available to do so.

For now, I say farewell for a short absence.  I would love to hear from you.  If you would like my new contact information, please let me know.

Much love to you all

More posts to come

Much has gone on since I posted on Mother's Day.  Layne's school play, 12th wedding anniversary in Washington DC, fun outings, and school is out for the summer. Bear with me as I get my pictures together and play catch up once again in a couple of days.  I need to give myself a day for blogging so I can stay current for you who follow regularly.  Happy summer to all!!

School's Out-New Look!

Before

After

Layne has sort of had a tradition since Kindergarten that she likes to get her haircut for the summer months.  This way it feels cooler during the hot season and if she decides she doesn't like it, the cut will have grown out by the start of the next school year.

She has really wanted bangs for the last few months, so a few days ago she braved a trip to the salon and had 2 inches cut off and added some bangs.  Surprisingly, she looks really good with bangs, a little older, I must say, and Layne is really happy with the result.  Along with the change of hairdo, she officially told me that since she will be entering 3rd grade, she is going to start calling me 'Mom' instead of 'Mommy'.  Oh, why do they grow up sooo quickly?!  Enjoy the photos.

Mother's Day

I had a joyful Mother's Day and Layne, Liam, and Brenne made me feel very loved and special.  I was provided with many hugs and kisses, beautiful homemade cards and gifts, and lots of 'I love you's' throughout the day.  I had gone out shopping with my Mom a few days before, so I had a nice new outfit to wear for Mother's Day.  I appreciated all the cards and loving words I received from my Mom,  Mother by love, and Mark.  I also received my all-time favorite movie, The Princess Bride in Blu-Ray format to replace my original copy.  It was a very special day and God has truly blessed me with a wonderful family.

I hope that all your Moms received a very special day as well and I know you cherish the love you receive from your children.

Outings with Brenne

I enjoy my time to run errands and be out with Brenne.  It is great to share these small moments with her.  One day, when I go back to work (which will be soon), I will not be able to go out on these little adventures with her.  Anyway, back around my birthday, I went to have coffee with Loreen.  Brenne really enjoyed having a 'coffee' cup.  So this picture was a good captured moment of what looked like she was enjoying her own 'cup-of-joe'.  It was apple juice. 

We were running errands another day at Walmart and this geese family was waddling around the parking lot.  The little goslings were so cute.  Lots of people were capturing this photo with their phones, me included.

Yesterday, after much debate and desire to say no, Brenne received her first haircut.  It was a little sad for me.  Brenne was great sitting by herself and immediately touched her hair after the cut.  She kept saying 'haircut, haircut'.  It was too cute.

Let's Play Catch Up

It seems I tend to get a little slack on my posts sometimes.  So, let us catch up with some happenings I have missed and not posted on.

Layne turned 8 in January.  Mark was also there to celebrate her special day before heading back to Qatar. She had a roller skating party with mainly school friends and enjoyed the celebration.

Jumping ahead to the end of March, Spring Break up in Virginia with Mark and with my brother-in-law and his family in Pennslyvania was a great mini vacation.  It was great to get to explore Ashburn, VA with Mark and to see the surrounding areas and where we will be moving to and getting settled this summer.  It was great to spend time with Mark.  The kids were very excited to see their cousins and enjoyed being together and being separate; boys vs. girls.  Brenne and Cole did a lot on their own, but Brenne tagged along with the girls club when she could.  It was great for me to get to see how Greg and Ashley interacted with the college students and see how they are impacting the student's lives with their ministry. Finally, right when we got back we had Easter. The kids loved hiding the plastic eggs.

Birthday Awareness

I think a 'light bulb' moment came with my 32nd birthday.  There are many things that define all of us, we are each unique and God made us that way.  I do not need some 'that's it' defining sentence or list of words to describe me.  Plainly stated, 'God created me, by his design, that I would do wonderous works.  Who am I? is no longer my search.  I am a child of God with many talents.  I will cherish every moment I have with my loved ones.  I will continue to search the scriptures, knowing that whatever comes my way, I will be prepared with the full love and assurance I receive from believing God.  I will cherish my husband, as one of my gifts is being a wife. I will train my children to do the same, as one of my gifts is being a mother.  
I will be M E!!!!!!

It was great to be surrounded by so many loved ones this weekend.  I had a great chat over a cup of coffee (which I rarely drink) and outing with Loreen, my mother by love.  I then enjoyed a decadent chocolate cake and gelato ice cream with my Mom at Macaroni Grill.  Mark arrived right before the kids got home from school and we had a fun weekend together.  Other family members were present, so it was great to just feel the love from everyone who was there.  Thank you to all who provided me with birthday wishes and gifts.  I appreciated them all.

A successful new start for Mark

Mark has been welcomed into Northern Virginia. He has reported back with high marks and a 'two thumbs up', that the Asburn, Sterling, Reston area of Virginia is very beautiful and will be a great place for us to move to and settle down for awhile. The kids and I plan to venture up there for a short stay during the kids Spring Break and do a little exploring.
As for Mark's new job with Accenture; he is very pleased with his new opportunity and really feels that his position with Accenture will be very beneficial to his career goals.
Our tentative plan is to all move up there sometime this summer before the new school year starts.  It will be a new and exciting change that we are all thrilled about.  I do look forward to sharing all the new adventures with you as they approach.

Slowly making progress

Okay, I started off this new blog site with a goal in mind and the progress has been very slow. But, I am leaving my self-discovery in the hands of the Lord, for he is the one who knows my heart and will reveal my inner being to me. It is a very true bible verse, but it is hard to take it all in sometimes;
Psalm 139:13-14: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (NIV)
As I read in another friend's blog, spring is quickly emerging and a sense of renewal has sprung in me. I know that discoveries can take awhile to be found, so thank you for your continued support as I continue to travel in my search for definition.
With that, I would like to give a huge 'SHOUT OUT'to all mothers out there. Being a Mom is really, really hard work. It is for parents in general, but there is this extra bit of responsibility that I think falls on moms. So, all you Moms, know that you are not alone in your ups and downs of raising your children to be unique, well-educated, respectful, obedient, and curious individuals; and the list goes on and on. Praise and prayers to you all.
So, for now, I will let you know that I am aware of new changes within my self. I just cannot define them yet.

Pictures of Snow Fun Saved

So some of my pictures of the kids playing in the snow were saved. Hooray!!

Mark is Home...Let it Snow

On Friday night, Jan. 29, the kids and I headed to the airport and picked up Mark from his long flight from Qatar. Qatar is no longer a part of his life. His last day at his job in Qatar was the day before. Mark and all of us are glad that he has left a job environment that was not suited for him. Mark will be with us here in NC until the beginnning of March. On Monday, he accepted a job offer in Reston, VA with Accenture and will be working in the Information Technology department. We are all excited that he has found a job within the United States. The kids and I plan on joining Mark in Virginia once the school year is over.

As for the snow, it began to fall as we were heading home from the airport. We had about 5 inches of snowfall here in Raleigh. Today is Tuesday, Feb 2 and the kids are still at home. The kids are enjoying being at home, but I think secretly would like to be back in school. They did enjoy playing in the snow on Saturday. It has been kind of mushy since then. I had really adorable photos of them playing out in the snow, but lost all the pictures when I was uploading them to Picasa.  Now, I know to be more careful when I upload pictures and make sure that they are all saved before anything gets deleted.  It is suppose to snow again, so maybe I can get cute pictures at the next snowfall.

Brenne is 2--Birthday Celebrations Part 1

Brenne Loreen Sovereign turned two on December 11, 2009.  She had a wonderful birthday celebration with family members.  I made up a Dora the Explorer adventure for her.  She had her own map and backpack and had to go to areas in the house to get to her final destination, the birthday party.  She had a lot of fun with it, even if she wasn't sure of everything that was going on.  She has a very sweet personality and loves to play games with Layne and Liam.  She really is coming into more vocabulary words and loves Dolls and Dora/Diego.

Here is a look at the many faces and changes of Brenne from birth to age 2.  I have many, many more photos, but uploading photos takes FOREVER, so I went with what I already had on Picasa.  Enjoy the slideshow.

Getting in Shape with Wii Active

I am sure that we all have resolutions this year, possibly one is to get into better shape.  I know it is one of mine. I also just want a healthier body on the inside, as well as the outside.  I received the Wii game called EA Sports Active for Christmas.  I have been working out on it all month. 

I have been doing the medium level and it has been a great workout, but I wanted to challenge myself a little more, so I have done two intense level workouts and man has it made me sweat and really worked my arms and legs.  I have been doing the 35 minute workouts.

I must say that Nintendo Wii does have its pluses with this program and it is really motivating to feel the burn.  Plus, it is fun to be involved with the program as if you are a part of a 'game'.  I now look forward to working out.  I also have the Wii Fit program as well, but the Active is a little more involved.  Now, I just have to get my nutrition into gear, stay away from the processed sugars and sweets I crave, and my body will be much healthier.

So, if you have the resolution to get some exercise in this year and you have a Nintendo Wii, then I highly recommend that you look into the Active game.  If you don't own it, then find a way to get exercise into your life in a fun and motivating way.  It really does make you feel great and your body will thank you for it.

Let me know what you do for exercise and keeps you motivated.

New Year: Time to Start Fresh

I have posted my new profile and it is a challenge I hope to reveal within a relatively short time.  My goal is to write more inspiring posts, as well as keep you posted on the more regular happenings of my family.  So, first I must 'listen to the inner promptings within my heart' that will pinpoint what I love, what I am most interested in, and what I have discovered that puts a new perspective on life. We all possess individual interests that make us unique, God designed us that way. 
So, please, my fellow blog followers, bear with me, as I tread into this new area of posting.  I hope you will return here frequently to see what I have to provide. 
May your 2010 year provide you with much richness in blessings, love, laughter, and happiness.

I hope you enjoy my new blog site.