What have I been doing, you may wonder . . .

Guys!  So much has been going on and I find that I barely have time to keep up with anything, much less this blog.  So, the kids are great!  Honestly, they are great!  Now, that's not to say they don't drive me crazy or anything like that, but overall, they are doing well.  In fact, Luke is blowing us away with his improvement at school.  For example, his spelling tests were atrocious for a while and his handwriting practically illegible.  And for weeks at a time I would receive conduct grades of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory with notes repeatedly saying, "Not paying attention!" or "Daydreaming!"  I was at my wits end.  But, we've got him on a dose of ADD medication and he is flourishing!  No lie!  Check these pictures out!


His handwriting is vastly improved.  He made a 100 on his spelling test! 



And his conduct grade has been Excellent week after week. 

The note from his teacher says, "He is the sweetest young man!  And, he is a joy to teach!  Thank you for being such great parents! :)"  Really?  Us!  Great parents?!  I'll take it!  I can't tell you how thrilled and relieved Chuck and I are.

I've also been able to get away for a girls trip with my Junior Woman's Club group.  It was ridiculously fun and relaxing.  We headed down to the JW Marriott in San Antonio and had a lovely time, including a few hours at the spa.  Perfect!


 
Please disregard the crazy zombie eyes we all have in this picture.

We also celebrated a very understated Easter this year.  The kids didn't have school on Good Friday, so we hit the park and had a picnic lunch, fed the ducks, and played on the playground.  It was pretty fun and a really beautiful day.

I just didn't have the energy to do much that weekend because we found out that my uncle Ed had passed away, but the kids loved finding eggs and eating candy.

Speaking of my Uncle Ed, the two youngest kids attended the funeral with me this weekend in Houston.  He was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile ducts) on February 11, 2012.  He passed away peacefully and surrounded by his lovely family on April 5, 2012.  It was quick.  Really quick.  But the best part of all this is how peaceful and accepting he was that this was God's plan for him.  It made the entire thing peaceful for all his family and friends.  Although we will miss him, it is so comforting to know that he was ready to go home.  And as a silver lining, my mother was able to see almost all of her siblings.  There are nine of them altogether.  Obviously they were all there to honor Ed, except one sister who was unable to fly.  The rest either live in town or flew in from Michigan (where we are from).  It was a wonderful time to see one another and experience that familial bond.

Here are the siblings:















Here are the cousins (9 out of 24).


And here are the cousins taking pictures of the siblings.

 

And here is my Uncle Ed with his wonderful family at his daughter's wedding.  How blessed they were to have one another.

On a happier note, Luke also celebrated his birthday party a couple weeks ago.  He invited his class and some friends to play laser tag at Main Event.  It was a hit and Luke raked in all the presents.  He had a blast and it was so fun to see him with his class.\




He also received a BB gun from his parents. (Not my idea).  He hasn't shot his eye out yet, but I'm not convinced it won't happen eventually.


 

And as for me, well, I'm doing well too.  My dear friends, Caroline and Carrie (with help from Chucky Love), nominated me to be honored as one of Fort Worth's 40 Under 40.  This is something underwritten by the Fort Worth Business Press and it honors  individuals who are "making their mark with professional success and community involvement."  I'm so honored that I was selected to be counted among this year's 40 individuals.  But I'm even more honored that my friends thought I was worth enough of the honor to nominate me. And to top it off, Chucky Love sent me 40 pink roses to celebrate.  Weren't they beautiful?



I had to throw them away yesterday.  So sad.


What a great guy.  I certainly made the best choice of my life when I married him.

And that's the update, folks.  A lot going on, and a lot I didn't mention.  I promise I'll catch up someday soon!