Talk about time passing...it has been quite awhile since the last post.  Things have been extremely busy around here.  Here's the quick and short of it:

Gracie:
*finished 5th grade
*is almost finished with her first summer camp
*is REALLY excited about middle school next year
*is reading faster than I can keep up
*will be 11 in August!!  Not really sure how this happened...
*is still playing soccer

John:
*is teaching boxing classes twice a week now
*is still playing tennis
*won his first tennis tournament and was first runner up in the second tournament
*is now president of our soccer league

Cristy:
*is taking boxing, water aerobics, and Zumba classes
*is selling 31 and placing exchange students

Our family:
*Iselin left us on June 2 after being with us since August 2012.
*We are going to Texas later this week for the first time since Gracie was 3.
*We have lots going on with the soccer league.

In the month of July, we have 3 summer camps, one conference, one tennis tournament, and a few birthday parties on our schedule.  After that, it is back to school for Gracie.  Man times flies during the summer!!

Flying by...

My how time flies when you are busy living life!  Quite a bit has happened since my last post, so I will do a bulleted update...because I can.  :)

Gracie
*is flying through 5th grade with awesome grades as always
*is growing faster than weeds
*is still playing guitar (recently played Silent Night in the school music concert)
*reads constantly
*won the school spelling bee!  Preparing for the county bee to be held in January.
*is still in Girl Scouts.  She is getting ready to sell cookies!

Iselin
*played an excellent season of soccer with WCHS.
*is a fantastic person to have around.
*is so kind to Gracie.
*fits into our family like she has always been here.

John
*is still boxing.
*plays tennis at least once per week but usually more.
*works entirely too much.

Cristy
*enjoying teaching math but could do without science.
*so glad to be out for Christmas Break!
*needs to go to the gym more.

We are ready for Christmas here.  We have tickets to the Titans game Saturday afternoon, and we hope to go to Opryland Hotel to see the lights before coming home that night.  From our family to yours...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Soccer insanity

Well it is that time again.  Soccer season has begun!  This year...because we like constant challenges around here...we have 2 girls playing soccer at the same time.  Gracie is playing rec soccer with games every Saturday beginning in Sept, and Iselin is playing HS soccer with games every Tues, Thurs and other days when scheduled beginning next week.  Add to that...guitar lessons, school, Girl Scouts, homework, practices, and then Gracie says to us...she wants to play basketball this year.  OMG...I might truly go insane!

We love both of these girls so much, so it is definitely worth it.  They are wonderful.  We really enjoy having Iselin here with us, and just like with Nat, we can't imagine our lives without her.  She is so kind to Gracie, and so easy to live with.  I just might have to get a bigger house, so all my kids can live with us at the same time!  :)

Back-to-School again

Well, it seems like I just wrote about the beginning of summer, but it is coming to a rapid end.  Gracie is enjoying her last week at Girl Scout Camp.  She is learning all about horses, and I am sure she will have lots to tell us when she returns.  I just hope she doesn't want a horse!

Our newest addition -- Iselin, from Norway -- will join us on Monday, August 1.  We are really excited to have her with us this year.  She will actually stay with us from August through June.  Fun times ahead!!  Iselin will be playing soccer for the high school team this fall too.  We are really excited about that as well.

Speaking of soccer...the rec league starts its season next month.  John and I have been very busy attending meetings, creating schedules, collecting fees, setting up camp...etc.  We are hoping for a great season of soccer!!  Camp is next week, and that will keep both John and Gracie occupied for most of the week.

I am teaching again!!  I recently accepted a position at Covenant Academy, a local private school.  We had already decided to send Gracie to this school in the fall, so when the position became available...it was the perfect fit.  I will be teaching middle school math, science, and Bible.  The kids actually come back next Thursday, August 4.  WOW!!! 

I completed my first semester as a PhD student at the beginning of this month.  Talk about work!  Phew...it was A LOT of work.  I will attempt 2 more classes this fall along with teaching, soccer, 2 girls, John, 2 dogs, ICES work, Girl Scouts, and Thirty One.  We will see if I survive... 

Sheesh...

Wow!  I cannot believe how time seems to fly by in the summer.  Since my last post, we have been very busy.  So, here is the short and the LLLLLOOOONNNNGGGG of it...

Gracie:
~completed 4th grade...with all A's of course!
~attended her FIRST ever sleep away camps (yes, two this month)
~attended Cirqu du Soleil and LoVeD it!
~is still reading a ton...just at a slower more summery pace

Nat:
~finished school here in May
~returned to Thailand the first week of June
~is missed so much!!

John
~went to Qatar and back
~still boxing and playing tennis weekly
~running again...only not as much as he would like
~working beyond TOO much

Me
~started working as a graduate assistant
~began my classes toward my PhD
~spends lots of time writing now
~is so thrilled that TrueBlood is back on!

On top of ALL of that, we also have a new puppy who has taken over our house.  Miss Lily is so wild and unruly, but so cute you just can't stay mad at her.  We love having her...and can't remember life without her!

Manic May

May is a SUPER busy month for us every year, but this year seems to be more than normal.  Not only do we have the usual things like Mother's Day and end-of-school, but we also have birthdays, graduations, Girl Scout Events, and Teacher Appreciation.  If that is not enough, John is in school, working (more hours than he should), helping with softball, boxing, and of all things...being sent out of the country.  Why not?  We are not busy and insane enough...let's just keep adding to the every growing pile!
On a brighter note, Gracie has added a new family member to our household.  She adopted Lily, our new puppy two weeks ago.  We LoVe her already.  She is so darn cute, but meaner than a snake!  You can't help but love her and her GIANT feet!  She has the cutest little paw print on her nose.  (Pics to come soon.)

Sad endings...

This month, we lost a great friend, family member, and pet.  Emilou was killed by a car last week, and it just about broke our hearts.  Gracie has been quite upset about it.  We have had Emilou since Gracie was 1 year old.  She definitely was a part of our family.  She will be greatly missed.

On a more positive note, I was recently accepted into the PhD program for Literacy at MTSU.  I am so very excited about it.  I begin my GA position May 15, and my classes begin in June.  It will definitely be a difficult road to the end, but I am very confident that I will do well.  I can't wait to begin!!

John recently had news to celebrate too.  He has lost 10% of his body weight (20lbs).  A VERY impressive number I think.  He looks amazing, and better still, he feels good about himself.  He is still boxing away. 

Nat has been doing very well with tennis and school.  He is spending more and more time with his friends too.  We will definitely be at a loss when he leaves in June.

Last, but not least, Gracie loo! She is busy as always.  She finished her fitness classes a couple of weeks ago and started softball at the same time.  She is still going to gymnastics and guitar lessons once / week also.  This weekend, we will go tour where she will be for Girl Scout Camp this summer.  She is very excited about spending ONE WHOLE week without her parents.  Gosh!  Those parents are just awful!!  :)  She is already super busy for the summer, and it is still several weeks away.

Until next time, I will leave you with a great quote I saw in a magazine today... "God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers."  Jewish Proverb (printed in Woman's Day for May 2011)