First Week of School Thoughts

SUMMER IS ENDING.
All of my fellow teacher friends are beginning their new school year, with a new group of kiddos, curriculum, expectations, and evaluations. Although I totally envy the excitement of greeting my kiddos on the first day and preparing just for them, and the eagerness to know what progress they will make this school year, I am at peace about sitting this new school year out.

IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.
Being a Stay-At-Home-Mom is not for everyone. I honestly didn't know if it would be for me. Now that I have adjusted to my "new normal" I know that for this season in my life, this is my vocation from God.
I am so blessed to have a husband who considers it a priority for me to stay home with the kids- and for a husband who considers me a worthy child care provider and homemaker.

THINKING OF YOU.
For those starting back- especially the working moms, I want you to know that I am thinking of you. I am praying for you as you drop off your own kids at school or day care. I know first hand that you literally have two full time jobs. I admire the work you do... and I also know first hand that you are not just working 7:00-3:00, then coming home and relaxing. You put your heart and soul and mind into your classroom and your students, then you come home and put your heart and soul and mind into your own children. (And yet, there always seems to be more to do in both areas.)
Good luck this school year. I hope you find PEACE and JOY each day when you wake up and go to work & when you come home, knowing that you are fulfilling God's plan for you-at least for this season in your life.



Did I mention I miss the smell of my school? :) Never thought I would say that.

Spring and Summer 2014

Greetings!
This spring has been FULL! Our little ones have been keeping us busy!
In April we went to New Orleans for a good friend's wedding. While we were there we were diligent about spending time with Jason's family that lives there, specifically his maternal grandparents. D & K are Jason's grandparents' FAVORITE (only) great grandchildren. They both love to watch them play, and grandpa won't stop singing and dancing and entertaining them. The girls love it! The girls sit so nicely in their laps and just relish the attention. This weekend in particular was special because it was Jason's grandmother's last weekend on Earth. I am sure that she would not have wanted to spend it any other way. Everyone was devastated to have to say good bye, but no one can deny that her life was long, full of love and life, and that she left an impressive legacy.

Another devastating blow came a week later when we received the news that Jason's paternal grandmother died. Again, we were extremely saddened, but she was another woman who left a legacy of love and family. We had the opportunity to see her a lot around the holidays, making memories that we will cherish forever. Again, Mamaw loved to see the twins and always made a fuss to make sure they were taken care of.

So a huge benefit of moving back to the GTR (Golden Triangle Region) Area is getting a chance to reconnect with old friends! This spring the girls and I got to spend many afternoons with some friends of mine from college. We were able to celebrate with them as they graduated from Mississippi State Veterinary School. YES! I have super smart friends.

Me with Dr. Samantha Vitale, Dr. Caitlin Allori, and Dr. (to be) Stefanie Vamenta

This is Honey and one of her favorite kids....
and Samantha and me on the Drill Field

In May, we were visited by my Aunt Lou. We enjoyed a tour of Mississippi State campus, an afternoon of doing nothing but playing with the kiddos, and some good healthy cookin'! It is so nice having her in town. She and Carol are the easiest guests to host.

For Memorial Day, ALL the Caswells went to Santa Rosa Beach for the long weekend. We had a blast! I was SO relieved that the girls loved the sand, and warmed up to the water by the second day. Especially since they (especially D) hate getting their hands dirty.

The next weekend Jason went above and beyond to make my 25th birthday really special. The highlights were a REAL date with my handsome husband, a sweet after church brunch including the girls, and when the girls brought me birthday cake oreos in bed.

Then I got to go to on a girl's weekend trip to Panama City Beach. We had so much fun and so much girl time! I missed the twins, but nothing beat the welcome home I got. I can't say they didn't love having Gigi there to spoil them, though. :)

Lauren Tucci- The bride!

For Father's Day weekend we spent the afternoons outside. The girls surprised Jason with a container of rocks that they collected by themselves at the park.

The girls love "helping" :)

Daddy's little sunshine

We got into the newspaper! 

I also got to attend my friend's wedding in Memphis while my parents spoiled watched  the girls. 

Our summer is off to a great start...I can't wait to see what July has in store for us!

Liassez.les.bon.temps.rouler

Jason and I took the girls to New Orleans for a taste of mardi gras! We took them a weekend early to enjoy the more family friendly parades, and to visit with family that had come in town to be in Carrollton. 

This....

...quickly turned into this...

 

 

Girls? This is a beignet. Your life will never be the same.

We had the opportunity to your the Krewe's den, where they held all the floats. Dakota earned her first beads there, before the parade even started. They LOVE playing with the necklaces-oops sorry, tourist mistake. I meant beads.Then daddy carried our tired girl back to the car, which is when I snagged this priceless picture.

Later that day we went to a smaller afternoon parade...much smaller than we thought, but we still had a good time. The girls love any chance to be outside. They caused quite a stir with their two tutus. (As Brian pointed out, if we had triplets we would have had to make three-threes.) 

Uncle Steve isn't accustomed to having a tutu in his face.. 

Daddy was showing Dakota how to catch throws. 

Sunday we headed out in the pouring rain to watch Carrollton. The turnout wasn't nearly what it usually is due to the poor weather, so we racked up! The girls still loved being outside and watching the bands and floats. 

It was sad leaving all of our family, but when we got home we greeted 3 of our friends who traveled from Ohio and North Carolina to visit! I had a ton of fun showing them around our little town, giving them the "Jason and Kathleen love story" tour as they called it. 

The day after they left, my parents came to spend the night on the way home from the beach. The next day, my sister Laura brought her three little ones to Columbus, MS. We took them to the baseball game. I love that we are raising little bulldogs together!! 

Valentine's Day 2014

We don't usually celebrate Valentine's Day, but Jason and I both recognize the importance of showing the girls how they should be treated by their future "Valentines." So we didn't buy each other gifts, or do anything too out of the ordinary. We were just intentional with spending time with each other and making an effort to show love! Again- nothing out of the ordinary. Jason surprised his little valentines with a new puzzle toy: 

Man, they love it!! 

So this week, we completed a project together. Our first real home improvement DIY! I am so proud of it! We felt so accomplished building things together on our own. (insert Tim "the tool man" Taylor's grunting noise here.)

We needed protection on our fireplace to prevent unwanted trips to the ER due to our little monkeys falling on the brick fireplace! 

We built the frame with  2x4's (did you know they aren't actually 2 inches x 4 inches??) and plywood - with only one minor mistake (Lowe's: $15). I cut up a foam mattress topper (Walmart: $12) and surrounded the edges- double layer on the corners. Then covered with fabric I bought from a clearance closeout place ($2/yd- 3 yards). I used a staple gun to secure it (borrowed from a friend.) 

Total cost: $33

Retails: $250+ 

Value of protecting little heads from being hurt on a brick fireplace: Priceless :) 

I think they like it!! 

Today we get to go to the Mississippi State baseball game with some friends. The weather is PERFECT to be outside. Can't wait to show our support for our bulldogs on their opening weekend! Hard to believe that it was snow/ice all over this week! 

Don't worry.. the girls have their own cowbells! 

A Mother's Prayer -- at the right time

Now that I am a stay at home mom, I am able to participate in bible studies and small groups that I wasn't able to do before. (Side note: if you are a working mom and somehow find time to do that- I applaud you!) 

One of the bible study groups that I joined is very structured and somewhat intense. I love it! It is providing me with the structure and accountability I need to really get to KNOW the bible. 

I have found that as I make more time for God's word, he speaks more clearly. 

Through other people, through the bible, through things that happen, through feelings I get throughout the day. 

I am discovering for myself things that I have been taught my whole life. It is EXCITING! 

He sends me little reminders throughout the day that he is thinking of me.. and now that I am thinking of Him more, I am noticing these little reminders. 

So here is what happened today. 

The girls wake up at 8:00 every day. On Wednesdays I need to be at bible study at 9:00, so we need to book it through morning routine in order to get there on time. Today by 8:45 I was almost in tears because I was already so frustrated with them. So much crying for no apparent reason!! TIMES TWO!! We made it to the bible study, I dropped off my two screaming monsters at the childcare about 5 minutes after 9:00, with zero shoes and bananas covering their face, arms, hands, and clothes.  

I missed the opening prayer and hymns, but I walked into my small group session on time. As soon as I walk in, a sweet woman in the small group hands me this prayer. She found a newspaper clipping that she had found when she was a young mom and saved. She found it the other day so she typed it up and printed off a copy for me. When I read it, I was so moved. God was definitely letting me know he was looking out for me. I am so grateful to this  woman, who let God speak so clearly through her!! 

So to all you young moms out there who are trying to keep your cool:

A Mother's Prayer

Oh give me patience when wee hands

Tug at me with their small demands. 

And give me gentle and smiling eyes.

Keep my lips from hasty replies. 

And let not weariness, confusion, or noise

Obscure my  vision of life's fleeting joys.

So when, in years to come, my house is still--

No bitter memories its room may fill. 

-Written by a Mother of Five

Keep my lips from hasty replies- I HEAR YOU, GOD! 

New Jobs

So this is week 2 of Jason's new job.
Like I have said several times, he is working as a PA at an orthopedic clinic. He really likes it! Unfortunately, he is still balancing working and studying for the PA national certification exam. We will all be VERY glad to have that test behind us. 

Sometimes we convince him to take study breaks. 

It is also week 2 of my new job: being a staying home mom. 

So far, pretty good! 

My college roommate invited me to join a bible study once a week, and I joined a gym. There are tons of young women who go to this gym, and everyone is extremely friendly. The people Jason work with are also very welcoming. I have been invited to go on a walk at a local greenway and we are even going to dinner at a coworker's house tonight. I have brought the girls up to the office a couple of times for different reasons. We are staying busy and getting to know the area very well. The girls seem to love having me home all day, and I love that I finally have time to just be on the floor and PLAY with the girls, without having the work I need to do hanging over my head. I also had my friend Caitlin over. She is another friend from college who is now at Mississippi State studying in vet school. So nice to be near her again! 

Columbus, MS Riverwalk

Overall, we are adjusting to the area very well. I am not surprised how much I like Columbus. I knew we would like it. We are small town people! We love being in Mississippi. We love being closer to family. We love that we will be able to go to lots of things at MSU! I am just surprised how quickly we adjusted and love it! 

We will be open to having guests starting in February! :) 

Holidays!

whew!
Things from the holidays have finally settled down!!
In November Jason and I were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to have a whole day date by ourselves! A good friend from church (adopted Knoxville grandmother- Sheila) watched the girls for us all day so we could go to Dollywood. We rode every roller coaster and ride that was open, some a few times. I didn't tell Jason that I didn't like roller coasters until we were walking out! I was trying to be a good sport since he loves them. It was so nice to spend time alone, away, and know that our girls were in good hands.

This is Sheila! She watched the girls while we went to Dollywood. 

A few weeks later at Thanksgiving we drove down to Columbus, MS to find a place to live. We got to spend the night with Fran, which is like a mini-retreat every time. We drove down Thursday morning to Jackson to spend Thanksgiving with the Caswells. We celebrated with a huge feast with Jason's Dad's family. I should have taken a picture of the spread. It was overwhelming. I couldn't even fit one serving of everything on my first plate. Needless to say I had several plates. Oops.. Maybe I shouldn't admit that.
Sunday night we were invited to Jason's new company's Christmas party. We had a very nice time. It was held at a beautiful log cabin, and everyone was really welcoming. We left the girls with our good friends, Buz and Alice. They were so generous to let us stay with them and watch the girls for us! We are really happy to be moving closer to them so we can spend more time together.

After Thanksgiving we had a few weeks of packing our stuff, wrapping up school and testing, and barely sleeping. Jason's parents came to help us watch the girls so we could finish packing our house. Of course the primary reason they came was to watch their exceptional son walk across the stage. We were all so proud of him!!!
Watching Jason walk across the stage to accept his third (and final!) diploma was an incredible feeling. So many hours of Jason studying and working really paid off. Cliche? Maybe.. but it was a dream coming true.

The girls are proud of their daddy, too!

After graduation, we went to a celebratory lunch. Then we hurried home and got ready for the girls' first birthday party. We had a lot of people come over. It was exactly what we wanted. All of our friends in Knoxville, who have truly become like family, got to come and celebrate with us. It takes a village? Yes, it does. We were certainly blessed to have such a generous village to support us throughout the last year. A great big  THANK YOU for everything. Your good deeds will not be forgotten!

This is little Sam and me- Sam is one of the girls' bestest friends since they were about 6 weeks old!! 

Let's do this next year together! 

Happy birthday, girls!! 

Dakota loves the lion we got them for their birthday! 

Jared, Monica, and Sam Kimutis and our family.
They are some of our best friends in Knoxville.
We already miss them so much! (And we are planning a trip to visit this summer!)

I worked Monday and we had a holiday party for my students. Of course in Knox County Schools we can't have parties, so it wasn't really a party. It was a social skills activity that involved food, crafts, and gingerbread houses. I think the parents had a good time, and I KNOW the kids did. (so did the teachers!)
It was so hard to leave my students and co-workers on Tuesday. I was blessed to have an amazing support system at work, and a class full of wonderful kids. They made tons of improvements this year. I am so proud of them. I wish I could see into the future and see what impact they will make on the world some day!!

Tuesday afternoon Jason's mom and I drove down to Columbus with the girls. Jason and his dad had already driven down all of our things. My parents met us in Columbus, and they committed to watching the girls while we unpacked everything. It was a busy three days, but we did it. When we left on Saturday for Jackson, we didn't have any boxes left to unpack, and we even had things hanging on the walls!

We stayed in Jackson until Monday, when Jason had to appear in front of the Mississippi medical board to get approved for his license. Then we drove to Memphis for our Platten family Christmas. We had a delicious dinner and shared gifts and good times. We loved spending time with our family, including my sister Julie and her new husband, Reed, my sister Laura, her husband, Hayden, their three little ones, Haley (6), Trey (4), and Avery (2),  and  my dad's little brother from Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

The next day (Christmas Eve) we drove up to Saint Louis to spend time with all of my extended family. Christmas Eve is traditionally spent with my dad's side of the family. Our gracious host, John and Margie, also agreed to let the Caswell clan crash at their house. We had so much fun with everyone. Christmas morning we woke up and had a very laid back morning with a delicious breakfast and mass at their church in Saint Charles. Then we spent the day with my mom's side of the family. Another delectable meal and laid back afternoon. The day after Christmas we attended the annual Platten/LeGrand lunch. As always, we don't skip a beat. We spent the evening having a pizza party with my grandfather at his house. We headed out the next day and spent the night at Laura's house. We stayed up late just talking. One of my favorite parts of this whole trip was just spending quality time with all of our family. I may not remember the gifts we got, but I won't forget the memories made! (Ok, I doubt I will forget that I got a cricut...! :) )

My Grandpa Platten and Kiley

My dad's dog is a little jealous that the girls are getting all the attention.

The next morning we drove down to Jackson, MS again for a belated Christmas celebration with the Caswell's, including Jason's dad's mother, and two of his brothers, Jason's brothers, Derek and Chad, and his parents. Unfortunately Chad's wife, Laura, was sick so she missed out on the incredible food (again, I should have taken a picture of the spread...my mouth is watering just thinking about it), and we certainly missed her.

Jason's maternal grandmother

The next day we drove down to New Orleans to spend time with Jason's mom's side of the family. It was a rough day, since one of the things the Plattens seemed to give for Christmas this year was a stomach bug. I started feeling better the next day though, so we spent time with Jason's maternal grandparents. They LOVE the babies! New Years Eve was a lot of fun. Miraculously, the girls slept through all the fireworks and celebrating and didn't wake up at all throughout the night. The Gravois New Years celebrating doesn't stop at midnight- that's when we start celebrating Genevieve's birthday! Then we all go home for what seems like a little nap, followed by the New Years Day celebration. The next day we headed home. We stopped overnight in Jackson again.

I love seeing his face light up when he looks at the girls! 

Finally we went home. After a VERY long trip, we thanked God that we had a home to come back to, for safe travels, for babies who travel well, and that we didn't need to unpack any boxes when we got home!