A Year in the Life

Ok, its been over a year since my last blog! Its been a busy year, and to be honest I forgot about blogging for quite some time! I have had several requests recently for me to update so I decided tonight would be the night. I am truly overwhelmed with all that I would have to catch up on in the past year, as it has been a year filled with many life defining events and blessings! I will try my best and hopefully be better about blogging in the future! I finished school in December with a B.A. in Elementary and Early Childhood Education! I was blessed to have the most awesome student teaching experience a person could ask for with the best cooperating teacher in the world! Its funny with all of the school set-backs that seemed so devastating as they happened. I know that God had his hand in all of it. He was setting me up for the perfect timing to come to Satchel Ford Elementary! He allowed Walker and I to start there together last fall, and then set me up so that my last day of student teaching was actually my first day on the job as a long term sub for a 4th grade teacher (two doors down from student teaching) who had a baby! In an economy where people are searching for jobs, and being laid off left and right, my Father provided a job for me that began one day before I was even set to finish school! I will forever praise Him for this! Not only did he take care of me from December to March, but he continued to provide another long term sub position from March until May in 5th grade at SFES!! I got to be at school with my precious Walker all year! I have to say I don't know if I have truly experienced sending my child off to school because we see each other at least once a day and blow kisses or give hugs! Sometimes its even just a wink.. but the fact that we are in the same building makes my mind at ease!

We moved in June, once again I worried and worried as we couldn't find a place to live and once again God reminded my to cast all of my anxieties on Him and He provided the most perfect house for us! My patience and faith were truly tested when I waited all summer to know about a job this year! Week after week I sent emails to the principal asking about openings, and week after week I was confronted with a Richland One hiring freeze! It was frustrating and devestating at times! When I decided to major in education I never thought I would have trouble getting a job, but I never thought that the economy would be in the state its in! Finally three weeks before school I got the news!! I am now teaching 4th grade af SFES and Walker is in 1st grade there! Once again I have been provided for in the most incredible way! Praise God!

We started school last week and I am totally pooped, but there is nothing I would rather be doing! I know that I was put here to teach and I have the sweetest little class that I could ever have imgined! Its beyond exciting to go in day after day and here the words, "Good Morning, Mrs. Dungan!" Its so awesome to have my own room decorated and organized the way that I want it! The sense of accomplishment that I feel is unbelievable. I think about myself 6 and a half years ago when I came to a major crossroads. I knew that no matter how hard it would be that God would provide for us, and that Walker was a gift from God! Not to say that it won't continue to be hard, but its been awesome reaping the rewards and pay off for all of my eight year college plan!! Its not bad to have a pay check either I might add! (Even though I still have not recieved one and will be a whole lot happier when I do! Who said $$$ can't buy happiness? It sure helps!! ha ha ha)

Ok... that wasn't as hard as I expected, of course there are a million details that I could have added, but there's the quick update! Walker is precious! The girls are chasing him at school! He told me that he had to, "run for his life" the other day because there were seven girls chasing him! Conor's response was that he had to deal with that all through elementary school:) Gotta love a husband who is confident in his looks! Unfortunately I was one of the seven girls chasing boys! Either way we both agree that Walker is pretty darn cute! Ok I am commiting to doing this once a week, or maybe once every two weeks, but I promise to never to leave you hanging that long again... although I am not sure who even reads this! Off to read fourth grade novels and make up comprehension questions!! LOVE Teaching!

- The College Graduate!

My Little Man is 5!

Walker at 5 months!

Walker's 1st Birthday!

So Walker turned 5 last week! Every one of his Birthday's have caused me to stop and reflect on the years that I have been blessed with this precious child and stop and smell the roses of being a Mommy! I am having a hard time with 5! My baby is heading off to kindergarten in less than 3 weeks and I am a basketcase! I feel as though it is the end of an era! I no longer have a preschooler and Walker is officially not a baby anymore! He no longer needs me to do so much for him. He dresses himself, gets his own juice boxes, cracks eggs when we cook, closes the door while he goes potty because he needs privacy, picks out his own jammies, plays pretend by himself in his room with the door closed, and tries to wash his own hair! While I am so proud of him for being so independent and needing me for so little I am missing my little baby boy!

I will never forget the first time I held him and I cried and cried. I knew at that moment that the world was sooo much bigger than selfish me and my little life. God has such a plan for my little boy and has given me the privledge to take care of him and help him grow to find his purpose in this life. At the moment I held him I realized that it is no longer about me, but everything I do from here on out is about Walker and being the best Mommy to him that I can be. My emotion over this birthday is filled with some guilt over not always being the best Mommy I can be and over not savoring every moment with my little boy! I pray that the next five years don't go by as fast as the last 5. I am going to slow down and enjoy the precious moments with my son. Right now he is so much fun. I cherish our many games of uno, our math moments in the car, opening his chips for him, listening to him sing the Jonas Brothers and listening to his version of the words, making his cereal, and not burning his blueberry waffles,snuggling with him each morning when he comes to get in my bed, listening to him tell me about Sunday school and how Jesus died on the cross for us, his reminding me to buckle up in the car, and sooo much more that I know will only last for a short while!

Time is going by too fast, but I am proud of my little 5 year old and excited for what school brings in his little life. I heard someone say on the radio recently that they always felt like their mother was pushing them to do things to practice for a life that would start later on, and when he was in his twenties he realized that all the while he was living his life and he felt like he missed it. In a way my life has been a little like that. Everything was in preparation for later on, and I kept waiting for my life to start and I am in my life. My story started a long time ago and I need to wake up and live it now! My Birthday wish for my son is for him to live this life in its fullest! Not to prepare for later but to enjoy his life for what it is! HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY WALKER PATRICK!!! I LOVE YOU!

Independence Day!

We had an awesome long weekend at the beach for the 4th of July! It was not nearly long enough, but it was great to get away and enjoy each other some! We left Thursday night and stopped in Florence for dinner with Kay Kay and Gene! Then we headed on to Wilmington! Some highlights include the beach, pool, boogy boarding, laying in the sun, hotdogs on frisbee plates, and Walker making friends to dig a 5 foot hole with on the beach! Some not so high lights included Walker stepping on a cactus and having a billion little spurs in his feet, and Conor's sunburn!

This was taken right before we left to go down to the river front for the awesome fireworks!

Love these little pink cheeks!

Digging the biggest hole ever!

On Daddy's shoulders for the fireworks. It was hot and crowded probably something we would not have ventured out to do without Walker, but he loved it!!! That makes it sooo worth it!

I am always the one taking the pictures so we had to make sure I got in a few this time! Everytime I took a picture of Walker he took one of me!

I love this next one of Walker as he watches the fireworks! He is so cute whenever we do something fun I think I spend more time watching his reactions than I do watching what we are doing!

Overall it was a great weekend and The Dungan Family needed to get out of town for a while! Walker shed a few tears as we left this morning, and I have to admit I was pretty sad too! Back to reality it is! A little while ago Conor said, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow!" and Walker replied, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow either!" I think he meant he didn't want Conor to go, but it was funny the way he said it! I am so thankful for such a precious family!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY to all of you!

The Mounatineer!

After 4 years of wondering which one of our cars would go first Conor's bit the dust about a month ago! The red 1994 pathfinder had over 200,000 miles on it, no side mirror on the passenger side, burn holes in the seat (it was old when Conor got it) and no reverse. Thats right you heard me! NO REVERSE! My poor husband has spend the past nine months driving up the hill past our house, putting the car in neutral and rolling back down into the driveway! I guess God knew his reverse was going to go when he put us in a house on a hill! I don't know what we would have done otherwise! When we had the pathfinder towed by AAA we were thinking it neede a new transmission and we were highly stressing how we were going to pay for that, but then we got the call from K & A Automotive telling use that the engine was locked up and it needed a new engine at the least! We knew that was it and there would be no more pathfinder! We have been sharing a car for the past couple of weeks trying to decide whether to lease or buy or just share a car for a while. Anyway after church today we decided that we were going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new at some point so we might as well go look around and see whats out there! 5 hours later we I followed Conor and Walker home in our new car! (Its new to us, but its actually a 2004)

We did it! We bought a new car and it is more than we ever thought we could get for what we can pay a month, but God had the perfect car waiting for us! It was acutally the premier of the week! Sounds like a movie doesn't it?!? We are so excited! Neither of us have ever had such a nice car and we are so relieved that we now have a nice and reliable family car with low mileage and a 4 year warranty! Thats right! A used car with a 4 year warranty! Awesome! As you all know Conor and I have worked through school and trying to care for Walker and our parents have helped in countless ways both financially and with child care, and just giving us advice. We felt so proud that God allowed us to do this on our own and not have to have any help from our parents! What a blessing!

Anyway I better get to bed! But I was so excited I had to share the news! Now all I have to do is convince Conor to let me drive it and let him drive my old beat up piece! ha ha ha (J/K he deserves every minute of being behind that wheel under that sunroof!)

Pepperoni, Macaroni, and McDonalds

Ok so I know its crazy that this is my second post this week, but I had to share the humor that I woke up to yesterday! Yesterday morning Walker rolled over and the first words out of his mouth were, "I Love Pepperoni!" with much expression! Conor and I both laughed and I said, "What made you say that?" Walker then goes on to say, "Because we had Macaroni and Cheese last night!" with just as much expression. Conor and I laughed some more and then he busted out, "Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba I'm Loving it!" At this point we are rolling on the floor with laughter! He went from pepperoni to macaroni to Mikey D's in all of 10 seconds! I don't know what he was dreaming about but he must have been doing some good eating! Its these moments when you are up and getting ready in the morning and dreading all that you have to do in the day that being a parent is so great! No one can make me laugh that hard at 7:30 in the morning! I do love my little goober!

Thought I would share the laughs!

Spring and Baby Fever!

April has been absolutely crazy! Not that every month isn't nuts, everyday rather, but we have had loads of excitement this month! I have been wanting to blog for weeks now and I have had tons to say, but no energy or time to sit down and give my thoughts any justice! We spent today at the park today with a friend who everytime I am with her becomes an even dearer friend and I get in my thoughtful mode and feel so refreshed after time with her! She is a fellow blogger and a woman of much wisdom and raw honesty that leaves me feeling like a better person each time I am around her! I think she knows who she is! Anyway we were talking today about the joys and trials of parenthood and the times when you daydream about what your life might have been if you did things a little differently and where you might be other than where you are at that moment. While I spend a great part of my weeks daydreaming of those very thoughts and usually beat myself of with guilt for having them I realized today that all of our thoughts and feelings are completely natural and does not mean that we are bad people. The important thing is that there is a greater part of me who knows that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this moment in time! I know that its not about me! Its about serving God and being the best wife and mother I can be and treasuring the life that God has intrusted into my care! Its amazing how the love for a little one can make even the most selfish of souls become so selfless!

Its been a tough spring for me! I have struggled with some health issues and was finally diagnosed. Nothing life threatening, but having another baby may not be as easy as we thought! That has been an issue of great sadness for me. We weren't even ready and still are not ready to try until next spring, but the thought that it wont be simple is a scary one. I know that God will answer all of my prayers in His time and in His way, but I am still grieving the issue!

We did have Mimi down for a short but great visit! Walker was thrilled to see her as usual and she played and adored him as usual! They have a very special relationship! They planted flowers and Manni came for a 10 day visit at the end of her visit so he even got some time with her and helped out with the planting!

I am blessed to have such a loving and helpful mother in law and Walker is blessed to have a Mimi who thinks he hangs the sun and the moon! There is something about being the first grandchild! William was like that in my family! It was like the whole family rallied around him! Not that my family doesn't love Walker and give him tons of love, but The Dungans are smitten with him to say the least!

We had a great visit with Manni! He got to see one of Walker's baseball games which was awesome and he particularly enjoyed the snow cone after the game, but before dinner!

He is growing up soo much and I am so thankful that he loves coming to South Carolina! He has such a sweet and tender heart and I love being his aunt Kat Kat! I love being all of my nephews aunt Kat Kat! I mean what better way to get self confidence that to be the aunt of a bunch of energetic boys who think you are the cat's meow!

Even though Manni's birthday is not until May 11 we celebrated it with him and he picked out a very yummy strawberry cake! He was quite exctied and I actually think he liked the presents we got him! It was fun to get to celebrate with him and to spend so much time with him! Walker sure has missed him since he left!

I gotta wrap this up because the ernomous amount of never ending school work is calling my name! By next year this time all of this work will be a memory and I will be done with school! I keep telling myself that even though I am already looking at graduate programs! I will try to blog more this summer when I have a lighter school load! I have so much to say and there is so little time to say it! Ultimately we are doing well, afterall we are always growing, learning, and changing and complacency is boring so even through the struggles God is helping us to become more like him and preparing us for eternity!

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"

1 Corinthians 2:9

How exciting!

March Madness!

GO Gamecocks!

Its been a while since I have blogged so here goes! Lots to catch up on! Walker started playing t-ball recently (pictures to come) He is on the Tarheels team, which he and Conor are both thrilled about and he looks so darn cute in his uniform and baseball hat! T-ball has sparked some interest in baseball so Big Daddy (my Dad) gave Conor some tickets to take Walker to a Carolina Baseball game! It was the coldest day in March so they bundled up and headed out! I had to take some pics because they looked so cute! Especially Walker in his garnet and black (gamecock colors) and camoflage! It reminded me so much of my redneck brother back in the day when we used to go to gamecock games and he would rock his gamecock stuff with him camo stuff! True South Carolinians know what I am talking about!

I thought the two of them looked so cute in this picture and I especially love Walker's facial expressions!

I was so worried because our good friends The Dormans were coming to town for Easter weekend and we decided to go to the beach for the weekend! I was worried that I would have to sacrifice my seeing them, but we ended up getting to spend some good time with them Friday afternoon! You'll notice Zach is carrying on Walker's tradition with the tie die shirt! I hear from Marcy that he will not take it off. Walker went through a phaze with that shirt wear he called it his rainbow shirt and he seriously didn't take it off for a week. I think I had to hide it from him to finally get it off of him.

After Conor got home Friday we headed for the beach! I was so excited I actually had the car packed and the house was immaculate (so not me) and we were waiting in the driveway! I had not been to the beach since last summer and I had not seen my sister of my nephews since Christmas! The most exciting part was that this was the first Easter that Conor got to come spend the entire weekend with us at the beach! Did I mention I love his new job!

William 9

On Saturday we played on the beach for a while and took a long walk with the boys! The weather was incredible and William and Walker splashed in the ocean for a long time, but it was too cold for us! Later we had a golf cart ride and an egg hunt!

Walker will always pose for a picture!

Julian is never that excited to pose but always takes the best pictures! We had an awesome day in the sun with them and even caught a late afternoon movie and fabulous dinner at a new restaurant at Litchfield. Conor actually got to play golf with Dad... he was very excited! Sunday we woke up andWalker found his Easter basket and we headed to Robin's church! David sang an awesome song that he wrote for Easter. I can't remember any of the lyrics, but it really touched me. It was written from the point of view of the soldiers who crucified Christ. It showed how we just try to follow the worldly rules and commands of the world and in that we may be missing out on our savior.

Cousins are the best!

So are Daddy's!