Tonight's a school night

Tomorrow marks the beginning of another year of school. And, as trying as getting my room and office back in order after a summer of renovations at my school has been, God blessed me with the hands of four of my former students to help me get the job done. I am forever grateful to these kids, who gave up some of the last days of their summer break to help out a teacher at their "old middle school". They'll all be going on to High School this year, and I will miss them deeply. After three years with them, it's hard to watch them go!


While I've had mixed emotions about returning to school and all of the new trials and tribulations I'll be facing "going it alone", the Lord (due to all of your prayers, I'm sure!) has given me a calm spirit about the whole thing. This will be my eighth year to teach MS choir, so the ins and outs are old hat to me now, which is a HUGE advantage for me. My numbers are higher than they've ever been since I've been at the school, which will be a blessing and a curse all at once. Wouldn't you know that the year my assistant gets taken away due to low enrollment, the numbers pop way up in refelection of all the recruiting I've been doing? HA!


And, on the homefront, Isaac is getting to be so much fun! His fun-loving, joyful personality shines a little brighter each day, and he is always a bright light in even my darkest of days. He's starting to say a few words here and there - inlcuding pointing to pictures of himself and saying his name (minus the "c" on the end). Does that make him a genius? His Momma thinks so!!

Sometimes, the answer is no.

In our quest to open an in-home child care next school year in order to allow me to stay home with Isaac, we found doors to this venture to be closing all around us. After much prayer and financial scrutiny, we've come to the [tearful] conclusion that it's not meant to be. All of this has come on the tails of discovering that I will not have the benefit of an assistant choir director next year, either. This means that, not only will I have to go back to work but, I will have to run my choir program without help. This is also compounded by the fact that my school has been undergoing renovations over the summer, requiring me to completely pack up my classroom before leaving for the summer and my classroom isn't expected to be ready for "moving in" until days before school starts. Whoa.

I've been quite discrouaged through out the summer... feeling sorry for myself and adopting a less than pleasant attitude about my situation. My Mom snapped me back into reality when I was speaking with her about my frustrations one night, telling me that I needed to have a more positive attitude and to stop stressing about things that haven't happened yet, as well as things that are out of my control. She is completely right (which is not out of the ordinary). While it's not always easy to hear that you have a bad attitude, it's exactly what I needed to hear. I need to focus on the blessings in my life - and they are abundant. A wonderful husband, a healthy and happy little boy, a beautiful home and a secure job. My controlling, OCD personality makes it difficult for me not to worry, over-plan and stress about my work but I have no doubt that this is a lesson that the Lord has determined that I need to learn once and for all. I need to learn to "cast my cares upon him". I don't like to cast my cares on anyone... I like to deal with them on my own and control the outcome as much as I am capable. This is not, however, what my heavenly Father would have me to do. He is challenging me with the fact that He is in control of my life - NOT me - and that His plan for me is not what I've tried to make it. Humbling, to say the least.

As I reluctantly prepare materials, calendars, lessons plans and rehearsal schedules for the next school year, I'm not finding my heart to be in it... yet. I am working hard to mentally prepare for running a choral program in a completely new way by being creative with incorporating things into class time that I previously required myself to do outside of school and outside of contract hours. Before Isaac, I enjoyed being FAR ahead of the game, having tasks completed months in advance and working long hours before and after school. This year, I have do doubt, will introduce a brand new set of challenges for me in terms of time management, learning to realize what is necessary and what is superfluous, maximizing classroom time to it's absolute fullest and learning to say no to the many extra things the Vocal Region, district and school have come to expect from me. Does that make me a slacker? Maybe it does in the eyes of some. But I say, emphatically, NO! It makes me a Mom - and that is the most important job I'll ever have!

The best reason in the world to be a slacker

Thank you, dear Lord, for the abundance of blessings in my life. I know that they come from You.

Thank you for the life lessons You continue to teach me.

Thank you for loving me enough to tell me no when my plans are not in line with Your will.

Lucky me

It's fun to watch my boy getting to be bigger, stronger and more independent. He's crawling and creeping everywhere these days, eating more independently, waving, and "talking" all the time. I wasn't truly aware of how my perception of him has changed over the past ten months until tonight. I've gone from viewing him as this delicate little being to a rough and tumble little boy.

It was after tonight's bath that I was made aware of the shift in my perception of him. As I saw him all snuggled up in his towel, memories of him as a newborn swaddled in his blanket came rushing back. How tiny he used to be... and how he loved to cuddle with his Mommy. And it was then that I realized that he's still my precious, fragile, sweet baby boy... and that he always will be. No matter how big he gets and no matter how grown up he becomes, I know that there will always be moments - like the one tonight - that remind me of that teeny, tiny, newborn Isaac... and that I've been lucky enough to be his Mommy the whole time.

Isaac the adventurer

Ok, so I'm a terrible mother for not having blogged about this sooner. I should have posted this a week ago. But I guess later rather than sooner, right? Or... somethin' like that....

Now, onto the meat of the story. Our Isaac is crawling! It's been so fun getting to be around for this milestone, knowing that we truly have gotten to see him crawl for the first time. The whole process of this, well, it's happened in baby steps (no pun intended). The first day he crawled, we got two strides out of him, after which Brandon and I both had eyes brimming over with tears of pride. The second time he crawled, we got two more strides out of him, but had to wait a whole week in between sessions. The very next day, however, he was crawling everywhere. Although I will say that we were still having to do a bit of coaxing to get him to perform the deed. The video below required stacking one side of the living room with his favorite toys, Daddy, Mommy and Cooper. Nowadays, he's everywhere. He is curious about everything - pulling up on everything and pulling everything off of everything else! It's so fun to watch him get around the house and playing "I'm gonna get you!" with him. My favorite part of this game is listening to him squeal in delight as he "runs" away from Mommy. Ah... that boy is so stinkin' cute. But don't take my word for it... see for yourself!

Firsts

There have been so many firsts for Isaac this summer. It was his first Petit Jean (for those of you who don't know, Petit Jean mountain in Arkansas is where my Dad's side of the family gets together *every* summer for a family reunion. LOTS of fun!), swimming, hiking, a water park, and the lakehouse. It's been so much fun! Here are some highlights of all his firsts this summer!

Petit Jean 2010

A 2-fer... swimming at Petit Jean with Madelyn!
Chillin' with Greyson and Madelyn

The annual family birthday party!

Isaac's first hike

Having fun with Sam and Uncle Mike

The Rhodes Jr. Family

Dylan and Audrey's birthday party at the water park.

Audrey
Dylan

Mark and Grandpa

Karley is such a little dare-devil!

Isaac and Grandma
The Lakehouse

Isaac and Mommy - ready for his first boat ride.
Isaac can't wait to get on that wakeboard!

Asking for your Prayers

Having a child changes everything. Who hasn't heard that phrase before? As trite as it may sound, that's exactly what's happened in my life. Isaac has changed everything - including my drive and determination at work. I was constantly walking in to the school with mascara streaks down my face from crying my way to work. I hated dropping Isaac off every day. I was distracted by thoughts of him all day long. I found myself becoming apathetic about my work... I didn't know that I was capable of apathy! At that point, I realized that I needed to do whatever I could to find a way to stay at home with our son. The wheels began turning....

Brandon and I sat down one weekend, did the math, and decided that if I were to open up our home for child care, I would only need to keep three children other than Isaac in order for us to afford for me to stay home. To date, I've only got one person that's committed to using me for child care, and she's beginning to get anxious for an actual answer about my plans for next year - and understandably so! Brandon and I have looked at things from a different angle, and have decided that, even if I only have one kid during the day, that I can also make up the income difference by ramping up my piano and voice studio. In order for the studio to make up the income difference, the studio would have to triple in size, which is no small feat. But ALL things are possible with the Lord's help.

I need to channel all of the prayer warriors in my life - and there are MANY of you. I ask that you pray for us to find the financial means for me to stay home, either through child care or the studio, or any combination of the two. Please pray in fervor, as this is a decision that must be made within a matter of weeks. I ask that you also pray that, if it is not in the Lord's will for me to stay home, that He would reinvigorate me with the passion I NEED to do my very best for my students at school, and that he would give me to strength to continue to drop my son off with someone else day after day. Thank you, in advance, for those of you that will pray for us day after day, and for those of you that have already joined in this prayer.

Thank you for your prayers.

Memorial marathon

Memorial weekend was a busy one for us Ritters, but so much fun! Friday night after work, we made the trek to my Granddad Thurlkill's beautiful home. He put us up both Friday and Saturday nights. Thanks so much for the feeding us and for sharing your home with us, Granddaddy. We so enjoyed getting to visit with you!

Saturday, we traveled to Ruston, La to attend my cousin Sarah's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding - very sweet. The reception was held at an historic Fire Station in down town Ruston and was just lovely. Great food, great fellowship, great fun. I especially loved the fact that her Middle Eastern heritage was honored at the reception through traditional wedding dances and traditional food. Brandon, and I enjoyed the music and dancing, as did Isaac! Here are some pictures of the beautiful bride, her groom and their guests at the wedding reception.

Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Carter

Catherine and David dancing.

Anna and Aunt Lou at her new best friend's wedding! ;)

Isaac LOVED the bubbles!

Have a wonderful honeymoon!

After the reception, Mom, Brandon, Isaac and I went to visit my sister-in-law's daughter, Sarah's, grave. We wanted to be sure to honor her memory on memorial day and left flowers for her on her grave. Sweet baby girl - I hope I get to meet you one day in Heaven.

In loving memory of Sarah Jean Cobb

Sunday morning was spent at the nursing home where my Granddad Rhodes now resides. It was so hard to see my Granddad in a wheelchair and looking so thin. Nothing like the strapping, tall Granddad that I've always known. He met Isaac for the first time and seemed to be so taken with him. It was really special to see his face light up with joy at the sight of our little boy. I'll never forget that day. Never.

Granddad Rhodes playing with Isaac

I love my Great-Grandmother!

Four generations of Rhodes'


Granddad Thurlkill working those little legs...

Four generations of Thurlkill's

Sunday afternoon, Brandon and I loaded up again to visit Brandon's cousin Phillip to celebrate his 30th birthday. Unfortunately, his birthday party was the same day as Sarah's wedding, but we still wanted to get out there to visit with Phillip, Dare and Hunter to celebrate this milestone with him. Thanks so much for having us - we love you guys!!

We always knew these two would be great buddies!

Thank you, dear Lord, for family. Thank you for those that are with us now, and for the memories of those that have gone to be with you.