Sunday, January 31, 2010

January Family Update

Tomorrow is February 1st. Chelcie is posting harassing messages on my Facebook wall about my lack of my promised blog updates. So, here we are. This will be my January Crawford Family Update.

This month has been rough one for me emotionally as I struggle with the loss of several Reach Them board members, the distance between myself and many of my closest friends both physical distance as well as emotional distance, and I've continued to struggle to find my "niche" at Sarah Moore Green. The weather has certainly played a role in my attitude as it usually does when the trees are dead; the sky is gray, the temps are chilly, and spring seems so far away. However, things at home have been pleasant. With Chelcie and Drew away at college, we've had to find a new way to identify our "family." I still miss Drew and Chelcie so much sometimes my heart hurts, but I know they are discovering who they are and why that matters. It's knowing that they will never be "in the nest" as they once were that makes them seem so far away, even if they return home temporarily.

Drew did us all proud by pulling in a 3.8 and earning his place on the Dean's List his first semester at UT-C. We don't see him much and try to touch base with him at least weekly, but he's content to do his own thing. Gone is the little blond boy who used to remind me that "You're never too old to hug your momma!" Ouch. That hurts just typing it.

Chelcie is pouring herself into the lives of her Young Life girls at Halls. It amuses me to hear her talk of how demanding they are and unappreciative of the sacrifices she makes on their behalf. She is making the grades she needs to make to keep her HOPE Scholarship although she's cut it close. I enjoy having her visit my classroom about once a week. She's been bringing along friends. The more individual attention I can give my students, the better for them. I've got to find a way to get all 13 of them over the "Proficiency" bar.

Addie just wrote an incredibly creative book entitled, "Idiom Land." I was impressed! She cleverly dedicated the book to her 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Byrd, then added a P.S. once she made her presentation to add her mother to the dedication page. She is an overachiever and has currently sold nearly 150 boxes of Girl Scout cookies!

Sam has bonded with one of my brightest students. He loves his Nintendo DS and I have to constantly remind him to do his work before he "plays." Pokemon continues to reign as the coolest thing ever and he literally cannot concentrate if the television is on in the room. He's funny, smart, witty, and reminds me so much of his big brother, Drew.

Tom and I took the little kids up to the mountains for a get-away weekend this month. We had a great time! The weekend seemed so much longer and having a change of scenery helped us break out of our usual routines. His business is picking up and going very well. He was the top listing agent for the month of January for his office at Coldwell-Banker. I'm proud of his hard work.

Marley continues to wreak havoc on the neighborhood. She lays in the street and chases cars, she barks at children and chases squirrels. Neighbors have called to complain and yet still, Tom refuses to put up a fence. There's no changing his mind. It's a matter of time before the Dog Catcher gets her...

January's highlight was our trip to the cabin. I'm counting the days 'til Spring Break!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Baby, It's C-c-c-old Outside!

The first week of January has brought an arctic blast that has broken records for the most consecutive days with temperatures below freezing. Here are some pictures from the first full week of 2010! Our life in pictures...

Sunday, January 3, 2010

January, 2010




New Year. New Resolve. I'm keeping up with our family blog. Here's a quick recap of our first few January days.

Tom and I have been to several movies over the long break. We saw Avatar on Christmas Day and Sherlock Holmes on New Year's Eve. Both were entertaining and enjoyable. We've been very laid back and relaxed with our schedule lately with very little going on outside the house.

Addie missed her first Girl Power soccer practice due to a bout with a 12 hour virus that kicked in in the middle of the night when she spent the night with Morgan. Fortunately, no one else in the family came down with it.

Chelcie has been gone "all year" to Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A bowl game and Passion 2010. Drew has been in and out, but has kept a low profile.

It's been a nice few days to start off what I hope will be the best year of our lives! Chili and Bunco at the Mathes' last night. Church and lunch with the Keeners today at Pelancho's. Good times. Good Friends. Good start. Good-bye.

The Last 5 Months of 2009 in Pictures
















Catching up 2009 through pictures... Starting 2010 with a renewed passion for documenting "our story!" Hang on...Here we go again!