STRESSED!!

I am finding myself so stressed out these days. I have had a lot of stuff going on in my family life that has been trying the limits of my abilities to cope. Mix that with planning a wedding, raising three children, the final year of midwifery school, being on call, working clinic, and my own personal roller coaster ensues, both emotionally and physically.

I'm beginning to feel it. The exhaustion that sets in from too much stress. I'm trying to find moments to remind myself it will all be worth it in the end, and that God's plans are sometimes quite different than our own. Spending a lot of time in prayer lately.

On a brighter note, we are taking the kids camping this weekend to an awesome part of a national forest. I can't wait to just relax and soak in the days for a few days. It's like our own mini staycation. Jereme and I really need this time to just chill and get back to the basics with the family. We're both about at our peak of frustrations these days.

Speaking of Jereme....he found a kitten in our back yard. The kitten is all black with yellow green eyes and has since been named "bipity bopity boo" or "boo" for short. He's about 6 months old. At first he was way skittish of us, but my daughter tricked him into coming in the house and now all he does is sit in our laps and purr. God knew I needed a baby in the house to love on I guess :)

well that's it for now, off to do some more organizing for the trip!!!

Nearer the End than the Beginning

All things have a beginning and an end. Several things in my life right now are nearer the end than the beginning. My time in Tennessee/Alabama (at least, this time) is nearer the end than the beginning. My (and the kids!) summer is nearer the end than the beginning. My midwifery training is nearer the end than the beginning (though it might not seem so to some, as I have three more years to go, I still feel nearer the end than the beginning...I have learned so much already). Now that my oldest son has turned that magical age of 9 years old I am now nearer the end than the beginning of his childhood and my role as supervising parent for him. Yes he and I still have 8 years and 11 months where he is still the "child" and I am still supervising him...but I can't believe half of my work with him is almost over :(

This summer I accomplished some things that I wanted to. First, I took my children to meet their great-grandma McGovern and see New Jersey, where their grandpa McGovern is from. While there we spent a lot of time with their aunts, uncles, and cousins that they wouldn't have known otherwise. We also had a special treat....we went to see the statue of Liberty!! Well, we saw her from afar...but it was better than not at all!! My father in law says if we come up to New Jersey again to see family that perhaps we will try to spend the better part of a day and go into the Statue of Liberty. I know that *I* will love that, and I think my kiddos will too!!

We also came to Ohio to spend time with my grandparents and cousins here. This is always a special time for everyone and I am so glad that I was able to do it again this year for and with my children. Next year will probably be a little less likely as I will have school all summer, but we will see.

The move back to Florida is proving to be very stressful for me, and I am trying to spend the least amount of time as possible thinking about it. While we were in New Jersey it was hard for me *not* to think about Tom, and everything that has happened in my life the last 9 years, because his family (though all very apologetic - as if his behavior is somehow their fault...which it isn't) either brought it up frequently, or just reminded me of him by simply being around them. Tom definitely has some physical features in common with the McGovern side of his family.

We're leaving Ohio soon, and I have a feeling my stress level will decrease once I get settled into new routines in Florida. Once the kids are registered for school (and me too for that matter!) and we're settled into our temporary living space (until I find something else).

I am also spending some time looking for a part time job. I am hoping to pick something up that will help me pay bills while I am in school. I have a goal to get rid of the van by July of 2011, and would love to see that actually happen. I am thinking about maybe getting a station wagon style car instead. Something that is better on gas, has a lower car payment, and isn't going to break down on me (hopefully!) every 10000 miles like this P.O.S. van has.

So, that is an update on me and the kids!