Hello everyone~

I know it has been forever since we have updated. Life has been hectic. We returned home, to Arkansas, last night after being in Missouri for the last week and a half. My mom had her surgery and is recovering as best as expected. She still has drains and is in quite a bit of pain but the recovery is slowly and surely happening. She still has two surgeries scheduled for later this spring and six weeks of radiation coming up soon. The good news? The chemo killed all of the cancer cells! Woo hoo! There is still a long way to go but we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you to those of you who have kept her and our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Our family is doing great. Carter is growing like a weed and was five months on the 19th. Crazy! He is weighing in just over 17 pounds! Such a chunker. Everyday he is learning and discovering new things. Lately, he is standing on his hands and knees, rocking back and forth. It is so cute to see him trying to get on the move! Maybe by Christmas...As far as work goes, Andrew is still in "waiting" mode as far as a retraining goes. We are trying to be patient. :) Decisions should be made by Christmas and we'll be sure to keep you updated! Andrew is still plugging away at classes and is really enjoying working on getting school done! He is doing really well - making an A in his last class and currently has an A in the class that will finish up in a couple of weeks.

I have exciting news. I start a new job after the first of the year! I'll be working as a teaching assistant. There is a professor that operates a business who teaches and develops online college-level courses for universities all over the country. She works with Mizzou, Duke, University of Michigan and many, many others. I'll be assisting will grading and other misc. items of business. Eventually, the plan is for me to develop courses as well. The pay is excellent and we'll be able to start saving a little more so we are super excited about that!

That's a brief update for now. We are really excited about Christmas time and looking forward to our first Christmas together! We are happy, healthy, and truly blessed. :) These are a few snapshots my cousin took of Carter boy over the weekend. Aren't they precious?