A Whole Lot of Everything Going On

To say life has been busy at the Newland-Rice home would be an understatement. There has been a lot going on the last few weeks. I finished fieldwork Jan 25 and came back home to begin my job search. On top of that on February 1, I decided enough was enough; on my butt that is. I began a new regimen of eating healthier, eating in moderation, and kicking some exercise into overdrive. My first 28 days I lost 10 lbs and now on my 6th week I stand at 15.8 lbs down. My goal is to be down as close to 40 lbs as I can get so that I can begin working on my next goal, that plan to be shared at a later date;) I am proud of what I can do once I put my mind to it and realize the strength and determination that I carry within me.
After searching for a month, I got a job! I have not begun to work yet because there is a multi-step process we have to go through to receive our license to work, but I should be working within the next 2 weeks. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that I am about to start my career and be a productive financial contributor to our family. The stress that weighed heavy on our shoulders, especially for our bread winner Chris, has already lifted. We know that in only a month that we will already see a difference in our finances. We know that every bill will be paid on time, the boys' needs will be met without robbing Peter to pay Paul, and we know that we can treat the boys to special family times. There is a light at the end of this tunnel and it is as bright as the sun!!! We won't be rich or be driving new fancy cars but life will be comfortable and having a cushion is such a relaxing thought.
I graduated officially on March 16 and walked across that stage in front of my parents, Denise and Sam, and my family. What a feeling that truly was!! I cannot explain how it felt knowing my parents got to see their first child graduate college and knowing that they were seeing my life improve before their eyes. It was also an awesome feeling because I felt like I was walking for everyone that helped me get to that day. My parents helped by allowing me to stay with them for 4 months and gave me their love and support, when roads were slick I stayed with my Aunt Susie. Then there is Denise and Sam, without their help both with Rayden and with finances; we would have never made it. They were a wonderful support and I am forever grateful to them. Tom and Traci lent us financial support as well. Then there is Chris, Dalton, and Rayden. Chris sacrificed a lot personally and his financial future he had already saved up to get us through. He carried the burden of making the bills and I cannot thank him enough. His support during the past two yrs made a huge difference in my graduating. Then there is Dalton who grew up super fast and spent a lot of time caring for his brother while I went to class or while I was doing my homework. His role in my graduating was as much needed and as important than anyone else. I am blessed to have a son like him! Rayden's role was the fact that he dealt with a mommy that may have been less active in his life especially while I was on fieldwork. During the first 18 months of college I worked hard to balance time out for him and to do homework after he was in bed. But I know there were days that he deserved more mommy time than he got:( I did my best and kept our future in mind as I struggled with mommy-inadequacies. I am blessed to have so much love and support from all of the people in my life. I realized how loved I was over these last 2 yrs and that is one lesson worth learning.
Life is going wonderfully, and I am super excited of the journey that is ahead of us. I feel like the year still has many wonderful things to offer me and I am looking forward to see what those may be. I hope this blog finds everyone in great health. I also hope everyone is finding the joy in life and counting your blessings for the joy. Even when you have a bad day, it is still a wonderful life. Best Wishes and God Bless:)

We Are Almost There!

I am finally closing in on the end of my college life. My last day of fieldwork is January 25! On January 26 I will wake up an unofficial graduate and ready to move towards my new life. There are still many hoops to jump through before I begin a working career but knowing that it will soon begin is a wonderful feeling. My graduation is March 16, something that has been in the making since I graduated high school back in 1995. I look forward to moving through the ceremony and sharing this moment with my fellow classmates, my family, and my friends. I will leave out tomorrow morning at 5:30 and head back to Grayson for my final 7 days of work. Since my last day is on a Tuesday, I do not want to drive home next weekend and waste gas money. I will be without my family for 10 days by the time I arrive home and they all return from their day. It is hard to know I will be without them that long but the silver lining is this is the last time I will be packing up and leaving them behind. I look forward to having some time at home. While I am getting things lined up to gain my license and job hunt; I will be home and living my normal life. A life that I have missed over the last 4 months. I have to admit that I probably had the best job placements for both fieldworks. My first placement was Life Care in Morehead. It is a skilled nursing facility and most of the patients that I saw were either stroke or Alzeheimer's patients. I enjoyed working with them and getting to share this part of their lives with them. I was suppose to go to another nursing home, but as devine intervention saw fit something better happened. My manager at Life Care listened to my concerns of the facility I was scheduled to go to. I had a bad feeling about that place after speaking to my supervisor. I also shared with him I wanted to work with children and that I did not wish to work in nursing homes after I graduated. In one phone call my Manager, Eric, helped change my course. He had experience with an OT who worked in First Steps, a program that works with young children. He called her and asked if she would take a student, and Mrs. Paige said that she would!!! For the past 7 weeks I have been able to work by the side of an awesome therapist. She has such a wonderful way with children and I have learned so much from her. Mrs. Paige has given me a chance to develop myself as a therapist and has given me the confirmation of what path to take once I am done. Had Eric not made that phone call or if she had not accepted me; I would have been placed in what proved to be a bad placement by another student, and I would not have had a chance to work with children. I believe things happen for a reason and the universe really does line up for us. I am so blessed to have had my experiences. I now know without a doubt that my career path will lead me to helping children. I may not land a job right out of the gate that will set me up to work with children, but I know when the job is right I will come across it. I am looking forward to see what life has in store for me. God Bless and Best Wishes!!!

Goodbye 2010 and Hello to Our Future!

2010 was a good year in most respects and it wasn't like previous years in my life; you know, those years where you were looking forward to the end in order to have hope for a better year ahead of you? All-in-all this past year was a good year for us in the Newland-Rice household. Not to say that it was completely smooth sailing, because we had our share of ups and downs with a side of challenges.

The beginner of 2010 greeted Chris and I with questions of where our relationship stood and how "WE" fit into each others life plans. Our relationship had been tested a lot over the past 3 years and we were at a point of breaking. How did we refocus on our relationship? We turned to couples therapy, and boy are we glad that we did! We spent three months going once a week and discussing the issues that were slowly ripping us apart. Week by week the pieces that were torn from us begin to reattach themselves and we started to become a better "Us". Instead of being two people trying to mold ourselves into this acceptable form of a relationship we began to become a couple, something we had never really been. I fell in love with him all over again and maybe more in love than I had ever been.
This past year was the second year of my college endeavor and I am only weeks away from completing my dream of being a college graduate. A lot of sacrifices were made this year not only by me but all of my family. We have had a financial struggle like no other and have managed to keep our heads above water. My children have been going days at a time over the past three months without seeing their mom and Chris has faced life like a single dad, while I have been away on fieldwork. I am so appreciative of their support and acceptance for my absence. I cannot wait for them to be able to see their lives change for the better because of what they have helped to make possible.

In July we took our first family vacation to South Padre Texas! We were so blessed to have the chance to take our boys to the beach and to be able to watch Rayden step foot on a beach for the first time. It was a summer to remember that's for sure:)My sister Beth received her GED this summer and I would like to say to her, well done Beth!! Your future will continue to brighten as you begin college this month!!!

In 2010 my baby turned two and my oldest turned 14! Nothing ages you like seeing your children get older and older. It is so hard for me to accept Dalton as a young man, it seems like yesterday that he was Rayden's age. In a little over 2 months Rayden will be three and will begin preschool this year. It is equally hard to be letting go of my baby and see him as this older child as it is to watch Dalton approach adulthood at lightning speed. The main comfort in this is being able to look at what great kids they are and know that I had a hand in raising these wonderful people. They are my pride and joys and my greatest achievements. If I was to do nothing else but raise them, then I will have had a wonderful life.

We spent the holidays spending time with our respective families. Christmas Eve was at Chris's dad and Step-mom's house. Nana and Papaw spent the night so they were there on Christmas morning and then we drove to Grayson and spent the rest of Christmas at my Mom and Dad's. New Year's Eve it was myself, Chris, Rayden, Mike, and Veronica playing Wii and enjoying adult conversation after Rayden went to bed. It was the first New Year's Ever that we spent with friends since 2007!!! So, that was a treat to say the least.

This year has been good to me and I am looking so forward to the years that are ahead of me/us. I have grown as a person in so many ways and realized a lot about who I am and what I am made of. Chris has made many improvements to his life and has made great efforts to be a better partner these past 12 months. I predict that 2011 will offer our family many awesome changes and that our lives will only keep getting better. I am so excited to see what these next 12 months will bring us. I have butterflies in my stomach and tears in my eyes just thinking about all we will be getting to experience and how happy we are going to be.

Of course I have a resolution and of course one of those is to lose weight but that one is on a revolving door when it comes to resolutions. My main resolution is to be happy. To be happy with who I am. To be happy with life and find the silver lining if times get bad. I want to keep life in perspective and not lose sight of what is most important to me. Most of all to hold strong to the idea that life is what we make it. We choose every morning whether or not to smile and go with the flow. Our lives will have ups and downs but we don't have to let those downs bring our very essence with them. You can change the world one smile at a time:) so give it a whirl. I hope everybody has a wonderful 2011 and I wish everyone a Happy New Year. Best Wishes and God Bless!

Just a Quick Note

It is super funny how teenage minds work. Not that they are alone in this particular hilarity; since most men of all ages are notorious for doing the same. Yet, teens tend to get themselves in a lot more trouble for doing this...The crime? It is opening their mouths and speaking every thought that comes into their heads! Prime example, Dalton, Chris, and I were just in the kitchen talking. Dalton takes a drink of his Dr. Pepper, looks at Chris who is loading the dishwasher and says; "Chris do you ever think about losing weight? Dr. Oz says...." Then the lightning bolt went right up the rear of Chris and he says "That is rude and none of your business, get downstairs"! LOL... I would like to say I was the mature one who handled the situation...but, instead I laughed uncontrollably. Of which may have added more fuel to the fire, but it was so funny.. I had to remind Chris of his many wrong things to say to someone your in a relationship with errors. Lord, knows I could begin a blog strictly based on near-daily quotes from him that should have remained merely as a thought in his own head. Once doing this he was able to see the humor in it all, as well as made him grateful I haven't castrated him yet for all those oopsies that he had made. Who knows, I may even share some of these hilarious now, but not-so-much hilarious then quotes from Christopher; the man of many words that shouldn't be so quick to share them. I love my life, I love my family, and I love all the silliness that goes with them. I am blessed:)

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