We Had a Roarin' Good Time at McCoy's First Party!

Go Tigers

Harry and Co. have spent the last 4 Friday nights out watching the Bentonville Tigers dominate their competition! They are # 1 in state right now! Go TIGERS!
Harry, suprisingly, has been perfect through every game: beginning to end! He LOVES every aspect of the game, the band may be his favorite! I have always been a fan of the percussion kids! I have a few students who go to the games too and are Harry's best buds there! They could be a big part of keeping Harry so entertained! It is really sweet how much attention they give him! I am impressed with how polite these boys are; they are so good with him!
Harry loves to clap and stand up and watch the big plays! Harry cheers "GO GO ROAR"!

Carrying Burdens, New Friends, and Poopo on the Potty

There was a man, named Malcolm. He had 2 beautiful daughters, Kathrine and Emma; a wife who everyone admired and was constantly doting on all of them. He would come each lunch at school with both of his daughters weekly, pick them up from school, he even walked his oldest child to kindergarten every day to make sure she was okay. He was a cowboy, and good at it! He was playful and adored his family and his friends. He loved Harry. He teased Harry in church 2 weeks ago, he was a very good man. He came to every event his girls were at, had a passion for christian education and the Morrilton Children's Shelter. He would do anything for his friends, even if it meant sacrifice. This man, Malcolm Forrest Howell, died last Saturday. The world was impacted by his goodness, by the overwhelming amount of Christ that flew out of him. He leaves, a widow, a 12 year old, a 8 year old and adoring family and friends. I would say I was close acquaintance with Malcolm and a friend to his 3 girls. He was at my school with his daughter often, and he gave Harry a lot of love at church. I am morning, not because he died, not because it hit home, but because my friends are devastated. They had a husband and father that could stand up against any all star parent and have lost him at the prime age of 43. He was killed in a car accident in OK the day before his 17th anniversary with his wife. She had already bought and written in the card. The story is heart breaking and awfully sad. I can not tell you enough how sad I have been for the Howell and Carter family. I truly understand the meaning of "carry one another's burdens".
I have also seen that with my friends who have been worried about my "over doing it"! What a blessing to have friends who pray for you and encourage you to become closer to your Father. That is another example of carrying others burdens.

I made new friends 2 days ago! My neighbors, are from Columbia, actually Miami! She is a woman lives with her mother and son of 7. Her husband is trying to sell their home in Miami, they are absolutely wonderful! Edilma(the grandmother) is so good with Harry. She plays with him and has offered to clean my house in exchange for tutoring Daniel(3rd grader). Harry and I had dinner with them tonight, I was inspired by their stories. I have never wanted to speak Spanish so bad! They are very educated and just plain precious! I feel silly for never pursing this friendship before! I was blessed this week by Ruth, Daniel, and Edlima.

On another note, Harry pooped and peed on the potty! He has been fascinated with the potty, it must be a thing at school he is seeing. Whatever, but I am not going hard core potty training until I know it will be a quick transition....I am totally cool with diapers!
Harry is loving school, more than ever! He is talking like crazy and the paci is becoming a thing of the past...okay, not completly but they don't give it to him! Today I heard him say "Bye bye Grace" then blew a kiss!

What Can I Say?

I will start by saying that this family has not had one night at home in the last 3 weeks. I know that we are to blame, how do you just stop? Everything we do is fun or contructive, but it can wear on you. This first picture says a lot!I have a few shots of just a few things we have been up to! Olivia's birthday party, how did we not get more shots of the Birthday Princess?

The fair came to town! It was a highlight. I am kicking myself for not taking the time to get him "cowboyed up"! I promise to have my cowboy ready for next year's live stock show!

We left in just enough time to miss the rain!

Go Tigers! First home game...we were scared off by the rain...but they won! Harry was in awe! He loved every single second! He growled at the tiger every time he danced by!

Family Pictures

My good friend Melissa has started her own photography company! She is a natural!
Check our family pictures at
www.melissahalfordphotography.com

Go to clients and the password is "harry"

Just For Fun

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ESFP)

Your personality type is playful, charming, open minded, and energetic. Only about 7% of all people have your personality, including 9% of all women and 5% of all men You are Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

A Friendly Weekend

This weekend was like many of our weekends when we are at home. We spend a lot of time with friends when we are all free. I rarely take pictures but, I had my camera by my side for this particular weekend! Thursday night started off the course of events. Harrison and Lindsey Hicks stayed the night at our house while Emily(sister) babysat all three of these wild tots! Chad and I went to their house to hang out with Matt and Holly. It was a very fun night, we enjoyed it so much that we are having a replay on Friday!
Lindsey and Harry have a love/hate relationship. This is what happens any time they hit each other, they quickly make up! Friday night we tested our luck at the annual Tontitown Grape Festival. The weather was perfect and it was time Harry ventured out to a Redneck Disney World! As you can see, he was quite intimidated.
We enjoyed the night with the Matherlys' and the Halfords'! Having kids the same age makes us all on the same page! Tots first roller coaster. The next 2 pictures ore of Keaton, Elliot, and Emma Grace.

This was my favorite kid ride, the air balloons! Emma Grace rode with us! Poor Chad was too big for all the kid rides!

Of course, we could not miss out on the merry go round, Harry is all about these horses!
Harry's first roller coaster ride! Notice, Jake and his dad are sitting behind us!
Saturday night we were back with the Hicks and the Halfords! I made them pose for a picture because, I knew I was doing a "friendly blog" and did not want them to be left out.
Harry is crazy about Matt. As you can see he and Lindsey are making Matt throw them around, that is how Matt makes friends:)Keaton's dad is going to kill me for posting these but, they are too funny! Keaton was walking in my shoes like a pro! I am still laughing at this picture! Ryan made friends quickly by handing out popsicles! Harry was chasing him around the rest of the night trying to get more!It as an eventful weekend. Melissa Halford took our family pictures a few weeks ago and they are by far the best pictures we have ever had taken! I am can' t wait til her site is up and running!

Back to School :Year Six on the Other Side

It is a bittersweet week; I am getting ready for my passion for learning and at the same time, I am not getting to spend as much time as I would like with Harry. We have had a fabulous summer and it is not over, just a couple of more days and I will be back devoted to my classroom. I have been up there quite a bit but, not near as much as I would like. As most of you who know me know, I absolutely love my job! I especially love my job from August to April and then my emotional stability gets shaky! I love my coworkers, we are very close and work very well together, I have an amazing principal and lets just say my assistant principal and I are on a path to a good friendship. I could not ask for more in a job, now less, I could ask for! I would prefer to work a couple of days a week and chill with Harry the rest, but time will answer that request. Anyhow, I have no doubts that this is what God has planned for me, not that I agree 100% but, I know I am in my element when I am teaching. Oh and if you are sitting there thinking, she gets her summers off etc....talk to a teacher with a toddler and maybe your judgements will change. Just and idea:)

On another note: I changed a few things on my good ole' never fail, can't believe I went 25 years without it BLOG! I have to give it to blogger, I wouldn't remember half the stuff I put on here if I had not met up and created a loving relationship with this amazing resource. On the other hand, he gets annoying....enough said. When you live with someone for 2 years and have such a serious and devoted relationship like we do, there is bound to be a few rocky patches at some point. Blog and I are having some relationship problems. I am not as devoted and dedicated as I once was and it is keeping me out of the blog loop and my posts are not as good as I would like them to be. I thought that a quick make over would help me to get me to keep up with our events and my ideas. Let's see how it goes!
I took off my links list because, they are no good to me anymore I have a favorites link with them all on there and most of you went private. There are probably 10 that I haven't added and a couple I don't check as often anymore. If you are reading this, I am totally not talking about your blog! Your blog is my favorite:)
I end this with a question, a thought, request, and an idea:
Will I learn to balance my acts(passions) of mother and teacher gracefully this year?
So many amazing women have done it and are better for it, so it is possible for some.
Will you prayer I get it better than I did last year. I want to be a better teacher and mother along with being a better wife. Although, I must say Chad is the easiest out of the three!
Peace, Love, and Back to School