It's Been A Long Time...

First let me say that I am sorry for not keeping up with our blog. I have not only missed sharing with you guys but also miss having a place to come to and reflect back on life not only in photos but in words as well. I miss hearing what I had to say...ha! As conceited as that may sound I do mean it. But not in that way. You know how you share something on your heart and it pours out in words so much easier than if you told the same story 10 times to 10 different people? Well, that is how our story has been told lately...in person. So much is lost when it isn't fresh on your mind and when you have other people there to ask questions or call on the phone or a kid who needs to go potty. Anyone know what I mean? I also miss keeping up with all of the blogs I read. I feel like I have moved away and have no idea what is going on with some of my best friends. I have missed you guys so much!!

So, without going back into all that I've neglected to tell you...I will start with life now.

We are in a busy season. A season that I feel overwhelmed. Not with heartache but with time management. We have 4 busy kids. Hunter will be 17 in two months, Faith is 15 1/2, Hope turned 7 in July and Love turned 5 a few days after her. I think it is kind of cool how there are 10 years between Hunter and Hope and 10 years between Faith and Love. The little girls are the biggest playmates...they remind me of Hunter of Faith when they were little. Hands down they are the best of friends. I hope that with them being both girls that their relationship will stay close. Faith and Hope are the next set of buddies, they are a lot alike. They both have witty humor and they both love sports...especially soccer. Hunter and Love are pretty close as well. Hunter has a soft spot for his littlest sister and she still thinks he is great...which works for him. :)
Hunter is our laid back, no hurry to get things done kind of guy. He loves spending time with family and friends and is probably the most affectionate 16 year old boy I know. He is a hugger. I love it! Hunter has been driving for almost a year. He has been working off and on. He had a fairly steady job at the beginning of summer. It was physical labor. Believe it or not, he would rather be working with his hands and doing the more laborious jobs than sitting in the air conditioning and working behind a grill or a cash register. Whatever suits him, I suppose. He moved on to lawn mowing later in summer and the drought we have had here has pretty much killed that job. He is a junior this year. He has a lot of work ahead of him and he is searching to find what it is he really wants to do with his life. He is exploring options of trade school, military, working for a large company, or college. I would say college is probably his least favorite option at this point. I heard some really good advice from a wise man once. He said, "College is for people who either love to learn or have to go to get the degree to do what they love to do. It is not for everybody and it is not a place to go after high school just because you don't know what else to do." Up until I heard that and let it sink in did I ever even consider this as an option. I want him to do something he loves...and not think about how much it pays. In an ideal world, I would like that option to be able to support a family-in the future. If we could find a career that could include: outdoors, hunting, fishing & camping...well, we would have a winner. So, I am thinking maybe the agriculture route for a career. But, who knows? Oh, and he has been "working out" with Big Daddy. I am told to look out for him by December...he has already built a lot of muscle and his shoulders are broadening. He is looking less like a boy and more like a man. Makes my heart conflicted in feelings...happy to see him growing up and sad to know his years here with us are numbered.
Faith is my focused and goal driven child. She has more self motivation than a lot of adults. She has had her permit for about 6 months. She is a sophomore this year and is doing her best to move ahead to her junior year. She is taking quite a load of classes this year. She really wants to graduate early. She also has her very first part time job. She works for a neat little yogurt shop here in town. She is loving the financial aspects but not the "working" so much. She thought it was fun the first week but as she comes to her one month mark of being employed, it has lost its luster. She is saving for a car. She is also playing select soccer again this season. She is playing indoor and outdoor soccer right now and practices twice a week. It is pretty time consuming but she loves it and it keeps her in shape. She has a new coach this season. He gives her very little slack. He sees so much potential in her and isn't really willing to accept less than what he knows she is capable of. Which works in her favor, but she isn't really enjoying the work it takes to get to that last little bit of effort. Her game has improved even more than I could have imagined and she is so much more productive on the field. She has her eyes set on her future. She wants to be a pediatric nurse. She sees herself in an oncology department. She does well with children and has always been a huge help to us with the little girls...especially when they are sick. She wanted to be a lawyer last year. She thought because she was good at arguing her point that it just might be her forte'. Once she realized the schooling behind it, she wasn't that excited about it anymore. She thinks that would be too far into life before she would start a family. In her plan, she sees herself married after college and kids before thirty. She sounds so much like me it kills me.
Well, that will have to do for now...more later.