Updates from Beyond

It has already been a crazy and hectic year and it will only be getting worse! I started the year by taking 20 credits, in the hopes that I will be able to graduate in May 2013. This also means taking 16-20 credits in summer and fall with student teaching in January 2013. It will be a long year, but hopefully a productive one. The job market is not too good right now, but hopefully with a lot hard work, my Special Ed minor, a lot of prayers, and Heavenly Father's help, I will be able to find a teaching position hopefully here in Butte (although looking at my sister's (bestest friend ever too) pix from Hawaii, I'm thinking moving may not be such a bad thing.) I have been able to book a few more weddings to shoot this summer and am working at getting that to go a bit more.

Shawn has been working hard too. He will be watching and taking care of a larger herd of cattle than last year (could be up to almost 200+ head), and it looking forward to the exciting venture. He is hoping to be able to get to rope more now that the arena is finally finished.

Alexus with her pierced ears

Alexus & Shawn and her doll, "Natalie"

Alexus has been growing my leaps and bounds. She has managed to get straight A's so far - this is her first year for actual grades. She was a bit disappointed because her second report didn't have as many A+'s on it. She is now reading the 4th Harry Potter book and just finished Eclipse that she checked out from the library at school (not too sure how I felt about that one). She wants to grow up so fast and I just want her to stay that sweet little girl! Her favorite thing has been to play with her dolls, read, and argue whenever she gets a chance. :) She is looking forward starting 4-H next year.

Mr. Tyse-Man

Tyse in his cowboy pajamas Grandma Elsie got for him!

yse has been doing a lot better in kindergarten! He is getting into the swing of things a little better and has been doing a lot better with his reading. We still struggle with doing homework, but that too is getting better as long as we stay with it. Tyse is still all boy and loves to play whenever he gets a chance. There doesn't seem to be much he doesn't like to do. He still loves his roping and is starting to love to read. I think he will have his nose in a book, unless he is outside!

Christmas Pictures

I had the brilliant idea of taking the kids pictures on Sunday evening about 30 minutes before bedtime.

Here are the results from that little photo session.

Halloween Fun

Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays, but the kids really love it and I actually enjoy making their costumes every once in a while. So this year I made Lex a Cleopatra dress and Tyse wanted to be a ninja, which was a pretty easy costume to sew. In the end they had such a fun time Trick-or-Treating in Rocker with family and friends, having Aunt Amber take them to a magic show and Trick-or-Treating (I had a math test on Halloween night - Thank You Amber and Kathy for helping out with the kiddos!!), and attending Halloween parties. Believe it or not - there wasn't any snow on Halloween, but it was a little chilly. I'm glad it's over but it's kind of sad seeing my two little munchkins turning into crazy, sweet children that are growing up way too fast!

Catch Up

It's been a while - so here goes!

Lex turned 8 and was the top reader in her 2nd grade class. She just started 3rd grade

and is doing very well. She is growing into a beautiful young girl and I couldn't be happier for her.

Tyse turned 5 in May and started kindergarten just a few weeks ago. It has been a rocky transition and we have had some problems, but we are hopeful and praying that things will begin to level out. He is quite the little man and we love him so much!

I started my 3rd semester at Western and am enjoying it. It is very overwhelming and I am getting tired

of homework, but the outcome will be worth the sacrifice. I think that if I can finish quick enough, I may

end up with a job at Ramsay school where the kids are going to school - they need a special ed teacher.

Shawn finished up our arena and has been getting the kids into roping - they are loving it!

A quiet moment

The last couple of weeks have been filled with very little time for quiet moments. School began this month, not only for Alexus, but also for myself. I will be receiving a second bachelors degree in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Special Education and in business 5th-12th. The additional work of 3-4 hours a night homework has left for very little free time. So this morning, after reading one of my more interesting textbooks, I thought I would take a moment for myself. One of my courses, "Reading and Writing Connections for all Learners, K-8", encourages journaling on a regular basis, so this could perhaps be such an event.

This isn't much more than a simple ranting, but I have included covers of some of my new reading material of late. It is a lot of hard work, but I also know that it will be worth it in the end. One bit of joy is the knowledge that I know this is where I need to be and what I need to be doing. The fact that my gen eds are complete makes it a little brighter. Hopefully in the next while I can get some pictures of the kiddos up!

Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas Season this year. We were able to spend some pre-Christmas time with my side of the family and then we went to Kalispell to visit Shawn's brother and sister-in-law for a few days. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed themselves. Then, the kids were able to spend a full week with their dad right after Christmas, rounding out the holiday season for us. In between, we received our newest addition - Annie, Shawn's new cow dog/puppy.

Here are some pictures:

November and December Fun

I thought it would be fun to post some pictures from the last couple of weeks!

Here is Georgia and Hank

My fat horse Barley

Lex finally lost her first Tooth!!

My Sewing Companion

Tyse playing Big Game Hunter with Shawn

Our horses Wolverine and Harley (purple blanket)

Our goats Maddy and McLovin (all white)

Tyse and Hank playing