It's been a long time......

So much has been going on since I have blogged last.  I have decided to go back to school to earn my BS in Management degree at Upper Iowa University.  I have been going to school for a little over a year already and I just have a little over a year left.  The time is going by so quickly but I could not do it without my family and friends helping me out.  About a year ago I started a new job as a quality assurance specialist.  It has been a huge learning experience and it is continuous learning every day.
R is now attending University of Iowa and she is loving it.  She is doing very well in her classes and we are very proud of the woman she has become.  GW is now in the 3rd grade and he is also doing very well.  He is very smart and has a lot of good friends.  Lou is in the first grade and she is an artist in the making.  She loves to draw and color, and her favorite subject in school is of course art.  She has needed a little extra help in school this year with reading and she is improving with her reading very much!  Mae is in four year old preschool this year.  This year they have combined the three and four year olds so she has a lot of friends in her class because there are several three year olds that she has gone to daycare with and have gotten to be her very close friends.
Speaking of daycare we have just started a new daycare.  The person who is doing the daycare is Jessi and the kids absolutely love her.  We had a huge issue that happened with our last daycare that we had to part ways.  It was scary thinking about going to a new daycare and starting over but it is a breath of fresh air to walk in and get the kids and have no drama.  I used to have knots in my stomach picking my kids up at the other daycare because she was so hot and cold, but I am so relieved to not have to deal with that anymore.  And, my kids are so relieved also.  The only unfortunate thing is that I did not do it sooner before I got caught up in a dilemma but I am glad that my kids spoke up and told me that something terrible had happened so we could inform the other parents.
GW just had his 9th birthday party and I do not know where the time has gone.  He invited four friends and they all went to laser tag in Waterloo and had a lot of fun then came back home for supper, gifts and a little play time.  He has a really good group of friends.
DW is still selling real estate and is being very successful at it.  He is still the mayor and he says that he is up for re-election this year and that he is not running again, I guess we will see about that!  He has said that several other times but I think that deep inside he really enjoys it!
Another huge step that we have made in our family is trying out a new church!  It has been a very difficult thing to do because we have not gotten support from all of our loved ones but it is the right choice for our immediate family so that is the most important part.  We have not made the final decision to join yet but we have at least been attending regularly and it is exactly what we need to do to get close to God.  I know that I have a lot of things in my life to make better and I need the help from God to get there.  This church is so different from any other church that I have attended.  The pastors are young and the youth program is booming!  It means so much for me to hear my kids talking about God and getting to know the bible so much more then I ever did at that age.  My kids love the children's pastor and they get very excited to tell him new and exciting things that they have learned.....may God help others to see how important this is for our family and to help them become more accepting of this!