I didn't get Christmas cards done this year so instead I'm sharing this Valentine's Day letter. I will also add pictures from 2017-2018.
Happy 2018!! I hope everyone is having a great 2018 thus
far. My apologies for not getting my Christmas Cards out on time this year. (Don’t
worry I have waited to open my Christmas cards until I get these cards mailed
out. Motivation is a good thing.) I had ordered them but they didn’t make it to
my house until after Christmas. As
January flew by I decided I would just send Valentine’s to everyone. It’s
always nice to get a card in the mail among the bills.
I’ve been keeping busy lately with substitute teaching in
grades k-5. I like the flexibility it allows since I can make my own schedule.
I do miss having my own classroom and I’m still hoping that one day it will
happen again. Since I sub in 6 different schools (in different towns) it is
hard to get to know all the children. I miss not having that deep connection to
the students I work with.
Along with substitute teaching my family has kept me
hopping. In December 2016 after Christmas my older sister, Beth surprised the
family telling us she was pregnant with another baby. She had been told it
wasn’t possible to have any more children since she is older. My mom had given
away all the baby things in her house. My mom’s reaction when she was told my
sister was pregnant? “No, you can’t be pregnant.” That is how my 2017 started.
I was looking forward to a new niece in April.
Victoria Ann Walton was born on April 20, 2017. Her sister,
Isabella, 4, was so excited to have a little sister. I spent most of my summer
in the car with my sister and her two children. Victoria would scream if there were
not someone in the backseat next to her. There were many times I stayed in the
car with Victoria while her mom would run into a store or daycare to pick up
her sister. Needless to say we bonded.
Another challenge we had this fall was my younger sister
(Anne) had to move to Boston for her job. We had her children Benjamin, 7 and
Emilija, 5 from September to December. My friends like to tease me about this
saying I got to do the child raising without having to have the kids. I
actually think it would be easier to have my own children because with my
sister’s children it was obvious that her parenting style was not the same as my
parents or mine. This lead to some trying times. I’ll just leave it at that. Lol.
Well, I need to get this letter out so it doesn’t become St.
Patrick’s Day and I need to look for new cards again. Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
Benjamin's 8th Birthday. 11/22/17
Isabella and baby Victoria
Cousins. Isabella's 5th Birthday 7/9/17
Benjamin, Isabella, and Emilija
Emilija's dance 6/17 Anne and Em.
Emilija dance
Wow! My program won't let me add more pictures. I will do another blog post later with more pictures.
