Sweet Life in the City

We had some great days this past week but we have also had a few rough days. In fact, today we are doing something that we were hoping we would not have to do. We are helping my brother and his boys pack up their house so they can put it on the market. They are going through a rough time right now and I would ask that you would pray for them. I will post more about our week later but I do not have time right now. Here are just a few of the pictures from our three Christmas'.

Well yesterday was a very sad day for our family. Yesterday afternoon we had to make the decision to put down our beloved dog Maggie. I have been posting the past few months that we have been having several episodes with her and we were not sure what was going on. We were not super concerned because she would feel bad for a day and then be back to normal. I took her to the vet a month ago for that itching problem but there was not any other problems that we knew about. Well a few days ago she started acting sick again but this time she was a lot worse. She was vomiting and had blood in her urine. Her belly was swollen and she could barely walk or breath. Monday night she looked so back that I was sure that she would be dead when I woke up Tuesday morning. So I actually told her goodbye before I went to bed. Tuesday morning I got up and she was sitting up on her blanket wagging her tail when she saw me but I could tell that she was not any better. Jeremy took her to the vet because I kn...

OK so I have 3G coverage tonight so I thought I would go ahead and post the pictures with Santa. This man in our church plays Santa all the time at Christmas and he is pretty amazing. He almost makes me believe there is a Santa Claus:) Those of you that know Jeremy know that he is a pretty straight talker and that also applies to Samuel and the issue of Santa being real or not. Our take on the Santa issue is that we tell our kids that he is not a real person but it is OK to have fun and pretend that there is a Santa but I do not think Sam believes Jeremy when he tells him Santa is not real. So last night we left right behind "Santa" and Sam saw him going into the church. 'Santa" took off his hat and Sam said, "mom, why did Santa just take off his hat? I am starting to think that he is not really Santa or maybe Santa actually dresses up like a man." He then was convinced that he saw Santa's sleigh parked on the roof of the church. His imagination is amaz...

Christmas is near and you can feel it at our house. The kids have been bouncing off the walls and every few hours we hear the question, "Can we open a present now?"Yesterday the kids wore their Christmas outfits to church and I am not sure they could get any more cuter. My mom found the girls' dresses and it came with a matching dress for their baby dolls. They thought it was the neatest thing and Chloe said "baby" about 500 times yesterday morning as she carried her doll around. Last night was our Christmas program at church and then we had a fellowship time at church. The kids had fun and loved that Santa made an appearance after we ate. Emma and Chloe were scared the last time they saw Santa, but they were not scared last night. I had to work today and I have to work tomorrow but then I am off until the first of the year. We are having our Christmas at the house either Wednesday night or Thursday morning and then we are going to Jeremy's parents house Thu...

Can you believe that I am posting two days in a row?? Well I know that many of you have been praying for us and our decision about Sam's school so I wanted to share something that happened today. I went on my lunch break to the elementary school to register Sam at his new school. I was pretty anxious and was really seeking God's peace about this decision. I was at the counter filling out some papers when I heard someone come into the office and call my name. I turned around and there was a lady that I have known for many years standing there. She teaches music at the school and was so excited that Samuel would be going to their school and that she would have him in class. As we stood talking I felt the peace of God come over me and I knew that this was the right decision. It was nice to know someone that teaches at the school who will be looking out for Sam. I am sure once school starts I will realize that I know a lot of people that are connected with the school and I am excit...

Our week has been a little crazy all ready. Sunday night was the children's program at our church and my little guy Sam did so good. I was so proud of him. Yesterday was work and then I had a dentist appointment after work. I had a little piece of tooth that broke off because of a small cavity so I had to get that fixed. Work is finally starting to click a little bit better. After lunch I am going to some of the younger classes to fill in for those teachers who take their break. It is during nap time so it has not been too bad except for yesterday and today. They put me in the younger two room and it was like having 10 Chloe's running around. They were out of control! There was another person in the room with me but it was still a little unnerving. I think the person that usually comes in that room during that time has been out sick so I am hoping that she is back tomorrow. We also have a big change that is going to take place in the Riggs' household after Christmas that I ...

I guess you can tell that I have not had a lot of time to post this week. I have tried several times to post a few pictures from this week but our connection is so slow and is having a hard time posting. I will try and give a recap of our week. My parents came in Sunday night and the kids were so excited. Monday was Chloe's court date to finalize her adoption so she is officially a Riggs now. Our court appearance was scheduled for 9:00 AM Monday but when we got to the courthouse we noticed that there were a bunch of people in the courtroom at about 8:50. It turned out they were picking jurors and it was going to take a while. At about 9:30 we were told that the jury selection was almost over and that they would open the court with the adoption procedures (there were two other families also finalizing). We got in the court room and the kids were already pretty tired from waiting in the hallway for almost an hour and then the judge called a lawyer up and they opened the court with a ...

WOW it has been a busy week. I have tried to post these pictures the past few days but they would not post. I will try to give a quick recap of the week. Wednesday morning the girls and I started our new adventure at my new job. The girls did pretty good going to their new class. Chloe was a little hesitant do I stayed with her for a few minutes while she got used to the room. They brought me to my classroom and it was a little overwhelming. The class was pretty much a big mess. All the bulletin boards needed to be switched and the room needed a good cleaning. So I spent most of the morning getting the class room together. It turns out that I only have two boys in the KIndergarten class. I only had them for about an hour on Wednesday. I stayed until about 2:00 finishing up the room. Thursday I taught at PVCS and had another great day. I loved teaching at that school but I needed something more consistent. Friday I went back to the new job and had the boys all morning. I think I am goin...