Quick Savannah Trip

Over the past few years, my college roomies & best friends get together once a year for a family trip. This year was the first year I could go! We scheduled this trip on purpose for the 3rd week of July so I'd be on summer break but not the 4th week of July where I'd be stressed about the start of the new school year. I thought this was so considerate! 

Although everyone brings their kiddos & sometimes their spouses, I decided to make it a trip for just Aaron & myself. My kiddos love grandparent sleepovers and they already had one scheduled with my mother in law for the first weekend of the trip. Since we're living with my parents right now, it was easy for them to be able to watch the kiddos the rest of the time. Aaron & I planned to stay from Saturday til Wednesday so Aaron could return to work on Thursday. 

Then I decided we needed to use part of this trip to drive up to Maryland to see my grandma whom I haven't seen since before Covid. So we planned to go to Savannah on Saturday, drive to Maryland on Sunday, stay with my grandma til Tuesday then drive back to Savannah and come home on Wednesday. 

Everyone was excited. 

Then I had the doctors appointment where I learned I needed surgery & the Monday of the trip was the only open surgery date. 

So Aaron & I had to revamp our plans. Since the kids were going to my mother-in-law's on Friday night we decided to drive halfway to Savannah and stay in a hotel. We finished our drive on Saturday in time to pick one of my besties up from the airport that morning. Then she and Aaron & I hung out in historic downtown all day (walking 17000 steps!) before going to the rental house & meeting up with everyone else. We hung out at the house the rest of the night & Aaron and I headed home on Sunday morning. We got back home around 4:00pm in time for me to start my prep for surgery. 

It was important to me that I was able to see my friends while they were in driving distance. I really enjoyed my 24 hour trip & look forward to next year's adventure. I hardly took any pictures but I have great memory reels of this special time. 

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Doctorate Update

In May, I started my journey towards my 6-year degree (the educational name for the stepping stone between master's and full doctorate). It's a wild ride, but I'm hanging on and hope to finish in the next three and a half or four years. 

I finished up my first class in late June and began my second class.  I worked very hard to get accomplished with the papers for class number 2 early so that I could enjoy some of the July fun we had already planned like our quick beach trip, and a very short trip to Savannah, GA to see my college friends, etc. I also didn't want to have to worry about extra papers to write while I recovered from surgery. This second class will wrap up in two weeks and I've completed every assignment except for the final discussion post and the replies to the posts of classmates. 

My school year of teaching will begin next week, and I'll get about three weeks of school underway before my next doctoral class starts. Once that class begins, I'll be juggling teaching and being a student simultaneously. I had to do this in May for about three weeks as the school year ended and my doctoral program began. 

The first class was pretty brutal.  The assignments were lengthy and required lots of information about venues I did not frequent on the daily.  After an intense delving into the requirements for all remaining classes in that particular degree concentration, I realized that it was not the program for me. I researched various other concentrations and settled on one that is more geared towards teachers in the K-12 setting rather than a university setting. Unfortunately, by the time I could change concentrations, my second class had started and I'd have to wait til the fall until I could change programs officially.  That meant that the two classes I took this summer will count as electives toward my new program. 

I'm excited to chip away at the requirements for this first degree stepping stone.  This 6-year degree, called an Education Specialist (Ed.S.), will enable me to earn a bit higher pay as I pursue the full doctoral degree, the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.).  The Ed.S. program can transfer about 27 credit hours into the Ed.D. program which will save me loads of time on the back side of the journey. I plan to achieve the Ed.S. by December 2023 and begin pursuing the Ed.D. in January of 2024 with a completion projection of May 2025. 

I'm just taking one class per quarter.  It's such a help that this degree is completely online, which allows me to continue working and chip away at the class assignments in the evenings and on weekends.  I'm very careful of how much time I spend working on it while my kids are awake, and I'm making sure to spend time with them and work on the degree when they're asleep or busy with other things. 

All in all, I'm pleased with the progress and know that I'm making the right steps for my family. 

Until Next Time, 
Much Love, Reba

Hysterectomy

This Monday I had a hysterectomy. I was able to come home on Tuesday and am recovering. 

Back in April I woke up with intense left pelvic pain and even spent several hours of my birthday at Urgent Care. The doctor there asked if I knew I had uterine fibroids, which I didn't know. It took all of May to get an appointment at my general practitioner (I bumped up an appointment for June since I couldn't wait anymore due to nearly constant pain). During May I found out my usual OB/GYN doctor was retiring and I did not want to be handed off to his replacement, who didn't have a good reputation.  

At my appointment with my GP, they said they couldn't do anything but they'd recommend me to an OB/GYN nearby. I had an appointment with this doctor in mid-June & it was determined that I needed to have a hysterectomy due to the fibroids, since I was finished having kiddos. The surgery was scheduled for mid July so that I could partially recover before school began. 

I had my pre-op appointment last week which went well (but long!), and I was scheduled for the first surgery of the day for Monday of this week. I arrived at 5:45 and surgery began around 7:30 and took roughly an hour. I was in my hospital room by 10:00am and was put on a clear liquid diet until Tuesday morning. I also was not able to walk til Tuesday morning, so I wore calf muscle massager leg pieces to keep my blood flowing. Aaron stayed at home overnight at my request so he could get good sleep. I kept the TV on mute all night on HGTV (Love it or List It) or TLC (Say Yes to the Dress) just in case I woke up in the night I could watch a little bit before drifting off to sleep again. On Tuesday early morning I was able to get the leg holders off & walk around. Then I was able to have the IV unplugged and eat an actual breakfast and lunch. I was discharged around 1:30 and made it home shortly after 2pm. I've been resting & recovering since then. 

I have my follow up appointment right before my in-service teacher days begin. I'll be able to practice driving in a week or so, and will be on a weight lifting restriction for a few weeks. 

I'm looking forward to being fully recovered and hopefully being pain free!

My lunch on Monday:

I tried watching Crazy Rich Asians until my DVD player ran out of battery. 

A picture of the leg movers that I took for the kids. 

My real food breakfast on Tuesday! 

Finally going home! 

Today with 2 of my 3 kiddos awake this morning. 

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Quick Beach Trip

I wasn't sure we'd make it down to the beach this summer, but on my birthday Aaron gave me a beach-appropriate hoodie and two beach towels and told me to book a trip! I was able to reserve the same property we used last year and scheduled a trip for early July. 

We headed out of town after breakfast one Thursday morning. 

We stopped halfway at a restaurant my parents recommended and it was so good!

At the beach house! Avery is very much into the phase of "take my picture!" and I'm here for it!

The kids dubbed this house "shark-mania" and each of them love to stick their hand or face near this shark decoration. 

At the restaurant for dinner. 

Afterwards, we took a walk on the beach. It was very windy & high tide. We saw a group of at least 4 dolphins swimming close to shore!

More pictures near the shark face. Noah absolutely LOVES houses with upstairs!

No filter. It was a gorgeous day for views at the beach the following morning but it was super hot due to no wind. We didn't stay too long because of the relentless heat. 

During the heat of the day, we took the kids to the ice cream shop. Believe it or not, these are single scoops!

Later, Noah & Avery played "restaurant" at the playground. 

We took the kids to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner & they planned ahead of time to order dessert for their dinner. 

Another kid; another shark face. 

And another. 

The next morning we went to a different playground-- we always try to make it to both! 

Then we loaded up to get some fresh seafood before heading home!

It was the perfect little trip to rest our souls by going to one of our favorite places!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

4th of July

We celebrated all weekend for the 4th of July! We started off with a rainy cookout at my mother-in-law's house, and the rain didn't stop the kids from getting in the pool! We ate great food- Hamburgers & hotdogs (the summer staples), baked bean dish, potato salad, Jalapeño popper dip (Aaron's new specialty), and a festive yummy red/white/blue crescent cream cheese dessert! 

On Sunday we went to church and I relaxed in the afternoon while Aaron took the boys to the property and Avery had a sleepover. 

On Monday we ran some errands, picked up Avery, and palled around, took a rest, & grilled out before gearing up for the community firework show hosted at our church! It was super fun (but super late start due to the late time of sunset in the summer). The boys giggled & laughed during so much of the program, so that was really fun to watch! Avery liked the show but chose to snuggle up next to her daddy for safekeeping. 

All in all it was a great weekend and we're so blessed to live in this country! God bless America. 

Until Next Time!

Much Love, Reba