Where did the Summer Go?

Wow, I can't believe it is already September 8th!! Where has the time gone! It seems like Derick just got home from overseas yesterday and we started back into a routine as a family!!

Derick has gotten back into the swing of things as a Lancaster County Deputy. He has been on 3rd shift (9:30pm-7:30am) for the last 6 months and his days off were Thursday-Saturday! It was great and we've been spoiled! The reality of 'shift work' will set in the end of this month as they just had shift bid and his only option was 2nd shift which is 4:00pm-2:00am with Sunday thru Tuesday off! Kind of puts a damper in his plan to have Saturday's off during college football season but I'm sure the DVR will be fully loaded at the end of those days with plenty of football for him to catch up on when he is off work!

I still enjoy my job as a 'team member' in a State Farm Agent's office. It is very busy and different from day to day! I still have a lot to learn!! There are 2 other girls in the office, April and Mandie and of course Chuck, the agent. Mandie is the marketing person and just started in the office last week. April, who has worked for Chuck for 12 years has been great helping me get adjusted and teaching me and training me in my position. We get along great and have more in common than we knew when I interviewed. Her in-laws live about a mile or 2 from my in-laws, her husband is in the National Guard and has been deployed to Iraq so Derick and her husband have a lot in common with that! She has 3 kids, her youngest is about 2 1/2 and he and Tyson get along great! We've been out to their house several times for dinner and to play and they have been here a couple times as well! It has been nice to have another 'military wife' to talk to about how the deployment went, how things have changed since our husbands were gone and home again and the re-adjustment that comes along with all of that!

Tyson still loves 'school'. He goes to daycare full-time and really is growing!! He's had a few days where he's bitten someone, hit someone, or just flat out been defiant, but that's normal, right?! His teacher says that he's her favorite and even on his 'bad' days he's better than the other kids are every day! So I guess maybe he's not too terrible! We just work very hard on making sure he listens and is respectful. Every day before he leaves the house I tell him, "Be good at school and listen to Miss Natalya, got it?!" To which he replies, "got it mom" like "duh, you tell me that everyday!" He's really a good kid and just so sweet (most of the time). I can't believe how big he is! He's like a little person all of the sudden with his own mind and opinions!! It's fun to have conversations with him, listen to him play and talk to himself, the funny things he says and the times he tries to reason and negotiate with us! He's so independent! As much as I love it, I miss him as a squishy little baby!! Gosh, listen to me, ya think he's leaving for college soon!!

Some other exciting news in our lives is that we started the house hunting process! We have looked at 3 houses in the last 2 weeks, one of which we've looked at twice! I found "the one" for me, but Derick wants to keep looking!! We are looking Waverly, NE. It's a small town about 8 miles or so from Lincoln. I logged it and it was 9 miles from the gas station in Waverly to Tyson's daycare, so it's not too far out of Lincoln! It's a small town, which Derick wants and it's close enough to Lincoln, so I don't feel like I'm in the sticks!! We are ALL very excited to be in a house and finally be settled!! Tyson is looking forward to a "swing set wif a slide and swings and a tree house that my daddy is going to build for me!!" He wants it so bad that we even use it as a bribe when needed, "Tyson, you have to go to bed like a big boy if you want a swing set at the new house!" I know, kind of wrong, but hey, it works :) Also when we are in the house our beloved Oscar Peters will join us once again! The poor dog has lived at Derick's parent's house longer than he's been in our custody! Ha! He is pretty spoiled there as I have mentioned before, so I'm not sure he'll want to move back in with us! He goes on tractor rides (for real), he gets fed ice cream and cheese, sleeps with Gary and Kathy and even has his own recliner! He will be one of those headlines you see one day that reads, "Cocker Spaniel Runs 50 Miles Back to Farmhouse in Tecumseh"...I can see it now...

Well anyway, thought I'd update those of you that read this! Hopefully soon I'll have some exciting news saying that we're homeowners again!!