Merry Christmas!

Been a while since I blogged! Ok, I have only blogged on here once, but it's been a while!
Let's see....where to begin. How about where I left off?
The girls started school in August. For some reason, they both felt the need to cut their own hair to ring in this occasion. Abbi cut hers to about chin length, and Ella...to the scalp. I was not too thrilled, needless to say. But they were very excited about starting school. Abbi started 1st grade, and Ella started pre-k. Abbi's class is, well, "energetic." The 1st grade class has a reputation around their school. I think the teacher is doing as good of a job as she can with keeping them under control. She and I had a heart to heart the other day about how to handle the class. She's going to try a few new things in January when school starts back.
Ella looooooooooooves her teacher, as do I. Mrs. Patty Ann is soooooooo sweet. She has such a love for those kids. God has filled her with the fruit of the spirit for that age children....it takes someone special to be in a room with 9 pre-kers all day. And she's just that person. It's so awesome to watch both of the girls grow and learn new things every day. I am so blessed and thankful that we have found Victory Life Academy and that the girls and I get to be a part of it.
I started teaching 2 classes....the home ec classes for 8th-12th grade. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job. I always swore that I would never teach jr. high, and I can now say that I would teach them any day. And of course, I love my high school class too. I hope that they are enjoying me as much as I am enjoying them. When we return to school on January 5th, I will be continuing the home ec classes, but I will also be teaching 3rd grade reading, spelling and social studies, and 3-5th grade art. I'm very excited about these classes as well.
This last Saturday, December 19th, I FINALLY graduated from Howard Payne University. Wow....what can I say about that. I started school when Abbi was 6 months old. Hard to believe it's been that long. 5 years of school, plus an unintentional year off in the middle, 2-3 jobs at a time, having a baby in the middle of one semester, a full time job that was 24/7, plus 2 kids, a husband and a house, then throwing full time school and all the homework that goes along with it......that has made for a loooong 6 years. I feel like that's all I have been doing all my life! I managed to choke the tears down to only crying twice during graduation. The first time was when we sang the hymn, "You are worthy." I am so humbled at all God has allowed me to do in these past 6 years. People always ask me how I do it, with all that stuff going on, and I just tell them it's all from prayer and the strength that God has given me. HE is worthy to be praised, not me. I couldn't have done it without Him. The other time I broke down was when the Vice President of the school had families and close friends stand for their due recognition for being our supporters. I couldn't even look at them. I just lost it. There is absolutely NO WAY I could have gotten through school without the love and support of my family and friends. From my parents babysitting when I had finals to study for, to them picking the girls up at school when my classes ran late, to my friends telling me, "you CAN do it." and their love and belief....it's what kept me going. If I can make one person proud, or if someone can look at my story and think, "if she can do it, so can I," then it was all worth it. Every late night studying till 3 am, every paper I had to write, every dollar I spent....it was all worth it.
Since I changed my major to general studies, in order to obtain my teacher's certificate, I have to go through an alternative certification program through the state. It is 6 months of online classes, and then next fall I have to student teach for 12 weeks. Since Victory Life is not accredited through the state, but through a Christian school accreditation, they will not let me count my established teaching hours, nor will they let me do my student teaching there. I have to take the fall semester off from teaching at VLA to student teach in a public school. VLA is so gracious about me taking the time off....they are allowing me to take the 12 weeks, and then return to work there the following January. I will be getting my certification in early childhood-12th grade special education, and probably another certification in 4th-8th generalist ESL, meaning I could teach any subject in 4th-8th grade, plus all grades special ed. VLA doesn't have a special ed program right now, but that's because we don't have a special ed teacher. Enter Cassi ;) We do; however, have several students that are learning disabled, and I would be able to help them. My prayer is that after I am certified, that there are enough classes that I could obtain in order to be a full time teacher. The great thing about VLA is, since we don't accept any government money, we don't have to follow government rules, so I don't have to be "highly qualified" like I would if I worked for a public school...meaning I can teach any grade, any subject, as long as the principal feels like I can handle it, and the children are learning what they need to learn. My plan is to go above and beyond teaching them what they "need" to learn, as that is the same plan most of the teachers there have. So, I'm not COMPLETELY done with my education yet, I technically still have another year to go, but I got that bachelor's knocked out of the way....time to move on! :)
My friend Rachel and I started a little ministry, called Healing Ministries. Right now, we take little baskets to people that have lost someone that they love. Each item in the basket is meant to make them smile, and hopefully bring a little sunshine to their life in a hard time. We are also doing a used toy drive for Christmas for those in need, so that's what I will be doing for the next 4 days. It is such a rewarding experience to do God's work.
Dave's work has slowed down a little for the winter. He's been working on a lot of heaters, as always in the winter. We're thankful that his job guarantees 40 hrs a week, whether there are jobs to do or not. He's lead tech there, so people try to poach him to other businesses occasionally, but he's comfortable where he is, and unless God leads us otherwise, he plans to be there a long time. He's in it for the long haul! Just keep him in your prayers....he is trying to get some longevity in management going at work, and that means there are a few steps to take first, that require time and money. (getting licenses, etc).
I think that's about the bulk of it for now.....I will try to post more often, now that I'm done with school and am going to have all this spare time.....HA HA HA HA. A girl can dream, right?
This is going to count as my Christmas card, as I never got around to sending any out this year. I have been running crazy these last few weeks, and cannot believe that Christmas is just 4 days away. I better get busy! Remember that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. God sent Him to die a vicious death on the cross for YOU and ME, to wash away our sins. None of us would be where we are today, if it weren't for His love. My prayer is that you are reminded of this daily in 2010, and the rest of your lives.
Merry Christmas to you all!!!
Love,
The Millicans

Summer 2009

This may be pretty long, to catch you all up, since it's my first blog! I promise the next ones wont be so long!



Wow. What a summer it has been! I wasn't sure where in the world of careers I am going to be next summer, so I told David that I would like to do as much as we could this summer.

So, we started the summer off by going to Inks Lake, which is close to Burnet, TX, to go camping. Wrong thing to do. We managed to go camping on one of the hottest weekends of the summer. And it was just the beginning of summer. We had a great time, though, despite the heat. We took the jet skis out, and David brought his kayak. We took my mom, David's parents, and our friend Becca and her daughter along too. We all needed to get away, and this was the perfect medicine. The girls had a great time.
Here they are hanging in the Lake









Here's Grandma cooling off in the Lake. This is her idea of swimming.








While we were there, we got to go to Longhorn Caverns, which was about 15 minutes away. The girls were amazed with the Caverns. Abbi just kept saying, "oooooooo, aaahhhh! Oh, mom, this is a MIRACLE!" And Ella, of course, just sang as loud as she could, to hear her own voice echoing throughout the Caverns. Because she is her mother's daughter, she was singing songs to musicals, such as Hairspray, Grease, and Mamma Mia. I think the other people in the Cavern tour thought it was a little strange that a 4 year old would know those songs, but what can I say? Gotta give them culture somehow :)
Here we are in the Caverns. You see who forgot their sunscreen ;)










The next weekend, we went to Missouri for my annual family reunion. It was great to see everyone again. It's a trip I look forward to every year. It seemed to be extra hot this year. The girls had a great time. I'm so glad we started this 14 hour trip with them when Abbi was just 11 weeks old. They do sooooo good in the car.

The girls enjoyed getting to see under the water with the goggles in Aunt Sheron and Uncle Terry's pool.







Unfortunately, the Sunday that we headed back home from Missouri, my dad's brother, Uncle Butch, passed away. We found out Monday after we got home, and turned back around that Thursday and went back for the funeral, which was Saturday. We left Saturday after the funeral, and drove straight back home. We got home about 4 am.
RIP Uncle Butch











On an upside, we came home from the 2nd trip to Missouri with a new Millican. His name is Gizmo. My sister Karen is a foster and volunteer for the shelter in Marble Hill, MO, and when I told her I was planning to get a Schnauzer for myself as a graduation present in December, she informed me that they just got 2 Schnauzers in. So, I couldn't resist getting him early. I always swore I would never get another animal from anywhere but a shelter again, and this was perfect.

As you can see, he is already one of the most spoiled dogs in the west. He was a perfect match for us. I call him my little prince :) He follows me everywhere I go, and the girls absolutely love him! And to think of what might have happened to him if he were never adopted :( If you have a certain pet you want, try going to www.petfinder.com and you can find just about ANY breed, and depending on how far you're willing to go, (sometimes they might even be in your local shelter, and you don't even know!!) you will get out a lot cheaper than if you bought from a breeder, and you are saving a life :)





We got back from Missouri, and Jodi decided that the love of her life was a yellow lab at Karen's house, one of her fosters. So thanks to Karen, and a whole group of fabulous volunteers, we got Jodi her perfect dog, Brewster, transported from Marble Hill, MO, to Benbrook, TX, where I drove to pick him up. He's a cutie too. I am dogsitting him until Jodi gets back from Denver. (1st she didn't have an apartment, then she went to vegas, now she's going to Denver, then she gets her dog back. LOL!) I'm not sure if the girls are going to be willing to give him up so easy, however. He loves them. He even jumps up on the trampoline and jumps with them. I have tried to get him down, and he wont have it. He insists on following them around.

The following Tuesday after I went to Benbrook to pick up Brewster, I took Jodi to Austin to the airport to drop her off to go to Vegas. I got to see Shana and Bobbie Jo in my ventures, and it was great to see them. I love catching up with old friends that I have loved for so long :)
That Thursday, I headed to Dallas to go to the American Idol Tour concert with David's Cousin's wife, the other Cassie (from here on out, for those of you that don't already know her, she will be referred to as CassiE, since hers is with an E, and mine with an I....we have the same last name. lol). We stayed the night with her mom, who lives only minutes away from the concert location. We had soooooooo much fun!!! It was mommie's night out! We laughed so hard, and I even got CassiE to scream during the concert. It was great.

Now Summer is almost over, and I am trying to get the girls (and me!) back into a normal sleep schedule. School starts in just 3 weeks, and we have all got to get back into the swing of things. No more staying up until midnight. They start on the 17th. A week before the public schools and my classes start.

I will be teaching Personal and Family Development at the girls' school this year, at high school level. I am soooo excited!!! I feel like it is something that I can use as a ministy for those kids. It is only part time, so I will also be working at Howard Payne University, where I go to school, again this fall. I started working there in January, as the assistant to the associate director of admissions. I will also be returning there at the end of August as a student for MY LAST SEMESTER!!! I graduate in December!!! yay!! Thank God that I have 2 jobs where I am home during the summer with my babies. I have been so blessed.

David has been working, working, working. We don't get to see him much in the summer, being in the A/C business and all. When he's not on the beeper, he's volunteering to be on the beeper, to get some overtime. He got nearly 20 hours overtime on the 4th of July weekend. We even managed to get to see a few fireworks with him on the 3rd, but then he went back to work until 2 am as soon as they were over. Things will slow down soon....maybe in October. lol.

We are hoping to go to the beach sometime before September. David says the Texas beaches are nasty, but I say it's better than no beach at all. While I would like to go to Florida (and maybe see some family while there!), it's just not feasible for now. I figure we could take the girls and stay a night by the beach, and have a fun couple of days. They have never seen the beach or the ocean. Maybe even do some deep sea fishing. The scouting begins to find a good place to go. So far, the concensus seems to be Port Aransas.

Hope you all are having a great summer!!! Whether it's vacations, or just backyard BBQ's, take time to enjoy it before it's over.