Haven't done this in awhile...

Things have been so busy and crazy that I haven't had much time to blog, barely enough time to even put out a GIST LIST each night. So I figured I'd take a few minutes to fill you in on what's been going on in the Cole household.

* We are counting down the days til Jason gets home. He's been gone 5 months and we've seen him maybe a month of that. It's been very hard for us all, but we've stayed busy, talked every night and visited when time permitted. My kids are super tough and they've both done extremely well with him being gone. I couldn't ask for better kids.
* I've made it my mission lately to come out of my shy shell and so far so good. I've experienced new things, hung out with new people and opened myself up where I normally would just shut down. I came to a point where I knew I had to start showing my kids that they can't be afraid of new things and can't be afraid to voice opinions. It's still a work in progress, but I gladly welcome the change.
* Cheerleading has started again (after a 2 week break) and while the girls practice, some of us Moms walk 2 miles. Jakey comes along on his bike and has a great time. We get a chance to talk without little ears around, which is always nice. We've got a great group of Moms involved with cheerleading and I'm super lucky that we've formed this close knit group.
* The days are getting warmer and longer so we've taken advantage of that by spending as much time outside as we can. The yard is looking pretty good, the gardens are all weeded and waiting for even warmer weather so I can add some bulbs and other types of flowers.
* I've also been dealing with a pretty sick doggie. My Sheperd has cartilage tumors on her snout and it has gotten so bad that she is now blind. Getting her outside takes some work and getting her back inside takes even longer since she has to come up steps. I got her outside the other day, came in to check on dinner and when I went back outside to help her in, she was stuck behind a bush, trying to find the steps. It's so sad to see. She's not in pain which makes the decision we have to make even harder. I've sat down the kids and told them what we will need to do very soon. Jojo's heart broke and Jakey just said "Well we still have Lexi." Once Jason gets home, we'll decide what to do, it's not something I want to have to decide on my own. I've been through it once before and I'm dreading it.
* We've had get togethers with friends at our house and we've gone to get togethers at friends at their house. Being busy has made this time apart from Jason go so fast, I just hope the next 3 days we can stay busy enough to make them fly by.
* I'm still babysitting 3 kids and will possibly have a fourth next year. This will be for a staff member at Jojo's school and it will only be for an hour before school.
* I haven't had any time to work on my book, but I've been brainstorming like crazy. I still have 13 chapters done, but I know I need to go over it again and change things. Hopefully once Jason gets home, I'll have a bit of extra time to dedicate to that. I also think it would be neat to talk to other lineman and get their stories about the job, traveling, etc. and compile that into a book. That probably won't happen until the kids are grown. Jason has a vision of us in a 5th wheel out on the road together at that point. I'll have find something to occupy my time then, so this book idea might just be it.
* I have a new paint color picked out for my kitchen, but again, no time to do it. It was going to be my Spring Break project but we went to see Jason instead (much more fun, even though I love painting). Looks like I might push it back til summertime.
That's a brief recap of some of the highlights from our household. I'm going to strive to do more writing from now on, I've really missed it.