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Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Life after Living....

I guess it is appropriate that my last post was from the first week of school and tonight I sit here staring at the screen on the last day of school. Clearly we have lived a full, or should I say busy, school year!

We have dropped one off at college, suffered through a broken leg, celebrated a sweet 16, cried over a state tournament loss and much, much more over the last nine months. So as we get ready to ease into another summer I couldn't help but turn to the blog world to document our year.

And of course, I will have to do it in pictures!


This picture was taken the morning we loaded Brendan up for college. Maybe this was not one of my finest moments as I watched the younger two hug their big brother and send him off....an hour down the road but still not under our roof! God created our children so close in age that they really don't know how to exist apart from the three all together so this was going to be a challenge for them and for Brian and I.






About two weeks later, Koby and I went over to see Brendan be sworn in for his ROTC commitment to the Air Force. Just as Brian was transitioning out of the Air Force Brendan was committing to serve. Talk about life coming full circle!





In the fall we went over to see Brendan march in Alabama's homecoming parade. Part of his ROTC duty was to be on the Saber team and his team marched in the parade. It was so much fun to see him do this and this upcoming year he will be the leader of this part of his detachment.

The first semester was hard for us all, but by the second semester he had settled in and we had as well! Dorm life was no picnic, but he and Ellie both survived their experience with new roommates, community showers and budgeting their "bama bucks" to last a whole semester - as opposed to eating cafeteria food on their UNLIMITED meal plan! All in all, I am thankful for the Lord's provision and protection as Brendan made it through his Freshman year of college! But most of all, I am thankful to have him home for the summer!!

I mentioned earlier we survived a broken leg because in the opening game of the season Koby hurt his knee. After he came out, he went back in to the game and had a big catch so we really thought he was OK. He complained about it for a few days and like any good mom I told him he would be fine and that he just needed to work out the soreness. The trainer advised us to see the doctor for an xray just to be sure and the xray showed a fractured tibia up by his knee. Koby will never let me live down the fact that I said he was fine when in fact he had a broken leg! Thankfully, he healed quickly and returned to finish the season....


His team made it into the second round of the playoffs, which was a huge achievement for them! Gran got to come see him play in the Homecoming game....



 ... and after the playoff loss he quickly transitioned into basketball, which is our favorite sport season!


Again his team had great success and made it all the way to the State Tournament, which was their goal early in the season. To loose is never fun and to loose in the final seconds of a game is even more difficult. Koby had a great senior basketball season and earned a spot in the MAIS All Star game in Jackson, but I don't know that he will ever get the feeling of loosing something that was so close in reach.

Over Spring Break he spent a week in Guatemala. I wish I had the pictures to post of that because he absolutely loved it and the people there! Koby has always loved mission work and his trip to Guatemala was an amazing experience. The first night he text me that he was the best communicator of the group and I think it only got better from there!

He and Anna attended Prom at the end of March....


...and this is one of my favorite pictures ever so how could I not post it here! His class won "Spirit Week" in April and took their senior skip day and an earned day off as a case of senior-itis set in! Keeping Koby motivated to finish the year wasn't easy, but he finally made it to the big day....







... and it was fun and sad and everything in between as we celebrated his achievement with our friends and family!




Finally, but most definitely not least, Kamdyn has had her own school year of ups and downs. In October she celebrated her Sweet 16th birthday....



She survived soccer season but plans to not play this upcoming year. Her basketball team had few wins on the scoreboard but they improved and found their way into the first round of the playoffs.



She plays serious and tough and seriously rough, and this year her hard work earned her a spot on the District All Tournament team. While her free throws need some work, she led her team in scoring and enjoyed the season.

In late March she went on her first overseas mission trip with our church to the Dominican Republic. Let me say, one of the hardest things I have done is put our 16 year old daughter on a plane going out of the country without me on it! Talk about a step of faith - it was a LEAP! I have said before that she does not get her independence from me. Growing up I called my mother more times than I care to admit to say I was homesick or wanted her to come get me from somewhere. But not Kamdyn! When I see her smile in the pictures I know we made the right choice to let her go...




... and I felt like God tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that our children belong to Him and my responsibility is to point them towards serving Him. If you have young children, don't pass your fears onto them! Encourage them to serve God however and wherever He leads - and then pray, pray, pray.

In other exciting news, Kamdyn talked us into this....


... a golden retriever puppy she has named Murphy! Yes, we now have as many dogs as children!! He has kept us entertained and maybe a little stressed but we are enjoying him - and also sending him to obedience training ASAP.

I finished my masters degree in December and transitioned into the classroom in January. I spent the second semester teaching 7th and 8th grade Science and History and Bible and manners and responsibility and lots of other little things! This could be why I am having a hard time with free time in the evenings these last few nights. I have written a paper, read books and came up with lesson plans every night for the last 18 months. I am looking forward to blogging, cooking and most of all reading over the summer!! Brian is enjoying his job and has done well transitioning into the civilian world. He and I are looking forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary in June and we recently renovated our kitchen and dining room!

So,  you are all caught up on the Bailey Bunch. As always, were are faithful to our Aggies...





... surviving a nerve-racking season and anxiously waiting for kickoff in August!

I trust the Lord has blessed each one of you over this school year in the same way He has blessed our family - with grace, mercy, patience and love. I look forward to "chatting" with you over the summer!!!

Jeremiah 29:13