an update after a long hiatus

First of all, apologies are in order:

It has been a long time since I have posted in my blog, other than through twitter. It has been 3 months, and I am very, very sorry. Life has definitely got in the way.

What has happened? It seems like everything.

Perhaps the most exciting thing for me as an individual that has happened recently is that I have continued to take my registration test. On Tuesday, June 30, I will take the last one of this first (and hopefully last) round. Out of 7 tests, I have passed 5, I am waiting on the results on one, and like I said, I’ll take the last one on Tuesday.

Isabelle continues to grow like a weed. She has a vocabulary of about 15-20 words, and is the picture of a normal toddler. I am very proud of her accomplishments, even when they cause me problems, such as her desire to climb on everything right now. However, being a normal toddler also means that we have entered the realm of temper tantrums. I hope that since it appears that she has entered the terrible twos early (she’s 18 months now!), perhaps we can expect an early exit? I can only pray, right?

I am also volunteering at my church. Data entry may not seem glamorous, but it must be done, and it fits my lifestyle—I can do my volunteering from the comfort of my own home! But it keeps me pretty busy. I am the team leader, so I am responsible for the work of five other people, too!

Finally, and the hardest thing of all is what has been going on with my mom. A few weeks ago, she had some concerns and they did a screening mammogram. They asked her to come back for an enhanced mammogram and a biopsy. On Monday, June 15, it was confirmed what we were fearing: my mom was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. It appears that they have caught it early enough, but it will be a long road for her, with both chemo and surgery. Please pray for entire family as we work through this, but especially for my mom, who is pretty discouraged right now.

I will try to be better in the future to keep up this blog.

twitter

I have discovered twitter, and how easy it is to use. Now I can update my status on my phone, especially since we have unlimited text now with the new phones we got for Christmas. So we’ll see how well this goes on this blog. Maybe ya’ll will get to see some more updates from me than you have seen recently!

It’s been a long time, but here I am, being thankful

Thanksgiving: Things have been crazy for us at the Joyce household. Zach and I are very thankful to have our jobs right now. My office has seen 14% of the office laid off since mid-October. Zach’s office has had 26% of the office either leave or get let go. We’re both busy, but honestly, I am not sure how long that will last. This is the most concerned I have ever been about my job. I guess the knowledge that our industry is hurting made Thanksgiving more poignant. We were blessed to be able to go to Mississippi for Thanksgiving week. However, Zach’s parents’ home was torn up due to some foundation work. Zach’s parent’s were gracious enough to allow us to stay with them despite the chaos. I know that my mother-in-law was upset that we had to deal with the dirt and the holes inside the house, but to be quite honest, it wasn’t that bad. The worst part was having to leave with Isabelle when they started to jackhammer the floor, two days in a row—with very little warning. We went over to Zach’s grandparents’ house. I was worried sick that Isabelle would break something over there. Isabelle is a very curious child, and is constantly on the go. Vigilance takes on a new meaning when you have an (almost) one-year-old. Thanksgiving also included some time with Zach’s grandfather, who has been very ill. It was the first time he had seen Isabelle since she was just a couple of months old.

So I have been working on a list of big items for which I am thankful, especially with all that has gone on this year. I wanted to share them with you. I give thanks for:

-A wonderful husband who puts up with so much from me—especially after seeing some marriages teetering on the brink this year.
-A job where I make a reasonable amount of money. So many people in my industry and around the world are looking for work.
-A beautiful family where we have good health. It seems like more and more people around me are struggling with cancer, for example.
-A home that I love. We could still be in our old place, unable to move because of the market. We could have the problems that my in-laws have. We could be living in a third world country with no roof over our heads.
-An extended family that we love–and in-laws that we love, too! Zach and I are very blessed that we like each other’s families–and we think they like us, too!

There are so many other things, but I don’t have the space. The past few weeks, when I’ve felt overwhelmed by the economy or my crazy schedule, I have tried to focus on the many things that I do have!

It’s been a long time

It’s been a long time since the last time I posted. I apologize and will attempt to make it up a little bit. We had to take an impromptu trip to Mississippi, as Zach’s grandfather gave us a big scare. As a result, the last week or so has meant very little sleep and a whole lot of stress for our family. However, Isabelle seems to be growing in leaps and bounds and didn’t seemed phased at all by the long car ride and unfamiliar faces and places. As a matter of fact, she seemed to thrive at her Nana and Papa’s house. She loved their dog, Joker, who is about the same size as our cats but way more patient with her. If you wanted to be cheered up, all it took was a game of fetch with Joker and her giggles would fill the house.

I am also studying for my next exam and gearing up for the holiday season. So, needless to say I have been pretty much unable to be tremendously introspective or even spend much time in front of my computer. I’ll try to be a little bit better throughout the coming days.