Much needed Update!

Sorry, life is nuts in May. Anyway, here's what's going on:

David was laid off almost two weeks ago. We thought he had a pretty secure position as the only technician in his company, but apparently they decided that they could do without him. Oh well. He's signed up for unemployment benefits, and has a few options to look into. It is not likely that he will find a job similar to what he was doing, so this will be a definite change in his career. Happily, he was contacted yesterday by a company for which he previously did some independent contracting, and they said they would give him some work until he finds a permanent job. So that is a blessing! Please pray for David.

I'm going to the doctor today. I've had a nasty cough for over three weeks now, and it gets VERY bad at night, to the point of keeping me awake and making my throat really sore in the morning. Hopefully it's nothing minor, I don't have any other symptoms so we will see what the doctor says.

Gracie is such a big girl. She loves to give kisses! She kisses people, dogs, toys, everything, lol. Complete with smooch sound, they are precious. =) She has mastered so many words! She uses Momma, Daddy, Nene, and Dog-Dog every day. She can point to her and your nose, eyes, ears, hair, mouth, chin, knees, toes, feet, fingers, bellybutton, and is working on elbows. Speaking of bellybuttons, oh my goodness, she loves them! She wants to show everyone her bellybutton, and then she wants to see everyone else's, too! She thinks they are so funny! She also loves to say yes and no. Her little "no"s are so cute. It's fun to ask her questions and communicate with her. We had to take her out of her school (Primrose) when David was laid off, so she hasn't had the social interaction with other children that she is used to. David has done a good job keeping her entertained, though, and we will try to get some playdates going with friends of ours. If you want to do a playdate with Gracie, let us know!

We've set up the deck as Gracie's new little playground. She loves to be outside! She has her sandbox, little pool, and now a swing and a water table to play in. Hopefully this will keep her attention away from the potted plants that she destroyed, lol. We're starting to spend time every afternoon out on the deck as a family. A fun, cheap way to spend time together and get some Vitamin D! =)

We celebrated my 24th birthday at the Rangers game last Friday! I've celebrated birthdays at the Ballpark when I was younger, but this was the first time I've ever been to a Rangers home game actually on my birthday! They won the game, and there was a fireworks show afterwards just for me! Just kidding, they have fireworks after the Friday night home games this summer. But it was amazing! A perfect way to celebrate!

I also got my hair highlighted drastically to get rid of all that yucky brown leftover from last fall, and now I am officially very blonde again! =) I love it, I feel so much more like myself as a blonde. Brown can be fun, but I quickly get bored with it, and then am stuck with it for several months as I wait for it to fade out. Pretty sure I'll skip the brown this year!

Saturday Gracie and I went to Ashley's graduation party. Ashley is one of my closest friends, and she has been working so hard in school to get her teaching degree. Well, not only did she get it, but she graduated summa cum laude! She is amazing! What a great influence to her friends and family, to see what hard work can accomplish! She passed her teaching certifications and is ready to go! We are praying that she is offered a full-time position for next school year. And that she and her husband Bennie will finally start making some babies! LOL! Here is a picture of some graduation cap candy pops that I made for the party:

I had to take a few weeks off my bootcamp. I got shin splints the first week, and thought they would get better with new shoes, but they just got worse. I went to the doctor and turns out I have a very slight stress fracture in my left tibia. Yuck. Not bad enough to wear a boot or cast or anything like that, but I was ordered to stop boot camp and any medium or high impact activity. I'm swimming laps in the mornings, trying to get in shape and keep up the program. We'll see what happens.

Okay, well I think that's a good catch-up for now. I'll try to stay on top of this more, it has just been busy busy in the Nichols household! Hopefully the lazy summer days will prevail and I will have more time to keep y'all updated on what's going on with us. Happy June! (Can you believe it's JUNE already?! Goodness...)