This weekend

Spent 10 hours in a car on Friday and Saturday but it was worth it! Zach and I went to Katy to spend the night with April so we could be there for her 30th birthday! Yup she is old and I am not! She is in her 30s and I am in my 20s! For those who may not know April is my BEST FRIEND! We were college roommates together at UMHB. She is also a twin and we have so much in common, yet we are so different! I think that's what makes our relationship so special! She is a joy to have in my life and even though we were not able to stay long I am so glad we were able to visit! :)

Christmas Tree Time Lapse 2010

Hayden and Blues Clues

Update Time

Okay so some people do read the blog so I will do better at updating it. Most of the pictures are on Zach's computer so I can't upload pictures today.

Things are crazy as always in our life. Hayden started school this year. He is going to TOTS on Tuesdays and Thursdays. His teacher is Mrs. Sarah and she is excellent! He loves going there. He will have his first program in December. I am excited to see what he will do on stage, a little nervous too!

Zach is going on three years at Emmanuel as the youth minister. Amazing things are happening there! We love our youth and we are looking forward to relocating and building our new building!

I am teaching the English part of the bilingual program at school now. This is the first year and it's been a struggle but it is getting better. I have 34 students between two classes. They are all great!

I am still in school also trying to get my Master's. So ready to graduate as it has been very time consuming and it effecting my life as wife, mother, and teacher. I will graduate in May with a Master's of Education in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in literacy studies. Hopefully I will graduate with a 4.0. That is what I have right now and I only have four courses left.

Okay that's all I can think of right now. I will do better at updating, I promise!

Especially for you April! :)

Hello, anyone there?

Since we both have facebook accounts we were wondering if anyone even ever looks at this blog anymore. Post a comment if you do as we may close it soon.

zoo time

Fun times with Happel cousins!

Amelia and Coralyn came to spend the weekend with Hayden. They all had so much fun! Here are some pictures of the weekend.

I used to ....but now

I used to…but now
By Benita Tomlinson


I used to live in the metropolitan, Arlington to be exact,
But now I live in the country, Pittsburg without a H.

I used to be young and immature,
But now I have to act like an adult!

I used to think I knew it all,
But now I pretend to know it all!

I used to think about being a mommy,
But now I soak in every momma moment!

I used to be single,
But now I am in a loving marriage relationship.

I used to be lost, a sinner,
But now I am found and forgiven, a christian.

I used to be very active and skinny,
But now I have a baby belly that has decided to never leave me.

I used to live in my parent’s home,
But now I have a home of my own.

I used to be quiet and shy,
But now I am outgoing.

I used to live 3 hours away from my family,
But now I am much closer.

I used to dream of my future,
But now I dream of my son’s future.

I used to cruise around in SUV’s
But now I am a proud minivan mom.

First attempt at poetry

I am in my writing course for grad school. I have to write. Here is a poem I wrote. My first ever! I will also post my 2nd poem I wrote.

This one is called I am....

I am…
By Benita Tomlinson

I am a daughter of loving parents.
I am a sister with an unique relationship.
I am an identical mirror twin.
I am patient and kind.
I am a friend who is always there.
I am a student in the ever changing learning process.
I am a high school honor graduate.
I am a spoiled rotten grandaughter.
I am an organize freak at some things.
I am a child of God who loves me unconditionally!
I am from a divorced family.
I am a college graduate of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
I am an alternative certified teacher.
I am a niece that loves to tease!
I am the educator of 18 eager first graders.
I am a procrastinator although I hate it.
I am a planner of everything including life.
I am a wife of a supportive husband
I am an in-law as sister and daughter.
I am a computer nerd and proud of it.
I am a youth minister’s family that is always at church.
I am a cool aunt of 4 girls and 2 boys.
I am a step daughter and sister.
I am a fluent reader of many books.
I am a struggling and scared writer.
I am a mother of a handsome miracle.
I am busy and stressed!
I am beautiful, on the inside especially.
I am the future!

Texas Weather

For my Master's course I have to write for 30 minutes every day. It can be about anything. Below is tonight's writing. ENJOY :)

I talked about stress in my first writing. Tonight’s writing is also about stress but not from this course! I HATE STORMS. We had several storms go through the East Texas area tonight. These were rough storms with tornadoes. The weather man was freaking out saying over and over that he had never seen storms like this since he has lived in East Texas. So that of course freaked me out. Here I am with my 18 month old son BY MYSELF! Did I mention I really dislike storms?

Needless to say I got ready. Step one – pull the car into the carport to prevent hail damage. News reported there were golf ball to baseball size hail in the area. Car under a year old, priorities people! Step two – Get tornado closet kid ready. I pulled out both shoe racks and some of the clothes on the bottom rack to make room. Gathered the items, here’s the list – snacks, drinks, portable dvd player, dvds, books, games, coloring book, crayons, blanket, pillow and the list goes on. Step three – we are dog lovers! Have to protect our four legged babies. In went the dog blankets and chew toys. Now where was I going to sit?!?! Step four – get kid and dogs in closet and make them stay. Nope didn’t happen. Finally got Hayden to sit and watch his Mickey Mouse movie. Dogs were at least locked in the bedroom with me. Step five – Is this tornado over yet? The whole time all of this is happening I am monitoring the news and calling friends and relatives and they are calling me. Not sure how I got it all done.

We are ready for the bad weather now. And of course, no bad weather comes our way. Yes we have bad thunderstorms but no tornadoes. I was prepared though. I watch the news of the other areas that were hit. One story hit me. A moving van full of someone’s belongings was blown over and the contents thrown everywhere. We recently moved and I understand having your whole life in a moving van (or two or three). I pray for that family and that their needs will be met.

So during all of this I was supposed to be working on my reading response, mentor text and of course this daily writing. Did it happen? Of course not. So now I am stressed over the bad weather and double stressed over not getting enough done tonight that I had wanted to get done.

O the joy of Texas weather. Got to love it!

Happy New Year!

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