Liberty

Hi folks,
I haven’t given any sort of update on my schooling since I started. I went part time for the 1st two semesters and with good counsel from my husband I decided to kick it into high gear and get this party over with. I went from 6 hours a semester to 12 hours a semester.

When I started the Fall of 2011 I was considered a junior because of my associate degree transferring over. However, I still had 84 credits that I need to get completed in order to get my business degree. So far I have completed a total of 108 hours. I have a small amount of 39 left to go. This means that I am about 75% complete.

Working full time, being a full time wife, mom, baseball mom, and student is insanely hard, but we

make it work. I have a very supportive husband. And my parents, brother and sisters, and friends are constant support who provides prayers and tutoring if needed. (I love having teachers as friends and family members) With our insane schedule and all the homework, I actually manage to only do homework at work and while the kids are sleeping. There was an exception last semester and the beginning of this semester that I had to do homework while they were awake. Statistics and Corporate Finance took every minute of free time away during those classes.

The most amazing news I heard this month is that I will be graduating next year. Just one year away from being completely done.

During our summer vacation of 2012, we went to Virginia for a friends wedding. During this trip we stopped and saw the Liberty campus. It was a lot of fun to see the campus, buy some souvenirs, and see the environment.
 

Communication has Failed

Here is the deal.

There has been some hold up on blogging because of various reasons. One, our life got crazy busy, with school, baseball, church, family, more school and more church. Second, I felt very strongly that my blogs were used as info for conversation. This is how people found out about our lives and communication was lost. There was no need to actually know about our life; instead the blog was the outlet into our lives.

With so many social media sites, and such easy access to communication with others, true communication is lost.

I love writing, I love letting people get a glimpse of my beautiful children.

I apologize that I haven’t let ya’ll see into our lives. I got to where even on twitter, facebook, etc that I didn’t want to post pictures nor did I want to do  any status updates that gave any indication on how we were doing. Why know me through the internet if you don’t want to know me face to face. I’m not talking about the people who we wouldn’t normally come into contact with, people we don’t know, or people who we have lost normal contact with, this is people who should stay in constant contact with us.

Thanks for listening and I am planning on starting up blogging on a regular basis.

Birthday

This was a big year for you and we couldn’t be more proud of you.

You’re an amazing young man. There is such sweetness about you and you are so sensitive to people’s feelings.

This year you asked Jesus into you heart. It was a sweet moment. We were reading a book about heaven and you turned to me and told me that you love Jesus. I told you that we love Him to and He is real special to us. You sat there for a second and then told us that you wanted Jesus in your heart and that you wanted us to help you pray. Right there in Anna’s room, mid book, in our jammies, you asked Jesus into your heart. You were so happy and excited and were ready to tell the world.

You had some great developments this year. You are learning so much in Pre-K and absolutely love school. Even your friendships are becoming more complex with conversation and playing.

You were prophesied over a few times but one recently was that you have a Samuel anointing on you and that you will see things and being able to lead people because of what you see.

We love you buddy and are so happy that God has appointed us as your parents. Each day is a blessing and we cherish every hug, every conversation, every movie night, and every moment we have with you.

Happy 5th Birthday Timothy!

The Story of the Tooth

In early January TJ and Anna went off to school. It was Anna's first day. (we do drop ins at TJ's school) Right at 9 I got a call. I was worried it was about Anna but the principle started out by saying TJ was fine. She explained he fell off a toy and hit his face. She thought his tooth might be lose but he wasn't really complaining and just wanted to sit in the office because he could watch his baby Anna play across the hall.

When Tim picked up the kids he sent me this picture.

It was a shock. He wasn't really complaining but by the time he was home from school he wouldn't talk, he wouldn't close his mouth, and he would not eat anything. When I touched the tooth it wouldn't move so it wasn't loose.

After a week the swelling and scrapes were gone but his tooth was now shifting. It still couldn't be moved by touch.

 It basically looked like he had lost his tooth and it was just growing back. This wasn't hurting him at all and he never complained about it. By this point we decided to take him in. His gums were slightly swollen and we thought it would be best just to make sure it was all ok.



He went to the dentist and the dentist said he sees this all the time but not a tooth that went up that far. He prescribed an antibiotic and scheduled an appointment for 10 days later. He wanted to make sure it wouldn't come down before he pulled it.

They have movies playing for the kids

He did fantastic as he did a cleaning and examined TJ's teeth. I had told TJ the night before to obey the dentist and to not bite him. He stopped Tim before they walked in and said "daddy, I don't want to bite the dentist" all Tim could do was laugh and tell him, "that is nice of you buddy. You'll have to make sure you keep your mouth open" Tim took him to the dollar store after wards because he was so good.

This was just a few days after he started the medicine. You can tell it is moving down.

This picture was taken the day he went to the dentist. The Dentist was shocked at how well it had moved and healed. Prayers have worked on this guy. The dentist had talked to some other dentists to find out what to do, they were all saying to do whatever he could to keep his tooth in there.


And finally here he is a few days ago. It is slightly different but barely noticeable. Some days you can see a slight discoloration but that is from nerve damage.

He is so handsome and has such beautiful eyes and smile.  Love you TJ!

Holiday in the Park

This past summer our company took all of our families to Six Flags again. This year as a bonus so our company would sign another deal they were given Holiday in the Park tickets.

I think we got these last year but we didn't get tickets because I was on maternity leave and wasn't about to head out to a crowded park with an infant.

We went this last weekend and we had fun. It was PACKED. We had to park on like the last row and we tried to catch the tram but it picked up another group and left. So we walked the 500 miles to the gate. Our entire visit was basically spent in the kid's area.

We all had a great time and we were able to catch the tram back to our car.

Anna's Party

Thank you to everyone who came to Anna's party. We had a great time and Anna was so blessed with toys and clothes. Food was great, cake was great, and Anna had a blast playing and hanging out with everyone.

Here are a bunch of pictures from the day:

Happy Birthday Anna

A year ago today we were at the hospital getting induced so we could meet our little girl. Dr. Peppler thought she was going to be huge. TJ was huge and we thought for sure she would be huge too maybe even bigger since she was already in my stomach a week longer than TJ was. Labor was quick and she was born at 1:05 pm. 3.5 hours after my water was broken. She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and was 20 inches long.

She has been such a joy and a wonderful addition to our family. Her little character is constantly cracking us up. She is interested in details. She'll hold on to something and look at every aspect of the item. She makes the greatest faces. She loves, absolutely loves her brother. He has her attention all the time. They wrestle, the try to talk to each other, the laugh, the play, its really sweet.

Anna is already a little worshiper. She will raise her hands in church. When I hold her and I sing. She becomes so peaceful and will just relax in my arms.

She explores everything, she'll go off by herself and play but she also loves to be around everyone.

This year has been so wonderful. Thank you Anna for keeping us on our toes, for bring a joy to our home, for being unique, for being you. We love you baby girl.

Happy birthday Anna Banana!

Tigers Fall 2011

Well the season is over. TJ had a blast and he will definitely be playing again in the spring. This league was great. He got so much playing and practicing time. We love his coaches and how they interacted and taught the kids.

We are so proud of you TJ.

katieleckie.com

It is the end of an era.

I purchased the domain “themindofkatie.com” when TJ was about 7 months old. I had been blogging regularly and thought it was time to make the plunge and buy the domain. I bought this particular name because this is what I called my site so it was an easy pick. After a year or so I thought back that I should have purchased katieleckie.com so I would be easier to remember, more versatile, and my name instead of a theme.

Well this year Google was trying to automatically renew the site and my debit card had expired and with everything going on I updated it but it was too late and my “themindofkatie.com” had been purchased by someone else. I was kinda sad but I went ahead and purchased katieleckie.com.

I’m hoping this doesn’t completely mess up my audience and they can’t find me but I’ll survive and maybe they all will find me again.

Spread the word and change your RSS readers. New site is http://www.katieleckie.com/

Big Step

I've been thinking about this for a long time. Actually I have been for years but seriously thinking for about 6 months.

I started back to school this week.

This took a lot and was a really big step for me... I guess I should start towards the beginning.

In 2005 I received an associates degree in science. Then I got married and got a job to survive. I've been working since then and had babies and just lived life. I have been encouraged by my employer, family and friends to go back and finish to get my bachelors in business.

I really wanted to go back but really didn't want to take the time to do it and spend the money to go to all the classes. I wasn't sure how many classes would transfer and just thought I would be starting basically over again.

Well a few months ago (mid spring) I decided to do some research. Why not get this done and taken care of while my kids are young. I found a few schools that I was interested in and applied. Heck, why not right? If I don't get in then that's just God closing the door.

Nope, I got in. Fine, I'll keep praying that if the doors stay open then I'll keep moving through them.

Ok, so now I need to apply for financial aid. Got some loans.

Ok, the door is still open.

Sent my transcript. 63 of my credit hours were transferred over...Um? Seriously? I'm a Junior? You have got to be kidding me? So all I have left is a few basics and then core classes? Door still WIDE open.

Well now it comes down to the final make it or break it decision.

My company offers Education Assistance. Once I got in and got registered for classes I found out what all I need to do. Filled out paperwork, talked to my manager, talk to my manager's manager, talked to HR talked to my manager again, talked to the head of HR, talked everyone over again, defended my case, wrote letters, and then waited.

After waiting for a couple of weeks all while the deadline to get out without any cost to me was approaching quickly. My manager comes over and says "Come to Dave's office" (Dave is her boss and over our facility). I completely forgot that we were waiting on an answer and was worried about what he could possibly need with both of us.

I walked into his office and saw his face and all I could do was smile. You could see the relief on his face. My manager was smiling. They fought like crazy for this to get approved for me. Didn't find out till towards the end that they don't just approve this for anyone. It's nice to know they appreciate me and will vouch for me.

My company pays 90% of tuition, books, and applicable fees!!!!!

Praise the Lord! The doors stayed wide open and I am now in school. I am taking two classes this semester. I decided to just get my feet wet a little and get used to it before I jump in completely. I've just about finished my first week and doing good.

Keep me in your prayers. And thank you to those who have already been encouraging me and praying for me. I'm sure I'll be updating a on this as I go..... Woo Hoo!!!

Comparison in a Good Way

 Wow!

Can you tell at all that we are related?

No?

You are blind then...

Josh is the oldest. I'm the middle child. Amy is the youngest.

Amy and Josh have the same smile and their eye shapes are the same.

Amy and I have the same eyes.

Josh and I have the same noses.

Amy and I have the same chins.

Josh and I have the same ears....ugh. Poor Anna has them too.

Here are my Mom and Dad

Josh has my mom's eye color.

Amy and I have my dad's eye color.

I have my dad's eye brows.

Josh and I have my mom's ears.

Amy and Dad have the same nose.


Josh and Amy's eye shape is like my mom's
Mine is like my dad's

Amy's super gorgeous curly hair is from my dad.

We are all tall. We are family. We fight. We love each other. I don't say it enough but they are my loves, my family. I miss them when I don't see them. I get tired of them when I see them too much. But love every minute of it. We have memories and laugh and joke at each other. We can have heart to heart conversations. We snap each other out of our negative moods.

My parents have been married for 37 years. Thank you for being such great examples to us!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Bath Time

I decided since Anna is now sitting up in the bathtub that it would be fun to snap a few pictures. Bath time is always fun in our house and both kids just have a blast. It's an easy way to burn some of their energy but also keep them occupied until bed time.

Plus these are some great shots of Anna's teeth.