About Us

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Living in Milton,FL. Shane works at Family Promise and Valerie is a Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay. Shane and Valerie have been married for 17 years with two wonderful children, Austen 13 yrs old and Gabrielle 10yrs old.

Monday, November 14, 2011

A Light at the End of the Tunnel


Wow, our time is almost done here and when we first begun we thought that it would take forever.  Let me take you back to the last post and fill you in on our time for the past few months.
I wrote last when I was on leave from work for my surgery. I ended up having to take a total of 4 weeks off from work. I am so glad I did it, I feel so much better. The hot flashes were crazy and irritating. I couldn't sleep, so I did get a low dose of hormone therapy.  No problems as long as I remember to take them.  I give praise to God for the success.

We finished up the spring with Austen playing soccer.  It was a great experience and he had a great soccer coach that was patient and easy going.  They ended in 4th place.  The kids went to Boys Ranch to see their grandparents during spring break. I had to work and Shane worked on school. It was nice because Shane and I could be alone for a little bit.
In June, we traveled to Killeen, TX. for Shane’s cousins’ wedding. I had my first experience to seeing the bad fires.  As we drove, the fires were just burning on the side of the road and in the fields.  Everything was charred.  It was over 100 degrees and the wedding was outside. It was still beautiful and then we went inside for the reception.  We also celebrated Austen’s birthday.  We invited his friend Colton and we all went to Six Flags for the day. We got there right when it opened and stayed until closing. Austen’s favorite ride is the Titan.
My dad went ill and had edema in his leg, my step mom had eye surgery and my little brother Brian had blood clots in one of his legs.  This happened all at once and I had an overwhelming desire to go help them. So we all packed up and headed to Georgia.  We spent a week there. I cleaned house and cooked, Shane fixed and repaired things in the house.  Dad and I went and had pedicures, Brian was able to get out of the hospital but was not out of the clear for another couple of weeks. My dad went to the doctor and found out his leg had a cyst that rupture in his leg causing blood to pool behind his knee.  It was very painful.  My step mom, Gail, had a hole in part of her eye causing her to have depth perception problems and cloudiness.  She had eye surgery and had to sit, lay and walk with her head staying face down 24/7 for several weeks. But as our time there was ending, she was able to sit up for short periods. She is back to work and doing much better. While we were there we did take a day to have some fun and we went to the Coke-cola Museum.  That was very cool! We tried all the sodas made all over the country, watched a 4-D movie and bought a few souvenirs.
Even though Shane had to continue school for the summer, He and the kids did come to my work to swim. They also went bowling several times and Austen likes going to Books-a-Million to sit and read for hours.
 Of course August we started school again. Shane did what’s called practicum. This is where he works in a intern setting as a student to get hands on experience while getting credit hours. This week, he will finish up two jobs. One is for the VOW doing premarital education. The other is for the East Texas Medical Center for the behavioral and mental center working in group sessions. He has really enjoyed both areas of work and has learned a lot.  Austen is still doing online home school and doing well. He has many portfolios to do and he continues to progress faster than the teachers like.  He also has live lessons on Fridays where he can virtually see his teacher and other students in his class. He is taking sign language which I’m excited about.  Gabrielle was officially tested and diagnosed with dyslexia. She is pulled out of regular class every day and has several teachers that work with her.  Her teachers have made accommodations and she is doing very well. Her reading continues to get easier for her and her math skills are coming along great.  When she started school, everyone had a timed test and she only made it through half the test which gave her a failing grade. After the 2nd six weeks she not only completed the test but she only missed three, giving her a 97.  We are so proud of her!
My work has been steady and I was pleased to get a good evaluation with a nice raise.  I have been working really hard to reach a goal of High Achievers. I have been close a couple of times.  We have had some big resident activities this year. My favorite that I launch each year is our Texas Against Crime event in October. This year we decided to have a volleyball tournament. I was able to promote three teams. I had shirts made for a Police team, Fire team, and Regency Park team.  I also went around to businesses and got door prizes donated and got vendors we work with to donate money for the winning team.  It ended up being a great success! The State Representative showed up, we had a fire truck come and several police officers and fireman.   Many of the residents came and the Regency Park team won the game!
Now that it is November, our time is very close to the end here in Longview, TX.  We have started packing and looking for jobs and planning our move to Bradenton, FL.  I have two brothers, Victor and Eric that live there.  Shane wants to do his master program at Argosy University.  We are planning Shane’s graduation which is December 10th , go to grandma and grandpa Nation Christmas on December 11th, then get the moving truck on Dec 15th. We will pack everything and then Shane, the kids and my mom will head to Pensacola, Fl on the 16th.  My mom is going to stay with Carolyn Bush, a family/ friend until we can find a house to buy.  However, they will drop off furniture and stuff there and mom will carry on to Bradenton with Shane and kids until after Christmas.  I will stay in Longview and continue working until Shane has found a job. That way we have a steady income during the transition. This of course is plan B, our prayer is that something will come up for me and Shane before the move so we don’t have to be separated.
My mom has stayed relatively healthy, we were able to get her a large flat screen TV for her birthday, and she is very happy to have purchased a lift chair.  She also was able to attend the annual Encore retreat with all her church friends.
 I am writing this while we are traveling back from spending Thanksgiving with Shane’s siblings (and families) and parents. Everyone was there except Jill and Joel and kids who are still in Africa.  Mom and her friend Karen came along and we all had fun playing games, hiking, and taking lots of pictures.

Friday, March 18, 2011

March 2011

Well, thinking back on our life since last October. I really thought I had updated before now. Last thanksgiving and Christmas was enjoyed at home. Since we had so much fun traveling during the summer, I didn't have any more vacation time to go any where for the holidays. It was still a nice family time. We decorated the house and opened presents. Austen asked for money and was saving up for the 3D-ds handheld gaming item. However, we went to a local pet store and he fell in love with the ferrets. We then asked our landlord if we could have a caged animal. He approved with no deposit. We are now owners of a white ferret named "wink". Our nice neighbor had connections, so Austen only had to pay for the used caged and buy food. These critters are quite expensive to get set up, but Crystal our neighbor was kind enough to find us one they had for awhile. Wink is not out first choice by no means for a pet. He is funny to watch and doesn't take too much to take care of. Of course the cleaning of the cage is the most challenging for the kids. Even my mom enjoys watching scurry around the house during his free time. We have to keep him bathed quite often or is name changes to "stinky winky".

We spent new years with our friends Matt and Rebecah Simcox. Played games and ate. The kids were introduced to konnex, an interactive game that can recognize by a sensor where you are and then move the characters on the screen. It is fun to be able to go have fun with friends and the kids are old enough to come along and stay up late with out any consequences the next day.

January 2011. A time to reflect and plan. Shane and I had already planned that I would have a hysterectomy this year and the date was set. Our tax return was going to be used to make sure that everything was paid and we wouldn't have to stress over the bills. We paid off some debt and got a nice new leather sofa/couch and a few other small things we needed like new glasses for Shane and Austen, contacts for me.

I was also going to work on my high achievers at work. My coworkers and I went to our kick off party in Frisco,TX at the Dave and Busters restaurant. It was fun. I've really have learned to appreciate the company I work for and would recommend anyone to work for Venterra Realty. They have great values, make good business decisions. At our Apartment Assoc Christmas party, I was awarded Assistant Manager of the Year. I know how it came about but it looks good on my resume. Working for Venterra has been challenging but also a very good learning experience. I have been challenged with working with many people as a team to get the same thing accomplished. Building relationships with those forced into my world with different lifestyles, beliefs and personalities. God has certainly stretched me and taught me to love, respect, and have humility. Now that I am thinking of moving and will have to look into other companies. I want a company as good as this one. I have a feeling that God will place me in another situation for me to continue to grow and keep learning.

Austen started soccer. He loves it, surprisingly. We are very happy and thrilled and we don't have to fight him to go. Every game he gets better as does the team. They have won one game so far. I also agreed to let him and Shane get a game called Rift. Its an online game that they can play together. Austen is about three weeks ahead of the rest of his class. His homeschooling is going well. It is still challenging but that's good. That is what we wanted.

Gabrielle has been in girl scouts. She meets every other week. We sold cookies and have had a bunch of fun. I have been struggling with whether we should continue. She has fun and its a different set a friends that she can interact with. Her leader is nice, but they aren't really learning anything, so it ends up just being something we do together. I am still wanting to have her try gymnastics. Gabrielle's school wants to officially tested her for dyslexia. I know she has it, its like seeing me as a girl struggling. I can't stand that she got my handicap.

Shane and I celebrated our birthdays. It was so nice. I got valentine flowers and birthday flowers. Then we went to Red Lobster and had dinner. The kids and Shane got me jewelry and perfume. Then for Shane's birthday, we went to Karen's house for a cookout and I surprised Shane with golf clubs.

I continue to help at church in missions committee, club 456, awana, and now I greet newcomers and drive the bus for students once a quarter. Our missions conference was great this year. I really enjoyed the fellowship with the missionaries. This will be my last year in club 456 as Austen will head onto jr high next year. I will eventually phase out of each ministry as we get closer to moving.

Shane is still the married student chaplain at the University. His classes have been quite challenging this semester. He's been studying child counseling and has a class project that includes visiting a children's hospital in Shreveport,La. He has also been taking some management classes including accounting and human resources. So his mind has been stretched but he is still holding onto a good GPA.

My surgery was march 15th. It went well and I was able to go home the next day. I have two weeks off of work and pray the doctor will release me back then. We are blessed with a good church family and they have brought food and sent flowers. The kids have spent the week with Mamaw and Papa (Shane's parents) and Shane went to meet them half way to pick them up today, Mar 18th. All is well in Longview TX.