2020 Update!

Where to even begin??  I can't believe that i haven't updated this since 2014!!  Six whole years have passed!!

Cole is now 13 years old.  He no longer plays baseball (I was reading all about his t-ball and baseball days...man...I wish I hadn't worried so much and just enjoyed)  He LOVES football and plays Left tackle which is exactly what Justin played at MSU!  He is sticking with basketball too.  He also is very tall (5'11 currently).  He will be in 8th grade this fall and I can't believe I will teach him again soon.  He is still just as sweet as ever and a great cook.

Natalie is now 11 years old.  She is still feisty and headstrong.  Natalie loves basketball (Go #10) and softball.  She does private training for basketball once a week and tries to play at least two seasons of the year!  Softball is a new love.  She's played t-ball/softball since she was 5...but last year she made allstars and has really enjoyed it.  She plays 1st base and is tough as nails.  She LOVES to read!!  This school year Natalie begins Junior High!

Katy Beth is now 9.  My sweet baby is still joyful and fun. She's all about dancing and singing.  The STRANGE thing is how quiet she is in public.  She loves Golf and Soccer as her sports.  We tried t-ball/softball and basketball...but for now she doesn't enjoy them.  She loves to read and play with her dad.  She and Natalie get along great most of the time...and she and Cole are very close too. This will be her first year at the elementary all by herself. 

I am now teaching at the high school!  I'm about to begin my 3rd year as the EOC US History teacher and Yearbook adviser.  It keeps me very busy but I enjoy it!!  I'm still riding bikes and working out...but I haven't taught a workout class in over a year.  I miss it but I don't think I have time for it at this moment.  One day.

Justin is still with United.  He has a great management crew and that's refreshing for us.  He is still riding bikes and tinkering around the farm.

Life is good despite the global pandemic of Covid-19 and the racial tensions in this country.  We are grateful to live in the middle of nowhere Texas this summer!

Moving!

We have been in Childress for FIVE years next month!  This is the only town our kids know!  Cole was only 2 when we moved here.  He is now 7!  Natalie was 5 months, and Katy has born here in Childress!

Now to add to our amazing life here, we are MOVING!  It's an awesome story...so bear with me please!

In October, I was visiting my sister in Frisco.  I noticed that a house with land was on a local real estate website.  For some reason, I felt impelled to send the link to Justin.  We joked about how nice it would be, but there was no way we could afford it.  When i got home, we looked at it again and decided to look at it.  It had sparked our interest.

The house is twice the size of our first home here in Childress...and 3 times the size of our first home in Vernon!  That was a nice start.  When we walked out the back yard to look at the land, we were awestruck.  A storm was developing from the Northwest and moving east.  It happened right before our  eyes.  THAT moment i KNEW we wanted that house.

We decided to find out just how much we would be approved for financially.  To our surprise...we approved!  To make matters even more amazing, the owners of the house (an elderly couple), wanted a house on the edge of town with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a garage.  That fit our home description exactly!  Over the next month or so we submitted offers, prayed...and finally...right before Christmas...our offer was accepted and we accepted theirs.  Essentially...we are swapping houses!

The process has been LONG (it is now March 5th and we close today), grueling (we had to completely redo our shower and they had to redo woodwork and the porch) and tiresome.  HOWEVER, I KNOW  God has been a part of every step.  We close today and begin moving on Friday!!

Justin and I grew up visiting our grandparents farms and dreaming of our own.   We will now be the proud owners of a 4 bedroom 4 bath house with 130 acres!!  We will lease the land for a while with the intention of one day putting our own fencing and cattle out there.  I want chickens and a garden as well.    It is only about 1-2 miles north of town.  It is PERFECT...not to far...not to close.  The house DOES need to be updated...and we won't be able to do a lot at first, but it's ok.  This is a new life for us!  We both can't wait for our kiddos to grow up with hard work ethics and country living!!!

Thanks for reading!  Stay tuned for fun happenings at the Pierce Farm!!

A new era!

Hi Friends!!

It's been a few months and boy has life changed!  Please bear with me because this story is long and I'd like to share it so I don't forget!

Since 2008 I have taught workshops for Vernon ISD on various trainings I've attendended.  Typically I teach a refresher course on Capturing Kids' Hearts and the Social Contract.  (love contracts in the classroom!)  Last year there were SEVERAL 1st year teachers and I asked if they had an induction program.  They did...but weren't sure if they would teach it.  I offered to and VOILA!  I had a fabulous addition to our income throughout the course of the year!  I decided to get officially trained in it so I could teach it to various districts.

Throughout the summer I made contact with Childress's Superintendent and it didn't pan out...since budgets had been made already.  I was disappointed but knew I still had Vernon.  In May I noticed several teaching positions available (all English in Highschool or Middle School).  Justin and I toyed with the idea of me applying.  I prayed about it and felt that I would know when the time was right...and it would HAVE to be Social Studies.  Natalie has one more year of preschool...so we would talk about other teaching positions in 2014.

Mid summer I received an email from the Superintendent about a Special Ed position.  While I LOVE working with kids of all needs, I apologized and told him that the ONLY way I would leave my babies this year would be for a social studies position.  (i knew that wouldn't happen because most are for coaches).

In July I went on a 30 mile bike ride to talk with God after really feeling down in the dumps.  Thoughts of "What good am I?"  "Why am I a horrible mother?"  "Is this what I'm supposed to be doing?" etc were going on and quite frankly...I was unpleasant to be around.  I stopped midway through my ride to refuel and I checked my phone.  An email from the superintendent asking if I would be interested in interviewing for a social studies position was there!!  I immediately wanted to rush home to Justin...but I knew I needed time with God. I turned south directly into the wind and rode 8 miles.  In that time I asked Him what I should do.  I knew...he had thrown this opportunity to me because I asked for His help!  He answered quite loudly.  God whispers requests and shouts with answered prayers.

The interview (while nerve wracking) went GREAT and I got the job!  I am now a 5th grade Social Studies teacher at Childress Elementary School!  This is also Cole's school!  Amazingly, the lady across the street keeps kids and had 3 openings for Natalie, Brynn and Katy!!!  It is very affordable and almost TOO convenient!

We are blessed...I am humbled at how He always takes care of me.  At my weakest moments if I just ask...He is there.  It's not always huge answered prayers...but whispers...He is there.

~Janet

Funny Things

It's been entirely too long!  I WANT to blog...but I stay kind of busy!  I wanted to document some funnies before I forget!!

Katy

• On Tuesday, Katy was laying on my lap before Cole's baseball game.  I noticed some yellow "stuff" coming out of her ear.  For a second I thought it was ear wax.  I looked closer and saw some white things in her ear too.  To me it looked like a flower, LOTS of crazy wax, or a spider.  I ran her home and got the tweezers.  It was the middle of a flower.  SHEESH!
• On Wednesday she started screaming.  She was on top of a barstool.  Her poor knee was stuck in the slats.  It would NOT budge.  For the 2nd time I had to use butter to unstick her.  She still has 2 marks on her knee from it!!
• Thursday at Cole's last baseball game, the girls (Chandler, Natalie and Brynn) were "babysitting" katy.  haha.  I noticed her walk toward the back of the chainlink fence.  There is an opening to the field there, but the girls were with her and so was Justin.  He was on the phone but I figured he was watching.  Next thing I know, Katy is RUNNING to the middle of the field and stopping and laughing along the way.  The more I chased her, the more she giggled and ran.  Luckily one of the coaches grabbed her.  :)

Natalie

• When Natalie plays t-ball, she is SERIOUS!  She has  the ultimate game face and will NOT break a smile!  I LOVE IT!  She always looks for us and gets SERIOUS when batting.
• She gets out bed no less than 3 times to tell us she loves us, ask where she's going the next day, search for "kitty"...etc.
• One night I was sleeping with Katy because she wouldn't sleep.  I heard a rustle and then BAM..."WHAAAAAAAA!!!!"  Natalie had rolled off her bed.  hahahha.  Magically she went right back to bed.

Cole

• Cole got out for the first time this baseball season.  He had batted and hit it GOOD.  He didn't want to just throw his new bat down, so he tried handing it to the coach or sitting it softly...he got out at first base.  He didn't know what that meant, but when he had to run off field, he started crying.  Poor guy!  He hasn't been tagged out since though!

All three

• My abuelito died last week.  Cole and Natalie somewhat understood that he was gone and was in Heaven.  We let them view him at the viewing.  They handled it well.  That night they started a new thing, "Playing Heaven".  They showed my mom a pillow...they lifted it and underneath was a box with Ariel in it.  She had died and gone to heaven.  When Justin put them to bed he noticed the box with Ariel next to them and several horses with pillows on top of them.  It's kind of sad, but also neat how they are processing this.  (and kind of funny...you have to admit!)

:(

Do you ever feel like you have absolutely no one in this world to talk to? Some people make you feel like you are silly to worry about the things you do. Others always have to "one up" your issues or have "been there done that", and others have way worse circumstances than you and your problems seem ridiculous in comparison. That's me these days. Stuck in the middle where nothing is too bad but nonetheless still stressed with no one to talk to.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Summer 2012

We had a busy summer! 

In June, Justin and I traveled across the country to Las Vegas…in our car!  I wanted to go to Beachbody’s annual “Summit” for coaches.  It was AWESOME to say the least!  We got to spend time listening to the CEO, Tony Horton from P90x, Chalene Johnson from Turbo Jam, Shaun T. from Insanity, Darin Olien…creator of Shakeology and finally Seth Godin.  We got to do live workouts with Tony and ChaLean and EVERY SINGLE beachbody Celebrity trainer when we participated in the largest workout ever on the Las Vegas strip.  We stayed at the MGM Grand again and the renovations are awesome!  We also met up with Kelly Arrington Thompson for a bit and it was nice to catch up!  We already bought and paid for next year’s trip!  Can’t wait!!

We “met” Mater from “Cars” on route 66 in Santa Rosa NM.

Stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Alburquerque, NM.  It was a great place to stay!  They had amazing biking trails and it was just a neat town!  Lots of history.  Only downside…totally in the middle of a desert!  ha!

 

 

Arizona roadside park!

Shaun T spent time telling us about Insanity: The Asylum 2.  wow…it looks crazy awesome but VERY hard!  He is sooo nice and really likes helping people.  I didn’t get a photo with him this year…but I will next time!

 

Tony Horton right after (I think?) the awesome workout we did with him!  CRAZY!!!  He is so nice!

 

Before the place got FREAKING CROWDED!  This is where we did the “workout on the strip”! 

 

 

Me and the creator of “Body Beast”.  He is Israeli (I think?)  Anyway, his name is SAgi and he was super sweet and very muscly.  He kind of felt like a firm marshmallow.  hahaha!  he DID say, “Hello Beautiful”, and I blushed.  hehehe…

 

Went to the Hoover Dam.  I wish we would have spent more time…it was pretty awesome!

 

My favorite part!  The Grand Canyon.  Pictures do NO JUSTICE to how amazing it is!  I’m so tempted to drive again next year just so we can visit it again.  God is an amazing artist.  It is so humbling to stand before His wonderous creations!!  We also rode our bike along the South Rim.  Each time we came up on a drop off view point…my heart skipped a beat.  It is THAT awesome!  GO!!! 

Going to have to dig up some summer time pics. Justin created a slip & slide of the slide and the kids had a great time!  We also spent a lot of time at the country club pool!

Visited Walburg and Schwertner for a Teinert family reunion! Next reunion will not be in Walburg…it’s a little sad because we love visiting there!

 

I have more pics that I will try to download from facebook and add!  Enjoy!!!  (hopefully I’ll add more pics of the kids too…sheesh!)

Prayer for Christlikeness

I needed this today. Mondays are starting to be harder with the beginning of the school week. I especially want this when I'm loving my kiddos. I read that we should live our children the way Christ loves us. Of course! But when you really think about how MUCH Christ loves us and shows His love...it's easy to see that THAT kind of love is what we SHOULD show our kids, but sometimes have a hard time doing. It's my mission to be more Christlike in my daily life...especially when living my family. :)

Prayer for Christlikeness

Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go;
Flood my soul with your spirit and life;
Penetrate and possess my whole being so completely
That all my life may be only a radiance of yours;
Shine through me and be so in me
That everyone with whom I come into contact
May feel your presence within me.
Let them look up and see no longer me—but only Jesus.
Amen.