Tears, Tears, and More Tears

Well, we officially have 1 month down for this deployment. Lance has been stateside in IN since October training. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be because I knew I would be seeing him at Thanksgiving.

We picked him up Wednesday in Charleston, WV and spent Thanksgiving at Lance's parents. It was so great seeing him and getting to spend time with him! We got to do a little Christmas shopping for the kids and had a mini Christmas for him before he left. He enjoyed one day of hunting and lots of good food! It went by too fast. We took him back to the airport on Saturday. Wow, that was tough! Taylor and I cried so hard. I think I was crying harder, because she knew she was saying goodbye to her Daddy for a while. It does surprise me though, that she still hasn't asked when he is coming back.....I am sure she will ask soon.

So Happy to See Daddy!

We headed home, back to NC today. It was great getting back home and turning on our Christmas tree and just spending quality time...three three of us. Lance leaves to Egypt this week. Please pray for a safe trip and arrival.

Well, here I go again. It has been almost 2 years since my lost post, but I am going to try to stay on top of things this time! So much has happened in the last two years! The Lord has been very good! I am going to just give a quick update on on family...

~Lance

Lance graduated from seminary with his M Div and works for Corporate Chaplains of America and is also a National Guard Chaplain. He loves his job and sharing the gospel with the people he works with. He says it doesn't even feel like a job! We have spent many nights praying for many people. I love being a Chaplain's wife! Lance will be deploying in September for about a year. This is our first deployment, so I know we will need lots of prayers!

~Ashley

I just completed my 9th year of teaching. It has flown by so fast! It's been an amazing journey, but so many things in education has changed. It makes me sad to see where public education is going. The Lord opened some new doors for me at the end of this year. I had the opportunity to apply for an Instructional Technology Specialist position in the county and got the job! I am really excited to start this new journey on August 1st!!

~Taylor

Taylor just turned 7 on June 14th! My little girl is growing up so fast! She is the sweetest and most caring little girl. She has done an amazing job in her first two years of school and really enjoyed going to the school Mommy worked at. With my job change, Taylor will be changing schools. She will be attending Metrolina Christian Academy. She is excited and nervous at the same time. Prayers for her as she adjusts to this new school!

~Garrett

My wild, 2 year old, Mommy's boy! He loves to play and do whatever big sister is doing! He is all boy and it takes everything we have to keep up with him. We love him to death and he is excited that Taylor will be at his school with him :)

This is just a little update on our family! Like, I said, I hope to keep up with this blog for family and friends especially with Lance deploying!

Taylor Mae is 5 years old!

Being Taylor's mother for the last 5 years has been an amazing experiment. When I first found out I was pregnant with her I never knew my life would change so much. As many of you know, my pregnancy with her was rough, but the outcome was a beautiful little girl. We have encountered so much with Taylor Mae.

When Taylor turned 4, all she talked about for the last year was the day she would be 5. When she would up on June 14th, she was smiles. She said, "Mommy, I am 5 today! I feel older and bigger!" I got a good laugh. We spent the day shopping and eating at Chick-fil-a (her favorite restaurant!).

On Memorial Day weekend we had a small family birthday with her dad, because he couldn't be here on her real birthday, and her grandparents at Pipestem state Park in WV. It was a lot of fun.

She loves "Pinkicious", but her favorite color is purple, so I got her "Purplicious"!

Taylor wanted this container to keep her barbies in. Taylor then thought it would be a great ride for Garrett!

Taylor and her Tinkerbell Cake!

My precious 5 year old girl!

Taylor Graduates from Pre-K

Taylor graduated from Pre-K. I really thought I would bawl, but it was so cute that I just had a smile the entire time! She actually reminded me of myself in my high school graduation gow

They did most of their songs with sign language.

Look how excited she looks! She looked so grown up!

Class of 2010!

It's official! She received her "diploma".

Hanging out with her friends one last time.

Taylor's best friend from school, Mia. Taylor looks like a giant compared to Mia.

Taylor's teachers Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Carter. They always had such good things to say about our Taylor Mae.

We are very proud parents!

Daddy with his little girl!

Happenings in the last 2 months!

I can't believe it's been two months since I last posted. Time flies! I hope to keep up better now that I am out for summer vacation. Here are a few things that have been going on.

Taylor loves her brother! Here she is playing Dr with him. He just lays there and lets her check him out!

We went to WV on Memorial Day weekend. Lance and his brother Clint decided to ride their Dad's horses. Lance is on Coal. What he didn't know in this picture, was that he was about to be bucked off! (He was OK!)

Taylor with her cow Beauty. Taylor had the joy of bottle feeding this cow when she was a baby because she lost her mom.

We went on a family fun camping weekend before Daddy went away for the summer. We enjoyed walking and being a family. We grilled hot dogs and ate smores. It was a lot of fun!

Garrett @ 6 months old

Garrett finally enjoys being on his belly. For a long time, he would just flip back over because he enjoyed his back too much. He finally learned he could see so much more. He still isn't crawling, but I am not in a hurry ;)

I think he looks so like Lance in this picture. When he has any kind of hat on, he looks exactly like his daddy! Very cute!

Bath time is so fun! Taylor never really enjoyed the bath when she was little. She would whine and cry until it was time to get out. Garrett loves his baths! He plays and splashes and has a great time!

My First 5K Race

Today I ran my first 5K. For a couple of years now I have had a goal to run one. I started training last year and then I got pregnant. So, as soon as I could exercise after having Garrett I started training. It has been really rewarding. I ran the City of Monroe Earth Day 5K.

This is before the race. Taylor was so excited about me racing. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure what to expect.

Taylor playing in the trees while I am running somewhere!

Finally made it to the finish line. I was actually feeling pretty good right here. I ran the race in

31 minutes (that's good for me!) I plan to do some more!!

Spring Break

I am currently on Spring Break and loving it. I now am counting down until Summer vacation! Our last couple of weeks have been very busy! Lance spent two weeks at Ft. Bragg and Grandma Dixon came down the help out with the kids. She was a lot of help! Lance really enjoyed his time at Bragg and the military is right where he belongs :) I actually am accepting it well and excited about what God has for our future!

We spent Easter in WV and Taylor enjoyed hunting eggs.

Taylor counting how many eggs she had found.

Taylor loves her Bass Pro Shop pink hat!

Taylor and Garrett on Easter in WV.

Garrett's First Easter!

Garrett will be 5 months old on April 9th! I can't believe how fast it has gone. It goes by too fast. He has started on baby food and loves it all so far! He is such a good and content baby. He coos and laughs all the time and just enjoys being around all of us! He has done a great job sleeping through the night. He has been sleeping through the night since January and now sleeps about 9-12 hours a night.

Garrett is doing a great job sitting in his saucer. His favorite thing is to chew on this toy. I am waiting for a tooth to appear any day.

Garrett loves his thumb.

Lance is busy with the military, being an awesome daddy, and school work. He has worked so hard for the last year and is half way done. He spends many hours reading!

We have had a busy month! So many things going on here in the Dixon Family! Here are just a few:

Garrett learned how to roll over at the beginning of February!

Using my hand to get ready!

Almost there.....

I did it!!!

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Taylor started a new preschool, Bethelem United Methodist Church. She loves it! She has learned more there in the past month than she has in the past year!! Here's a picture of her on the day of her Valentine's Party!

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Since Lance has joined the National Guard, he is gone one weekend a month and we look forward to Sunday when he gets home!

Look how happy Taylor is!!

Can you tell she loves her daddy!

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We have had two snowy days in the month of February. The best thing about this snow is it was gone by afternoon! Here are some pictures of fun in the snow!

Taylor trying to sled in the FLAT front yard.

Taylor loves making snow angels!

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Stick With Me!

Ok, I am going to try to blog more often and keep you updated on the Dixon family. I am currently trying to design the page which has been a bigger task than I thought! I thought it would be easier than this to make it cute :) I will post more soon and add pictures!