Oh my what a slacker!!!

Ok, so I apologize for not posting in such a long time!! I didn't realize it had been since school started in August! We have a lot to catch up on!

I started Grad school and have been very busy taking classes in order to get my Masters of Arts in Teaching. I go to school twice a week for 5 hours each day. I have also been teaching in a 2nd grade classroom full time up to this point as a long-term substitute. It has been VERRRRY crazy for me!

The kids are great. Everyone is doing well in school and John has been getting ready for another deployment. We don't look forward to another year without him, but that's his job and we support him in it.

I had a gastric bypass on December 9th. Most of my life right now is centered on watching weight fall off of my body. Everyone has been super supportive! I am still on a liquid diet and am moving to soft foods for a month, but it is so worth the end result. The pictures that show up on this blog will hopefully show a transformation.

Today John and I went riding at Kyle Lake. We have never been out together with the horses because he usually takes the girls, well Cecilia really, when he goes and when I go it's with one of my friends. So it was a nice fun date today to go riding. We wanted to be careful since my surgery was less than two weeks ago, but it was such a beautiful day (60 degrees!) that I couldn't resist going. I haven't ridden in quite awhile because I have been so self-conscious of my weight. I felt bad getting on my horse as big as I was. Well, I have lost 20 pounds so I decided to go ahead and get back in the saddle. I love riding Ellie, she's a good girl and isn't spooky at all. John and Charlie ride flawlessly, too, so it was a nice ride. John took us into some brush off the trail and we picked our way through, but Ellie got tired of the bramble, trees, and thorny bushes and finally just turned around and headed out! She wasn't responding to me so I told John we were headed out to the open and he and Charlie reluctantly followed!

It was a beautiful day and a wonderful date with my hubby! I had minimal discomfort and I know it will only get better from here on out! Here are some photos of recent activities, including the Nashville Zoo trip in November (Keegan, Sammi, and Cili went with me), and today's horseback riding adventure.