Someone's Growing Up....

... and it's not just the baby! Jason and Kayleigh (parental posts are rare so it's a nice break to use our Christian names rather than our usual "Daddy" and "Mommy" - small favors, y'all) are finally gonna be Big Kids! Sure, marriage and children tend to help that process along, but now our journey to Big-Kidhood (not to be confused with "adulthood" - ew) is almost at an end. The parents have announcements to make and we have a whole blog post just for us! Check it out:

Jason will be fulfilling a life-long dream this summer by beginning his training at the local police academy. Seriously, he's wanted to do this since before the day I met him, and now we are finally in a place where this is possible! School starts in July and he will graduate in December. Merry Christmas, you're living your dream! I am SO proud of him and I can't wait to see all of the wonderful work he will do for this city, keeping it safe and sound - and doing so in a dashing uniform, which is almost as important as the work itself. Kidding. Kinda. Congratulations to Jason for beginning this new chapter in life!

I'm going back to school, too! Just in a different way. After what seems like ages, (in reality it was chump change compared to the wait most people are struggling through) I have accepted a job teaching at the local Catholic school. You are reading the words of a newly elected Middle School English teacher - lucky you! What makes this job opportunity even more wonderful is that it is with the school I, myself attended. So fabulous to come full-circle, is it not? Congratulations to me for landing a big-girl job!

Jason and I have always been hard workers. Especially since the arrival of little Lily, we have taken on as much as we could to keep our heads above water. Each juggling multiple part-time jobs, finishing school and trying to keep our sanity, I'd say we've done a pretty good job holding it together. I cannot convey in words the relief we feel at these new opportunities with which we have all been blessed. To have a job I can grow old with and not just another stepping stone. To have the power to catch the bad guy and right a wrong. To know that, because of these opportunities, Lily can climb a tree, break her leg and we can handle it without having to sell one of Mowgli's kidneys (oh yes, did I mention benefits? Love me some health insurance). To know that, for the time being, we can stop crossing our fingers.

Not to say we will stop working hard, or let our Praying Knees get lazy. We got this far, and we'll keep going with our own good work and a lot of faith. We are just so happy to be at a point in our wonderful life where we can worry a little less, breathe a little slower, and smile a little wider. Big Kid jobs. Won't Lily be proud of us?

Two crazy college kids back in 2006. Who'd have thought we'd go so far?