The Doctor is in…Kim is Phinally Done!

This is rather old news by now but I still had to post up some pics of Kim’s graduation. That’s right.. Kim is now officially Doctor Kimberly Case! We call each other academic soul mates and as cheesy as it is I know that one reason God brought Sam and me here to Gainesville was because SHE was in this program. I can honestly say that I really don’t think I could have made it through this without her and our friendship.

Kim and I met the day I came down to meet Keith and the faculty in my program during the time where I was trying to narrow down which school to attend. The other schools I had visited were ok and I liked the professors fine but for most programs the graduate students that would have been my peers seemed entirely too competitive. This program at UF just felt like home, right from the get go. All the graduate students were so welcoming and the faculty was so encouraging and it really felt like a family atmosphere. Kim was at that lunch and we were seated right by each other and once I learned she worked for Keith (my advisor/professor I now work under) I had so many questions for her. We clicked instantly. It was as if I had known her all my life. After I accepted here and was welcomed into my lab family, Kim helped to show me the ropes and teach me the ins and outs. We had classes together and were in the lab each and every day together and grew very close very fast. We eventually even managed to persuade Keith to let us share an office together and to decorate it in pink and black. There is something so amazing in having a friend who not only shares my personal life but also my lab life too. We have gone through so many things together both professionally and personally. Huge life events.  I couldn’t even begin to describe it all. We’ve been through not only marriage issues and the birth of Sammy but the deaths of our dads, we became Big Sisters together, we’ve been lost in another country together, scary doctors appointments, made it through huge presentations, and I could go on and on. This is why when I found out one of my roles as her maid of honor was to give a toast at her wedding I fought it tooth and nail (I lost and somehow came up with something to say), but I felt there was no way to sum it all up one one single toast!

So, to sit there and watch her walk across the stage to get her PhD I seriously could almost see a slideshow in my head of all the trials, struggles, good and bad times that we had been through all of these years to get to that point. Sure there have been times along the way when one of us wanted to give up and drop out but we have kept each other strong and in the game and I could not be more proud of her and all she has and will accomplish. In fact, I almost passed out after screaming for her when they announced “Dr. Kimberly Case, escorted by Dr. Keith Berg”. No joke, I seriously got light headed and had to rest my head on her sister in law’s shoulder after that scream! I was just and still am so beyond proud of her.

Congratulations Dr. Case! I love you!

 

 

We had a party the night Kim defended her dissertation and someone had the brilliant plan of spelling out PhD with our bodies…WOW.  Let me introduce 2 of our new graduates..Dr. Case and Dr. Clemmans at their finest. Ha ha.

The Developmental Psych Ladies that are left now.. every one is leaving us and moving on to their new lives

Keith came to our party and was one proud advisor!

Waiting for Kim to be called…..eeeks!

Look who I got to sit with at the ceremony..Let me introduce Kim’s nephew Lil Sandy, he is basically Tom Cruise in baby form. Isn’t he the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen?? Sadly I frightened him into a fit of terror with my screams when they called Kim’s name. Sorry little guy.

With Keith after, I love this pic of the two of them!

What is left of the Berg Lab.. that’s right now with Kim gone it is just me and Keith! He says he has empty nest syndrome now since they all finished and it is just little ol’ me left.

I FINALLY got her some notebooks to replace all the many I stole from her over the years, they were so cute though they were worth the long wait, right Kim?

Cheesing it up

Thanks for the cake idea Suzzane! She loved it!

At her graduation cookout, congrats again!

Technorati Tags: Kim,PhD,Graduation,psychology

Fun pics!

We have been staying so busy I haven’t had much time for blogging. I am happy to say that I have the first two sections of my dissertation now completed and will be starting on the data analysis portion in a couple weeks. Things are moving right along and I am ecstatic! We have done so many fun things over the last few weeks and I can’t wait to get some pics up on the blog. For now though, here are a few that I found as I was uploading pics.

Sammy and I stopped by to visit Sam one night while he was working, Sammy loves to help his daddy turn on the lights and sirens to “keep dem peoples safe”

 

He loves when I make him smoothies and every single time he ends up with this same “happy” mustache, he looks like one of the 3 stooges

Hannah & Sammy enjoying popsicles on our steps!

Sammy and his buddy Nicolae are too cute together

Here they are talking to David & Daniel’s baby brother Reagan. Sammy looked at me here and said “I want have him mommy, at my house”. Someone may be ready for a sibling….. I’m just saying…

We bought some flowers for the flower beds in front and Sammy was a great helper for all of 10 min and then he was into everything. So, I busted out his old baby pool and he had a blast splashing around and was contained AND entertained, it was perfect!

 

Technorati Tags: Sammy,Hannah,pool,summer

A little step of faith…

 

Sam and I were talking about some of the funny conversations we have had with our little gang of kids recently and it got me to thinking of all that we would be missing out on if we hadn’t taken that first little step of faith in trusting God with our relationship with Hannah. We have all come a long way throughout the last several years and it is amazing to look back and see what God has done and is doing through it all. I wanted to share a little bit about how God had to really work on me and hold my hand if you will to get us to the point of hosting 4 kiddos in our house each week. I strongly encourage you to step out in and trust Him in whatever way God is challenging you in your own life. I read something today that resonated with me in a big way and is so very true “ a lot of things the Lord asks us to do will not make sense to others..,even those who love you will shake their head and say “She is nuts!” when this happens it is almost confirmation that you’ve heard from God”.

A lot of baby steps were involved to get to the point where we are when the above picture was taken. I would have thought you were nuts if you would have told me a few years ago that I would be taking this particular group of 4 PLUS my wild toddler to church each weekend. You see, just the thought of taking Hannah out of my house in to a store, restaurant, the movies, or really anywhere was honestly a little frightening. The girl had many issues and to say she that she was difficult to control at times is an understatement. Some of you probably remember hearing me tell of the day long ago when she and I were actually kicked out of Kmart. That’s right.. we were asked to “kindly not return- EVER”. Thankfully I learned what works and doesn’t work with her and her behavior is much improved, to the point that there are hardly any traces left of those early behaviors. Then came Sammy. I was pretty scared to take Hannah and my newborn out in public, alone. Yes, with just me and them. I was still getting the hang of caring for a newborn and then to throw Hannah in the mix, well, it was daunting. What if he cries and I have to nurse him and she runs away while I’m nursing?? What if she causes a scene and he starts crying?? I decided we couldn’t stay cooped up my house forever though and thankfully we ventured out and I became confident when having them both out. Sure there were times when I wanted to pull out my hair but there were many more of the amazing,tender moments.

I often would let Hannah pick a sibling to come along with her on a visit usually as a reward for something she accomplished. Very rarely would I bring all 4 kids along and on the few occasions when I did, I felt the most appropriate thing to do after their visit was over was to drive myself straight to the looney bin because I thought I was going to lose my mind. The kids would all fight with each other and they were loud and out of control. I became so burdened for them though. Sam and I began to pray for God to use our family in their each of their lives too, in whatever way possible. As we prayed together I began to see each one of them in a new light. My patience grew and I felt like God gave me some great ideas of how I could handle having all for of them at once. The next time I picked all 4 of them up I sat them down and had a serious talk. I explained that we loved being with them but the way they behaved was unacceptable and I simply refused to expose my own child to that sort of thing. I would not be a good mommy and would not be taking good care of Sammy if I allowed him to be around such chaos. They responded very well to our talk and even helped to come up with some rules for when we are all together. I changed my way of dealing with their disputes and set some firm rules/consequences for the breaking of those rules. Most importantly I always prayed while driving to pick them up  and once we were all together and I started praying with them. Praying with them and having a time where they all all take turns talking about real things and praying for each other has made all the difference. I try to help them realize that the four of them need to stick together rather than tear each other down but of course they are only kids so who knows how much actually sinks in. I want to strengthen them as a little family unit because regardless of what life deals them in the future most likely they will all be together somewhere. Sure they still fight and some visits are better than others but for the most part we all have a great time now and I miss them when they aren’t here with us. 

I don’t really think anything of picking up the whole gang anymore (unless we are going somewhere with admission, tickets for 5 kids= ouch!) and that my friends is a “God thing” all the way. He has stretched us and grown us and just like we found with our experiences in Guatemala, WE end up feeling just as blessed or more than these we set out to help. We get so much more back than we invest in them. It reminds me of the verse 1 Corinthians 2: 9, “Eye has not seen and ear has not heard… all that God has prepared for those who love him”. You never know all that is waiting for you when you take that first little step of faith.

Here are some pics of the kiddos on our car wash day!

Mark wasn’t too interested so that is him on the scooter in the background..

They had a water hose fight with our neighbors Joe & Gloria who were washing their truck, so fun!

 

 

These are pics of the little man who started the car wash.. That’s right, Sammy sprayed us all down, he giggled and squealed as he drenched each one of us, thus since we were all wet, why not wash my car?

Technorati Tags: faith,trusting God,car wash

Big Brothers Big Sisters Match

Check out this article that was posted about a match down in the Central Florida program. I love reading stories about other matches and hearing about the true LASTING difference this program makes in at risk/ troubled kids’ lives. The little boy in this story has a much brighter future because of the time his “Big Brother” has invested in his life. He has a great role model and some one he can trust and confide everything in. He knows his life matters on this earth and he can DREAM big goals and REACH them!

The article is not long at all, check it out if you have a few couple min. If anyone reading this is interested at all in becoming a Big or wants to hear more about what it is like, please free free to contact me/ leave a note in the comments below.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100516/LIFE/5160311/The%20bond%20between%20brothers

Technorati Tags: Big Brothers Big Sisters,Volunteer

Wanna pway Cousins pweas!

 

This my friends is a phrase that I am growing quite weary of hearing these days. I typed this in Sammy language but it translates to “I want to play with my cousins please”. We were so excited that my cousin Karen and her kids Cole & Shelby came down from TN to celebrate Shelby’s birthday and as an added bonus they brought Julie down with them too! Sammy hadn’t seen them since last summer but he looks at their pictures a lot and was a very eager beaver on our way up to Aunt Sandra’s house.

I was so very impressed with how well behaved both Cole and Shelby were, they were so sweet with Sammy and really doted on him. Both had grown and matured so much since I last saw them. Cole showed Sammy many magic tricks that wowed Sammy each and every time and Shelby was a little mama helping with every aspect of Sammy’s day. They read to him, encouraged him to eat all his food, played cars (a must if you are to be buddies with this kid), swam, and even taught him how to run races with them. Unfortunately our visit with them came to an end much too quickly and ever since, literally EVERY day, he asks about his cousins. He really grabbed hold of that word and loves to use it.

Julie or Julz as I call her also came down and I just can’t believe how grown up she is! It is so weird to see my little baby cousin as a little lady. We used to live a few streets away from them so I would pick her up all the time and hang out with her. She was just the sweetest little girl and even when she was just toddling around I would have a blast with her each time we had our girl time. She is just too cool for me these days that I can’t keep up but I sure wish we had more time together. She is such a stand up girl, strong in her faith with a kind sweet heart for others, and she can sure crack me up!! She has always been like that,  so it is cool to see her evolve into this beautiful young lady. I know she will leave a big mark on this world in one way or another. You keep on shining Julz, I love you so much!

Their trip down here totally sealed the deal on us taking a trip up to TN at some point this summer. I miss my family too much and it isn’t right for Sammy to barely see his cousins. So.. all you TN folks, get ready, the planning of a trip is in the works!!!

Oh and as a side note.. the other phrase we are hearing often and a little too much of is Sammy’s replacement of the tried and true phrase “thank you”. Our child has chosen to say “gracias, porfavor, AMEN!” each and every time he would typically say thank you. It was cute at first but now, not so much. We’re working on it though and hope to have it phased out soon.

Here they were teaching Sammy how to do a “cool” pose, he clearly embraced it

 

He “wuvs” his “Shwewlby”

She lost a tooth while we were there which blew Sammy’s mind, he couldn’t believe it and still retells the story to anyone who will listen to him

Happy birthday Shelby! We love you!

I love this pic b/c I have several pictures of me sitting in that very chair with a cake all lit up with candles and a toothless grin. Warms my heart!

Here Cole was teaching Sammy how “men” pose… Sammy was instructed to stand with his arms crossed and look tough, ha ha

He would literally do everything they said which was a little worrisome. Here Cole was teaching him to do a trick and on Cole’s cue Sammy was to fall over which he did about 7 times in a row until I cut Cole off b/c I was scared Sammy would have a bruise, silly boys!

Blown away by the good ol’ penny out of your ear magic trick

Shelby with my mom, so sweet!

Nicole and Julz the coolest teens in the whole world!

Sammy followed Jamie Lynn and Shelby around like a little puppy it was so funny

 

She not only changed his diapers but also brushed his teeth and helped bathe him!

Technorati Tags: cousins,Sammy,Cole,Shelby,Julie