Yesterday I had the proud honor of becoming Dean’s new chófer to school. We had a good time getting ready for his big first day. I think he’d agree that things went pretty smoothly all in all. We were both fed, changed, cleaned up, dressed, packed and out the door ahead of schedule. Nice work Dean!
We arrived at school and Dean couldn’t have been more chill about the whole thing. In fact, on the info sheet they have us fill out each morning, I wrote in “Chilled out” when it asked me about his current mood.
I have to admit I wasn’t as tough as I thought I would be. It was all I could do to hold back a tear or two as I was leaving and watching him being as content as a parent could hope for their child to be in a situation like this. I couldn’t have been more proud of my boy.
I can’t express how excited I am about having a work schedule that allows me to spend the mornings with Dean and to take him to school each day.
Last Sunday my college roommate came to visit Dean. She was at the hospital when Dean was born but hasn’t had an opportunity to come and visit since. I was so excited to spend the afternoon with her and for her to bring her new dog Merlin. We had a fantastic afternoon of visiting, cuddling with Dean, playing with our Wii fit, and watching the dogs have a great time. Thanks for coming to visit Roxane. I look forward to our next day together.
This year we had a very laid back New Years celebration. Our babysitter had to cancel due to a family situation so we took advantage of the opportunity to stay home as a family. Matt and I enjoyed celebrating together with a champagne toast at midnight and a traditional holiday dinner on New Year’s day. We enjoyed “must haves” for for the holiday. I was even lucky enough to get a kiss from both of my boys and midnight!
Lindsey’s been playing catchup with our holiday blogging, and has made quite a few new posts. That woman is a blogging machine, I tell you! To make it easy to find all of them I’ve created this list of direct links, so you don’t have to go digging back page after page.
Here they are in reverse chronological order (the order in which they appear in on the site):
2009 is here! Matt and I are eagerly looking into the new year with excitement and anticipation of great things. We look forward to continuing to grow as parents while we watch Dean learn and grow.
2008 was an amazing year. At the start of the New Year Matt was continuing his work in Ft. Worth at NBC Artworks and I in Humble at Atascocita Middle School. Matt continued to make sacrifices and drove between the two cities through July. We enjoyed seeing our friends and family in Humble but knew that a move to Ft. Worth was on the horizon. During the last week of June we loaded up all of our belongings and headed north to Bedford. For the first time Matt and I would have all of our belongings in one place with the goal of settling in this new city.
Matt has continued to work for NBC and has taken on a new role helping develop the new interactive team at Artworks, while still working with the broadcast group designing and animating graphics for NBC affiliate stations across the nation. In addition you can see some of his latest work on the iCue game – What’s Your iCue – created for Facebook. If you’re a Facebooker, check out http://www.whatsyouricue.com for that. He continues to be challenged with his career and appreciates the experience NBC Artworks brings.
I have continued to work as a school counselor moving from the middle school level in Humble to the high school level. I am loving my new position at Colleyville Heritage High School. God has certainly blessed me with an amazing group of women and men to work with. They are always willing to lend a hand when Matt or I need help.
In February of 2008 Matt and I learned we were going to be parents! This was such exciting news for us and has been the highlight of our 2008 year. We enjoyed sharing the news of our child’s birth with our family and friends and anticipating the event through out the year. Dean Thomas Hopkins joined our family on November 11th at 9:46 PM. Sharing the job of parenting has been such a rewarding experience I can’t wait to see what the next year will bring.
Jumping back in time – In the summer of 2008 (May) I finished my master’s degree and graduated from Sam Houston State University, the same day Matt’s brother Adam married the love of his life, Genie. Matt and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend in Seguin, Texas celebrating the start of their new life together. Congratulations again Adam and Genie!
On June 10th, Matt and I celebrated our 2nd year of marriage, we couldn’t (can’t) believe how time is flying.
In the fall of 2008 we were blessed with another addition to our house, we adopted an 8 week old Australian cattle dog (Red Healer), Jiff. Jiff has been a welcomed addition to our home and has brought much joy and excitement to our household, and by household I mean, Matt really loves Jiff . I have to say, Jiff is a very smart dog and has picked up the tricks/commands Matt has taught him like it was nobody’s business. We’re glad to have him as part of our family.
In addition to Jiff, our home served as an evacuation resort for the Hopkins/Medley family during Hurricane Ike. We were excited to have Matt’s family visit but, were sad that it had to be under such circumstances. Matt and I have never been so thankful to live away from the gulf coast.
So, we close the chapter of 2008 with great memories and look forward to 2009. Of course, we again have made our resolutions and have even more grand goals for the New Year but most of all we’re looking forward to all the excitement it’s going to bring. You know we’ll be sharing it all with you here, so keep reading! Until then…
. I have to say, Jiff is a very smart dog and has picked up the tricks/commands Matt has taught him like it was nobody’s business. We’re glad to have him as part of our family.