A few more pictures with Granny!

Sara didn't want to say goodbye to Granny when it was time to go. Sara and Granny have always had a very special bond and she is really very attached to the only great-grandparent she has left.

A Visit with Granny

walking up Granny's big hill

We visited Grannys pond. Isn't it beautiful?

My Julie, down by Granny's pond.

Granny with her girls! :)

Could a trip to VA be complete without a visit with my granny? She will be 90 Sept 12, and my girls just adore her. We had a great visit, we went to lunch and Granny was brave and put an octopus on her plate but later decided she didn't "think she'd eat that octopus" ;)

More Beach Pictures

Ava having fun in the water
Ava and a friend

Ava and Eli. :)

Melanie and I!

My big girls.

The Willis girls take over Virginia Beach

Sara Grace

Me and my Mom!

Princess Ava

My blue-eyed angel

Last Wednesday I took all of my finals, and then called my husband because I knew I had made 4 As this summer and that was a big goal of mine. He asked if my mom was still at the beach. I told him yes that she would be there until the weekend. He was the one who suggested I drive up to see her. He got my hotel room reservation for me. And away we went!

I left Mississippi at 5:40 pm Wednesday evening and stopped in Atlanta GA at 12:30 or so. We left Atlanta at 7 am and got to VA Beach at 6 pm. It was a lot of driving! But SO worth it. Thursday night we went out to eat with my mom and her friend and neighbor Rachel, and Friday and Saturday we spent all day at the beach~! I LOVE THE BEACH!!

Aunt Kathy is visiting!

No pictures yet, but I am sure we will get some soon. Aunt Kathy flew in yesterday morning and my children have had her playing games pretty much nonstop ever since she got here. She's been a really good sport about it too, thank goodness! :)

She flies home to Florida Monday Evening. And Tuesday I have my first final, Wednesday I have the rest of my finals. We may just have to have an all-nighter Monday night! ;) Oh well - it is so much fun having family here!

It's So Hard.

It's hard balancing the different roles I have in my life right now. I knew that being pre-med and a wife and a mom of 3 would be tough. I didn't go into this thinking it would be a breeze. But Wow the guilt just piles up.

Some days we don't go anywhere because I have to do schoolwork. Some days we stay home all day and then when the husband gets home I immediately leave for a coffeeshop to get work done in peace. Some days I am so stressed out everything the girls do gets on my nerves. My whole life revolves around getting As and being a success.

And yet I have these 3 little people depending on me. 3 little people who are going to wake up in the morning and want breakfast and lunch and hope that I will make it for them. (Sometimes I get them the bread and let them put peanut butter on it themselves. I tell myself it is teaching them independence. . . ) I have 3 little people who will only have 1 summer break from school this year and next summer they are going to day care and this just might be the last summer of me being a stay-at-home mom. And I want to be a success at raising them too. I made a commitment to them when I gave birth to them. They are my pride and joy.

Speaking of being a stay-at-home mom - that has defined me for the last 10 years. Who am I? A mom. . . that's it. It has been who I am for so long that i am struggling with the idea of NOT being a stay-at-home mom. This fall I will be a full-time student and just a regular old Mom. A haphazard Mom. A Mom who lets a huge part of the burden fall on Dad's shoulders. His very very capable shoulders. I cannot even express how thankful I am for the man I married so long ago. He has stepped up to the plate and allowed me to pursue my goals with no qualms. This isn't his dream - being married to a doctor. This is completely mine. He cleans the house, he takes care of the kids, he does it all so that I can do what I need to do. He is amazing.

Anyway, it's a recurring theme, the guilt. The Mom-guilt. It is REALLY hard to be a good Mom and a good student. It's even harder to be an EXCELLENT mom and and excellent student. And unfortunately those are the expectations I have for myself- I want to be excellent at everything, and I feel like I am failing.

FINALLY putting up my pictures from Disney!

Julie and Ava riding in the teacups.
Julie and Ava all dressed up.

My sweet Sara

All 3 at the entrance of the park!

Amazement at the parade!