I'm the Winner

About a year ago I decided to take a second stab at the CPA exam. I had previously passed 3 out of the 4 sections when I was working in public accounting, but I never got around to passing the last section. It was difficult for me to find adequate study time when I was already working 60+ hours each week and/or traveling. I'm not sure why I thought finding time to study for such a monster exam would be any easier with 2 little ones running around, but I made a commitment to at least try.

I started studying in May of last year and I took my 4th and final section in mid-January. It was 8 months of no free time, lots of late nights, and balancing my responsibilities to my family with the time demands of this exam. This was a major reason why I didn't resume blogging during 2010. I spent my days caring for my boys, and my evenings (and the boys' occasional naps) trying to squeeze in a few hours of study time.

Due to a new format of the exam, which was effective at the beginning of the year, results were released even more slowly than usual. I waited 2.5 months for the results of my last section and I finally received them yesterday. I can't really describe how I felt when I saw the bright red "Congratulations!" stamped on the envelope. I ran up the driveway from the mailbox and up the stairs (despite being 6-months pregnant) to where my boys were playing pirates in their bedroom. I had to share my excitement with someone, and since Tim was out running, I had to tell Tyler and Nathan.

Me: Guess what, guys!

Tyler & Nathan: What?

Me: Mommy passed her test!

Nathan: Yay! (coming over to give me a hug)

Tyler: Oh. (from the top bunk, clearly hoping for something more exciting)

Me: You guys might not remember because it was so long ago, but remember how I was always studying and had to take a test?

Tyler: Yeah.

Me: Well, I passed it! I don't have to take any more tests!

Nathan: Yay! (another hug and some jumping)

Tyler: So...are you the winner?

Me: Yes! I'm the winner! (giggling at his choice of words)

Tyler: Yay! (arms in the air to cheer for me)

Nathan: Yay! (claps his hands)

After receiving more hugs from Nate, I immediately called my mom, a veteran CPA and the one person in my family who could truly understand the relief and excitement of passing this exam. She also happens to be older than 4 years old, and although I garnered a happy reaction from my boys, I felt the need to share my news with an adult. Besides, I couldn't and wouldn't have pursued my license without my parents. Other than Tim, who was incredibly supportive throughout the entire grueling process and did so much to help with our boys (even more than usual), my parents were my most ardent source of encouragement. It was actually during a conversation with them that I decided to pursue this thing that I'd all but written off in the past few years.

While it's just a piece of paper, that congratulatory letter from the state board meant so much. I absolutely have to give God the glory for giving me the energy and focus to get through it. The weeks leading up to my last section included 1st trimester pregnancy exhaustion and indigestion, Christmas, the flu (Tyler and I were hit the hardest), more exhaustion, and a birthday that I didn't have time to celebrate. I remember telling Tim that it would be nothing short of a miracle if I passed with all of that going on. God is definitely good!

So, now I just have to take an 8-hour ethics course and gather some moral character references and an experience affidavit to receive my actual license. Lots of people have been asking what I plan to do when I get my CPA. The honest answer is: I don't know. With Baby Surface on the way, I'm not making any concrete commitments right now. I do know that it's great to be able to check this off my list of things I've always wanted to do and someday God will reveal His plan for me and our family when it's time for us to know. For now, Tim and I feel strongly that His plan includes me being at home full-time with our boys. With a fantastic family like mine and the confidence that we are in God's hands, it doesn't take a congratulatory letter to know that I am indeed a winner!

Dedicated

A funny conversation with Tyler today...

Tyler: Mommy, what does denicated mean?

Me: Dedicated?

Tyler: Yeah, denicated. Can we say that word or is it a bad word?

Me: No, it's not a bad word. You can say it.

Tyler: It sounds like a bad word to me. What does it mean?

Me: If you're dedicated to someone or something, it means you'll stick with them no matter what. Like, Mommy and Daddy are dedicated to each other. We'll always stay together no matter what happens.

Tyler: Oh, I know! Nathan and I are denicated because we always play together.

A few minutes later, I heard a scuffle between Tyler and Nathan coming from the other room. Apparently Nathan was annoyed that Tyler wanted to play on the couch next to him. The next thing I hear is...

Tyler: Mommy! Nathan isn't denicated right now!

Nathan Michael Surface

Yes, it has been over a year since my last blog post. Other things have taken priority over blogging for the past year, but I would love to be a faithful blogger once again. We'll see how long that desire lasts...

With kindergarten right around the corner for Tyler, I've been quizzing him to make sure he still remembers pertinent information such as his parents' names, phone number, address and grandparents' names. (Since Nana and Papa are his emergency contacts, it's important that he knows that they have a different last name than us). Tyler has everything down pat, but sometimes it's fun to ask Nathan the same questions.

I recorded this video of Nathan a couple evenings ago when he was enjoying a rare evening snack. He was sporting his cowboy hat, or "Woody hat", at the time.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thanksgiving/Papa's Birthday

I realize Christmas is just 9 days away (yikes!) and I'm still posting about things that happened last month. My goal is to get caught up by the end of this week, so hang in there...

My dad's birthday is November 26th, so every few years his birthday falls on Thanksgiving Day, like this year. We spent the day at my parents' house so I could pretend to help my mom with the dinner preparations. She was really on top of things, so there wasn't much for me to do other than to help wash dishes and chop and stir a few things here and there. Dad and I always set the table together, and we did a little flower arranging, too. We had to get more creative with the seating arrangements this year because we had 13 people: Mom, Dad, Jonathan & Becki and their 3 kids, Becki's parents, and the four of us.

Here's what we ended up with:

Pieces of our flower arrangement As always, getting a photo of all four boys was a challenge. I mean, seriously, what is going on in the last picture?

Thanksgiving Feast

Once again I am far behind on my posting...

Tyler's Thanksgiving Feast for his preschool class was 3 weeks ago, just before Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun to join the kids in their classroom.

The kids all made little turkey masks. While we waited for all the parents to arrive, I took a couple photos with Tyler inspecting his turkey face.




They sang two songs for the parents--"Mr. Turkey" and "Five Little Monkeys" (see prior post). Well, actually their teacher Ms. Kerri sang the first song pretty much by herself. The kids were so bashful with all the parents pointing cameras and camcorders at them. I can't say I blame them.

Tyler has 12 kids in his class, but there are only 8 kids shown in these pictures because 3 were absent and one little boy just didn't want to sing.

The kids' stage fright did begin to subside once they started singing "Five Little Monkeys", a song that they love. Tyler spent the first verse or so scratching his nose so it looked like he was picking it. I kept mouthing to him, "put your hand down!" By the time they got to "three little monkeys" Tyler finally started doing some of the actions. The thing that cracks me up when I look at the next couple photos is that none of the kids are doing the same hand motions at the same time. They were all kind of doing their own thing. It was really cute.


After the kids sang their 2 songs, it was the parents' turn to sing a song that the kids sing at least once a week. It's called "Tooty Ta" and it involves putting your thumbs up, elbows back, feet apart, knees together, bottoms up, tongue out, eyes closed and turning around...all at the same time. I've heard Tyler singing it at home, but this was my first time hearing the whole thing, and obviously, doing all the motions.

Once we all sang our songs, it was time for eating the Thanksgiving feast. The parents brought food to share with everyone. Someone even brought Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets, which were the biggest hit. The kids had made adorable turkey napkin holders and a placemat that listed the things they're thankful for. Tyler's placemat said, "I am thankful for: playing basketball and soccer. Also playing games, and of course Mommy and Daddy."

Tyler with his napkin holder and placement (held by Ms. Kerri off-camera)

That day I was particularly thankful for my sweet neighbor Michelle who kindly watched Nathan so I could attend the feast and focus my attention on my other little turkey.