I'm so far behind....

I've really gotten so busy in our lives to have forgotten about the Gray Family blog.

Laurynn is now in 5th grade and will turn 11 on October 3rd. Matthew had his 2nd birthday on August 6th and is an active toddler for sure.

Johns 35th birthday

Today is Johns 35th birthday...Friday night we celebrated his birthday at Pappadeaux's with our good friends, Devon & Glenn Daigle. Today John and I are going to see the movie 2012 and then have a nice dinner at Carrabba's.

New job

On Monday, November 2nd, I started a new job at Argo Surety as an Underwriting Assistant. This position literally fell in my lap. LOL...This wonderful opportunity came to my by Q-temps, an insurance recruiting firm. The commute is 10 miles from home and takes me around 30 minutes in the morning. In January, they are relocating to a new building, which will be 3 miles from home.

After being home with Matthew for the past 14 months, I felt confident returning to the working world. We hired a nanny to take care of Laurynn & Matthew instead of placing them in daycare.

I'm learning a lot about the surety business and insurance bonds. I work with a staff of 7 (including me), which is quite different from working at Travelers when I worked with a team of 45 people.

I look forward to being a permanent employee within 90 days.

Laurynn's 10th birthday

It's hard to imagine my little girl turned 10 years old on October 3rd. Her Aunt Kim came for a visit last weekend and fun was had by all. On Friday, I surprised her at school and brought lunch. That night, our good friends, Devon & Glenn Daigle joined us in Laurynn's birthday celebration. She had a Michael Jackson birthday cake along with balloons. She received a MJ poster and Spongebob Squarepants 3rd season DVD set from Devon & Glenn. From us, she got a spin brush, Barbie dream bedroom, and tickets to Mary Poppins on Broadway Show (for Nov 1st). Saturday evening, we took her to Shogun Japanese Restaurant for dinner. She thoroughly enjoyed the night and capped it off with playing games from the Wii.

Remembering Mom

Today, September 25th marks 15 years of my Mother's (Glenda Kay Cromwell) passing. I remember it all too well like it was yesterday. She was diagnosed at age 40 with breast cancer and was treated with chemotherapy. She would be well for several years and then the disease would spread to another organ. By 1994, the cancer had riddled her body and got very skinny. I'll never forget the night of Saturday, September 24th. My Grandma frantically called as I was getting ready to go out with my then-boyfriend, Steven (and now ex-husband) and close friends. Mom's breathing had become labored and Grandma felt the urgency of Mom going to the Emergency Room. I immediately left my apartment and sped to Cy-Fair Hospital. She was in the ER and the doctor said there was nothing left to be done. Her internal organs were beginning to shut down and all they could do is make her comfortable. I would stand next to the bed talking to her and when she opened her eyes, I knew she was gone. I'm not sure if she knew it was me. We all decided it would be best to send her home for her last hours of life. I then had to make a difficult decision. Do I go back to Grandma's and watch her die? Or, go home to my apartment? I told Grandma that I just couldn't watch her die. At my age of 24, I wasn't ready to handle that kind of emotion. Fifteen years later, I would have definitely been there and take care of her. I drove home to my apartment on early morning hours of September 25th. I knew what was coming and had already accepted her outcome. The phone rang around 6 or 7 am and realized that she had passed. I was overcome with tears and sadness. She was my Mom; we were very close and now she was gone forever. She would never know her beautiful grandchildren, Laurynn and Matthew. She would never know how much her granddaughter looks so much like her.

Laurynn, Matthew and I brought flowers to her grave and had a moment of silence in her honor. Rest in Peace Mom. I love you and miss you!

1st day of school

4th grade here we come!

Meet the Teacher

Today was Meet the Teacher as Laurynn is entering the 4th grade. She has Ms. Nelson as homeroom teacher/social studies/language arts/reading and Mrs. Averitt for Math & Science. We also visited with her previous years teachers and the Birkes staff. Laurynn is very excited and looking forward to Monday!