Goooooo Dawgs!

It's been way too long since my last post! I know so many of you follow me and have just been dying to see what's happening in our lives (said with much sarcasm). I'm STILL working full-time right now and it just soaks up my time and energy. When I come home, I just want to play with Michael, fix our lunches, and go to sleep!

This past week was busy busy...our good friends, the Thomes, had their second child...a boy! His name is Ethan Jacob and he is just precious! He's so tiny...weighing in at 6 pounds. I'm sure Robin will be posting pictures before long...(hint hint, Robin!)

I love this time of year when the weather gets a little chilly in morning and night! It means three things...I can almost start wearing hoodies, our small group starts making s'mores,  AND football has begun! I didn't grow up loving football as much as Sam, but I have come to enjoy watching a game or two since we've been married! Have you ever heard of Fantasy Football? Sam has like a million teams that he keeps up with...insane! This year, the Borg side of the family started our own Fantasy Football team. It gives me something to cheer for when we're watching NFL.

On Saturday morning I went to Athens and had breakfast with a dear friend, Julie. By the way, Big City Bread is such a fun restaurant! We sat outside and enjoyed our fruit, grits, and french toast while Michael colored the sidewalk with chalk! I went in the morning, so I missed out on all the game day fun. I had to get the car back home so that Sam and his dad could head back out to Athens to watch the Dawgs play that night! 

Michael and I stayed home and cheered from our living room. We're still working on that dawg bark. His doesn't really sound like a Bulldog...more like a little yorkie! Before the game started, we played with the football out in the driveway. It's just about as big as the little man himself!

We miss you all! We promise to be checking in more often! Kisses to you!!! 

Radio Flyer

Today we had a photo shoot with a couple of Michael's birthday presents. He got this Radio Flyer wagon from my mom (Grandma) and the cute Osh-Kosh overalls from Sam's mom (Go-Go).

I love the way the red wagon stands out against the green grass. But of course, the handsome little boy in all the pictures is what really makes them fabulous!

Michael let me know when it was time to go inside. Too many mosquitos outside...

Party Time!!

This past Saturday was Michael's first birthday party. Sam's parents were in Africa and some of our friends were out of town in July. We wanted all the people we love to be together to celebrate his first year of life, so we waited a while to have his party.

We didn't go with a theme party this year. I figured that we will have many years ahead of us when Michael can choose his own party theme. We just went with the color scheme of green and blue and hosted the party in our carport. Our house is plenty big enough for our little family, but it can get quite crowded with 20-30 people! Being outside was our best option, but the carport provided nice shade. We also set up the baby pool for the kids.

Michael made a bigger mess with his cake this time! Daddy taught him how to shove the whole thing in his face...great! Afterward, Michael just got in the pool to rinse off. He enjoyed every minute of making a mess, though!

Here are some pictures from the party...

This last picture is of Michael with all of his presents! Notice the wagon with the little train INSIDE and all the other presents around him. He got some great things from grandparents and friends!

Back to School

That's right...summer's officially over for us! Sam and I both went back to school today. We have four days of pre-planning this week. We recently were told that we have Friday off (one of the three furlough days we're having to take this year).

Sam is back in his same position as a high school Spanish teacher and coach.  He's so great at what he does and has such a God-given ministry with his students. He also heads up FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and the school's Youth Leadership program. Last year, Sam got voted Teacher of the Year by his colleagues and gets to hold that title for this school year. He also gets his own parking spot! The students at his school look up to Sam for so many reasons. He's so great at making Spanish fun to learn as well as being a role model for the kids and his fellow teachers!

As for me, this will be my fourth year teaching and I'll be at my third school.For those of you who don't know, I started teaching at a great school, but I wanted to teach part-time once Michael was born. God blessed me with a position teaching ESOL at another school. I loved being able to do the two things I love...being a mommy and a teacher. However, God had other plans for me this year. Our county had to cut some teaching positions (100 to be exact) due to budget cuts. I was one of the teachers who was told I wasn't going to have a job this year. My job was easy to cut since I was part-time and not teaching in a regular classroom. I was sad and confused when all this happened last year. I thought I was doing what God wanted me to, but I also wanted to hear His voice and follow His will for me.

I decided that I was going to try to look for another job, but I also prayed that God would not allow anything to happen that He didn't want me to do. For a long time, things were not looking good on the job front. Our county and surrounding counties were on a hiring freeze for teachers. So, I came to terms that I was going to be a stay-at-home-mom. I was excited about the opportunity, but most importantly I wanted to make sure that I was doing the right thing.

That's when I got word that a teacher at another school was looking for someone to job-share with. We e-mailed each other, called each other, and met with each other. We got along great and decided that we would work really well together. Things really came together for us with our county office and administrators and we got the approval to job-share together.

Now, I'm teaching 5th grade at a brand new school. My co-teacher, Katie, and I will be alternating work weeks, so I will work one week and have the next week to be a stay-at-home-mom! I'm back to doing my two favorite things! However, Katie is having a baby this week, so I will be doing her maternity leave and working for the first 6 weeks of school.

I thought that I would dread going into my classroom today, but I got so excited! I have really missed teaching in the regular classroom and all the excitement and anticipation came back to me once I started putting things together and decorating and organizing! I'm ready to meet those 5th graders (no matter how big they might be) and I'm pumped about this school year.

Sprinkler

I remember summers as a kid when my brother and I would run through the sprinkler in the backyard. It just seems like such a simple way to cool off and enjoy some water! We thought it was time to introduce Michael to some classic summer toys...a bowl of water, a plastic cup, and the sprinkler!

He was a little frightened by the flying water at first, but got used to it after getting wet! He played with his daddy for quite a while and enjoyed trying to catch water in his cup! 

Michael loves being outside doing ANYTHING! He is loving the summer since he's able to have some time with the outdoors AND so much time with Mommy and Daddy!

Hilton Head Island

This beach trip was the best! Sam and I usually make quick trips to the beach and only have 1 or 2 days to enjoy it. However, we spent 5 days at the beach this time! Somebody write that down...I think it's a record for us!

We went to the best beach in America - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We stayed in an ocean view condo right on the beach! We loved spending time on our balcony watching the waves roll in and watching the sunrise (one morning). My sister-in-law, Anna, her husband Elliot, and their beautiful daughter, Maylin, joined us for a couple of nights. We always love spending time with them and Michael really enjoys playing with Maylin. They are getting so close in size now, so it's more fun for the both of them!

Each morning, Sam would go out early to set up our tailgating tent and claim our spot on the beach. Then, we would all head out around 10:00 to spend a couple of hours in the sunshine! The tent provides GREAT shade for the kids and for us if we need a break from the sun. Michael did so good playing with his sand buckets under the tent, so we didn't have to worry about him getting sunburned. But, he did have his SPF 50 on, just in case! :)

We would head in around lunch time to grab a bite to eat and let Michael take his nap. We kept our tent set up so that we could go back out to the beach in the afternoon for some more time with the sun and sand!

Each night, we would go out for dinner. There's also a really fun place called Harbor Town that we like to visit. We enjoy looking at all the yachts and dreaming about owning one. Ha! There's also live music and really cute shops to look at!

The Borgs just love the beach! We're already looking for some free days in our schedule to maybe go down there again (that would be one of those quick trips)! Can you believe that summer is coming to an end? We have less than 2 weeks before school starts back up again!  Crazy!

Ok....here's our trip in pictures! There are a lot of pictures in this post, but I had such a hard time narrowing it down to just these!

The view from our balcony

Our setup on the beach - The shade was so nice, but notice my chair in the sun!

Michael loves the sand!

Michael and Maylin (looks like Michael was ready for a nap!)

Anna, Elliot, and Maylin

The three of us in Harbor Town

The new tradition with the grandkids - sitting on this tree!

Mommy and Michael

Daddy and Michael

Love the sunset!

Dominican Republic - part 2

I arrived on the last day of the youth trip, just in time to meet the kids and then say goodbye. Our friends (who were also leaders on the trip) Kory and Alison stayed with us. Our plan was to spend a few days on our own doing some ministry, seeing some old friends in other cities, and having some beach time.

We started in Jarabacoa. Sam and I stayed at a hotel beside a river. Our breakfast was included, so we ate breakfast right beside the river. We had to get our energy from our omelets and bananas because day one was jam-packed with activities. 

It began with renting motorcycles to get to the start of a hike to a beautiful waterfall - Salta de Jiminoa Uno. The hike down was nice and easy and downhill. The hike up was a different story....STRENUOUS! I've never done something that physically exhausting in my life! However, it was worth it to see this view!

Then, we drove to another place to hike to another waterfall - Salta de Jiminoa Dos. This hike was not as difficult. We did have to walk across suspension bridges, though. That was slightly frightening.

We then ate dinner with some of Alison's Dominican friends. Kory and Alison got quite a surprise when they were asked to speak at the church service that night! They're such troopers because they didn't even fear that they couldn't speak fluent Spanish. They got their point across saying "Yo amo a Jesus" - I love Jesus! The Dominicans knew their purpose for being there!

The next day we were off to a new city...San Juan de la Maguana. Our friends Miguel and Kristen live there and own an apartment in the city. They were in the United States while we were there, so we got to stay in their apartment. What a blessing! Sam and I love staying there because we really get a taste of the Dominican life. We have to cook our own food and clean the house and do laundry Dominican style and hang it up to dry!

We always find random Dominican taxi drivers to rent motorcycles from. We taught Kory and Alison the new tradition and we were off to one of our favorite spots..."La Presa" - The Dam. We love taking in the gorgeous scenery as we look at the plush mountains. And when we finally get to the dam, we get to cool off in the river! The daredevil in Sam enjoys finding high surfaces from which to jump, but I make the excuse of "watching our stuff" to stay close to shore!

After San Juan, we left on a bus to finish our trip relaxing at a resort on the beach. I was so enthralled with the ocean and the volleyball and the sunbathing that I only took one picture on our last night. This is Sam and I with our friends Kory and Alison. We had so much fun with them!