Moving - In More Than One Way

So - the big day finally arrived... Cori and I closed on our house yesterday!!! We are now the proud owners of a two-story, 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home! We made one load of stuff last night with the help of Cori's dad... Tonight will start the real work, though! My parents and siblings, Cori's dad and sister, my best friend, and Cori's aunt and uncle are going to help us make a big load tonight, and then we'll finish up whatever is left tomorrow morning! So... The move from Fayetteville to Springdale is in process.

Another big move has occurred recently... One in Cori's uterus! We were at the movies last Sunday afternoon, and I guess the way she was sitting was uncomfortable to Peanut - he started squirming, and Cori felt him for the first time! Since then, she has felt him a number of other times, including three times last night (she said he was "moving" with us)! She said it feels like someone drumming their fingers on the inside of her stomach! How cool is that?

So... Big moves are going on in our lives!

8 Things (Matt)

Okay... Even though Cori has already completed her list of 8 Things, Mary Claire (bridezillastrikesback.blogspot.com) still found it necessary to tag me in her list... So here I go:

8 Things I Look Forward To (In No Particular Order):
1. Closing Day (May 29) and Moving Day (May 30)
2. Cori's next OB appointment - so we can find out whether the hematoma is gone (May 26)
3. Finishing the Bar Exam
4. Our much-anticipated week-long vacation to Puerto Vallarta
5. Finding out that I passed the Bar
6. Receiving my first salaried paycheck
7. The birth of our little Peanut
8. Paying off our mortgage, car loan, and student loans (I hate debt!)

8 Things I Did Yesterday (Monday, May 18, 2009):
1. Took Cooper on a 1.4 mile jog (which is the farthest he's ever gone)
2. Shared the last piece of my graduation cake with Cori
3. Endured 3.5 hours of Torts lecture in my Kaplan Bar Review Course
4. Read two chapters from a book that has absolutely nothing to do with the law (Digital Fortress by Dan Brown)
5. Read 45 pages of Torts outlines
6. Scheduled a final walkthrough of our soon-to-be house to make sure the sellers repaired/replaced everything they were supposed to
7. Gave Cooper a bath
8. Watched a cake designer whom I know from Springdale win a Food Network Challenge

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Get a law license without having to take the Bar Exam
2. Have sex with my wife (damn hematoma!)
3. Play guitar like Brad Paisley
4. Lose weight as easily as I used to
5. Spend one week a month at an all-inclusive resort (a different resort each month, of course!)
6. Housebreak Cooper before we move into our new house
7. Speed-read with total comprehension
8. Get perfect vision without having that laser eye surgery

8 Shows I Watch:
1. Scrubs
2. So You Think You Can Dance?
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Fringe
5. Lie to Me
6. American Idol
7. Private Practice
8. MASH

Now that I have completed my 8 Things, I'm supposed to tag eight other bloggers and force them to endure the same fate as was bestowed upon me by Mary Claire. I'm not going to (he says, as the skies darken and the lightning strikes). The only people that I know on blogspot are (1) the people Cori tagged a couple weeks ago when she did this, (2) the person who tagged me, and (3) the people Mary Claire tagged. So... Sorry, the chain ends here. Hope you enjoy my post, though!

Matthew L. Fryar, J.D.

Yeah - that's right... I've got letters after my name! I graduated law school on Saturday, and I have had a feeling of complete and total contentedness ever Dean Nance handed me my diploma. I did it! After 20 years of education, the last three of which were particularly challenging and enjoyable, I have received a juris doctorate. When I started undergrad seven years ago, I thought I was going to be an agri teacher... I never imagined the path my life would take.

I, of course, could not have done it without the help of my family and friends - particularly:

• Cori - who listened to me work through my frustrations, fears, worries, stresses, and anxieties, and who also shared with me the joys and rewards of the last three years.
• Mom - who helped me study for nearly every final over the last three years, and who always answered her phone when I needed reassurance that I was, in fact, in the right place.
• Dad - who helped to support me financially and, even more importantly, morally - just knowing that he was proud of me made it all possible.
• Mary Claire - who was my best "law school friend," and who I will miss terribly when she moves to D.C.
• Auntie Sherial - who encouraged me to consider law school in the first place.

In words from the 100th episode of Grey's Anatomy: "Today my life begins." That's exactly how I felt on Saturday afternoon... I have a beautiful and supportive wife who loves me and whom I love; I have a crazy and adorable puppy; I have a child on the way; I am buying a house; I have a law degree; I have a job. Today my life begins.................... And I think it's going to be amazing!

Is it summer vacation?!?!

I know we still have 11 days of school left, but I could've sworn that tomorrow was the last day of school - according to the behavior that my kids have been exhibiting this week. WOW!! It has been one long week...

Before I get too far into this post, let me just say that I do have a fantastic group of kids and the thought of them leaving in a few days absolutely kills me. HOWEVER...

They have driven me bonkers this week! Some of my sweetest kiddos have changed their clips numerous times. For example, I have this one student (we will call him Fred) that is so well-mannered and well-behaved. This week, however, has been another story. He must have thought that the rules did not apply to him. He would get out of our line and go to another class's line to talk to his friends. He kept getting out of seat during independent working time to go talk to his friends (as soon as I turned my head he would do this). AND when I asked him to move his clip, he didn't seem bothered by it!!! AAAAGGGGHHHH!!! So, I wrote a letter home to his parents yesterday (who do not speak English), and he had to translate it for them and read it to them in Spanish. They had to sign it and return it letting me know how it was handled at home. Let me just say that it was handled and *Fred was back to his good self today!

Anyways, please pray that these next 11 days go smoothly!! PLEASE!!!

Happy Mother's Day, Cori!

I just wanted to wish my beautiful wife a very Happy Mother's Day!!! Though our little one is still about 6 months away, I know that Cori is and will always be a fantastic mother - I'm very lucky to have her!

School's Out!!!

Well... I finished law school today. My last final was at 8:30 this morning... And I am SO relieved! My grades are starting to trickle in, and I did about as well as I expected given my profound lack of studying this semester. Now I have the afternoon off, a week of work, graduation, and then a full summer of studying for the Bar Exam! Wish me luck!!!

On other topics... Cori's baby belly popped out this week! She went from having a normal stomach on Sunday to having a baby bump on Monday night - it was really funny how it happened!!! She is absolutely beautiful, and we are both enjoying her pregnancy (mostly). We have another doctor's appointment on May 26 - hopefully they'll find that the hematoma has reabsorbed and that everything else is progressing as expected.

Cooper is growing like a weed! He spent his first night away from us while we were chaperoning an overnight field trip with Cori's students. He still loves playing fetch and having his belly rubbed, and he is making it all night long without having to go out (thank God)!

Finally, we are quickly approaching closing day on our house... May 29 will be here before we know it! As a side note, if you don't have plans on May 30, feel free to give us a call - we'll let you help us move! We have started buying miscellaneous things for the house - an entertainment center and kitchen table having been our two biggest purchases. We're shopping for a refrigerator and have started a little packing of non-essential items. This is just an absolutely great time in our lives - all of the things discussed above have been enormous blessings to us! We can't wait to see what the future holds.........

8 Things

8 things...My friend Carman tagged me, and I thought I would do it to!

Here are the instructions for 8 Things:
* Mention the person that tagged you
* Complete the list of 8 things
* Tag 8 of your wonderful bloggy friends
* Go tell them you tagged them

8 Things I look forward to:
-Holding my precious baby for the first time
-The last day of school for teachers is June 2
-Closing Day on our new house May 29
-Decorating my new house (especially Peanut's room)
-Going to ONSC tomorrow and Tuesday
-So You Think You Can Dance this summer
-Puerta Vallarta at the end of July
-Matt getting his first real paycheck as a lawyer!!

8 Things I Did Yesterday
-Went garage-selling
-Bought a bouncy/glider seat for Peanut and beautiful armoire for our t.v.
-Ate breakfast at Mom and Dad's house
-Watched Last of the Dogmen and loved it!
-Ate at Penguin Ed's
-Took a long nap!
-Got a first to find (geocaching)
-Helped Matt study for Patent Law

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
-Be intimate with my husband (long story due to baby complications)
-Speed time
-Brush my teeth without gagging/throwing up
-Teach Cooper not to pee in the house (consistently)
-Hold my precious baby
-Make the hematoma disappear
-Get through to each and every one of my students
-Remember to turn the oven and the burner off when I am done cooking (pregnancy thing)

8 Shows I Watch:
-American Idol
-Grey's Anatomy
-Private Practice
-So You Think You Can Dance
-Fringe
-Lie To Me
-America's Next Top Model
-Hell's Kitchen

8 People I Tag:
-Sandy
-Mischelle
-Hannah
-Jennifer
-Nancy
-Ashley
**I don't have that many friends on blogspot!