Christmas Break

I was in much need of this break.  My students were tired of each other and I'm sure of me.  When I didn't have to get up when that alarm clock went off this morning it was so wonderful.  Donny had to go back to work after being off for two weeks.  I had a busy day and will have a busy evening.  I had to finish my Christmas shopping, which was only two gifts.  I also had to pick up some things we needed around the house and the dreaded grocery shopping.  Now that I'm home I have to finish up some sewing for some friends, wrap presents, prepare Christmas cards, and hopefully make my sweet husband a surprise.  I'm so looking forward to Christmas.  This was always such an exciting time for our family and I plan to continue to keep it that way along with making new traditions.  Remember that Jesus is the REASON FOR THE SEASON!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I have so much to be thankful for.  Make sure you take time to reflect on how much the Good Lord has blessed you. 

What I'm thankful for:

• My salvation
• Grace
• My wonderful husband
• My mom
• My brother
• That my daddy is in heaven (I wish he was here with me, but I know he having a good time in heaven.)
• Our jobs that pays the bills
• Those in uniform who protect my freedom
• The roof over my head
• The comfy bed I get to sleep in every night
• Tammy and Billy
• My great friends and all of their sweet children

Enjoy the food and time with your family and friends!  It could all be taken away in an instant.

You Wouldn't Cry For Me Today- Mandisa

I miss him!

I am preparing for a huge class project over the next to weeks.  As I was working on preparing the bottle caps using a drill I remember that dad use to help me with my crazy ideas.  I've really been missing him.  I didn't blog about it, but I made it through the first year without him.  Donny treated me to a trip to the mountains.  I have to keep remembering that he is always with me, but much happier.  I still have a hard time dealing with the memories of that horrible month last year.  This is the song that carried me through the anniversary day as we were driving up to Cades Cove.  (It is the post before this one.  I couldn't get it to post correctly in this one.)


I miss you daddy!

Thankful

• Oh, how thankful I am to see the weekend.  This week has been the longest week.  I felt that Wednesday should have Friday. 
• I'm thankful that I survived the week with out snapping on one of my students because they just won't listen (not all of them, but most.)
• I'm thankful that morning duty is over for a couple of months. 
• I thankful that it is a three day weekend.
• I'm thankful that my papers are graded and lesson plans are complete.
• I'm thankful that college football is here.  WAR EAGLE!!!
• I'm thankful that I only have to drive 11 miles to work with no traffic problems.  I spent this afternoon on the north bound interstate and on 31 south in Vestavia in bumper to bumper traffic for way too long.  I'm thankful that I have a sense of directions and a navigation in my car that allowed me to take a scenic route from Vestavia to Pelham.  Mom didn't trust me.
• I'm thankful that the crazy horse, that my dad liked so much, and I are bonding.  I finally got him to eat from my hand and to touch his face.
• I'm thankful that my husband hasn't complained that our house is dirty and needs to be cleaned.  (My only project for the weekend.)
• I'm thankful that my aunt has invited us to the lake to spend the day with them on the boat.
• I'm thankful that the public hearing on the Cahaba River went well last night.  I just hope that our voice will be heard and be taken into consideration.
• I'm thankful that my sweet husband will be home this weekend.
• I'm thankful that a girl I have known most of my life (Courtney Comer Higdon) is expecting her first child in April.
• I'm thankful that I can sleep late in the morning.
• I'm thankful for my students that I had last year give me hugs daily.
• I'm thankful for the memories.
• I'm thankful for having a job.

Those are just a few things that I can think of right at the moment.  It has been a rough week at work and I needed to reflect on the things that I am thankful for to keep life in perspective.  I'm going to enjoy a relaxing weekend with my husband.

Weekend Project

We have needed curtains in our bathroom since we moved in, but I refused to buy any and didn't take the time to make them.  (For clarification the window is one of those you can't see through.)  Over the summer I decided that I was going to make the curtains one of my summer projects.  It took me forever to find the fabric that I wanted.  I looked everywhere.  I decided to check out Etsy.com and it became my new addiction.  I spent countless hours looking at "stuff."  I did find the perfect fabric and ordered it weeks before school started.  It sat in the sewing room for weeks.  Yesterday I had a fun filled day.  I worked on Sarah Kayte's birthday gift, but that didn't turn out so well.  I then went to Sarah Kayte's first birthday party...with NO gift.  Then I came home and finished all my school stuff for the weekend.  I then decided that I was going to make the bathroom curtains.  I started about 8:30.  I went to bed at 11:30ish and decided to finish today.  After church, I convinced my sweet husband to take me to Alabaster to get a curtain rod.  I worked on them for a couple of hours this afternoon and we just hung them.  I love them!  I will admit they aren't perfect, but I've come to the conclusion that you can't be a perfectionist while sewing.  So, here are my bathroom curtains.

First "Real" Project

So, a friend of mine thought that I was perfectly capable of completing my first "real" project on the embroidery machine.  Oh, I was so nervous.  I only have three fonts on my machine that you can use the keypad and of course they are not very fun fonts.  I searched for hours last night for fonts and a program to help me put letters together to spell a name.  I really had no idea (and I still don't) what I was doing.  I wasn't comfortable with the font that a practiced with so I settled for a flower with an "R" in the middle.  I practiced on several pieces of fabric before I finally prepared the dress on the machine and hit the start button.  It is not perfect, but I'm not sure what I did wrong.  This is what I came up with...

If anyone has any tips for using an embroidery machine, classes you can take, programs to use, websites, etc. I would appreciate the help.

Show Us Your Life--My Single Brother

I pray for my brother often to find that special Christian lady that makes him happy.  My brother, Cody, will soon turn 24 (July 22).  He lives in central Alabama.  He loves the Lord and I've seen him grow closer to the Lord over the past year.  We lost our dad this past October.  Cody followed in dad's footsteps and became a career firefigther four years ago.  He is a sports fanatic and can tell you just about anything to do with college baseball and football.  Our family is huge Auburn fans.  Cody loves to hunt.  He has a side job when he isn't working at the fire station.  He works with Jason during hunting season doing meat processing and then raising deer the rest of the year.  He drives a raised Z71.  He helps take care of dad's horses.  Cody enjoys working outside and doesn't mind getting dirty or sweaty.  He is always making you laugh.  Cody forgets that he isn't as young as he used to be and loves to play softball.  He is on a league with his church and then plays on another team.  He enjoys going to the lake or just hanging out at home.  Cody and I are close and talk about just about everything.  He loves children and I enjoy watching him interact with them.  He listens to country music mainly.  Cody and I are close and talk about just about everything. I LOVE my little brother!

Cody at Bass Bro Shop getting ready to cook a BIG meal!

Catch Up on Life

WOW! A lot has happen since I last posted. I'm really going to try to do better at staying caught up with my posting. So, I guess I'll try to catch up.

Graduate School:

I made it through the worst semester of graduate school with three As and one B. I am on my last semester of graduate school this summer. I'm taking a total of 10 credit hours and I'm pushing myself, but I CAN'T wait to be finished. I'm taking the comprehensive exam on June 26th. I'm praying that I can get through that with out too much stress. I kind of feel bad because I'm wishing my summer away so that I will be through with graduate school. Sorry my teacher friends.

My 26th Birthday:

My wonderful mother got my an embroidery machine for my birthday, graduation, and Christmas present. I've wanted one for awhile, so mom broke down an got me one. I haven't used it very much because I trying to force myself to get through with graduate school so I can use it as much as I want.

4th Grade:

I made it through another year of teaching. It was a challenging year for personal and professional reasons, but it was a great year. I had a wonderful class and I'm going to miss them greatly. I'm striving and preparing for an even better year next year. We are trying something new. I will be teaching math, science, and language this year and my team teacher will be teaching the other subjects. I'm very enthusiastic about the new adventure. Science is not one of my favorite subjects, but I will give it my best. And the best part...I got tenure!!!

Two Year Anniversary:
On June 7th, Donny and I celebrated our second anniversary. It is so hard to believe that it has been two years since I married the love of my life. We have been so blessed and it only gets better. I can't thank my husband enough for the love that he shows me and how he takes care of me. I love you Donny!

We were on vacation on our anniversary and we didn't have a true "date." We went to Bass Pro Shops and then ate at Lambert's with my mom and my brother. Next year I promised him that we would have a true anniversary date.

Vacation:
Our vacation this year was a trip to Branson. Why? Well, when dad was diagnosed with leukemia last year he started his bucket list and visiting Branson was on there. We decided to go because that is what he would have wanted. Here are some of the pictures from the trip!

Donny and I on our anniversary!

Donny and Cody before we entered Bass Pro Shops.

My husband's favorite place to shop.

Cody can do some cookin' now!

Yum!

We were SO full when we left Lambert's.

This was our shopping at the outlets adventure!

The Presley's Country Jubilee was a great show.

This was my favorite part of Silver Dollar City.  We watched the guy blow glass twice.  I did buy one piece of blown glass.  It was amazing to watch how they created such beautiful pieces.

We were at Dixie Stampede.  Donny and I got to be apart of the show.  Our team won as we rode a stick pony. 

RFD TV was one dad's favorite TV stations. 

This would be a long story to explain, but "Dad King Kong really is real!"

I Laughed Again

I finally finished up this semester of grad school Saturday. It was such a relief to take that final exam Saturday evening. Sunday was a peaceful day. My wonderful husband fixed breakfast and then I laughed with him until my stomach hurt. I haven't had that feeling in such a long time. I can't believe that stress had squished that out of me. I'm very thankful to have laughter again. To make life even better we only have 17 more days of school left and I only have one more semester of grad school. Praise the Lord! I'm looking forward to our vacation in June.


I found this video a couple of weeks ago off my old computer. I regret that we didn't make more videos as a family. But every time I watch it it brings tears to my eyes, because I miss my dad so much. I've longed to hear his voice for months and now I can hear him anytime I want to.

Keep Going

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

The month of January and February have passed. In the middle of January I didn't think I could keep going, but I have. I still have a fear that I'm not going to make it through this semester of graduate school. I fear for my job. I fear that I'm not being the best wife I can be. I fear that I'm not living for the Lord. Bro. Kirk preached on Psalm 27 yesterday and I know that his message was for me. I have to first want to have the Lord first in my life and then be confident that He is going to carry me through. I am beginning to think that I'm going to make it. I'm taking those baby steps. One thing at at time. I'm almost finished with the yearbook, then I've got lots of papers to write for internship, etc. But if I trust and put my confidence in the Lord all this shall pass. Today at faculty meeting we watched a clip from the movie Facing the Giants and it really hit home. I've got to keep pushing. I've made it this far and I can't give up. I know that the Lord has plans and I've got to lay all my stress and fears at the foot of the cross. Please pray for me that I can make it through this semester of internship and that I will let go of my fears.

Death

This week has brought back so many feelings. I've really been missing my dad this week, because it seems like every other day someone else has passed away. Jason's grandmother passed away, then Coach Mac Thompson, then Adair, and today Buddy Glasgow. All the feelings of losing dad have been rekindled and it honestly hurts my heart. I know that death is apart of life, but it never makes it easier. Even after 4 months it is still hard. I still get angry because I wasn't able to talk to dad before he left this earth. I keep thinking about the last time I saw him awake and all the words I wish I would have said. I think about Mac's boys who aren't going to have their dad to see them play their last senior football game, I think about all the students that Adair had an impact on, and Daviston because he was Buddy's boy. I often think, "I just wish the Lord would come back!" Please pray for each of these families as they are going through very difficult times.

A Beautiful Day

I have enjoyed my day off today. I did get a lot accomplished...cleaned the house, bought baby gift, worked on grad school assignments, and did my lesson plans for this week. I wish I could get more motivated to work on grad school work. I'm almost done...should be graduating in August. I do see the light at the end of the tunnel even though it is only the size of a pinhole. I want to be done so badly. I believe this internship is going to get the best of me. I have to mange some way to get 60 hours of work in my school library and teach at the same time. I'm already giving up my spring break to go visit a school in Mobile County to clock some hours. I also have to get 100 hours at a public library, which isn't so bad but I would rather be at home reading a book. YIKES!! Lord, be my strength.

I also have a heavy heart today. Tammy, one of my best friends, daughter is at UAB. I don't know a whole lot, but Jess is a very sick young lady and needs our prayers. Tammy says that her lupus is flared up. Also, our PTO president is fighting breast cancer again. Katerine Brannon is her name. I taught her son in third grade. And a childhood friend of mine lost his grandfather last week. This is the Lash family.

Back to work!