SURPRISE!

I am on Fall Break right now! Yay! And although I've been out of school for a week, I have not even left my house until today. Sure, we went to the Jacket's game Friday night (we won) and saw Fireproof on Sat. (AWESOME) but other than that I've been glued to the computer writing a....literature review (it is one of the ugliest words I've ever heard, and my husband agrees). I'm talking about reviewing literature and searching for journals, and gathering knowledge and data about a topic that I really have come to HATE. I'm hoping that by the end of the year, I'll love this topic, but right now I despise it. My poor hubby helped me so much. He sat with me, added his thoughts, helped me highlight and organize. I looked rough...but last night at midnight I turned it in! So now I'm FREE!

I am now about to live up my fall break...because let's face it, if you know me well then you know, I really really really needed a break. I am having a very hard year. BUT tonight I'm surprising Matty. I've spent the day out and about Thomasville (my fav. thing to do) gathering supplies for tonight. I came home and straightened up, now I'm waiting. Our house is all decorated for fall, and Matt loves it. We still have one box to get out of the attic, which our wreath, dishes, and a few other decorations are still in.

I bought Matt some much needed fall essentials to his wardrobe. He really only owns dress clothes. So I got him some causual clothing. I also got him his favorite buttered popcorn jelly beans in a pumpkin bag (yuck) and cnady corn and pumpkins! I arranged them so when he walks in he will be greeted by them and a silly card that plays music. I went with the Halloween theme because last year we didn't get to celebrate due to my grad work. We bought pumpkins to carve and had to throw them out.
So tonight I am taking him to Coyaocan in Quitman. It is the nicest mexican restaurant ever. Hardwood floors, stainless steel, granite, AMAZING. He has never been, but I've been with my grad girls. Turns out they have turned the restaurant into a Haunted House. It looked so creepy and fun when I drove by after class on Mon.
I can't wait for him to get home from work! I thank God everyday for such a supportive and loving husband. We've been together for a long time. Sometimes I don't even recognize Matt. He has changed so much since we first met. He is a great business man, and he's a leader in our church and community. He trieds :) to help me with my grad work, he cleans, cooks...his generosity is amazing. He is so selfless and he sacrifices everything for me. I love him with all my heart and try my best to encourage him and spoil him!!

I'm going to have to work on lesson plans and report cards tomorrow..BOO! But, I think Matt and I may do a little bit of our Christmas shopping for family tomorrow. If we go to Tallahassee, we may just have to go to Cracker Barrel. It reminds me of Fall. I also want to go to the book store so I can read magazines about Fall goodies that I can make with my students. I am already planning on making the CUTEST pumpkin cupcakes with pretzel sticks! Oooh, my hubby is here, gotta go!!!!!

Can't wait for Fall!!!!

It's been forever since I've written anything. And my have things been busy!! Like always, I don't have much time. However, I am feeling very blessed right now and feel like taking note of this time in my life.

Work has been rough and great...at the same time :) I have learned that I have a supportive administration that is willing to do everything that they can to help me have the best year of my life. They are my biggest encouragers from the moment I walk in the office each morning and see their smiling faces and get greeted! I love going to recess with Angie..FUN! And I love when Robin comes in my room for the last 10 minutes of the day before buses and we catch up! I also love my new babies. I am getting pretty close and attached to several. Yay! I am learning that I can't do it all by myself. I can't get everything done that I need to and that has to be ok. I'm going to miss my old friends from GP. And most importantly I'm not perfect and I can always grow as a teacher. Some of these have been very tough lessons for me to learn. I have already sufferred through a teary breakdown with my Principal and AP one day after school. Jeanna and Brecca are amazing...hands down I have the best bosses in the world. They're strict but awesome!

Let's see. I was lucky enough to run into KK the other day in Tallahassee (my former Principal). I was coming out of Loli and the Bean and practically ran right into her...we both screamed and hugged!! It was a joyous reunion. CBD got to witness it all!

I have been extremely blessed to constantly be surrounded by friends lately. My grad school girls came to Thomsville to eat dinner a few weeks ago! We had a wonderful night of relaxation and great conversation. No one quite understands the constant stress of teaching, grad school, family, etc. like my grad school girls.

Church has started back, and as I walked across our beautiful downtown last Wednesday I felt a cool breeze and saw a few colored leaves blow across the steet, I felt like I was in Heaven. I love my pretty church and I love Wed. nights with Becky, Lynn, and LeAnn. A new sweet lady, Dawn, has started joining us at our little round table outside and I am excited because I've been wanting to get to know her better. We call our get togethers on Wed. therapy..and Bible Study, prayer time, laughing time, and it really refreshes me. I am so thankful for them and my entire chruch family. Anyway, it was just fun to see so many people back in the swing of the schoolyear, GA's, choir, etc. I LOVED IT and that it truly began to feel like fall to me.

Fall is my favorite season!! I have been stalking Hobby Lobby and all the holiday decorations!!! I already have my fall and halloween decor ready to go for my home and classroom. Now, I'm eyeing thanksgiving!! yeah!! I'm actually teaching a unit on the five senses next week and I'm incorporating fall and apples into my lessons!! FUN!

My old community from Garrison, also had a mini reunion last night.We enjoyed the pasta bar and so many memories and laughter, those girls have my heart. After dinner, I swung by church to catch up with my ladies!!! It actually felt cool, so we sat outside for over an hour after the youth activities got over. Wow! We're having dinner and going to see a movie tomorrow night, since the Jackets game is out of town.

Matt and I have a Blazer game on Sat. night and I have tons of grad work to consume any free second that I could possibly have. Carrie, Bridgett, and I volunteered to basically teach our class on Mon. night. Ortlieb wanted us to do a special project about reading comprehension..so I guess we are up for the challenge. At least we will get it over with! Wish us luck!

Oh, and house plans consume my hubby right now..pray that everything will work out and we can move on!! :)

Overall, I think this is going to be one of my favorite fall's yet! I can't wait to see what God has is store for me! Should be interesting ;)

Yes, I work in the only county in south GA that wasn't closed due to Tropical Storm Fay :)

I was furious about this decision! Haha!!! I arrived at school all huffy and late (after 7am) compared to my normal arrival time. We were allowed to wear jeans with whatever shirt we wanted and I chose a TC tshirt :) When we got to school I found out that we had an early release day...better than nothing. But I still didn't get home until 2 and I was soaked from the bus line. But it sure felt good to take a Friday afternoon nap while it poured outside. I'll admit the wind was scary (my umbrella almost snapped in half)!

When I finally got over having a bad attitude, I actually had a really good day with my students. They were all there...even the sick ones. I was sick too, my throat hurt so bad! We did a lot of Fun Friday activities and I got all of the weekly work sent home and my newsletter was complete (I didn't write my newsletter until the mroning b/c I didn't want to do it if school was out).

We talked about the TS and I brought in some articles that I cut out of the newspaper with pictures of what the storm was doing. We looked out the window and watched the clouds! We read the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom earlier in the week, so we made a coconut tree snack. And I cracked open two coconuts with a hammer. I actually had an audience. I was nervous to do it because I've never cracked one open before..well one of our speech teachers came in to get one of my students and ended up staying and watching..haha!! One had milk in it and the other didn't. We made a big chart and used descriptive words to describe how the coconut looked, felt, smelled, sounded, and tasted. FUN!

Since we couldn't go out to PE they set up a parachute in one of the front hallways! I haven't played with one of those since elementary school and I remember that it was my favorite. It slowly came back to me and Ms. Derikia and we raised it up, ran under it, sat under it, walked different ways with it, put a ball on top of it, and just went crazy!! Highlight of my day!

The other thing that I love about Hand-In-Hand is that every teacher owns a pair of rainboots. It is a sight to see...we have plain,polka dot, plaid, and animal print out there on the bus line! Everyone also own awesome raincoats. We have all learned from experience and that bus line is HIGH and rain blows right under it! So we finally got all of our busses home and then had to stay up front until car riders left. Then Jeanna ordered us to go home and rest this weekend.

Let it Rain...

I feel refreshed! My sweet principal picked me and six other teachers at my school to go to an AIMS Science training in Pelham, GA. On the 2nd week of school...we thought she was crazy! I was dreading leaving my wild group for the 7th and 8th days of school..haha! However, it was just what I needed. We didn't have to be at the bus garage until 8am. Then we rode together in a van to Pelham in the rain..which I love..both days! We had a lunch break for an hour and ended at 3...slice of heaven. During our lunch breaks we shopped. Downtown Pelham is super cute! They have the polka dot spot..which is pretty well known in Tville, everything was 50% off in the entire store due to new shipments coming in. But there were several other cute shops and restaurants as well. Our training was hands on and we got lots of cool science blacklines and ideas!! Most of all I liked the talks that our group had througout the day and ride back to Thomasville. K teachers: Laren, Alacia, Joanna, Gail, and I. PreK: Carole and Donna. Then our math coach went: Toni! I just feel ready to go back to school tomorrow. I feel like I have some new ideas and a stronger support system. I really needed to be encouraged and I feel like I got that from the girls in my school family. I also got to see some of my GP family Tues. after school for an early supper! I feel very blessed!

Busy as a Bee

Well, I've survived!!! At least the first week of school and a day! Friday and today (Monday) went really well, considering how HARD the first few were. I have 20 babies. 10 boys and 10 girls..I love even numbers :) Anyway, I am actually going to be attending a science workshop out of town for the next two days, so I have a pretty nice break from my kids already. I think I will actually miss most of them. I thought I'd explain my daily school schedule.

6:15am Drive to School
6:25am Sign in then listen to Christian music and pray for my kids and work in my classroom. I usually turn on all the lamps, set everything out that I'm going to teach with, write a morning message, and read my Ribbit Report from Jeanna! I love my mornings.
7:30 My kids come in the room and eat breakfast, I always greet them at the door and remind them to put bring their folders in, to put up their bus buttons, and to grab their clipboard. I always give hugs and big smiles in the morning, as this is the most important part of my day..to make each student in my class feel like they are my favorite student in the world, and that they can trust me, and feel safe, in a warm caring environment...then they sign in, and start their jobs: counting jar, making a pattern, counting money, writing the date, estimation station, write a sentence, rhyming words, and have-a-go word.
8:00 Plege and Patriotic Song
8:10 Calendar: We sing songs and dance, practice our months of year, days of week,colors, shapes, numbers, money, place value, greater than and less than, even and odd, we graph our weather, the amount of teeth that we've lost, etc.
8:30 I choose a lucky leader of the day and we Write their name, we work on letters, letter sounds, vowels, syllables, using punctuation and quotation marks, and lots and lots of other things. It's pretty cool :)
9:00 We do math. We sort, graph, make patterns, add, subtract, and do word problems. I have lots of manipulatives and a cool big book that provides lots of student interaction.
9:20-10:20 Centers They have to come to my table and Ms. Derikia's table. The rest of the time is free choice unless they haven't finished their jobs.
10:20-10:45 Learning Focused Unit. We do scinece and social studies. Really cool activities, fun snacks on Fun Friday, and lots of themes. I always d0o a few read alouds during this time.
10:45-11:15 P.E.
11:15-11:35 Writer's Workshop
11:35-12:05 Recess
12:10-12:40 Lunch (It's not duty free)
12:45-1:00 I read a chapter book aloud to them. One of my favorite times of the day.
1:00-1:45 Rest time (Praise the Lord) It is very relaxing in my room. I have lots of lamps and soothing music on. I plan during this time or have Better Seeking Team Meetings or Wing Meetings.
1:45-2:30 Snack and Daily Recap. We celebrate good behavior and good work!! We revieew our work and then they file their sheets.
2:30-3:30 Dismissal
3:30-5:00 I clean up my desk, which always gets covered in all sorts of notes and papers, set up for the next day, plan , write newsletters, catch up on emails, write notes to parents, call parents, make copies, chat with fellow co-workers and laminate. Then I go home and as I walk out I watch football practice right on the field right outside my classroom. I love that fall is coming. I love hearing the whistles blowing and all the parents watching their kids. I always feel blessed and proud to be a Yellow Jacket!! I love my school system and my two schools :)

I usually have a long to-do list when I get home too. I make things on my computer, run to Publix to grab supplies, and study my lessons. It is especially crazy when I add Grad school out of town two nights a week! Bible study, GA's, and most important time with Matty and Blakely. I love my busy life, and I definitely sleep well at night! I really don't know how people with kids work full time and go to grad school! AMAZING!

I'm excited about this week! I am going to meet up with some old Garrison friends tomorrow after my workshop at Grandaddy's!!!! Can't wait. Then on Wed. Lynn Burton and mabye Becky Jense and I are going for our weekly coffee (we haven't done this since April, b/c we don't have Wed. night activites in the summer) Then on Thursday I'm meeting Betsy, Carrie Beth, and maybe Michelle at Coyacan in Quitman for some really good mexican and margaritas!! :)Betsy and I live in Thomasville and CBD and Michelle live in Valdosta, so it's a halfway point!

Well it's time for Jon and Kate plus 8..YEAH! Carrie, it's your turn to blog now. I think I'm caught up!

A glimpse inside my kindergarten class on Fun Friday!

Where has the time gone???

It's been forever since I've written anything and CBD reminds me often :) This is the first time I've actually felt like writing or had time. Warning: I am very tired so there will probably be a TON of errors and won't make much sense. I am just going to write random thoughts or events that happend.

Let me recap my July! I loved July, even though it went on and on. I just love my grad school girls. Let me name a few...Carrie Beth, Bridgett, Betsy, Michelle, Jennifer, Mandy, Crystal, Melanie..and the list goes on and on. Even though our classes were ridicoulously hard and time consuming I loved going every Tues. and Thurs. I loved going to Las Banderas on Tuesday to use our VSU coupons and laughing and sharing deep dark secrets (or at least things that aren't usually discussed), and drinking peach and strawberry margaritas (with sugar) haha! I loved going to the Bistro lunch buffet (amazing!) every Thursday and meeting Dr. Dixey!! Love her! I loved the frienships that were made, the random shopping trips in the afternoons, and the book craziness that we all take part in. Lake Park is one of my favorite memories. Carrie, Bridgett, and I bought so many cheap books one day!!! These girls have my heart and I'm sad some are graduating. But, I am thankful that we are starting a book club and a bible study..Coyacan in the fall here we come!!

On my off days from grad school I would go up to Hand-In-Hand and work in my classroom. It was fun at first, but then right befofre preplanning started...combined with tons of projects for grad school it became a real chore. I had quite a scare one Saturday at Hnh...I thought I set off the alarm and had to call my principal at home and the police department. Great way to start things off right?? haha! But I am thankful that I was able to get so much of my room finished before hand. I am also grateful to all the people from Garrison and just other teachers around HnH that came to my room to make me feel welcome.

To end the summer, after a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, Carrie came to Thomasville and we went shopping in Tallahassee. We spent about 3 hours in Dillards (Carrie :)) and had a great time, especially in Talbots! I found out later on that Mrs. Ward and Jeanna had both been in Dillards and ran into each other. Two very influential women in my life :)

Last Friday after Open House, I was really down. I was feeling a lot of pressure from a lot of things going on in my life. I didn't know how I'd ever be ready to teach my kids on Monday.
I was home, lying in bed with the lights off around 5pm, when my phone rang. It was Karen Kugelmann (my former principal at Garrison)! She was calling to chat and invite me to brunch. But she also gave me lots of really useful advice that I hold near to my heart. She said so many kind words about me and my teaching. She is very wise and I am thankful for her. Sometimes people at GP used to wonder why I was such good friends with my administrators. I don't know how I became so close to them. I never would've guessed that that would've happend..but it did. God brought us all together for a reason. We were asked to do a personal ministry project this summer at our church as our connect community challenge. Mine was very personal but it had to do with two very special women in my life. My former adminstrators. Let me just say, God used me and in turn, He has blesssed me with some very special friendships. Anyway, my spirits were uplifted and I ended the night by taking a bath and reading The Friday Night Knitting Club, which I've since finished. AMAZING!!! That was the first book in our book club and wow what a surprise for Carrie and Bridgett! I knew how it was going to end the entire time :)

Alright, I'm going to watch the rest of the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics!! If you know me well, you know how much I look forward to the summer games. They feature some of my very favorite sports!!! And I'm a diehard team USA fan!!!!

My next post will about my first week of school! Stay tuned...and thank you Jesus!!!!

"Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion!"

July has been speeding by quickly! Of course grad school is in full swing, with only a few weeks left, I'm feeling relieved. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I was crying "I just want to have a normal life." So, I'm glad that work overload chaos is coming to a close. Matt and I went to Atlanta for Luke's (our nephew) first birthday! That was fun! Then we went to Destin for a few days with Matt's family! We had a blast and came back nice and tan :) My mom came to visit for a couple days this past week and that was awesome. We had the best time shopping for our classrooms and trying new fun restaurants! Whenever we go shopping together we always end up with two of everything :) We have similar tastes!

Exciting news...I got my back to school letter today from HnH!!! My hands were shaking as I opened it. I couldn't believe that my name was still on the list of teachers (after last years shocking news, I was kind of timid and cynical about everything) and I found out who my support teacher is going to be. I don't know her, but I hope everything will work out great between us. And my mentor teacher is going to be..Robin Shaver!! Haha! We couldn't believe it. What a blessing! We're both very good friends already and Matt and I have been spending several nights a week over at her house, so she and I can prepare for this year. Matt usually just hangs out and waits on Bill to get home from football practice, since he is now the head coach of our Yellow Jackets! :)

2 more weeks left until school starts back! Wow..talk about anxiety! I will be working on grad assignments all day Saturday due to the hard core setting up in my classroom that I will be doing on Monday! I got a new rug, lamp, buckets and baskets (my favorite), border, and bulletin board sets!!! I am going to order a few things online, buy my fabric, and then submit my purchase order to the warehouse and I'm ready for year 2...sort of!

Anyway, Matt and I watched "Steel Magnolias" tonight. It's my favorite movie ever, and I've seen it a thousand times but watching it got me in the holiday spirit! I love how each main event in the movie is marked by a holiday. Like, Shelby gets married around Easter, finds out she's pregnant at Christmas, has Jack around the 4th of July, then gets so sick around Halloween, and the movie ends during Easter! I love it! I also love holiday's and seasons and seeing this made me a little bit more excited about starting work again and celebrating lots of little and big events with my kindergarteners! It should be a really good year. I've got to remember a quote from my favorite movie, "That does not kill us makes us stronger!" So true! I am about to embark on season of changes, and it looks like those changes are starting now.

It's getting HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

Our ac has been broken for 2 days now! Right in the middle of the dead of summer...talk about south Georgia heat! Poor Matt...his first day of vacation didn't start off so well! Anyway, we have all the windows open and a few fans blowing, so there's actually a breeze. It's just a little bit sticky. I love hearing the bugs and frogs outside (as long as they don't come anywhere near me)! I am prepared for class in the morning. Yay! I will have a full Tuesday afternoon and Wed. of work, but that is ok. As long as I get all of our stuff packed and everything on my to-do list checked off, I'll be happy! We leave for Atlanta on Friday..and Destin that same day (are we crazy?) haha! It will be good to see Matt's family..that's for sure!

I miss seeing Becky. We've all been so busy. She called this afternoon and begged for us to come over to get out of our hot house! But, I couldn't leave my fellow computer and web ct! If you are in the Reading Ed. Master's Program at VSU...you understand completely!

Matt and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary and 6 years of dating last week! I had a tiring day but he surprised me with a wonderful evening and we went to dinner at The Bone Fish Grill in Tallahassee! It was fun! I wanted to go to the bookstore afterwards (imagine that!) but I was too tired..even for a good new book!

Tutoring is going well. We are surviving. Hopefully I'll be correcting my students' reading difficulties before you know it! :) I'll have to explain in greater detail later about my sweet "girl!" Carrie Beth, Bridgett, and Betsy know too well what I am talking about! Oh, the Lord is up to something! I just know it!

I love the nest earrings!!!

Well, well, well...what a fun weekend! I survived my painful third degree burns and am starting to feel better! Thank you soothe-a-cain and aloe!!! Carrie Beth came to visit and we've had fun trying new restaurants and pushing each other to complete all of this dreaded grad work. I have never, ever, in my wildest nightmares, heard of a class that has so much work! It's crazy..thank goodness it is only a month long class.

To add to my exciting weekend, I threw up 3 times last night. It wasn't anything I ate though, it was because of my awful cough. Yes, I still have it. Matt and Blakely came into the bathroom and watched "the spectacle", so I calmly stated, "I need some privacy, please!" Hahaha! I was just hoping our house guest (Carrie Beth) didn't hear me!

We went shopping downtown today. I got a few dishcloths from Fireballs and Matt a cool sticker from FireFly, and a belt from DDP. I could've bought everything in Loli's and Limelight, but I held back!! They have so many cute things out though! Carrie got a cute charm from FireFly and some magnets from Fireballs! We ate lunch at the Red Door Deli...RIP OFF!! The food was good, just overpriced. We ran up to Hand-In-Hand to get a few things for class tomorrow, I was gald Carrie got the see my classroom. She also got to meet the sweetest pastor in the world on Sunday :) Now we're back at my house, preparing for our first day of tutoring tomorrow! Ahh..I'm so nervous. I am excited about meeting my students! And am really excited about the getting to know you activity that Carrie, Bridgett, Betsy, and I are going to do in the morning with our students. We're going to have fun in our room. I just hope and pray that I can finish all my reading, modules, and assignments so I don't have to do it tomorrow because it's a special day! Our 2 year anniversary :)

Cry me a river :)

Let me start off by saying that I am one burnt beach babe :) Matt and I are feeling kind of toasty. We went to St. George Island yesterday...one of our favorite summer day trip excursions. We leave early in the morning, pack a lunch, Blakely, and the biggest beach umbrella that we have and hit the sand. It's close enough that we can just go for the day, but yesterday the sun's rays were harsh. I can't even tell you how many times we reapplied sunscreen. Anyway, I love our beach spot because it is so secluded with just a few friendly families hanging around. We always have the most relaxing days and Blakely loves the water. I finished rereading Karen Kingsbury's books Even Now and Ever After. Amazing once again. I also finished reading two chapters for my Tuesday class and two articles on diversity for my online class, so the day wasn't a total waste.

Now, let me explain the title of my blog, I am a crying fool lately. I mean, I'm a cryer, I admit it. But lately, even Matt is wondering what is going on...haha!! Alright, picture this...I'm laying out listening to the waves (the sand between my toes...PARADISE) and reading one of my favorite books when I begin sobbing uncontrollably while still reading ;), tears were streaming down from under my sunglasses. Poor Matt was taking a nap and he woke up startled because he thought something bad happened. No, just totally attached to characters in a book. Now, I do usually cry when I read KK's books. But for some reason I think I cried there on the beach for about 30 minutes straight. I couldn't stop, page after page, until I had a headache and my eyes were swollen. Anyway, great book...read it!! Especially if you want a good cry ;)

Second thing...Vacation Bible School-Outrigger Island. I don't know why but I love VBS. For some reason I really think that it is a passion for me and I am called to go all out with decorations, preparation, and teaching. Everytime I saw the preview video at church I would get chills and tears in my eyes. Something about the music and the dark sanctuary and the sweet kids learning about Jesus. So, lets talk about VBS 2008.

Susan Bennet is the coordinator for Grades 1-3 and she contacted me back in January to teach the same grade I taught last year and help with some other events. Of course I said yes, not realizing that the week of VBS would be the week of a mandatory training in Leesburg and the start of summer grad classes. But it worked out because my good friend, LeAnn Jackson, stepped in to be my helper and volunteered to teach on the days I had to miss. We spent all day at the church two days in a row and eventually ended up with a tropical paradise for a room (in case you're wondering, FBC decorates for VBS like you've never imagined..it's quite crazy actually). We spent time preparing for each bible study and praying for our children. Our week was awesome. It turned out that a lot of parent's of my previous students from K saw my name as a teacher, and signed them up for our class. SO, we had the best class ever (seriously, the cutest babies) and it was such a blessing because I got to reunite with some of my favorite babies that I taught in K..now they're going into 2nd grade. LeAnn and I had three really sweet youth workers, had a blast teaching together, and eating in the Bride's room during our break with awesome women from our church. Tresea Spencer (our pastor's wife) made the coolest tropical treats and made everyone a recipe book with them in it.

I loved teaching my kids about how God is real, the ABC's of becoming a Christian, and how to live a life full of passion. I loved sitting in a circle and praying with them, and listening to them pray(one of the highlights of the week)! My heart was filled with joy hearing their precious voices praise God and pray to Him. Chills!!! Almost ever child wanted for me to pray the sinner's prayer. They wanted Jesus to live in their heart. And you should've seen them on their knees in front of our waterfall praying! Then they were so cute when they would tell their parents that they wanted to talk about somethings when they got home and decide if it was time to get baptized. Well, the tear-jerker time for me was during the worship rally at the end of each day. All 1,000 kids and hundreds of teachers piled into our dimly lit sanctuary. It was literally a sea of lime green. Everyone was pumped and excited! Surfboards, pineapples, and lei's covered the stage. Let me share with you the words to our theme song "Outrigger Island" and explain how it touches me.

On Outrigger Island, we live God's unshakeable truth.
Cause we've figured out life is so much better when we do!
In this world full of shifting sands, we'll stand firm on our God's commands and live his unshakeable truth on Outrigger Island.

Are you ready to find a place to get away? Blue skies! Paradise! Are waiting for you today!
So lets set sail and see what God has in store. As he reveals his truth for us to explore.

Know the truth!
Speak the truth!
Live God's unshakeable truth!

I would cry..hard..every day during worship rally, because hearing those truths in the song, along with watching so many adults and kids worshipping God was a sight to see. A beautiful sight to see. I loved watching Abby and Anna do the motions to the song, they are so innocent. Now, all the kids at FBC are not as innocent and trusting. We have our Twin Oaks ministry where so many of the kids are hardened and that breaks my heart.

The words in the song just touch my heart. I know how much better life can be with God and my prayer everyday is to be unshakeable. And the part where the song asks, "Are you ready to find a place to get away???" is something I was really longing for at the time. I needed to be refreshed and I needed a break. The song says, "Blue skies, paradise are waiting for you today, so let's set sail and see what God has in store." I mean...I am going through several huge changes right now, and just sailing in paradise waiting for God to reveal his truths and plans for me..is like a dream come true. LeAnn and I talked about how much we got out of VBS this year. We learned so much and were constantly praying together and looking up scripture to add to our lessons. I think we both grew a lot last week. It was great. We both have a lot of issues that we are having to hand over to God and live completely by faith. You know, I went to lifeway's website the other day and clicked on something about Outrigger Island and the theme music started up. What did I do? I cried..badly!! Haha! Gotta love those emotions!

Lastly, one of my favorite memories about preparing for VBS was when LeAnn and I spent the day shopping around town for plantas and decorations. We were on our way to Izzo's for lunch when we pulled out a Travis Cottrell cd that LeAnn got from a Beth Moore conference. We put it on our favorite song..#5, Sweeter. We decided that our theme for the week would be, "How sweet are Your words to my taste, O Lord!" -Psalm 119:103 We made a 3-D pineapple for our door and wrote this verse on it. I already was obsessed with pineapples..if you walk into my house you will see that. BUT, now everytime I see a pineapple or some type of sweet fruit I think about that verse. Alright, Carrie Beth just pulled up. So, it's time to entertain and show some southern hospitatlity (pineapples stand for that)!!!

Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth. -Psalm 86:11

Reality

Well it's definitely a Monday! And I am struggling...big time. Reality is starting to sink in about my summer vacation. First of all, I am sick (I feel horrible luckily my sweet husband ran to CVS to get me some medicine) and I have so much work to complete this week that my head is spinning. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind...VBS, workshops, lots of fun at the pool with my girls, and lots of quality time with my hubby. Now, here I am.

I am about halfway through my graudate program in reading education. Lets just say I have a love/hate relationship with it. :) I am learning a lot, I have really great professors (one that has a become a good friend who we frequently lunch with), I use everything in my classroom and that benefits my students greatly, and best of all I have gotten to know some amazing women. It's just that it is a really hard, time-consuming program. I have to sacrifice a lot in order to get ahead and see an increase in my pay each month. I think I am just exhausted..mentally. It always takes me awhile to get back into the swing of things each semester. I have to get used to driving to Valdosta several times a week after working all day and not seeing Matt at all. I have to get used to using every spare moment that I have, working on posts and assignments. I have to bring my books to restaurants, friends houses, and even church. Sometimes I feel like all I do is work. I often ask Matt, "Is it worth it?" Well, the Lord answered me today. Today has been painful, lonely, and draining.

BUT God's word reminds me that...Affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. Romans 5:3-4.

I am reminded of my girls. In my classes all of the girls have families, have husbands, drive from surrounding counties, balance crazy teaching schedules, 20 students, massive amounts of homework, church activities, and illness too. We all support each other, we pray for each other. Funny thing, so many of the women in our classes are really strong Christians. It is really a blessing for me to get to learn with and get ideas from such incredible teachers. God helped me choose my program for a reason. I was really leaning toward ECE, but didn't go that way. I am excited to see my friends each week. The Lord knew what He was doing when he had Carrie randomly call me and say that she was going back to school for reading, and that Betsy (a fellow church member and new mother) is in all my classes. It's funny that Michelle Parkerson ended up being in my classes after I asked her about grad school advice. Lana, Ansley...the list goes on and on. I began realizing how special our program was last Thursday after our first day of class. We all sacrificed our time to go see Aladdin at VSU's theatre together. Not many adults will do that. It was great and we loved it. Time's spent like that really strengthen a group. I think of going to lunch with Dr. Dixey, Carrie, and Bridgett after class. And our plans for time with Lana, Ansley, and Dottie tomorrow. These are some of my best friends that God brought into my life. I wouldn't get these opportunities without His guidance and gifts.

God is really so faithful to my needs and desires. The desire to have all sorts of friendships with women of different ages and backgrounds. The Lord helps me get through each semester, no matter how difficult or impossible I feel like it is. He never lets me down. He only amazes me about his great and mighty plans for my life and career. I am proud of having a 4.0 in my challenging program, but I give God all the glory. The harships and sacrifices that I am making are helping me to produce endurance and character, and because of God's infinite wisdom I have hope. When I cast my fears and anxiety to the Lord, He will help my plans succeed and I am so thankful.

Now..I feel much better. The Lord's words are truly sweet to my soul. I have the strength to focus on Assessment and Instruction of Reading and Writing Difficulties :) Chapter 2 here I come!

One more thing that I fogot to add is that this summer we will be tutoring a child and assessing and correcting their reading difficulties. We picked our stations/rooms on Thursday. Carrie Beth, Bridgett, Betsy, and I chose a room together. There are four stations, lots of shelves, and white boards in our room. I am thrilled that the four of us will be working together with our students. We should have the best room. I can't wait to start decorating and brighten it up. Michelle is in a room by herself, but it is close to us. Hopefully, our observations won't be quite as stressful since we are working in such close quarters. :) I have already started praying for my student. Hopefully I can be a friend to he or she, and we can fix those reading difficulties :)

Ok, ok...I'm going to study for my quiz.

Furniture Shopping Fun!

I know that I've been out for summer vacation for about two weeks...but seriously, I have been busier than ever and haven't had a minute to myself or a second to rest. Things finally changed this morning. I slept in and finished some housework while Matt was at work.

I was sitting down to complete a few grad school assignments when the phone rang. Becky called wanting me to come up to the furniture store to help her decide on some living room furniture. I LOVE fine furniture stores :) so I couldn't resist. She told me not to dress up, but to come quickly because Jonathan and the girls were coming too. We ending up staying at Reeve's for about 2 hours deciding between two sofas. Becky knows what she likes and that is comfortable, plain, and classic. I like to take risks, I love texture, bold colors, but I also like classic things. Taking both of our tastes and the colors of her house into consideration..we decided on a recliner (which is Jonathan's Father's Day gift), a striped chair and ottoman, a textured couch (which I love) and a coffee table! After Matt got off work he ran into Jonathan at Publix (you can tell we live in a small town) and Jonathan warned Matt that Becky and I were in a furniture store together..haha! Double Trouble! Actually, Matt came up to the store and helped us move all the furniture to the Jense's. Luckily, we beat the bad thunderstorms coming our way. The only problem was that their old furniture was still in their living room. So we spent our afternoon napping at their house. I think all 6 of us had a separate place to sit. The furniture looks GREAT with the carpet, paint, and bookshelves already in their living room. I think Jonathan was a little shocked about all the new treasures ;) so he stayed out in the backyard and smoked meat. Becky says that he hates change.

Matt and I ended up coming home for a few hours to work on our house plans and to shower before we had to be back over to the Jense's house for dinner. We had to brave the horrible storm, but the dreary weather made for a perfect night of cards and deep conversations. We were all so tired from our week, that we needed a low key night of relaxation and company. Jonathan is probably the best cook ever. He never lets us down..he prepares the best tasting meals from the salad to desert. After eating we played Uno Attack...haha..it lasted forever and had to be the longest game of Uno ever. Abigail won, while Becky, Matt, and I duked it out. I have never laughed so hard. The three of us are just too competitive (and I don't even like cards)! After we put the girls to bed, we stayed up and chatted about life. Late nights are my favorite times spent with Becky. The guys watch tv and talk in the living room, and Becky and I usually end up in Abby's room having heart to hearts (Anna and Abby sleep together in Anna Beth's bed). Tonight we talked a lot about long distance friendships and how hard it is to stay close to people that live far away, even though they may be your best friends. We also talked about our Sunday School classes, the Halloween party that we're going to have, jean capri's, Sex and the City, furniture...of course, being scared at night, and raising kids. I am so GRATEFUL that the Lord brought our families together. Nothing beats a Saturday full of furniture shopping and friends. :)

Let's start at the beginning

I can't believe this is my first blog post. My friend Carrie Beth and I decided that we should start blogging and keeping track of things going on in our lives. I used to keep a prayer journal, but I would write so much that my hand would ache, so maybe this is a better solution. We'll see! I don't lead an exciting life, but I do have one of the busiest schedules that I know of.

I've been married for two years to my hubby Matt. He really has a big heart, he works two jobs (a mangement job and a medical device sales job) but is always willing to sacrifice his time to spend with me, to help with my job, and to serve others. We have a one year old golden retriever named Blakely. She is really like our child. She is pampered, but has the sweetest mannerisms and best personality. She is great with kids and acts like a human most of the time. We live in a little bitty white house with black shutters in the middle of town and we are members of the best church in Georgia. God has blessed us beyond belief with our church family. Both of our families live out of town so we visit Dublin and Atlanta as much as we can. We love our families and wish that we lived closer, but we know that God brought us here for a reason, and everyday He reveals little hints about why we're supposed to be here. We have several friends here that have become our "family" and we are grateful.

When Matt is not busy with his two jobs, he can be found singing in the church choir, golfing, at the park with Blakely, or reading business/home books. He can also be found trying to help me balance many of my endeavors because I tend to overcommit. Right now, I'm in the middle of moving classrooms, taking a crazy amount of graduate classes in Valdosta, and serving as the coordinator for Girl's in Action and a VBS coordinator and teacher. I have also fallen in love with two sweet girls and usually have them following along wherever I go.

Alright, last but not least...my job. I LOVE my job!!! My heart is swelling as I am writing about it. I teach in the best school system around..really! I never thought I would get hired to teach for Thomas County Schools. Not only do I love what I do, but I love the people that I work with. I enjoy going to work because I get to love on and teach sweet little babies when they are at a very influential age (they soak up knowledge like sponges), but I also get to work alongside 60 of my best friends for 8 hours a day. I taught 2nd grade last year at Garrison-Pilcher, but I'm moving down to kindergarten at Hand-in-Hand for year 2. This is a big change for me and it's going to be heart-breaking leaving my school family (these past few months have been like a rollercoaster in our house because of it) and starting over in a lower grade. Change is good and it will help me grow. I mean I'm already a much better teacher because of the changes and trials that occurred in my life about this time last year. I'll elaborate and continue writing about the joy that I have found in my career later. Gotta run!