I got to design a Christmas t-shirt for all the teachers at my school!! Our administrators handed them out today as early Christmas gifts. Everybody is supposed to wear theirs tomorrow night for Student led Conferences! Then we will wear them again at Winter Family Fun Day and then again for JSL's Red Nose Run!
My ideas.
The final product that Paw Prints came up with!
I was thrilled to get this in the mail today. Exciting!!! I still have to find my ugly sweater though!
I felt like I had gotten myself in over my head today with so many events to plan coming up and not having a single night to just figure things out. I wanted to skip Backpack Buddies and Bible Study so bad. But then, I just made up my mind to stick it out. I'm so glad that I did! We are talking so openly about issues and just being completely honest and I love that. I feel like I got so much out of tonight! Now if we could just come up with a single night in December where we can get together for some festive fun, as we complete this study!
Lastly, my love for The Shaw Center runs deep. I have never loved going to the Dr. until I became a "Shaw Patient." Check out their website and look at all the amazing services that they provide to women in our county. "Shaw Living Primary Care" is brand new and I'm so excited!!! If I wasn't a teacher I would want to work there.
These versse are especially meaningful after a discussion and story that Beth shared in Bible Study tonight.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
We had a great Thanksgiving spent down on the island with all of our family!
We shopped until we dropped on Friday (not Black Friday shopping, just regular old shopping at a normal time...but we did score some great deals)! Fun girl time!
We enjoyed the island breeze for a while on Saturday!
We finished decorating for the most part on Saturday night!!!! I LOVE seeing all the sparkle and my beloved GEOMESH mixed in with my Plantation decor!! Here is a very small sneak peek!
We spent a restful Sunday enjoying our church family! Spending all day Sunday at our amazing church just refreshes my soul. I am not letting myself think about the fact that next week is Brother Dan's last Sunday though.
Tonight was the Christmas Parade downtown! Yay for JSL and the Red Nose Run!
I am thankful for each day I'm given! Happy Monday y'all!
Last night, Matt and I were both feeling under the weather. I felt completely nauseated, achy, and freezing cold. Matt's stomach was swirling (that's how he put it..ha!), but we felt like we just HAD to go to church. We always, ALWAYS sit in the center of our church, right in front of our preacher around the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th row...just depending. However last night we opted to sit in the back corner of our sanctuary in case one of us needed to make a fast exit. We even had an emergency code in case one of us got sick...haha!
We sang this song last night. Our youth praise team led us in it. I LOVED it, and it will forever remind me of last night. As we were singing I noticed my pastor looking around watching his church worship.
Brother Dan, then preached an amazing sermon on thankfulness, which I loved. He then went around our sanctuary and asked people to name things that they were thankful for. Other than family, his name came up most. Our Godly, sweet, loving, amazing, funny, handsome :), pastor! (I have another post coming about his sermon and about what I am thankful for.)
At the end of the service, our beloved Dan Spencer, read his resignation letter. He is leaving to follow the Lord and His calling! He will be the new pastor of a church in TN. We sort of thought he'd be here forever. He thought that he would end his career in ministry in Thomasville, the town that he and his family love. But God has other plans for him. We are so proud of him for "being open" and for practicing what he preaches! :) We are already planning on visiting his church whenever we are up in TN...and that makes me happy to think about!
It did feel like we were in an episode of Friday Night Lights though. I could even hear the electric guitars playing in the background. Actually, you could have heard a pin drop. Then you heard lots of sniffling, then some sobbing. We were stunned, and soooo very sad.
I gave him a hug after the service and he said that he loved me....like he always does. I told him that I couldn't really think about it yet. And I held it together until we walked out of church. Then I cried, cried, cried. I cried because I started to let it sink in. He sought us out before we were even married...when we were just visiting FBC. He called me Hollywood. Then years later, remembered me when we started attending regularly. We went to him when we joined the church. He came over to our house and hung out. He then baptized me a few weeks later. He prayed for me to get the job that I wanted so badly. He calls me Coley (just like my parents, oddly enough). And Matt loves and respects him just as much. I cried because I always hoped that he would be around when I got pregnant so we could thank God for a miracle. And that he would baptize my babies one day! I always wished that I would have really "known" him before Matt and I got married, so that he could have married us. I cried because we both have a love for random Christian music...all types. And I specifically remember waiting on him to finish reading And the Shofar Blew, so that I could check it out from the church library. I thought it was so funny that we both wanted to read the same book. Y'all know I am always overly emotional, so of course every little memory made me teary. :)
Can you tell how much I love our pastor?? :) He is just super easy to talk to, and he is not judgmental at all, but most importantly he pushes you to know the Word, and to press on in your relationship with God. I felt like his was my friend, and always there to listen if I never need him. He is a brilliant teacher. And the thing I love most about him, is that he always leads by example.
I am so thankful that we had such a wonderful leader to guide us and pastor us for our entire marriage thus far. I am thankful that the Lord brought us to FBC and Dan Spencer. I am so blessed because of his leadership. :) And Sevierville, Tn doesn't know how lucky they are!! The congregation at his new church are about to be so blessed!!!
There aren't many things that we love more than Plantations and Pines in the Whelan household. :) We spent our weekend laying pinestraw (finally), collecting fresh pine needles to decorate with (they smell soooo good), and I volunteered at the Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival (people watched, wrote up artists sales, wanted every single thing there, and scored a free koozie). Even Blakely likes sitting in pinestraw and eating pinecones.
Two other fun events were held this weekend in big ol' Tville! What a wonderful weekend!
Oh and in other news, my sweet VSU student got me a Lilly case for my phone. Everyone can now relax. My phone has a case!! :) We have matching planners, totes, and now phone cases (sort of). I love it!!
after working all day and then going to class, I changed into my most comfy clothes and Uggs. :) And ventured out to meet a group of friends for a night of fun.
I didn't get any pictures, but yes we were a few of the crazy people that went to the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn. It was really good! I think we were all just a little bit tired at work today, but it was worth it!
I am a wife, teacher, grad student, and wanna-be mama :) The Lord is my strength in everything and He guides me every step of the way through this crazy, busy time in my life.
