Time to Start Living!

Oh, its time to start livin'
Time to take a little from this world we're given
Time to take time, for spring will turn to fall
In just no time at all.

I love that song! It is what our Music and Drama Troupe ends their Spring Show with every year. The seniors come to the front and it just makes my heart swell with pride for those talented young men and women. There are always lots of tears shed by the graduating seniors and proud parents.

Tonight's Spring Show was the best yet I think!! There was the perfect mix of popular hits and classic brodway musical songs. They had some Troupe alumni come back and perform too. They were great! Steven Clawson sang this song. He graduated in 2000 and was a good friend of my good friend, Amy. If that even makes sense. So, I already knew this song and was thrilled that he sang it.


Look at how close we were to the stage. We were on the 5th row. We were just about the first ones in the auditorium.



We ate at Jonah's before and literally parked right outside of the Municipal Auditorium. We sat in the window seat...so we took a few pics with Matt's cell phone. It is hard to get that seat. :)



It started lightning really bad and the thunder was scary, so we stayed in the car until 7:30 when the doors opened. So, of course we took pictures while we waited.




Finally the storm stopped...just in time to go in!!




I hope that one day our kids are involved with Troupe. My mom went with me and Robin the first year I lived here, and she loves it too! It is such a unique scholarship program. It is way better than Glee! :)

A little surprise...

for my hard-working hubby who LOVES to sleep in. I woke up pretty early this morning and was in our office checking my e-mail and reading blogs, when the thought struck me to make Matty breakfast in bed. I waited until about 10:00 to surprise him (aka wake him up)! :) I wanted to add some fresh fruit to his plate, but we finished the strawberries last night and bananas the night before. Looks like I'll be making a Publix run later today.


I thought about using a tray to bring his plate in on. But my favorite one is one that I use on our bedroom dresser to collect all of my jewelry, pins, sunglasses, etc. So, I settled on just bringing him the plate. :)


Have y'all tried Nature's Own new bagel thins? They are really good. (Just a little plug for Flowers foods)

Great start to our Saturday!! I am thakful that I have the chance to serve my husband!

Made it!

I'm thanking Jesus for getting me through this week!!

Happy Friday! We wrapped and sent home our Mother's Day gifts and had graduation practice....I went to the dentist (which was like visiting a spa for me...I love my dentist and her office, and staff), then I came home and slept from 4:30 to 8:30. I guess I was relaxed. :)

We made recipe card holders this year for Mother's Day! They turned out cute!



Matt came to my school today for a few minutes and got to truly meet my kiddos for the first time. He fell in love. He kept on talking about how cute, smart, respectful, and loving they were. They sang their graduation songs for him. He always likes my classes, but this year, he was just amazed. Honestly, I am too! My kids mesh so well together. They don't argue, they are laid-back, and they love to learn. It is funny, because I have a very diverse class with 6 special needs students. I know God placed these kids in my class this year...all 16 boys...for a reason. 5 very spoiled little girls too! :) I am so thankful for my "little blessings." I love all of them so much. 10 days from now I'll be sending them to a new school for 1st grade. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. I wish everyone reading this could meet my class this year. You would be blessed by them and they would bring you so much joy!!

Now we're going to stay up late and watch Have you heard about the Morgans? if I can keep my eyes open. :) We saw this movie when we were in Missouri, snowed in, and I think it will bring back good memories of our fun trip. I love getting to stay up late on Friday night and then sleep in on Sat. morning. It is rare, but I love when we get the chance to!! Yay!!


Psalm 69:30
I will praise God's name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

It has been A DAY!

I am thinking about going to bed in a few minutes and it isn't even 8:30. I am deliriously tired. NEED SLEEP....

Back to back conferences for the last two days have worn me out. I've gotten 11 finished and had 4 no shows so far. Today was crazy, my first conf. went over, b/c the special ed. resource teacher needed to be in there with me and we were both talking. So my second conf. had to leave and get her son, so that put her late getting back, then we had to rush, b/c she needed to pick up her daughter. The late trend carried on after that...which is always stressful. I felt rushed and felt like I didn't get to talk to some of my parents as long as I wanted. I LOVE my parents that came today and wanted to talk to them. I LOVE them...really! I had a conference with someone who didn't speak english, and then had a screaming baby in my last one...which caused us to wrap up early, although it was still 30 minutes later than I had planned...b/c I was so behind! Ahhhhhhh!! Then I had to go to Dollar Tree to get a few things and there was no air and it was chaotic in there. I was very ready to get home.

However, I am counting my blessings because Matt was fixing supper and had it ready right after I walked in. He also had a little surprise for me...a changing table. Seriously. He said it was a good deal (originally $300 and marked down to $20 because the store was closing), and he could see us painting it and using it one day. Do you think he's trying to tell me something? :) He set it up in our "empty room" tonight. And let me tell you, he went to a lot of trouble to fit that into his company car. I'll admit, it was a little strange watching him put it back together and set it up. I was sooo tired, I just sat and watched him. I love my sweet hubby! I'm one lucky girl!


God, the one and only— I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him,
so why not? He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, I'm set for life. Strength comes straight from God. -Psalm 62:5-6,11b

Sunday, Monday!

Last night we had a Night of Praise at our church. It was awesome and we really enjoyed worshipping to all different types of music and in different ways. There was one point, when everyone in our church was on their knees! Loved it! I told Matt that I would've like to have spent the entire hour or so of worship on my knees.
Have y'all seen a sign like this before?

I've always liked that saying, and that is how I've felt lately in some areas of my life.

Here we are after A Night of Praise. We were out and about in our fun little town.



We didn't do much else yesterday. We got in a good, long nap. We also went to Cherokee Lake...where Blakely proceeded to jump in the lake after the ducks that Matt was pointing at for her to get. I was in shock. I know she probably thought it was just like St. George, where she gets right in, but it will definitely teach us to keep her on a leash out there. :) At least she got a bath out of it! She is so fluffy and soft right now :) Look at that cute pup!


I also organized our pictures into photoboxes...childhood, college, and pictures since we've been married. I plan on maybe starting SIMPLE scrapbooks this summer. We'll see!


Today has been good. I started out the day with surprising my friend Robin with a little gift in her classroom. It is her birthday!

We started making our mother's day gifts. I started preparing for conferences, we practiced for graduation, and I placed all of my kids in 1st grade classrooms for next year. I came home promptly at 3:30 today, because I'll be staying until 7 tomorrow, and 5 the rest of the week doing conferences after school. I still have some paperwork to complete at home tonight, but something lately changed my perspective on my obsessive ways with work. Or my workaholic tendancies.

I've been reading Patsy Clairmont's Kaleidoscope, as a fun, easy read each night before I go to bed.

It focuses on Proverbs and I ususally read a chapter a night....sometimes I squeeze in two! I was reading a chapter on Heavy Lifting...Proverbs 10:29a. It talked a lot about having a calendar that was jam packed and a purse that is so full, you can't find anything. It basically relates those things to being very busy, stressed, un-focused, off-track, facing things that are hard, overworked, forgetful, and weary . (It really is funny to read.) She ended the chapter with this thought. "A woman at any age who is weighed down by her overstuffed bags has trouble walking upright...and remains exhausted." HELLO...that can be me. Especially these days! I am trying really hard to not let the stress of things tax my strength this week!

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. -Psalm 90:12

The LORD is the strength of my life. -Psalm 27:1b

Atlanta Trip!

Last weekend we went to Atlanta....I am finally getting around to posting this!! This weekend has been a catch up weekend, so I'm caught up on all houswork and laundry, and today I'm going to get caught up on blogging, and get all of my school totes organized. I have student-led conferences, graduation practice, and mother's day things to do at work this week...so everything needs to be in order!

Anyway, I posted last week about our arrival in Atlanta on Friday night, and then my
experience with seeing my favorite, love of my life, Beth Moore in Woodstock on Saturday!

Bye, bye SGA!


Isn't she cute??


After I left the conference on Saturday, I got lost in Marietta and I mean really lost! Also, my phone was dead and I don't have a car charger, and it had started pouring again. So I finally found a Wal-Mart, bought a new cell charger, let my phone charge, and called Matt in tears!!! haha! He looked on a map and found where I was, and I made it safely home. Thankfully!!

We went over to Bekah and Shane's for yummy mexican. Matt's sister, Rachel, was also there from DC. So it was fun!! I got to hold my niece, Harper, for a little bit before she went to bed. And I also played with my nephew, Luke, for a long time. We played "alphabet"! ;) We stayed until 10pm before going back over to Matt's dads house. I wish I would've had more time over at Bekah's, the night flew by too quickly.

We were on our way to visit with family!


On Sunday, we got up and headed over to Flowery Branch, GA to see my newly married, BFF, Rebecca, aka BEX and her husband Tommy. It was sooooo good to see them! We went over to Lake Lanier Islands (and Matt is in love) and saw where they got married in Dec. (if you remember we had to miss it, b/c we were snowed-in up in Missouri). Then we ate at a restaurant called, Bullfrogs. It was really good!


Then we went and looked in a Stepford/Desperate Housewives-esque neighborhood. We even walked into a few newly built homes. Bex, I saw this yesterday in Hob Lob and thought of you. In fact, the entire aisle was screaming your name! :)


We got to see their town, and I got to ask a zillion questions! :)


Then we went back and did a second tour of their house and just talked for awhile! It was great to catch up!


Matt and I had the best weekend, and it made us wish that we lived closer to his family and lots of our college friends.

Here is our family getting ready to head back down south.


I love this picture too!


On our long drive home, late at night.


You can see what kept Matt awake! :)


And that concludes our trip!

Roundin' Up A Cure!

That's right...we were roundin' up a cure for cancer, and also giving it the boot at my school yesterday! I had the pleasure of being in charge of our mini-relay for life. The western theme was right up my alley! I scheduled each wing of our school to walk at some point during the morning. It started to sprinkle when my class was walking, and the wind was blowing hard...but thankfully the rain held off until lunch time....about 30 minutes after I took down all the signs, and the hay and saddle were picked up! Whew! The kids (and teachers) looked so cute in their plaid, boots, bandanas, and cowboy hats! I loved walking to the loud country tunes that I had playing!! Let me tell you...it is very, very hard to find upbeat, popular country songs that don't mention alcohol, cheating, or a cuss word! Even though Matt and I both listened to each song several times, I was still sweating as it played...praying I didn't miss a lyric! I will say that our kids donated a ton of money!!! We didn't have the official amount...b/c they were bring the pennies to the bank to be counted, but I was amazed at what we raised!!!














The last two pictures are my favorite because it shows the sweet kids donating their money. And it shows how much the kids enjoyed getting sit in the saddle! :)

After my busy day of setting up, walking, cleaning everything up, and teaching...I came home and just sat and listened to the rain for a long time. Matt had to work late and the rain just kept pouring down! We made enchilada's for supper (and got chips and salsa from Old Mexico) and watched The Lovely Bones....what a weird and sad movie. I read the book so long ago, that I couldn't even really compare the two.

About to start the movie while listening to the rain!


Matty's full plate! :)


Perfect Friday night spent with my handsome husband!


"Our God is greater, Our God is stronger, God You are higher than any other! Our God is healer, awesome in power, our God."-Chris Tomlin