"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!