The Weekend

I cannot believe the weekend is already over. Thankfully I only and 1.5 days of school left.

Friday after work, Andrew and I headed to Osceola with Cary, Sara, and Jackson. As soon as we got there the guys went to work at the church. Us girls stayed home and just visited with one another.

The guys were up early and back to work Saturday morning. We hung around the house until lunch when the guys came home. They were there long enough to work. Then Momma Weaver and I went to do a little shopping. I got a pair of jeans at a resale shop. I'm very excited about them. I've been needing jeans. Now I just have to have these hemmed and they will be all ready to go. Plan to do that this week.

I had a nice little nap while everyone went to the church.

Once everything was finished and we were ready to pack up, Andrew realized he had no clue where his keys were. We looked everywhere and never found them. We decided he locked them in my car back at Cary and Sara's house because he had gotten out to get my phone. But they were not there when we got home. We still have no clue where they are. Thankfully we had a spare set of everything.

This morning I had nursery duty at church. I got to hang out with Jackson, Davis, and Kandace. I missed hearing the last message of our study on the book of Colossians. I will have to watch the video this week. It has been a great series.

It was a quick weekend, but it was a good one. I enjoyed getting to hang out with the in-laws. Don't get to see them enough.

Penny for your thoughts

Today was the last "official" day of school. Tomorrow and Monday are Semester Test days and Tuesday is for anyone to make up a semester test. School is pretty much over. I am so ready for my summer break. In my whole three years of teaching, I've never been this ready.

However, I had tears in my eyes as I said goodbye to two of my students today. I am going to truly miss these two young ladies. They are very special people. I have learned a lot from the test students. One of them is honestly the most caring and thoughtful person I think I've ever met. She lost her older brother in a tragic gun accident a few years ago. He would have graduated this year...very sad story. She is just so tenderhearted. You can't be around this young lady and be in a bad mood. She has been very uplifting this year.

Anyway, I hope they stop by and visit often next year. But with school coming to a close, my projects for the summer seems to be growing longer and longer. First on the list is paint. I want to paint my kitchen and living room area a golden color. I'm hoping to sweet talk Andrew into doing crown molding in there so that I don't have to paint next to the ceiling.

There are many more projects at home. And of course I always get super excited about the upcoming year and tend to overwhelm myself with new ideas and planning.

So there it is... my thoughts for the day.

Oh and while I've heard about Adrian Rogers before, I have recently began listening to him on the radio while I drive to work. I really enjoy it. He reminds me of hearing my father-in-law preach, which I miss greatly!! So if you are looking for some good preaching listen to some Adrian Rogers.

Incredibly Blessed

I am so excited to share the details of my weekend with you. This weekend wasn't really out of the ordinary other than we had an extra day off, yet it was one of the best weekends I've ever had.

Friday night, Andrew and Tyler went to Riverfest, a local series of outdoor concerts and fun. I don't do Riverfest. Way too crowded for my taste. So I send the boys and I stay home. While they were out singing along with Willie Nelson, I caught up on some much needed Z's here at home. It was really nice. :)

Saturday morning we definitely slept in. I woke up around 9, did a little shopping, grabbed some much loved Dairy Queen and then came back home. Andrew and I hung out for a little while and then he and Tyler headed back to Riverfest. I went to do a little more shopping. I had to find a gift for my secret pal. We are revealing ourselves this week. I'm super excited to find out who all my wonderful little gifts have been from.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. When I got back from shopping I took a short nap before heading to my little cousin's softball game. She did great! They won big time although I don't remember the exact score. I was glad that I was able to watch her in action.

Sunday morning we slept in as late as possible without being late for church. I really enjoyed church Sunday morning. We have been studying the book of Colossians. The more we study the more I'm loving this book of the Bible.

After church the three of us came home. That's right. I said three. We brought our niece, Kandace, home with us for the afternoon. It was an interesting adventure. She is such a good baby!! She and I hung out while Uncle Andrew tried to take a nap. I sat Kandace on the bed with him while I went to use the restroom. Kandace would start to cry and Andrew would look over at her. Kandace would just laugh at him. He rolled back over, she cried. He rolled over to look her and she giggled. It was as if she knew she was disturbing his Sunday nap. They made up later. She sat on the couch and listened to Uncle Andrew play guitar and sing. Actually she sang along with him. It was so sweet.




Once we had Kandace safely returned to her parents, it was nap time for Aunt E. I didn't get much of one with her. We were too busy playing and having fun. Andrew left to go hang out with a friend. I slept until 9:30 when Andrew called to awaken me by leaving some crazy screaming message on the answering machine. This is what he does when I don't answer my cell. He was going out to eat with those friends. So I woke up, got dressed, and off to IHOP we went. It was so yummy. I enjoyed the 2x2x2, two eggs, two pancakes, and two pieces of bacon.

Monday morning. Awww!!! It was so nice to sleep in and not go to work. We slept until 11ish when we had to get up and get ready to head to Jill's for lunch. Alex grilled some yummy pork and chicken. We hung out over there for a couple of hours and then came back home for a nap. I'm beginning to think all the naps is what made this such a great weekend. :)

Up from our nap around 6, we went o Ashley's Furniture to look around. We don't really need anything, we just like to look from time to time. We did find a dresser that we really liked. I want a buffet type piece of furniture for my living room. This dresser would work perfectly.

Groceries came next. While in Wal-Mart we ran into the Billsons. Tyler ended up coming to our house to help Drew clean out the back bedroom. Then they went to Tyler's house to put together a basketball goal.

While Drew was there, I watched the season premier of Jon and Kate + 8. When this show was over I just cried and prayed until I fell asleep. There has been a lot of hype about Jon and Kate, both good and bad. They are the talk of the tabloids right now. Whether you are a fan of them or not, the Gosselin family is in need of our prayers right now. It is very clear that Satan has a foothold on their marriage. You could clearly see the brokenness that is in their marriage right now. They both seemed very hurt. I cried for their marriage and I prayed for their marriage. I prayed for all marriages that are struggling. Then I cried tears of thankfulness for my own marriage. I prayed that Andrew and I would never exclude God from our marriage.

Unfortunately too many people don't realize that a marriage should be between three people, not two. When you start to exclude God from the marriage, you are inviting trouble into the marriage. God deserves to be the center of our marriage. If we want to have a good marriage, we will invite him in daily. Watching Jon and Kate struggle last night has just made me all the more thankful for my marriage and what it is. My heart just broke for Jon and Kate and for their kids. Take a moment to thank God for your marriage and to pray for all the marriages that are struggling. Without God, I don't know how they will survive and sadly many of them don't realize that God is what is missing.


So there it is. Like I said, not really out of the ordinary but extraordinary.

22 Years Ago...

I need to blog about the wedding I attended Saturday, the not so nice lady who came into my room and chewed me out this afternoon because she was not pleased with my decision, and how I'm officially signed up for the greatest workshop ever this summer.

But not today. Today I have something far better to blog about. Twenty-two years ago today my parents brought home this little baby boy. Twenty-two years I ago I met one of my very best friends. Twenty-two years ago today my life changed for the better. Twenty-two years ago today... I became a big sister.

I was four years old. I don't remember how I felt about becoming a big sister. I don't know if I understood what was going on. I don't know if I was excited or dreading it. I don't remember if I loved him immediately or if it took me time. I don't remember Mom and Dad going to the hospital and I don't remember them coming home. Mom - these are all questions that you should feel free to answer. :)

What I do remember is playing in the yard all day and night until Mom made us come in - keeping our glasses of black cherry kool-aid on the window unit outside Mom and Dad's window.

I remember taking a pizza box that his Ninja Turtles costume came in and playing pizza delivery all night long.

I remember all the incredibly sweet birthday presents that he picked out for me all by himself. I remember loving the baby doll that I thought I was too old for just because he picked it out.

I remember taking my birthday money and buying two or three ninja turtles for him before buying anything for myself.

I remember not being able to walk through the house without stepping on some ninja turtle toy.

I remember tricking him out of the $5 egg at Easter because I wanted the money.

I remember hitting him a little too hard with a wooden spoon and he pushing me into the dryer. I really didn't mean to hit him hard enough to leave a whelp. And yes we got in big trouble for that one.

I remember watching him pitch for the first time and looking scared to death. He did a great job by the way.

I remember him getting hit by his first pitch and looking at us and saying it didn't hurt that bad.

I remember him giving me gas money so that I could come home from college for the weekend.

I remember the day I came home and he was suddenly taller than me.

I remember him driving all the way back home for the shoes I forgot on my wedding day.

I don't know if I loved him immediately or if it took time. But I do know I love him more than he will ever know. I know that he is one of the most talented people I know. He can do anything he sets his mind too. I know that there isn't a big sister out there who is more proud than I am. I know that I love watching him grow into an awesome young man. I know that I miss him. I miss living in the same house with him, joking with him, and scheming with him.

Seth Randall, I do realize that 22 sort of means that you are a grown man now and that you are old enough to get married. But you must know that even when you are old and gray, you will still be my baby brother. I love you bunches little bro. I hope you have the best 22nd birthday EVER!!!!

ERRRRR!!!!

Yes that title means I'm clenching my teeth and growling. So back in March the rumor was that we would be adding a fourth 6th grade teacher next year. I knew I wanted a change. I was tired of 7th and 8th grade Science so I told my principal I was interested in the 6th grade position. Then we learned that we would not be adding the fourth teacher.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. One of the three 6th grade teachers took a different position in our school so there was once again a 6th grade opening. At this point, I have already received my change for next year. I will be doing all of the 7th grade science still but instead of 8th grade science I will have half of the 7th graders for history. I'm super excited about this. I love history.

Anyways, my principal offered the 6th grade position to me. I thought about it over a weekend and decided I was happy with my 7th grade position. I also learned that next year there is a huge possibility of me being able to teach 8th grade history. This is my dream job. So I told my principal I was staying in 7th and have been planning like crazy every since then.


Fast forward to today. She calls me in her office and ask why I don't want to teach 6th grade. I tell her why. She then proceeds to tell me that things aren't working out they way she wants and she needs me to teach 6th grade. She asked if I would be willing to do it for one year if she needed me to. What was I to say? I said yes.

I was telling the 6th grade teacher that is moving about it. Apparently we have a fourth grade teacher who wants the 6th grade position, she just hasn't made that clear to the principal. She is supposed to call tonight and say she wants it.

So all that to say...right now I have no clue what I'm teaching next year but I'm praying that I get to stay with 7th grade. I'm also praying that my principal will tell me her decision very very soon.

Hope that story makes sense.


Have a great weekend. Love you all.

E

S cubed!

Everything I want to write about today starts with the letter S.

How odd!

First Andrew woke up this morning saying his throat had been hurting all night. It was on fire and he had taken everything we had in the house. Then he came out of the bathroom and said there was blood when he coughed. Needless to say, he called for an appointment with our doctor today. The verdict...Strep!! Then I learn that one of my cousins we were with Saturday had it last week and one has it now. Wonder where he got it?? Just praying that I don't get it. I may sleep on the couch tonight to avoid it. Just don't want to miss Shawna's wedding or school at this point.

School- my Daddy is going back. I can't even begin to express how happy and excited I am, let alone how proud I am of him. He was laid off back in March and recently received a letter saying that his job would pay for him to go to school for two years. They pay EVERYTHING. If he needs so much as a pencil or calculator they will pay for it. I've been praying he would take advantage of this great offer. Mom just told me that he went today to a local community college to take a placement test. They are trying to get his paperwork ready by Friday so that he can start summer classes on June 3. He only found out about it a few hours before he had to be there so I think he was a little nervous. Don't know why - I know he will do great!!!

Dad, I'm so proud of you for going back. I know that can be a scary thing.

And lastly - Simple Life. I haven't done a Simple Life post since before I left for DC and that was in March. They will be back soon. I'm not sure that I will do them on such a regular schedule though. It may just be when I feel led to spend time with that book. God has been showing me several things lately and has really been working on me. I feel like he is showing me my ministry in this life and I'm loving all he has planned for me. I look forward to becoming more and more complete as a Christian. I will share more on this later. Right now I'm still reading and praying and listening.


Love you all!! God bless you.

Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day Weekend has now come and gone. Although I am not yet a mother, this is still one of my favorite weekends of the year. While I hope she knows she is loved every day of the year, this weekend is dedicated to my favorite lady...My Momma! Next to my hubby, my momma is my very best friend. I don't know what I would do without her. There isn't very many days that go by that I don't talk to her on the phone or email her.

Andrew and I got up Saturday morning and headed to Maple Springs to spend the day with my Momma. As always, I had such a good day just hanging out with Mom. Someday I will convince her and Daddy to move closer to me. :)

In the middle of celebrating Momma, we took a break to celebrate Seth. My BABY brother is turning 22 this month. His fiance hosted a surprise birthday party for him on Saturday. We actually surprised him. I absolutely love my baby brother. And yes I realize that at 22 he is not a baby anymore. But those of you are big sisters understand how I feel I'm sure. I am thankful for him. He is a very talented young man. And I just adore Ashlee. She is such a sweetheart. Little brother did good.

Sunday morning, we began our morning with church. This is how we begin every Sunday and I absolutely love it. There is no better way to start your week than with your brothers and sisters in Christ praising God and learning more about his word. This week we started a series on the book of Colossians. I'm looking forward to this. I have never really studied this book before. Yesterday, Cary said something that really hit me. Andrew and I have decided it was time to get out of debt. It is going to be a slow and somewhat painful process, but it is one that needs to be done. Cary was talking about how he doesn't want to leave a mess for others to clean up when he is gone. This really spoke to me. If something happened to Andrew or me or both of us we would be leaving a huge financial mess for our loved ones. I do not want to do this. It just made me want out of debt even more. More on that later.

Yesterday evening we went to Jill's house to celebrate Mother's Day with the Weaver Clan. I wasn't going to go at first. I wasn't feeling too well. However, Andrew drove off without Jayna and Jessica's birthday presents. Oops. Since I had to take those over I decided to stay. Having my own car helps. Andrew always wants to stay much much later than I do. :)

I'm so glad I went. I love my in-laws. They are wonderful loving people. I was glad I was able to see Momma B on Mother's Day and be there to give her the gift we purchased.

Momma B even got me a little something. First she made the sweetest card on her computer for me. It stated that someday I'll be a mommy but for now I'm a "puppy" mommy. I loved it. She also got me a cute pair of flip flops. Thanks so much for that Momma B! It was so sweet of you to think of me.

All the Happenings Lately

I feel like I have more going on right now than I could possibly tell you.

But I'm going to take advantage of my blog readers and let it all out.

Let me back all the way up to Friday. Andrew's oldest sister, Jayna, graduated with her associates degree and a gpa of 3.75. I admire her so much. She started the process as a wife and a mother of two. She took her ACT again and scored high enough for a scholarship. Then she found out she was expecting baby #3.

I really think this would have been enough to cause many people to call it quits. But not Jayna. She took type to have her precious Joylyn and then went to work on her degree.

I know that her entire family was incredibly proud of her.

Saturday I drove to Alicia, Arkansas. My younger cousin is getting married on the 16th and we had her shower this past Saturday. The day was a rough one. I woke up late and it was raining outside.

No it wasn't raining it was coming a flood!! It poured the two hours I was driving. I was scared to drive because my vision was very blurred due to the rain. In fact for the first part of the trip I didn't get over 60 on the interstate.

Once I was there the rain had let up and it was only sprinkling. I enjoyed the shower. Shawna got lots of goodies. I was able to spend quite a bit of time with my Momma, Mommom, and older cousin Gin. I miss getting to see them on a regular basis.

This month will be different because I will be up there for the next two weekends, possibly three.

While all of this was going on I was trying to make a very big decision. I was offered a change at school on Thursday. As it stood I was going to be teaching 7th grade science and world history next year. But on Thursday I was asked if I would like to move down and teach 6th grade.

I toyed with the idea. I had people pulling on both sides for different reasons.

This made it harder because I am definitely a people pleaser. I do not like to upset anyone.

I thought that I wanted to stay with 7th grade but I just kept questioning myself.

Friday at lunch my principal told me something that helped assure my decision. In a year or two there is a big possibility I will be able to have 8th grade American History. This is what I really want to teach.

So... today I told them I wanted to stay. I'm good with this decision. I have peace about it.

I'm so excited about teaching the history. I already have lots of ideas and am planning like crazy.

Now we are up to today. Other than making my decision final, I also played in a faculty vs students kickball game.

I was a little nervous at first. You can't mess up (like falling on your face) in front of middle schoolers and live it down quickly. Thankfully I didn't fall.

But we lost.

We lost bad.

Even with our "help"!!

But it was fun. I think I will definitely sign up to play again next year.


And last but not least. I just wanted to say thanks to Kathie for those great tips. Everyone needs to check out my comments on the post about tips on Fridays. Kathie added a couple of great tips, one of which includes a website.


Hope you all have a marvelous Monday!

Tip Day Friday

So Jennifer has started doing a tip every Friday. The purpose is for us women to help each other. The tips can be about anything...motherhood, tips for wives, crafts, or anything you have a tip for.

I love the idea and decided to join even though I'm not sure if I have any tips worth giving. So here is my tips for today. Feel free to join us and be sure to check out the other tips on Jen's blog.


I take my lunch to work everyday. To make my life easier during the week on Sunday evening I make up my baggies. Pretzels and cheddar cheese is one of my favorite snacks. So on Sunday night I make up my baggies of pretzels. This saves me a lot of much needed time in the morning.

And I might as well confess, this tip isn't even my own. The idea belongs to that great hubby of mine.

Have a great weekend everyone!