Snow Ice Storm

Got the call around 6 this morning. School was cancelled for the day. I have to tell you I was happy to get that call, even though it means I will be in school through mid June. Okay maybe not mid June, but pretty close. The last day of school was already June 8.

After the call, I couldn't go back to sleep. I was wide awake. This might have been caused by the fact that I was in bed and sleeping by 5 yesterday. I was not feeling well so I spent the entire evening sleeping. I didn't even wake up long enough to eat, which caused to me to wake up starving this morning.

I was supposed to buy groceries this week, but never did. There is no food in our house. I had no choice, but to brave the roads and go to McDonalds.

I watched reruns of Reba for a couple of hours and then got up to do some cleaning and scrapbooking. I tried to dishes but we are out of detergent. I did manage to get a little scrapbooking down though. See post below.

Everything is covered in ice. I love that our birdhouse has icicles.


By noon the sleet had started to turn into snow and I was getting hungry. Thankfully I did have a can of chili in the house.


Don't judge a girl. I love a good can of armor chili. In fact, I prefer it to homemade chili.

Mid meal, the husband called to let me know he was on his way home. :) And being the great husband that he is, he stopped in this horrible weather to buy groceries.

Now we will be able to eat again during this Ice Storm.

Hope everyone is staying warm and safe.

Temptation

I have finally managed to finish the second challenge of Patter's Scripture Challenge. Check out her post to see how others handled this challenge.

The word was temptation. Ouch! I know! I have thought more about temptation in the past couple weeks than I think I ever have. I've even dreamed about it, seeing the word in my sleep.

I've really struggled with this layout all the way around. I knew God was really trying to teach me something with this challenge, but I was struggling to figure out what it was.

I finally settled on Matthew 14:38 as my scripture for this layout. It says, "Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak."

So true. My spirit definitely wants to not give in to temptation. Yet, my body seems to take over too often.

I thought about what my temptations were. I think the things I struggle with the most are laziness and pride. I spend way too much time laying around playing on my computer or watching TV. My body definitely likes these things. :)

As for the pride. I am a very insecure person. Unfortunately, I love to throw a good pity party. I've come to realize that pride isn't just thinking you are too good for something. It is simply thinking it's all about you even if that means its all about your sorrows or troubles or whatever.

I can tell that God has really been working on my pride. Sadly, I deal with more drama with the adults in my life than with my 7th grade girls. I'm learning not to let things drive me crazy. Trust me, I'm still a long way from being able to say Oh Well and go on. Just ask the husband. But I'm learning. I'm learning to give things over to God. He is the only person whose approval I need.

Sanctus Real has a new song out called Forgiven. It is my new favorite. There is a line in that song that says, "When I don't measure up to much in this life, Oh, I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ."

Amen! God loves me. He loves you. He loves us just because of who he is. To him, we are a treasure. That's enough for me to praise God and be able to smile through the worst day.

Going Rogue

I finally finished reading Going Rogue by Sarah Palin tonight. I've been wanting to read a biography. It also happened to be #71 on my 101 List.

I feel like I've been reading this book forever. It has taken me longer than it normally takes me to read a book. It just isn't the kind of book I normally read. I prefer novels over biographies. And if I'm going to read a biography I prefer one that isn't full of politics.

Yes, I knew that Sarah Palin was in politics, therefore politics would be in this book. I guess I just wanted more personal stuff. But then again for her politics is personal.

I'll confess that before I married my husband I knew very little about politics and what was going on in DC. And I do mean very little. When I voted for George W. Bush back in 2004, I still knew very little. I don't mean to say that I feel like I made an uninformed decision. I'm just saying I wasn't all that into politics.

But, I'm married to a man who loves history. A man who is likes to stay informed. A man who watches Fox News nightly. A man who has taught me more about government and history in our 6 years of marriage than I ever learned in elementary school, high school, and college combined.

I am not claiming to know everything there is to know when it comes to politics. I'm not even claiming to have a strong understanding of all. I'm just simply saying that I'm more informed today than I've ever been.

I believe what I believe and you aren't going to change my mind. I do not like to debate politics with people. This is going to sound blunt and mean, but some people are just too dumb to argue with. While I will openly share with you my thoughts and beliefs, I do not see the point in arguing about it. This is where my husband and I differ. He will argue with you until he is blue in the face. Then he'll argue with you some more. :)

Either way, I liked what I knew of Sarah Palin which made me want to read her book. Now, you can like Sarah Palin or you cannot like her. You can think she is qualified and should run for president in 2012 or not. It doesn't matter. Like I said, I don't argue. That is not what this post is about. And if you want to argue, well please keep your comments to yourself.

After reading Going Rogue, I will tell you this, I respect Sarah Palin. I enjoyed reading her book. I learned a little on how the campaign trail works. I was shocked at the stories she told from the campaign trail. It made me feel like Senator McCain's staff beat themselves.

Enough said. I'm not trying to debate here. I do recommend Going Rogue to you. It's an interesting read. And who knows, you might learn something like I did.

With that being said, I'm ready to dive into a novel now. I have a closet full. Thinking I might just close my eyes and pick one.

What are you reading right now? Any suggestions?

My Scrapbook Room

If you have read this blog at all the past few weeks, you know that I'm in the process of renewing and improving my scrapbook room. You also know that I am so stinkin' excited about it.

Why am I so excited? Well, I've only been waiting a year or more for this new and improved desk and room. In March 2008, my husband completed and installed my first desk. It was very simple. Basically a platform on two boxes that went from one wall to another. It looked like this.


I was very excited to have such a large workspace. The bottom was supposed to have shelves and doors on both sides. However, due to time and schedules this desk never got finished. In fact not long after it was installed we started putting down our hardwood floor and the it had to be taken out.

During this time, my husband decided he didn't like and could make me something better. He tore my first desk apart and used the wood to build tables for his shop.

Now it is January 2010 and we are making some serious progress on my new desk. My husband doesn't work as quickly as I would like for him to, but when he does work, he does GOOD work. He has been working on hard on my desk for the past few weeks. Once he finally starts a project it's go go go until it's finished.

So anyways... back to the scrapbook room as it is right now.

Here is where I'm currently scrapbooking. We bought me a folding table at Wal-Mart to work on until my desk was finished. This is also the wall that my old desk and new desk will be on.


Here is what my new desk looks like as of right now.



There will be one box on either side of the window. The open side of each box is going to be three drawers. One of them will actually just be a platform that my inspiration will sit on. This way it doesn't take up space on my desk.

For those of you who don't know what an inspiration is, here is a picture.

It hooks up to your computer. It will cut out letters, pictures, or whatever you have on your computer. Very Cool.

Back to the desk. Above the desk there will be open shelves for more storage.

I also have my big ugly green shelf for storage. Here is what that looks like. There is also a close up of the shelf color and the wall color.




I'm still trying to decide what color I want to paint the desk. I really want purple. That is what I've been envisioning this entire time. A deep purple. The color of this stand is actually the color I was originally thinking.


I really like this purple and how it looks with the blue walls and green shelf. I guess I'm just starting to worry that it will be too much purple. I mean this isn't a small desk.

So I've started playing around with other ideas. I was thinking about making the inset panels a different color like maybe a lighter purple. Or doing the frame is like a gray or something and doing the doors my dark purple.

I don't know. I can't seem to make up my mind. Any suggestions? What do you think? I'm open to all suggestions.

But that is where we are on my scrapbook room. I cannot wait for it to all be finished.

Oh... and between the desk and the open shelves that will be above, we are going to cover cork with fabric and do the criss cross ribbon. This will give me a place to put pictures. Obviously these aren't my colors, but it shows what I'm talking about.


I also want something like this somewhere in my room to hold layouts.




Soon it will be all finished and you may not ever hear from me again. I will busy scrapbooking. :)

Scrapbooking, Tutoring, and Tulsa

I think I've done more scrapbooking so far in 2010 than I did in all of 2009 combined. And I must say that I've thoroughly enjoyed it. It has been very relaxing, rewarding, and enjoyable. It has even revealed some things to me through scripture.

I have just felt so inspired to create lately. I think it has come from the fact that my sweet husband has been very busy working on my scrapbook desk. My room is coming together slowly but surely and I'm loving it!! I plan to post pictures soon although right now it is still a mess. :)

Today we went to buy that ugly 70s green shelf I told you about. I love it! It looks great in my room. I've already started filling it up.

We were a little worried that the desk was going to be put on a stand still due to not being able to finance its production. However, God has truly blessed us this week. Thursday when I was given my pay check I noticed the envelope was thicker than normal. Much to my surprise, I found a nice little bonus inside. Our test scores improved and we were rewarded for it. Yippee! This allowed us to finish off the desk plus pay off one of our credit cards as we are working towards being debt free.

In order to continue to help those test scores improve we have a company who trains teachers to tutor students. I was one of the lucky 5 teachers who were hired by this company. I have 5 students that I will work with for an hour and half each Monday and Wednesday. I'm actually very excited about this opportunity. Plus it a little extra cash each week from now until April.

This blessing of unexpected income also allowed me to finalize my plans for a trip to Tulsa. I love Karen Kingsbury's books. God has given her an amazing gift. She is by far my favorite author. I have always wanted to meet her in person. I have had a couple of opportunities, but something has happened each time and I wasn't able to attend the event she was at. Through her website I found out that she was going to be at an EWomen Conference in Tulsa in March. It's a 4 hour drive, but I have a feeling it will be well worth it.

I made up my mind that I was going to go whether I found some girlfriends to go with me or not. All I needed to do was tell the hubby of my plans. When I told him, it really all came together. His company has a branch in Tulsa that will be "going live" at the end of February. This means Andrew has to be in Tulsa for two weeks. The Conference is the weekend in between those two weeks. It is perfect. I know that I will be missing him by then, plus I won't have to stay in a hotel by myself. I am so excited. Angela Thomas is one of the speakers as well. I've heard her speak two or three times and that girl is a hoot! I always laugh and cry and have a great time. Worship is being led by Mandisa and Jeremy Camp.

I am counting down the days till my weekend get away in Tulsa. Anything you are looking forward to?

Scripture Challenge

Okay before I start my 3rd post for the day, let me just say in my defense, I have done something other than blog today. :)

Patter over at Triple the Scraps has been so sweet to lead a scrapbooking Bible Study for the past few years. Last year I planned to do His Holy Name. I never made it past the first challenge.

This year she is hosting her 2nd Scripture Challenge. Every other week she gives you a word to study. You study that word in the scripture and then create a page based on your study.

She bought this cute little stand to display her work for this challenge.



She stained hers and it looks super cute. I took one look at it and knew that my hubby could make it.

So last night he and I went out into the garage and about 20 minutes later I had my own stand.

I chose to paint my purple. Here it is.



I bought ribbon today that I may or may not put around the bottom. I can't decide.

What do you think of the purple against the blue wall? I think that my desk is going to be purple as well. I know the purple seems a bit much but I have picture in my head and I like that picture.

Here is a close up of my title page for the Scripture Challenge.


The Scripture is Psalm 33:4 "For the word of the Lord holds true,and we can trust everything he does."


Our first word was hope. There are so many scriptures that talk about our hope in the Lord. It was hard to choose. I really enjoyed reading through scripture as I studied the word hope.

No matter what is going on in our lives our hope is in God. He is dependable. It says in Hebrews that He is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow.

Here is my Hope page.


The scripture I finally chose for this challenge:
Matthew 12:21 And his name will be the hope of all the world.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

I'm looking forward to our 2nd word which is temptation. Should be an interesting little study.

How Did He Know?

Today was that time of the year when I strip down naked in front of a man other than my husband. The Oh So Wonderful Gynecologist. Fun times.

Don't worry, I'm not going to give you the details of my appointment today. It is safe to keep reading. :)

Every year when I go to this particular appointment, I can't help but play the what if game. I always wonder how I would react if Dr. Wyatt walked into the exam room and told me I was pregnant. Like today, nothing ever leads me to believe that I might be. There are no signs of that possibility. Yet I wonder. Would I cry? Would I burst with joy? Would I be able to drive myself?

But more than my reaction, I wonder what Drew's reaction would be. I wonder how I would tell him. I convince myself that I would be able to go home and wait for him to get home from work. But then I wonder if I would have that patience. Would I call him or drive to his office?

Would I just blurt it out or find some cute way of telling him?

Of course I think about this at other times too. Like when I have a case of Baby Fever.

We are not pregnant right now nor are we trying to get that way. But I can't exactly wait until that point to ask you this question.

How did he know? How did you tell your sweetie that he was going to be a Daddy?

Can't wait to hear your stories.

Our Weekend

Andrew and I had a wonderful weekend. Friday night my little brother, Seth, came down to spend the night with us. He got here shortly after I got home from work. Andrew's brother, Cary, also came over to help Drew with my scrapbook desk. Drew and Cary worked in the garage all night on my desk while Seth and I hung out inside. I would love to tell you that while A & C were out there for several hours, they finished my desk...or even almost finished by desk. But they didn't. They got one door hung and one door built. Now in my opinion, that isn't much. They were out there a LONG time people. Apparently building a door is much harder than I believe it to be. Either way, I'm thankful for Cary's help and for the work they did get done, even if Andrew did later ruin that one door they made. :) While those two were building a door, Seth and I played this game called Heroscape. It has become my brother's latest obsession. I guess you could call it a board game although it isn't a board you unfold like most games. You build the board yourself using these plastic pieces and the board can be different every time. I don't think there is a wrong way to build the board. Anyways... it's a strategy war like game, I guess. You get to pick your people and they all have different features. We played where you pick 4 people: 2 heroes, 1 common squad, and 1 unique squad. Don't worry I've played and I still don't know what that means. I had no idea what I was doing so I just picked girls that weren't creepy looking. Some of the "people" aren't really people at all. Normally I wouldn't play this kind of game. I think board games should be quick, easy, fun, and take as little thought as possible. This game didn't meet any of those requirements as far as I could tell. The figures were scary and it took Seth like 10 to 15 minutes just to set up the board.... and that is a small easy board. However, I love my brother so I played. And I won!! I had no idea what I was doing but I want. Actually I caught on pretty quickly, its really not that hard, but I wasn't all into the strategy or anything. Seth probably has over 100 figures to choose from and I randomly picked 4. Part of my winning was luck and part of it was that my brother took it easy on me, or so he says. Here we are after my victory with the board behind us. I only played one game so that I could end undefeated. Seth also brought with him four Little Golden Books to add to my collection. So Sweet! He found them at an antique store. Saturday my parents came down so that we could go out to eat for my Daddy's birthday. The five of us went to Rib Crib and enjoyed A LOT of food. I brought an entire meal home with me after I stuffed myself there. Then we hit a few antique stores in search of trains. Dad's a big kid at heart. I think this is the first time Andrew has gone with us to antique stores. He really enjoyed looking at the furniture. He found me a cool 70s shelf for my scrapbook room. It is green, that 70s green. It's metal and has adjustable shelves. Each shelf has three or four these dividers that are sort of like bookends. I really liked it. I think we might go back and buy it soon. Then I can show you pictures. After Mom and Dad headed back home, Andrew and I came home and took a nice long Saturday nap. For some reason, we were both exhausted. Then we spent Saturday night just taking it easy watching movies on TV. Yesterday was the March for Life in downtown LR. I had participated in this once before right after Andrew and I were first married. I wanted to do it again this year. Andrew and I got ready and headed that way. We parked our car and then started walking toward where the walk started and a black SUV turns the corner. And what do you know, it is full of Duggar children. So then I spent the first part of the walk searching for Duggars. It wasn't long and Andrew and I were walking beside the whole Duggar Clan. I would love to tell you that I was a little less star struck this time. But....I wasn't. I was just as much a dweebasaur as the husband likes to call me. But I didn't talk to them, I let them walk. We marched up the capital steps where I sat by a few Duggar children. At the end of the walk I did have my picture made with JimBob. Andrew refused to go with me, but we ran into Joy, Gerry, Tyler, and PB while we there. PB gladly went along with me and Tyler went to take the picture. So here are JimBob, PB, and me. I just have to take a minute to tell you why I'm so fascinated with the Duggar family. I know a lot of people have negative things to say about them and their lifestyle. People don't understand having 19 children. Some people even act as if it a sin. I have watched the Duggar family on TV and I've read their book. Now I've met them in person and I just have to say they are some of the nicest people I have ever met. I believe they are a family who has a genuine love for our Lord. They are simply trying to live in a way that is pleasing to Him. Personally, I think we could all use a little more of that mindset in our lives. I'm not saying that a large family is the only right way to live or that is for everyone out there. I don't think the Duggars would say that either. But it is what's right for them and who are we to judge them for that. I respect the Duggars in a lot of ways. They are teaching their children to be godly people. They are servants. They are debt free. After reading their book, I was so inspired to get debt free and stay that way. So there it is... my spill on the Duggars. If you have negative comments about them or me, please be kind enough to keep them to yourself. Now... back to the March for Life. It was a beautiful sight to see that many people walking in support of the unborn babies. There were a few protesters there as there always are and even though they will probably get plenty of media attention, I don't think they put a dent in any one's spirit. Once on the capitol steps, I took a few shots of all the people there. They introduced some of leaders of our state who support pro life policy. Governor Huckabee was there in support as well, another man I admire. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet him, but I did get a picture. Three women shared the stories of their abortions. Very sad. I can't even begin to imagine. Two women sang hymns that brought tears to my eyes. They did a wonderful job. Here is a short clip of everyone there singing.

What a beautiful sound! I am so glad we went. Here are a few pics. It was such a beautiful day yesterday.


After we got home from the march, Andrew and I finally took down the Christmas lights outside. Then we did some building in the garage, which I will be sharing with you later. We even had a little "camping" adventure. Liam Bailey peed on our bed last night. He does this when he gets excited or scared. It was very late and Andrew and I don't have but one set of sheets. We got them in the washer, but were just too tired to wait on them to dry. So we slept in the living room. Andrew slept on the couch and I pushed our ottoman against my chair and its ottoman and made myself a little bed. I don't know about Drew, but I actually slept pretty well. Now it's Monday and I'm just enjoying my day off. I hope to get lots done today including some scrapbooking that I hope to share with you later today. We'll see.

Really Thankful

Real is the word that has been on my mind nonstop since Friday night. If you remember, Andrew and I left our church home in October. At the time, we were in NO hurry to join another church. I'm not sure that we are in any hurry now. We aren't looking for what you find in most churches right now. We want something real, something that isn't about anything except relationships. Relationships with God and with those around us.

This was really brought to the forefront of my mind Friday night. Andrew and I stopped by to see his sister, Joy, because I need to pick something up. Andrew and our three nephews played basketball outside in the frigid cold. While they were out freezing their tooshies off, Joy and I sat inside and talked.

Now I have to back up to the early years of our marriage. Back when my father-in-law pastored a church here in Little Rock and we all went to church together. Joy was my Sunday School teacher at the time. Being in her class, being around her made me want to grow as a Christian. Her love for the Lord was definitely contagious. I instantly began to look at Joy as a spiritual role model.

When we all left that church, I wasn't seeing Joy every week like before. And I've really missed that.

Back to Friday night, as Joy and I talked, I just remembered how much I love her and enjoy spending time with her. We don't get to do it nearly as often as I would like. Our conversation just brought the word, REAL, to mind.

Joy's love for the Lord is definitely real. It's not a show. In fact there isn't anything showy about it. Just being around her for a few minutes, you would pick up on how much she loves the Lord. I admire her in so many areas. She is such a godly wife and mom.

I just so enjoyed our conversation Friday night. We talked about church today and just wanting to be apart of something that was real. She and her family are part of a home church. You can see that they are doing what they feel like God is telling them to do even if it isn't what some people consider the norm.

As soon as we got in the car to leave that night, I told Andrew I really enjoyed it. It was great conversation with Joy. She always makes me want to just praise God and draw closer to him.

Yesterday, she sent me a text asking if she could bring me lunch today. I was so touched. I immediatley started crying.

So today she came with lunch in tow and we enjoyed more converstation in my classroom for a little over an hour today. Before she left she told me that God had just laid me on her heart this week and that she had been praying for me. I have tears running down my face as I write this now, because it has just really blessed me.

I am so lucky to have married into such a wonderful family. I honestly can't tell you how thankful I am. I truly have the best in-laws.

I did a lab with my Science Class today that involved throwing a marble into flour, so I was a little stressed by lunch. Joy's visit just reminded me that God was in control. He has his own plan and they are far better than any plan we could come up with on our own. He knew I would need this visit on this day.

How lucky are we to serve a God that always has things under control?! He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. For that I'm so thankful.

I love you Joy. Thanks again for lunch and the visit. I truly enjoyed it.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

It's Finally Friday!

And I could not be more excited about it.

It has been so stinkin' cold here. Upper teens and lower twenties... and that's without the windchill. That may not seem so cold to some of you, but to this warm natured Arkansan Girl that is way to stinkin' cold. And to top it off, this horribly cold weather didn't even come with snow. I could tolerate it a little better if I were sledding down a hill or building a snowman. But no. It is just plain cold.

If it weren't for the fact that I have to go work, I'm not sure I would have left my bed this week or ever changed out of my pajamas. We have still let the dogs stay outside during the day. They are just too crazy to stay in the house. Every day when I have gotten home and open the back door they run right past me and straight for the bed. Bless their little hearts. They are just ready to curl up in a nice warm bed. Today was supposed to be EXTRA cold so we left them in our laundry room. This always makes me nervous because you never know what that room will look like by the end of the day. However, I came home today to find it looking just like I had left it this morning. Lib & Liam were perfect little angels. They went right out to take care of business and then enjoyed their treats for good behavior.

I have some big plans this weekend. I plan to do quite a bit of scrapbooking. I'm going to add my pictures to my first Project 365 Layout, finish my Christmas cards, and hopefully do a few other pages. I even plan to share some of my layouts with you for the very first time. I know... It's a real nail biter. Just promise me you will be kind.

Hopefully it warm up soon. I am not a fan of this cold weather.

Oh and the scrapbook desk is really coming along. The husband has got some skills. Hopefully he will get some work done this weekend.

Possible Snow Day & Blog Candy

The talk around town is the snow/ice is coming our way. Everyone at school is preparing for a snow day tomorrow.

Of course, every TV station says something different. One says we're supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow, one says we're supposed to get sleet only but that it will be bad, and so on. Who know what we will actually get. That's one of the joys of living in Arkansas.

I know that I prayed hard for a Snow Day Monday. I stomped around this house and whined like a little kid. But that was Monday. Now I'm not so sure I want a Snow Day.

I'm already well into this week and even have my lesson plans done. I know that if we are out tomorrow but have to go back Friday, Friday isn't going to be an easy day.

I also know that we are already in school until June. I really don't want to add any days to that.

Yet part of me would love a snow day. A white ground, my warm cozy bed, my pjs, hot chocolate, and a good book. Yes, that does sound nice.

I don't know what I want for tomorrow. Maybe that means I will be pleased either way. :)

And as far as big school decision. I'm beginning to feel a little peace about my current decision.


Last but not least.... Melissa over at Scrapz N' Stuff is have a giveaway. It is a beautiful kit to make your own calendar. Go check it out.

Being a Big Girl Stinks!

Do you ever get something on your brain that you can't get off and it ends up killing your mood?

That is where I am tonight. I've had an absolutely wonderful day. But somewhere along the way this evening I began to think about something. I told you I had a big decision to make regarding work. It's been on my mind and it is driving me crazy.

I know that if I'm honest without myself the reason I have for doing this isn't really the right reason. It's a selfish reason. It's a childish reason. But I also know my reasons for not doing it aren't exactly the kind of reason a mature adult would have.

I'm just so stuck. I feel like it's a lose lose situation. Basically option A is hard in the beginning and then it is pretty much over, but I'm afraid it will also cause some people to think they have power over me. I also feel like I would be letting some people down, but maybe that is just prideful thinking. Option B will last at least a year and is something I so don't want to have to live through.

I know I'm being vague here and I'm probably not even making sense. I just don't want to put my thoughts out there for my coworkers yet, not until I know what I'm going to do.

I just feel like I need to talk to someone about it, say it all out loud, and get a unbiased opinion. I tried to talk to Drew about it tonight, but my sweet husband said I was a big girl and could make this decision on my own. He also reminded me that I don't have to know the answer right now. Why is it that he gives logical advice when all I want to do is cry, but when I actually want his logical advice he has nothing to give. Grr!

Either way it is on my mind and I can't quit thinking about it.

Sometimes being a grown up really stinks!

"Not Me!" Monday and Giveaway Winner

I did NOT look out the window last night every five minutes to see if it was snowing. And I most definitely did NOT stomp through our house every time I looked and it wasn't snowing. Jumping up and down while clapping was NOT something I did once it finally started snowing.

I did NOT fall asleep praying for an extra day of vacation due to the snow. I did NOT hit the snooze 3 times this morning. When I finally rolled myself out of bed, I did NOT run to the window hoping to see a white ground. And when I didn't see that out the front window, I most certainly did NOT run to the back door in hopes that it had miraculously snowed in the back yard and just missed the front yard.

After dreading going back to work today, I was NOT instantly reminded that I love this group of 7th graders. I did NOT spend my entire day enjoying those preteens/teens while watching it snow outside my classroom.

I did NOT come home and immediately put on my pjs and grab my computer. I have NOT looked forward to writing this post all day.

Nor did I forget to draw a winner for my giveaway this morning. And with that being said... the winner is.....




#6 Kristen. I'm so excited that you won this. I will bring your prize to work this week.

6 Years, TV, & Scrapbooking

Andrew and I enjoyed our day together today as we celebrated 6 years of marriage. The day wasn't too different than any other day. We slept in which was very nice. When we finally rolled out of bed, we got ready and headed to lunch. We ate at Appleebees, our standard anniversary dinner. It is where we went on our first date and it is where eat each year on our anniversary. After lunch, we went to see a movie, another typical anniversary date activity. We saw Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakel. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in this movie. It had funny parts, but I liked the first one much better.

After our lunch and movie date we came home to take a nap. Now Andrew is in the garage working on my scrapbook desk. It is really coming along. I'm so excited about it. I promise to post pictures as soon as he is finished.

I'm laying in bed watching TV and trying to decide if I'm prepared to go back to work tomorrow or not. I still have some things to do, but I think I'm good to get through tomorrow. I will work during my prep and stay after school to finish up what I need to do.

I'm getting a little stressed because we have people coming to inspect us due to the fact that we are in trouble for our test scores. They supposedly talk to every teacher. I'm so scared of saying the wrong thing and getting our school in trouble. This little investigation is going to cause me to be staying late after school quite a bit over the next month. I'm also applying for a tutor job that if I get will take up a lot of my time. There is also a big decision regarding Student Council that I need to make. It is something I've been praying about but still feel unsure as to which way to go.


Back to my TV watching. I have to tell you that I'm looking forward to the season premiere of two shows tomorrow night. They are definitely guilty pleasures. One is The Secret Life of an American Teenager. I'm watching a marathon of it right now. The other is Make it Or Break It. Does anyone else watch either of these shows? They are definitely for teenagers, but I'm addicted to them all the same.

What are your guilty pleasures when it comes to TV?


On to Scrapbooking... I decided to scrapbook my Christmas cards. Well Sorta. I'm really just putting them on Christmas themed paper. Nothing to elaborate. I went this route because I found a red leather 12X12 postbound album at Hobby Lobby for $5. Can't beat that. In the process of getting ready to start working on them last night, I found our cards from last year. I decided it only made sense to start with them. I've gotten all of those done and hope to have this year's cards done by the end of the week.

I'm also starting Project 365 again this year. Some of you may remember me working on this last year. I made it to March before I got behind and quit. This is a project where you take a picture each day of the year and journal about your day. Several people are doing it by the week instead of the day this year because they didn't finish it last year. I thought about doing it that way, but I'm determined to do Project 365. So far so good this... granted we are only 3 days in. I made my layout for this week Friday night. I figure if I have the layout made before the week starts, I can journal each day. Hopefully this will help me to complete the project. I will be sharing some of this as time goes on. I really hate that I didn't finish last year. Some really great days happened both before and after I quit. Thankfully I did blog about most of them. :)

I guess that is enough rambling for tonight. Don't forget about my giveaway. I will be drawing the winner first thing tomorrow morning before I leave for school.

The HOT boy at church!

When I was 17 and a Senior in high school, I was sporadically going to church with my best friend, Mandy. It was a small Baptist church in a small town known as Newport, Arkansas. My church attendance was primarily on Wednesday nights and more for the purpose of hanging out with friends than it was anything spiritual. I was a Christian at the time, but I had drifted away from my walk with God.

For the most part while we were growing up, Mandy and I had the same taste in guys. This wasn't the case when it came to Mandy's Senior Year crush. She was crushing big time on our youth pastor, Sinclair. I totally disagreed. I loved Sinclair to death and to this day consider him to be a close friend, but I just wasn't attracted to him.

One Thursday morning after having missed church the night before, Mandy came running up to me at school with "THE BIG NEWS!". Apparently I had really missed out the night before. She informed me that Sinclair had a brother who was H-O-T HOT!! I just had to come to church Sunday to check him out. Now... like I said, for the most part we had the same taste, but I remember thinking as she was telling me this that I had no idea how anything related to Sinclair could be attractive let alone the kind of HOT she was talking about. Again...Love Sinclair to death. :) And yes he knows this story.

So for whatever reason, I showed up at church Sunday morning to check out Sinclair's "hot" brother. I walked into that church building that Sunday morning to see this tall, thin guy in khakis and an orange plaid shirt. And let me just tell you he was H-O-T- HOT!!

Mandy and I spent the next month or so LOVING church! Ha! We hung on his every word and every move. One Wednesday night I even had the privilege of picking him up from Sinclair's house. I was a nervous wreck. What on earth was I supposed to talk to this guy about? We talked about college... I was getting ready to head to Fayetteville and he was attending a local community college.

Fast forward to September of my Freshman year of college. I attended the U of A in Fayetteville. I was miles away from my Momma and miserable. After a shocking breakup with my then boyfriend, I did what any girl would do... I headed to the mall for retail therapy.

As I walked through that Fayeteville mall, I saw him. Sinclair's brother. He was working at a Suncom (cell phone) booth in the mall. Now any other time I would have ignored him and kept walking... I was shy and brokenhearted at the time, but I could tell by his face that he recognized me too. So I walked over and said hey. We talked about work and I told him I was working at Sonic... he totally remembered that I worked at Sonic in Newport. All is well! We exchanged phone numbers and I was off.

I don't remember how much time passed before he called. It might have been that evening, I don't know. I just know when my dorm room phone started ringing, I knew it was him and I got really nervous. I didn't answer. He called two or three more times and I didn't answer. I learned later that he told his roommate he was calling one more time and if I didn't answer he was just going to forget it all. I answered that last time and made up some lame excuse about doing my laundry. We planned a date for Sunday, September 30.

Our first date was nice. We ate at Applebees, sharing nachos and then just hung out. He didn't kiss me on our first date. I remember being totally calm at the end of our first date and not worrying at all about how it went.

It was our second date when I learned I had been mislead. He kept talking about his mom and Sinclair's mom as if they were two different people. I then assumed that they were stepbrothers. That totally explained how Sinclair had a hot brother. Through conversation I learned they weren't related at all just good friends. I'm still not sure of the truth behind the entire church thinking they were brothers. I'll blame it on Sinclair.

Either way... we started dating. We met each others families. We broke up. We cried. We got back together. We broke up. We got back together... You can see the pattern here.

Then one day out of nowhere, Andrew, told me he was going to marry me. Totally scared me to death. But he did. Six years ago today I committed my life to that HOT boy at church. Our journey has not been without bumps, but oh my I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

I know it sounds cliche but each year with this man honestly just gets better. He is my best friend. My logical, intelligent, tall, tenderhearted, husband.

I look forward to spending the rest of my life with this hot boy at church!

Jim Bob and Grandma Duggar

Andrew and I went to Lowe's tonight to buy the legs for my scrapbook desk that he is building. We got the wood we needed and then we were just piddling around looking at tools. Actually Andrew was looking at tools, I was trying to get out there.

We walk up to the check out line and Andrew says,"Wow that guy looks like Jim Bob. I bet he gets that everyday of his life." By the time I looked all I could see was the back of his head, but he definitely had Jim Bob's hair. How sad that I know what Jim Bob's hair looks like in that detail.

Anyways.. I walk over to get a better look to see if Andrew is accurate in his comparison. He still had his back to me, but standing there with him checking out was Grandma Duggar.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I very quickly went into fan mode. Big time. I ran back to Andrew to let him that guy didn't just look like Jim Bob, that guy was Jim Bob.

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. But I had my phone out before you could blink ready to take a picture. Andrew told me no, that I could say hi but not to harass them. Blah! He so doesn't understand that you people need pictures or that I need proof.

He wouldn't go with me, so I went alone and said hi. Just told them I was a fan of theirs because they are trying to just live for God. I asked about Michelle and baby. Grandma Duggar said they were both doing well. She then gave me a card. It has a pic of the fam on it.

All the way home Andrew made fun of me because like I said... major fan mode. As we pulled into our subdivision I realized that this would have made the perfect picture for today. I've giving Project 365 a second try, but more on that later.

Since I didn't get a picture with them, I had Andrew take my picture with the card they gave me. And with that picture I learned a lesson... always look your best when you go out in public. You never know when you might meet a Duggar. :) All that to say... PLEASE O PLEASE ignore the way I look in this picture.

Oh and after we were all checked out Andrew shook Jim Bob's hand too and told him we were praying for them.

Christmas Cards

I have been working on deChristmasing our house today. This always makes me a little sad. Taking everything is definitely not as fun as putting everything out.

Each year I display all of my Christmas Cards on this that I bought from Southern Living a while back.


I absolutely love it. When it isn't covered in Christmas cards, it is a great place to display lots of random pictures.

Anyways... I've always taken my cards down and intend to keep them. But I never really do anything with them and most of the time they end up lost or ruined.

I want to preserve them at least the photo cards. I think it would be fun to look back 10 years from now at our Christmas cards and how the families have grown and changed.

I just don't know how I want to do it. I thought putting them in a scrapbook, but I need something that is quick and easy so that it will actually get finished.

Do you save your Christmas cards or throw them away? If you keep them, what do you do with them?

Looking for some great ideas!!