Our Year in Review

2011 was good to Andrew and I. We made lots of good memories. The end of the year always makes me thankful for my blog. I love to go back and look at all the things we did over the year. I can see times when we laughed, times when we cried, struggles, growth, and so much more.

As I was looking back I tried to pick a favorite memory from each month.


January We celebrated 7 years of marriage. Andrew was sick so there wasn't much celebrating. I cut off a large amount of my hair and gave it to locks of love.




February We enjoyed a snow day together and Andrew surprised me with a Kindle for Valentine's Day.

March Spring Break! We went to our first Razorback baseball game and had a blast. Winter Jam was definitely a highlight of the month. I was busy planning a surprise party.


April Andrew turned 30! His surprise party was a big success. We saw James Taylor in concert. Andrew bought a new car. We spent an evening stuck in the back of Wal-Mart during tornadoes.


May I wrote and performed my first rap. We celebrated lots of birthdays and graduations. I started Zumba!


June I spent a fabulous week on the beach of Destin with two sweet girlfriends. The trip included parasailing and my first tattoo (fake of course).

July We celebrated with my great-grandma as she turned 89 and with my parents as they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary.


August Summer break ended and it was back to school for me. I turned 28!! My Daddy surprised me by bringing me cupcakes to work. Then we celebrated at DGP with friends and family.

September I spent the month playing with new camera. Football season started which made for some fun and exciting Saturdays.



October We had our first in house ping pong tournament and celebrated lots of birthdays.

November Of course we celebrated Thanksgiving with our families. One of my students went to be with Jesus. I made my first etsy sale. I practiced my photography skills on my fam.


December Lots of cooking, Christmas with family, DIY projects!! Scroll down to read about these adventures.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

Christmas 2011

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Words to describe this Christmas seem to have left me. I've sat down a couple of times and tried to blog about the past few days, but I don't know where to start.

It has been one of the best Christmases I've ever had. The past few days have left me feeling extremely blessed and grateful. Andrew and I have been able to spend time with our families and make memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

We exchanged gifts with one another Friday evening because my husband was so excited to give me my new iPhone 4s. He just can't help himself when he thinks I'm really going to like something. And like it, I do! I was truly surprised.

I was also excited to give him his Keurig. He has drank countless cups of coffee since Friday night.



Saturday we spent time with my family. I think my favorite memory from Friday was sitting around the house Friday night reminiscing about the past. We laughed until we cried. My brother's girlfriend, Melissa, came over for a little gift exchange. It was nice to get to know her a little better and spend time with her. She seems to make my brother happy and for that I'm thankful.
My parents, the husband, my brother, and I exchanged gifts from one another Sunday morning. I have to say one of my favorite gifts this year was a DQ shirt from my brother. I love me some DQ!!

I had Andrew take my pic with this tray of yumminess. Ya'll I actually cooked this year. And what's even more amazing- people said it was good!! So proud of myself.


Sunday afternoon we headed to Osceola to spend Christmas night with Andrew's family. Andrew is the youngest of six and they were all there with their families for the night...the whole night. It was one big sleepover. Lots of fun. I was able to get some precious time with each of my nieces and nephews. That was extra special to me this Christmas. I played video games with the older boys, paper dolls with the little girls, and watched The Grinch with little J.L.

My favorite moment of this Christmas was being part of a huge surprise for Andrew's oldest brother Chris. The whole family went in and bought him a new iPad2. He was definitely surprised and blessed I think.

The dogs traveled with us everywhere we went. They stayed in garages across Arkansas. I'm pretty sure they were more than happy to be back at home.

We have one more Christmas celebration to attend before the year is over. I'm sure it will be just as special as the others.

God has given me a lot to be thankful for, more than I deserve.

And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:16

Tuesday Tunes: We Are

This has quickly become a new favorite of mine. It has also become my prayer, that I will let my light shine.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14

Merry Christmas!

This year it seems that I have been dreaming more than ever about future Christmases that Andrew and I will share with our children. I haven't been sad about it. Excited is actually the word I would use. I trust that someday God will show us that it is the right time for us to start adding to our family. I cannot wait for that time.

I have truly enjoyed hearing the memories that my friends are making with their young children. Watching them do whatever it takes to make their child's wish come true.

I cannot wait until we have our turn to be scouring the town and the internet looking for that special item.

Sharing about the birth of Jesus is the thing I look forward to most. I have gotten so many good ideas on ways to do this from friends and family. I want our children to know the real reason we celebrate Christmas and that it isn't about getting gifts. It's about giving to others because we ourselves have been blessed. It's about celebrating the birth of the One who came to this earth to save us from our sins.

I pray for those who are lonely this Christmas season, whether it be because, like us, they don't have the children they dream about, or because they've lost a loved one. I pray that they would find peace in Jesus and that he would be their comfort this season.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. We love you!


-The Weavers

Off to a Good Start

I am officially on Christmas break. I had to go to work today until 10:30 and then the fun started.

I called my Mommom on my way home to get the 411 on Christmas Eve plans. I ended up talking to her for two hours. I wish I lived closer to her. I'd like to visit with her more than I do.

I managed to do a little cleaning while on the phone with her. I was just walking around the house picking things up and putting them away.

After I got off the phone with her I started watching a cheesy Christmas movie that I DVR'd. The DVR is set to record quite a few cheesy movies over the next few days. I just love them. Don't you?

In the middle of my movie I decided that I was hungry for some DQ. I drove 40 minutes to Conway for some DQ. In case you were wondering, it was well worth it. While in Conway I decided to check out a toy store my sister-in-laws told me about. They always find the neatest little stores. This one didn't disappoint. As soon as I walked in, I text Jill that it was very overwhelming. They had everything you could ever dream of as a child. I just wish I still had little ones that I need to buy for this year. They were the first ones I bought gifts for.

However, I did find this amazing playmat.



I wanted to buy it so bad. But it was $50 and I don't have a baby to play on it. Some day though. :)

I came home from my shopping/DQ expedition and started scrapbooking. I scrapbooked our Christmas cards from last year and a few from this year. I love keeping them and going back and looking through them. It's fun to see how families grow and change over the years.

I finished my cheesy movie and then played around on the computer. For some reason, I don't get emails from my sister-in-law. She is the only one that I have problems with. I have never blocked and her and the emails aren't in my spam or any other folder. I have no idea what I can't get new emails from her. Replies work just fine. Any ideas?

Anyway...Christmas break is off to a great start. Tomorrow I have lunch with two sweet ladies.

These are going to be a good two weeks.

Our 2011 Christmas Card

I'm finally sharing our Christmas card with you. I wanted to wait until they were mailed out and then time just got away from me.

I've already posted about how photo shoot #1 was a complete disaster.

I was trying my hardest not to be too picky about our photos. The husband was being extremely cooperative and I didn't want him to get irritated with my being too picky.

After one bad photo shoot I decided funny was the way to go. I figured I would be more easily pleased if were were going for goofy and not serious.

That night after we had finished the bad photo shoot, I was out grabbing dinner which led me to drive by Goodwill. An idea hit me. We had cheesy Christmas sweaters for the dogs already, we just need some for the husband and I.

I came home and shared my idea with the husband. He liked it. So off we went shopping for cheesy, ugly Christmas sweaters. That turned into something slightly different.

Our card makes us smile and I'm happy with how it turned out. So without further ado here it is....





Sorry for the poor quality. I can't figure out to save it from the site


A funny story. We were out prop shopping and we had saved the pipe for last. We didn't know where to buy one, but figured we could get one at a tobacco store. Neither one of us had ever been in such a store before. The two in our town were both closed. It was between 7 and 7:30 on a Saturday night. The husband was driving around and I was searching for tobacco stores on my phone. There was one in the next town over about 15 minutes away. I decided to call before we drove out there. My first question was concerning their closing time. I then proceed to ask the lady, "Do you sell pipes?" She said in a strange voice..."We sell smoking pipes for smoking tobacco...." I thanked her and got off the phone. I was describing the strange way in which she answered my question to the husband. I was totally clueless. He just looked at me and said, "They probably thought you were wanting a crack pipe." HA! Never even occurred to me. :)

A New Look for a New Year

Can you believe a new year is quickly approaching? 2011 has flown by for me. It's been a whirlwind of craziness.

I started thinking a few months ago that it was about time for a new look here on the old blog. I've even been toying around with the idea of a new blog address. I'm just not sure I want to go through that pain. Have you ever switched blog addresses? How did it go? Worth the trouble?

New address or not I'm in the market for a new look. Lucky enough, my sweet friend Miranda is hosting a giveaway for a new blog design. I'm thrilled about this giveaway. I probably shouldn't even be sharing it with you because I want to win. :)

Go on over and check out her giveaway here. She does a great job! You won't regret it.

Baby It's Cold Outside

I am bad about not blogging about specific memories because I let too much time slip by. I don't want to do that anymore. If it is something I want to remember, I'm going to blog about it even if it didn't happen a month ago.

This post is about something that happened a week ago.

Last Tuesday I came home from school and started grading papers, while catching up on facebook. It seemed, according to facebook, that it was snowing everywhere but at my house. I had been craving breakfast for a few days so I text the husband and informed him that we were going to Cracker Barrel for dinner. What better way to spend a cold evening than by enjoying pancakes by their big fire place. We headed that way as soon as he got home from work.

Unfortunately it didn't go quite as planned. We didn't get to sit by the fireplace and all in all, it just wasn't the best experience. Oh well. We tried.

On the way to Cracker Barrel though, I may have whined mentioned to the husband that everyone except me was getting to experience the snow. He pointed out that it wouldn't stick and get me out of school. That wasn't my wish though, I just wanted to enjoy the snow. I love snow. It's beautiful.

To top of my cold evening I decided to enjoy a nice hot bubble bath with a good book when we got back home. Awww! Perfect ending to my day.

I soaked in my bubble bath for awhile and then almost instantly fell asleep once I was in bed. Isn't it amazing how relaxing a hot bath can be? I love it!

I felt like I had been asleep for several hours when the husband woke me up. He sweetly nudged me and said, "I thought you'd want to know it's snowing, babe." I wiped my sleepy eyes and climbed out of bed. Sure enough, big beautiful flakes were falling from the sky. It put a big smile on my face despite the fact that it was 12:30 in the morning. I took a few minutes to enjoy the snow and then went back to sleep.

I'm so glad he woke me up. It was a little think he knew would make me happy.

It was perfect. No ice. Gone by noon the next day with little mess. That's my kind of snow.

Say Cheese

I decided months ago what I wanted for our Christmas card this year. In my head it was absolutely perfect.

In real life - Well, it didn't turn out quite the way I had planned.

So then began the agony of trying to find a plan B. I had no idea what to do since Plan A failed. The husband and I never seemed to have a free day together when it was nice outside.

Until yesterday. We were both home with no plans and it was pretty outside.

We got dressed and headed to the backyard.

The only way to sum our photo adventure - FAIL!

I didn't like anything about our backyard. The dogs weren't being cooperative. It just wasn't a good deal.

My favorite picture of the day is this one.




Last night while I was out picking up dinner, an idea hit me. It was perfect. I came home and shared the idea with the husband. He agreed.

Plan C was on!

We got back in the car and set out do some shopping. Props were needed. We thought we had everything we needed. We came home and began getting dressed for a picture only to discover we no longer owned one of the needed props.

Photo shoot postponed.

I did some Christmas shopping today and picked up the last needed prop. Tonight we had fun taking our Christmas card pictures. We laughed which means you know they are some good pictures.

I absolutely cannot wait to get them in the mail. I think they will bring a smile to the faces of the recipients.

I don't want to share any of the pictures with you just yet. I want it to be a surprise. Once I've mailed them out, I promise to share the card with you. :)

Until then you will just have to wonder.

Miscellany Monday

*We finally put the tree up last night. It makes me happy every time I look at it. We almost didn't put it up again this year. I'm so glad that we did. I love putting my ornaments on the tree. So many of them hold a special memory. As I'm unwrapping them I fall in love with them all over again.



*Speaking of ornaments, I mentioned awhile back that I was participating in a blog ornament exchange. Well, my ornament from Faith arrived today and it is absolutely perfect!!! I LOVE IT!! I have a small obsession with owls. Okay the husband has taken to calling me the weird owl lady, but whatever. This little guy came in the mail today.


*I got pulled over today. My tags expired last month. Oops. The state trooper who pulled me over happens to be the dad of two previous students. That good man recognized me and let me off with a warning. Whew!!! Will be getting new tags tomorrow.

*Last night before we put up the tree I was feeling all crafty so I went searching through the husband's side of the closet and made myself a scarf from one of his old t-shirts.. I like it. I got lots of compliments today and all my female students wanted a tutorial. I'll be posting one here soon, but you can find it on etsy if you can't wait.

*We received our first Christmas card today. I love this time of year when my mailbox is filled with beautiful cards. I'm still hoping to get ours made and out this year. Friends and family may be getting our cards the day before Christmas this year. I've never been this far behind. Trying not to let it stress me out.

My Man

I came across this tonight while I was stalking other blogs. I do that from time to time when I'm bored - just read through random people's blogs. Strange I know.

I love my man. He is my very best friend. He's my rock. I don't know what I do without him.

So tonight, I thought I'd play this game and answer a few questions about my man.


1. Who is your man? Andrew



2. How long have you been together? We went on our first date ten years ago, were engaged 8 years ago, and will celebrate 8 years of marriage in January.

3. How long did you date? We dated on and off for two years before getting engaged.

4. How old is your man? My sweetie turned 30 this year.



5. Who eats more? Ha! Definitely him. :)

6. Who said "I love you" first? He did. I responded with "Okay".

7. Who is taller? The husband is a full foot taller than I am.

8. Who sings better? He is and I love that about him.

9. Who is smarter? Him, hands down. He is the smartest person I know. And I truly mean that.

10. Whose temper is worse? Hmm. I guess I will say his.

11. Who does the laundry? Most of the time I do the laundry, but he does help.

12. Who takes out the garbage? He does.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.




14. Who pays the bills? Thankfully he does. We tried several different ways of doing this before finding what works for us. He pays all of the bills except the water bill.

15. Who is better with the computer? Considering computers are his job, I'd say him. That man can do anything with a computer.

16. Who mows the lawn? Our nephew, Cody. HA! I'd say this is one of Andrew's least favorite chores so we pay our nephew to take care of it for us. Andrew doesn't have to worry about and Cody always has gas money. It works well for us. And we are so thankful that Cody doesn't mind.

17. Who cooks dinner? McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, ... Seriously we eat out too much. On the rare occasion we cook we typically cook together.


18. Who drives when you are together? Andrew - It's how we've survived almost 8 years of marriage. :)

19. Who pays when you go out? He pays nine out of ten times. Occasionally he'll ask me to. It doesn't really matter it all comes from the same place.

20. Who is most stubborn? That's tough. We are both very stubborn people.

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Again - we are both very stubborn people. :)

22. Whose parents do you see the most? It's about even. Maybe mine parents since his have moved to Osceola. We love our families and try to spend as much time with as possible.

23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me!


24. Who asked who out? He asked me to hang out.

25. Who proposed? He proposed on my birthday.




26. Who is more sensitive? Definitely ME!

27. Who has more friends? He does.

28. Who has more siblings? Andrew has two brothers and three sisters. I have one brother.



29. Who wears the pants in the family? I like to think it's even, but in all honestly he does.

I tag...Jennifer, Chelsey, Sara, Jill, and whoever else wants to play along.

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Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving starts on Wednesday every year. That is when we celebrate with the Weavers. The past few years we have celebrated in Little Rock, but this year we headed three hours north to Osceola. Andrew's parents just moved into their new house and it was nice to celebrate in their new home this year. There was plenty of room. And we need lots of room to accommodate all of us.



Thursday we headed over to spend the day with my family. We celebrated my Momma's birthday along with Thanksgiving.



Andrew had to work Friday. I slept in and enjoyed every second of it. I got up and attacked the crowds around 9:30. I found a few good deals and then came back home. I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and watching football. Our hogs lost, but it's okay. We had a good year.

Yesterday was a busy day. We celebrated our nephew, Jackson's 4th birthday and our niece, Millie's 2nd birthday. Love those two.

Last night we brought all of the Christmas decor down from the attic. We rearranged furniture and cleaned the living room. By the time that was finished, we were both ready for bed. Hopefully the tree will go up soon. Since we didn't put a single decoration last year, I'm extra excited about it this year.

We still have not made any progress on the Christmas card. Well, that's not entirely true. I've picked out our card online. Now we just have to take pictures.

It's back to work tomorrow. Three weeks and then Christmas break. Yes, I'm already counting down. :)

Loss

Edited to add: Another teacher just told me she heard B was saved last month. This lets my heart rejoice for him. I'm so glad to know this about him.


I'm at a loss for words right now. I received news earlier tonight that one of my students was in a go cart accident at his home and was air lifted to the hospital. I immediately began to pray for him and his family.

Shortly after I received word that he didn't make it.

B was only in 7th grade. He was 12 years old, maybe 13. I can't remember right now. He was a short little guy. The class clown. He was the kind of kid who raised his hand and then claimed to have forgotten his question because he thought that was funny. His stuff could be found all over our hallway because he left it all over the place. In all honesty, he drove me crazy. But he also made me laugh daily.

I will never understand this side of Heaven why things like this happen. I may not understand when I get to Heaven. I don't know if B was saved. I never asked. I'm kicking myself for that right now.

I want to line every one of my students up tomorrow and ask if they are saved.

Tomorrow. It's not going to be an easy day. If you think about it, pray for me and the other teachers. Pray for our students. Pray for B's family.

Jumping on the Bandwagon

There was a time in my life when I swore off pinterest. I did not see what was so great about it. I save things I find all the time in folders in my favorites. My favorites are very organized. What was the difference between that and pinterest?

No one really seem to have an answer to that question.


A few weekends ago, Andrew and I spent a lot of time in a hospital. His dad had open heart surgery. Thankfully he is doing very well now. During that weekend there were times when it was not appropriate for girls to be in the room so I hung out in the waiting room with my sister-in-laws.

Joy Beth and I were visiting and playing on our phones when the subject of pinterest came up. She was showing me some super cute outfits that she had pinned. That was the moment it happend. I jumped right on that bandwagon and have been addicted ever since.

The only problem with pinning cute outfits is that is makes me want to go shopping. I want to go buy all the things I'm pinning.

Here are a few of my favorites.








Are you pinning???

My First Etsy Store Sale

I opened an etsy store awhile back. I'd love to fill it with beautiful scrapbooks for sale, but I just haven't had the time. I haven't even been scrapbooking for me. I'm learning that it's okay to do a page at a time. I don't have to sit down and do an entire album in one night. With the suggestion of Chelsey, I've also made a list of projects I want/need to complete. I hope these two things will help me scrapbook on a more regular basis. I really do love it. It is such a great relaxation for me.

Last week I sold my first item on etsy. I was stoked! I ended up selling her two things for a birthday party for her triplets. How cool is that? She is doing a mickey mouse party.

I had the privilege of making the birthday banner. Here are a few pics. Please ignore the fact that my floors need to be cleaned. :) I told you, I'm working on it one thing at a time. Accountability people accountability.

Christmas Ornament Exhcange

I'm starting to get into the Christmas spirit. I have been listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies for the past few weeks. Honestly, I'd probably go ahead and put up the tree, but the husband says no.

I stumbled across a Christmas Ornament Exchange tonight as I was reading different blogs. Tomorrow is the last day to sign up, so I'm excited I found it tonight.

I absolutely love Christmas ornaments. We have such a variety of ornaments. I love all things bright and funky. I will share a few with you after Thanksgiving when we start pulling the Christmas decor down out of the attic.

A Weekend With Family

The husband and I spent the weekend with our fams. He headed north Saturday morning to help move his parents in their new house. I know they are thrilled to be at this point. Though I missed him, I'm glad he was able to go help them and spend time with them.

I headed north Friday right after work to spend time with my folks. My aunts, uncles, and cousins all gathered at my Mommom's house Friday night for dinner. Most were able to make it. Those who couldn't were missed.

I spent the night with my parents Friday night and was able to briefly meet the brother's new girlfriend.

Yesterday, we got dressed and went out to take some family pictures in the yard. I wanted to play with my new camera and my parents love me enough to let me. :) I think we got some good shots. I won't bombard you with pictures, but here are a few of my favorites.

My Wardrobe

I posted last week's wardrobe selections on my teaching blog. Here is the link if you are interested. Just thought it would be fun.

The Maiden Name Game

I received this as an email today. I decided to answer on the old blog here instead of sending an email to everyone.

1. Maiden name: - Ball

2. An animal – Bobcat

3. A boy's name – Benjamin

4. A girl's name – Belinda

5. An occupation – Bus Driver

6. A color – Brown

7. Something you wear – Beret

8. A beverage – Beer

9. A food – Burgers

10. Something found in the bathroom – Brush

11. A place – Branson

12. A reason for being late – Broken down car

13. Something you shout – Beware!




I'm supposed to find ten people to play so go ahead. Get started!! I'd love for you to leave me a comment saying you posted your answers. I'll come read. I promise!

Wordless Wednesday - I Heart Owls!

It's November....

So, it's November. I figured I better do a new post or you all would start to think I'd disappeared. That is if any of you are still out there. Are you out there?

Ya'll I started bootcamp last night. I'm not going to lie. It was hard! There was nothing fun about it. I miss Zumba. It confirmed the fact that I have absolutely no upper body strength. My arms are VERY sore today. Push ups are evil. :) Hoping I can survive the next six weeks.

This year is absolutely flying by. I've said that before, but it's never flown like it is this year. I don't want to even think about how close Christmas is. Andrew bought Michael Buble's Christmas album a couple of weeks ago. It is starting to get me in the Christmas mood. It's a pretty good cd. I think I might include it in Christmas give away soon.

Speaking of Christmas, I'm at a complete loss as to what we are going to do for our Christmas card this year. We've normally already had our photo shoot by this point. You see I've had this idea in my head for months, but I'm slowly coming to he realization that it just isn't going to come together the way I want. So now I'm completely clueless. Oh the husband had a suggestion. I vetoed that one immediately!! Though I'm getting desperate so if you totally don't "get" our card this year, you'll know I went with his suggestion. :)

On a completely different note, I'm on a mission to get our house clean and organized. I'm giving myself one or two jobs at a time. The whole shebang is way to overwhelming. I'm going to need you guys to hold me accountable. Ask me how it's going. K?

That's all I have for now. Maybe I'll have something worth blogging about soon. Right now we're just living and staying busy. :)

Tuesday Tunes: Forever Reign

We've been singing this pretty often at church. It has quickly become one of my favorites.

The Amazing Liberty Belle

Liberty's new favorite game is playing golf with her Daddy. He has practice golf balls so they play inside the house and in the backyard. He hits them and see fetches them. Today she started catching them in the air. When he quit playing she sat and stared at his golf balls crying. Guess she wasn't ready to quit.

Waiting...

Lately I have been praying about something pretty big. It's one of those things that we don't want to act on until we are sure we have a clear answer from the Lord.

This past week I was feeling a little impatient about it. Okay I was feeling a lot impatient about it. I was more than ready to hear from God about how we should proceed.

God spoke. I'm not really crazy about his answer but I have no doubt that it is his answer for now. He spoke to me through his word.

Wednesday he gave me this verse. "Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14

When I read it I just smiled because I knew that is exactly what I needed to do.

The following day when I flipped my scripture calendar at school this verse appeared.

"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9

I literally laughed out loud when I read it. I thought, Okay God. I will wait and try to be patient. :)

The verse on my blog is about trusting God's plans. It also came to mind.

I'm not very good at being patient, but what choice do I have when God specifically says Wait!!