Up, Up, and Away

Yesterday was the big day. I woke up excited to go flying with the husband. Of course the closer we got to the flying center the more nervous I got. I really do not enjoy flying.

We thought we would do some debriefing down on the ground, fly for 30 minutes or so, and then more debriefing on the ground. That's not what happened at all. As soon as we got there our instructor took us out to the plane.

We climbed in and got all buckled up. Andrew and the instructor went through a pre-flight checklist and started contact with the control tower. I had the biggest smile on my face during all this. I knew Andrew was loving every minute and that made me a happy wife.

The control tower gave us permission for take off and we were on our way. It was a little scary at first, but it didn't take long for me to relax and enjoy the flight. We had a bit of turbulence which I was not a fan of at all.

I enjoyed seeing God's creation from a new perspective. It was beautiful. I would LOVE to go during the fall when the leaves are changing colors. Our instructor flew us out to Petit Jean so we could circle around the waterfall. Though I loved seeing the waterfall, I was not a fan of the circling. That plane was way too slanted for my preference.
After he circled the waterfall a couple of times he asked Andrew if he knew which way Little Rock was. Apparently lots of people get up there and don't know which direction home is. Andrew said he knew the way and then proceeded to fly us home. Our instructor took back over when we got close so that he could land the plane.

I actually really enjoyed the flight. I think it was because I knew Andrew was loving it. It is something I would definitely do again.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Celebrating Number Eight

Eight years ago I had the honor of becoming Mrs. Andrew Weaver.

He is truly my best friend. The past eight years have been full of ups and downs as I'm sure it is with all marriages. We are two sinners. That's always enough to make things interesting.

We usually celebrate with dinner at Applebee's (where we went on our first date) and a movie. This year we decided to break tradition. His mom and dad gave us a gift card to Outback for Christmas so we decided to dine there. It was so yummy.

Andrew started with ahi tuna. He loves it! I can't bring myself to try it.

I chowed down on a yummy plate of pasta.


In between all the yummy food, I gave Andrew his anniversary gift.


One of the things I love most about my husband is that he is a dreamer. That man can make anything sound like a good idea and I mean anything. I am absolutely terrified of planes. I cry every time I go to the airport. Yet, this Saturday I'm climbing into a small plane and going for a nice little afternoon flight with my husband. As a little anniversary surprise, I scheduled for him to take a flying lesson. He has always wanted to get his pilot's license and someday own a plane. We can't really afford a plane right now, but he can at least have fun for a day.

I have been so excited to tell him. I think he was pretty shocked. He said, "I'm feeling better already." I think it had been a long day of work. :)

I'll take that as a good sign.

We opted out of the movie this year. Reality took over. I go back to work tomorrow and honestly I've done nothing to prepare. I need to make a few seating charts and write a few lesson plans. Nothing too big. HA! He is getting up early and heading to Alabama for work. We didn't need to be out late. I guess that is what eight years of marriage looks like. :)

I don't mind. I told a friend today that each year gets easier and better. I love being married to my husband. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else other than right here by his side dreaming with him.


So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5:33

Tuesday Tunes: Day After Day

I've mentioned before that KLOVE has free songs for iTunes on their website. They offer a new song every other week or so. I LOVE this. My playlist has filled up pretty quick with their free songs.

Right now they are offering Day After Day by Kristian Stanfill. It's a really good song that I think you will like. Give it a listen and then go download it for free.

2012

It seems we are already two days into the new year. I love starting a new year. I always go into it with high hopes. Some of my hopes may be unrealistic, but that's part of the fun in my opinion. Andrew and I are dreamers. I like that about us.

I always start the new year with the goal to spend more time in the Word, more time with Jesus. I think it is the most important thing I can do with the year. I recently started reading The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. I did a Bible study by him a few years ago on respectable sins that I truly enjoyed. It was one of those studies that cut deep down to the core. Those are the best kind - the hardest kind, but the best kind. I'm a chapter into this new book and I've already been convicted of things in my life that need to change. It talked about how we seem to downsize our sin because there are other people out there doing sins that are worse. That just isn't factual. In God's eyes sin is sin. He doesn't categorize sin the way we do. Our sin is offensive to God no matter how small it may seem to us. That is the thing that has stuck out to me the most. I'm trying to grasp just how offensive it is to God. We are sinning against Him.

Okay preaching over. It was more for me than you anyway. I'm trying to really take my time with this book and process it. As a lover of books, I tend to just read through it and move on without mediating and soaking in what it is God wants me to learn. I'm trying to not do that with this book.

While we are on the topic of books, one of my goals this year is to keep a running list of all the books I read in 2012. A few days before Christmas break, one of my students asked me how many books I had read since the beginning of school. I keep a board in my room that lets my students know what I just finished reading, am reading, and plan to read. Some of them really like to see it change. They've noticed it changes quite frequently. I was not able to answer the question of how many books I'd read, though I think I came up with a pretty good estimate. So this year, I plan to keep a list of books that I read. I'm curious to see how many I will read this year

I go back to work Wednesday. I'm sort of in denial about the fact. I'm not dreading it. I've missed my students and we have some exciting thing coming up this semester. But at the same time I have truly enjoyed my free time. I've read and scrapbooked and just enjoyed being home. I hope I can keep up with my scrapbooking once I'm back at work. I have several projects to finish.

Andrew and I have spent the past few days doing a little cleaning and organizing. We've haven't accomplished as much as I would have liked, but we have definitely made some progress. Our big project was cleaning out and organizing our attic. We hope that will help up with the inside of the house. Now we have a place to store things.

I'm looking forward to seeing what 2012 brings for our little family. There are some pretty big things that I would LOVE to see happen, but I'm trusting God in all of it. I am trusting that if we will let him, He will do big things in our lives and through our lives.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

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