What I'm Loving Wednesday - Summer Stuff

I haven't done a link up in a really long time.  There are so many things that I'm loving right now and I figured it was a good day for a What I'm Loving Wednesday blog post.  Plus, I need to focus on the positives and keep my mind fixed on what is good!  I have so much to be thankful for.

 

First and foremost, I'm loving my husband so very much.  He's my greatest blessing.  No one can make me laugh like he does.  He gets me, he listens to me, he loves me unconditionally, and most importantly he loves the Lord so much.  Through all of life's struggles and victories, I'm thankful I have him to share them with me.

I'm LOVING summer vacation.  Who doesn't?  It's almost 10:00 a.m. and I'm still in my PJs.  I really don't have any plans to change out of them anytime soon.  I've been especially lazy this week and I'm so thankful for the down time. I needed it badly!

I'm loving reading the Bible in 90 days.  Some of us from my Sunday school class are doing this together.  It's amazing the difference it's made in my daily life.  We're on day 38.  I'm a day and a half behind, but I plan to be all caught up by tomorrow.  I feel so full and I have a better understanding of how everything connects.  It's a chronological study so it's really interesting to see why certain Psalms were written and just how amazing God's plan has been all along for his people.  It gives me a lot of strength and renews my faith to be constantly reminded that He's got it all figured out.  I just have to be still, quiet, and trust! Easier said than done, right?!  But I'm continuing to learn and trying to be the best that I can be - the person He calls me to be.

I'm loving my new glasses and sunglasses!  Whoop whoop, I can finally see super clear again!  I went ahead and got the prescription sunglasses because I can't wear contacts.  Boy am I happy I did.  They're amazing!  And these are my 1st pair of Ray Bans...I totally know what all the hype is about now.  I think they're better than my Costas.

I'm loving this Costa Rican coffee my dear friend was nice enough to share with us.  Jared and I are hooked...it's so good and smooth!  I'm enjoying a cup as I type. :)

I'm loving this summer collection by LORAC.  I picked it up about 2 months ago from Ulta.  I was just looking for a good bronzer, but ended up buying this kit because it was such a great deal.  I love absolutely everything in it!  I wear all of it every day, except the tantalizer - that's only for special occasions or if I'm feeling particularly pale.  I think it would look great on any skin tone, especially during the summer months.  It's my must have make-up right now.

Not be be vain, but I'm also loving this blush by bareMinerals.  The color is called Fruity Cocktail.  It looks super bright, but it goes on pretty sheen and adds a nice glow.  I love makeup.  I just learned how to really put it on a few years ago, so I'm still discovering new products and methods.

 

I'm loving my linen pants and shorts I picked up recently at Old Navy.  If you live in the South, then you know how grueling the summer heat and humidity can be.  Linen is my summer staple.  These are so cute and extremely comfortable.  It's like I'm wearing yoga pants, but I look a little more dressed up.

 

I've seriously contemplated going back and getting these shorts in the cobalt blue color they have as well.  They're so comfy...perfect for those summer BBQs where you eat a little too much and need room for your food baby. ;)  You know it happens!

And last but not least, I'm loving my two crazy dogters.  They are looney, but they provide so much company and entertainment.  They're such sweet girls.  And they're pretty cute too.  I still love Rosie's smile in this picture.  So full of personality!

Hope your week has been good - halfway to the weekend!  Be blessed!

My World is Spinning Fast

Summer vacation is here and I finally feel like it's officially started!  My world is spinning very fast right now.  I hear that it continues to go faster and faster as we get older.  I don't like it.  My goal is to slow it down and take time to appreciate the small things.  Here's a little bit of what's been going on.

We've had a lot of sickness in our family and my wonderful Uncle Byran passed away recently.  He was like a grandpa to me since I never got to meet my dad's parents.  The world just doesn't seem right without him in it, but I have so much joy in knowing without a doubt that I will see him again one day in Heaven.  He was an incredible God fearing man.  He was married for 68 years, had 7 children, 15 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.  What a legacy!  I love him so much and miss him a lot.  I pray I can always hear his voice calling me "sugar" in his thick Mississippi Delta accept.  It sounded more like "shuugha". :)  I'm just thankful for my time with him and all of the awesome memories I have.  He made me this bedroom set a few years ago...all handmade of 100% Cedar.  Jared stained it for me so that it would go more with our decor, but he left the spot on the back where my Uncle Byran wrote that he loved me.  I walk into the room and just smile.

Mother and Father's Day have both passed since I last blogged and I was fortunate enough to be able to spend both with my wonderful parents.  I am blessed to have them in my life and for their marriage that has been an example for me.  I love them both so much.  They're going through a lot right now and dealing with life's hardships.  I just keep praying for strength for them as they deal with heartache within the family.  It's not easy to lose ones that you love.

 

Life with my two crazy hounds has actually been pretty good lately.  Paisley went into heat (we didn't know how old she was so it was pretty unexpected) and we had a fantastic time dealing with that, ha!  If you've ever had a dog go into heat, you know what I'm sayin....I trip to the vet is in need soon.  But her and Rosie love each other so much.  They're best friends.  Can't you tell?  Rosie's so happy that she even smiled for the picture.

They let me sleep in on my days off, sometimes.  They love to go on our 2 mile walks.  They like to bite each others' ears and necks.  They are great hunting partners in the backyard...squirrel patrol central around these parts.  They compete for our attention constantly.  What more could we ask for? ;)  And they are pretty cute.

The beach has been SO gorgeous these last few weeks.  I don't know that I've ever seen it as pretty as it has been lately.  I've been trying to spend some time out there, which is exactly what I plan on doing tomorrow.  MIL and FIL have been in town and we all went out there Saturday.  The water was crystal clear, we got to eat oysters from our favorite local seafood place, AND we ended with frozen yogurt.  Best.day.ever.

 

I've been doing a 90 Day Bible Challenge where you read the Bible in chronological order in 90 days.  We're on day 31 right now.  And I tell you what...since I've started this, my distractions are through the roof.  I know Satan is trying to keep me away from it by whatever means.  I'm just praying through it and for perseverance as I keep trying to learn, spread God's love, and do His kingdom work.  I'll post more about this later and some thoughts and ah-ha moments I've had along the way.  I'm just really feeling God's presence all around me and trying to keep my focus on Him.  Jesus is really amazing.  He loves us SO MUCH.  It's hard to comprehend that kind of love.



I plan to be much more faithful in my blogging.  I've got a few posts in mind that should be coming soon.  Here's to hoping you have a great end to your week!

FCAT, dogs, and craziness

I'm seriously terrible at keeping up with this now.  I sure do hate that.  It was one thing I always enjoyed doing, but I hardly ever have time anymore.  I need to update about what's been going on around these parts.

Well...FCAT is DONE!  Thank you, Lord.  That is always such a stressful time for us teachers who teach FCAT grade levels.  So much pressure is put on us.  I tend to take a more laid back approach because I know I've taught and prepared my students well and as the saying goes...you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.  I have to say though that my WHOLE class did such an awesome job.  They each tried their hardest and that's all I ever ask for.  I stayed busy making treats for my kids.  They really enjoyed these.

Day 1 Treat

Day 2 Treat

Day 3 Treat

AND Day 4 Treat.  I saved the best for last :)

 Now I can get back to a somewhat normal schedule in my room.  We're working on a poetry unit right now in Language Arts and the kids are having a blast.  I love to see their creativity coming out!  Some of them who struggled with writing are flourishing at poetry.  We're also doing some really cool science experiments.  Last week, we blew up water balloons with vinegar and baking soda.  This blew their minds. :)

I am truly blessed with a job I LOVE.  I wake up everyday looking forward to work.  And I'm almost done with all of my coursework to obtain my permanent certificate.  That's been keeping me busy as well.  I'm taking my last Reading Competency course and I took my last test over spring break (which I passed-yipee!).  God has really seen me through everything and has given me the endurance to keep going when I've gotten so tired.

Speaking of jobs, Jared just started his new job TODAY!  I am in awe of God's faithfulness in our lives.  He is doing so much work with us right now and we are truly thankful.  Through the valleys and the mountains, this life is a beautiful gift we have been given.  We are so thankful for His grace in our lives.

It's not all been rainbows and butterflies lately though.  We've been dealing with some really hard family situations.  My 91 year old grandpa was in a really bad accident a few weeks ago and he's darn lucky to be alive.  His guardian angel was working overtime.  My aunt and uncle both have terminal cancer and my mom and dad are really struggling.  It all breaks my heart, but I know the Sovereign One will provide and comfort.  Cancer is horrible.

Every weekend we've had something going on.  It pretty much doesn't slow down until June for us.  I'm in dire need of a beach day!  Of course we enjoy every event we go to, but deep down we're such homebodies.  I'm in bed asleep every night by 9 if I have my way, lol.

With all the busy-ness and change going on in our lives, we've also inherited a new addition to the family.  Sometimes I feel like I'm in a cartoon.  Or more accurately, I feel like Dr. Dolittle.  Last week, it was a dog, week before it was a baby bird, week before that, it was a baby squirrel.  I can't make this stuff up.  But without further ado, everyone, meet Paisley.  She's our new little fox hound. 

Long story short, she came to be ours just like Rosie.  She needs a lot of love and attention, but she's so sweet and loving.  She's much more calm than Rosie (praise the Lord) and having her around has really helped Rosie mellow out.  Maybe that's been the answer all along!  They became fast friends and now they do everything together.  Seriously, everything.

 

Rotten hounds.  They both lucked out and fell into the right hands at this house.  But that's it!  Two is enough!  Hopefully I won't have too many crazy stories to go along with these two.  I feel like I was just getting out of that with Rosie and now I'm starting all over again.


On one last note, I just have to add in how thankful I am for Jared.  Not trying to be mushy, but he seriously puts up with a lot from me and is always there no matter what.  He's my best friend.  He's the funniest person I've ever known, which is an awesome quality about him that many don't get to see.  He can have me laughing non-stop.  I'm so grateful for his commitment and faithfulness to our marriage and his drive to provide for us.  We made a decision at the beginning of the year to designate date nights together and it has made such a difference - no cell phones, no interruptions, just us.  I love it and I love him.  I have so much fun with him.

I hope you all have a blessed week and take the time to be thankful for the little things in life.  They're really not so little.

Life's Busy!

I'm alive!  I have been so crazy busy with home life and school.  Everything that's not absolutely necessary has been put aside, so blogging has suffered.  Here's what I've been up to though...church, hanging out with my husband, dog, family, and of course teaching.  My family has received some bad news about my aunt, so we're trying to spend as much time together as possible.  Sometimes it takes great heartache to remind us of what's truly important in life.

 I've recently become involved in a high school girl's ministry at our church.  I'm working with the freshman girls and LOVING it.  I wish I had been apart of something like this back in my high school days.  Things may have been different for me if I had gotten on the straight and narrow a long time ago!  But no worries, God never stopped chasing me and He eventually caught me and straightened me out ;)  I'm really excited to be with these girls.  Here we are at our painting party.

 My grandpa turned 91 this year!  We spent the day celebrating with him and I fixed him his favorite chocolate cake.  He has deemed me his cake maker.  I am honored :)

Me, grandpa, and my aunt Margaret

 J and I

 We've been scheduling date nights and taking time for each other since the new year.  Not that we didn't before, but we definitely needed this with the schedules we're both keeping right now.  I love hanging out with him.  He's not only my husband, but my best friend.  We've grown so much together over the past almost 4 years.  And he still knows the way to my heart...ice cream.

Our furgirl is still her sweet playful self.  She makes me smile everyday.  I couldn't imagine a life without her.  Coming home to her little wagging body is the sweetest treat.  Even if she digs holes in our yard or eats light bulbs and gets in big trouble, she still loves us.

That's what I've been up to!  Faith, family, work.  That's all I've had time for recently, but at least I've got my priorities in order.  Hopefully soon I'll have more time to post and catch up on some really good recipes!  Be blessed!

Another Year Older

Another birthday has come and gone.  I'm starting to feel old.  I know that's so silly, but I'm not "young twenties" anymore.  Thirty is creeping up.  I had a great day, but there was a little sadness behind it all.  I hate to even write about it, but I know I'll never forget it so why try to mask my feelings?

As I had said prior in dealing with the miscarriage, there would always be certain days that I'd be sad.  For the most part, I've been good here lately.  I've had great news from the doctor and am feeling back to normal.  BUT around my birthday was when we were supposed to find out the gender of our baby.  I had been so so so excited about this, making plans in my head already and then it was all taken away.  So, I couldn't help but think of that and feel the sting where excitement had once ruled.  I know it'll all be okay, but there were those "landmark" moments in my pregnancy that I anticipated with so much excitement.

I'm just thankful for my awesome hub-sand and my family and friends to give me the love that I definitely needed.  My day started with a great birthday lunch with my mom, Meemaw, and hubs at my favorite local Mexican restaurant.  Their food is so fresh and so good.

Meemaw, momma, and the birthday girl

Jared and I

I get some pretty amazing flowers.  I love flowers.  I always try to have fresh ones in the house.

Flowers from Jared

Flowers from my Meemaw.  Ab Lincoln roses smell divine.

Before going to dinner at another favorite local restaurant, Jared snapped a few pictures.  You know I had to get one with my dog-ter.

A hug and a kiss from Rosie Posie

We came home and celebrated with birthday cupcakes.  I guess this is a tradition because we did the same thing last year.  Jared didn't let me lift a finger and it was awesome.  I welcomed the relaxation.

Jared was in the midst of trial prep, so we kept it low key.  I'm a low key type of person anyways.  I much rather be at home in my sweats.  (Which is in fact, is what I'm doing at this very moment.)

I got a new Daily Devotional from my older brother and SIL.  I hadn't heard of this one, but I love it.  It's so much more in depth and there are actually scripture passages to read along with the devotion.  I had started Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer, but it just wasn't doing it for me.  In my opinion, it was kind of silly.  This was what I had been searching for.  But the OCD in me thinks I need to wait until January 1st to start it because that's the proper order.  I haven't decided yet, but either way, it's an excellent addition to my quiet time.

I was able to really relax this last week and I finally finished another book that I had been wanting to read since I bought it back in March.  I'm a book nerd when I have the time.  The Memory Keeper's Daughter was a great read.  I'd definitely recommend it.

I'm thankful for another year.  Seriously.  When I look back at my birthday last year, we were living in our rental and I was still working at the law firm.  Not that there's anything wrong with any of that.  It's just amazing to me how much grace God has given me in a year's time.  I know I've been through some hardships this last year, but I have to keep it all in perspective and count my blessings, not my troubles.  I must reflect to remind myself of all I've been given.  I'm so blessed with my wonderful husband who can't wait to get home to me every day, our great families who love us so much, our beautiful home to make our own, my teaching career, and a magnitude of people who love me and took time out of their day just to tell me Happy Birthday.  Thank you so much.  XO

December Brain Dump

I realize I haven't just been bad about blogging lately - I've been downright awful.  I have not posted once in December.  Somehow I figured that this December would be much more calm and slower than normal but I haven't had much downtime so I'm going to make one long post about some very memorable moments of my life this December.

We were only in school for 2 weeks of this month and it FLEW by.  I participated in a Secret Santa with some of the teachers and had a ball.  My Secret Santa was so spot on with me.  I absolutely loved by gifts.  They were so heartfelt.  One that meant so much to me was a book titled "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World".  I opened it up and started reading some of it.  I plan to finish it this week...WOW did I need that book or what...I'll blog more after I get done reading it, but it deals with things I really struggle with in life.

I had some really fun activities for my kids gearing up for the holidays.  We finished up our chapter in science on rocks and minerals.  To spice it up, I had my dad (who is a geologist) come in as a guest speaker.  He brought about 20 mineral samples and ended up making each kid a bag full of 5 minerals each.  He's the best father and has such a giving heart.  I know he's my dad, but I've never known anyone more giving than him.  The kids LOVED it!  They were so excited and it was a great way to make it a memorable lesson.  They had to take their bag of minerals up to my table and identify which ones they had.  I wish I had a picture of how it was all laid out, but as always, I am terrible about remembering to take pictures.





The week before Christmas, we made snowmen out of water bottles and then made cinnamon applesauce ornaments.  The snowmen were adorable.  My kids' creativity was cracking me up!  I bought pipe cleaners, felt, poms, googly eyes, and Styrofoam balls to help make the heads, arms, and clothing.  We stuffed empty water bottles with white tissue paper and then glued everything else on.  I had them write a story about "The Day it Snowed" to tie it into Language Arts.  Such a fun activity!  Now the cinnamon ornaments were a hit too - but time consuming!  It took them about 3 days to dry before I could have the kids decorate them.  Luckily they were all done in time to go home for Christmas.  The last day of school, we had a Christmas party in class.  My kids all got a little something from me (with the help of my folks) and I made them hot chocolate in the crockpot while we watched The Polar Express.  It was also pajama day at school.  We had a great time!  These are special memories that I will always cherish with my first class.  I love those kids.





Aside from work, we attended a few Christmas parties and ornament exchanges.  Our Sunday School Christmas party was a lot of fun this year.  The theme was "What Child is This" and our teachers compiled a booklet full of all of us in the class as children then we had a dirty Santa ornament exchange.  J and I ended up with great ornaments.  I thought mine was so stinkin cute.  It's a Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus s'more set.  J got a talking Beaker from the Muppets.




If you've read my blog for any length of time or know me, you know I love to cook and bake.  Unfortunately, I did not have nearly enough time for that this year like I had hoped, but I did try making cake balls for the first time.  They were really easy and very good - got lots of compliments on them.  This is them before I packaged them all up for delivery.  The white coated ones are strawberry and the others were chocolate.






I also made these Christmas cookies for a cookie swap at school.  I had pinned them sometime ago and figured I'd try them since they looked so Christmas-y.  I thought they were good, but they were different.  They get their red color from cherries that you puree, so if you're not a fan of cherries, you won't like these.

We were blessed enough to be able to afford a dining room table right before Christmas.  We had been searching for awhile and finally decided on a set we kept coming back to.  I loved having it in the house for us to enjoy during the holidays.  We hosted our first Christmas dinner over here and all got to sit around it.  At night, it was perfect for our intense evening of board games.  ;)

I did not take one picture of Christmas festivities.  Shame on me.  I was too busy doing this or that.  It makes me sad now, but what can I do.  This reminds me again of how much I need to read "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World".  Jared managed to snap a few pictures of us girls cooking.  I made my grandma's dressing recipe for the first time and I was so excited by how well it turned out.  There's no "recipe", just a little of this and a little of that.  My mom told me what all was in it as best she could and I totally winged it.  I was so thankful that it turned out better than I could have imagined and everyone enjoyed it.  Making that dressing is one of the reasons I love cooking so much - it was my dad's mom's whom I never met; she died way before I was born.  But I feel like her memory can live on through me by recreating her recipes.  I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else but it always makes me feel good to cook family recipes and bring joy to my family like I know my grandma used to do through her cooking.  We had a big feast - ham, dressing, sweet potato souffle', mashed potatoes (thank you, Jules!), green beans and corn (thank you, MIL!), bread, chocolate cake, and pecan pies (thank you, Angie!). 

Rosie enjoyed her first Christmas with us as well.  We got her last January so she's never spent Christmas with us.  She was feeling very festive.  And I was so very happy that she did not feel the need to tear up any decorations or pay any attention to the tree!  Yipee!




The best part about this December has been the time I've spent with my loved ones.  My husband is the most wonderful man and I am so thankful to spend my days and nights with him.  He is truly amazing and such a God send in my crazy life.  It was so nice to see all of my family this year and spend time with old friends I hadn't seen in awhile.  I love being able to hug my mom and dad's necks and loved having J's family here for the holidays.  I loved celebrating my Lord's birthday and tried to keep that as my focus as I prepared for Christmas festivities.  I could definitely have done a better job than I did and I think that will be my goal from here on out - make Christmas all about Christ instead of decorations, holiday shopping, etc.  My heart felt so happy when I put on Christmas songs and Christian music and just sang out loud as I worked to prepare the food.

I'm sure I've left something out, but this is enough brain dump for one sitting.  I'm off to warm up some leftovers and snuggle up with my hub-sand.  We're enjoying a nice quiet evening in our sweats - it doesn't get much better than that! ;)

I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas filled with love.  XOXO