A New Chapter

9 months old; my how the time flies!

2010-04-17T13:18:00.005-04:00

9 months is a FUN age. He is up and crawling everywhere, smiling and laughing, and playing. We are loving every minute of it! :)

His laugh is pretty amazing. Here's a taste.

2009-11-24T12:39:00.002-05:00

2009-09-28T21:23:00.004-04:00

And I'm working on a video clip that I'll post tomorrow. I'll need to split up the clip, since there's a 100 MB upload limit.

2009-09-01T21:34:00.007-04:00

Check out the pictures! He's pretty awesome!

One Month!

2009-07-30T17:44:00.002-04:00

James had his one month check up today.
He is 11 pounds, 4 ounces and 22 inches in length. He is in the 90th percentile for growth!!! He is a healthy boy; what a blessing!

My wonderful friend came on down yesterday, on his one month birthday exactly, and took several sweet pictures of the little dude. Scroll on down to see them! :) Enjoy!

James' first waterfall adventure!

2009-07-21T11:57:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day; we could not help but get outside and flock north to our Georgia mountains. We enjoyed our first family trip to a waterfall-- to Tocoa Falls. It was a peaceful, beautiful, and extremely short hike to a simple and angelic waterfall. Below are pictures from our adventure!

Be sure to scroll on down to see more pictures of James!
Two posts in one day-- man! James is sleeping really well right now...

James, James, and more James! :)

2009-07-21T11:41:00.002-04:00

Enjoy the pictures of sweet James below! :)

My baby story :)

2009-07-07T18:06:00.004-04:00

This is MY baby story... after many summer afternoons of watching the show on TLC, hoping little James would take a hint, I finally get to tell my baby story. :)

Friday, June 26- I had my weekly check up late in the afternoon. My doctor told me that I was already dialated 2 cm and 90% effaced. The nurses gave me a list of the doctors on-call that weekend... just in case. I went home, and, as I was driving, contractions began. I felt contractions for 7 hours, starting at about 10-15 minutes apart and eventually reaching 6 minutes apart. I called the doctor on call because we live 45 minutes from the hospital, but he told me to wait until they were 5 minutes apart. Then they stopped an hour after I got off the phone with him.

Saturday, June 27 (evening)- Contractions start up again, but are all over the place. We don't think too much of them.

Sunday, June 28- I had a small suspicion that my water had broken. I say slight suspicion because it wasn't anything dramatic. I wasn't sure, and I really didn't want to worry over it to the point of going to the hospital just to be sent back home. I decided that if I still felt that way Monday morning, I would call my doctor's office and make an appointment.

Monday, June 29: 10:40am- I called the doctor's office because I still felt like my water was broken. I set up an appointment for 1:30pm, showered, re-packed our hospital bag, ate some lunch, and headed out to the doctor!

Monday, June 29:

2:15pm- I got called back and met with the doctor. He conducted a nitrozine (spelling???) test to see if my water had broken, but it was negative. He then took a sample and looked at it under the microscope... and found that my water had maybe not broken, but was leaking from a tear. No matter what had happened, he found amniotic fluid. He sent me immediately to the hospital because my water could have been leaking for over 24 hours, which could increase chances of infection for the baby.

2:30pm- I made the super quick drive across Athens to St. Mary's, parked the car, walked on in, and admitted myself, much to the amusement of everyone who registered me. I then walked myself up to labor and delivery, handed my paperwork to the nurse at the desk, and walked back to my room! (Chris, at this point, was already in Madison, either waiting for me to come home, upset and disappointed, or for a phone call for him to meet me in Athens!)

3:30pm- I was all settled in. Once I walked into my room, I changed into the glamorous hospital gown, settled in the bed, and immediately met the doctor on call. He wanted to get the labor going, so he rushed right on in, ran another nitrozine test (which was inconclusive in his opinion), then broke my water! He told me that I was having the baby by midnight, and I told him I was all for it! My nurse then hooked me up to an IV, running antibiotics, fluids, and pitocin through me. At this point, I was just hanging out, making phone calls, and waiting for labor to really start.

5:30pm- Labor had really kicked in, and the contractions were pretty painful and coming rather closely together. I was only at 4cm, but the nurse asked me if I wanted to start some pain management meds. I really wasn't sure, and she assured me that the time would come where I would really want pain meds. She said she would administer them when I wanted them.

6:30pm-ish- I kinda started to loose track of time here due to extreme pain. I had indeed reached the point where contractions were strong and close, providing little time for relief, and I was begging for my first round of pain meds, which was Staedal. This medicine was supposed to take the edge off and knock me out for about an hour, so they administered the meds and upped the level of pitocin at the same time. My dcotor wanted me further along in labor before I had an epideral because sometimes an epideral will slow down the labor.

7:00-8:00pm- A half an hour after the meds were administered, I realized they were NOT WORKING. I had about an hour straight of contraction after contraction with little relief in between. I requested an epideral, but both my doctor and the anesthesiologist were in an emergency c-section operation, and I had to go through another bag of fluid before they could give me an epideral.

8:00pm- The anesthesiologist arrived! I had never been more excited! Chris signed consent for my epideral (I was in too much pain!), and the anesthesiologist rambled on about all the side effects and what not, and began to prep me for the procedure.

8:30pm- Mere seconds after the epideral was administered, I felt relief. It came just in time. At this point, I was at 6cm.

9:00pm- They checked me, and I was at 9cm! Things were rocking right along, and the nurses and my dcotor began getting everything prepared for delivery as we all hung out in the waiting room.

9:45ish-10:00pm- I was ready! My bed was broken, though, so they had to track down another one, transfer me to it, hook it all back up, and begin!

10:49pm- James Randolph Edwards was born, and he hollered pretty much immediately. Chris announced his arrival with a simple text message: "He's hollering!"

The nurses set right to work, cleaning him and measuring him. Before they checked his weight, they asked me what I thought he weighed. I guessed around 8.5 pounds. They placed him on the scale, and, much to my surprise, he weighed a whopping 9 pounds, 8 ounces! I never would have guessed! Goodness! :)

Tonight, one week later, we are back in the hospital. Sweet James is jaundiced. He's hanging out under a phototherapy lamp while Chris and I are hanging out, patiently waiting for his billi levels to go back down. It breaks my heart to watch him just lying there, fussy because he can't be held, with little sunglasses covering up his pretty eyes. He will hopefully get better soon so we can all be home together.

What a blessing he is to Chris and me! :) A new chapter of our family's life has begun!

James is here! :)

2009-07-02T10:31:00.006-04:00

James Randolph Edwards
June 29, 2009 10:49pm
9 lbs, 8 oz
21 inches

Here he is talking to his Aunt Jenn! :)

Lack of an update

2009-06-19T16:32:00.003-04:00

Normally, I would title this post as an update on James, but there is nothing to report, much to my dismay. I am on a weekly basis now with my doctors, and today they told me nothing. The doctor commented that he "was no small baby" as he measured my belly, found his heartbeat, determined that James was head down and had dropped slightly, commented on how well my pregnancy has been, filled out an appointment card, and sent me on my way. It took a max of 10 minutes.

I left feeling very discouraged. I really want to know if some progress has been made in the right direction, especially since I am so worried that I won't go into labor at all. I also feel that each day that passes, my chances of having a c-section increase along with James' size. That discourages me even more because I don't want to spend my precious time off with James recovering from major abdominal surgery.

I don't want to complain or anything, so I am sorry if it sounds that way. It is a blessing that my pregnancy has gone so smoothly and that James has had the time he needs. God has truly been taking care of James and me, and I am incredibly thankful. I am really just struggling now with trusting God's timing and plans for James' birth.

His will be done.

Summer Memories

2009-06-17T17:37:00.003-04:00

About an hour and a half ago, I arrived home from spending a wonderful afternoon with my in-laws. We ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A, went swimming, and then watched a movie.

As I watched all my sweet nieces and nephews kicking and splashing around in the pool and then crashing with a movie, I couldn't help but remember all my summer afternoons spent like that.

I specifically remember packing snacks and lunches and going to Four Winds Pool to spend a summer afternoon swimming, splashing, kicking, jumping, and flipping around in the water. The only time mom could get us out was during adult swim. Mom would relax with a book or visit with other parents, and sometimes she would swim with us. We'd get out after a few hours (and lots of threats from mom), go home, and enjoy a popsicle (the kind that you buy as a juice and freezes). Jenn and I would then crash with a movie while mom got dinner ready for when dad got home. Even better days were the ones where dad was off and we would have a cook-out for dinner! I can remember coming home, climbing out of our old Explorer, and smelling the hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill... yum!

I smile when I think of those fantastic lazy summer days, and I relished in today knowing that my nieces and nephews were creating the same awesome summer memories I now have in my head.

The next new moon?

2009-06-16T09:52:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, after attending morning services of Shoal's annual meeting, we all headed down to a nursing home in Thomson to visit a church member Chris grew up knowing. As we walked in, this sweet older woman was sitting at a table to gather donations for Cystic Fibrosis, and she introduced herself as Mildred Throckmorton. I flipped out! I asked her to repeat her last name, and I told her that my maiden name was Throckmorton. She was a sweet, gentle, polite woman, a lot like my Grandma Throckmorton, and I truly enjoyed getting to talk with her. She asked me when my baby was due, and when I told her, she grinned and told me to find out when the next new moon is. She thinks my baby boy will be born then. I smiled, and we left.

The second we got home, Chris and I went to weather.com to look up the moon cycle. The next new moon will happen on June 22. That would be next week. Next Tuesday, to be exact. If only I could be so lucky! I'm really beginning to wonder if James will come late. We've had all this talk about him coming early, so with all this expectation for the past 8 months, it would be just my luck for him to hang out until well past July 8th, despite his HUGE size. I say this because he has not dropped yet, and nothing has happened to indicate that labor is happening any time soon.

I really want him to come early, which I fear is selfish and self-serving. If he comes on-time or late, I am going to have to take unpaid time off to finish my maternity leave. I do not have enough sick days to cover the time off. I only have 11 sick days, and it would take 15 to finish up maternity leave, if he is born on time. I want lots of time off with this little dude, with sick days left to take care of him when he gets sick.

I'm really thankful that I got bit with the nesting bug last week because I sure don't feel like doing much this week. It hurts! Just walking around is uncomfortable. All i am doing this week is maintaining the mess and tackling school stuff. I have some books to read, procedures to plan, and worksheets to type up. I also want to get the bag packed for the hospital once and for all. Just in case Tuesday is the big day. :)

Summer Routine!

2009-06-08T17:36:00.004-04:00

This is truly my first real day of summer vacation, and I am super excited because I think I have stumbled upon the perfect summer routine for me (until little James makes his debut).

I get up in the morning with Chris (which is not too terribly early-- 7am or so), eat breakfast (maybe get ambitious enough one day to make us both breakfast), and send him off to work. Once he is gone, I throw on some "work clothes" and get to work on the house... not a whole lot! Just one chore at a time each day! Today I cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen, plus mopped the floors, all while baby clothes were washing in the laundry room. (I know today was not one chore, and I am feeling it right now-- believe me! I am sitting in bed until Chris can get home and help me out-- my back hurts that much!) I then shower and make myself a simple lunch. That leaves my afternoon open for anything-- reading a good book, getting a pedicure (which I am scared to do until the house is a little more ready for baby), cutting my hair, going swimming, going to the doctor, and other fun stuff like that! :)

I am so excited about this routine, and if I tackle a chore a day, it does not over work me and helps me feel ready for baby. My plan for this week is to work on the nursery tomorrow now that all the clothes and items are clean and ready to go. On Wednesday I am going to straighten up our living room and dining room-- vacuum the furniture and floors and hopefully box up our DVDs. On Thursday I am going to work on our guest room/office and hopefully organize it for good. On Friday I am spending the day with my mom! :)

Right now I am truly thankful for all the work we completed over spring break, even though I was overwhelmed. I can't imagine what I would do right now if our house was in the same order as before spring break. It stresses me out a little bit, actually.'

So a little baby update... or maybe I shouldn't use "little"...

As of Friday, James measured at 7 pounds, 3 ounces. eek!
My doctor's office is doing nothing with this information, which I completely respect. A baby, no matter his weight, is still a preemie when born before his due date... as explained to me.
The ultrasound pictures are hard to decipher because James is all squished in there.
I go to the doctor every week now until he decides to come!

I am still trying to be content in the Lord's timing, even though I want James in my arms now! I watched A Baby Story this afternoon while I folded baby clothes, hoping James could take a hint. :)

The end is near!

2009-06-03T16:26:00.002-04:00

Last week, I posted as my facebook status that "the end is near." I was really referring to the end of school since I posted it on Wednesday and our last day was Friday. And oh what a happy day Friday was! I have NEVER been more excited for school to get out. Now I am struggling through this week to get all the post-planning work done, and I can say once again, the end is near! Tomorrow is our last day!

My facebook status, however, could also refer to the end of my pregnancy! As of today, I am 35 weeks pregnant. I can count down to James' due date on ONE HAND. Time seems to have flown by! My pregnancy has been a blessing; I have been extremely fortunate to have no complications and no major discomforts. I credit that to my job, keeping me up and around on my feet, instead of propping my feet up and, as one student told me I should do, eating sweet potato pie all day. Just recently a few discomforts have emerged, like being unable to get into a comfortable sleeping position!

I am SO excited to meet James. The fear and nervousness have not kicked in yet; all I feel is excitement to meet my little dude, to hold him and love on him as much as possible. I have a few things left to do to get ready for his arrival, but, in all honesty, we'd be ready for him to arrive today! I have made myself content, however, to wait on God's good timing, whether that brings James early or late.

Speaking of James' arrival... if you want to make a guess in the baby poll, please do so! It is unlocked now and can be played!

A bittersweet time

2009-05-10T19:15:00.002-04:00

Mother's Day in my family was not only a Sunday set aside to recognize mom, but it was also a day, especially once college rolled around, to celebrate dad, whose birthday fell within a few days of Mother's Day. We would go to church, go out to eat a nice lunch somewhere, and open presents- both Mother's Day and birthday. It was like a Parents' Day.

Dad's birthday is this Tuesday.

Today, I am thankful for the time I spent with my daddy. I am thankful that he was born on this Earth nearly 58 years ago, and I got to have him as my dad for 24 of those years (almost). I am thankful for the job he spent over half of his life laboring at to provide my sister and me with everything we could have ever needed. I am thankful that dad's world revolved around his family because I have many treasured memories of time spent with my dad.

Today, I admire my mom. 2008 was an extremely difficult year for her. Her mother broke her hip escaping from the nursing home. Many thought she would not recover. Her father was hospitalized for a serious ulcer due to all the stress resulting from the nursing home accident. Mom spent most of the summer traveling back and forth to Missouri to help take care of her parents. Then, to top it all off, her husband of almost 26 years passes away suddenly and unexpectedly. I admire my mom's unwavering faith in our Lord. Her strength, hope, and comfort all come from Him, and she has found everything she needs to continue on in life in Him. God has taken care of her, and continues to take care of her, and mom fully relies on Him. Some may turn their back on God in tough times, but mom just threw herself at Him, trusting in Him and and His promises.

As I prepare to become a parent, I realize more and more what my parents did for me, and these are just the highlights. I could go on for forever about the sacrifices they made and the many happy memories I have from growing up in such a loving household. I hope with all of my heart that I can be the same kind of parent to James.

Thank you, daddy and momma, for everything.

Play the game!

2009-05-04T17:36:00.002-04:00

I think James is going to be unpredictable! He might come early, he might enjoy hanging out and taking his sweet time. What time of day will he be born? We know he is going to be rather, er, large, but how large will he get? Or will he throw us for a loop and be average sized? How long will he be?

Play the Expectnet game and see if you guess correct! If you do, I promise there will indeed be a prize, and I will select an appropriate prize for the winner.

Have fun! Don't be afriad to guess! :)

James is an overachiever!

2009-04-23T20:39:00.005-04:00

At my routine doctor's appointment on Monday afternoon, my doctor informed me that according to measurements taken, James is "much larger than expected." He asked that I come in for an ultrasound as soon as possible to confirm. "As soon as possible" ended up being on Wednesday morning, and the ultrasound did indeed confirm that James is growing rapidly and that he is a few weeks ahead. He is in the 81st percentile for growth (50 percentile being normal, of course), and he is already around 3 pounds and 10 ounces! If he continues at this rate, he will be around 9-10 pounds at the time of birth!

All I know right now is that, according to the chart, his Actual Ultrasonic Age is 30 weeks and 5 days (I was 29 weeks pregnant at the time), and his Actual Ultrasonic due date is June 26. The ultrasound tech told me that in another few weeks I will have another ultrasound down to monitor the growth and decide what needs to be done and when.

I don't necessarily understand all of this, but none of it scares or suprises me. Chris was 9 pounds and 15 ounces at birth, and he was 2-3 weeks early! I never really expected to stick to the due date. I laughed when the doctor told me on Monday that he was "much larger than expected."

I'm just taking it all in stride. It's not anything bad, and, the good thing from the ultrasound is some more pictures of my sweet boy!

Counting blessings

2009-03-31T20:52:00.002-04:00

I've recently discovered the maternity leave policy of my school. I've also realized that I misunderstood what colleagues have told me. All this time, I thought that summer did not count, so I would get six weeks come the start of the school year. I was wrong. My six weeks of leave starts the very day that little James is born. Depending on when he is born, I may or may not have time off from school. I also do not have enough sick days stored up if James is born on time, meaning I might have to take unpaid leave.

I have been really upset about this discovery. I was looking forward to a decent amount of time home with my first child, and now that is taken away from me.

Then I watched a news report about how the poor economy is affecting families all over the world.

At least I have a job to go back to in August. That puts things in perspective!

Update on James!

2009-03-16T16:55:00.002-04:00

I had a doctor's appointment two weeks ago. It was nothing too exciting; however, the doctor was suprised at the size. I think James is turning out to be a little larger than expected, but that is just my guess. I'm not really suprised. I really hope James does take after his daddy! (I might take those words back come July!)

The nursery is coming along nicely. I am really upset with myself for not taking "before" pictures. Our nursery was the catch-all junk room because our house has less closet space than our apartment. Chris and I spent several weekends cleaning it out, traveling to Goodwill, boxing up decorations and other odds and ends, loading up the attic, and rearranging furniture to get the room to where it is today. I am not taking pictures of it, though, until it is painted and ready to go! I got the nursery theme all ready to go. At a local baby goods sale, I got an extremely nice nursery bedding set for only $50. It includes the crib bumper, fitted sheet, valence, musical mobile, lamp, quilt, and dust ruffle. At Babies R Us, it sells for $170. I registered for fun extras, like curtains and wall hangings.

James is a very active little dude. I feel him moving constantly. I feel little kicks and punches, and I still feel what feels like him rolling around inside. It is one of the best feelings ever! I could be having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day, and then James will move, so I know all is right in the world. Chris has even been able to feel him move once; he felt a little flutter. I can't wait until Chris can feel and see the movements. It makes me sad sometimes that he can't share in it, and I know it frustrates him, too.

He was rolling around all over the place yesterday while we toured the Family Birth Center at St. Mary's, which is where he will be born. It is an amazing facility, and that is all I can really say. I'm not looking forward to the whole labor and delivery process that will take place there (I read up on it yesterday), but I am really looking forward to the end result.

Since you have read this far, I will amuse you with some of my crazy pregnancy dreams. Because I have been studying up on labor, delivery, and postpartdum stuff, I am afraid my dreams from last night expressed all the nervousness I feel about bringing home a baby and taking care of him. I had three unusual and upsetting dreams in a row that my co-workers ended up finding quite amusing today, so hopefully you will, too. :)

Dream One: I do not remember the dream. I only remember waking up, frantic and terrifed, wondering where James was. I guess I lost him in the dream or something. Thankfully, night time is an active time for little dude, so he kicked me, and relief flooded me; he hasn't even been born yet!
Dream Two: I was attending a meeting at my old church. I had nothing to carry James to the car in, so I placed him in a small duffel bag and zipped it up. When I got to the church, I unzipped the bag, afraid of what I would find. He was lying still, but, as I picked him up, he coughed. I woke up, crying. Horrible dream. It has haunted me all day long.
Dream Three: I did not have a bottle to feed James with. I was panicking, and his cries were getting louder and louder as we rode in the school bus. I snatched a sheet of paper from a student, dabbed some formula (which was already mixed by some miracle) on the end, and siphoned the formula into his mouth. I woke up after I fed him.

I am almost in the "home stretch" of this pregnancy! Where does the time go? Before I know it, James will be here!! :)

So excited! :)

2009-02-25T18:39:00.002-05:00

Knowing that Chris and I are expecting a boy has made this pregnancy even more real to me. I can't help but wonder so much about this little dude.

Will he have blonde or brown hair?
Will he take after Chris' weight and height? (9 pound baby...)
Will he have Chris' wild imagination? (I hope so)
What will his laugh sound like?
What will his smile look like?

Every time I watch television or walk around and see a baby boy, I can't help but get lost in thought. As each day passes, I get closer to meeting this little man and getting some of my answers (I know some I will have to wait for even longer).

What a blessing this is! I cannot wait to meet James!

Every Two Years

2009-02-16T07:43:00.002-05:00

I realized a while ago that at about every two years, something significant has happened to Chris and me in our relationahip.

December, 2003: Chris and I met at Berry College.
October, 2005: Chris proposed; we were engaged to be married!
May, 2007: We get married!!! :)
July, 2009: We will welcome our son into the world.

I wonder what 2011 will bring...?

It's a Tallywhacker!

2009-02-14T09:31:00.003-05:00

While the phrase "It's a Tallywhacker!" is a slightly jarring way to announce the sex of a child, such is the manner in which our veteran ultra-sound technician chose to announce our baby's gender. It was funny and memorable.

So without further ado, I present to you James Randolph Edwards:

Can't wait to be a Daddy!!
Chris

Peanut Update!

2008-12-31T09:17:00.003-05:00

Well, I am officially, as of today, entering into the last week of the first trimester!

I had my doctor's appointment on Monday, and, being a first time Mommy-to-be, I had a little scare. For the next few appointments, the doctor is going to introduce himself or herself, shake my hand, whip out what I am assuming is a hand-held version of an ultra-sound machine, find my sweet baby's heartbeat, tell me I'm still pregnant, and send me on my merry way.

Well, Peanut, apparently, did not cooperate with us on Monday. The doctor could not find the baby's heartbeat with the little hand-held ultra sound machine! That scared me, but the doctor and nurses assured me that it was perfectly normal for that to happen. They shoved me into a real ultra-sound room, and the millisecond we found Peanut, Peanut was moving up and down. It was SO awesome to watch the baby move-- I laughed. The doctor smiled at me and told me that if the baby is moving, then, obviously, it is alive and well. We tracked down a heartbeat, took a quick (but blurry) snapshot, and called it a day.

If you look closely (I know it is super blurry-- the goal of this ultrasound was not to get a picture, but it turned out to be a perk!), you can see the face; you just have to look down-- Peanut is hanging out upside down! :)

I have been really blessed to not be very sick. I have extremely random food aversions: I cannot eat ranch dressing or any creamy dressing on a salad, I cannot eat cereal when it is too soppy (so I have decreaed the amount of milk I put in it), and Mexican does not appeal to me the way it used to. I have been extremely tired, though that is nothing new for me. I have taken advantage of this break to just nap and sleep in. My back also occasionaly hurts, but I keep quiet about that because most people just tell me it is going to get worse. I have also had some pretty messed up dreams! I have only gained about two pounds so far, and I think that is simply because I had a weigh-in right after Christmas! My momma got me a work out video that is safe for pregnancy, and I cannot wait to get started on it.

I have procrastinated on packing long enough-- Chris and I are heading out of town for 5 days to North Carolina and Tennessee. We are SO excited! It's our Christmas present to each other.

2009 is looking to be really good for this little family, and I hope it brings many joys and blessings to all of us! :)

Happy New Year!

Peanut

2008-12-09T18:31:00.004-05:00

I don't really know how to "break" this news in a creative way, so, since pictures can say a thousand words, I'll let this picture tell you our news:

We are pregnant! :) World, meet "Peanut McGee" Edwards. (the name will change... can you guess who selected it?:) )

Come July 8, 2009, Chris and I will have a new addition to our family.

"The Lord has been so good to me
I will on him depend
And every day, where'er I be
I will His truth defend."

I know WE can make it.

2008-11-11T19:15:00.004-05:00

Some days, like today, when I am at school for 12 hours straight, planning and preparing lessons, I often wonder how, in the future, I will be able to handle being both a mother and a teacher, balancing the responsibilities of home and work.

But then I walk in the house after my husband's day off from work to find:
- neglected clean laundry folded up on a made bed
- a load of laundry being cleaned
- swept deck
- dinner made and ready to eat
- vacuumed floor
- organized mail
- clean floors

And, somehow, I know we can make it. It is a team effort.

Chris,

I am SO thankful to have you as a husband. You do more than pull your weight around here to help keep our house a clean home. You are understanding of my long hours and the extreme demand of my job. You take care of me. I don't deserve this! I love you so much.

We're here, I promise!

2008-09-13T10:40:00.002-04:00

Chris and I are around and very well at this point... just super busy! :)

After missing one week of school, I have had to play catch-up. It has been stressful for a variety of reasons. At school, you cannot change due dates or slow down your work to catch up. It just keeps on going. This nine weeks, we are starting with a very complicated essay, and it has been stressful on the students and on the teachers. Persuasive writing is the hardest type, and that is what we are starting with! I had to re-plan and start from scratch this week, and I hope to see a breakthrough coming real soon. I am also in charge of redelivering and teaching teachers a SENTEO reomote assessment product and Differentiated Instruction, and, of course, SENTEO decided not to work for just 7th grade...

I have had a lot of hugs, thoughts, and support from that wonderful school, though, and I am so thankful to be a part of the MCMS family. We are the best!

Chris missed a whole week when his work does not have a bereavement policy for in-laws. Whoops! The good news is that his boss is super understanding and told Chris that if it was his wife, he wouldn't have even bothered calling in!

On top of this catching up and making up for missed time, we found a house to rent. So, in our spare (not free!) time, we are cleaning up and packing up here, and cleaning up the fixing up the new house we are moving to in three weeks (first weekend of October). We are really excited because it is a nice house in a nice area, and we have been looking for it for a long time.

I just wanted to post so everyone knew we were alive and well...

I need to grade some papers now and continue in my game of catch up!

A sweet note from an old friend

2008-08-29T22:04:00.004-04:00

It comforts me (sometimes- it depends!) to know that I have the hardest part here. I know my Daddy is happy and rejoicing in heaven right now, not only with Jesus, but with his mom and dad, who he missed dearly.

Sometimes, when it is extremely hard to come to grips with why my Daddy had to leave us, I like to think that God just needed him up in heaven.

Why was my Dad needed in heaven?

I told many people at the visitation that the congregation grew so large in heaven that God had to add more microphones and sound boards, so He needed another sound tech to run the boards up there.

We got a note today from a former praise team leader that went right along that idea, and it made me cry at first, but now I smile when I read it. It says:

"At least we know he is in a place where the sound is perfect and the equipment never breaks down."

Amen!

I wonder...

2008-08-28T10:14:00.003-04:00

When we got back into the car after the funeral, it was like God had picked the songs to play on the radio. First came the song by Third Day: "My hope is in You; show me Your ways; guide me in truth for all my days..." Then came my dad's all time favorite contemporary Christian song: "I Can Only Imagine."

When that song started, we all got real quiet, but, instead of being upset, I think the lyrics soothed us.

"Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus,
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in your presence?
Or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'hallelujah'?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine
I can only imagine..."

As I sang along, a question sprang up in my mind:

What did Dad do when he first saw Jesus?

Did he dance?
Did he sing?
Did he smile?
Did he fall to his knees?
Did he hug Jesus?

I guess I will get to ask Daddy when I get there one day.

And as Pat said at the funeral yesterday, we will spend more time together in heaven than we will apart on this earth.

A sad chapter of life begins

2008-08-25T22:17:00.004-04:00

Dearest family and friends out in the blogging world--

Most of y'all already know this, but, on Sunday morning, my dad, Randy Throckmorton, passed away.

This was unexpected. I had just seen him Saturday evening, and he was happy and healthy. He went to sleep, and he just did not wake up the next morning.

My family is suffering a great loss, but we take comfort from the hope in our hearts that he is in a better place with Jesus.

Please, please pray for my family... especially my momma. She will have the hardest adjustment to make and many tough decisions ahead of her. I don't think it is real for us quite yet, but it will be real soon.

Thanks,

Kathi

My cup runneth over!

2008-08-10T19:55:00.002-04:00

I had an excellent first week of school! It is the honeymoon period, mind you, but MCMS is a family to me, a place where I belong and truly enjoy being. I spend so much time there; being able to enjoy it is indeed a perk.

My sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and their family moved within half an hour of us! We were invited to their house twice this week for dinner! (Thanks for that, by the way... :)) What a blessing to be surrounded by and close to our wonderful family.

Mount Paran Church has been blessed with new families in attendance and membership. Spending my Sundays there and with my brothers and sisters is the best possible way to start off my weeks.

My husband is sweet. He has made me dinner this week and taken care of me as I got back into the stride of school.

Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings I have in my life.

The teacher is in!

2008-08-06T18:46:00.002-04:00

Day two of school is over, and we are in full swing!

I just thought I would mention that to help explain the absence of posts here on this blog recently. Some exciting events to nte, however, are:

1. Our annual church meeting. The Lord truly blessed the meeting with great preaching and fellowship.

2. Laura and Deron moved to Georgia!!!! They are safe and sound in their new home, and Chris and I are SO excited that they are 35 minutes away from us now. It is such a blessing to have family so close.

3. School started. I am still in the honeymoon phase with my students, but I am pretty excited about the children that I am teaching. We are working on building a learning community so we can learn together, and they are really liking the concept. I am really looking forward to getting to know my students and helping them grow. On my first day of school, in my Bible study that morning, I read a passage that I feel really set my tone for that day and hopefully for my whole year:

Colossians 3:17: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

That verse was so inspiring to me! Talk about choosing your attitude... I am supposed to teach in a way that glorifies God, always giving thanks to Him! He gave me this gift, so I know He will guide me, especially if I look to Him in everything.

4. Breaking Dawn. That book was released and, sadly, I am still working on it. I hope to finish it very soon. I don't know what I think of it yet...

Hmmm. Is there anything else? hah! I ask that, but I just listed a ton of stuff up there! We have been super busy!!!

I'm looking forward to some time of rest and relaxation.

Summer Is Over

2008-07-28T18:33:00.002-04:00

The title says it all.

Today I began pre-planning for the school year. Though I am sad that the lazy and fun-filled days of summer are over, I was overflowing with joy reuniting with my MCMS family. I had nothing but smiles on my face as I greeted my colleagues this morning, talking about summer activities and dramas.

I have so many ideas bubbling in my head; I am eager to get the year going.
On days like these, I have no doubt that God created me to be a teacher.
I can rest assured that He is with me... even on those rough days. Remembering that is the trick, though.

The sooner we get this year going, the sooner we can get to some time off! :)

Guest appearance from the husband

2008-07-23T19:55:00.004-04:00

I used to detest forwarded questionnaires, but upon reading Kathi and Beth's answers, I just had a strange urge to answer this myriad of questions. Maybe it will be the start of me contributing to this chronicle of our lives more often.

So anyway, here we go...

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My middle name comes from my mom's Dad.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? When my nearly 18-year-old dog died two summers ago.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It looks as good as it did in the third grade...so, no.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Whatever's in a Firehouse New York Steamer

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Not yet.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would, but I'd probably get annoyed with me for monopolizing the conversation and for generally being insufferable.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? See answer to question #6.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yea.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Of course. If the chance of accident is better than getting injured in an automobile accident, I'll do it.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Blah...I've never liked it. Ever since Aunt Diane made me drink the leftover milk when we visited their house in Jesup...I developed some mental block about cereal. I'm not mad at her though. I was just a strange child.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Too loaded of a question...I'm skipping it (though it is an evidence of weakness to not take on the question, isn't it?)

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Ben & Jerry's Half-Baked

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Maybe eye contact. I have to catch myself. Staring into people's eyes doesn't freak me out at all, and that generally freaks people out.

15. RED OR PINK? Blue

16.. What do you like the least about yourself? Sinful nature...seriously. Doesn't everybody feel that way?

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My dog Baby. I'm lucky that I haven't had any immediate family pass away yet.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Uh, I don't care. I'll just creep around everyone's blog to see who does it and doesn't.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? No pants, no shoes. Hey, I'm just being honest.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Turkey and Provolone on Sourdough bread with nine grain Miss Vickie's chips.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The Braves game on TV. Chipper just pulled his hamstring. The rest of my answers could be pretty dismal. My material happiness is easily swayed by the ups and downs of the Braves season.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? There is zero insight that can be gleaned from answering this question. None for you. None for me.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Kathi, Christmas, Fall harvest smells, Apples...I cannot express in words the optimism and peace that I feel at the first whiff of any of these things.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mom

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes, she's my wife.

26. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Atlanta Braves

27. HAIR COLOR? Brown

28. EYE COLOR? Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, I have creepy, eagle vision.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Jagerschnitzel, Chicken and Dumplings, Kinder products, many other things...I really cannot limit this...I am generally obsessed with well-composed dishes and fresh ingredients.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? When I was younger, I liked scary movies, but they're all just depraved these days. So, happy endings.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Dark Knight

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? White

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Fall and Christmas

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Chocolate mousse from this cafe in Geneva. The South also has a number of fat-filled, sugar shock delights. Never order a slice of cake in Bavaria Germany. It's like they forgot to put the sugar in.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No idea.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No idea.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? KJV Holy Bible. Starting August 2nd...Breaking Dawn.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSEPAD? Nothing, I have a MacBook Pro.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Braves game

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Waterfalls. No contest.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? I'm deprived of a sound musical education. I cannot pick.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Austria.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? No :-(

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Bremerhaven, Germany.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Didn't this question get asked earlier?

If you want to share answers with me, copy and paste this into your blog and add your answers.

I'm so silly!

2008-07-23T10:57:00.003-04:00

Back in January of 2007, I had to have an emergency root canal done on one of my front incisors. Apparently, back in my rough and tumble days of being a tomboy, something smacked me in the mouth and killed that poor wittle toothie! I am still thankful for the persistent hygienist who stubbornly believed that the discoloration on that tooth wasn't left over from braces. She saved me from a lot of pain! :)

Anyways... I had an emergency root canal completed by a dental endodontist. I went back to my regular ol' dentist to finish the work with a crown on my dead tooth. Well, they told me that I needed a temporary crown while the real one was being made in a lab, and here is where the silliness starts! I thought the temporary crown was an obvious fake tooth, so I went in panic mode (since job interviews were about to begin) and asked if the crown could wait.

My dentist laughed and agreed with me. He filled in what he needed to to keep my tooth from chipping or cracking, and told me that I didn't need to rush. Well, today, I got my temporary crown in... and I don't know what was wrong with me! It blends on in with my normal teeth... except for the temporary cement, but you can't see that!

I feel so silly, and this mistake is not cheap... Back in January of 2007, my parents and their insurance would have paid for it. Now I am paying for it with stinky state insurance...

So, if you are ever needing a crown, don't make the mistake I made! The "fake" tooth they put in for 2-3 weeks is matched and looks just like the real thing!

*sigh* Sometimes I really don't like learning things the hard way... but isn't that what being a grown up is all about sometimes??

I love these things! :)

2008-07-21T17:48:00.002-04:00

Below you will find a survey that tells you about me... maybe you will learn something new. :)

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope!

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Yesterday, a few tears slide down my face when I was thinking about some stressful situations in my life.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes, I do! :) I even had a teacher who loved my handwriting and signed my yearbook saying so!

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Honey roasted turkey breast!

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Nope...

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I hope so!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Indeed. I teach middle school, c'mon!

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Indeed! Never had that surgery! :)

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Since falling from heights is a HUGE fear of mine, I'd have to go with NO!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cocoa Puffs! :)

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Only if I have to... even then I try to avoid it! :)

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically, no. Emotionally, no. :)

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Anything that involves dough-- cookie dough, brownie batter... yum!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I notice expressions, facial features, hair, cute jewelery.

15. RED OR PINK? Red-- goooo DAWGS!

16.. What do you like the least about yourself? My body. I am severely overweight, unhealthy, and just blaaaah.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My family-- they are all spread out-- VA, FL, MO, SC...

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I will tag the lucky ones to complete this on your blog... :)

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans and bare feet! :)

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Herb Chicken and Rice with mixed organic veggies! yummy!

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Reba's awesome advice on her TV show! :)

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? hmmm... white.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? My husband's aftershave, my shampoo and conditioner, chocolate chip cookies fresh in the oven, febreeze, pumpkin spice, crisp mountain air...

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Chris, running late...

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Indeed! She is quite the awesome sister in law! :)

26. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? UGA College football, hands-down.

27. HAIR COLOR? Blonde (all natural, never colored in my whole life!)

28. EYE COLOR? Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yesh.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Chocolate chip cookies, any kind of chicken, pizza, and fries.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings... never scary movies!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Home-- Pride and Prejudice (the new one); Theater-- Wall-e.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Navy blue

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer because I have it off! :)

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Fresh chocolate chip cookies...

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? We'll see... I highly doubt anyone will!

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I don't know... I am just doing this for fun! :)

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Rejoice by Karen Kingsbury.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSEPAD? How about I don't have one!

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Blue Collar Comedy Rides Again

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Good music and harmony, rapids and waterfalls.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles!

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? California!

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Does singing count? :)

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Dunwoody, Georgia.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Well... I am just doing it for fun! :)

If you want to share answers with me, copy and paste this into your blog and add your answers! :)

Last Week of Freedom...

2008-07-21T08:34:00.004-04:00

And the end of July arrives. Summer went by way too fast, and now I only have a week left. Where did all that time go? The time that I was so eagerly looking forward to on Memorial Day Weekend?

I guess time flies when you are having fun?

Next week will mark the beginning of my second year of teaching. After a teaching conference last week, part of me is really excited to get it going. Bring it on! :)

Of course, I can't help but feel anxious about this school year. Last year was my first year of teaching ever. It was supposed to be a hard year. Indeed, it did have some truly difficult moments, like when a parent questioned my ability to teach her son due to my lack of seasoning with adolescents, or maybe when a student was hard to control at the end of the year, but those moments were few and far between. I had many excellent moments, like the Assistant Superintendent remembering my lesson plan, or my student developing a compound-complex sentence out of manipulatives when we were still learning compound, or when my students got really involved in our climate change research unit... just to name a few. All the happy moments, the triumphs, outweigh the bad ones. In short, I had a wonderful first year of teaching.

It makes me worry about this year. Is this the year when reality will bite? Is this the year where I will struggle under the expectations I set for myself last year? Is this the year I disappoint others? Is this the year I struggle with difficult, hard to manage students? Is this the year where I have kids who really just don't care and are openly defiant about it? Is this the year where I have kids who simply cannot and will not learn the content-- no matter what hoops I may jump through to get them to?

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7

I've been praying about this coming school year and my anxiety towards it, and I feel that on Saturday I got an answer to my prayer. I cannot remember the verse exactly (and I think it was paraphrased), but it was on a teacher gift at a Christian bookstore. It's general meaning is that God gives you gifts and talents that you use well in this world. My friend also has a quote she uses that simply says that teaching is a ministry. Sooo... if I smash those two ideas together... God has given me a gift that I need to use to glorify Him. If I stay focused on Him, then He will guide me through the year... no matter what.

So, as characters on a show I watched growing up say,

Here goes!

Dreams Come True?

2008-07-12T17:59:00.003-04:00

Having just recently returned from Missouri, certain thoughts always cross my mind, and a deep ache lodges itself in my heart for a brief period of time... specifically, the time it takes for me to travel through Nashville.

Every time we travel to Missouri (with the exception of the one time we moved my Grandma T.), we travel right through the heart of country music. When I was a little girl, my sister (who then shared the same love of country music and singing) and I would amuse ourselves by spotting the tour buses of the famous musicians we knew. As I got older, I would wonder what it would be like to be a singer, and I would often get lost in a daydream about moving to Nashville and struggling to make it big.

Recently, as in a few weeks ago, I drove through Nashville and felt an ache in my heart... a desire, a dream that has always been there that has been shoved aside with excuses coming back to the surface. Ever since I sang along wit Ariel when I was 5, I knew singing was something special and meaningful to me. My best friend and I would make up little bands and songs growing up. I joined chorus and loved it. I sang at church. I sang while I worked (to the annoyance of some I worked with). It was like breathing to me. It still is.

A few years ago, inspired by a friend, I made a list of things I wanted to do before I died. At the top of that list was to record a CD. That's all I want. I don't want fame. I don't really want to perform (I know I am not a performer!). I want to sing. I want the experience of singing songs in a studio and recording them.

If I still have an ache, a desire, then I can hope and pray that maybe sometime in my life, God will point me in a direction that allows me to pursue this life-long dream.

Making My Home a Haven

2008-07-08T22:38:00.004-04:00

Every now and then, I find myself glancing over entries at the Biblical Womanhood blog. As a new wife, I am searching for guidance on how to be the Godly wife my husband needs. Though I cannot relate to everything posted on this blog, I find a lot of the entries very helpful and encouraging.

Today I read the Monday's Making Your Home a Haven series and was immediately motivated to make my home a haven, having just returned from vacation. In two hours I started laundry, cleaned the kitchen, unpacked our suitcases, put items where they belonged, cleaned the bathrooms, and cleaned the major walkways of our little home.

As I cleaned, I reflected on why making the home a haven is so important. At Biblical Womanhood, they want to spruce it up so the husband comes home to a haven, a place of rest and comfort. I remember one day during my spring break, I had spruced up the house, opened the windows downstairs, lit some candles, and began preparing dinner. Chris came in the door, and I will always remember his reaction. He was so thankful! He said it was so relaxing to come home to that environment, to smell the sweet fragrance of the candles mixed in with a spring breeze, to have a couch to sit down on, to have a place to put his shoes, and so on.

As a working wife, I feel I can appreciate it as well (along with my husband). From a lot of experience this past school year, I realized that after a long day, coming home to a kitchen piled high with dirty dishes, a living room with dirty clothes and books scattered everywhere, and a bedroom you can barely walk through just adds to the stress you feel at work. I come home, see the house in that condition, and then I just want to turn right around and walk back out... find somewhere else to go.

With all this reflection in mind, I would like to make it a goal of mine (with the summer of organization behind me) to keep my home a haven. I would like to have my Sunday evenings to clean up the house to get it ready for the week. I would like to beat my husband home so I can straighten up the house, light a candle or two, open up a window (weather permitting), and begin cooking our dinner. In general, I would like to see myself step up this year and be a housewife and a teacher... I kinda neglected my domestic duties in the craziness of last year.

I shall travel to Virginia next week, then I will come home and get back into the routine of getting up early, and hopefully get into an afternoon/evening routine that will help me succeed in this goal.

So, here goes! :)

My Grandparents

2008-07-03T13:35:00.003-04:00

It has been two years since my grandma was placed in a nursing home. My grandpa took care of her the best he could, but she loved to get up in the middle of the night and roam around on her bad knees. It got to where the best thing for her was to place her in a care facility that could monitor her all the time and keep her from really hurting herself.

I don't know if I shared it on here, but at the end of May, my grandma escaped from then nursing home in the evening and broke her hip. She was found at two in the morning in a ditch, unable to move. Many people feared the worst because most 80 year olds do not ever recover from such a surgery and ordeal.

This was a case where my grandma's stubbornness worked to her benefit. She absolutely hates sitting around and doing nothing, so she was determined to get back up and walk around again. The doctor didn't believe it, but he said, best case scenario, she would be up and walking in six months.

Well, here we are, one month later, and she is up and walking the way she did before the hip surgery. How cool is that?

God pretty much rocks. He took care of her because it is not her time yet. I am so thankful for her recovery, though she still tries to get out of the facility. She doesn't remember anything that happened, so there is no lesson to learn for her.

He will keep taking care of her until it is time, and that is all we can rest assured in until then.

Deacon Ordination

2008-06-23T19:42:00.004-04:00

My sweet husband is an ordained deacon of Mt. Paran Primitive Baptist Church. We had the ordination service on Saturday morning, and the Lord richly blessed the service, surrounding us with His spirit and family and friends. If you want to see pictures from the weekend, check out Sister Jennifer's blog here.

I am so proud of my husband. I am so thankful for him and his passion for the Lord's church. I always wanted to marry a man who was strong in the Christian faith, and Chris has proven to be a strong Christian leader in our home, and now he has the opportunity to serve the Lord's church.

We both ask for prayer as we enter service to our church. Our charge was to fight the good fight, to enter into battle for the Lord's church. Sometimes it is indeed a battle in this world, with so many distractions vying for our attention and distracting us from the race we are running. We are excited and thankful for this opportunity, anxious to serve our church any way we can.

Success!

2008-06-17T14:30:00.003-04:00

I really need to learn to not whine on my blog. Seriously. So, I am taking an emotional 180 on this post to share my success in conquering the junk room! Of course, I could not battle it alone-- my sweet husband was by my side, sorting through all of his junk, moving furniture, helping me pick out organizational items.

I will finish cleaning our home today, and I will post pictures of our home-- finally, after one year of living here, it is organized and decorated and beautiful.

Huzzah! :)

If I could offer one piece of advice....

2008-06-13T12:14:00.002-04:00

...Sunscreen would be it.

Naah. Not really, though it does help, apparently, especially if you are prone to skin cancer like my genes.

Seriously, my one piece of advice would be to NEVER, EVER, allow a room in your home to develop into a JUNK ROOM.

I'm about to hold a white flag in surrender up to it and tell it that it won. It got the best of me. It can go on being junky. I've been working on it all week. 3 garbage bags later, I want to cry because it is still a mess.

So be warned...

...Beware of the junk room.... oooOOOoooOOOoo....

Another typical conversation

2008-06-11T22:12:00.003-04:00

I'm thinking that this will become a series on this little blog of ours. Chris and I have so many funny conversational moments that I need to record for future generations. Or just to make someone besides us giggle.

Anywho...

Tonight as we climbed in the car, a jam song came on the radio. The most memorable lyrics are, "Lean with it, rock with it." It kinda repeats it over and over and over...

Well, I was jammin' myself as Chris cranked the car up, then I heard the little hummm of the driver's seat as Chris was leaning the chair back. I began to eye him with curiosity because he had just sat there, so the seat was set for him to drive from.

Within seconds, the song ended, and the hum of the seat moving ended as well.

Chris was pretty upset, and he exclaimed, "Frick! I was just trying to lean with it!"

Okay. Maybe you had to be there. But I laughed about it for a solid five minutes.

And just now, another gem from Chris:
"You know, I should do more nonsensical 'yo' mamma' rants... like 'Your mom is a trapeziust' or 'Your mom likes Tobasco sauce!"

His sense of humor was one of the first things I loved about him, and I always knew I wanted to marry a man who could keep me laughing.

We are enjoying our lazy summer nights right now... the first pop-up storm of the summer is providing a soundtrack for me right now, and I LOVE it. I know, generally, that these storms have a lot of bark, but not so much bite, so I can enjoy these storms. The real things tend to frighten me.

Of course, last July, a pop-up storm rumbled through, and it had some bite. Chris and I were cooking dinner, and our power kept flickering on and off. I was real concerned about the power of the storm, and Chris just shrugged it off, saying that pop-up storms don't cause anything serious to happen.

Within five minutes of that jinx, Chris and I sat down to dinner, just to be startled by the weather alarm that Madison has to warn of severe weather. We had no idea why it sounded, but we sat in our little bathroom for a bit in case it meant something like a tornado.

The next week I glimpsed through a newspaper during my break at Chick-Fil-A, and a little article shared a fun story. A funnel cloud was spotted above the Buckhead (a super small down 15 minutes east of here) fire department, so they sounded an alarm.

Fun story, huh?

I think I have rambled enough.

Take care!

Summer Musings

2008-06-03T18:08:00.002-04:00

Summer arrived on May 29, 2008 as I frantically packed anything I could get my hands on and rushed down to Florida to welcome my new niece, Grace Lillie. She was supposed to arrive on June 2, but it seems that babies tend to ignore their actual due dates. To see pictures of this sweet girl (and the sweet family) click here.

Lots of time on the road, especially yesterday and today, gives me time to think. I always back a Vera bag full of stuff to read and do, but generally I use time in the car to think or sleep. This morning as I trekked from Lincolnton back to Madison, I pondered many random thoughts.

One thought that kept coming back to me was about the number one question I get when I tell people that I am a Primitive Baptist. As a new believer still learning about the truths of the Primitive Baptist faith, I find myself struggling to tell others what we are really all about. I generally just stutter through what our services are like and contrast them to the services of other churches. Our preacher, however, challenged me at one time to not focus on what we do not do, but to instead focus on what we do. Focus on what we do have that makes us Primitive Baptists. So, I thought about in the car today what I have as a Primitive Baptist:

I have grief in the knowledge that I am a sinner, and that I am doomed to sin by my human nature.

I have joy in the knowledge that Jesus saved me from those sins. Jesus' blood was the sacrifice that washed away those sins, making me whole again. Jesus. Not me and my belief or actions. Not my minister. Not my youth minister. Not the gospel truth. Just Jesus and His loving sacrifice.

I have regret when I sin.

I have encouragement that there is absolutely nothing I can do to mess up the salvation my sweet Lord granted me from my sins.

I have a refuge in timely salvation. I have a church home where I can fellowship with those in similar belief in a simple service of acappella singing, prayer, and preaching. In this refuge, we worship the Lord in simplicity to focus the spotlight on Him and not others. This church home revamps me from a weary week out in a wicked world.

I have a promise of eternal salvation. I know that I will one day walk with my Savior in heaven.

I have relief to know that eternal salvation does not rely on one's church attendance, actions, or belief. It's all Jesus, remember. :)

I have a passion for Jesus. A passion for living as He commands. A passion to seek after what is pure and holy. A passion to serve His church.

I have an understanding about why bad things happen in this world (and it is NOT God's fault).

I have hope that more of God's children will come to enjoy the Lord's church.

I have a thankfulness for the light the Lord has blessed me with to hear and rejoice in the Gospel truth and the truth of His church.

I know I cannot line these up with scripture or doctrines just yet. I am still getting there. These were just some thoughts I feel that the Lord gave me while driving today... a whole jumble of ideas gathered through meager studying of the Bible and paying attention to sermons on Sunday.

I know these were a sense of encouragement to me today, and I hope that you find them to be the same for you, too.

God bless!

One Year Anniversary

2008-05-27T22:49:00.002-04:00

One year ago from yesterday, Chris and I joined our lives together in marriage. It was a day we waited patiently for through two years while we finished college. The slide show below highlights our journey towards marriage in celebration of one year.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A typical conversation

2008-05-18T22:14:00.003-04:00

Kathi: Look at his cape! I want a cape like that!

Chris: I want a vacuum cleaner that can roll around on the floor like that little robot!

Kathi: *laughed* But they all have capes! It's the thing. I want one all flowy and stuff.

Chris: I want a vacuum cleaner WITH a cape.

Kathi: *laughs harder*

Maybe I should note that this was while we were watching Star Wars...

Is it summer yet?

2008-05-12T19:53:00.002-04:00

We haven't updated in a while because not a lot has happened.

Yep. That's about it.

I need to grade papers, which is why I am even here, typing this post. Procrastination. It doesn't end when you leave college.

I think I will dig into a new book and then go to bed early. Long day tomorrow for my husband and me.

Speaking of husband... we are close to one year of marriage! Where does the time go??

SO much can change in a year... for good.

Nesting

2008-04-23T21:20:00.003-04:00

I must be a bird because I have spent the past three days nesting. :)

I had a brief moment, as I sat in front of my open, clean refrigerator with my cold food spread out around me, recalling my previous spring breaks. I picture me, sprawled out on the couch watching some excellent television or movie while my mom sat in the kitchen in front of the open, clean refrigerator, with her cold food around her.

Why am I cleaning the fridge?

Oh, yeah... I grew up, graduated college, got married, and moved into my new home. Mommy is not around to clean up for me anymore. Drat!

I felt SO good though, after that. Then, the next day, I cleaned and decorated the living room, then cooked my husband supper with brownies for desert! I felt like a real housewife. It's something I know I want to do one day, full time!!

When I have completed nesting, I definitely plan on posting pictures. I have never taken pictures of the place Chris and I call home, and I need to do that! It is really, truly starting to feel like a HOME. I have successfully decorated my whole house except for the dreaded junk room... that room is a summer project that demands much more time than one week.

We have some exciting news that I have been neglecting to post... Chris will become a deacon of Mt. Paran Primitive Baptist Church! The church voted him in two weeks ago, and Chris is excited to serve the church. He will be officially ordained the third Saturday of June... the 20th I think. The church has been such a blessing to us, and I can't just put into words how thankful we are to be there. Thinking back to all the chaos of this time last year, knowing I needed to be in Madison but not knowing how that was going to happen, and seeing how it has all fallen into place just makes me smile. God is in control.

So, I have managed to ramble! It is time to eat a late dinner!

I hope everyone is doing well! Leave me a note to tell me you dropped by! :)

It is Well

2008-03-31T20:55:00.004-04:00

This evening, as I sit in the living room watching the Atlanta Braves home opener with my husband after almost a year of marriage, I realize that I am perfectly content. I am ecstatic with where I am in my life, not to mention who I am with. :)

I have always wanted to be a teacher, hands-down. Not to be egotistical, either, because I will always remember how I was MCMS' "second choice," but I am good at what I do.
I am finally learning how to balance being the teacher I always wanted to be and the duties of the wife I always wanted to be.
The husband I love is a strong, Christian leader in the family. He is who God created for me.
I am the member of two very loving, understanding, and encouraging families.
I also count it a true blessing to be a member of the Lord's church. The joy I feel in the sweet, simple services is unlike anything I have ever felt at any time at a church in my life.

Even though I could definitely stand to change some things, I am on the road to changing them, like my weight and healthiness.

God has blessed me beyond belief, and I am SO thankful for everything in my life.

An old hobby gone digital!

2008-03-24T21:49:00.003-04:00

In high school, I loved to scrapbook. I still have a ton of materials, but it is SO time consuming. Come college, scrapbooking took a backseat to all the other activities and work that needed to be done. In the five years that I have taken a break from the hobby, it's gone digital! I developed my first page today on Photoshop CS3... take a look at it below:

It's not the best because, like regular scrapbooking, good fonts, formats, and cute add-ins cost money. All the cute little things on here are pieced together from various freebies on the Internet. I am proud of it, but I want to change it and make it better. I am a perfectionist, after all...

If you, yes, you, out there know where I can get better freebies, tips, and lessons, please leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks!

An update on uneventful lives... :)

2008-03-23T21:15:00.002-04:00

Hello, friends! Once again, I have been a neglectful blogger, and I apologize.

Chris and I have been keeping busy recently; this was our first weekend in a few weeks to rest and relax. We took advantage, too! I have to brag on my awesome husband; on his day off, he cleaned the house for me so we could have Saturday off together! He did laundry, cleaned the floors, vacuumed, febreezed... everything that I would have done! He picked me up from school, took me home, and surprised me with it. I am so thankful to have a wonderful husband who will share the load of cleaning, cooking, and other housework with me. He has been incredibly understanding this first year of teaching, and I am so thankful for him and his service and support.

I feel like we have finally gotten into a routine that works real well for us during the week... it only took us, oh, 7 months! Sunday nights I clean up and straighten up the house: check laundry, load dishwasher... anything that needs to be done! During the week, I come home and DO NOT SIT DOWN. Sitting down is BAD. If I sit down, I will not get back up! So, instead of sitting, I turn the television on to watch Gilmore Girls as I work around the kitchen prepping dinner. I clean the kitchen as I cook, and I work on other minor chores while things bake. My goal this week is to get in a quick work out at home while dinner cooks or before I really cook food. We shall see! Small steps. We only ate out ONCE this week, on Friday night, to celebrate how good we had been! We hope to keep it up.

That pretty much describes what we do every day, all day. Weekends are a break from routine, and we had two wonderful weekends with family and church family. This weekend we are looking forward to going up to Rome to see some friends! I am really looking forward to it; I miss our friends in Rome.

We hope all our family and friends who read this have a wonderful week! :)

Why I teach...

2008-03-06T19:59:00.002-05:00

Tonight on the phone, I was talking with a delightful parent of a fantastic daughter. I will remember it forever:

Parent: I really have to thank you, Mrs. Edwards, because she is reading!
Me: Really?
Parent: Yes, she is really reading. A lot. More than she has ever read before. I don't know what you are doing in your class, but she has finally found books she enjoys.
Me: Yay! I am so excited for her!
Parent: Yes. Miranda would come home all excited about a book you recommended to her. And Esperanza Rising; she would talk non-stop about that book!
Me: Yes, I know. I remember that book. It is so good! As soon as she finished it, I pointed her to other books like it.
Parent: You've connected with her somehow. You have been sharing with her and encouraging her, and I am just so thankful for that. We are all avid readers, and to finally have her enjoying reading as much is wonderful. She loves your class.

:)

Sleepless Sundays...

2008-03-02T21:58:00.003-05:00

Usually I am conked out, asleep, right now. Sundays are an exception. Ever since I started teaching, I have found it quite difficult to get to sleep on Sundays, much less stay asleep. I guess it is the anticipation of a new week and all the craziness it will bring... but here I am because for whatever reason by body has decided to make me a Sunday insomniac.

Same ol' Same ol'

2008-02-24T20:15:00.002-05:00

Chris and I are back into a routine of sleeping, working, and eating.

A few highlights have been weekends of beautiful weather that has motivated us to get outside and drive to the mountains and state parks for various adventures. Also, yesterday, we went to South Carolina with my family and visited my dad's brother's clan up there. It was too fun! I have some sweet second cousins, one who is 6 (my flower girl from my wedding), one who is 4, and one who is 2. All girls. My cousin is expecting another baby in June. Her husband knows whether it is a boy or girl, and he's not telling! Here is one quote from the weekend as I was rocking my sweet two year old cousin:

Mallory (6): (taps Chris on the shoulder) Look, Chris! There is your future right there in front of you!
Kylie (4): Kathi, aren't you sad that you don't have a baby?

It was some good times with great family. I wish we could visit more often...

March is looking super busy on the weekends. Starting this weekend, I have a baby shower I am hosting. The next weekend will be visiting with Chris' family (SO excited to see everyone, by the way!!!). The third weekend will be spent with the Loudermilks at their house to attend Faith PBC's meeting, and we are looking forward to that a lot, too! :) The fourth weekend looks like a break (but I could be speaking too soon!), and the fifth weekend might involve a trip to see some friends.

This week will just be routine, and that is okay! :)

Oh, and I am trying to get pictures of me cheerleading... the coach has yet to email them out yet. It was HILARIOUS! :) I should get them Wednesday from the yearbook work. Keep an eye out! :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful week! :)

Get up on your feet, move to the beat...

2008-02-11T20:59:00.000-05:00

So, as friends and people who know me well, I thought you should know that I am branching out and becoming a cheerleader!

... A cheerleader for our faculty vs. students basketball game.

As a tomboy earlier in life, I would love to be out on the court. I am, however, too out of shape to participate as a basketball player. I want to be involved, though, so I volunteered to be a cheerleader.

I have a new respect for cheerleaders that I never had before! My whole body is sore from moving and bouncing. My brain is sore from coordinating movements and words at the right time. And it is FUN! Oh, so much fun! Of course, we are mocking it and going crazy, but it will be so much fun! We are even doing a halftime show!

I will try to post some pictures from this exciting moment in my life! :)

Four Years

2008-02-06T20:58:00.000-05:00

Four years ago, Chris and I liked each other, and we were the only ones who did not know it.

Four years ago, Chris and I ended up on an accidental date to Centennial Olympic Park and the Spaghetti Factory, ending at the Waffle House in Rome where a drunk guy scooted in next to me on the booth and hit on me. We decided on trying a real date the next week, and then, once back in our dorms, talked on AIM for hours into the morning.

Four years ago, Chris and I went to Waffle House every night for one full week, learning more about each other over chocolate pie, cokes, and waffles. As with the weekend before, we came back from Waffle House late and talked on AIM until the wee hours of the morning.
Four years ago, the night before our first official, real date, I got a call from Chris. He asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend because he knew that he wanted to only date me. With a big smile on my face, I agreed.

Four years ago today, without knowing what would happen, Chris and I decided to be a part of each other's lives.

Here we are, four years later, married. Sometimes it is really hard for me to think about how things have changed in my life from that point; it is weird for me to think how far we have come as a couple. We have committed our lives to each other.

I love reflecting back on the excitement in the early days of our relationship. I love thinking about the first few weeks (described above) where Chris and I could not get enough time together. I love thinking back to the early days and thinking about how that excitement transitioned into a deep joy in him and in our love. Lord willing, Chris and I will have so many more years together, and so many more experiences to share.

I am thankful for February 6, 2004, and the decision that we made. I am now a happy wife and member of such a wonderful and loving family.

I am blessed. God has blessed our relationship, and I could not be happier.

Chris and me, celebrating six months together on August 6, 2004 in Athens, Georgia, the city in the middle of our two hometowns.

Chris proposing to me at Panther Falls on October 22, 2005.

Exchanging our vows of marriage before God, family, and friends.

Mr. and Mrs. Edwards!! :)

"I'm gonna love you
Like Nobody loves you
And I'll win your trust making memories of us..."

Neglectful Posters

2008-02-03T19:36:00.000-05:00

Family and friends in the blogging world,

I know that you have come to not expect new posts from us. We apologize. To catch you up on everything exciting you have missed this month:

We get up early every morning.
We work all day long.
I come home around 4:30pm.
Chris comes home about an hour later.
We make dinner.
We eat dinner.
We watch television, read books, or play our Wii.
We go to sleep at a decent time so we can start again the next day.

We have a few days where the routine may vary, especially for stressful weeks (like this past week) for me at school. But they all involve the same items on that agenda.

We do not really lead exciting lives that prompt us to post very often. On occasion, something exciting (like snow) happens and makes us want to post... well, me want to post.

We do care about keeping family and friends updated... and we care enough to not bore you with our every day, well, boring-ness.

Hope this provides a decent explanation of the lack of posts recently.

Sincerely,

Kathi (and Chris)

I want to wash my hands, my hair, my feet in snoooow, snooow, snoow, SNOW!

2008-01-16T18:45:00.001-05:00

Now, those who know me well know that I tend to be cold all the time, and that makes me really dislike winter. I also do not like precipitation falling from the sky... it makes me want to stay home, curled up. Something magical happens, though, when it snows...

Watching the snow twirl in the sky and cover our tiny yard in a beautiful white blanket makes me warm inside, and that warmth is expressed with a squeal and smile. I can't help but feel giddy when it snows...

Maybe it's my track record with snow. My very first memory of it really coming was in March of 1993. I remember wanting it to snow and waking up at 5am in the morning, looking outside, and being disappointed with no snow to be seen. I prayed, asking God to bring more snow, then I went back to sleep. I woke up three hours later to a weather alert for a blizzard. God answered my prayer, and I had a fun time in the snow with my sister!

I just glanced out our window; the blanket of snow also makes the world look peaceful. It is all so still and quiet... everything seems frozen in time. I think it is time, after my wintery dinner of tomato soup, to go make some wintery hot chocolate with marshmellows! Might as well live it up-- you never know when you will get weather like this in Georgia.

Right now we have slush outside our door, so here's hoping there is no school tomorrow! :)

Full week ahead...

2008-01-08T18:42:00.001-05:00

I have found myself questioning why I became a teacher this week. I am hoping something will happen that reminds me of why I became one. I need it.

Chris and I have started a fitness competition program this week. For eight weeks we will be seeing who can work out more each week. Each workout is worth a point value. At the end of the eight weeks, the loser has to do chores and favors for the winner, as selected by the winner. It's been fun so far... all two days of it! :) It has motivated us to work out, and he it will keep us motivated for long enough for it to finally become habit.

I have a new music obsession in the form of OneRepublic. They are very mellowed-out, soothing rock with deep lyrics, piano, and acoustic guitar. I have listened to their CD all day long!

We have a Wii at our place. It is so amazing... we got it for Christmas from my parents. My dad always likes to keep things equal, so I got one along with my sister. So far, we have played tennis and bowling (amazing), and we got to be HARRY in Harry Potter! It was so cool to cast spells!!! The only problem with Wiis is that the games are not cheap. Thankfully, we can rent them! wheeee, or should I say, "Wiiiiiiii!" :) tee hee.

Chris is still working hard and doing well. Nothing too exciting for either one of us really.

Hope everyone is doing well! :)

Farewell, 2007; Welcome, 2008!

2008-01-01T12:37:00.000-05:00

So long, 2007, I will remember you fondly:

By first niece was born! (Hannah-belle! :))
College graduation
First year of teaching at Morgan County Middle School
GOT MARRIED
Moved to Madison, started a new home
Baptized as a Primitive Baptist, gaining a new church family

Those are the highlights from last year. Here is hoping that 2008 will bring more memories and fun times for me and Chris! :)

Hope everyone has a blessed New Years!

Welcome, 2008!

Power of Music

2007-12-26T22:15:00.000-05:00

As someone who always appreciates music and its ability to communicate and express so much, I still find myself floored at how some lyrics really hit home and touch me deeply. I heard this on the radio today:

"Before she knows it
She's a brand new bride
In her one bedroom apartment
And her daddy stops by
He tells her its nice place
She says it'll do for now
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes his head and says, baby just slow down

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"

Truly fantastic lyrics and an awesome story in a song.

Yay for music and its impact on people!

By the way, today marks seven months of marriage. Where does the time go? :)

Time flies!

2007-12-20T21:27:00.001-05:00

Hello, wonderful people who read this blog! :)

I have officially survived my first 18 weeks of teaching! I am now free for 8 days from teaching... it would be a lie to say that I was free from school. I know I will be going back next week to clean up and organize my classroom to better prepare myself for January.

Chris and I are super excited about our first Christmas together. We have gone all out with our decorations, way more than some of our other newly-married friends. We have a real tree (normal sized) decorated. It is seriously the prettiest tree I think I have ever had. It will be even prettier 10 years from now when it is full of hand made ornaments from future little Edwards. :) We have stockings hung, greenery out, lights outside, matching towels and potholders in our kitchen, and a mini tree in the bay window area of our kitchen. My Willow Tree Nativity set is sitting pretty on a side table. We decorated early... the first week of December to be exact! I wish it could always stay like this... mainly because I am dreading trying to store everything in our serious lack of closet space.

We are off to Virginia this weekend, but we will be back on Christmas Eve to celebrate Christmas in GA with each other and with my family. I'm hoping to go to my old church's Christmas Eve service and eat dinner with my family on Christmas.

We went to an awesome Christmas party last night where we made our own gingerbread houses. Chris and I were quite the team, and we were doing really well! After a few hours later with roof pieces that would not stay, we started to give up. We shalacked it and tried to take it home, but a gingerbread house cannot handle driving through downtown Atlanta without collapsing. We now have icing in the back seat of my car. I am leaving there in loving memory of it.

Life has been busy, but we are expecting it to slow down come the New Year. Isn't that how it always goes?? :) I will be more dedicated to this journal soon enough. I will even get some pictures of our house all decorated for Christmas and post them. It looks really good, if I do say so. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas. Remember the reason for the season! God loves us SO MUCH. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas comes early...

2007-12-08T11:48:00.000-05:00

This is specifically for the benefit of my oldest sister Jenn and her husband Joe. We know you guys would be here if you could.

We love y'all!!!

-Chris

P.S. Everyone else is welcome to look at the pictures, too. It's just that if I didn't get these up, that previously mentioned sister of mine would hurt me :-/

Life is Good!

2007-11-19T21:19:00.000-05:00

The title of the post says it all!

I am not up for much posting because, though life is good, it is also busy!!

Most of the events involve school, and I need to get out of the habit of blogging about that. It could kick me in the rear one day... you never know who is reading these things.

One of the best events so far this month has been the UGA/Auburn blackout game that my sister got us tickets to for a birthday present. It was amazing; it was the best UGA game in current history. Chances are good that it will be the last one we ever go to, mainly because it will be hard to beat that experience.

I will close with a picture of us at the game.

Happy Thanksgiving! We all have so much to be thankful for, and it is always good to reflect on it. :)

Thanksgiving

2007-11-07T20:43:00.000-05:00

In exactly two weeks, I will be in Missouri, enjoying Thanksgiving with my family, just like I have done for many years... since I was a child, really. There is only a few years that I can remember staying home from Missouri, so, for me, Missouri for Thanksgiving is a tradition.

Each Thanksgiving-- each trip-- to Missouri is a special blessing now, especially with my grandmother in her condition. I remember hating those trips so much not that long ago, and now I am anxious and eager to spend time up there. So many things have already changed, and I wish I could go back in time and enjoy them more. Some things I will miss this Thanksgiving include:

1. My Grandparent's farmhouse. They bought that home in 1951, and they raised my mom in that home. My mom had her wedding reception in the living room of that house, and she got married in the little chapel down the road. It had a staircase to slide down on, a back porch to read on, a trail that led to the creek and Critter Tree, and a 200 year old Liberty Tree standing tall in the front yard. That house is history now, remembered only with pictures and memories. Grandpa had to sell it to move in to town to be closer to grandma. Those idiots who bought it burnt it down with their renovations. This will be the first time I go there with no farmhouse existing whatsoever.

2. Cinnamon Sticks. Mind you, they were just flat sticks of left over pie crust dough with sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on them, but they were amazing. Grandma would always have a few batches ready to share with her grandkids.

3. The evil fan. This could technically fall under the farmhouse category, but this fan is special. I always thought this ceiling fan had an evil and mean face to it, and it terrified me. I could never sleep facing it. Yet I will miss it. Odd.

4. Grandma's thanksgiving dinner. I will miss her cooking, and I will miss the smell of the house all morning long while she made all the preparations. All of her recipes were fresh from scratch, and the best ones included her dressing, chicken and dumplings, and her rolls. Unfortunately for me, I was a picky eater growing up and never got to fully enjoy her cooking... two years ago marked the last Thanksgiving she cooked for all of us, and I got over my pickyness to eat at least one bite of everything she made. I realized what all I had been missing...

I will stop there because this entry is depressing. A lot has changed over the years, including my increased desire to go to Missouri and spend this time with my family there. I don't know how many Thanksgivings I have left before my Grandma either forgets who we are or leaves the world for a better place. All I really meant to say in this entry was that I am really, truly looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. I have a LOT to be thankful for.

And after Thanksgiving comes me and Chris' first Christmas together. We have already begun thinking about traditions and buying decorations. We are both so excited about this... :)

Nothing too exciting going on in our world, anyway. That is why I chose to write about the holidays that are coming up. They are what we are living for and looking forward to right now. We are both ready for a BREAK! (I know that I AM!)

Hope everyone is well!

3.

Nothing new!

2007-11-01T19:03:00.001-04:00

Hi, world. Just a post to share that nothing new and exciting has really happened. Chris and I are making it through another week, and we are just enjoying life. :)

I will admit, though, that I am counting down the days until Christmas break. 53 to go! :)

2 for 2

2007-10-25T21:09:00.000-04:00

Hello, all. Just wanted to share some awesome news as a first year teacher. I am 2 for 2 for my principal observations!!!! He snuck in today during what I thought was not a fabulous and well-thought out lesson, but he loved it!

He even wrote on the note, "I am glad you are at MCMS." It made me smile real big...

Yay! :)

Normal week...

2007-10-24T20:22:00.000-04:00

If it was last week, I would be celebrating right now because tomorrow would be like my Friday. Alas, I have a full work week this week, and Friday WILL be quite a doozy. We have this thing called "Club Day," which was supposed to give students who were uninvolved in clubs a chance to be involved by having them meet once a month during school. Well, when those who are not involved in a club are given the option of attending a club or hanging out in a classroom for an hour of unproductivity, they generally choose the hour. I am in charge of managing that chaos for my team, and it is SO exhausting and overwhelming... not to mention completely unproductive.

Oh well... it is a new idea, and all new ideas need to have the kinks worked out of them. It will work out better eventually.

This week has been normal. Lots of work, lots of meetings, lots of teaching, and lots of grading. Next week will be even MORE fun, with 75 scary stories to grade. And my kids are GORY... I will not be sleeping well next week... too many nightmares...

Chris has had his first BIG article due for his job, and I guess it went well. I don't know because he doesn't talk about it. Next month will be a BIG open house that he must plan and run. I finally got him to write something on this blog, but it was really me copying and pasting a response from another blog. Scroll down if you haven't read it because it's pretty good. Not funny, but very enlightening. Chris always has something good and smart to say. Maybe one day he can channel that...

Last weekend was wonderful. We meandered on up to North Carolina for a vacation and to watch two dear friends (Chris' roommate and one of my education buddies) get married. We had an awesome vacation at a Bed and Breakfast in Hendersonville (the Angelique Inn), and we even had time to walk around the town and enjoy a local soda shop. Friday and Saturday were a little insane, though, especially Saturday. I ended up directing the wedding and helping out wherever needed. Since my hubby was in the wedding as a groomsmen, I offered the bride my services, if she needed it. Saturday was a 14 hour day, but it was an awesome 14 hours spent with friends. The wedding ceremony was beautiful and sweet, and thankfully there was a funny moment to keep me from crying too much. The reception was rockin' with good food, sweet toasts, and amazing dancing! :) I even got to sing (with my gals, of course) a classic Moulin Rouge song. I must share that I am SO happy for them both to be happily married. I am also very thankful that they are my friends.

This weekend is looking good. I will get to experience my first communion service as a Primitive Baptist. It makes me smile just to think about it. :) Chris and I will have some down time to ourselves, and we will have some awesome fellowship with our dear church family... making up for the weeks we missed. One bad part of last weekend was a SERIOUS cramp I got in my calf in the middle of Saturday night. I woke up around 1am in the morning, startled, with a cramp so scary that I could feel the dent!! No matter what I did, nothing helped. No matter how I moved my foot, no matter how Chris massaged it, it would not go away! Then, when it did go away, I would move my leg and it would come back. I had to get up and walk around and stretch for a looong time before I felt ready to risk going back to sleep. I was up until around 3am, so when the alarm for church went off, Chris and I had only had about 2 hours of sleep. Not so good for driving. My calf also hurt, and the cramp constantly tried to sneak back. I am better now... but still afraid of waking up at night in pain... it was awful...

Anyways. I always make long entries. Bless you if you have read this far! I will leave with some pictures from this weekend...

Chris and I at Looking Glass Falls, but you can't see the falls. The next one below shows us at the falls.

A better picture... but there were too many people hanging around. TOURIST TRAP!

The picture above is one of the bride with some friends, her old roomies. We all had good times in college, and I am glad this was one more experience to share with them! :)

Happy week!

My husband all fired up...

2007-10-22T20:21:00.000-04:00

Just last week, my brother in law was at a class in Atlanta. They began to talk about their families, and Deron shared that he and his wife were expecting their fourth child. To his (and our whole family's) utter dismay, someone asked him casually if they were planning to keep the baby. (To hear this story first hand, go to Laura's blog here.)

My husband, in response to her post about this horrible question, posted a lengthy, and pretty amazing, reply. Here it is, some food for thought:

"Wow. It got me fired up reading that. To treat life like that...as if we should have the power to end it without a backward glance...disturbs me. That's always been the most disturbing thing to me. The act seems bad enough, but it's the attitude that it's justifiable to abort for convenience sake is reprehensible.

When I was a staff writer for the student newspaper at Berry, I covered a "History of Abortion" video about how abortion was essentially legal, then illegal, and now legal again. It was followed by a mixed panel discussion about it. The stories of what women were doing to themselves to self-abort during times that abortion was illegal were deeply saddening...not just because I think abortion is wrong but because those women were that scared and that there was hardly anywhere for them to turn. The numbers of women who died because they self-aborted were staggering. Still, I couldn't justify the act of ending a child's life for all the sob stories or poor circumstances surrounding the conception (rape, incest, health complications, etc). I'm sorry, but I cannot accept reasoning that exalts anyone else's life over a child's... However, I know things could be improved. For women who do not want or are not ready for the child they are carrying, they should have somewhere to turn to without that intense level of scorn and shame that some sinners in this world seem to think they have the sole right to inflict on those women. We should reach out to them and not scorn them, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the conception. I'd imagine women (or, more often, young girls) in those situations do not know that they have options (adoption, etc). For women whose health will be severely endangered by the carrying of child, I still don't think I could defend an abortion in that case because I believe in the preciousness of new life that much. It is a blessing, and I don't believe choosing the child is choosing one life over another, even if the mother is in poor health for a pregnancy. The only choice that seems to be made in that circumstance is to end a life...ending a life for a precautionary reason is simply not okay to me. If it seems like there are no options, there are. Prayer is always there. Granted, it shouldn't be treated like an option, but I think it's forgotten in all the rational arguments people have with one another that some circumstances justify an abortion because there are "no options."

Also, I didn't say that any decisions were easy, but one truth has always stayed constant with me. We are not God, and walking around acting as though we have the right to end life is wrong. Life is precious.

I don't often get caught up in argument with people because I believe that if we don't agree that newly-created life (from God) is indefinably precious, I will always have different conclusions from those people.
And I'm not one to waste my time. If anything, people should try to encourage one another that life is precious. It seems like it would be a lot easier to get someone onboard with that than it would be to get them to believe abortion is wrong. Maybe if people saw life as the ultimate gift, everything else would fall into place. I'd hope so anyway.

The only other thing I'd say about that "are you gonna keep it?" attitude is that it is indicative of wickedness. Somewhere along the way people were numbed by the thought that abortion wasn't really destroying life. Yep, the devil might just have something to do with that one.

Thank goodness I wasn't sitting there when that woman asked Deron that question!!! Uh oh...I'm getting fired up again..."

I was impressed with his thoughts, and I wanted to share them.

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend! :)

All grown up

2007-10-11T21:42:00.000-04:00

"We're adults! When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?"

"So sacred of getting older; I'm only good at being young. So I play the numbers game to find a way to say that life has just begun..."

"These days, I wish I was 6 again. Oh make me a red cape. I wanna be Superman..."

"I'll never feel like this again; time's rushing by me like the wind. Gotta grab each moment that I can cause I'm never gonna feel like this again..."

I think that sums up how I feel right now. Yep.

Hope everyone is well!

Some funny pictures... Chris' idea!

2007-10-08T16:26:00.000-04:00

Our new and wonderful Mac has a photo booth option that lets you take pictures of yourself and add effects to them. Chris thought that they would be funny pictures to post, so, enjoy!

Not as funny, but I thought it was cute!

Tee hee!

Life is good here. I am teaching Intersession this week, and I am very scared/nervous. I do get extra money right around Christmas, though, so-- yay!

Chris will make a post soon. We need some humor on this blog... :)

Hope evryone is doing well!

Lookin' to be a good week!

2007-10-02T20:22:00.000-04:00

My other family members with blogs have all updated, so I figured I would, too!

Nothing life-changing or earth-shattering over in our corner of the world... though I am going to congratulate my sister-in-law and her family for the baby they are expecting in June!! :) Chris was so silly on the phone, not catching on to Laura's hints about why they were looking at a new, bigger car until she outright said, "We will need an extra seat in eight months." HA! Chris can be so oblivious.

The only possible life changing event that has happened to me recently is a positive step towards keeping my job at Morgan County Middle School for next year! I had my first "Awareness Walk" today observed by my principal. An "Awareness Walk" is not a formal observation, but it is a time for an administrator to come in and make sure we are using our planning notebook, writing "KUDos" on the board (like objectives for the lesson), posting standards that match the lesson, practicing good teaching methods and strategies, handling a class, etc... My principal happened to walk in on an awesome day with an awesome class. He only had a few things to nit-pick at, but overall, his comments were very positive and nice. I brought it home to share today because I was so excited. :)

Chris and I also had an amazing weekend. We had a friend come up Friday night to hang out, and we went to Ellijay on Saturday. We bought apples and yummy apple things, picked pumpkins, went in a corn maze, and rode a hot air balloon! Wow! The corn maze was something we had both never done before, and it was hilarious because we ended up finding a group that was seriously lost, helping them make it to the exit. The hot air balloon was neat also because the sun was setting. We went up high enough to see the corn maze pattern from above and to look around at the farmland around us. It was a fantastic day. :) Sunday was awesome too, as always, because of the wonderful church that we belong to. As we drove back on Sunday, Chris and I thought about how we ended up in Madison with his awesome job that is better than grad school, and we thought about how we ended up at such a great church. Really, it was overwhelming to think about, but we just came to the conclusion that everything is perfect because God wanted us here. :) We couldn't have made all this happen to us!

This weekend is lookin' good, too because of a few things. I have Mountain Day stuff this weekend, including Charter Fellows education workshop with my amazing friends!! I cannot even describe how excited I am to see people I was with all day every day again! Saturday is little Joshua's 2nd birthday, so I am ditching Mountain Day stuff early to go celebrate with Brother Ronnie and Sister Jennifer. The weekend is real close, too, because I do not have to teach Friday!! yay!! :)

I hope everyone is having an awesome week!

Random Ramblings

2007-09-25T18:38:00.000-04:00

So... I have survived a day of teaching with no hearing in my left ear! I was just sitting around last night, I shifted my weight, then-- BAM!-- something moved in my ear and I couldn't hear anything out of it! I used ear drops, water-- everything I could think of to wash my ears out, and nothing worked! I gave up until the end of the day today; I just got back from an urgent care center and I can hear, as the doctor said, "in stereo!"

It was tricky to keep the students in the dark about my lack of hearing because I could not hear them!! Somehow, I did! Tomorrow I get to meet with parents because it is parents as partners day, and tomorrow will be interesting!

Chris is watching this "Vick Divide" thing on ESPN. It makes me SICK!! I am SO tired of hearing about Michael Vick and his crime. I believe dogfighting is WRONG, and I think that when you chose to be a celebrity, you open yourself up to press, both good and bad, no matter what your race. ESPN solicited volunteers to be in the forum, and the only people who cared enough to show up are racists. All they have done is complain about how the press is biased against black people...

One gentlemen spoke up to say that it is all about the choices you make, and I AGREE. Vick made a bad decision. He is a celebrity. DO the math. HE deserves all the bad press he is getting... he asked for it!! To think that th Humane Society is in the wrong and boo them and their work.... I am just tired of hearing it...

*stepping down off of my soapbox*

In other sports news... the Braves COULD possibly make it to the playoffs!!!! They are three games back for the wildcard. They need to win this series, and, possibly, the next 6 games. I believe they can do it!! Gooooo Braves! :)

Nothing new or exciting is really happening. Chris and I have realized that we have NO free weekends in October, but that is okay! :) They are filled with good stuff-- Mountain Day, Joshua's birthday, Daniel's birthday, Chris' birthday, a wedding, and a church meeting!!! Yay! We are, however, taking the time this weekend to hang out and chill and get some work done around the house.

I am a horrible wife. I would be embarrassed if any member of my family or circle of friends stepped inside our home. I have not done laundry in a long time, and I have not cleaned up any part of this house in at least a week. It is a MESS. I keep thinking I will clean it up every night when I get home.... ha. It will be cleaned this weekend!!

I am encouraged by a second year teacher I have talked with. She told me that she does not do nearly the same amount of work this year as she did last year. I am eager, now, to get to next year. I will, however, always treasure my first year... just not all the effort and work I am having to put into it... :)

Let's see... this week is the norm... then October! I can't believe we are getting into the last months of 2007. SO funny to think that the year that I was so anxious to get to is almost over...

Anyways. I have been rambling long enough! I hope everyone is doing well! I am thinking of posting some pictures reeeal soon... as soon as I figure out how! :)

Refreshment

2007-09-22T23:05:00.000-04:00

My last post was written under some heavy emotional stress. I had slipped and vented to some teachers, and I was afraid that my words were coming back to haunt me. Thankfully, however, they did not. I have learned my lesson, though... keep my mouth SHUT; pray constantly for strength to stay positive no matter what. There used to be a time when people noticed how I was always happy and positive. That has not happened in a while. I also used to be really shy and not open about my true thoughts and feelings...

Anyways. My week wrapped up, and it is over. Thank goodness!! It was a long week, and Friday was a long, long day. I had my first HUGE discipline issue in my first academic class. What a way to start the day!!! A student was injured in my class; he was hit in the eye by a "hornet." A "hornet" is a rolled up scrap of paper shot using a rubber band. I did not see it happen, and I did not know how to make a student confess. I had a serious, serious teacher snap decision making moment...

"I WILL pull the assistant principal in here to question EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU until the guilty person FESSES UP!" It was a stretch, but worth a try...

Fortunately, the guilty child raised his hand, and I was shocked. I took him outside in the hallway to grill him...

Me:"What possessed you to do this?"
Student: "Everyone else was doing it."
Me: "That is YOUR reason? That is what you have to say for YOUR actions?"
Student: ...
Me: "You know this is an automatic referral to the assistant principal, right? You caused injury to someone else."
Student: "I tried to apologize..."
Me: "Doesn't matter. You HURT someone. A warning is not a serious enough consequence. A teacher consequence is not enough."
Student: ...
Me: "Go back in and finish your work. I will send the referral in after class. I am VERY disappointed in you and your actions."

And indeed I sent it in at the beginning of the next academic. I stretched the truth about the whole principal referral because I was not certain. I had to ask another teacher before I referred him. I found out that I was not lying, and I spent the beginning of class sending in a referral. He is now in ISS until Thursday. He will also be punished on the football team; I heard you are kicked off the team if you receive ISS.

It really killed me to give him ISS because he is a smart student who is relatively well behaved. He just made one bad decision, and he got caught. He does, however, constantly interrupt my class and has issues staying in his assigned seat. His best bud is also in ISS until Wednesday, so the beginning of next week will be peaceful!

After a crazy week, I have spent a wonderful Friday and Saturday with my family. Chris and I drove up to Atlanta last night to go to the Braves game, and, even though we lost, we got to see Mark T. hit a homerun and Frenchy make an assist from the right field to home plate. It was also Friday night fireworks. We then spent today being lazy and watching college football. We ate out for lunch, and we enjoyed a football dinner of pizza, chips, soda, and brownies. Chris and I just got home twenty minutes ago.

Georgia JUST made an AWESOME game winning play against Alabama. My weekend just improved even more!!! :) It's great to be a Georgia BULLDAWG!!!! I wish I could be with my sister, celebrating now, but we needed to get home. I enjoyed spending time with her this weekend.

My weekend will keep getting better with church tomorrow! I am looking forward to a Sunday with my church family. I really really wish that my church met more than once a week!!!

Anyways! Now that the excitement of the GA game is over, I am off to sleep! Happy weekend to all, and to all a great night! :)

Attitude

2007-09-18T19:34:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I have a bad attitude. I generally try to be positive, but when I am flustered, overwelemd, and/or stressed, my evil side tends to come out and prowl.

I try to tame the monster and watch who is witness to the monster, but, like any monsters, it can get out of control.

I am afraid it has gotten out of control.

Please, if you think to, say a small prayer for me and my attitude. I know I need to pray that God gives me strength and discipline to train myself and cut the 'tude, as I used to say. Why should I have a bad attitude when I have it so good?

I hope that people see my positive side more than my negative side. Especially at school...

Anyways. Hopefully I am just paranoid. But right now I want to cry...

Oh, well! God is good, and I am finished with my "homework" for the night. The Braves are on and Frenchy just made a good play... yay! :)

I hope everyone is having a good week.

So thankful I married a country boy!

2007-09-15T22:42:00.000-04:00

So I had a funny post here, but nothing is private anymore (as in, this harmless story could be used against me in my profession), so I had to remove it. It is a funny story, so if you want to know... just ask...

Long week...

2007-09-12T18:32:00.000-04:00

I am relaxing right now with some Grey's Anatomy season three... I accidentally forgot to bring home some quizzes to grade. Whoops! :) The next two days will involve drafting personal narratives, so there will be some easy days for me. Friday will be stressful, though, because the BOE will be at the school, and I know that they will be stopping by my room to see what is going on. woo hoo! I hope they like what they see.

Today has been overwhelming to say the least. I have found out that we are planning our units and lessons wrong, so now we have to meet to plan our next unit right! It is so scary about how our actions as teachers really really impact our students! It was so overwhelming for me two weeks ago. I handed a test to my mentor teacher that most of my students did not do well on, and her question for me was if they failed the format or the content. That thought never crossed my mind, and if they failed the format, it is MY fault that they failed. It was an awful feeling that I cannot even describe. I came home and cried. For a long time.

My learning curve as a teacher affects them, but it is not just me! All teachers have those horrible years. The years where they look back and pity their students. That will be this year! I am taking it day by day right now... hoping I will be able to keep my job for next year. I love MCMS! I want to stay!

Oh, well. Nothing too exciting is going on anyway. Chris and I are just hanging out... eating food, watching TV..

We went to Talulah Gorge on Labor Day. I had a lock in with my students Friday night. We went to Gwinnett on Saturday and hung out with my friends and family for a little bit. We enjoyed church on Sunday... as always! :) We got to eat lunch with Brother Ronnie and Sisiter Jennifer, too. Yay! It makes me sad that I only see my church family once a week. I wish I could see them more!

Enough with the rambling... I am going to rest and chill. It is a midweek present to myself! :) God bless!

A New Home

2007-09-09T20:34:00.001-04:00

I was having some issues with Wordpress, so I have moved our blog to a new home before I posted too many entries to feel attatched. I had wordpress so Chris could post as well, but he is not as keen to post as I am, which is sad since he is such a hilarious writer! Maybe I will get him on here a few times...

This is our new blogging home, so change your links and bookmarks!

Thanks for being flexible! :)