Open Letter #3 and 100th post

First of all, this is my 100th post. Kind of exciting, but sad at the same time. 100 posts in 3 years is kinda pitiful. Anyway, I wanted to revisit my open letter posts for my 100th post. It's gonna be wild, and without pictures so here goes!

Dear girl-who-came-to-my-garage-door-to-sell-me-carpet-cleaning,

Hello friend. Listen, not a whole lot of strangers walk through my messy garage to ring the doorbell up the steps to my laundry room entrance. You know, that's kinda what a sidewalk and front porch are for. I don't really know you that well, and don't need to looking all up in my recycle or my shoe rack by the door. So whatevs, you're here now. You want to do what? Shampoo my carpets? Oh, well I don't really have a whole lot of carpet here in this house. This is when I start to take a look at her attire and check out her car. (I watch enough Criminal Minds to be aware of my surroundings, come on people!) So you think I'm going to let you come into my house? I see no nametag, your flyer's are kinda iffy, there's no sort of name on your truck. Yeah...probably not going to do it. Then you try to throw Jesus in the mix. You are going on a mission trip? You know the way to my heart. But still, I don't even really have carpet. Well how 'bout (and God bless me, this was my exact response) "Let me talk to my husband. Leave me your card and I'll hit you up if I ever need my carpets cleaned."

"HIT YOU UP????"

What am I, a gangsta? Whoa. As soon as she walked away, I closed the laundry room door and busted out laughing. She was probably praying I would not "hit her up" with a phone call.

Anyway, sweet girl, maybe next time you should have some business cards. And stay out of my garage. That's kinda shady.

With love,

Nikki

And just for fun, here's one more!

Dear lady at the grocery store,

Hi. I just wanted to tell you that I love cheese. Ya, I could eat it every day. I'd be the Bubba Gump of cheese. Fried, grilled, whole, cold... whatever, I love cheese. But what I'm not really sure about is why you are eating SHREDDED cheese out of the bag while you do your weekly grocery shopping. I mean, you were getting down on that cheese. Did the Sargento kind that comes in cute little blocks not do it for you? You had to stick your hands down in the bag and pinch some cheese as you pushed your buggy. Or could you just not wait to get that cheese on your tacos? You had to have it right.now? Well, it's your shopping experience. I'm just a little confused by it. Until we meet again in the cheese aisle!

Let's talk cheese,

Nikki

Happy 100th post! :) Thanks to the people who actually read my blog and my one reader Adrienne who bought some Strawberry Newtons for me after my last open letter. Yum. They were fine. Wish I had some now! Love ya!

Fall pictures

Well here I go again. Making excuses as to why I haven't blogged in forever. Don't have any excuses this time! Just didn't have a lot of pictures to share, and who wants to read a blog without pictures?!

It is COLD here today and I am already sick of it. I'm moving to Miami!

Lucy went to another Auburn game this year. We went with my friend Brandy and enjoyed ourselves so much! We played on Samford Lawn and Lucy was able to run and play all she wanted!

Here she is at Tiger Walk. If you go to an Auburn game you can't miss Tiger Walk!

We also visited the Peanut Festival and Lucy had a ball. She still asks me if we are going to the Fair or parade every weekend!

For Halloween, Lucy was her favorite character, Jessie, from Toy Story. We watch that movie at least 8 times a week. She loves it. She still wears her Jessie costume and carries her hat everywhere.

So there is our fall in pictures. Lucy is growing so fast. She is talking in complete sentences and going potty. She still takes her paci, but I'm hoping we can give it to Santa this Christmas. Her favorite phrases are "What doin?" "I have it?" and she talks in third person constantly.

"Lucy have it?" "Lucy's doll?"

She is finally enjoying going to school. She has some good friends and we love her teachers. She is such a ham and such a silly girl. And she'll tell you that "Lucy silly, or Lucy funny!"

I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner. I am ready to see how she will act. She already loves her Christmas tree in her room. She will tell me how beautiful it is and tell me all about the ornaments and who gave them to her! She is so quick and picks up on everything. She plays a matching game and is so good at it.

I am so proud of her and love her dearly!

Disney Recap

We have been back from Disney for about 3 weeks now, and I finally feel like I am caught up on my sleep, my sanity, and my laundry! We had a magical time, as one does in Disney. We ate too much food, enjoyed wonderful company, gave too many thumbs up, and rode tons of rides. September in the middle of school was definitely a great time to go as there was a smaller crowd of people and we waited in line for rides for small amounts of time (as in like 5 minutes). Lucy enjoyed herself being the center of attention in so many peoples lives and mom and dad enjoyed having so many hands to help hold, feed, and love on our baby! We park hopped, ate with characters, walked till our feet hurt, and laughed over and over. That to me equals a super trip. I didn't quite know what I was getting into, even though I planned this trip down to every detail. From the outfits for each park, to our dining times and which park was what day, I was definitely the trip planner for our vacation. I had a great group to spend a truly amazing vacation with. Now that it's over, we all plan to go back in no less than 5 years! ha! We really wore ourselves out. Next time, we will plan for more days with a few days just for relaxing and hanging out at the pool with an adult beverage! :)

Family photo waiting in line! Beebs and I doing our "pose" for the week! Thumbs up!
Sissy and Lucy enjoying waiting for Dumbo!

Lucy still talks about her trip and how she hugged Pooh and Tigger. (Lie. The kid was a freak-a-zoid when they came near, unless they wanted to give her a high five!) She talks about the Dumbo ride all the time and when we watch the home-made DVD she giggles and talks through the whole thing reminding me of the people she got to spend all her time with!

Tots and Gigi with their girl. Tots bought Lucy anything she wanted! :)


This is Lucy's scared face. We were in the aquarium and all the big fish were swimming right behind her!

Back to reality brought more school for me, Scott's 20 year class reunion, my 32 birthday (whoa!) and lots and lots of laundry to finish. We've been enjoying the cooler weather, and sleeping in on the weekends. Just good family time. I can't believe that Lucy is now 26 months old. She is a huge mess! Her 2 year old attitude is out in full force. Daycare is slowly getting better, and not without many sleepless nights from her momma praying continually. I finally think things are going in the right direction and I am so thankful! She talks in complete sentences and they crack me up. Just tonight during our bedtime routine Scott was pretending to fall asleep on her floor. She jumped on his belly and said "Wake up now, Daddy!" I love the way she tells us that she "luffs us" at night when she's going to bed and how she prays for certain people if I forget them during prayer time. She has the most vivid imagination. I asked her the other day what her name was and she told me her name was "Lucy Pooh-Bear" each day since she's had a different name to go with Lucy (she doesn't quite have her /l/ sound yet so it sound more like U-cy, which cracks me up.)

I love that girl! I am so blessed to have such a funny girl. She loves music and Party Rock Anthem is her favorite song. We get in the car every morning and she says "Mom, Party Rock?" and so we jam to her song the whole way to school. I don't want to forget this fun and trying time with her!

Long Time Gone...

Hello friends... that is, if anyone out there is still there! I have taken a month off from blogging. I've taken some time to enjoy my summer break, to spend some time with my sweet 2 year old and fabulous husband, and to sleep! School starts back for me on Wednesday and it feels like I just left the land of first graders! So... what have we been up to this summer?



Lucy and I at downtown Disney with our birthday treat! yummo!

Well, this sweet little girl turned 2 this summer! Oh my, and is she a handful. She is so funny. I mean Fun-ny! She talks non-stop, does the silliest things and she keeps me on my toes! Her new favorite thing to do is watch music videos and dance. Her favorite music video is Justin Bieber's "Baby." Ya'll, I'm not even gonna tell you how much we laugh. She can follow what the people do in their dance routine and do it with them. Even tries to break dance. We follow ol' Beib with the "monkey song" (The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars) and then finish it up with my girl Britney's "Till the world ends." We have a whole dance routine for this one. She calls it her "jumpie song" because during the chorus we jump up and down with our hands in the air. It is so funny! I'll spare you the video because usually I'm already in my pj's and no one wants to see me jumping around and dancing! ha!

We also celebrated Lucy's birthday with a bang! My mom threw Lucy an "Olivia" party on Friday night and then we had a "Minnie Mouse" party at SEAGA gymnastics the next day. She loved it all and kept telling me that "I blow!" when she saw a cake! I was so blessed to have so many family and friends celebrate our wonderful gift!


Lucy's Olivia party. I made the Olivia cut out and her dress made from etsy.

The wonderful cake mom had made from Debra West. We were so impressed! and it tasted delicious!

Lucy with her daddy at her "jumpie party!"

Sweet girl eating her birthday snacks.


My mother in law, Connie,made these adorable cupcakes for her party. I loved them!

Our little family went to Orlando to see the shuttle take off. We also went to SeaWorld while we were there. Oh my, it was so hot, but so much fun. Lucy loved seeing all the "fish" and we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest. She was good in the car and was a great tourist. We have a big trip to Disney planned in September so I hope it goes as well as this trip did!
Waiting on the beach for the shuttle to take off! She loved the beach!

Lucy now weighs 30 pounds, is almost 3 feet tall and is smart as a whip. She copies everything we do and say. She puts together sentences, follows directions quickly, and is such a big helper now. I let her put all her juice boxes in the fridge the other day and she was so proud of herself! She also started daycare for the first time. She is a little timid (read-crying, mad!) when I drop her off, but she is learning so much and loves to tell me about "Eleanor and my my friends" when I pick her up. She could not stop talking about the "mag-nets" and the letter "B" today when I picked her up. She has the cutest southern accent. I love to here her say "help" because it is about 3 syllables long! She likes to go eat her "nack" in her "TB room" (t.v room!) when she gets home.

I know I say each age is my favorite so far, but this one has been great. Despite the few tantrums we have, she is sponging everything we do in her brain. She can read the book "Go,Dogs, Go" without any help. I love to hear her get to the end and say "A Dog Parttay!"


Happy girl on her 2nd birthday. She has such a wonderful time!

So that's what's been up in our household. I am gonna get back into blogging now that school is back in session and I won't have the video camera as much as I've had this summer! Gotta remember all she does for her baby book! ha!


I've missed ya'll!

letter #3

Dear 16 year old Lucy,

You scare the bejesus out of me and I have 14 years to go. I worry so much about this time with you. I can only hope that I will raise you in the right way. Let me tell you a few things though....
Be yourself. Walk to your own drumbeat. Fall in love. Laugh all the time. Be kind to all types of people. Make friends who you can trust and who will stand by you and hold your hand always. Find a passion and run with it. Daddy and I will support you. Know your roots and be respectful to your family. Try your best in school. Don't drive too fast. Don't chase the boys who can't be chased. They're not worth the heartache. Speaking of heartache, it will happen, and yes, you will get over it. You're life will not be over no matter how bad it hurts. God has made someone for you that will make your heart feel things you didn't feel possible (when you are way older!) Don't do things just because others are doing them. Drugs are really not cool, neither is underage drinking or sex. You'll have time for grown-up things when your are grown up. I don't want to be on 16 and Pregnant with you. Be kind to your teachers. There will be days when you think you hate your daddy and me, but you don't and we will know that. We will hurt you and it will feel awful, but in the end, we will usually be right and you'll see that one day when you're grown with your own kids.

I want you to be an independent, God loving girl. I want you to make good choices, and even though that won't always happen, I'll love you anyway and help you in whatever way I can. Stay true to your faith, stand up for others who have less than you, and love hard.

To picture you at 16 is exciting, scary, and funny. I look forward to seeing what you are like. I wonder if you'll have my personality and spunk. I hope you do! What a ride I'm in for!

Love,
Your momma
(and let's go ahead and get this out... If you're 16, I'm 45. Holy hockeysticks.)

Letter #2

Dear pain and suffering,

I hate you. You are rude and awful and unpredictable. I hate watching people lose their loved ones without warning. I am hurt over sick, cancer filled children. I am tired of hearing of the loss of a friend unexpectedly. I am tired of the heartache, the void, the hurt that you bring to all. Go away. I live with the hope that one day, I will be free from you and you will have no hold over us. I cling to the promise that God will give peace that surpasses all understanding. But even full faith in God does not make me like you at all.
Nikki

Praying desperately tonight for a friends who lost a brother and son, another friend who was killed this week in a car accident, and a sweet little girl fighting for her life from cancer. May our Lord and Savior hold them close and place a sweet veil of comfort over them all.

open letters

I would like to begin a series of "open letters" to things or people or organizations I would like to pick a bone with or tell them something funny. I'll try to post one every day until I get it all off my chest. These are things I might say if I didn't have a censor!


Dear Strawberry Newtons,
I love you. With a deep love. And I love you so much I sit down to just eat 3 of you and I look down and have eaten 8. You are that delicious. So delicious I try to hide them from my child so she will not love them. I finally checked the package yesterday to see how many calories I am shoveling down my throat and I was sad to see that for every 2 I gain 100 calories. Does this stop me? No. And when I pass by your lovely yellow packaging in the Publix I know I am in for such a tasty sensation I cannot say no. Do you have some kind of Newton's Anonymous? I would be the one waiting in the room with a cup of coffee trying not to think of how badly I would like a Strawberry Newton. This is all.
With love,
Nikki

23 months

Lucy Clare....You are 23 months old today. Where has time gone? This time 2 years ago I was horribly swollen, visibly pregnant and so miserable. Summer heat was awful and I couldn't even wear flip-flops (shout out to Beebs who pushed me in a wheelchair at the Kohls!) I was so excited to meet you and get to know you and I constantly wondered what kind of child you would grow to be. How amazed I am at you every day. You are funny and sweet and such a smart child (and I don't just say that because I am a teacher!) You make each day such a joy. You can count to 5, spell your name after I give you the "L" and you "think" you can read books. We love to watch you play with your toys and I love to watch how you copy things I do on a daily basis.

You are a great sleeper. We have an awesome bedtime routine that you know so well. You love to play in the tub, get your "oshen" (lotion) and your "pop" (powder) to brush your hair and then brush your teeth, to say good night to Elmo and "doors" (Dora), read your three books (usually Oliva, Goodnight Moon, and an Easter story) then crawl into bed with "monk" (monkey) and your "pas" (paci). You love to say your goodnight prayers, and we pray for everyone we know!

You really crack me up with all the thing you say "Awesome" "Good job" "High five" are things we hear constantly. You also talk about your "TaTa" (my dad) a lot. I swear I hear his name 50000000 times a day.

Your favorite foods are tomatoes and black olives. Strange, but I think you could eat your weight in them. You also love your fish, blueberries, bananas, and cheese (preferably swiss).

I have so enjoyed my summer time with you. We've been sleeping late, enjoying swimming lessons, and all our time with daddy. I love that when I play on my computer you find your laptop and sit with me. I love that you will play your music keyboard non-stop and sing into the microphone. I joke that when you are older we will be the next "Judds" and travel the world with our fabulous singing duo!

I can remember first bringing you home and being so nervous at what I was going to do with you. You are the light of my life and the joy in my heart. I am blessed, humbled, honored, and overjoyed to be your mother. I love how much you love Gigi (my mom) and Sissy (my sister) and want to call them and talk to them, and love when we go over to visit or eat supper with them.

In one more month I will have a 2 year old. 2 of the most amazing and powerful years of my life have gone by and I hope that I have cherished each day with you.

My prayer for you is that you will always live a happy and fulfilling life. That you will put God first and seek His wisdom and guidance. That you will seek His voice. My life's goal is that you will love the Lord with all your heart. You are precious child of God and I hope that I can always be an inspiration to that testimony. I love you, my sweet Lucy Clare. With a love that knows no bounds. Always. Forever. Since the moment I knew you were formed, since the moment I held you in my arms. You will always be my baby, my first born, the joy of my life. The song I had always prayed for, the musical masterpiece that played in my heart. Your daddy's princess and mommy's helper. I love you.

swimming the summer away!

Lucy and I have been taking swimming lessons at our local rec center. We love it now. Day 1 was awful. There could not have been a longer thirty minutes of my life. She screamed in my ear and tried to flash my goodies to all the other mommas. We got home that night to tell Daddy all about our day and Lucy looked at him at told him "I cry" when he asked her about lessons. So we practiced in the bathtub and on the living room floor until I felt we were ready to take on Day 2. We talked and laughed and cheered the whole way (and I called in reinforcement from Gigi) and day 2 went great! She loved it and is a little swimmer now! She still hates the board ("No! No board, mom!") but she likes to jump off the side and go under the water. She really loves floating on her back. I am so glad we decided to do this! That's been the extent of our summer. We have been taking long naps and eating ice cream sandwiches and cuddling on the couch. When I go to get on the computer, she gets her laptop and sits next to me. She's a mess!

180

180 days of.....

sweat, tears, laughter. Of working hard, holding pencils, reading, reading, reading. Of math problems and timed drills and laughter. Of dancing, and singing and laughter. Of losing my patience, of crying with hurt hearts in sweet children. Of parent-teacher conferences, and late nights on the computer. Of faculty meetings, and friends. Of sanitizer and tissue. Of small group tables, promethean boards, white boards and markers. Of sweet, loving children who want to hold my hand. Of interesting lunch combinations. Of walk-throughs and grade-levels. Of knowing that someone just learned something for the first time. Of laughter, learning and social graces. Of lunch manners and hallway manners and notebooks and treasure boxes. Of hard work, praise, and jokes. Carpet time and table time. Of "tub" time and centers. Of silly words and silly stories. Of doing my passion and following His plan. Of joy, pain, and love.

180 of the best days of my life.

All leading up to

73 days of summer freedom.

Another day in paradise....

Rolling off of last week's post, today was a day to make sure I wrote down for the records. The day started normal enough, the kids are really ready to be done with school, but it is imperative that I keep them on a schedule and preferably the schedule that we have had for the last 175 days. So like all days, they came in the door, greeted me, unpacked their backpacks and began writing in their journal. Today's journal writing was "If I could go anywhere on vacation I would go _______." They were to complete and write their other four sentences. I hear them talking among themselves...

Kid 1: "I would go to the beach. Mrs. B, does this mean ANYWHERE? Like we are millionaires?"

Me: "Yes, pretend like you have all the money in the world."

Kid 1: "Good. I will go to Chuck-E-Cheese."

Kid 2: "She said anywhere. You can go there anytime. What about Texas?"

Me: "Yes, Texas would be a good place."

Kid 3: "How do you spell Hollywood?"

This goes on for about 30 minutes, with a bathroom break and a pencil sharpening time. After they finish their journal for this week, they are allowed to draw with markers or do a learning puzzle. Conversation number two begins here:

D: "Mrs. B, do you have grandmas and grandpas or are they all dead?"

Me: "Nope, they are all dead."

D: "oh no.no. my, my, my." (shaking head back and forth)

I am thinking he was drawing me a picture of my grandparents. He was visibly upset that I had no grandparents!

And finally....after we completed our Memorial Day project we went to the Promethean Board to watch a video before computer lab. I had been using my laptop to work so I had to move it back to the board and hook it back up. As I was walking, I dropped the battery of the laptop on my pinky toe. I lost my breath and almost threw up! My kids were very worried as to why I quit breathing and was grabbing my stomach, so they all hopped off their square to look at my toe. When I was finally able to speak again I told them that it hurt so bad that I had almost thrown up.

Me: "Heavens! I broke my pinkie toe! And it's bleeding everywhere. I almost threw up it hurt so bad!"

A: (please say this in your head like she talks. She lives with her 90 year old grandmother so she talks just like an old lady. You know, all shaky and southern. I love this girl.)

"Oh, gracious. Mrs. B almost threw up, right here on the carpet. I am so glad she didn't vomit. We woulda have had to search for us a sub to keep us."

Really. I laughed the pain away. She was worried I was going home and we would have to search for a sub! I have laughed all day about that comment!

And... I really did break or injure my pinky toe! It's been such a pain today!

Hope we made you smile!

When I make my first million....

I always like to brag to my friends that one day I'm going to make my first million dollars teaching. But really, one day, when I get a recording contract, I will make a kids c.d and I will really make a million teaching kids. I need to get on that.pronto. In this post, as the summer break tempts me with only 8 days of work left, I wanted to tell you if I did ever write a book, these would be the different chapters....All the things college did not ever tell me that would come out of my mouth or that I would hear in a day.

1. You did not just lose your tooth. That's a piece of meat from lunch.
2. Yes. White girls wash their hair every day.
3. No. I cannot tell you how to spell "eyes" that is the spelling word you are writing.
4. Everyone passes gas. Even me. I just choose not to do it where you can smell it.
5. Get the spray. Someone passed gas again.
6. No, mummies are not like zombies.
7. Yes, Lucy's last name is the same as mine.
8. Why do I get to get a coke from the machine? Because I have a degree.
9. I would rather you not lick the plate to get the mashed potatoes.
10. No, I will not tell you where I live.
11. Mrs. B'.... You could be a mommy beauty queen! (Said like "booty" queen. I totally laughed for days)
12. Oh my gosh, when you put your hair out of the ponytail, you look like Mariah Carey! (personal favorite!)
13. It doesn't really help if the glass falls out of your glasses. Take them off.
14. Mrs. B, are you are momma in God's way? (I hear this all the time. I really like this. I get called Momma, Grandma or Auntie all day anyway!)



Oh my, the things I hear in a day. I'll try to remember to do this more often. I know I will like to look back, after my first million, while I'm sitting on the beach with my cold adult spirit drink laughing at my sweet children. How blessed I am to be their teacher! But hey.... Bring on the summer! :)

Ramblings....

I am blessed. Just earlier tonight as I walked through the house, picking up here and there and putting some clothes away, I was praying silent prayers. I was thanking the most High for blessing me with such a wonderful and loving family, thanking Him for one more precious day with my loves and enjoying a silent house for just a few moments. I also prayed the Blood of Christ on our house and our loved ones. Someone told me recently how powerful those words were and I just wanted to affirm them. How beyond measure is the Blood of Christ, how He laid His precious life down for me. How He thought of us as he hung on Calvary's tree. I am blessed to be loved by such a beautiful Savior. Isn't this a joyous thought? Thank you, my Blessed Redeemer!

My 2nd Mother's Day was very low-key and sweet. Scott and Lucy woke me up (yes, I have a husband who let's me sleep in. This was a discussion we had long before children. I ♥ my sleep.) with a kiss and a card. Lucy was so excited to help me open my card! It was a super cute Mickey Mouse Clubhouse card from them both, signed in her sweet handwriting (with Daddy's help!) and a note at the bottom telling me how excited they both are about our trip to Disney we have planned for September. They also got me a massage gift card which I cannot wait to use when school gets out! A day of relaxation...ahh! I have no pictures of this day, but I can say that having the two of them in my life is such a joy. I am so pleased that God bestowed on me the chance to be a mother to such a wonderful little girl! She amazes me every day.

Summer is approaching quickly and I already have a booked up summer! With 2 teacher conferences, a 2nd birthday party to plan, swimming lessons, and tons of days spent at the pool, and sleeping, we are a busy bunch this summer. Plus we plan on hanging out with Lucy's friend Foster and his way-cool momma Jolie a lot this summer. I am blessed to have good friends to share the summer with. And really, don't ya'll think I picked the right profession for a reason?

I will be sad to leave my class this year. They have truly been one of my favorite classes to teach. All of them mesh so well together and are always so eager to learn. Even when they drive me crazy with their tattle-tales and their.....let's just be honest, smelly toots, I love them anyway! They have come so far this year, and I am pleased to know I had a small hand in this!

Thank you Lord forYour love and Your Son, forgiveness and blessings. You are the song in my heart and the air that I breathe. May I always praise You.

I love this!

When Lucy was first born I would make up songs about her. I still do this (what can I say? I love to sing! Scott gets a little tired of the constant musicals that occur around our house!) One song I made up was to a little tune I made up one my own, but these are the words:

This is my baby, this is my girl,

when she is older,

I'll give her a curl.

(you know, like curl her hair for her)

This is my baby, this is my girl,

when she is older,

I'll give her a pearl.

(this one's pretty self explanatory)

This is my baby, this is my girl......

when she is older,

I'll even let her twirl!

(I don't know. It rhymed. I twirled when I was little. It makes sense to me.)

On the last verse, you really have to get down with the "twirl" part... I mean, really hold it out and shake your voice. Anyway, I do love this baby. She makes me laugh and smile and cry at the same time. She is such a blessing, even when she won't let me get her dressed and is screaming "NO WAY!" at the top of her lungs, or throwing whatever she doesn't want all over the floor. Yep, she's my sweet little blessing!

our fun day

It has been extremely hot here in the south, so Lucy and I decided to take our party outside today. We began by dyeing our "Eee-ter" eggs which she loved. We had so many teachable moments doing this! Not only did we discuss our colors, but we used vocabulary like "gentle" and "easy" when we put the eggs in the dye and words like "spill" when we messed up! I love being able to teach my child. So many of my classroom children through the years have lacked the skills that parents should be responsible for! Oh...let me jump off this soapbox and get back to my sweet girl. So we dyed our Easter Eggs and then I pulled out a 2 dollar sprinkler we picked up at Lowes the other day. This was an experience! I had to show her a few times how to run in the sprinkler so I was soaking wet when we were done! It was so worth it. We worked up our appetite so we headed in for a "nack"

These are the days I cherish with her. Just enjoying each other's company and marveling at the creation of the Father!

Eggs. and a cheesy smile!

She had to get the water on the "bug" on her bathing suit!


I hope that each of you have a joyous Easter season. We as Catholics believe that the Easter season starts tomorrow and lasts for 50 days ending on Pentecost. So, have a wonderful Easter Season! Blessings to you!

Sweet smile as she runs the sprinkler!

when I'm not working....

When I'm not working I like to play on my Mac at school. I won a Mac through a little contest at school and woo... How have I ever lived without one of these? For days, I played and played until I learned all I could... and then I found photobooth. well, hello! All my close teacher friends and I took pictures for hours. I also got the chance to get Lucy in on this action. Here it is for all your viewing pleasure!

Yes. My baby is a genius. What gave it away?

Hey guys, wanna play?


Something sure does stink around here!


Oh.. I just needed a laugh on this Tuesday. Happy Day!

His voice

I was sitting in my quiet house the other night, after Lucy was snug in her bed, spending some time reflecting on the day, checking facebook statuses and enjoying the tv being off and the drama of the day long gone when I heard the voice of God. I have only heard Him speak to me once before, which is a story I keep locked in my heart that only a few know of. I am not Moses. God does not speak to me with a burning bush. I am not an old testament prophet. I don't hear of God "speaking" to people, so I only share my story of His first words to me for those who will understand. But on this night, He spoke. It took me by surprise. I wasn't even really thinking of anything in particular... but I guess that this is when God will open your mind to Him fully. It was loud and yet so quiet, and at first, I didn't know what it was. It wasn't with my earthly ears, if this makes sense. He spoke only these words..."Pray, my children, pray." No specifics. No intent. Just to pray. And with the words, "my children," I assumed that he meant more than just me. For me to tell others. So...with me, will you pray? Pray without ceasing. If my Lord will request it, I can grant Him this.

"Pray continually"

I Thessalonians 5:17

Spring!

It is officially spring here in the South! The temperature has been near 80 each day, everyone is working in their yard, my school kids are getting restless, and I have been able to wear sandals just about every day! Yeah! In honor of the first day of Spring I am going to share Lucy's pictures from the beach. Ya'll remember when I told you I had to speak at a youth conference? Yep, it was held at the beach and was so wonderful. I left that weekend totally anointed by God's grace and seeing is handiwork in 400 teenagers was amazing. I met some great people and I have a feeling I would like to continue my ministry of speaking to young people. I hope the Lord will open many more doors for me to come.

Anyway, I digress..... When I wasn't at the conference, I spent some much needed family time with Lucy and Scott. We headed down to the beach when the teens were at mass so we could have the beach to ourselves and take some beach pics of Lucy. Here they are! :)

I do love living so close to the beach. Lucy loves the sand in her toes and the wind in her face. It was chilly that day so we didn't let her close to the water (I'm positive she would have jumped right in!) I am ready for the summer time for many more beach trips to come!

Happy Spring to YOU!

on my mind

Got some fun things on my mind that are pretty much consuming what I think about these days, so I thought I'd share them! In no particular order!

1. I wish I could rock super white legs as cute as my kid can. I need to desperately meet the sun.
2. I am a keynote speaker at a youth conference next weekend. I'm a little bit overwhelmed at the thought of 400 teens....and me... on a stage, talking about service to the Lord. whew. It has made me step up my Bible time and my prayer time, so something wonderful has come out of it!
3. I wish I could send some reality celebs on an island survivor style. Snooki, Kate, Sarah, all the Bama Belles, and Holly. See who can duke it out to the end.
4. We go to Disney in 7 months. I am about to have a fit to get there!
5. Lucy turns two in 5 months. wow.
6. I wish I could lose more weight, and fast. I need to Zumba every day, and not just 3 times a week!
7. It's official. I have Beiber Fever.
8. I am loving this warmer weather, but if you see #1, you'll know why no cute spring-y pants have come out of the rubbermaid!
9. I am looking forward to summer, but not to losing this class. I have just had a wonderful, funny, sweet class this year. Just the other day one of my kids told me "I wish it would get warmer so you could wear that pretty blue long dress you wore on the first day of school." Really? The first day was 114 days ago. And she remembers? ha! Gotta love what kids say! :)
10. Britney has a new album. swoon!
11. I am thankful to have good friends who make me laugh, parents who love me and still take care of me, an awesome sister, a loving husband, a sweet, sweet toddler, and a God who loves me even when I make big mistakes!


Hoping that your mind is full of fun thoughts. Praying for YOU, blog friend, wherever you are!

Listening.

I ran away from your love, But you waited for me

Yes, you waited for me

And then I heard your song Singing over me

Singing over me

Now that I hear you, Lord

I want to know you more

I want to know you more

Sing your song to me

Oh, there's no greater thing than to listen to the sound of your voice

When I hear your song

I want to sing along

And listen to the sound of your voice

The sound of your voice

Lord, I am calling your name

And I'm waiting for you

Yes, I'm waiting for you

So won't you show me your way

And I will follow you

Yes, I will follow you

Singing over me

Bringing peace and mercy

With a song that never ends

Singing over me

Marvelous and holy Lord, I want to hear your song again

Third Day "Sound of Your Voice"

It's February. I love February. February is when I first dated my husband. 5 years ago I was singing karaoke at a local bar pretty much every night. I liked that. I still like to sing karaoke, just not as much! Anyway, I was singing quite regularly, and I met this guy. I had met him a few months back and I thought he was pretty cute. I saw him again in February. We talked all night, he clapped for me when I sang, he bought me drinks, and we just clicked. He got my number but I wasn't really sure I would really hear from him.

Days passed, and I didn't get a call. Then, one Sunday night, February 12th, 2006, he called. I was super excited. He asked me out for a date. He said, how bout Tuesday? Really? Valentine's Day? I don't even like Valentine's Day. I think its kinda cheesy. But ok....He picked me up Tuesday night. I remember still how nervous I was. And for those who know me, know I don't really get nervous. I was a serial dater so this was all cool to me. But I was nervous that night. I went and bought a new outfit after work. So he picks me up, in his white Chevy truck and we head out to dinner. We go to Chili's. Remember. This is Valentine's. All places are packed. We enjoy a great dinner. We talk, we laugh, we kinda sparked. I liked him. But this is a first date. We just don't fall in love on a first date! So the date ends and I am thinking this might be a guy I want to keep around.

We talked every night and ended up going on another date on Friday. I was living on my own and I didn't have cable at the time (school teachers don't make that much money their first year teaching!) I had rabbit ears and I only watched two channels anyway, so during dinner on our first date I made a comment about wishing I had a DVD player so I could watch something besides my two channels. I made a simple comment about some shows I would like to have on DVD. Well.... on our second date, he shows up at my door bearing gifts. A new DVD player with 3 of the DVD's I had mentioned. Talk about listening! I was quite excited about this guy!

6 short months later we were engaged. 2 years after meeting we were married. 3 years after that first February we had our sweet girl.

I write this so my Lucy will always know how her parents met and fell in love. I knew I loved him on our first date... and I love him more today than then. He is an amazing father and a wonderful husband. And they always say you can't find a good man in a bar! ha!

Happy February!

my girl

Going through video on the computer I found this "vintage" Lucy video and had to share. Was she really that little?

18 months.

My child is now 18 months old. She is 6 months away from being 2. Oh my. I was cleaning out a bucket last night of 3 month clothing and almost cried. I remembered when she wore each outfit and I hardly remember her being that tiny!

She is a busy moving happy girl. I love watching her interact and play. Just last night, I caught her on the bathroom floor "feeding" a puppy toy with toy bottle. She was holding him in her lap and putting the bottle in its mouth. So cute! She has a cute imaginiation. She will play in her playhouse for long periods of time, playing the piano, playing on her computer. She will jump on her rocking horse and rock so fast, all while singing "rock, rock" (which my mother sings to her.) She loves Dino Dan and the Fresh Beat Band on NickJr.

are you ready?????

For some AUBURN FOOTBALL???????

We are! I am so excited that our team made it to the BCS championship game this year and I am totally looking forward to eating some Duck! Wooo!

It's great to be an Auburn Tiger!

We'll be watching the game Monday night and cheering for the Orange and Blue!

oh my....

Here's a little story. Sit down. It's kinda funny. At least, I think so anyway. And take a look at Miss Priss and how clean and sweet she looks. You'll need that for future reference.

So picture this. I'm cleaning the kitchen (really!) and my sweet, innocent, lovely child is playing in the living room. I'm jamming out to some old school hiphop. She's kickin' it (yes, I said that) with the Backyardagins. Anyway, so we're all busy doing our thing when in strolls my girly into the kitchen. I notice something on her hands. She shows them to me, sticks them right out in a "hold up" position. I see it... brown.brown.brown sticky something all over her pretty little hands. I freak. truly, it has to be. no. please lord in heaven with the saints almighty. please don't let it be poop. I carefully walk over to my girl, grab a hand, a smell. Smells good. Like chocolate. "What have you done?" as I run to the living room. Heart attack number 2. Where is it? What has she wiped it on? I can picture brown hand prints on the floor, chairs, and tv. Wait. really? Only 2 little hand prints on her PBK chair? and then I see that little silver wrapper, so carefully thrown on the floor. and the little white slip of paper with the words "Hershey's" on it. My sweet, quiet little girl has melted a Hershey kiss between her hands. Wasted a perfectly wonderful piece of chocolate, but she must have had fun doing it! And thankfully, I was able to take her right to the sink and wash her up, and throw the PBK cover in the wash. Not before I took pics. Gotta have those for her senior pictures!