10 Years Ago Today

On December 18, 1999, I married my sweet Daniel. Over the past ten years, he has taken such good care of me and spoiled me rotten. Of course, we have had our ups and downs as to be expected. But, I feel like we are at one of the happiest times of our lives right now!

December 18, 1999

At one of my wedding showers, the hostesses had each person write a letter to Daniel and I about how the future might be looking during the next few years. Each letter was put in an envelope and sealed. On the front was written DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOUR _____ ANNIVERSARY! This was such a fantastic idea, and we have enjoyed opening those letters and reading them over the years. We are sad to say that the last letter is for our 12th Anniversary. This fun tradition will be missed after our 12th year.

I thought everyone might enjoy reading some of the things that were written in the letters and if you are planning a wedding shower for anyone, I suggest doing this little activity. We have really enjoyed it! In a way, this is also a tribute to the individuals who wrote the letters. Some of these people are watching down from heaven now and some I don't get to see as often as I would like.

1st - No letters

2nd - I'm so happy for you and Daniel, I hope this day finds you as in love as ever, I hope your little daughter is here my now and is sleeping all night, I have been married to Mr. Clark 30 years and I hope you are as happy as we are still

3rd - Whatever you are doing on this day I hope you all will be happy and healthy, Keep your head up and never go to bed angry, please . . . ., I wish ya'll many, many more happy years together!

4th - I hope by now there is one child on the way, I figure by this anniversary you all are really getting in the groove of this marriage and about ready to start having kids, You will know each other well now and it is time to start adding to the family, I hope you have settled into marriage by now

5th - Ollie and I have been married 52 years and hope you and Daniel will be married even longer, Always walk with Jesus and our heavenly Father and the trials of this life will be easier to bear, Whatever comes your way in the future go through it together and keep the love in you hearts

6th - May God bless you and keep you, May He make His light to shine upon you and give you peace

7th - No letters

8th - No letters

9th - No letters

10th - By your tenth anniversary you will have kids in school

It is so fun to see what everyone thought the future would bring for Daniel and me. Some of those comments will hold true for Daniel and I forever and others as well. Hope you enjoyed reading each one of the comments and maybe one day you will be writing a letter to someone special at their wedding shower!

Oh! You're Finally Starting to Look Pregnant!

Week 17 Picture

Ok . . . .so I wore this cute, red sweater yesterday with some fun, black pants. I decided I would put it back on for my Week 17 picture, because I had so many people say "Oh . . . You're finally starting to look a little pregnant!" So, I thought instead of showing you my bare belly today, I would give you the belly in my red sweater. And yes, I think it is time to retire that red sweater!

What is BabyBoo doing at 17 Weeks?
*BabyBoo is 5.2 inches long and weighs 5 oz.
*Over the next three weeks, a rapid growth spurt will occur for BabyBoo and his or her weight will double.
*BabyBoo is developing new reflexes such as the startle reflex, which will cause it to jump at the sound of loud noises.
*BabyBoo is now starting to form brown, fat deposits under his or her skin.
*BabyBoo is making my uterus grow, pushing all other organs aside.
*BabyBoo is about the size of my open hand or a sweet potato.
*BabyBoo's eyelids are now in place and are making small side-to-side movements.
*BabyBoo has a crib, changing table and dresser in his or her room (See pics below).

BabyBoo's Crib

BabyBoo's Changing Table

Just for fun, I will tell you that my colleagues and I took 105 first graders to Santa's Village in Huntsville today! I am exhausted, but we had so much fun. For some holiday cheer, load up and take your family. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what you can do and what you might have at the end of the trip. The rumor is that it is even more fun and beautiful at night!

Cookie Making Practice with our Elf

Story with Mrs. Claus

Beautiful Decorations in Santa's Dining Room

Sleeping Children

Christmas Trees

I am again participating in Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life". This week the topic is Christmas cookies. Each year at school, we do a whole week of Christmas tree activities as you might remember. We usually end the week by making edible Christmas trees. I know this is not really a "cookie", but all the blog moms out in blog land might enjoy doing this with their little ones. I know I will soon!





You need:
Vanilla Icing
Green Food Coloring
Skittles, M&M's, or other small, round candy
Ice Cream Cones

1. Mix green food coloring in the icing until you get a nice green color.
2. Use a popsicle stick to spread the icing all over the ice cream cone.
3. Add small candies for the ornament.
4. Enjoy!




Simple and yummy!

Week 16 Update (A Day Late)

Since I am feeling a little yucky today, this will be a quick update and then I am heading to bed. I have a big day tomorrow. All I can say is "The Granny Awards". This is the name of our school's teacher play this year, and it is tomorrow. TOMORROW! I feel a little nervous because I missed our final dress rehearsal this afternoon. What parts do I play? . . . . . so glad you asked! I will be playing the part of Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack from Jack and Jill. I volunteered to take the boy parts since I have short hair. When I signed up, I didn't realize Jack would be 4 months pregnant! This makes me giggle!

Week 16 Picture

What is Babyboo up to now?
*BabyBoo is about 4.6 inches long and weighs about 3.4 oz
*BabyBoo's legs are now longer than his or her arms
*BabyBoo's brachioles are forming in its lungs
*BabyBoo is making more and more amniotic fluid by emptying his or her bladder every 40-45 minutes
*BabyBoo is developing sleep and wake cycles which are very short at this time
*BabyBoo's reflexive movements are increasingly developed and improved muscle control allows BabyBoo to grasp things with its hands
*BabyBoo's movement might cause me to feel butterflies in my stomach
*BabyBoo's tiny bones in his or her ears are in place this week, making it likely that he or she can hear voices when people are speaking (Daniel likes to sing Christmas Carols to Boo!)
*BabyBoo has eyebrows and eyelashes
*BabyBoo can hiccup now
*BabyBoo is the size of a turnip


Don't forget to keep praying for this little guy . . . .
It looks like he will be released from St. Jude soon. But, he will be staying at the Ronald McDonald House so he can go to St. Jude for daily check-ups!

Have a wonderful Friday!

The Lord is Everywhere!

O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8:1

Throughout out my life, I have been a christian. I was raised in the church and chose to be saved and confirmed in the 8th grade. Several times since that important event, I have been touched by the Lord in ways I can not explain and had experiences that have changed me as a person. This past weekend was another one of those amazing experiences.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and you plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

Friday morning, I headed off to Memphis with my dear friends Michelle and Jodi. You might recall that we had this weekend planned for quite sometime now. The whole purpose of the weekend was to raise money for St. Jude and to run in honor of Michelle's nephew Jackson. Here we are at the St. Jude Heroes Pasta dinner. We were able to attend this due to Michelle's hard work with collecting donations. Way to go Michelle! You could feel the Lord's presence in the room during this dinner, and this was the first time we encountered the Lord during this trip. He is everywhere!

Here I am pictured with our school's secretary Ms. Donna. She, her husband Ben and a few other people from our area traveled to Memphis to walk/run in memory of a little girl from our county. I knew that this group would be attending the pasta party but did not have any idea where they would be sitting, etc. After we got our food, we came into the grand ballroom and found a quick seat scanning the crowd to see if we could find them. You would never believe that they were only two tables over from where we were going to sit. We decided it would be nice to sit with them for dinner. In this room full of 1,000 people, you would have never thought we would have found them so quickly. Yes, the Lord is everywhere!


Anyone who is a runner might recognize the face pictured below. Yes . . . . .that is Hal Higdon! He was the keynote speaker at this fantastic event. In case you don't know, he is a marathon runner, trainer, and writer. My friend Karen and I used his training schedule when we trained for our half-marathon this past spring. It was so neat to see him face to face and to know that he helped me check off one the items on my Bucket List. The Lord is everywhere!

A new command, I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:35

The little boy pictured below is Evans. Evans is a St. Jude patient was diagnosed with ALL when he was 3. He attended the Heroes Dinner with his mother Maleese who came to tell his story. She explained that Evans was diagnosed in one day through St. Jude and started treatment the next. She confirmed the love that she and her family received from St. Jude and the love that I am sure all families feel when they have to spend time at the St. Jude hospital. Again, the Lord is everywhere!

Here we are Saturday morning before running/walking in our event. If you don't already believe that the Lord blessed us on this trip, let me tell you a little story. We left our hotel at 6:20. This time was a little behind schedule for what we had planned Friday night. As we started on our way, we realized that we did not have directions to get to where we needed to be to start the race. You would think that one of the three of us would have figured that out, but we didn't and started on our merry way. As we are traveling, we all seem to be saying, " Ummm . . .I don't think we are going the right way!" or "I don't remember this from last night!" But, by some miracle, we ended up driving right into downtown Memphis, and this was right where we needed to be. The only thing we could figure out was that God picked our car up and put it on the right path. The Lord is everywhere!


After the race, we headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready to return back to downtown Memphis to cheer on the half/full marathoners. After our incident earlier in the day, you would think that one of us would have said something about getting directions. Nope! We drove around, turned around, went right, went wrong . . . Losing about 30 minutes of our cheering time. Oh, how the Lord had a plan for me.

If you don't read the blog "Kelly's Korner", I would like to encourage you to do so. I found her blog when I was looking for blogs of other teachers. Back in the summer, Kelly asked for prayers for a close friend of hers named Katie and added the link to Katie's blog "Katie's Keepers". I chose to follow the link to Katie's blog and pray for her. Katie's story is sad, but her words are truly inspirational. You can feel the spirit through her without ever seeing her and reading her blog will draw you closer to Christ. You will never guess who the Lord put in my path at exactly the right moment in time. Yes, it was Katie! I was absolutely floored. This is a person who inspires me and so many others with her strength, and I never thought I would meet her. She lives hours away from where I live. The Lord is everywhere! Thank you Katie for the kind words and sweet pictures on your blog.


Here is the real reason for this post. Do you see this little boy? Yes, this is precious Jackson. Saturday afternoon, we spent some time visiting with him and his dad. Here is Jackson's story. Jackson Porter was born with an immune system deficiency (Chronic Granulomatous Disease). He celebrated his 3rd birthday on July 27. His first visit to St. Jude Children's Hospital was when he was six months old. Sadly, the medications the doctors thought would help this disease did not. His only option was a bone marrow transplant. January of this year, Jackson underwent his transplant. After spending four months at St. Jude, Jackson was able to return home. So far the transplant has been successful. Jackson did have a little set back a couple of weeks ago. The doctors found two spots on his brain, and they decided to do surgery. On Thanksgiving, Jackson underwent surgery to have one of the spots removed to see what needed to be done. Just in time for this weekend, he was released from intensive care and was able to have visitors. It was so uplifting to see such a little trooper! The Lord is everywhere!


After visiting with this guy for a couple of hours, he was worn out. Here he is asleep in his daddy's arms (lucky for daddy it was just in time for the SEC championship). We really enjoyed our time with Jackson and hope we get to see him home very soon. Please continue to pray!

I hope that at least one part of that story illustrates to you how great our God is! I leave you with a challenge . . . . at the end of the Heroes Dinner, the president of ALSAC/St. Jude Fundraising explained that it take 1.4 million dollars to run St. Jude for ONE DAY! He encouraged each person at the dinner (about 1,000 of us) to try to raise another $100. So, if you feel lead and feel that God has touched you, here is a link you can follow:

http://www.stjude.org

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

This week, I am again participating in Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life". The theme for this week is Christmas Trees. Since I just finished decorating our tree and my first attempt at a matching Tablescape, I am very excited to post our Christmas tree for this year and years past.

Every year at school, we spend the three weeks before Christmas doing a fun Christmas unit. We spend the first week talking about Christmas trees and doing all kinds of fun activities with a Christmas tree theme. One song we teach the children is "O Christmas Tree". It is so fun to hear them sing this song in their sweet voices. It makes me grateful that I even get to put up a tree. One of my students this year told me she wouldn't have a tree because her grandmother said she would not put it up. How sad this makes me feel. I told her she could pretend that our tree at school was all hers!

And now . . . . . . . the trees!

The first year we lived in this house, we put up this huge 9 foot tree. It is one of the old kinds of trees that you have to clip each branch in and string the lights. It sure was beautiful, but it took up so much room. Needless to say, this tree only made it up one year! Instead of the tree, now I use the bannister garland. I think it is quite lovely!

Here is the tree we use now from the same year. We put it up in the dining room so it can shine out the window for all to see. It is full of beautiful gold and ivory ornaments.

Here is our tree from this year! I love the big PEACE ornament. It is my new Wal-Mart find and you will see another one in the matching Tablescape!

My matching Tablescape . . . . . . It certainly is not as beautiful as the ones found on this amazing blog - http://southernhospitalityblog.com/holiday-house-christmas-tablescapes/, but I think it is just perfect for a novice!

I hope you enjoyed my little Christmas tree tour. As you enjoy your tree, think about my sweet first graders singing "O Christmas Tree". It will certainly make you smile!

Week 15 Update

Is BabyBoo a boy or a girl? Don't forget to vote!!!!! All you do is click on the drop down arrow and choose boy or girl and click VOTE. To see the results, click Survey Results under the box. Right now, girl is in the lead!

Now, on to the other stuff. Here we are at Week 15 . . . . this will be a short and sweet post as I don't have anything else exciting to talk about this week.

Week 15 Belly Pic

Week 15 Information

*BabyBoo should be about 4 inches long and should weigh about 2.4 oz

*BabyBoo is about the size of a large naval orange

*This week, BabyBoo's body is still growing faster than its head, and his or her head are finally becoming longer than his or her arms

*BabyBoo's heart is able to pump 25 quarts of blood a day

*BabyBoo is beginning to form lanugo, a fine hair, on many areas of his or her skin

*BabyBoo's eyebrows are forming and hair patterns are being established

*BabyBoo has developed some control of his or her face and has some facial expression including smiles and frowns

*Some studies show that handedness has already been established

This weekend, Michelle, Jodi and I are off to Memphis to run for Jackson. Wish us luck! I will be letting you all know how it goes!