Thankful Thursday

I wasn't able to post this yesterday so I guess it's really thankful Friday:)

I follow another blog that does a post every Thursday called "Thankful Thursday" and I love the idea, so I thought I would start my own Thankful Thursday post and give thanks for whatever is on my heart that day!

"Give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" Ephesians 5:20

I am so thankful for the cooler weather this week. Fall is my favorite season and the weather this week makes me happy :) I can't wait until the first sweater day!

I am thankful for my Grammy who turns 83 today (yesterday)! Happy Birthday, Grammy!

I am thankful for God's provision! My dad just got a new job that we have been praying about for a long time. He started on Monday and I am so excited for him because this is the position he has been wanting for a while and it is a great opportunity for him.

I am thankful for my dog Maggie, she had to have surgery this week and did great! She is old and I was nervous she might not make it (I have to share this...when we picked her up from the vet she was all drugged up still. We brought her home and put her in the backyard and she just sat for the longest time and stared directly at the brick wall...it was the funniest thing :)

I am so thankful Jesus died for my sins! We took communion at church on Sunday and watched a video of Jesus being beaten and then crucified. Watching that video, God gave me a fresh revelation of the fact that Jesus did that for ME (it became so personal)! AMAZING His love for us! It touched me so much because without that sacrifice I would have had no hope...he endured the beating, ridicule, and torture and died for MY Sins. I remember my past and I am so thankful that Jesus went to the cross to make a way for me (and you!)

There is much to be thankful for!

Wild Rapids

My cousin's little girl, Alyssa, turned 2 over the weekend and they had "pool party" themed birthday party for her on Saturday.

Mom and Grammy

Me and Glenn

Alyssa's mom made the cake..isn't it so cute!


The birthday girl and her bean dip...she loves to dip the chips in the bean dip and that is all she wanted to eat :)


She really does like me, I promise :)


She is the only 2 year old I have ever seen that would open her cards....It was so funny because if a card had money in it she would take the money out and roll it up and put it in the pocket on her dress.


This water slide, the Wild Rapids, was the main event. You would think that the slide was for the kids right...well, think again


Glenn sliding down backwards..Alyssa actually fell asleep after opening presents and so the BIG kids had fun going down the slide.


Glenn, Me, and Chelsea (my cousin's wife)


The invitation said bring your swimsuit, but I thought that was for the kids only. They finally convinced me to slide and my cousin let me borrow an old t-shirt and pair of shorts. I have to admit that it was a lot of fun... I mean when is the last time you slid down a water slide? It was also a good workout going up the stairs over and over again. I was so sore the next morning!



My cousin, Jeff, had a bright idea to get baby shampoo and put it on the slide so we would slide down faster...the guys were so funny to watch. I am seriously thankful that none of them broke their necks going down the slide. They were sliding backwards, sideways, on their heads, you name it they did it. It was definitely entertaining :)


The birthday girl, after her nap, watching all the adults slide down her birthday slide :) Don't worry, her mom said that she got to slide down it earlier in the day with her daddy and grandpa before the party for a long time and she loved it...that is why she was so worn out after opening her presents.

LA trip

This past weekend my family went to St. Francisville, Louisiana (You thought we went to Los Angeles didn't you :) My brother-in-law, Ross, just got a job as the youth pastor at a church in St. Francisville. A couple at the church is letting them stay at their lake house about 20 minutes from town for three months rent free so they can figure out where they want to live and Steph can find a job..how sweet is that!

The Lake House

The Lake is just a minute down the road from the house

St. Francisville is a very small town...we are talking one grocery store, no chain restaurants, no Wal-Mart, no Starbucks, one high-school...my kind of town (except I would have to figure out the no Starbucks thing and maybe get it shipped in somehow :) On Saturday, Ross and Steph showed us around the town. The town has several old Plantation Homes and I was so excited to get to see them. I am working on a bucket list that I am going to post some time soon and one of the things I have always wanted to do is tour a Plantation Home. Next time we visit we are going to take a tour of one, but we didn't have time this trip.

The Myrtles Plantation

The Myrtles Plantation is a twenty room Plantation home that was built in 1796 by Gen. David Bradford....leader of the Whisky Rebellion. I could just picture the women in their big dresses walking around holding umbrellas back in the day.

This is the Church where Ross works. We went to church with them on Sunday and it was the pastor's 50th anniversary of his ordination that day. We joked that we picked the right day to visit because after service they had a "covered dish" luncheon and I seriously have never seen so many homemade casseroles, desserts, salads, pasta, gumbo, etc. in one place. It was all so good.

We also drove by and took pictures of the Rosedown Plantation

The Rosedown Plantation was my absoulute favorite...I love all the huge oak and moss trees lining the entrance.

St. Fancisville is full of history and so we stopped and took pictures at the West Feliciana railroad..one of the South's earliest railroads.



We took some pictures before church on Sunday






Ross and Steph just bought a really nice camera, so we decided to take family pictures while we were all together. Here are a few of my favorite ones.....

I love this old, faded red barn that was on the property..it was the perfect backdrop for the family pictures. Stephanie is very creative and she posed us all for the pictures..I love how they turned out!

This is my favorite one!

Ross was playing with photo editing and came up with this...doesn't it look like a band picture for an album cover..too bad none of us can sing :)

I love this one too!

We took some pictures sitting in the grass, but the sun was so bright that most of them didn't turn out. We are dressed for Fall,but it was 90 + degrees outside!

I can't wait to go back and visit again, tour the Plantation homes and go in all the shops downtown.

Money, Money, Money!

A friend of mine told me about this website that keeps track of all of the unclaimed property in Texas (there is one in each state). I thought there was no way I had any money I didn't know about, but to my surprise I typed in my information and had $75.00 waiting for me to claim! I couldn't believe it. It ended up being an old rebate from a contact lens company that I guess I never got back when I use to wear contacts. I got my check in the mail today.

A Dallas resident named Winston D. Johnson claimed and received nearly $4.3 million in 1996....can you even imagine typing your name in and finding out that you are an heir to $4.3 million dollars!! By the way, if anyone gets that much money I think I should probably get a percentage after telling you about the site ...just saying.

It's Almost Fall Y'all!

You know it's almost Fall when Starbucks starts serving their Pumpkin Spices Latte...or maybe only I determine the seasons by the drinks at Starbucks :) Anyway, Fall is my favorite season and the pumpkin spice latte is my favorite coffee at Starbucks, so when I drove through there this morning I was so excited they had it. It made me excited for Fall....sweaters, leaves turning colors, Thanksgiving, cornbread dressing, pumpkins, the whole thing. I even heard on the news this morning that a cool front is coming in this weekend..it might mean temperatures on the low 90's but I will take it :)

Pumpkin Spice Latte


I also love Starbucks "Perfect Oatmeal" with brown sugar, nuts, and dried fruit..if you haven't tried it you should, it is so good!

Just thought I would share my excitement with you...have a great weekend!

Texas Style Wedding

This past weekend I went to a wedding in Kountze. The bride was Manita, a friend of Stephanie's from high school, and she got married Texas style. I loved her wedding so much...it felt like an old-fashioned backyard wedding.

They got married in front of this old, rustic barn


Everybody had their cowboy boots on...love, love cowboy boots and dresses!

These pink kids boots are so cute!




Steph and Ross drove in for the wedding but had to leave afterwards and go back to Waco for a farewell party for them on Sunday at their church...Ross just got a job as a youth pastor in St. Francisville, LA and they are moving today. I am so excited for them...they said that the town is beautiful and filled with Plantation homes and Bed and Breakfasts...I am picturing Steel Magnolia's in my head and can't wait to go visit in a few weeks.

Grammy, Mom, Me, and Stephanie





Stephanie had to quit her job at Baylor where she worked in the child development center with newborns up to toddlers. She has been with her babies since they were only a few weeks old and now they are two years old, so I know it was hard to leave them...thank goodness Manita's sister has twins, one for each arm, that Steph could hold for a little baby therapy :) They are the most precious babies...they are still so petite at 7 months old and look like little dolls.

Mom and Dad's 34th wedding anniversary was the same day as the wedding, but Dad was in North Dakota working so he couldn't be there.

Happy 34th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Back to School Time

I have been busy the past two weeks working in my classroom to get it ready for the first day of school this coming Monday. This might sound crazy, but I actually enjoy getting my room ready. I love decorating and organizing my room and getting it all ready for the new school year. We moved to another building this summer and our old school building has been bulldozed and they are beginning to build our new one. When we move in the new building I plan on buying new stuff to decorate with and coming up with a theme (I am thinking animal print and a jungle theme maybe), but for now I kept all my old decorations.

Before

Before

After

This door leads to Robyn's room next door. I love these signs I found at Mannings..the yellow one says, "Kids at Work"

This is what is on each student's desk for the first day...a packet for their parents with paperwork to sign, a pencil, name tag, bookmark, crayons, and a fun packet to begin working on.

A closer look at the bookmark because I think it is so adorable :)

I found this fabric for $1.50 a yard at Wal-Mart and my Mom helped me make these curtains. I was so excited when I found this fabric because they are white with numbers all over them and I am going to be the fourth grade math teacher this year so they were perfect! Last year we were self-contained and taught all subjects to our own classes, but this year we are going to be departmentalized so each teacher is going to teach one subject and the students will switch classes. Math is my favorite subject, but I am going to miss teaching everything.

Our Class Plant

My cousin is going to make us shirts this year with this bling on them...isn't it so cute!
I saw a t-shirt the other day that said,"You don't scare me..I teach!" and I laughed because that is so true :) I also saw another one that said, "Queen of My Classroom" and I would have bought that one if it was in my size :)

I know this year is going to be a great year and I am ready to start school tomorrow! My mom showed me this scripture the other day and I have been praying it over my students...

"My students will love instruction and their hearts will not despise correction. My students will obey the voice of their teachers. My students will incline their ears to those that instruct them." Proverbs 5:12-13