How We Met

Once upon a time there was a princess from Atlanta who moved to a small town called New Hope. The princess, let’s call her April, didn’t know she was a princess because she, like many other princesses, had not led a privileged life. When she moved to New Hope in 4^th grade, April was even tormented because she said potato chips instead of tater chips. Plus, she wore fish net stockings, which her tormenters secretly LOVED. A few years down the road, April came into her own. (Please, no one show my 4^th grade yearbook picture, okay? Seriously, if that shows up on Facebook, there will be problems. J ). April had some boyfriends, but none really caught her fancy. Then, after a somewhat long relationship ended, April saw HIM: Matt, her prince. He had just come out of a longer relationship (lucky April).

switching to 1^st person now

When I first saw Matt, I thought he was so handsome. He was good friends with my then brother in law, so he was hanging out at my sister’s and then brother’s in law house. At first, I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to make a move. What if things didn’t work out? Awkward! I even considered hooking him up with my friend Jennifer, but God intervened. One night a friend and I stopped at Classic Pizza and Arcade (fun times), and we saw Matt outside. I casually mentioned to him that he should call me (okay, it was probably not casual at all). He called a few times, before I figured out that it was his dad’s name on caller id. The night that I figured it out, I happened to be hosting a rather large, rather unknown to my parents, party (crazy teenagers), so we couldn’t go out that night, but we did go out the next night.

pretty early in our relationship

I remember being so excited all day that Saturday, September 27, 1997. I was playing in a volleyball tournament that morning, and a friend was staying at my house for the weekend since my parents were out of town (Thanks, Cousin Linda, for getting married. J ). When he arrived that evening, I was so nervous. I didn’t even want to eat in front of him, and apparently, neither did he in front of me, because we totally skipped dinner and went straight to a movie. I remember the name of the movie, but nothing that happened in the movie because we talked for the entire two hours that we were in the theatre. There was never a dull moment in conversation. Then the movie was over, and unfortunately it was time to go home. When we arrived at my house, like a gentlemen, Matt saw me in and we talked some more. Then I put on some music, and we danced. On the 1^st date! I began to fall in love with him that very night. I had never felt that way about anyone. Days turned to weeks, to months, to years. There were many more dates, two proms, a few vacations, and one day we were even married for eternity.

1st Prom

That story may not seem like much of a story, but the story behind it, God’s story, is the real story. When we left Atlanta, my parents never meant to move to New Hope. In fact, in a two-month span, we moved from Atlanta to Florida to Tennessee to New Hope, Alabama, just trying to find our right fit. All the time, God had it all mapped out. He knew exactly where I needed to be to meet the man He had destined for me. He made a way to put Matt in my path and to unite us. He made a way to show me His perfect ways. We are each other’s perfect other half. Matt and I were meant to be together. I thought that from the beginning of our relationship, but I truly learned that about three years ago, when God looked into my heart and called me to His service.

I was going through life, being married, raising a child, and working, but something was missing. God was missing. Sure, I believed in Him, loved Him, and prayed to Him. But all of that was not enough. I was not satisfied. I began to ‘church shop.’ Matt did as well, but at different churches than me. Yikes! That doesn’t usually work. God knew that even better than me. He led me to be humble enough to go to church with Matt, even though I didn’t really want to, and then He showed me His plan. And it was, and still is, a beautiful plan. Maybe God has a new plan for you. Are you willing to be humble enough to listen and trust Him, even though you don’t want to? I am ever thankful that I put all of my trust in Him, because without Him, I would be nothing. He gave my life purpose and He has been a friend like no other.

2nd Prom

( I made Matt take close-up pics of my hair, and I wore it that same way at our wedding.)

Now back to that princess. After Princess April married Prince Matt, they did not move into a castle, but into a modest home nestled at the foot of Hornsby-Clark Ridge, where vultures can be seen devouring squirrels and deer rub their antlers on the bark on newly planted trees. The happy couple did not receive more gold and wealth than imagined, and they did not hire any servants. But, they did become servants to the One who has more wealth to offer than anyone else. His wealth is for all eternity. The couple did not fill their home with treasures of untold fortune, but they did begin to store their treasures in Heaven. And they went on to be blessed with two beautiful children whom they get to teach all about our great Savior! What a blessed life!

A Few Days Before We Became Engaged

(Sorry that I cropped it crooked.)

Blogiversary

This past Sunday was my one year Blogiversary. I wish I actually had time to blog more, say once a week. Life has been busy, what can I say? SO much has been going on, and I always have good intentions of Blogging, but my good intentions fall way short. I am in survival mode. I am very ready to sssslllloooowwww down! Is it summer break yet? Only eighteen more school days.

In honor of my one year Blogiversary, here is an update on my two favorite children.

Kennedy is doing great, though a bit defiant lately. She really excels at school, and her cartwheel is awesome (to use my first graders’ favorite term)!!! Kennedy is just amazing. She has such a good heart and a love for all things. She even has a love for new plaster on the walls. She loves it enough to touch it and leave a big fingerprint right in the center of it. She has a love for her new bath paint (thanks, Amelia). She loves it so much that she rubs it all over her hands, and then rubs it on Case to turn him into the Incredible Hulk. She loves her new, HUGE bouncy ball. She just loves to sit on it when Case also wants it. She loves to laugh hysterically when Case screams and tries to push her off of the ball. She loves her swing, but she loves to get in Case’s swing more, which, you guessed it, makes Case scream. Do you see a pattern? Kennedy’s favorite thing to do is make Case scream. She finds it to be funny. We keep telling her that we are going to turn our heads when he sneaks into her sleepovers and pesters her and her friends, but she doesn’t care. She just takes his markers. AHHHH!!! More screaming. That girl. What are we going to do with her?

She wanted a picture like her cousin Paige!

Case is a terror. That’s what we call him anyways. He is really just a sweet almost two year old who likes to get his way and his mommy. He melts our hearts with his blue eyes and killer smile. He gives everyone kisses (even my parents’ dog) and can’t sleep with out Sebastian the Seahorse. He has started talking more. He looked at my plate tonight and said, “all gone.” He will say “cheeeese” for pictures. He constantly wants “joosh” or “chooz” or “ap-ulj.” That’s juice, shoes, and apples for you non-phonemic readers. I teach first grade. I can read ANYTHING!!! Case loves baths, especially when he gets to fill up his big cup and throw water everywhere. Outside is his favorite place to be, and as soon as gets home he stamps his feet and says “out!” He loves to cuddle his Donald Duck doll and be covered up in the mornings so that he can watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in peace (before Kennedy disturbs him). He goes to see “Mimi” each day with a smile on his face, but returns home, wanting nothing but Mommy’s attention. If Kennedy gets near us, he screams and pushes her. That boy. What are we going to do with him?

On Easter, Case picked up all of his eggs, placed them in his basket, clapped for himself, and threw the eggs back out so that he could pick them up again! It was so CUTE!!!

They really do love each other!!! Can’t you tell? And Matt and I really do love them. We have been blessed with wonderful, perfect, healthy, smart, beautiful children, and we wouldn’t trade them for anything. We would like a night out alone every now and again though. You know, to get away from the screaming and all.

Cousins: Kennedy (6), Korey (12), Case (1), Paige (13), RT (15)

Kennedy found eggs too!

The Rest of the Vacation Story

Warning: This is a long post with a lot of pictures (all of which are out of order).

After our Beach Trip 2010, Kennedy asked if we could stay at a hotel, so we told her that we could. We got in the car and began to drive. Every time she saw a hotel she would ask if we could stay at it. I kept telling her that it wasn’t the one I had in find. Two hours later we took the exit the GPS told us to take (which turned out to lead to the worst possible Disney entrance because it was off a main road and the Welcome sign was not as visible as I had hoped). When she saw the sign she was pretty excited (she is a lot like her momma in the way she gets a bit embarrassed to show too much emotion). After driving forever to get to our resort, we landed at the All-Star Movies Resort. We decided to stay at a value resort because we knew we wouldn’t be spending too much time in the room anyways.

We went to Hollywood Studios the first night. We just looked around and ate. Case was so horrible that if someone had offered us a full refund that night, we probably would have taken it and left. Fortunately, he was much better the rest of the trip (except at restaurants; he’s just not into eating).

The Magic Kingdom was a blast the next day. We rode almost everything, and whatever Case couldn’t ride Kennedy got to ride twice because of the kid switch. The longest line we stood in was probably Dumbo, which was our first ride right when the park opened. We waited about 40 minutes, and Case fell asleep, so Matt rode it holding Case. Case loved everything, even the Haunted Mansion. I was shocked at how calm he was on the rides. Also, we learned that Kennedy is a coaster junkie. We stayed for the fireworks (amazing) and the parade. Kennedy and Case were both asleep by the time the parade began, but Matt really enjoyed it!

We went back to Hollywood Studios for a character breakfast the next day. Kennedy loved The Tower of Terror, and Case loved Toy Story Mania. We stayed there half of the day and then went to Epcot for lunch with the princesses in Norway. That was probably my favorite character dining, and I would definitely recommend it if you have a daughter. We bought the dining plan, so all of our meals were included, which is good because some of the meals were over $100, and the food wasn’t fabulous. You definitely pay for the experience. We did a few rides at Epcot, but actually headed back to Hollywood Studios for their nighttime show.

Animal Kingdom was on the agenda for the next day, after a visit to Chef Mickey’s for breakfast. Case and I had to run to Target, so we dropped Matt and Kennedy off at Animal Kingdom. They ended up running into some friends from Big Cove and hung out with them until Case and I returned. We did the safari with the Taylor family and left for Downtown Disney for dinner at Planet Hollywood. That was possibly the best meal there. We got back to the hotel around 7:30, which was the earliest night of all. Kennedy swam for a bit, but the weather was quite mild-around 65 degrees most days, which was nice during the day, but it got chilly at night.

We cancelled all of our dining reservations the next day so that we could spend the whole day at the Magic Kingdom once again. We had such a perfect day. We really liked the Mickey show in front of the castle!

On our last day we visited Epcot for Soarn’ and lunch at the Coral Reef Café. I wanted to eat there because it showed Danny eating there on Full House, and Kennedy is into Full House right now (which is strange since I watched it when I was seven and all).

My favorite picture-so sweet!

The drive home was long and boring, but we made good time, and we were safe the entire trip, which I am so thankful for. This was totally a trip for Kennedy, and we’re so happy we were able to take her.

Beach Vacation 2010

Isn’t it wonderful to make family memories? We sure made a lot over spring break! We actually took a vacation! Unheard of, I know! To clarify, we have not had a real vacation since our honeymoon almost nine years ago. Sure, we’ve been to the zoo and to the aquarium, but we have not had a real, five night or longer vacation. We always like to pay bills and get ahead. We paid off our first brand new vehicle within two years, and I am perfectly happy and willing to drive that payment-free vehicle for several more years! But we decided we had earned a vacation, and what’s more, Kennedy and Case deserved a vacation.

We did not tell Kennedy that we were going away for spring break, and Case kept it a secret too! J I packed late at night, after she had fallen asleep, and she didn’t even seem to notice the luggage in the study. All she wanted for spring break was to go out to eat everyday, so I assured her that we would do just that.

I was almost finished packing Friday evening when Matt came home sick, with a temperature over 101 degrees! What?!?! He felt just terrible. I was praying so hard for him. At one point, I asked if I needed to call and cancel the vacation. He told me no, not to do it, but I was close. Matt went to bed early, and Kennedy would catch me at the foot of the bed praying for him. She would get down there right beside me and pray for him too. She didn’t even know about the trip. She is such a sweetie and a wonderful prayer. I finally finished packing and had to go to Wal-Mart at 11 pm. When I got home, Matt was still HOT, so I slept in the recliner. Case woke me up around 5:30 Saturday morning. About an hour later, Matt came into the living room and praise the Lord, his fever had broken, and he was feeling better! So, the vacation was on!

We loaded up around 5:30 pm. Kennedy got in the car and saw the luggage in the back. She was very curious, but we told her nothing. About two hours down the road (of a 14 hour trip), she really started asking questions. We stopped for a bite to eat and Case fell asleep in the car. YEAH! We had hoped they would sleep all night. Kennedy began panicking, begging us to take her home. We counted that she asked us to take her home 39 times. We finally convinced her to go to sleep. Thank goodness! I don’t know how many more times we could have avoided her questions.

We were close to Daytona Beach, headed to Cocoa Beach, when the sun began to rise the next morning, and the kids woke up. Kennedy finally realized that we were in Florida when we had her to take a close look at a map at the rest stop. Two hours after that we arrived in Cocoa Beach.

Kennedy had been telling us how badly she wanted to visit the beach, so when we finally saw the ocean from afar, we had a little fun with her. Matt asked her how she liked her big surprise: seeing the ocean. Then he told her he guessed we could drive home now. Kennedy’s response: “You drove all the way here, and I don’t even get to touch it or go to the beach? This is the worst spring break ever!” Matt and I nearly died laughing.

Quick Backstory

I have loved the beach since my parents first took me in 1986, the summer before I turned six. The beach is my favorite place to visit. I have SO MANY memories of going to the beach; precious memories that bring tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. The beach will always be special to me. Matt even proposed on the beach! Though Matt has grown to love the beach, he did not grow up visiting the beach like me, so he doesn’t have quite the same love affair as I do. He had warned me that he did not think Kennedy was going to like it as much as I hoped she would.

Back to Beach Vacation 2010

Then we got to the beach, and she was the absolute happiest little girl who has ever walked this earth, which made me the absolute happiest momma who has ever walked this earth! As Kennedy and Matt played in the water and I held Case’s little hand while he enjoyed the water around his feet, I looked out over the ocean, at one of God’s greatest and most beautiful creations, and I cried tears of happiness, so thankful that Kennedy loved the beach as much as I do.

But I also cried tears of remembrance. I cried remembering how far out in the ocean Jamie D (the younger of my two older brothers), my cousin Shane, and I would swim, all the while with my sister, Lark, yelling for us to come back in. I cried thinking about my last family trip to the beach when I was sixteen and how much fun I had had with my parents. I cried thinking about my cousin whose family had almost always been on our beach vacations; a cousin who left this world much too early. Then I thought about his wonderful father, my favorite uncle, who is battling cancer, and who wants to take my aunt to the beach one last time. I must have hundreds of beach memories, and I cried tears of remembrance for each of them. Then I said a prayer, and I thanked God for everyone of those memories, even the painful ones, and I thanked him for the beach memories to come.

We played in the cold water, built pitiful sand castles, buried the children, collected seashells, and caught Case eating sand. Kennedy even picked up litter! We were sandy and tired, but so joyous! We only spent a few hours at the beach, but Kennedy, Case, Matt, and I had the best time, and we are definitely planning to head back to the beach next May for an extended stay there. We’re thinking Destin though, not Cocoa Beach.

What’s that? You want to know why we drove 14 hours just to visit the beach for a few hours? You see, the beach was just the beginning of Kennedy’s surprise. I’ll have to Blog about the other part later, but let’s just say it was magical.

Here Lately

I did not mean for a whole month to pass before I made another post. It just happened.

Here lately, I’ve been a bit busy. My typical day goes like this:

4:45: wake up and shower

5:20: get Case ready

5:35: fix my hair with Case in my lap, playing with my combs (I even bought more for his entertainment.)

6:00: get Case’s bag and Kennedy’s lunch ready

6:20: fix Kennedy’s hair

6:45: leave for work

7 - 4 or 5: teach (That’s HARD work. Try it! You just may appreciate your child’s teacher a bit more. J ) This is also planning time. Kennedy usually does her homework while in my classroom. She has Daisy Scouts twice a month and gymnastics weekly.

5: make dinner (sometimes with Case on my hip)

6: eat and play

7: baths

7:45: Case goes to sleep

7:45-8:30: read with Kennedy; Right now is our big 1^st grade reading program, so we’ve been doing a lot of reading!!

8:30: wash dishes, straighten house

9:15: try to workout a few nights a week

10: grade papers; check e-mail and other people’s blogs (try to forget that I have one that needs updating)

11 or 12: go to sleep

Are you exhausted? Me too!!! That doesn’t even include cleaning the house or going to church. We can hardly find time to go to the grocery store.

It’s important to note that Matt does help with my schedule. He’s wonderful, and I am blessed to have him as my hubby for almost 9 years!

Here lately, we’ve been sick, and I couldn’t seem to shake it. I wonder why (I type this as I look up at my typical day).

Here lately, Case has been taking the markers out of the drawer, handing them to me (as he ‘counts’ them), and then clapping for himself.

Here lately, we have enjoyed snow.

Here lately, Kennedy has been reading like a third grader!

Here lately, Matt and I have been watching Survivor (haven’t missed a season) and the Olympics.

Here lately, we have been getting ready for spring break. J One more week!

Here lately, Kennedy and Case have looked fabulous and have accomplished many amazing (okay, cute) feats, but I’ve been too tired to take pictures. I need to do better!

Here lately, I’ve been trying to pray for others and just be thankful for what we have. What we have may not look like a lot to others, but we would like to think that we are storing our treasures in Heaven. God has been entirely too good to us, but we won’t complain.

I hope you’ve been well here lately.

School Safety

These are a few of my most precious gifts.

In life, I want many things for them: a relationship with God, forever closeness to their parents, great friends, good work ethic, wonderful math skills, common sense, decency, love for nature, worthy spouses (is that possible, though?), happiness, safety, and so much more.

I spend a lot of time worrying about their safety. They can’t leave my sight when we’re out. I constantly even remind Matt to watch them, when I know he already is. The kids do not go out to play by themselves, and we have yet to even let anyone else take them swimming. Yes, we may be a bit overbearing on the safety side, but we feel it’s necessary.

Horrible things happen all too often. The most recent evidence: the school shooting at Discovery. My heart goes out to the families involved, to the students and faculty there, and even to the shooter. Somewhere along the line, someone failed that child, and he made a terrible decision that can never be undone. It’s such a shame. Another shame about this situation is the news media. I am appalled that the news stations have sounding boards on their websites that allow any content. I read comments about how the victim deserved it, how there is no God and prayer is never helpful, and how the teachers were all to blame. I understand that freedom of speech exists, but do we also have to have freedom of idiocy? God’s help and prayer are the only things that will somewhat soothe this situation. It will take time, of course, but without God’s strength, only more bad will come from this unfortunate incident. Every good gift and every perfect gift are from above. This shooting was neither good nor perfect; therefore, it did not come from above. But, I know a Man who can wipe away the tears and who can fill hearts with love when they are breaking, and that’s what I will be praying for.

The year I was a high school senior was when the shootings occurred at Columbine. It was such a sad time. Back then, my friends drove to school with loaded guns in their gun racks in the back windows of their trucks. I grew up in the country, and boys went hunting after school. After Columbine, the guns were not allowed on school grounds. Other precautions were made too, and yet we are really no closer to making our schools a safe environment. Don’t get me wrong, I am an advocate for public school. In fact, I would like to personally investigate all people who homeschool their children. Sidenote: Homeschooling can be done effectively, but not everyone doing it is doing it effectively. In fact, not everyone with a teaching degree is teaching effectively. Though I wish they were, because they are making us good teachers look real bad. As I was writing before the need to not offend you homeschoolers interrupted my thoughts, I believe public education is mostly good. I think most of the problem with public education is a lack of parenting skills (not in my classroom though J) at home.

But, the biggest problem I see in public schools that the schools can fix, is school safety. Can you believe there is a school close to me where there are at least ten portables being used as classrooms? These classrooms are totally vulnerable to intruders. Furthermore, doors leading to the outside can not be locked because students are coming and going through them all day. If they are locked, students may be left to stand and bang on them for five minutes or more, before someone opens the door for them. A lot can happen in five minutes.

When the issue of safety is brought up, there is never any money to help the problem. Well, money is going to be found when a huge lawsuit, following a violent attack, occurs, so why can’t we just find the money now? I would be willing to have my sales tax increased by half of a percent if the money was going towards equipping schools with safety devices, such as metal detectors and buzz in doors. I think I would have a difficult time finding a parent who wasn’t willing to do the same! We as parents are going to have to take a stand for our children and insist on safety devices being installed in ALL schools! I want to hear your comments on this, even if you disagree with me.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

A week or so before Christmas Kennedy had some of her Barbie dolls in the living room, and we were playing with them. When I looked at her, I had an image of my childhood to flood back to me. I remembered a picture of myself, around the age of six, playing with Barbie dolls in the living room. I knew I had the picture somewhere, and I just HAD to find it. So, I went on a treasure hunt in the attic, and luckily I found it rather quickly. It was just a bonus that the picture of me taken playing with Barbies was also near Christmas!

I am so blessed to have my sweet, precious Kennedy. I am so happy that she and I share common interests. Though she doesn’t have exactly the same personality as me, we are enough alike that I can understand her ideas and theories. And we are different enough that we will never drive each other crazy.

I remember when Kennedy was in my tummy. I just knew that she was a girl, and that we would be best friends. I was right on both counts. When days have been dark, I have been able to look at her face and know that our God has everything in His hands. Kennedy is one of His good and perfect gifts. I never want a day to pass that I don’t remind Kennedy (and myself) of this. She is a perfect gift! I thank our Savior every single day for Kennedy’s life and love. What do you thank Him for? I know we can all find plenty!