Restoration

Today we joined Jed and Stacy Roseberry, Kate, and the rest of the crew working on Restoration Church, a new church plant in Addison, for their commissioning at Christ Church in Plano. I've never been to a service in the "big" sanctuary at Christ Church and I really enjoyed it! Fr. Roseberry gave an excellent sermon, there were two precious baby boys being baptized, AND we stood up in front of the congregation to receive a blessing for the new church plant and David was mortified- all in all a good day! ;) David and I are really excited about joining this new church!!! Check out their website to learn more and let me know if you want to give it a try! This coming Sunday is the kick off service!

September

Where have I been? The month of September was so busy with school, trips, and more school! I got to see my sister, Caroline, in Chicago, David's sister got married, and I went to Austin to see Caroline for her birthday! I proctored an SAT, went to the state fair and saw my brother-in-law, Jonathan, play!

I'm so excited that it's October, my favorite month of the year, and am excited for Halloween! Last year, David and I were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell for Halloween.
Our friends Mark and Kara have an annual Halloween costume party. This year we have a plan- we're going to work with the Collett's but I'm not telling what it is- at least not YET!

Well, let me show you what I've been doing! Here are some pictures to document my various travels and escapades:

Caroline and I at Enclave in Chicago, where we saw Jason Stackhouse from True Blood and an awesome fashion show!

Jason Stackhouse!!!

Cubbies Game!!!

Caroline's Birthday!

Big Tex!


Homecoming with Melissa! (I stole this picture from her blog!)


And, as most of you have heard, I got bright orange chairs for my classroom- no more desks, just tables and chairs! And BOY, was it a struggle!

Christmas in August!

For years, I've heard that if you go to the Half Price Books warehouse on a certain day and time, they will literally GIVE teachers books- by the box! Well, this weekend when I was supposed to go out of town but couldn't because of a migraine, I decided to give it a try. I went, I saw, and I got TWO BOXES OF GOOD BOOKS for free!!! Some of the titles that I got include: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Bridget Jones's Diary, The Bonesetter's Daughter, Midwives, The Red Tent, and more! I think I walked away with about 100 books, most of which are hardback and in great condition. I bet I would have spent over $200 if I just bought them at Half Price! I'm trying to collect a library for my classroom, so this is a wonderful start. Our PTSA bought us bookshelves last year, so my new books look really pretty in my classroom. I'm setting it all up this week, and I'll post pictures when it's finished! If you're a teacher and are interested in the Half Price Books donations, email me and I'll give you the scoop!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sammy!!

Today is Sammy's second birthday!!! David and I are definitely glad we got her. She's the most enthusiastic dog I've ever met- she does EVERYTHING at 110%. She's been a great companion for Chewie and she's my shadow- she's a wonderful dog!

Bad blogger!

VS


It's been awhile since I've updated; honestly I think it's because there's not too much going on! The best news is that David received a job offer from a high school in the North Dallas area to teach physics and we're both soooo excited! The past year has been pretty difficult for us both and I thank you all for the prayers and words of support. He's going up to school tomorrow to officially sign his contract and then we're going to get to work on decorating his room! I guess now the question to ask is who would win in a fight? A wolf or a bronco?

Oh! And since I've been bad at updating, starting August 1st I'm going to try something new and do the 365 project- post a picture every day for a year. So stay tuned!

Beat the heat!!!

Tonight for dinner I thought I would change things up a bit and try this recipe for gazpacho from one of my all-time favorite bloggers, the Pioneer Woman. I made it around 4:00pm today so that it would have plenty of time to chill in the fridge and allow all the great veggie juices to mix and mingle. I snuck in a taste, you know, to make sure it didn't need anything and it was fantastic!!! Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Does David eat cold vegetable soup?!" ...and I'm not sure yet, we'll see! I'm going to give him some fresh avocado, cajun seasoned shrimp, and sour cream to see if he'll like it and hopefully distract him from any "where's the beef?" type questions! Check it out, it's easy to make and delicious!!! Really, check out all of her recipes, they're all wonderful!!!

School's Out!!!

Friday was the last day of the year, and I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to have a couple months off!!! I had amazing kids this year, but I am glad to get away from the drama for awhile- I think my blood pressure will thank me! This summer is the first since I have been teaching that I don't have to write curriculum, go out of town, go to AP Summer Institutes, give presentations, etc.! And as much as I would enjoy a week of rum runners in the Carribbean, I'll take two months of not-a-lot! My goals for this summer are to: lose weight, train for a sprint triathlon, organize my spare bedroom into a craft room, get David a job, and save money!!! So I guess I DO have some things to do!!!
For those of you out there that do get a summer break, I hope you enjoy yours! I'm hoping to make this summer a productive one!