Yay for new layouts!

So I must say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this new layout. It was actually really easy to do- maybe I'll add some pictures soon. Hope everyone is doing well. New post coming soon.

I was tagged......

Since I was tagged by Haley, let me say how proud I am of her and Chad and the beautiful baby they brought into the world yesterday. I was so honored to be able to be in Birmingham and share Haley's last night before becoming a mommy. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory then came home and packed Mary Ella's bag for the hospital. Haley was so calm! We got up the next morning and got ready for the big day. She and Chad left for the hospital as Haley's mom and I stood there crying! It was so special to me to get to experience that with her. The baby is precious! Everyone make sure and check her blog in a few days. I'm sure she'll post lots of pictures. I'll refrain myself and let her be the one to introduce Mary Ella to the blogging world. Get excited- she's beautiful!

Now, on to business.....

10 years ago I was:
taking some classes at UNA and preparing to transfer to Auburn- one of the best decisions I ever made.

5 years ago I was:
I believe this was the summer before I began teaching at Mars Hill. I had just come back from living in North Carolina for a year, starting graduate school, and babysitting in Moulton. I never planned on going back to my alma mater to teach, but God had other plans.

1 year ago I was:
spending a summer off much like I am now....nothing too exciting.

5 things on my TO DO list today:
1. color my hair (cover the gray)
2. eat lunch with Amy
3. clean
4. pay bills
5. upload pictures to shutterfly

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. wheat thins
2. cheese its
3. cereal
4. fruit gushers (ha)
5. baked lays

If I were a billionaire I would:- very similar to Haley's actually...
1. give to church, charity, etc. i would like to buy random people a tank of gas or secretly pay for someone's meal at a restaurant, etc.
2. share with my family
3. buy a HOUSE!!!!!!!
4. adopt a baby (or two) from China or another country
5. travel everywhere

5 bad habits:
1. letting unimportant things consume my thoughts
2. not following through with things
3. not being disciplined
4. charging things i don't need
5. watching days of our lives

5 places I have lived:
1. florence,AL
2. greensboro, NC
3. myrtle beach, SC
4. valdosta, GA
5. vernon, AL

5 jobs I have had:
1. tee jays mill store
2. church secretary for the summer
3. nanny
4. 7th grade math teacher
5. 4th grade teacher

I TAG PAIGE, BROOKE, AND ANNA!!!!

Wedding Pictures!

So, we're still waiting for all of the wedding pictures to arrive on Cort's photographers website, but here are a few shots she put on her blog. Pardon me for being negative for a second, but I HATE every single picture I've seen so far of myself. I have never been one to enjoy having my picture made and I certainly don't enjoy looking at myself in pictures, but I was hoping that her nice, expensive camera would somehow make me look better than I really do. WRONG! So, I'm not giving out the blog address. All my faithful readers will just have to look at the photos I've chosen for you to see and trust me on how bad the others are of me! Cortney and Trey on the other hand, look amazing and all the pictures I've seen of them are absolutely beautiful! Alyson (photographer) did a great job! I just wish that camera could have done a few favors for me!
Cort and bridesmaids
Are they not the cutest?
Trey and his groomsmenThis is one of my favorites!
and this one....

Ahhhh- I can finally breathe!!!!

Yes, I know, it's been a very, very long time. But friends, there is a reason. I have barely had time to breathe the past three weeks. This summer has gotten off to a crazy busy start. I can't believe it's almost halfway over. I'm at the beach now with the family recovering from the madness, so I thought I'd take a minute and update the ole blog.

After school was over, I went right into wedding mode. I made list upon list of things that had to be done, what I needed to get, where I would get my dress altered, what I would wear to the bridesmaids' luncheon and rehearsal dinner, etc. Although I wasn't working everyday, I didn't really have time to relax yet. The week of the wedding came. I enjoyed a couple calm days before the storm hit. To be honest, the wedding ceremony itself and my amazing sister were beautiful, but the combination of the stress I'll go into in a minute makes me want to consider eloping (if/when the time comes). I hear people say the time and money are not worth it all the time, but I lived it a week ago.

It all began when we found out a week before the wedding that Trey's dad had to have triple bypass surgery. He went in on Friday morning and PRAISE GOD, did amazingly well and was able to not only attend the wedding, but stand next to Trey as his best man a week later. We were so thankful but were definitely stressed and worried about him. In addition, most of you know Cortney's one wish was to have an outdoor wedding. I've never been much of a risk-taker, especially when it comes to a day as important as your wedding. We had heard however, that it hadn't rained in many years on June 14 in Florence, so we were hopeful. As luck would have it, the rain won. We got up Saturday morning and had to make a call by 9:00 am in order for the florist to do what he needed to do to build the outdoor arbor. At 9:00, it was storming so we had to move the ceremony inside. Oh, but of course, by 4:00 it was beautiful outside but by that time we couldn't go back. Not only did we have to move the wedding inside, but Cortney's AND Trey's wedding cakes were messed up. Her's was supposed to be square and his round, the caterer reversed it. She took it like a champ, but still....Not only that, but Cortney started feeling sick at the reception so I went with her to a classroom in the church building to sit down and rest a minute. Five minutes later she was throwing up. That continued until 4:00 the next morning, and she didn't feel good for the most part of the honeymoon. There you have it...S-T-R-E-S-S! Bottom line though, they're married and to those that witnessed the day from the outside, it couldn't have been more perfect. As for me- I may have an appointment at the courthouse one day.

Here's a picture of my beautiful sister on her wedding day.



I left the day after the wedding to go to Impact. It was good, as always. The theme was "Day of Reckoning" and I have no doubt God was in that place and worked in the hearts of tons of people. It was good to get to see lots of old friends.

I left Impact and drove straight to the McKinneys' house (so strange to say that!) to spend the night and leave yesterday morning to come to the beach. That brings me up to date. I'm sitting on the balcony as we speak listening to the sound of the water and kids playing. It's so relaxing- and so welcomed for me right now.

I hope you are all doing well. I'll post pictures of the beach when I get home!

SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm breathing a little easier now! Today was my last day of school. Although I have to go back in the morning to meet with my principal and go over our end of the year checklist, the majority of my "teacherly" duties are done. I had a great class this year. The kids were so smart and really sweet, overall. (Sugar buns boy is off to middle school. I tell ya, what entertainment he was.)

Summer always goes by really fast so I'm going to try and enjoy every minute. June is CRAZY busy, but busy with good and exciting things. First comes Cort's wedding. She gets married June 14. I leave the day after to go to Impact for a week. I leave Impact on the 21st to come home and turn right around that very day and leave with my entire family for our annual beach trip. Twelve adults and all eight kids will be making the trek to Orange Beach for a few days. We're all so excited and are counting down the days.

Hopefully, July will be my month to sit back and do NOTHING! I have to have some of those days in order to feel like I've had a vacation.

So, congratulations to me. I've made it another year. Praise be to God for giving me all the strength!

Here you go, Paige!

*Maybe I should...start going to bed before midnight on a school night so i won't be so tired the next day.

*I love the smell of ...men's cologne, downy, babies, candles, mineral spirits used to clean gym floors...ha!

*People would say that I...overthink things way too much and am very paranoid.

*I don't understand why...gas keeps going up. i'm starting to get really mad about it.

*When I wake up in the morning...i hit the snooze button about five times before i finally get out of bed.

*I lost my will power to...follow through with most of my new year's resolutions...a long time ago.

*Life is wonderful with...my God and my amazing family and friends.

*My past made me...most definitely nuts, but i can't use that as an excuse for the rest of my life. God used it to give me strength and to teach me lots about life so it's a blessing.

*I get annoyed when...the same parents come in my room everyday and ask random questions that their kids should already know the answer to IF THEY WERE LISTENING.

*Parties are not...fun unless I'm there....hahaha

*Dogs are...cute if they stay little and have no ticks.

*Cats are...sweet but i'm allergic.

*Tomorrow I am going to...try and get memory albums finished that i'm giving my students for their end of the year present.

*I have a low tolerance for... dishonesty.

*I'm totally terrified of...so many things i can't even list them all.

*I wonder why I thought my life would be...easy.

*Never in my life...have i wanted to travel as much as i do now. many of you say you want to accompany me to mark off some things on my life list. the thing is, i'm serious. who's ready to go because i want to make some flight reservations!

*High school was something that...i absolutely loved.

*When I'm nervous...my heart beats a million times a minute and my face gets flushed.

*Take my advice...try a hazelnut java chiller from sonic.

*Making my bed is...a rare occasion, unfortunately.

*I'm almost always...analyzing something.

*I'm addicted to...the Hills.

*I want someone...to marry.

I TAG Meredith and Haley.

Leona Lewis

This CD is really, really good! Usually there's only two or three songs on a CD that I listen to regularly, but I actually enjoy almost all of the ones on her's. Most of you have heard "Bleeding Love," which is my favorite! If you get a chance, listen to some of the others. I think you'll like them!