Christmas in Collinsville

What a busy week! My family celebrated Christmas in a big way as usual. We don't do anything small in our family. We started Sunday by having my mom's side of the family Christmas at my brother's house. Even though everybody wasn't there, we still had a great time visiting with each other, eating, and of course opening presents. One of the traditions of the Beeman family is to have a different grandchild read the Christmas story every year before we start present time. This year was my sweet little cousin Amberlee's first time to read. She is only 7 and she did such a fabulous job. That King James version isn't the easiest for anybody much less a second grader. The next day, Christmas Eve, the entire Luke clan emerged on my parents' house for a day long event. Christmas Eve is almost certainly my favorite day of the year. We celebrate all day long and this year was no different. The first guests arrived around noon and the last ones left about 9 that night after a day of food, fun, fireworks and once again tons of presents. The next morning I woke up about 7 so that me, my mom, and dad could all open our presents to and from each other before seeing what Santa brought the boys. Before we could even finish, Braden called, ecstatic about what he had. We made our way up there and though I didn't think Santa was being very smart bringing an actual 4-wheeler to a five year old, he was so excited and it was so cute to see him in his helmet ready to ride. And of course, Cooper was precious in his big red fire truck that he has talked nonstop about for the last month. I know I'm more than a bit prejudiced but they are two of the cutest kids I know. I love seeing them so excited. Overall Christmas was such a wonderful holiday. I'm sad that it's over and I have to go back to work next week. But I am so thankful for all the time I got to spend with my family, all the presents I received, and even for all the food that I ate (which by the way should be enough to last me atleast 3/4 of the way through 2008). Most importantly, I'm thankful for what this time of year means...a chance to focus attention on Christ and his birth. What a gift we have been given. I decided that you probably didn't want to see me post a million pics from Christmas so I made a slideshow that will hopefully work. You can then choose to look at the pics or not. Completely up to you. Hope you and your family had as great a Christmas as we did. Happy 2008!


Christmas 2007

There's A Party Over Here, A Party Over There

This has been a week of parties. I started the week partying with my students and I haven't slowed up since. Tuesday night, Deanna, Robbie, Brooke, and I had girls night out at Crescent City Grill. We didn't plan it, but we somehow all had on coordinating outfits so I'm sure people thought we were going for group pictures later on. We had lots of fun eating and being silly as usual. For dessert, we made a trip to the drive-thru at the brand new freestanding Chick-Fil-A in Meridian. We are such girls of the night. But a freestanding Chick-Fil-A is a pretty big deal if you ask me. We ended up at our apartment opening presents which is always fun.



Today the partying continued with me, Deanna, and Angela going to eat lunch together at Cracker Barrel. We stayed for over an hour and a half. I'm sure Deidra, our waitress, was ready for us to leave so that she could have more opportunities to earn tips but we were too busy catching up and again opening presents. I love Angela and miss her now that I'm not at MCC. She is such a fabulous person and we had lots of giggling and talking to do. I couldn't have asked for better lunch partners.

This afternoon, I went to Mamaw's Christmas party at the nursing home. It was so sweet. Santa was there and passed out presents to all of the residents. Mamaw got a cute picture frame which is so appropriate for her since she literally has atleast 100 pictures in her room. After her party wrapped up, I walked her back to her room where I saw the Christmas stockings of all of her grandchildren hanging on the wall. Every year at Christmas, my Mamaw hung stockings for us on her mantle but last year, she was living with my Uncle Ronnie and so no stockings were hung. It was so sweet to see all of them hanging again even if it was on a concrete wall stuck with duct tape. I think she has enjoyed having them with her and I'm sure she has loved the extra attention and questions she gets when people see all of them. There are 16 hanging up so it is hard to miss them.

I love this time of year because it means I get to spend even more time with the people I love. Bring on the parties!

I Just Want to Celebrate

Today is a day for celebration. I have made it through my first semester of teaching with my students. Tomorrow at 11:30 is the official finale to the semester but today was the last day for my students to be at school. It has been such an eventful semester with so many different emotions. I have felt fulfillment, frustration, uncertainty, excitement, and tons more ups and downs. I have learned so much about my students, myself and my future, and teaching. I have not for one second, even on the days that I wanted to cry, regretted my decision to change jobs. It has been exactly what I was looking for--both challenging and rewarding.I have had so much help making it through this semester. When I first started, I was completely overwhelmed and it didn't take long before my principal and the school district realized that another teacher was needed to help shoulder the load. I could not have been more fortunate in who they chose. I was blessed to work with this past semester Mrs. Suzanne Timbrell who just happened to be one of my aunt Lita's high school friends. She has been a Godsend. She had retired after 29 years of teaching special education and agreed to come back this semester to help start this program since it was new at WL. I have learned so much from her and am so sad that she is going back into retirement but I know that she has left me so much more prepared than when I started in August. She is such a fabulous lady and I'm going to miss her tons. Thanks so much Mrs. Timbrell!
Since today was the students' last day, we partied big. This morning, our class went to the nursing home where my mamaw lives and sang Christmas carols for the residents. We had such a good time and I think they enjoyed our own special version of traditional Christmas melodies. I unfortunately didn't get to take any pictures of them in their cute little elf hats ringing their jingle bells so you will have to just take my word for it that they were sweet. After leaving the nursing home and returning to school, we had our Christmas party in our room. It was so much fun watching the kids open their gifts from us and I received several gifts which was nice. Overall, it was a great day and a successful semester. I only hope that I make it through the next one as smoothly.

Friday Night Lights

Friday night, Robbie and I went to see Curt in Philadelphia. We met him for dinner where we had excellent service which is unusual for us lately. (Robbie and I seem to be cursed when it comes to good service. Hopefully this curse is ending because the last 2 times we have eaten out we have had excellent service) Anyway, after dinner, Curt had arranged for us to take a tour of the home of a lady in his church who decorates like crazy for Christmas. The last few years, Robbie and I have traveled to Philly to see this lady's outdoor decorations which are unreal. Between her and her daughter they probably decorate 3 acres of yard with lights and wooden cutouts. This year, however, Curt felt like we had earned the privilege of getting to see the inside of her home so he set it up and off we went to Mrs. Goldman's home. This lady is probably one of the friendliest women I have ever met. She immediately welcomed us in her home as if we had been friends for years. She was so sweet and loved to tell us the stories behind all of her decorations. Her house was so festive. I think we counted 7 trees that were decorated (including the mini tree in the bathroom) and under each tree was a village. In her main room was the largest of her trees and underneath it was one of the biggest Christmas villages I've seen. It came out atleast 3 feet from the bottom of her tree. I tried to take pictures but they just don't do it justice. We had a fabulous time as we always do with Curt. You can't ask for much more than good friends, good food, and holiday cheer.

It's Better to Be Safe than Stupid

WARNING: SUPER SUPER SUPER LONG POST. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
This weekend my Sunday School class took a trip to Nashville for our annual Christmas trip. The title of this post became the signature quote of the weekend coined by Robbie. There were 9 of us that went on a 15 passenger church van that I mostly drove. If you know how much I hate driving my own car, you know how funny it is that I was the primary driver of a big ole bus. To make it easier to share all the funny moments of the weekend, I will separate by days. So here's my recap of our Christmas adventure:
Friday-We left the church in Collinsville about 3:15 heading to Music City. We were riding along the interstate out of Meridian discussing what we were going to be doing and just catching up on each others' weeks when Robbie says she needs to go to the bathroom. We were in York, Alabama! If you are familiar with East MS and West AL, you know that York is seriously less than 45 minutes from Collinsville. We were stopping to go to the bathroom at 4:00. We were in for an interesting road trip for sure! So after the earliest bathroom break in history we were back on the interstate ready to go. We decided we were going to stop and eat in Birmingham but before we could get there we had another bathroom emergency. This time Ryan Brown decided he couldn't possibly make it to wherever we decided to eat and all of sudden said "Take this exit now" Even though I told him I didn't even see a gas station, he assured me that he saw a Home Depot and that would be fine. So I pulled off the interstate into the historic district of some city. It was really dark since there weren't any stores and I missed the drive of the Home Depot because it was far away from the street we were on so then we saw a sign for a Miles College and decided to pull onto campus and turn around and go back to the Home Depot. But even though there was a nice sign welcoming us to Miles College we never actually saw anything that resembled a school. We started to go down the hill thinking we would see buildings and dorms and stuff but actually just saw run down houses and a small church. At this point Ryan Brown decides he will take over the driving duties since this is his adventure so he gets out of the passenger side as we are stopped at a stop sign with another car pulling up to it and one coming up behind us. It was quite a scary scenario since we had no idea where we were and are getting out of a church van at a random stop sign. Ryan eventually makes it back to the Home Depot and gets to the bathroom in time but the rest of us decided we could just make it to wherever we stopped to eat. So Ryan got us back on the interstate and drove us to Cullman, AL where we ate at the quietest Ruby Tuesday's ever. Atleast it was quiet until we arrived. Our presence was definitely felt as we utilized the first of our many photo opportunities. When we are starting to leave Ryan hands the keys back to me and says "I'm tired. Do you think you can take over?" Are you kidding me? He had driven 40 miles and he was ready to quit driving that big huge van. He drives a Dooley for heaven's sake! I begrudgingly took the keys back and drove us uneventfully the rest of the way to Nashville where we checked into our nice hotel and went to bed.
Saturday-Though nobody else's room seemed to have been disturbed by this, me, Keely, and Courtney all were awaken to the sound of little kids running up and down the hallway on the floor above us at 6:00 in the morning. I wanted to beat me some brats! I promise if I had the energy and stamina to last running as long as they did, I would be 2 sizes smaller. So we woke up earlier than we planned and the weather outside was so dreary and yuck but we were in Nashville and weren't going to let out of control kids and gross weather ruin our day. The morning began with a trip to the Country Music Hall of Fame where we had lots of fun taking pictures with tons of memorabilia. After our tour we decided to walk and find somewhere to eat for lunch. On the way we saw the Ryman and stopped for a coupld of pictures. Then we decided to eat at Jack's Barbecue which was really good. If you are ever on Broadway in Nashville and can't decide where to eat, I would recommend Jack's and his Kansas City sauce. In the words of Courtney, "I could drink this barbecue sauce it's so good." The first silly adventure of the day came when we were trying to leave downtown Nashville. Because all the streets are one-way, we got a little lost trying to get back to the interstate so after driving in circles a couple of times we saw a guy that we stopped to ask. Ryan Brown was driving at this point and he just pulled slightly off the road to ask a very nice Middle Eastern man how to get back to the interstate. I wish we had a video of this encounter because it truly was a classic exchange but unfortunately one does not exist. After Ryan asked him directions, the man began by saying, "you need to get out of the road" so Ryan moved over a little bit and the guy continued but almost immediately after said "You really need to get out of the road." It was much funnier if this blog could actually translate his accent and inflection. We were laughing so hard in the back of the van while Ryan was trying to pull over more and listen to the guy's instructions. He was such a nice guy and had a great sense of humor and the last thing he said to us was, "If you miss it, I am bad." Well guess what Mr. Nice Middle Easterner? We missed it! But not because of bad directions. We saw it but just passed it before we decided if were supposed to be going east or west so we went around in a circle one more time but finally made it to the interstate. From there we made our way back to our hotel. Because the weather was so gross, all of our hair was bad and mine and Keely's pants legs were so wet. So we freshened up for a few minutes (meaning all of my hair got pulled on top of my head and my pants legs got blow dried) and then headed to the Opry Mills mall which is freaking huge and was SOOOOO crowded. This is the place where the famous quote above was first uttered. Because the mall was so crowded there was nowhere to park and it's not easy fitting a big van into a small space. But Ryan had complete confidence in his ability to back into the first of many tiny spaces and scared Robbie like crazy cause she thought he was going to hit the cars around us. We made it though and Robbie survived Ryan's other attempts at giving her a heart attack (like slamming on breaks unexpectedly and making the tires squeal on the wet pavement). We all split up and went in groups all around the mall and I ended up with a shirt and a dress for a grand total of $6. I'm such a big spender. We were going to ride a shuttle from the mall to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel which is where we were going to see all the Christmas lights and shows but after waiting for 45 minutes the only bus that came wasn't the right one so we gave up and decided to drive our van and just pay to park. This part of the night was likely the least amount of fun for the boys because all we basically did was walk around and look at lights and make them take our pictures everywhere. We also made them be in a few which they weren't too excited about. The Gaylord was so pretty though at Christmas even though my feet hurt so bad that I didn't even care if we didn't see everything. After finishing the night back at the food court at the mall, we made our way back to the hotel for much needed sleep.


Sunday- We woke up this morning and packed up and checked out before heading to Two Rivers Baptist Church which was right down the road from our hotel. It was so big but a very nice service. The people there were very friendly. After leaving church I took back over the driving duties and we started our adventure home. Nothing too exciting happened on the way home except that the bathroom emergencies once again reared their ugly heads. This time Keely was one of the culprits but Robbie and Ryan were right there in on the action. One funny thing that happened that woke everyone up on the van was that I almost hit a hawk. Robbie was just commenting on what a succesful trip we had, when all of a sudden from out of nowhere flies this huge bird swooping right down in front of us. And like a dummy instead of slowing down, I just kept driving thinking the bird would fly up. At the last minute before impact he fortunately did but he was so close that I closed my eyes for a second thinking we were about to slam him. Ryan said I just didn't want to mess up the cruise control. I obviously just wasn't thinking! After our brush with avian danger we made it back to Collinsville safely armed with our crazy stories and pictures. Hope you aren't completely bored at this point, if you are even still reading. I couldn't figure out how to summarize better. I need to work on that skill. But I had been put on the spot by my road trip mates who will be waiting to see what made the blog. Hope I haven't disappointed you Courtney, Ryan, or Keely!

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

Christmas is almost here and I love this time of year. I love Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas music, and Christmas sales. Signs of the season are everywhere. Last weekend, I was able to visit my best friend Myndi at her parents' house in Picayune. While I was there, we helped decorate for Christmas. It was so much fun. It was also my first experience unloading and decorating a real tree because my family has always had an artificial tree. I felt very Christmasy! Though we looked rough because we stayed in our pjs most of the day, the tree and decorations turned out great.


On Sunday night, we put up the Christmas tree at our apartment. Deanna primarily did all the work and I added a few ornaments because I was feeling super bad and didn't have any energy. The tree looks fabulous and I love coming home to it everyday. Pictures really don't do it justice so feel free to come by and gaze upon our lovely tree. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas season.

Thanksgiving Recap

I know Thanksgiving was over a week ago and I've had plenty of time to recap the activities of the day. Sorry for the delay. Though Thanksgiving was great, in my defense, its aftermath left atleast 12 members of my family with a stomach bug including me so I really haven't felt that great this past week. Anyway, here's some of the highlights of my Thanksgiving holiday. At lunch, almost all of my mom's side of the family met at her house. There are so many kids around when we are all together and our youngest member, Henry, wasn't even there. We had 6 kids 15 and under and Heather, who although she is 24, still acts about the same age as the teenagers! We had a great time and lots of good food. The funniest part of the day was watching Brooklee and Candace teach Heather how to do the Superman dance. She was reliving all her cheerleading glory! Here are some of the pics of the day:


That night, my dad's side of the family all met together at my Aunt Sherry's house. We had so much food which is quite characteristic of the Luke family. We never seem to be able to cut anything out. Robbie had her Christmas room ready for the big reveal like every Thanksgiving night. She is so talented and it's always exciting to see what her decorations will look like each year. There were just as many kids at Aunt Sherry's because our family friends, Chris and Missye were there with their 2 little girls so we had 6 kids 9 and under. Very fun. I love kids so it makes things more entertaining when they are all around. Kids are usually much more willing to pose for all my picture requests too so that makes me thankful. Here are some of the pictures from our Thanksgiving at the Lukes:

I Am Thankful For....

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I thought I would take time to really think about the things I am most thankful for. So often this holiday gets bypassed in anticipation of Christmas and I am guilty too of not truly appreciating what this day represents-a chance to reflect on all of our many blessings. So in an effort to give this day its due, here are a couple of lists of things I am most thankful for this year, both serious and fun.
Top 5 Most Important Things (in no particular order)
1) Family-I am thankful that I have a wonderful family, both my immediate and large extended family. We always have fun when we get together and it's so nice to have a place where you can always be yourself and be accepted and loved. We aren't perfect but there is no way I would trade my family for anything in the world.

2) Faith-I am thankful that I was taught about Christ from an early age and was brought up in the church. I am thankful for God's mercy and the salvation that He extended me. I am thankful that no matter how often I stumble and fail Him, that God is always there and will always love me.

3) Friends-I am thankful that I have friends who I can laugh with, cry with, and just be me with. I have friends that I have known for as long as I can remember and those that I've only met in the last few years, but they all serve a special purpose and help me make it through this thing called life.

4) Job-I am thankful that I have a new job that I love. At this time last year, I would have told you that I was thankful for having a job but I couldn't necessarily say it was one I loved or wanted to keep. I have a different appreciation for having a fulfilling job this year and am thankful for the opportunity to change jobs and for all the people who have helped me in this transition.

5) Health-I am thankful that as far as I know I am in great health. Not necessarily great shape but good health! Working with the students that I do everyday has really made me appreciate the healthy life I have been blessed with. So many people don't even start out life with a clean bill of health and I have been lucky enough to have no major health problems and for that I am so thankful.

Now for the not-so-serious list of things I'm thankful for:
1) Pajama pants-This is the best piece of clothing ever invented. This week I have spent the majority of my days in my pj pants.
2) College athletics-I love college football and basketball so this time of the year is wonderful for me because both sports are playing. I am such a boy when it comes to sports!
3) Coke Icees-I am so addicted to Coke Icees and have been since high school. It is seriously a problem and I've been trying to lose weight and cutting these out has been my biggest challenge. I love them!
4) Chapstick-Another addiction for me. I have to carry chapstick with me wherever I go and I'm so thankful that it only costs like a dollar because I go through it like crazy.
5) Naps-I am thankful anytime I can catch a nap and think these are seriously underrated. I try to always have one on Sunday afternoon.
6) iPod-I really don't know what I did before I had an iPod. I love music and this makes it so much easier to take music with me wherever I am.
7) pictures-I am almost as addicted to picture taking and picture displaying as Laura. I am so thankful that I have people in my life who oblige my constant requests for photo ops and I'm thankful for all the memories these pictures let me relive.
8) Toyota-I am thankful that this company has made a car that has lasted as many miles as I've driven my sweet old Camry. Even after 200,000 miles she is still ticking and I'm so thankful that I am not paying a car note every month. I know she won't last much longer and I'm gonna enjoy every single mile and note-free month she gives me.
9) Divided plates-It's the little things in life you have to truly appreciate and divided plates are one of those things that make my life and meals so much easier. I am one of those weird people who don't like for my food to touch so these ingenious tools make Thanksgiving and other big meal opportunities so much more pleasant.
10) Blogging-I have been surprised at how much I enjoy the blogging world since I'm not very good at technology and have never thought of myself as one who needed a creative outlet mainly because I have no creativity. But it's fun to have somewhere to share pics and stories of my world and to see what's going on in the lives of other bloggers. So thank you Heather and Laura for dragging me into this fabulous land of blogging.

So there you have it...My lists of some of the things I'm thankful for this year. I hope you have enjoyed my tribute to this holiday and hopefully you will take time to think of your own list. Happy Thanksgiving.

It's Christmas in the Smokies

Warning: This post is super long. If you don't have time or energy, you may want to skip.

This weekend me, Robbie, Deanna, and our friend Brooke went to the mountains for a girls weekend of shopping, eating, giggling, and getting in the Christmas spirit. We stayed with my Aunt Kay, Uncle Ronnie, and Brian, even though we really didn't see them too much because we were busy the whole time we were there. We had such a great time and have lots of funny stories and pictures. To make it easier to share, I will give you a day by day account of the highlights of our trip.

Day 1: Friday-Nothing really exciting here. We left after school and drove there and went to bed. The highlight of the ride up was the ginormous Pilot store that had way too many snacks for us to choose from for the ride and the photo shoot that Brooke and Deanna had in the backseat in an effort to find the perfect submission shot for America's Next Top Model.

Day 2: Saturday-This was Dollywood day. We got up early and made it to Dollywood not too long after it opened. Before we could even figure out what to do first, Deanna and Brooke had made friends with the lady who takes pictures of park visitors and we spent the first 10 minutes taking pictures in the big sleigh set up at the entrance of the park. It became our goal for our presence to be known in Dollywood and we managed to take some of the silliest pictures possibly ever made with Christmas decorations. We saw several Christmas shows and ate some good food. The funniest story of the day had to be the train ride which takes you around the park and up the top of the mountain. We waited to go at night so that we could see the lights all around the park. First of all, while waiting in line for the train, me and Robbie get separated from Deanna and Brooke and are allowed to get on the train while they are held back behind the gate. They finally got on with us and we were ready for the cold ride to begin. As we started out of the depot, the train was speeding along pretty well, faster than either me or Robbie remembered. Once we got up the mountain though it began to slow down and the lady came over the speaker telling us we were taking a brief stop but not to get up. So we sat on the 2 inch hard seats and waited thinking we will be back down the mountain in time for the parade that will be starting soon. But oh no, this little minor stop lasted for over an hour. The train had broke down on the top of the mountain and we were stuck up there freezing our tails off and not being able to even stand. We finally got down the mountain and off the train only to go to the bathroom and find black stuff all over Brooke and Robbie who had been sitting on the outside seats. The train is run by coal and I guess when we started our speedride up to the top it flew out on them. Once we got them cleaned up we were tired and ready to get warm so our Dollywood fun came to a close and we headed to Olive Garden for some much needed comfort.

Day 3: Sunday-We started the morning by going to Sunday School with Brian who once again provided a funny story to start the day with. Before class started Brian reached into the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a bottle of water. He then leaned over to Robbie and said "I had to hide my water from my mom and dad because they would be mad if they knew I brought it." He is right. They would be mad but he is so funny. I love him. After Sunday School, we went back and changed and got ready for our day of shopping. We were girls on a mission and found some great buys. I don't think the KB Toy Outlet will ever be the same. After our feet were about to fall off and our bank accounts almost depleted, we left the shopping behind and went to do what we do best-eat. Calhoun's was really good. On the way home we decided to stop at Walgreen's to get some of the crazy pics printed and who should we run into working there but an Elvis impersonator complete with dyed black hair and thick sideburns. If you know Robbie at all you know how big of an Elvis fan she is (we had already visited the Elvis gift store earlier in the day) so Deanna thought it was her duty to introduce them which of course embarassed Robbie. It was pretty funny but since he was busy there was no time for pictures with him. I guess next time we will have to catch his show! On the way back to Aunt Kay's, we saw a couple of deer which Deanna thought she could take a picture of. There are deer all the time in Aunt Kay's neighborhood and they hardly even notice when cars come through so we slowed to a complete stop and Deanna rolled her window to try and get a picture. She finally found her camera and was just about to take the pic when the deer snorted at her and ran off. She was so scared she almost jumped in Brooke's lap. It was hilarious. She started saying "I almost got a hoof in my mouth." It was very funny. I think she's going to stick to shooting pics of people and leave the wildlife to themselves. The night ended with a relaxing time in the hottub and more stupid pictures.

Day 4: Monday-Unfortunately, we had to come home today but not before more memories were made. The first challenge of the day was trying to fit all of us, our luggage, and all the stuff we bought into my car. We weren't very comfy but we made it work. You have to sacrifice sometimes. Because of all the stinking boys in our family who like hunting we made a trip to the Bass Pro Shop near Aunt Kay and Uncle Ronnie's house. This place is way too overwhelming for those of us who know or care little about this pasttime. But I can't leave this out because it is the site of one of the funniest events of the weekend. We got there pretty early so there weren't too many cars in the parking lot so when we started to leave there was no one parked in front of us so I just decided to drive forward since it was kind of hard to see backing up with all the stuff we had piled up. So I press the gas and the car goes forward atleast initially...until it gets stuck on the parking curb. I, like a big fat dummy, didn't see that there were dividers between the parking spaces and drove right over one. So at this point, I'm laughing but also wondering what the crap am I gonna do if we are stuck. I try to back up but get no where so I conclude that the only way to get off is just to drive all the way over. So I push the pedal down and we jump the curb probably leaving behind half of the underneath of my car. I'm surprised we made it as loaded down as we were. In my defense, where we were parked was the only line of parking spaces that had dividers in between. All of the other ones just had painted lines to separate the spaces. But oh well we made it and were on our way. We then drove to Gatlinburg to drop Brooke off who is staying the rest of the week with her family. After that we made our way back to Meridian without incidence.

This weekend was so much fun and also productive. I made a big dent in my Christmas shopping and it was a great way to start a week-long vacation from school. I love this time of year.

My Private Shoebox

Oh What a Night

Sunday night I went to the Little Big Town/Sugarland concert in Biloxi with Deanna, her boyfriend Eric, her sister Lisa, and several of Lisa's friends. All 8 of us crammed into one vehicle so that we could giggle and sing all the way down. Though it was so tight and I was worried about being car sick, it really was fun all riding together. Once we got to the coast, we made our way to Chilis which I LOVE! It was so good. But the real fun was just beginning. We made our way to the concert and found our seats (on the floor!) and got there just in time to see Jake Owen open. I had no idea who he was but he was good and had nice hair. Then it was time for Little Big Town who I absolutely love. They are the reason I really wanted to come to the concert. I just got their new CD last week and couldn't wait to hear them live. They were awesome. Then out came Sugarland who was incredible. I love them way better after seeing them live. I have liked them always but have never just been super crazy about them (not anything like my cousin Laura who has a girl crush on Jennifer Nettles). But I was very impressed with this duo, especially Jennifer. She is a fabulous performer and so cute. We had so much fun and even got to see Laura and her boyfriend JR before the concert started. Of course, I paid for this fun yesterday when I could barely make it through the day at school. I am way too old to only get 3 1/2 hours of sleep. Oh well I guess you only live once and I'm so glad I didn't miss my chance to be at this concert. Here are several pics from our wonderful night.

Hangin' With Mr. Cooper (and Braden)

Saturday night my brother asked me if I could come over and keep the boys so that he and April could go to a friend's house. Once I checked my oh so full social calendar and realized how fortunate he was that I had a few hours to spare (HAHA), I made my way to Collinsville for a night with my 2 favorite men. Because both boys had been gone all day to Starkville for the football game, I thought they would both be tired and ready to go to bed early. But oh was I wrong. I guess they were fired up about the Bulldog win and were ready to celebrate. They are at an age though that they tend to fight alot so after a while it was easier for me to have them in 2 separate rooms. So Braden was watching TV in the living room and Cooper and I made our way to the play room. I thought we could lay on the bed in the playroom watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and he would fall asleep so I decided to put his PJs on him beforehand. Changing his clothes can be an adventure so I was just grabbing for matching PJs before he ran out of the room. I pulled out Buzz Lightyear, checked the size (3T, fine so far) and corralled him long enough to get them on. Now you would think that a kid who just turned 2 a couple of months ago would easily fit into size 3T pajamas but once I got them on I realized how wrong that assumption could be. Staring back at me was my precious little man in a Buzz midriff top with his sweet chunky belly poking out. I started laughing so hard that I was almost crying. And he was laughing and running around and I knew there was no way that I was gonna be able to get him changed again so we just made our way to the playroom with me thinking that I would change him before I put him down for bed. Well, of course, I completely forgot. After playing hide and seek with the pillows in the playroom and reading him "Hello Bully" atleast 3 times, (How many 2 year olds do you know that hum the MSU fight song and know who Coach Croom is? He has been completely brainwashed!), he fell asleep and I put him in his bed not even thinking about the PJ situation. And I also forgot to tell April that he had on tiny tee so I'm sure on Sunday morning she was questioning why she allowed her children to be left in my care but we had fun and it made for some cute pictures that will no doubt resurface when he is approaching high school graduation. Take a look at my precious chunky monkey.

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving

On Saturday, the nursing home where my mamaw lives hosted Thanksgiving lunch for the residents and their families. And even though each resident was only supposed to have 4 guests, my mamaw (Miss Popularity!) had 6 guests and I was lucky enough to be one of those special six. My Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Kay, and Brian were home this weekend because it was Aunt Kay's 40th high school class reunion. They won't be back for Thanksgiving and haven't been home for Thanksgiving in way too long so it was nice to feel like we actually got to share this holiday with them. We had a great time visiting with each other and it was so nice for the nursing home to host this. Even though my mamaw will be able to come to my mom's house for the real Thanksgiving dinner with almost the whole fam, I know some of the residents aren't that fortunate. We had a great time and I am so thankful that I have such a special family.

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween. Costumes, candy, hay rides...what could be better? I'm fairly confident that my students wouldn't disagree. Today was their day. They have become the stars of the school and the other teachers and students have been great with them. Today, we went trick-or-treating around campus to the office and several high school classrooms. My kids loved it and came away with more candy than they will be able to eat before next Halloween. I'm sure their parents are going to love us! Then after lunch, my mom and dad brought a trailer filled with hay to take our class on a hayride around the block. We stopped at several homes on the way that had agreed to have treats for my students. It was so much fun. And though our students at my school always leave early on Wednesday the teachers usually still have to stay to atleast 3 but today our principals let us leave early too so it was a great ending to a busy, busy day. Tonight, I was at mama's so that I could see my sweet nephews in their costumes. She had made them pirate outfits and they were SO precious. Of course, neither of them would let me get a good picture. Braden was way too excited and ready to go on to the next house and Cooper just didn't want to cooperate. But hopefully you can see how super cute these little guys are.

After they went to a few of the houses on their street, they were going to see my Mamaw at the nursing home. They were supposed to have trick-or-treating there tonight also and on Monday I took Mamaw a witch's hat and cape to wear. I hope she didn't lose it or forget to wear it tonight. Since I wasn't going to be able to see her tonight, I took her picture with the hat Monday. Isn't she a cute witch?

P.S. I tried to post this yesterday but my internet has been messing up all week and it wouldn't cooperate last night.