The Exciting Conclusion!

Well, seeing as how I got 0 (zero!) comments on my awesome gummy bear lab science experiment post yesterday, I can't imagine too many of you are interested in seeing the exciting conclusion...

...but I'm gonna tell ya any way!!

You might think the gummy bear would dissolve or disintegrate if left in water over night. But oh no!

The gummy actually absorbs the water and swells up!


How fun is that!? Try it today :)

A Science Experiment

Being a science teacher is great because kids come to me already liking science, for the most part. Today we started a science experiment that always gets lots of oohs and ahhhs!

The Gummy Bear Lab!


Today, we made predictions about what will happen if the gummy bears are left in water overnight.

Some of the most common predictions were:
-it will dissolve
-it will get smaller
-it will lose its coloring

What do you think???

I'll reveal what happens tomorrow! (I know you're sitting on the edge of your seat for this one!!)

Baby Asa's Here!

My best friend, Amanda had her little baby boy, Asa, tonight!!


7 pounds 10 ounces & 20 inches long. Born at 9:13 PM.

He is beautiful! His skin is flawless! He really is just precious!

Oh...and by the way...she had him NATURAL!! Yep! All the way! She was a trooper!

Poor Amanda's dad is in Jamaica on a missions trip :( Here is Cindy trying to get a hold of him by leaving a message on some Jamaican's phone!

My Dear Friend

I am asking for your prayers for one of my dearest friends ever. My college roommate, Lisa, lost her mom Thursday night due to complications from a liver transplant.

Lisa's brother set up a blog to track her progress. It happened very quickly and although Lisa knew this could be a possibility, nothing can prepare you for losing your mom.

Lisa and her mom were very close, so I'm asking that if you think about it this week, please say a prayer for her. Monday & Tuesday is the viewing and the funeral is Wednesday, so this week will be extremely difficult for her.

My heart breaks for Lisa because I know she feels so alone right now, but thank you Jesus for your promise to be with us!

The Marriage Project

Last year, I shared how I made a major life change. I can't even describe what that was like. There were times when I wondered if I had done the right thing. Did I really hear from God?

Well, it's been about a year now that I've been going to Mountain Lake Church. Because I was always involved in children's ministry, I rarely ever sat in the sanctuary to hear a message. So it was a new experience for me to show up at church on time (instead of an hour early), sit in the sanctuary, and leave right after church.

I enjoyed MLC from the first time I went. What I really enjoyed was the preaching and from that first Sunday, God really spoke to me through every message. I looked forward to hearing the message every week.

Recently, they just finished a message series called "The Marriage Project". I have to admit that when I first learned of this series, I was kinda bummed.

"Really, God?? I have to sit through 4 weeks of how-to-have-a-better-marriage? Is this a cruel joke? You know this is the ONE thing I want more than anything!"

I have to tell you, though, that I have LOVED every message! Instead of being down and depressing, it has been very uplifting and encouraging.

It really opened my eyes to marriage. With 98% of my friends being married (yes, I did do a mathematical formula to figure that out!!) I feel like I have a basic knowledge of marriage. I know you married folks are probably rolling your ideas right now and thinking "Girl, you ain't got NO idea!" Hey...I did say I had a BASIC knowledge :)

Each week focused on one of these main points.

Building a good marriage requires a decision to...

1. believe in your spouse.
Believe the best in each other...even when you don't always see the best. God
saw the best in us...He saw our potential.
2. leave and cleave.
Your spouse is now your priority...not yo mama! We become "glued" to our
spouse. Nothing comes between us. Romans 8:38-39
3. love.
We demonstrate our love by being kind, compassionate, and forgiving. Christ
demonstrated the ultimate sacrifice of love by loving us when we didn't deserve
it.
4. submit.
It's not a tug of war of "I'm-right-you're-wrong". Both need to submit. Submission of one partner does not benefit the marriage. We see the ultimate act of submission through Jesus.

Here's 2 main things I got from this message that I loved:

Marriage is a PROJECT not a PROBLEM.
This is so true...from what I've observed. Think of your house. How many of us start a project on our house and work on it here and there. Or maybe we get it the way we want it, then a few months later change it around.
I believe this is true in marriage. When you say "I Do", that's just the beginning. I believe you constantly have to work on it, find out what works and what doesn't.

Your marriage is a picture (or reflection) of your relationship with God.
It's a mirror image. I LOVE this picture. Our relationship with God is reflected in our marriage.

So...where's my mind in all this marriage talk?

I want a marriage more than anything else! Yes, I'm excited about the wedding part, mainly because I'm a girl and that's just the way we're wired, but I'm WAY more excited about the marriage part. I WANT the "project" to work on because I want to work on it WITH someone. I have loved being single and having freedom, but believe me...I am SO ready to have that companionship.

This series has really opened my eyes, though. If my relationship with God is a mirror image of my marriage, then I know I've got some work to do. If I spent the same amount of time with a spouse as I do with Jesus, my marriage would be suffering.

So more than anything, I have been fired up lately about my relationship with Jesus! Some days, it feels like I'm learning about Him for the very first time. I'm looking forward to the future, marriage or not, because I am falling in love all over again with Him.

By the way, the church started a blog during this series that's been very interesting to read. Some entries from some of the pastors as well as their wives. Neat stuff!

The month of NEW!

I have been disgusted with myself for letting a whole month go by with no updates. Granted, I'm no super-duper, top-of-the-line blogger, but I do enjoy sharing my little corner of the world with the blogosphere! I know all 5 of you appreciate it, anyways :)

My lack of updates is certainly NOT for lack of news. So, without any further adoo...uh adue...adew...here we go:

NEW #1:
The month started off with me going back to work. I know I can't complain. I mean what other job do you get 2 months paid vacation?!?! I have to say, though, that I am lovin' my classes this year. My class sizes range from 13 to 21! It is definitely a teacher's dream come true! Can I get an amen??!!

I have been dying to hang this up since I got it, but just never got around to it. It's SO teachery and I don't really use it, but I just couldn't resist. What makes this even better is who gave it to me. My brother-in-law!! For those of you that know him, can't you just see him picking it out of the catalog?! It cracks me up!



Here's my "first-day-of-school outfit". We'll contrast this on the last day of school!

NEW #2:
OK, so this really isn't something new, but hey, I've got a theme going here! Speaking of theme (ha! I knew I could work it in!) Some friends of mine and I threw my sister and best friend a double baby shower! It was so fun!! Mandi had a girl and Amanda's having a boy. For both of them, it was their second child, but both mothers were having the opposite of what they already had, so we knew they would need some stuff. And who doesn't love throwing a shower?! Our theme was Purple & Blue Dots. Kind of different, I know. Mandi's nursery is different shades of purple polka dots. At the time, Amanda hadn't had any colors or themes, so we just went with light blue.

Everything turned out SO cute, but I'll let you be the judge of that:




I didn't get the greatest pictures, because I was running around getting everything together.


[Sorry this is crooked] I made each mom a diaper cake with little stuff to add to their nursery.



I loved this idea, although I can't take credit for it. We used children's books as a guest book. Guests wrote a little note on the inside cover to each baby.



And here are the lovely hosts:

...with the guests of honor:


By the way, Kelly I used your Cherry Limeade punch recipe and it was a hit!

NEW #3:
I got a new car! I don't have any pictures of it yet, but here's what it looks like:


NEW #4:
I got a new dress...well sort of! I'm gonna be in my roommate's wedding in June and one weekend this month, she hosted a "Bridesmaid Weekend". It was a blast! All the bridesmaids had a slumber party Friday night, then went dress shopping on Saturday. When we woke up Saturday morning, Amber had us all sequestered upstairs until she gave us the word. When we came downstairs, the dining room was set up so pretty:

At each of our place setting was a card and gift.

Before we opened it, she read us a little excerpt from Captivating about the importance of friends. It was really sweet. Then she had written each of us a really heart-felt letter and got us some sweet smelling Victoria Secret lotions and other goodies!


We found a dress we all liked! I'm SO excited about it! And Amber is pretty sure she found hers also. It's truly breathtaking on her!!

And I have saved the BEST "newness" for last!!
NEW #5:
I have a new niece!! Megan Lynn was born on August 21...on her parent's anniversary, no less! We were all at the hospital waiting her arrival. I love that part of it! The anticipation of it all is so much fun!












So ya see...it's not like I've had nothing to blog about :)

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Tonight is officially the last night of the summer...for me. I return to work tomorrow after a 2 month break. Yes, that's the life of a teacher. I'll return tomorrow to the inevitable question, "So, how was your summer?"

Last year, I had an exciting answer to that question. This summer was much more low key. The only big trip was a weekend getaway to the lake. And while we did have a really good time, it was no beach! This was the first time in about 25 years that I haven't been to a beach!! How will I ever function?! How will I survive?!

Ok...I'm better.

So tomorrow, I return to the bubble world of teaching. Where students become the topic of interest, most nights will start to wind down at 9:30, mornings will start at 5:30 (!), all errands will have to be done on the weekends and conversations will probably start with..."You won't believe what happened at school today!!"

Winners!

I have gotten the biggest rush out of reading all of my comments! All 215 of them!! Through the help of random number generator here are the winners:

The post-its go to - Misty!

The clippies go to - Jessica!

The $10 Target gift card goes to - Evan!

The Vera Bradley coin purse goes to - Sugar cat!

I will be emailing the winners to get your addresses. Thanks everyone for playing. I really enjoyed it

4 Prizes!!

It's time to give away some free stuff over at Bloggy Giveaways! And while this stuff may look like a random, mis-matched assortment of stuff, I can assure you that careful thought and planning went into my decision on what to give away.

Ok, that last part was a lie! It really IS a random, mis-matched assortment of stuff, but stuff that represents and tells a little about me!

PRIZE #1: Vera Bradley coin purse

This was from the Vera Bradley Outlet sale that came through Atlanta last year. I went with my mom and sister and we basically raided the place! I'm not even a die hard VB fan, but you just COULDN'T pass it up when all of the merchandise was at least 75% off!!

PRIZE #2: $10 Target gift card

'Nuff said!! Target is truly one of my favorite stores! It's actually kind of a sickness for me because a "quick, little" trip turns into a shopping frenzy!

PRIZE #3: Clippies

There are 2 reasons for this prize. The first is that I'm expecting my second niece in just a few short weeks, so I'm gearing up for all things girly! Second, is that I love to do crafts, so I must say that I was pretty impressed with myself with the way these turned out!

PRIZE #4: Post its & notepad

Being a teacher, I love all things school supplies. And these little post its and notepad are the cutest way to remind you to pick up that milk on the way home :)

HOW TO WIN:
I will choose 4 winners! That's right, your odds just got better :) I will choose 1 winner for each prize. All you have to do is leave me a comment about which one you'd like to win. Please make sure to leave an email address too!! Drawing will be held Friday night, Aug. 1 at 9:00 and winners will be posted Saturday morning. Please, US residents only :(

Week in Review

This will not be the most enthralling post unless you like to hear me incessantly go on about my nephew and friends. What can I say? That's my world!

Last Sunday:
After church I went out to eat with my sister, her husband and his sister. Evan was in a mood and didn't exactly want to sit still and eat. One of my tricks is to pull out my camera. He likes getting his picture taken and then look at it. Then Noah wanted to get in on the action. Get ready...these are breathtaking.



Works every time!

Wednesday:
I took Evan to Catch Air. One of those jumpy places. I have to admit that most of the time I have more fun than he does! Although it is definitely a workout! I was worn out! I only got 1 picture because he wanted me to do everything with him.


Thursday:
The Sisterchicks (minus 1) got together for lunch at The Fickle Pickle. It is SOO yummy! Once again the camera trick came in handy as we were waiting for our food.

Here's Georgia and Lydia:

Here's Evan:


He then got up to go and tell Lydia that she didn't smile in her picture, so we tried it again:

So cute!

Random lunch shots:




After lunch we decided to go walk around all the cute shops, so the mommas went to to retrieve strollers while Kristen and I played babysitters. We tried to get some cute pics of us and all the kids actually looking into the camera. You can see how well that turned out!




Off to the shops:


We looked at few very cute stores, but then it was nap time. (For the kids, that is!)

It was a really good day and we missed you Beck!