weekending & Hello Monday

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post. How was your weekend? Mine was really good, and I got it started with my dad. We went to eat Mexican food, then came back here for coffee and to chat. I love this night to get caught up with him, and to see my stepmom as well when I take him home. It's always good for her as well, since it gives her a break. Dad was great on Friday night, but he's gotten sick since then and doesn't feel his best. I would love for you to help us pray for him! At his age, any sickness can become serious. 

This was so good! It's called Pollo Fundido, and it's just marinated chicken breast that sits on a bed of grilled onions and mushrooms. I eat it with corn tortillas. I only ate half of this, so I had it again on Saturday night. 

On Saturday, I got up and met my mom and sister for some errands. I returned the two shirts I bought last weekend to Marshall's and brought home some hand soap for the downstairs bathroom, two curly hair products, and a blow dryer with a diffuser in their place. I'm much happier with those purchases. I loved the shirts I bought, but one was a little short, and the other one I just changed my mind about.

I love these trees that are blooming everywhere right now! I'm not sure if they're tulip trees or some other kind, but this area in our town is beautiful. There are also tulips everywhere right now, which I want to see before they're past their peak. We went to Marshall's, then to a home décor shop for my mom, and we had lunch together. I was going to go to Mom's house for dinner, but I didn't feel great for the rest of the day. I just took a shower, got comfy, and watched The Resident all night while everyone was out. 

It was my oldest son Graham's 24th birthday, and he spent the day doing what he loves the most—being both a spectator and a participant of a car meet. I forgot to ask him for a picture, so I used this one from last year to post on social media.

I took this picture of my blanket when I didn't feel good to show you. My mom made this for me the Christmas of 2021. It's one of my favorite gifts that I've ever received, and I was so surprised when I opened it at her house that day. 

I felt better on Sunday, and I was at church bright and early.

I ran lyrics for them this week, which I always love doing. I came home afterward, ate lunch, and took a nap. I do not love this time change! This one is always hard for me to adjust to for some reason, so I'm glad to be on a break this week from work while I do that. Todd had to go do a few things after he ate lunch, so when he got back home we made a Costco run, then we picked up sushi to bring back home.

We unloaded what we bought, fed the dogs, and ate dinner together. I went to bed pretty early, because I had to leave home at six forty this morning to be in Memphis for a test that I have to take for work. I'd love your prayers for that as well! I was never a great test taker in high school, so I'm hoping I'll pass this. I don't know what will happen with work if I don't, but I'm not too stressed about it. After that, I have plans to come home and catch up on all the house things so that I can enjoy the day tomorrow before we leave town on Wednesday. Did you do anything fun this weekend? I'd love to hear about it, if you did! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

Friday Favorites, 3.10.23.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea today for this week's edition of my favorite blog post. Today is one of five out of my favorite days ever—it's Jonah's and Noah's 20th birthday! My other favorite days are the day I got saved, our anniversary, and the birthdays of each of our sons. It seems like yesterday that they were this age. 

The time stamp on those pictures isn't necessarily accurate. I love this one right above, from 2020. That was pretty much the last thing fun we did as a family until the whole world shut down. I never knew that would be such a milestone night! I'm glad we went out on a strong note like that, surrounded by friends and family. They had plans to go out of town this weekend, but they fell through. They're plan is to celebrate with friends all weekend, then on Monday night, the six of us are going out for a nice family dinner. It's my favorite when we're all together! We'll do a family celebration again at our house closer to Drew's birthday. Graham's birthday is Saturday and Drew's is April 3rd. 

I love this old picture of Graham and Noah with the guys from the show The Street Outlaws. They got to meet them and go to one of their events when they were in Memphis five years ago. They grew up watching that show, so it was a big moment for them both. Jonah was there as well, but he didn't want a picture. Graham turns 24 on Saturday! It's shocking that he's already been driving for nine years. He made me take him on the day of his 15th birthday to get his learner's permit and then he drove us home. We waited for SO LONG to make that happen, during spring break, while everyone else and their brother was there with us. My mom-in-love saved the day and came to pick up the other boys and took them home with her, then Graham drove us to her house when we finished. 

I do have a few favorite moments from this week!

First up was this lovely moment of quiet from last weekend. I seriously love and appreciate my weekends so much more than ever before. I had probably just cleaned up the house from being behind all week while I worked, and I was enjoying the view before settling in to watch a movie or show. I love times like that! 

Sunday at church was my favorite. I love being able to help lead in worship, and we heard an incredible sermon by a friend and guest speaker that day. It was so good! 

It was so good being able to sit outside with the dogs over the weekend and at the beginning of this week! I loved seeing the sunset on this night. 

Please don't ever tell my husband that I shared this here. It's not meant for anyone's eyes but my own, but getting these texts is my favorite. He is my biggest and best cheerleader!

Another favorite from the week was finding something fun for our fifth graders to do this week that they didn't think was lame and that made them laugh and shake their heads. It was fun to stump them over this game of cause and effect. They had to read a story, put the cards in orders in pairs of cause and effect, weed out the three cards they didn't need, then unscramble the secret the words at the bottom of each card to decode a mystery sentence. I take ZERO credit for this game. My friend and coworker Carrie was the master mind behind finding it for us to use during fifth grade. 

Other favorite moments from the week include reading a favorite author's new book, catching up on one of my favorite shows on TV (The Resident), having some time to myself a couple of nights this week, and fun moments with my family and the students I work with. One fourth grader told me I was her new bestie yesterday, and I loved seeing her eyes light up over a big achievement in reading. 

Did you happen to catch my other blog posts this week? Here they are below.

Monday was a weekend recap and Hello Monday.

Tuesday was me sharing some thoughts.

Wednesday I talked about a few March things that I love.

Thursday was Thankful Thursday.

What was something good from your week that you'd like to share? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I'm so glad you're here to join with us again this week. I hope your week has been really good so far! 

I am thankful for sunny days mixed in the middle of all the rainy days we've had lately. Our yard takes a while to dry out, so I know the dogs are happy about this as well, since it means they can stay out longer to play. We do have one that tracks all the things in with her, but we still love her. (It's Oakley, because she lays in the grass to watch them as they roam. It's her bloodline coming out and they go first, then when they're inside, she does her thing.)

I am thankful for great books to read. I'm reading the newest one by one of my favorite authors, Pamela Kelley, and I keep finding myself delaying the book. It's so good! It makes me want to start all over again with the series, since it's been a few years.

I am thankful for a fun work environment! We're always being rewarded with special treats, fun music on Fridays, and surprises for having perfect attendance. It's such a fun and encouraging place to work.

I am also thankful that I don't have to report for lunch duty in the cafeteria each day. Breakfast duty is enough, but it's only about fifteen minutes. I have to be strict with the not talking thing, since their time is so short during that time slot. I don't love being strict with them, but the job calls for it every once in a while. 

I am thankful for days of routine at work. It's been a weird couple of weeks with testing, so we haven't had certain grades for days on end. Yesterday was the first normal day we've had in a week, so I had to remember what to do for each grade as they came in. Wednesdays are a set routine, though, so I love them and that I didn't have to scramble to find something to fill time. 

What are you thankful for this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!

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some March things

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I realize it's the 8th day of March, but can you even believe it's already this time of year? Before we even know it, May will be upon us and summer will be staring us down. There are lots of reasons for me to love March. Here are just a few!

First, it's the beginning of what I like to call the birthday season. Our youngest sons, Jonah and Noah, will be twenty on Friday! I cannot believe that I will no long have kids in their teens.

Shouldn't they still be this little? It certainly seems so. The years went by so quickly!

And then on Saturday, Graham turns 24! It's shocking to me that I have sons that old. 🤣 They all plan on traveling together over the weekend, so we will celebrate with a big dinner out early in the week next week. Other things I love about March are things like Spring break that's coming up for me next week. I'm looking forward to being at home for the first part of the week, then going out of town for the second portion. 

I'm really excited for my husband and Graham for an upcoming trip they have with the sheriff's department. This will be Todd's third time and Graham's second time to travel to New Mexico for some special training for emergency services. This was them on their last trip, right before the world shut down in 2020.

We celebrate my dad-in-love turning 80, and we celebrate my Dad turning 92!

This picture was taken of Dad and me right before I left for my honeymoon. 

I look forward to the time change, because it means longer days, more sunshine, and the fact that summer is looming right around the corner. I am not one to wish away my days, but I also kind of can't help it. I love having things to look forward to, but I also want to try and enjoy each day for what it is. 

I look forward to celebrating Drew's 23rd birthday on April 3rd! I can't share about Graham, Jonah, and Noah without including Drew. Speaking of Drew, he has a new job that he started this week. I'm so happy for him, that he loves it so far, and that he enjoys the people he's working for. Noah also starts a new job next week, and I am happy for him as well. I feel like they're thriving right now, which is always exactly what a mom wants for her kids.

I've said it before and I'll say it again—parenting adults is not for the faint of heart! Sometimes my heart can hardly take it, they're so grown. It hits me at the strangest of times that our lives are so different from what they once were. We were so close when they were all at home, so I struggle with not always seeing or talking to them all on a regular basis. I'm fine, I'm fine, I just struggle sometimes with how things are now. I hope I knew to cherish those moments of their childhoods! I think I did, but I really hope I genuinely loved and treasured all of those God given moments.

With it being birthday season, I'm always a little reflective during this time of year. Bear with me for the next couple of weeks, I'll get past it once again. Those are the things I look forward to at this time of year. What about you? Do you have anything coming up on the horizon that you're looking forward to? I'd love to hear them, if so! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all. 

Tuesday Thoughts

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I was browsing on Pinterest over the weekend and saw a pin that talked about some of the most beautiful questions that you could be asked. I thought I'd share a few of them, ask you, and then share my own answers here. All of you know that I love to keep things light and happy over here on my blog, but sometimes I also like to be really open and honest. I think all of us have things that we tuck away that would be better shared from time to time. I'll start, and maybe you'll be inspired in your own thoughts or writing as you think on some of the questions.

I love this first one: Why are you worth knowing? 

It seems strange to ask that, but I would really love to hear about your very best attributes. I am worth knowing because I am a good friend to everyone. I saw something over the weekend that encouraged us to be the woman who tells another one that there's room at the table for her. I aim to be friendly with everyone that I meet. I love getting to know people, and I make it a point to ask them about their families. I was talking to a friend a few years ago and she told me that I was the first woman to really be interested in her family and their wellbeing. She had no other friends in her life, though she had many acquaintances. I made it a point then to learn about her family and now each time we meet, I ask about them genuinely, because at this point I'm invested in their lives. I've spent time praying for them, as I know she has for my family, and that really makes you feel close to people, even the ones you really don't know. She has done the same for me, and we often reach out to one another just to check in on the other. It's so good knowing I have friends who pray for my family! Now, just because I aim to be this way does not at all mean that I am like this 100% of the time. I can tend to be stingy sometimes, especially when it comes to sharing my friends, and sometimes I don't always want a crowd of people. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, I just want to try and always be careful over not unintentionally making someone feel jealous. 

I would consider loyalty and the fact that I can always provide comedic relief some of my other attributes. 

I also love this simple and pointed question: How are you, really? I don't want to hear "fine" as your answer! 

I'll give you an example of how I felt over the course of the weekend. I felt extremely sad as I was with my dad and listened to him ask me the same questions repeatedly. I don't mind that he repeats himself and can't remember, but it's hard to see him be a fraction of who he once was. I was irritated with myself at one point, because sometime on Saturday I got in a weird mood and acted differently than how I intended. A few hours after that I felt grateful for my husband who genuinely wants us to spend time together. On Sunday I felt frustrated and was seriously irritated with all of my sons.

The point is, it's good to evaluate our feelings sometimes. It's good to communicate with people, and it's good to be open and honest with those who love us the most. I'm not saying we need to walk around airing all of our dirty laundry with anyone and everyone, but when we're among friends, it's good to be real. I hope you have friends you can be that way with, and if you do, consider yourself extremely blessed. I'm all about sharing in my struggles, because nobody has a perfect life. As good as it is to be real like that every once in a while, it's also important to not focus too much on all of our thoughts and feelings. I think that in doing so, we can quickly go from one extreme to the other, and that's hard to come out of. Personally, I like to share things with my friends and consider myself an open book. I tell them things about me that are truly things I may be struggling with at any given moment, and I know without a doubt that they will pray for me. I am thankful for their prayers.

So, what would you consider some of your best attributes? I'd love to hear them! We're already friends here, but tell me why we would get along so well. I already feel like you're all "my people". Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

weekending & Hello Monday

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's Hello Monday post. We had a lovely weekend here where I live! It was so wonderful to see sunshine and to feel warmth in the air here. I feel like my weekend was long, even though it wasn't, but because I did several things in one day, it did seem to stretch out. Here's what we were up to this weekend, including all my favorite guys.

On Friday, we ended the day with the book character parade in the afternoon at our school.

This was so much fun for the students, and super cute for all of us adults to see. Our kiddos kept seeing us and were walking down the halls giving us high fives. 

On Friday after work, Graham left to go out of town for the weekend. He and some friends went to a car meet in the Nashville area, and I'm assuming he has had a great weekend. It's after six p.m. on Sunday, and I haven't seen him yet. Dad came over at 4:30 and was able to see most of my people (four out of six isn't too shabby), then he and I went to grab an easy dinner at Chick Fil A. I'd been wanting to try their grilled nuggets. Have you had them yet? They're really good! I splurged and ate fries as well, AND on Friday I also started my day with a special breakfast for the staff at school. I'll focus on that and not that I signed up to take a couple of dishes and got so soaking wet that it took me four hours to completely dry out. In spite of my drowned rat look, it was a great day at work and the breakfast was delicious. I earned that entire bagel with minimal cream cheese that I ate, trust me. 🤣

After I took Dad home, I came home and watched an episode of one of the shows I'm watching, then I watched a tutorial video on YouTube on how to trim curly hair, then I went upstairs and showered, and did just that. It doesn't look any different, but the ends look better and it's easier to style. (I had an appointment for Saturday, but I canceled and the first she could get me in was for the weekend of Easter in early April.) 

Drew came over early Saturday morning to try on some new work boots we bought for him. He starts a new job today, so I'm excited to talk to him later on this afternoon. He decided to stay and take a shower while he was here, so since he was leaving right after that, I went ahead and left to meet up with my mom and sister. I met them at Marshall's and got a pair of white pants, a navy button down that's soft and gauzy, and a royal blue shirt. I needed a few new things for work, so hopefully those will tide me over for now. We went to a Mexican restaurant for chips and dips for lunch, then we went to our favorite local décor shop, John Mark's. 

He had so many cute things out for spring, but the fresh floral garlands around the door were beautiful. He is such a talented young man! He's super young, in his mid twenties, and is so much fun to follow on Instagram. I came home after leaving his shop, and our friends and old neighbors the Dicksons came over to visit. They live in the Nashville area now, so it was great to see them. They were our dearest friends for the years they were here, and we had a path worn between our homes. They have legal guardianship over their nephews, who are around the ages of our youngest sons, Jonah and Noah. They had a pool in their backyard, so they let us swim whenever we wanted. It was a sweet time during the years they were our neighbors, and we have missed them. They have two additional children now, that are quite a bit younger, so it's kind of weird that we don't really know the other two all that well. 

When they left, Todd and I left to grab sushi for dinner, then we came home for the rest of the evening. I started a really great book and read way past my bedtime, then I was up early on Sunday for praise team practice at church. Todd worked that night, I watched The Resident and worked on blog posts for this week, and I got things ready for my work week after picking up my grocery order. It was a great weekend, just one where I didn't take many pictures. I'm looking forward to this week at work, because we have some fun things planned. How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun and exciting? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!

Friday Favorites 3.3.23.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week's favorites blog post. I hope your week has been good! Mine has, and it's also gone by really quickly. We had some testing happening at our school this week that is preparing them for what is to come in April, and WHOA. Testing throws everything off schedule for us all, so our groups have been hit or miss all week. I've had long extended breaks almost everyday. I'm not complaining! I will say that my first full week this also happened one day, and I could barely stay awake. That wasn't at all the case this time around. Yesterday, my extended break was from 10:45 until 2:00. 

One thing my job is teaching me is the grace to be flexible in my planning. It's definitely something I'll be working on for the rest of my life, especially for the duration of my time in this position. 

This was one of my favorite days at work. I decided to take my Kindle each day so that I would be able to read some while I had a long break, and I found this little picnic table behind our school. It was so warm on this day! The high was around 80 and I actually got kind of hot in the full sunshine, but it felt great for to be here for half an hour. 

And, friends, that is all I have pictures of this week. My life is simple these days, and I'm fully engaged in my new routine. I do have a few other favorite moments from this week, though. One was when I spent time with my best friend Saturday night. We ate out, then went to a movie that I mentioned on Monday. Another favorite was when I went out after church on Wednesday night. A couple of friends and I hadn't been together in ages, and it was good to get caught up with one another. It was also a favorite thing to plan our upcoming trip. We purchased tickets to a few things we want to do while we're in the area, and we finalized some plans with our friends. After talking to our friend John and laughing over old memories, we're both really excited to see them. 

A few of my favorite blog posts happened this week, so I thought I'd share them and link to them below.

Saturday was the February edition of Share 4 Somethings.

Monday was my weekending recap and Hello Monday. 

Tuesday was when I shared about the books I read in February.

Wednesday was March's edition of Currently. 

Thursday was Thankful Thursday. 

Do you have any fun weekend plans? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!