Eleven

My friend Valerie, who I admire, respect, and would never ever want to disappoint, tagged me in her most recent blog.

Here are the rules: 1. Post these rules. 2. You must post 11 random things about yourself. 3. Answer the questions set for you in their post. 4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer. 5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them. 6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

11 Random things about me:

1. I love going to the beach...I've been daydreaming about future beach trips since Christmas.
2. I love summertime because I get to have romantic lunch dates with Dave every day...even if it's just a sandwich in our living room while watching TV...I love that time together, and something about it seems special and out of the ordinary:)
3. We have a tv in our bathroom, and there is nothing more relaxing to me than taking a hot bath and watching Reba or Designing Women at the end of a cold winter's day.
4. I will not eat chicken unless it is boneless.
5. I wish I could figure out couponing....it baffles me!?!
6. My husband has been boycotting WM for months now, but it's just impossible for me to do that...it's way too convenient. ( because of me he's been eating food from there and using their products sooooo I'm not sure how he feels about the effectiveness of his boycott which by the way is over their refusal to have more than 2 registers open at a time)
7. Sometimes I hit the start button on the dryer repeatedly just so I can put off folding a load of laundry at the moment.
8. Pinterest makes me sometimes imagine I hadn't already gotten married or built a house....such good ideas!
9. I'm worried about how many typos and errors V is going to find in this post. She is and always has been a gifted writer, and I get nervous knowing she's going to be reading this. Also, she probably won't care for #10 on this list....
10. I am all for women's rights and all, but I think it's the husband's job to take care of oil/tire changes on the vehicles....my Daddy always did it for Mother and me:)
11. The number 11 has become very prominent in my life in the past year. I've told some people the story, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready to share it with the blog world. I will say that I see 11 everywhere...on the clock...calendar....tv....anywhere really. It just always seems to be there reminding me of a promise..a sort of deal I have with God. When Valerie sent me a message that she had tagged me in her blog, I almost fainted when I read the rules. Thank you Lord for the blessings in my every day life!

V's questions for me:

1. Birthdays. Love them or hate them?

LOVE them....because I have a guy that knows how to do them right. I could see something or make a comment about something I like and think he's not paying me any attention, and then months later he will surprise me with it! My whole family does a great job of celebrating with me for the entire week:)

2. Get your purse/gym bag: What are the first five things you pull out?

Oh my this is embarrassing.....a can of diet coke..sunglasseses...3wallets...a dog collar....hundreds of Sonic peppermints

3.What is one meal you can make better than anyone else?

Don't know if there's an entire meal, but my family loves my Mac and Cheese, potato soup, and Bourbon mushrooms.

4. You get one wish. No restrictions other than it must be selfish (can't wish peace for the world). What is your wish?

Win the lotto!! I would give to the church and charity, help family, and finish our house and yards, and get debt free. I would still teach though:)

5. Cake or pie?

Pie! Apple pie!

6. What is your secret talent?

No one can beat me at Wii Bowling

7. Early bird or night owl?

Night owl! Rarely in bed before midnight.

8. Biggest pet peeve?

Lazy people that do not put shopping carts away...maybe....or kids that never do homework...

9. What is your favorite weird food combination?

I don't think I have a weird combo...is pineapple slices on hamburgers considered weird?? I love that!

10. Which would you choose? No social media for a year or no working out for a month. Why?

No working out for a month because I know I could accomplish that:)

11. Would you rather have no babies or eight babies?

8 babies....it would have to be better than none.

My questions for 11 friends:

1. How long should you know/date someone before marriage?
2. What is your favorite memory of me and you?
3. What is one book that everyone must read?
4. Which is better, a rainy day at home watching movies or a sunny day outside?
5. What do you remember most about your childhood?
6. Biggest pet peeve?
7. Favorite weird food combo?
8. Sonic or Dairy Queen?
9. Favorite name for a boy? Girl?
10. Outdoor/church/other wedding?
11. Most effective diet exercise plan you've tried?

I tag:

I went down my blog roll copying and pasting these addresses. I wasn't keeping a count. When I ran out of possible names to tag, I counted up this list, and it was exactly ELEVEN:)

http://hopeandbradley.blogspot.com/

http://benforemanfamily.blogspot.com/

http://houseofmack.blogspot.com/

http://nicoleandkerry.blogspot.com/

http://russellwigginsfamily.blogspot.com/

http://lynnandricky.blogspot.com/

http://theduckhunterfamily.blogspot.com/

http://dylonhoustonlaetonreid.blogspot.com/

http://joshandannatill.blogspot.com/

http://www.hopandjaunt.com/

http://thejameyreevesfamily.blogspot.com

2011

Isaiah 40:31
Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

It seems as though I spent a lot of my time in 2011 praying and learning to patiently wait on the Lord to hear my prayers. As the year came to a close, and the holidays arrived I had a very difficult time understanding why my prayers have not yet been answered. Today, as I reflect back on this year, I can see that the Lord has abundantly blessed me, and if He never gives me another single thing, He has done enough.

I chose 16 pictures to represent the best of 2011.
1. Celebrating Auburn's National Championship
2. Rejoicing in the promise of an eternal life with my love on a beautiful Easter Sunday.
3. Packing my car to go to the beach, and finding Reese in my trunk...he wanted to go so bad!
4. A GORGEOUS May day on the beach with my family. I'm quite certain that this is the view I will see when I look out the back window of my mansion in heaven:)
5. The twins graduated from preschool with an adorable and highly entertaining program.
6. Celebrating Memama's 80th Birthday with the entire Wiggins Family. We love her soooo much!
7. Reese FINALLY made it to the beach! He loved it!
8. Our sweet Josie joined the family!
9. I love spending my birthday weekend in Auburn! I turned 31 this year. .....how did that happen?
10. Pumpkin Carving Party with our boys and Josie!
11. Iron Bowl Party - Aren't these kids adorable? War Eagle!
12. Josie was once small enough to fit inside of a pumpkin!
13. Having an early Christmas with Brother, who always surprises us with the most thoughtful and creative gifts:)
14. Spending time Christmas shopping with my Davey:)
15. 2011- the year I got addicted to Pinterest.....this photo is from my first Pinterest Party.
16. Christmas 2011- Us with Riley Ann-I just thought this was a cute picture!

10 Things on Thursday

1. I hope I can come up with 10 things today.
2. The orange and blue is up and ready at our house.
3. I have a young little intern who makes me feel so old. She says things like "Yes ma'am" to me.
4. I get so discouraged by parents who get an attitude with us because they think their child has too much homework. I promise these kids don't have anything near the amount of homework we had growing up. ( maybe I am sounding old now:) I love my students and I take the responsibility of educating them very seriously.
5. I so love walking around campus and seeing the twins at school, or hearing their sweet little voices call my name when I'm in the lunchroom. I try terribly hard not to pick them up and kiss them all over every time, but that is hard to resist.
6. I'm still low carb, but may cheat a little this weekend!
7. I've been burning the fall candles for 2 weeks now.
8. Dave and I look forward to watching "How I Met Your Mother" every night before we go to sleep.
9. I've got an extra long weekend coming up!
10. I am on the way to Blue Mountain Beach tonight!

1O Things on Thursday

1. Even though it won't be cool enough for a while, I'm so disgusted that my new fall boots that I ordered 2 weeks ago still have not been delivered!
2. I am terribly excited about Friday night football in Straughn exactly 24 hours from now.
3. I love relaxing afternoons on Robin Road.
4. I have a great class this year. BIG class, but well behaved and precious.
5. Thank goodness for interns!! Grading 110 Math Tests today would have been impossible without her!!
6. I dislike the fact that starting back to school puts a kink in the amount of time I get to spend with Dave now. I miss our lunch dates the most!
7. I also miss my fading by the day tan.
8. I've been low carb for a month and a half, and still walking most nights.
9. I've lost 17 pounds!!!
10. I've deleted my Facebook page one week ago, and feel so fabulously FREE!!! It was not good for me, and I spend my time so much more wisely now:)
    

DONE!

I earned this sweet thing back in July, and life has been much nicer since. I've thoroughly enjoyed the extra time, and money that have come with it. It was definitely a long, hard road, and I'm thankful to Dave for being so patient and understanding. He had to listen to lots of crying and complaining, and had to eat out several nights a week.

I started the whole grad school thing with the mindset that I would settle for whatever grades I made as long as I passed. After I made A's in my first 2 classes, I really pushed myself to keep up my GPA. I had to give up lots of time that I would have much rather spent with my family to read, study, and write paper after paper. The Counseling Program is HARD, and I was in utter disbelief upon graduation time when I found out that graduate students are not even recognized for honors!?! So, just so someone knows, I did graduate with a 4.0! Thank goodness I am done with Troy!!

One Year Ago Today

God answered the prayers of our family and friends. In honor of Dylon's one year anniversary of having a healthy heart, I've compiled all of my blog posts from the day of his surgery to the day he came home.

June 4th: 6:15 AM Just received this photo and text from Griffin:

Dylon's now in surgery and I believe he is quite excited :)

Dylon just had to talk to his Houston this morning. I can't wait to see these two reunited again! You should have seen the hug and kiss Houston gave him before he left. It was the sweetest, most sincere good-bye I've ever witnessed. I think he understands more about what his twin is going through than we thought he would.

Still praying here at home, and expecting an update from the surgeon soon. It's been about 2 hours, and could possibly take 10 more. All of the support this morning from all over the world has been amazing. Dylon's name and picture is all over Facebook right now.

June 4th: 3:53 PM
SURGERY WAS A SUCCESSS!!!! PRAISE GOD!!! I will do a bigger update later! WE LOVE YA'll!

How We Spent Dylon's Surgery Day:

We picked up Houston and Laeton just before lunchtime. They'd had a great time at Wade and Suzanne's. We got home just in time for Houston and Dave to eat lunch together. They talked about Dylon some. Houston knew that Dylon was getting his heart fixed today.

Laeton saw his trains, and eating was out of the question.

We all wore our I Love Dylon shirts today.

Ms. Amy came over and brought the boys some snacks, some coloring books, sidewalk chalk, and toy trucks. They loved them. Thank you Ms. Amy. That was soooo sweet of you!!

Once the surgery was over, we had a wonderful video chat with our family members in Texas!! We were all crying tears of joy together.

Houston chatting with Daddy. The first thing he said when he saw Matt and Shelli was , "I want to talk to my Dylon!" We had to explain to him that Dylon was still sleeping. Maybe when Dylon comes out of ICU the two of them will be able to have a video chat.

At lunchtime, Dave promised to take Houston to Wal-Mart that night, and he did not forget it. As soon as Dave came in the door, he was ready to go!! Dave bought Lae Lae some more train tracks.

Justin, Anna, and Josh helping Laeton set up his new track. I think Justin and Josh love those trains as much as the boys do!


HouBaby picked out a Bumblebee Transformer, and Dave couldn't have been happier about it.

Lae Lae woke up early this morning wanting his trains. Mother said she heard him talking in his sleep last night. He kept saying, 'I need batteries!"

Houston is still asleep, and you can tell he does not sleep alone.

We are still thanking God for all of his blessings, and praying Dylon through a speedy recovery.

June 13th: Nine days after undergoing open-heart surgery he came home!!

I have no words to describe the love and joy this day has brought us. I'm so thankful to have been able to witness this..........

Grand Slam School Day 2010

This day is one of the highlights of my school year:) I LOVE baseball, and if you have never been to a Montgomery Biscuits game, you are really missing out. Every year they host a Grand Slam School Day, and SES always takes the top 100 readers in the school.

This year 8 of my kids made enough A.R. points to qualify. They all had to have more than 72 points, and one of my girls has the highest number of points in the school at almost 600!!

Here we are excited and ready to go!

This is the view of the stadium from the lawn seating where our kids sat.

The Biscuits provided some of the teachers to a free lunch in the manager's box.

I felt a little bad sitting in the AC while my kiddos were sweating in the 95 degree heat:)

After my luxurious lunch, I got invited to sit with the "Biscuit Bunch" and the media by one of our students that had a press pass for the day. These seats were absolutely amazing! I actually got to sit down and watch the game. I normally escort kids back and forth to the concession stands and restrooms during our trips. We felt so important sitting here:)

As you can see, we were basically right by the Biscuits' dugout.

And we had the best view in the house, when the Biscuits' stole home in the
bottom of the 9th to win the game.

Thanks for inviting me to sit with you C!