Holidays

What a year! See you in '09!

First Semesters almost over

The first semester of a totally new profession is drawing to an end. I am starting to see why teachers need the time off that they receive. It is an exhausting daily grind. Emotions run high on a daily basis and that really wears a person down. Find a teacher and give them an encouraging word of support.

The first semester in the pursuit of my Educational Specialist degree also is coming to a close. It has been a tough go to this point. I look forward to slowing it down as I have figured out how to schedule classes correctly for the optimal use of my time. I will let you know how the grades go! 6 hours down and 24 to go. i hope to be finished in the Summer of 2010.

Thanksgiving

Wow, is Thanksgiving still a celebrated holiday? I love Christmas and all the lights but it isn't until after Thanksgiving that I feel like Christmas is ALMOST here. Don't tell that to the department stores. With the economy the way it is, I believe I saw a Christmas display November 1st advertising a "Christmas Special." I am looking forward to a few days off. I have a few odds and ends, but for the most part, it should be relaxing. Have a great Thanksgiving Holiday.

Oh and by the way, I am thankful for...
Life, my wife, my son, my health, their health, a roof over my head, a job(although it was in question the greater part of this year), my family (parents, sister, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, in laws, etc), and most of all my salvation along with never ending mercy and grace. A big thanks goes out to the pilgrims and those nice indians as well.

Online Courses

To be perfectly honest, an online course is lonely and nerve racking. In the comfort of home I can do my work, but I don't think it is up to the same standards than if I were assembled in a class bouncing ideas off friends and colleagues. On the other hand, going out late to go to class as an adult really bites, especially when there is a wife and son at home. None the less, I am working toward a more lucrative position within my profession, if the economy doesn't explode! Online courses rock.

Disney World-Happiest Place on Earth

Well at least in Florida. We returned and that is all we could talk about. All three of us. It was exciting for everyone. We can't wait to return.

If you need me...

Check my business hours!

Some original shots of the University of Alabama vs. The University of Tennessee from the sideline at Neyland Stadium. Enjoy, but know they are mine!

Growing Like A Weed

AA is growing so fast! He is a real conversationalist! He remembers everything, good or bad.

DISNEY VACATION

Work-sleep-eat-work-sleep-eat-work-sleep-eat-work-sleep-eat-work-sleep-eat-DISNEY WORLD. In a mere 9 days we will be visiting the happiest place on Earth. I for one can not wait. I can't wait to see my son's reaction when he meets his favorite characters. We will be renting a car and flying low to get there for the party that wont stop. Although the economy is bad, gas is high, I am looking forward to the trip. Unfortunately we will have to come back to work-sleep-eat-work-sleep-eat.

Family disagreements/college football

Just wanted everyone to know that Mark and I do not like the same college football team. I am NOT a Bama fan, only a UT fan. My blood runs orange, even though it is going to be a long season. Go Vols! Do not hold it against me that my husband post Bama stuff on our blog.

Roll Tide Roll

Little Nephew Arrived!

Sometimes life throws us a curve ball, one that is difficult to handle, full of ups and downs. This week our lives have been full of disappointments and the other extreme, full of excitement. With one loss comes sorrow and sadness, but with a birth comes joy and peace. It was difficult to handle that we had another miscarriage, but an amazing peace came knowing my new little nephew arrived perfectly healthy... just adorable. God is in control, He is awesome and His plans perfect.

Welcome Baby Eli!

Friendships

The trouble with being friendly is that you make friends. As a result one stumbles into genuine friendships. Over my life I have continually made friends with those in the ministry and these couples are some of our closest friends. We have sent friends to China, the Dominican Republic, and cities in between. It never gets easy, but here we are again. Growing up is hard to do.

Ben and Sara...We love you all very much and we are going to miss you. We will be praying for you and your ministry. I ask that you pray put Ben and Sara on your prayer list too as they will be church planting.

Tech Consultant - Day 9 -

Things are going well, I am learning a lot about Macs and also fixing using errors and network glitches. Things are well.

HOUSING UPDATE
We are set to close on our house August 19th. I could not be more excited. I hope it goes smoothly.

Day 2- Technology Consultant

Tech Consultant...sounds important. I will be teaching three classes a day and trouble shooting tech stuff the rest of the day. Also in the morning there is a morning news production that I will be assisting the 5th graders produce. However the students will be doing the majority. Things sound fun but I am a little nervous about teaching 3rd 4th and 5th graders about computers.

My New Job

Today I started my new job. Get this, Technology Coordinator at Sarah Moore Green Magnet Technology Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee. What a mouth full! I am looking forward to the challenges as well as learning new things. Stay tuned for an update.

Almost here

After making a personal oath to sit out and refrain from buying any first generation technology, I am about to get an Iphone 3g. Sure they are very trendy and as I am soon and hopefully to become a teacher, why would I need one all day? Well, I like technology. The only bad part is at the rate Apple replaces there stock and products the new phone will be obsolete very soon. I figure since I will have to have a phone anyway, at least make it a fun one.

It's over!

Yes it's over... we have moved. We are in the middle of staying with my parents(ra) because we can not move into our new house until July. What a crazy week of moving, trying to finish and did just one hour before our closing. It was sad to leave the house for the last time, we did bring our son home there. We have had great memories too with him crawling, walking, and just being a kid there. We are excited about a new chapter, new house and new area. We are praying that our next house will be a house of praise to God and place where we will continue to raise our son and teach about Jesus.

Speaking of being over, the end of week we spent with rach's high small group girls at a cabin in the Smokies, it was a graduation gift. They are all leaving for college and starting their lives with completely different directions. I pray that they will continue to grow in their relationship with Christ, they will seek His face and become godly women. I love them and will miss them. Congratulations girls! You did it!

Firsts

In the first two years of AA's life , there have been a lot of milestones and funny stories. However this weekend I was able to take my son to his first MLB game. As a man, since I have wanted children, I have wanted a boy and I wanted to take him to the ball park. PERFECT, I can check that off the to do list for life. On a side note, they played the theme to Superman over the PA system. He got so excited and looked towards the sky and asked where Superman was. Then he asked about Lois Lane. I loved ever minute of it. I look forward to many more dreams and decisions I hope I am there for in my son's life.

Braves vs. A's May 17th, 2008

I
I NEED
I NEED A
I NEED A JOB
I NEED A JOB OR
I NEED A JOB OR THE
I NEED A JOB OR THE SUMMER
I NEED A JOB OR THE SUMMER WILL
I NEED A JOB OR THE SUMMER WILL STINK!

God's will (my Isaac)

I just came home from my ladies small group from church. I must say that tonight was a difficult class, only because of the chapter in the book that we have been reading. We are reading Satisfy my Thirsty Soul by Linda Dillow. It is a very good book, but I must say, it will open your eyes and make you look deep into your heart. I needed this, especially during this difficult time in my life. Sorry, I am getting to my point. Anyway, the chapter this week was about bowing my will, my will verses God's will. In the chapter she talks about Abraham and his desire for God's will, whatever the cost might be. It is taken from the book of Genesis when God asks Abraham to take Isaac to be used for a scarifice. Let me say as a parent, this is heart wrenching, unbearable to think of, but Abraham was willing to do it. He was going to sacrifice his son, trusting that God knew what he was doing. All of my life I have heard this story, but never from the perspective of Isaac. He was old enough to carry the wood, old enough to know there was no sacrifice with him and Abraham, but my heart broke when he probably knew that he was going to be the sacrifice. My heart broke, I just cried as I was reading this part, the fact that he probably understood what taking place and questioning his father as he tied him to the altar. This had to be heartbreaking for Abraham and Isaac too. There have been some tough times in my life, but I can thing of none in comparison. It makes me also think about God giving up His only son for me, I do not deserve it. He sacrificed His son and asked us each day to give up our wills and lives to live for Him. The chapter concludes about us giving up our wills for God, taking a look from another perspective. God is in control and He knows what is best for us, we have to trust Him, even when life does not seem fair or we are not sure what is going to happen. There was a question in the chapter that just hit me hard... what or who is your Isaac? What do I need to sacrifice to bow my will(anything that takes the place of God or what is Lordship in my life)? Wow! I know that this past year I have been consumed with wanting another child, but I had to let go and give it God. When I do not understand why things are the way they are, I have to trust God. He is my hope, strength, my life. I know that He is taking care of things. I pray that if you have any Isaac's in your life, you will seek God and bow to His will.

Congratulations!!!

Congrats to my hubby for graduating with his Master's in Education tomorrow morning. I am so proud of him!

God's Grace

But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Trust in the Lord!

Hard times in life are full of pain and most of the time, questions. As I stated in the previous post, there was a good chance that I would miscarry again, and I did. I am trying not to ask the question of why, but I am trusting in the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6 states, "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him". I am acknowledging that He is God and Lord of all, He is the ultimate healer, He can heal my hurt and pain. I know that my life is in His hands and I will praise His name forever. The Lord has blessed me abundantly, with an amazing husband and wonderful son. Trust God with your hurts and your life, He has your/my best interest at His heart.

Little did we know.....

Wow! little did we know what one week would bring. MA did pass his comps and graduating with his Masters! Our appraisal for our house went through. We found out that we are pregnant! This past week we found out that there were some problems with the baby, and then today we found out that I am more than likely going to miscarry again. Trying not to take away from the excitement, we cling to the truth that God is in control and He is taking care of everything. We are trusting Him and praising God for the opportunity to just be pregnant again. Life is hard and full of disappointments, but we have to place our lives, hurts and trust in the Lord.

Happy 30th Birthday!!!

Happy 30th Birthday to MA! I hope that you have a wonderful day! I thank God each day for you and what you mean to me, as my husband, my best friend and the father of my child. Thank you Lord for my wonderful husband!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Big Days Ahead!

Big days ahead.. for starters, tomorrow MA will be the BIG 30! I need to be nice since my time is coming. He had a surprise party this past weekend with family and close friends just to celebrate him. What a wonderful guy I married!! We also sold our house and have to move by May 27th, just a little over a month away and we have not decided where we are going. We are still considering building again, maybe we are crazy? We have been looking at lots and trying to decide what is best.
Also, we are anxiously awaiting MA's comps results to see if he passed and if our appraisal went through. Times are great right now, so many things going on. Another to add to the list is waiting to hear if MA will have a position teaching next year. So pray that God will open that door, pray that God will have His hand on every situation that we are faced with. He is our strength. MA and I were talking today about all of big days ahead and my thought was.... he still has his teaching license, we still have a house, we still have each other and our gorgeous son. God is faithful and taking care of all our needs. We have to trust Him and we are.

Fleeting efforts...

The big three zero is less than a week away for myself, MA. In an effort to hang onto some fleeting youth, I am still trying to allocate the funds to purchase an iphone. The reason I know I am getting old is because I am having a hard justifying the purchase of phone for $499. "But it is so cool" just doesn't seem too convincing anymore. "But I need it." Not really!!! "I can stay in touch and connected at all times." Why in the world would I want to do that? These are arguments I continue to have with myself. Besides, my son could use a new bed, clothes, take your pick, etc. We will see what happens.

Good Friday

God is so good! So good that He gave His son's life for you and me. It is still so hard for me to comprehend that someone loves me that much that they would sacrifice their son for me, knowing all the things that I have done in my life and will do in my life. I look at Austin and see God's love every time. To be honest, I could not do that, I love my son way too much. They love of a parent is unexplainable, but it is nothing in comparison to how much God loves me. I thank God each day for the sacrifice, the blood and the resurrection. I cling to the cross and resurrection, knowing that God is in control and trusting that He is always there . It helps me survive, be able to handle the tough times, and have peace and joy. He is my strength, my security, my salvation.

March Madness #2

I love March Madness, filling out the brackets (we will see if I beat Mark) and watching all the games. It is so much fun! Austin likes it to, anytime there is a team playing, he says... Go Big Orange! Too cute, I have taught him well. Anyway, I have Tennessee winning it all, I just could not pick any other team. Go vols!!

March Madness

Its here!!! College football would do great to follow suite!!!! My bracket says, MEMPHIS. We shall see.

Man without a country

Over the past several weeks I have been filling in for a teacher that is out recovering from double by pass surgery. In that time, I becoming more and more comfortable with the staff and administration at Maryville Intermediate School. However I continue to remind myself that this is not my last stop, or a least I don't know taht it is. It seems for everyone that says you should have no trouble finding a job, there are 25 people that say, "you'll never get one there, its too hard!" All in all things are going well. I am enjoying it greatly. Howver I feel a little bit like a stranger in a foreign land.

LOST tonight

S4E2 "Confirmed Dead"

The survivors begin to question the intentions of their supposed rescuers when four strangers arrive on the isand.

Upon further review

Over the past few days I have been interim Special Education/inclusion teacher at MIS. I am also going to school fulltime. I recently thuoght, "I am going to have a master's degree and will have never taught." At first glance that was discouraging. Upon further review, I am glad this has been my approach. I really am excited that I will have that behind me when I begin my teaching career. Things are looking up as I am some 60 days from completion!!

Sore Losers

I am a big sports fan and I absolutely love it when sore losers lose at the highest level. After watching Super Bowl 42, I was reminded how sore losers act when they are knocked down a notch. It reminds me of a quote Mike Tyson stated, yes that Mike Tyson. After losing to Buster Douglass he said, "Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth." I am sure Bill Belichek can sympathize. He ran off the field with his tail between his legs before the game was even over. Tom Brady and Randy Moss have chosen not to attend the pro bowl. Scared of all the questions Making all that just a bit sweeter is the fact that Bobby Knight retired. Now on super tuesday, I need the favorites to fall like rocks and all will be complete. In closing, I am glad the Patriots were defeated but it kills me as a Dallad Cowboys fan. I guess there is always next year.

LOST

returns tomorrow!!!! I have a lot of questions. I am alos meeting people that have been able to jump on board since the show has been gone since, oh, a year ago. Hope everyone is able to enjoy a pathetic 8 episodes then it will be gone again for 8 months or so.

Update: Its been a while

• AA has turned two years old
• I have an interim teaching position
• We have sold our house, again!!!
• Our family is expecting another baby (sister-in-law is pregnant)
• We have celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary
• This is the year we both turn 30 years old (Mark-April 24)(Rachel- October 29)
• I will graduate with a Master's degree in April as well- Who would have thunk it?

Time keeps rolling on. Hope all is well. More information will follow as I now have time during the day to update this blog.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Austin from mom and dad! We love you very much!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." James 1:17

Birthday #2

Well, he will be two!!!! AA is growing like a weed and really starting to advance in all sorts of ways. He asks for things specifically, he can sing songs and do the motions, and he even says AMEN when someone finishes praying, that is a hoot. His behavior couldn't be better either. He is an all around perfect child, hope this doesn't jinx us. The next year should be very interesting!!!

New Year!!!

Goodbye 2007!!!

So many things have happened over the past year, I can not even begin to describe to you how I feel about all of the events. I will just share a few things.... sorry to be so depressing.
We have had three family deaths, along with my sister-in-law having three miscarriages, and I, Rachel, had two miscarriages too. Wow! God must know that we can handle it. I have learned with all of the difficult times to trust God more! Even though the circumstances are hard and difficult to endure, God is always constant! He never leaves us! So know matter what you may be going through, trust God and He will show you through. God is good! God has blessed me abundant times over, so I am trusting that He knows what He is doing.