My Daddy Came Home!

     So, all week David and I have planned to head to my grandparents' house Friday after I got off from student teaching. When Friday rolled around, my phone stayed in my drawer all day long at school, where I have no service. When I left at three, I planned to go home, pack, go get David, then we were leaving, but I had a missed phone call and a few texts from my grandma, so I called her. She explained to me that they just couldn't have us come down that day, and that she was sorry, but she had plans that she committed to that she couldn't get out of. I understood, and my first thought was, "Okay, now I guess I'll just go home and get to bed early". Of course, a few hours later, David came over and we had decided to make some cheese dip with tomatoes and basil (which was very good by the way). While we were making this, mom decided to head to the store to pick up some few things for the house, and as soon as she opened the front door, I heard my daddy's voice! I looked at David, and I put everything down and headed to the front door. Sure enough, it was my daddy! He had caught a flight from the Middle East, and had come home! After all the hugs, almost tears, and surprise, he explained to us that they had sent him back to the states to complete some work that needed to be done here by him. We had pizza for dinner (because they don't have good American pizza in the Middle East), and we watched movies for the rest of the night.
     I must say that I am so happy that my daddy is home, even if it is for four days. I think we all feel much better knowing that he is here in the states instead of halfway across the world. And as for mine and David's trip to my grandparents' house, we have postponed it. My grandma called me to tell me that I couldn't come down because she knew that my dad was headed home. He had stopped by their house on the way to ours, and had told her to call me to cancel our get together for the weekend without telling me why. I must say, she did a wonderful job at fooling me! I still can't believe that he flew all the way here without telling us he was coming home!

The Life of a Teacher

     There has been no time for blogging lately. Why you ask? Well, this could be because student teaching has basically taken over my life. Don't get me wrong....I absolutely love it, but it's been a rough week or so. I had an absolutely horrid day this past Friday, which led to my first emotional breakdown as a student teacher, and I can guarantee you that David thought I was going crazy when it happened. It was just one of those days that made me wonder if teaching is what I should be doing. I know I want to do it, but whether I should is a completely different story some days. Needless to say, after a break from the students over the weekend, things got better when Monday rolled around. I taught every class Monday, both math classes and both science classes, and that was fun!!

     Today, I had a little counseling session with my collaborating teacher where I told her how I've been feeling since our horrible Friday. She ensured me that all teachers feel that way sometimes, and that she understands how hard it is to be a student teacher teaching in someone else's classroom when you are trying to do things your own way. I felt a lot better about everything once our lunch conversation was over, and it got me out of the mood that I've been in since Friday. Thank the Lord! Hopefully, day by day, things will continue to improve as far as my students and lessons are concerned. I've just got to keep praying about it!

Hello Liberty....Goodbye Summer

     Tomorrow starts my first day of student teaching. Guess that means I'll have to answer to little ones calling me Miss. McConnell yet again. No...really, I am truthfully excited about starting at Liberty Elementary! I cannot wait to get to know my students and my collaborating teacher! I am ready to learn some new things! So....bring it on student teaching!

http://www.cherokee.k12.ga.us/Schools/liberty-es/default.aspx

The Road to Recovery

     This summer has passed as quickly as it came. I cannot believe that in just five short days I will be Miss. McConnell again in a classroom full of fourth graders! Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to start student teaching, however, a little part of me wishes that maybe I had just one more week of summer left. Since BigStuf, the days seem to have flown by. I came home from our trip, (still sick...this time with Bronchitis) just to find out that I needed to have a tonsillectomy. Once I found this out, I obviously had to schedule my surgery as soon as possible in order to avoid any complications with my recovery and my student teaching. The morning of Thursday, August 4th, I went to the Marietta Surgical Center to have my tonsillectomy. The procedure was rather fast and there were no complications, thank the Lord, however, the road to recovery has been quite a difficult one. I assumed that after my surgery I would be able to go back to work the next Monday, and then out of town Tuesday. Boy was I wrong. Apparently, the older you get, the longer it takes you to recover from things like surgery...who knew? And...twenty-two is pretty old in the world of medicine! I am currently on day nine of my two weeks (or more) to full recovery.

The past nine days have included:
4 boxes of assorted popsicles
3 cans of chicken broth
1 box of saltine crackers
2 pints of apple juice
3 meals of chicken noodle soup
2 bananas
1 box of squeezable apple sauce packets
2 gallons of sweet tea
A massive amount of crushed ice
2 1/2 bottles of liquid pain medicine
2 bottles of nausea medicine
4 pillows to sleep on each night
An unlimited amount of movies and tv shows (that I needed to catch up on)
A great deal of time spent with my mom and my love
And...many painful moments.

     In addition to all of these, I have had time to find a new addiction. Pinterest.
Check it out....This is my Pinterest!
     Also, I have had time to make some cute crafts for the house and for my classroom! They are posted on my Pinterest website.
     All in all, the past nine days have been fairly productive, but I still cannot believe that summer is coming to an end.

Think Bigstuf, Do Bigstuf, Live Bigstuf

     In the past week a lot has happened! Monday, twenty students and leaders piled up in three cars and went to Daytona, FL for BigStuf all week. I could not have had a better week than I did with all of the Noonday Youth. I went as a leader, and I had so much fun with the middle school and high school kids. We started out hearing the BigStuf band and Andy Stanley. Throughout the week we learned about how important "Konnecktions" are as we got to worship some more with the David Crowder Band and Gungor. We were also able to hear John Acuff, Andy Stanley, and Donald Miller speak many different times. In addition to all of this, we attended leadership meetings, enjoyed getting to write letters of hope and encouragement to students in Kenya, and had fun on the beach! During BigStuf, I was blessed to share my birthday with everyone!
     Here are a few pictures from the week!

Beach view from the hotel

Everyone getting ready for the first session of BIGSTUF!

BIGSTUF trips are anniversaries for Eric and I...we became friends years ago at BIGSTUF!

Gungor (the hippie band)

This is where we had small group time every night

Donald Miller talking about the new movie, Blue Like Jazz

I love these girls!

A group of us down at the beach to watch the sunrise

Chelle and I enjoying free time

Happy Birthday to me!

My favorite part of the week, making connections with students in Kenya!

Happy Belated Birthday to Sean!

Yesterday...well I guess technically two days ago, on July 15th, my little brother turned 19! I can't believe how time flies by so fast, and I definitely cannot believe that my brother is 19 already! We celebrated by throwing a little bible study party since he couldn't attend bible study this week due to his job ultimately consuming his entire life lately. We had popcorn, cheese-its, chips and salsa, watermelon, sodas, and blue fun-fetti cupcakes of course! The theme was none other than that of Kung Fu Panda 2! :) Sean loves pandas, especially Kung Fu Panda, so I figured it would be a fitting theme. Sean ended his day going to a braves game with a friend, where he sat in the Golden Moon level, which I'm sure I'll never see, but it sounds pretty cool. Needless to say, I think his birthday rocked! I love you little brother, and happy birthday!!! :)

Braces, Swimsuits, and Other Happenings

     Starting the summer out by getting braces is not the way to go, but it had to happen, AGAIN. After a dreaded visit to the orthodontist to get my bottom braces, I have now gone two weeks with these lovely additions, and I'm already ready for them to be gone. 5 months and 2 weeks to go!
     During these past two weeks, along with having braces, I have been searching for a cute one piece swimsuit to wear to BigStuf at the end of July. I have had absolutely no luck with that, and I have decided that swimsuit shopping is probably the worst thing ever. But, I will not let that get to me, and I WILL find a swimsuit before July 18th, because, even though my birthday happens while we will be out of town, I don't think anyone would appreciate me wearing nothing but my birthday suit.
     On a lighter note, yesterday, I was called old by a four year old. Yes, I am getting older, but I didn't think I was to the point yet where little kids would call me that. Apparently, 21 years is a long time, and according to little miss. Payton, I will start to grow gray and white hair out of my face when I get even older (which could possibly happen soon lol). The first thing that popped into my mind when she said that was that I was going to look like Santa. Lovely. I guess I will just have to watch out for those little hairs. haha

Family Reunion 2011

     This past weekend was a long one, as we prepared to have our 3rd annual Jackson Family Reunion in Natchez, Mississippi. After much preparation, I would say that it went very well. We made Lasagna, Chicken Alfredo, Tortellini Soup, Garlic Bread, Salads, Pound Cake, Cookies, Swiss Roll Cake, Blueberry Cheesecake, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and many other desserts. Even though our trip to Mississippi was shorter than I would have liked, it was still fun to hang out with the family and spend time laughing with them for a few days. As much as I love Woodstock, there is nothing quite like getting away for awhile in a small, quiet town.

     This year, David was invited to come with us, and he did! We spent our second day there driving him around town to show him the sites of Ole' Natchez! We even boiled crawfish at my aunt's work! Our last night in Natchez, we went to the River Boat Casino, Isle of Capri, on the Mississippi River. This was David's first time in a casino! Overall he loved our trip, and we now have many ideas for vacations and such flowing through each of our heads :)

Gotta Love Productivity

     With mom being out of town for a class reunion and David visiting his parents this weekend, I had some time to myself to get some things done. I would say that shopping with $30 worth of coupons, getting an oil change, putting together the rest of my events for the scrapbook convention in July, cleaning the entire kitchen, making wedding shower bouquets, planning out a wedding shower menu, and practicing decorations with cake icing makes for a pretty productive two days. I must say that I am pretty proud of myself for accomplishing so much already this weekend. Who knows what else my week has in store for me....

What do I know of Holy?

     A few weeks ago one of our youth students sang What do I know of Holy by Addison Road. I had never heard of that song before that, and honestly, at first, I didn't like it. I now realize I didn't like it because it made sense to me, it hit home for me. What do I actually know of Holy?
     I haven't really been thinking about it since that Wednesday night, but then today, I heard it again while I was cleaning. Once again, it hit me, What do I actually know of Holy?
     I can honestly say that if I had been asked that very question exactly a year ago, I would flat out say that God is good and that I was not afraid of anything happening to me, and of course, that I knew I was going to heaven. But here's the thing....a year ago, I did not fear God, I assumed that I was safe and invincible from anything and everything since I believed in Him.
     Today, even though I don't know a lot about Holy, at least I can say that I'm learning about it. I'm learning about God, and that is a big step for me. In all of my (almost 22) years, I have been in church, but I don't think I was actually "in church" or "in God" constantly until the last two years of my life. Don't get me wrong, I DO believe in God, and I DO believe that I will go to heaven if something were to happen to me, and I have always believed these things, but I never realized how much authority God has over me. I definitely made God too small, just like the song says. During a recent bible study, I learned that in Acts 5, there is a story about the Lord striking down a married couple, Ananias and Sapphira, on two separate occasions for lying to him about land. LAND. God killed this couple because they kept a secret from him. Just like that, one minute they were here, walking around, then the next, their bodies were being carried out of the room. I don't know how I had never heard of this story before, but just like the song, this chapter of the Bible hit home for me. I never knew "my God" would do that. I knew He could, but I assumed that He wouldn't. Now, I'm studying Genesis, and I am learning that "my God" is not only loving, giving, caring, and fatherly, that He is also all-knowing, all-powerful, jealous, and wrathful. Needless to say, I am learning to fear God more so than I had before, and the more I fear Him, the closer I am to Him, and the more I am learning of Holy.

Memorial Day Weekend

     This past weekend has been very eventful! Friday, David and I went with my mom to the skating rink. I will say that we are nowhere near being able to skate like we could when we were younger. We only lasted for about an hour before we were all three complaining about our feet hurting and being out of breath. Saturday, David and I went to Lake Lanier with some of our friends. Those that joined us were Billy, Kate, Chad, Corinda, R.J, and Mike. We spent the day riding jet skis (and flipping them), tubing, cooking out, sunbathing, and riding around the lake on the boat. It was my first time ever tubing, and I must say that it was a bit scary!

After coming home and going to church Sunday, David and I decided to spend the afternoon calming down by painting. We have never painted before, and we wanted to take classes the summer, but right now neither of us can afford the classes, so we set up our own class at my house. These were the result of our calm Sunday afternoon!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Everyone!!! :) Thank you so much to all the men and women who serve our country so that we can be free!

An Un-typical Thursday

     Yesterday started out as planned, I had a scrapbook date with Barbara Rabil. I must say that I was very happy with the outcome of that date. With the help of Barbara, I now have 18 events that David and I were a part of to put together while we are on our scrapbooking convention in July. Thank you Barbara!!! After that, David and I hung out for awhile, then we planned on taking a trip up to Rome, GA for a moving out party with Dessa, Jonathan, and some of their friends at Dessa's house. Before we left, I decided that I wanted some frozen yogurt, and I will say that I had to practically beg David to go with me to Yogo-Ono. This was supposed to be a quick "in and out" stop on the way to Rome, however, once there, the store's debit/credit card machine stopped working, then we were blocked in the parking lot by a firetruck and some ambulances due to an emergency at the restaurant next door. Oh, and I forgot to mention that during all of this, it was pouring down rain, and we were basically in the middle of a hurricane in Kennesaw, GA. At one point, David had to carry me to my car so that my shoes wouldn't get wet. (P.S. There's nothing I hate more than getting wet. Unless of course, I'm in the shower or at the pool.) I will say that on rainy days, I get a little high-maintenance. 
     Needless to say, we were late to the party in Rome. However, because of the rain, the party was actually canceled and re-located to WOW. WOW is apparently known as the World Of Wings. I had never heard of it before last night, but it was a very yummy restaurant. Everything seemed to work out well at the end of the night, even though we played trivia and lost. I will say that David and I have been on many adventures like this together, but they are never planned (and I never have a camera on me at the time), so those adventures are the ones that I have to write about instead of scrapbooking about. I am learning that the best of our adventures are not planned.

Penguins and "Kisses and Cake"

    As you all know, yesterday was full of wedding festivities as friends of mine joined together to celebrate Caitlin and Cosbie's Wedding. In regards to the wedding day, I have a cute little video to share with you!

As most of you know, I absolutely adore penguins, however, most of you did not know, that this song, called Kisses and Cake (from the P.S. I Love You soundtrack), is one of my favorite songs! I could not believe it when I found two of my favorite things together in a YouTube video....ENJOY!!! :)

The Rapture and Other Adventures of the Day

    According to many, today is the great day of the rapture. I however, do not believe this to be true. A few children at Chalker Elementary highly disagree with me. I was talking with a co-worker yesterday, when I was told that a third grader informed him that she would not be at school Monday because Jesus was coming to take her to heaven on Saturday. While this conversation was going on between my co-worker and the student, another student came up and interrupted the conversation by saying, "Yeah, my mom told me that Jesus was coming tomorrow too, but she also said that He wouldn't take me to heaven because of how bad I have been lately". You probably had the same first reaction to this as I did....it's hilarious! But, when you really start to think about it, it's a bit of a problem. These children are going to end up thinking/believing one of two things: 1. If Jesus does not come to take them to heaven TODAY, they might believe that He is never coming, or that He forgot about them, or 2. Jesus will become a figure to them, just like Santa and the Easter Bunny.
     This bothered me for the rest of the day after work, so I figured I would share it. I should also probably add that I DO BELIEVE JESUS IS COMING, however, I do not think He will be here tomorrow, because I have a strong feeling that we will not know what day He will come back for us.
      To add to the festivities of the rapture on this lovely Saturday, my sweet friend Caitlin Moss and her Fiance, Cosbie Hollenbeck are tying the knot today! I cannot express my excitement for the two of them, and I pray that if the rapture is to happen today, that it happen after their wedding. :) Jesus would love hanging out with all of us at the reception!

Congratulations Caitlin and Cosbie!!!

Cupcake Love

Over the past few months I have fallen in love with making cakes and cupcakes! I make them for different occasions such as bible study, birthdays, ASP, holidays, and today I'm making cupcakes for two of my dear Sunday School girls who are graduating from high school this month! I think that my love for baking came from watching my Papaw bake his cakes for his business all the time when we would visit, but right now, it's just something I do for fun. Here are some of my yummy pieces of art! :)