Birthday surprise

No, not for my birthday, but for my best friend. This weekend hubby and I sneaked to Indianapolis to surprise my best friend and also attend the graduation of the first students I ever taught.

Friday night I met my husband at his work and we left from there. Our plan was to drive the 8 hours straight through and arrive at around 2 or 230 in the morning. Well, the highway in Tennessee had other plans for us. At about 8 in the evening, traffic suddenly stopped and the road became a parking lot. After looking online, we realized that there had been a semi in an accident and the road was going to be closed until 11. Well, 11 came and went, and we were still stuck. Finally, at a little after midnight we started moving. Hubby decided to drive for a while and then we decided to stop and find a place to sleep for the night. Apparently that was everyone else's plan as well. We went to 5 hotels before we got a room.

Our room was as lovely as any roach motel could be, but we were only going to be there for about 4 hours to sleep and shower and get on the road again. The next morning we went to get some breakfast and some gas and we set off again.

We arrived at 12 noon. My plan was just to show up at my best friend's house and surprise her, but she was out running errands so we had to track her down. When we realized she was at the church, we headed there and all the doors were locked. I tried calling her but she didn't answer. Then she happened to walk by the door we were at. It was an awesome moment! She was completely surprised!!! I gave her the present we had driven so far to give her and then we hung out until graduation started.

The graduation was perfect. The speaker was excellent. My best friend and another teacher sang one of my favorite songs from Wicked and I cried through the entire thing. I'm blaming it on the pregnancy hormones and my short night of sleep.

After graduation, we went to my best friend's house for a while and then had some sweet fellowship at one of the graduate's open house. Afterwards we sat around talking and catching up. Then after a late night dinner at Fazoli's, we went straight to sleep.

Then this morning was church at my home church. I LOVE getting to come back to my church. I love love love these people. It is always so refreshing to come back home and see these people who always welcome us back. AND another of my closest friends came to our church this morning to see us.

After church, we had a birthday lunch for my best friend. Delicious food and awesome company. It was just like old times.

Then sadly it was time to hit the road again. After a whopping 26 hours in my favorite city with so many of my favorite people. It did my soul good to be home even for just a short time.

Now just 2 and 1/2 days of school and we are out for the summer. Then the real relaxing can begin:)

What not to say to a pregnant woman

As you know, I am expecting our first baby in October. Along with the excitement that comes with expecting a baby, there is a lot of anxiety. All of the thoughts...what if something goes wrong...is this symptom normal....should I be feeling the baby yet...all sorts of other questions. And with all of my own worries, there are the questions and comments from others that bother me too. Now, don't get me wrong, I love to hear other women's stories and advice and well wishes. Especially the well wishes. But there are certain things that a pregnant woman doesn't need to hear.

• Can I touch your belly? My response to this one is going to be, "only if I can touch yours first." I don't mind if my husband touches my baby bump, but I feel like anyone else doing it is inappropriate. At least now. I am only 4 months along and am a total freak show under my shirt, and touching it makes me even more uncomfortable. I don't think I will mind people touching my belly when it has its own zip code, but for now, hands off please. 
• I just named my new puppy _________ (insert FAVORITE name for new baby) Really, people? Do you have to name your dogs people names? And must they be the one name I am completely in love with for our baby? This has happened twice now! This is one of the reasons we won't be sharing our names until the baby arrives. 
• I know someone who had ___________ complication. I don't know why people only share the worst possible things that can happen in pregnancy, but that seems to be the only things they share with me. The last thing I want to hear is all the ways something can go wrong. I need positive comments. 
• Oh, ______________ happened? It's probably the worst case scenario. The baby was on the right? There's something wrong. You've been sick? There's something wrong. You haven't been sick? There's something wrong. I have learned that no pregnancy will go exactly as the book says it will. And I know that if I get anxious and stressed that it can't be good for the baby. So I try to stay positive. I try not to jump to the worst case scenario. 
• WOW! You're huge! No woman likes to hear this any time, but especially when your body is being taken over by another human being. My regular clothes won't button. Maternity clothes don't fit well. I don't feel like a cute pregnant woman, but rather a blob of blubber. 
• You should name the baby ______________.  I really don't mind hearing suggestions from people on great baby names, but when people won't back down on a name they love, I get a little frustrated. It's like they feel as though it's their baby, and if I don't choose their name, they get offended. We have some rules about names. No J's. Nothing like Banjo or Wingspan or Zoolander. And really, it's our choice. 
• How much weight have you gained? This is a completely inappropriate question to ask any woman at any time, but when I am a hormonal disaster, it is the worst question ever. 

Got any positive stories? Got any compliments? No? Then lie to me! Please:) 

God's Great Goodness

I don't even really know where to begin with this. I am not usually an overly personal sharer. I am by nature a very private person. So much so that people generally don't know what's going on with me until it is over. This is one of those times.

My husband and I have been married for two and a half years. We knew that when we got married that we wanted to have kids. We decided to wait a year and then start trying. Well that came and went, and nothing. Months and months and months passed, and if you have ever been through that, you know just how difficult that can be. Getting your hopes up every month and then nothing. I really struggled with this. Really, really struggled. I questioned why God would give me such a desire, if He wasn't going to fulfill it. My husband, however, has been my rock. His faith in God and God's timing has been what has gotten us through this experience.

After a year of this roller coaster of emotions, we asked for some advice and help from my doctor. My doctor is amazing. He is a Christian man who has prayed with us on a number of occasions. He scheduled all sorts of tests to see if there was anything wrong and then we began the waiting. When we finally saw him a month later, we were so excited. But our excitement quickly turned to disappointment when he told us that we probably could not have a baby on our own. I had a really difficult time accepting this news. I cannot tell you how often I cried and begged God for answers. The doctor referred us to a reproductive clinic and we decided to wait until after the holidays to go. Honestly, I just needed some time. I didn't want to hear the bad news all over again. I didn't feel like I could bear it.

Then in February, out of nowhere, we found out we were expecting! Leave it to God to show that He is more powerful than anything we could put our trust in. We never went to the clinic that we had been referred to. We shared that with our doctor today, and his words were, "I just love when God shows off like that!" We know that this is a special little blessing that God has given us and we are so incredibly thankful and humbled by what He has done.

In December, when I was in the depths of despair, I heard this song and it really put things in perspective for me. God knows what He is doing. His timing is perfect. I need to not only trust Him, but trust in His timing as well.


Blessings
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise


We saw the baby today. Heard a heartbeat and everything and the doctor said everything looks perfect. So, my friends and fellow bloggers, join me in this celebration! We are welcoming a baby to our home in October! 

Our family is growing by 2 feet :)

My Love/Hate Relationship with Spring Break

As I have said so many times, I love being a teacher for the time off. Of course, I love teaching for a variety of other reasons as well. I love helping students grasp something that they never thought they could. I love opening their minds to new concepts and ideas. I love that no two days are ever the same. But, I love, Love, LOVE the time off. Well, now I have realized that I have a very complicated love/hate relationship with this particular time off.

I love that I have a week to enjoy the sunshine. I hate that I only have a week to enjoy the sunshine.

I love that my BFF came to visit for a whole week. I hate that she can only visit for a week.

I love that I haven't done any school work all week. I hate that I procrastinated on my school work and now I have to use the weekend to get caught up.

I love that I have been so lazy all week. I hate that I can't keep doing this.

I love that I got to go to the beach. I hate that my skin is so sizzled.

I love that I got to wake up later every day. I hate that I can't do that every day.

I love this little taste of summer vacation. I hate that it's only a tease, 8 more weeks till summer vacation.

I guess if I had to make a choice, I would rather have the time off than still be in school. I just really dislike the part of my personality that constantly counts down to the end of whatever break/vacation/fun time I am enjoying. I have always been like that and it makes it hard to relax and simply enjoy my time off. So, I will be forcing myself (which I hate) to relax and enjoy (which I love) this last day and the weekend before I go back to school.

Great is the Mystery

Here is a new set of questions that make me go HMMMMMMMM.

1. Why does the chicken at Walmart smell so good, but taste so bad? Seriously, they pump this intoxicating aroma into the parking lot and immediately I want to eat fried chicken, but every time I have had it, it is terrible. Perhaps all of the good stuff is burned off in the cooking process. I'll stick to smelling it from now on. 
2. Why do skinny jeans come in plus-sizes? Honestly, this one should be a no-brainer. Just because they are called "skinny" and because you can squeeze into them does not make you skinny. You look ridiculous. And not skinny. Personally, I don't think skinny jeans look good on anyone. 
3. Why are people fooled into believing that leggings are pants? I am sure you have seen that girl who is wearing leggings with just a shirt, and not a very long one at that. Leggings are there to keep you warm, and are meant to accessorize your outfit. They are not pants.
4. Why don't people have a personal space bubble? Perhaps it is just me, but I have a personal bubble that is about arm's length in any direction from my body. If you get inside that and you aren't my husband, then our conversation is over. I really like my personal space. I don't want to smell your breath or feel any more awkward than necessary. This also applies to seats at a movie theater. It is not unreasonable for my purse to get it's own seat. It keeps you a seat further from me. 
5. Why is it ok to post things on Facebook that you would never say in real life? Maybe it is a picture with a quote that has a bad word in it. Maybe a set of completely inappropriate song lyrics. This is probably the dumbest. Would you just go around saying song lyrics? I understand when a song gets stuck in your head, but when your status says "Jill is...first I was afraid, I was petrified". It doesn't make sense. Also, stop trying to post things that you think only your group of close friends is smart enough to figure out. We aren't dumb, we get it too. 

There. These are the randoms that are roaming through my head these days. Hope you enjoy! 

Busy, Busy, Busy

For some reason, the last 2 months have been probably the busiest of my life. I have neglected my blog in a really big way. So here is a little brain dump to let you know what is going on in my life:)

• School--Party season is over! Thank goodness for that. We have a Thanksgiving party, Christmas party, and a Valentine party. They fall so close together and they are so much fun, but they are exhausting! I am incredibly thankful that they are behind me now. 
• Other School Stuff--I have been working non-stop on some professional development things for the teachers at school. It is not difficult work, but it is very time consuming and since deadlines are looming, it is incredibly busy right now. 
• Valentine's Day--My husband is the king of spoiling me! He is amazing. This year he surprised me by bringing a vase of beautiful flowers to my classroom with a cute helium balloon. I made him a delicious dinner of chicken Parmesan and broccoli and bread with dipping oil. He loved it. I got him a new Wii remote so we can play more games together. We love to sword fight and I am excited to get to play it again. He got me an hour long massage, which I had yesterday. It was AMAZING. I may have fallen asleep near the end of it. And maybe again when I got home. It was so nice. I felt so relaxed. 
• Hubby's Wreck--At the end of January, I got the phone call I have always dreaded. I was called out of class because of a phone call, which never happens. It was my husband. He was nearing his exit on the interstate and it was raining. He hydroplaned and spun across all the lanes of the road before hitting the center concrete wall. His car was totaled, but thankfully he wasn't hurt. I am so thankful for God's protection over him that day. There was no one on the road but him, so when he was spinning, he didn't hit anyone. When he hit the wall, the rear of his car hit first. The trunk was smashed in. I am so grateful that he hit the wall like that, because if he had gone in hood first, he may have been hurt.  Also, one of his coworkers who was running late to work, happened to see him and came around and picked him up. He wasn't even late to work that day. Now we are looking for a reliable used car to replace the one that was wrecked. 
• Wicked Weekend--Next Saturday, we are going to Birmingham to see Wicked again. My husband took me to see it for my birthday in Atlanta, but now we are going with his whole family. His parents have seen it, but his brother and sister haven't so I am really looking forward going again. I HIGHLY recommend it if you ever get the chance. It is the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West. And it's pretty funny:)

Sadly, that is all that I can think of that is going on in my extremely busy, extremely boring life:) I have the day off tomorrow, which I am incredibly happy about. I have a day to myself to get caught up on all the things that have been neglected lately. Plus, hubby is working, so I am free to do whatever I want all day! 

Super-Easy No-Lettuce Salad

Yum!

This is what is for dinner tonight. Along with some chicken and broccoli. I love a good salad, as much as anyone else, but I find myself getting sick of lettuce sometimes. I will even go so far as to methodically pick everything out of my salad and leave the lettuce. I think it's because the lettuce is the common denominator in every salad, and I tend to get bored with it after a while. This salad is one of my solutions to lettuce boredom. It is delicious too, and super healthy. 

What you need:

1 green pepper, diced

4 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 small red onion, cut into slivers

4 or 5 red, orange, or yellow small peppers, sliced

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

salt/pepper to taste

What you do:

Chop the veggies and mix together in a bowl. Mix the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small dish until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Pour the dressing over the veggies and mix again. Then put it in the fridge for a few hours until you are ready to eat. This step is really important, because the flavor gets considerably better as the time goes by. This makes a great side dish for any dinner, plus it is super pretty. I always make it in a glass bowl, because I like the way it looks.