Thankful

think that this Thanksgiving has been the best one yet. As I have gotten older, I have realized how much I am thankful for everything in my life. I really think that this past year has opened my eyes to see how thankful I should be. My sweet students and their families have really shown me that you do not have to have much to be happy or to be loved.

I am so thankful that I serve a God who is all knowing and who can handle anything and everything. I am so thankful that He has a plan for me and for you, and it is only for the best. Without Him..I am nothing. God has given me so many blessings, and I am forever grateful.

I am thankful for my awesome and amazing family. They are so special to me. We are all best friends, and can hang out forever and not get tired of each other. We have a special bond, and we always will. They have all taught me so much. My parents and grandparents have been extraordinary role models for me and my siblings. They have taught us morals and how to respect others. I am so incredibly thankful for such a loving family.

I am also thankful for Ben. Since we met, I have had a new outlook on life and love. We went through a lot together, and I believe that if we could get through that, we can get through anything together. He is such an amazing Christian man who challenges me to be a better person everyday. He is so incredibly sweet and puts up with me everyday. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us...

Happy Birthday Nana

Today is my Nana's 71st birthday. We had so much fun celebrating with her tonight! We all went to Mom and Dad's house for burgers and chips and cake. We got this sweet girl in our sunday school class, Ashley Martin, to make Nana's birthday cake this year. Nana LOVES snowmen, so we thought it would be fun to incorporate that into her cake! Ashley is a dessert/cake goddess, and she did an AMAZING job! She is so very talented!

Nana is one of the reasons why I moved back to Snyder. I have blogged about this before, but these present moments with her are so precious because one day things will be different. Her Alzheimer's has progressed very slowly, but it is still evident. We are so thankful for the slow progression, and we hope that it doesn't progress anymore at all, but we know that is impossible right now. She is such an amazing and sweet lady. I am so blessed to call her my Nana.

Here is a picture of her yummy cake...

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

Ali and I got started decorating for Christmas EARLY this year...I just haven't blogged about it yet. Our family loves this time of the year, and Ali and I put all of our Christmas decor out the Friday before Halloween! :) Ben put the Christmas lights on our house for us because it would not have gotten done if we had to do it. Here are a few pictures of our decor. Share pictures of your decor because I would love to see how you decorate or what you do for Christmas!

Thanksgiving Lunch

Yesterday was our Thanksgiving lunch at school. Honestly, I totally dreaded it because I knew it was going to be very chaotic, and my kids would be HYPER all day! Our parents were supposed to sign up before the lunch, so we would have a head count, but more parents showed up than expected. Our whole class (including parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.) took up a whole table that stretched from one end of the cafeteria to the next end. After we got all the food served, I took a few minutes and watched all the kids eating with their families. I almost got teary watching all these awesome, loving parents that took time out of their days to come brave the "yummy" Thanksgiving lunch with their kids, who were just beaming because their parents were there with them. I cannot wait to be able to do that with my kids! I know that most days are crazy at school, but at the end of the day, I am so thankful for all my kids and their families that have already taught me so much this year. Here is a picture of our "school family" eating together!

United

We talked about food and nutrition last week in our class, and we took a field trip to United to take a tour of the grocery store. My kids absolutely loved this! Here are some fun pictures from our trip...

Learning about fruits and veggies!

My girls were in awe of the princess cake!

They loved chatting with Mr. Patterson, the United pharmacist.

Youth Worship

Our interim youth minister at FBC thought it would be cool to have a few people lead worship in our youth on Sunday mornings. This past Sunday was the first time it happened, and it was great! Ben is playing the drums, and Sarah Carpenter and Jordan Payne are both singing and Jordan is also playing his guitar. We went up to the FLC on Saturday night for them to set up and practice together before Sunday morning. We had such a great time together just hanging out. I LOVE listening to Sarah sing, and I LOVE to watch Ben play. This was the first time I have heard Jordan, so it was fun to listen to a new voice! They all did a great job on Sunday, and I think the youth enjoyed it. Such a great experience being able to worship together with all ages!

Corn Maize

Last Thursday, we took a field trip to the Corn Maize in Shallowater, Texas. I was NOT looking forward to this field trip at all just because it is at least a two hour bus trip, and my kids have not been on a bus that long in their lives. That is a LONG way for 18 four and five year olds!

Of course, we were running late to start the journey, but the ride was pretty good overall. We had such a good time when we got there! The kids absolutely loved the corn maize, and we got to go on a hayride and pick pumpkins at their pumpkin patch. I had a lot of great parents go with us, so that was very helpful too! The kids were worn out when we were done, and most of them slept all the way home. Here are some pictures of our adventure...

Meet Ben

Meet my new man! :) This is Ben. He is dark headed, blue-eyed, 26 year old dude that moved to Snyder about 5 months ago, and is just absolutely precious. His parents have lived here for almost 2 years. His Dad is the spiritual formations pastor at our church, and I teach with his sweet Mom! He is divorced, and has a super great baby boy, Joseph, that I can't WAIT to get my hands on. He just started a new job in Snyder, but his passion is music. He is an incredibly talented drummer--complete with some hott tattoos!

Ben is such an amazing person, and has already taught me so much. We have already been through a lot together, and I really think that if we could make it through the past few months, we can make it through ANYTHING together. This is an incredibly big deal for me because I haven't been in a real relationship in three years! The last relationship I had was a complete disaster, and I had to get over a lot before I could move on. I also became extremely picky when it came to guys, so for Ben to even have a chance was a big deal! This is one of my favorite pictures of him, but I'm sure there will be more to come!