Pumpkin Pics 2011

Ok, so I am a bit behind on blogging.

I am going to attempt to catch up on everything that has been going on with us for the past 2months!

Back in October, we took our annual Pumpkin Pics. This year, we didn't go to the same Pumpkin Patch that we usually do, just because it has been pretty disappointing the last couple of times that we have gone. The church down the street from us always hauls in a ton of pumpkins to sell to raise money for their children's ministry. They were really pretty pumpkins and the pics turned out pretty cute!

Faith and Miracles

Warning: This post may be all over the place, with a lot of rambling. I have a lot on my mind.

My faith has been tested this week to say the least. The last time I took a Spiritual Gifts test, it said that one of my gifts was Faith. I have always considered myself the type of Christian that completely trusts God, no matter what is going on around me. Through my miscarriage 2 years ago, it was painful, but I knew that God was with me and had a reason for it. Through Mrs. Baird's horrific car accident, I could see the hand of God in her survival. I knew God had a greater purpose for her life, through her accident. But this week, my faith was hit hard.

My best friend is 18 weeks pregnant, and went in for her ultrasound this past Tuesday. The big ultrasound where they find out the gender of the baby. This ultrasound has also become known in my mind as the scary ultrasound. I have read so many blogs about people who have found out at this specific ultrasound that their babies had a life-threatening disease, so I always wait with baited breath to find out the results.

This day was no different.

When my friends were in their ultrasound on Tuesday they found out that the baby is not urinating, therefore its bladder is full of urine and there is no amniotic fluid. They were told this could mean a number of things. Anywhere from the baby having a blockage, all the way to a chromosomal abnormality, such as downs syndrome. One of the biggest problems is that since the baby doesn't have fluid around it, it cannot move, and its organs are not developing. She immediately had to rush to Houston to have tests run to find out which situation she was in. She was told that if it was a chromosomal issue, there was nothing that could be done, and she would just have to wait on the baby to die. She was told if there was no chromosomal issue, but the baby was a girl, she would not be able to do anything but wait on the baby to die. If not in utero, then at birth. Then she was given a third option, which was for the baby to not have a chromosomal issue, and to be a boy. If that was what the tests revealed, then she could have a fetal surgery to place a stint in the baby's bladder, to remove the blockage.

Well after all the stories I have read about, and seen, I immediately assumed one of the most horrible things would happen to this baby. After all, the chances of the third option were very slim. It is not that I didn't think God could heal the baby, its that I didn't think He would. Its not that I don't believe He cares. I KNOW He cares. I just realize that sometimes God lets really awful things happen to the faithful, so that He gets more glory. I guess in my own mind, I feel as if I am still having faith in God, because I believe that He can heal, and He does care, but that He just might choose not to.

I guess though, this has gotten me to thinking. Am I doubting, because I think about the things God might allow to happen instead? I guess I am. It is just hard for me to get away from thinking about those alternatives. I have seen God perform some miracles in my day. Mrs. Baird is an (almost) walking miracle, for one. But, just because I know God can perform a miracle, doesn't mean He will choose to. That is what I am having a hard time with. It's not even that I am having a hard time with the thought that He might not. I am more angry with myself that I am doubting that He will perform one. ( I told you this post would be all over the place).

So anyway, today my friends went to find the results of their tests. They found out that the baby is a BOY and that he does not have any chromosomal issues! When I got the text today at school, I nearly fell out of my chair! (**Disclaimer. I was NOT texting with students in my class. It may or may not have been during my department planning, excuse me "collaborative" period**) It was like God was looking down at me and saying "See? I am here! I am taking care of this situation, even when you do not think I am going to provide the result you most desire! Trust in Me!". It was just amazing. It was one of the only times I remember being smacked in the face for my doubt.

My friends are not out of the woods yet. They have to get another test done to make sure the baby can have surgery. If they get to have surgery, and the baby makes it to term, the baby could have physical abnormalities, or bad kidneys, etc. It is all very scary. The bottom line is this: God is in control, and His will is going to be done. No matter how much I am scared, or don't like it, He is in control and His will is best.

To make this post even more all over the place, get this: I was looking at facebook, and one of my other friends had her ultrasound on Tuesday as well. They found out that their baby is not developing a brain and is going to either be a stillbirth or die right after birth.

Like I said, my faith has been tested this week in a big way.

My sister's wedding

I have three sisters, and my baby sister got married last weekend! Laura is six years younger than me. Laura and Kyle have been together for about 2 1/2 years, and I am really excited to have a new brother-in-law! Kailey and Makenna were the flower girls, and I was one of the bridesmaids. Here are a few pictures from the rehearsal dinner:





I ordered their pillowcase dresses from this shop on etsy!

After the rehearsal dinner, my sisters (Allison and Emily), and I planned a Bachelorette Party/Lingerie shower for Laura. We kept it pretty simple, but we did have one super cute activity that Emily planned. We made bra and panty shaped cookies, and each girl had to decorate them. ( I made the cookies using a heart shaped cookie cutter, and I just chopped them in half before baking them. You can order an actual cookie cutter, but it is $16.99!)Laura got to pick her favorite, and ideally that girl would win a prize. However, we forgot to buy one. :)




Me and my sisters!


I ordered the banner from this shop on etsy and the sucker favors from this shop on etsy.

Laura and Kyle's wedding was at 12:00 on September 3. That morning Kailey and I got to get our hair done. Kailey sat very still (for the most part) but she was very unsure about the whole process!





The girls looked absolutely precious in their flower girl dresses! I made Kailey some flip flops and I ordered Makenna these elastic flower bands for her feet from this shop on etsy. They turned out to be perfect! I really thought they were both going to walk down the aisle and do just fine, but when they got to the front of the aisle, Kailey froze, burst into tears, and said "I don't want to! I don't want to!". It was sad and funny all at the same time. Casey ended up having to go and get her! Makenna on the other hand walked all the way up the aisle like it was no big deal at all!









Here is a picture of our reaction to Kailey stopping the show!


The wedding turned out beautiful. Her colors were juniper, gray, ivory, and orange. The flowers were gorgeous and everything was perfect!





Here are the girls relaxing during the reception. I ordered them these adorable flower girl shirts from this shop on etsy.




Laura and Kyle got to honeymoon in St. Lucia! For an entire week! I have been super jealous this whole week, but I am super happy that they got married!

A New School Year

Our new school year started last Monday. I started teaching at South Belton Middle School, and the girls each started a new class at their "school". Kailey is now in 3 year old pre-K, and Makenna is now in the "Toddler 2" class. (She sleeps on a mat now and eats lunch at a table!). Kailey also promoted at church, and she has been coming to "big church" with us the past 2 weeks. They are both getting so big!

I was dreading this school year, because I had to leave the school I have taught at for 5 years, against my will. Nobody wanted to leave to go go the new school, because we were all just so comfortable where we were. I knew that God could see the big picture, and that He had a purpose for moving me, but I was still very sad and discouraged. I pretty much dreaded the move all summer long. I really wanted to be with my friends! So many people prayed for me all summer, and have continued to pray for me as the school year began. It has really been amazing to feel the transformation that has taken place in my heart over the past 2 weeks. I can honestly say that I have never had such a great start to a school year, and I am so incredibly happy at SBMS. My principal is so incredible, and so efficient and on top of things, it has been wonderful working for her already! My campus is an Apple campus, meaning that I have a Macbook Pro and an iPad 2. My students are all getting their own iPad 2's as well within the next couple of weeks. We are piloting a challenge based learning program for the school district, and so far so good! There are obviously challenges up ahead, but I am incredibly happy! My school is beautiful, and the people I am working with are great. I will never be able to replace my besties at BMS, and I definitely do not have as great of a department team as I did at BMS, but other than that, things are just about perfect! Here are some pictures of my classroom! Thanks so much for your prayers!










My school is all about collaboration, so we have tons of windows to the hallway and the outside, and our hallways are very wide. We have dry erase board walls in the hallway, as well as couches and tables. We also have projectors mounted in the hallway in case we want to pull 2 classes out to work together at the same time. I don't have any pics of all of these delightful areas, but here are a couple pics of the school, and a video (with my principal and a few co-workers!)to watch!

An End to Summer

As you can tell by my lack of blogging, we had a very full and busy summer! When we got back from our fourth of July trip, Casey started three very busy weeks with the youth ministry! We had one week of VBS, he had one week of an event called Un-Civil War (a competition between the area youth groups for 5 nights in a row), and then he left town for his annual Rock the Desert trip in Midland, TX. Basically, it was three weeks where daddy wasn't home very much, but we made it through! The first week of August I had a three day teaching workshop for my new school, and then the next week we took a much needed family vacay. I guess you could call it "Family Vacay #2". We took the girls to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. We stayed at the Lodge one night, and then rented a Priceline hotel for the second night (since you could use the water park at the lodge until 9pm on the day you checked out!). We had a lot of fun swimming and just hanging out as a family. The girls had a ton of fun swimming! We even got scaredy-cat Kailey go go on a couple big slides by herself!











We also got to see our friends, the Dugans, one day. We hung out at Grapevine Mills Mall. The kiddos rode some rides, the mall train, the carosel, and we had lunch before heading back to Temple. It was a nice way to end our very busy summer!

As always, there are tons more pictures on facebook!