Gililland's Island

Update: Some Highs and Lows

2012-02-17T18:33:00.001-06:00

The past month has held some of our highest highs and lowest lows; Although, I can say that the Lord is faithful through the good and the bad.

As many of you know, we started the adoption process in January. I can't even describe the excitment we felt. Then a few days later we found out that we were pregnant. I was amazed. My blood work came back with glowing reports from our doctor, which was really exciting since I had a miscarriage about 2 years ago. I felt beyond blessed.

One month ago, we found out about this precious little life growing inside me. Later that same week we began to have complications with the pregnancy. My super-great hormone levels dropped about 20 points. That may not sound like a big deal, but it is. Our doctor explained that when your levels decline -even a little- it means the baby is not thriving. However, my doctor was not ready to give up or believe the pregnancy was ending, so he wanted to check my levels again on Monday. That was one of the longest, most desperate weekends of my life. Our levels should have been doubling, not declining. But we were hopeful, we began to pray fervently for a miracle. At first I felt pretty hopeless, but then God began to restore my hope. By Monday I believed that our baby would live. I began to let myself think again about how our life would change sometime in September. Monday I received some amazing news. My levels had almost tripled! It was a miracle! My doctor could attribute it to nothing less. We knew the power of prayer had made the difference.

On Wednesday, my doctor had me come back in to check my levels again. This time my levels did not double. They went from about 520 to 720. My doctor said it wasn't enough. He said we were having a miscarriage. I was not ready to hear this. My doctor was ready to do a D&C because he was a concerned that my pregnancy was ectopic, which could obviously be dangerous for me. I was not ready to do the D&C because my levels were still rising a little However, my comfort lied in the fact that my doctor is also a believer, so I knew that he would save my baby at all costs. We soon learned that just wasn't possible.

The following day we arrived at his office to have an ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed that there was no sac growing in my uterus. It was still a little to early to actually see the baby, but my doctor said we would be able to see the sac if the baby were developing properly. There was no sac. We discussed our options and risks. We decided to do one more blood test the following morning and if my levels had stopped rising, then I would have the D&C on Friday. We went home Thursday night and prayed that our numbers would be conclusive in the morning.

Later that night, we went out to eat and I began to have cramps. As we arrived home my pain became much worse, so DJ called the dr. He sent us to the ER (Still concerned with the possibility of a tubal pregnancy).

That night my doctor decided it would be best if I checked into the hospital. They did another ultrasound revealing again that the baby was not growing properly. In the morning, we found out that my pregnancy hormone levels had stopped rising. These were the conclusive results we needed to help us make our decision. Later that day, I underwent anesthesia and had the D&C. The last time we went through this, I cane out of anesthesia easily and went home only a few hours after the surgery; however this time, when I awoke I had some trouble coming out of the anesthesia. They required me to hold down some food before I would be allowed to go home and that just wasn't happening. Finally at 9 pm I was able to finish my meal, prove that I could walk without dizziness, and we were allowed to go home.

I spent the next few days in bed recovering both emotionally and physically, although the emotional healing will take much longer. Finally on Tuesday, I knew that I needed to make my way back to work and attempt a "normal" day. I do did not want to get out of bed that day, but I forced myself to head to school because I knew I needed it. I was so right. That day when I got home, my sweet husband had relief on his face. He said that I had my coloring back and also my smile. There is something about 22 eight year olds that can remind me that God still has a purpose for my life.

At this moment, we are just taking it day by day. We know that we will continue the adoption process (probably soon) but at this moment we just aren't ready to work on the paperwork. I know that God is mending our hearts and we are just trusting Him through this. I knew that I needed to post this because so many people are asking about how the process is going and I never really know how to respond. A few times I have just said that we haven't finished the paperwork yet, and other times I share our story, but that can be a little awkward for the person who doesn't know what to say. People often look like a deer in the headlights when I tell them what happened. I'm not intending to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but I also want to be real and transparent about what the Lord is doing in our lives. When people ask how I'm doing I really don't know what to say. Somedays I say "good" and other days I say "ok." But if I'm honest, I would say this is really hard and we are grieving; although that is not to say that we aren't ok. We are completely blessed and we know that God has big plans for our lives. Thanks for praying for us as we grieve, rejoice, and heal. He will bring us through. I will keep you posted when we get back to truckloads of adoption paperwork.

Blessings,
Andrea

Our Exciting New Adventure!

2012-01-16T19:19:00.000-06:00

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵he predestined usfor adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6

We have begun an exciting journey and I can't wait to share it with you! This weekend we attended our adoption orientation with Christian Homes. I cannot even describe what an incredible experience this was. The weekend was spent learning all the details of adoption (and wow! There are a lot of details!). We went home after day number 1 a little overwhelmed by the details and especially the cost, but also so excited.

I was fascinated to learn about a newer trend in open adoption. They told us that many people may offer us many opinions about why they don't think open adoption is good idea. However, we learned how open adoption is actually the best possible scenario. Through open adoption the birth mother actually chooses us. She chooses us because she loves her baby so much that she wants to give him what she knows she cannot and because she chose us she would never consider trying to steal her baby back (as some might think would be a risk of open adoption). We learned that open adoption is now the most "normal" and common practice within adoption.

On day 2 we were able to participate in a question and answer time with adoptees, birth moms, and adoptive parents. The time spent with the adoptive parents gave us such a peace and allowed us to walk away knowing the Lord would provide. The couples were so open and honest and shared their fears during the whole process. This spoke so much to our hearts because we shared so many of the same fears. The best part was as one couple shared about the financial aspect of adoption. They told us how they wondered how they could ever adopt after they learned of the huge costs involved (which is one of our huge fears). But then they shared how their friends and family were more than excited to support them through this process. They said that in the end, they had to say, "we have enough, we don't need any more." How incredible is that?! I shared this with my father and I think he was overwhelmed by the whole cost. I'm not sure that he is confident that fundraising portion will work out well, but I have such a peace about it and I cannot wait to share with him about the Lord's faithfulness. I am confident that he will provide.

I felt so much peace when they shared how it's in our human nature to think we must "pay" for our baby by ourselves, but then he told us how allowing others to walk along side of us through this process is a blessing to them. We heard time and time again how we need to allow others to give and how this is what they want to do. This calmed my heart so much.

We are now working on our 100 page application on the iadopt jump drive. We each have to write our own autobiographies and then together we will create our birth mother letter, and finally our photo album for the birthmothers to use as they make their choices. Tomorrow is my first class as a college instructor and I have a few things to finish for my first class, but all I want to do is work on our application! We are so excited! The most exciting part was when they told us that the average family is able to meet their baby in LESS THAN A YEAR!!! That is wild! This time next year life could be very different! We will keep you updated on the process. Thanks for joining us in prayer as we walk this exciting journey!

The Big Reveal

2011-11-19T22:34:00.001-06:00

We went back to Aggieland for the football game this weekend and we had the opportunity to take our friends' 12-year-old son. We had a great time and even got to meet A&M's Heisman winner, John David Crow! He was so gracious!

At some point, DJ asks Jacob if he has any idea what he wants to be when he grows up. Jacob has no idea, but this started us on the conversation of "what did you think you wanted to be when you were 12?" DJ's answer was an aeronautical engineer graduating from A&M. My answer was a teacher.

This started us talking about how I always heard that I would change my mind by the time I got to college and maybe even multiple times while I was there, but I never did. In fact, my dad especially always said I needed to be a principal or professor. This always frustrated me and I would tell him that it's okay if I don't make a lot of money, I'm going to do what God has called me to do. I was and still am passionate about kids, so that was that!

My dad also said I needed to get my Master's degree, but I always said that I was done with school after I finished my first degree at Texas A&M. It's funny how things change and sometimes your parents are right.

I now have 2 Masters Degrees and dream to finish my doctorate possibly at some point. It's funny how God works. :)

This brings me to my big news I have been waiting to share. I apologize for leaving you hanging for so long. I thought I was going to be allowed to share sooner.

I have been asked to teach a class (as an adjunct instructor) at Hardin-Simmons University! (I know crazy!!!) I will begin teaching an undergraduate class in Early Childhood Education. It is an evening class once a week, so I will continue to teach 3rd grade during the day.

I am honestly so humbled and honored by this opportunity. It has been a little crazy to be the one choosing a textbook and writing a syllabus, but I am so excited.  Thanks for being excited with me as I start this new chapter.

Fun Randomness

2011-10-14T19:21:00.002-05:00

I still can't share my big news publicly yet... sorry to leave you hanging, I thought I would be "allowed" to share by now.

So instead this week I will share some of my favorite pictures on pinterest lately.

Built in dog bed

I love the large A and I have been wanting to redo our home office. This would be fun.

I really like the lantern and vintage mailbox. via holly mathis interiors

We (along with others) are bringing breakfast for our college students during Sunday school this week. This sounds good...

We need to redo a couple of bathrooms... we will probably do something a little more functional, but wouldn't this be fun?

And lastly, I love this dresser and the fun fall pumpkins and gourds that have been painted, but my only question is... how long do painted pumpkins last? Someone told me that painted pumpkins get rotten much faster than regular ones. True? Anyone know?

One more thing... we went to see the new movie Courageous this week and I have to tell you it was life changing! It is an amazing movie that everyone needs to see. We also saw Seven Days in Utopia recently, which was also a movie I would highly recommend. The fun thing about the second movie is that it was filmed in the small town of Utopia, Texas (and Fredericksburg). Utopia is about an hour from where my mom lived when I was in college, Medina Lake (just outside San Antonio). I drove through Utpoia many times on my way to or from Garner State Park or Laity Lodge Youth Camp (where I worked for 5 summers). It is so fun to watch a movie completely set in location where I spent a lot of time as I was growing up. It is also incredible to see movies that clearly use Scripture and have story lines so glorifying to the Lord.

Both movies would be great for the whole family.

Have a great weekend y'all!

Formating Issues!

2011-10-01T23:18:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the formating issues in my blog lately! I promise that I actually have paragraphs and what-not, but for some reason these are not showing up once I publish. I will work on this problem! I know that it makes it very difficult to read. :(

Life as we know it...

2011-10-01T23:15:00.004-05:00

It has been a busy time in this Gililland household, but some might say, "Isn't it always?!?"
It may take a few blog posts to get you updated...we'll see... or I will just give you the super short synopsis.

These past few weeks have been difficult and exciting in many different ways. Some of the reasons I cannot share just yet, but I promise to share soon.

Here is the synopsis of what I CAN tell you...
In the past month or so...

DJ's dad was placed in ICU due to sepsis (a blood infection). He is now in a long term hospital recovering from this serious infection, making lots of improvements and ready to head home in the near future.

I have spent 2 weekends in San Antonio for various reasons. My time there has been filled with drama and difficulties, but this time also makes me so thankful for my husband and his leadership. It makes me realize how thankful I am that Christ is the center of our marriage because without Him, we would be lost.

Last weekend I was in charge of the Love Out Loud conference at our church, for which I have been making preparations for about 6 months. Our church provided the host site for about 300 ladies from all over Texas. The SBTC brought in many great speakers and we were truly blessed by what the Lord did throughout the weekend.

We were responsible for organizing/preparing food, greeters, registration etc. I took off half a day last Thursday and all day Friday. I spent Thursday and Friday getting last minute preparations finished and then welcomed the ladies Friday evening. The event began with a dinner for the speakers. Our dinner team did an amazing job preparing an fabulous meal and the ladies said that they were truly spoiled. While the speakers enjoyed supper, the registration team and greeters took their places welcoming the rest of the ladies as they arrived. The snack team did a fantastic job providing all kinds of hospitality to the ladies throughout the weekend. The room set-up team made sure all of the break-out sessions were in order and the Saturday lunch team took care of serving boxed lunches to the ladies that day. It was such a neat opportunity to see the body of Christ at work.

Overall the conference, was a huge success, but not because of me. Just before the event began, many of my preparations were sent into a frenzy with last minute changes. I felt a little overwhelmed by the chaos this caused (mostly only in my mind) but the Lord showed me that it is not about me at all. Instead, He received all the Glory, even when I might have seemed slightly like a chicken-with-my-head-cut-off (hopefully not). However, despite the last minute changes, the Lord did a major work in the hearts of many women and He even let me have a small glimpse of what He did through the weekend.

On Thursday, just as my sub arrived so that I could leave for the conference, a camera crew arrived with balloons and another 3 foot check. I had received another STAR Teacher Grant from the Abilene Education Foundation. Two years ago I was blessed to receive a grant to add some much-needed technology to my classroom. This year, AEF blessed my students again by providing another grant so that I could add a document camera to the classroom technology. It should arrive this week, and I am super excited. Another exciting opportunity presented itself this week and I will share about this soon!

2011-09-03T09:33:00.002-05:00

I did an interest inventory with my students and I thought I'd share some fun/funny responses.
I left the invented spellings so you could see their cuteness. :)

My favorite subject is...
1.Class
2.Word shurch

When I grow up I want to ...
Climb

The best thing about me is...
1.I have a family
2. I have a little cosin

The next best thing is...
1. A pool
2. My unkel is really nice
3. I'm fast

If I could go anyplace in the world, it would be...
1. School
2. Las Vegas

My favorite meal is...
1. Corn
2. Dinner
3. Tacos (from a student from Korea)

A hobby I enjoy is...
Jump

So far the year is going really well. Please pray for my students, there are a few very specific needs that God knows.

What to do When You've Ruined the Laundry by Washing a Crayon

2011-08-16T22:45:00.008-05:00

Tonight I went to remove the clothes from the dryer and found out that I had ruined the whole load because I had a green crayon in the pocket of my jeans. Right now you are probably thinking one of three things:

1. Why in the world did you have a green crayon in your pocket?!?! You don't even have kids!!!
2. Oh man... I've done that!
OR
3. Oh no! Did you get all the stains out of your clothes?

Here's how the drama played out...

We have one of our college students staying with us this week and she needed to do a little laundry. I went to empty the dryer so she could put her load in and found a little surprise. As I pulled each piece of clothing from the dryer, I quickly realized that our entire load was probably ruined. The crayon had melted onto each and every article of clothing leaving greasy, green freckles everywhere.

We quickly relinquished the idea of ever salvaging the laundry. I was pretty frustrated with myself, but also knew that I had to get the dryer clean because I could handle ruining our clothes, but I had to make sure the green crayon would not ruin our college student's clothes too. I became engrossed in removing all the debris from the dryer. If you haven't ever had this problem, you would be amazed at the the way a crayon gets into every nook and cranny inside the dryer and leaves stains all over the drum of the dryer.

I began trying to wipe down the inside of the dryer. First I tried Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Counter Top Spray, and then I tried vinegar. So far very little results.

Our next thought was to google the problem. We found many suggestions, including WD-40, Dawn, Shout Advanced, and dish detergent. One post particularly convinced us we need to try Dawn Power Dissolver. Google quickly told us that Wal-Mart carries this but none of the Wal-Marts in our area had any in stock. All other searches revealed that this product is often difficult to find in many stores. I could order it online, but didn't want to wait that long. So off we went to HEB, knowing this would probably be the only other place we had any chance of finding this product in Abilene.

As I walked down the cleaning aisle I picked up some Oxi-Clean Max Force and Shout Advanced, just in case. Then I went to look for the Dawn Power Dissolver. Once again, my local HEB saved the day! (I love HEB, but that's a post for another day.)

Finally, we headed home to begin the investigation. DJ set to work using the Dawn Power Dissolver on the dryer and it worked magically! It only left a little discoloration on the back of the dryer, but we think this was from our jeans and had nothing to do with the crayon at all.

I began testing the laundry with the 3 products and soon discovered that Oxi- Clean Max Force has amazing powers. All three products were able to remove some of the stains, but the Oxi-Clean seemed to have the strongest power to remove the biggest, deepest stains. I let the stain remover set on the stain for a few minutes and then scrubbed the stains by hand using hot water. Most of the stains came completely out. Finally, I put all the laundry back into the washing machine for another wash and I was amazed to find that all of the stains had disappeared!

The moral of this story?
1. Check your pockets EVERY TIME before you do laundry.
2. Don't allow green crayons to end up in your dryer.
3. But if you do, Dawn Power Dissolver, Oxi-Clean Max Force (and HEB) can save the day!!!

2011-08-13T13:09:00.001-05:00

If you haven't heard of Pinterest yet I have to share it with you; However, I have to warn you that it can be addictive.

Pinterest is a way to organize things you find on the internet, especially images. I used to find myself bookmarking different blog posts that I wanted to remember or go back to later, but Pinterest creates an easy way for me to organize all of my ideas in one place. It allows me to create boards categorizing all of my different pins so that I easily find it when I need it.

The possibilities are endless... I have boards with recipe ideas, tips for my home, decorating ideas, products I love, teaching inspiration etc. etc. You can make it whatever you want.

I am planning to redo one of our guest bedrooms into a home office with a daybed for guests, but I want it to be organized and still feel welcoming to guests. So I created a board where I keep ideas of things I want to remember as I recreate this room.

This image is from home-designing.com and when I click on the picture it will take me back to the original website where I borrowed the image.

Here is a pallet daybed idea I also liked for the room.

When you first go to Pinterest, you will need to request an invite. After a few days you will receive an email and you can start pinning.

You can also follow other people, so you get ideas from them too!

You can see my boards here!

Happy Pinning!

2011-05-24T22:18:00.003-05:00

I wish I spent more time blogging about my students so that I could document it forever to look back and remember sweet anecdotes & funny moments. Instead I worry about confidentiality and laws and such. This is my attempt to do better without revealing the "who" of my stories.

My school holds the Newcomer Center for my district. Abilene is one location where the International Rescue Comittee relocates refugees from mostly war-torn countries. I've had students walk into my classroom shortly after leaving refugee camps where they witnessed horrific things, like the murder of their own father. These students show up in my room (usually part-way through the year) and I have the distinct privledge of helping them learn to speak English and learn to read among many other things. Today I held the joy of explaining chocolate syrup and sprinkles and watching them take their first bite of ice cream topped with these mysterious substances. So fun!

I also adored my time teaching 2 students to play aggravation (which is very similar to "sorry"). I laughed so hard as one boy, with thick African accent, told another boy, "I send you home! Wait _____ (insert name) I send you home!!!" I can't do this story justice, but just imagine us cracking up as they learn the game and then master the concept of sending their opponent back to start... with a vengeance!

I also had the privilege of heading to the ballpark to watch the bats crack against the ball.

What a privilege it is to take part in their lives. I love watching these kids grow up and pray daily for their future stories. It has been a great school year and I'm not quite ready to let this group go.

But just as I feel this way, I sit in the ballpark talking to kiddos and parents who told me they are excited to possibly have me next year. Praise the Lord for opportunities to see Him at work and get a glimpse of excitement for a new year.
Happy Summer y'all!

(p.s. I wrote all this from the tiny keyboard of my phone so hopefully I was able to make sense! ;) if not please ignore this post!)

Is it Friday yet?

2011-05-09T19:16:00.003-05:00

What a week it has been so far ... and it's only Monday!
On Saturday night, after our garage sale, we had the college students over for BBQ. The house started feeling really hot, but we thought it was because we had been in and out all day and our house was full of people. We realized when everyone left that the AC was not working. So we went to bed with the windows open and tried to get some sleep. Around 3:30, I woke up sick as a dog, whatever that means. After it was all over I was completely dehydrated, achy, and had fever for another 24 plus hours. Dr. Munton called in a prescription of phenergan and the nausea finally went away. Sunday was the fourth Mother's Day without my sweet Mama and one full year after the miscarriage of our first baby. I spent the day sleeping in a hot, hot house. On Monday, I was supposed to take my class on field trip to the zoo, but realized that was not going to be possible. Thankfully I found a sub at the last possible hour and spent another day in bed with a terrible dehydration headache. Around 3:00 DJ called Dr. Munton again and he had me come in to his office. Instead of going to my graduation rehearsal, I spent the afternoon getting IV fluids, but oh how much better I feel! The AC man came tonight and $75 dollars later replaced the fuse on the unit. Seriously!? Now we are just waiting to hear from our insurance about our roof. The roofers already came and said the hail demolished it, so we'll just find out what insurance says. We are taking it one day at time, trusting the Lord, and finding the joy in the many blessings we do have. The trials make the good times so much sweeter.

The TRUE meaning of Easter

2011-04-23T12:50:00.003-05:00

My friend, Amanda, just shared this video (along with a few others) and I thought it was too good not to share.

I having trouble embeding it so just click on the word video and it will take you directly to the website or you can go to Amanda's blog where the video is embeded already.

Hope you are having a blessed Easter weekend!

The Waiting Game

2011-04-08T17:40:00.003-05:00

Well, it's official... I have finished my second Masters degree! Yesterday I had Orals, which is a culmination of everything I have learned. It is definitely a little intimidating to walk into a room of your professors knowing that they have 45 minutes or so to ask you questions about everything you've learned. I finished my Reading Specialist Masters this time last year and I had almost enough classes to finish both degrees, so I did. A few of the classes overlapped, but I wasn't sure if they were going to ask me questions from any of the overlap classes or not. It would have been nice to know that I did not need to study those classes again! Oh well! When I arrived they decided to only ask me questions from my gifted ed. classes (and not to repeat Reading or Research questions), so that cut my orals down to 30 minutes. The 30 minutes flew by very quickly and before I knew it I was done. I felt like I had done well, but the scary part is when they send you out of the room to talk about you and decide whether or not you passed. Last year this part took less than 5 minutes. This year I waited, and waited, and waited. At first I was confident, then I thought I must have failed, then I wanted to cry, and then I waited and waited some more. After 20 minutes, the guy who had Orals after me showed up and we chatted for another 10 minutes or so. Finally, one of my professors came out to see if HE was ready to start his Orals. At that moment I said, "Um... are you going to tell me if I passed or not???" At that moment I could see the realization on her face that they had forgotten about me! She swept me up in a big hug, apologized profusely, and told me that I PASSED! Praise the Lord! They said that when I walked out they all said that I passed and they signed all my paper work, but forgot to call me back into the room. Then they started chatting and simply forgot me. I told them not to worry because it was a great story. I am just relieved to be FINISHED!!! WHOOP!!!

Busy Time

2011-03-30T20:28:00.002-05:00

I have so much to be doing, so naturally I am blogging instead! However, I have been absent from my blog for so long I thought I would tell you where I have been. I have spent the last few months diligently working on a literature review about ability grouping (that sounds like great reading doesn't it?!) After I finished 25 pages of research I completed an article on the same topic that I am actually submitting for publication to a real journal! (TEMPO is the official peer-reviewed journal of the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT). If it actually gets published I will definitely let you know!

After that I have been working on preparing for Orals for my 2nd Masters degree (I know I am crazy! I'm really not an over-achiever, it just somehow worked out that I had almost enough credits for 2 masters when I finished the 1st. So I thought, why not?) For this degree, my professor requires that I prepare a gargantuan binder (the binder by itself cost $30!).

The binder has all the competencies for gifted ed, with lots of info on each and then I had to write a 3 page synthesis for each competency. I finally finished that last night and now I have exactly one week to prepare for Orals! On that note, I better go study, but I plan to be back after April 7 showing you pictures of how I refinished my kitchen table.

Crazy week

2011-02-04T16:32:00.003-06:00

This has been a crazy week (as I'm sure you have experienced as well). On Monday we had the most beautiful, spring-like 75 degree day. Then Monday night we had rain, hail, thunder/lightning, crazy ice and then 6-10 inches of snow! We spent the rest of the week "camping out{" in our living room, cause that's what we do for fun - watching movies and snuggling. We ended up having FOUR days off of school because the roads were so bad. The roads had at least 6 inches of packed ice - I'm talking skating rink style. I have never in my life (that I recall) experienced wind chills in the negatives in Texas, but I finally experienced it this week. Wow! Rollie loved the snow so I thought I'd share a picture of his joy.

And just for fun here is a picture of DJ loving life. Our good friends had baby number 4 this week and they finally got a boy! Congratulations Tim and Kara!

Antique Vanity Redo

2011-01-17T21:45:00.005-06:00

Before:

My grandmother has been holding onto her grandmother's bedroom suite. Originally my mom was going to refinish it, but when she passed away I inherited it. About 6-7 years ago I refinished the headboard of this set. Recently I noticed on different blogs how people had taken apart vanities to make two individual bedside tables. The vanity was in a little disrepair, so I asked DJ what he thought about helping to take this one apart. He had to do a little bit of work on the pieces including adding new bottoms to both tables and a fourth leg to each table because they each had only three legs.

AFTER:

A Baby Changes Everything

2010-12-07T22:15:00.002-06:00

This is the week our sweet baby was due to be born. When we found out we were pregnant we were so excited that we would have a new addition to our family to celebrate this Christmas.

A friend of mine invited me to the come to the Living Christmas Tree at her church this weekend. When she gave me the ticket it read, "A Baby Changes Everything."

Tonight at church we had a women's banquet. The speaker had a lot of great things to say, but one in particular was how Mary Magdalene waited on Jesus. She talked about all the different times she waited and then applied it to us and reminded us to wait on Jesus. She mentioned that many of the women in the room were waiting on something whether it be a baby, a spouse, a family member or a friend... Jesus reminds us to sit at his feet and wait on him.

It has been these subtle reminders this week that make our baby waiting hard.

On top of that, since the miscarriage I have had issues with my cycle. After almost 9 months of issues and many different treatments from the doctor, he decided to do a hydrosonogram to see if I had any irregularities in my uterus. The results of the sonogram were inconclusive (although painful), so he has decided to do a hysteroscopy on Friday, December 17. I will have to go under anesthesia for this procedure so that he can use a small camera to look at the inside of my uterus. This will be done to find out the cause of all the abnormal bleeding, which could possibly be polyps or fibroids. He also mentioned that my uterus is out of balance and that he will scrap the endometrium to help shed some of the extra-thick lining on my uterus. I have 2 pre-op appointments on Wednesday next week and then I will have the procedure on Friday.
We left this appointment extremely hopeful. My doctor is hopeful that this may help with our fertility issues and we are excited for what the Lord has in store.

It is interesting to go back through this hopeful feeling again. As you can imagine, after 3 years of trying, the loss of our baby, and then 9 months of bleeding, we were feeling a little discouraged; however, at the same time we have also been getting very interested in adoption. We do not yet know what Lord's will for us in regards to children, but we are hopeful.

I am reminded at this special time of year, during this season of waiting on a baby, that the baby we are waiting on is actually our Lord, born as a baby, died, resurrected and living in Heaven. We anxiously await the return of our Lord and we find hope in Him alone during all the trials of life.

I hope that you too are also awaiting the celebration of the birth of our Saviour. During this busy time of year, we sometimes need to be reminded to just wait on Jesus.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Wanting, Wishing, and Waiting

2010-11-14T21:32:00.004-06:00

I'm sorry that it has been so long since I have written regularly. It has been a busy season for us most definitely. Between our jobs, working on graduate degrees, and serving in the college ministry at church, we haven't had much extra time for anything else. However, as the semester comes to a close I am feeling like I have accomplished a great deal and I am slowly but surely going to make it. The biggest relief has been that my professor suggested that I take an incomplete in my independent study class so that I don't stress myself out trying to get everything finished right now. This means that I have a little extra time to finish my 25 page literature review (where I review all the the research I can on "Ability Grouping") and then create my article (which is intended for actual publication!), and then finally create a presentation (which I will hopefully present at the Texas Association for the GIfted and Talented annual conference next fall).

In addition to all of this, DJ and I have continued to struggle to begin our family. It has definitely been a struggle each month over the past three years to find out we still are not pregnant. We have felt for a while that both of our hearts are bent towards adoption, but just haven't felt that it was the Lord's timing just yet. All that to say, the Lord is definitely working in our hearts in this area. We have slowly begun to research everything that this entails and pray that they Lord would lead us where He desires. At this point, we are thinking that we may begin the adoption process sometime in the next year or so. It is definitely a big decision, especially since it requires so much financially. The hard part is knowing that I have such great insurance that would completely cover my own pregnancy, but trusting the Lord as He leads us into a process that might cost $20,000. Our human nature wants to think of these huge costs and wonder how we could afford that, but we know God is in complete control. At this point, we are working on beginning to position ourselves financially to make all of this possible. It is very exciting and also a little overwhelming all at the same time.

I know that the Lord has an awesome purpose for everything He is doing and we continue to wait patiently and trust daily that He will lead us toward His will. Thank you for praying for our family as we tread these unchartered waters, whichever way the Lord may lead.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Publisher's Clearing House Costume

2010-10-30T11:19:00.002-05:00

We had DJ's students over last night for a costume party. It was a blast although I think our costume would have gone over better with an older crowd. :) Too funny!

Teaching is truly a calling

2010-10-28T19:32:00.006-05:00

Can I just say that I love my job?! I think that everyone should get up each morning and do what they love. It is an all- consuming, life-changing kind of job, but the countless extra hours are completely worth it to me as I work at making a difference in the future of tomorrow.

But can I just tell you how discouraged I get when I hear people talking negatively about their child's teacher?! I realize that there are some teachers that do not passionately pursue their jobs in the manner it requires; however, most people have NO CLUE the amount of time, effort, stress, love and care that goes into teaching.

Can I just be honest?

Parents are the hardest part of my job.

I love each of my children as if they were my own. I work extremely hard and often times parents can make it feel as if you are doing the most horrific job ever. 90% of the parents I have dealt with in my 8 years of teaching are fabulous, but the few who are critical and mean make my job a nightmare at times.

All this to say, please encourage your child's teachers. Remember when you are feeling critical of something that they are doing that you are only seeing a very small piece of what is going on. Always be willing to talk and listen BEFORE you take it to the principal. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out a parent is upset when they never spoke with me about it first. Always step back and remember what an underpaid, thankless job teaching is and try to notice the good things your child's teacher is doing... and tell them!

I am not saying this because of anything I have had to deal with recently. I just want to lovingly send out this reminder because I think it is easy to get critical and speak negatively, but we have no idea what might be going on in someone else's world. One example of this occurred a few years ago when I had to put my mom into hospice care. I arrived back to school after a very difficult weekend (and months of turmoil) only to find a very upset parent (who had never spoken with me previously about their concerns). This parent had no idea what was going on in my personal life, but became extremely critical for something that was completely out of my control.

That is just one small example... thankfully I have an amazing principal who was quick to back me up... but it definitely struck me in a very personal way during a time when I felt my lowest.

Love on your teachers... shine Christ to them even when they don't deserve it. We all make mistakes. (And by all means do NOT bad-mouth them publicly. This only makes you look bad.)

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

Being Content

2010-09-07T18:42:00.004-05:00

I just read this post over at Simple Notebook and it was exactly what I needed to remind myself right now. She often has great ideas for simplifying -I think we try to make things a little too hard on our ourselves sometimes! I thought that I would share it with you, in case any of you need a little encouragement right about now (or just practical tips - she's great for that too!)

My life still feels full to the brim, but I am just bitting off small pieces at a time and trusting the Lord.

The Biggest Loser!

2010-09-04T14:36:00.002-05:00

At the beginning of August, DJ and I decided to compete against each other for our own version of "The Biggest Loser." The contest goes from August to Christmas and the person who loses the most gets to spend $500 however she chooses. I say she because I am pretty sure that I am going to win, but I hope that my confidence inspires my husband to persevere. :-) His busy schedule makes it hard for him to find time to exercise and often means that he grabs a meal on the go, especially over lunch or while he is on the road traveling with one of his teams. However, we are working hard to pack our lunches and just make healthier choices overall. I have been working out at the Y since March with my friend, Libby, and I have lost 11 lbs so far (5 lbs since the start of our contest)! Hopefully, we can make this a lifestyle change! I will keep you posted on our progress and you can help hold us accountable! :)

Perfectionism... Where did you come from?!

2010-08-28T23:53:00.003-05:00

I sit listening to my husband make sweet sleep sounds (that's what we call it in my house... ). I am not sure where to start because it has been so long since I have blogged. This has been a season of challenges for me. Satan is telling me that I am failing in so many ways and he is hitting me with lies about how I need to work towards perfection. Why am I struggling with perfectionism?! I have never struggled with this in my life! I have always been more of an underachiever... (As a kid, I was content not studying and making the B. Sometimes I wonder what I could have done had I actually applied myself!)

I am feeling overwhelmed with life... like I have too many irons in the fire, but I am not sure what I can cut out. My first desire is to take care of my home and glorify the Lord as a wife. It is in these areas especially that I am really beating myself up, as if I can't quite reach perfection. The dog hair is driving me crazy, but I just can't find the time to vacuum daily, like I need to with a long haired dog in the summer...this seems so trivial, but it is just one of the little things driving me crazy!

In addition, I am overwhelmed with the desire to be an amazing teacher (which is a daunting task at best). Grad school has been an awesome learning opportunity, but I often find myself feeling inadequate in the impossible task of teaching. I say impossible because to be the teacher I want to be requires countless extra hours of work, but my desire to put my home first directly conflicts these crazy hours.

In addition, I am so close to finishing my second masters, but sometimes wonder if it is worth it.

We also love our church and the service God has called us to there. College ministry is definitely very stretching for me, but I know that God has called us there for a purpose. I love serving in the preschool ministry as well, but sometimes wonder if I haven't stretched myself too thin.

All this to say that I am working on organizing my time so that I can be a better steward of the things of which the Lord has entrusted me. It seems that the theme of my life is always reliance on the Lord. For years, when people ask, "What is the Lord teaching you right now?"... my answer continues to be "to rely on Him." I HAVE to rely on Him COMPLETELY in order to make it through this life. I must trust in the Lord with all my heart, and lean not on my own understanding. I just wish that I would learn this lesson and apply it ALL the time so that I can be all that He desires.

Murder Mystery Dinner Party

2010-07-23T23:49:00.006-05:00

I completely forgot to post these pictures! We hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner Party for the college students just before Threshold began. It was a blast! DJ completely got into his character (trash 'stash and all- which by the way was shaved the next day). Enjoy!

Highlights of our Trip to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and NYC

2010-07-12T20:19:00.014-05:00

Our favorite part of the trip was going to the Pennsylvania Amish country.
DJ had to eat here...

This was the B&B he surprised me with. It was originally owned by William Penn. Most recently it was a test farm for New Holland, whose headquarters are just down the road.
We would totally recommend it... it was beautiful and the food was amazing!

We were able to see most of the sites from National Treasure

Duck Tour through the streets of Philly and then on the Delaware River

Phillies Game

We left Philly and headed to NJ for my nephew's high school graduation.
These are my sister's kids, Lyndsie, Myles, and Skyler. (love them!)

My sister, Rhonda, and my nephew, Myles

This was a really neat restaurant at Liberty State Park, overlooking the Statue of Liberty

My niece, Lyndsie and I, at the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center)

My sister started calling DJ "Crocodile Dundee" because he was saying "Howdy" and talking to everyone on the streets of the city. This was taken in Little Italy at a great outdoor restaurant.

This was a hilarious moment...I wish I had video. DJ bought their CD and made some new friends... we have yet to listen to it...doubt we ever will.

We had a great time!

You never know the impact you have...

2010-06-23T17:48:00.005-05:00

Last week I received an email from my sweet friend Kim who I worked with at Laity Lodge Youth Camp asking if I was available to come out and help at camp for the week. I didn't think I could go because DJ and I were supposed to be in charge of recreation at VBS, but I mentioned it to him anyway and was thrilled when he told me to go and he would hold down the fort at VBS. Wow, what a great hubby!

I spent four years as a counselor in Cabin 1 (the youngest girls' cabin) and then on year on Central Staff in a leadership role. The girl who had this role was at Young Life camp for the week so they needed someone to fill in for her, so I got to spend a week in my favorite part of our great state, the hill country.

I headed to camp Monday morning. One of the first girls I "met" was one of my campers who was now on staff! I began to feel really old when I realized that tons on my campers were on staff. It was so much fun to hug the necks of these precious girls that I had lived in a cabin with and taken care of through their first summer away at camp. Not often do you have the opportunity to know the impact you made on someone, especially a child. On Wednesday night, as we walked to Round-up, I chatted with a few of my former campers and one of them asked me if I remembered when she asked Christ into her heart. Of course I remembered!!! She then told me how each time she gives her testimony she tells of how we were hiking to Girls' Camp-out and she asked Jesus into her with her counselor, Andrea. What a sweet, sweet moment for me to have had the opportunity to share Christ with a little girl, who is now a young woman serving the Lord this summer.

I spent the next 2 days sick as a dog in my cabin, but it was well worth it for those few minutes that the Lord allowed me to see a glimpse of how He had used me for His Kingdom.

2010-06-11T10:34:00.000-05:00

2010-06-08T16:47:00.002-05:00

We recently decided to switch our internet to Sudden Link. Today is the day and I was appointed to wait on the installation guy. We have had staff development this week so I stayed late yesterday so that I could rush home at 2 today to wait. Notice that wait is the key word. it is now 10 till 5 and I am still waiting on him to finish. So glad I rushed home! So while I wait I thought I'd share a funny moment when the installation guy encountered our sweet sweet puppy. He specifically asked if we had any dogs so I put Rollie in the laundry room and put the cover on the doggie door. Not 30 seconds later I hear barking in the backyard and rise to see our sweet golden retriever barking like crazy at a terrified man. Oops! I guess I didn't get the doggie door locked properly. Every book we read about goldens said that they are not good guard dogs because all they would do is lick 'em to death. However, lately Rollie has started to show some protective instincts. Is it because he's coming into adolescence? I dunno but I do know that it is pretty funny to see a man scared of our sweet Rollie dog.

By the way, in case you are wondering, he finally recovered from his surgery and seems to be doing well.

My First Blue Box

2010-05-05T08:31:00.002-05:00

Simone and Blaire with Emrie

2010-05-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

My Best Friends

2010-05-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture from this weekend.

Very Blessed

2010-05-04T15:20:00.004-05:00

I am still very close to my college girlfriends, and this weekend they made the trek to Abilene to celebrate my 30th birthday... I even feigned surprise to see one friend all the way from Chicago (although, I had already figured out she was coming. I would have been really disappointed if she didn't show up!) What a great weekend, and I have to tell you that I felt completely blessed to be so loved and have such great people in my life. We went to a great little burger joint (Lucy's) that my friend Kara reccomended out in Tuscola (home of Colt McCoy). I had the best mushroom and swiss burger and then some amazing homemade ice cream. After that some of us went for a pedicure while the rest stayed at the house and then that evening we had The Beehive, which is one of my favorite steakhouses in Abilene.
On Sunday morning, the girls got up and made a delicious breakfast before they prepared to leave, but before they left they asked if they could pray for DJ and I. Wow, what a blessing! DJ and I sat there as we were showered in prayer. In the end, I think most everyone teared up. What an amazing culimination to a very difficult month when I miscarried our first baby. However, in spite of the challenges, I am clinging to the fact that God has a plan for us and we are incredibly blessed in so many ways. I know that even as trials come, it is then I draw even more near to Him, which is exactly where I want to be.

Even as our one-year-old golden retriever has surgery to remove a tumor tomorrow.

The hits just keep on coming

2010-04-20T09:52:00.003-05:00

God has a funny way of making me ready to leave my 20's. I will turn 30 next week, and I have to say I am ready to leave this decade behind because the last few weeks have been super challenging, to say the least. I will spare you the dramatic details, but let's just say we have had some heartbreaking and devastating momments, and then last night I almost cost us at least $1000!
We were working in the garage last night and I left a lawn chair a smidge under the door when it got closed, but instead of going back up that dinky little chair knocked the garage door off its frame and BENT the frame! The door was completely off kilter and wouldn't even close. We really thought we were going to have to get a new garage door, but Russ and DJ worked on it for a while and I think it might be ok! Thankful for guys that know how to fix things and for a husband that didn't even get mad at me!:)

Even when life gets challenging, I am thankful for the promise that God will never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). When all else feels lost, I can cling to this.

2010-04-16T11:40:00.003-05:00

Lamentations 3:22-28
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him

This has been my favorite verse for years, but in the past week it has been so applicable. We are not consumed, we are trusting the Lord fully regardless of the outcome, knowing His will is best. After more than 2 years of trying to have a baby, we found out on Good Friday that we were expecting! What a blessing! The following Monday we went to the doctor for a blood pregnancy test and Tuesday we found out that I was miscarrying. We were devastated, to say the least, but I can truly say that we have been truly encouraged to keep hope knowing that the Lord has an amazing plan.

Littleton School Shooting

2010-02-28T15:55:00.005-06:00

If you heard about the shooting at the middle school in Littleton, Colorado, my cousin was the teacher who stopped it.
Here are some neat articles about it and about him:
San Antonio article
Denver article

My aunt just sent me an update on the situation. Here is what she said:

"There are four stories I am now aware of about this very sad incident through my daughter.

Story number 1: The shooter did attend school there, but that was in the early 1990's. He did try to gain access into the main part of the school where the class rooms are. He had gone to the main office and introduced himself in a very polite manner and said he had attended school there. He then asked for permission to go to the bathroom and he was given a pass. When he tried to gain access into the main part of the school where the class rooms are, a janitor stopped him would could not allow him access. After the shootings, they found a backpack full of ammo behind an exit door that he could have accessed had he been in the main school. This man had driven over an hour from where he lived to get to this school. This obviously was a very well planned "murder spree."

Story number 2: One of the teachers at the middle school is having a very hard time with this incident. She is pregnant, but in 1999 she was a senior at Columbine High School where 12 student were shoot. Please say a prayer for Jamie.

Story number 3: Matt has improved and will probably be released this Monday. He will probably be out of school for a month recovering.

Story number 4: Rachael the girl who was shot in the arm is a very lucky person. It has now been determined that there were three shoots fired and two of those shoots were aimed at Rachael. Her coat bears the evidence that the third shoot graced it at her stomach level.

Prayers are needed for all the people who were touched by this incident."

Rachel Ray and my nephew!

2010-02-19T13:42:00.003-06:00

My sister and her family were able to go to a filming of the Rachel Ray show last week and my nephew got asked to ask a guest a question. He was chosen because he is the same age as the guest. Here is the link to the video segment. It is very short.
I can't believe that he is about to graduate from high school. He has been accepted to Auburn, University of South Carolina, and University of Central Florida. We are still waiting to hear from a few other schools, including A&M. It would be nice to get him back in Texas because they are living in the New York area right now.

The Best Cheesecake Ever

2010-02-08T15:37:00.004-06:00

My sweet husband LOVES cheesecake, and when I say LOVES I mean LOVES! But I never make it (or hardly ever) because I don't have a recipe as good as my friend Carolyn's secret recipe (maybe oneday I will make the "good" friend list and score the recipe). So tonight, I believe I will try this recipe for "The Best Cheesecake." I believe that it has all the ingredients that she says are crucial, but I know she uses some fancy pan that is NOT a springform (imagine that), so we shall see if it turns out. I'll let you know!
Cake:

6 eggs
1 1/2 C sugar
2 lbs. (four 8 ounce packages) cream cheese, preferably Kraft's Philadelphia brand
1/2 pint sour cream
1/2 pint heavy cream
juice of one lemon
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 heaping Tablespoons flour

Crust:

1 1/2 C crushed vanilla wafers (you can also use crushed graham crackers, or digestive biscuits)
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 C sugar

Preheat oven to to 425°.

Add eggs, sugar, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and flour to mixer. Beat (on low to to low-medium speed) thoroughly, until completely smooth.

While cake mixture is beating, make the crust.

Mix crust ingredients together in small mixing bowl. Pour into 9" spring form pan, pressing into place with your fingers or the back of a spoon. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

When crust is cool, and cake is thoroughly mixed, pour batter into the pan over the back of a big spoon, so the batter does not disturb the crust. Let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes.

Bake in 425° oven for 15 minutes. Then turn oven down to 275° and bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven. Do not open the oven door for 2 hours! After the 2 hours are up, remove cake and refrigerate.
Source: http://www.squidoo.com/bestcheesecakerecipe

Ok... so I thought it was really good, but DJ says Carolyn's still takes the cake. Boo! I thought I was on to something! Anyone have any suggestions?

Update on DJ's Dad

2010-02-04T20:54:00.005-06:00

We found out tonight that DJ's dad does NOT have to have chemotherapy! The pathology report came back and they were able to remove all the cancer. It had not traveled to his lymph-nodes, but they are encouraging him to have follow-up appointments in the near future to check for polyps, just to be sure. Overall, what a huge blessing! They are home tonight and all is well! Although, he did ask DJ's mom if they needed to start looking into nursing homes. She said of course not! This just broke my heart, because he feels like he is such a burden and does not quite understand how much easier life will be now with the colostomy bag. This will make clean-up SOOO mush easier. She tried to explain this to him, but he still feels like he is a burden.
Praying for him as he continues to battle MS. After this hospital trip, he has now almost completely lost use of his left arm, but overall we are so thankful for good news!
Thanks for praying!!!!

2000 miles in 9 days

2010-02-04T17:18:00.004-06:00

Wow! I've been doing some driving lately, mostly by myself, which isn't too much fun! Last weekend I headed to Houston for a good friend's bridal showers. Kirk and Korie met in med school in San Antonio while I was still teaching there. They were good friends and then dated for most of their 4 years there. Then they went to Vanderbilt for the residency where he is doing Emergency Medicine and she is an Anesthesiologist. We are so excited that they are finally getting married and can't wait until the big day in March!

While I was in Houston we found out that DJ's dad has colon cancer so we I got home from Houston Sunday night and we headed to Amarillo on Monday. The surgery went well and we are still waiting to see if he will need chemotherapy. We headed home Wednesday night to beat the blizzard that occurred a few hours after we left.

Then Friday my sister called me in my classroom and said that she was in San Antonio unexpectedly (from the New York area) and wanted to know if she could come see us for the weekend. Of course, I hit the road Friday after school and drove to SA to pick her up. We turned around and headed back to Abilene that night. On Saturday we enjoyed some HSU basketball and a fabulous dinner at the Beehive, where we saw almost everyone we know! On Sunday we had the opportunity to hear a great message a church and then take my sister to our favorite Abilene pizza place (Brick Oven) before we hit the road for our long drive back to SA. We arrived in San Antonio with my golden retriever in tow, ate dinner, and then Rollie and I headed back to Abilene to begin another week! What a busy week, I am ready to be on solid ground for a while!

(The top picture is my sister and her family, The second picture is our friends Kirk and Korie.)

Colon Cancer

2010-01-26T12:31:00.005-06:00

This weekend we got the news that DJ's dad would need a blood transfusion because his red blood cells were very low. So they began to investigate the cause of the bleeding, telling us that they were looking for blood in either the stomach or the colon...if its the colon then it is cancer. DJ knew immediately that it was cancer. Over Christmas his family had come to visit us and he recalled how his dad "did not look good." Since his dad also suffers from MS I was still optimistic that maybe it was just the ulcer and not the colon. However, DJ's intuition was correct, his dad has colon cancer. The colonoscopy revealed that the probe could not even make it down due to a mass blocking the way. We currently sit in the surgery waiting room as they plan to remove the tumor. The doctors anticipate that he will be in ICU when he gets out of surgery and then there is the question of treatment. They have mentioned chemo, but his dad is already so weak from the MS that we are unsure how his body may handle this. We know that God has a perfect plan and will carry that out, so we sit here and wait for His plan to be revealed in perfect time. We appreciate everyone's prayers during this time. We will keep you posted.

Blessings,
Andrea

A few hours later...
The surgery went well. They are just waiting on the test results of the lymph-nodes to determine if he will need chemo. They removed 1/4 of his colon which means he will use a colostomy (which will make his general care much easier from now on).
Thanks for praying, I will keep yall posted!

2010-01-22T19:42:00.001-06:00

Me: can we adopt a baby from Haiti?
DJ: I was wondering when you were gonna ask that, that's something we can pray about.
Me: :)

A mysterious package on the doorstep

2010-01-03T21:59:00.005-06:00

Yesterday a mysterious package arrived on the doorstep addressed to me from an address that I did not recognize. I ripped into the package and found a letter from the new homeowners of the house we sold this summer. The letter said that they were enjoying the house very much and that they had poured a lot of money into fixing up the lake house. They sent us pictures of the things they had completed so far. The house looks great and I am so glad that they are enjoying it! On the front porch, they lovingly hung a sign with the name of their new lakehouse: "The Money Pit." :) That made us laugh because it is SO true!

The letter also said that while cleaning out the storage shed, they had stumbled upon a box of letters that they thought I might like to have. I sat down at our dining room table and began to rummage through the old letters. The letters were mostly dated in the 1950's and early 60's and were written from my mother to my great-grandmother. It was so neat to read, in my mother's handwriting and childish voice, letters she had written regularly as a girl to her grandmother. She often spoke of skirts that her grandmother would send her in the mail and she would give her current skirt length. She told of learning to drive their parents' Model T Ford and some of the final letters spoke of her new baby (my sister) and her life as a young married girl. What a treat to look into the past and gain some insight into my mother's childhood.

A Fantastic Celebration...

2009-12-11T19:45:00.003-06:00

What a great week! I finished my graduate class with a bang and I am headed into an exciting weekend, then one last fun week of school, then CHRISTMAS!!!!

Tomorrow morning I am hosting a graduation dinner party for one of favorite people. It is really such a fun story how I came to know Dianne. A few years ago in one of my first few classes at HSU I met a lovely Canadian woman who had recently moved to Brownwood from my part of the world (the San Antonio area). She and her husband had spent a handful of years in Pleasanton, just south of SA. When I found this out, we began "the name game" to see if we knew any of the same people (because I have multiple relatives, as well as friends, in good ol' Pleasanton, TX). One of my mom's sisters, Aunt Janet (and Uncle John), had spent many years raising children, grandchildren and an engineering business in this quaint south Texas town. I soon found out that Dianne, in fact, knew my family quite well. Her husband, a pastor, had conducted the funeral service for my beloved aunt 5-6 years prior, and also performed the wedding for my uncle a few years later when he remarried. Dianne and her husband had become great friends with my family... we had an immediate connection.

Since Dianne lives in Brownwood, she commuted to Hardin-Simmons for her weekly graduate classes, but one semester she had a class both Monday and Tuesday evenings. It was that semester that Dianne stayed with us once a week. We enjoyed dinners, great conversations, and a deep friendship. Then this past summer, Dianne and I were asked to co-teach a kindergarten and first grade class for gifted learners on architecture. Needless to say, our bond continued to deepen through the struggles of writing curriculum, creating, and teaching together. So it is with great pleasure that I plan this celebration to honor an amazing woman and unbelievable teacher, my friend, my colleague, and my mentor, as she graduates with her Masters in Gifted Education.

Here is the menu for tomorrow's great celebration:

Spinach, Strawberry, and Hearts of Palm Salad

Honey Baked Ham

Roasted Red Potatoes with garlic and rosemary

Traditional Holiday Stuffing

Baby Pea Salad

Cream biscuits

Italian Creme Cake

Does it sound fabulous? I hope so! I can't wait for the celebration to begin! I will post pictures later...

Elf Yourself

2009-11-23T17:46:00.002-06:00

Every year around this time a funny video circulates where you can "elf yourself." So I thought it would be funny to "elf" the third grade teachers (including me) and send it out as our Christmas greeting to the rest of the faculty. So I went to elfyourself and created our video... the only problem... when I emailed it to my team I accidently sent it to a parent (of one of my students as well)! Are you picturing it? The parent opens their email only to find their child's teacher dancing around in an elf costume! I'm a little mortified, but praying she thinks it is funny. What can I do about it now but laugh?! So I thought I would embarrass myself a little more and share it with you too, but I changed the faces to protect the innocent and added DJ and I instead...

Enjoy!

Honoring the 12th Man, trusting the Lord

2009-11-20T23:51:00.004-06:00

Ten years ago I was a sophomore at Texas A&M, the place that God used to change my life for His glory, the place so full of believers on fire for the Lord (more my age than I had ever known in my life growing up in the Church), the place I met my very best friends in the whole wide world, the place full of traditions and a spirit can ne'er be told...the Holy Spirit, truly.

As I sit here in my hotel room in College Station ten years later, preparing to attend the football game tomorrow and again next week, I read a friend's blog recapping a life changing moment our sophomore year. Here words describe exactly what I remember...a time when our campus came together even more than usual to rely on the Lord...

"From the outside looking in you can't understand it, from the inside looking out you can't explain it."

I really can't put words around that tragedy to full remember and honor that day, but I did want to share with you a friend who poignantly recalled what we as the Aggie family experienced during that time when Bonfire fell.

Slightly Stressful Moment of the Day

2009-11-15T19:34:00.002-06:00

I had a slightly stressful moment at the grocery store this afternoon when I walked out to the parking lot to get into my car. I put my key in the car door, unlocked the car, and opened the door. As soon as I did this, the car panic alarm began to honk loudly. I didn't know why my car was doing this until I reached in the backseat to begin unloading my groceries and I noticed that this WAS NOT MY CAR!!! How embarrassing! I quickly shut the car of which I was trespassing and used my key to lock the door back! The elderly people walking by could only stare at me as I sheepishly explained that it wasn't my car but my key worked on the door! With my head low, I quickly walked to the next aisle where my car was parked in the exact same space (just one row over), hoping that the owner of the other car had not seen me. I can't help but wonder if my key would have worked in the ignition.

Creativity... I want some more of that

2009-11-14T13:49:00.003-06:00

I have suddenly become obsessed (maybe that's too strong of a word) with blogs, mostly other people's - especially creative people. I tell myself that if I had more time I would make time for all of these great things I read about. I think I secretly want to be Martha Stewart, not really her so much but just the idea of being a domestic goddess (I don't really like that term, but you know what I mean). I just love baking and cooking and decorating and entertaining and sewing. I want my house to be spotlessly clean, but lately I don't feel like I have had the time to keep up with all the dusting and crazy amounts of laundry. Anyway, my whole point was I ran across Caroline's blog not too long ago and I LOVE it! She is an amazing photographer and ridiculously creative. I actually teach with her mom and go to church with her family as well, but I have never met her. That is going to change soon because we are definitely planning to have her take some pictures of us sometime in the future...maybe in the spring. Anyway, I just wanted to share her creativity with you because she is amazing.

Random Phone Call

2009-11-09T19:20:00.002-06:00

I received a random phone call today from the people who bought my mom's house. (We had her house on the market for 2 years and it finally sold in July.) So it scared me a little when I had a message from the new owner. I was thinking, "Oh no! What went wrong, and what does she think I can do about it?" Well, it turns out that she received her taxes on the house and found out that we only sold her half of the property! She was frantic! She asked, "Did you intend to sell us the whole property and the house?" "Yes, of course!!!" Well, there has been some mistake and they actually only own .2 of an acre while we also own .2 of an acre. I wonder who actually owns the house!? I told her not to worry, that we would sign whatever we needed to make the whole property officially theirs. I called our realtor, who is actually on vacation, but thankfully was able to get ahold of her. She said that she would call the title company tomorrow and hopefully the process won't be too difficult to take care of...

Wow! What drama... its the story of my life. :)

2 Peas in a Pod

2009-11-07T10:53:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, my husband turned 35, and I simply adore him. I couldn't imagine anyone more perfect for me. He is so patient with me even when I try his patience. He truly cares for me so well and sacrifices himself for me.

Our first date was in March of 2005. It was a blind date in Fredricksburg. Prior to that day, we had spent countless hours on the phone after being set up. After the first night of talking to him until four in the morning, I went to work that day and told another teacher that he was the one. (I think she thought I was crazy. :) However, on our first date I was not too impressed with Mr. Personality. He loved to tell people it was because of his tapered jeans and purple Hardin-Simmons rain jacket... this is NOT the reason I was unimpressed. On the phone, he was himself, very charming and fun, but on our first date he was nervous and very shy. I thought he was a dud and I didn't think it was going to go much farther than this.

He did call again though, and our conversations went back to the fun talks we had had before our first meeting. We had our second date in Junction, Texas in a gas station and it went great! :) The gas station had a great little barbeque restaurant and we had great conversations again. After that we spent weekend after weekend together in either San Antonio, Abilene or Dallas.

In April he decided that I was not the one and he broke it off. Then in May he realized that he had made a mistake, but at this point I was done with him. (There is funny story here but I am already getting too long winded.) In June, he came to Dallas and hung out with my friends and I. When he left, I went with two of my best friends to get ice cream and told them I didn't think I was interested in him. They told me that they thought he was great...perfect for me and I needed to wait until July...if I still felt this way then I could break it off for good. I agreed and by July I knew that we would be married. He proposed under the Century Tree at Texas A&M (also a good story that I will save for later) and we married in June of 2007.

During all of our wedding plans, my mom was an integral part of helping me get everything in order. When I was a freshman in college she had been in intensive care in critical condition with kidney failure, but the Lord had miraculously healed her and she was doing much better. She began dialysis a few years before I met DJ and had to go to treatments for 4 hours, 3 times a week... definitely not fun, but the reason she was still alive. My mom and I were very close and I spent almost everyday with her during that time before DJ and I were married. On our wedding day, she looked the best she had looked in years. Little did we know, in less than a year she would be gone. As I look back I can see the Lord's plan through it all. He gave me DJ before he brought her home to be with him. His plans are truly perfect.

By May of 2007, we had only been married about a year and my mom began the downward spiral in health. We spent our entire summer driving back and forth from Abilene to San Antonio. I truly believe that we spent more time in San Antonio than Abilene during those months from May - November. We struggled with many major decisions that most people don't have to deal with until they are much older. That May, my mom suffered a stroke. At 27 years old I was responsible for finding her a nursing home and then dealing with all the paperwork, as well as getting her moved in. I worked really hard to decorate her room so that it felt homey. They other people at the nursing home called it the "fancy room." When her mental illness (she had battled bi-polar disorder for years) became an issue and the nursing home could no longer keep her and we had to find another place for her. In addition, she began refusing to go to her dialysis treatments, which was keeping her alive. Since she was not receiving this treatment it exacerbated her mental illness greatly. Knowing that we were unable to safely care for her in our home (since we both spent our days at work) we struggled to find a place that would take her. This story has many more details than I won't elaborate on here, but the gist of it is that nursing homes would not take her because of the mental illness and mental health facilities would not take her because she was medically unstable. We finally convinced her to go with us to University Hospital because this is a hospital that cannot refuse patients. Praying that the hospital would keep her long enough to stabilize her, we sat in the emergency room for hours. Finally, it became clear to the hospital that she was not mentally competent and she received a room. What a horrible night that I will save you the details of hearing. The hospital kept her for all of July because they too could not find a facility that could care for her. She was deemed mentally incapable of making the decision to quit dialysis; however, the hospital could not force her to receive her dialysis treatments. We sat in meeting after meeting with doctors and hospital administration coming to the realization that no one was capable of helping us and that it would be just a matter of time before she died of kidney failure. In August, she was released from the hospital to a place called the Haven House for mental health patients. By October she had deteriorated greatly and needed to go into hospice care. I cannot say enough good things about hospice. She spent a few weeks of hospice in my grandmother's house and then it became neccesary to move her to a hospice facility. What an amazing place during such a difficult time. We spent the short amount of time before she passed by her bedside during the days. At this point she had become non-responsive. On November 5th, we went home for the night to get some rest and received the phone call that she had passed at 4am on November 6th (DJ's 33rd birthday). DJ and I along with my sister and her husband immediately went to her hospice room and spent about an hour by her bedside before the funeral home came to remove her body. This was a sweet time of closure for us. Later that day we had to identify the body and begin preparation for the memorial service. How difficult this was... I planned a good part of the memorial on my own. I had no idea how to do this and after the fact many people had opinions about what should have been done. I wanted to say that I would have appreciated their help then! Through it all DJ was amazing. It is so obvious to me that the Lord put him in my life at just the right time. Without my sweet husband, I have no idea how I could have made it through all of that. I am so extremely thankful for the amazing blessing of DJ in my life. Even though his 33rd birthday was a rough one to say the least, I can see what a blessing it was for her to pass on this significant day. Each year as this day passes, I can joyfully reflect on an amazing woman but also spend the day celebrating the life of the man God created me to spend my life with.

What I want to be when I grow up...

2009-11-05T21:52:00.002-06:00

I wrote this post last Friday, but had internet problems in my hotel... so I am just now getting around to posting this:

Since August I have been driving to Bedford about once a month for my Children’s and Young Adult Literature class. At first this class completely overwhelmed me (at times it still does) because I somehow became appointed the graduate assistant for the class. What that means in a nutshell is I do twice the work for the same amount of credit. Do I sound like an underachiever? Well… I am… I don’t mean to be, but I am. The hardest part of this class has been trying to decipher the expectations that have been placed on me. I have been told, “You may do this (and this and this…) for extra credit, but I don’t want extra credit! I just want to get an A by doing well on the requirements for the class. I don’t have time to do a ton of extra credit and also do my real job well.

However, in spite of my semester spent trying to find the balance between doing “what is expected” and not seeming like I am doing the bare minimum, I have found inspiration through this class. My peers (whom I must grade, I might add) consistently inspire me. This is so awkward because I want to grade fairly, but I am grading many type-A personalities who, I fear, will want to squander over every lost point. I am a people pleaser, so I don’t want to make anyone upset, but I also must please the instructor by the way that I grade the assignments. I spent 10 full hours grading their first discussion board, which means that I haven’t done any “extra” credit because I also must grade my own real students. Oh… the dilemma!

Back to my inspiration, and the purpose I began writing tonight…this class is stretching me and challenging me in so many ways, but in the end I believe I will be a better teacher because of it. As I sit through class each time we meet, I get excited to change the world. I receive so many great ideas and recommendations for children’s and young adult literature that I must read. Oh how I want to read each of these books, but at this moment I wonder when would I have the time? Please know that I am not trying to complain. Instead, I am attempting to verbalize feelings of inadequacy, as well as desires to become an even better teacher. So…what do I want to be when I grow up? I want to conquer the impossible goal of becoming an amazing teacher. I care about my students and I work hard to make a difference in their lives, but so often teaching feels like the impossible career… especially on days when parents are critical and then I read another book about all the things I could be doing to be even better at this ridiculously difficult career and calling.

20 questions

2009-10-28T23:53:00.005-05:00

I saw these questions on my friend Amanda's blog and decided it might be fun since I haven't made time to blog lately.

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while your blogging?

I am not a big snacker, but lately I have had trouble resisting the mini snickers in the bowl on my kitchen table for the munchkins who ring my doorbell on Saturday evening!

2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?
The obvious answers... my Bible ... my husband

Day-to-day things...my hair straightener
3. Beach, Mountains, or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?
not the beach... probably a farm...

4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty?
dusting the blinds!

5. Who do people say you remind them of?
I used to hear Punky Brewster when I was little...recently though when I see pictures of myself I see my mom
6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying home with the fam?
both

7. What's your all time favorite movie?
probably A Walk in the Clouds or You've Got Mail

8. Do you sleep in your make-up or remove it like a good little girl every night?
I hate to admit it... but I sleep in my make-up most of the time... always have... I know it is terrible... please don't judge me :)
9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?
I used to sew with my mom, but I would like to take this up again... maybe take some sewing classes to refresh my memory...

10. What's one strange thing you're really good at?
gaging...people love to make me do this... I hate it!

11. What first attracted you to your spouse?
We talked on the phone before we ever met on a blind date... we got a long really well and he made me laugh... now we just say we're two peas in a pod

12. What is something you love to smell?
Hugo Red Perfume (but I am all out... Hint hint Darrell Jon! :)

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.
I have been called "too nice" a time or two, but I say there is no such thing! :)

14. When you have extra money, what's the first thing you think to do with it?
eat out

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?
Lately I have developed a snort... have no idea why

16. Where is your favorite place to shop?
Before I moved to Abilene it was Banana Republic and Ann Taylor Loft, but in Abilene since there aren't many clothing places, my favorite places to shop are the cute little antique shops around town
17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?
continue fixing up our house... next on the to-do list:

finish trim on kitchen counters, texture entry way and paint,put down wood floors, replace living room/dining room baseboards, paint exterior, landscaping,organize garage, etc...

18. Are you a big spender or frugal?
uh... neither... but lately we are struggling to eat out less

19. Who is your favorite character of all time?
Movie - Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail"

Book - Amanda (main character in Redeeming Love)

Cartoon - Papa Smurf

Animated Movie - Ariel in The Little Mermaid
20. Would you want to be famous?
no thanks
What are some or all of your answers?

Faith like a Child

2009-09-30T23:17:00.007-05:00

I love it when a student encourages me to love Jesus more. There is a precious child (I'll call him Cam) who comes to my classroom most mornings because he wants to sharpen pencils. It is amazing that he actually wants to do this, because I hate sharpening pencils (but I am so thankful that somebody else wants to!). This sweet child loves the Lord and it is so neat to watch Cam shine Christ to the other kids.

Sometimes another student (I'll call him Cade) comes to help sharpen as well. One day Cade asked me what church I go to. He also said that his family does not go to church but that he wants to go. I knew that Cam's family is active in a church and that Cam would love to take Cade to church with him. So I mentioned to Cade that he might want to ask Cam if he could go to church with him sometime.

I am not kidding, the very next morning Cade and Cam were both in my classroom and I overhear Cade asking Cam about his church. Sweet little Cam went on and on about the things that he loves about his church and Cade was genuinely interested. What a precious moment for me to know that God was at work in my classroom (of course he always is, but today it was so obvious!). I have been praying for opportunities to shine Christ to my kids and what a neat way that the Lord allowed me direct a student to another student who could openly share with him.

I hope I haven't confused you with all the C's... I know I have confused myself since these aren't really their names! :)

A Camera Crew, Balloons, and a Three-Foot Check!

2009-09-17T22:51:00.009-05:00

I was eating lunch in another teacher's classroom today when my principal walked in and asked, "Andrea, how long are you going to be here?" I said, "In my life?" thinking he meant how many more years...Stupid response I know, that was just my first thought. I almost started explaining all the different possibilities until he laughed and said, "No, I mean today. How much longer are you going to be in this room right now?" "OH!!! About 10 minutes!" "Ok, don't go anywhere!"

So then all the other teachers started speculating about what I was waiting for...

One teacher said, "Is the news here?" and he said, "I don't know...maybe."

So that's how the surprise was spoiled a smidge. I don't think I was quite as excited had I been if I had been caught totally off guard, but it was still so much fun when the camera crew walked in along with about 8-10 people carrying a 3 foot check and a dozen balloons or so.

They told me that I had received a STAR Teacher Grant!

Yea, I am getting a CPS Chalkboard! The woman holds up the microphone and asks what I am going to get with my grant. I say something really stupid about how I am getting a CPS Chalkboard, which is an interactive technology that allows my students to see the internet and powerpoint from anywhere in the room. What a dork! I made it sound like the silliest purchase ever! I promise that this technology is amazing and completely transformed my classroom last year when I was blessed to use it for half of the year. Hopefully, my "interview" does not show up on the evening news anytime soon!

Oh, well! I am so thankful to the Abilene Education Foundation for the opportunity to use technology to transform my classroom! Thank you so much!

What is Children's Literature?

2009-09-11T19:35:00.003-05:00

Since I made the decision to finish a second masters degree I have had a few moments where I want to turn back. I am still planning to finish but I have definitely bitten off more than a mouthful. Originally when I met with my advisor, I found out that I was only lacking a few classes for the second degree, so it seemed obvious that I should finish. Since I needed a few electives I started looking through the classes being offered this semester and found a children's lit. class. I had actually already taken this class from a different prof but the class is a requirement for both of my degrees and I thought it might be interesting to take it again with a different prof since the topic is so relevant to what I do daily. My advisor loved this idea but said that she would title the class Practicum in Gifted Children's Literature and talk to the professor about having my requirements be a little different so that it would fit perfectly into my degree in gifted education. Somehow this "great" idea has morphed into something much bigger... I am now the graduate assistant for the class, which includes teaching a little, as well as monitoring and grading all of the discussion board posts. In addition, I have many other additional requirements like writing a few articles intended for future publication in an education journal. Of course all of these things are wonderful opportunities, but I am a smidge overwhelmed with all of the things on my plate right now. I must go so that I can grade the mound of papers I brought home for the weekend and create my presentation on Children's and Young Adult Literature for our first night of class next weekend.

Rollie, now and then...and a little Duke

2009-09-05T19:24:00.004-05:00

Just for fun, here is a pic of the Bush's Baked Beans dog, Duke...everyone says that Rollie looks like him...

Here are some pictures of Rollie...

Our puppy is growing up.

Here he is when we brought him home in April at about 8 weeks old...

Here he is today at 7 months old...

And here is one more of him at about 8 weeks...
I can't believe how fast he has grown!

Opportunity to pray for my students...

2009-08-29T18:40:00.007-05:00

I began this post a few weeks ago, but am just now getting around to posting it today.

This morning was interesting...to say the least, but let me back up and start from the beginning.

Rewind to Thursday morning...

One of my precious students came in very excited with a note asking me to attend her baptism this weekend. Of course I was excited too and told her I would love to try and come. The note said to call her mom for directions if I could make it. So I talked to her mom later that day, told her that I would love to come, and asked what church they went to.

Her response was, "Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." And then she paused and waited for my response, like she knew I wouldn't want to come after all.

I have to admit I definitely panicked a little. My first thought was, "Oh, no! What do I do!?"

So I got home that night and had some serious discussions with DJ about it for the next 2 days. We sought wise council and came to the conclusion that I should go since I had told her that I would.

This brought on a little nervousness on my part because I knew DJ had to work and I would be going alone. I had heard of people visiting Mormon temples for tours after the temple was built and then heard how the church would destroy all carpet, repaint and replace everything after the tours and then the temple would be closed to the public forever. DJ also had an event in high school held at a Mormon church and he had to enter through a certain door. They were only allowed in a certain part of the building. Knowing all this, I wanted to be respectful in spite of my differences in beliefs. I researched on the internet to learn a little more of what to expect and what would be a appropriate to wear. I talked to a dear friend who has had experience with ministry to Mormons and felt comforted.

So this morning I arrived at their church in my Sunday best, knowing that the ladies traditionally wear skirts to church. At first only 3 cars were parked in the back of the church because I was very early... so I drove around the neighborhood a little while returned to a few more cars in the lot. I waited a moment for someone else to arrive so that I could go in through the appropriate door. My sweet student was so happy that I was there and everyone was so nice, of course. The ceremony was deceivingly very similar to what I am used to. I listened very carefully because I knew that they claim to be Christians, but I also knew that they don't believe what I know to be truth. I can understand how people get sucked into the believing that this is truth because they make it seem so similar to Christianity but when you look closely it is so very different. One interesting part was a video that they played about Joseph Smith. The video very clearly explained why "other religions are wrong" and how Joseph Smith, as a boy began to question the Christian faith and the differences in denominations. From what I understood, he believed that God told him that he should not take part in any of the denominations and thus the birth of Mormonism took place.

Overall this was definitely a great learning experience and I am now so burdened for this sweet little girl. I know that she has been placed in my room for a purpose and I will just continue to pray daily that I shine Christ to each of my students.

Busy, busy day!

2009-08-21T23:11:00.003-05:00

I'm doing the best I can, but man I feel like a chicken with my head cut off sometimes. Today I worked on a grant that I had been writing for school. Last year I had a student in my classroom who is visually impaired. Since he was unable to see the overhead projector or board I had to find a different way to meet his needs and everyone else in the class. I found something called a CPS Chalkboard. It is an interactive board that allows me to stand anywhere in the room and write on a small wireless board that I carry. My visually impaired student had his own personal computer at his desk. The monitor was placed close enough so that he could see everything on the screen. The rest of the class could see everything projected on the large screen. This technology traveled on with this student to his next classroom, so now I am writing a grant so that I can have a CPS Chalkboard in my classroom all the time.

While finishing up my grant, I also talked to my grad school adviser a few times today because I figured out that I am pretty close to having enough classes for a second masters degree. I have been working on my masters as a reading specialist. Each semester I have to take 6 hours but many times they have only been offering one class that applies towards my degree...so I have also taken quite a few extra classes in the gifted education program. I talked to my advisor today and found out that it is totally worth it for me to finish a second masters in gifted education. Am I crazy!? :)

Meanwhile, I have been training the 4th grade teachers to use the CPS Chalkboard and troubleshooting technology problems for them. Then I ran to the district office to submit my grant proposal, ran to Hardin-Simmons to take care of grad-school registration, and then headed back to my classroom to actually finish preparing for the first day of school on Monday! Since I didn't get much done in my classroom today, I will be headed back up there early Saturday morning and maybe even Sunday afternoon...we shall see...

What a weekend!

2009-08-16T20:15:00.004-05:00

What a weekend! On Friday night I found out that my friend, Libby, is being moved to teach 4th grade instead of 3rd, so she officially has one week to move her entire classroom.

On Saturday Libby, Crissy and I spent the day taking a family from our school to visit their child (one of our students) in a foster home about 2 hours from here. The child we visited is doing really well and our visit went really well. We took them to Walmart and let her pick out a new outfit and some shoes, then we went to lunch and a movie. The ride home was interesting, to say the least, I wish I could share more details. I'll just say that this is definitely a family to pray for. We did have an opportunity for good conversation with the mama on the way home. I had a small opportunity to share hope about my mom's mental illness and give here a glimpse into some of the same struggles in my life, but the Hope that pulled me through. She desires so much to be "normal," I hope she got a glimpse of God's faithfulness in my life in spite of mental illness in my mother.

On Sunday we all went and helped Libby get her classroom moved. Her room is coming together but it was so bitter sweet for me today. I am SOOO disappointed to loose her on my team and I know the changes have been hard for her as well. She will do an amazing job, and I know that God has a purpose for where He has placed her... we are just trying to trust that.

Fun Times

2009-08-09T22:44:00.003-05:00

I always knew that my best friends are great, but I was reminded of how fabulous they are this weekend. We took a quick trip to Dallas because it is our last weekend before DJ begins working 7 days a week for football season. On Friday night we had a fun dinner at Joe's Crab Shack with DJ's best friend, Rusty. DJ had his first experience with crab and we had a lot of fun catching up. Then DJ and I stayed in a nice hotel and caught up on our Food Network addiction. We slept in on Saturday, ate lunch at a fun eatery featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives (Twisted Root), and got in some shopping in stores that we don't get to visit that often living in Abilene. IKEA was crazy! I felt like we were going to Disney World on the busiest day of the year... I guess we should have thought about all the college students who are trying to get ready to head back to school! Then last night we had a fun dinner with two of my college roommates and their families. Even though I had spent time with them a few weeks ago, I quickly remembered how nice it is to be with people who truly know us. It is just so easy... what a great feeling... no formalities, or small talk...we just go right back to where we left off, like we still live together and see each daily. What a blessing! Thank the Lord for good friends who know me well and love me anyway! ;)

Architecture Around the World

2009-07-24T19:34:00.004-05:00

I feel a little bit like crying because I have finally finished a very busy summer. It is July 24th and my summer officially begins today! The past two weeks have been very tiring and difficult, but also full of growth. I have been teaching architecture to kindergarten and first graders in a program for gifted learners at Hardin-Simmons. I co-taught with a good friend who is an amazing teacher. We began creating our curriculum in April and continued to tweak it throughout the two weeks. We took a tour of architecture around the world this week. DJ created AMAZING "passports" for my "architectural explorers." I don't think I can really do them justice by describing them here, but let me just say that graphic design is definitely his specialty. On our tour we explored The White House, castles, bridges, towers, and future architecture of the world. I have so many funny stories, but I can't share too much here because of privacy issues. What a bummer! This journey has been so exhausting and difficult, but also very rewarding. Today I was offered to continue this job next summer...at the beginning of the two weeks, after all the hours and hours of work, I told DJ not to let me do this again, but now that it is all over I am so torn because it really is an great opportunity. I would love to just relax next summer without any major plans, but I also hate to turn down this opportunity... decisions...decisions!

Good-bye Lake House

2009-06-30T16:49:00.002-05:00

Well it looks like we may have finally sold the lake house. We have been trying to sell it for the past two years and every offer has fallen through. This one looks like it may work... they have had the inspection, come back with their counter offer, and we officially accepted today! We are supposed to close on Friday, so we will have to go down on Thursday and finish cleaning out a few closets and the shed. My mom was an accountant, so we have at least 20 or 30 boxes full of other people's financial documents that we have to figure out how to dispose of. We have thought about burning it or finding one of those companies that we can pay to come shred it...if anyone has any helpful suggestions, bring it on!

I am really glad to be rid of the financial burden of an extra house payment, but it will also be sad to see it go. My mom LOVED it out there and I have a lot of great memories of time spent with her out there. We loved to BBQ and then sit out on the deck over looking the lake. We also made tons of s'mores in the fire pit with my niece and nephews and their Grandy. When I would come home from college, Mom and I would rent movie after movie at the teeny little video rental place and I can't forget the Labamba and When Harry Met Sally tapes that we watched over and over. It feels a little bit like my last tangible piece of my mom will be gone when we sell it, but I know I will get to see her again one day.

Thank you Lord for the amazing blessing that my mom was and is to me... thank you for her constant example of selflessness. Thank you for providing a buyer for the house in your timing. We love and we trust you. In Jesus name, Amen

2009-05-17T19:16:00.003-05:00

DJ left for Outdoor Education Camp today and I am pretty sad that he'll be gone for two weeks. So after church I decided that it was a pretty day so I took Rollie to the park for a walk. I got about half way around the park and noticed that I no longer had my key to my car. I practically had to drag Rollie around the park searching for the key because he was worn out. Never found the key... so about an hour after DJ arrived in Brownwood he turned around and rescued us from the park. What a great man... I sat in the park and cried because I felt so bad that he had to come back to save me, but my fabulous husband was so sweet about it... didn't even seem to mind. So I spent about 15 minutes with him and then he had to turn around and head back to Lake Brownwood. :(

What a mess!

2009-05-10T21:55:00.002-05:00

We officially have new floors in the kitchen, laundry room and hall way... and they look great, but now I want to change the color of the cabinets! So I spent the day testing out colors and now my kitchen is an even bigger mess!!! The man comes tomorrow to install our new cooktop ... the trim will be finished tomorrow... and hopefully we will get our kitchen sink back. Tonight we grilled chicken outside but I wouldn't let DJ wash the chicken in the bathroom sink so we used the hose! Wow, I'm not sure which is worse! And then we rinsed the dishes in the backyard and stuck them in the dishwasher... which still is not connected. Our living room is full of all our dishes, kitchen table and pots and pans. I can't wait to get my house back! I never thought I would say that I am sick of eating out, but I am also not too fond of doing the dishes in the back yard! Hopefully a home cooked meal will be coming soon!

Meet our new puppy, Rollie!

2009-04-07T22:35:00.000-05:00

2009-02-20T21:59:00.002-06:00

I received two emails of note today. One email sent this video:
"This is a speech that a 12 year old girl gave about abortion. She is wise beyond her years."

Another good friend, who works for a Christian Pregnancy Clinic, had this response and it was so insightful I thought I should share it:

oh boy! I just have to respond b/c I'm engulfed with this issue day in and day out. A newer conviction I've come to realize is that speeches like this are ineffective, or fruitless. This is a flaw in the pro-life movement. To say that abortion is wrong and it takes away the rights of the unborn is stating the obvious (although of course 100% true.) I don't feel like our role as Christians needs to be the one who continues to state this to people; instead, I strongly feel like the role of Christians is to start providing solutions for women facing unplanned pregnancies. Majority of women who choose abortion feel as though she has no other choice. What if we started telling her that she did have another choice? This girl's argument to simply make abortion illegal isn't a solution to this problem. Research shows (from Planned Parenthood) that the top 2 reason women choose abortion are lack of practical resources and lack of emotional support. Until we (Christians specifically) can start providing those 2 specific needs for women facing unplanned pregnancies, abortion will always be a viable option for women. From our research at Caris, in addition to not having practical resources and emotional support, when a women finds out she is unexpectedly pregnant, it is equivalent to telling her she has been diagnosed with a terminal cancer. Trying to convince her that her baby has rights and should therefore live is like speaking another language to her that she cannot understand in the deep state of shock that she is in. However, through in-depth counseling and on-going care, she can come to see that with the support of others who are willing to stand by her, she canindeed choose parenting or adoption. How empowering for her! The other thing that really bugs me about speeches like this is that her argument makes the women, the mother, the enemy in the situation. Like I said, most women don't want to have an abortion, but they feel as though they have no other choice. The women convinces herself that ending the life of her baby is a better option than trying to parent or adopt. She's not thinking logically b/c of the state of shock she is in. She, above everyone else, wants to protect the innocent baby. All this to say, if we want to see the tide of abortion change in our country, there are very practical things we should be doing. My suggestion of the top three are:1) support your local pregnancy clinic! However, ensure that the organization is providing professional, Christian counseling and that women are being treated with dignity and respect at all times (no scare tactics, manipulation, etc.)2) support legislation that enforces counseling before an abortion can be performed. A woman can go to PP right now and not get any counseling before making a life-changing, irreversible decision. That is absurd. Also, I think it would be extremely effective if there was a mandatory waiting time after she finds out she's pregnant and before she makes her decision. 3) Educate Christians to start providing solutions (like 1 & 2). The abortion issue is solvable. Churches should be working with local pregnancies clinics, mentoring these young moms, and building bridges between the pregnant women and the church. And Christians need to be encouraged to start being pro-active rather than just speaking out, protesting, etc... If you're still reading, thanks :) I just can't watch something like that and not share with you what I know about this issue. I swim in these waters ever day! God has not only stirred up a passion in me to help women facing unplanned pregnancies, it's more like a roaring tidal wave! I have talked to countless women who have been in this situation, and trust me, she is not the enemy. She just needs to be empowered and deeply cared for. I seriously could go on, but I won't :) Don't feel like you have to respond! Just my thoughts here...

What an evaluation!

2009-02-03T20:24:00.003-06:00

I had my evaluation today and it went really well... but there is a funny story...

We were learning about money and making change etc. Everything was going great, we were using dollar bill and coin manipulatives, I was using cool technology, the kids were completely engaged and then... I FORGOT HOW TO SUBTRACT!

Seriously! We were going over $5.00 minus something like $3.58 and I completely messed up with the regrouping! I could see it all over their sweet little faces... they almost looked terrified, like, "OH no! Mrs. Gililland don't mess up in front of the principal!" Their eyes were pleading with me, "That's not right!" I quickly fixed it and we all laughed and laughed about it later.

The best part was that my principal made a really big deal about what a great lesson it was and how he would have done much better in math if he had been able to have a teacher explain it and make it fun like that! YEA! I guess he could relate to my trouble with subtraction. :)

But don't loose too much faith in education... I promise they all know how to subtract and make change!

Welcome to the world Layla!

2009-01-29T21:10:00.005-06:00

One of my closest friends in the world, Lisa, and her husband, Andrew, just welcomed the newest edition to their family this week. Everyone is healthy and happy! I can't wait to meet Layla this weekend!

Sweet Chloe and her adoration of DJ

2009-01-18T23:26:00.004-06:00

The funniest thing happened today... I laughed so hard that I was snorting in Sam's. Although, I may not be able to do it justice with words. In order to give you the full picture, I have to back up a little... This summer DJ and I MCed Vaction Bible School. I should actually say that DJ was the MC because I was more like a sidekick as it turned out. He's a huge ham and loves performing for a crowd and ALL the little girls love him! I am not kidding! Anytime we see the under 8 crowd of little girls at church, they all swoon! There is a precious little girl at church named Chloe and she is apparently a member of the adoring DJ club. We saw her the other day and she got SO excited to see him. Well this morning, I helped out in the 2 year olds "Sunday School" class, which Chloe is a part of. I said something to her about "Mr. Gililland" but she apparently did not realize that it was DJ I was talking about. So after church today we ran by Sam's and ran into Chloe and her family. I am not kidding, we must have been 100 feet away and she got completely excited to see us (or DJ I should say). "Daddy, Daddy, LOOK!" We stood and talked to her family for a while and she was completely beside herself. She said, "You are with him?" I explained that he was my husband and she just couldn't get over it. I wish that I could show you a video because I was right, words do not do it justice! Just imagine DJ and I laughing so hard that I was crying.

Tour of Texas

2009-01-15T17:24:00.004-06:00

Wow, what a week! Last week I went on a tour of Texas, literally! I went to San Antonio on Sunday, then back to Abilene late Monday night, then Dallas on Thursday, College Station on Friday, and Houston on Friday and back to A-town on Sunday. Are you tired just reading about it? :)
Well here is a synopsis of some fun times:
My grandmother turned 80 on Monday, so I went to San Antonio for the birthday party. I stayed with my Dad and step-mom while in SA, so as we drove to the party, 2 funny things happened:1. I had put lotion on my hands before we left the house, so as I drove to the party, I looked down and I was missing my diamond ring! I had my wedding band, but not the engagement ring. Of course, I panicked a little. When we stopped, I got out to look on the floor board of the car, just in case it had fallen off my lotion-y hands. As I bent, I put my right hand on the console and I hear from the back seat, "Is that your ring?" I look down at my right hand to find that my ring was on my right hand, on the same finger as my Aggie ring! OH! How embarrassing! My dad spent the rest of the evening laughing hysterically about how I was getting senile.

2. The other thing that happened as we drove was that I asked my family if they thought we had dressed up enough for the birthday party. (I could tell from the invitation that it was going to be a dressy event.) My Dad's response is, "I think it's only going to be immediate family." My response to that was, "Dad, if it is immediate family, then you would not be invited." (This party is for my mom's mom, and my parents have been divorced since I was about 10.)
So we drive up to my grandmother's house and literally blocks before we get there are cars lining the street! We walk into my grandmother's house to find that this was definitely a black tie affair and there are OVER 200 people mingling inside! What a surprise! There were men with trays of food walking around... there was someone at the door to take our coats... etc. The party had a Dairy Queen theme. This may sound strange, but it was actually really neat. My grandparents had been in the Dairy Queen business for many years, so my aunt went with this theme. There were vintage Dairy Queen Posters hanging around the house... the cake was literally a 2 feet long (at least) banana split. 2 ginormous bananas lined either side of the cake, with three huge scoops of "ice cream" in the center, and on the side was the DQ logo. It was really neat. There was even a vintage ice cream machine that made teeny tiny soft serve ice cream cones. The cones were about 2 inches tall. It was really cute.
However, the best part of the whole party was hearing everyone's kind words about my grandmother. She is literally the matriarch of our family and everyone had really nice things to say to me about her. It inspired me to desire to impact peoples' lives in the same way that my grandmother has impacted lives.

So after the party, I headed back to Abilene because I had to work the next day. My sweet husband talked me through most of the drive and was waiting anxiously for my safe return home.

Thursday brought another trip... DJ had a conference he needed to attend in Houston, so we took the scenic route through Dallas. It is not that our geography skills are bad; we wanted to see a new baby. Rusty is DJ's best friend from growing up, so we had to make a quick stop in Dallas (actually Little Elm) to see them and watch the National Championship game. Then we stayed with some other good friends, Lisa and Andrew (who are also expecting a child in the next few weeks.)

Friday morning we headed towards Houston, with a stop in one of our favorite places, College Station! The best part of Friday was going with DJ to get his TEXAS A&M STUDENT ID!!! This has been a dream of his since he was a kid and he is finally getting to realize this dream. He begins his doctorate in curriculum and instruction next week! (It is all online, so we are not moving.)

Later that day, we headed to Houston. Saturday morning DJ headed to his recruiting conference at Cinco Ranch High School in Katy and I headed to Richmond, just outside Sugarland. My best friend from first grade through high school is Meredyth and her parents moved to Houston after we graduated from high school. Around that same time, her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she has battled for the past 10+ years. I spent Saturday morning with her mom, Kristi and we had a great 2 hour conversation. Meredyth had told me that they were not sure if she would make it to Christmas, so when she did and I found out we would be in the area, I had to stop and see her. She is down to about 80 pounds and spends most of her day in a wheel chair, but she was still the same great Kristi. We had such wonderful conversations and I was so blessed to see her one last time. I was able to share with her how special it was to me that she and her family had traveled from Houston for my mom's memorial service last year. She said, "of course, we would be there!" but it meant the world to me considering her health and how that makes traveling much more difficult for her.

On Saturday night, we went with some friends to see a play by the A.D. Players. This is a Christian Theatrical company in Houston. The play was called The Apostle, and was really amazing. One man did a monologue of Romans 1-10. It really brought the book to life and provided a nice synopsis of these chapters. It was amazing to see this man recite all of this from memory.

Finally, Sunday was also a FABULOUS day that left me smiling from ear to ear as we drove home. While I was in school at A&M, I was deeply involved with a ministry called Breakaway. Breakaway is a college Bible Study that meets in the Basketball arena on the A&M campus. It has now grown to about 5,000 students each Tuesday evening. While I was there, I served as a volunteer and team leader. I was the leader of the Compass Team which purpose was to help students get plugged in. Breakaway made a huge point of letting students know that it was NOT a church and that students needed to be involved in the local church. My team provided lots of information to students to help them get plugged in at church. In addition, we also helped students connect with missions opportunities, as well as Christian organizations on campus. Breakaway was a HUGE part of how the Lord drew me back into relationship with him. I had never been surrounded by so many believers that were my age and on fire for the Lord. For me, my time in College Station was a sweet, sweet time.

...ok, so I told you that because on Sunday I was able to go to church and see some people from my college years and it was so good to see them.

Gregg Matte was one of the founders of Breakaway. In fact, Breakaway began years before when he was a college student in his apartment. It started out with about 10 students and just continued to grow and grow so that now they have to meet in the Basketball arena so that everyone fits! In the past few years, God called Gregg to pastor a church in Houston, Houston's First Baptist. This is also the church where Beth Moore teaches women's Sunday school and weekly Bible studies.

It was a lot of fun getting to see Gregg and introduce him to my DJ as my husband, for the first time. I also got to see my sweet friend Jalen, Deanna, and Jenn. Jalen and I served at Breakaway together and Deanna and Jenn were office managers for Breakaway for a time. Jenn discipled me while was I in college and then when she moved to Houston, Deanna took over as office manager. It was like a big reunion to see them all again.

What a fun day, weekend, and week as we took a tour of Texas!

Lake House Anyone?

2008-12-03T18:55:00.005-06:00

Did I tell you we had another offer on my mom's house? (For those of you who don't know - DJ and I own my mom's house, or I guess I should say we own an extra house that we have been trying to sell since my mom passed away).

...Anyway, we were super excited last week because we had an offer... but we found out today that the offer fell through.

The house has some things that we really need to take care of - such as AC and electrical issues- but we can't afford it right now with TWO HOUSE PAYMENTS!

So we are praying lots but still trusting the Lord, knowing He is in complete control of the situation. How comforting! Anyone want a lake house in San Antonio that needs some work - but is going for a great price?!

http://www.karenripleyrealestate.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR209617/ACTIVATE_FRAMES/HOME_SEARCH/Lakehills/1205248994.html

Thanks for praying for us as God teaches us SO much through this situation!

Is anyone out there?

2008-11-22T18:28:00.005-06:00

I'm back! I can't believe it has been so long since I last blogged. Today I noticed that some of my friends had removed me from their "Blogs I read" list. I guess that means that I need to post something worthy of reading. That is a lot of pressure! Here is a shot in the dark...

Life has been super crazy this semester. (Do I say that every semester? - maybe that means I need to slow down a bit). I am still working on grad school, while teaching, doing Pampered Chef, and spending lots of time at our second home - our church. We so love it there. I think it is such a great example of the body of Christ just doing life together. We started working in the college ministry this semester, which has been a blast. We spent last weekend on the college retreat- which brought back great memories of my college retreat experiences. It was cold so it was super fun eating s'mores by a camp fire. We played Rock Band and Catch Phrase, cooked and had a great time digging into The Word and learning about the will of God.

The past few weeks have also been filled with fun news. DJ has applied to get his doctorate at Texas A&M and we found out that he has made it to the interview process. He has an interview this Tuesday, so please be praying for him through this (if anyone is even reading this). We are really just praying through this and trusting God let us know if this is what we are supposed to do right now. Even if the application/interview process is as far as it goes, I am just super proud of my husband. (By the way, have I told yall how great he is? He is a huge blessing to me, even when I am bratty.)

In addition, we also found out that we have another offer on my mom's house. If you don't already know, the offer we had this summer fell through. The past year and half have been a huge year of learning and growth for us. We are just trusting the Lord completely to provide a buyer for the house - in His timing, not ours.

It has been a little over a year since my mom went to be with the Lord. Overall, I would say it has been a good year. I miss her a ton and I definitely have my melt downs now and then, but I have learned so much. The hardest part lately is hearing about tragedies in the lives of others and funeral plans and just being reminded of all the difficulties we went through. However, I have so many more amazing memories of my mom and the Lord uses those memories to help me move on from the tough stuff. I guess I am not making much sense, but it helps to say it out loud.

Since my mom passed away on DJ's birthday, his birthday this year was a great distraction. I am reminded of how the Lord really knows what he is doing. Each year to come, on that day, I will have lots of fun plans making my husband feel special instead of missing my mom.

Well, I need to fold laundry and work on a paper while I wait on my husband to return home from their play-off game today. I can't wait to see him!

T-shirts Anyone?

2008-08-13T15:06:00.003-05:00

Last year we started a new tradition by creating t-shirts for DJ's hometown rodeo. The shirts were a huge hit! This pic shows DJ with the shirt as he rode in the rodeo parade. Small towns are so much fun! We even had to place orders for more because we ran out of certain sizes.

However... this year was a different story... apparently people can't affort t-shirts when they can't afford gas. Wow, we should have thought of that! So now we have at least 50 shirts in our garage just begging for a body to wear them. Please feel free to let us know if you are interested in buying a really cool White Deer, Texas t-shirt (everybody loves a random t-shirt!) so we can actually break even on the whole deal. I think next year we may go with fried Snickers instead of t-shirts (either that or we will sell this year's shirt again!)

Summer so far...

2008-07-11T16:50:00.003-05:00

It has been a busy summer. We had a great time in St. Louis and Chicago. I tried to blog a little more while we were there but had computer difficulties at the hotel. During June I also took a class called The Brain and Literacy. It was great because we only met 4 times and all of the other course work was online. My July class isn't going to be quite as easy. It only meets 4 times as well, but the work load is significantly larger. I will have to spend a couple of hours each day working on everything in order to not fall behind.

I have also signed up to be a Pampered Chef consultant, which is pretty crazy and very unlike me! I went to Pampered Chef Party in March and had a great time, so I told the consultant that I would love to host a party at my house. We love to have people over so it was a lot of fun. Then she asked if I had ever thought about having my own business and of course I said no because I love teaching, but then we started thinking about it. DJ and I decided it would be a great thing for me to do during the summers and so far I am really enjoying it. We also thought that it might be a great thing to have going when we have kids so that I might be able to stay home and have a little extra money coming in.

My first couple of shows went great and I thougt that my next show was on Tuesday. I had talked to my friend that was having it quite a bit and we had everything worked out except apparently I got the date wrong. I got a phone call about 5:30 on Monday with her asking if I was on my way. What!? I panicked and quickly threw everything in the car and got to her house as quickly as I could. On the way there I called DJ and asked him to please pray because I was literally about to cry. He did and I felt a huge peace. I pulled myself together (or I guess I should say the Lord did!) and I put a big smile on my face and walked into her house as the guests were arriving (something they definitely don't teach you to do in Pampered Chef training!) I used this opportunity to laugh at myself but I was also able to share with everyone there how God had given me the strength to do it because if it had been up to me I would have had tears streaming down my face when I arrived. The party actually went really well and I have learned a great lesson through it all... I will definitely continue to depend on the Lord and I will also double and triple check my dates! :)

Surprise!

2008-06-15T21:48:00.003-05:00

DJ and I came to St. Louis on Thursday. Just after we arrived to the city, DJ told me that he had a big surprise. We headed to the train station and boarded a train for Chicago. After a maddening 8 hour trip due to MANY delays we arrived. My best friend and her husband and baby have lived here for the last four or five years so DJ made plans for us to come visit. We have had a fabulous time and I will be sad to leave tomorrow, but we still have lots of fun in store as we travel back to St. Louis tomorrow and celebrate our anniversary on Tuesday.

On another note, we have good news (no we aren't pregnant)! We got an offer on my mom's house!!! Whoop! Praise God! If you think about it, please pray that everything works out so that we can get rid of our second house payment. (Although, I know that it will be really sad for me to say good-bye to my mom's house.) If everything goes well, we will go to San Antonio for the fourth to clean out the house and then we will close on the 10th. Pray all goes well! I will keep you posted!

DJ's on Oprah!

2008-06-11T14:22:00.003-05:00

Instead of working on my research for the class that I am taking I was playing on the computer today and found something funny. DJ has a good friend that writes a blog read by people all over the country and this was his post just after we got engaged almost 3 years ago...DJ and I are about to celebrate our 2 year anniversary, so I thought this would be an appropriate post for this month. Enjoy!

My friend and old roommate DJ Gililland just got engaged. When asked how much he loved Andrea, this was his response:
www.bagofnothing.com/DJLovesAndrea.gif
Congrats, D.J.

God's Big Backyard

2008-06-11T11:37:00.004-05:00

I wish I had pictures or videos to share our latest experience in God's Big Backyard. DJ and I have spent the week at Vacation Bible School as the emcees and we are having a blast. Each night we work with 2 teenage brothers to produce a skit and then we spend the rest of the evening dancing and singing in the music rotation. I can't even tell you how tired we have been each night! Last night we had to video our final night of skits because we won't be there to perform. I so wish that we could see a video of outtakes. The brothers (14 and 17) are a dog and squirrel and for that night's skit they had the most lines. It was so funny watching them try to remember as the 17-year-old had a full dog costume on and the 14-year-old is wearing a kangaroo head (that is supposed to be a squirrel). They have been great sports about the whole thing and they have cracked us up nightly, but tonight will be our last night as "Alex and Stan in God's Big Backyard" because we leave for St. Louis in the morning! I will try to post the video if I can get my hands on it. The best part was watching the squirrel try to nonchalantly read his lines off the floor.

Messy Painter

2008-06-04T18:02:00.004-05:00

If you see me anytime soon and you wonder why my hands look a little dirty it is because I have been a painting maniac! We have some friends that are about to welcome their third precious little girl into the world so we have been helping them get some painting finshed before the baby comes (probably this weekend!)... and then I got all inspired and decided to paint the last room in our house that I hadn't yet painted. That room is pretty much finished today and needless to say, I am a mess! I think I even have paint on my tummy! I can't help it, I am just a messy painter! So be warned that if you ever need some help painting I will be happy to help, but I am not the neatest person that you could choose.

I leave in the morning to go to Dallas for 3 days for a class. I am still working on my masters and HSU offers a few classes in the Metroplex. The same class is also being offered here, but it meets everyday. The class in the Metroplex only meets 2 different weekends so that works much better with our busy June. We leave next week for St. Louis for 10 days or so. I am SO excited!!! DJ has his annual convention there this year so we are going out 5 days early for our anniversary. He says that he has big surprises in store and I CAN'T WAIT!!! Hope you are enjoying your summer also!

Blessings,

Andrea

No License to Parent Necessary

2008-05-28T15:30:00.003-05:00

One of my special students constantly battles with his mom and wins. Today he refused to come to school and mom couldn’t make him. I walked into the office as our assistant principal was on the phone with his mother. She tried to coax him to the phone to talk him but he wouldn’t budge. I asked her to tell him that I wanted to talk to him. He answered the phone and sounded like he had been crying (which he never does at school). I talked to him and we had a good conversation. He agreed to get dressed and come to school. However, I was disappointed when he never showed up. It is amazing to see that he runs that household and his mother has no control over him what-so-ever. It makes me so sad as I think about what his life might become. If you get a chance, please pray for my student and his family. I pray that I have impacted him in a meaningful way and that somehow he will come to know the Lord and turn his life around. I am praying for his teacher next year as well. He requires lots of patience and love. I had to work hard to build a relationship with him and work even harder not to get into power struggles with him because he will be sure to win. I am praying that his next teacher will immediately have a desire to love on him and disciple him in ways that he is not receiving at home.

A busy season

2008-05-27T15:18:00.002-05:00

Wow! What a season! It has been a busy but good time and now we are in the home stretch. I have really missed DJ over the last week as he has been at Outdoor Education Camp, but we had a great weekend together. We were able to spend part of Saturday and Sunday together here in Abilene and then I was able to go back to the lake with him on Sunday evening. We had a great time out on the boat and I enjoyed getting to watch as he taught his students the introduction to rifflery.

Yesterday, I was able to hang out with two precious little girls that belong to our friends. I wanted to give them a chance to have a break before their third little one arrives in the next few weeks. The girls were great… we enjoyed the morning at the zoo, then they fell sound asleep on the way home, napped for about an hour and a half and then we had some lunch at Chick-fil-A. The best part was the ice cream we enjoyed after they wore themselves out on the playground! Wow! What a mess, I felt terrible when their grandmother walked in to pick them up only to find us engaged in lots of licking and dripping!

Today, we took our third grade students on the last field trip of the school year to Red Bud Park. The kids loved watching the prairie dogs and just spending some time outdoors to enjoy the beautiful weather. I am working hard to get my classroom cleaned up and packed up for the summer. 3 more days!!!

On a personal note...

2008-05-15T08:31:00.003-05:00

Is it too personal to tell you that my husband always remembers to put the toilet seat down? I didn't even have to ask him, he just remembers to do this every time. This morning when it was still dark I groggly (is that a word?) walked into the bathroom and discovered when I FELL IN that he had forgotten!

I have a friend who was the first one out of my group of friends to get married. So when we were at a bridal shower for another one of our friends she told the story of how her husband always left a hanger in the bathroom ... everyday. It drove her crazy, except for the reason why he did it. He did it because she was still sleeping so he would take his clothes into the bathroom to get dressed so that he wouldn't wake her up. She said that she finally learned to be thankful for the hanger because it meant that her husband was there to leave it there. So instead each day as she puts his hangers back into his closet she thanks the Lord for the blessing of her husband.

I have to say that my husband extends grace to me each day for ALL of my shortcomings, so I will also extend grace to him in this instance. I really wanted to walk back into the bedroom and wake him up to tell him what he had done, but I didn't. Instead, I waited and he will find out today as he reads my blog. I love you sweetpea, thank you for putting the seat down most of the time but I am also thankful for the days when the seat is up because it means you were there to leave it up. :)

Do You Talk in Your Sleep?

2008-05-14T09:03:00.009-05:00

Me: Can you please turn off your light?
DJ: I'm reading.
Me: Your eyes are closed.
DJ: I'm praying.
Me: Oh OK.

A few minutes later it is clear he is asleep by the sounds he is making...
Me: tap, tap, tap
No response
Me: tap, tap, tap a little harder
No response
Me: tap, tap, tap a little harder
DJ: What?
Me: Could you turn off your light?
DJ: I am reading.
Me: You are asleep!
DJ: No, I'm praying.
Me: Please turn off your light.
DJ: It's off (it really isn't) just ask Luke.
Me: Luke?
DJ: Luke Skywalker! He and Hans Solo are going to be in a movie in the spring.
Me: Just turn off the light!!!

Before we got married, my roommates warned him of my sleep talking. They told silly stories of talking about the drool machine and then getting mad at them when they didn't understand. DJ was really nervous.

However...since we have been married, he hardly ever hears me talk in my sleep, instead it is always him!

Hear is another really good story from a while back... DJ: I'm gonna be the president of Texas.
Me: Oh really.
DJ: Yes, just ask Sam. ( I was thinking maybe he meant Sam Houston?)
DJ: It's not the Sam you are thinking of, it is Yosemite Sam!

HUGE Stacks of Paper

2008-05-13T10:57:00.003-05:00

So I have failed in the filing department. I vowed that this year I would get my classroom organized and put everything in its place. My classroom in San Antonio was SOOO organized and I loved it, but I just can’t seem to get that accomplished here. Each week as my class completes work I have been sticking it in a folder labeled with the date with full intentions of getting it back into the math, reading, or science files etc. Of course that never happened after a full school year, so on Friday afternoon after we had finished everything I had the munchkins help me sort through the mounds of papers. WOW! They loved it, but my goodness that is a lot of filing to do. Another teacher suggested that I throw it all away and just mooch off of them one more year, but I hate to do that. So I have stacks and stacks of papers to go through and organize and get into files. My mom used to help me do all that kind of stuff. At the beginning of this school year she even had a trip to Abilene scheduled so that she could come help me in my classroom, but it just didn’t work out before she was sick again. It makes me realize even more how wonderful she was because I just didn’t ever fully realize how much she served. So that is what I will be up to this summer… filing, working on grad school, Pampered Chef parties and trying to be more like my mom...

The Impact of a Mom

2008-05-12T15:04:00.003-05:00

I have tried to upload the digital story about my mom but the file is too big so I here is the transcript from my digital story. It is not as impressive as the one with the great pictures, but you get the idea. Yesterday was my first Mother's Day without my mom. There were momments that were hard, but for the most part I am doing well.
Here is my story...

Each of us has people in our lives that impact us greatly. For me that person is my mother, my life giver. She has given me life both physically and spiritually. When I look at the many ways that the Lord has shaped and molded me, many of the most influential moments were made possible because of my mother’s presence in my life.
My mother is literally the most selfless person that I know. Throughout her life, service has characterized her. She would do anything for anyone and genuinely had a heart for those in need. The role model that she has been to me is the reason that I am who I am today.
However, God also used my mother’s life to bring me through many challenges. From the time that I was four years old, my mother battled bipolar disorder. She did not believe that she had a mental illness, therefore the many delusions that she had during an episode became very real to her. These delusions even led her to pick me up from elementary school when I was ten with the car packed. As she drove us to the battered women’s shelter, I watched the road signs carefully so that I could call my father and tell him where to pick me up.
When I was 18 and about to leave for college, my mother was placed in intensive care in critical condition. However, this time it was due to kidney failure and the doctors did not believe that she would live. Miraculously, God allowed her kidneys to begin functioning again. After 6 months wheel chair bound in a nursing home she received a necessary hip replacement and returned home.
Although, she continued to battle many medical conditions and in 2005 after more kidney trouble, my mother began dialysis treatments three times a week for four hours each time. Dialysis made a huge difference in her life and she was able to do many things again, including moving back to her lake house where she had previously lived alone.
In 2006, my mom and I spent countless hours planning my wedding. She even meticulously sewed each of my bridesmaids a tote bag by hand. She also truly enjoyed helping me in my first grade classroom. Without her help, I would not have made it through my first few years of teaching. Each day as I open my filing cabinets, I see her handwriting labeling each of my files.
Then in April of 2007, my mom had a stroke and came to stay with us for a few weeks. My husband fondly remembers their great conversations as he came home to eat lunch with her each day and taxi her to dialysis. A few weeks later, she returned home to stay with my sister. Towards the end of May she had another stroke. This time it was necessary for her to go into a nursing home. I put a lot of effort into making her room special and personalized and as I drove her from the hospital to the nursing home, she told me how thankful she was for how I had served her. It was on this day that she had special clarity and I was able to tell her that I had gained all of these qualities from my mother. She was truly surprised to hear this.
In October, my mother went into hospice care and on my husband’s 33rd birthday, November 6, 2007, my mother went to be with the Lord. I miss her so much but more than anything else I am so blessed to have known her. God used my mother, Karen Jean Daniel, in a special way. Even through these difficult circumstances I can see that she was part of an amazing plan and I was drawn closer into the fold of God. Without these trials I am sure that I would not have leaned on the Lord in such a way as I do now.

Great Impact

2008-05-06T16:05:00.000-05:00

This semester while working on my masters I am taking a class called Digital Storybook. My first assignment was to make a digital story about something that has impacted my own life. I chose to tell about my mom. Here is my final product...

or so I thought... as soon as it uploads it will be here!

Ok, so I can't get the video to upload. I think it is too big. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know! Thanks!

Thankful for a Home

2008-05-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

For those of you who do not know, Abilene is one of the site's that the IRC (International Rescue Committee) places refugees when they come to America and my school happens to be the main school to receive them because we have a New-comer center to meet their needs. I have had a student from Burundi in my classroom this year who arrived to America just before school began in August. Let me just say how blessed I have been to have this student in my room! (I am blessed to have all of my students, but this one has blessed me in a new way.) Tonight all of the students from Africa will perform at the PTA meeting. We were able to preview their performance at an assembly a few minutes ago. Wow! I had tears streaming down my face as I watched these precious children dance beneath a banner that read, "Thank you, we have a home!" They said the Pledge of Allegiance along with the Burundi National Anthem and then proceeded to give us a taste of their home country through song and dance. I am reminded of what a privledged life we lead while I am also so thankful for the opportunity to play a small part in the life of a student whose life up until this point has been very different from my own. What a blessing that the Lord is bringing the nations to us!

Matthew 28: 19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

So What's in a Name?

2008-05-05T15:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess it is a new day for me as I try this whole blogging thing. The title of my blog actually came from my students. The other day we had Junior Achievement in our classroom. A local firefighter came to teach the kids some great lessons about community etc. They made their own city and in the process they had to come up with a name. They didn't quite get the concept of an "original name" and they kept naming their city things like "Austin" or even "Texas." (I guess I need to work on the concept of what a city actually is!) Our firefighter started leading them to pick something that had to do with my name and one of my witty one's suggested "Gililland's Island." They had a great time creating "Gililland's Island" and even creating a newspaper and learning to write checks! Now I guess I have my work cut out for me in teaching the difference between a city and state! That is a hard concept for third graders.