Happy Halloween

I have never been a big fan of Halloween.  I hate to dress up, haunted houses, being scared, ect.  Yes, I know that a lot of people love it, but I've never enjoyed it.  To be completely honest, it scares me to a degree.  I really don't enjoy being out past dark on Halloween night.  Yes, you can class me a grandma, but it's the truth.  This year I had the chance to take Rader out to the Westwood fall festival.  Courtney was sick and John was working a booth out there so Caleb and myself took him on a little field trip to the mall.  He was a little pumpkin and a very cute one I might add.  Here are some pictures from Halloween.

He was checking all these costumes out.  Thankfully, he didn't get scared by any of them.

Him and his daddy.

Rader and his Uncle Caleb

Rader Jackson with the other Rader Crew

My parents and myself took a trip this weekend to Columbia, South Carolina with some of our neighbors.  It was a super fun trip even though our Vols lost!! I was impressed to see a ton of Tennessee fans there despite the season that we are having this year.  Here are two quick pictures that we took after the game.  It was a nice stadium and we couldn't have asked for better weather.  

This one's for you sis

This part is for my sister.  We took Rader to his first TN game against Oregon and I have been meaning to put his pictures up.  I have been telling Courtney that I would give them to her, but this post is for her.  Rader did so well even though we had an hour rain delay.  He did AWESOME!! I can't wait to spend many more Saturdays with him at the games.  

He loved people watching.

He was in awe!!! This is right when we walked out of the tunnel.

Football season is definitely in full swing.  Last weekend, I had the opportunity to go down to LSU for the Tennessee vs. LSU game.  Me and my dad took off for the weekend to head down and check out New Orleans.  Let me just say, it was quite an experience.  We flew out of Atlanta on Friday night and arrived in New Orleans just before 9:00.  This was my first trip to New Orleans so I wanted to see the city.  Even though it was so late, my dad was a trooper and took me "out on the town"  :) I wanted to see Bourbon street and the city.  It was insane.  There are no words that can describe this city.  You just have to see it for yourself.  Bourbon Street was nuts!! I had my expectations from the things that I had heard once before, but it far exceeded my expectations.  I definitely know why people call New Orleans "sin city" because it is fully of partying, bars, & crazy people.  We also had a chance to see the MS River, the French Quarters, Jackson Square, and have a wonderful beignet (which is basically a donut covered in powered sugar).  Now, the game on the other hand was not so much fun.  I must say that I was very angry after the outcome of that game, but my dad kept reminding me that it is just a game.  Crazy how I used to always have to remind him of that when I was little and now we have reversed roles.  haha Here are some pictures from our trip.

Here is a picture of Bourbon Street.  It didn't really show up because of how dark it was outside.  It was wall to wall with people, most which were drunk.

Here is a picture of the MS River.  You had to walk up stairs to be able to see it since New Orleans is under sea level.

Here we are on Bourbon Street.  It was so dark outside none of my pictures showed up!

This is where the New Orleans Saints play.  It was awesome!

This is where they keep the live Tiger.  I was disappointed because when we got there he wasn't there any more.

It's that time of year..

Fall is definitely in the air.  I absolutely love this time of the year for a variety of reasons.  I love the temperature as it seems to get cooler outside.  Don't get me wrong, I love the warm weather but am ready for some cooler temps.  I love driving down the road and seeing the beautiful colors of leaves hanging from the trees although this year it seems that the leaves are falling before they seem to change colors.  I am not a big fan of Halloween, but enjoy the tons of candy that I seem to accumulate throughout the month of October.  I enjoy being able to walk outside and not having to take another shower just because I was outside longer than 20 minutes.  My most favorite thing about the fall has to be Tennessee Football.  Growing up, my family and I spent every Saturday in Knoxville going to the UT Football games.  This time of year is bitter sweet for me now though.  Ever since my grandfather passed away it seems to just not be the same.  For some reason this year, I am missing him and thinking about him constantly.  I have found myself several times just breaking down in tears because of how much I miss him.  I miss so many things about this great man.

1. I miss his wonderful smile

2. I miss his amazing outlook on life.  

3. I miss his Godly wisdom that he always had

4. I miss his love for Tennessee football and pushing him up the huge hill to our seats at the games : )

5.  I miss him seeing me graduate & coming to my last college basketball game

6. I miss his hilarious sense of humor.

7. I miss his friendliness.

8.  I miss him being there for me.

9. I miss being able to pick up the phone and dial his number just to talk to him.

10.  I miss traveling with him.

I feel like I could go on and on about the things that I miss about my grandfather.  He truly was an amazing Godly man and I wouldn't have traded him for the world.  I loved this man more than words. I wish that I would have taken more time to spend with him while he was still here with us.  Tennessee football has been so hard for me this year because every time I go to the stadium I immediately think of him.  Every one of my childhood memories at UT games had him in them.  He would have done anything for me or any other of his grandkids.  He def. spoiled us and I never questioned how much he loved and cared for each one of us.  He never met a stranger.  He was the friendliest person that I have ever known and everyone who met him loved him.  I don't know why this year has been so difficult for me, but what keeps me going is knowing that I will see him again one day.  I can imagine him waiting for me at the gates of heaven.  I truly look forward to the day when I see him again, but until then I have wonderful memories to remember him by!!!  I love you Papaw!!!!!

Work in Progress

Growing up I have always heard other people say that you need to learn to be content with the things that you have; however, you don't need to be content with your relationship with God.  I am trying so hard right now to learn to be content with the things that I have.  Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful because God has truly blessed me far beyond what I deserve.  If anyone knows me well, they know that (as much as I hate to admit this) I love spending money.  I must say though the older I get, the more I realize that I am so much like my dad.  Last week, I just received my first "big girl paycheck" and to a degree I was a little disappointed.  Let me start off and say that NEVER did I realize that I would have hundreds of dollars taken out for federal taxes and if that's not enough I have to pay for the health care of people who don't work.  Okay I know that makes me sound very selfish, but still it was a little frustrating.  I felt like I got more money taken out of my check for a variety of things than I actually had put into the bank.  

I was struggling this past week with that and then Sunday night it hit me all of a sudden.  Caleb and I are just started a financial class at Westwood and all we talked about this past Sunday night was the fact that our money isn't ours but God's.  Honestly, I had never really thought about that before and it was just like it struck me.  I had been upset all week about all that money being taken out when in reality it's not mine anyways.  God is the one who gave me the opportunity to have this job and get the money in the first place.  Now, I'm not saying that I still don't have feelings like I had last week, but I must keep reminding myself that it's God's money.  Let me just say, that living in our world today and seeing all these things on TVs makes it really hard to not constantly want, want, want (or atleast it makes it difficult for me).  I wish I wasn't like this, but I have to constantly remind myself that I am a work in progress and pray that God teaches me how to completely be content with everything I have.  One verse that I love that helps me daily is...

Hebrews 13:5

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,"Never will I leave you; nor forsake you."

A complete blur..

Oh my goodness... the beginning of school has been a complete whirl wind of emotions.. Let me start by saying that I am so blessed and honored to have a job right now and that I absolutely love working at Cleveland Middle.. Never in a million years did I realize all the work that went into teaching.. If you are a teacher or have been, then I know you completely understand; however, if you are not I encourage you to keep reading : ) All of my life, I have heard about how great the hours are for teachers and how they "have it made." So now that I am on the other side, let me just tell my non teachers friends that you may think we only work from 8-3 but it is A LOT more work than that.. I never imagined that I would basically be living at school from 6am to about 8pm every night.. I am also coaching softball and therefore have practice for about two hours after school, but other than that these hours are spent in my classroom.. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and wouldn't trade it for the world, but geez it's a lot more work than I had anticipated.. I want to go back right now and personally thank all of my teachers growing up.  This is a lot harder job then what the students see.  Okay enough whining from me.. I REALLY do love all my kiddos and wouldn't trade them for the world.. It's crazy how I spent so much time this summer preparing my classroom and getting things ready for the first week of school and now it's over.. It REALLY is a complete blur to me.. I felt like I was running around constantly and was just trying to make it through each day.. This past Friday, I went to be around 8:30 and yes that was on a Friday and the worst part was that it was only a four day week.. I am hoping and praying that I can make it through this entire week : )  As of now, I have had time to catch up and take a deep breath.. I feel like I have finally caught my breath and this week has been going extremely smooth so far.. The best thing about teaching is knowing that you are living out what God has called me to do and being able to love on and care for kids each day.  I absolutely love middle schoolers.. Yes, I know a lot of you are thinking that I am crazy for that, but I wouldn't trade them for the world.. I love everything about them at this age; however, the random moodiness seems to throw a spin on things sometimes.. Thank you Lord for giving me a heart and an opportunity to minister to middle schoolers!! 

Summer Vacation

It's crazy to think that summer is coming to an end. It's crazy how fast the summertime flies by.  My summer this year consisted of working many basketball camps, taking classes, going to Florida, getting my classroom ready, and wedding planning.  I enjoyed every second of it!! This past weekend, I graduated from Lee with my Masters.  Looking back it amazes me how God truly works everything out for the best.  I had no clue what to major in and went back and forth between teaching and nursing.  Little did I know what God had in store for me years later.  What I thought was the worst thing ever was truly a blessing.  I tore my ACL my sophomore year in college and thought that was the end but God had everything under control.  I had the opportunity of playing college basketball for five years and was blessed with being allowed to get two degrees paid for.  God really knows better then me : )  

Anyways.... this past year our summer family vacation was to Daytona Beach.  We couldn't have asked for better weather and had a wonderful time.  After a week in Daytona, Caleb and myself rented a car and drove down to Miami to stay with Caleb's sister and brother in law.  If you have never been to Miami, you need to go.  I really felt like I was in another country.  While in Miami, we went to South Beach, Key Largo, Key Biscane, the Miami Aquarium, a Marlins game, and I got adventurous with my eating.  I was so proud of myself that I tried many different types of food while I was down there.. Here are some pictures from our trip.. 

Here we are at a Peruvian Restaurant.. Yes, I did try the food and actually loved it.. This restaurant had the prettiest view of the bay, but I forgot to take a picture when it was light outside.. The view was gorgeous!

Me, Caleb, Courtney, and Matt watching P. Diddy in concert.. 

This picture was in the outfield at the Braves vs. Marlins game.. We had a little treat after the game: P Diddy did a concert.. haha yes, it was so funny!!

The moon looks so neat in this picture!! Courtney does a great job taking pictures!

Caleb was a little embarrassed of me right here.. He wouldn't cooperate and do a jumping picture with me!!

Rader loved his little mini pool..

LOVE this little guy!!

My most favorite restaurant in all of Daytona.  They have the best cinnamon rolls for dessert.. If you have never tried Aunt Catfish, you definitely should.. 

The water was FREEZING (as you could tell from his face)

The B-E-A-utiful sunrise.. God is GREAT!!!!

Slumber Party

On Tuesday night, I told Courtney that I would keep Rader for the night so that her and John could go out and have a date night.  We were going to have a slumber party and I was so excited!!! I was really hoping that we would sleep through the whole night so that my sister would be jealous, but sadly he didn't; however, he did only wake up once!!  I put him down around 8:45 and he slept till 4:30am.  Then, he woke up screaming bloody murder and boy was he hungry.  I had always thought that maybe he woke up just as a habit, but no this boy is HUNGRY!!!!! He downed the bottle within the next five min. and was right back to sleep.  It was so much fun and I can't wait to have many more slumber parties : )

LOVE this boy!!

He is such happy baby and laughs ALL THE TIME!!!

He loves his Uncle Caleb!