month in review......yr in review.....

 Potty training Luke....=)

 Playing with Aunt Erin

 Learning how to make Apple Pies

 Just being a crazy family

 Making "baby waywa smile"

 First firestation thanksgiving

 Cousin love

 All home on Thanksgiving, Married, and some with kids.  =)

 Happy Parents

 Mastering the balance bike, wanting a "bike with pedals"

 Sweet cousin love

 Fun times with the Atlanta Harrells!

 Local Chattanooga shopping

 LOVING music.....lots of bluegrass bands...

 My favorite thing.  Found a book at Sophies, bought the book, tore out the book.  Mottos to live by daily.

 picking out the family tree

 1st grade Christmas fun.  =)

 Oh, visiting Santa!

 typical

 Sweet friend Mary Susan

 Sweet first graders

 My boys in the Best CHristmas Pageant Ever at the CTC

 Tim, who was also in the performance 8 times!

 Visiting good friends in Nashville......

 My little class after listening to Tim talk about being a firefighter.  =)  (part of our reading curriculum for the week!  How cool is that?)

 My little Elf at the Christmas program....he sang!

 1st grade art

 My christmas presents to my class.....headbands for the girls, bowties and journals for the boys.....I don't even pretend to take credit for the idea.  Thanks Jess.  =)

 I told my girls to "pose"  They certainly did!

 Oh, the love of Gymnastics!  So glad to be back in the routine of this!

 After riding bikes on the riverpark, settling at Rembrandts for a snack

 This about sums up my Christmas card addiction....I love getting them in the mail!

 And this week at GPS camp.....

Almost to Christmas!

I am so thankful for so many things.....lots of new expereinces, lots of happies, lots of good friends, lots of new things to learn.....  Excited to ring in the new year, but excited to also close this year out well too and not wish it away.  This time is such a sweet time.  It is a joy to watch my family grow and learn....to struggle and to experience joy.    My goal is to CRAVE JOY.  EXPERIENCE JOY.  TAKE JOY. wherever I go.  =)

25 random things...

I found this today as I was "cleaning out" my facebook page and redoing my privacy stuff.  Thought this was fun to read......for those of you that want to know a bit more about me.....this was written in 2009, so yes, a lot of things have happened since then.....=)

1. I have lived in a lot of places throughout my life. Albany, Atlanta, Augusta GA, Clearwater, FL, Colorado, Asheville, NC, Charlotte, NC, Montana, Canada, and now Tennessee. I live in North Chattanooga now.

2. I have traveled in 43 states, and 2 countries since I have been married. Mostly by car. All in the green Subaru. Mostly in the first 1 1/2 of our marriage. I want to go to all 50. Traveling is wonderful and strangely enough I love being in the car, sitting in the front seat, reading out loud to Tim, sleeping, and sitting in a weird and mangled position to get comfortable while going down the road. If we pass a state line, we get out of the car and take a picture next to the sign. I want to go to all of the national parks with our kids someday and section hike the App. trail.

3. I met my husband 10 years ago at the Cove Camp. I walked up the familiar pathway to the dining hall, he was on the porch watching me and eventually talked to me. We were both counselors that summer. I don't think I will ever fully understand how well we clicked and understood each other as well as we did in that short amount of time, but it was amazing. I went home that summer FULL of the Lord, encouragement, life, and constantly talking about my best friend Tim. My favorite summer of my life. I loved him, I just couldn't admit it. He went home and told a friend that he met the girl he was going to marry. 5 years and 1,000;s of letters later, we were married. I am extremely blessed.

4. I adore my whole family. I am so rich because of the parents that I have, whose hearts are fully the Lord's and who have set wonderful examples for us. I love that they are willing to do anything for their kids. I love that I would get notes in the mail simply of encouragement when things were hard, and phone calls just because. I am the oldest of three kids. Ivey is next and then Graham. We are about as extremely opposite as you can get, but we love being around each other. (Now, we ALL are married and I have the greatest brother in law Rand and sister in law Erin.....plus the cutest little neice, Layla)

5. I love my "other" families too. My in-laws are incredible too.(and brother, Daniel) They wanted Tim to marry me for a really long time. I am glad that it happened.=) The Massi women are part of my family too. Life is not the same without them. Matt Dempsey is Tim's best friend, and has become mine too. He is family. I love him.

6. I hate to match. I love putting on random leggings or socks with funky skirts and a wild shirt, but my favorite part is mismatching my outfit with my shoes. I generally don't plan my outfits daily, they just acculumlate on my body until the layering is done and I am comfortable.  (I think that I have gotten worse about this.  Tim looked at me the other day and said "what are you wearing?"

7. I love wearing Chacos. Sweatpants. T-shirts, ponytails, dresses over jeans, and Tim's clothes. Things have to be comfortable for me to like them.

8. I love Macaroni and Cheese (veleeta), chicken nuggets, and salad.......coffee, MetroMint spearamint water, POM juice, scones, muffins, meat............Love Outback, Aretha Frankenstein's, Chilli's, Merv's, Rembrandt's, and Stone Cup. I love to eat actually. I usually eat more than Tim, which I am proud of. =) (when I am not pregnant!)(Since having a child, I eat WAY better than I used to)

9. I live in N. Chattanooga on Mississippi Ave. I go to church on Mississippi Ave. I also go to work on Mississippi Ave. I think that it is really cool that I can walk to all of these places rather frequently and not have to drive. I rarely have to fill the car up with gas.(This has all changed too, but thankful for the opportunity for this as well.  I am in the car a bit more now....but savor that time to myself too)

10. I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in 2nd grade. My sister and I would spend countless hours pretending school in the unfinished living room and I just loved it. I would be the teacher, and also the student. We had many imaginary friends that joined us each day in our living room classroom. Ironically, I teach 2nd grade now. I love 7 year olds and I love my job.

11. I have always wanted to be a children's book illustrator, to own a camp and direct it, to have an art store (Abby Art Ink), to teach, to be a wife and a mommy. I am doing pretty good on some of these things. (YAY for dreams coming true!)

12. I am going to be a mommy in less than 6 weeks to a little boy going to be named Ansel Luke. I absolutely love being pregnant, even though the first part was a little rough, and now in my 8th month I am extremely exhausted after work. The little flutters that I feel everyday, the feet jamming into my rib cage- I just love it. I love having a huge belly too. It is the most unusual sensation I have ever felt in my life. (This is one of the greatest blessings of my life.  To be Luke's mommy!  He is such a spitfire and I love him.  He makes us laugh and is filled with energy and joy)

13. I love my cats. I have a huge 15 pound orange tabby cat named Stryder and a 10 pound calico cat named Hermionie. We got them on our 1 month anniversary. I wanted 1 kitty, then couldn't resist both of them. They are unusual and eat weird things sometimes like broccoli, noodles, all of my plants in the house, and whipped cream. They sleep on my side of the bed curled up next to me. Don't need a lot of heat in the house that way.

14. I absolutely get a surge of happiness when at yard sales and thrift stores and find a deal. I would rather find my clothing there and have a great story about it than get it new. (I still LOVE this.  Everything in my house has a story!)

15. My best friend in 2nd grade is still my friend now- Kirstin Semke Hobday. My sister married her brother. So, technically we are related. Kind of. She is family and I love her.

16. I love being in the car with Rachel and Rebekah Massi and singing at the top of our lungs. They make me smile. Well, I love being just with them. I am technically their Godmother and I think that is awesome too. I call them my sisters. I would do anything for them.

17. I adore blankets. I love wrapping up like a burrito in my huge red fleece. It is comforting.

18. Tim and I collect Lego's. We have thousands. Nascar, Harry Potter, Soccer, Pirates, Robin Hood......we still get Legos for Christmas.

19. I love the beach. I love the mountains. I love being outside. I am a solar powered girl. I am less stressed out when I can walk around outside or sit and bask in nature.

20. I am learning that we don't need stuff to be happy. I am learning that I am extremely blessed and extremely rich because I know Christ. He supplies all of our needs. We are so selfish as a society. We continue to want more and more. Tim and I are in the process of getting rid of stuff in our house. I love simplicity.

21. I played soccer for a long time. I was the goalkeeper at Covenant College for 4 years. I am extremely competitive and I loved flying through the air to catch a ball. I loved walking onto Scotland Yard and feeling the adrenaline through my body. I loved punting the ball across the field to the other 18 yard line. I loved being a really short goalie and having to train my body to jump ridiculously high. I loved the community of the girls I played with and what I learned from them. I loved being captain my senior year and thinking of ways to encourage them before games. Probably the best part about Covenant was that. I loved struggling (though prob. not at the time) because I am such a softer person because of it.

22. I get extremely red in my face when I talk in front of large groups of adults. (even in faculty meetings where I know everyone) I find this very odd because I can speak in front of hundreds of kids, and be completely goofy and loud. I find this humbling and frightening.

23. I don't like to go out on the town. I am so happy walking downtown, getting a cup of coffee or ice cream, and just "being". I am not a party person, but I love people. I love spending quality time with a small group of people rather than a large one. I have not always been like this either. I used to be the opposite. I love watching movies at my house, or having people over for dinner.

24. I am not a great cook, nor do I love being in the kitchen. I cook because it is necessary and I like to eat well. I have the greatest husband who is an incredible chef. He is also the greatest because he will eat whatever I put in front of him and won't complain about it, even if he doesn't like it. We are a good team though when it comes to splitting up cooking during the week and doing laundry too.

25. I absolutely care 100% what people think about me because I care about those people. I hate when people in my life are hurting, love when people in my life are happy. I love the friends that I have and want to be a better friend to all. I come across as not really sensitive, but I am extremely sensitive and mull over things when things aren't right. I used to not be like this either. That has been part of my sanctification too. 

26. One more. I am working daily to want to know Christ more and have a better relationship with him. It is really hard. I am working hard to pray more specifically and to pray for others. I am working on a lot.....I want to be known as someone who loved life and loved the Lord......that was a good example for others and that who cared deeply...........

Togetherness pt. 1

In BSF last night, we talked about Hebrews........"let us spur one another up, never forgetting meeting each other, and ENCOURAGING each other. " (in my own words)  These make me happy.  =)

Luke sayings....

So.  Happy Thanksgiving.  Here is what I heard my son say today.  He is 2 yrs. 8 months old.

(in the back of the car coming home tonight)  "hey mommy.....I need a brother. "  "Oh you do?  How do you get one?  " I want a brother named Bo.  So I will go to Bo's house to get a brother.  It will be fun.  "

See you later mommy.  I need to go to work at the fire station and my school.  The fire station is my red school and my other school is green for GO school....and you can go to the yellow school.  "So, you mean you are going to a stoplight school?  "Yeah!  "

Hey!  S-T-O-P spells stop mommy.  Did you know that?

How COOL is that?

Holding a candlestick........hey if I turn it this way, it is like a seesaw!  Look mommy.  They have those at the park.  But....if I turn it this way, I can make it a rocket ship.  5,4,3,2,1 blast off!!!!  AND if I turn it this way, I can make a cool airplane.....see?

I am going to drive SQUAD 2 now.  Do you have the keys so I can open it?  I will be right back.

Erin:  You are smart for a little guy!  Luke:  No!  I am NOT a little guy.  I am A BIG BOY.  NOT little. Baby Layla is little.

Look mommy!  I just peed in the tree!  That was fun.  Can we do it again?

More and more to come.  This is what I could remember this late at night!

I love my little guy.  (last year on Thanksgiving...)

Happies of the week....

Luke and I bought Tim a big comfy leather chair for his promotion.  It's about time we have adult furniture.  We are almost there with the living room.....that is also making me happy.  Pretty soon there will be a house tour...lots and lots of progress on the house.  No kitchen cabinets yet, but I feel that it is sooner than later.  We will see..

In school we get to make all of these cutsy Thanksgiving crafts and art projects about the Pilgrims and Indians, the Mayflower, etc.  This has been so fun!

I am still so excited that we are allowed to memorize verses at school again.  I LOVE hearing my kids shout this in the mornings!  Good reminder for me each morning....

 Luke's school pictures this year.  Oh my.....and I wasn't going to get them......I love them.  =)

 This is the series of chapter books we have been reading to Luke at night.  Thanks to scholastic books and bonus points, I got this for his stocking at Christmas!  YAY!

Thanks to Susan for the fabric and a little red spray paint I now have adult art in my living room.  YAY!

more cute first grade art that makes me happy!

 Normalpalooza went well too.  Glad that it is over, but it was really fun!  I have so many layers on in this picture!  It was freezing!

Luke finally got a haircut too.  YAY for mother in laws that cut hair!

 This is Luke taking a nap in our room......thought this was funny.

What does a cool comfy chair come in?  Why a cool comfy box of course!  YAY to forts!  We are going to turn this box into a fire station.  of course.

More happies, but that is all of the pics that I have for now.  It's Friday tomorrow....and NEXT WEEK MY WHOLE FAMILY IS COMING!!!!  YAY!!!!!!!

So this week from Sunday to Sunday has been eventful and exhausting!  The exciting thing is that Tim got promoted to Sr. Firefighter and got elected as treasurer of the firefighters union too!  Luke loves to be at the station, and for a two yr old has a bigger understanding of what goes on there too...(most of the time better than his momma!)  Here is my conversation with him the other day when we went to visit Tim:

"hey mommy, the bay doors are down. do you think that daddy got a call?  Actually both bay doors are down so that means that the squad is not there either. oh, they are there!  Lets go hop on the usar truck so i can push all of the buttons.  Do you have the keys? i need to go get them from my daddy. my daddy drives the squad. i like quint 19 though. i saw it yesterday too. i want to make all of the flashing lights like daddy. mommy i need my fire boots. oh no we forgot them at home!  can i have the keys mommy so i can drive quint 19 now? please mommy?"

=)  Luke makes me laugh.  

 cheers to firefighters!

Tribute to life

This morning in church we sang one of my favorite songs that I found this summer while stumbling upon great music.  But it is significant to me in another way too.  This is the last song that my beloved grandfather heard before he died two months ago.  It was our last conversation that we had before he ran to Jesus.  I cried in church this morning as I thought of him gracefully running to our heavenly father, with no pain, no wrinkles, a youthful grin on his face, to be with his heavenly daddy that has truly taken care of him all of these years.  I'm honored to know such a profound and gentle spirit who I learned peace and gentleness from.

My last conversation with him was simple and full of love.  I held his hand while he was resting in his bed that afternoon.  We talked about life and Luke lived life around him.  Luke sang to him I love you Lord and Jesus Loves Me.  My sweet cousins gave him a blessing of peace, each of them giving him hugs and kisses, knowing that it may be the last time they see him on earth.  Then it was my turn.  We talked about running and about Jesus.  I told him to run to Jesus and meet him with open arms for me.  I told him it was okay and that we loved him but GO!  Run to his arms with a smile!  

Talk about thankful moments.  Talk about a moment that will change my life forever as I contemplate my own life.  Am I running to Jesus?  Am I running and while I am am I knowing the richness of his love that will always be enough?  

I am blessed beyond belief to have a family who is rooted in Christ for generation after generation. I am blessed because even though I sin, I am forgiven deeply and it is forgotten. (thanks Pastor Frank for your words this morning) Luke has memorized 1 John 4:16 which says "GOD IS LOVE".  My two year old knows it.  Do I sometimes?  

This is what I will ponder this week and hide in my heart.

Forever Reign, by Kristian Standfill

Verse 1
You are good You are good
When there’s nothing good in me
You are love You are love
On display for all to see
You are light You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope You are hope
You have covered all my sin

Verse 2
You are peace You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true You are true
Even in my wandering
You are joy You are joy
You’re the reason that I sing
You are life You are life
In You death has lost it’s sting

Chorus
Oh I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

Verse 3
You are more You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord You are Lord
All creation will proclaim
You are here You are here
In Your presence I’m made whole
You are God You are God
Of all else I’m letting go

(Repeat Chorus)

Bridge
My heart will sing
No other Name
Jesus
Jesus