I am thankful for being able to chillax! A cutie fourth grader taught me this new word at church a while back..."a combination of chillin' out and relaxin'," she said. I just thought she made it up! I didn't know it was something other people said, until I heard an adult say it the other day! What a fun word...I am a fan of made up words:) and this is a good one. I really appreciate being able to chillax from time to time. I LOVE a good hot bubble bath! (Something Keith does not understand...he doesn't think it sounds fun and thinks of it as lying in a pool of your own filth!) But, what do you do...different strokes for different folks...and for the record...I'm really not all that filthy:) I also chillax by reading blogs and curling up on the couch with my favorite blanket watching some sort of TV drama that I can get totally into. By the way, Stars Hollow in my last post is the town in Gillmore Girls, for those of you who aren't fans! Keith typically chillaxes by playing on the computer...protrade or figuring out how to do new things on excel...his chillaxing requires too much thinking for me! I mean, I like to think and all, but not while trying to chillax! How do you chillax?

Go Tigers Go!

We're getting excited about cheering on the Memphis Tigers basketball team this evening. The Tigers are 26-0 so far and are ranked number one. They are playing the Tennessee Vols (who are ranked number two) this evening. Keith LOVES basketball, especially the Tigers, and "strongly dislikes" the Vols. He is so excited he can hardly stand it, so I'm excited too! I know Joey, CDR, and Derrick almost as well as my girls, Lorelai and Rory! It should be a fun game. I think it's cool that you can enjoy things that you never thought you would when you love someone. Don't worry, Keith has spent some time in Stars Hollow with me over the years too:) Go Tigers Go!

I'm so thankful to have wonderful parents-in-law. They are here hanging out with us for a few days, and it has been such a blessing! They are sweet, encouraging, fun, and are great examples to us. We love y'all!!

SISTERS!!!

Misty and I had a good time on Valentine's Day. We enjoyed dinner at Rosa's, then headed to ACU Sing Song, which was wonderful as always--ACU traditions are so much fun!

I love spending time with my sweet sister, and I'm thankful that we're close. I get to see her almost every day! The other day we were at the gym together and someone asked me if she was my daughter....WHAT?!! I am ONLY 17 months older than she is. People alway think that I am older than I am and that she is younger than she is, and I guess hair pulled back and no make-up probably emphasize that...but my DAUGHTER!

Happy Birthday Keith!

My sweet husband turns 24 today, so in honor of his special day, I'm going to list 24 reasons I love him:

1. He loves God with all of his heart.

2. He is smart.

3. He is sensitive.

4. He is patient.

5. He is thoughtful.

6. He is friendly.

7. He encourages me.

8. He cuddles with me.

9. He listens to me.

10. He challenges me.

11. He tucks me in at night when he has to stay up late and study.

12. He likes to play games.

13. He always asks me about my day.

14. He is a good preacher and teacher.

15. He loves our church family.

16. He loves our parents.

17. He loves our sisters.

18. He knows my students by name.

19. He is really cute when he gets excited about something.

20. He loves to learn.

21. He is practical.

22. He works hard.

23. Sometimes he is silly with me, because he knows it makes me happy:)

24. He loves me as much as I love him!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I am thankful to love and be loved!

It should be a fun day at school with games, art, pink, red, hearts, candy, and lots of sweet cards from my kids. Then, Keith is in class tonight, so I'm having a Valentine's Day date with my sweet sister!

Out of My League

I enjoying cooking, but I usually stick to simple recipes. So the other night when I decided to venture out and attempt to make homemade fried pies, it it was quite an adventure! I'd never had homemade fried pies, so I wasn't even sure how they were suppossed to taste:) But, my friend who was in the hospital was craving them, so I decided to give it a try! I was a little concerned when I called the lady who gave me the recipe to ask a question, and she said "It's tedious, but you can do it!" She was right, but I had fun, and even though they were not uniform in size and probably were not as good as when my sweet friends at Maryneal make them, they turned out pretty good. Keith doesn't usually like fruity desserts, but he sampled them for me and gave his approval!

rolling out the dough

sealing the edges

(this was the part that didn't always work, especially once it hit the hot oil!)

The final product!

peach apple

Then it was time to clean up my big mess!!

Recently, two communites that are very close to my heart experienced destructive fires and tornados. My friends and family are okay, and for that I am so thankful!

Our chuch family in Maryneal had serious fires rage into town last week. One dear friend of ours was in a wreck; he has some injures and will have a long recovery, but overall the damage and injuries were not nearly as bad as they could have been.

Then, this week severe tornadoes attacked Jackson, TN where Keith's parents live, but they are okay. Many homes and businesses were destroyed and people were injured. The Jackson community is in my prayers as they come together and support one another.

Attempted Efficiency Turned into a Lesson Learned

I left body flow early this evening so that I could get to the Walmart pharmacy, to get my sick husband's prescription, before they closed. It seemed like a good idea at the time...while they were filling the prescription, I could grab the few things on my grocery list, come home and take care of sick husband....simple, right?!

Little did I know...the pharmacies in Abilene were WAY behind....I should have known since I've had 4 or 5 students absent every day for over a week. It seems like almost everyone around here is sick.

Even though I got there in plenty of time before the phamacy was to close, they wouldn't fill it tonight...it was annoying, but I understood why when I walked around the corner and saw the LONG line at the "pick up" window. Oh well, I'll just grab my groceries and head to Walgreens' 24 hour pharmacy....

Of course, my attempt at grabbing a FEW things at Walmart did not happen...it never does...I should have known better....I never can seem to leave Walmart without a basket full. As my basket was beginning to fill up...I had a sudden urge to visit the restroom...must have been those two bottles of water I drank at the gym....I finally finished shopping and had to do the "tee tee dance" in line and go out in the very cold weather (in my capri pants) to unload the groceries into the car. I realized that now I REALLY need to go to the restroom, so I put up my shopping cart and hurried back in the store to borrow the restroom, and it was, of course, being cleaned....grrr...I rushed to the very back of the store and was finally able to relieve myself so that I could head to Walgreens and get medicine....only about an hour after first arriving at Walmart!

Then, when I got to Walgreens, I realized that the pharmacy line at Walmart was NOTHING! Walgreens was packed with sick people. As I waited in line, practically covering my entire body in hand sanitizer as an attempt to avoid all of the germs that surrounded me, a sweet Walgreens employee gave me and my fellow medicine seekers a free bottle of water....very thoughtful...not that I needed it, considering my last experience! When I eventually got to the front of the "drop off" line, I could see how exhausted the poor pharmacists were....she took my prescription at 9:00 and told me it would be ready at 11:45. YIKES!!

I finally headed home (only four hours after I left for the gym) to unload groceries:)

I just thought I would document my unexpectedly eventful evening...maybe it gave you a laugh...I tried not to get too frustrated.

About half-way though my time at Walmart my sick husband called to tell me about the severe tornados in Memphis and Jackson, TN where his parents are. They are okay so far, but there has been a lot of damage, several injuries, and a few deaths already, and there is more to come.

That combined with all of my encounters with sick people, fussy children, frustrated parents, exhausted pharmacists, irritable co-shoppers, and a sick husband helped me realized that I was doing great! So, an evening that normally would have put me in a grumpy funk and made me a less than sweet wife, turned out okay. Sometimes, I get unnecessarily frustrated, so tonight was a good lesson for me.

Well, it looks like it's about time to head back to Walgreens!

Body Flow

I have recently been attening BODYFLOW™ at the health club, and it is wonderful! It's a combination of Yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates. It is so unlike me to participate in something like this, much less enjoy it, but I love it! I look forward to it every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. An added bonus is that my sister and Keith's sister have been coming too; it's a fun activity for the three of us to do together. If any of you are members of gyms that offer Les Mills classes, you should check it out. You will leave the workout feeling calm and relaxed.

My New Favorite Movie

Last night we enjoyed hanging out with my parents and some good family friends. After a yummy meal at one of our favorite places, Red Robin (the "Whiskey River Barbeque Chicken Wrap" is amazing!!), we saw an excellent movie. I knew I would like The Bucket List, because it sounded like such a fun idea for a movie, but I LOVED it. I highly recommend it. It really is my new favorite movie:) Have a happy weekend!