This little guy...

...has been visiting this week. My Uncle Rodney and Cousin Stacy flew in from Hawaii. Stacy will be moving to Atlanta this weekend, and Uncle Rodney is in the states for training for his job. So, Mom and Dad had company and needed to ship out this little rodent! I happily took him for a few days. Tipin (our dog) and Rascal (parent's dog) are hilarious together. Rascal (my parent's dog, the white one) ignores the fact that Tipin exists. Our dog, Tipin, insists on coming when Rascal is called. They are too cute together. The best moment so far was the little puppy getting hit the big dog's tail. It knocked the little pup off his feet! Here is a picture of my parent's dog, Rascal, claiming Daniel's chair last night!

Golden Age Backdrop

I promised some pictures of Golden Age as we were working on it. Here is the backdrop half way finished. There is one more set of panels just like this. They are poking Christmas lights through it to make it like a starry sky! It looks really good!!

Golden Age Banquet

Our congregation has honored seniors (over the age of 60) each year by doing a dinner and show. It is called the Golden Age Banquet. This tradition use to be a huge production larger than Vacation Bible School. However, with new trips added yearly the event is not as elaborated as it once was. This year the theme is "A Night With The Stars." The stars are of course the youth. There will be different 'acts' as the kids portray their talents and comical skills to make the adults ooh, ahh, and even laugh. Last year's theme production was focused on the Veteran's as the event fell on Veteran's Day weekend. Here is the advertisement for this year's Golden Age Banquet. I will post pictures as the decorations come together and later picutres from during the program! Daniel accidentally put 2009 on the 2010 advertisement. Even I have to admit, it is hard to get use to the new decade!

Couldn't have said it better myself...

Some of my students at school took the Myers-Briggs Personality test. I had taken this same test in an education course at Jacksonville State University last fall. I don't remeber the exact letters, but I wanted to 'document' this so I can compare it again in a year to see how my personality changes.


Your Type is ESFJ

Extraverted 22 %
Sensing 12 %
Feeling 38 %
Judging 1%

Providers take it upon themselves to insure the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the Guardians, and thus are the great nurturers of social institutions such as schools, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Providers are very likely more than ten percent of the population, and this is fortunate for the rest of us, because friendly social service is a key to their nature. Wherever they go, Providers happily give their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, and that social functions are a success.
Highly cooperative themselves, Providers are skilled in maintaining teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons in charge of dances, banquets, class reunions, charity fund-raisers, and the like. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to speak publicly with ease and confidence. And they are outstanding hosts or hostesses, knowing everyone by name, and seemingly aware of what everyone's been doing. Providers love to entertain, and are always concerned about the needs of their guests, wanting to make sure that all are involved and provided for.
Friendly, outgoing, neighborly - in a word, Providers are gregarious, so much so that they can become restless when isolated from people. They love to talk with others, and will often strike up a conversation with strangers and chat pleasantly about any topic that comes to mind. Friendships matter a great deal to Providers, and their conversations with friends often touch on good times from years past. Family traditions are also sacred to them, and they carefully observe birthdays and anniversaries. In addition, Providers show a delightful fascination with news of their friends and neighbors. If we wish to know what's been going on in the local community, school, or church, they're happy to fill us in on all the details.
Providers are extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which makes them perhaps the most sympathetic of all the types, but which also leaves them somewhat self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of them. Loving and affectionate themselves, they need to be loved in return. In fact, Providers can be crushed by personal criticism, and are happiest when given ample appreciation both for themselves personally and for the tireless service they give to others.

More about 2010...

Each month I am trying to reach one new goal. In January each day I am attempting to be in the bed by 9:30. Sounds simple, and so far it has been. This seems childish, but I am so bad to get busy on a task and not stop until it is finished. So, sometimes I didn't go to bed until midnight or later even when I had to work the next day. I can already see a difference as my body is use to a consistent bedtime. I am sure as the year goes on I will ease up on this some. However, my goal is to even be in the bed at 9:30 on Friday nights! I will probably watch a movie, but at least I will begin to wind down. No more 1 and 2 AM sessions on Friday nights which means no more sleeping until 3 on Saturday afternoon. I will start a new goal in February while continuing my bedtime goal. I am still contemplating what goal this may be, but whatever the goal, if it works great, if not it's alright too. Any suggestions?

Among other goals I am trying to send 1 hand written letter each week, organize 1 area each week (closet, chest of drawers, cabinet), read 4 books this year, and have 1 group of people in my house for dinner each month. These are not definite things, but things I want to improve. If I miss a week or month, I am not going to stress about it!

I have started trying to eat more fruit instead of Reese's and drink milk instead of coke. This is an ongoing project with myself though. Anytime is a good time to take better care of your body. I try to make 1 choice each day that will better impact my body. Seems managable to me!

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010...

I cannot believe it has been ten years since Y2K! During 2009 we had many blessings...

January... I got to enjoy life settled into my new house. We had just finished decorating everything since we had celebrated Chrsitmas with my family at our new house. I remember the pride of ownership I felt as I pulled into my driveway each day. The view as I pull into our driveway!

In February we celebrated my birthday and Valentine's Day. We also attended Challenge Youth Conference in Gatlinburg, TN! Here we are at the Sweetheart Banquet at church!

March I contemplated buying a new computer, tried to sew, and had a lot of bills. March was not finacially fun, but we always seem to recieve a blessing in each hard situation. March's bills included paying Budget (from where Daniel wrecked the moving van into the church), the Mustang's breaks and two new tires, and a broken air conditioner! However, our family showed their love by purchasing us a window unit until we settled with our warranty company for the outside unit to be replaced!

April was celebrated as we finally recieved a new air conditioning unit after months of no luck and a trip to Atlanta for Lads to Leaders! We also took a quick trip to the beach with my parents after Lads! We went to the Naval Museum in Pensacola while on our quick trip to the beach!

May was full of flowers, cookies, and a haircut for Tipin! I also purchased my new computer I had been contemplating in March! Most importantly, I recieved tenure in Blount County Schools! Here are the flowers we planted!

June was full of youth activities as Daniel traveled to Kentucky for Youth Campaign, wrangled help for VBS, and I enjoyed much alone time as Daniel traveled. I also attended AMSTI training at North Jefferson Middle School. My favorite part was on June 11th I had lasik! No. more. glasses. ever! Here is the wall from VBS... the theme was "THE WALL" as we studied Biblical stories about differnt walls! July was welcome with a short, 60-hour trip to Gatlinburg to celebrate our Anniversary! Daniel attended his first week at Maywood while I enjoyed a trip with my parents to the beach (for ten days!) Here we are in Gatlinburg.. this photo was actually our Christmas card's main picture this year too!
August signaled the return of normalcy as I went back to work from a 2 month vacation. This year was a much great start to school as I had an energy lift with my tenure letter! It's nice to know they want you bad enough they are going to keep you forever! We celebrated Daniel's birthday with a trip to see the Atlanta Braves play baseball with the College and Career group from church! I also got the opportunity to start working with one of my close friends from high school, Kassie.

However, September was a simple month with no major trips, plans, or tragedies. We did purchase a new couch and chair off of Craigslist! Well, new to us!

October came and went as I decorated the house for Halloween, but we never got around to carving a pumpkin this year! I did discover the wonderful world of cowboy boots.

November was fun as a celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and family. We also prepared to welcome the Christmas season to come! I painted a picture at Sips 'n Strokes the day after the Auburn/Alabama game!
December was full of trips, family, and friends. While Daniel attended Exposure the first part of the week after Christmas, I was enjoying the shore with my parents! We also had our friends over for a little Christmas fun! Here we are celebrating Christmas at Tonya and David's house (well the girls were celebrating, the men were talking :)

Please excuse some of the photos as they were taken with my camera on my phone and are not good quality. I hope you enjoy seeing where life has taken us the past twelve months! Love you all... more about 2010 later!