Don't Vote...

OK so I tried for quite a while to get this video to come up so I could post the actual video on the blog but I guess i'm not so good at the whole video thing...anyways this is pretty neat so I think you all should check it out when you get a chance!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2008/10/leo-dicaprio-je.html

"Date Night" and a little bit more...

Well I have to say one thing that James has done really well with since we got married is making sure that we have our weekly date night. I definitely have been impressed with the way that he is always continuing to want to plan things and surprise me with new restaurants and places to go. Well this week (right after payday of course) we went to the Southpark Mall and ate at McCormick & Schmidts seafood restaurant. Though neither of use are huge seafood people we were definitely impressed when we got to sit in our own personal booth (with curtains for privacy) and the food was definitely tasty!

Our fancy appatizer...baked brie with a mango and orange sauce...YUM!

We also went shopping this past weekend and got some new decorations for our first fall in our home! We were able to get a few scarecrows for the front porch and we worked hard decorating the mantle for the season.

James with his scarecrow.

My scarecrow!

A picture of the new decorations on the mantle!

Of course we had to include A.J. in the post...here he is watching out the front door while we were setting up the porch! We are still working on the finishing touches and will add more pictures when it is complete!

Scuba Adventure #1

Well James and I had our first scuba adventure in the water this past Saturday and we really enjoyed ourselves. We were both a little anxious to actually get in the water and see what it is like to breathe under water. Well after the joys of figuring out how to get that big ole tank on our back and those flippers on our feet it seemed like the swimming was the easy part! We didn't do a whole lot this trip just did a lot of swimming around under the water to get used to breathing with the tank and also to learn how to equalize our bodies with the pressure under water. I think this was probably what we had the hardest time with since you are supposed to keep breathing at all times and also pop your ears while swimming but we will get it! We also got to learn the skill of clearing your mask while under water if it gets a leak of water in this and needless to say I ended up with a pool in my mask before finally figuring out how to do it! It definitely took me a lot longer then James to get that one right and we'll see if I can remember what to do when I have to try it again this weekend! Needless to say our first scuba experience was a success and it left us wanting more and looking forward to our next trip to the pool this weekend!

James getting ready for his first dip in the water!


We made it and still have a smile on our faces!

Other then that this seems to be an incredibly slow week so far and we are definitely ready for Friday night to get here. I had my teacher of the year observation and interview yesterday where my class put on a play of "The Little Red Hen" and then after reading and acting out the story we put on our "chef hats" that we made and we baked bread in our classroom! It all went really well and was a lot of fun even though I didn't win. Last night we had our first meeting with our new small group from our church that we have been going to. It was pretty fun and we got to meet a few new people which it will be nice to have some more familiar faces when we go to church on Sundays! We also have had some very unwated visitors in our kitchen this week (fruit flies) and we have been trying very hard to get rid of them. We happened to have the exterminator coming over tonight to do our termite update so he went ahead and smoked the house out for us so needless to say we had to take AJ and vacate the house for a bit so that is always fun! Luckily we have a great friend down the street that we hung out with for a bit while we waited...thanks Sally! Well i'm off for now and hopefully I will have some more exciting scuba news to post after our next session this weekend!

A Great Day!

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with the post...it's just one that I took that I thought was pretty cool!

Well i'm going to make an attempt to do a better job at updating more often on here...maybe that will help us get more comments...HINT HINT! hehe! I have to say that Friday was probably one of the best days that I have had in a while. I was pretty bummed out that I wasn't able to go up to Illinois for the "Clute Golf Open" this weekend with my family but my day at school on Friday made me feel pretty good. I had my name pulled out of a drawing to win a free dinner at Logan's steakhouse and I was also nominated as one of the candidates at our school for teacher of the year this year! I was definitely surprised and excited when I heard that come over the announcements in the morning. James is bound and determined that I am going to win but I am just proud to be nominated, no matter what happens!

The rest of the weekend wasn't really much to write home about as James and I pretty much just sat around and relaxed but I have to say it has been nice to be able to do that! Yesterday we did a little shopping around town and got to go over to Brian & Melissa's house to welcome them home and see their beautiful new baby, Molly. I have to say as adorable as she is in the pictures on their blog, she is even cuter in person! I didn't get any pictures yet but I will be a good "Auntie" and get some soon...for now I will just still a few from their blog to post on here! Other then that I have not really done much this weekend though I have been able to enjoy the weather a lot since Sally and I have been walking pretty much every day lately...and we are up to three miles now so we think that is pretty darn good! Days like today make it hard though when it's "like 1000 degrees out!"

Well I guess that's about it for now...check out the new updates on the right side of the blog where we added links to other blogs and also a spot where you can become a "follower" of our blog...oh boy!

Molly with her proud Mommy and Daddy!

The "Dog Days" of Summer

OK so I thought that title to this post would be perfect as James and I have been taking lots of pictures of A.J. lately and wanted to add a few to our blog! We have been working hard training him to be a frisbee dog and he is slowly but surely beginning to be able to chase and catch the frisbee which we think is pretty cool! The only problem that we have faced is getting him to give us the frisbee back after he gets it!

A.J. also made a new friend in our yard today...James and I were inside working and I heard him barking outside and went to look and see what he was barking at and we came upon quite an intertaining little situation...here is a video that we took of AJ with his new little friend, guess we need to teach him some manners though so next time he doesn't scare the poor little guy off!

Here is a picture of me holding the little turtle as well!

This weekend we also went up to the Matthews Alive festival in downtown Matthews. They have it every year on Labor Day weekend and since we are usually in Tennessee during Labor Day we have never been before. It was pretty fun and had a lot of arts and crafts booths along with all the good ole carnival food that you see at festivals. James also found the new car of his dreams at a Saturn booth that was there and he got a picture with it. We are not 100% sure if we like this one better then the Nissan 350z though!

Well tomorrow we are going back to school after the long weekend. I have to say that I really do feel like we got a lot of rest and relaxation in this weekend which was really nice for a change! I feel like I am actually rested and ready to go back to be with the kids tomorrow...we'll see what happens after staying up late to watch the good ole University of Tennessee game though! Hopefully the Vols win by a landslide and it will be OK with my wonderful husband if I go to bed early and miss a bit of the game!

Molly is on her way!

Well yesterday we had Melissa & Molly's "surprise" baby shower at our house and had a GREAT time with everyone here. The house seemed a little bit cramped but it was definitely full of love for Melissa and Brian and their new daughter that they are going to get just one from today!!!! We all wore t-shirts with Molly's picture on them to surprise Melissa and show her that she is going to have some huge competition when it comes to deciding who gets to babysit for Molly when they go out! Brian & Melissa got a lot of great things for their new little lady and we all can't wait to meet her when they get back from Vietnam...you will all be in our prayers while you are there!

Brian & Melissa sporting their shirts that say "Molly's Mommy and Molly's Daddy!" The rest of our grade level had shirts saying "Molly's Babysitter!"

Melissa with a lap full of things to keep them busy on their trip to Vietnam!

A New Day...

Well I feel like we have a lot of things that we should be updating with yet i'm not quite sure where to start. I put this picture in the post first to celebrate our one month annivesary (yippy!) but also because I think that look on my face just shows the way I feel about life since James and I got married. I feel like such a lucky woman to have been brought together with such a wonderful man who puts up with my shortcomings and STILL even after those buys me roses for our one month anniversary! For those of you still waiting on pictures from the wedding, we are in the process of trying to upload them on our computer except the computer doesn't want to take them so hopefully we will figure something out soon!

Something great that happened to us this weekend as well is that we were both baptised at our church on Sunday. It was what they called a spontaneous baptism where our pastor talked about the meaning of baptism and how it is one of the first things that you should do after you give your life to God. While I was listening I sat in my chair thinking about everything that was being said and the priorities in my life that had changed lately and how wonderful it has been to truly feel like God is the center of my life. When he was done preeching a song played and he counted to three and told you to stand up if you felt moved to do so and sure enough before I knew it both James and I were on our make to one of the most wonderful and meaningful experiences we will ever have. When I woke up this morning I heard this song on the radio that I really feel like I was able to relate to so I thought I would put a bit of it on here.

I Know You Now by 4Him

"Finally I'm understanding

Just who You are

I feel my life is landing

Safe inside Your arms where I belong

But, I know You now

I know You now

I know You're in my heart

Yes, I know You now

Beyond the shadow of a doubt

I know You now

In my heart

In my soul

In my life

Now I know

I know You now"

And ya know what I have to say that one of the most amazing things was when I went through that pool on Sunday? Not only did I feel an amazing sense of pride and excitment and love from my wonderful husband and friends who were there to witness it, but the first person who I hear cheering for me and whose smile I saw was the woman who made me realize how important it is to have God in your life, my good ole Aunt Cheryl who I know was smiling down on me at that moment!