You know it's fall because...

the air turns crisp.

you can leave the blinds open all day and you don't worry about heating up the house.

"every leaf becomes a flower"!

it's football season!

(Chase is #1 with the baggy pants. Ha!)

Ozark North Elementary is selling big, beautiful mums at their Fall Festival.

Thanks, Tina for putting two back for me!

Stormy gets darker and darker

I absolutely L-O-V-E fall!

I love the colors, smells, and temperatures.

My favorite holiday (Thanksgiving) is in fall.

Ahh, it's fall!! Can you feel it?

Powerful Words

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. "

Proverbs 18:21a

What a great message by Pastor John this morning! He preached on the power of our words - good or bad.

“ The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season." Isaiah 50:4 During one of the darkest seasons in my life, God blessed me with so many family members and friends that spoke words of love, encouragement, and hope when I needed it most. They were truly speaking life to me. I've been on the receiving end of the life-giving power of words, but have I done my share of delivering them? I know I could do more. I've been gifted with those who uplift me and just make me smile more when I've been around them. They fill me up. Do I do the same for them? And, how awesome is it that I have a new principal who delivered these same thoughts at our first faculty meeting of the year. Thank you, Lord, for a leader who is following You!

"For we all stumble in many things." James 3:2 Just like the rest of you, I've been on the receiving end of those who are speaking anything BUT life over us. The past years at work I've encountered a whole new level of this. I know there are many people who probably don't like me, but this person HATES me. Trust me, this is not an exaggeration. It started with this person making fun of me for the way I live, and just got worse. Being the "people-pleaser" that I am, this has been hard for me. When nothing I did made the situation any better, I just gave up and became hardened to this person. Today's message is one that I will be praying about and working on implementing for just this exact situation. Just because she is speaking "death", it doesn't justify me doing it in return. To clarify, I can fool myself all I want, but "venting" to my confidant, is just another form of gossip. Pastor John told us today that "we are what we say". In other words, we will reap what we sow. The words I speak have a big impact on my spiritual life and can undo the testimony of my life. No more excuses, I need to choose my words more wisely. Especially in this area. I need to examine what's in my heart, making sure I'm not holding a record of wrong against this person. After all, we've all stumbled.

The focus of my prayer time has been set for the week! The Lord and I have some work to do!

Ringtones

I got a new phone last Saturday. The past 2 phones I've gotten, I took back because I changed my mind. I got this one right on the first try, though. I'm really liking it, and that's important to me considering how much I use it. My only complaint is that there aren't very many ringtones, and the ones there are, aren't very exciting. (Wait, is that 2 complaints?) I like to set different ringtones for different people that call me. ("Me and My Gang" for my family, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" for all my girlfriends, etc...) I had an idea of who was calling before I ever looked at the phone. Very convenient! Anyway, I didn't want to buy ringtones because they are $3.00 a pop! I knew somewhere out there in the great, big world wide web, there had to be someone who already figured this out. I was confident I'd find information on how to make my own ringtone. Well, an hour later, I found it and figured it out!! Now I have some uplifting songs that will play when my phone rings. I can go to bed. All is well, mission accomplished!

New Church

After more than two months, I'm ready to let you know that I've found a new church home...James River Assembly. It's a big change considering the fact that I've attended a church all my life that averaged around 150!
I'm going to be completely honest here. I've been reluctant to share this. I've been afraid that people would think I went there for "status", or on the flip side, as a place to blend in and get lost. I never thought it would be a place I would call home because of its size. But, I feel good about my decision. I've felt loved and welcomed from the first Sunday. The people are so friendly, the worship makes me feel like I'm at the feet of Jesus, the preaching is dynamic, and the Wednesday night prayer meeting is changing my prayer life. That James River is located less than 5 minutes from my house, is just icing on the cake! Believing the way I do about serving in a part of ministry, I'm already working in an area of the church. I would never have thought I’d be at this place in only 2 short months. What a testimony to God’s plans for my life!
My other church still holds a very special place in my heart. (Always will.) I think of it and pray for the people there often. I’m excited about all God has in store for me at James River!
I know that many of you prayed with me about this HUGE change in my life and I just wanted to keep you updated.

Labor Day weekend (only a week late!)

I love the feeling you have when you leave work on Friday knowing you have 3 days off! (This coming from the girl who had 2 1/2 months off this summer!) Here's how I spent my 3 days:

Friday night: Kelly and I tried out a new restaurant, had a delicious cheeseburger with the best sweet potato fries. We came back to my house to watch "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". It was a fun and relaxing evening!

Saturday: Horseback riding, of course! Beautiful weather! Came home and Dad changed the oil in my car and did some things to tune it up. (Labor of love!) I worked with Mom and Dad to wash the horse trailer and Mom cleaned out the camper part. It looks so nice in there. While we were washing the little trailer it started to rain. If you know my mom, you know she won't quite working until she reaches her goal. So, we finished washing the trailer in the rain. I know people who drove by thought we were crazy.

Sunday: Church - great message! That night we surprised GayeAnn and showed up at her new church to watch her become a member. Abby sat with me. During the message, she looked up at me and said out loud, "Meme, are you bored? I'm bored!" You never know what she'll say next!

Monday: More horseback riding. Tonya got to go with us this time. Yeah!! Tonya, I LOVE it when you get to go. You add so much to our rides. Busiek was very busy that day! Horseback riders, bicyclists, and hikers everywhere!! Thankfully, Stormy doesn't spook easily. But, if another horse gets in his personal space, that's another story entirely!

That day I came home and mowed the yard and looked who showed up for a visit:

I love that I live in the same subdivision as Chase, Garrett, and Ethan. We're only a bike ride away.

It was a great weekend. If only every weekend were three days...

Shopping for Jeans

I love to shop. I love to shop except when it comes to shopping for jeans. I hate shopping for jeans. I have such a hard time finding exactly what I want. The pockets have to be just right, the length just so, the fit perfect, and the price can't be out of the budget. It's impossible! I'm down to 1 pair of jeans, so there was no putting it off any longer. Luckily, at school on Friday, I saw my friend, Kim, wearing a cute pair of jeans. I asked her where she got them and she said Cato. So, Kelly and I headed to Cato this afternoon to find the perfect pairs for a discounted price. You'll never believe it, but we found them! And on the second try on, too. They're not perfect because they're stretch, but for $25, I'll put on a belt. I was very happy with out find!!

On our way back to my house we passed the square in Ozark. Kelly saw a sign for a cute little candy shop, so we stopped and did a little shopping on the square and followed it up with lunch at a great little Mexican place.

There were several festivities going on at the square. You couldn't help but feel and smell fall in the air. I don't know about you, but that alone puts a little pep in my step! It was a great day. Thanks, Kelly, for sharing it with me!! I'm glad you're not sick of me after spending 5 days a week together!

I finished the day off with a trip to the mall (I had a coupon for buy a Yankee candle, get one free. Couldn't resist!) and a quick trip to the grocery store. After that, Tina and I hit the gym. Got start working off all that sugar I consumed on my birthday!

Birthday Blessings

My birthday was Friday, September 11th. If I'm being real, I would have to admit, that birthdays are hard for me. I know it's because I'm not quite where I'd thought I'd be by the age of 32. I'm happy with my career and feel, for all intended purposes, that I could say I was successful. However, by 32 I thought I'd already be married with 2 or 3 kids. Funny how life works, huh? One my good friends made a very thought provoking comment this week. She said, "Tams, you live in the future." She was speaking in terms of things at work, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it's true about other areas, too. I'm always thinking about what's next and 9 times out of 10 this leads to fear and worry. Most of the sermons I've heard lately have been about faith. (Yes, Lord, I'm listening.) I haven't been living by faith in this area of my life and after Sunday, I was determined to do a better job of living by faith and living for today. With this new resolve, I had a fabulous birthday! One of the best I've had in awhile.

At school, Leslie surprised me with one of my favorite "Leslie specialities", peanut butter treats. Yum-my! They were so, so good!! (Les, I've been sharing them with my family and enjoying them all weekend. I'm pretty sure they're the gift that keeps giving as I'll be working them off for quite a while! Ha!) Then, my mom brought me lunch from McAlisters. Another delicious treat! We split my favorite, the turkey melt and I had a great, big glass of sweet tea. We had a great time laughing and enjoying the time with Leslie and Kelly, too.

That evening I went to the newcomers dinner at church. A sweet, sweet lady at the dinner met me at the door to greet me, get my information, and pretty much just make sure I felt welcome. She couldn't have known how sensitive I am about being single and how hard it is to go to things alone, but she asked, "Is it just you? Are you all alone tonight?" Ugh. Knife right to the heart. I would be dishonest if I told I didn't want to run out that very second, and cry my eyes out, but I felt the Lord with me telling me that I'm never alone as He is always with me. About 15 minutes later, I was able to tell the devil to take a hike. I'm believing that God has a plan for my future, plans for my good, not for evil! The rest of the dinner was great and I was so glad I went.

After that, I headed to Mom and Dad's for cake and presents. All of my grandparents were there as was my Aunt, cousin, sisters, and all my nephews and niece. At that moment, I felt like the most loved and blessed person in the world! I have much to be thankful for.About a month ago my mom told me that Dad had picked out my birthday present this year. I was immediately intrigued and have been looking forward to knowing what it was. I was NOT prepared for the lavish gift that I received. I opened the gift, feeling as went, knowing that it was a picture frame of some kind. I turned it over to find a picture of me and Stormy. Next to the picture was his registered papers. My mom and dad gave me Stormy! There was nothing I could do but cry. I was blown away and speechless. You see, they could easily sell him for thousands of dollars, but instead gifted him to me. I still can't believe it. I still have no words to describe how precious this gift is. GayeAnn and Hannah, I SO enjoyed visiting with you until the wee hours of the morning! (2:30 a.m. to be exact.) I just don't get to see you enough. It was great to catch up and just talk!

I received so many wonderful birthday wishes and gifts from friends and family. Thank you all so much! I felt God loving on me through you and a day I've been dreading turned out to be truly wonderful!!

Still Here

Just in case you're wondering, I'm still here and I still plan on blogging. I have pictures from Labor Day weekend and other thoughts to share about upcoming milestones. Tomorrow is another day, one where blogging will be at the top of the list of things to do when I get home. :)

(Leslie, no nasty comment is needed. Ha!)

What's Up?

What I've been doing:

• grading papers
• attending meetings
• writing lesson plans
• hanging up hall displays
• updating bulleting boards
• teaching procedures
• answering questions (TONS of them!)
• writing newsletters and returning parent phone calls and notes
• teaching
• building relationships
• assessing
• redirecting off task students
• helping students learn the art of organization
• managing recess duty
• giving advice ("Ms. Myers, nobody will be my friend this year because I was mean and rude last year.")
• working out (not nearly enough)
• fixing dinner at home
• picking up the house
• driving to and from work (and Wal-Mart!)
• attending church
• getting more involved at church
• catching up with friends and family on the phone since I don't get to see them anymore
• getting a hair cut
• being attacked at gas stations (see below picture)

What I have not been doing:

• eating lunch out with friends
• going to movies
• watching TV or reading (until tonight)
• seeing my family
• doing laundry
• sleeping in
• staying up late
• going to BUNKO
• blogging

I'm looking forward to October when my students will be trained, and I will have, hopefully, gotten into a routine!