Ozark's Finest

Today was their first day of school!

 They all came home feeling good about school.  Ethan didn't even cry - first time ever!

 We prayed, and my sisters are confident they each got the teacher they needed and were meant to have.

I know that God will walk with them once again this year.  He will protect them and guide them like He has every other year.  I know His favor will rest upon them and that their teachers and friends will see their light shining!  I'm so proud of each of them and couldn't possibly love them more!!

**This morning on the way to school Tonya was praying with Abby and Jacob about their first day.  When they were finished, Abby said, "You forgot to pray for Meme, Momma."  Abby prayed this prayer for me today, "Jesus, be with her."   Can't tell you how much those sweet words meant to me!!  About the time she prayed them, I was sitting at my desk preparing for the day and the absolute sweetest peace washed over me.  God's presence was so very real in that moment.  After school I found out it was because of the prayers of my sweet niece!!  My cup runneth over!!

Ready or Not, Here We Go!

So, my last post was about summer beginning and just like that, it's gone!  Today was the first day of school and in keeping with tradition, I thought I'd post a few pictures of my classroom.  I have to thank my momma who came and spent 4 hours on a Friday evening and 3 hours on a Tuesday helping me hang things, organize, copy, sort...you name it, she did it!  Love you, Mom!!

Here's the Reading Corner.  I opened it up more this year to be able to utilize more classroom space.

 Math bulletin board and my "teacher" bookshelf.

 My desk.  This year I moved the lamp and phone to on top of the stereo system.  I'm loving all the extra space on my desk.

 Love my new polk-a-dotted magnetic board.  I'm going to put special notes and inspirational quotes there.

 Character wall - I made those signs last summer.

 This is new.  I used to put class jobs here, but decided to change that this year.  Only a few people actually wanted to do the job, and therefore did them correctly.  So, I made this a problem solving resource.  We added a few things to it today!

 Love my new black "Be Yourself" sign!!

And just like that year 13 is under way!!  It was a good day today.  I know because I didn't come home and cry because of being overwhelmed.  Working out this summer has definitely added to my energy level that's for sure!  (More on that journey later.)  Speaking of working out, 4:40 a.m. will come VERY early!! 

I have MUCH blogging to catch up on and hope to add a post a night.  We'll see...:)

Summer - it's in full swing!

Baseball games...

 on cool evenings...

and hot afternoons.

 Lunch dates with family!

(and friends - no pictures of Aimee, Kayla, Alysia, Cara, and Leslie!)

 Family get-togethers...

 with homemade brownies and ice cream...

and movies.

 Staying up late to watch 3D movies on a week night!

 Horseback riding anytime - day or evening, whenever the weather is nice!!

LOVE summer!!!

Meet the Combs Family

Back in October of 2010, I posted this asking for prayer for my friend, Kayla.  The time that I wrote the post she'd just received devastating news.  It seemed like a door had been slammed in their faces, BUT God opened that door and countless others to make their dreams come true.  He completed their family!!

 Jonah's Gotcha Day

Callie's Gotcha Day

 These precious babies have no idea how lucky blessed they are to have Kayla as a momma!

 Hearing them call her "momma" melts my heart and brings tears to my eyes!  (Can't imagine how it makes her feel!)

God is good and does good!

This story is such a testament of His faithfulness!

May all the praise and glory be His for this miracle! 

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Living Room

I'm linking up with Kelly at Kelly's Korner for the tour of homes!  I did this a few years ago, but thought I'd join again just to look back at how I change things over the years.  Plus, it was SO much fun the first time!

 Here is the view from the front door.

And a view from the back door.  I like to move the furniture around and because of the shape of the room, that's pretty easy to do.  This is one of my favorite arrangements, though.

A corner...

(You can't see it from this picture, but that Uppercase Living sticker says, "With God all things are possible."  SO true!)

The doorknob sitting on the table (on the left) is off the house my Grana grew up in.

 I LOVE having pictures of family out.  It reminds me to pray for them and to thank God for the blessings that they are!

And that's the living room!

D.I.Y.

Let the "do it yourself" summer projects begin!!

I live for projects that are inexpensive, simple, and make a big change.  Here are three I've done this week.

PROJECT #1

This trash can was blue.  With a little spray paint, it's now a beautiful chocolate brown.  I was surprised at how much this little change did for my kitchen.
(Thanks, Mom, for your help with this!!!)

PROJECT #2
I always used these cute little baskets for storage in my bathroom, but it wasn't very user friendly.  I could never remember what was in each basket.  Because of this, I haven't really been using them.  But, I remembered the cute labels at Staples (from their Martha Stewart collection).  Now I have a system that I use every day!

PROJECT #3

I bought a new bedspread!  It was inexpensive and GRAY!!  Here's the before...

and the after...

I LOVE it!!  You can't tell from the picture, but it has accents of yellow that coordinates perfectly with the other colors in the room.  I didn't have to change any decorations or paint color!!

That's it!  Three quick, easy, inexpensive projects I completed this week!

Shaking Off the Chains

It's the fourth day of summer, and I was at the gym at 5:15!  Can't begin to tell you how the devil fought me on it.  I missed yesterday because of a sleepless night filled with fear and nerves, but I wasn't going to miss today.  I told myself that God must have something really good in store for me.  Why else would the devil fight me this hard?

I took the plunge step and just like always - HE was there!  The longer I was there, the more empowered and hopeful I felt.  You see, God has blessed me with such a unique opportunity for such a time as this.  He's put this amazing gal in my life - so uplifting and encouraging!!  Whenever I've been with her I leave feeling like I've been loved on by God.  She's an expert in the field of nutrition and fitness and is setting me up with a regimen for these 10 weeks of summer.  I'm going to go back to school my best self! 

For far too long the devil has used weight (and the insecurity from it) to keep me chained down.  This summer I'm going to chip way at this bondage.  God is already strengthening and for the first time I know I can do this!  Every mile I run and every weight I lift will reveal a little more of the girl God created me to be - confident, strong, and fearless in Him!!