Fruit

Hi everyone! It's been a while (sorry about that). Since the last time I've posted anything, a lot has happened, but the biggest change is that we moved. No, not back to the south, but just down the road to a different house. But we love it! Pictures of the new place to come soon!

But on another note, Happy Thanksgiving! I know I'm a couple days behind, but it's better late than never. We had a wonderful time visiting with friends, cooking incredible food, doing Black Friday shopping, and decorating the house for Christmas.

We had a game night on Tuesday.

We had a little bit of fun.

We played Cranium...

...and a new game where we put pillows on our heads to look like an Egyptian Pharaoh.

I'm sure you all had wonderful food over the weekend. Turkey is the primary food in the Thanksgiving meal, but at least to me, it's the sides that make the meal go from good to amazing, like mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dressing, green beans, pumpkin pie, etc. I was reading a verse about fruit, which made me think of the holidays since sweets are so prevalent in holiday baking...

"When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father." -John 15:8

Plants are designed with a purpose in mind. God sends the rain and sunshine to make crops grow and constantly nurtures every plant so it can blossom and produce fruit. When a pumpkin vine bears much fruit, God is glorified. He made it all happen, so He is glorified when a plant fulfills its purpose. We are also designed with a purpose in mind. When we bear much fruit (i.e. have a relationship with Him and act on our faith), God is glorified. If we're not producing fruit in our lives, then we're not where we should be with God. But what's so awesome is that He will help you get there! God meets you where you are. So ask God for help, and He'll come to you.

Sick Day

Today I am using the only sick day I have due to a fever among other things. So I thought, "Why not write on the blog that I have neglected?" So that's exactly what I'm doing. The few people that read this may be wondering what's going on with us. Nothing really exciting has happened, but I'll write about all the little details that have happened.

Well, since the last time I updated was in mid-November, I guess I can talk about Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving, my 1st grade class did the cutest play ever! They sang songs, read poems, and performed jokes/skits. After the skit, we had a little feast with the parents back in the classroom. Almost half of my class checked out that day, leaving me with only 11 students...easy day!

For Thanksgiving, we went to Montgomery. We ate Thanksgiving breakfast there, a Barbarow/Elm tradition. Since we ate so early, we had plenty of time to make it to my parents' house in Alpharetta for an early dinner. It was a busy day, but a good one. The following day, we traveled to Auburn, which is thankfully only 2 hours away from Alpharetta. And we won, so it was a great holiday!

So after Thanksgiving was the SEC Championship. Another great game! Actually, it was probably the greatest game this year, according to how we played. Pasadena, here we come...

After that comes Christmas. Chris was going to go to Baltimore for a business trip the week of Christmas (Monday-Wednesday...Christmas was on a Friday), so I decided to go with him since I could. Also, my aunt and uncle live near Washington, D.C., so I thought I would go visit them for a couple days while Chris was working. Then came the blizzard. Our flights were canceled, and we stayed home. We traveled to Alpharetta on Tuesday or Wednesday (don't remember) to spend a while with our families. We stayed there until January 1st. We came back home to bring Mimi here so she could take care of our dogs while we were in Pasadena! On January 2nd, we went to Nathan and Steph's wedding!

Chris and I went back to work on Monday, January 4th. We left for L.A. on Wednesday. We were on separate flights because I decided to go about a week later than Chris, and I also didn't want to take a half day off of school. Well looking back in hindsight, I wish I did that. My flight left from Huntsville at 4:15. I made it to the airport in plenty of time. The problem was that I had a 45 minute layover in Chicago. We landed in Chicago earlier than expected, so I was thinking, "Everything is going well. I'm going to make my flight." Well then, the pilot comes on the loudspeaker saying that we would have to wait for a gate to open. We wait, and wait, and wait some more. Well now it's past the time for my flight to L.A. The flight attendant said that they weren't waiting on us, even though most of the people on the flight were on that flight to L.A. She told us to make other reservations. So the people next to me call to be put on a waiting list. They put my name on it too. 15 minutes go by, and the flight attendant comes on the loudspeaker saying that they are waiting on us. So everyone cheers, and I'm happy again. We finally get off the plane, and run to our gate. When I get there, the couple who put me on the waiting list was with me. The American Airlines people said that they only had space for 2 more people, and there were 3 of us. I still don't really understand why, except that they gave away my ticket to someone on standby. They said whoever was left would make the 8:55 flight to L.A. So I told the couple to go on ahead. It is about 7:30 p.m. now. Well, they get on, and they're getting my ticket printed, or so I thought. So I asked, "I'm definitely getting on the next flight, right?" The guy says, "Ma'am, I'm doing all I can. I said I would try to get you on that flight. If not, you'll be on the 8:30 a.m. flight tomorrow morning." I said, "That's not what I heard." Then I start crying...uncontrollably. I call my dad (Chris is in the air now) and tell him what's going on. I was too hysterical to do anything sensible. He kept saying to calm down. While I was bawling, I heard the AA people whisper, "She's crying..." To shorten the story, the AA guy made a few calls, bumped the person flying standby on the 8:55 flight, and put me on it. I know why I was emotional-I was flying alone and thought I was stuck in Chicago overnight by myself-but I don't know why I was crying uncontrollably. So I get my ticket, check it, and walk to the gate. The AA people were following me and showing me where to go. I really didn't and don't care what they thought/think about me because I made it there. I'm definitely not happy with American Airlines because what they did to me wasn't right. I should have been able to get on my originally booked flight, but instead, they canceled my booking.

But it was a great trip! I had a lot of fun in L.A. I went to my first national championship, and we won it! Everyone asked me, "Did you see any celebrities?" Well yes, I did...Kirsten Dunst. We were at Intelligentsia Coffee in a trendy neighborhood. We ate lots of good food, had lots of coffee, did some sightseeing, and of course, shopped.

Now, we're back to the daily grind of things. We're still enjoying our jobs, making good friends, and getting involved in our new church. I'm so grateful to God for placing us in Huntsville/Madison. I've met so many wonderful, amazing people and look forward to everything else God has planned for us.

I guess it's back to resting for me, though I admit, I just did laundry and am tempted to clean the house...

-Christie

Home Alone

The title of this entry is for two reasons:

1.) I am home alone because Christopher is in Baltimore.

2.) I am currently watching the greatest movie of all time (with a little exaggeration), Home Alone.

I guess you could say I'm getting in the Christmas spirit. Christopher already put up our lights, and it looks amazing! And today I began watching my Christmas movies. I will probably watch all of them about 3 times each before Christmas. I'm one of those people that gets excited way too early, and then when it gets close to being Christmas, I'm kind of tired of the music and decorations, but never the lights or movies. I'm going to start doing my Christmas baking because it's fun and it tastes good. Gingerbread is next on my list.

Since I rarely update this blog, I better make up for the lost time. I love my 1st graders! They are hilarious! I have a lot of funny quotes from them. I made a list of them that I will post at a later date. They are a lot of work, but at the end of the day, I'm making a difference in these children's lives, and I know it's worth all of the stress and hard work.

Chris is still enjoying his job. He hasn't had to travel much, though he is traveling this week.

We've been busy going to the football games and working. I'm just trying to keep my head above the water, but I know in a few weeks, it will be a little easier. I'll have Christmas break and free weekends.

We're still enjoying our home, though it's a bit cluttered. Today I cleaned, and hopefully tomorrow I'll clean the clutter. Once I clean the clutter up, it reappears the next day, but I suppose that's what happens when you're busy. We also have uninvited guests - mice. If you're a member of PETA, I encourage you to stop reading. We've been using sticky pads to trap the little boogers. Well, once it worked, and once a mouse got away. All in all, we have disposed of two mice so far and suspect a dead one to be under the fridge. Last weekend, I woke up and went to the kitchen to brew some coffee. Well, unfortunately that didn't happen because I found blood on the floor on my way to the pantry. There were bloody mouse prints all over the floor. I cleaned it all up, but it was leading to the refrigerator, so I assume it's under there. There has been no blood since then. I used to think it was cruel to "get rid" of sweet, innocent rodents. But they're not sweet or innocent. They have pooped all over the house and ate our food. So now I've declared war, and I will win.

I hope everyone has a good November!! And since I'm watching Home Alone, I have to put a great quote in the post..."When I grow up and get married, I'm living alone!"

-Christie

Crazy Love

It's been a while since I have written on here. I wanted to share a book that is transforming my thinking and hopefully, my life. Crazy Love by Francis Chan is so relevant to life today. God has this crazy love that is unconditional, everlasting, unchanging, etc. There is not way I can accurately describe God's love for us in words. I highly encourage everyone to go to this website and watch the videos (everything but the chapter ones first unless you're reading the book). After reading this book, you will never be the same again. You will go from a "lukewarm Christian" (if that is even possible) to a passionate Christ follower. I want people to think I act at least a little like Jesus, and I have to transform my life to do that. I can't wait to finish the book! And if you ever get a chance to see him speak, go! God shines right through him.

On another note, the break was good. Christmas time is always really busy and stressful. Next year, I'm going to be prepared and will learn to enjoy Christmas. We also went to Houston to visit family and friends, which was really fun! I saw some old friends, and Christopher was able to meet them along with my family. We also ate lots of great barbecue, Tex-Mex, and Shipley's! Then we went to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl...enough said.

I'm glad to be back, but a lot of going on. The final touches to the wedding must be made. I have to make lots of appointments and decisions, which as many close to me know, is really difficult for me. I really don't enjoy planning, but I am beginning to get excited since a lot is coming together. I can't wait for the day to come, but I'm not looking forward from now until May 16th because of the planning and school work. I have to take the COMPS on February 16th, and I just found out two days ago, so that was scary news. I've got lots of studying, traveling, planning, and celebrating to do, so I better go do some work so I won't fall behind.

-Christie

It's Christmas Month!

It's finally December! It always goes by way too quickly though. I put the Christmas tree up really early (on Halloween...before I had finished carving the pumpkins), but there are still no ornaments on it. And I have a Christmas party at my house tomorrow! Too much to do...I guess I should also clean, but I need to finish my research proposal first since that's due this friday. I only have two classes left...I've finished two already. 

Next Christmas, I want to have some kind of amazing Christmas party, where I go crazy decorating. Maybe a cookie swap, ornament party, potluck dinner, secret santa, dirty santa, or something else. I've got a year to figure it out. This year I'm having a tennis party because I've wanted to for 3 years, and this is the first year I've done it. I had to since I won't be here next year, and one person is graduating, so I had no other choice. I'm excited though. This post is really scattered, but so are my thoughts. 

We've done one thing for the wedding...we have decided on a ceremony musician, a harpist. That's about it. We need to decide what to do for the reception. I need to print some engagement pictures to send Christmas/Save the Date cards. I'm excited about that. I guess that's what I'll be doing next week since I won't have anything else to do. Well, nothing else is really going on. I am looking for a new Christmas movie to see. I saw Four Christmases last Friday, and it was okay. 

I thought of something, I'm going to the SEC Championship game thanks to Christopher's parents! Merry Christmas to me. I hope they can find one ticket and my dad can find one or else I will feel bad that I'm going and they're not. I also hope we win that game so we can go to Miami! Roll Tide!

-Christie