Thankful Thursday (Times Three)...

I can NOT believe it is Thursday already!! This week has FLOWN! Here are the three things that I am MOST thankful for this Thankful Thursday (Times Three)!

1. Extravaganza week...

This week is one of the biggest weeks at my school...Extravaganza Week! Once a year we have our annual Extravaganza---it is a showcase of our best performances of that year. If you are new to my blog, I am an assistant principal at one of the TOP performing arts high schools in the nation. We have eight different art areas: creative writing, cinematic arts, piano, instrumental music, vocal, theatre, dance, and visual arts. Students are admitted by audition only and we have kids coming from all over Florida and even in other states to attend our school. I'm a little proud...can you tell? Well the Extravaganza is this Friday night and I must say that we have had the smoothest Extravaganza week so far and I am looking forward to the performance on Friday.

2. My Chip-in/Giveaway...

The DH and I have been working hard on trying to raise money for our 3rd IVF attempt. A bloggy friend of mine suggested we try to do Chip-in/Giveaways to raise the $10,000 we need to try again. Well, I was so THANKFUL to see that our latest Chip-in/Giveaway has brought in over 100 comments on the FIRST day! What a blessing! The more we get the word out, the more visitors we receive, the closer we get to our goal of becoming parents. Praise GOD!

3. Running...

I NEVER thought I would be thankful for running...but the DH and I started running this year (one of our resolutions). I was dreading it for the first couple of weeks, but now I am up to 1.5 miles and I just can't get enough of it. I am even sad that last night I didn't get home till late, so I was unable to take a run :( We are hoping to be in a 5K in March and then go for a longer race soon after. I'm praying we stay motivated and so thankful that we are actually enjoying running!

What three things are you most thankful for this week?

Barren No More ...

A dear friend of mine sent me a list of verses when she found out we were TTC (trying to concieve). I keep the list in my Bible and reflect on these verses daily. The majority of you that read this blog are either TTC, pursuing or considering IVF, have had or are still dealing with infertility, or have loved ones that fall in one of these categories. I thought all of you would really benefit from this list, so listed below are the verses that focus on God's gift of being a mother:

Genesis 17:15-21
Genesis 25:21
Judges 13
1 Samuel 1:1-20
Luke 1:5-25
Romans 2:11
Deuteronomy 7:14
Psalm 113:9
Hebrews 11:11
Mark 11:24
Hebrews 11:1

I hope these verses will comfort you and give you peace as we look forward to seeing the precious little children He has especially picked out for us.
We will be barren no more...

Maxine Monday...

Here is Maxine's wisdom for today...

What Maxine really meant to say was...

"This is the day the Lord has made; Let us be glad and rejoice in it."~Psalm 118:24

Every day is a new day and we should be thankful for the opportunity to start fresh and anew. I try to start each and every day thanking God for the many blessings He has given me...my husband, my family, my home, my job, etc. I am so glad to have all of these blessings in my life and I rejoice in each and everyone of them.

I just LOVE Maxine...she just needs a little help with her communication skills.

Thankful Thursday (Times Three)...

Thankful Thursday (Times Three) is when I post about three things that I am MOST thankful for this week. Here are my thankfuls for the week....

1. Date night...

Although we do NOT do this often as we should...I had a great time last night with the DH. We went out to eat for dinner last night and had some great conversation and alone time. I know it is just the two of us (plus our dog, Kodi), but we seem to ALWAYS have a schedule and plans to do something every single night. So it was nice to get away, get out of the house, and just do something alone.

2. Answered prayers...

I am so thankful that both Harper and Brayden are continuing to heal. Both sets of parents suffered through infertility and have long awaited the birth of these two special babies. So you can imagine the shock when they both found out their children had complications at birth. Thankfully, so many of you prayer warriors stepped up...and God listened. Both babies are doing great and I just know they will be home soon.

3. My blogging family...

I think I have recruited yet ANOTHER person in my family to the blog world. My MOTHER (well, she's really my grandmother, but we call her Mother...that's another post in itself)!!! She is a wonderful person, a loving grandmother, a GREAT cook, the gardener extraordinaire, and I can't wait for you all to meet her! I am going to work on setting up her blog for her in the next few days, so I'll post about it soon so you can all welcome her to the world of blogging!

What three things are you MOST thankful for this Thursday?

Never Let Go...

I received my first EVER infertility award from Amanda.

I was honored...but at the same time, I was honestly sad to have received this award. Infertility is something that I would NEVER wish on anyone. I must admit that I have met the most amazing women and I am so honored to share this journey with them, but I must say...it has been A JOURNEY and I can NEVER LET GO of the desire I have to be a mother. I heard this song for the first time on Angie's blog...she had it playing on the video of the birth of her sweet Audrey Caroline. I think I've listened to it a MILLION times since then...and I can't listen to it without a few tears creeping up into my eyes.

When disaster came...you never let go, oh my soul fills with hope...you never let go, in joy and pain...you never let go, in sun and rain...you never let go.

I will never let go...2009 has many new beginnings for me.

Maxine Monday...

My Aunt Dottie sent me an email with a TON of awesome Maxine cartoons....so get ready...my Maxine Monday's are about to be BETTER than EVER!

I think what she meant to say was....

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1.

And for good measure...I DON'T think God screwed up!

It has taken me a long time (a VERY long time) to understand...or maybe I should say accept, this verse. I have always planned to have the perfect life, the perfect home, the perfect marriage, the perfect family. And although my expectations are still the same, the timing of these goals are not up to me. Only He knows about perfection and only He knows when and IF our plans will come to fruition.

So, good try Maxine...but I think God's reason is the REAL reason.

Staying Warm and Enjoying Good Food...

It has been in the low 30's the past few days and I just can't get WARM!! I know all you Northern girls are probably laughing at me right now, but I'm a Southern girl...born and grew up in Texas and now living in Florida. So anything below 30 is WAY TOO COLD to me :)

I have literally been spending my weekend snuggled up in front of the fireplace, watching my favorite shows, and BLOGGING! Well...I've also been EATING too. For some reason I have gotten the cooking BUG. I made Mimi's chicken pot pie the other night and it was delicious...I think I over-did-it with the crust, but it still turned out good. Saturday night I made my mother-in love's HDC---aka Hot Dog Casserole (except I subsituted the hot dog for spicy sausage). I am planning to make my mom's roast on Sunday night and try my mother-in-love's vegetable soup this week too.

If you haven't had the chance to visit these AWESOME recipe blogs, make sure you check them out...you (and your tummy) will NOT be disappointed!

Stay warm!

Thankful Thursday (Times Three)...

This Thursday it was VERY easy to come up with three things that I am MOST thankful for this week. Here we go...

1. Young Marrieds...
On Monday I attended a Young Marrieds group at our Pastor's home. I was able to finally put faces with the names I have heard about and spoken to on our Women that Lead website. It was definitely a fellowship that I have been hoping and praying for lately.

2. CHOPS...
The DH and I saw a special screening of the movie CHOPS this past weekend. It is a documentary about students that attend(ed) my school and how they eventually won the Essentially Ellington for jazz bands. If you haven't seen the movie, and you love jazz, it is a MUST see. I think that it will be out at the movies soon...so keep your eye out for it. This is just another reminder of how special my school is and the students that I serve are unbelievable.

3. Giveaway Blogs...
I have a new addiction now...giveaway blogs. I just can't get enough and enter my names into all these giveaways. So far, I have won two prizes from commenting on these giveaway blogs. So, I thought it might be a good idea for me to pay it forward. So I have donated a set of my cards to two giveaway blogs. They should both be up in a few weeks. So check out A Giveaway A Day and The Pink Potpourri.

I normally only do THREE thankfuls, but I have one more this week :)

4. A three day weekend...
It is almost a four day weekend because we have a teacher planning day tomorrow, but we are off on Monday for MLK day. YIPPEEE!!!!




What are you most thankful for this week?

Faith and Hope...

The DH and I had a great conversation this past weekend about faith and hope. We have MANY expectations for 2009...

• we have HOPE that the DH's business will eventually pick up again.
• we have HOPE that another business opportunity will evolve into something prosperous for us.
• we have HOPE that our next doctor's appointment will bring us another option or answers about our infertility.
• we have HOPE that 2009 will be the year we have a baby.

Although we have HOPE that all these things will come to pass...we also have FAITH.

"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we HOPE for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see."~Hebrews 11:1

Maxine Monday...

For those of you that are new to Growing Our Own Garden, I like to post a Maxine cartoon each Monday and reflect on her wisdom :)

Procrastination!!!! Webster's Dictionary defines procrastination as "to put off doing something (unpleasant or burdensome) until a future time; especially to postpone such actions habitually." I must admit that (depending on the situation) I am a procrastinator. In college I used to wait until the LAST minute to study for tests---sometimes the DAY of the test. Even at work I push deadlines with paperwork, emails, and preparing for meetings. It seems as if I always procrastinate when it comes to things that I am dreading or things that I don't WANT to do because I am afraid of failure. The opposite of failure is SUCCESS....and I DEFINITELY want to be successful at everything I do. I sometimes fear that I can't accomplish all that I set out to do, and deep inside I feel so unworthy of such accomplishments that I subconsciously self-destruct the process of achievement. I truly believe that a lot of this fear comes from my perfectionist behavior. Yes, I am one of those....a perfectionist.

So how can I overcome this fear?

I searched "overcoming procrastination" and you will NEVER believe what I found! Read this...

"Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.” ~James 4:17

Now that is powerful!!! Yes, I know that procrastination is not as harsh as stealing or adultery, but it is a sin nonetheless. Procrastination reveals a lack of faith in the God who equips us to do all things, and it abuses one of God’s most precious creations, time. To God, time is precious since we are allotted only so much of it on earth. I NEVER thought of procrastination as something so serious. Did you?

So, thanks to Maxine, I have a new outlook on how to overcome procrastination. I am putting my fears aside and doing things TODAY instead of tomorrow.

"If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything."~Ecclesiastes 11:4

UPDATE**A LATE Thankful Thursday (Times Three)...

I had to make an update to my Thankful Thursday...now it is Thankful Thursday (Times Three) plus 1!!!!! Thursdays are when I post about three things that I am MOST thankful for that week. Unfortunately, I was out of town this week...so this Thankful Thursday (Times Three) is a day late :) Here are the three things that I am MOST thankful for this week.


1. Women that Lead...

My husband and I have started to attend Southpoint Community Church. Last Sunday in the bulletin they advertised about a blog (really it's more like Facebook for women at the church) to join. So of course, that was the first thing that I did when I got home on Sunday :) Since then I have already met some WONDERFUL women in Christ. I am so looking forward to actually meeting them in person this Sunday.

2. Mini-vacation...

I was really dreading going to Tampa this past week...on my FIRST week back from the holiday vacation no-less. But it turned out to be a VERY relaxing few days. I had the GREATEST room...huge king-size bed, complete with down pillows and comforter, a balcony that overlooked the marina, and a view of the Ringling Brothers Circus. I woke up each morning watching the elephants, tigers, and zebras eating, playing, and getting ready for that night's performance. The reason for the trip was to present a workshop on how to market an arts school to Arts Administrators and to see our students perform at the Florida Music Educators Association opening night. It was just like a mini-vacation and it was definitely worth the trip.

3. Coming home to my husband...

I am not sure why this always happens...but a little time away from your loved ones is good for the soul--and the marriage :) I missed my DH so much while I was gone and I couldn't WAIT to get home yesterday. We had a great time catching up on the last few days, went for a run/walk together, and what a blessing it was to be back HOME!

+1. My mom...

My mom had an angiogram this morning. I have NEVER been so scared in my LIFE!!! For those of you that read my blog regularly and for those of you that really know me, my mom is one of my VERY BEST FRIENDS!! I was so terrified to learn that she was having an angiogram today....to find out if she had any blockage in her heart. Although I knew about the test on Wednesday, it hit me like a TON of bricks this morning. Although I LOVE living in Florida, it KILLED me that I was so far away from my mom. It took everything I had not to jump on a plane and get to Houston as fast as I can. But I said MANY prayers this morning, I prayed with my secretary, I sent out a message on my facebook for prayers, and I asked Angie Smith to send out a message to all the "Sunday" prayer warriors. And God answered our prayers...my mom's test went well..NO BLOCKAGE!! She will be doing more tests this next week to find out why her legs are swelling so much..but I am so THANKFUL that her test went well and all is fine with her heart. What a blessing!

What are the three things that you are MOST thankful for this week? I'd love to hear about it :)

Maxine Monday...

I have been really slacking on my Maxine Mondays. So when I stumbled across this one, I knew it would be great for the first Monday of the new year.

The DH and I bought tickets several months ago to see Joel Osteen in JACKSONVILLE. I was so thrilled to be starting off the new year with night of hope with Joel and Victoria. The message that night was encouraging, motivating, and hopeful. Joel spoke on how we can set our minds to what WE expect to happen in 2009...not what the NEWS says will happen. Instead of listening to all the negative comments about our economy and how everything is expected to get worse before it gets better, we can CHOOSE to see things in a different light. Our God is an awesome God and he can do immeasurable more than we could ever imagine.

But remember the LORD your God is the one who makes you wealthy. He's confirming the promise which he swore to your ancestors. It's still in effect today. ~Deuteronomy 8:18

So Maxine...I am expecting a prosperous 2009 and I will gladly be a lender and not a borrower.

Thankful Thursday (Times Three)...

Thursdays are when I post about the three things that I am most thankful for that week. As we start the beginning of a new year, I have many things to be thankful for...limiting my list to only three for this post was a FEAT. But here you go...

1. The growth of my relationship with God...

The forever journey of TTC during 2008 was definitely a blessing...WHAT??? Yes, I am so thankful for the trials of TTC because they brought me closer to God. I never thought I would be able to say (or write) those words, but it really is the truth.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will lsten to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."Jeremiah 29:11-13

2. Patience...

I have FINALLY learned how to be patient...well almost :) Going through our infertility journey with my husband these past few years has shown me how to wait. Not that I do not want to be a mother any less, but I know that it will happen, but only in His time.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:4.

3. Blogging...

Starting this blog has been such a great experience for me. Not only have I met some amazing women out there, but I have created bonds with women that I never thought would be possible. Women who feel the same way I do, share the same experiences, and have such a wealth of knowledge about God, infertility, and staying positive. You ALL are a blessing!

What three things are you most thankful for as we begin 2009...the year of new beginnings!!