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!