I'm finally posting...

Well we made it safe and sound to Dallas. Well I remembered my camera but not the camera cord so pictures from my trip will come in a later post. We arrived in rainy Dallas, TX around 4:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon. We checked in the Double Tree and were greeted with a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Does it get any better than that!!! After we settled in our room we had plans to go to Joe's Crab Shack. I have never been to one. It was YUMM-O! I hope this won't be my only experience at Joe's. I was so proud of myself because I remembered to take pictures of my food before I started eating it. I will post those pictures when I get home. When we finished eating we went to a mall. It was only going to be open for 30 more minutes so we went to Macy's. I LOVE this store. I found a $20 pair of earrings on sale for $10. Woohoo!!!!! Well it is 5:45 a.m. here and I am patiently waiting for 6:45 when we can go down for breakfest and register for the conference.

A little explanation about the no posting. The months of April and May are the busiest, craziest, and hectic time of the year. I would love to say that I will post more often but it probably won't happen until school is out. For now, I wish you all a safe and joyous week. I am so excited to say that I only have 12 more days of school left. Woohoo!!!!

Hank Hough with Kingdom Dog Ministries...

We had visitors at church this morning. Hank Hough from Kingdom Dog ministries was in our church services today. He brought his dog Prophet to show us how to be obediant to God's plan for our lives. They did an amazing job. Hank is a wonderful speaker who really knows what is important in life. Hank spoke about the importance of living for God and obeying his will instead of trying to make our will His will. A person could learn a lot from Prophet and his complete faith and obedience in his owner. They inspired me to have that same obedience and faith and live according to my heavenly father's plan for me. If you ever get a chance to see Hank Hough I highly recommend it. It is truly a life changing experience.

Lazy but productive weekend...

Chloe and I took it easy yesterday. We stayed in because it looked like it was going to rain all day. I cleaned the kitchen and did some laundry. It is amazing how much laundry one person and one dog can mess up. I did however give Chloe a bath. Since the weather has been nice she has been spending a lot of time outside and she really stunk!!! Yesterday she spent so much time she couldn't get rid of her smell so I knew the time had come to give the bath. Bathtime is not her favorite time. After her bath I took her picture but she looked more scruffy after her bath then she did before. Oh well at least she was clean. Today after church my mom came down to bring me some items that I will be using in a wedding shower that I am helping with next weekend. We went to Cheddar's for lunch. It was delicious. If you have never been I highly recommend it. The food is great. You get a lot of it, and it is not that expensive. Does it get any better than that? I don't think so!!!! I finally remembered to take pictures of the shamrocks for my classroom. I wanted to prove to my mother that our hard work paid off. They turned out cute and the kids love them. Well I hope everyone has a great week!!!

Lazy and Relaxing Weekend...

Well I really do not have anything interesting to post about but it has been a week since my last post and thought I should post about something. Yesterday Chloe and I took it easy or a better way to say it we were lazy. It was cloudy and cold all day. It even snowed for awhile. It was neat but it didn't stick.

Last year my mom came up with this really cute idea of making shamrocks for my classroom. She even purchased all of the material. Thanks Mom!!!! Sometimes Mom and I have the best of intentions with ideas but never follow through with them. Well this time I decided to finish them and hang them up for Parent/Teacher conferences which will be the week of St. Patrick's Day. I have 16 out of 24 completely finished. The glue is still drying on the final eight. I will take a picture when I get them hung. But, you can't make fun of me. I am probably the least crafty person you will ever meet. It was kind of fun making them though. That is really the only productive thing I have done over the weekend.

After church today Granny, Ruby, and I made our regular treck to Western Sizzlin in Van Buren. However to our wonderful surprise my Uncle Johnny and Aunt Pat came to eat lunch there as well. Uncle Johnny is usually pretty sneaky when it comes to sneaking around and paying for your meal without you even knowing what he is up to. Well today I actually played a part in being able to trick him with a little help from the waitress. She snuck me the ticket which Granny actually payed for. It was really great getting to visit with them. We made plans for a summer barbeque with the rest of the family. I really hope it works out. Johnny smokes meat better than anybody I know.

I hope everyone else had a fun and relaxing weekend.

I Can't Believe Grace is already 2...

I can't believe Grace is already 2. I was talking today with my Granny and Aunt Ruby and we were saying it seems like it was yesterday that Taylor was a baby and she is going to be 24 in a few days. It seems like the older I get the faster time flies. Gracie was absolutely adorable on her birthday. The outfit Cathy got her is precious! I managed to get a couple of pictures of Grace where she was actually looking at the camera. I also took a picture of her cake made of cupcakes. They were delicious and very cute. I want to thank Taylor and Joyce for inviting me to the party.

Chloe Update # 2

This is one of my favorite pictures of Chloe. It is an old one but I had to share it. Well Chloe came home from the hospital yesterday. She is still really sore and not quite her self. She is still having some issues but she is able to do her business on her own. PTL!!! She had a better day today. She is eating well and Mom said she even wanted to play a little this afternoon. I had to leave her in L.R. because she needs to be monitored closely and I wouldn't be able to do that at work. She is loving Big Dog and Big Momma's house. She is spoiled rotten. Everytime I called to check on her today Mom was either holding her, playing with her, or right beside her. It is a little too quiet at home right now. I will be going to see her Friday and if all goes well I will bring her home with me next week. I get a three day weekend because of President's Day. So Chloe and I are butting in on Hill and Josh's first Valentine's Day as a married couple. Mom and Dad are going to be out of town for the weekend. I am jealous but I hope they have a wonderful time. Well you are all caught up in a day in the life of Chloe Jacks Russell. I hope you all have a great week!!!

Update on Chloe...

The vet called me this morning and let me know that Chloe was out of the danger zone. God is so Good! The issue was Chloe was not able to urinate on her own because of the swelling. He called in a specialist to come and work with her today. However she was able to urinate on her own last night. He cancelled the specialist. He is keeping her for observation for a while because he is not for sure what caused the swelling. I wanted to thank you all so much for your prayers. The vet even said the power of prayer worked in this situation because he was really worried last night. He felt so much better about the whole situation this morning.

Explanations about Chloe...

I stole this picture from Hill's blog because all of my better pictures are at home in my computer. Chloe went in this morning to have 3 blatter stones removed. The doctor called around 1:00 this afternoon and stated that their were 3 complications. 1) She didn't respond well with the anestheia (sp?) which is common with dogs as small as Chloe. 2) When he opened her up to remove the 3 stones he found that her entire blatter was filled with hundreds of little stones. He was able to remove all of the stones. PTL! 3) One of the big stones was wedged in her urethra and caused it to swell so much that he couldn't put a catheter in. He gave her an iv of steriods to help with the swelling and as of 15 min. ago she was still on the iv. The vet was busy when I called but the nurse went back to check on her and she responded to her name. We are now waiting for the swelling to go down to see if their is any permanent damage. They told me to call again at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow for an update.

I will admit I had a huge meltdown after the phone call. She is my child and it is the most horrible feeling in the world to know that someone you care about is really hurting and is all by themself in a strange place. I am better now though because the Lord reminded me of my verse for this week which is As I was with Moses, so I shall be with thee Joshua 3:7. I know he is with Chloe now and can watch over her because I can't. I am tapping into some of that faith I have been learning about this week. I know the Lord will have Chloe's best interest at heart. I will accept the outcome whatever it may be. Please continue to pray for her that she is not suffering any pain. I just really can't bear the thought of her being in a lot of pain.

Ode to the most wonderful invention ever made...

This truly is one of the most wonderful inventions ever made. It has saved my sanity over the last 12 hours. Here is an update about my doctor's visit. It started off by spending 2 long hours in the waiting room. It is funny because I almost always bring a book or sometimes bring papers to grade while I am sitting in a waiting room. It makes the time go so much faster. However this time I forgot both.

When I finally made my way back to the examing room it only took about a minute or two for the doctor to come in PTL. I explained to him that I didn't recall doing anything that would make my back hurt. He said it was probably just not aligned correctly. He wanted to do what I would refer to as a chiropractic treatment. It was extremely painful! It hurt worse coming out of the dr.'s office then it did going in. He said it could take up to 48 hours to feel some relief. He also gave me some medication that I can only take once a day. Well it is 3:57 a.m. and the medication is no longer working and I took it at 10:00 p.m. The only way life is bearable at the moment is sitting up right with the most wonderful invention ever made. I wish you all a stress free Friday and a wonderful weekend.

P.S. Could you say a little prayer for Chloe today she is going in for her surgery.

Late for Work, Back Pain, Chloe is sick, What a day...

This whole ordeal started Monday. My sunday school class is doing a bible study on Romans. We are using the Max Lucado Life Lessons book. It is amazing. The lesson this week focused on the Faith of Abraham. It is a really great lesson that focuses on having faith. I also received the book Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer it is a wonderful book. It talked about faith and building on that faith. I also randomly pick a bible verse for the week. This week's verse is As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. Joshua 3:7. Are you catching a pattern? I sure did. I love when the Lord uses different avenues to try to get my attention. Well, I can definitely say that today my faith was tested. I have had a horrible back ache since about 5:00p.m. yesterday afternoon. I have taken advil constantly and it is not getting better. I am going to the doctor tomorrow. This was just the first domino you might say. I was very slow getting around this morning because of my back and I was late for work. Now those of you that know me know I have a little OCD when it comes to time frames. I like to be at work at least 30 minutes before school starts. That did not happen. I was a little flustered by the time when on my way out the door I noticed Chloe had an accident on the kitchen floor and it had blood in it. I knew she hadn't been feeling well lately and what I feared turned out to be true. Chloe has 3 blatter stones. She has had them before but I was shocked that there were so many. She just had one the last time. I have to give a big shout out of thanks to my mom for driving to my house to pick Chloe up and taking her back to her house two hours away and to the vet. She has surgery on Friday morning. The second domino you might say. When I had the Chloe situation figured out and I was on my way out the door my garage door got hung up for a second. Domino number three. I finally got it up. I sat in my car beyond ready to be at school and I started it and nothing happend. I had to turn this situation over to the Lord and tell him to get my car working because I had already had so much going on I didn't have time to worry about my car. I remained calm and pumped my brakes a few times and my car started. God is so Good!!!!!!!!! Fourth domino just fell. I made it to school but was still in a lot of pain. Praise the Lord I had a Watch Dog Dad in my classroom today and he really helped me out with my limitations from my back. However at lunch I found out that someone I went to school with passed away after a long battle with stomach cancer. Here I was having a little pitty party for myself while a family is mourning the loss of a wonderful Christian man. The Lord definitely has ways of putting things in perspective. I have discovered I am a work in progress but I know with the Lord on my side I am going to find what I am looking for. Sorry for the long post. Hope everyone is having a great week!!!

Beautiful Weather, Zaxby's, and a Double Feature...

The weather is absolutely beautiful today. It is hard to believe that just a few days ago we were all housebound due to an ice storm. Don't you just love Arkansas weather!! Well I decided that since it was so beautiful outside today I was not going to sit at home all day. I had enough of that this week. There is a new restaurant that opened up in Van Buren so I thought I would try it out. I have been to one in Georgia before so I knew it was good. It is called Zaxby's and it was very delicious!! If you ever get a chance to go you should definitely try it.

I also went to a double feature at the Malco Cinema in Van Buren. It has been a long time since I have been to the movies much less two in the same day. I really enjoyed it though. I went to see New in Town. It is the movie with Renee Zellweger (sp?) and Harry Connick Jr. It was very cute. I also went to see Taken with Liam Neeson it was really suspenseful and very entertaining. I would recommend both of these movies to anyone. I hope everyone else had a wonderful Saturday too.

Whitney Caroline Designs

There is a blogger out there who designs adorable personalized gift ideas. She is having a giveaway. I do not know how to link to another site so if you would like to find the website Hill has a link on her blog. Here is a picture of what they are giving away. The last day to enter is January 29.

Inauguration and Junie B. What a Combination...

Well the day started off with my students being completely obsessed with the inauguration. This kind of surprised me. I teach 2nd graders. Usually that means if a situation doesn't directly involve them they are not that interested in it. Well the kids thought it was totally awesome that Pres. Obama used the Lincoln Bible for his swearing in ceremony. Quentin was thrilled because Pres. Lincoln is his favorite president. I feel that some of us present company included take days like these for granted. History was made today and I for one am so glad I was able to witness it with my students. It is so amazing watching major events like this through the eyes of children. Their thirst for knowledge and excitement for the occasion is incredible. There is nothing like. I love my job!!!!!

On a completely separate note:

The town I was living in was sponsoring the play Junie B. the musical. If any of you out there are teachers or parents of school age children then you know who Junie B. is. The musical was very cute and hysterical!!! If you ever get a chance to see it I highly recomment it.

Please Pray for Harper!!!

Update:
Harper was actually flown to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa. She is stable at the moment. They checked her heart and it is fine. She has fluid in her lungs though. Please continue to pray for Harper. If you want to know all the details Kelly has been updating her blog periodically. You can access it from this blog. Kelly's Korner is her blog.

Harper Brown Stamps was born this evening to Scott and Kelly Stamps. She weighed in at 9 lb. 12 oz. She had difficulty breathing when she was born. Later this evening she had to be airlifted to Children's Hospital in Little Rock. Please lift this family up in your prayers. Kelly was one of Hillary's bridesmaids in her wedding. She has been a wonderful friend and influence on Hill. We have all been anxiously awaiting Harper's arrival. This precious little one and her family need our prayers. Please Pray for her!!!

Christmas Break, Puzzles, and New Camera...

I had a wonderful Christmas break. One of the many blessings of being a teacher is a two week Christmas break. It was wonderful getting to see the family that I do not get to see as often as I would like. We had Christmas lunch at my Aunt Ruby's it was delicious!!! I went to my parent's house for the remainder of my vacation. My mom and I hung around the house most days and worked puzzles. When I was younger I like to start working puzzles but I would soon get bored and leave them unfinished. My sister however loves to work puzzles and will stick it through to the end. Well I sort of got hooked the last couple of weeks. We worked five different puzzles as you can see from above. I have to admit my mom really makes it easy for us. She sorts out all of the pieces which makes it easier for us to work them.

My new camera came in this week and I have already started breaking it in. The kids really love it. It is purple and they can see the picture better. I purchased my new camera with Christmas money from my Nanny and Pop R. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Nanny and Pop R. I hope to be taking a ton of pictures with my new camera.

I'm back........

I am so excited to report that I am back among the blog world. Santa was very good to me this year and brought me a computer so I will be able to update more frequently. I also purchased a new digital camera with my Christmas money( Thanks! Nanny and Pop R.) so I am eager and ready to start blogging. I ordered my camera over the internet and it is not in. I will be posting soon with pictures but I wanted to write a short update for now.