Favorite Things

Alright I don't have 13 favorite things but I do have some

1 . Herbal Essences body envy Shampoo and Conditioner

This is the best stuff for my hair! I do not get as many tangles with this! It also smells very good!

2. Automatic Shower Cleaner

This thing is wonderful, especially for us because Patrick is so dirty when he comes home! It makes cleaning the bathroom not that bad, because it isn't as dirty as it should be!
3. 409

I love this stuff. I use it EVERYWHERE!

4. Febreze Air Freshener

This stuff is great! It helps kill bacteria and smells good as well. Since we have a cat living in the house this stuff is used ALL the time!
5. Carpet Fresh Super Pet!

If you have carpet and animals in the house this stuff is the best! You don't have to vacuum it so I use it after I vacuum and it dissolves into the carpet making your house smell so fresh!

6. Jack Daniels EZ Marinade

This stuff is great for any meat! They have different flavors and they are all great. You just put the meat in the bag and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour and then grill! It takes like it has been all DAY!

Well I only have 6 but I hope everyone enjoys my favorite things!

Very fun weekend!

Patrick and I had a very fun and relaxing weekend!

Saturday morning Patrick had to work until 1:30 so I got up and cleaned the house. It was so gloomy outside so after cleaning the house I just sat around and watched tv! After Patrick got home we went to Kohl's and then Patrick's aunt and uncle, Pam and Bob, and his cousins, Matt and Crystal came over and we all went to eat at Shealys! After that they came back over and we played Wii. Bob was so funny playing! He was actually really good as well. He beat Matt and me at bowling and had fun playing baseball as well! I hope he wasn't too tired after playing!

Sunday after church Patrick's parents were coming home from the beach so they met us at Fatz to eat lunch. It was nice to eat lunch with them because we have not seen them since June. We had a great lunch!

Tonight at youth we helped out with the great mattress run! I was picked to help youth run a mile carrying a mattress. If you know me very well you know that I do not exercise very much so it was funny watching me run! It was alot of fun though and we have really good youth in our church.

All in all this was a nice weekend at home. Next weekend we will be heading to the upstate. We are looking forward to a great weekend with family!

Hope everyone had a great weekend

The best store EVER

Today I went to our new Target! We finally got one in Lexington so I don't have to drive to Irmo anymore. It was so clean! :) I shopped like I had never been to a Target before. It was so much fun! Everything I bought I kept telling myself I needed, so I could justify to Patrick! When I would walk down the aisles I would enjoy hearing people speak. Everyone was making complaints about the new store. Some examples are: one lady was upset because they did not have many outdoor products, another complained because the layout was not the same as the one in Irmo, another complaint was that they did not have the potato chips someone wanted and to that response someone said, This is not walmart. another complaint was that too many people were asking this one lady if she needed help finding things, and the last complaint was that the aisles were too small (which they are the same size as any store).

After leaving I had a great appreciation for the people working in the store because I am sure that they have heard all of these and many more complaints. I was actually very satisfied with the store and the layout! I guess some people just can't be happy!

Dad the Handy Man

Today my parents came down to visit for the day. My dad was such a good man and came down to by my handy man. Patrick has to work everyday and by the time he gets home he is so tired that I feel bad making him fix everything, so I just used my daddy's girl powers and got my parents to come down.

First my dad fixed our guest room bathroom toliet. I had actually tried to fix it once, but I did not get very far, so he helped the process.
Next my dad fixed the piece of carpet that our cat so nicely tore up for us!
After that my dad fixed our mailbox that was falling off!

After fixing everything my dad and mom helped me move my stuff into my new classroom.

My mom also helped me out today and fixed our printer and read some of my papers for my graduate class.

Wow I guess now it sounds like our house was falling apart! I promise it is not that bad! :)

To thank them for fixing our stuff, they were rewarded with playing the Wii! After playing the Wii, we went out to eat and enjoyed our time together!

Thanks mom and dad for coming down! It was great to spend the day with you! Thanks for making our house better!!!

Prayer Request

Please help me pray for the following people. I am firm believer in pray and know that is so powerful.

1. My great uncle Foy- He went into the hospital two weeks ago and had to have heart surgery. He is now out of ICU and in a regular room, but will have to go through therapy for awhile. Please remember him and his wife during this time. She is living at home by herself and my mom and dad are helping transport her to the hospital.

2. Patrick's aunt Charlene- She went into the hospital this morning and is going to have heart surgery sometime this week. She has two children, one just graduated high school and the other just graduated college. She is in great spirits but please remember her and our family. It was a very sudden hospital visit.

Thanks for the prayers!

Lazy Lazy Lazy Day

This morning I woke up after going to bed late from reading Harry Potter and realized that I only have 4 more Mondays, counting today, before school starts again. This summer has gone by so fast. Since I only have 4 more Mondays I decided to be lazy today! I woke up and watched some TV and then read more Harry Potter and have been reading all day! The book is so good, you can't put it down because you want to know what is going to happen! Tonight we are having our friends over again for dinner and probably game playing!

Last night we helped with the youth with banana Olympics and then sat around the host houses' pool for a couple of hours. It was so neat to help with the youth! Patrick and I really enjoyed our time there last night. They were all so nice and welcoming to us! It made me realize how much I really do enjoy teaching and working with teenagers! They are so funny. After all the youth had left we sat around the pool with the family that hosted the youth. Patrick, Jeremy and one of the youth Wes, got in the pool and played basketball all night. Patrick was tired after he left! I really enjoyed talking to Cass and Janet. It was neat to meet more people from our church. I am so glad God has answered so many of my prayers about living in Lexington.

Well I need to get back to Harry Potter! I am determined to finish this book before Wednesday. I am dying to know what happens!

My new passion

I have found a new passion besides teaching... I love to entertain. Yes I know to the people who know me you think I am crazy but let me explain. I don't mean entertain as in getting the nice china and silver platters out (Lord knows I have enough), but I mean having a couple of friends over and just hanging out. Friday night we had our church friends over and Saturday night we had our cousins over. I loved being able to get everything ready and cook for everyone! I feel so good when someone tells me they like my food! :) I also just enjoy company. A couple hours before everyone comes over I always get really stressed and Patrick hates it, but when they are here I love to entertain them! It is just sad that school starts in 3 weeks and my entertaining days are almost over! At least I have something to look forward to for next summer!

Happy Birthday

Today is Patrick's Grandad's birthday! We did not get to go to his birthday bash last night and are very upset we missed it! When I started doing stuff with Patrick's family Grandad was always the nicest person in the world! Patrick and I would go over there and just sit for hours to talk with him! Grandad is such an inspiration to anyone who meets him. He has been through tough times but always seems to come through! He is a very strong man. For a long time he was not able to go to church, but on Sunday mornings he would always dress up in his Sunday best and watch church on tv. He is a wonderful child of God and great role model for Patrick and I. Patrick always loves to tell me stories of how they went fishing together and Patrick holds those memories close to his heart! I want to wish Grandad a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and hope there are many more to come! :) WE LOVE YOU GRANDAD!

Top Six Reasons I love to Read Blogs

1. It gives me something to do during the day!

2. I love to look at everyone's pictures!

3. I get to read an update on mine and Patrick's family. (Thanks Kelly and JuJu).

4. Getting to read books and discuss them with people! Thanks for the great idea Meredith!:)

5. Getting to also see pictures of my wonderful niece and nephew! I love you and miss you both!

6. I get to reconnect with old friends and feel like I have a group of blogging friends that I would probably not really be friends with if it was not for blogging! I really enjoy catching up with old friends and I love how we all comment like we have been friends forever on each others blogs! Blogging helps builds friends!

I love blogginG :)

My favorite books of the summer!

During the summer I LOVE to read books! I don't get that much time to read during the school year so I try to read as much during June and July as possible!

I started off reading Dorothea Benton Franks new book, The Land of Mango Sunsets. I love her books because she writes about the Charleston area. It is so neat to read one of her books and know that I have been to that place.

The next book was Paula Deen's biography! It was so good as well! :) She is such a remarkable women.

I then started looking for new books. I started reading books by Debbie Macomber! They are so interesting!:) I would go get a new book every two days. I could not put her books down. She writes alot like Dorothea Benton Frank.

Right now I am reading 90 minutes in Heaven. It is about a minister who was in a car accident and died on the scene. He went to Heaven for 90 minutes and he talks about what Heaven was like. His friend comes and prays by his side at the wreck scene and he comes back to life. It is really a great book! I have not finished the book, but it is another one I cannot put down.

Well I hope you enjoyed hearing about my books of the summer! (I feel like I am on Reading Rainbow) I would recommend trying any of these books! They are great!
If you have any more suggestions of good books, let me know! The summer is almost over, but I want to get as much reading as possible done!

WE ARE BACK!:)

Well we made it back from the beach today and we finally have all the animals together again! The beach was wonderful! It was so great to get away from everything and not worry about anything. I am going to copy Kelly and make a top ten list of things I learned at the beach!

1. I learned how much I love Caroline and Eli and can't wait to have a child of my own!

2. I learned that without children the beach could be kinda boring! (I don't know how we survived without them.)

3. Charleston pictures are actually a lot cheaper in Charleston than in Columbia! We finally have a picture for our living room.

4. It is very hard for 6 adults and 2 children to decide where to eat!

5. Mom, Dad, and I are not that good at Frisbee golf. Patrick is def. the best!

6. Caroline LOVES to talk!

7. My family (mom and sister) could eat shrimp for every meal! (as long as there is a bathroom)

8. Patrick and I learned that we are finally happy living in Lexington! We love our family, but we are very happy living by ourselves! Also, we got home before my parents today! :)

9. God definitely blessed us with beautiful weather and beautiful scenery! I am always amazed at how beautiful the beach scenery really is! It is something I am glad I don't take for granted!

10. God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and family! Even though we get on each others nerves sometimes we really are close and I know that each one of them truly loves me! I love my family:):)

Vacation

Today we leave for the beach! I am so excited. I love this beach! We use to always go down here when we were little. Our family has so many memories of being on the beach with our parents and grandparents. I can't wait to see Caroline play in the water and with the sand. Last year she didn't really understand but this year she will be so much fun! Eli is going to have fun too! My dad is not going to be able to come until Tuesday because a member of his church passed away this morning, so please remember him! He really deserves a vacation and we are all going to miss him until Tuesday.

The only bad thing about the beach is we have to leave our animals. Duke left us on Friday to travel to Spartanburg to play with his cousin Daisy and maybe Jake. We miss him so much! Lexy is staying here and having a friend check on her every once in awhile. I am sure when we get back she is going to hate us and be very mad! I hope she enjoys her week away from us!


I know my sister is bringing her laptop, but I don't know if we will get the internet, but I will update when we get back!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

The best husband

Yesterday morning Patrick and I woke up between 10 and 11. Patrick then started to make us brunch! I love pancakes but I hate to make them, so Patrick did everything! We had pancakes, bacon, and eggs!

After brunch it started to rain so we went and laid in the bed and watched tv until around 2:00! It was so nice to relax! After laying around we went shopping for stuff for the beach and then we went to this produce stand that our friends told us about. Patrick was in Heaven! He was so happy. It was a really neat produce stand and we bought all this stuff for the beach!

After dinner we went to a friends house and played games with our some people from Sunday School!

We had a great relaxing Sat. before the beach! I just love my husband!

The Big MO

Last night Patrick and I along with Jeremy and Cass, friends from church, ventured out into the middle of nowhere. Honestly I really have no clue where we were, but the little town has a drive in movie theater. The name is the BIG MO!

They have two screens and each screen plays two movies. We say Ratatouille and they were also playing Fantastic Four after Ratatouille.

We got there at 7:00 when the gates open and pulled into our spot. We then had sandwiches and fruit and just sat around and talked. We looked at other people and learned what to do next time. People had crockpots and tables and tons of food! It was like tailgating.

After eating we played Phase 10 until the movie started at 9:00. Cass and I sat in the car and Patrick and Jeremy were outside the car.

It was such a neat atmosphere! I loved watching the movie outside. One of the best parts is it is only 6.00 a person to see two movies outside! It makes you wonder why the movie theaters are so expensive.

After the first movie, we didn't stay for the second one because it was already 11:00 and we were sleepy, but it was definitely a great night and we will do it again!

Anyone who lives down here I would recommend it for a great night!

Chicken Blues!

Last night I decided to try a new recipe, Chicken Cordon Bleu and Twice Baked Bacon Potatoes. Well things did not go as planned, but I found out I have the best husband in the world! The potatoes were the first thing to mess up! We ended up only having one, but Patrick said it was good. The chicken was ok, but I think I put too many toothpicks in it because while we were eating it we had to hunt around for the toothpicks. I got really mad and frustrated, but my husband was the best! He ate every bite on his plate and never complained. He told me the meal was great! I now know that I need to add less toothpicks and be more patient with the potatoes!

Patrick acting silly eating the chicken

All the toothpicks in Patrick's chicken

This was the face he gave me after I had asked him if he liked the meal about 100 times! He was like YES!!!!!! :)

July 4th

Patrick and I have had a weird July 4th. Patrick decided to work today so he could be off on Sat., so I decided to try and get some stuff done! I wrote one paper, and was going to start another one when I started getting a headache. I then went to Walmart and came back home to start scrapbooking again. Well my headache came back, so all day I just sat around and watched tv and slept. When Patrick got home we decided to cook hamburgers, but I still did not feel well. After dinner I started feeling better and I decided that today I got lonely and bored, so I was just lazy and that made me not feel well. I am glad Patrick came home early today because he definitely made me feel better! After cooking out we played Wii and played with dog! It was a nice relaxing 4th of July!

I am glad we all have the freedom to do fun things today! Please remember the soldiers in Iraq, especially my cousin Shane.

Here is Duke on top of his dog house!

Patrick acting goofy around the grill! I love my husband!

Please throw the ball! :)

Here ya go!

Prayer Request

I was watching the news last night and a local church, Lexington Presbyterian, is on a mission trip to Mexico right now. Saturday the youth were swimming in the ocean and one of their own was knocked unconcious and was lost at sea. His body was found yesterday morning in Mexico. He was 15 years old. Please pray for his family and friends. The youth are still on the mission trip but will return on Friday.
The church has started a blog for him.
Here is the link http://austinupdate.blogspot.com/

Procrastion at its best!

Today I woke up and I decided I needed to try and start on of my papers for my class. I went outside to get the mail, and it felt really good outside, so I decided to wash my car! (Actually I am procrastinating) I washed and vacuumed my car before lunch. I was very proud of myself. I then went to feed my friend's dog Daniel and played with him for awhile. I got home and was about to start the paper when I decided to go to Blockbuster to see if they had Big Brain Academy for Wii. They did! I rented it and then came home and played for an hour. It was so much fun, but I can't wait to play Patrick! I think it will be better with two people (Kelly if you get this before the beach, bring it down). After playing it was 5:00 and I knew Patrick would be home in an hour, so instead of starting the paper or reading the chapter, I started my scrapbook. I completed the first page. I have decided that I am not the best scrapbooker, but I do enjoy doing it, even if my pages look bad. I am also a very messy scrapbooker. My table is covered in stuff and it is hard to find everything. Tomorrow I will need organize it, but that will have to be AFTER I read and write my paper.
Here is a picture of my scrapbook table!

Here is a picture of the first page of our wedding scrapbook, the engagement page! I am not the best, but I try!

Patrick has to work tomorrow, so he can be off on Sat., so I guess I will try to write the paper tomorrow.
I have determined that I am BIG PROCRASTINATOR, and will do anything to not do school work!

Pictures!

Here are some pictures of this past week and weekend!

Time apart is good for the heart

My mom use to tell me that time apart is good for the heart and I would think she was crazy! now know that she is not crazy and she is right. This weekend Patrick did not come up to Spartanburg with me because he was tired of driving up there for the past month. He had a great time by himself, doing whatever he wanted to do without me nagging! I also had a great time with my family. We both missed each other very much though.

When I got home Sunday he was so happy to see me, it was like we were dating again and had not seen each other for a long time! We just sat and talked for an hour and then went to eat and watched a movie. The people behind us were shooting fireworks so we went outside to watch them and talk. I felt like I was in high school again! It was great!

I learned that sometimes we do need to miss each other to realize how much we really love one another. I realized how much I really love him this weekend and I just praise God for bringing us back together! This past year we have really had to lean on each other and God during the hard times because we are by ourselves and God has definitely blessed us with a great relationship and now NEW friends! For those of you who have just gotten married my advice would be to always lean on God and each other! You will learn so much about each other. Also always listen to God, even if He sends you an hour from your family. He has a plan and you just have to follow!

So if you start getting upset at your significant other and feel the tension is getting to hard, or just want to see how much you really love each other and miss each other, then take my mom's advice that time away is good for the heart!

Having Children?

Sat. night I spent the night with my sister and I got to see the real troubles and joys of having children. Caroline and Eli went down to sleep around 7:30 and by 8:00 they were both crying! Kelly and I went to bed around 10:00 and then she got up with Eli at 1:30 and 5:45 and with Caroline around, well I don't know what time, but it was in the middle of the night. When she got up with Eli around 5:45 that meant he was up for good and she moved to the living room. Caroline woke up at 7:00 and I switched places with Kelly and watched them so she could go back to sleep. I have now watched two Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's and one Dora. I have never been up 3 hours before I go to church! I learned that children will never go on your schedule even if you try, but they are so much fun to have! I love to hear Caroline talk and say Ali, Hodl you! and this morning when I went to put Eli's pacy in he just smiled at me! Kelly is also very good with them. She does not mind getting up in the middle of the night. I would have so much trouble doing that. She also knows exactly what to say to Caroline to make her go back to sleep! I can't wait to have children, but I think I still have much to learn about them! I enjoyed seeing the real truths of children last night! Thanks for letting me stay Kelly!

Paula Deen

Yesterday my mom, aunt, and I went to see Paula Deen in Charlotte. She was so funny! Her husband, Michael and her brother, Bubba were there with her. She was so normal. She would talk to us like we had known her a long time. She really liked to joke around with everyone. She told everyone the story of how she met Michael and then cooked Fried Pork Chops, mac and cheese, and collard greens! It smelled so good. She also introduced us to the lady that cooks the meals for her during the week. They were so funny cooking together. I think that the camera does put on pounds for people, because she did not look as big in person as she does on tv. She is really a remarkably women and I would recommend her book to anyone. It is very good! I took pictures but they did not come out good, so I am waiting on mom to send me her pictures and then I will post them!