Stone Mountain Christmas

Getting on the Christmas Train

Going for a walk in the Campground with Miss Averie and Scott

On top of Georgia

Peek a boo

Yes, I know it is not even Thanksgiving yet, but we went on vacation to stone mountain park in Georgia, and we had a blast in a perfect Christmas town. You can see it at http://www.stonemountainpark.com/. We met some very missed bestest friends and our children played so hard. Ty learned all about The sky the sky...the toes, the toes from Miss Averie, who was a very good teacher of many words to him. He needs to be around older ones because he learns so much, and he tries to kiss them (but he needs to learn very much to put his tounge back in his mouth). Enjoy the sweet sweet pictures. We hope to see this sweet sweet family again soon!

Halloween starts the Holidays

And I for one am VERY excited! This is the most wonderful time of the year, and my boys and I are having so much fun (This blog goes backwards and I don't know how to get it to stop underlining my words.)

Picking out a pumpkin at Mitchell Farms
My boy and a field of sunflowers. Anyone who truly knows me knows how happy this makes me!

My boys in a hay maze. It was really hard to get through; glad we didn't try the 8 acre corn maze.

At Mitchell Farms. No way to get all three to look at the camera.

His future is so bright...

Trick or Treating at Pecan Lakes

He knew just what to do and loved getting candy and putting it in his car.

Doing the happy dance before Kamper Park's Zoo Boo.

He is such a happy bat!

Me and Linda, man I miss this short stuff. She is doing great at her new job, but I wish she was doing great down the hall from me. Sniff tear.

More fun to come cause the Halloween party is next Friday.

The terrible thud (or the terrifying transition)

THUD! Parents, in case you don't know yet what this sound is, it is the sound of your sweet, helpless, innocent baby becoming an independent, self-sufficient, I-don't-need-you-anymore TODDLER. And it will happen so suddenly that all you will be able to do is let a soundless scream escape your lips, followed shortly by the real scream of your husband's name and RUN (as in "BRYAN, RUN!") This terrifying experience will be prefaced by nothing. No warning. No ominous look. No "I saw that coming." It will just happen...with a THUD... and your baby will no longer be a baby; he/she will be a toddler, and parentsm it is THE scariest thing that I have experienced on this parent journey as of yet. Absolutely terrifying.

Enough of the drama; here is what happened (if you are still with me and not rolling your eyes with the over-the-topness of it all, but be assured, when this thud occurs at your house, you will understand and be truly sympathetic)

Saturday night, after a long and exciting day of USM football (to the top), we placed our BABY in his crib. Shortly after we had retired to the living room, we heard him crying. He does this from time to time due to nightmares, and so we were not alarmed. That is when we heard the THUD of his baby-hood coming to an end. We thought it was just him falling down in his crib, as he tends to be a little on the dramatic side (wonder where he gets that from). Suddenly, though, we heard his cries (which sounded a little confused) wandering all over the upstairs floor. I froze (insert soundless scream here), or panicked, or both and screamed for Bryan to "Run!" (see above). Barbara, Bryan, and myself met Tyson the toddler at the top of the stairs looking very disoriented and pitiful. "It's the bumpers," we thought, and removed them (still not willing to accept the true nature of the THUD). 30 minutes later, yet another thud, scream (not soundless this time), and rinse-dry-repeat! Not the bumper's fault.

I mean WHAT child can get out of his crib at 14 months. MINE CAN, and so my baby is seriously no longer a baby, and drumroll, please; here he is in his BIG BOY BED!!!

And in case you were wondering what absolute sweetness looks like in the face, see below.


SOOOO I guess this means it is time for another baby, right? Anyone want to take bets on how long it will be (ha ha).

On the lake

My boys are so cool! I love them bunches.

Such a Big Boy

Here are some pictures of my big boy taken by the weetest friend, KeithAnn Carter.

He is soooo big (I think it is the shoes) He would love to sit in the swing as it flies through the breeze, but, alas, Daddy will not leave it hung up.

Ephesians 1:11

In him we are also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who WORKS OUT EVERYTHING in conformity with the purpose of his will (which is always for good).

This is probably the most powerful verse I have ever heard. It immediately brought tears to my eyes because it speaks to the center of my biggest fear. IT WILL BE OKAY! no matter what, no matter when, no matter how big, no matter how bad, God will make it okay. There is nothing that I can do or that can happen to me that will be so bad he can't fix it, and that is AWESOME! whew, what a relief...

A WORDLE!!!

I created this using http://www.wordle.net/, and it was fun. I thought it was amazing the words that became more prominent.

A Golden Opportunity (To the Top!)

Today I ran into the teacher I had in college that is my all time favorite teacher ever. He is the reason I changed my major to English and ultimately became a teacher. And guess what...I told him that! A long time ago, I saw him in Mahogany bar one night and felt like I needed to tell him, but I lost the nerve. For years I have regretted not telling him and have thought fondly of his class. I try to have his attitude toward my kids, even going so far as to call my student's Mr. or Mrs. and their last name like he, so respectfully, would do in his class. I try really hard to make each of them think critically and I want them to feel smart when they do. One of my students told me yesterday, "Mrs. Giles, your class makes me feel smart!" It made me feel so good, and I remember Dr. Mayes's class making me feel like that. Anyway, I just wanted him to know. If it were me, I would want to know. My friend Lisa, who kind of held my hand as I walked up to tell him, said she was proud of me after I told him and said that while I was telling him my voice broke a little like I was gonna cry. You don't understand, I told her, he lit my fire! God puts certain people in your way that change your path, and Dr. Micheal Mayes was a huge roadblocks and sudden detour for me. I just wanted to say thanks and I am glad I got a second chance to do just that. It was definately cool!


*I hope he didn't think I am like a psycho stalker or anything (ha)*

New haircut (not mommy's idea)

Camping with the Baileys
Mowing the lawn is hard work...but someones gotta do it.
Splish-Splash Ty was taking a bath
Bryan's idea


Today Ty got a new haircut. We went to his Jenny's house, and I was prepared for a little trim. Ty's dad decided he wanted him to have a buzzcut, so he will be just like daddy. I would like to preface this with saying that Jenny did a FABULOUS job as always, and more than likely I will never take him to anyone else at least until I wear out my welcome with her weetness. HOWEVER, I was not ready for a buzzcut, and this sudden decision on the part of my husband was both shocking and aggravating. And well here he is with his new BIG BOY haircut.

Survey: Tag, you're it, Keith Ann, Andie, Kal

Here are the rules:A) People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs & replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

B) Tag 8 people to do this quiz.

1. What music is on your iPod?Linkin Park, John Mayer, Selah, Jack Johnson, THE AMERICAN IDOL Jason Castro, Rihanna, Hanah Pestle, Jeff Buckley, Switchfoot

2. What do you do before bedtime?READ, Lately do Beth Moore Bible Study

3.What magazines do you have subscriptions to?Weight Watchers, American Baby, I buy Rachel Ray every month so I should get a sub.

4. What is your favorite scent? Cotton, very clean and sweet. Reminds me of my momma's house.

5. If you had a million dollars and could only spend it on yourself, what would you do with it?
Quit my job (although I really do love it, I would NOT work if I didn't have to) Travel constantly, and buy my own house in a GREAT neighborhood with sidewalks and kids for Ty to play with AND one by a river as well, of course car (64 1/2 baby blue mustang),and a Air Nautique for Bryan.


6. What is your theme song? Gone Switchfoot

7. Do you trust easily?NONONONONONO, I have real issues with trust. I know a lot of people say this, but mine is like a serious CAN'T. As in I am not sure I am physically capable of putting true faith in anyone or anything without having some sort of doubt. But I am working on it. It is my biggest problem.

8. Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think? I think WAY tooo much about everything. Terrified of hurting anyone with my actions.

9.Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days? No, not really. Life is pretty good right now. Thanks, God!

10. Do you have a good body-image? Never have, prolly my second biggest problem.

11. Is being tagged fun?Yes, I love that people want to know about me, because I feel like I have a lot to say. Duh, anyone who knows me can tell you that.

12. What websites do you visit daily? My blog and my friends blogs (if they have written anything new). Myspace, Yahoo, PetalSchools.com, stepheniemeyer.com to read part of midnight sun

13. What have you been seriously addicted to lately? The Twilight Series. God. My Son. My friends.

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is? Well, to be honest, she didn't really tag me. I found this survey on her website and copied it. I know, pathetic, right. But my Julia is incredibly talented (she is a published author and her book is doing wonderfully, she is strong willed, and we can pick up right where we left off no matter how long it has been. I love her!)

15. What’s the last song that got stuck in your head? Disturbia

16.What’s your favorite item of clothing? a good pair of jeans. or anything that makes me feel thinner.

17. Do you think Rice Crispies are yummy?EEEWWW no, the only appeal they have is that crackly noise they make that dies after a while at which point they become a soggy, slimy mess. And they have NNNOOO flavor.

18. What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground? I would turn it in to the closest place to the money. and I am not saying that to sound cheesy. I have the worst conscience and seriously wouldn't be able to live with myself. AND...I know this because I have before...and I did.

19. What items could you not go without during the day? Ty, Diet Coke, that is about it, Bryan (lol)

20. What should you be doing right now?Reading

Beth Moore Study Week 1: This is just a test of the emergency broadcast system

So, I am doing a Beth Moore Bible Study with Keith Ann and Jennifer. It is nice; kind of a way to think and stretch my analytical brain while cramming it with info that really matters. For a long time, two thoughts enter my mind at various times during the day. These thoughts are like a marquis scrolling occasionally across my brain. They are subtle, but always prefaced by a very low emergency management system type beeeeeeep inside my head. I understand that the imagery is getting a little ridiculous at this point, but I really want to give a clear picture of what my thoughts are like...I know, I know the suspense is killing you, right (prepare to be disappointed as I have really built this up at this point).

• Point #1: at some point I heard, maybe from a song or a sermon, someone say (vague, right) When I meet God, I don't want to have to explain that I had no time in the time he had given me to study his word.
• Point #2: This one is really cheesy: Tim Magraw (or however you spell it) sang a song Live Like You Were Dying, in which he sang, as he did things to really make the most of the time he had left, "I finally read the Good Book."
• Conclusion: As these phrases scroll through my head on their weekly test, God reminds me that I don't need to wait for a true emergency (which is what I am constantly on the lookout for anyway) to get what will help me now during my weekly EMS tests.

So anywho, this is my goal for the next 11 weeks, and I am open to whatever good will come out of it (and I KNOW it will, even if Bryan is pessimistic about it, maybe he will learn a little something too.)

"Without delay he called them (beeep) , and they left their fathers Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him."

The River Rats

Here is Ty and his friend Luke on the river. Like fathers like sons.

FUN FUN FUN

So I have been creating my school website and this is one thing I put on it that is AWESOME and addictive and I thought you might like it.











And I am reading this book and it is THE best book I have read in a very long time.

I was tagged. (Or "The things I actually care enough to be competitive about"

Here are six things about me:

1. I am a perfectionist. I hate hate hate to be outdone by anyone when it comes to teaching. This is one of the reasons why Petal will be good for me because it is full of great teachers. I may have to put a lot of effort into being the best; I guess I need competition to challenge me.

2. Number one will be a surprise to my sister because I am not very competitive when it comes to anything that I am not already good at. Por ejemplo, sports, games, bowling, etc. If I am not already good at something, I have no drive to become good, and I don't really care that I am not good at it. In fact, I think it is funny that I am bad at it.

3. I can not draw or place things in a straight line...AT ALL...this poses a real problem when decorating a classroom. This coupled with the fact that I can not "cutsie, artsie" write makes it impossible for me to create much for my classroom, so Jenny has to do all my writing for me, and she does with little complaint and that is why I love her.

4. I really want to be a good cook. I am semi-okay; Cooking, teaching, being a stronger Christian, and a GREAT mom are the ONLY things I strive to become better at. (See answers 1 and 2, I am starting to see an emerging theme to this post.

5. I am a better and more happier mom when I am working. I mean to say that I enjoy being a mom more when I am working. I asked Bryan if this, in fact, makes me a worse mom and he half-jokingly, half-seriously said YES. Oh well, I told him that is because he does not watch Ty all day when we are out for the summer, and I am the one that becomes exhausted trying to chase down and entertain a one-year old all day while Bryan is being a boat whore. When I am working I can really make the most of the time Ty and I have together because it is not long enough for either of us to get sick of each other. I don't think that makes me a bad mother.

6. I have not felt nauseaus at all lately and that is AWESOME! (and I am scared to death so maybe the fact that I don't feel sick AND I am terrified of starting school means I have a handle on this Anxiety/Panic Disorder Attack icky thing.

Kal you are it. Although you prolly didn't make it through reading this to know that, so I will just tell you that you are it at school next week cause WE ARE COWORKERS NOW, HELLS YEA-YER!

Fun, Fun, Fun

So...I made my school website, and it looks pretty good. Gonna add more later. Let me know if you have any ideas. My room is almost decorated enough, and I have already been teased for the theme and the decorations. I always hated my high school classrooms cause the teachers never decorated them and they were so plain and ugly...PLUS...i have to be in that room for 180 days, and I can NOT look at blank walls for that long. Now I realize that I am an overachiever with a splash of OCD, and that combination tends to make one an easy target. BUT come on people, don't get upset because I am showing you up in the area of decorating; after all, I am probably overcompensating for lack of high school content knowledge (that should make all the haters feel better). For real though, I really like everyone that I am working with; they are a lot of fun and serious very little which is even more fun. IT will just take awhile to get over losing my teaching best friend, Linda, I really miss her face and voice next door to my room. Besides, she would have decorated AND had a theme.

If you wanna see my school website it is here make sure your sound is on. (thanks, Kal, you the best)

The FIRST haircut

He is sooo handsome. Thanks to Maul Salon and Photography Studio! Where you can get your hair cut and your pic taken at the same time.

School

Some things that have happened lately:

• Chris took our first family portrait (see above)
  
• school is about to start and I have been decorating my classroom; The theme is Books are the movies of the mind. I am trying to make it seem more grown up than it is turning out to be so I won't insult my 10th graders. Barbara says it doesn't look middle schoolish, but I don't know...
  
• I learned all about blogging at Petal's technology summit and found this account during one of the hands on labs (I forgot I had started it while on maternity leave), so I think I will try and write more in it.
• I forgot what it was like to only have time to do house chores on the weekends (I have not stopped today)
• Ty got his first haircut today and he is handsome handsome handsome. Pics tomorrow.

On a side note...is this not the coolest mascot you have ever seen. I spend $26 on red and black yellow box flops to show my support to my new school home. I am INTO this!