Andrew Peterson

We had the pleasure of having Andrew Peterson come to our church and perform a concert. 

It was such a great night! 

I had been anticipating/excited about this event ever since my Dad told me that Andrew was officially coming. See, last year, when Ellie Holcomb came to Lakeland for a concert, she was currently reading Andrew's books: "The Wingfeather Saga" and if you know me, then you know that music and great books are the way to my heart. After her concert that night, and her recommendation, I immediately got on amazon and ordered all four books. 

They are WONDERFUL books--like, in my top 5 favorite book series of all time (my review here). 

As a book nerd, I enjoyed getting to talk with him a bit and have him sign my books (of course)!

Along with being an amazing writer, he is a phenomenal song writer. The lyrics to his songs are just, captivating--many little stories, all about his life and the way The Lord uses/has used events and people throughout. I really enjoyed it. 

I highly recommend his music and even more so, catching one of his concerts if he's every anywhere close by! You won't regret it. 

I will leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs that he performed:

"The Sower's Song" 

Oh God, I am furrowed like the field

Torn open like the dirt

And I know that to be healed

That I must be broken first

I am aching for the yield

That You will harvest from this hurt

Abide in me

Let these branches bear You fruit

Abide in me, Lord

As I abide in You

So I kneel

At the bright edge of the garden

At the golden edge of dawn

At the glowing edge of spring

When the winter's edge is gone

And I can see the color green

I can hear the sower's song

Abide in me

Let these branches bear You fruit

Abide in me, Lord

Let Your word take root

Remove in me

The branch that bears no fruit

And move in me, Lord

As I abide in You

As the rain and the snow fall

Down from the sky

And they don't return but they water the earth and bring they forth life

Giving seed to the sower, bread for the hunger

So shall the word of the Lord be with a sound like thunder

And it will not return, it will not return void

We shall be led in peace

And go out with joy

And the hills before us

Will raise their voices

And the trees of the field will clap their hands as the land rejoices

And instead of the thorn now

The cypress towers

And instead of the briar the myrtle blooms with a thousand flowers

And it will make a name

Make a name for our God

A sign everlasting that will never be cut off

As the earth brings forth sprouts from the seed

What is sown in the garden grows into a mighty tree

So the Lord plants justice, justice and praise

To rise before the nations till the end of days

As the rain and the snow fall

Down from the sky

And they don't return but they water the earth and they bring forth life

Giving seed to the sower, and bread for the hunger

So shall the word of the Lord be with a sound like thunder

And it will not return, it will not return void

It will not return, it will not return void

It will not return, it will not return void

We shall be led in peace

And go out with joy

And the sower leads us

And the sower leads us

And the sower leads us

Cranberry (or Cherry) Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

These bad boys were DELICIOUS.

Cranberry Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

What you need:
4 sweet potatoes, previously baked
2 chicken breasts, diced
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
3⁄4 cups fresh cranberries (we used cherries, we couldn't find cranberries (without sweetner) anywhere--I think the cherries were good!)
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Cooking fat

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

What you do:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
This recipe calls for pre-baked sweet potatoes; you could do this any way that works for you:
Put the potatoes in the oven 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the size of your potatoes) before you plan to start cooking the chicken; by the time you’re ready to stuff them, they should be done.

Melt some cooking fat in skillet placed over a medium-high heat (we used coconut oil).
Cook the diced chicken until just cooked through.
Add the cranberries (or cherries) to the chicken and cook until soft.
Add the spinach and nutmeg.
Sauté until the spinach has wilted and remove the pan from the heat.
Once the potatoes are cooked to your liking, take them out of the oven and slice them open and divide the filling equally among them.
Season each sweet potato to taste and bake just until everything is warm (about 10 minutes).

This was so good and since it made 4, we have them for lunch tomorrow as well!
I will definitely be requesting this one again!

This recipe originally comes from here.

5th

It's August, which in a teacher's life that means back to work.

A fresh start. Another year. A blank canvas.
What will we do with the next 180 days of school?
Well, I have to say that I expect really great things.

I truly can not believe that this past week I began my 5th year of teaching. 

It has flown by. I remember my first set of students and my very first, first day of school (as a teacher) like it was yesterday. 

As I sit back and reflect on my previous four years of teaching to help prepare for the new year, I can't help but to be so thankful for all that The Lord has provided through working at Northside. 

To start off the year, that's what I'm going to do--sit here and reflect on what has come from my first 4 years of working at my school.

Let me start with this: To this day, the first (and only) time in my life that I have ever cried, uncontrollable, "happy tears" was when I left my initial interview at Northside and was told that I got the job. The goodness and provision of The Lord overwhelmed me literally to the point of tears where I had to sit in my car (and I just barely made it there) and compose myself before driving home! I was a mess and it was so weird to me--I've never cried true happy tears before. It was my first interview and ended up being my last since I accepted on the spot. I just knew. But BOY, did God have more in store for me than I could have EVER imagined that day. 

My biggest blessing is this sweet, handsome hubby of mine. 

I love to look back and tell this story--I remember going to my "follow up" at the school after learning that I got the job and being walked around by the current teacher in my classroom. I came to observe her classroom that day and she wanted me to meet the other special education teachers that I would be working with. That was the first time I met Jason Ellis! I remember thinking 1. how cute he was, 2. how tall he was, and 3. how neat it was to have a male special education teacher, especially at the elementary level. I went home after meeting Jason and gushed to my Mom about how I would be working with the most handsome man! We always laugh about that but when I really sit and think about it, it's so neat to look back now, on where I was in my life during that time, and see The Lord's provision through leading me to Northside. Not just because of how much I love working there and not just because of my students and my coworkers but, because He led me to my husband! 

These ladies.
If I've said it once, I've said it 1,000 times. I wouldn't (actually, couldn't) get ANYTHING done in our classroom without these two women by my side. They not only keep me sane but they keep me laughing through it all--our good, rough, best, worst, and craziest days. I can't tell you how many times we have put the last student on the bus and all sat at our desks, exhausted, and looked at one another and just died laughing because of the amount of absurdity that happened in those 8 hours! They are such a large part of why I love my job and my workplace so incredibly much. The Lord absolutely knew what He was doing when He placed us together and made us a team. I am so thankful for their hearts for our students, their patience, their work ethic, their senses of humor, their dedication to giving our students their best, and above all else, their love for The Lord and their willingness and obedience to let that drive how they help me teach and how we love our students. I could go on and on about them and how thankful I am. Here's to another year in room 24 with these amazing ladies!

The kids.
I am looking back on 4 years worth of kids that have gone through my classroom. Anywhere from 1 week to the whole school year.
34 children who have been under the love, care, and instruction of the women in room 24.
I feel like we have seen it all. We have had the largest variety of children come though our room. The chattiest ones you could ever meet, that know no boundaries, to the ones who do not speak a single word that you can understand. We have had the ones who can do most of the work that we give them in reading in math to the ones who we are working on social and self-helps skills with. We see so much and we have to accommodate and make learning real and tangible in so many different ways. We always talk about in our classroom how yes, we have IEP goals that we work on, but our main goal is to have these kids love school. To have them feel successful. To have them feel loved and encouraged. We want them to leave our classroom knowing that they can, in whatever way that may look like. We want them to know just how much they matter, not just to us, but to this world.
It's a heavy task, but it's one that we do with joy and pleasure, knowing that we are doing the work that The Lord created us to do. 

Support and love.

Many of you know that Jason and I endured, what we consider, a huge loss when our 16 week old puppy passed away in February. It was such a sad time and when I came back to work the following Monday, I was floored by the support and love that outpoured from my coworkers and the kids at the school.  This is what I wrote when I sat down to write about that day:

"This is what work looked like for me today. I got to work that Monday, already teary eyed due to the fact that I was 15 minutes earlier because I didn't have a sweet little poodle to soak up every minute with that morning. Before the bell rang for the kids to come in, a co-worker gifted me with that sweet little poodle beanie baby. Cue the tears. Then, not even 5 minutes pass and a student from my "next door neighbor's" classroom walks in with a hand FULL of cards they had made me. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, hugs, and kind words from my Northside family today. I think my Mom said it best when I shared with her these priceless gifts: "How sweet. That is so sweet. Neat community there." And it is oh so sweet. Thank you Jesus for using your people to comfort my heart during this sad time."

Even as I retype about this, those feelings still ring true. How sweet to have a community that cares and takes them time to let you know that. 

I could probably one day write a book about all that I've learned from working at Northside and teaching Special Education. But, for now I will stop here and promise myself right now, that throughout all of this year, remember these blessings and the many other that The Lord has given me through my workplace. 

Here are a few posts that have previously been written that are about our classroom/line of work:

"Joy of a Child"--"Overcomer"--"Hallelujah, We are free to struggle"--"Christmas Cheer"--"When we love the least of these"--"Surety"

Lastly,  here's a sneak peek into our classroom--ready and waiting for 8, new little bodies to join us for this joyful, exciting, new year!

If you're reading this--I ask you to pray for us as begin year 5 tomorrow!
I think it will be my best one yet!

Celebrations

Our 2nd annual, dual birthday celebration for Blair and I was last night. 

It was such a fun night! Everyone was able to make it plus Cat--which I was so happy to have her with us. It was a special treat!

We had awesome appetizers, an outstanding meal, and the best key lime pie there is. 

I will have to share with you all the appetizer recipe later for the Brie Tarts filled with brie cheese & topped with pepper jelly & walnuts--they are TO DIE FOR!

 I have to take a minute and share with you all the gift that I got Blair. 

I am obsessed with it and how cute it is. I am to the point where I'm going to have to order one for myself...soon!

This cute wine tote comes from Etsy from a store called "Four Bugs In A Rug" (click the store name to be taken directly to her Etsy site).

The owner was so easy to work with and was very accommodating. 

You can get the bag in all kinds of colors (where the navy blue is on mine) and then there's a ton of monogram options along with color options for the letters as well. 

I was so pleased with how quickly it came and just how cute it was in person. 

This has quickly become my "go to" gift now. 

Everyone be ready for Christmas time ;)

19 Years and Counting

This year marked the 19th year that we've made our way to Orange Beach for our annual family beach trip. It has slowly evolved into lovingly being called "The Griswold Family Beach Trip"--the older we've gotten, the more Gris we've become. We embrace it ;)

 It's not too bad having to wait for dinner when this is the view--Shipp's Harbor

 Feeding the fish at Shipp's Harbor

Guys, this sushi roll was so...unique. We HAD to get one for the table when we saw it. 

Redneck Roll: filet mignon, shrimp, chipotle cream cheese, green onion, tomato salsa, and horseradish sauce. 

I always love and look forward to this trip. 

A week to relax, take in the beautiful sunsets, spend as much time on the beach as possible, eat wonderful food, drink fun drinks, play card/board games, and have absolutely no schedule to follow at all. What could be better?

 The ever competitive game of Spades

 Can you really have too many pictures of the beach? I personally don't think you can.

Each year it's gotten more and more fun as we've grown as a family. 

It's so neat to think back to bringing our friends with us when we were 11, 7, and 5 years old to now  being 30, 26, and 24 and having our husbands and wife with us as our family has grown. 

Looking back, I can't help but to be so thankful for 19 years of time spent with my family. I realize what a gift this has been and I am so thankful for these fun memories we've been able to make together.  We are so thankful for The Edwards and them allowing us to stay in their beautiful condo and share as part of the foundation for this fun tradition we've upheld and cherished. 

 This was GOOD--like, really good. 

This year we loved: 

Shipp's Harbor Grill (we ate here 3 times--whoops!) It's best to go there for lunch for there's not as long of a wait. But, if you go to get sushi like we did--you have to wait until at least 3:00. Their sushi is GREAT! Smoked Tuna dip is to die for as are their steaks. Who am I kidding? It's all amazingly delicious.

Our crab legs from Blalock's--we started this tradition for my birthday (we are usually at the beach the week of my birthday for as long as I can remember--it was a bit earlier this year)--we found this gem, Blalock's, where you can get it fresh and steamed while you wait. It's phenomenal and has become quite the tradition. Possibly my favorite one, being the "foodie" that I am. 

Original Oyster House--this place is good but what I love about it are the desserts. Guys, all I can say is Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie--amazing. Their key lime pie is awesome as well. And yes, we did get a 3rd dessert and their bread pudding is top notch. You'll want to go here for lunch as well--the wait at night is, whewwwwwww. They do have cute shops you can walk around in while you wait though that makes time go by a bit faster. They also have a great Pina Colada. 

I promise y'all that we did more than eat all week. Not much more, but we did do more than that!

Here's to another year of a successful "Griswold Family Beach Trip"!

Stitches

654.

That's approximately how many hours I've spent cross stitching over the past year. 

Today officially marks one year that I picked up cross stitching as a hobby. 

I took an interest in it after seeing this beautiful piece that my cousin made for a Christmas gift. 

I remember thinking to myself "what an awesome, unique gift". 

I like to give meaningful, special gifts to people. 

I started researching the tools I would need, the best way to get started, things of that nature. 

I decided to reach out to people through social media to see if anyone had any tips on the best way to begin and lo and behold I had a ton of people give me tips, tell me stores to go to and even offer their old materials to me that they are no longer using. 

Sweet Mrs. Carol Noelle took the time to invite me to her house, let me look through some of her pattern books and choose some of them to take home with me to get started with. I remember walking away that afternoon so grateful for the time she took to sit with me, give me pointers, show me how to get started and share with me her beautiful work that she's done over the years as well. That was a great afternoon! Mrs. Carol is actually who I got the patterns for the letter I've ended up making for people all this time. She had me over just in time to get these supplies before we went on our annual family beach trip. 

I spent the following week practicing at the beach, asking my Mom for tips & pointers,  and figuring it all out. My first stitch was this tiny little angel with a heart. 

Jason actually uses it as a book mark now! 

When I got home I took on the more (what I thought then) daunting task of one of the most beautiful letter patterns I had ever seen. I love the instant gratification that comes along with cross stitching as you are working. The piece comes alive before your eyes and I oftentimes find myself thinking "man, I really love the way this is turning out". 

You can tell from the picture I was just starting out for I didn't even center it in my hoop! 

Since then I've had many other women in the church provide me with their materials that they no longer use and their tips/tricks to cross stitching. This is information and time that I've been so thankful for--thank you again Mrs. Robin, Mrs. Jeanette, and Mrs. Pat--you ladies have helped make this possible for me :)

Many months after I started stitching I decided to post on the internet and see if there was any interest from people to purchase these "floral letters". The response was so positive and I made the decision to take on the task. Since September I've had an ongoing list of letters to make for people. 

As of today, I've completed 26 letters and I am so happy to know that these will be displayed in the homes of these people for years to come. I've had many people tell me they plan to pass it on to other family members years down the road, etc. and that's exactly what I envisioned when I decided to start making these for other people. 

These are just a few of the letter's I've completed since then for different people/families.

People choose their own color schemes and some choose their own frame while with others I will find the frame for them. Although cross stitching is very time intensive (takes me over 24 hours for one letter--over the course of about 9-14 days) I really enjoy it and find it relaxing.

So, Happy 1 Year Anniversary to my favorite hobby and here's to another year and the remaining 12 letters on my list of "upcoming orders" with hopefully many more to come!

Facelift for the 422

Out of all of the house projects we've done--this one has been my favorite thus far. 

I think it's due to the fact that it changed the entire look of the house...for the better. 

I love color and I love neat, different things. 

I've been wanting to change the color of our shutters for a while now. 

The brown was just, so plain to me. 

 My flower beds look great in these two pictures. These were from a year ago when My Mom and Jason's Mom helped me "beautify" my flower beds. Read about that day: here. 

This past week, I finally made the time to get it done. 

That was after sweet, Mrs. Emily Lehr, helped me find the perfect color that would best compliment the house and be a true improvement. 

I spent about 2-3 weeks with 3 different colored shutters while we found the perfect one. 

I know my neighbors were happy to see the tri-colored shutters become more uniformed!

During my "trial" phase--my tri-colored shutters with my still brown door.

Mom and I burned up, killed our backs, and got so tired of painting...but we got it done!

FYI, painting shutters, is a big.ole.pain. (in case you didn't already know that).

Each of those little slats is like, a mean little, too skinny for your paint brush, punishment.

In case you REALLY love the color and want to use it for one of your own home improvement projects, the color we ended up using was a Sherwin Williams color from their Earth Elements line called "Cool Vista"

We didn't prime the shutters (although we probably should have) and it took us 2 coats (3 on some of them that were being stubborn). 

I knew I would love the color change, but I don't think I could have anticipated just how much I would love it. I am SO pleased with how it all turned out and the door being painted really made it and brought it all together. I LOVE it!

I am giddy each time I pull in the driveway these days.