"A Bun in the Oven & Burgers on the Grill"

Baby season is ever present within my friend group right now! 

1 friend just had a baby and 3 are coming soon!

It has been so much fun celebrating my friends and their growing little families.

Saturday, I had the privilege of helping to host Cayla's baby shower and it was so sweet. 

There was a beautiful dessert table, full of pink and plenty of sprinkles

 and yes, those cookies were absolutely as delicious as they look!

The hostess with Baby Mama

How precious is that little elephant? 

 Look at this little family--doesn't Charley look excited to be a big sister?

 This girl and I have been friends for almost 20 years now and we have been through many walks of life together. I am so very thankful to The Lord and the steadfastness He has shown me through our friendship over the years. It has been so sweet watching you become a wife and mother and seeing your little family continue to grow!

 With that being said,  it was sweet to make this cross stitch for little miss Sawyer!

What I'm Loving Right Now (12)

It's been quite some time since I've done one of these and there's quite a lot of goodness going on right now that I want to share with you all!

First and foremost, Jason and I celebrated our 5 year "first-date-aversary"!
5 years ago, my first year of teaching, I had a very challenging student and it had been one of those days--the most "one of those days" I had had since I started teaching.

My handsome coworker was checking in on me because he knew the kind of day I had and he decided to remedy that by asking me to dinner and drinks. I guess you could say the dinner was successful because a mere 1 month later we were officially dating, 5 months after that we were engaged and add another 8 months and we were married. Things were fast and furious and it's so fun to look back and reminisce on the beginning of our relationship.

Over Labor Day weekend Mom and I made a trip to Auburn to visit our newest little family member, Logan. He's the sweetest little guy and Mom and I had the best time spending time with family.

Watermelon Perrier--we love some sparkling water and this one tops the charts. It is SO GOOD and our fridge is currently stocked. 

 My new class--I have the sweetest, best class this year. Each of them are funny, they are willing to work, we are seeing small successes already, they are wonderful. Having a smaller class size has been so amazing and I feel like this year will continue to be awesome!

In relation to my students and the new school year, I am officially under $1,000 needed for my EdMark Reading DonorsChoose Project! Take a minute, click on this link (here) and read about my project. I am so thankful to each of the 25 donors that have given thus far, those that have shared my Facebook status to get the word out, and those that have asked me for updates. I am hopeful that it will get fully funded and we will have this awesome program to use for many, many years to come! 

Big Bang--Jason and I LOVE THIS SHOW. We flew through it (all 10 seasons) and are so excited for Monday and the start of season 11! I feel like Sheldon and I could be best friends, seriously. 

Noonday--I love this stuff! They sell all types of jewelry and accessories. Mom and I hosted a show in August and it was so much fun and we earned all kinds of goodies! Take a look at my friend Lisa's site (here) and see what all the fuss is about! You won't regret it. Not only is everything super cool and unique, they say "To make a difference in some of the world's most vulnerable communities, we partner with Artisan Businesses that share our passion for building a flourishing world. We develop these businesses through fair trade, empowering them to grow sustainably and to create dignified jobs for people who need them."

 Unexpected visits from life-long friends--Hurricane Irma brought some welcomed visitors our way! Always love seeing & catching up with the Jernigan crew. Thankful you guys are safe and that all is well!

These crazy-beautiful skies I've been seeing--both dusk and dawn. I love this time of year!

This cross stitch that I did for my Mom! 

I was more than happy to help her complete their newly renovated bathroom with one of these letters. 

Until next time!

6th

Jason & I started our new school year last week! 

My 6th year and Jason's 7th year (which is so crazy to think about). 

 I am SO EXCITED about this school year!

There are many, many changes. 

We added an additional self-contained special education teacher due to the large number of students we've had and I am most excited about that. 

 I am so thankful to be back down to a smaller class size and really dive in with each student. 

I also have a new assistant teacher in my classroom this year and she is awesome & has been a perfect fit for our classroom. The kiddos love her and I am just over the moon! 

 We are starting the school year with 6 students (whaaaat?! We served 14 kids last year--12 of them in the classroom allllllll day long).  6 students feels nice! 

 Speaking of 6 students they are SWEET, like really sweet and some of them are just down right hilarious! Mrs. Rideout and I will be laughing all year long. But most of all, I am looking forward to seeing their growth and showing them just how smart and capable they truly are. 

Even with a year starting off with SO many changes, I am looking forward to it and have a feeling that it will be a fantastic year! 

Here's to year 6! May it be the best one yet!

Catching Up

Whew!

Summer flew by and I need to play a little catch up with you guys because a lot of fun and some really wonderful things happened.

Let's start with the most exciting thing--these two became parents!

That's right. 

Sweet little Russel Paul Underwood was born on July 17th (while we were on our family beach trip, of course) but, I got plenty of precious pictures!

 As soon as I got home (literally) I had to get my hands on him and he is precious as ever!

 I mean, look at him!

We also had our Annual Griswold Family Beach Trip to Orange Beach and per usual, it was a fun-filled week full of sun, family, good food, and even better times. 

 Only the best bushwhacker in the town (above) along with the absolute best sushi (below)--both from Shipp's Harbor. 

I celebrated my 28th birthday and we had a divine lunch at Lou's Full Serve. 

 I spent a weekend with my mother-in-love, niece, and all the poodles you can imagine in Ocean Springs and had such a fun time! They showed me the down town area, we ate some yummy food, watched some good movies/tv and enjoyed quality time.

 I spent an afternoon showering this little Mama and Baby Myles--who will be here before we know it!

 And most recently, spent the afternoon showing another little Momma and her sweet little baby boy Benjamin! 

Wedding season has come to past and Baby season is in FULL SWING around here! 

Is is bad that I like shopping for babies more than I do myself? Their little clothes and toys and tiny baby sized items are just too cute. 

This summer flew by and was full of all kinds of fun things. 

I feel refreshed & rejuvenated and ready to take on the new school year!

Garage Closet Makeover

Jason has been working so hard to complete our most recent house update.

This one was all his idea and he did all the handiwork as well and I have to say, it turned out to be quite amazing!

Before:

The closet in the garage was really a decent size. 

There is plenty of space for items, it was all just thrown in there. 

 When we bought the house 4 years ago, the previous owner left that black shelf in there and that was it. I didn't feel like we needed more in there since it was for everything outside but Jason had a different idea (and I'm so glad he did!)

After deciding what he wanted to do. 

Getting all the measurements. 

Planning what all hooks and shelves he wanted and got to work and it took him alllllllll day one Saturday and then we had to wait a week since school started back and this past Saturday & Sunday, he finished up and it is awesome!

Here they are, all painted and fresh:

He added the horizontal piece of wood and each of the hooks. 

 

 Each hook you see along with all four shelves he made. 

 and here's the opposite side. 

Those shelves are STURDY too. Let me tell you. I sat on them and they are solid as can be ;)

 And finally, today, Jason put all the "stuff" in there and just LOOK AT ALL THAT SPACE!

 Everything has a place and I. Love. It. 

What do you all think?

I think he definitely, DEFINITELY hit this one out of the park. 

Now, who knows what type of project he will do now?!