Mawmaw Kidd

This is my family with my great grandmother, Mawmaw Kidd. She is my dad's grandmother. Not many people can say that they know their great grandmother, but I have been blessed to know mine for 23 1/2 years.

I can remember when I was little, she was so spunky! She was always full of energy. I remember at Christmas her and her boyfriend, Lowell, would dance and dance all night long. She could dance better than anyone I've ever known!

She is such a precious woman of God. She has such a cool life story and she is just very dear to my heart. The past several years have been very bad on her health. In the most recent years, she has developed a slump where she can barely even hold her head up. It has been so sad to watch her health decline. 

Earlier this week, she slipped and fell in the middle of the night. She has fractured/crushed two vertebrae in her neck. Because of the way she is slumped, both hospitals in Birmingham and Gadsden have decided that they cannot operate. They would be unable to straighten her neck enough to operate, and she would be unable to wear a neck brace. She currently has to lay in a certain position in her bed, because if she moves at all, the crushed vertebrae could slip and block her airway. The doctors have said there is nothing they can do for her except keep her heavily sedated so that she can withstand the pain. I've been told by family members that when they have gone to visit her that she has just been in incredible pain. One person said she is having dreams where she is talking to relatives that have already passed- Mama Sadie, Lowell, and my uncle Randy. 

It absolutely breaks my heart to know she is in this kind of pain. I wish I could go home and see her because I feel that this is close to her end. I know she is ready. She told me dad that she is just ready to go home. He told her she could go home soon, and she replied with "No honey, I'm ready to go home to heaven." 

Would you pray for her? Pray that she receives comfort so that she isn't constantly in pain. Keep my family in your prayers too. This side of the family has already lost two cousins in the past 3 months, so I know it will be hard on all to lose our beautiful and wonderful grandmother. 

I love you Mawmaw Kidd and I'm praying for you daily!

Beginning of 2011

So one week of 2011 is officially over. It was a pretty good one! Going back to work was exhausting. It is amazing how in two weeks I had already forgotten how exhausting 17 little ones can be! I think I was in bed before 9:00 every night. Hopefully this week I will get back into the swing of things! I'm especially excited because Thursday & Friday are half days, followed by a long week. Yay!

Last night we had our group of friends over to watch the Cotton Bowl. It was so great to have everyone back in town together! (Although Travis and Cali weren't there, so technically, we still weren't all together!) Not only did I get to spend the night with my best friends in Dallas, but my dad got to meet those people who are near and dear to my heart. I enjoyed having my dad here, even if it was only for 12 hours! We went and got brunch this morning and it was fun to just spend some quality time with him. God is good in the way He has restored our relationship over the years.

I have this feeling that 2011 is going to be big. I don't know what the Lord has in store for it, but I know He will not disappoint. I am excited to see what the year holds! I think 2011 will be the best one yet! I hope you're 2011 has been off to a great start as well! I'm going to go finish my lesson plans and then spend my Saturday afternoon with my ladies! :)

Cricut

Since Christmas, I've been cricutting things like crazy. Here are some things I've got. If you want to order anything, let me know! I've already sold a few things so I'd be happy to sell you something too!

Mugs with Name and Polka Dots- $10 

Rectangle Keychain with name $12

Candle Holder/ Candy Jar/ Key Holder- $10

Dog Food Bowl- $15

Red Plate with one design and phrase- $10

Wine Glass with Monogram- $12

Christmas Sign $10

Coffee Mug with Monogram $12

Wine Glass with School name and logo- $15

Circle Keychain with School Logo- $10 Available in Black, Purple, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red

Set of 4 Wine glasses with monogram- $35

Bake & Take Pan with School Logo- $18

Pair of Wine Glasses with school logo- $20

Cake Carrier with one initial- $20

Pair of Martini Glasses with Monogram $15

Bake and Take Pan with Name- $18

Dog Food Bowl $15

Cake Carrier with School phrase on one side and school logo on the other- $30

Cake Carrier with School phrase on one side and school logo on the other- $30

Decorative Plate with Initial- $25

Pair of Beer Mugs with School Logo- $15

Rectangle Key Chain with name- $12  Available in Black, Purple, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red

Circle Colorful Key chain with one initial- $9. Available in Black, Purple, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red

Small Circle Keychain with monogram- $10  Available in Black, Purple, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red

If you are interested in anything you see, let me know! I'd be happy to make you something and ship it to you. For the keychains, I also have them in clear but they are bigger! The clear ones I have in circles, rectangles, and hearts. Since they are bigger, they cost more! The circle one is $13, the rectangle one is $14 and the heart one is $12!

Edit: I just made a clear circle keychain so that you can see what it looks like:

This is the clear one with a monogram on it! It is $13 and can be done with any colors!

TGIF

One year ago today was one of the best days of my life! I was in Pasadena, California and Alabama won the National Championship! After being an Alabama fan my entire life, going through the rollercoaster of being an Alabama fan, it was so exciting to be there when they won it all! I can't even explain the feeling. It is something I will never forget! Roll Tide!

I am super excited that it is almost the weekend! There is lots going on this weekend and I can't wait to just hang out with all of my friends! We haven't all been together since early Decemember so it will be nice to be reunited!

-Tonight: LSU plays A&M in the Cotton Bowl. I have friends here that went to both schools, so we are all getting together to watch the game. I'm sad because there are only two more games to watch this year! I haven't decided who I am cheering for. I like A&M (alot of my friends went there) and I hate LSU. But, I'm an SEC girl at heart and I tend to cheer for all SEC schools in the bowl games. So, I just haven't decided. I guess I'll be happy with either victory! I can't wait to just spend a night hanging out with friends.

-Tonight: my dad flies into Dallas tonight at 8:30. He is going to Glendale for the game- no, not because he is an auburn fan now (yea right!) but for work. He owns actionsportsart and their company is really expanding! He has meetings out there with different top people so that he can start making art pieces on different players and schools. Anyway, it was a last minute trip, and tickets were cheaper for him to fly here tonight and to Phonix tomorrow... so ol' pops will be staying with us tonight! I am excited to see him, even though it's only been a week since I last saw him. Plus I really, really need him to fix my chest of drawers- ha!

-Tomorrow: Brunch with dad, then dropping him off at the airport. Tomorrow night me and some girlfriends are going to go see that Country Strong movie. I think it looks so good and I'm excited to see it!

-Sunday- a week finally back at PCBC. I feel like I haven't been there in forever, and I look forward to being back at my Dallas home church.

-And of course, time to be crafty! I haven't had much time this week with work- mainly because I've been exhausted every night! I'm currently painting, making headbands, and cricutting everything in sight. I'll upload pictures tonight of some of the things I have been cricutting! I can't wait to be crafty again this weekend. It's like my drug, haha!

-Monday night- the national championship game! Should be a good game! I'm watching it with some Auburn friends.

Bell just rang.... off to mold the young minds of America! :)

Target $ Spot

I love Target's dollar spot. It is my weakness! And of course, it is located right at the door so I can never go to Target without going by it!! Well yesterday I went to Target, and their dollar spot and been recently re-stocked. Of course I had to check it out! And as a teacher, I was in love with everything they had!

-Book Boxes. At least, that's what I call them! They are technically labeled "File Holders" or "Magazine Holders". We use them during reading to store the books the students are reading and their reading journal. They can easily carry the box with them from station to station! Well, I bought some earlier in the year but for some reason I didn't have enough for my entire class. So I've had 4 students without a book box all year! I bought some at Target. They are so cute too, not just the plain white ones that I originially had! I bought 3 in pink and 3 in blue! (Because WHO KNOWS when I'll be getting another new student!) Anyway, I'm really excited about giving them to my students today... and they were only $1!

-Mini Dry Erasers- 2/$1! I was so so excited about these! We write on mini dry erase boards during reading AND math small groups, but we've always shared one big eraser. Now my kids will each have their own mini one! I was pumped about this purchase! I now have 8 mini erasers and it only cost me $4!

They had so many other things that would work great in a classroom! Cup holders, baskets, books, dry erase boards, bins, trays, the list goes on and on!! But since I'm currently broke as a joke (the holidays will do that to you!) I am trying to not spend much money, so I walked away. I'm hoping that when I get paid again (at the end of the month.. and it's only the 6th! yikes!) that some of this stuff will still be there. If you are a teacher, go check out the dollar spot right now! They have even more stuff!

Resolutions

I don't normally make new years resolutions, but today I'm going to. I was cleaning out my bookshelf today and found some books I want to read. The first one is Women of the Bible- One Year Devotional Study.

This in itself is a big resolution for me to make. Typically, I get bored with a devotional after about a month. I don't know why, I just do. And this one is an entire year! But I just have this feeling that if I commit to it right now, that God will show me so much through this book. The first woman I'll be learning about is Eve. I can't wait to share what I learn!

The next book is called Get Married. An acquaintance recommended it to me almost two years ago. I ordered it off of amazon, read the first chapter, and put it away. I just couldn't get into it. I wasn't ready for it. That once happened to me with Captivating though. When I picked it back up a year later, it spoke volumes to me. I pray that will be the case with this book as well. I have heard so many wonderful things about this book from so many people, and I can't wait to read it! I just hope I stick with it this time.

Speaking of Captivating, I would love to pick that book back up as well. Maybe I'll read it this year too, but for now, I'm going to focus on these two. Wish me luck! :)

Hi Ho, Hi Ho....

It's back to work we go!
These past 13 days went by too fast! I keep telling myself that we only have 8 full days and two half days before our next break (even though it's only for a day!). But hey, I'll take it.
This semester is going to kill me. I am highly stressing out about getting 17 students ready for 3 different TAKs tests. Pray that I'm focused in my job! We have so much to get done!
Here's to the 2011! Off to work...