First Grill...and Memorial Day weekend

We had our first grilled dinner tonight on our new grill. Yesterday my family in Tyler held a shower for us. They were overly generous! Our BIG present was a extremely nice grill...much bigger and with many more features than we would have ever purchased for ourselves. It has four burners inside and a side burner for a pot of corn or whatever we want to cook. It occurs to me as I write this that I should have taken a picture of Nathan grilling tonight...but I didn't think about it. So I will just have to do it tomorrow. We are going to grill out tomorrow night too for the Memorial Day holiday. We have invited mom and pop to join us tomorrow.

We also received many accesories with our new grill...lots of tools and a great basket that we used for shrimp tonight. We also received porch decorations we had registered for and many other nice gifts. My Tyler family was so generous.

I think the best gift though was a special cookbook that one of my aunt's made for me. It is scrap book style and super cute. But the best part is what is in it...it is filled with receips from all my family members. Mom, Aunts, Grandparents, extended family...tons of special receips that they passed on to me. And there is plenty of room to expand! It was a very special gift...one that I will treasure forever.

We also bought a flag today. It took us awhile to get the bracket installed in the brink...but we finally made it and hung the flag. It is down now and waiting for tomorrow...Memorial Day.

I feel like a true home owner now. We have a flag and a grill...two things that really make our house feel like a home. Nathan had just put the stakes on when I commented that now all of our neighbors could be jealous of our "cooking-out-smell".

School is officially out now. We celebrated Friday night with fajita chicken salads that we made at home and a 6-pack of Smirnoff Ice. We don't drink much..but it was fun and refreshing!

Okay...that is all for now!

20 days until we are married!

School's Out!

No more school until August!!!!

Happy Happy Day!

22 Days until the Wedding!!!

House Guests

Our summer house guests have been here for one week. Carole, Britt, and Ava arrived a week ago Friday...really really late.

The first week has seen challenges...after all we are joining two separate households...ours not being used to the needs of a 2 1/2 year old little girl!

But overall it is great. We communicate and work out our little "things" as they arrise. I love having my best friend around to chat with and as soon as school is out we will be able to go on outings and do things together.

Nathan has someone to talk sports with...when Britt is around...which isn't much because his law firm keeps him VERY busy.

And we both love having Ava around. As I write this Ava and Nathan are playing the "fishing game" on our bed. We are babysitting while Carole and Britt go to some dinner thing for the law firm. We are completely in charge...dinner, bath, bedtime...it is good to have a practice child! Especially one who knows her routines and tells you what to do next!

Ava and I had to go pick up Nathan...he had graduation this evening for the high school. Before we left I asked her if she needed to potty...she said "Maybe"...so I asked again and she decided yes. I have learned you cannot hurry a child through potty time...good training for my patience! We were finally on my way and Ava stated she wanted Peperoni Pizza for dinner. Carole said she could eat whatever we were eating...so...why not...as I told Nathan in Target as we were checking out with our Pizza..."You know you are the babysitter when you agree to Peperoni Pizza and Orange Juice!" I bought the wheat crust pizza so it is a little bit healthier! Hopefully mama will be okay with that!

Only 28 days until our wedding...4 weeks from right now our pastor will probably be announcing us married! :) So exciting!!!!

One Month

May 17th.....June 17th....

One month until our wedding! I can hardly believe that it is finally only ONE MONTH until our wedding. I have thought about this day....I have dreamed about this day...but I don't think I really ever fathomed that it would finally get here. Logically I knew it would get here...but I could never imagine it.

So...1 month....that is equal to 31 days...but today is now almost over so I really only have about 30 days and a few hours! :)

I am so excited! I can hardly wait!

We met with our Pastor for the second time today. Today's meeting was to plan the ceremony. He was reading 1 Corinthians 13 to us...the part we wanted to have read at the wedding...and I almost started crying. I really can't wait for June 17th today!

They have discontinued my China

I am a month away from my wedding and they are discontinuing my china...

Don't tell me it will be okay...because I am sad and it isn't okay.

I am more than sad...this is the only china I have ever loved...

I am devastated.

Pie

Friday was Cinco de Mayo...or at our school...Mayfest.

We had a dance and a carnival from 2:00-4:00 for the kids. All the teachers were involved in some way. I volunteered to do the "pie-a-teacher" booth. In this booth I allowed kids to throw a "pie" at me for $0.50 a throw. The pie was mostly shaving cream. There was a little whipping cream until I put a stop to that. I can't stand the smell of sour milk. The shaving cream was more fun though because if they got a direct hit it would stick to my face until one of my booth helpers came and pulled it off my face. I did this for 2 hours. I had so much fun. I loved taunting my kids...

Some never got close...but there was one boy who hit me square in the face every time he came up. He came up about 7 times. One of my little girls payed 9 tickets to try and hit me...she hit me twice. I had a great time. I was a mess afterwards and never so happy to take a shower!

Mail

I love checking the mail these last few days. Response cards started arriving on Friday of last week and every day I have several in the mail. Today I had 5! I love it...it is so much fun!

Irritation

Last night as I was trying to go to sleep and expressing my frustrations of the day to Nathan...it dawned on me that I had spent my entire day in some level of irritated state. There was really no reason for being irritated about things...but I was.

Why? I really don't know...I told Nathan that you would think I was having a serious bout of PMS. I was just irritated...plain and simple.

Maybe it was because that Sunday night or early Monday morning I had a dream in which Nathan was shot in the head. He lived...and was okay in my dream...but maybe that started my day off bad. Maybe it was because that every school day is a struggle now. Or maybe it is because I would rather be doing other things. A small part may have something to do with our wedding drawing closer and closer.

Whatever the cause...most likely a combination of all of those things and more...it was irritating to be irritated.

One strage side effect of all this...I don't really feel like sharing my joy. I am so happy and excited about the wedding but I don't really want to share it with anyone...except Nathan. I don't want people to ask how things are going or to make suggestions. To be honest I am sick of people's suggestions. I am feeling a real selfishness about our wedding right now...something along the lines of..."It is my wedding...I will make the decisions...I will choose what I want...and if you don't like it...too bad...keep it to yourself!" It is like I just want to be privately happy...like when we first knew we were going to get married and we had stated it to each other but we didn't tell anyone...it was just between us.

I have read about many things that a bride feels...but this selfishness is one I haven't see anywhere. And the worst part is that it makes me feel incredibly rude, childish, mean, irrational...take your pick. So I fake it. I just let people talk and say what they want and I smile and act excited and let them think that their suggestion is the best we have ever had.

I tried explaining this all to mom yesterday. Mom has been great...she doesn't offer many opinions...but is there to give advice when I ask. I never doubted mom would be great during this process...she isn't over-bearing or pushy about things. That is why I like my mom. I think liking your mom is almost more important than loving your mom. You can love people without really liking them. I mean...who doesn't LOVE the person that brought them into existance...but LIKING...that is something totally different. You can fall in and out of like. I will always LOVE my mom...but I like mom because she respects me and gives me space when I need it. She makes herself likable. I am glad.

Well...I suppose I need to go to work. We are going to do food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids today in class. :) Sounds like fun!

3 weeks to go

Summer vacation is so close I can feel myself beginning to get restless. This kids have been restless since we took TAKS in April. I usually hold out a little longer....but with only 3 more weeks to go...my restlessness has started. It makes it hard.

I would much rather be at my house doing stuff...whether it is wedding or house related I don't care too much. It is hard to get motivated to teach right now. But I really only have this week left...next week we are finishing up and beginning exam reviews. The last week is pretty much all exams.

Making me even more restless is the impending arrival of our summer guests. Carole, Britt, and Ava should be here late Friday night. It will be even harder to go to work when I know my best friend is staying at my house! I am beginning to regret all this research project stuff I started last week in an effort to give it one more last PUSH to the end...almost everyone else is watching movies or doing easy stuff...ah well...

Off to work I go...only 2 more Mondays after today!

Bridal Shower

My first bridal shower was on Saturday. My Aunts Pam and Maryann, and cousins Hayley and Charlotte hosted the party. It was wonderful! I had such a great time. It was so much fun to be the center of attention for 2 whole hours!

Everyone was so generous with their gifts. Now I have to start finding homes for all of our new things. Even Nathan was happy because we received one of the things he really wanted...I call it the Egg McMuffin toaster. The toaster where you can poach eggs and heat meat and toast a muffin all at the same time. He is so excited about it. For someone who thinks we have too many small appliances as it is...I find this all extremely funny!

Now I just have to start my Thank-You note writing! :)