Praise God!!

God is so amazing and today He showed Cory and I just how amazing and how much He cares for us.
Many of you know I had surgery this summer to remove a very large tumor from my uterus. I had to stay in the hospital for two days. All of the bills ended up being over $20,000!! We have always wondered if insurance was really worth it. After this surgery we are believers! Obviously insurance paid a descent amount but when you have a bill like that you usually end up paying a considerable amount. Things have been very tight around here lately since I did not get a teaching job. The aide position I have is less then half what I would make if I were a teacher. So all of the hospital bills, school bills, and everyday bills is about to put us ten feet under. Or that's the way it feels.......................
About 5 months ago Cory called the hospital to tell them there was no way we could pay the payments they were expecting out of us. The lady told Cory that she would mail us some papers, fill them out, send them back, and good luck. Needless to say we weren't expecting much if anything! So Cory did as he was told, hoping for the best. First off, one of the papers was not signed so we had to do the whole thing over again. They wouldn't let us sign it and return it. NO, we had to send ALL of it AGAIN! So we did. About 2 months later we got the letter in the mail. Not excited to open it, but we did. OMG! They took over half of it off!! Amazing! Cory decided that since they took it off the hospital bill maybe they would take it off the doctor bill too. Hey it didn't hurt to try!
Well it worked! God showed His mightiness! We got the letter Saturday! "You have been accepted"!!! You have to call the office to find out how much they will take off. Again we expected it to not be a very big amount. Cory called this morning. The bill was $1,200, they are taking $800 off!!!! We will have both bills paid off in 4 months! Amazing is all I can say! He is absolutely amazing!
This is probably a small thing to some people, but it is a huge help to us!! I praise God for His daily blessings, both big and small, the ones we notice and the ones we don't. Thank you God for loving me, who is a sinner and undeserving!

Thankful for the Break

This year Cory is not coaching basketball and although he is dying to get back into it (he was made to do it) I am loving the extra time with him. Theres no practice, no games, no scouting, no phone calls from kids or parents, or late nights. It's amazing! Usually our lives are filled to the brim with church, work, ball games, school, life! When basketball season was in full swing I only saw Cory in the mornings before work and late at night when he either got home from practice or from a game. Let me tell ya ladies, I spent many a nights at home by myself. It just takes so much of his time. I love that he loves it (really I do) and I understand that it's his job but it's a lot to get use to. So yes I am very thankful that we have a break this year. The finances are tight and it makes us a little nervous, but I have my man around ALL the time. We get to go home right after work ever other week and I get to spend the rest of the night and the whole weekend with him! He helps me around the house, he helps me cook, he helps me clean, we play games, watch TV, take a walk, read, and are just together! It's amazing! He is a great man and I am glad to have him back. I know soon enough he will get another coaching job and he will be gone all the time. But for now I have him and I am loving it!

Ready for March But Happy February is Almost Here

We have had a rough couple of months waiting for the end of the school year. But we are ready for March but sooo happy February is almost here. We are happy February is almost here because that means March is right around the corner. Why do we want March to come as quickly as possible?? Because March is when teachers sign their letters if intent, AND they post the jobs that are open for next school year!!!!! You have no idea how happy this makes us, both of us! See right now, for some reason we are stuck here in this town with people who don't like us, who we have to see on a daily basis. It's not fun! We have never been soooo excited to find another job and get the heck out of dodge!!!! I am personally praying God sends us to Indiana, my husband on the other hand is praying we go anywhere but here. Sadly we are miserable in this chapter of our lives and we are very ready to close it and start another. Only three and a half months left!!!! We can't wait!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I love................
- rainy days, curled up in bed, reading a good book
- laughing untill my side hurts from a good movie
- a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day
- long Sunday naps
- all the laundry washed, folded, and put away
- scrapbooking
- long summer walks with Cory
- You've Got Mail (the greatest movie ever!)
- having the whole family together to laugh and play
- sweet potato fries (my new favorite food, Yum!!)
- the way I feel after I have just had a great workout
- shopping (when I can find clothes that fit)
- weekends at home with just me and Cory

These are just a few of my favorite things!! I love that God gave us the little things, because really the little things don't mean anything, they mean everything!!!

A Hard Lesson to Learn

A couple years back a friend and I were going through a difficult time together. Because I was "her" friend, she felt that I should not be friends with a certain person who had said some terrible things about her husband. During an event this unwanted friend came and sat right beside me. The good friend became very upset and decided to say something to me that was not very nice. I could not believe what I was hearing. When the words came out of her mouth, I was completely stunned. Not only were the words extremely hurtful, rude and unneeded, but she was a good christian woman. Why was she acting this way and why was she using these words? I was extremely hurt. To this day I can tell you exactly how everything happened, word for word, where were standing, and my reaction. In this moment and for months to come I was so very angry and hurt. It was not my fault and there was nothing I could do about it.
Now that it has been a couple of years, I look back and I am thankful for what was said. I know, I"m sure your wondering where I'm going with this. You see I have a tendency to say what is on my mind without thinking about what I'm about to say, ignoring the consequences it may bring. I have hurt several people because of my personal imperfection. This is a big imperfection to have!
 But, now that I look back, I see how bad those ugly words hurt me. So bad that I do not think I will ever forget what was said. It took someone hurting me to realize how bad I may have or will in the future hurt someone if I do not think about what I am about to say. There are so many times when what we are thinking does not need to be said. Once words are said they can never be taken back, no matter how many times you ask for forgiveness, what you do to make up for it, or even if the person knows you didn't mean it. It was still said. I hope that I never say something to someone again that was so hurtful they will remember it for the rest of their life.

Waiting Patiently.............or trying to

Patience is not in my list of characteristics. So you understand how hard the whole waiting to get pregnant thing is for me. I have good days and bad days. Some days I'm ok, I know I will get pregnant at some point, and it will happen when it happens. But then there are the days when the Patience is just not there. The days when I want it right now. The days when I remember that I have been waiting five years for this, then when it's time to try I can't get pregnant and find out I have a ginormous tumor instead. Then I go back and forth in my head with "it will happen, God loves you and knows the desires of your heart". But then I get scared and think about all the people who want a baby just as bad as I do and God hasn't allowed them to have a baby. And then I start to think to myself "what if that's me?" Who am I to think that I am so special that God is going to grant my desire?
I pray daily that God does grant my desire, but until then I will wait patiently on Him................or try to at least.

Life is too short

Tonight I found out a women in our community died yesterday. She was just a couple years older then me, just got married about 4 months ago and has 2 amazing kids. I did not know her well but I have been around her a couple of times and know that she was an amazing women. Always smiling, always happy, always made you feel important even if she didn't know you that well.
As I sit here and think about her and her age and how sudden and unexpected her death was, I am reminded of how short life really is. I wish we would remember this everyday and not take the amazing people in our lives for granted. I know I am definitely guilty of this. So I want to tell a couple important people how much I love them.
To my mother: Mom, I love you and I always will. No matter how much we clash or don't get along. I thank you so much for your unconditional love, your helping heart, and your words of wisdom (even when I don't want them). You are and always have been a great mother and for that I am eternally grateful! You taught me so many things, not just day to day things, but life lessons that have helped mold me into the person I am today.
To my husband: I love you so much! You are an amazing man and I am truly grateful that God put you in my life. I have it so much better then so many women and I rarely tell you how much I appreciate you. Thank you for being so amazing.
To my Meme: You are undoubtedly one of the most amazing women I have in my life. Your love and wisdom have kept this family together and made us into the wonderful people that we have turned out to be. Your love for the Lord shows in everything you do and I know God is looking down at you and smiling.
These are just a few of the amazing people in my life. Take a few minutes to pick up the phone, write a letter, or send a text to someone you love so they are reminded of how much you appreciate and love them. You don't know what tomorrow will bring and tomorrow you may not be able to tell them how much you love them!

They don't understand

I hate it when people tell me to stop trying so hard to get pregnant! I believe that they either have not tried to get pregnant or when they did try it happened easily for them. How do you not think about it? How do you stop trying? I do believe it is impossible. I know that all the people who understand, understand because they have been in the same shoes I am in right now. For those of you who think it would be easy to relax, just keep it to yourself because you don't understand and it's not that easy.

Really???

Today in the classroom, the students were talking, loud, walking around, everybody was doing something. I looked at the teacher over me and wondered how she was so calm. How does she handle the craziness, the talking, the "teacher, teacher" while your helping another student. I just wanted to yell "everyone sit down and shut up!!" Not that I wanted to be mean, nor was it that I do not like my kids. It's not that at all. In fact I adore quite a few of my kids. But the noise gets to me. The chaos gets to me. It drives me up the wall. I can't handle every single kid in the classroom talking, walking around, reading aloud, asking for your help while your helping another child. I just can't do it.
And then while I'm sitting there watching this I wonder to myself how I will handle my own classroom?? Will I be able to handle the chaos? Or will I freak and yell at everyone to "close their mouths." I don't handle loud, crazy, disorderly situations very well. But that is what a lot of classrooms look like. So it makes me wonder if I picked the right career path. I guess for now only time will tell.