Christmas Eve

Wow, is it really here? How fast is time flying? It feels like yesterday school started back. And now it's Christmas eve. This is one of Jonathan's favorite times of year, ok it's his all time favorite and it is mine too besides the warm summer months. We are currently enjoying a fire, wrapping presents, and getting ready to decorate cookies at his parents house. Tomorrow we are off to my families house. It doesn't quite seem like Christmas this year, but I know one thing that is for sure and that is I have not forgotten the beautiful reason we celebrate Christmas (Jesus's birth) and this year even more and so even though it got here really fast and doesn't seem like it should be here yet, I am so thankful and have told him so many times for Jesus coming to us in the flesh so that we may be saved.

I hope that you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Our Christmas Tree

Jonathan and I decorated for Christmas the week of Thanksgiving! I am so excited and everything turned out beautiful. I will have more pictures to come, but here are two to start you off :)

I made the ornaments with the fruits of the spirits on them and they were so easy!

All you need:

1. Set of 12 $3.99 ornaments that are usually 50% from Hobby Lobby

2. Thin paint marker about $2.99 (any colors you like)

3. Ribbon of choice (several different complimentary patterns and colors)

4. Your favorite font from Microsoft Office Word (I looked at the "Curlz" font for these) You can also purchase vinyl letters too if you are not into painting them on!

You can monogram them, put friends names on them or any saying you like.

The Crappy Crud

Well, I was in denial long enough. I'm finally admitting that I have caught a cold. I hate being under the weather and I don't like to consider my self a sickly person. Im giving this junk 2 more days then Im headed to the doc! My advice...stay away from sick people! That includes me currently.

PS. I got to school today and didn't want to breathe....it was like you could feel yourself breathing in all the germy things the kids bring to school. I think I am going to avoid writing any more passes just so I don't have to touch their agendas for the rest of the semester...hey there are only three weeks left they can hold it!!

Thanksgiving Week

This week has been absolutely wonderful.

I am thankful for:

• My salvation in Jesus Christ
• My amazing husband (who puts up with way more than any man should)
• My amazing family (both blood and in-law are amazing)
• My wonderful friends (especially those who have stuck around for years)
• Getting to spend time with friends and family this week
• My sweet new little cousin Reagan born last Thursday
• Me and my husbands wonderful stable jobs (or atleast they are stable for now)
• Having the week off.
• Being freed of almost all my responsibilities until February (Gifted Endorsement class and soccer)
• And of course a million other things
• And the things that God has planned for us that are still to come!

I have gotten to catch up on sleep, cleaning the house, spending quality time with Jonathan, decorating the house for Christmas, and spending time with family this week. Yesterday was pretty busy going from one family to the next so I did not get any pictures, but believe me I'm sure most everyone reading my blog was doing the same as I was....eating lots of yummy food, so I'll leave that one up to everyone's imagination ;)

My love-hate relationship with Black Friday: I love to shop and get AWESOME deals, I REALLY HATE long lines that have rude, pushy, greedy people in them.

Today I got up with my sister and mother-in law and we headed into the mall around 7am, stopped and got doughtnuts on the way in and began our day of shopping. For all you avid black friday shoppers we think we have figured out the best time to go....about 7:30ish you have missed that early morning rush but you still get the great deals. We hit up Khols first saving a total of $350.00 between the three of us. They had fleece blanket for 3.99, great inexpensive gift you can buy and then have monogrammed. We do $10.00 limit gifts with Jonathan's family, so we got awesome deals on the blankets and a metal thermos also $3.99. After Kohls we headed to target for their movie deals. They usually have great movies on black friday for $3.99, $5.99, or $8.99 but unfortunately by the time we had gotten to target there was not a great selection left....but I don't think they had as great of a selection this year as they did last year. After that we headed over to Merle Norman for some Vera Bradley....they had a great deal, where you purchase $100.oo of Vera Bradley and get a free purse. The purse is a $48.00 value and it is gorgeous, which we will be giving to a family members name that we drew for Christmas. One of Jonathan's gifts to me this Christmas is a Vera Bradley duffle bag, so we went ahead and purchased it with 2 other gifts for family and then got the free purse so that was a pretty good deal seeing I had to add a $5.00 gift to reach the $100.00 limit. Then off to the mall where there were a whole lota people. We stopped in New York and Co where they are having EVERYTHING in the store 50% off...but here is the disclaimer if you are an avid NY&Co shopper like myself you would know this is really NOT a great sale for them. They turn over their cloting in sales constantly, so for example a week ago I went in bought a shirt for $10, it was 70% off plus another 15% because I am a teacher. Today because of their 50% off on everything this same shirt originally $36.00 was only 50%. For some reason they have been doing that lately, putting things on and off of sale, but usually their clothing goes on sale pretty quickly and they are pretty reasonably price when they have their sales. I did not buy anything there today, because I know their sales will be better when it is not Black Friday. After that I needed 2 pairs of fuzzy socks from Old Navy originally $5, on sale today for $2.50!!! So I did not break the bank to bad and came home with some pretty good gifts. I'd love to hear some of the great deals you came across today...leave a post if you'd like:)

Wildlife Photography

This was my attempt at wildlife photography. Jonathan and I were up getting ready for breakfast last weekend and we realized we had a little visitor right outside our bedroom window, well actually we heard him rustling in the leaves before we pulled the curtains back. I actually saw him again this morning running around our back yard. Hopefully he is not causing any damage to our home and just looking cute. He lives right behind our retaining wall. He kept popping his little head up to see what we were doing and I just had to get a picture. It's a little blurry due to operator error, but will do.

Sugar and Spice.....

And it was REALLY nice...

To all my soccer friends (and all my other friends) who read my blog I am so proud to announce my little U-9 Academy Soccer Team won the 23rd Annual Sugar and Spice Tournament. Finally after playing in this tournament myself since I was 11 years old (take some years off for college, marriage, and a real job) I got to be a part of winning a soccer tournament.

To see the smiles and excitement on 10 little girls faces and send them all home with a trophy was priceless! I hope that they remember some important things from this weekend and a major one being selflessness.

I don't want to harp to much about parents, because I know my parents were there at one point when I played soccer....but parents think they know it all. I even got a phone call from one recently concerned that our team was not playing to their potential after two lost games and how I was planning on fixing that for the tournament. The parent was very kind and the conversation turned out so much better than I had envisioned.

But that being said this is what I tried my hardest to teach the girls this week: That we should always focus on the positives, fix the negatives, work as a team, and ALWAYS give our best. I told them before one of our last games that the team that gives their bests will win this tournament and boy did they play their little hearts out. I am thankful for the impact I have on these girls, and although I might not always "do" what the parents "think" I should, I hope more than anything these girls learn about selflessness, because that is a life lesson that will take them miles down the road. I believe selflessness is the core behind the team concept.

I am so proud of how hard my team worked and hope that if not now, but some day they will reflect on the importance of working together and how that can bring the champion out in all of us.

BEAUTIFUL

A miracle from conception...isn't she BEAUTIFUL. It's funny how God wakes you in the middle of the night and His spirit guides you to pray. My cousin gave birth last night to this beautiful little angel and I woke up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason and could not stop praying and praising Him for this amazing little gift. She arrived safe and sound and as precious as ever. We are so thankful for his graciousness in blessing our family with this gift and for a safe delivery for my cousin Elizabeth.

Introducing...

Reagan Kate Bishop

7 lbs 8 oz.

19 1/2 inches long.

At 1:20am 11/19/09.

Mackenzie Update

For all you prayer warriors out there Mackenzie has turned around and has been taken off the ventilator and as of this afternoon was being rocked by her mama in the NICU. We are so excited and thankful.

This is truly a miracle. Just days ago doctors were saying it would take a miracle for her to survive. Please remain in prayer for her to continue healing and for the family. Her father is going to need a job because Jamie is going to have to stay home with the baby for quite some time. It will be a while before the baby will be able to go out once she does go home.

Lord God, we praise you for the awesome God you are. We are so thankful and rejoice in the miracle you have worked in little Mackenzie. We continue to ask for her to have a safe and quick recovery and ask that you be with her parents and the doctors as she continues to heal. We pray that Jeremy will find a job to support his family while Jamie stays home with Mackenzie. We know you are doing a great work and we ask that Jeremy can see this clearly and be drawn closer to you than he could have ever imagined!

In your precious name,

Amen

Please Pray For Mackenzie

My friend Jamie's 1 1/2 month old daughter was rushed to the emergency room about 2 weeks ago and admitted to Scottish Rite for what has now been diagnosed as whooping cough. I believe there are a few other complications, but as of yesterday the doctors have not been speaking positively of the situation and are saying it will be a miracle that she makes it through. She is on life support currently.

Please join me in praying...

Dear Heavenly Father,

We know you are the Great Physician and you have precious Mackenzie in your hands. We pray that your will be done in her precious little life and that no matter what happens your name be glorified. We lift up her mama and daddy and pray that you will bring them comfort at this time and draw them ever nearer to you and your ways. We ask that if it is your will she remain in this world you would not allow her to suffer and you would heal her fully. We pray Father for a miracle, for we know you are in the business. We know that your will is supreme and we rest in knowing that you are in control and you will be glorified in this situation.

In your precious name we pray,

Amen

My Newest Craft

So I got a great idea about ornaments from my friend Katie. She bought her daughter a cute little pink tree for her room and is painting the fruits of the spirit on ornaments. I liked the idea about the fruits of the spirit on ornaments and ran with it. I will be putting these on our tree this year...and also giving them out as gifts to our guests that join us at supper club. Except at supper club I will put our friends last names and 2009 on the ornaments and probably use them as place settings. I am also making them as gifts for my teachers in the science dept. at school.

By the way they were $3.99 plus 40% off at Hobby Lobby for a box of 12. I'll be purchasing another box!

Best Trunk

For Holloween I joined my mother-in-law who made the most awesome costumes for trunk or treat at FBC D'ville. We all dressed as scarecrows and every one loved it. She even won best trunk and a gift certificate to Cracker Barrel... one of her favorites. She is SO creative and has taught me a lot in the creative department!

So my posts have been pictureless lately....BORING! Hopefully this will make up for it:

I made these items for my cousins baby shower and used them as the theme to decorate with. These all went with a rabbit we bought and they matched perfectly! More pictures to come!

A Georgia set I made for my cousin who is a Georgia Fan!

I can rest

We finally have come up over the hump concerning school. We had our GAPPS visit Monday and Tuesday and it was painless. The GAPPS visit is a county initiated observation done by other teachers, principles, etc usually from within the county. They come in and observe and basically tell us what we are doing well and where we can improve. Even though they are not exactly looking at individual teachers, it is still stressful because you want to be the best that you can. We were also asked for some documents by our own administration a little later than I would have preferred, but we were able to produce what they wanted as a department and all was good. I think I can finally breath and relax and focus on my students :)

Soccer is still keeping me busy but we recently had a two week break and that was pretty nice.

Last weekend we went up to the North Ga. Outlets and shopped with my family and celebrated my sister's birthday. It was a ton of fun and the weekend was relaxing for the most part.

Other than that last week 4 of our friends had their babies. Yes you read that correctly, 4 of our friends. Must have been a full moon. One baby born Tuesdsay, two on Wednesday, and one onThursday (2 boys and 2 girls). The last of my long list is my dear cousin Elizabeth. She is due Dec. 1st, but is already having contractions and on medication for them. However, she has recently begun having them while on the medication and next week they are going to take her off the meds. I think that baby is going to be here in the next two weeks, especially since they are taking her off the medicine. I am so excited to meet that sweet baby girl! It seems like we have waited forever!

My Husband is Practicing

You have to check this out...it's really cute. This weekend we had a family gathering at my mother-in-law's. Jonathan's cousin Brandi came and brought her 3 month old baby, Audrey.

Background: My husband DOES NOT hold babies. I have begged, prodded, pleaded, anything you can think of to get him to hold our friends babies. He would not have anything to do with it. So I resigned and actually was happy with the fact that our baby would be the very first he would hold, at least since he has met me.

Fast forward, This weekend his grandmother forcefully dropped his 3 month old cousin into his lap and well since someone might call defax if he dropped her or threw her back (which believe me I am sure crossed his mind :) he really had no choice but to grin and bear it.

So being the good sport he is, he pretended to enjoy it for about 3 seconds (long enough to get this picture:

http://ginnyunderwood.blogspot.com

He is going to be the most amazing dad some day!

Mafia

Jonathan and I are a part of a supper club with about 7 couples that get together on a regular basis. If you don't do something like this it is a great idea for fun and fellowship. We get together monthly and each couple takes a turn hosting a month of their choice. So we have dinner, a short message, and usually end up playing some sort of silly game. They can range from a board game, a card game, or some other silly game like rate-your-mate or our newest MAFIA. The latter two will get you and your spouse into an argument faster than any other game. Friday we played the game mafia. Short explanation: Each player gets a card from a deck of cards. Joker=mafia, King=cop, Queen=doctor, and any card with just a number=townsperson. So the cards are distributed and you look at your card to see what you have not letting any other person know. So then everyone closes their eyes and the two people with the joker card who are the mafia look up and choose someone to "kill", then the cop wakes up and tries to guess who the mafia are, then they close thier eyes and the doctor wakes up and they can save them selves from death by mafia or they can save any one else. Then every one opens their eyes and every one tries to guess who the mafia are. The game is all about STRATEGY. So my husband gets lucky to be the mafia twice and guess who kills me off twice!!! Yep my dear sweet husband! So the final game I got to be the Mafia and I lasted until there was only one round left and it was either going to be me or the townspeople as the winner. I ended up loosing, but that was my first time playing. If you have ever played this game you know how silly and crazy it is. It was fun, I'm just a little competitive;) It was a lot of fun and we had a great time at supper club. Jonathan and I are hosting December and we are planning on setting up a long table in our living room and serving a "Christmas Dinner" to our friends. I'm not sure if we will play mafia or not :)

Time Just Keeps Flying

So since my last past post I have had so many pics to post and just have not sat down and taken the time. So for all my millions of readers. Lol. I will update. School has kept me busy busy busy. I'm so ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas break already. My students are super so I can't complain to terribly much. Anyway, Jonathan and I celebrated our 4 year anniversay. It was really special. I'll be dedicating a post strictly to him sometime this week. I threw a baby shower for my cousin last week and it was wonderful. I will definitely post pictures soon. And I am soooo excited to have started P90X this week. I was so sore I could barely walk for several days, but the pay off will be huge. I was digging through some old pictures and let's just say I dont quite look the same as I did say 10 years ago. So I will be working hard to get to a place I am happy with. I wan't a healthy life style with good eating habits and excercise. Let's say the eating habits have definitely improved, but it is definitly a work in progress;) I will keep you updated on how P90X goes. One of the great things about it is that I can go straight home and excersice and get just as good a work out at home as I would in the gym. So no more wasting gas or time at the gym and we will be saving $55 a month! Halleluja! Anywhere you can save a dime or 150 of them:) Other than that I have had a two week break from soccer due to weather. We had 2 games today...IT WAS FREEZING! Me and the cold weather are not best friends. I'm so ready for the summer days again.

In the wee hours

So early this morning about 5 am ish I am awakened by our neighbors yippy yappy little dog. And under my breath I say to Jonathan "that little dog is going to mysteriously disappear or I am going to throw rocks at him." (That is just what came to mind at 5 am while trying to enjoy my precious sleep). It must have been really funny because Jonathan burst out in laughter. And we lay there tickled and annoyed at that little yippy yappy dog. He even mentions something about loading his paint ball gun and eventually we drift back to sleep.

Insert disclaimer: We do like animals and would NEVER dream of really hurting one, but when your neighbors fence runs up along one of your exterior bedroom walls and their dog for some reason likes to run up and down along that side and CONSTANTLY bark in the wee hours of the morning, your mind starts running in directions you do not intend.

So we sleep a couple more hours get up run a quick errand and return home to some yard work. I helped Jonathan today by weed wacking while he cut the grass. Low and behold I look up and what do I see in our yard? That yippy yappy little dog who woke us so early this morning jumping at me and barking. He must have known my feelings of affection or lack there of because he decided he had to come bark at me some. Our neighbor came over and she was nice and the dog at that point was not really bothering us, but I made a point to kindly say to the dog "we heard you up barking really early this morning". Maybe our neighbor will take the hint. She asked Jonathan to see if he could catch him so she could put him back in her fence, but I told her he really wasn't bothering us, because we were not going to waste our time chasing him around our yard. We went back to work and eventually he left us alone. Just thought it was ironic of all the time we have lived here that dog has never shown up in our yard and the one time we make jokes about his disappearance he shows up in our yard.

On another note while raking some mulch back into our flower bed I quickly realized why I remain the helper of our yard work and NOT the primary yard worker in our house hold:

This little guy was in the grass and jumped out when I was raking the mulch back into the flower bed and he was a hissin. Not sure what he is, probably harmless. I do like all things creepy crawly, or furry, just don't like to be taken by surprise by them.

Crummy Day/No wait make that a Happy Day.....

I wrote this about 2 weeks ago and had not gotten the chance to post it.

Make that a crummy week/weekend! So the week before labor day was awesome. That Monday soccer got rained out, I didn't have my gifted endorsement class on Tuesday which left me with soccer practice on Thursday and a nice quiet weekend through labor day. This week the other shoe dropped.

Tuesday: Soccer practice (to make up for missing Monday)

Wednesday: hour and a half leadership team meeting after school/missed bible study

Thursday: Soccer practice

Friday: Didn't leave school till 9pm (soccer fundraiser collecting parking $ from the football game)

Saturday: 2 soccer games in Buckhead, came back and babysat not getting home till 12:30am

LET ME JUST SAY I AM WAY TO OLD TO BE BABYSITTING!!! IT'S TIME FOR ONE OF MY OWN!!!!!!

Sunday: Church, and ANOTHER SOCCER GAME :( Missed a friend's baby dedication because of this :(((

Weekend??? Did I actually get one of those??????????? I should take the next week off after this one.

I am way to busy and not happy about it. The saddest part is that I bring most of on my self. The dollar signs of soccer don't make it easy for me to say no in addition to those sweet little girls I have the privilege of coaching. Let me make this very clear...4 days a week at an hour and a half or more each day is way to much for 8 and 9 year olds.

Since the post above a lot has happened and someone did a VERY big rain dance which everyone reading my blog will surely know about.

That being said I have been so incredibly THANKFUL for the restful week off of school I have had. No soccer, no gifted endorsement, no meetings, no school. Just rest. I got to clean my house, relax, iron clothes, relax, sleep in, relax, actually cook a dinner, and work on decorations/ideas for my cousin Elizabeth's baby shower I am throwing in about 2 weeks.

You will die when you see some of the absolutely cute things I have made her and if you have a baby gift you need for someone I am happy to make sets for you for a minimal price (sets can include burp clothes, dresses, frames, booties, bibs, and onsies).

On a final note, I just want to remind myself and others to be in prayer for those who have suffered loss in some way or another during the floods and for those who have not to rejoice that we were spared and take time to re-prioritize as I have had to do so that I can focus on my family and what is important to us.

Rehearsal Dinner

Christine had her wedding at the Montaluche Vinyard in Dahlonega Ga. BEAUTIFUL! Here are pictures from the rehearsal dinner also at the Vinyard. Every thing went well except the pastor mixed his nights up and missed the rehearsal, so we practiced on our own. We were fine and the pastor is a pro...he married Bubbs and Shannon so he knew what he was doing.

Quentin and Shannon.

No one plays around in this family...always so serious.

Quentin, me and my sweet daddy.

There won't be any hostility in this marriage;) They were going to practice their cake feeding to each other. This is what resulted.

My mom's cousin Corrine and her husband Sal. They drove up from Florida and have made it to all three of our weddings.

Mom and Shannon, Bubbs wife.

Emma, Noah's neice, was the flower girl. She did an awesome job.

The two love birds.

Jonathan and I waiting on our food at the rehearsal dinner....it was YUM! Chicken Parmesan and spaghetti with the softest bread to dip in oil.

Christine's Bridal Luncheon

We had a bridal luncheon thrown by my aunt Janie and my two cousins Julie and Elizabeth. We went to our traditional bridal luncheon location the Swan House. As usual it was fabulous. If you have never been you have to go. You can have lunch in their restaurant or you can get a group of girls together and book a room.

Group photo. The swan house had this beautiful picture spot.

The brides maids. 3 sisters and a friend. Quentin's wife Shannon is in white, and Noah's sister Abby is on the far right in the black top. Lisa in the brown is a good friend of Christine's.
Kissing cousins!! If you look close you can see baby Reagan...she will be here before we know it. (In case you didn't notice or my weight gain;) threw you off...it is my cousin Elizabeth that is expecting. Just wanted to clarify;)

The "Farmer" girls.

Project Boy Gift

My friend/hairstylist Brittany is having a little boy, Rhett in October and I painted these picture frames to match the nursery which is a sail boat theme. It is so bizzare how God puts people in your life. Brittany was a senior at Chapel Hill my first year teaching there and was our homecoming queen that year. Since then she has gotten married and we do a couples supper club that we are all a part of.

Guest Bathroom Makeover

Being some what the impulse shopper I am I walked into target one day and saw some of the cutest white and pinkish toile towels and thought I want to redo my guest bathroom. My walls were already brown, so Im kinda going with the shabby chick pink and brown look. I have a super cuter pink rug with ruffles that match. My next goal is to get the white shower curtain with the ruffles and it will be complete! I am slowly but surely "girlifying" the house. I am sure it won't be long before the husband notices ;)

These towels jumped off the shelf into my cart. I just could not resist. The white towel matches the shower curtain I will be purchasing soon.
I found these pictures for $10.00 a piece plus 20% off at Bed Bath and Beyond and could not believe how perfectly they matched.

Precious Little Babies

This summer some special little girls were born.

Jonathan's cousin Brandi welcomed sweet Audrey Elizabeth Claire in July. I got to see her about a week after she got here and she was the tiniest little thing you have ever seen. Just 6 pounds. She looked like a little baby doll.

My sweet friend Katie's precious little princess Molly Kate arrived. We just love her sweet little self. She is such a blessing to her family and we are so thankful God blessed our friend Chad and Katie with little miss priss. I hope that Jonathan and I can be half as great and Godly parents that Katie and Chad are and we are so thankful that they set such a great example for others to learn from. Enjoy the sweet sweet pictures.

Charlie Bell showing me one of his little books. He is so much fun, all boy and such a great big brother to MK.

Me and sweet Miss Priss!

Sweet sleeping baby. Molly Kate still had some yucky reflux when I visited her here, but she slept so sweetly the whole time I held her... that is until it was time to eat:)

Our Family Vacation

Jonathan and I took a vacation to Orlando this summer. I just wish I could stay on vacation with my husband for the rest of our lives. We had such a blast and with out all the distractions were really able to just focus on each other and our marriage!

We rode a pontoon boat on the lake at down town disney and it was so nice to relax and feel the breeze.

We ate at the rainforest cafe in down town disney and they sat us right next to one of the large fish tanks. I think I drove Jonathan nuts talking about the fish the whole time.

Every photo we took we took of ourselves...hence it's not the best picture in the world.

So we figured out that it would be smart to take a picture with our personal camera of the picture they display on the screen for you to purchase for an arm and a leg. We rode MIB several times and Jonathan should be the all time world MIB record holder!!! He beat me by a land slide every time we rode (on this ride you shoot lasers at aliens and it adds up your points).