Reason #6,294 I Love Being a Teacher

I absolutely adore my job and feel so incredibly lucky to have been blessed with amazing students. My students remind me how fortunate I am every day in big and small ways. Yesterday, it was a big way.

My 4th Hour Drama class threw me an engagement party. They'll use pretty much any excuse to have food in class, but I still loved it. They brought in chip and dip, brownies, lil' smokies, Rotel dip, firecrackers, pickles, and chocolate covered strawberries. The student who made the strawberries made a special one for me and it was the size of a small apple!

My favorite part, though, was the posters 3 of my girls made. They hung them up in my room, in the hallway and on their lockers. I can't lie, it's nice to know I'll be missed...and that they think I'm worth $1 Gazillion Bazillion :)

I love being a teacher!!!

Zoey Margaret

Zoey Margaret was born at 1:35 this afternoon! She is 6 pounds, 14 ounces. I haven't met her, or even seen a picture, but I'm already in love!!!

Oh, Baby!

I have a new niece or nephew on the way right now!!! My sister called last night to tell us her water broke and she was on the way to the hospital. She went to the doctor yesterday, and the doctor told her it would be fine to have the baby any time now, even though she's only a little over 35 weeks. I'm so excited! Maxwell made his appearance in much the same fashion. Right at 35 weeks, Al's water broke, and about 24 hours later, Maxwell made his debut!

I was way too excited to sleep last night. I did manage to get a little rest, but had the same dream 3 times. Each time, I dreamt that Al had a baby boy. The first time his name was Walter, the second time it was Stanley, and the last was Daniel. Based on Al's response to my dreams, I'm guessing they're not planning on any of those names should it be a boy. I still have a feeling it's a girl, though!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! :)

I think we have finally decided on a wedding photographer: Trotter Photo of St. Louis. I found them because my sister and her husband used them for their wedding in 2004. I consulted with quite a few friends to find out the good and the bad of wedding photographers in the area. After a lot of researching online, Trotter was the best in our book.

While they are very affordable compared to their competitors, I still can't believe how much pictures cost! I know they're important, and I won't regret getting a fabulous photographer, but still...

The package we're looking at includes an engagement session, all the images on a CD, with release (I've found this is pretty standard across the board), unlimited locations, 5 hours (hopefully we can add at least 1 more), 24 prints and a PHOTO BOOTH! I can't explain how excited I am about this! It will be a super fun way to catch all our guests at their finest!

Hopefully we'll get a contract going this week!

Deep Breath and Count to 10...

Does anyone have any suggestions for healthy ways to deal with wedding stress?

Hurry Up and Wait

I'm so ready to get everything under way for the wedding, but we're waiting to hear back from the church about the date we want. The pastor called me today, but since I don't get cell phone service at school, I missed the call. He said he'd try me again later, hopefully that means after 3:30. Until we have the church reserved, we really can't do much else.

We do have the reception location picked out, and they are temporarily holding 2 dates for us. They can hold both dates until this coming weekend, so I'm hoping we get everything straightened out with the church before then.

I've looked a little at bridesmaid dresses online, but it's kind of hard to tell what they look like. I have found a few I like, so at least I can go to the store with a plan. I don't know when I'll actually go look, but it's fun to think about in the mean time. I have found a few photographers and hopefully photo booths, but it's kind of pointless to make any calls until I know the date.

My fab friend, K-Mo, is going to make the wedding cake, and I can't wait to get together with her to look at options and talk about all things wedding. She and her husband, D-Fab, are amazing. They are young, but already such a wonderful example of a healthy, loving, fun relationship. I'm so excited that I'll be living in the same city as her this summer!

Other than the church and reception location, the only other thing we have decided on is colors: black bridesmaid dresses with hot pink flowers, with just a smidgen of lime green. It's going to be gorgeous!!!