Some More Pinterest Love

A few months back I had a post (check it out here) that shared some of the recipes I've tried and liked from the almighty Pinterest (okay, kidding about the "almighty" ;). Below are some things that I've since tried from Pinterest. 

I made these cute cupcakes for Chelle's lingerie shower. The decor was all pink/black zebra, so these matched perfectly! 

*Brownie/Strawberry Cupcake* 

I made these fun cake-in-mason-jars for Chelle and Martin's couples shower. I made one with chocolate cake and the other with strawberry cake. I also made my own cream cheese butter cream frosting to go along with the cake and I must say, it was the bomb! :)

Eventually, I want to try all of the recipes on my Pinterest boards. Obviously I can NOT eat all of these recipes by myself, so my home group members have become my guinea pigs. They are oh so sweet to try everything! 

*Chocolate Chip Cookie bars with a Caramel & Peanut Butter center.......absolutely sinful!*

 *Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownie*

I used Pinterest to give me ideas for my "end-of-the-year gifts" and it was a success! Here are the things that I've made.

 

*It "mint" so much to me that you provided snacks for our class during testing week!*

 

*Thank you for being an "ade" for our class*

 

*I gave these to my kiddos at the end of the year because we always checked our Math problems with Skittles.*

*This was SUPER easy to make, cheap, and works great!*

 This one is probably my favorite.

*It is cream cheese/caramel/heath bits apple dip all wrapped up cute. This taste amazing!!!*

You can check out the links to these fabulous desserts and gifts on my Pinterest under the "Tis Better to Give" and "Sweet and Tasty" boards. Enjoy and get to Pinteresting (hmmmm, is that a word???).

End-of-Year Fun

A few weeks before school ended we had Field Day, and it was one of my favorite days of the entire year! It was SO fun to just "let my hair down" and be a kid with my kids! ;) 

My girls thought it was HILARIOUS to hug me when they were wet.......oh how I love them!

 I'm only slightly competitive ;), so when it was our turn to play tug-of-war I was all about strategizing. Unfortunately, this little event led to really sore hands and back. Gosh, how old am I???

Such a memorable day! 

I can't wait for Field Day 2013!!!!!! 

Ready & Willing

I am ready to go to Africa.
You were willing to send me.

Thank you to everyone who is helping me get to Kenya in few weeks (16 days to be exact!!!). I was completely overwhelmed with the outpouring of financial support from friends, family, and co-workers. God is SO good because He pressed upon your hearts to send me to do His work in a place that I love so very much! Thank you for responding to that call. I am very happy to report that I have ALL of my money raised and I am simply waiting on the day to arrive!!!! Isn't that exciting?!?! :)

Just a reminder that once we are on the trip we will be blogging at this address: http://kenyateam2012.blogspot.com/

A Renewed Desire

Summertime!!!!! It is FINALLY here! I wasn't sure that I'd make it, but I did! 

As I look back on my first year of teaching I am amazed. Amazed by God's goodness. Amazed by the amount of work it takes to be a teacher. Amazed at how expensive this career is. Amazed by all that I accomplished and all that I did not accomplish. Amazed by all of the knowledge that I thought I had but actually gained this year. Amazed that I juggled teaching about 7 subjects each day. Amazed by the wonderful 5th grade team of teachers the Lord gave me. Amazed by how the Father hand-picked 20 precious children for me to shepherd. Amazed at how quickly it went by and at how slowly it drug along. Amazed that I am finished and I live to tell about it. Amazed.

These past 10 months have been a challenge. Of course, all good things take work and sometimes a little heartache. And pretty much every teacher I know says that your first year is always the hardest. (I'm praying they aren't lying!!! ;)  I had moments when I questioned why the Lord had lead me to teaching. There are many reasons why I love being a teacher, but let's not lie, this is a stinkin' hard career! The Lord answered my prayers and re-affirmed His will for my life on the last day of school. 

The story begins about 1 year ago when I returned from Africa. I LOVED my time in Sudan but I wasn't sure how the Lord could really use me and my experiences there. I was expressing this frustration to God one day and I felt Him tell me that my job is to share my heart with the children who would soon be my students. Hmmm. How was this going to make a difference? But, I obeyed the Lord's direction and pretty much talked every day about my love for Africa, missions, and the fact that there are children all over the world who need a home, love, food, and the sweet saving grace of Jesus. I had no idea what impact this would have on the 20 kiddos the Lord let me lead each day, but I knew that this was what I was called to do. My class seemed pretty interested (They even raised about $500 to help feed orphans around the world!!!), but the tediousness of the job began to shake my confidence in my ability to make a difference. 

Fast forward to last Wednesday at our Christian Character Awards where I presented each student with a character quality and Bible verse that I believe describes them. This day was such a blessing for me because it allowed me to focus on each child and how the Lord has uniquely gifted them. What a blessing to be able to encourage these children to use their gifts to further the Kingdom!!! I also asked the students where they see themselves in 10 years. This was SO fun (and sometimes hilarious) and the parents loved hearing these goals! The biggest blessing of the year comes when 7 of my students say that they want to be missionaries. I was blown away! I know that they are only 11, but I believe that I have done what the Lord wanted me to do by planting a seed of awareness in their hearts about missions. I had a few parents come up to me and say that their child had never spoken about an interest in missions until this year. This is when it hit me; the Lord was answering my prayers! He was reminding me why I became a teacher. He was showing me that the desire he put in my heart at the beginning of the year to share my love and His love for the nations with my students had paid off. He was renewing my desire to make a difference through teaching. 

What a mighty and faithful God we serve!!! Never give up on the dreams that the Lord has put in your heart. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."   ~Jeremiah 29:11

Almost There

Wow! My first year of teaching is almost complete! What a blessing. I am SOOOOOOOO ready for summer but I'm going to really miss my first group of babies. Okay, they really aren't babies anymore.......they are almost 6th graders! CRAZY!!!!! I would really covet your prayers during the next 3 weeks as I wrap up the year and tackle all of the stress. It is going to be an emotional time as this has been a challenging growing process this year. 

Here is the craziness I have to accomplish in the next few weeks.

1. Character Awards

2. Field Day

3. Zoo Field Trip

4. 3 more birthday celebrations (1 is mine, yay!)

5. Plan/create End-of-Year awards

6. Gifts for kiddos

7. Gifts for precious parent volunteers

8. Plan and execute an awesome lingerie shower and bachelorette night for my sweet cousin

9. Pack up my classroom

10. Finish grades for the year

11. Write letters to my kids

12. Help work on a baby shower

13. Keep preparing and planning for Kenya trip

14. Get my bridesmaid dress altered

15. Help with wedding stuff (Very exciting because we are SOOO close!)

16. Say goodbye to my students (definitely the hardest)

I am sure there are more things that I need to do but for now this is all that I can think of. When you think of it, say a prayer for all of your teacher friends as they enter a challenging and rewarding season. We are blessed to have this career but it is also one of the most difficult, in my opinion. 

My challenge to you: Pray for and hug a teacher this week! :)

Ahhh, Pinterest Love

I'm pretty much in love with Pinterest and all of the AMAZING ideas that exist there. My momma calls it the best free magazine. Agreed. So, here are some of my favorite recipes that I've found, tried, and loved from Pinterest. 

1. Biggest Loser Pancakes

   

 Recipe Link

2. Potato Bacon Casserole

 Recipe Link

3. Nutella Croissant Rolls

 Recipe Link

4. Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

 Recipe Link

5. Pumpkin Rice Krispies
(My kiddos loved this Fall treat.)

 Recipe Link

6.  Nutella Cupcakes 
 (A BIG hit with my home group last week!)

Recipe Link

7. Pretzel Hugs
(My students loved these at Christmas time.)

 Recipe Link

8. Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Cups
(Probably my favorite.)

Recipe Link

Now to get cookin' more new Pinterest recipes!

Kenya Update

Well, I have been a bit absent from the blogging world. This is because I have been SUPER busy, but I also haven't really had anything to say. Like I tell my students, "We shouldn't talk just to hear ourselves talk.";) But now I break my silence to tell you that my Lord has been faithful yet again!

My precious friends and family have given $2,000 towards my June Kenya Mission Trip!!!!! WOW! What an overwhelming blessing this is! The miracle is that last week I was told that I would need to have my flight paid for by April 14th. This cost is the majority of my trip expenses: $1,400. Most of the people on my trip looked a bit worried because well, this is a LOT of money. We all know that Jesus will provide the money for each person to pay for their plane flight, but what a relief that mine is already covered. Covered by so many of you generous people! The thing that really gets me about this financial support is that it comes from hearts that were open to the Spirit's leading and then were obedient to the call He gave. What an honor to have people in my life that obey the Lord and see my heart for this AMAZING continent!  

I am a blessed by you.