Guilty Pleasure...

It is going to be a lllooonnnggg week! Our school holds an auction each year to raise money to help us support our programs. The event is this weekend and I now feel the pressure. I had to run to Wal-Mart to pick-up some photos for a project I am working on for our Varsity Girls' Basketball team, and look what just jumped in my cart...

I have made a promise to myself that this is my one guilty pleasure for this week. So I am eating it in small portions so that I can make it to Saturday. Wish me luck!

That's what I love about Sundays...

My sweet parents were in town this weekend and we so enjoyed our time together. I am so blessed and I love being able to spend time with them. They truly are my best friends!

The sun was out today and it was so nice outside so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent some time outside with my two nephews.

The sky was so blue...

Until the man across the road started burning his field, and our blue skies quickly turned to this... but we didn't let that stop us...

Connor got this great swing set for Christmas, but because of the cold, rainy weather we have had lately, he has not been able to play on it. He loves to swing...

And Cooper has a swing on the set too... He was so sleepy today, but was not going to miss out on all the fun...

Connor also loves to slide, but he would only go down on his stomach... So silly!

He rode his tractor all over the place...

And even picked up a little friend along the way... He is truly all boy!

Connor is going to play t-ball this year, so we bought him this set to practice... He is a pretty good little hitter and was showing off for us today... (See how dark the sky got because of the smoke! Thankfully the wind was not blowing it our way...)

Pop, my dad, helping Connor with his swing...

The only picture I took of myself... Today made me have a little spring fever! Can't wait!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my "Pay-It-Forward" Giveaway! It ends next Sunday, February 28 at 11:59 CST.

"100 Days to Graduation" Celebration

Thursday, February 18, was a reminder of why I love my job...

I work at a PK3-12th grade private school. We have 409 total students, so our graduating classes are small. This year we have 22 seniors - the smallest class to graduate since I started! Because of this we really get to know our students and are able to make their senior year very special.

A few months ago, I got to celebrate "100 Days of School" with our younger students. We celebrated the 100th day of school with a trail mix made of 100 pieces of snack items, wore silly 100 glasses and had a great time with them celebrating the day. It got my mind spinning and I came up with the idea of celebrating "100 Days to Graduation" with our senior class.

So on Thursday my idea was made in to a reality! We catered in lunch for the seniors, got them out of class for a little while, had them identify faculty/staff baby pictures, gave them a "graduation exam" and just celebrated them. It was so much fun and I have been asked to make this a standing tradition each year with our seniors. I love my job!

Here are just a few pictures of the day:

Each year in the school's yearbook, our senior class draws a picture that fits the theme of the book and signs their names around it. This year it was a guitar. I took the page and reduced it to wallet size so that we could place it on picks for the cupcakes. They were so cute!

During the luncheon I talked with the class about becoming alumni, giving back to the school and thanking those teachers who had impacted their life while they were a students with us. We asked each senior to write a "thank-you" note to a teacher who had impacted their life. They did a great job! It was truly a very touching moment watching these seniors write these notes to those men and women who often times don't get the true thanks they deserve! (I encourage you all to take the time to thank a teacher!)

Blessings!

Paige

Valentine's Day Blog Exchange - My Gift

Remember this post here? Well my swap partner Cynde finally received her gift today. Here is what I sent her:

I took a wooden heart and used red glass beads to add the shimmer on top. It is placed on a black and white diamond shaped paper and framed in black. It turned out really cute! I am so glad she liked it.

I will be back with an announcement later this afternoon. It is going to be a fun blog project!

Blessings!

Paige

Handmade Cards and A Digital Invitation from Etsy

I am a card person and love to send snail mail! I needed a couple of cards recently and just couldn't find what I wanted at any retail store. So I turned to Etsy and came across two great stores that I wanted to share with you.

The first set of cards were for Valentine's Day. These were from the Etsy store Papered With Love. Stephanie makes beautiful cards! She also has a blog where she features her cards as well. Here are the two cards I ordered (the top one is "thank you" from Stephanie):

The second store I visited was RBowen. Rene has some beautiful cards already up for Easter. I bought three cards from her, but she sent me a fourth one free! I love them all and can't wait to send them out over the next couple of months. Here are the three cards I bought plus the extra one:

For the first time this year our school is hosting a "100 Days to Graduation" celebration luncheon for our senior class (yes, there are only 22)! I wanted to send them an invitation rather than spreading it by word of mouth. I knew that I wanted something that had their cap and gown photo on it, so I turned to Etsy to find a digital invitation design. I loved the simplicity of the items I saw in Natty Sue Designs shop. I ordered the design, made payment and sent an e-mail with the specifics for the invitation to Natalie. In less than 24 hours, I had the proof back and she even sent two lay-outs for me to choose from. I sent the high resolution file to our local printer and had the completed invitations back in less than 24 hours. Amazing... Thank you Natalie! She has everything from bridal shower invitations to Christmas cards. Here is the invitation we sent to our seniors for the luncheon:

Blessings!

Paige

"Pay It Forward" Giveaway

** Please remember to enter this giveaway and "pay-it-forward"!! **

Theresa over at Too Many Heartbeats hosted a "Pay-It-Forward" Giveaway on her blog a few weeks ago and I was one of the lucky winners! I received my gift this week in the mail and was thrilled when I opened it to find...

... a large coffee mug, devotional book, two candles and a $5 Starbucks gift card. Love it all!

Now it is my turn to "Pay-It-Forward" and gift two of you with some of my favorites things. In order to win, you must commit to host a giveaway and continue to pay-it-forward to two winners as well. Let's go over the rules first:

• You will have to provide me with your mailing address if you are the winner.
• Once you receive your gift, blog about it and announce your giveaway linking back to my blog.
• Send some of your favorite things out to the two winners from your pay-it-forward giveaway!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post letting me know that you want to win. Easy-peasy!

The contest will end on Sunday, February 28 at 11:59 CST. I will contact the two winners the following day and will ship my favorite things to you within the week.

Blessings!

Paige

Happy Valentine's Day - The Single Life

Valentine's Day - the season of Love (and the season of dread for single people)! A time of year that focuses on receiving gifts and flowers, going to dinner and being with the one you love. Being a single young woman can be a tough time during this season, and can cause all kinds of insecure emotions and feelings to surface. I use to dread this time of year and made it miserable for those who were around me. It just all seemed so unfair that I never was someone's love, significant other, etc. I always played the "Oh, I'm fine.. It's never been a big deal to me anyway" card, but the truth was that I was bitter towards those who had the dinner date with gifts, hugs and kisses and just someone to call theirs.

But, last year, my whole perception about this holiday changed and now I can say that I love Valentine's Day. No, I don't have someone special to shower me with gifts, take me to dinner or tell me how much they love me, but I do have someone who loves me more than anyone else can or ever will. Yep, you got it - Jesus! Just think about it for a second and hang on with me..

He left his own life and was sacrificed on the cross for ME (and YOU)! He gave up all he had so that we would all be given the opportunity to spend eternity with Him - John 3:16. He could not bear the thought of not having us with Him for eternity. Amazing! I love the quote from Max Lucado that says 'You have never lived an unloved moment'... and because of the blood of Jesus I never will.

I admire those that God has entrusted with the gift of marriage and relationships. I pray that on this Valentine's Day, you will commit your life and marriage/relationship to Him.

For those of us who are single and still waiting on the Lord, He has not forgotten about us. In fact, He has already thought of us on this day and is going to supply all of our needs. I encourage you to pray to Him and ask Him how you can be used on this day to bless the life of another who may not know His love and may feel alone.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

John 13:34-35

Happy Valentine's Day!

Paige

Snow Day

The snow was so beautiful yesterday! I loved sitting on my couch, under my blanket with a huge cup of hot chocolate watching it fall. So pretty!

I could get use to Fridays at home if I am able to always accomplish my to-do list. Here is a quick summary of all the things I got done while at home from school:

• Cleaned out my small craft/storage closet
• Uploaded 2,000+ school photos and got them loaded on our share site
• Organized my bills and financial paperwork for 2010
• Completed and e-filed my 2009 taxes
• Hung a new mirror in my den
• Made a grocery list (now just gotta make myself go to the store!)
• Responded to all the e-mails waiting in my inbox
• Caught up on all the laundry
• Got together stuff to donate for SGA Yard Sale
• Studied my 4&5 year old Sunday School lesson
• Made sausage balls for our "Juice, Jelly and Jesus" breakfast Sunday at church
• Watched the shows DVR'd this week
• Played in the snow!! (Pictures below)

I was a pretty tired girl last night, but it felt so good to get all those things done and mark them off my list.

I also finished up my "good luck" notes for our Varsity Girls' Basketball team. They won Thursday night to clinch a spot in the Regional tournament on Monday. This was one of their many goals this season, and I could not be prouder of these thirteen young women and the families they represent. The locker room has been decorated and these are the finishing touch as we wish them well as they prepare and travel to the tournament. I love how cute these turned out!

Here are some snow pictures from today:

And... they are predicting the possibility of more snow on Sunday night. What wild weather we are having! Hope you all have a great weekend! I have two exciting announcements coming next week..

Blessings!

Paige

Insecurity... So Long!

Insecurity.. I deal with it everyday! Am I pretty enough? Do I have the right clothes.. drive the right car.. say the right things? Will they like me? Will I ever get married and be a mom? We as women are our own worst enemies. One of my favorite Christian authors has written a book about this very topic. I can't wait to get my hands on this book and read it from cover to cover. Beth is an awesome writer and her words always convict me and speak to my heart as a Christian young woman. If you have never read or studied Beth, I encourage you to do so! You won't be disappointed.. Here is the book cover:

But, I am even more excited about getting to hear Beth in-person in Atlanta on April 24th. A bunch of other bloggers had the idea, and I joined in on their party. We are going to "party in the overflow" of the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia and I hope that the world is ready because MY GOD is going to show up in a big way! I can't wait to meet so many of the bloggers I follow each week and meet them face to face. I am praying now that we will all let go of our insecurities and be real and open with each other, and form new friendships that will last a lifetime. You can visit Caroline's blog to see some of the other bloggers who will be attending. There may still be tickets available, but hurry! You can go here to order tickets.

I pray that each of you feel secure about yourself and love yourself for the amazing woman that you are! Hope some of you will join us in Atlanta!

Blessings!

Paige

Super Bowl Sunday

I have never been a big fan of the NFL. Don't get me wrong, I love the game of football, but I have just never taken a huge interest in professional sports. I am a high school and college football fan.

Yet, I am ready for the big game tonight. Not sure if it is all the hype, or if it is because the Saints are from New Orleans, a place I love. And a city who has been through so much lately that a team like the Saints has brought back excitement and hope for better days.

So Geaux Saints! I hope you bring home a win for your city.

Blessings!

Paige

Valentine's Day Blog Exchange

I am participating in a Valentine's Day Swap hosted by Domestic Dork. I received my exchange gift this week in the mail, and was so excited at what Cynde sent me. She has an Etsy shop, so please stop by and say hello!

My gift included a kleenex holder with my initial on it, a cute button bracelet, and a small pouch that I am using to hold my camera. Here are some pics of my loot:

I finished Cynde's gift but got called out of town and could not get it mailed before I left. Here is a sneak peek! I will be back next week once she receives it to show you what I sent her.

Blessings!

Paige