Summer!

This photo shows how all the teachers felt as we waved good-bye to the kiddos:



This is how I feel:



I survived my first year of teaching! Praise God for helping me through! Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with all this free time. I have a few ideas :)

Scott and I started the home-buying process by talking to a lender, getting pre-approved, and searching the MLS. We have a great realtor helping us out and are going to start looking at homes tomorrow. We have a lease until December so we're not in any rush, but the excitement is kicking in which is going to make it hard to wait.

We had a good time celebrating Father's Day with P.F. Chang's take-out and a round of putt putt. Thank you, God for our fathers.

Light at the end of the tunnel

The excitement is stirring. I can almost see it. My first year of teaching is close to being D-O-N-E, done.

Summer here we come. Our second grade team is celebrating tonight with margaritas and salsa dancing! Ole!

At the end of May, Scott and I threw together a Memorial Day cookout for anyone who hadn't already made plans. We started off June celebrating our friends' wedding. Ask Scott about his sweet dance moves. We were excited to recently find out that he made the ERT (Emergency Response Team) at work. It's our county's version of SWAT. Congrats, babe! Another congrats goes out to my cousin who is graduating from high school and heading to my alma mater! and YAY to my sister who finished her first year of college!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

It's been busy around these parts!
School basically consumes my life whether I want it to or not. Everyone says it will be easier next year. I am banking on that statement. Needless to say (and I speak for teachers everywhere), I am so looking forward to summer break. The month of May = review, review, review, and then TESTING...dun dun dun. It's not the like whole year rides on this moment or anything. *eyes rolling* But seriously, it's all good. I'm proud of my students and what we've accomplished this year.
Last Monday was the Teacher of the Year and New Teacher of the Year ceremony. It was quite the lovely occasion and the food rocked. I felt very proud that night to be a teacher and reflect on the growth I've made professionally and personally.
Scott and I are so thankful to have jobs right now during these times. A couple guys were let go at the department and teachers won't be expecting raises any time soon, but praise God that He is faithful and providing our every need. We've been working hard to pay off debt and "establish" ourselves and God is taking us through a time of financial blessing. Trying to be good with finances always has its ups, but a downer is that we decided that we won't take any vacations this summer. Ideally, we'd like to look into buying a house in the next couple years...which opens a whole new door of excitement and responsibility.
Ah. Responsibility. Something of which I have a little issue with right now. That's why I can't bring myself to get a dog or think about kids. TOO MUCH responsibility. I know it's partly due to being so overwhelmed this year with school and partly because hubs and I just love our time together...and he's quite the handful. A good handful :) I will totally be ready for all these things in due time. Don't worry moms, you will have grandkids!

It's been a long week and I'm so excited about taking it easy this weekend. Mom, sis, and I are going to the Fine Arts Museum tomorrow. I'm stoked. It's been closed for 2 years and just reopened. Time to get culturized.

Any Lost fans? Only 2 more episodes! I'm freaking out.

Time to head out of here and enjoy FRIDAY!!!!

West Virginia

Adventures in WV for Dan's wedding!

Dan & Brittney

Mr. & Mrs. Emerson












As seen on Food Network- Hillbilly Hotdogs

We are Marshall!

What does love look like?

What would it look like for me on a daily basis to live a life of love?

It would be more giving of myself in the name of Jesus- time, wants, energy, and money.

1. Cut spending.
2. Say hi to the neighbors.
3. More prayer.
4. Get rid of cable.
5. Give more than 10% to the church.
6. More patience with my class.
7. Pray for and love the unlovable.

Well, here's a start.


The King will answer and say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."
Matthew 25:40

For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us will give an account of himself to God."
Romans 14:10-12

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:7-8

Love

Life without God is meaningless.

Over the last few months, I have been falling in love with Jesus. His love is the whole reason for our existence. Everything we do should bring glory and honor to Him.

I am reading a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan (highly recommended!) that is inspiring, challenging, and convicting. In a real, straight-forward, and (most importantly) biblical way, he explains how our response should be to the One who gave us life. The One who sent His son to die on the cross for our sins that we may have life to the fullest. Faith IS love and action.

Chan writes, "Following Christ isn't something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side. It is not a label we can display when it is useful. It must be central to everything we do and are."

"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:17

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 7:21

Being a Christian means whole-hearted commitment to serving and loving God first and following his commands, along with the willingness to give up everything in pursuit of a holy calling. God brings true peace, joy, purpose, hope, and satisfaction to those who seek Him with all their hearts.

I am nothing without the love of Christ. My prayer is to do the will of God...whatever the cost.

March Madness

Now it's time for...another Carnell update! (pretend theme song playing)

February seemed to come and go. All that's coming to mind right now is snow, snow, and more snow. Scott and I kept Valentine's Day low key with a lovely dinner out. Also, I finally used my gift certificate to the Red Door Spa. Scott has no idea what he started...speaking of which, I think I'm feeling a little cramp in my neck ;)
Well, I think the snow is gone for good. We are so ready for warmer weather. This week has been sunshiny in the low 60s- what a tease!

I have to give a shout-out to my cousins in Cali who gave birth to the most precious twins!! I just can't wait to meet them!!

At school, we have just a few weeks and then Spring Break! I'll be 3/4 of the way through the year...so hard to believe. My principal awarded me "First Year Teacher of the Year" which really means a lot since she knows how much I've been through with my class. At the end of Spring Break, Scott and I, along with some of our bestest buddies, will be heading to Huntington, WV to a friend's wedding. Road trip! I just love weddings!

Scottie is doing well and busy with work. I don't know how he can switch schedules all the time, but I admire him for handling it like a champ! He's been doing a lot of cooking lately which is SO nice. I love that he loves it! You can pretty much bet though, that whatever he makes will involve onions and peppers.

Scott is taking a week off work so he can get a tattoo. (Well, not just to get a tattoo, but he has tons of vacation time he needs to take or it will be gone in a few months and he figured while he's off, get a tattoo!) He's been wanting one for years. He laughs about me having more "tats" than him. Speaking of which, I got another one the other weekend. I had been wanting another one and thought about what I wanted for awhile and finally did it! Scott wants to get a sleeve eventually...we'll see. We are just straight up tattoo people...there's no denying it. I think that tattoos (when tastefully done) are beautiful expressions of art. I told my mom and sister that I'm a goody-goody with an edge. So hard core. lol

When Scott works all weekend, I take advantage of the time and spend it with the two most important women in my life! My mom, sister, and I have the best time together just hanging out and laughing til it hurts about one thing or another. I am so thankful for them and love them beyond words. I'm so proud of my sis for getting through her first semester of college! My lil bro is a busy worker and helping my dad with his house renos. I finally got to celebrate my grandmother's b-day this past weekend. (Mmmm, Baker's Crust- the crepes are yum-O!)

This weekend I'm thrilled to spend time with some of my girls that I don't get to see nearly enough these days! Scott has the weekend off and I'm just sooo looking forward to putting my feet up after a long week! :)

In case you don't hear from me for a couple weeks- Happy St. Patty's Day!!

Also, spend time, as the Easter season is upon us, to reflect and give thanks to God for the sacrifice of His son on the cross so that we can have life abundant and celebrate that He is RISEN!!

Snow Day

Yes, folks, I'm actually blogging again and it hasn't even been a whole week since the last post. I love the extra outlet for writing and having another way for our family and friends to check in on us (xoxo); however, I'm just not a huge blogger. I'll keep you posted a few times a month. I can only spend but so much time with my laptop!

Well, thanks to the snow, I've enjoyed a mini-vacation this week. The only day we had to report to school was on Thursday with a 2-hour delay. Scott has also gotten a couple days off as well due to the snow, so it's been a treat. I also can't fail to mention that LOST CAME BACK ON THIS WEEK! Ok, just a little excited about that. Anyways, the rest of the weekend plans: Richmond tomorrow evening for grandmother's birthday dinner, Sunday is church and a Super Bowl party. I think I'll be rooting for the Saints!

If you live in Richmond and don't have a church home, then you should check out Commonwealth Chapel (commonwealthchapel.com). It's an awesome place to worship. Most importantly, our pastor preaches the truth in a straight-forward, authentic way. Scott and I have grown a lot in our faith. We are a work-in-progress as our faith deepens, character builds, and our love for Jesus grows. I am thankful that we have a true sense of purpose, hope, peace, and joy in our lives due to salvation. It's amazing to see how God works!

Scott and I used to serve the church as greeters at the door and taking up offering, but now I'm on the nursery rotation. Gotta get more baby practice somewhere!

Okay- speaking of babies- funny story. The other week, my body was doing some funny things and I thought I was pregnant (!!!!!). Scott and I went through ALL the emotions - freaking out, scared, nervous, curious, happy, excited, thrilled! Well, we had ourselves so worked up that we ran out to the store (I think it was around 10 p.m.) and bought a pregnancy test. Well, all of our nerves calmed down when we only saw one pink line appear. Not pregnant. Took another test in the morning. Double not pregnant. For a few moments we actually thought we were going to be parents - insane, right?! After reality set it, we looked at each other and said - uhh, not yet. When the time does come and we start trying, we're not going to tell...it's going to be a surprise! :) In the mean time, I have 22 kiddos Monday through Friday as well as enjoying our friends' adorable little ones (that we can hand back over when they get stinky diapers).

Another winter wonderland:

One Year Anniversary

Scott and I headed to the mountains of Charlottesville to celebrate our big One Year. We stayed for a long weekend at the Boars Head Inn (boarsheadinn.com). It's similar to the hotel we stayed at on our wedding night with its vintage elegance, luxury, and charm (berkeleyhotel.com). We arrived at the inn mid-afternoon, settled in, and then enjoyed wine tasting with other couples retreating for the weekend. We had dinner reservations in the Old Mill Room at 6:30 so we got fancy and enjoyed a delicious meal by the fire. The rest of the weekend we visited Michie Tavern, enjoyed some other restaurants, explored, and went to see "The Book of Eli"- a great movie! We loved unwinding together all cozied-up in the mountains.
**********
Charlottesville still had some leftover snow from the first big snow fall this year. And speaking of snow, we got hit with 9.5 inches this weekend! Scott has the weekend off so it's been fun getting snowed in together and thankfully we didn't lose any power! Schools are closed for tomorrow, but I'll be busy getting report cards done. Exciting.

Enjoy some photos from our trip:


The Boars Head Inn



Michie Tavern - We ate the delish "Midday Fare" and then took a tour.


I pulled our wedding cake out of the freezer to thaw and when I unwrapped it, most of the icing stuck to the foil. After a whole year (plus a couple weeks) it was still yummy! I think I'll add a photo of the cake from our wedding day.
Random shots: I took these photos from our deck on two different mornings. Seriously, how can someone think God doesn't exist, when we're surrounded by so much beauty?

Ringing in the New Year

Happy New Year!
I think I say this every year, but it's hard to believe another one has passed.
Scott had to work on New Year's Eve; however, I did have the company of his parents to celebrate with...and by celebrating, I mean I went to bed before midnight because sleep seemed more important than trying to keep my dreary eyes open for the ball drop. It was great. And it was cozy.
The Saturday-after is when we celebrated party-style. We invited all our friends over for a night of food and games. I meant to snap a bunch of photos, but all I managed to get was one photo before all the guests arrived of Ben holding baby Jilli as awkwardly as possible. It was too darn funny not to - I don't know if the pic will do it justice. I also couldn't pass up putting a photo of the sweetest (and I mean sweet, dude) Christmas gift from Britt. I heart it. Here they are:
On Monday the 4th, it was back to the daily grind. It was tough getting into the swing of things after a two-week break, but somehow I managed. I know, rough life ;) Sooo...when's Spring Break?
My job is challenging, but I do love it...and not many people can say that. This job was one of 2009's blessings from heaven.
And speaking of blessings...how about our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY...tomorrow! I can't believe Scott and I have already been through our first married year. Wow. There's no better way to start off the year than getting to marry your best friend...and NOW getting to celebrate that momentous day! (Because I didn't want Scott to worry about taking this whole weekend off, we're celebrating next weekend when I have a Monday-holiday off from school and he has off. Perfect for a long weekend getaway. Can't wait!) The wedding was such a special time filled with overwhelming love and joy. The day could not have been more beautiful, elegant, or simply amazing. I'll spare you all the cheesy, romantic thoughts floating around my head when I think about our wedding day so I don't sound like a babbling fool drunk on love. However, I will leave you with the lyrics from our first dance as husband and wife :)

"Everything" by Michael Buble

You're a falling star, you're the get-away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.

And you play it coy but it's kinda cute.
Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend that you don't know it's true.
'cause you can see it when I look at you.

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

[Chorus]

So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah

So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la


Happy Anniversary, Babe :) You're my everything and I thank God for you everyday. I'm glad we get to grow old together. I love you.