Weekends....I Love You!

This weekend was so great! They always fly by so quickly but this weekend, we soaked up every minute. We rested and relaxed, stayed out late, and spent time with great friends. We actually acted like we were still young and not the old, do homework, lay on the couch and go to bed early folks!

On Friday night Brett had to work but afterwards we went to a late movie. We went to see Soul Surfer. It was so good and I highly recommend it! Saturday, we rested and then had plans to go and have lunch with my dear friend Katherine and her husband Blake. We never get to see them so it was so great to hang out and catch up on life and wedding plans!! After about three hours we headed home! I told you...we had lots of talking to do! :)

Love you sweet friend!

Last night, we went and spent time with some friends who we have just gotten to know this year. Corey and Maggie are new to Mobile since the fall. They invited us over to their beautiful home and cooked us a wonderful dinner! It was such a fun time of fellowship and we cannot wait to do it again! Thanks Corey and Maggie!

As for today, we didn't have church this morning. We are having a church service/picnic tonight at Camp Grace! It has been a relaxing day so far! Brett and I are ready to embrace this work week because as of Friday we begin SPRING BREAK! We cannot wait!! 

Hope you have soaked up your weekend just as we did!

13.1 and DONE!

It has come and gone. The weeks of training built up to this one day. In all honesty, there is not much to say. It went really well! I am so thankful that I did it and I am thankful that it is over. :) They say you catch this running bug while you do races like this....They say that it makes you want to do more after you do one. I can honestly say that during the race, I did not catch the bug. I was thinking...."Okay, way to go Laura! You completed your first and only half marathon." Now that it is over, I'll be surprised if I don't do another one! It feels so good to finish and I really would love to do it again........not tomorrow of course! :) 

Here are some pictures from the day....

 Sam....obviously pumped!

 Mangs and Pudge

 Downs and I

 And....we're off!

 Our cheering squad waited about halfway for all of us to pass.....Pudge in the lead!

 Here comes Sammy!

 The two beasts...

 Mangs and I....this is when I commented that this would be my last race. haha. I actually felt good at this point...

 Trained with him....but he is a stud.

 This boy literally didn't train. He ran our 10 mile run with us then a few days later went to London....got back on Friday and decided to run the half. Seriously? I obviously didn't get the running gene. haha.

 Colleen and LaJuan all done!!

 Coll and Jason

 Our turn to finish!! Feeling great right now! I have to give a HUGE thanks to my sister and best friend!!  Amy has been running for a while. This was her second race. She so didn't have to stay with me but she did the whole time. She has been such an encouragement through all the training and everything! So thankful for you Mangs!!

 All the runners and our cheering section!

Sammy and I after we finished. 

 So happy to be done!!

Oh, and I didn't get a picture with Brett cause he was taking all the pictures but he was a major encouragement through all of this too! 

Overall, this was such a fun experience. I kept thinking towards the end when I felt like I couldn't finish that I was so grateful that God has given me the ability to run because so many can't! He is so good! It was freezing and long and tiring and I am sore right now but I cannot wait to do another one.....eventually! :) 

"......and let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us!" -Hebrews 12:1

Traditions...Old and New

Happy Christmas Eve!! While it was not a "typical" Christmas Eve, it has certainly been a great one with a few traditions and some new ones.

The day started out with breakfast with Julie at Spot of Tea. We didn't decide that this would be a tradition but I think it should be. Christmas Eve breakfast every year at Spot of Tea? What do you think Jules? :) This is one precious friend I have and I am so thankful for her!

The day was kinda crazy but we ended with our Christmas Eve tradition. Waffle House. No, we are not normal! haha. Not quite the same this year cause we were missing a big chunk of our family! But, it happens and we will all be together THURSDAY!!! So excited!!

Our special friends....

Love that Waffle House....haha.

Also, I was playing around with my camera last night. I had seen this tutorial and have wanted to try it for a while. I thought it was so cool!

My pictures weren't perfect but then again I didn't really take my time when creating the covering for my lens...But, I thought they still turned out pretty sweet.

Little Christmas trees!

And a few more of our tree....

I have thought a lot about this time of year and although I have learned that Jesus was not REALLY born during this month, it is the time that we celebrate His birth. I am so thankful for my Savior and that He came to this horrible world out of obedience to His Father. He lived His entire life in obedience until death on the cross. He was born to die for me. I also think a lot about Mary during this time of year. How incredibly brave and obedient she was as well....

"But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.' 'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.......For nothing is impossible with God.' 'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said.'" -Luke 1:30-38

I cannot imagine hearing that. I think about all of the emotions she must have felt. I know she was probably excited and scared and was probably looked down upon by many around her. I hope that I am always obedient to what the Lord calls me to and never question Him because His ways are not my ways.

Now, to leave you with a little something adorable this Christmas Eve..

Sounds more like, "Happy Day Daisy...." but you get the idea! :)

Happy Christmas!

Cupcakes, Cookies, and Canadians

Yesterday, my Canadian sister came over and we spent the day in the kitchen. We talked and laughed and really only made two things! Whoops! 

I found the recipe for Hot Chocolate cupcakes here and had been wanting to make them. 

One tip....do not put too much batter in the cupcake liners. One pan was fine for me and the other, I put a little much and when I took them back out to put the marshmallows on them, they sunk in the middle just a bit. Oh well, live and learn. :)

Bring them out and sprinkle some marshmallows on top....

Put them back in for about 5-7 minutes or until they are slightly brown on the top!

This is what they should look like....if you want cuter pictures, go to the link that I had at the top for where I found the cupcakes. I have this issue where I cook/bake things that taste great but the presentation is not so fab. Again, live and learn. :)

Colleen had her own recipe for gingerbread cookies so that is what she made!

 I helped with this part! :) 

It was so much fun and we made a huge mess. I can get the gingerbread recipe too if anyone wants it! It was a process but they were wonderful! 

That's all I got tonight....P.S. I tried to post this once and ended up deleting the majority of the post....therefore, it is much shorter than it was. I'm tired and had no patience for rewriting the entire blog post. :) Sorry folks!

Mississippi Queen...

Tuesday was a good day. Brett finished finals and I had an interview. After that, we celebrated. We headed out to Jason an Colleen's in Mississippi for picture taking and lunch. We always have so much fun with them.

Hey there..

Colleen wanted me to take some pictures of them for Christmas/1 YEAR of marriage? haha. Jason insisted on her holding the gun in a few. She might kill me if she sees these. You have to understand...Colleen is from Canada and would have never in a million years dreamed that she would marry a southern boy and live in a BEAUTIFUL log cabin. I love it. God works in mysterious ways! :)

They are so cute!

So Brett and I got a couple taken too....

Love you sweet friend!! So glad the Lord brought you to Mobile!

Yesterday, Brett and I headed to Phenix City to spend time with his family. We kicked it off by decorating the tree last night and tonight we are going to the Fantasy in Lights in Callaway Gardens. I am so very excited!

P.S. 9 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!!!!! :)

Weekend Ramblings

Hello Folks! I only have time for a quick post but can I just say I certainly was happy to see this weekend come! I cannot believe that next week I will complete my final week of student teaching. It has seriously flown by and it is bittersweet to see it go. Yesterday we went on a field trip and my students saw the tall buildings in downtown Mobile and said, "Ms. Blackman! Look! It's New York City!" Bless their hearts. I am going to miss those first graders!

Anyways, I feel like I haven't mentioned this yet but I am training to run a half-marathon in January. Don't worry...I didn't just start. haha. I think I haven't mentioned it because I felt like I would change my mind, chicken out! :) But, I have not brought it out into the blog world so there is no turning back! I don't really have a set goal in mind for a finishing time...I just want to finish and I plan on doing just that. I am training alone for the most part but doing long runs with Jeff and Amy. Seven miles on Sunday....boo. Pray for me! haha.

Today has been so relaxing and just what I needed. I woke up early and went to spend some much needed time with Jules. Love, love, love spending time with her! We walked and talked and walked and talked and then did it again. After that we baked these. Mmm... Julie and I love to bake. Mostly, we love sweets and we always get a recipe and then change it when we bake together. haha. Either way...they were delicious!! If you want the recipe just ask. 

Now, I am sitting here with my confused boyfriend and we are watching the SEC championship. All I can say is, Go South Carolina, MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN. Just kidding....I really don't care who wins. I am content to sit here and not worry about school! What a great feeling. :)

Happy Weekend All!

Well...It's About Time!

I know! I know! It has been f.o.r.e.v.e.r! I feel like so much has happened since I last blogged! I am in the middle of student teaching and my 20 consecutive solo days! I am all by myself and honestly, it has not been terribly stressful but it has been a lot of work! Loads of lesson plans and preparation for my weeks=not much time for blogging! But, I am loving it and I am halfway done!! In two weeks a good bit of craziness will be over!

I was able to have a little fun last weekend! Brett bought me Carrie Underwood/Billy Currington tickets for my birthday and finally the day came when it was time to go to the concert! It was like a birthday present almost 3 months later and it was FABULOUS! We had such a fun time!

Oh Billy....He was wonderful!

She was beautiful and talented and so entertaining! She definitely busted out some....

"How Great Thou Art" in the middle of "Jesus Take the Wheel." Best part of the night probably.

I tried to upload a few videos but blogger is being weird.

Katherine, I took a video of Billy Currington singing, "I Got A Feelin'" just for you! Remember when we were obsessed with that song? Speaking of Katherine I have to give a huge Happy Birthday!! It was on Tuesday but I just have to say it on here!!

I know we have plenty of other pictures together from wayyyyyyy long ago but this was one from the beginning of college and I thought it was funny. Crazy to think we have been friends for like 12 years!

And....look how far we've come! P.S. This was the most recent picture I have of us. Over a year ago. This is sad and needs to change soon! :) Love you!

In other news....well, not much is going on. I have been struggling through plenty and learning so much. I think that God has really used this semester to teach me about the power of prayer which is so encouraging. He has also revealed a lot of sin in my life. We have also been going to a Bible study/Discussion group on Wednesday nights. We are doing the video series, The Truth Project. It is basically a series that discuss how we can have a biblical worldview. It has been great to be with the Estis' of course and we have also met some pretty great people! I have learned so much and been so encouraged!

Lastly, I will be celebrating 2 and a half years with this boy tomorrow....and by celebrating I mean saying...."Yay. 2 1/2 years!" :) haha. Either way....I am happy to be in this sweet relationship and I love this boy with all my heart!

I hope everyone has had a relaxing weekend!

Something to encourage you on your Monday....

"I see you there hanging on a tree. You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me. Now you are sitting on your heavenly throne...soon you will be coming home! You're beautiful! When we arrive at eternity's shore...where death is just a memory and tears are no more. We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring. Your bride will come together and we'll sing, You're beautiful!" -Phil Wickham

Loving this song right now. :)

Fairhope Tradtion.....Take 4

During our freshman year of college I met a new friend. Well, Julie and I were already friends and then Julie met Sarah and they became roommates. Sarah, Julie, and I pretty much instantly clicked. During that year we started some pretty great traditions. Among our traditions was a trip to Fairhope the weekend before spring semester finals. We would go and get dinner at Gambinos and then head to the Fairhope pier and take pictures. We kept this tradition up.....until this year. They were graduating and I was heading to Africa so somehow....we just didn't have time!

Well, Sarah has decided to move back to the place she called home for 11 years, Kazakhstan. So clearly this means we will not be together for a very long time. Sarah is going to teach 2nd grade at a school there which is so incredibly exciting. Those kids are getting an amazing teacher! The plan is for her to be there for 1 year which is sad but I love it because Sarah is so confident that this is where the Lord has her. I am excited for her! With that said, we got to spend the last weekend together. All three of us spent the night together on Friday night and on Saturday our Fairhope tradition continued for the final time.

We had a lot of fun but it was definitely our most interesting night in Fairhope. We headed over and we were so excited about Gambinos. Unfortunately......when we arrived, we discovered that it was changed. There was a whole new name and we were not happy. Haha. We drove around for about 20 minutes and then finally decided to give this old place with a new name a try. It was basically the same! After dinner we headed to the pier to see the sunset. It has been beautiful every year.....BUT........not this year. It was still a pretty night but unfortunately, no sunset. It was just too cloudy. Strike 2. :) After taking a walk, taking pictures, and getting in the fountain, it was time to head home. Then Sarah says, "Oh my gosh. I don't have my keys." Strike 3. Luckily, she knew they were in the car and I had AAA. After about 45 minutes of waiting and singing every disney song imaginable.....he arrived and helped us open her car. Victory. We were on our way.

The night was so much fun. These two girls have been such huge blessings in my life. The year that we lived together was one of my most fun and memorable college years. We all had so much fun together and I know we learned a lot. Then I had the privilege to live with Sarah again. Those two years were filled with so much joy, some tears, good times, hard times, singing and dancing, a lot of learning, TONS of LAUGHS, and million memories that I wouldn't trade for the world. Luckily, Jules isn't leaving me yet! I love you girls so so much!

Here is a picture from each year of our little tradition. I'd like to think we grew up a little but I don't think I've changed much! :)

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sorry....

Hello all! I know..it has been f.o.r.e.v.e.r. I am sorrrrryyy! The week after spring break kept me real busy but today was beautiful and a great end to a crazy week. For now, I will just update you on my spring break, which went by unbelievably fast by the way.

We started off the week in Panama City. It was fun but so so cold. We actually ended up coming home early from that little trip. Fail. But we still had fun!

The only actual day that I was able to be in the sun was that Friday. Oh well...

That last weekend before school started my dear friend Sarah came to Mobile for a wedding. We had so much fun. Sarah was my roommate for two years and has moved now to do her student teaching. I miss her dearly so I was thrilled! Two other friends came over, Brittany and Julie. You can just look at the next pictures and see that we had....lots of fun! It was so great to be with them.

Sweet Jules

Slumber party and of course...we painted nails.. :)

Love you B-Free!

Work it Sarah

That is a scarf on Julie's head....and it was so cute by the way...

Oh..Hey Sam...thanks for being the photographer on our group shots... :)

Typical.

Love. Love. Love. You Girls!

So all in all...a good spring break. I also did a little cooking that last weekend. I made baked ziti and a chocolate chip cheesecake. Both were pretty successful and so good. Just let me know if you want the recipes. I had pictures and was going to walk you through it but obviously time has just gotten away from me. So...let me know. I will try not to be such a blogging slacker this week.

Enjoy your weekend friends!

Spring Break? Is that you?

Yes. Spring Break is almost here. I pretty much consider it to already be here. I still have to go and teach my fourth graders tomorrow and I have to teach fifth graders for a bit on Friday..but....no more classes, no homework (at least for a few days), and no tests. Bliss. I plan to enjoy every minute of this break.

On Friday afternoon I will be leaving to go to Panama City Beach, FL and I am so so excited. Now, to most people...PCB is simply a beach...a nice vacation spot....a party place. But..to me, it is a city filled with probably some of the greatest memories I have ever had and definitely a place that I hold dear to my heart. I spent two entire summers in PCB. To most, this probably sounds wonderful and it was. Don't get me wrong. They were crazy, tough summers that stretched me and taught me so much. I think I have mentioned before that the reason I was there was for Summer Beach Project. It is a project through a ministry called Campus Outreach. I was encouraged to go my freshman year and then after my sophomore year it was simply a no-brainer that I would go back. Let me take you back and share some of the firsts that I experienced at SBP 2007 and 2008.

First of all...my luxurious home for both summers was....

Let me tell you...one room, 6 girls, one bathroom. Talk about a challenge! Plus....I mean....you can't see the room but just look at the name of this hotel...oh wait....I'm sorry, "MOTOR INN." Yes, this is where I stayed. I could stop here and give you a list of things I learned just through my living conditions. :) Don't get me wrong..a hotel with about 100 college students living in it was also unbelievably fun!

Secondly....I also had some pretty great jobs while I was there as well....

Summer of '07=Burger King Summer of '08=Chick-Fil-A

Busy? Challenging? Humbling? Absolutely. More fun than I could ever imagine a job being? Absolutely! I would not have changed where I worked for anything!!

I also had a couple of experiences that were simply fun.

In 2007 I was able to look into the future and see what I would look like in 50 years. :) Anndddd....in 2008 I became one of Jesus' disciples and grew a beard. Okay...just kidding but we had a lot of fun dressing up like this.

I learned to swing dance! Oh goodness...this is a skill that I will be forever grateful to have. Okay...actually...my swing skills pretty much can only be credited to this guy in the picture with me. Meet my dear friend, Caleb Bridges aka "King of Swing." He is a stud and makes me look good when I dance with him!

In the summer of 2008, in addition to growing in my relationship with the Lord I also began a relationships with this special guy and began to fall in love. Sorry...don't mean to be mushy but this was kinda a big part of this summer. I learned a lot about him and a lot from him. I watched the Lord stretch him and teach him so much that I know contributed to the man he is today and the man he will continue to become.

Mostly, these summers were filled with friendships that I will cherish forever. Seriously, I treasure the time that I spent working, talking, raging, LAUGHING, praying, and growing with each person.

^One of my closest friends thanks to SBP and South's group from 2007^

All I can say is WOW! Far too many memories were made with this girl. I love you Brynn!

^My roomies for the summer and my sweet discipleship group^

But above all other things...I grew in my relationship with the Lord. I learned to study God's Word in ways I never knew. I was fed so much Scripture and so much truth. I learned how to serve when it is tough. I learned how to have grace with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I was shaped and molded and stripped.

So as I said, Panama City Beach might be just a place to vacation for some...but to me...it is a place where I met so many friends, made countless memories, and a place where the Lord challenged me and I can't wait to go back for a few days! :)

This was long, tedious, and quite possibly uninteresting for some of you. Forgive me as I strolled down memory lane. Have a good spring break (those of you who get one!)