My Music Monday

Love this.
I Heard the Bells by Mercy Me

You HAVE to listen to the words... Such a great song. :)

Welcome, Baby Adler.

My best friend, Lauren had her baby boy the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Isn't he handsome? Thankfully, I was off for Thanksgiving break and was able to head to Little Rock as soon as I heard she was in labor. Unfortunately, the little guy was born THIRTY minutes before I got there! The good news is-- No one was allowed back until a while after I arrived, so I guess I didn't miss too much. I can't wait to head back up there to see him again. :)

Baby Fever... NAH!

I guess it's just because I'm at that age, but I feel like all of my friends are having or have babies. I am in my late 20's (not too far from 30-- EEK!), and babies are everywhere!

In just one week's time, I got to see some of my favorites!

1. My PRECIOUS PRECIOUS niece Luxiee: (I'm a baby bit partial!)

2. Madden, my college roommate Katie's little girl. She is SO cute!!!

3. Stella Jo-- My friend Faith's little girl. Just look at those eyes!!

4. MR. Tate Armstrong- My other college roommate's baby boy. We just met, but I am already crazy about the little fella!

AND, My BFF Lauren is due in only 5 days!!! I am so excited to take myself to Little Rock to meet the little guy. He is going to be SO handsome!

Yeah... And, I'm still not ready to start having kids. Thanks for asking, though. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Soul Satisfied

It has been a minute since I have blogged, and lots of things have been going on in the Houchin Household! Let me just catch you up!

1. Our sweet friends Jake and Chelsi got married. Aren't they CUTE?!

2. My best friend Lauren is only ONE month away from being a mommy. We threw a shower for her baby boy Adler. She really cleaned up, but still need so many things. It's crazy that babies can be SO small, but require SO much. :) I can't wait to meet the little guy and shower him with kisses. He's already spoiled rotten.

3. I have rekindled an old friendship. It's going to take a while to make up for lost time, but we have so much fun together, and I'm glad that we're friends again. :)

4. My dad just turned 52. Shh... Don't tell him I told you. Happy Birthday Dad!

5. My rockstar brother got a promotion... He's the youngest district manager in the history of his company!! WOO HOO BRUDDA! Not only is he bossing around his elders, he also got a B.A. Acura TL for a company car. Um, what happened to Chevy Malibus? So jealous, I mean PROUD of him. :)

6. My husband is awesome. Even though he works ALL the time.

7. We are buying a really old, bulky desk for his office-- Because Pinterest has inspired me to make it into something beautiful. I have been on this blog ALL day. I mean, when I wasn't teaching the youth of America, of course.

8. Don't tell Matt-- But I'm a little afraid that I will quit before my project (named above) is finished. It happened with the dining room table, and I think he's still not happy with me that he had to finish all 6 chairs. Oops. I can't help it-- Sometimes my imagination is more than my work ethic can handle.

9. I AM SUPER EXCITED because my friend, David Ramirez is playing in DALLAS next week!!! I don't care how tired I am, my bootay will be there. As I type this, I am listening to his new songs, drinking wine, and I might have cried a little a few minutes. This is something else I can't help... Music makes me sappy... Or is it the wine? In all honesty though, his music is BEAUTIFUL. You can listen to him here. I'm loving on his new stuff. L-O-V-I-N-G.

10. I'm going to pour another glass of wine. Goodnight all!

My Music Monday- A Day Late

I am DYING to share a new song! The youth music leader at our church sang this a few weeks ago. I set out on a mission to find out the name of the song because I just HAD to download it. Thanks to a wonderful student that goes to my church, I found it! Check it out!!

"Manifesto" by The City Harmonic

And, all of the people of God sing along, AMEN!!

Be Still

After a terrible week, I got some much-needed inspiration from a coworker... She said she found a verse that made her think of me.

"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
--Exodus 14:13-14

I have been struggling. I have been trying to change things that I have no control over. I have stressed, cried, and yelled. None of this has helped, so it is time to change my tactics.

I will BE STILL.

Happy Anniversary!

My hubby and I had the most wonderful weekend. In honor of our first anniversary, we spent the entire weekend in Fort Worth posted up in a hotel downtown.... We treated ourselves to much-needed massages, did a little shopping, ate at the yummiest restaurant for lunch, and went to one of our favorites for dinner. And even though we agreed to not spend much money on presents for one another (and instead, be able to spend more on our weekend), my sweet husband got me a necklace that looks al ot like this:

I haven't taken a pic of the real thing and this is the closest pic I can find. I love it. And I love my husband. Here's to 50+ more year. :)

Loving on Fall

I FINALLY got my house all ready for Fall! So what if it was 100 degrees today?!

Here are some of my fall favorites: Bath and Body Works candles are a must. My absolute favorite is Leaves. It is DELISH.

I love all things owl. My classroom is decorated in owls... I have found most of my little decorative owls at Marshalls. They have the best stuff, and it's cheap too!

I am SO lucky to have a mom that has such a knack at decorating... She made me a couple of fall wreaths that are beautiful!! I will take pics of them later to share!

I have several sets of decorative pumpkins. Love love love them. These are from Pottery Barn. I don't have them, but aren't they stinkin' cute?! I have found most of my pumpkins also at Marshalls. Best. Store. Ever.

And while these jars are hardly "fall," they are my newest purchase. My mom and I went to my Mother-in-law's best friends' store, Simply Everything, on Saturday and I couldn't not by these! Aren't they precious?! I put rice, beans and pasta in them. LOVE!

Just a side note, if you go to the Simply Everything website, you can see a few of our wedding pics, which brings me to my MOST favorite thing about Fall:

Our first anniversary is this Sunday, the 18th. I can't believe it's already been a year! My husband says he has something planned for the weekend, so I guess we'll see!

Happy FALL!

When the World Stopped Turning

Today, our pastor preached the most amazing sermon I've heard in my 26 1/2 years. He quoted Max Lucado by saying "Bin Laden wanted to bring America to its knees, and he did. He just didn't anticipate Who we would turn to when we got there." Incredible and true. Instead of America being pushed apart, we were pulled together.

I read another friend's account of her church today... Her preacher said "People want to know why God let 9/11 happen. They always want to blame Him, not satan. But consider this: the media hardly ever mentions Easter or Christmas. Today you'll hear God's name mentioned in almost every sentence. Church attendance across the nation will spike. Public prayer will take place in cities everywhere. The thousands that sacrificed their lives that day sparked millions to seek Him."

Today is the anniversary of the most horrific event imaginable... But the good news is- Our God promises hope. The good guys will win.

Tell Me Something Good

Friday, I had a horrible, no good, awful, cruddy cruddy day. I had my first altercation with a child. I tried to be reasonable, I tried to be compassionate, I tried to be empathetic. I failed. I could not reach an understanding with this child and he basically shut down on me. I had to make him leave my classroom. I try so hard to build strong, positive relationships with my kiddos, so the inability to level with the child (only two weeks into school) was a kick right to the gut. It ruined my day.

Friday afternoon, when I was walking out of the building, I ran across a coworker. Instead of asking "How was your day?" like most people do, she said "Tell me something good about your day."

My first thought was "Something GOOD?! Lady, you don't even want to hear about my day!" However, she forced me to think. She forced me to, in the midst of dark clouds, look for something bright. I will admit, I sat there for a minute, totally puzzled. I did come up with something positive... And that's how my day ended.

It's not how your day starts-- The anger, yelling, crying, disappointments, etc. It's more about how your day ends. I appreciate my coworker more than she knows. She challenged me. Lord knows I needed to be challenged.

Teach well.

If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.
-Romans 12:7

Great first day of school. I am going to be one busy and exhausted girl, but I really enjoyed meeting my new kids today. Even through the rough days this year, may I remember this verse. I choose to serve well. I choose to teach well.

Back to Back to School

Goodness gracious, this summer went by WAY too quickly. I started back to work this week! It was a pretty good week. Every year, our principal has us do a book study. This summer, we read an awesome book called "The Energy Bus." It was a great book and really put things into perspective on working with others (both coworkers and kids, in my case). I am going to try try try, even on my hardest day, to be the most positive person that I can be. After all, bad day or not, I am a blessed girl. :)

My favorite quote from the book--
"The goal is not to be better than anyone else, rather be better than you were yesterday."

That is my only hope... That I will become a better teacher and a better person each day.

Hurt Hand, Happy Heart

Well, I was in my classroom on Friday, working on getting my mess of a room together, when my mom called. She said "I am leaving work and heading to the hospital." I do not know about you, but I feel like these are some of the worst words you can hear. Before I can say a word she says, "Granny is coming to Baylor by ambulance (I'm thinking "AMBULANCE?! Why would she need an ambulance?!")... She was helping Grandpa pen cattle and hurt her hand." While this was nearly what I thought she'd say, I was still stuck on the ambulance part... I was picturing a completely mauled hand. WHY is it that we ALWAYS think the worst?

Anyway... It turns out that my grandma (who has penned cattle hundreds of times) had her hand wrapped around the gate, and my grandpa was backing the trailer up to the gate and her hand got caught between the two. Bam! Thank the good Lord that all she had was 2 large gashes and a cracked finger. She did have to have hand surgery and she is hurting a bit, but by-golly, she is a fighter. 3 heart attacks, 2 stints, 1 stroke, and a masectomy later, what is a little hand surgery? :)

So... After being with her Saturday morning and knowing that she was okay, I headed out with some new and old friends and had some serious food for my heart and soul.

Happy happy heart.

Dinner with an Old Friend, Part Deux

Had dinner with another old friend last night.

We agreed that tequila makes us sappy, and we vowed our love for one another. Okay, maybe not... But tequila did make us sappy, and we reminisced about the old days, and realized (thankfully) that nothing happened to our friendship... That life just got in the way. Not that it is any excuse, but people just grow in different directions sometimes, and after some tequila, we decided that it's nice to be growing in the same direction again.

It makes me happy.

The end.

Wordless Wednesday

Babies EVERYWHERE!

The last few weeks have been crazy with baby fever (NOT me, people... my friends)! First of all, my bff Lauren and her husband Dustin had a gender reveal party. IT'S a BOYYYYY! I cannot wait to meet Adler Michael Green-- Due to arrive in November. He is going to be spoiled rotten... I can already tell. (How cute is this cake, by the way?!)

This past Monday, my childhood friends Hillary and Clint welcomed not one, but TWO baby girls. Norah and Kendall Pace arrived a little early. When born, Kendall weighed 4lb 3oz and Norah weighed 4lb 13oz. They are now a little smaller, so they're in the hospital trying to gain weight. So far so good!!! Everyone is happy and healthy, they just need to be a little bigger before they can come home. This is Norah!

And this is Kendall. They are super precious, but you can already tell them apart. I am in love!

And this sweet baby girl is my friend Faith's 2 month old, Stella Jo. She is absolutely PRECIOUS. I am in love with her too.

BABY FEVER IS EVERYWHERE (Just not here, yet). All in due time. :)

2 Years

It's been two years today.
The hurt is still there, but it sure does feel good to know he's in Heaven.

That's what we focus on.

Dinner with an Old Friend.

Beware-- I'm afraid this post may be a little sappy, honest, and maybe even a little emotional. I have not written in a while and my sudden inspiration is made obvious by my title. Tonight, I had dinner with an old friend.

I have been experiencing some deep-seeded emotions about friendships lately. I honestly do not know what brought this on, but nonetheless, I have been evaluating the strength and purpose of each of my friendships. Right or wrong, it is time that I make some changes. It is no secret that I have struggled with friendships in the past-- You can read about the realizations I made about my friendships during and after my wedding here. I have recently; however, starting making decisions about them. If I have a "friend" that makes me sad, that hurts my feelings, or that flat does not make me better, I am out. I am done. I am not burning bridges (as I have also written about before), I am just moving on. I have been spending a lot of time thinking about this, and I feel that if I want to grow and become the person I am to be, I have to let these people go. It is time.

On another side of this situation-- I have started looking at old friendships that have kind of just "fizzled" out. I have decided to spend some time rekindling (in a sense) these relationships. Don't get me wrong, I am not under the assumption that I will be the best of friends with every single person I have ever had a close relationship with... However, I would like to catch up with these people and at least start keeping touch with them again. I am working on it. I started tonight... And believe you me, it was a great feeling to spend time with someone I have known since I was probably 12 years old. I am happy.

I hope that I do not sound too harsh on either accounts, but the bottom line is this-- I will spend my time and energy on people that make me happy and I will pull myself away from those who don't.

End of story.

Catch up!!

So much has happened in the past month. Things have been CRAZY around here.

-My parents found a house!

-We celebrated Mother's Day

-My mom interviewed for a counseling job in the area (keep her in your prayers)!

-My mother-in-law had a bday.

-We had a graduation party for my Peepaw-- Long story, but he'd never had one, so we threw one for him!

-We had field day at school!
-I became the Math Department Head! YAY me!
-My grandma had a masectomy. Praise the Lord that she is doing well! We're still waiting for her results from her lymph nodes, but we're hopeful that they got it all!

Here are some pics from the past month!

2 Things...

Happened yesterday that made. my. week. Period.

1. I got to hear my bff's baby's heartbeat. I got choked up. It really might be the most beautiful sound in the world. Seriously.

2. My dad got a job in DALLLLLLAS! This means one thing-- My parents are moving HOME! I am SO excited.

I will leave you with some pics from the past weekend. Easter is right up there with Christmas in my book. I love the reassurance that comes from knowing that I get to go to Heaven one day.

At church Sunday, we sang "Glorious Day" by Casting Crowns. It really does encompass the promise that God has made to us.

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain

One day they nailed Him to die on a tree

Suffering anguish, despised and rejected

Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He

Hands that held nations

Stretched out on a tree

And took the nails for me

Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me

Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising, He justified, freely forever

One day He's coming

Oh glorious day

Oh glorious day.

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer

One day the stone rolled away from the door

Then He arose, over death He had conquered

Now He's ascended, my Lord evermore

Death could not hold Him

The grave could not keep Him from rising again

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me

Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising, He justified, freely forever

One day He's coming

Oh glorious day

Oh glorious day

What a glorious day indeed. :)

Spring

Well, other than the horrendous storms that Spring has to bring, I really do love this time of year. My mom and I went to First Monday in Canton last weekend and bought lots of new plants. They are SO pretty!

Do You Ever Just Have a Day...

Where all of the bad things you've done in your life sneak up on you and bash you over the head? Me neither. :) Seriously though... I like to think I'm a "good" person (I put good in quotation marks only because who's to say what good actually is?!), I really do. However, just like any other person on this entire planet, I have made some ugly, nasty mistakes. I have hurt, wronged, crushed, disappointed, lied to, and broken people I truly cared about. And sometimes, when I least expect them (even when life is nothing short of grand), these mistakes come crashing into my awareness... I wonder how on earth God is able to forgive me. I wonder WHY God is willing to forgive me. And I beat myself up because the truth is, I have been unable to forgive me. Then, I realize that I am human and this is part of who I am. I am this beautiful disaster who is still not exactly who she wants to be. Even more, I realize that God isn't human... He is this wonderfully infinite, all-knowing and all-loving being, and He has this unbelievable ability to wipe my slate clean each day. I thank Him for that. And my mistakes fall away again.

My Music Monday

Today, I'd like to tell you about my sweet sweet friend, David Ramirez. We met about 6 years ago at DBU. Don't know what it is about him, but I was captivated by him from Day 1. He's this incredibly beautiful, artistic, free soul and I am blessed to call him my friend. He has been making music since long before we met, and he is so talented. He just came out with a new EP and you can listen to it here... If you'd like my opinion, my two all-time favorite songs of his are on the Birmingham CD (you can find it on this website as well). They are "I Could Start Fires" and "Deal Me In." They're beautiful, and they make me smile. I'm so proud of my friend. GO LISTEN! He'll change your life. I promise.

I'm an AUNT!

My sister-in-law, Lindsay, had her baby girl Luxiee this past Thursday. She is absolutely perfect. We are so in love. :)