Day 46

Please do not have a heart attack, but you are reading this correctly. I actually am going to write my blog TWO days in a row!!

Today I am thankful for:

• Rich making me a delicious dinner!
• Being able to sleep in today. I was so sick when I woke up that I decided just to go back to bed and leave the laundry until tomorrow! It felt wonderful.
• Having a day to do absolutely nothing but rest (and throw up a few times).
• Throwing up... yea, you read that correctly. I have been viciously ill with this pregnancy, but I'm so thankful to be pregnant that I don't mind it. We have prayed for this baby for a long time and have already had a stressful pregnancy with doctor reports. I'm just so thankful to be a mommy right now!
• White bread!! I haven't eaten white bread in about 10 years. It has been the only thing that I have been able to hold down though. I'm trying to eat as much as I can because I have LOST 4 pounds so far from being so sick. Nothing really sounds too good (except for my mom or Rich's cooking). I can't handle the cooking. By the time I get it finished, I'm sick from the smell.
• Rich watching American Idol with me and us just sitting on the living room floor and eating our dinner on the coffee table. We are trying to make the most of the last months of it being just us:)
• A healthy baby and delivery!

Day 45

At least I'm still doing it once a week, right? haha... I don't know what has gotten into me. I haven't been getting on the computer as much as I used to:(

Today I am thankful for:

• Going to our ultrasound appointment and our baby having a strong, healthy heartbeat (158). We were very nervous going in because I had starting clotting/spotting. I was so upset because I was in a lot of pain last night. Turns out that I have placenta previa. Please pray that the placenta "migrates" with the uterous as the uterous grows. We are so thankful that our baby is still healthy and strong!
• My mom making us meatloaf, mashed potatoes, beans, and hot water cornbread for dinner at their house. It was SO good!
• Spring Break! It was wonderful to get to sleep in this morning and just lay around.
• Rich taking the day off today so that we could spend some time together. I was so thankful to have him to lean on this morning when I was a wreck.
• My car starting. I got a new car, and the day after I got it the starter froze up on it. It finally started today!
• Rich cleaning the kitchen for me so that I could put my feet up.
• A healthy baby and safe delivery.

Day 44

So obviously I am getting worse at remembering to do my blog. I don't think the pregnancy brain is helping. I'm just going to do it when I can and when I can't, I'm not going to worry about it. I will get a full year in, but it may take me two years to do it:(

Today I am thankful for:

• Getting to hear our baby's heartbeat yesterday, and our gestational sac being fine!!!
• Getting a new car tomorrow!!!
• Being surrounded by prayer warriors and people that are so excited about this baby.
• A husband that goes to every doctors appointment with me and that won't miss an ultrasound. He is already a wonderful father!
• Coach Calipari getting hired as UK's new basketball coach (that one is for you baby)!
• Being almost half way through with the first trimester (the most nerve racking trimester of all).
• A healthy baby!

Day 43

Obviously I haven't kept up with my blog in the last few days:( I needed a break from the technology world so I haven't gotten on facebook or blogged since Monday. I just needed to take some time to pray in my spare time. Ok enough excuses huh?

Today I am thankful for:

• My dad driving me to Smithville so that I could spend the night with my grandmother and get my hair done the next day by my aunt. It has been a rough week, and I just needed to get away for a night! Thank you Lord for a peaceful place to get away to.
• Still being pregnant. I am going to post what all is going on for the simple fact that WE NEED YOU PRAYING! We went on Tuesday for a four and a half week ultrasound and evidently our gestational sac is forming like they would like for it to be. Please pray for us! We go back Tuesday and I would like nothing more than for them to tell us that everything looks "perfect" and that our baby is doing wonderful! I pray that we get to hear our little baby's heart beating away in there!
• Sundance last night. It is a restaurant in Smithville, and it was SO good!
• My husband taking me to Opry Mills to look around and to take me to a movie.
• Getting a kitchen table for $100. Our neighbors just got a new one and were selling their old one!
• Bentley turning ONE!
• A healthy baby!

Day 42

Today I am thankful for:

• Our doctor's nurse calling us at 8:08 this morning to let me know that our blood results are completely normal. I am going in for a four week ultrasound tomorrow at 12:30 so please pray for us! I am very anxious about the ultrasound! Thank you Lord for our strong Beta levels!
• My husband taking care of me tonight! My headaches have been TERRIBLE since Saturday morning. I don't know if it is from me cutting out the caffeine or the rising HCG levels, but it's bad. Rich was a trooper though. He made me soup while the KY game was on which is a BIG deal!!!
• Rich cleaning up the kitchen for me without me even having to ask. He has no idea how much this helps even though I tell him, but it allowed me time to just take a nap and try to sleep off the headache.
• Rich bringing me lunch at school today because I forgot mine (can you tell how thankful I am for my husband?).
• Being able to tell my students that I am pregnant! They all wanted to name the baby and was wondering where the baby was. I told them that the baby was in my belly and that they would get to see the baby grow bigger and bigger. They were SO excited! Everywhere we went for the rest of the day they would stop people and say, "OUR TEACHERS HAVING A BABY!"
• Getting to take a two hour nap after work!
• A healthy baby!

Day 41

Today I am thankful for:

• FINDING OUT THAT WE ARE PREGNANT!!! That's right, I am 4 and a half weeks right now! God has done a complete miracle in us, and we are giving Him all of the Glory for this! I will still thank God every day for a healthy baby at the end of my blog, but now I am actually pregnant! I did that before because I knew that having COMPLETE Faith was thanking God in advance for the things that you KNOW He is going to do. I knew He would bless us with a baby so I thanked Him for it every day for 40 days! Faith is knowing that God will take care of something even when it just doesn't seem like it's going to happen. Thank you Lord for the Miracle inside of my belly!
• Getting 7 FREE pair of maternity pants from one of our neighbors. I needed dress clothes for work (no I'm not out of my clothes yet, but I just didnt' want to have to spend a fortune on maternity clothes). She gave me TONS of pants, and my friend Megan is bringing me a whole tub of dresses and shirts!!! Thank you Lord for this blessing!
• A good report tomorrow! We get our blood test results back tomorrow so PLEASE pray for us. We are obviously very nervous with this pregnancy.
• Getting to go over to mom and dad's this afternoon for lunch! It was SO good!
• Poppyseed Chicken Casserole. It is such a great comfort food, and I was craving it!
• Getting to take a long walk with Rich and Bentley around the neighborhood.
• Getting to see the two little boys (5 and 7) that live behind us lead worship today in church. They were awesome!! It was such a blessing to see them and to see Clay and Trish worshiping. I'm so thankful that they are at our church now.
• A healthy baby!

Day 40

Today I am thankful for:

• Doing this blog for 40 days!!! Wow, I can't believe I have actually kept this up. I can honestly say that I truly have began "looking" for the good things that happen in my day so that I will remember to put them on here.
• The dog park at Moss Wright. I enjoyed taking Bentley to the park with Rich.
• A lazy day. I did get some laundry done today, our kitchen cleaned, and our bedroom picked up. Other than taking a long walk in the park, we have just been piled up in the bed. It has been a great day!
• Our grill. I can't wait to have our filets, shrimp, and grilled lettuce tonight!
• Crunchy Raison Bran Cereal with a fresh cut up banana. I even ate it in the bed this morning!
• Staying up late last night by myself and getting to watch a bunch of my shows!
• A healthy baby!

Day39

Today I am thankful for:

• My doctor's office getting me in today.
• Rich getting to play golf. We are trying to not spend too much with the recession and all, but I'm so thankful that Rich got to get out and enjoy some golf in this beautiful weather. I look forward to the day that I can go shop and he can golf at least once a month.
• My friend Megan that lives across the street. She came racing over today to enjoy some time together and brought me some books to enjoy.
• My friends in general. I have the most supportive friends that anyone could ask for. I'm so thankful for the women that surround me.
• Getting a hair appointment set with m aunt for next Saturday. I'll get to spend the night with mawmaw too!
• Getting all of our tests finished today at school. We had a lot to do because we just finished up another unit.
• A healthy baby (or two).

Day 37 & 38

Today (and yesterday) I am thankful for:

• A prayer request being answered!!!! I'll go into details soon:)
• Getting to watch an awesome movie with Rich.
• American Idol/Danny and Anoop Dog not getting kicked off.
• Getting my living room, dining room, and kitchen cleaned!
• Rich grilling Cedar Plank Salmon, asparagus, and lettuce for me. YUMMY!
• God keeping money in our account so we are always fed and our bills are always paid. Thank you Lord for your financial blessings.
• Having a night with NOTHING to do but hang out with Rich and Bentley.
• Getting to sit with Megan at Wireless last night and hold Lilly.
• Our plants starting to bloom. They are beautiful!
• It being a beautiful day outside today.
• Movie day at Recess for 30 minutes. It gave me an extra 30 minutes to get my lesson plans finished for next week.
• Jeans day today! I had a FREE jeans pass for showing up to all of the PTO meetings. I love wearing jeans to work. Every Friday is "jeans day" for teachers so I will get to wear them again tomorrow!
• Getting my bulletin board switched from winter to spring!
• A healthy baby (or two).

Day 36

Today I am thankful for:

• Getting my letter to the county written requesting to go to part-time.
• Being able to go out to dinner tonight at Chop House with all of my friends from high school for Bethany's birthday. I can't wait for some girl time, and I really miss my friends!
• Getting everything finished for St. Patty's Day with my students. We had lime sherbert punch with green whip cream and green sprinkles for our drink, a green cookie, AND a leprauchan (sp?) came to our classroom while we were at lunch and dumped all of our chairs on the floor, sprinkled gold glitter everywhere, and threw our papers ALL OVER!
• St. Patrick's Day!!! I love this holiday!
• Outside Recess!
• Rich bringing me my punch bowl and spoon to work because I forgot it at home. Thanks Rich!
• A healthy baby.

Day 35

Today I am thankful for:

• Going on the "no eating out challenge" with Rich to see how much money we could save.
• Being able to completely stock up at the grocery store with everything that we will need for the next 7 days!
• Having enough time to take Bentley for a long walk.
• Getting my kitchen cleaned up and washing a load of laundry and enjoying the nice spring weather with my windows up throughout the house!
• Turkey meat tacos with low-carb wraps, fresh cilantro, lime, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, low-fat sour cream, salsa, and of course Mexican cheese!! It was a goooood, slightly healthy dinner.
• A new episode of Gossip Girl that we got to watch while we enjoyed our taco night.
• Going to the gym with Rich. I'm finally back in there!
• A healthy baby.

Day 34

Today I am thankful for:

• A great service this morning and God giving Rich and I a message that was in His perfect timing.
• Rich still having a job. So many people are getting laid off, but Rich and I BOTH still have full-time jobs and our bills are paid!
• Our neighbors bringing over homemade chicken noodle soup since I have been so sick. They are precious! I'm so thankful for Clay and Trish and for having neighbors to borrow milk or sugar from!
• Both of our cars running and not having any issues with them. Sometimes I forget to thank God for all of the blessings that are right beneath my eyes. At any time a car could break down and cost us thousands of dollars. Thank you Lord for keeping our cars running.
• Getting to go out to eat this past weekend. I have to admit that I have completely taken forgranted being able to go out to eat whenever I want. With the economy and all, we have tried to cut WAY back on eating out so much. It has made me so thankful for the times that we do get to go out to eat!
• Watching TV. Thank you Lord for cable!
• A healthy baby!

Day 32 & 33

Today (and yesterday) I am thankful for:

• My husband singing "Love Song" by 311 to me last night at Talents. He is precious and even dedicated it to me when he finished at the end.
• Getting to go the the Wireless Karaoke night last night.
• A date night after Talents with Rich. We went out to O'Charleys because we had a gift card. It was wonderful except for the part where I got miserably sick on the way home. We were on all of the windy, country roads coming home from White House and I had a headache that hurt so bad that it made me natious.
• Not having any students yesterday! I love my students, but I got so much finished yesterday without them there.
• Getting to eat with Dad yesterday during my hour lunch break.
• Having an hour lunch break yesterday. I usually only have 25 minutes to cram in my food!
• Sleeping in this morning with Rich!
• Going out to Chili's with Rich today for lunch.
• Taking a LONG nap with Rich and Bentley today. I needed it so bad from being so sick. It was nice to have Rich join me!
• A husband that holds me when we sleep. He is so affectionate and always makes me feel so loved.
• My camera! I got so many great pictures last night.
• Getting to take a nap yesterday when I got home. I usually come straight home from work and clean and cook until Rich gets home. I have been so sick that I just came in yesterday, changing into my pajamas, and took a two hour nap before getting ready to go out last night!
• Getting to go work out today.
• A healthy baby!

Day 31

Today I am thankful for:

• Getting to go to the doctor today. That's right! Some people do not have health insurance and can't go to the doctor when they are sick. I am so thankful that I am able to walk into a doctors office when I do not feel good to get medicine that will help me (well, let's hope that it helps this time).
• The beautiful snow today. I love watching it snow. I even bundled up my students and let them do a "snow dance" outside of my classroom door in the snow for 60 seconds each. They were adorable! I told them that if they do a "snow dance" that it would snow more. Let me just say that they DANCED out there! I'm not gonna lie, I even did a little jig.
• Crockpots... need I say more? They make cooking so much easier and more time efficient. Our pork tenderloin smells so good. Mashed potatoes and peas are the sides. We are splurging a little bit with our diets:(
• Our new sleeping bag that we got aboout a month ago. I haven't felt good at all the past two days so when I got home today I got in the sleeping bag and watched lots of shows. It was wonderful.
• The SEC basketball tournament. It is giving us our "sports fix" for a little bit and mentally preparing us for March Madness baby! Rich and I always do brackets and make bets. I have won the last two years!
• Favor! I had a meeting with my principal on Tuesday to go over all of my evaluation paperwork and to sign everything. First of all I got great scores on everything and wonderful feedback. The only thing she said in any way that was a "way for me to improve" was to update my website for my classroom. I had SLACKED and had not updated it since Thanksgiving! I told her that I would do it Wednesday during my planning time and finished it yesterday. Today I got a note in my box along with the other 8 teachers that keep their webpages updated that we get two hours to just work in our classrooms tomorrow instead of having to sit through the technology inservice!! I'm so thankful that I updated my webpage yesterday!!! God's little way of taking care of me. Thank you Lord!
• A healthy baby (or two).

Day 29 & 30

Today I am thankful for:

• Long planning periods. I got an hour and 40 minutes yesterday and today to do basically nothing. I'm caught up for the next who knows how long so now my planning periods consist of relaxing and looking up recipes. Oh and doing budgets for Rich and I. Oh the life of a teacher! It is not this laid back in the fall though.
• Getting to take a long bath today.
• A healthy, easy dinner. I made grilled chicken salad. The chicken was left over from the other night when we grilled, and I just came home and cut it up, added some fresh bacon, egg, and homemade ranch and voila... dinner is served!
• Getting to go to church tonight. I had to miss last Wednesday, but got to go tonight.
• Keeping up with this blog for 30 days now. I have missed some days, but I have made it average out to 7 things that I am thankful for everyday! There is a good feeling you get when you keep a committment to yourself.
• Catching up on some shows after work. I only got to watch a few, but I'm glad that I got to lower our DVR percentage.
• DVR-I am so spoiled by it.
• Getting to watch American Idol yesterday and today and none of my favorites getting voted off. I seriously look forward to American Idol all day long. I know that is sick!
• Getting to see my dad yesterday and hanging out with him for a while.
• Splurges at Las Maracas. I broke my diet last night and ate some Mexican! It was wonderful and worth every bite. I grew up eating Mexican with my dad about once a week and sometimes twice. I had not had Mexican in two weeks. I was CRAVING it.
• The excitement of maybe not having school tomorrow or at least getting out early. We may not get anything, but there is still a wonderful excitement anytime they even forcast anything related to snow for us teachers!
• My hearing. My ears have been clogged up from being so sick and I'm so thankful that usually I can hear everything. I take it forgranted that I am able to listen to the people on TV or my husband talking to me.
• Going for a long walk with Rich and Bentley last night.
• A healthy baby!

Day 28

Today I am thankful for:

• My class being well-behaved. Let's just say that last week was not a good week for behavior in Mrs. Hall's class.
• Going for a long walk with Rich and Bentley
• Getting two loads of laundry finished, getting our kitchen clean, and getting everything from Walmart that we needed.
• Our weeping cherry tree starting to bloom.
• Spring. I love spring and fall. Fall is my favorite season, but spring comes in right behind it.
• Getting everything caught up at work. I file EVERYTHING (all the papers that two of my students do, a copy of everything that the class does so that I will have it for next year, anything from faculty meetings or evaluations, any letter I send to parents, etc) and had aquired quite a stack of stuff to file that I finally got finished today. It piled up when I was out with the surgery and all.
• A healthy baby.

Day 26 & 27

I know that this is kinda cheating, but I COMPLETELY forgot to do my thankfulness blog yesterday. I was too busy outside enjoying the beautiful weather! So I'm gonna combine day 26 and 27 and just make sure to include 14 things that I am thankful for.

Today I am thankful for:

• Getting up this morning and going to church. It really makes your entire week go better if you just get up and go. I had to miss the leadership meeting last Tuesday and service on Wednesday so I felt completely out of the loop. I'm so thankful that I got to go this morning.
• Feeling a thousand times better than I have felt in over a week. I'm still not completely in the clear. I still have a terrible cough, and my chest still burns like crazy when I cough, but I am so thankful that I can at least breathe!
• Sleeping in Saturday morning until 10! Ahh it was wonderful.
• Re-mulching our landscape yesterday. It looks SO good. I love our landscape right after it is freshly mulched.
• Taking Bentley all the way around our entire neighborhood on a walk yesterday with Rich. Wonderful bonding with the hubby and dog.
• Getting to eat at Red Lobster today with mawmaw, Aunt Gail, Mom, Dad, Rich, Justin, and Christy. I'm so glad that I got a chance to see mawmaw and Aunt Gail!
• Going to Centennial Park today for the entire afternoon. We didn't leave until 7:00. We took Bentley to the dog park there, then we walked the entire park. It was nice to get in our exercise for the day AND enjoy God's beauty. We had such a romantic walk by the big pond and by the parthenon. It was wonderful.
• Taco night! An easy/healthy dinner. I substitute lots of the items to make it healthy, but they are still awesome. I use turkey meat instead of ground beef and low-carb wraps instead of the other types of wraps. Rich loves taco night.
• Rich hanging the "H monogrammed shadow box" above our kitchen sink and a shelf that I picked up to go underneath it. I love it, and he did such a great job hanging all of it for me.
• Having a simple night and watching the last episode of LOST that we have (we have to mail it in to Netflix and get the next disc) and eating tacos on our living room floor together.
• Having a TV and dvd player in our room. We are about to crawl in our bed and watch the first episode of "How I Met Your Mother." We had planned on watching it earlier in the week, and I think I fell asleep.
• Having a husband that is BY FAR the spiritual leader in our home. He is constantly encouraging me to read the Word and sincerely LOVES going to church. I'm always trying to drag him out of there because he is always visiting and cutting up with his friends, but I'm so blessed to be married to such a Godly man. Not many women are this lucky, and I'm so thankful for him!
• Grilling out last night and sitting with Rich on the swing and listening to our ihome outside for a while. It was so peaceful out there, and I loved getting to just kick back and smell the awesome smell of charcoal burning while Rich made me an awesome meal.
• A healthy baby.

Day 25

Today I am thankful for:

• My treat day! I am giving myself one meal a week to "treat" myself to on this diet. I chose to go to Chef's Market on my way home from running lots of errands and got their hot chicken salad, steamed veggies, and PASTA!! I loved it, but couldn't eat as much of it as I had hoped to be able to eat.
• Getting a pair of jeans altered (they were a little long, but perfect everywhere else). Christy GAVE me a pair of Guess jeans that I loved a while ago, and I finally had a chance to take them to get them altered. I have needed a pair of jeans for a while and I'm so thankful that I didn't have to buy them! Thank you Christy!
• Getting all of my errands ran and making it home by 4:15! I had to run to Hendersonville, get the jeans tried on for my alteration girl, go to two banks, and ran by Chef's Market!
• Having a chance to take Bentley on a walk.
• This past week at work finally being OVER! It has been the worst week so far since I started first grade.
• 70 degree weather. Enough said.
• A healthy baby.

Day 24

Today I am thankful for:

• Feeling a little bit better today. I am still by all means not in the clear, but there are parts of the day that I can at least half way breathe through my nose. My stomach is not taking so well to the meds though. Lets just say that the small amounts of food (I have no appetite) that I am eating are not staying in for long.
• Getting to go to Kroger today after work. I stocked up so that I could rest this weekend and not have to move. I got lots of stuff that Rich can grill for me so that I won't even have to cook! I know this is my OCD kicking in, but everytime I go to the grocery store, I clean out my fridge. Today we had no room in our freezer so I cleaned it out too. Since I keep things cleaned out almost on a weekly basis, it only took me about 10 minutes.
• Getting two batches of brownies made for my first graders! Let me explain. I would have NEVER been cooking feeling the way I feel had it not have been a mandatory thing! At the beginning of the year, you could hear my class coming from a mile away. I would make them pull cards left and right and for whatever reason they were TERRIBLE in the hallway. I had to think of something because it was SO embarrasing! They were angels in the classroom, but I think they just got so excited when they knew they were getting to go outside or to lunch that they just feel apart. So we started a "compliment party" reward system. Everytime they got a compliment, I would add a letter to the board for whatever type of party we were having. So for brownies they had to get 8 compliments! Within a week of the school year starting, they looked like they were marching in the military. They all walked with their hands behind their backs, mouths closed, eyes towards the front, etc. We have a party about once a month for this so it's kinda a lot of cooking, but it is SO worth it. They get compliments all the time. Well they got their last letter last Friday, and I promised them that if they got it before the end of February that I would add icecream, hot fudge, whip cream, and cherries to the party. We always do the party the following Friday so this is why I had to make two batches of brownies flu and all.
• A home-cooked meal. Since I've been sick since last Friday night, I haven't really cooked at all. I decided since I had to do the brownies that I might as well do dinner. We had salad (with home-made ranch, boiled egg, and I even fried up bacon), whole wheat no egg yolk pasta with my meat sauce ( I made it from turkey meat though because we are trying to loose weight). It was GOOD! I got sick half way through eating though and couldn't finish mine. I'm just thankful that I was able to cook something for my hubby!
• American Idol allowing there to be a Top 13 instead of Top 12. Anoop Dog is in!!! It was precious to see him so excited. He isn't the best singer in the world, but for some reason my heart goes out to him.
• Having a year to the gym PAID FOR! We asked for it for Christmas from our folks so we can go to the gym anytime we want between now and January 1, 1010! I haven't been as much as I would like, but Rich is there now. I'm glad that he is getting some time to listen to the ipod I got him and have some time for himself working out.
• A healthy baby.

Day 23

Today I am thankful for:

- Being able to sign into my blog at school!!! No, I am not going to do my blog while the students are in here. I do it during my lunch break! For some reason I do not have the option to add bullets though. Dashes will have to do.

- Loosing 3 pounds since Sunday!!! I guess eating healthy since then has made a difference. Only 12 more to go!

- A lunch break at work. It may only be 25 minutes, but it is 25 minutes that I get to sit and relax.

- Feeling a little better today after getting in a dose of the Zpack.

- New shoes to wear to work today.

- Getting to go to Wireless tonight.

- A healthy baby!

Day 22

Today I am thankful for:

• A great boss that came to my room today to check on me because she heard that I was sick. She allowed me to not have to use ANY of my sick time and just leave during my planning time to run to the doctor.
• Not having to do anything after work but sleep. I am doing everything I can to not have to take off of a day of work, but I am SO SICK right now.
• Having enough money to pay for $85 worth of prescriptions. Apparently they do not have the cough medicine in a generic yet. I am now on an inhalor (to help me breathe because of the fluid in my lungs), cough medicine, and a Z pack. I'm pretty much on the verge of pnemonia so please pray. On a side note, I realize that there are tons of mispelled words in this blog. The cough medicine has made me a little "out of it."
• Rich making it to the leadership meeting tonight at church so that I would not have to go. I'm glad that he could fill me in on everything.
• Finding an incredible book that I LOVE reading. It is "If You Were God Would You Choose You." Shelayne is having a women's bible study on it, and I can't make it on Tuesdays because of our PTO meetings. I ordered the book anyways just in case I would be able to make it a few times. I am SO thankful that I ordered it. I read the first chapter last night and couldn't wait to get home to read a little more. I have missed reading for me vs college or first graders.
• Eating healthy for TWO DAYS in a row. I usually will eat healthy one day and really bad the next. Hopefully I'm on a roll though because I would really like to loose these 15 lbs.
• A healthy baby.

Day 21

Today I am thankful for:

• Dr. Seuss' Birthday!
• News Channel 5 coming to our school.
• Medicine. I am so thankful to live in a time when we can go to the doctor and get medicine to help us feel better. I can't imagine not having medicine to help me right now.
• Health insurance. One of the many things that we take forgranted every day. This is one of those things that you don't really realize what you have until it is gone. I'm thankful that I can go to a doctor tomorrow and hopefully get medicine that I can afford because of our health insurance and start feeling better. All of this for (at the most) $20. That is something to be thankful for!
• Being able to stretch out on the coach in our new sleeping bag and watch TV until I fell asleep today. I'm so thankful that I got to take a two hour nap!
• A husband that babies me, spoils me, and takes care of every little need and want that I have when I am sick. He doesn't just get me movies to watch and feed me. He lays in bed with me, makes sure I take my medicines, gets me dinner, and actually watches the movies with me so that I don't have to be stuck by myself all night.
• A healthy baby.

Day Twenty

Today I am thankful for:

• Feeling a little better than I felt yesterday. Friday I had a sore throat, but by yesterday it was in my chest and I was achy all over. Today I felt a little better, but not much. I'm just thankful I didn't have to go to work today. It gave me another day let the medicine do its thing.
• Rich taking me out to see "Slumdog Millionaire." It was one of the best movies that I have seen. I really don't like just laying in bed all of the time, and I was depressed that I had spent the entire weekend basically in bed. So, my sweet husband took me out to a movie!
• Movie theatre popcorn with endless butter. We always go to the movie theatre in Gallatin because you get to put as much butter as you want on the popcorn, and it's free refills on drinks! Ahhh... so good!
• My home. I love it so much. It is so cozy, and there is no where that I would rather be than right here at home with Bentley and Rich!
• My mom getting a new car. Wow, it is NICE! I'm thankful that I got to see mom for a little bit tonight too.
• Our laptop. It is brand new and was FREE. It is really Rich's company's laptop, but he gets to bring it home every night so that I can use it. His boss is VERY cool and allows him to download itunes, etc to it. What a blessing!
• A healthy baby.

Day Nineteen

Today I am thankful for:

• Sleeping in until 10:15!!!
• Getting up and taking a hot shower, well kinda hot because Rich and Bentley used the REALLY hot water. Hey, I'm blessed to be able to take a shower every morning.
• Rich taking me to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.
• Having $200 given to me to spend on my classroom by my school. It was fun to shop without having to spend a penny out of my own pocket.
• Our fireplace. I LOVE it when we put on our PJs at 3:00, start a fire, and watch TV and movies all day long. We have both been SO sick since yesterday and it is nice to know that the house is already completely cleaned and all we have to do is just lay around!
• A husband that loves to spend time with me. Most husbands spend their time off ignoring thier wife, doing their own thing, or playing play station. My husbands sincerely enjoys spending time with me and equally HATES being apart. I'm so thankful for that! He even voluntarily went to the School Sales and Supply Store with me so that we wouldn't have to spend the day apart.
• A healthy baby.

Day Eighteen

Yesterday I was thankful for:

• Getting all of my report cards finished before I left school so that I didn't have to bring any work home for the weekend. Also, getting my lesson plans finished and turned in for Monday.
• Getting the kitchen floor, guest bath, and hallway mopped. Finished cleaning the guest bath.
• Going to Opry Mills and getting the monogrammed "H" shadow box from Kirklands. I saw it a few months ago at the Cookeville Kirklands when I was shopping with my mom and grandmother and knew that it was perfect for going over my kitchen sink. They didn't have them anywhere. I called Wednesday to the Kirklands in Opry Mills, and they had one left and held it for me until last night.
• Chilis Mesquite Grilled Chicken Salad. So good!
• Pay day for Rich and I both!!
• Both of us still having jobs even though the economy is in the gutter.
• A healthy baby.

Day Seventeen

Today I am thankful for:

• Mrs. Decker, my middle school computer teacher, that taught me how to type without looking at my hands. She used to make us have a white piece of paper over our hands when we typed so that we couldn't see the keyboard. I'm thankful that I can type fast because I type quite a bit!
• Beth letting me know who got through on American Idol. All I am going to say is that MY DVR DID NOT RECORD IT! I almost threw up on myself.
• Getting my kitchen cleaned. All I have to do tomorrow to it is sweep and mop it. I'm making some major headway now on the house! It has needed it so bad.
• Recess. I actually am made to give my students 30 minutes of recess/day. I get paid for sitting there and doing NOTHING for 30 minutes. I got to sit on a bench outside and watch my students play on the playground for 30 minutes and get paid for it!
• Rich giving Bentley a shower so that I could do this blog.
• Helen and Ray (the host and hostess at Cracker Barrel that we have befriended) coming back to work after having some much needed time off. We all hugged for about 5 minutes when we all saw each other. Ray is a HUGE KY fan so he and Rich talk about that, and Helen is the most precious lady. They are both in their late 70s, and we were so worried that something may have happened to them.
• My hearing. It was so nice to crank up my ihome and worship while I cleaned the kitchen. I can't imagine not being able to hear music, tv, people, etc. I hope that I never take my senses for granted!
• A healthy baby!

So, I was reaching a little bit tonight, but I am still sick to my stomach about not being able to watch American Idol. I should just be thankful that we have a TV to watch! I'm praying that God delivers me from being such a brat!

Day Sixteen

Today I am thankful for:

• My husband. I'm so thankful that I get to share my life with a wonderful, Godly man. I'm thankful that out of all the women in the world that he chose me to spend the rest of his life with and to spoil. I'm thankful that I know how much he adores me, and for loving me so passionately.
• My husband's email to me this morning, well every morning. It makes my day to have nice things written to me as soon as I get to work.
• Rich's birthday!!! Happy birthday baby!
• Getting the living room, foyer, and dining room COMPLETELY cleaned! Thank you Lord that I have stuck to this committment. I feel so much better that at least 1/2 of my house is spotless.
• An incredible service at Wireless.
• Turkey meat taco night at the Hall house. We are trying to eat healthier so I've cut out red meat. The tacos were still great even though they were made with turkey meat and whole wheat tortillas.
• American Idol. I really feel like a part of the show, and I'm thankful that I finished watching it at 10:30 so that I had plenty of time to vote! That's right, I called in to vote for my favorite four contestants.
• A healthy baby.

Day Fifteen

Today I am thankful for:

• Getting my bedroom picked up, dusted, vacuumed, and the windows/blinds cleaned. It is completely finished, and I am now ready for the next room. I will be thankful for getting each room finished in my house because our bedroom alone took me 2 and a half hours today so get ready for them. I am very thankful when they are finished.
• Logan's two for $13.99. Here is my free advertisement: I got tilapia, steamed veggies, a house salad, and Rich got chicken fingers, fries, and a salad plus we got endless rolls and peanuts all for $7. We had a $10 gift card, but this deal is worth making the trip on Mondays or Tuesdays.
• Getting out of work at 2:30. I am so thankful that I do not have to work until 5 or 6 like some people may have to do. I get home by 2:45 most days, unless I have to catch up on stuff. It is an amazing job!
• Getting everything finished for Rich's birthday. All of my errands are ran, I have a plan for our celebrations on Friday and Saturday, and his gift and card are ready for tomorrow morning!
• A comfortable bed to sleep in tonight. So many people all over the world are out in the cold tonight. Sometimes I take forgranted having a big comforter and king sized bed to sleep in every night.
• A room mom that volunteered to tear out all of our workbook pages for next week so that I would not have to.
• A healthy baby.

Day Fourteen

Today I am thankful for:

• Getting my bathroom cleaned (even the base boards), and mopped.
• Poppyseed Chicken. Rich LOVES it.
• Having a plan for keeping my house clean. I am doing one room a day, but that means vacuum, any mopping, dusting, windexing... whatever that room needs, it must be finished in one day. Hopefully this will help me to KEEP my house cleaned. Everyday I move on to a new room, and then the process just repeats itself.
• Eraser tag. It helped the kids stay entertained and they NEEDED a break from all of their work.
• Dry cleaners. I'm so thankful that I do not have to iron all of Rich's dress shirts.
• Getting to see my dad today. I am so thankful that I got to hug him and just talk to him. I've been in a funk for whatever reason for the past week, and it is so refreshing to see he or my mom.
• That BOTH of my students that I referred for learning lab are going to be tested. I have worked ALL year long on getting all of their paperwork together, and it paid off big time! I am so thankful that I can help them and not let them slide through the cracks!
• A healthy baby.

Day Thirteen

Today I am thankful for:

• Having a church to go to and worship God.
• Being able to sit with Megan Butler at church. It brought back so many memories.
• Having "couple friends" to go out to eat with after church at Cracker Barrel.
• Laying in bed all day with Rich and Bentley and watching TV. I know we sound really lazy, but that is what we like to do!
• Sloppy Joe's!!! It has been SO long since I have had them. Rich is browning the meat for me right now.
• Clay and Trish (our sweet neighbors) coming to church this morning and really loving Northridge!
• Rich and I both having jobs to go to tomorrow!
• A healthy baby (or two).

Day Twelve

Today I am thankful for:

• Surviving the Wireless Girl's Sleepover even though we stayed up until 4 a.m.
• Taking another nap today for about 3 hours with Rich.
• Getting to see mom and eating with her at Cracker Barrel.
• The snow. It is beautiful.
• Not having anything planned that we had to do today. Just being able to spend time together and not have to do ANYTHING!
• Spending some much needed time on the computer checking up on the world.... ya know, Facebook, myspace. All of those things that really have a wonderful impact on my life haha.
• Getting ready to watch "Step Brothers" starring Will Ferrel. We shall see how it is.
• A healthy baby

Day Eleven

I know, I know. What's the point if I'm not going to do it everyday? I had a girls sleepover last night and was unable to do my blog for Friday. Here it is though.

Yesterday I was thankful for:

• It being Friday. There is such an excitement at work when it is Friday.
• Getting EVERYTHING caught up at work and even getting time to practice the announcements with my students. We have announcements all week next week. It was precious to witness them being so nervous/excited about getting to do announcements.
• Having a great lunch. I had leftover pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It makes the biggest difference in my day when I actually pack a lunch instead of cramming in a protein bar and grading papers.
• A two hour nap after going to look for Rich's b-day gift.
• The Wireless girls sleepover and all the laughter it brought.
• A husband that made me feel like I would be gone for a week when I left instead of just one night.
• A healthy baby.

Day Ten

Today I'm thankful for:

• Actually sticking to my goal and doing this blog for 10 days!
• My crockpot. Today I had the major part of dinner finished when I walked in the door. We had pork tenderloin that cooked on low all day and was SO TENDER, mashed potatoes, and fried corn. I know it is not healthy, but it was good.
• Getting my paperwork for SST behind me. I finished most of it last night, but had to do a few things this morning before turning it in. I feel like the weight of the world is off of my shoulders!
• Being able to go to Kroger and get whatever I wanted. I am so thankful that Rich and I both have great jobs. I stocked up!
• Rich writing me a sweet email this morning.
• Faculty meeting after school being very short.
• A healthy baby or two!

Day Nine

See I told you that I would have to write a blog a day late again at some point.

Yesterday I was thankful for:

• Having a productive day
• Getting most of my SST paperwork (referral for learning lab) for two of my students finished.
• Rich cleaning up the kitchen for me!
• American Idol!!! I only got to watch a little bit late last night after I finished working, but I am SO thankful that Danny is going through. He is my favorite.
• Music. It brings me so much pleasure. I am a terrible singer, but still sing as loud as possible for Rich and in the car.
• My student's parents. They are ALWAYS donating to our classroom and seem to know just what we need when we need it.
• A healthy baby.

Day Eight

Today I am thankful for:

• Pastor Aaron and Beth for blessing Rich and I with being able to go to the game together. We NEEDED a fun night out, and it was perfect (well I wish KY would have won for Rich's sake and the people around us).
• Rotier's. It is a hole in the wall burger joint that I've gone to for years. It is our special little spot that we go to if we have doctor appointments or if we want to get away and have a night just the two of us. If you haven't been... you need to!
• Rich not getting into a fight at the game. I was VERY proud of him for keeping his cool even though we were surrounded by Vandy fans. He had a few melt downs, but I'm just glad that he made it out of there without too much of a scene.
• A long planning time. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays my students are gone from 12:45 until I pick them up for the bus. The other days they leave at 1:25 until dismissal. I needed to catch up on some things today and had a meeting so I'm glad that I had my long planning time.
• My "reflection" with the county about my evaluations going awesome. It was the last reflection (basically they analyze the lesson that you did for them in the classroom), and it I got ALL positive feedback.
• My ability to walk. I can't imagine not having my legs or the ability to use my legs to walk. Just going to a game would be difficult. I am so thankful for my ablity to walk the streets with my husband.
• A healthy baby!

Day Seven

My first time to not be able to make the post on the actual day. This is actually day eight. I'm sure this won't be the last time!

Yesterday I was thankful for:

• President's Day! I am so thankful for the leaders that have led our country (well, most of them). It is so important to pray for our President!
• A day OFF!
• Being a teacher and getting paid for watching TV all day. It is a WONDERFUL job!
• Rich's brakes getting fixed at a MUCH lower cost than what we were originally told.
• Having a car to drive. It was wonderful being made to just stay at home yesterday instead of running errands, but I was only without my car for one day, and I missed it terribly. I can't imagine not having a car to drive. Just one of those things that I take forgranted... being able to go get lunch or run to the post office whenever I want.
• Sleeping in. Oh how I love to sleep in. I was so thankful to not have to get up at 5:45.
• A healthy baby.

Wow, it is much harder to think of these things after a day. I usually roll right on through these in 3-4 minutes, but this one took longer.

Day Six

Today I am thankful for:

• Church and new exciting things that are happening there.
• Being able to take a nap today after our meeting.
• Getting to see my family this afternoon.
• Chilis with Pastor Bobby and Toyia and the kids.
• Destiny turning ONE!
• Being able to stay up late tonight because I don't have to go to work tomorrow!
• A healthy baby.

It's short and sweet for today!

Day Five

Happy Valentine's Day

Today I am thankful for:

• Getting to take Bentley to the dog park with Rich and watching him run with freedom!
• Taking a LONG bath!
• Lima beans at Cracker Barrel. They are the BEST!
• Sleeping in until 10:30 and then taking a nap around 4. I LOVE catching up on my rest over the weekends.
• My husband. I'm so thankful to not be alone on Valentine's Day and for being able to share it with him.
• Marriage. We had planned to go to Maggiano's, but there was a HUGE wait. We decided to get in our PJs and do what we love most.... lay in bed with Bentley and watch our shows!
• The health of my family!
• A healthy baby.

Day Four

It is 11:54, and I have six minutes to finish the post before the day is over. Here goes...

Today I am thankful for:

• Getting our tax returns and Rich getting paid.
• My tire blowing out and the Lord keeping me safe. I'm glad it happened the way that it did. The police officer said, "you're lucky to be alive with these tires." I guess it was WAY past time for new tires. I could have gone without having a nervous breakdown infront of the guys at NTB bahahahah.
• Having enough money to pay to get all of the stuff fixed with our cars. God always takes care of us.
• Going to a movie with Rich and getting to go to Marble Slab afterwards. Pretty sure I wore addidas pants and a sweat shirt to the movies. Very different from the way I used to go to the movies every Friday night with my friends. I'm SO thankful for marriage!
• Making it through Friday the 13th. If you like scary movies, you MUST go see it. It is NOT appropriate for kids though.
• Fridays.... enough said!
• Movie theatre popcorn with "extra butter throughout." It is delish! Oh and a REGULAR coke, not diet. I know, I'm so bad!
• Getting to see Aaron, Beth, Abbey, Luke (for 30 seconds...haha), and Lincoln tonight. Even though I was delirious.

Well that's it for tonight. I'm sure there are words that I butchered, but the screen is blurry because I am exhausted. Hope everyone has a great Valentine's!!!

EDIT-The time for all of my posts are in Pacific time. I guess I need to fix that.

Day Three

Today I am thankful for:

• My sight. Today was so beautiful, and I am so thankful that I got to see God's wonderful creations today. I was so convicted last night when I was watching American Idol, and the guy that plays the piano that is blind walked out and couldn't see everyone standing and clapping for him when he told them that "he had made it." You know his parents wanted him to see that SO bad!



• Finishing the Red Velvet Cake Balls for my class' Valentine's Day party tomorrow.



• Las Maracas! One of the few restaurants in White House. It was delicious.



• NONE of my students pulling a card today. They usually don't, but I always have the same two that seem to ALWAYS pull cards. I wonder if it is a coincidence that the parents of these two students don't take the 5-10 minutes/night to have their child read to them and sign their reading log?



• Having the time to clean the kitchen today, and do a load of laundry.



• TV-it gives me so much pleasure.



• Getting to see Christy.



• Getting to take Bentley to the "dog park" for an hour. I raced around everywhere so that I would have time to take him because I haven't gotten to much this week. It was so nice out today that I looked forward to getting to go all day. I posted some pictures of us at the dog park over the weekend. Enjoy!

Bentley getting to know some friends.

He was not a bit scared. It was his first experience around

other dogs off of the leash, and he did GREAT!

Day Two

Today I am thankful for:

• Getting to go to Wireless and seeing my friends


• Being able to cook dinner for my wonderful husband. We are trying to eat healthier so we are having pork chops, green beans, and whole wheat rice.


• For healthy food


• Thankful that God kept us safe from any tornados today


• My husband making my lunch this morning


• Having clean clothes to wear to work today


• Getting to watch last night's episode of American Idol. I might have taken a page full of notes about the contestants.
• A healthy baby and the peace that God has given me about being a mom.

The Reason

Sometimes I feel like I don't acknowledge enough just how much God blesses me everyday. I try to make it a point to be thankful for everything that God gives me, but sometimes I just feel like I take so much for granted in my life. I am going to TRY (I'm sure I will miss some days, but hopefully not) to blog every single day about the things that I am thankful for. Hopefully this will last for an entire year and won't "die out." My goal is to at least have 7 things to be grateful for every day. Hopefully I will have more, but for now that is my goal. I had thought about just journaling this in my personal journal, but feel like if I blog it then maybe it will keep me accountable. It is VERY easy to not keep up with a goal if you do not tell anyone about it. I will try to not be repetitive so that I will not bore anyone to death. Everyday I will thank God for our baby that I know he is going to bless us with so be prepared for that. This is something that has been layed on my heart to do regarding our fertility situation so I'm going to be obedient and thank God for our healthy baby (or babies) that He is going to bless us with. I pray specifically for twins (one boy and one girl) everyday so if you want to join in on that prayer feel free to.

Today I am thankful for:

• Kentucky winning against Florida so that Rich is happy.
• Getting to eat at Cracker Barrel instead of having to cook.
• Having TONS of groceries in the fridge for dinners and lunch this week.
• Being able to go outside for 30 minutes of Recess with my students instead of having to play games inside.
• Having a washer and dryer to do my laundry.
• Getting a load of laundry finished after work and before I went to the PTO meeting at school.
• Being able to go to a job that I love.
• Having a laptop that we didn't have to pay a penny for.
• Getting to take a 30 minute bath today.
• The DVR-so that I can watch American Idol tomorrow when I get home from school!!
• A healthy baby and for the peace that God has given me about having a children.