I'm gonna miss her!

So...my friend Emily (aka my MINT "boss") is moving to South Carolina this summer. I'm thrilled for her and her sweet family, but I'm not happy about her leaving. Maybe that makes me selfish....but I don't care.

She and I have known each other since we were kids and I've been so happy to "reconnect" with her these past few years as one of her employees! Anybody who knows Emily would probably agree that she was born to be a boss! I lovingly tell her that often. In all seriousness, MINT was only possible because of this girl, and whoever takes over the store when she leaves has some major shoes to fill! I definitely couldn't do what she's done.

The "MINT girls" (minus Catherine and Heidie!) all went to eat the other night. Good times.
WE'RE GOING TO MISS YOU, EMILY!
(oh...and her birthday is tomorrow, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY, too!).

Oh.my.goodness.

I can't believe I'm missing out on seeing this face.I oh so desperately need to hold this child!

It's crazy how much I love this boy after only spending maybe 10 minutes with him.

beautiful boy.

I'm so very much in love with this sweet baby already.

I want to hold him so badly that I could cry right now.

These pictures were taken on Saturday, April 17, the day God blessed my sister and brother-in-law (and our entire family!) with this little miracle.

I took this first picture the first time I laid my eyes on him.

He's probably 30 minutes old here. Love at first sight.

Waiting patiently in the waiting room! (Henry?--waiting not-so-patiently!)

My first love!

Jones' 2 aunts!

The family just hearing about Jones' arrival! Trey is proudly showing off Jones' first pictures.
Uncle Adam (Trey's brother) and Aunt La La just hearing the news!

First picture as a family of 3.

My baby sister has a baby!

Henry meeting Jones for the first time. I love this picture so much. You can see Henry's curiosity and instant love and Jones' pure innocence!

My first glimpse of that sweet boy with his eyes open. He already reminds me of his mommy.

Me with 4 of my favorite people...my 2 sisters and 2 nephews! I love how Henry is still looking at Jones. He was in AWE.

"A wee bit of heaven drifted down from above-A handful of happiness, a heart full of love. The mystery of life, so sacred and sweet-The giver of joy so deep and complete. Precious and priceless, so lovable, too-The world's sweetest miracle, baby, is you."
-Helen Steiner Rice

sweet daddy.

Happy birthday to my sweet daddy!He's a pretty great man, and if you don't believe me, ask this entire town. He was, afterall, recently voted "Friendliest Man in Starkville"-- for the 3rd time.

No---that's not a joke.

Here he is holding one of his 2 favorite little boys. In dad's opinion, there's nothing better than being a grandfather.

Oh how I love this man.

I tell others (somewhat jokingly, but not really) that the reason I haven't married is because I've yet to meet a man like my daddy!

HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE!

My first blog post was written over 3 years ago and was titled "I'm an Aunt!" . I posted it after my older sister Kristen gave birth to sweet Henry, (who, I'm guessing you're familiar with by now). Anyone who has nieces or nephews, but not children of their own, understand what I mean when I say that I truly can't imagine loving another child the way I love these precious ones. I just can't describe it.

Anyway, I'm so excited to say that my NEWEST nephew, Jones Edward Skaggs was born Saturday, April 17! I've seen him only once and I already completely love that child. I'm so excited about seeing my little sister as a mom.

I have so many pictures to share from the glorious day of his birth, but tonight I'm only sharing my favorite of them all.

Does it get any sweeter than this?

More pictures to come!

-Aunt "La La"

waiting.

While I am a blogger and you do know quite a lot about my life, I actually do refrain from sharing too much. Obviously not all things were meant to be shared with the world, plus, do you honestly want to know every little thing about my life? I didn't think so.

Forgive me just for tonight, though, as I'm going to get a little more personal with you than normal. I'm a little blue and I think "getting it out" might help a little.

I know we all go through waiting periods in our lives....who doesn't, right?

I have been in a very hard place in my life for the past several years. When I pray about certain things, or ask God certain questions, God's often response is, "wait."

I've reached a point where waiting on the next step in my life has become so difficult, that it hurts, almost to the point where it's unbearable. The desires that I have had in my heart for as long as I can remember aren't being fulfilled as I dreamed they would. I see others living out my dreams while I sit back and watch with a smile on my face, but a deep hurt in my heart, selfishly wanting what I don't have. I spend a lot of time praying about this and I know God hears my cries.

I'm going to share a poem with you that I'm pretty sure I've posted before. I read it several times today, and find that it provides encouragement. I also need a reminder that GOD makes my plans, not me.

Maybe you're in the midst of waiting on something from God and it can provide some encouragement to you, too.

Wait

Desperately, helplessly,

longingly, I cried:

Quietly, patiently, lovingly,

God replied.

I plead and I wept

for a clue to my fate,

And the Master so gently said,

“Child, you must wait.”

“Wait? You say, wait!”

my indignant reply.

“Lord, I need answers,

I need to know why!

Is Your hand shortened?

Or have You not heart?

By faith, I have asked,

and am claiming Your Word.”

My future and all

to which I can relate

Hangs in the balance,

and YOU tell me to WAIT?

I’m needing a “Yes”,

a go-ahead sign,

Or even a “No”

to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised

that if we believe

We need but to ask,

and we shall receive.

And Lord, I’ve been asking,

and this is my cry:

“I’m weary of asking!

I need a reply!”

Then quietly, softly,

I learned of my fate

As my Master replied once again,

“You must wait.”

So, I slumped in my chair,

defeated and taught

And grumbled to God,

“So, I’m waiting … for what?”

He seemed, then, to kneel

And His eyes wept with mine,

And He tenderly said,

“I could give you a sign.”

I could shake the heavens,

and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead

and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give,

and pleased you would be.

You would have what you want~

But, you wouldn’t know Me.

You’d not know the depth

of My love for each saint;

You’d not know the power

I give to the faint;

You’d not learn to see

through the clouds of despair;

You’d not learn to trust

just by knowing I’m there;

You’d not know the joy

of resting in Me;

When darkness and silence

were all you could see.

You’d never experience

that fullness of love

As the peace of My Spirit

descends like a dove;

You’d know that I give and save,

for a start,

But you’d not know the depth

of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort

late into the night,

The faith that I give

when you walk without sight,

The depth that’s beyond

getting just what you asked

Of an infinite God,

who makes what you have last.

You’d never know,

should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that,

“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Yes, your dreams for your loved one

Overnight would come true,

But, Oh, the Loss!

If I lost what I’m doing in you!

So, be silent, My child,

and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts

is to get to know Me.

And though oft’ may My answers

seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all

is still, “Wait.”

I want to ask you to pray for me tonight. I'm lonely and my heart is heavy. Thank you, dear friends, and please forgive the cheerlessness of this post.

"I am waiting for the Lord, my soul is waiting for Him, and my hope is in His Word." Psalms 130:5

Wordless Wednesday (well...not COMPLETELY wordless)

Setting: Target. About a month or so ago.

Kristen: "Heather, you are not walking around today. We (aka Laura) are going to push you around in a wheel chair all day long."

Heather: "What?! I'm still like 9 weeks away from my due date, Kristen! I'm completely capable of walking around a store! You're crazy."

(Clearly, you see who won that battle, right?)

Heather: "Laura, you know if you had told me to get in the wheelchair, I never would've listened, right?"

And there you have it, people--the story of my life.

a prayer, a recipe, and Idol...

First of all, there was yet another horrible apartment fire in Starkville this afternoon (click here for more info). To my understanding, at least 32 apartments were destroyed. Mandy and I drove to take a look when we heard about it, and it was a devastating sight to say the least. When I saw dozens of firemen risking their lives and people crying because they just lost their home or couldn't find their pets, all I could do was stop and pray. I did hear that there were no fatalities. Praise God. I can't imagine losing my home and all of my belongings. When saying your prayers tonight, please remember any victims involved.

Secondly (and on a slightly more cheerful note!), I have a recipe to share! Anybody looking for a good meal for summer? This is one of my favorites, and it's SO EASY. Forgive me if I've posted this recipe in the past. Even if I did, there's probably a good chance that you didn't copy it down the first time. My suggestion is that you do it now. You'll be glad you did!

I fixed this just tonight. For some reason, I always start craving this when it gets warm outside. I dunno.

Anyway, here you go...

Tomato-Basil-Asparagus Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 16 oz. pkg. bow tie pasta

1 lb. asparagus, cut into 2 " pieces

1 c lemon vinaigrette (I always have trouble finding this. I usually just use Fat Free Italian Salad Dressing! It gives the salad a great taste without the extra calories!)

I pkg. fresh basil, chopped

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

salt and pepper to taste (I also love lemon pepper!)

sliced grilled chicken (it's optional really, but I prefer it!)

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions, adding asparagus last 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water. Stir together vinaigrette and chopped basil. Pour 3/4 c. over pasta mixture. Stir in tomatoes, salt and pepper (don't forget the lemon pepper!), and chicken. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Toss with remainder of dressing.

How easy is that?

This recipe makes A LOT of servings, and in my opinion, it tastes better the day after it's made! I like it because I live alone and I can eat on it for several days! Perfection.

MSKS, do some research and check on the WW points for this meal. I mean, it can't be THAT many points, right?

And finally, (before I crash for the night), my report on tonight's performances on AI: BEST NIGHT SO FAR THIS SEASON. Last week, I thought I had decided my favorites, but after tonight's performances, I have no idea what to think. I LOVED Crystal (as always), Katie (fell in love with her after tonight's performance) and Lee (I may be in love with him actually). We'll see what happens tomorrow night!

Goodnight, dear friends!

HAPPY HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter, friends! I hope your day was spent with those you love!

Mom, Dad, and I spent the weekend with R, K, and H in Clinton. We missed Heather and Trey, but since Heather is going to be giving birth soon (yay!!!), it probably isn't a good idea for her to travel much these days.

Here are some pictures (mostly Henry, of course) from the weekend! He LOVED dying Easter eggs. When he finished dying and decorating them, he said "Can I eat one of the 'dead' eggs?" Hahaha.

I love this face.

This was his idea of smiling at me while he was riding his 4 wheeler. It makes me laugh. :)

For those of you who, like me, are fortunate enough to get the day off tomorrow, ENJOY! For the rest of you....well....have a great Monday at work!

much ado about nothing...

So, I've been chastised for my lack of blogging this week...again. I don't know what's gotten into me. I'm not tired of blogging and it's not that I don't have time to blog, but I guess I just feel like I've had a lack of material lately. I don't know.

I'm probably going to jump around with topics in this post, so just bear with me here, please. Thanks.

First and foremost. I suppose it's been a while since I blogged about AI, so I'm going to throw in my 2 cents on my favorite contestants. There are only 9 contestants left, and while I'm 99.9% confident that Crystal will win (LOVE HER)... ...there are 3 others that I really, REALLY like:

1. Michael
2. Lee

3. Casey

Agreed?

And....moving on....

I've been asked to share a little more about my p90x experience thus far. Well, I've completed week 5, and while some of the workouts are still rough, they ARE getting easier and for the most part, I really am enjoying it. Here are some of my favorite things about it:

1. I can work out at home, which means I'm saving money on a gym membership and I can wear what I want to wear.

2. I like have a schedule to go by and I like having somebody tell me exactly what to do. While I want to hit Tony in the face most of the time, he's really pretty good about explaining how to do every exercise properly. I also like how much he makes you stretch before and after each workout. I've never been the best at stretching.

3. Kempo! Who knew punching and kicking could be so much fun? It's my favorite.

What do I NOT like about p9ox?

1. Yoga. I cried the first time.

2. Push ups. I would rather poke my eyes out with a fork.

If you're thinking about jumping on the p90x train, DO IT. I was hesitant about continuing it after I completed the first week, but I'm glad I did. I don't know that my lbs are decreasing, but I definitely have more energy and I feel better about myself.

I was off school today and will be out again on Monday (yay!), so I'm looking forward a long, relaxing weekend. I'm in Clinton until Sunday, so I'm sure I'll have some Easter pics to post in a few days.

God bless you and your family this Easter!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." -1 Peter 1:3

MMMMMMMMMMMonday.

Come on....give it a try.

Can you name the things starting with 'M'? - sporcle

29.

So...I turned 29 yesterday.

While the actual number is a little scary to think about, I have been looking forward to this day for a while---mostly so I could finally have some cake--but also because it's a pretty good reason to get together with my friends.

One of my students' sweet mom brought cupcakes to the class (homemade chocolate icing, I might add). They were heavenly. You'd be proud, though. I only ate one. Now, can I just say that I have the best friends EVER? I know I say this ALL.OF.THE.TIME, but ask any single family member of mine and they'll agree that God has especially blessed me with the greatest. Never will I know what in the world I've done to deserve them, but I'm grateful for each one who was so carefully placed in my life and the exact time they're needed most.

My birthday fun started Monday night. Mims took me to dinner, but first surprised me with a fabulous pedicure! It was perfect and is something I love but NEVER DO for myself! We had the best time. I'm not really sure how the night escaped us without getting a picture of us in the fabulous massage chairs, but we did manage to take a picture of the OPI nail polishes of our choice:I promise we chose our colors without looking at the name. How ironic and appropriate that the name of her color was "I'm India Mood for Love" and mine was "Strawberry Margarita". We thought it was funny even if you don't.

I love OPI polish, don't you?

I've always been a "birthday person." I love making people feel special when it's their day and, well, when I was young (haha), I used to have serious countdowns until MY birthday. Who doesn't love getting a little attention every once in a while? And now that there are so many different ways to communicate, I enjoyed all of the calls, texts, emails, and facebook messages I received. Such a fun day.

My students were sweet to me too. It made me happy when they informed me that they thought 29 was "really young." Sweet children they are. One of my students told me that she spent hours making this banner for me the night before my birthday. To me, these are the best types of gifts-the ones that show you that thought and time were really put into them. You can't really tell by the picture, but there's also lots of glitter on this precious banner. I really could tell she put her heart into making it, and she was so excited to give it to me on my birthday.

After school yesterday, my teacher friends took me to Bin 612 to celebrate. On Monday, it was rainy and about 40 degrees outside. God took care of me though, because on Tuesday, it was sunny and 70! It was perfect weather for sitting outside. Oh, how I love spring!

Don't I have the most fun group of teacher friends? I was so happy that so many of them made plans to be with me.

Thank you, sweet friends! You make being "almost 30" just a little more bearable!

Wordless Wednesday

ALL ABOUT MEREDITH! (ok...and maybe a little about me too).

Happy Spring Break, all!

I first of all, need to give a shout out to my Texan friend Meredith, who celebrated the big 2-8 yesterday. I had good intentions of blogging about her yesterday, but it was a very busy day, and I let time get away from me.

My sincerest apologies.

ANYWAY--if you're a reader of my blog, you know that I don't take birthdays lightly. I've always been a "birthday person" and I enjoy making a big deal out of my friends' birthdays. So, in honor of Meredith's 28th yesterday, I have compiled a list of 28 reasons why I love this girl oh so very much.

1. She's married to a cowboy, and a cute cowboy at that.

2. She's HI-LAR-I-OUS. When we're together, I usually end up laughing until it hurts. Throw Claire into the mix, and it becomes dangerous.

3. She understands my strong dislike of Bob Saget and Uncle Kracker.

4. She understands my love of Starkville and wine.

5. She's pretty. It's a natural beauty that's on the inside and outside!

6. She loves her family. She comes from big family, and like me, enjoys spending as much time as possible with each of her family members.

7. She loves her friends. She has approximately 3,486,391 friends and she's loyal to them all.

8. She's a constant encouragement. I can be having the worst day, and I know that talking to Mere will somehow make my day so much better!

9. She's a fantastic cook! I've asked her numerous times if she would mind cooking for me and shipping the food to Starkville. She says that she doesn't really think that would work. I guess she's right.

10. She's responsible for introducing me to "Waiting for Guffman," which is quite possibly the best movie of all time. Want us to quote it for you? We absolutely will.

11. She can change a flat tire. I can't.

12. She's a middle child like me.
13. She spent the day with George W. and Laura Bush. Totally jealous.

14. She understands my love of "aunthood".

15. She told me just yesterday that she enjoys getting older! Here I am, whining about the fact that I'll be 29 next week, and she just looks at it like another year to celebrate life!

16. She loves Saved by the Bell reruns.

17. She sets aside "LT time" when she visits MS, even though she and Vic have half a million people to see when they're here!

18. She will abbrev. with me even if though it annoys almost everybody else.

19. She's had the coolest jobs of anybody I know.

20. "She can sing, she can act, she can dance, and there's only one other person in the world that can do that and THAT is Barbra Streisand."

21. She has cute clothes.

22. She has the BEST hair.

23. She N.E.V.E.R. complains.

24. She loves Neil Diamond.

25. She let me catch the bouquet at her wedding. ("Let me"? Ok..maybe not, but even though I did have to push some people out of the way, I DID manage to catch it! That was several years ago, and you see how well that whole thing has worked out for me, right?).

26. She puts every single person before herself. I don't care how well she knows you.

27. She's one of the most loyal friends I've ever had and will ever have.

28. She's going to be the best mom!!!! I can't wait for baby girl Horn to arrive in August!

Happy Birthday (a day late) to my dear friend! I can already tell it's gong to be a great year, Mere!

Now, about me... (that is, after all, why you read my blog, right?). I'll give you a brief P90X update. I'm nearly at the end of week 3, so there's been a little repetition thus far. I've done about 7 videos a couple of times each (and have I mentioned how much I HATE YOGA?! That's another story, really.). So, since I've become somewhat familiar with several of the routines, I find it unnecessary to listen to Tony at times. I find that it's more fun and equally beneficial to exercise to THIS:

What do you think about this set up? Pretty clever huh? What you see here is Tony, who is on mute, on top of my TV, while I enjoy a fantastic episode (volume up) of Seinfeld. See? Exercising can be enjoyable!

I've thoroughly enjoyed my Spring Break thus far. I've worked at MINT basically the entire day, which was great, but I loved being able to sleep in this morning and get a few things done. I'm heading to Gulfport for the night tomorrow for another baby shower for Heather and little Jones. I can't believe that it really is getting close to Jones' arrival! Only a few more weeks until I'm an aunt again! Life is good.

Oh! And did I hear that the NCAA tournament is going on now? I wouldn't know, since I'm boycotting this year. That's right---B O Y C O T T I N G. It takes a good bit to get me mad, but those NCAA tournament people managed to do it! And Kentucky? Don't get me started please. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here. Oh, and what they'll fail to mention in that article is that the refs were TOTALLY UNFAIR. I could have officiated that game with my eyes closed better than those idiots. I don't personally know this particular blogger, but after reading this post, I decided that she and I would be BFF. Well done, Boomama. I couldn't have said it better myself. And you're probably wondering what the NCAA tourney has to do with this. Well, it was shortly after this horrible loss that those people announced that MSU did not make it to the tournament. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I wanted to blog about this immediately on Sunday, but I was afraid I'd say something I shouldn't. I thought that if I waited a few days to discuss this on the blog, it would be better. Maybe I was wrong, because the thought of it still makes my blood boil. I'm just bitter. Very VERY bitter.

So, while I'm a basketball fanatic, my attention is now focused on the NIT and absolutely not the NCAA tournament. GO DAWGS!
Now. I'm planning on enjoying my last few days of Spring Break and spending it with my family with a smile on my face!

and THAT'S why I love that place...

I love it when people give teachers discounts. But, I guess if I were in the military, I'd enjoy military discounts; if I were a senior citizen, I'd enjoy a discount at the movies, restaurants, etc.
It's not too often that you see clothing stores who give people in my profession a nice discount. It's one of the many reasons why Ann Taylor Loft is my fave.

When you sign up for "Loft For Teachers" (sorry, all you non-teachers out there), you'll not only receive coupons via email, but you'll also receive style guides like the one above, AND a 15% discount card that can be used anytime...it never expires!

So what are you waiting for??? Click here and start receiving fun discounts!

Oh yeah...there's another reason why I love being a teacher oh so much--

IT'S SPRING BREAK TIME!

Top AI Picks...

Happy Thursday, blog friends.

Many of you out there been keeping up with Idol? While it took me a while to really choose my favorites, after the performances this week, I think I've decided which ones I'm going to really pull for this year.

First for the girls. I think the girls are stronger than the boys this year. I've thought that since the beginning. I have 3 favorite girls, and I like them all for different reasons. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Siobhan. She's cute, talented, and I totally love her singing style. I look forward to her weekly performances.

2. Didi. How can you not love this girl? I want to hug her every week! I personally think the judges are too hard on her. While she may not be the absolute best singer in the competition, I.LOVE.HER.

3. Crystal. Now THIS is the girl to beat. She's got an edge to her that I just love. I also think that out of all of the girls, she's the most consistent. She's fantastic every week.

Moving on to the guys now.

While I think they girls are stronger as a whole, I had a harder time narrowing down my favorite male singers. Weird.

So, here are my top 4 favorite male singers.

1. Todrick- I actually wasn't a huge fan of his until last night. His performance was one of my favorites, and I think he's got a great chance of making it to the top.

2. Lee. First of all, he's cute, but I suppose that's beside the point here. I think he's consistently good and is definitely a popular contestant.

3. Michael. While I may not have been quite moved to tears like Kara was last night, I did absolutely LOVE Michael's performance. He won me over last night. He definitely won't be going home anytime soon.

4. Casey. Like Lee, he's quite the little hottie. I like the rocker side of him, but I thought he did a fabulous job with the Keith Urban song last night. I also like the fact that he plays the guitar while he sings. Double sexy.

What about you? Agree? Disagree?