Thankful Thursday...

So, so much to be thankful for today...

1. 

Great friends who make me laugh. 

2. 

Bright pants. 

Seriously. You put a pair of bright pants on and it will completely turn your day around. You can't be unhappy in a pair of bright pants. 

3. 

A chance to see family this weekend. 

I love making memories with these people. 

4. 

The opportunity to be in the schools with some of the greatest children ever. 

I truly know I've found my calling. 

5. 

God. 

"A thousand times I failed, still your mercy remains..."

WILW...

It's Wednesday!

In all seriousness, I've been so busy with school, but it does seem to help the time fly by. Here's what I'm loving on this pretty (almost fall) day. 

1. 

I'm loving that this will be the first weekend of fall. Yes, I will miss summer. I just love the heat, but I am so ready to wear some cute outfits like this...

Y'all just don't know how much I love my boots (or maybe you do). 

2.

I'm loving that me and Benji are leaving Friday to spend some time with family. I look forward to seeing my Aunt "Boo" and making all that delicious football food. 

3. 

I'm loving that Benji came to the school yesterday to give the first graders a firefighter presentation, and I'm loving their work that they gave me. 

4. 

I'm loving these pumpkin recipes that I can't wait to try them! 

You can find all these recipes on my Pinterest page. 

5. 

Finally, I'm loving this song right now. It's been helping me through a lot and reminds me that when all else fails, God will be there. 

What are you loving today? 

What they don't tell you...

As many of you know, I am a senior in college and will graduate with a degree in Early Childhood Education in May. Now, I have always heard your senior year of college is hard, but here's a few things they don't tell you about what it truly means to be a practicum student/student teacher. 

1. 

You will literally have to work on lesson plans and assignments about three hours everyday after you go to school and teach for a few hours and listen to lectures for another couple. 

2. 

Don't worry. It is normal that you are getting the names of all your students confused. Come on, you're human. When you only see those students for a few hours a week, and you're in three different classes YOU WILL GET CONFUSED. 

3. 

You cannot procrastinate. (Thankfully, I figured this out last semester.) But seriously, even when you are ahead on your work, your to-do list is usually still two pages long. 

4. 

Good luck working another job. Is it possible? Yes. However, it is extremely difficult, and you can kiss your social life goodbye. 

5. 

Now that you have been trained to develop your teaching style, you will be forced to comply with the teacher's style in the classroom you have been put in. (A difficult one for me. THIS GIRL NEEDS ORGANIZATION. PLEASE!) 

6. 

Don't worry. You're not crazy. You're just tired. It's okay to go to sleep at 9. 

7. 

No, you're not cross-eyed. You've just been staring at your computer for the past 5 hours. And yes, it's perfectly acceptable to have a Pinterest break in between writing lesson plans. (IT'S CALLED PLANNING PEOPLE!) 

8. 

Did I mention that it's not all bad? You will have those incredible moments in your day that make you realize you really are going into the right profession. It can be a look, a hug, or that sweet, sweet comment made to you by that child you would never expect to say it. It will happen. It will make you smile, and guess what.... 

YOU WILL GRADUATE! 

Finally the Weekend...

After a long and somewhat difficult week, I decided to wake up early this morning and go to  my internship classroom. I had already made up my mind that today was going to be different. I would intentionally not let the little things bother me. I would be happy despite the things that really just seem to make me tick or doubt myself. Then, on my way to my amazing class of four-year-olds it happened... yes, that gorgeous rainbow in the picture above. I had just finished listening to "How He Loves Us" on the radio, and I saw it peaking through the clouds and shining over the open fields. I was blown away. Sign from God? I think so. Anyways, enough of my rant. My point is that God always has a way of letting you know that he is bigger than any problems you may be facing. We just have to trust in Him and keep a positive attitude. 

On that note, who else is super excited for the weekend? 

Football, family, fun, friends and freely worship the God I love. 

I hope y'all have a great one. 

Weekend Recap...

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty uneventful, but enough to ramble about. 

Friday was spent at home thanks to my wonderful boyfriend having to take a fire training class that will FINALLY end this weekend. Thank goodness. 

Saturday was spent antiquing and eating a great lunch with Mama, Benji's mom and sister. We ate at this neat place where my favorite thing to get is corn chowder and lemonade served in a mason jar, of course. I decided to try and find a recipe for corn chowder, and I think this is probably the easiest I can find. It probably won't even compare to the one at the  restaurant, though. 

Corn Chowder Recipe

Then, that night we went to the famous Shealy's, and I pigged out of course. How can you not there? Fried Chicken and white gravy... yum. 

Oh, and did I mention Clemson and Georgia won?!? Okay, I must admit I was literally screaming at the tv when Georgia was playing so slack, but they finally figured it out. 

Sunday was spent with a great service at church and spending time with family afterwards. Pretty normal, but something amazing happened that night. In my last post, I mentioned the  Lee family. All week, people have been praying that Rick would wake up from his coma, and last night as tears flooded my eyes, I read that he finally did wake up. It will still be a long road, but the power of God is overwhelming. His faithfulness is far greater than we could ever comprehend. 

Hope y'all have a great week! 

Thankful Thursday...

Today I am teaming up with Morgan at our Girls' Ministry blog to tell y'all what I am so extremely thankful for today. 

1. 

Today is Benji's birthday, and I truly am so thankful for him. He has helped me grow as a person, and every day he does something to make me smile. Couldn't ask for more. 

2. 

I am thankful that God is still capable of miracles and always will be! This sweet family is going through some hard times. Continue to pray for Rick Lee and a speedy recovery. 

3. 

I am thankful  for the opportunity I was given today to share something that God laid on my heart with a great friend, and I'm thankful that God has gotten me to that point in my life where I can share those things. 

4. 

I am so thankful to work with the best youth group ever! I love to learn and laugh with y'all every chance I get! 

... 

What are you thankful for today? 

Finally Football...

Y'all just don't know the excitement I had over the weekend for watching some college football. This girl loves her some college football. For sure. It was a great weekend. 

Georgia won. They should've tore them up even more, but no biggie. 

Clemson beat Auburn! And yes, I dressed up for the game. Benji says this is a true sign that I am no longer a Georgia girl, I am a full-blown Clemson girl. Can't I just love them both?

On a side note, I saw this picture on Twitter. It's Hopkins from Clemson getting baptized after Thursday's practice. That's what it's all about! Team Christ! 

Go Tigers! Go Dawgs!