How quickly I forget I'm Yours...

Have you ever had one of those moments where God just stops you right in your tracks? I LOVE those moments! I am a busy-bee, planner sort of person. I am constantly thinking about things and have such a hard time relaxing and sitting still. Even when I do have those moments, I quickly find myself multi-tasking. However, I had such a neat moment on the way home from work yesterday where God just said, "Stop! Quit thinking so much. Slow down. Spend some time with Me." I had just left school where we were discussing re-vamping some things in our daily schedule and I was of course planning it all out in my mind. What would it look like in my classroom? How is this going to help my kiddos? All of the sudden, Addison Road's amazing song, "Hope Now" came on the radio. In that moment, God stopped me, and gave me a sweet reminder that I am His. He longs for me to spend time with Him. How precious it is to stop planning and being such a busy-body and reflecting on God's love and how He carries me through each step in my day. Wow...God is so good.

Enjoy the lyrics...but even more so...find this song somewhere and enjoy God's sweet messages to you through it.

Hope Now by Addison Road

If everything comes down to love
Then just what am I afraid of
When I call out Your name
Something inside awakes in my soul
How quickly I forget I'm Yours

(PRE-CHORUS)
I'm not my own
I've been carried by You
All my life

(CHORUS)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
This love sets me free

When my life is like a storm
Rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I'll be ok and
Make it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm

(PRE-CHORUS)
I'm not my own
I've been carried by You
All my life

(CHORUS)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
This love sets me free

(CHORUS 2)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free
You define my heart's desires
I will sing Your praises higher
Cause Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free

yummy treat

Tonight after coming home from a stressful day at work and a stressful couple meetings after work...I decided to "bake". I say "bake" because this little treat is probably way too easy to qualify as baking. However, I will share! :) They are a great version of chocolate covered pretzels.

You will need...
Bag of mini-sized pretzels
A bag of regular M&Ms
A bag of Hershey's hugs

Preheat the oven to 200.
Place the pretzels on a cookie sheet.
Unwrap the Hershey Hugs and place one on top of each pretzel.
Bake at 200 for approximately 5 minutes or until the Hugs begin to melt.
Allow the pretzel/Hug combos to cool for approx. 5 minutes.
Place one M&M on each pretzel/Hug combo carefully.
Place the cookie sheet with the treats into the refrigerator to allow the candies to harden and cool.
Enjoy!
(Fun tip--find M&Ms that fit the season. Ex: green and red for Christmas, brown and orange for Halloween, pastels for Easter, etc.)

A chocolate fix ALWAYS helps to soothe a stressful day! :)

3rd grade paranoia

So today I read aloud an all-time favorite, "Where the Relatives Came" by Cynthia Rylant, to model my writing lesson. Well....proof came that the "flu buzz" has even taken over the youngest, most innocent minds. We hit a part in the book where the relatives are all jumbled together in a small house having to sleep close together and breathing on each other. I show the picture of all the relatives sleeping together (most students are laughing at how silly the picture is). One of my sweet kiddos starts breathing out loud with her mouth open reenacting the pictures (as they so love to do). The little girl next to her goes, "Please don't do that...you spread germs that way." (Of course in little minds--especially those funny boys---that says, "do exactly what she just said NOT to do".) A few others on the carpet start breathing loudly. The poor little anxious girl then goes, "No seriously, please stop. That spreads germs." She's serious. They stop. :) (Ahhh..classroom community!)

Haha...gotta love her "motherly" instincts. And don't get me wrong, I am all about having as little germs in my classroom as possible---proof comes in our constant hand washing, constant application of hand sanitizer, and daily wiping of tables with Clorox wipes. However, here's the proof that our poor little kids of the U.S. are having to live in WAY too much fear at such a young, innocent age. Maybe we should all try to chill out a little---wash our hands---and let our kids be kids.

A little business of my own...

Well, after a lot of prayer and reflection, I have decided to sell Avon! No, I am not a saleswoman--not God's gift in me. I am selling Avon to help with saving up for my Masters! As a teacher, the Masters route isn't an option. Well, the teacher income just doesn't quite cut it! ;) After being raised by two amazing parents that have their own businesses, this Avon idea is momentarily satisfying my entrepreneur gene God gave me. Eventually, God-willing, I will own my own business of some sort! You have to start somewhere, right? We'll see where God takes me!

Although I am not one to wear a lot of makeup, I am one to love a deal. To me, true beauty shines from the inside. I do think Avon provides fresh feeling makeup that allows your natural beauty to shine through. Avon has amazing deals on great products! Try it out on my website! You can order straight from the website, or get in contact with me if you would like catalogues to order from instead!

My personal Avon website is:

http://www.youravon.com/caitlingentry

Check it out! :)

Not a dog person...

YEAH RIGHT! I always said this about myself. Even after loving my childhood pet...a yellow lab, Nick so much. I always said I was a "cat person". I have learned so much about myself after adopting this cuddly, loving, loyal animal that is now more like another human in the house. Justin and I said over and over again that we would not get a dog until the summer after my first year of teaching. We "had to have time to work with him and train him". Well...after a crazy week of being cooped up in a powerless house full of people during the ice storm we don't like to think about...we thawed out, spring started to show signs of blooming, and we started finding ourselves in PetSmart, "just looking". Haha...never say that! We saw Boone and it was love at first sight when he climbed into Justin's lap as soon as they took him out of his crate. My favorite dog growing up...a lab. Justin's favorite dog growing up...a beagle. This little beagle/lab mix was perfect for us and he put on the charm from the get-go. What a joy to have such a loyal, fun-loving puppy in the house. It has made our wonderful house even more of a home. I'm sure this is only the beginning of blogs about life-lessons we learn from Boone and the love we have for our "child". So yes....a dog changed my heart....and now, I am a dog person. :)