Loooozyana

Brandon, Rev, and I got back last week from our bi-annual (or possibly tri-annual) trip to Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Zachary, Central, and New Orleans, Louisiana. When we first planned out when exactly we would be where, it started to feel like we were touring up and down I-10. We were exhausted just thinking about it. But, of course, it was wonderful. I feel like I say it every time, but it feels like our trips back home keep getting better and better. Brandon and I are both so fortunate that (aside from my sis and her fam) we have all of our family within 2 hours of each other. And even though we can only visit with each part of our families for a couple days at a time, it's still so good to be home with them. We're also blessed to have a core group of friends that we can just pick up where we left off and have so much fun together. I'm so glad it worked out to get some great hangouts and quality time in with our Louisiana best friends. We swam, played Quelf (ridiculously fun board game), caught up on life, laughed a whole lot, and of course ate a whole whole lot (including, but not limited to... boiled crawfish x 2, Counter Culture's Humphrey Yogart x 2, New York Bagel, snowballs, Ichiban sushi, crawfish etouffee x 2, homemade lasagna, etc. etc.)

We dubbed this trip "Baby-apocalypse" because that seems to be the theme these days in south Louisiana. It was extra special because I got to FINALLY meet my new nephew, Charles Thomas III or "Tripp", and one of my best friend Jenny's baby, Judah. Thankfully they were only a few weeks old, otherwise it would've killed me to have to wait longer to meet them. Baby Tripp was sooo snuggly and made the funniest old man faces. I can't wait to love on him more at our family beach trip in July! Baby Judah was so alert and active, and it was quite surreal to see my best friend as a momma. Both Jenny and Lindsay are naturals! I also got the privilege of going to an ultrasound for another one of my best friends, Sarah. It's such a amazing miracle to see that precious baby boy flipping and turning in Sarah's belly. I'll be learning from the best when my turn comes!

Of course I didn't take a lot of pictures with my real camera (why does that always happen?!), but here's a couple...

 Baby Judah with his girls...he's a little outnumbered.

I told you Judah was alert!

 Baby Tripp and Uncle B...melt my ever-lovin' heart.

Tripp with his favorite aunt and uncle (He told me so.)

Things We Love...

I've been on a blogging roll lately! Don't get too used to it, but here are just a few of our favorite Nashville things according to iPhoto...

 We love TaySwift.

 We love road trips to LSU games.

We love relaxing cabin weekends with friends and Pinterest projects. 

We love matching with said friends. 

We love dressing up for Halloweenie Roasts. 

We love Titans games. 

We love home-cooked Thanksgiving feasts with Momma.

We love giant Opryland Christmas trees. 

We love decorating real Christmas trees. 

We love Tacky Christmas Sweater parties. 

We love jumping pictures. 

We love when LSU wins the SEC Championship...again. 

We love dressing up for 90's parties. 

 We love Loveless birthday breakfasts with best friends.

We love Preds games.

We love Belmont boys. 

We love homemade slip-n-slides. 

We love (rainy) Days in the Park. 

We love Brandon's annual drum presentations. 

We love great partner teachers who help us survive the school year!

It's Been a While...

I've decided to take up blogging again...at least for today. My husband will be happy since he begs me all the time to update. There are so many things (as uneventful as they may seem) that have happened since my last post that it's actually quite overwhelming to think about. So I'll just hit the highlights, like usual...

Much like I had hoped, this school year was exponentially (get it, Math pun...) better than last. I had high hopes since I was no longer self-contained and was partnered with one of the best teachers in the school. The beginning of the year was discouraging and rough since there was still a lot of shifting of teachers and students, lesson plan formats & requirements changed more times than necessary, and I had one of the most challenging 5th graders in my class. My kids and I gradually got into the groove and routine though, and we started developing into a tight-knit community. I honestly don't know what I would've done my partner teacher, Michelle. She's like a big sister and is just so great to work with. If I had to give this school year a theme it would be GROWTH. Last year was purely survival, while this year I really grew in confidence of myself as a teacher and an influence at my school. Because of this confidence, I was able to joke with my kids more and feel more comfortable. More importantly, there was a lot less (but still some) second-guessing and comparing of myself to my co-workers. ANDDD I didn't drive home everyday like I did last year seriously contemplating quitting teaching to become a full-time waitress, barista, secretary, Target cashier, you-name-it! I'm just in such a better place than I was last year, especially when I first got hired. The Lord has continued to work on my heart about contentment, and that continual mindset shift has made all the difference in the world.

Have I mentioned how much I love living in Nashville? Over the past 6-8 months, we have established and deepened some pretty amazing friendships. When we first moved into our house (which by the way, Brandon and I just renewed our lease for another year...something we've never done before since we've moved every year we've been married!), I was really bummed about not having modern conveniences like a dishwasher and washer & dryer. But the location and deal that we got on the house was too good to pass up. I love that we have a great neighborhood to take walks with Rev and can walk to our favorite Mexican restaurant. Our friends have been so selfless to offer their w&d to do our laundry at any time, and we have definitely taken them up on it. For a while, I dreaded asking them because I knew it was an inconvenience (even though they promise it's not) to have us over for 2-3 hours on the weekend. Just like so many other things, I was over-thinking and worrying about it way more than I should have. But just recently, I realized that if it wasn't for these w&d opportunities, we most likely wouldn't be as close as we are to our friends. So if you've ever offered up your washer & dryer for us, THANK YOU! You may not see it as much, but we see it as a sacrifice and prevent us from being stinky.

Coming soon...a picture update and recap from our trip to Louisiana!