Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have the day off and get to spend it with family and friends. 

This day should be a day of rejoicing and celebrating all that we have!

I was really taken back by Rick Warren's post about Thanksgiving.

Andrea shared it one Thanksgiving; I bookmarked it and have gone back to it again and again throughout the year.

We are going to go through trials and hard days, but we still have so much to thank God for!

My home for today is that you have something to be thankful for.
I know I have students that on this day won't be spending time with their family or eating a fancy meal.
In addition, some of them might not even see an adult, have a meal or heat to warm their homes.
My heart is saddened by this, but I rejoice knowing God has a plan, and hopefully they will make it out of their situations.

I leave you with this great message from Rick Warren...

"Thanksgiving is a difficult holiday for many.

How can you be thankful when your doctor says it’s cancer? How can you feel grateful when the one you love just walked out of your life? Or when you’ve been fired, or your dream has collapsed, or an economic tsunami has wiped out all you’ve worked for?

This year became the worst year of my life when my youngest son, who’d struggled since childhood with mental illness, took his own life. How am I supposed be thankful this Thanksgiving? When your heart’s been ripped apart, you feel numb, not grateful.

And yet the Bible tells us “Give thanks IN ALL circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” The key is the word “in.” God doesn’t expect me to be thankful FOR all circumstance, but IN all circumstances. There’s a huge difference. The first attitude is masochism. The second shows maturity. We’re not supposed to be thankful for evil or sin, or the innocent suffering caused by these things. But even in heartache and grief and disappointment, there are still good things that I can be thankful for.

I used to think that life was a series of mountain highs and valley lows, but actually we get both at the same time. In our world broken by sin, the good and the bad come together. On the cover of my wife’s book, Choose Joy, is a photo of a railroad track heading into the horizon. Like that photo, our lives are always running on two parallel rails simultaneously. No matter how good things are in my life, there are always problems I must deal with, and no matter how bad things are in my life, there are always blessings I can be grateful for.

So what am I thankful for this Thanksgiving?

I’m thankful that although life is not always good, God is always good. Having had a close friendship with him for nearly 50 years, I know without a doubt that God sees all I go through, he cares, he grieves with me, he is close and his strength is available at all times.

I’m thankful that even though I don’t have all the answers, God does. In tragedy we seek explanations, but explanations never comfort. It is God’s presence that eases our pain.

I’m thankful that this life is not all there is. It’s not the end of the story. One day God will right all wrongs, even the odds and settle all accounts. Justice will be served. Evil will not win.

I’m thankful for the hope of heaven. I won’t have to live with pain forever. In heaven, there are no broken relationships, broken minds, broken bodies, broken dreams or broken promises. The Bible tells us, “God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.”

I’m thankful that God can bring good even out of the bad in my life, when I give him the pieces. It’s his specialty. God loves to turn crucifixions into resurrections, and then benefit the whole world. God never wastes a hurt if we give it to him.

Itzhak Pearlman once broke a string at the start of a Lincoln Center recital. Rather than replacing it, he played the entire concert with a broken instrument. At the end he said, “Sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.” That kind of humility honors God. This Thanksgiving, don’t dwell on what’s lost, but on what’s left."

I hope that even in the trials you are enduring that you can find a chance today to be grateful and thank God for what he has provided!

Have the best day! :)

What's Up Wednesday: End of November!

Hey all!

It's Wednesday!

Today I'm linking up with Mel, Shay and Sheaffer to share 

What's Up Wednesday!!!
Today we're answering the following questions plus
What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

What we're eating this week:

This past weekend I mixed up a few things and because there's only the two of use, we eat them on repeat for a few days.

So, until Thanksgiving we will probably have
hamloaf
cheesy potatoes


broccoli cheese soup
and


Hawaiian swiss and ham rolls

Eat them alone and then eat them together!!


And then turkey, turkey, turkey!

What I'm reminiscing about:

I'm about to start boiling eggs to make deviled eggs.
I'm reminiscing all of the times that I made them with my grandma.
I don't even like deviled eggs, but I make them each year as a tribute to her!

What I'm loving:

I'm so excited for 5 days off!!
Our break begins at 2:40 today, and I couldn't be more excited!!

What we've been up to:

We haven't been up to a whole lot.
We went to NYC a couple of weekend ago, and since then have been hanging out at home.

What I'm dreading:

As much as I love decorating, we have SO so so many Christmas decorations that I half dread getting it all put out. 
For a day or two our house looks like a disaster, and I hate a messy house!
I'm very excited for our first Christmas in this house together, but I dread the totes and totes of decorations!

What I'm working on:

As always, I'm grading papers and planning lessons.

We just wrapped up an awesome project based learning activity.
My students were trying to determine if we could create the perfect presidential candidate by combining a past and present candidate and their stances on issues.
Here are two of their yard signs for their new candidate.

As much as they loved debating, we are moving along.
Now we are on to literature circles and a Tic-Tac-Toe board.

What I'm excited about:

Christmas?!!

I can't wait to join in on The Most Wonderful Time of the Year linkup with Sarah and Victoria!

What I'm watching/reading:

First to mind was the Steelers

My family loves the Steelers and especially when they beat the Browns!

I'm all in on Sunday's and can't wait to watch them on Thanksgiving and Christmas night.

Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies

I'm not a tv person at all, so between Christmas shows and football, I've become quite the tv person lately!

What I'm listening to:

Right now I'm listening to Christmas music 24-7!!

What I'm wearing:

Scarves, scarves and more scarves!
It snowed last weekend and in the mornings it has been in the teens or 20's.
Scarves have been on repeat!

The other morning I walked into school, and it was freezing!
Like 62 degrees! Brr!!!

I'm usually one of the first ones there, so I went to check with the janitor to make sure that the furnace was still working.

What I'm doing this weekend:

To me the weekend starts at 2:40, so I will be doing a lot of decorating, eating and hanging out with family and friends.
On Thursday we will go to my aunt's and Alex's parents.
 Then, on Saturday we have our annual ThanksChristmas with friends.
In between I'm sure we will have people over to watch the Ohio State game. 
I'm pretty sure I will do more decorating than watching! :)

What I'm looking forward to next month:

Next month is Christmas!!
Yes!!!
I love everything Christmas!
I have a fun Christmas Day getaway planned for my mom and mother-in-law and then we are hosting our first ever Christmas dinner at our house!
I'm so excited!!

What else is new:

Life is pretty much the same!

What's your favorite Thanksgiving tradition:

I've always loved the Macy's Day Parade!

I will probably wake up, go for a run, shower and park it on the couch.

I love looking through the Thanksgiving Day paper and seeing all of the ads while watching/listening to the parade.

This is my first Thanksgiving in our house together, so I'm sure it will be a bit different, but maybe we will even start our own Thanksgiving traditions. Any ideas? What do you guys do?

I hope you all have a great Wednesday and Happy Early Thanksgiving!!

Show and Tell: Want, Need, Wear, Read

Happy last day of school for the week!

Well, actually tomorrow is the last day, but I'm in a meeting all day, so today is my last day with kids.

I love them, but it's great to get a break!

I'm linking up with Andrea to share four gifts that I'd like to receive...

This category is always so much easier..

I've showed these red glitter studs on here before, but I'd still love to have them!!

This is a super cute scarf from Accessory Concierge. 

Right now it's 50% with code STMTSCARVES making it only $15!!!

I'm obsessed with scarves and tend to like the red and blue mixture lately!

This one is from Nordstrom's and is $25!

It is super hard to find jeans that fit!

I was at Banana a month ago and this lady talked me into a pair of skinny jeans.

I was hesitant on them, but thought I'd trust here....

and I don't like them! 

They gap too much in the back, and I never want to put them on.

For some reason I just feel like these would fit. 

I have a similar pair in black, and they fit amazing!

We love these Pyrex dishes and could use some more of them. 

I always and grabbing for the smaller ones, but they seem to always be in use. 

In addition, I'd like to start freezing more meals, so these would come in handy.

We need some sort of a tree skirt...

I think I want it to be cream or off white to match our mainly gold and silver decor.

Any ideas?

So, I always have a running list of cute clothes on Safari on my phone.

My husband hates how many tabs I have open, but you never know when you might need to purchase something or when it might go on sale.

The following are some Nordstrom favorites:

This first one is only $39!

It's kind have out of my comfort zone, as it's off the shoulder!!

But, I think it's super cute and a great holiday top!

This would be super cute with leggings or skinny jeans and boots!

It's only $19 and comes in more colors but many are currently sold out!

I'm typically not a V-neck kind have person!

But, I really like this and the fact that it's a longer sweater.

It also comes in 3 different colors.

I've never had a pair of Tory Burch shoes until this fall. 

I splurged and bought a pair of black ones at the Nordstrom Sale this summer.

I go through black shoes while teaching like it's nobody's business.

I need shoes that are cute yet super supportive, so that I can teach all day and run when I get home.

I had a pair of Anne Klein ones that my podiatrist but custom made inserts in; however, I wore them until they no longer could be worn.

Then, I bought a pair of Michael Kors one and they were destroyed within 3 months.

So, I'm hoping Tory Burch will seal the deal and not make me look any longer.

Any other ideas of good supportive yet cute shoes?

I mentioned the following books in my Book Guide last week, but they are a favorite, and I'd love to receive them!

Have a great Tuesday!

Festive Dresses

I started thinking about a dress for our Christmas Eve service the other day. 

I've been good at reusing some items in my closet, so I thought I'd take a look at some new dresses. 

I found a few that I like, but I'm waiting for some to go on sale.

The thing about a Christmas dress is that I'd like for it to have sleeves. 

It's pretty cold in Ohio during Christmas, so while all of the sleeveless ones are super cute, they just aren't warm enough for this girl!

Some Banana Republic Favorites:

Right now they are having 50% off with code BRFIFTY

I really love this scalloped dress. It has scallops around the waist, which is hard to see in the image. In addition, it comes in red and black.

This bell sleeve polka dotted dress is very cute, but I don't think it would look right on me. 

This has a super cute ruffle neckline. 

I'm somehow always drawn to black dresses.

I think they look classy.

Since I have so many in my closet; I'm going to pass.

Ann Taylor:

I love this fluted sleeve dress and am waiting for it to go on sale. 

This is the dress that I really want.

I love the collar neck on this dress.

It's classy yet festive, but it's sleeveless.

So I'm really torn between 1 and 4...

Which dress do you like best?