2010

I think that this picture pretty much sums up my 2010. When I look back to 2010 I will remember it as a year of amazing change, growth, hurt, disappointment, love and grace.

Here's the annual month to month re-cap.

January - Was determined to start the year off better than 2009 ended. It didn't take much. It was a great month of getting to celebrate so many friends that were expanding their families either through marriage or snugly little babies.

Jan/Feb The mee-maws got together a little later than normal for Christmas and I finally got what I always wanted for Christmas. A HIPPOPOTAMUS!!



February - March was pretty calm and rather uneventful.

April started off first of 16 weddings this year. We were able to celebrate with Abby and Kevin on their BIG day! I also was able to present my capstone for my graduate school and PASSED!


Another HUGE moment happened in April when Brandon started his first of 32 weeks in the Fire Academy. He started with the EMT portion and came home wiped out every day. We spent most of our night studying and writing papers between the two of us. We were such a fun couple! :)

May - We continued the wedding celebration with Stephanie and Ricky. I got to make the groom's soccer cake and it was SO much fun to do.



The BEST and BIGGEST news was my GRADUATION from GRAD school. Praise the Lord it was all finally over.



June - was filled with even MORE weddings as we celebrated Keith and Kaitlyn and Maggie and Brian.

It was during this time that school was letting out for the summer (thank you JESUS) and I knew I had to use the summer to get control of my life. For years I have bounced back and forth with my weight. Lose a little...gain a LOT. My husband had begun Crossfit in December as a way to train for the academy. With him officially in the academy we had the funds for me to be able to start Crossfit. For more of the back story you can read my other blog at www.journeythroughcrossfit.blogspot.com.

To say that it has changed my life is an huge understatement. It was the beginning of the best decision I have ever made...to care enough about myself to save myself.

July - Hey guess what...we went to another wedding. This time they were crazy enough to invite our crew to the Ritz at Lack Oconee. Carrie Underwood's wedding was the weekend before we were there. She was afraid of being upstaged by us. (Just kidding)

The theme of the weekend quickly became "We will never have the chance to be here again.." and many memories were made. The ones we remember or can tell without incriminating ourselves. By the end of the night the Bakers were wed and no one went to jail.





August - School once again started and I continued my journey through crossfit. We started a Paleo Challenge at the gym. Veggies, Meat, nuts and seeds, some fruit, water for 12 weeks.

September - I was able to hit some of my major fitness goals such as finally getting a pull up using the bands. I also began training for my first 5k which was the weekend after my 30th birthday. During September Brandon endured more training with the fire portion of the Fire Academy and was literally wiped out every afternoon when came home.






The challenge was well underway but I was struggling. Ben, the lead trainer at the gym, suggested that I enter into a contract with him for 30 days to show me just how much my body could change if I stuck with the program. Starting September 17th I started the contract and stuck to it religiously for 30 days.

OCTOBER - is always a BIG month for me because well...it's my birthday! We celebrated yet another wedding with Tony and Emily and wished Tyne and Tim well from afar.



Turning 30 was not as bad as I imagined thanks to the fact that I was feeling stronger and healthier than I had ever felt. The week after my birthday I ran my first 5k and finished in 48 minutes. It was amazing to have over 20 something people run the race with me. Betsy even had t-shirts made because t-shirts make everything better.








The night of the 5K we celebrated with friends from every area of our lives. It was our Christy's Birthday 5k/Brandon's graduation from the fire academy party. It was incredible to be reminded of all the amazing people who love and support the two of us.







The challenge finally ended and I came up with 3rd place.



Sadly the day that Brandon graduated from the Fire Academy his granddaddy passed away. Mr. Jerry was a phenomenal man of God who loved his family very much. I never felt like an -in law to him. It was only fitting that we were able to celebrate Brandon, something he loved to do, in the midst of such tragedy.

My husband went through with the graduation that night and it was incredible seeing him become a fire fighter. He worked hard for 32 weeks and saw his dream become a reality. I am so proud of him and his dedication to his new job.



November - We were able to travel to Alabama for my friend Marie's wedding. It was fun to see Marie marry Erik and get to see my Judson friends.








I also went to my first family wedding without Brandon because of his work schedule. This is going to take some getting use to.

has been filled adjusting to Brandon's new schedule and continuing through the journey of becoming healthier. We took family pictures towards the end of Nov and it was fun to see the changes that I have made. I look forward to many more to become. It is a journey. A lifestyle. This time it has to be different.










So...there is our year. As we look to 2011 I pray that it is a year of miracles and many more blessings. I pray that we all laugh more than we cry and that we love more than we can ever imagine.

Father's Day

Father's Day has always been really hard for me. Growing up it was hard being my daddy's daughter. When I turned 5 my daddy was forced into early retirement through his company. After that he slipped into a deep, dark, depression that held him captive for many years. The only happy memories that I have of him are in picture before my 5th birthday. These pictures and the stories of my family are really the only evidence that I had that my father really loved me. When I turned 19 his depression snapped and went to the opposite extremes. Instead of being depressed, you couldn't shut the man up. Instead of only going to get gas for the lawn mower and a hair cut, he ran the streets of New Hope and surrounding counties from 3 a.m. till dark. We never knew where he was or what he was doing. He put my mother through hell while I was at college. After college I moved back in with my parents and the antics continued. Finally, his health started to really get him down and most of his annoyance came at home. Yelling at us, the cat, and just being weird. We ended up having to put him in a nursing home. Mom went everyday. I went when she laid the guilt trip on thick enough. By this time I was living in Georgia and my trips became less frequent.

October 31st, 2006 I got a phone call that daddy had aspirated soup into his lungs that were already infected with COPD. November 18th, 2006 I got a call to come home and help make decisions regarding his life.

I left that Tuesday morning from Georgia and made the trip back home to New Hope. I had talked to mom earlier and she told me that he was coming in and out. Talking a little bit, eating some but that she could tell something was happening. I walked into the room and went to one side of the bed and hugged my mother. My daddy woke up and called me Crissy. I went to the other side of his bed, held his hands as he told me he loved me. Those were his final words on this earth.

It's taken me 4 years to really process that moment. Those moments leading up to his death. The remaining moments counting breaths and watching something happen inside of that room that only my daddy and Jesus could see happening. In those moments, I hated him, loved him, forgave him, resented him. I stayed in the room night and day until finally I could smell death and myself. I went to take a shower and no more than 5 minutes after I left the room, my daddy left this world. I really don't think he wanted me there to have to see that. To have to see his spirit leave his body. My aunt Gertha who is now also gone was there with my mother that day. When I walked back into the room the sweet Asian nurse was singing Amazing Grace over my daddy.

He loved me. I know that now. Sometimes I mourn his life, other times I mourn what I never had in him. It wasn't his fault and I know that he did everything that he could to give me a great life.

I pray for the daddy that Brandon will be one day. I pray that our children are not robbed of a father physically or mentally. I pray that my children will not have to look at pictures to get the sense that their father loves them but know it at every turn that they make. I pray that through Brandon they will be able to see the Father's love for them.

I treasure the pictures and look forward to the future.

Thank you for being a friend Blanche

That sucks! Cue up the old episodes of Golden Girls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiQzUEc_FmI

School's out for summer!

Go ahead and sing it in your head because I know you want to. I'm shouting it out loud. This has been a rough year to be an educator. We were furloughed for 7 days this year. That meant no planning days at all and for those of you who think you should be able to plan and do all that we have to do in an hour's planning time...get real. It also meant a reduction in pay which came at a time that Brandon was entering the fire academy and taking HIS reduction in pay. At the end of the day we are both blessed to have jobs and that's really all that matters. A little couponing here and there and just being smarter with our money really helped us out and taught us a lot for the future.

It is also weird to think that I will never have to spend another summer (or fall and spring for that matter) at grad school. Finishing my master's degree was definitely a huge accomplishment and I am so glad that I did it. But I am so glad that I am done. For 3 years I drove 2 hours each night, 3 nights a week to Athens, Georgia. You can imagine the money we are saving not having to pay that gas bill anymore.

So onto summer. I have lots of plans for this house and all the crap shoved into closets for the summer. I also want to finish up some of our remodeling projects by fixing up the office area. But mainly I will enjoy some time to concentrate on all the things that I have let go by the way side while school has been in session. It is time to concentrate on me for a little while. No more school, no more grad school, just me time. Life is good.

So...bring it on summer. I'm ready!

The last days...

I've always had a fear that we are living in the last days. Now that I am a middle school teacher, I know the REAL fear of LAST DAYS. Not the last days of this earth, though I do find myself praying for Christ return a lot more these days, I'm talking the last few days before summer in a middle school.

These kiddos have lost their freaking minds. Holy Junk! I can only equate the experience of the days to something that I have not yet experienced...childbirth. You have to forget how bad it is before you decide to do it again.

There have been a few precious moments, like the kid who wrote the sweetest message to me in my yearbook. He said his favorite thing about being in my room was the fact that he knew that I cared about him. Isn't that really what it's all about???

But then...there are those quotes...those moments....that will one day make up my book on being a teacher.

"Mrs. Peevy, on your grave it's not gonna say R-I-P...it's gonna say M-E-A-N!"

If you would like to hear the dialect in which this quote was spoken, you may call and get the full story.

Oh well...another year down, a contract signed for next year, a love for students (somehow, still) and a great school to do it all at!

The Kitchen

This was before....


And this is after....






We painted the kitchen this great green color called Recycled Glass from Sherwin Williams. We painted the brown trim and under the chair rail white. Gone is the shelf full of grandmother's "stuff" and the scary chef man with a dead fish on it!

The monogram windows were great finds at Hobby Lobby! 50% off all home decor stuff! 3.99 a piece. 12.80!





Just a little paint and some clean up!




We are not completely done in the kitchen but we are getting there. The breakfast table (refinishing), the back splash and a few odds and ends are all that is left...but wow just the paint and a few little things made such a difference!!

Renovations

So kitchen renovation turned into...whole house renovation. This past weekend we painted the living room, dinning room and kitchen. I can't believe how well it all turned out. Now I just have to go do a little treasure hunting to pull it all together.

Before

Extreme Kitchen and Office Make Over

So here are the plans. My kitchen and office are in desperate need of make overs. We are so fortunate to be living in Brandon's grandparent's house but we don't want it to look like we live in Brandon's grandparent's house. We started a few months back by changing out my bathroom, his bathroom and our bedroom. So it is time to finally start doing something about it.

(Can you tell grad school is over for now and I need something to occupy me???)

The goal is to do it for as little as possible. I want to really get creative on how I go about doing this and really keeping it to a small budget. Our budget for both rooms is 200.00. We'll see how that goes!! :)

So here is where you come in...I need some advice on how to make this thing happen for CHEAP!

My first major decision is going to be whether or not to paint the cabinets in my kitchen. I really want to paint them white but I really don't know that I want to put forth the time or the effort. If I can make it all come together without doing it I would rather.

I will say that one good thing about being in the cake business is that my paint for both of these projects has been provided for the price of a cake. That's pretty exciting and saves me money on my total bill.

My idea is to use the green in the oven and pick a lighter shade of green. I want to do black and white accents. So...start chiming in and I'll post pictures as I change things up.

Pictures as soon as blogger stops acting up!

New Blog and New Love

I have a new love. Not that I can afford to many things from her collection, but WOW her stuff is so pretty. She also has a pretty great blog that I love to follow.

http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/

I am thinking about asking for a graduation present!! :)

Yum Yum Sauce

We have a huge joke in the Peevy household about Yum Yum sauce, or as some call it the seafood sauce from Japanese restaurants. At a really fancy Japanese restaurant in Disney, Brandon (who apparently turned into country bumpkin) asked for that stuff..you know...seafood sauce. They brought him ranch.

So anyway, for Valentine's day we went to Sho-gun. Their yum yum sauce was not so yum yum. In fact it was really bad. For our left overs tonight I decided to try and make it. Turns out it's basically homemade honey mustard with a kick. I found a few recipes but didn't really like any of them. So I just decided to take some of their advice and do my own.

Below are the ingredients. I tried to measure it out but really just ended up playing with it. It turned out AMAZING! I am so excited that I got it right on the first try.

Around 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Mayo...more if you need more
TBS of Vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of Paprika... See More
1/4 teaspoon of Garlic
Teaspoon or so of mustard (less is more...and you can always add more!)
TBS of Honey (probably would have been ok without it)
2 TBS of Sugar

EEEEK!!

I am so excited for Brandon and his new journey as a firefighter. He got fitted for all his uniform stuff today and will officially start the training academy next month. He will be in the academy for 10 months. During that time he will go through EMT training and the actual fire fighter training part. At the end of the 10 months he will graduate from the academy and be a firefighter. The whole time that he is in the academy he will be paid by Gwinnett County but it will be a significant pay cut for us. Still, this is his dream. So we will sacrafice where we have to and live way below our means to make sure that we are covered during this transition time. It'll be tough but we have already started making preparations for it and it's going really well.

So wish him luck, wish me luck...cause here we go.

Frankie is on his way home

Dave and Kim are picking up Frankie tonight from an airport in Orlando! Miracles do happen!

Heart Line Ministries

If you are wanting to donate to Haiti but are leary of some organizations out there, Heart Line Ministries is a great organization. HeartLine is an orphanage in Haiti that is in desperate need of our help. They are not only caring for the kids that were already in their care, they are now caring for other kids that have come their way. They have set up make shift clinics to try and help all of those that are in need. You can learn more about them here

Frankie Update!

Not only were Kim and Dave able to be on ABC with Diane Sawyer (thanks to Skype!) to plead their case...they got some great news yesterday!!!

HUMANITARIAN PAROLES WERE GRANTED!!!!!!!

Kim and Dave started the year dreaming that Frankie would be home sometime before the end of the year. They will soon have him in their arms and home with their precious family!

Continue to pray for the orphans of Heartline Ministry as they make this transition to live with their adopted families. Pray that their will be peace and sweet dreams for all of these little ones.

YAY!!

Orphans in Haiti

In the process of moving to Georgia I was lucky enough to be introduced to a ministry called Wayfarer Ministries. One family from this ministry, Dave and Kim Rhodes, were currently in the middle of the adoption process when the earthquake hit. The adoption process in Haiti is long and painful at times. Couples who adopt from Haiti understand that there is usually a waiting period of over two years. Dave and Kim were pretty far along in this process and were finally starting to see some good progress being made.

I am posting this to ask you to read their journey and get involved. Dave and Kim are looking for people that would be willing to contact local US officials that have the power to help get the children of the Heartline ministries home to their adoptive parents.

You can read all about it http://kimrhodes.wordpress.com/

Annie

I've always loved the movie Annie. (However, it wasn't until I watched it a few weeks ago with my niece that I heard GD in it, not once but twice. Yikes!)

Annie and I are twins. Well maybe not, but here is why I always liked her!

1. She was an orphan.

OK...so I was only an orphan for like 12 hours until my adopted parents drove to Tampa to get me, but give me a break.

2. She sang the song Maybe.

Growing up I had this delusional thought that MAYBE my birth parents were really good people. MAYBE the card would come in the mail like my birth mother promised and MAYBE my birth father was this really great man. Neither true but still I like the song. When I was mad at my adoptive mom I use to go around singing the song at the top of my lungs. She would always scream back...MAYBE they'll come pick you up. DYSFUNCTIONAL I know...but we still love each other.

3. She could sing.

I randomly like to burst out in song. However, my singing is more like country meets rap. Crabb Family meets Nelly!

4. She had a dog.

All I got was a bunch of guppy fish that were ugly as sin. Maybe that's why I have a fish phobia now.

5. Her locket.

Her locket says her birthday is October 18. Ring a bell??? That's my birthday! However, in last night's play they said her birthday was October 28th and I almost got up and stormed out in protest!

6. She was adopted.

Ok so she was adopted by money bags but the point is the same. Blood may get you here, but love is what makes it worthwhile. My mama and daddy may have been limited in what they could give me that was worldly, but the love and security that they gave me was more than enough. I will never be able to repay what they did or me.


That's why my Christmas present of seeing Annie live last night was so special! Thanks husband!

Hope

Hope isn't optimism. Optimism often denies reality.Hope never does. Optimism is positive thinking; hope is passionate trust.- Rick Warren