And So It Begins...

I can't believe 2012 is almost over! It has gone by wayyyy too fast! As usual, my family has been blessed beyond belief this year! Today, as I begin to write this blog entry, I can't help but think of all the things I have to be so very thankful for; however, I still feel like a piece of my heart is missing. The only other time my heart felt like this is before Adam and I started dating. I felt I was longing for something I hadn't found yet. That is, until Adam and I started dating and I then filled that missing piece. Now, as we begin the journey to start our family, my heart aches to find that last missing piece, a child. 
At the beginning of the year, I began to follow a sweet friend's struggle with having a baby. It was an eye opener for Adam and me. We knew my body acted...for lack of a better word, wacky all the time. Deep down, I think I knew I had something "wrong" with me. Until I read Whitney and Duane's blog, I wasn't sure what it was. As Whitney listed the symptoms, one by one, I began to check them off. I had all the symptoms! 
Adam encouraged pestered me month after month to go to the doctor until finally, in November, I gave in. It was confirmed that indeed, I do have PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome). It's not a fatal disease or anything life threatening, just frustrating to say the least. Dr. Williams (the best fertility doctor in North Mississippi) put me on Metformin, which is a diabetes medicine sometimes used for lowering insulin and blood sugar levels in women with PCOS. It also helps regulate menstrual cycles, start ovulation, and reduce the risk of miscarriage. Trust me, it comes with it's own lovely horrible side effects, but if it helps us eventually have a baby, then I can tolerate it. 
In the weeks since getting a diagnosis of PCOS, I have gone through several different emotions. At first, I was freakishly positive about the situation. Deep down, I knew God had control...duh! As time went on, however, I began to become sad. Each time I pulled Facebook up on my phone, I saw another friend announcing their pregnancy or another mother posting pictures of their beautiful child. Yeah, yeah I know I rained on a lot of parades, but I wasn't listening to God. 
Thankfully, my sweet, wonderful, Godly husband pulled me back down to reality and made me see that God has complete control of our lives and I wasn't letting Him show me the way. Daily, I read and reread Psalm 27:14, "Wait for the LORD. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD." 
So, no baby yet, but that's okay. As we know, it's all in God's timing because you see, I am not waiting on a baby; I am waiting upon the Lord.

Adam

Okay, tonight I'm a little sad. Okay, A LOT sad! My husband, my best friend, and the love of my life is hurting. Yes, physically hurting. He's at the Mississippi State Fire Academy in the infamous Smoke Diver class. I'm not writing this for anyone to feel sorry for Adam. After all, he chose to go to this torturous  class. I'm writing this because I've never had this feeling. In the 2 years we've been married, I've never had this heart wrenching feeling . Let me tell you...it's ZERO fun! Being so far away with no way of taking the pain away from him is terrible, awful, and extraordinarily painful for me! Props to Army wives--I have no idea how you do this for a year or more! My heart is 3 hours South, but my body and tears are here in Pontotoc and tomorrow, they'll be in Hickory Flat--my poor kiddos :(

For those of you that don't have the privilege of knowing Adam Carnes, let me tell you a little about him. He's the most soft-hearted guy you'll ever meet. He'd give his last cent and the shirt off his back to someone he thought needed it more than him. He works so hard to provide for the family we are building together. He was born a firefighter. He lives and breathes to fight fires. Next to God and our family, it's the most important thing in his life. He thrives on being a 3rd generation firefighter and he loves to imagine our child being a 4th generation firefighter (Umm, not this future Mommy!). If you earned Smoke Diver by being a "good ole boy", then hands down, he'd have it! Unfortunately, that's not how it works. 

Usually, Adam is the positive in our relationship and I'm the "Negative Nancy"; however, tonight he was so down on himself. It was disheartening for me. I just wanted to crawl through the phone and put my arms around his neck like never before! If he had half the faith in himself as I have in him, then let me tell you, he'd be running through those horrible evolutions. So, I wrote all this to ask this...Tonight, when you're saying your prayers, please include Adam (and Jeremy). Pray they can give their pain to God and just do what they do best...fight fires. Pray God gives them the strength they need to get through 72 more hours at MSFA! Most of all, pray they give all the glory to God because without Him, they wouldn't be where they are today! 

Monday Madness

Today was another Monday. I'm still loving my job, loving my kids, and loving my school; however, why am I always soooooooo exhausted on Monday afternoons? I am seriously considering going to bed at 7:30, ha! The only reason I'm not is because Piper is looking at me like I'm crazy for getting in the bed when it's still light outside!

First Day of School

Well, tomorrow is the day. The day I've been waiting on my entire life. I will finally be able to begin the career I've always wanted to do. I can't wait to meet my kids and get to know them. I know there will be challenges, but I am so ready to learn! I just hope they're as ready to learn as I am, ha!




These are the only good classroom pictures I have. I tried not making it too elementary, but fun at the same time!

What a Starr

I’m a Daddy’s girl, plain and simple; however, my sweet momma is my best friend. Though I may not act like it at times, she is one of the only people in the whole world that can comfort me no matter what. She has supported me in everything I have ever tried, whether I failed or succeeded. I can call her at any time of the day and know that she will be there.

I often take her for granted when I should be thanking the Lord for allowing me to have such an amazing mother. She sacrifices daily to provide me with everything I need or want. Without her, I would not be starting my life-long dream of teaching tomorrow. She has inspired me to become the best teacher and mentor to my students that I can be. If I can make a difference in half as many students lives as she has, I'll be doing good.

I love you Momma!

DIY at it's Finest

So, I finished another project today. It is quite possibly my favorite DIY yet. I just wish I had somewhere in my house to put it. There has to be somebody that has a place for this cute table in their home. Any takers? Here's a mini how to for those of you that might want to give your dining table a new look :)

Legs are Gold Fringe from True Value.
Top is Better Homes and Garden Black from Wal-Mart
& Better Homes and Garden White from Wal-Mart.

1. Using a hand sander, sand with the wood grain until wooden surface is rough.

2. Clean the surface with a rag until surface is dust free.

3. For black and white stripes, paint entire surface white. (For this surface, it took 3 coats of white.)

4. After white paint dries completely, tape off every 2 inches. Paint the open areas black. (For this surface, it took 3 coats of black.)

5. After letting paint dry overnight, remove the tape. Paint the legs. (For the legs, it took 2 coats of gold.)

*To distress, use sander and sand paper to sand to the desired amount.

6. After sanding chairs, then clean the dust with a clean rag and paint them black. (For the chairs, it took 2 coats of black.)

*To distress, use sander and sand paper to sand to the desired amount.

This is getting long, but I can't leave the reupholstering part out ;)
So, here it goes:

I stripped the old fabric off of the cushions.
Okay, let’s be honest. I asked my husband to.
He likes that sort of thing.
I didn't add any new foam because the old was in great condition.
I then covered the foam with new fabric from Hobby Lobby (They had a great 30% off fabric sale...score!).
I used a staple gun to secure the fabric in a tight position.
I'm almost finished...I then secured the seat back onto the chair and VOILA!

Amazingly Blessed

BLESSED–such a loaded word; however, it’s the only one that comes close to describing my amazing life. God amazes me each and everyday with the small, simple things He allows me to take advantage of.


In the twenty-four years I’ve been on this Earth, I have experienced an endless amount of remarkable things–accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, fell in love, been loved, had my heart broken, been kissed, been to prom, graduated high school, ventured into the college world, got engaged, got married, began my life long dream of teaching, and I am anxiously awaiting to see what new and incredible things God is going to allow me to experience next. I’ve been to so many fabulous places–the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, the Black Hills, the Rocky Mountains, the Smoky Mountains, Jamaica, and so many more God given and inspired places. Surprisingly, in my short amount of time on this Earth, I have had and still have some of the most inconceivable friendships. To top it all off, my best friend is the love of my life.


What more could an only child from small town USA ask for?