Painting with a Twist

 I had a girl's night tonight with a friend...we enjoyed every second of it.  She invited me to go with her to "Painting with a Twist."   It is a group painting class that takes you step by step on how to create your artwork.  They have different paintings each class so you may choose which one you would like to go to. This is a super cute place to go with a group of friends. Tonight we painted a chandelier. I am by no means an artist (as you will see you below) BUT it was still a lot of fun and it turned out much better than I expected.

 We started with a black canvas.

They then have you draw with chalk to create the outline...this was VERY helpful.

 

This is the complete chandelier in chalk. 

 

We then went over the chalk with white paint. I really liked the way it looked in all white. 

 

Last, we added color to it.  I did not really care for the color choice but here is the final product!

 

My friend Amber and I. As you can see she is a bit more artistic then me. :)

Even though I may not be an artist it was still a lot of fun and I would love to go back again. I highly recommend it for a girls night.  They have them all over the US so visit www.paintingwithatwist.com to see if there is one close to you!

Power of Prayer

       I have really struggled this year with my class.  I can't tell if it's me, my students, or both. I love each of them SO much but my patience with them is lacking. So I guess you could say the problem lies within me. :/

      This past Monday I decided I needed to pray while I got ready instead of listen to the news. I began by thanking God for my job and then asked for him to give me patience.  I prayed for each student personally and asked him to prepare them for the new week.  We had a wonderful day.   We had so much fun learning about contractions, writing about what we think the Tooth Fairy does with our teeth, and how to keep our teeth healthy. Since then I have prayed each morning while getting ready. I have a MUCH better week and have truly enjoyed being in my classroom each day.

I believe with all of my heart that God hears my prayers and helps me work on my faults.   And thank you Lord for that.

    My prayer is that each of you feel the grace of our Lord and Savior by investing your time in conversation with him every day. It truly does change EVERYTHING.

The End of 2011

This has been a VERY busy but exciting weekend.  A dear friend got married and my precious nephew turned ONE.

It seems like yesterday that my SIL was in labor.  Paxton Russell was born December 31, 2010 at 10:00 am.  Such a sweet little baby that has grown to be such an independent boy.

On Friday night I was apart of an incredible wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding in so many ways. The sanctuary was packed with 800 guests as Natalie walked down the isle looking incredible.  This was such a sweet ceremony conducted by Dr. Wiles of FBC Arlington. I must say it is the sweetest wedding I have ever been too and been apart of.  Such a wonderful time started with decorating on Wednesday, to the bridesmaid luncheon on Thursday, and the wedding on Friday. I cannot even begin to describe how much work was put into this wedding and reception.  I was very blessed to apart of this special day for Natalie and Stephen and cannot wait to see how God uses them in their ministry.

This is for you mom! You have been requesting pictures of our precious pooch.  Lucy is growing everyday.  This evening Scott and I sat on the couch and watched one of our favorite shows, Dog Whisper.  This episode was very useful to us and I am already seeing a change in Lucy.  This little stinker loves to get a hold of things that are not hers.  Instead of demanding her to give them up, you wait until she drops it.  I tested out this technique tonight and within 2 minutes she had put the blanket down, slowly laid down and put her head down as well.  She was be submissive.  I showed her who's boss! :)   We are also off to puppy school in 2 weeks.  Lord, help us and her. :)

I hope your New Year's weekend was as wonderful as mine!

It Comes and Goes So Fast!

I cannot believe Christmas is already over.  This is a holiday we plan for over several months and then it seems like it's over in a blink of an eye. This year was mine and Scott's first Christmas together married. We are so blessed to be able to spend Christmas with both of our families.

My first gift was a great surprise from my parents.  Mom and I had a day planned of cooking and baking.  When I arrived at my parents house my dad was not home.   To my surprise him and Scott were setting up my Christmas present...a new kitchen table!!! (We all know we needed one, the blue card table did not quite match the kitchen.)

We spent Christmas Eve  at my parents church with my step-sister and nephew. It was a wonderful service and I truly enjoyed hearing the new pastor preach.  We had a great dinner and a wonderful time of fellowship!

Christmas morning was a fun time at the in-laws.  My father-in-law is known for his omelets! Omelets and family time was a great way to start off Christmas Day.  

And the fun continued...the day after Christmas was spent at my parents.  We had my grandmother and 2 uncles over for little family time.  We had a blast playing Catch Phrase and doing a Gift Card Exchange.

Now the initial Christmas "joys" are over but we must be reminded of the reason we celebrate Christmas. Christmas would mean nothing if it weren't for Easter. I have thought about this before but never heard anyone preach on it.  The new pastor at TSBC did Christmas Eve.  Christ was born to ultimately save us from our sins, which leads us to Easter.  It is fascinating to think of all the connections and the true meaning of why we celebrate Christmas.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I pray the new year is a blessing and that you see our wonderful Savior at work in 2012.

Prayerfully, Courtney

In the learning process

My mom has always suggested I start a blog but I never knew what to call it, what I would write about, or even who would want to read it. Here I am on the Eve of Christmas Eve setting up my very first blog.  I really enjoy reading others blogs so I am hopeful that this blog site will be motivational and interesting to others.

I am SO excited about this weekend festivities AND the start of my new workout. Yes, it is a weird time to start working out but a good friend said "why wait another day?" I agreed and so here we are. Tomorrow will be Day 1 of the new workout. It feels different this time. I am really motivated and ready to start making LIFE changes.

Well I am super excited to join the blogger world...hope you can take a peek into my life and I will take a peek into yours!