Day 266- Your Sweet

I heard the most sweetest words from my little guy tonight when I was telling him good night.  I had said, "I love you Landry. You are too sweet." He said, " You are too sweet too momma."

Awesome words after a long stressful day. Thankful.

Day 265- My Kiddos

I was able to have some one on one time with each of my kiddos today, for that I am thankful. 

I took Landry to get his hair cut and while that may sound like a mundane thing, it was sweet. He looked like such a big boy in the chair, so excited, and he would look at me and give me his cheesy grin- melted my heart.

We then had a trip to Krogers and while eating his sticky sucker he would pucker his lips and lean up to kiss me. Precious. Thankful to have those moments with him today.

Hadley-  I took my girl to my students softball game tonight. She was bored at first but then she laid her head down on my lap and said, " I just love you "

Loved our talks and love that we both love our milkshakes. :) Thankful for this beautiful night. Thankful for my kids!

Day 264- Dancing The Night Away

Chaperoning Prom was so much fun! It was fun to get all dressed up, nails and hair done, and dance. I am thankful for getting to hang out with friends, co-workers, and students. Thankful for dancing, because it is seriously something I love to do! And thankful for seeing this awesome dress hanging in the window today uptown! And that it was only $24.00!

Day 263- Prom

I am thankful for such a fun evening of decorating for our schools Prom tomorrow. I love getting to know people better, hanging out with students, and just doing fun things like this. Thankful for a long, but very fun and enjoyable day.  Thankful that now it is time for sleep!

Day 262- My List

Things I am thankful for today:

Cool rainy day

Landry singing Let It Go in the car while watching Frozen

Landry's allergic reaction at the babysitters was controlled by Benadryl 

Donuts

That I get to drive on back country roads every day to and from work

Hugs from my kiddos 

Singing

Day 262- Tucking My Kids In Bed

There are such sweet moments when putting my kids to bed. I am thankful that both of them wanted extra hugs and kisses tonight. I am thankful that my kids still want to hug and kiss on me even when I am not at my best as their mom. Thankful for my girl and my little man.

Day 261- Shoes

If anyone knows me just a little, you would know that I am pretty giddy when it comes to shoes. I love them. I love all colors, heels, flats, comfortable, flip-flops, you name it I love them. When I came home for the summer from my freshman year of college my dad about flipped out when I brought home 150 pairs of shoes. No joke, I had that many. I don't think I have that many now, but probably close. My motto is, " a girl can never have too many shoes." Tonight as we were sitting in the drive way with our neighbors,  there was mention of going to the shoe store, and of course that caught my attention and I half jokingly said I'd love to go when she asked her 11 yr. old daughter to go.  Her husband offered to watch the kids and off we went! I had been eyeing a certain pair of sandals for awhile but didn't buy them since they were not on sale. Tonight, however, they were! And yes I bought them! So tonight I am thankful for an impromptu shoe shopping with a friend, and of course scoring a sale! I am also giddy about borrowing my friends gorgeous shoes for this Saturday when I chaperone the Prom. To share my delightfulness in shoes, here are a few pictures. Thankful for friends, great talks, wine, driveways, kids running around laughing, and of course shoes! 

Day 260- Today

In the midst of the unknown sometimes you still have to dig for the things you are thankful for.  Today has been one of those days. Today I am thankful for certain people that truly help you through the crapiness of life.  People who are willing to do anything to help a person feel better, to make them smile, to pray for them, email/call/text, anything that will make them breathe a little easier.  I am thankful for those people who did that for me today.

Day 259- Mother's Day

The joys of my Mother's Day are most definitely my kiddos. Thankful God chose me to be their mom. This day also brings a lot of sadness with one of my babes in heaven and my mom. I can't help but get sad when I see others with their moms, reading about how wonderful they are, and how they don't know what they'd do without them. I wish I could do the same thing, it sucks.  So I will say this and hope that my precious baby can know - "I am glad that I was chosen to be your mom, if only for a very short time on earth, but forever in heaven I'm your mom and Iove you immensely. "

To my mom-" I miss you. I'd give anything to see you and hear your voice one more time. I hope you can look down and be proud of what you see. Happy Mother's Day and I love you."

Thankful for the pictures and memories I was able to capture today.

Day 258- Spending Time

Despite how hard it is, I'm thankful that I was able to visit my mom's grave this weekend. This holiday has always been hard, even more so now that my mom is gone. It was good to sit, talk, and sit still for awhile at her grave. Thankful I had the opportunity to visit her.

Day 257- Today

Today I am thankful for a beautiful Spring day and night. Thankful I get to sleep in tomorrow.

Day 256 - The Power of Encouragement and a Little Wine

What a day, a very long day.  Thankful my students finished their testing today. Thankful I was able to play another few hours of basketball with them and obtain another sunburn.  The weather has been gorgeous.  Tomorrow is a big day. HUGE! Tomorrow from 12-3pm I will be taking one of the most crucial and painful tests that I have taken in my life.  My job, my pride, and a few other things, are contigent of me passing this test. I won't lie, I have been anxious and worried all day; especially tonight.  After conferences tonight, that horrible sick feeling in my stomach, that heaviness in my chest where I feel like Im grasping for air, came over me. That horrible word - DOUBT started to creep in. "What if I forget everything?" "I still need to go over more questions." "I have worked so hard for this." "What will I do if I lose my job?"  Those horrible thoughts that keep churning in my head, over and over.  As I drove home tonight with my windows down, songs turned up, and the air blowing in my face watching the beautiful sunset, I tried to pray, tried to replace that doubt with confidence.  I was then reminded of the cards I received from very dear friends the past few days, and a surprise phone call from another awesome friend who asked me to stop by to hand me something and to pray with me.  There is so much power in encouragement from people who truly believe in you.  Power in the words they say, in cards they write, and there is incredible power in people who stop and pray with you out loud.  As I have mentioned lately, prayer has been a struggle, and it is awesome when people step in to pray for me and with me.  So tonight, while I feel like I should frantically study more, from the advice of friends, I am watching a show, eating some cheese and crackers, and drinking some wine.  I truly hope I can wake up feeling like a rock star and will rock this test.  Power in encouraging words.  Power in believing I can do this. 

Beautiful flowes and cards from amazing people in my life

My attempt at relaxing tonight

Day 255- The Last Full Night

Tonight was my last full night of studying for this dang test. Tomorrow I have parent teacher conferences and am hoping to have a little down time to relax and get some sleep. I am very much hoping I will never have to study for this again! Here are the things I am thankful for tonight:

1. Playing basketball with my students after their testing today. I absolutely love just hanging out with them. 

2. Getting my first sunburn of the year!!

3. Gorgeous day and night. 

4. Catching up with friends and family and talking about real meaningful things.

5. Hot fudge milkshakes and deep fried mushrooms.

And yes I took a selfie to remember my last night of studying because I'm going to Rock this test!

I

Day 254- Need.To.Breathe.

Absolutley hate being under so much stress and anxiety. I have two more days until this awful ridiculous test that I have studied for more then anything else in my entire life. I am.so.over.it. After working from 7:15 am until 8pm and now it is almost 11 pm as I sit here at the coffee shop studying, the gloss over look is starting to set in and I can barely keep my eyes open. I still have so much to look over, then it's back up at 5am, a day of testing for my students, a meeting, and more studying. Thursday is yet another long day with putting at least 12 hours of being at school for conferences, and then I'm off Friday morning for my test. I would be lying if I said I am holding up okay, because I am not.  On the outside I smile, I teach, I hug my family, but on the inside I feel like a ton of bricks are sitting on my chest, my heart is racing, and I feel like I'm going to throw up all.the.time. It sucks. I know Ill make it, but it sure feels like hell trying to get through. I hate that I'm struggling with doubt. I hate I'm struggling to pray for myself and this test. I'll pray for anyone else and believe Hes at work, but me, hardly any prayers are said. So I will say for today I am thankful for:

1. My sweet babies who hug on me and miss me so much

2. My amazing friends who are praying for me right now and encouraging me to pass this test, even when I can't.

3. The beautiful trees that are blooming.

4. Beautiful sky as the sun sets.

5. Iced tea

I am trying to pray "Jesus stay with me for the next few days and please don't let me fall."

Day 253- My Students

Most teachers are counting down the days until school is out for the year, I seriously am not. I am sure if I were in my 5+ years of teaching, I probably would be.  I just absolutely love my students, love teaching, love every aspect about it (except of course the red tape of it, testing, etc.).   Today was one of those days where it was just an absolute joy to be a teacher.  We are taking the state OAA's this week which makes everyone stressed and worried.  Knowing how stressed I am when I take a test, I knew that I needed to help my studens relax and be confident in taking this test.  I had found a link on facebook where teachers from Columbus, Ohio put together a song about passing the test to the song ,"Thrift Shop", it is hilarious and very fun.  I showed it to all of my classes today and they loved it. We danced, sang, and had fun.  My very last class begged me to let them write their own song and present it to the class, and yes, I caved and let them.  (Hey presenting to the class is something they have to learn :) ).  It was so incredibly fun to watch them work in groups and take this so seriously.  I was able to see some arguments but only to see how they could resolve those without me stepping in. I was able to see some shy students come out of their shells, and see some leadership take place.  I absolutley loved seeing the students really be proud of what they did.  I was impressed with the lyrics they wrote about passing the OAA's.  I wish I could post their videos, just so you could see what they did.  One of my most memorable moments was when a student came up to me after I said I would allow them to do this, and he said this, "Mrs. Lynch, I could just hug you forever for letting us do this!" Priceless. I love my job. I love my students.  So thankful that I have had the privilege of being their teacher.

Day 252- This Week - Both Anticipating and Dreadful For Some

For most, the week leading up to Mother's Day is a fun, exciting, and anticipated time.  Sadly, for some it is the most dreaded week of the year.  It can dreadful for those of us who have lost their moms, for ones who have a mom, but not in the sense of what a mom is suppose to be, or for ones who desire to be a mom.  I came across a really great blog written by a lady who lost her mom to cancer this year.  So instead of me writing mostly tonight, I thought I'd share her blog.  Most of her words are exactly what I feel and would say to anyone out there who still has their mom.  What I wouldn't give for another day to share so many things with my mom that I wasn't able to say.  

I will say, while this week is very hard, I am thankful I am a momma to three babies, two that I am able to hug on and kiss everyday, and one that I will someday in Heaven.

I can't seem to post the direct link, but it is posted on my facebook.  You can also go to this website below and then read the blog titled - Dear Friend Who Still Has Their Mother

www.graceformoms.com - 

Day 251- This Time Next Week

I will be so happy this time next weekend.  I have on more week of studying like crazy and praying I won't have to do it again. What a long long journey it has been, while I am believing that I am going to kick some - - - on this test, I can't help but worry that I may not pass it again.  However, right now, I am believing and praying I can do this.  Thankful for everyone who has helped me study, whether it be by helping me complete my homework, quizzing me, encouraging me, praying for me, and taking care of my kiddos so I could attend class and study.  Thankful that I have made it this far without going too crazy, but very thankful that I hopefully will be able to breathe deeper this time next week.  

Day 250- Driving

I think it's the country girl in me that finds driving on back roads with the windows rolled down and country music turned up so enjoyable.  On my way to study tonight I decided to take a little drive down a road I've never taken.  It was beautiful. The trees are blooming, there are old barns, one lane bridges, and open fields.  A fine masterpiece of nature art.  I felt as if I could take a deep breath and take a moment to just breathe.  Thankful for these times to clear my head.  Thankful for fresh air.  Thankful for country music. Thankful for God's creation that we can enjoy.  

Here are some pictures that brightened my stressful day.  My son asked me to take pictures with him and so of course I did and it was such a precious moment with him.  He hugged me as if he never wanted to let go; what a wonderful feeling.  Thankful for moments when a hug can make you feel like you are the only person in the world that matters.  Thankful for pictures that captured my drive today.

Day 249 - Cheesy Grins

Picking up my little man today was priceless. He was full of cheesy grins from the moment he saw me, in the backseat while driving home, and while we were eating dinner.  I love that my kids get a smile on their faces when they see me.  It is an incredible feeling when your kids or anyone, really, smiles when they see you.  I am thankful for those cheesy grins.  They get me through the stresses of life.