Morning Muffins & a Special Service!

This Sunday my husband and I enjoyed a wonderful service with our ABF at the Heights Baptist Church. We feel absolutely blessed to have such wonderful couples in our lives to grow, serve, and share with. We truly do feel at home. Something that I have been praying over lately and something that is very close to my heart is the thought of being baptized. This is something that for quite some time I have been feeling lead to do so for the next chapter of my life I am so excited to say that I will be moving forward in the process and speaking to someone at the church. More information will be given at a later date. I do pray that on this date those I love will be able to attend and share in such a special time and service.

Earlier this morning, Ray and I had woken up at 6:45AM to make muffins. It was our turn to bring in breakfast for our ABF and what could be better than tasty chocolate, blueberry, and strudle muffins fresh out of the oven. Well what we hadn't planned for was the time change on top of waking up early, so both the husband and I were a bit tired but the final product was fabulous and it was fun to cook together. I truly am so thankful to have a husband that loves to cook:) and knows his way around a kitchen. Here is the final product! They were so very tasty!

I love how God leaves us special "love notes" to let us know he's present in our lives. I am so thankful for the promise He has made to all of us and am so excited for the path that he has in store for me... for all of us.
...

Our God truly is greater....stronger...and higher than any other!

Arbor Hills Nature Preserve

This Saturday the husband and I ventured to Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano to have some fun in the sun. We enjoyed several miles of beautiful scenery, excellent structures, and interesting wildlife. What a wonderful day outside with my love!



Here's to many more beautiful spring days and outdoor activities.

Friday Date Night @ Sams & Two New Tires!

Earlier this week as I was leaving for work, I heard an unfamiliar sound and the car began to act up. Quickly I realized I had a flat tire. This is never a fun way to start your morning. The ironic part of this whole story is about a week earlier, Ray also had a flat and was making his way to work on a donut. So our Friday evening date night consisted of two hours spent at Sams purchasing two brand new tires. This is never how you want to use a portion of your tax refund. Ha! But now we have two working vehicles... for now:)

ELC as a KEY Party Place!

Today on this fun fabulous Friday we celebrated a very special birthday in the ELC. Nurse Key has been such an integral part of our room and our team this year. We were so very excited to do a little something special to help celebrate her big day.

Meet the ladies of the ELC with our favorite nurse!

A little birthday decor!

I am absolutely so incredibly blessed to work with such an amazing team! A team of women who truly love what they do and the kids they work with. Here's to many more celebrations and memories made in the ELC!

Spring Has Sprung, Snoopy Dinner, and Changes in the Air!

Welcome Spring!

Spring has officially sprung here in North Dallas. Spring Break is right around the corner... and by around the corner I literally mean we have a half day with the kiddos tomorrow and then it is one full week of rest and relaxation! While I do not have any large travel plans, I do have several fun lunch dates with sweet friends... and I could not be more excited about it. But before my week off officially begins we had a few fun things this week at school that I would love to blog about. We enjoyed a fun lesson on the ocean and crafted cute projects like stamp fish bowls and crayon relief color pages. We read books including One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Commotion in the Ocean, and Rainbow Fish. The week following Spring Break we will enjoy a week of birthday celebrations. You heard me right. We are having a full party week:) It will include balloons, candles, birthday hats, sweet treats, and of course lots of decorations. I am so excited!
Monday night I attended the twentieth anniversary of Chez Snoopy.

The school cafeteria was transformed into a western cafe where Dickey's BBQ was served. Each third grade student then had the opportunity to operate the restaurant from wait staff such as the hostess, waiter and waitress, and manager, chef, and so forth. The kids were fabulous. What an amazing opportunity for students to gain real life experience and responsibility plus the food was absolutely delicious. Two thumbs up for great food, great wait staff, and great friends to dine with including two of my favorite teacher and TAs. Here is the cute invitation that was sent out.

In other news, I have finally made a decision about my second job at the church. While the main goal was to gain further experience in the education field, there were just a few too many obstacles in my way. I truly felt God was really sending me a message. Talk about the irony. This picture... while not the cutest of me... was taken by one of the kiddos I teach on Wednesday nights and look at the painting in the upper right corner. I couldn't say it better myself. It says, "I need to make the wise choice!" So this past Wednesday was my final day in childcare at the church.

I will for sure miss the sweet faces of those kindergarten through second graders that I saw each week/weekend but am happy to be going in a different direction and focusing and saving my energy for those six kiddos I teach on a daily basis. And just as a side note, I never realized how excited I would feel to teach one of my little girls another word. She says "hi" and "eight." While this may seem of little significance it seriously means the world to me. Life is definitely about small victories but they are victories none the less.

I am definitely excited for all that is to come after Spring Break. I hear that the school year really takes off as time absolutely flies. I am so excited to move forward in my process to becoming a full time teacher and all that will lead to. For now, I am excited to enjoy our last day of school and half day for the kiddos before a week long vacation. I wish you all such a wonderful time and of course more blogging and changes to come.

Love,
Alicia

Lucky in Love!

Here are my lucky charms!

St. Patty's Day is right around the corner and I'm super excited. I absolutely love adorning myself in shamrock green and wishing those around me good luck! So here's to all of our lucky charms this March 17th!

The Farmer in the Dell!

This week has definitely been an interesting week... a week filled with lots of happenings, lots of subs, and lots of projects about farm animals. You heard me right. This week our curriculum is all about the farm and the animals that reside there. This has been such a cute week of lesson planning and shared craft activities. I love these shape pigs and shape tractors. I think they turned out super cute. Only 5 days (or 4 1/2 since Friday is a half day for the kiddos) until Spring Break. I am so thankful for this upcoming break as it will be a wonderful opportunity to get some much needed relaxing time. I am looking forward to many mornings of sleeping in and lunch dates with sweet friends.

How are you planning on spending your spring break?