Wisdom? I think NOT!

Guess who had to have their wisdom teeth removed this week?

This was not a planned activity. She was in the middle of mid-term exams when one of those pesky, impacted teeth decided to aggravate and cause pain. A phone call to the dentist and the next thing we know, she has an appointment for Friday afternoon at 1:30.

Imagine my surprise when the office nurse called me to the front desk and told me that she didn't have four wisdom teeth, but five!

She did really well, and is following the Dr's orders to the "T"!

She is on a soft food diet, pudding, yogurt, jello, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese. She is determined to not be sick with all of the medicines she has to take, so she eats just enough to coat her stomach and not cause her stomach to act up. :o)

Her big brother has been very helpful.

He took the photos for this blog, and is

planning on adding them to facebook.

Keep us in your prayers. Pray she heals quickly. We are suppose to board an airplane on Tuesday afternoon for Orlando. We will all be ready for a vacation! I need your prayers, I have a million things to do and I am feeling very overwhelmed. Pray for Mom and Dad Burton as we leave them alone for a few days. Pray for our pilot, I'm not a world traveler, it's been 5 years since I've been on a plane and I might be a bit nervous. LOL

I will catch up with you when we return.

XOXO

Theresa

FCCLA STAR Events

Last Friday, ten students and myself rode on a bus to East TN. State University. The students are members of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. Through this wonderful organization students have opportunities to participate in leadership activities. The students pictured below competed against other schools in the Northeast TN area.

I don't have the vocabulary to share with you how proud I am of them!

They undertook projects that many adults would have no clue how to begin. They came to school early, stayed late and worked every spare minute in order to complete their chosen project. One student, not pictured arrived at school on Friday morning with 102 degree temperature. She was so committed to her project she had to see us off! I sent her home with wishes of quick healing and my prayers that I nor any of the others would "catch" that fever!

The great news, all students did really well. Eight of the original eleven will be representing Northeast TN. Region at state competition on April 8 in Nashville.

I have other things to share with you, unfortunately, I have early duty in the morning and I need to get ready for bed.

I pray you are staying warm on this cold winter evening.

Spring will be here soon!

XOXO

Theresa

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

I love you!

XOXO

Theresa

Last Snow Day?

We have used up all of our built in snow days. Today was snow day 14 for this school year. It was a blessing. Last week, while only 4 days, was very tiring and difficult. The weekend did not allow enough recoup time. When I called the message line this morning at 5:30 I discovered we were on a two hour delay. Great, I thought, I can sleep an extra hour and still arrive at school early. Just as I was making my last look in the bathroom mirror I heard the radio say, "This just in, Carter County Schools are now closed". I was thrilled and annoyed at the same time. I loved the thought of catching up on much needed rest, but annoyed that I was already awake and ready. What's a girl to do? Why, eat a waffle and go back to bed of course. It was WONDERFUL! I feel so much more ready to meet the rest of the week. Thank you Lord for meeting my needs.

Once I was up and about I took the opportunity to catch all the "dust bunnies" from my bedroom. They have multiplied since the last time I tried to get rid of them. Frustrating little stinkers. They have a tendency to grow when I am the most distracted. Hopefully I have caught them all and sent them away. For today anyway.

Enjoy your week.

I have a huge project at school this week, but that will be another post.

XOXO

Theresa

Fun Afternoon Cooking School!

The following young ladies participated in the first "Fun Afternoon Cooking School" or FACS. As a Family and Consumer Science Educator, I was approached and asked if I would be interested in having an afternoon cooking school for young children. After much thought, praying and planning, I approached the "older" students in this photo to see if they would be interested in teaching younger students how to cook.

The teenagers in this group are extraordinary young ladies. They stayed afterschool on several occasions to make a cookbook for the younger girls to take home, made certificates, set up the kitchens for the cooking labs and then worked with each young cooking student to prepare a meal.

Upon arrival, each girl was given an apron that had been monogramed with FACS and FCCLA. FCCLA(Family, Career, Community Leaders of America) is the student organization I advise. Each participant was paired with a high school student. They were taught how to properly wash their hands when preparing food, how to chop, measure, use the range, oven, microwave, properly set a table, manners and clean-up.

The Menu:

Tossed Salad

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Garlic Bread

Chocolate covered Strawberries

Sweet Tea/Water

Everyone had fun!

The cooking school was a success!

Look at those strawberries, they were yummy!

Yes, Mom, they know how to wash dishes!

Look at the concentration.

You can tell they were having a good time.

Thanks for stopping by.

I am so blessed to work here!

XOXO

Theresa

YEP! I have it!

What do I have, you ask?

A fever,

SPRING FEVER!

It is early in the season to catch this particular ailment, I know. It came upon me slowly, out of nowhere! Last Monday I felt perfectly fine, the day was a typical Monday until around 11:00 and the principal came over the intercom and announced that due to the ice and snow headed our way, we were dismissing school early. I was feeling pretty good, had no trouble driving home and was looking forward to the possibility of a snow day.

My wish was granted.

And granted.

And granted.

And granted.

The fever hit me on Friday afternoon. I no longer enjoyed the cold, snowy days. I wanted to return to school and a sense of normalcy. The warmer temperatures and sunshine caused the fever in me to rage. By Sunday afternoon I wanted fresh flowers, a spring break vacation-the kind where you can plan a trip to the beach, and bask in the sun while reading a good book.

The cure to my fever may be a long time coming.

I understand the ground hog saw his shadow and predicted we will have six more weeks of winter weather. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, I know that attitude can be the key to a healthy recovery. I'm thinking the correct medicine will also be critical. Fresh flowers from the florist, or grocery store, plenty of light, hopefully it will be natural, but artificial may substitute, and a new project- I'm not sure yet what that will be, are the prescriptions that have healed me in the past.

What heals your spring fever? I wish you well!

XOXO

Theresa

P.S. Good news, power is slowly being restored to my family in KY. Last report, my sister and neice both have power and my dad is expecting to have it by the end of this week. PTL! Dad Burton has returned home and is gaining strength day by day. PTL!

Prayers needed Please

Last Monday night an ice storm came through KY and left thousands of families without power. As all of my family and many friends live in the area that was hardest hit I thought I would share a little information. I found this photo from the Owensboro Messenger Inquirer.

I have talked with my Dad and Sister and they both have shared with me how serious the situation is. Please keep them in their prayers. They live in a small rural community and the entire area is without power. They are having to drive 40 or more miles to get gas. They do have a generator, but it requires 5 gallons of gas to run for 9 hours. I know a generator was flown in from Atlanta, there is now a shelter set up at the Methodist church using that generator.
My dad has a neighbor, 102 years old, she lives independently across the road. Her nephew came and picked her up on Friday and she did not want to go. She did go but is now in the hospital with pneumonia. There are so many elderly people in remote areas, my dad is working with the emergency crews checking on them. There are fields with power lines broken, which will require special equipment in order to even get to them. Due to the warm weather today, they are now in a flash flood situation. A cold front is suppose to come through tomorrow.

Please say a prayer for the situation. Pray for the electrical crews that are working in impossible situations. Pray for them to have strength, energy, wisdom and safety. Pray for the national guard that has been deployed to help. Pray for them as they are in an area with few if any hotels or accommodations. Pray they will have the correct equipment to help restore the community. Pray for the residents, wisdom and safety as they try to warm their homes, pray for courage and strength.

On a completely different note, please keep my in-laws in your prayers.
Dad B. is back in the hospital. Pray for the nursing staff, doctors and Mom B. as they care for him.
My heart is heavy tonight and I appreciate your reading this note and saying a prayer.
XOXO
Theresa

Ready to go back!

Do you remember the ice? Well, that ice, then snow, then more cold temperatures, kept me home from school for 6 days, add in MLK day and I haven't had a full day of school since, Tuesday almost 2 weeks ago. I am ready to go back! :)

What did I do with all my "spring break" you ask? I decluttered bathroom drawers, cooked and then played with photos on my computer.

I had a wonderful subject!

This one is my favorite!

If you want to have fun with your photos I recommend, picnik.com.

Have a great week!

XOXO

Theresa

CELEBRATE! :)

We are pleased to announce the engagement of our son and this beautiful young lady!

No details other than he asked and she said "yes"!

Welcome to our family.

May God Bless You both on this new journey.

We love you!

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.

I Corinthian 13: 4-7 The Message

XOXO

Theresa

Happy Birthday Dad Burton!

Happy Birthday!

77 Years young

We are CELEBRATING!

Proverbs 27:19 As water reflects a face,
so a man's heart reflects the man.

The heart of this man reflects a follower of Christ, God-fearing, faithful to the ages, in love with his wife, an example of patience and wonder to all those around him.

We love you!

XOXO

Theresa

7:00 A.M. and Ice

Ice update. 8:00 p.m.

Today has been a beautiful day to stay in by the fire and eat "comfort" food. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. Poppy Seed Chicken I can say, it received thumb's up from all my troops. If you want an easy, tasty chicken recipe give it a try.

Don't look at the tablescape, just notice how pretty the food is.

It was yummy!

This is what "some" find to do on an icy day.A couple of weeks ago, Dad Burton's youngest brother and his wife drove down from Kentucky for a visit. We had the best time.

Stay warm:)

You know the news can't be good, when the phone rings at 5:45 a.m.

One of the dear men from our church family called because of his concern with the ice that has transformed Kingsport overnight. Consequently, DH is up trying to discern the best course of action for church services. This is always a difficult call to make. I attempted to go back to sleep, but...

Stay tuned, if the weather forecast is correct, I may have plenty of blogging time on my hands. LOL

On a different note, notice the addition on the sidebar.

I found this gal's blogspot several months ago and was impressed with her faith, creativity, and blog. If you have a moment, go read her story. Becoming a first time parent is stressful enough, but add in complications and the stress meter goes off the charts. Again, her faith is a witness to all.

Hoping to go back to sleep.

XOXO

Theresa

Baby, it's Collllllllllllllddddddd outside!

What do you do when the weather is cold outside?

Make a skillet full of cornbread and a crock pot full of soup. Stay in the house by the fire and be happy you have 13 built in snow days and you still have 7 left!

We missed Wednesday, 2 hours on Thursday, and today. I spent Wed. with DD, she moved back into the dorm on Wed. night. I miss her and am ready for her to come home. Middle son doesn't leave until Sun. night for the dorm. It will be so quiet around our house next week.

I didn't even stick my nose outside today!

It was veryyyyyyy cold and I took that opportunity to declutter and organize the bathroom cabinet. I am always amazed how quickly things can pile up. I wish I had counted the tubes of toothpaste that I threw away due to expiration dates. There are 4 large tubes in the bathroom, the dates are good, we should have the freshest teeth in town.

I took a break from decluttering to go downstairs and make a skillet of cornbread. My new/old favorite kitchen tool is this old iron skillet. I've had it so long, I can't remember, but I haven't truly appreciated it's usefulness until recently. Dad Burton loves cornbread and buttermilk. I try to make him at least one skillet of cornbread a week. There is something about hot cornbread with butter, it is wonderful! :) If you haven't tried it lately let me encourage you to do so. If you don't have an iron skillet you really should get one. They are wonderful for cornbread and frying chicken. It's been awhile since I've fried chicken, but when I did, the iron skillet was the tool!

I pray you are staying warm on this cold January night. God bless!

XOXO

Theresa

30 YEARS!

January 1, 1979 at 3:00 p.m. my DH and I stood in a small country church and pledged to love each other through good times and bad.

What a journey it has been!

How quickly the years have flown by. We were young, in college, poor as church mice and so in love.

We celebrated by taking a short trip to Abingdon, Va., a quaint town full of history and beautiful architecture. While there we had lunch at the Martha Washington Inn Restaurant. It was delicious. The MWI building was built in 1832 and was the home of a family. It later became a college for young women, a hospital during the Civil War and now is a beautiful hotel and spa. The detail in the building is stunning. Original working fireplaces, hardwood floors, crown molding, and appropriate furnishings are seen throughout.

Standing on the front porch to welcome.

This is the courtyard out from the "Garden" wing.

The snow was an added bonus.

Winter Tablescape.

So the house doesn't feel so "lost" when the Christmas decorations came down, I decided to leave a few "snow" things out.

DH's Uncle and Aunt from KY are coming to church and then over for chili tomorrow.

I had fun setting the table and then taking pictures.

It is well past my bedtime. I pray 2009 will bring you blessings and peace.

XOXO

Theresa

P.S. The good times have out numbered the bad, the bad times helped to make the good times even better. I am so blessed. I love my husband dearly and am proud of the family we have. Thank you God!

Great Attitudes!

We have had a wonderful time! Church this morning, we filled two pews! It was a blessing for us to all be together and worship.

Attitudes were great and a few photos were taken.

I have more to share, but this is enough for tonight.

Enjoying time with family,

XOXO

Theresa