Reflections

As I sit at home for the second day in a row (doctor's orders) I sit and reflect.

I reflect that my Thanksgiving was not what I imagined but I was able to experience a new love from my husband. Having been sick for the past four days and then two days of recovery, I have had the priviledge of being taken care of by sweet loving husband. He has cared for my every need, even rushing home from church to take me to me to the urgent care, so I could get some much needed medical attention. Very thankful for modern medicine and rest.

I have enjoyed two days of rest, although I feel much better, still not up to spending an entire day at work, I am so grateful that the doctor gave me that go ahead, otherwise, I would probably be sick AGAIN!!!

During those two days I have been able to just enjoy life. Christmas decorations have been put up, presents wrapped and placed under the tree, and more online shopping done. I know, I know, I'm suppose to rest but for me this was so relaxing and enjoyable, and trust me I feel very rested, and ready for the work week ahead (what's left of it). I have been able to spend some fabulous "quality time" with Aaron, which personally I think may be the best medicine a girl could ever get. We have had the opportunity to just sit and enjoy life.

I have also had the opportunity to catch up on the Platt Adoption Journey. This is the journey of David and Heather Platt (Pastor at the Church of BrookHills in Birmingham) and the adoption of the daughter Mara Ruth. It has been absolutely eye opening and humbiling as I have watched this take place from across the world. I encourage everyone to check this out. www.brookhills.com Words can not describe this, simply read with an open heart and let God SHOW UP!!!

As I spend the remainder of the day resting, I hope you are able to reflect on the AWESOMENESS that is this Christmas season. Much love to you all.

Thanksgiving Break

Wednesday begin with a run for me and a bike ride for Aaron, afterwards I began the working on my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. Cinnamon Rolls (Sybil's Famous Cinnamon Rolls at that) and Candied Sweet Potatoes. After rolling up cinnamon rolls (which is a lot harder than I thought it would be), letting them rise, cooking and icing them, we have our finished product. I made a pan for Thanksgiving, a pan for the guys at ATT that work with Aaron, and of course a pan for us. They were delicious!



I got all of the Christmas decorations out and did some online shopping before having some homemade taco pizza (another Sybil recipe) and watching some t.v.

Thanksgiving Day - I woke up not feeling really well but figured it was because I was tired. We got ready, gathered our tasty treats and headed to Citronelle to have Thanksgiving with the Turner Clan. Food, family, conversation, football games, everything was fantastic but still I didn't feel good. By the time we got home, I had a fever and my throat was very swollen. I was given some meds and sent to bed.

Friday - I'M SICK!!! Thankful to have a doctor in the family who can call in meds for you. After driving to get my meds, I parked myself in the bed and didn't leave except to get the mail. Gracie, sweet kitty, stayed with me all day and it must have worn her out because she has slept all day today. By the time Aaron got home, I had a fever, and wasn't feeling well at all. He went into full Doctor Aaron, got me some soup, meds, clean sheets, and just made sure that I was completely taken care of, including starting on the laundry. He has been the most awesome caretaker, takes on a whole new meaning of "in sickness and health" I love him!

Saturday - I woke up with a low grade fever but was able to get out of the bed. After a slow start, I managed to get myself going and get all of the laundry done (just took my time). I enjoyed talking to mom, read part of my new Karen Kingsbury book, shopped online, and enjoyed a little football. Now I'm patiently waiting on Aaron to get home, so we can put up the Christmas tree. So excited. I'll post pictures of the tree later. Until then... I'll continue resting so that I'm ready for the new work week. Not the way I wanted to spend my break but so glad to have a caring and loving husband to take care of me.

A Weekend of Blessings

Awww, for rest, relaxation, cleaning, laundry, quality time with family, winning some sweet prizes, and a romantic dinner with my husband.

Last week was a "short" week for me. Thursday was an early dismissal, so the students left at 12, and then we were out of school on Friday for Veteran's Day. I spent Friday cleaning and doing laundry. Don't worry, I still had time to prop my feet up and enjoy a cup of coffee and a couple of cinnamon rolls. I felt quite rested and ready to tackle the weekend.

Saturday Aaron and I woke up, packed our bags, and headed to a new town we had never been to before... Hueytown, Alabama. All three "orginal Waters" plus the two additional Waters/Turner were all under the same roof. What a great time we had, watching some really sad football, eating delicious food. (Sybil really out did herself. The taco pizza was delicious and I hope mine turns out just as tasty) And of course no Waters' gathering would be complete without Rachel's famous chocolate chip cookies, fresh out of the oven.

Sunday, everyone was headed in different directions. Aaron and I got up, enjoyed another special treat made my Sybil, cinnamon rolls. (Sybil - Aaron has bragged about them to all the guys at work, and now I've got to try my hand at them so they can see just what he is talking about. LOL) Then off to church we went. We arrived at The church of Brook Hills and were greeted by some of the most friendly people, and never once felt out of place, such a family and friendly atmosphere. The entire service was amazing, such an encouragement. It was so nice to sit through a church service and have not a single responsibility. Such a blessing.

Then off to ATT's auction. We ended the day with $100 for being newlyweds, $200 for two years with the company, a firepit, and WAIT FOR IT... A Macbook Pro! Since it was dinner time when we left, we decided to go somewhere nice, plus we were right there by The Summit. So CHEESECAKE FACTORY, here we come. We enjoyed a fantastic meal under the stars, and of course a slice of cheesecake before heading back home.

Another week has begun and the holiday season is quickly approaching, but I realized that it is so nice to just take some time to relax, spend time with those who you love the most and count your blessings. I can't wait to see what Sybil cooks up next time. Haha Until then.

New Beginnings

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord" Psalm 127:3a

Aaron and I have had an extremely busy week and are glad for a day of rest. This week has been a week of "new beginnings". On Monday we visited Aaron's cousin and brand new baby. What a miracle this child is, a true gift from God. It was so neat to see this precious little baby boy and then to think of the responsibility that his parents have to raise him. It something that should be taken very seriously. "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

On Wednesday, we witnessed four of our students share their testimony, which like a baby being born, was the start of a new life for them. It was very encouraging to hear these students speak from their hearts and share with their peers that their lives were changed FOREVER!!! These kids were so unashamed of the relationship they had with Christ and wanted the other students to share their passion.

That evening Aaron and I (along with the May's a.k.a Willie and LeeAnn) headed to another hospital to visit with another family who was celebrating in the birth of their child. However this family was celebrating a bit differently than the family earlier in the week because they had just ADOPTED this baby boy. As I sat holding baby Will, I realized that we are all "adopted" into the family of God. We all come from different places but the common ground that we share is our relationship with our Father. How amazing!

New beginnings can be scary, adventurous, exciting, and so much more, we just have to remember to make God the center of it all.

A Day of Relaxation

How wonderful it was to have a day off yesterday. We have had no break from school since Labor Day, at the beginning of September, so my Saturdays are quite precious. And yesterday was the PERFECT fall day. I woke up, enjoyed a cup and a half of coffee, cleaned, started laundry, and then just relaxed. As the Auburn game started, I began to watch it and then decided I needed a little outside time, so I went out for a run. It was beautiful!!! I just enjoyed a 4 mile run and the fall leaves and sunshine made me wish my lungs and legs allow me to go just a little further. Home, shower, and start dinner. A new recipe for cheesy chicken enchildas, quite tasty! I did some online Christmas shopping while Aaron watched the Alabama/Tennessee game. Apparently, he has a slight hatred towards Tennessee. It was quite intense in the Turner home for a quarter or two.

That brings us to today. Now Sundays can be a bit more stressful simply because they are so busy but I'm married to the most amazing man, who makes sure that I take some time for myself. After church, we had lunch with Candice, Brad, and their son Micah. Micah and I bonded, which is huge because he's never really liked me. We are getting to be buds now. Micah's 3 1/2. :) Then a bit of shopping for Aaron before we headed home. Now in our house we have two meal traditions. Friday night homemade pizza and Sunday Brinner (breakfast for dinner). So being that it had been a long day and I was still in need to some relaxation I decided on an easier route for dinner. Grit casserole and biscuits, which were amazing. Aaron decided he wanted coffee using our french press. (It does make the coffee taste different, I enjoyed myself half of a cup). I enjoyed a lovely dinner with my sweet husband who showered me with praises for my excellent biscuits (thanks Mama for the recipe and years of observation). Then another relaxing surprise, the kitchen was cleaned and things were put away before I knew what had happened, all by THE BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD. Now everything is clean, put up, clothes are ready for tomorrow and I have still have two hours before bed to just relax and enjoy some good quality time with Aaron.

So I guess my day of relaxation turned into two, for which I am very grateful. Hopefully I will have some more relaxing moments so that I can keep our blog updated. Until next time.

The Newest Second Grade Class... a.k.a Miss Waters' class

May I begin by saying, HOORAY for the weekend! Monday started my first week back to school with students and it has been an exhausting week. Just getting up early and then standing on my feet for 8 hours on a concrete floor, it was all I could do to put my feet on the floor the next morning. It has been a very productive first week and I've got a great bunch of students, who are very eager to learn. I also have some "rounders" who like to try my patience every minute of the day. Everyday I remind myself they are just over grown 1st graders and they just want my love. This is my largest group of 2nd graders, 22 students. I am also having to get use to all of the students calling Mrs. Turner. Most of them knew me as Miss Waters, so I'm called both, mostly by former students. I must admit though, after six years of being Miss Waters, I think I like the sound of Mrs. Turner! So here is a run down of the week:

Monday - after about 4 hours of sleep, simply because I never can sleep before the first day of school I was up and off to work by 6:45. Hall duty, meet the kids, deal with a hystical child, teach procedures, lunch, P.E. math, MUSIC (on what a relief to have an enrichment on Monday afternoons), snack, science, social studies, and THEN sending the children home. I finally make it home around 5:30, get dinner prepared, go for a run, and then relax while I eat. Aaron was recording after work so he came home late. Tuesday was much of the same, by Wednesday I was starting to get use to the pain and throbbing in my legs and feet. After teaching all day on Wednesday it was off to church, which was fantastic, but by the time I made it home, it was all I could do to walk in the door. Thursday and Friday went very smoothly. The majority of the kids have the procedures down and they will help each other if someone forgets.

However, I have 5 students who really try me each and every day. For example: the students must have a bus sticker on to get on the bus. This is just another way we can make sure the kids are getting on the correct bus. Well I send my Gill 1 students out, all have bus stickers. In a minute we have an announcement, "TEACHERS PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR STUDENTS HAVE BUS STICKERS ON, WE WILL NOT PUT THEM ON THE BUS WITHOUT A STICKER" I give it no thought because all of mine had a sticker. My door opens and a teacher is bringing me one of my kids (with no bus sticker) back in my room. He decided to just remove his sticker and throw it away because he didn't need it. I gave him another sticker and he had a private escort to the bus. He did the same thing on Friday, before he made it to my room as well. The students get their stickers as they get off the bus, he just decided he didn't want to wear his. For him, it will make my life a little easier when we no longer wear bus stickers. Only one more week to go with those.

Now yesterday I was able to leave earlier, ran some errands and headed home. I just decided to lay down for a minute and when I woke up it was 6:15. YIKES!!! I quickly threw the ingredients for our pizza dough in the breadmachine, and went about gathering the materials to make our homemade pizza. It was delicious and even better this afternoon for lunch. We had pepperoni and Mediterranean Alfredo Pizza.






Mediterranean Alfredo Pizza

1 Pizza Crust (I used homemade)
1/3 cup Alfredo sauce (leftovers can be used to dip the crust in)
8 to 10 fresh spinach leaves
1 cup fresh mushrooms
1 small tomato chopped
4 canned artichoke hearts
1 ½ teaspoons oregano
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup cooked chicken

Make Pizza Crust, place items on top of pizza crust and bake according to the directions.


Saturday - so Aaron (who has today off) and I decided we were going to sleep in and just enjoy the day. Needless to say I guess our bodies are just use to getting up early and we were both up by 6:30. He's done his training for his Triathlon, put together a bed, and cut the grass. I've cleaned the house and I'm working on laundry. Aaron is watching something on T.V. with his eyes closed, which sounds like a great idea. I think I hear the Temperpedic calling my name...yep it is. An afternoon nap, sounds like an awesome plan.

New Do, New Lawn Mower, and New School Year... a whole lot of newness!

Let me begin by saying that I start school tomorrow and orginally set out to type up my procedure list for tomorrow (which I had hand written during church today - horrible I know but I can listen and write at the same time) but decided that the hand written version would do just fine, so here I am blogging instead.

Last weekend Aaron and I took a little road trip to Panama City for the Baldwin Baptist Back to School Retreat. No we didn't take our youth, Aaron, Brad, and Matt (part of Seraph) led worship and I tagged along. I must say it was a lot of fun to be a "groupie" and Haley (Matt's wife) and I enjoyed chatting while the guys were practicing. Needless to say we had a lot of fun, ate some great food, spent quality time with wonderful friends, never made it to the beach because it was too HOT, and got to get away one last time before the summmer ended. Now before we left, Aaron and I both had haircut appointments. We were both still sporting our wedding haircuts and well looking a little shaggy. So I made the appointments and off we went. Aaron was going for his cool band look and I decided that I wanted a new look as well... I mean I am a new person, name wise. So I googled some pictures and found one that I thought I could pull off. Here are our new dos:



I'm still getting use to the fact that I have something on my forehead and at times I find some bobby pins and pin those bangs back. I haven't had bangs since the 7th grade. I've gotten many compliments on the new style and teachers at school at first glance didn't recognize me. So here is the new me.

Moving on to today, where we made yet another large purchase. We bought a new stove two weeks ago in exchange for a rent. It is amazing! So I decided that I would cut the grass yesterday morning before heading to a wedding shower for LeeAnn and Willie. I get everything ready and I'm cutting away. After about five passes, the lawn mower dies. Now it had done this to me before but we changed the starter and it worked perfectly. After several attempts I finally gave up. Today we bought a beautiful red Troybuilt lawn mower with a mulcher bag. After my amazing husband put it together of course he had to go and try it out. Here he is cutting the front yard:




So the front yard is nice and neat and parts of the backyard are, we had to go and run so the rest of the yard can wait until later.

And the last new thing on our list is the NEW SCHOOL YEAR!!! While I started back to work last Monday, the children will arrive tomorrow. As always I'm excited, nervous, hopeful, tired, and many other emotions as the new year begins. I met a lot of my students on Friday for "Meet the Teacher" and I must say I've got some precious students this year. As always it is fun to see past students, who were completely confused and didn't know what to call me (since my name has changed). I mean I'm still getting use to people calling me Mrs. Turner, so I'll just answer to both names, for a while at least.

Well I'm looking at the clock and the time to head to bed is quickly coming and morning will be here before I know it. Until next time...

Calzones and New Running Shoes

To help my our lives be a bit easier I have tried to come up with a menu for two weeks, do the grocery shopping, and then try to stick to that plan, hoping to save time and headache. So far it has worked quite well and we have eaten like kings and queens. Well tonight we tried a new recipe: Spinach/Chicken Calzones. Now the neat thing about this recipe is that I found it on someone's blog when I googled for this recipe. So anyway the calzones were a success and we very much enjoyed them. We had extra filling so we are going to put it over pasta and make another meal completely. Since we found this to be such a tasty treat we thought we would share the recipe with you. Enjoy!

Three Cheese, Chicken, and Spinach Calzones
1 package pizza dough mix (or make your own, which is what I did)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove minced
1 bag of fresh spinach
1 1/2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts (you can use leftovers or simly cook this chicken)
15 ounces ricotta cheese, drained of excess moisture
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I actually just sliced and chopped a ball of mozzarella cheese)
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1 egg
Egg wash * 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk

Preheat over to 400F and lightly greased a baking sheet, set aside.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the spinach by handful and cook until wilted (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and drain spinach of excess liquid in a colander.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all three cheeses and the egg. Mix the wilted spinach. Tear the cooked chicken into small pieces and mix into filling.

Prepare dough according to package directions. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough out into roughly a 12 inch round, cut in half (I cut it into four pieces). Spoon filling onto one side of each dough section and fold the dough over to enclose the filling. Pinch the edges tightly to seal in filling. Cut a few slashes in the top of each calzones to release steam during baking. Repeat with remaining calzone and trasfer both onto prepared baking sheet. Brush the calzones with egg wash and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove fromover and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting. We had marinara sauce with our calzones. Here a picture of our dinner.




I also got some new running shoes, which I tried out this evening. They are fantastic and super bright and cute.



So these are the adventures of the day! Can't wait to share more of the adventures of the Turner Home!!!

Cleaning and Organizing - What a Sense of Accomplishment

Let me begin by saying that this has been an usually busy summer, wedding preparations, wedding, honeymoon, week at home, youth camp, and now I'm actually at home, just HANGIN! So Monday after cutting the grass and doing laundry, I watched T.V. for the first time all summer. Like I just sat and watched reruns of shows for about 3 hours. I know completely crazy, so I decided right then and there that I needed another project and wasn't ready to tackle my classroom just yet. Now for the past year I've been telling Aaron that I was going to clean his office and redecorate it. Well that finally took place yesterday. I took everything out, painted an accent wall, and then put only those things that needed to be in his office back in, everything else either found a new home and went in the trash. I finally left church around 6 yesterday evening but I had accomplished my goal (minus the pictures being hung and curtains) I do enjoy cleaning and organizing!

The BLOB

Here is one of the activities that the students could participate in during their free time. Two of our guys were the top "Blobbers" and everyone wanted them to "blob" them. Check out this video to see what I'm talking about. Needless to say most of our girls looked like had been beated but they loved it regardless.

Global Youth Camp

Pictured above is our group, with the beautiful mountains in the background. This year we attended Global Youth Camp in Chatsworth, GA. Our scenery was absolutely breath taking, right outside our rooms we could see the Smokey Mountains. The temperature was cool in the morning and evening and quite pleasant during the day.

The theme for the week was Warrior- Call to Destiny -the scripture was based on 1 and 2 Samuel and the story of David. The students were challenged to get rid of their Deadly Pets (sins), being chosen for God, Trophies, Chosing our Friends Wisely, Average to Awesome, and What difference can I make? The messages each day were challenging and enlightening. What we discussed is that the students are begging to learn more and grow spiritually but simply don't know now. We also discovered that we have a lot of students that carry a great deal of hurt.

Here's how the day went: woke up and breakfast at 7:45, then morning rally (which included morning exercises and the challenge for the day). The students were divided into shires and they had to collect scruples (points) for their team. This could be done in several ways such as: competing in team games, reciting scripture, and bible drills. By 9:00 the students were sent out for morning rec and small group time, while the adults headed downstairs to have a special session with Roger (our speaker), 10:30 worship, 12 - Lunch, 12:50 FREE TIME FOR ADULTS, this was track time for the students. The students were allowed to pick a track (something they might be interested in) 2-5 Free Time for the students (the students could participate in many different activities) 5:10 - Dinner, 6:30 Evening Rally, followed by church time, then the students were sent out for Roll Call and MY FAVORITE PART - the adults stayed in the auditorium and prayed over every chair and then spent time praying as a group. 8:00 Evening worship, 10:00 Church time, 11:00 In Rooms, 11:30 - Lights Out.

Many of our students expected to get that same warm fuzzy feeling that they got last year (just feeling the Holy Spirit come into their lives). This year however the students felt more of a burden and a tug on their hearts, whether it was conviction or just a hurt that they were continuing to hang on to. We had several students who stepped up as leaders. Now the real challenge comes, we as a group must continue to encourage each other and actually act on the suggestions that we made at camp.

Please pray for our students, adult leaders, and Aaron, as we continue to strive to listen to God's will on our lives and group.

Expectancy

Expecations- we all have them. In the past month I have had many expectations. Expectations for what our wedding would look like, sound like, how the food from the reception would taste, how people would react when they heard "How He Loves" sung by Aaron or would they even recognize his voice. Expectations of the honeymoon, plane ride, car ride to the resort, food there, and married life in general. The reality of it all is so much more than I could have ever expected.

Tomorrow Aaron and I (along with two other brave chaperones) will take 24 students to Global Camp in Chatsworth, GA. Let me back up just a bit and give a quick recap of our fabulous group of students. Last year we took 11 students to the same camp (in Panama City). It was during this time where we really saw God take a hold of these students and grow them like we had never seen before. We watched God grow our group of students, watched the students rally around each other in times of need, spend time together outside of youth activities, and generally realized that they enjoyed hanging out together. The past year has been amazing to watch. Which brings me back to the title "Expectancy"... What are each one of us expecting from the "camp experience"? Wednesday night Aaron talked about this and asked the students to go to camp expecting something. Now I ask myself the same question: What am I expecting?

Please pray for us. We begin our journey bright and early in the morning (it is a 7 hour drive, with a time change, and breakfast and lunch pit stop along the way). We will head back home Saturday. Pray that the students and adults eyes and hearts are open to what God has to say to us during the week and we will actually listen and take action.

My Expectations: To watch our group unify even more, truly hear from God, and then take what we have learned home and share with those we come in contact with. We love you all and can't wait to share the updates!

Tasty Thursday Dinner

So when we arrived home on Monday, I made a menu for the week, mainly so I would have an idea of what to buy for the week at the grocery store. I must say that already having an idea of what we are going to eat for dinner has made life much easier, this will be extremely handy when I start back to work in August. Anyway tonight's menu included a new recipe that I was given at a recipe shower. So here's a shout out to Ms. Kaye for her awesome chicken dish. Because we enjoyed this dish so much I thought, why not share with others (I mean who wouldn't enjoy a new way to cook chicken right?) So here is the recipe for Pecan Crusted Chicken

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1 tsp minced fresh gingeroot
4 (4 oz) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped unsalted pecans
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper

In a large zipper topped plastic bag, combine first 6 ingredients (soy throught gingeroot); add chicken, seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for up to 4 hours. Preheat oven to 350. In another large zipper topped plastic bag, combine bread crumbs, pecans, paprika, and pepper. Drain chicken and discard marinade; add chicken to crumb mixture, one piece at a time, sealing the bag and shaking to coat. Place chicken in a baking dish coated with cooking spray; bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

This dish didn't take a lot of prep work and was so tender and just made your mouth sing because of all the flavor. Now I paired this with some steamed broccoli (because we have so much leftover from the wedding reception) oranged glazed carrots, brown rice, and a piece of homemade buttermilk bread. It was a beautiful plateful of food (for which I apologize for not taking a picture) and oh so tasty. With that being said, I must finish cleaning the dishes before relaxing for the evening. Enjoy!

Married Life At Home

Quick Recap on our Life:
June 18 - Married
June 19 - June 26 - Honeymoon in St. Lucia
June 27 - Arrived home in the wee hours of the morning, did all the name changing, bank, legal documents stuff. Cooked a birthday dinner for my sweet husband, as well as a cookie cake (with candles which melted into the cookie cake - LOL)
Which brings us to today June 28 - my first full day of married life at home - and I must say it has been wonderful. Breakfast with Aaron (so wonderful) and sent him off to work, lunch packed in his lunchbox, and then I began to do the mountains of laundry that two people accumulate while gone on a trip. I started laundry at 9:00 and finally put the last load of clothes away at 7:15. It has been a fun day of cleaning, putting away, and I even got a run in this morning. Dinner was prepared: homemade buttermilk bread, salad, and a broccoli, potato, carrot soup. Okay let me explain - I have a whole lot of broccoli from the reception in my freezer and we are trying to eat it, in a variety of ways. Needless to say it was a quite tasty dinner and we even had some leftovers. The rest of the evening was spent with my sweet husband helping me become "cool" in the social world. Yes I now have a twitter account! Hopefully I'll remember how to use it. Haha. Well my new Karen Kingsbury book (on my Kindle of course) is calling my name, so I think I will call it a night. I hope you truly enjoy the tales that will come from the Turner Home, they are all orginals for sure. :)