Oh, Christmas

Oh, Christmas... This year has been the most frazzled crazy Christmas season that I have ever had...but it was wonderful... We had a great time with all of our amazing families and got to see almost everyone that we love. I got some pretty awesome gifts including a sewing machine that I have been wanting forever, a pink straighterner and hair dryer set, some clothes, a new Vera bag, a radar detecter, some shopping money and gift cards, and a georgous eternity necklace from my daddy. My mom didn't get to do her shopping before Christmas for us because Billy was in an accident and things got crazy at her house so we are going on a Christmas shopping trip in a few days. Josh got a TomTom from my dad that I have been trying really hard to steal.

Now that Christmas is over, I have ALOT of things to do before next Monday (January 4th) when I go back to school. Josh got a Mac with some really awesome recording stuff that he is going to set up in our computer room. So, we are going to rearrange that room and clean out all of the junk in there because I can't stand clutter. Then we are going to clean the house and take down all of our Christmas stuff. I hate it for Christmas decorations to stay up after Christmas. (at my house, I mean) It will drive me crazy until I put it all away. Then I am going to do all of the laundry and clean out our drawers and closets and take everything to the Hannah Home that we dont' wear. (...again, I hate clutter) We are also going to get rid of the big fish tank and I would like to get a pretty table to sit there and finally hang my painting that Tiffany bought me last year above it. Oh, I have to finish driving school and send in my certificate so that they don't come to arrest me! I'm going to shop for new clothes and shoes that I can wear for my internship and also for some sewing supplies....and I'm going to work on my sewing skills. :) I also am going to have to have my windshield replaced because it has two giant cracks in it and it is not very safe.... I think that might be all that I have to do...

Even with that crazy long list of things that I have to do before next Monday, I am going to take today off. I have just been running around so much lately that I haven't had a moment to breathe. So, today is my resting day. I will start on my list tomorrow. Josh gets home at four and we are going to go to Best Buy for him and Hancock Fabrics for me and then we are coming home to hang out and watch movies and be lazy! :)

End of the semester

Well, I have two tests until I am done with my classes. It's a really amazing feeling. This has been a pretty crazy week and I am so exhausted! Tuesday I had two big finals and I felt really good about both of them. Then Wednesday I went to school with my sister and she helped me with my unit. I worked so hard on the unit for about 15 hours straight! Seriously!! Then yesterday I went to class and took two more finals and turned in my awesome unit. I got an A on my unit and found out that I got an A in the class. That was great. Now I just have to make an A on two more finals and I will be done! I have had 21 hours this semester and have worked SO hard and it is now paying off as I am getting my final grades. I think that I will end with a 3.29 as my GPA for this semester. I got West Blocton for my internship and am so excited to intern with my kids from last year! I can't wait to start! I'm going to get some cute clothes for Christmas that I can wear to school. Everything is finally falling into place and I am just ready for May 7th to come! It's going to be an amazing year for me! I will intern then graduate in May. Then I am going to Disney World after graduation and then Chicago to see Brittany and Briana graduate from high school. Then when I get back I will get a job (at the high school) and become the varsity cheerleading sponsor. Then we will take the girls to camp then I will start my new career. (The part about working at the high school is a prayer!) I can't believe how blessed I am. I thank God everyday for my amazing life!

Internship placement

I just wanted to let everyone know that I got placed at West Blocton Middle School for my internship! I am so happy and thankful for all of the prayers that went up for me!

Almost done

It's Sunday night and I find out where I've been placed for my internship tomorrow morning...I can't wait! I have been praying for West Blocton since I first applied and it registered as one of my choices, so...maybe, just maybe I will get it! Aside from that, I have a week and a half of class left. I have six finals left and I took my aweful Russian final Thursday. I felt pretty good about it so, I'm just praying that I made a B on it and the paper. Tomorrow my whole Civil War class is going to lunch together. I am SO excited about that. I LOVE my friends from school. I wish that my school was here so that we could all still hang out after class is over, but after this semester, everyone will go their seperate ways into our internships and we will probably not see eachother again until graduation. :( It makes me sad! But, anyway, I get to come home tomorrow night because Olivia is in the Tuscaloosa Parade because she won the Little Miss Tuscaloosa pageant. So, after lunch, I guess I will come home and study and work on my unit. My unit is due Thursday and it is a BIG deal. Sadly, I haven't even started it. I know, it sounds bad but I have just been so busy. I have 4 finals this week. On Tuesday I have England and Britain and 20th Century Europe, then on Thursday I have French Revolution and Methods and my unit is due. Next week I will have my Civil War and Seinor Seminar finals and then I'm DONE! Wahoo! Next Thursday we are leaving for the mountains! We can't wait! Josh takes his ACT next Monday. We're ready to get him registered and started in the spring. It will be wierd for us to switch roles! I know Josh will do great if he just stayes focused on the future! Well, I guess that's all that's new with me this week. We have a SUPER busy December and it is just getting started. I am looking forward to getting together with my family at Christmas and being done with classes for good. That's going to be an amazing feeling!

Our BIG dreams

For as long and I can remember, Josh and I have had big dreams for our future. We have always talked about what our life will be like in 2, 5, and 10 years. The amazing thing is that God has already made our plans for us and we are just following along with what he wants for us. We are so blessed to have found eachother. We both want exactly the same things for our lives and we both have BIG dreams. We have been talking a lot lately about where we will live when we have our first child in a few years. It's a big decision because we need to be close to family but love where we live now. We have put it in God's hands and are trusting in his will for us. I thought I would blog and share some of our big dreams with my fellow bloggers!

First of all, our main goal in life is to stay close to God and allow him to lead us and our family. We had a hard time finding a home church here in Tuscaloosa but we found one and we love it. It's First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa. We are growing in our Sunday school class and getting involved in other areas as well. One great thing about it is an amazing children's program and a great preschool.

That thought brings me to our second future plan. Josh and I both want to have 4 kids. It's not something that one of us talked the other into. We both just wanted 4. Right now we are waiting on God's perfect timing and we think that we will probably be ready to start in a year or two. We're not in a hurry and we are currently just enjoying our time together. Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves when we see really cute baby stuff like this amazing baby bed. We have already named all of our kids. I guess you could say we're prepared.

Last year when we started working on our renovations in our house, we found a book of dream house plans. We bought it and looked at it and picked out all of our favorite plans. We chose one and have stuck with it. My Aunt Tina told me that when she and my Uncle Scott first got married, they put their dream house plans on their fridge in their tiny trailer. They decided that they wouldn't give up until they lived in that house. Now, they do. It's georgous. So, we have our plans and look forward to the day when we will be living in our dream house.

The last thing that we really pray about constantly and look forward to is both becoming teachers. I have one semester left until graduation and Josh is starting college next semester. I go to ASU and Josh is going to go to JSU. We are both going to be history teachers and Josh is going to be a basketball coach. We look forward to working together everyday and having such a normal and routine life.

Josh and I are very simple people and we love our life right now just like it is. We talk about our future and our dreams because we know that as much as we love our life right now, it is only going to get better as our family grows. We look forward to the future but we're not in any big hurry. We are so blessed and we thank God for everything he has given us and will give us in the future.

Bella

Josh and I have been talking lately about getting another pet. We LOVE dogs but it is hard to put another dog with Luke, he's a bully. So, we were talking about getting a cat. Now, I like cats but have never even considered having an inside animal. So, I just kind of dismissed it because I thought it would shed and all of that. Well, last night, Josh and I went to Gardendale to have dinner with Adam, Andy, and TJ. I said I wanted to go to the movies but he said we couldn't because he had a suprise for me and we had to pick it up. Well, I said, ok but we can still go to the movies and he said he couldn't leave my suprise in the car. When he said that I just new it was a puppy or a kitten. Well, sure enough it was an adorable kitten. His friend at work had her and she is only about 7 weeks old. She's so small and sweet and she's completely house trained. So, we brought her home and named her Bella. She's a little bit crazy but we love her already!

School and Melvin

I'm sitting in class right now...It hasn't started yet and since I severely need to pay attention during class, I thought I would blog before it starts to clear my head. Blogging is seriously my therapy. Well, I got my court date changed for my speeding ticket and now the only hassle will be finding a day that I'm not completely booked up that I can actually go to driving school. Ugh...Just thinking about it makes me sleepy! I'm working today and tonight on a PowerPoint presentation on WWII women that I will be using while I teach tomorrow at Holt. I can't wait for my Field Expereice to be over. I truly hate that school. I have three weeks left of class. Two big assignments and then finals. I feel like the little engine that could. I keep telling myself, I can do this. I'm almost there. I'm SO ready! I read the handbook yesterday for interns and it is going to be alot of work, but at least it will be the kind of work that I will enjoy doing...like lesson plans and evaluations.. Tiffany and I have decided to adopt the Varsity Cheerleading sponsor position for next year. I know, it's a little soon since I'm still about 8 months away from finding out if I will get a job there. Let's just say I have ALOT of faith about this one. The thing is that if we want to do it she has to step up to take over in March to hold auditions. So, she's taking a leap of faith. If, I was to not get a job there she will be fine because she has done it before. I just really, really, REALLY want a job there! 9th grade World History to be exact!! I'm praying for it everyday. I am also still praying devoutly for my internship to be at West Blocton. They will post that in a couple of weeks. I CANNOt wait for the Holidays this year. I love Thanksgiving and am sincerely looking forward to a week at home with almost nowhere to go. I will have a ton of studying to do but I don't mind that if I'm at home in my nice warm bed! Oh, and speaking of home, We discovered a mouse in our house!! AH!! As you would assume, I freaked out! Actually, I cried. (embarrassingly enough) Josh was like, it's just a tiny mouse(He then proceeded to name him Melvin as if that would make it less gross to me)... Well, it is living somewhere in our home and we have yet to catch it or see it again. There are traps EVERYWHERE... (Not the kind that splatter them...those are gross.) Until we do catch him, I refuse to spend time in our living room, because when we saw him, he ran under the couch. I should post pictures of all of the traps that are set up around the couch. (but I'm not at home.) Well, I think that is all the Odom family news right now.