i love the holidays!

Christmas is so much fun! It's a great excuse to go out and do fun holiday activities. This weekend was packed full of holiday fun. On Saturday Matthew, Carrie, and I went to the Abilene High vs. Flugerville playoff game. Sadly, AHS lost in overtime. They did well though and it was a fun game. Before the game when Matthew came to pick me up, he gave me my early birthday present: a pair of beautiful DIAMOND earrings!! I was so surprised and excited!!! He said he gave them to me early so that I could show them off and I have really been doing that!! On Sunday Matthew and I tried out a new church. We really like Forest Grove, but it may be too small for us. We really want to make some new friends at the church we decide to go to. The church we tried out on Sunday was way too huge, though. The worship was great but I don't think it would be very easy to get involved. We're going to keep looking. After that we went with some friends to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags. It was FREEZING but we had a really good time. I love all of the lights on the roller coasters!! Here are some pics from our fun weekend. Merry Christmas!!

friends

I've always known that I have amazing friends, but I guess now that I'm out of Abilene and completely by myself I really do appreciate special time spent with friends. Virginia and Carrie came into town this weekend and we had such a great time! Friday night they wanted to take me out for an early birthday dinner. We went to Rockfish and then walked around Dallas. Then we ate some delicious birthday cake made by Virginia!! They gave me some beautiful earrings which was a really sweet surprise. On Saturday we went shopping and I got most of mine done! I only need to buy a couple of more things!! YAY!! Then I went to my Aunt Katina's graduation and surprise party. That was fun because we really were able to surprise her! On Sunday we all went to church and then out to eat (Matthew included). We had such a great time talking sports and babies (I told them that since they had talked sports for about 45 minutes I could talk about babies. They all started freaking out, as usual). Then we opened some early Christmas presents. Sadly, we finally had to take Virg back to the airport, so we said our goodbyes. I'm so glad that I got to spend time with some great friends. I've recently started wondering about who I would pick for my bridesmaids (in the future, don't worry), and I've worried that I'll have too many to choose from. I decided today that this is a GOOD problem and who cares how many bridesmaids you have??? I'm absolutely BLESSED to have the friends that I have and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

blessed

I am absolutely loving my life right now. I love my job, church, family, boyfriend, friends, apartment, the holidays...and the list could go on for several more lines. Just the other day while I was teaching my 2nd graders, I had this overwhelming sense of thankfulness. Sure, I'm not always as patient as I could be. Sure, I get irritated when I'm teaching about the properties of an object and someone raises their hand just to ask what we're having for lunch. Yes, I sometimes come to hate my own name because I hear it millions of times in one day. And yes, I feel shocked (yet a little giggly) when I see that one of my boys got his folder signed in gym for bending over and telling girls to look at his bottom ("But the girls didn't tell me to stop!!!"). But an "I love you" or "Can I squeeze you?" makes it all worth it. My kids (well, really all kids) are so precious and I feel so blessed! Here's a picture of Max dressed up for Christmas. I can't wait to have my own kids so that I can dress them up, but Max will have to do for now. Enjoy your weekend!

somebody loved

Check out this video from The Office. I cry every time I watch it. It's too sweet!

why i love cooler weather

It finally feels like Fall! The change in weather prompted me to make a list of all the reasons i love cold weather. Here they are in random order... *i get to wear sweaters that have spent months in my closet *i don't have to paint my toenails as often *hot chocolate! *it's one more excuse to take a hot bubble bath *it's an excuse to buy new clothes! *gloves and scarves! *lower electricity bill *it gets me thinking about Christmas and listening to Christmas music *i don't feel as guilty wrapping myself in a blanket and watching tv when it's cold (it's too cold to take Max for a walk or grade papers!:) *it's a great time to snuggle...whether it's with a big ol' dog or a boy!

september

I haven't posted anything in a while, so I thought I'd share some highlights of the past few weeks.

• Max and I went to Austin to visit Chloe and Andrew. We had a blast and Max made a new friend!!!

• I have some new favorite songs. I love The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson. It's the song off of the new Old Navy commercial. I also have fallen in love with Joshua Radin, especially his song called Only You. If you like laid back, acoustic-style music, you would probably like these two artists.
• Teaching is going really well. We have started our literacy stations and they are making life TONS easier! I really feel like I'm being a good teacher and that the kids are taking responsibility for their own learning.
• Matthew and I went to our last Ranger's game a few weeks ago.:( I can't wait til next season!!

• Our one-year anniversary is next week!
• I'm still really liking the church I'm going to (it's called Forest Grove Christian Church). I'm hoping to get involved really soon.
• I'm trying to volunteer at a hospital, holding the newborn babies! I've been sending out emails, so I'll keep you posted.
• I'm so excited about the upcoming holidays! I love making holiday crafts with my class, buying Christmas presents early, and anticipating cold weather! (I may get to anticipate for a while!!!!!).
• Matthew and I are about to start watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I've never seen them, but so many people say they're good. I'll give it a try.

Well, I think that's it for now. Enjoy your week!!

random acts of kindness

Yesterday I put a couple of bags of trash outside my door, intending to take them out later that night or today. When I went out a few hours later, they were gone! My neighbors seem nice enough, but I've never really gotten to know any of them. I can't believe that someone saw my trash and took it to the dumpster for me! The bags were really heavy and I'm sure it wasn't a simple job to take them. Another act of kindness that sticks out to me happened when I was a freshman at ACU. I drove to Taco Bueno for lunch and got something in the drive-thru. When I got up to the window to pay, the lady told me that the people in front of my had already paid for my meal! I was shocked!! When I see or hear about people doing things like this it lifts my spirits and makes me want to do more for others. It seems that I get so busy and have so much on my mind that I don't think of what I can do for others often enough. I want to serve others, doing random acts of kindness whenever I can.

church

Last week I tried out a new church and I really liked it. It is very small and the people are so welcoming. They invited me out to lunch and really seemed to be interested in getting to know me. This morning, Matthew went with me to the same church. I'm so excited because he liked it, too! It's a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ is another name I think). They do pretty much the same things as churches of Christ, but there are minor differences of course. The pastor uses lots of scripture, we sing familiar songs, and they have communion every Sunday. They also have several areas where I could get involved (children's and youth ministries especially). I'm planning on going back next week. I really hope this is the church for me! If you're reading this, I would like to ask you to stop a moment and pray. I am in serious need of a church family, and I'd really like to find a place that Matthew likes and one that he feels comfortable going to with me. I feel like this church is an answered prayer. Matthew says he saw lots of similarities between the service this morning and things done at Catholic churches. I've been praying for a church that's a kind of "middle ground" between both of us. I'm excited to see what God has up His sleeve!! Enjoy your week!

i love fall!!

I love the change of seasons. I don't care which one it is...I just enjoy the change I guess! Well, fall is quickly coming and you can feel it in the weather. This motivated me to re-decorate my apartment this weekend, adding a touch of fall. Here are some pictures:

This one is my favorite. My willow tree angels are on top of the fireplace, and I put a pumpkin and scarecrow girl on the tile. That's Max's tail on the left!

Here is my couch and pictures. With my next paycheck I'm going to buy some fall-looking pictures to replace these.

My favorite room in my apartment! I love the bathroom because it is huge, has a huge closet, and it's pink!!

Here's a picture from my bedroom. I put a little scarecrow on top of my dresser. Matthew gave me those roses for Valentine's Day and I can't bear to part with them!

I took this picture from my doorway. As you can barely see, Max is lounging on my bed (this is one of his favorite activities)!!!

Decorating is so much fun! I can't wait for Christmas!!

funny kids

Kids are so funny. Most of them don't even try to be...they just are. I have this little boy, let's call him Drew (that's not his real name). He takes seriously FOREVER to try to explain things. And sometimes I just think he raises his hand because he wants to talk. Usually this drives me up the wall because I try to move quickly to fit everything into one day, but not with this kid. He's just too cute!! Yesterday we were talking about things we can do to help our community. I called on Drew, and he just went on and on about seemingly nothing. Well he finally got to his point (I still have no idea what it was). After that, I just couldn't hold the laughter in. I could feel myself losing control, so I just told the kids, "Ya'll are so cute and you make me laugh. That's a very good thing." And then I just started cracking up. I was laughing so hard that I was crying! Of course my kids started laughing too, and we just had a good ole time laughing and crying. I'm sure they'll have some pretty interesting things to tell their parents about Miss Watkins. Well, I'm off to the dog park with Max! I haven't taken him there in months and he really needs to get out. Hopefully he won't get attacked like he did before! Have a great weekend!

i love my job!!!

This week has been one of the most stressful but wonderful weeks of my life! God knows how much I can handle and he did a beautiful job of balancing the good with the bad this week. I won't even talk about the bad (because it's over and done with), but I would LOVE to talk about my PRECIOUS second graders!!! Last year was hard. I had some tough situations in my class, and I really did not have my classroom management down (which is an understatement!!). This year has been at least 100 times better so far!!! When you combine 17 sweet kiddos with a teacher who somewhat knows what she's doing, you get a wonderful school year!! I'll write more later but so far my kids have made me laugh and love. I think I forgot how little incoming second graders are! They are just babies! I have some funny stories, but I'll have to save them for later. I'm going to Abilene!! Have a great holiday weekend!!

can't wait til monday!

This time last year I was completely overwhelmed and scared. I am still scared, but I actually feel prepared for the first day of school! I am so excited for the first day! I met some of my kiddos last night and they are completely precious (of course!!). I just have to have the control to be firm next week and consistent. I want these kids to know that I mean business!!:) Here are some pics of my classroom:

I'll put students' work on this bulletin board.

These are my jobs, rules, etc.

I moved my reading center this year and I really like it.

Here's my calendar, which I really hope to keep up with this year!!

I'm trying to stay more organized and to have better classroom management than I did last year. Enjoy your week!!

on a deeper note

I am an emotional person. Always have been, and I'm sure I always will be. I can't help it. I cry at movies, weddings, funerals, greeting cards, sweet commercials, TV shows, songs, when I step on my dog's paw, during church, when I see babies, and sometimes I even tear up at school when one of my kids says something sweet. I honestly wish I weren't so emotional (or sensitive and I prefer to call it), but I guess it's just something I was born with. What I never realized, however, is how much being in love would make me cry. I cry when we fight, when I think about our future, when we've planned a fun activity for a while and it's suddenly over, and sometimes for no reason at all! Has this happened to anyone else? Love is such a wonderfully complex emotion, and I think it causes different reactions in different people. I mean, Matthew certainly doesn't cry because he's in love with me!! The poor guy doesn't know what to do about all of my blubbering, but thank goodness he is patient. I wasn't sure if I should blog about this, but I'm just so excited that I've put my finger on the reason I've been crying so much lately. Here's a cute picture of us to wrap things up:

Thanks for reading and enjoy your week!

bored

So, nobody tagged me to do this or anything, but I thought I would anyway because I'm so bored!! 4 Jobs I've Had: 1. the filer at a dr.'s office 2. Registrar's Office at ACU 3. Day Nursery of Abilene 4. Children's Ministry Intern 4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over 1. The Notebook (I've never not cried when I've watched it...it's sooo sweet!!) 2. Home Alone (So funny!) 3. School of Rock (I love Jack Black!!) 4. Phantom of the Opera (love the music) 4 Favorite TV Shows 1. American Idol 2. Friends 3. Everybody Loves Raymond 4. Full House (I want to own the seasons!!) 4 Places I've Lived 1. Mom and Dad's 2. ACU 3. Bruce Way (fun college house) 4. Here in Richardson 4 Places I've Been 1. Calgary, Canada (what a fun and beautiful trip!) 2. Mexico (on a cruise) 3. Georgia (family vacation) 4. Oregon (SBC) 4 Favorite Foods 1. pineapple 2. enchiladas 3. Reese's Pieces 4. Grilled hamburgers 4 Least Favorite Foods 1. onions 2. mushrooms 3. peppers 4. most Chinese food 4 Most frequented websites 1. Facebook 2. My blog 3. Other people's blogs 4. webkins.com :) Enjoy your week!

lately

I can't believe that two weeks from today I will have met my new precious second graders!! I am so excited! I went up to school today and worked in my classroom. There is tons of work to be done, but I'm feeling so much more confident than I was this time last year. I want to change lots of stuff that did not work last year, but I also have a few things I'm going to do the same. I'll post some pictures when I'm done with my room...it'll be a cute place to learn!!

I am trying to become creative in the things that I cook. Last week I made salmon and veggies...and it was really good! I wasn't too sure if Matthew liked it--until he had three helpings! Yes, it was a little expensive so I won't be doing that too often, but it's fun to be adventurous sometimes! Here's a picture of the finished product:

Yes, those ARE oranges...they gave the salmon a really nice taste I think!

This weekend I went to Abilene. It was the first time I'd been all summer, and it was really good to be back. I finally got a car...it was much needed. It's a really cute Toyota Corolla and it has a sunroof! Here are some pics:

Thanks mom, for helping me to the whole car-buying thing. I will NEVER do it again!!

Enjoy your week!!

la-z-ness

I am being so lazy right now. I should be cleaning, going through my school stuff, taking Max for a walk, doing laundry, but instead I get addicted to playing with my... WEBKINZ!! Have you heard of them? You buy these little stuffed animals at the store, look at the "secret code" in their tag, go to webkinz.com, and play with them!! You can feed them, decorate their room, buy them clothes...it's TOO MUCH FUN!! Mine's name is Tucker and he's a little golden retriever. I bought him some blue jeans and a red baseball cap. I also bought him a treadmill and trampoline so he won't get bored. Keep in mind that these toys are meant to be played with by probably 1st to 6th graders, and here I am 24 years old, and I enjoy it just as much! Hopefully I won't be so bored this week. I'm going to a Ranger's game tomorrow night, cooking SALMON on Tuesday (yes, I am trying to be Ms. Suzie- homemaker), and heading to Abilene on Wednesday through the weekend. I hope my webkinz won't miss me too much!!:) Please keep reading my blog. I promise it'll get better and won't be so silly once school starts!! Enjoy your week!

laughter

I was going to sleep-in really late today, but Max would not leave me alone! I guess it's my fault for letting him sleep with me, but he kept licking my face and clawing at my arm. So I'm mad at him for a while. This was such a fun weekend. Chloe came to visit for the weekend. I think that I laugh more with Chloe than with anyone else. We find the same things hilarious and when we get to laughing it takes us a while to stop. When I laugh with her I always end up crying because I'm laughing so hard. Andrew and Matthew find it a little annoying to be with the two of us, and I think it's because we're so much a like!! (Too much of a good thing I guess! ;) Anyway, we met Valerie for dinner that night. Then we watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants which is about the cutest movie I've ever seen! On Saturday we went shopping and layed out for a while (and I didn't spend all the money I had budgeted!! I am so proud of myself! So I'm going shopping today and I'll probably spend the rest:). Then Saturday night Chloe and I picked up Matthew and we met Kiley and his friends at Billy Bob's. I've never been there before but it was HUGE and so much fun!! Chris Cagle was performing so that made it even better. It's been ages since I've seen Kiley so it was fun catching up. Sunday we all went to church at Prestoncrest. I had never been there and I think I'll try it again. Then we had an old-fashioned game night. We used to do this all the time in high school and in college when we were all in town. We played some really fun games and had lots of good laughs. Sometimes I get sad because I don't have lots of good friends around here, but fun times like these make up for it. I have a really relaxing week ahead. I'm working a couple of days and I'm getting Max fixed. (then he'll be mad at me!!!) I'm going to try and get some school stuff done because the first day of school is really creeping up!! Enjoy your week!!

good job Rangers!!

This was another great weekend. I could really get used to this no-working lifestyle! I don't have to care about what I have to do on Monday!! On Friday night I went out to eat with my grandma and aunt. We had a great time eating and shopping at Goodwill and Central Market. We went to Goodwill on a whim, where I found a little kid's rocking chair (which I sanded and re-finished yesterday for my classroom!!!), a filing cabinet, and some other chairs for kids. Yay!! Last night I went to my fifth Ranger's game of the season. This is more baseball games than I've watched in my LIFE and I'm LOVING it!! It doesn't hurt that they did really well last night and beat the other team BIG TIME!!! (I can't remember who the other team was, though!!:) Oh, and Ven Diesel was there! This morning I went to church with Matthew. He's been to church with me several times, so he had asked if I wanted to go with him today. Church was very interesting, and not in a bad way at all. I've always known that Matthew and I are very similar in our beliefs, even though we grew up in completely different kinds of churches (he a Catholic church, me a Church of Christ). Although the worship service was different than what I am used to, they do basically the same things that we do (sing, pray, read scripture, take communion) and that was encouraging. Of course Matthew and I still have spritual things to work through, but it was good to see what kind of church he grew up in. I have faith that God will work within us, and that the outcome will be just what He wants for us. That's all for now! I have a conference at 8:00 in the morning so I better get to bed pretty soon!!! Enjoy your week!

it's the most wonderful time of the year

I love Christmas!!! I know you probably want to punch me right now and say "Amy, it's only JULY!!" I'm sorry, but I can't help but get excited! This weekend was our "Ornament Premiere" weekend at Hallmark (where I'm working this summer). That means that we got some of our Christmas ornaments in, we were serving Christmas cookies, we got to wear red and green, AND we are playing Christmas music all week in the store!! If you know me very well, then you know that I am pretty much obsessed with Christmas and everything about it. My brother even told me once that I get so excited about Christmas that it sucks the excitement from everyone else. (Don't worry, he apologized for that comment about two years later!!) Anyway, I was very happy to have a little Christmas in July this weekend. I also went to see Harry Potter and License to Wed this weekend. I'm not a huge Harry fan, but I did enjoy the movie. License to Wed was really cute, plus it had like 5 people from The Office in it!! This morning I decided that the church I've been going to is not right for me. I guess I'll go back to visiting around. Enjoy your week!

a year from now

I took Max for a nice walk tonight. I haven't done this in a very long time because of the rain! I don't want him to get wet because he starts to stink really bad after he's been in the rain. When he stinks I feel like everything in my apartment is tainted with the smell and I can't stand it!! So, since it was a clear night we ventured out to the path outside of the apartment. As we were walking, I started to reflect a little on my life. One year ago, I knew that I had a teaching job, but that was about it. I don't think I had found my apartment yet, I hadn't gotten to know the other teachers on my team, I hadn't gone to church anywhere...so I really didn't know what kind of experiences the upcoming year would bring. In some waysI am pleased with how my life has turned out in a year, and in others I'm really not. I'm very blessed to live in my apartment. Although it is a little expensive and eats up most of my paycheck, I feel safe every night and I've met some really sweet people here. I'm also happy with the relationships I have built so far. I have a really great 2nd grade team at school. They are so supportive and fun! I'm also so thankful that I met Matthew. I honestly do not know where I'd be without him! The one thing I am disappointed in is that I have not found a church to settle down in yet. I had such a wonderful support system at my church in Abilene and it is kind of a shock to go from that to absolutely nothing. I have really realized this year that I need Christian people around me to keep me on track. I wonder where I will be one year from now. Will I still be living in my cute little apartment? Will I have made some new friends at school? Where will Matthew and I be in our relationship? Will I be settled in a church? I hope and pray that I will only be stronger and wiser in one year.

Time to Start

I decided that I needed to start blogging so that I can keep up with my life. I feel like the days pass me by and I don't have a record of the funny and interesting things that happen! I don't journal very well, so I'm hoping I can keep up with this.