Merry Christmas from Mt. Juliet--#2

This is my sister Johnna who is married to Jonathan's brother Aaron. This is their sweet baby, Catherine!












This is Jonathan's older brother Matthew and his wife Melanie. They have three children: Will, Alex, and Sophie.









This is Jonathan's younger brother Adam and his wife Melanie. (Yes, another Melanie!) They have a daughter named Grace Ann.











This is Daniel another one of Jonathan's younger brothers and his wife Christy. They adopted Hannah in February!!



What a sweet family we have!!!!!!!!!! 

Our Graph-Paper Floor Plan

I'm not sure if you can even see this or not....but this is a picture of the floor plan we drew and gave to the architectural draftsman. 

Merry Christmas--2006!!

I'm sure you all recognize this picuture from our Christmas card this year. We are standing on our 2-acre lot in Mississippi--Our future homesite in 2007!

Below are some great Christmas pictures of Andrew, Keri, and the girls......They are very fortunate to have a live-in photographer!!
We are in Mt. Juliet right now spending Christmas with Jonathan's family. Since we have DSL here, I will hopefully be blogging Christmas pictures as we make them! That will be fun for you hopefully!! I know it gets frustrating to wait on me to update this blog! (I can tell you that it is much more frustrating trying to update it on dial-up!!)

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!! 

An Ode to the Smiths!

Just wanted to take a moment to say how blessed we feel to be able to live with this sweet family!! Andrew, Keri, Lizzie, Anna, and Sara Kate are 5 of the craziest, funniest, and kindest people we know!! Since we have moved to their home, we have had WAY too much fun, eaten WAY too much food, and have laughed WAY too much! (Is that possible??)
We feel so blessed to be able to live with such dear, dear friends!! There is rarely a dull moment!! (Jonathan and I are certainly over-stimulated!!)

These are pictures taken during a visit to my family farm in Kentucky during our fall break in October.
Luke is in that last picuture!! He loved those girls!! 

Okay--We have changed our minds!!

On one lovely Sunday afternoon in November, Jonathan and I were driving home from my family's farm in Kentucky when we decided to stop for gas in the nearest little town--Mayfield. Getting off at the exit, I remembered that there was a pretty subdivision not too far away that had a house in it that we had loved to drive by earlier in our marriage. This house was featured in Southern Living when I was in college. We had loved it then, and I really couldn't remember what it looked like. Then we saw it. We gasped!
The house was for sale, so when we arrived back in Memphis, Jonny hopped online and found the listing. We found out that it was actually a Southern Living Home and viewed the floor plan. Initially the floor plan did not interest us. But seven sheets of graph paper later, we had sketched out a floor plan that we liked better than the first house we had loved!






Last Saturday we took our graph paper plans to an architectural draftsman. We hope to have blueprints in our hands by mid-January. This will propel us toward our goal of beginning the building process in March!

Yipee!! 

Jonathan and Andrew

Here are the two of the 6 people that I live with---and this is what they do during every spare second.....STUDY! Andrew and Jonny studied in Birmingham when they were in seminary together at Beeson, they studied when we came to visit from Chicago, and now that we live together, it is even more convenient to study!! Both are always studying for the classes they teach at Westminster---Jonny teaches theology, New Testament, Old Testament, and Greek. I'm not completely sure what Andrew teaches---but I know it includes rhetoric and theolgy II. He is also the senior grade advisor.

Both guys are studying for comprehensive exams too! Andrew is finishing up his second masters (he has a masters of divinity from Beeson and now he's working on his masters in philosophy at the University of Memphis). Andrew takes his last comp in December, and Jonny is planning on taking his last comp in June or July (depends when they offer them).

In any spare time, they chop wood, smoke meat, grill anything, roast coffee, lay hardwood floors for their neighbors, chase Jack the pony, lug our scrapbook stuff around, and do just about anything Keri and I tell them (ask them) to do!!

Go Grizzlies!!

Jonathan and I got to go to the Grizzlies game on November 7th when they played the Houston Rockets. We had great seats, thanks to one of my studnets whose Dad works for the Grizzlies.

We had a great time---and we got to go "back stage" and see our school's choir who sang the national anthem! (And, I may say, they did an EXCELLENT job!!)


The Grizzlies lost....but it really didn't matter! It was so fun anyway!
 

Our Land in Mississippi

Here is our land that we own in Mississippi. It is a 2-acre lot with plenty of trees lining the back! We have not begun building yet--but we are meeting with our builder this Wednesday. Maybe we will begin in the Spring. We are still trying to decide how much we need to save up in order to have a manageable mortgage. Jonathan has been "blazing a trail" through our wooded area so that we can reach our lot from Keri and Andrew's house. He has also been marking pretty trees (while they still have their leaves)and trees we might want to transplant from the back of our land to the front of our land.He is very excited about owning land!


This is the house in a subdivision we saw and fell in love with way back in March. When we first saw this house, it was just framed out. We realized then that we loved the floorplan, and when we came back in April, we saw the drywalled rooms and got a good feel for the size.

This picuture was taken back in May--which was when we contacted the builder and asked him if he would build this same house (with a few changes) on our land. He came to visit our land and said it was a great place to build this house.
This is just another view of that same house. It is a Donald Gardner house--We have seen many of his designs on the internet and loved many of them!!

This house is a 3-bedroom 1500 sq. foot house. (This particular house was built to only be a ranch with some attic space.) When we build it, we plan to make the upstairs expandable--We won't finish it now, but we want to make it accessible for future use.
 

Funny Farm

Here are some shots of our trip to our farm in Kentucky in October. Keri, Andrew and the girls came up for a fun little vacation.....(and cheap too!) We had great weather!!

Aaron (Jonny's brother) and Johnna (my sister) and their sweet baby, Catherine! We were outside making s'mores and warming ourselves by the huge bonfire!
Here is Aunt Ju Ju and Uncle Jonny.......we were having a great time outside with our family and friends.

We also went out and climbed on the hay! Uncle Jonny was jumping off of the big round hay bales and making all the kids laugh and laugh!! 

My Sweet Class

Here is my sweet class---all 12 of them!! I only have 5 boys and 7 girls!! We have a great time together every day!! They have me for every subject--so pray that they do not get sick of me!!

Pride and Prejudice

My new and precious friend, Ann Correll--a 5th grade teacher here at WA, introduced me to Pride & Prejudice! I have been over to her house 4 times for a "playdate" to watch the 5-hour BBC production of this movie. I am now reading the book--which is almost word-for-word with the movie!! It is so great!

I have watched this movie twice now!! Keri and Jonathan watched it with me--they both loved it too!!

Anyway, sisters, I am bringing it this weekend.......we don't have to watch it, but I am bringing it!! If you have not seen it, I think you will like it! If you have already seen it, I am MAD AT YOU for not telling me how interesting this story is!! I have not seen the new version yet--I bet some of you have seen that one. I think it is quite shorter and more "Americanized" (which might not be all bad!!).

Love you lots!

Julie

Happy November!!

Whew!! Sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything on this blog!! We have been having a great autumn! We have been home to Kentucky--and the Smiths came too!! We had a great time making s'mores over the bonfire, feeding baby calves, climbing on the haystacks, playing baseball in the front yard, and eating WELL!! Lizzie and Anna (and Sara Kate) had a great time!!

I have been blessed with tons of work, 12 great kids in my class, and a huge family of 7 (Smiths + Davises) to keep me busy!! In school we are reading the book, Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. On Monday, we had the parents come in, dressed up in pirate garb, to kidnap their students!!! There were a lot of "ARRRRRRRGS" and the kids were blindfolded, shoved into cars, and taken to a local breakfast place for a treat! It was hysterical!! For my former students, you will be glad to know that this week we are hatching butterflies AND playing LOST TRIBE!! How fun is that???!!! We also started the WRITING PROCESS last week!! All of this fun stuff makes me miss my "Chicago babies!!" I especially missed you when I pulled out the Lost Tribe materials and saw your team names from last year: The Hummer Hunters, The Slick Snakes, etc....

Last night Jonny and I went to a Memphis Grizzlies game!! I have a student who gave us her season tickets for last night......It was a special night because 5 of my 12 students sang the national anthem with our school's choir!! It was such a treat to be there and see them! (and we saw lots of other interesting things....Like Yao Ming!! Man!!! He is so tall-- 7 '6"!) The Grizzlies lost, but I hardly noticed!! It was so much fun!

This weekend we are heading to Kentucky again----This time to see Joann! She isn't able to come for Thanksgiving or Christmas---(she will be coming in after Christmas for New Year's) ---so we are all coming in this week to see the Marlow gang!! I can't wait to see Austin walk!!
We will get in late Friday and then leave after church on Sunday. Maybe I will see you at church, Robbin. (Jonny said he thought he saw you the last time we were in---but you all were headed over to the other building!)

I have pictures I wanted to upload of school, the farm, the Grizzlies, etc....But this computer I am on will just not let me do it! So, hopefully soon there will be more pictures!!

Love to you all!!

Love,
Julie

Happy Birthday, Will!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Will Davis!! Will is the special boy that made us OFFICIALLY Uncle Jonny and Aunt JuJu 6 years ago!! He is the oldest son on Jonny's older brother, Matthew and his wife, Melanie. They also have two more kiddos, Alexandra and Sophie!

Jonny and I drove to Alabama on Friday night so we could attend the big Saturday Bash at Chuck E. Cheese. We spent the night with Johnna (my sister) and her husband, Aaron (Jonny's brother). Yes--it can get complicated! Jonny's other brother, Andrew and Daniel also spent the night that night! (And of course, Daniel's wife, Christy, and baby, Hannah came too!!)


Here we see Matthew beating Jonny at a crazy driving video game. Their dad proudly looks on!
Alex is a great big sister to Sophie!!
My sister Johnna paid absolutely no attention to anyone else all day long---just her sweet baby Catherine!! Can you blame her?? She is SO BLESSED to have her Aunt JuJu be on BOTH sides of her family!!! 

Happy Birthday, Will--Take 2

We had lots and lots of fun at Will's 6th Birthday Party! Here is sweet Hannah standing with her mama, Christy. (Christy is Daniel's wife. Daniel is Jonathan's brother!) Hannah was adopted into our family on April 27th this year! She is all sunshine!!









Here Hannah is trying to get her Uncle Jonny's nose! She got it---and his heart!













Jonny and all of his brothers had a blast spending money on little Chuck E. Tokens! Here is a snapshot of Matthew and Andrew playing a firefighter game. Jonny and Aaron are watching while Gilbert (Jonny's dad) is holding sweet Sophie.



Here is the birthday boy with his pretty mama, Melanie!! The whole day was just too much fun!

Sisters, Sisters......

Here Johnna and I are at Chuck E. Cheese competing at a Barbie Ski-Do Game! We each won once. (Then we ran out of tokens.) We gave all of our winning tickets to the Birthday boy--Will! 

Hello, There Friends!

Hello to everyone! It is a BEAUTIFUL day today in Memphis, Tennessee!! I just came in from an afternoon walk outside--(yes, trying to earn a few WW points for dessert tonight!)--and it was a bit hard to come back inside. However, all we really have left this afternoon is diagramming predicate nominatives and reviewing for the big poetry exam tomorrow. Then it is time for carpool duty--OUTSIDE!! :)

These last couple of weeks have been challenging ones. I found myself in church last Sunday--listening to the Scripture being read--when it came upon the verse in Ephesians that made my heart stop. I was actually a bit behind in flipping to the passage, and the pastor began to read before I had arrived. "It just so happened" to be a precious verse that my St. Norbert kids had memorized and dramatized in their own funny third grade way. "Honor your father and your mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may GO WELL WITH YOU, and that you may live a long life on the Earth. Ephesians 6 something. (sorry, kids, I forgot the address!!) Anyway, as if a dam had been allowed to open, tears poured. And poured. And poured. In fact, just could not pull myself together! We had to leave church a bit early due to my mini breakdown. Jonny was so sweet to leave immediately when I told him I thought we should go...he had even gone to get me a mess of Kleenex! (And, I need to add that by leaving early we were forfeiting our free hotdog/hamburger lunch provided by the Elders after the service! So, it was quite the sacrifice for Jonny to bail out on unlimited amounts of food and Diet Coke!)

Later that evening, Keri popped up to my room--eager to see if I was okay. I explained to her what had happened...with the verse and all. She had a very wise thing to say. She said, "You know, Julie, when you are in a far away and cold place like Chicago, you feel like it is okay to be sad and to miss your friends and the things that are so familiar to you. But when you move someplace you really want to be---like Memphis---with friends, family, and familiar Southern things all around...it is probably hard to feel like you should be able to miss the things you left behind." She was right! I had been feeling guilty about missing Chicago---(It is hard to cry and be sad while you are living in your best friend's house....It seems ungrateful!) PLUS , our lives have been a whirlwind since we have arrived here....hardly any time allowed to mourn such huge losses in friends, church, and things familiar!

Well, it is time to diagram! I will write more later.

Love you all.

Julie

Hi-dee-doo!

Just wanted to check in with everyone! We new teachers have been down and out with colds! I guess we are building up our immune systems!! :)

We had a great weekend in Nashville over Labor Day! Jonny got to hang out with his brothers, and I got to do a lot of scrapbooking with my sisters-in-law! I have not scrapbooked my own stuff since Christmas!!

We got to play with our neices and nephews---Will, Alex, and Sophie are getting so big! Hannah is cute as a button! And Catherine is just so TINY and sweet!

The only thing we accomplished this weekend was performing our fantasy football drafts! Jonny and his brothers are in a league....and the girls have a league too! (The 6 of the 8 girls in the league are all of my sisters-in-law AND my sisters!) My team is the Misisipi Mudslingers---and yes, it is spelled wrong! (Not because I'm from Mississippi, but because my name had too many characters!!)

School is great! I have to admit, Jonny and I decided to stay after school every day this week because we feel we are so far behind!! (I'm actually supposed to be working on school stuff right now! Don't tell Jonny!!) I love my students--we have finished our first literature book and tomorrow we begin Call of the Wild. It is NOT an easy book--even thought it is short. I am daily fighting feelings of inadequacy when it comes to teaching these kids! Unfortunately, I do not yet have a "DIANE DOLAN-like encourager at Westminster like I did at St. Norbert....nor do I have a "Pat, Nancy, Penny, Chris, Celia, or Margaret" at church yet either!! But I sure do enjoy your emails and comment on the blog! Sometimes they are the brightest spots in my day!

God has been so sweet to us here! He has provided all we need----He continues to teach me everyday that HE is all I really need.

Love you all!

Julie

Comp Results are In!

Jonny received a letter regarding his comprehensive test results. At first, we didn't know what it said. The results didn't look positive, but it did seem to indicate that he had not been asked to leave the program......a response that Jonny feared. It did ask that he get in touch with Dr. D.A. Carson, so that is what he did.

The email we got back from Dr. Carson indicated that Jonny would have to retake part of the exam. "Don't have a heart attack! It is quite common for students to have to retake parts of the exam more than once." He ended by saying that he would write a longer email to explain better the next day.

When the next email arrived, it became clear that Jonny would only have to retake Day Three of the exam because they gave him a "pass" for Days One and Two. This news was very well received. I still believe Jonny is in a state of complete shock---he was prepared for bad news!

So--now the question is WHEN will he take the comp......We have no idea. You know Jonny....he will probably want to study for another year!! :)

Thanks for all of your prayers! The Lord was surely sweet and kind to us!

Love y'all!
Julie

Long Time No Blog!!

So sorry for the long gap in blog updates!! To say that things have been busy would be a criminal understatement! Jonny and I were both looking ahead and commenting that we can't wait for a weekend with no plans!!!

August was great! School started with a week of inservice beginning on August 7th. Westminster surely knows how to do inservice! We had great sessions, great conversations, and great food! (We also watched a very strange, yet thought-provoking little Woody Allen movie.) During that week, I finished up on my room and really began hitting the books!! The next Monday was "Meet-the-Teacher-Day." Jonny and I got to meet our students at during a "drop-by-for-a-few-minutes" afternoon. To our delight, we had surprise "drop-in" guests arrive before any students did---Christy (Davis, Daniel's wife), their daughter Hannah, and Christy's parents stopped by Westminster on their way to Nashville from Oklahoma! Hannah was adorable, and although she preferred her Uncle Jonny to her Aunt Ju Ju, I am POSITIVE she saw potential in me for a great relationship later on down the road. They only stayed a few minutes..... but it was certainly the highlight of the day!!

The students came for their official first (half) day of school that Wednesday the 16th. I was very nervous---even though I had already met the kids---because I always get nervous on the first day of school.....But within ten minutes, I felt at home and realized that 6th grade kids aren't that old---or scary!! (I kept thinking of Jacob Zinkula and Danny Martin--from St. Norbert--they don't seem to scary!!)

I really love all 12 of my students--they are very bright and very fun! (However, if one of my sweet kids from St. Norbert walked through the door right now I would just cry and squeal with joy!! I really, really miss them! Sara (my teaching partner in Chicago) and I have already talked several times---just because we miss each other so much!!!)

Jonathan, Andrew, Lizzie, and I ride in to school together every day. {Keri (and Anna) have been feeling a little left out!} Even though we are all in the same building, we usually don't see each other until it is time to get back in the car and go home! Then we go home to eat an incredible dinner prepared by Keri, play with the 3 cutest girls in Mississippi, study our lessons for the next day, eat dessert, and then go to bed--almost always too late!

Last weekend Jonny and I drove to Kentucky for his fantasy football draft with the boys on my side of the family and for the bridal shower for my cousin, Laura. We had a really fun time seeing my mom and dad, my grandmother, my aunt and cousins, all of my sisters, their husbands, and kids! Mom, as always made fabulous meals and desserts! We could not believer how SHORT three hours feels in the car when you are used to 7-8 hours!!

Tonight we are driving to Nashville for ANOTHER fantasy football draft with Jonny's brothers. We have not been to see Jonny's family in Mt. Juliet since Grandmother passed away in February! (That was the week we were filling out our applications for Westminster!! The beginning of all that excitement!!!) unfortunately, Adam and Melanie will not be there this time--however, when they were in Nashville a few weekends ago, they too stopped by to see our school, to see us, and to have lunch!

Well....I guess I better close! Recess will be over in a few minutes!

Love y'all!

Julie