Carol of the Bells

Hallelujah

HOORAY!

HOORAY! 

It's the last day of school until January 9th! 

And it's pajama day!

{which means I have this crazy fear I'll have a wreck on the way to school

 and that I feel the need to explain myself to everyone I see!}

And I have car duty!

{So I'll get lots of crazy looks and laughs!}

Enjoy your day sweet friends!

HO HO HO

With Christmas only 11 days away and two and half more days of school 

{don't feel badly for us, we don't go back until Jan. 9th!} 

it seems there are a 1,429,845 things to do! 

But tonight, instead of wrapping or shopping or baking or cleaning
I've been sitting on my hiney making a few Christmas printables. 

My geeky math teacher side loves this one! 

          

ho3

Ruffle Tree Skirt WINNER!

And the winner is........................

Comment #19 was left by my sweet high school friend Cara 

who {whom?} I haven't seen in at least 22 years! 

Cara is the absolutely beautiful wife of Freddie and 

the mother of four amazing and talented kids! 

{Cara- send me your address on FB and I'll get it in the mail tomorrow!}

I so loved reading all of your comments about what you love about Christmas 

and I agree with every single one! 

Thanks so much for entering and have a fabulous weekend!

Ruffled Tree Skirt Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!

For the past month or two I had seen lots of ruffled Christmas skirts on Pinterest that I loved. 

{I big puffy heart ruffles of all kinds!}

So when my sweet cousin Amy and I planned a craft day for the Sat. after Thanksgiving,

 it was the first thing on our list of crafts to make.  

After spending quite some time figuring the best way to make ruffles on a sewing machine 

{tightest tension, longest stitch length} 

and fighting with Amy's sewing machine bobbin- 

we had finished our two ruffled skirts and they were super cute!  

And truthfully, super easy!

For those interested in making your own, here's how: 

Supplies:

• Canvas drop cloth or piece of canvas fabric {large enough to have a 4 ft x 4 ft square}
• 3 yards of fabric {I used muslin but cotton or linen would also work}
• sewing machine and thread
• glue gun and glue sticks {lots of glue sticks}
• scissors

1. Lay out your piece of canvas. We used a tree skirt of Amy's as a pattern, traced it, and cut it out.  If you don't have one to use as a pattern start by making sure your fabric is a square, fold it into quarters and then into a triangle. Then cut a piece off the end in a semi-circle. 

2.  Take and cut off the tip in a semi-circle for the center of the tree skirt. Choose one of the sides to cut up so that you have an opening in the skirt. 

3. Take your fabric and cut it into 3 inch strips.  I used a rotary cutter and mat which made  it go much faster.  If you don't have one- I totally suggest you add it to your Christmas list! 

4. Get your sewing machine out. I filled three bobbins so that when I needed them I could easily and quickly change them.  Set the tension to the highest and the stitch length on your machine to the longest.  Stitch about 1/2 inch from one side. As you sew....voila! You have ruffles.  Continue stitching until you have a pile o' ruffles!!!

5. Starting at the outside edge of the canvas circle, hot glue the ruffles onto the canvas. Once you finish one layer, start a new one that slightly overlaps the previous one- covering the stitching. 

At the end of each row, I went over the edge of the slit a bit,

 so that it was more finished on the edges of the opening. 

My sweet friend Dory loved the ruffled skirt

 {she loves ruffles as much as I do}

 so I decided to make one for her.  

Since I was going to purchase the supplies to make one, 

I decided to buy enough and made a second one to give away! 

So if you'd like a chance to win your very own ruffled tree skirt, 

just leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about Christmas! 


*Only one entry per person please and if you comment anonymously, please make sure to leave your name and email for me to contact you if you win!

The giveaway ends at 5pm on Friday. 

I'll pick a winner that evening 

and get it in the mail to the winner on Saturday morning! 

Randomness on a Thursday Night

1. All of these phrases were spoken in my classroom this week by ME:

• We do not talk about BOOGERS in GT!
• I am not a mama duck!
• QUACK!
• If you touch another pencil I am going to scream!

2. I just finished making two more ruffled tree skirt like this one that I made on Saturday.  Even though sewing isn't my thing, I really enjoyed making these!  One is for my sweet friend Dory and one is for one of YOU!  Would you like one? Come back on Monday for a GIVEAWAY! 

3. Saw this quote on Pinterest and thought it was SO wise and SO true!  

"The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our 

behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel." 

~Steven Furtick~

4.  Why is it that some mornings I wake up and my hair looks pretty much like it did when I went to bed and others it looks like I put my finger in a light socket? What the heck is up with that? {I know that is SUPER random...but I seriously wondered that this am when I looked in the mirror!}

5. My sweet Daddy opened a checking account for Madison and her checks arrived in the mail today. How in the world am I old enough to have a child with checks???????

6. I'm reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and it's truly one of the best and most challenging books I've ever read.  I read this section last night and can not stop thinking about it. It hit me right between the eyes!

‎"When I am consumed by my problems – stressed out by my life, my family, my job – I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a “right” to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities. Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what is happening in our lives. Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control. Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it’s ok to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we’ve been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won’t be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God’s strength, our problems are small, indeed. Why are we so quick to forget God? Who do we think we are?"

 ~Crazy Love, Francis Chan

Night y'all- sweet dreams!

Fair isn't....

For those of you teacher friends, I posted this on 

Technology Rocks. Seriously. last night.  

Such a great reminder that although our kids do receive different modifications and services, it's what they truly need to be successful! 

Click on the image above to take you to the post where you can print out a copy for your classroom! 

I Dare You

I'm reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan {SO SO SO good!} and came across this short video of him talking about Proverbs 30: 7-9 which says:

Two things I ask of you, LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

Such a great prayer.......but how challenging is that?

To pray only for "my daily bread"?

My Thanksgiving Wish for you............

May your day be full of

sweet family and friends
your favorite foods
yummy desserts
lots of laughter
sweet memories of those not with you today
a little bit of football
a good nap
someone to wash the dishes for you

and
a happy heart
full of gratitude to the one who is the giver of all blessings!

NEVER

I saw this quote on Pinterest {Pinterest = CRACK} 
a few weeks ago and I've been thinking of it every since. 

It's so true, isn't it? 

We all have people in our lives that we are at times tempted to give up on. 


It may be that student that you have worked with over and over and 
over and over again that you think will never "get it"!


It may be a family member, it may be a friend, it may in fact be YOU!

But....miracles DO happen every day! 

So here's a reminder that we should NEVER give up!!!

Never Give Up on Anyone

Gratitude

I don't know about you but it's been a loooooong week
and I am pooped. 

I needed a little encouragement today so I made this little reminder about gratitude. 

It's one of my favorite quotes of all time!

Happy weekend y'all! 

Gratitude Can...

Diet Cupcakes?

Diet Cupcakes?

Doesn't that seem like two words that contradict each other? 

Over the past few weeks I've seen lots of pins about cupcakes using a diet soda and a cake mix so tonight Madison and I decided to try it!

I used a Funfetti cake mix and 1 1/2 cups of Diet 7UP- 

mixed together in the mixer. 

Baked at 350 for 18-20 minutes and  

we had 12 super yummy, super moist cupcakes! 

I seriously don't know if anyone would notice 

the lack of eggs and oil! 

So so so so so good and super easy!

Today I am thankful for.................

Many of my friends are listing something they are thankful for each day in November on Facebook and I just love reading what they write. 

I started thinking that it would be neat to make a printable that could be placed in a frame to write on again and again during the month of November.  

{like I heart you because and YOU ROCK because 

and You are FABULOUS because}

Wouldn't this be fun to put on the dinner table
or in your classroom? 
It would also be a great, inexpensive gift to 
give to a friend or family member! 
{Dollar Store frame + dry erase marker}

Today i Am Thankful For

T-shirts!

My sweet friend Dory is once again going to Guatemala on a mission trip this January.  

Although I can't go with her {which makes me so sad}, 
I'm helping her out by selling t-shirts that we designed. 

The t-shirts come in both black v-neck and black crew neck. 

The writing will be white except for the word LOVED, which will be in aqua. 

Wouldn't these make a fabulous Christmas gift? 

If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, just print out the order form below and mail it to me by November 26th.  If you don't live nearby, just email me at slmfar@msn.com and I'll let you know about shipping costs! 

2011 Shirt Flyer- Shannon

Randomness on a Monday Night

What I'm drinking: 

Turkey Hill Diet Blackberry Sweet Tea

 {it is SO yummy!}

What I'm eating: 

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

{yummy!}

What I'm reading: 

Crazy Love by Francis Chan 

{so good}

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

{great series about gifted kids}

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

{book club book for November}

What I'm listening to:

Adele 21

Come to the Well by Casting Crowns

What about you?

What are you drinking, eating, reading, and listening to?

It is True

I'm reading Francis Chan's amazing book 
Crazy Love 

and it is truly fabulous!

He truly challenges me with every chapter and 
although sometimes it is hard to read, I love absolutely it. 

This is one of the quotes that keeps repeating itself 
over and over and over again in my head- 
such great food for thought. 

God Has Called You

Storing Up Memories

My sweet friend Dory came for a long weekend visit 

this past weekend and it was FABULOUS!

We stayed at my sweet friend Betty's lakehouse and had a weekend full of:

• LOTS and LOTS of talking
• driving to another town to watch Madison dance at halftime & almost not finding the stadium in time
• eating {best pie ever here- they even have pie happy hour!}
• lots of antique shopping
• movie watching {3 in the theater-Utopia, Dolphin Tale, The Big Year- 2 on DVD}
•  driving around in the golf cart {SO SO SO SO fun!}
•  TONS of laughing {like when I walked into the men's restroom at the movies- oops!}
• GIANT metal chicken picture taking
• 2.5 hours spent in the McDonald's parking lot while a precious young man {along with his wife, 16 month old, and cousin} changed the starter in my car {they were truly a blessing!}
• coffee and Diet Coke drinking {which meant many trips to Sonic & McDonald's}
• Rummikub playing
• picture taking {GIANT spur, antler tree, beautiful lake sunrise}

It was a super relaxing weekend and I loved every single minute of it! 

We always have such a great time together and because we live so far apart, 

I try to treasure and store up every single memory in my heart for 

all those days in between our visits. 

I absolutely HATED to put her back on the plane to go home. 

I HATE that we live so far apart.

But I am so thankful for the time that we get to spend together

and for text messaging and email and phones

and so thankful God blessed me with such a precious friend. 

I love her much!

Installing Fonts

I've had some emails lately asking how to install fonts once 

they are downloaded so I made a quick video to show you how! 

Move

This is my current favorite song. I get to school pretty early each day {around 6:45} and I usually play this song 4 or 5 times before school starts.  I just love the lyrics! Such a great reminder that if we keep our focus where it should be- on Him- there will be brighter days.  That because of our relationship with Him, we are to move to the beat of a different drummer.  

I'm not about to give up
Because I heard you say
There's gonna be brighter days
There's gonna be brighter days
I wont stop, I'll keep my head up
No, I'm not here to stay
There's gonna be brighter days
There's gonna be brighter days

I just might bend but wont break
As long as I can see your face

When life wont play along
And right keeps going wrong
And I can't seem to find my way
I know where I am found
So I wont let it drag me down
Oh, I'll keep dancing anyway

I'm gonna move (move)
I'm gonna move (move)
I'm gonna move [gonna move]

Ive got to hold it steady
Keep my head in the game
Everything is about to change
Everything is about to change
This burdens getting heavy
But I'm not about to cave
Everything's about to change
There's gonna be brighter days

No matter what may come
Gotta move to a different drum
No matter what life brings
Gotta move gotta move to a different beat
Gotta move gotta move to a different beat

Worry and Stress

Worry and Stress

You Can't Take it With You

My uncle passed away this week after a valiant battle with leukemia. He was an amazing & godly husband to his wife Linda (my aunt passed away 9 years ago- he was an amazing husband to her as well) and father to 3 great sons.  My Daddy and I traveled to Little Rock for the funeral. We were gone for a total of 27 hours- 17 of which were spent in the car. It was great to see so much of my mom's family but it made me sad to realize how long it's been since I saw most of them- and how much I miss my Mommy. 


I have three cousins and they all spoke at my uncle's funeral.  They did an amazing job of sharing great things about their dad- specifically his strong faith in God and his belief in Jesus Christ. We all left the funeral feeling like we truly celebrated my uncle's life!


My middle cousin Greg shared a story that was absolutely hysterical and had us all laughing through our tears!


He first shared that when he married his wife years ago he was changing out of his tuxedo at the end of the reception he realized that although he had a jacket and slacks, he had no shirt. So his sweet Daddy literally gave him "the shirt off of his back"- which wasn't surprising at all given his nature.


Greg then shared that this past Wednesday night while staying at his Dad and step-mother's house he opened the closet door of the room he was staying in to get out his outfit for the viewing the following day.  When he opened the closet door he found that his suit was not there. As he stared into the closet he had a sinking feeling.  He quickly turned to his older brother and said...."Which closet did Linda get dad's suit out of?" To which his brother replied "This one!"


Greg grabbed the phone and immediately called the funeral home. Since it was 1:30am he reached their answering service and left a message.  He eventually received a return call from someone at the funeral home who told him "I am so sorry but YOUR suit.....is on your dad. And you know....we alter those suits." 


And so although they say "You can't take it with you!" - my uncle definitely did! He was buried wearing his son's suit! 


(One of my favorite parts of this story is that Linda (my uncle's wife) did not know this had happened until my cousin told the story at the funeral! He told her "I know you wanted my dad to be buried in the suit you were married in, but he wasn't". So funny!)

How to Get Women to Exercise

Font Questions

I've had several people email recently 

to ask what fonts I used in my 

See You Later Alligator poster and 

 my Class Rules poster 

so I thought there were probably others who wondered too

 so........I figured I'd post them here. 

I love fonts! 

What are you favorite fonts right now?