MacBook Beauty

On Monday I made one of the biggest purchases, I think I will ever make in my life. Or at least until I purchase my first car, or pitch in for my first home. I had been dreaming of this beautiful Macbook Air for a long time now. My old laptop started being really slow and getting viruses ALL. THE. TIME. It was quite annoying. I researched for quite sometime to make sure that I was wanting to really make the switch to a Mac. After much research and the reassurance from my brother and sister I knew I was in. 

Although it was really hard to part with my long hard earned 1200 dollars, I knew it would be all worth it in the end. So now I am in the process of switching all my documents over, and getting everything acclimated. Everything feel so fresh and clean on this laptop, that I am so nervous to take it places and use it. I know I will soon be over that fear, and eventually it will become old and decrepit just like my last one. Here's to hoping it last me well into my teaching years!

That's all for now my friends! Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

XOXOXO,

Maggie 

A Beautiful Sunday!

Last Sunday was one of the best Sunday's I've had in a really long time. It started out with what I thought would be a simple trip to church and then lots of catching up before the week arrived. To my surprise it was way more than just a simple Sunday! As I walked into church and began to sing my heart out with the rest of Houston's First Baptists congregation, I knew just then that today was going to be fabulous. Every Sunday we start out with lots of singing,praying and just being able to feel so alive in this broken world. After all our vocal cords were tired we moved on to the Baptisms that they offer every Sunday. The first man up was a man in his early 30's who came to know The Lord in prison. He was a man that was full of sin, who was ready to come clean and wipe it all away. This man spent years in prison for drug abuse. As soon as was baptized, he walked away with the BIGGEST, most grateful smile I have ever seen. Tears were already flowing from my eyes as I heard a glimpse of this man's testimony and was able to experience such a special day for him. Next was a man who also was fresh out of prison. He too had a drug addiction, and was ready to wipe it all away. Although both these men had been sober for many years they were still fighting the everyday struggle of feeling alone. It was in that time, that they were able to wash all their pain and addiction away and give it all to our Lord and Savior. At this point I was sobbing, my make up was everywhere and I was crying an ugly cry. Not because I was sad, but because I was extremely elated that these young men knew that it was time that they accept Jesus into their life, and let him help them cure their illness.

After Pastor Gregg preached some of the sweetest words, it was now time to go on my Sunday errands. Ones that consist of Target and lunch haha. After lots of shopping and money spent, my sister and I decided we needed to treat ourselves to some ice cream. As we approached Marble Slab it was already decided that I was the one paying for it this time.(Lauren and I try to trade off paying for things like these for each other.) We walked into Marble Slab in hopes of just walking out with a content stomach, and nothing more. Little did we know, we were about to get way more than that. The line was about 5 deep, nothing too crazy crowded, but enough time for me to contemplate whether or not I wanted to switch up my flavor choice or not. As we were standing in line, Lauren on her phone and me just standing there patiently waiting I heard the man in front of me turn and ask me what flavor I got. After I smiled and said cinnamon vanilla, he looked back at me and said I can't believe people over load their ice creams with toppings. That completely changes the flavor! I just chuckled and agreed with him. He then began to tell me that he was going to get a pint of strawberry and a pint of the sweet cream. At this point I am just thinking he is a really friendly older man and nothing else. As he approached the counter to check out, the lady began to ring him up and he starred closely at the screen that showed what he owed. After she told him "Sir you owe $12 dollars" he looked at her and goes " I would like to pay for these two young ladies behind me as well!" UMM WHAT? My sister and I were in shock! "That is so sweet of you and totally unnecessary" we responded as he handed the lady his money. He then turned and look at me and said "It's because you were so kind and talked to me!" Y'all I was almost in tears, I made this mans day just by talking to him about ice cream at Marble Slab. Little did he know he made my day for more than just paying for my ice cream, but for just being so nice!

Often times we as people forget to give back at random times, we tend to do it when we are asked. Trust me I am so guilty of this, but that man last Sunday, and those two men that gave their lives to Jesus, reminded me that it's not all about giving when we are asked! Everyday I am learning to be a better person. To have more patience and to love more freely. I will never be perfect, and I could never dream of being perfect. I have plenty of imperfections, and I love them all. They are what make me, me.


My heart is still so full even a week later!

XOXOXO,
Maggie

Proud to be an American!

Thirteen years ago yesterday, I was just another little innocent child sitting in my classroom day dreaming about how great life was. It was thirteen years ago that all of that suddenly changed... The world stopped and I was forced to stop with it. I can still vividly remember all the faces of the teachers on September 11,2001. The pain our country endured on that September day is pain and suffering I could never ever dream of anyone having to go through. Parents flooded the school and children slowly started to dwindle. I might have only been six years old, but at six I learned that this world isn't as fun and loving as we wish it could be, not everyone is nice, and people will dishonor you if it means they will feel superior.

It is so weird to me that the children I now love and care for daily don't know much about 9/11. They are now sitting in my spot, and day dreaming about how wonderful life is.  My heart crumbles any and every time I think about all the families that lost loved ones on that terrible day.  9/11 is not only a day of remembrance for me, but also a day that I like to reflect back on all the wonderful people who lost their lives trying to help others. America sure does know how to come together when everything is being ripped out from underneath.

I encourage you today to take a moment to think about someone who has truly helped you in some way. Whether it was big or small, just take some time to pray for them and thank them for all they have done for you. Many times we get caught up in our own lives, so days like yesterday are just easily pushed aside. We need to love and honor each other not only in the hard times, but always. I also would love to ask you all to take a moment and thank God for all that he does no matter the circumstance. He stays true to his word, and never lets his knees buckle. It is because of him that our country was able to recover from our terrible loss.

So many things have changed in the last thirteen years, but one thing that has not is the fact that I am still extremely proud to be an American!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!


Faith, hope and love are some good things he gave us, and the greatest is L O V E- Alan Jackson

XOXOXO,

Maggie

The Start of Another New School Year!

Monday was the start of yet another school year. Towards the end of summer I was no where near ready for school to start. I still wanted to have no routine and just do things whenever I pleased. Sadly I didn't have an option, I was forced to show up Monday morning at 9:30 am. I wasn't nervous or excited, I was just clearly indifferent. One of my first thoughts was "when will this be over?" It was then that I made myself snap out of the funk that I was letting fill my head.

So here we are half way through the week and I am still alive. Taking each day as it comes and remembering that one day this will be over, and I will probably wish that I could go back to be young again HA. My schedule this year is AWESOME!! Monday-Thursday starting at 9:30 and over by 12:30, not sure if it gets much better than that. Even though I am complaining about summer being over, I must admit my schedule makes it seem like summer is always in session. The Smith kid's are back in school as well and are slowly but surely getting back into routine like the rest of us. This year I am able to take some classes that really make becoming a teacher more and more real. I will be doing lots of field hours at different schools and I am super excited about it.

I am way beyond ready for fall, jeans, sweaters, and hot chocolate. Bring on the cool weather! This summer weather is really starting to be a pain. I am hoping to start blogging more now that all the craziness is over. I really do miss being able to sit down and giving y'all a daily dose of my margarita ;)!

This ended up being a post about way more than just school.. I guess that's what you get when you only blog once a month!



Until next time summer!


XOXO,

Maggie

Jesus and Friends!

Two very important things in my life are sweet Jesus and my loving friends. I like to think I have the best of both worlds when it comes time to those two things. A love that exceeds all if you ask me! Today in church we talked about living a surface level life. How most people have a hard time digging down deep and opening up. We talked about how it's perfectly normal to feel like a sinner, sad,emotionally drained and just all around worn out. It is in those moments that we need to pour our hearts out to The King of all kings, Jesus. We need to praise and thank him and just reassure him that we trust everything he does. Alas he is the only person with the best judgement.

Our pastor also touched on the topic of being a constant in someones life, and being able to find that constant in your own life. Someone who you can pour your heart out to, and know that they really care about what you are talking about. That one person who you are able to depend on in times of goodness and sorrow. After talking about that "constant" in everyone's life I had to take a second to really think about who I felt fit the mold. I pondered this thought for a long time, before realizing that almost everyone of my friends is a constant in my life. I can call on any one them at anytime and I know they would all be there. But the one thing that really really stood out to me was my role in being a "constant" in someones life. I like to think of myself as a pretty loyal friend, sister, and daughter. I could never turn my back on someone in fear that one day they will really need me, and I won't be there to be their constant. I want to be able to spread light on this lonely and broken world that we all come home. I want people to know they can trust and depend on me in sickness and in health. That even in the darkest of days, when you feel like there is nothing left to give, that there truly is light at the end of the tunnel. But it might take more than just being surface level. It might take some digging into places that you never wanted to go back to. And when you reach those spots you need to give it all to The Lord. Let him know you are trusting him, and using him as your constant every second of every day.

Y'all we are all blessed in so many ways. Even though some days are so tough and we just want to give up, we always end up waking up the next day feeling a little bit more refreshed. We owe it all to the man above that never lets us down. We also owe it to our friends and family who help us succeed in this not so perfect world. They love us unconditionally!

So with that I leave you with a picture of myself and two of my "constants" , enjoying life on this glorious Sunday!

Sprinkled with L O V E,

Maggie 

Feeling Thankful!

Hello blog world! I sure hope there are still some of you out there. So much has occurred since the last time I  blogged. And to be completely honest all my free time has been sleeping and or trying to think of something to blog about.  So here goes what could a very boring post! 

At the beginning of June up until about 2 week I was suffering from kidney stones. Y'all those thing are no JOKE! I woke up one night in which I thought my life was ending or I was birthing 10 babies at one time. After an ER visit and lots of test we found out that I had some kidney stones and a cyst above my ovary!!!! WHAT!?! How is that even possible for someone as young as myself? Well I'm here to tell you it is and it's something that is manageable. I knew that kidney stones passed on their own and that I needed to stay plenty hydrated,but what about the cyst! After all my tests came back and we kind of had an idea of what was going on we were informed that ovarian cysts are very common in women, and that there was not much you could do besides take medicine to shrink them. So alas here I am over a month later taking medicine and feeling like  a million bucks!

Funny thing about all of this is that the night before I became really sick I was bragging to a friend about how healthy I was! If that's not God telling me to stop being so full of myself and taking things for granted than I don't know what is. Each morning I wake up feeling a little more thankful and making sure I live life to the fullest. Things can change in a matter of seconds! I am just so blessed to have such a wonderful doctor, family and friends who have made sure to keep me on my toes! 

Since I have been better life has been just ticking on by! The kids I nanny sure do keep me up and running and I couldn't love it more if I tried!  That's about all for now! 

Here's to hoping everyone is happy and healthy in the blog world!!!

Xoxoxoxox,

Maggie

Summer Days!

Monday was my first day of working full time this summer. I was kind of excited about it to be completely honest. Most of my friends are working this summer, so I am not missing out on all the fun activities.

I am now officially one week down and have still a million more weeks to go! But I am not complaining. Nothing is better than a free schedule, the most relaxed kiddos and lots of fun in the sun! We have had quite a blast already and that tells me there are a lot more fun memories to be made!

Here is just a little bit of what our day usually looks like...

I arrive at The Smith's around 8:45, we eat breakfast and watch a little bit of TV, and then Ryan is normally gone after that either at westside or with his friends. So Sammie and I do a craft or play some board games. By that time it's approaching 11 or so and I make lunch and get sammie ready for the rest of the day. This week both kids have been attending an art camp in the neighborhood, so they go to that (they are 30 mins apart.) this gives me a little time to myself and let's me pick up and plan for the next activity. Not going to lie, after camp  we tend to watch a little more tv, before heading off to the pool. We spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool, and by that time it's time for me to go home and them to eat dinner!

Some might think our days are boring, others might think they are filled with activities, but no matter what I love them so. It's times like these that make me so happy that I am where I am today. It helps me learn how to be a good caregiver, how to nature those young and old, but most importantly gives me a taste of what true parenting is like.

Like I said before I long for the day that I have my own family and life is full of adventure!
So with all that being said, I must get back to  practicing my momma duties!



Xoxoxox,

Maggie