SENIORS... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!

Well, it's happening tomorrow.  I have honestly been dreading this since I started teaching.  The 2nd graders from my very first class will be walking into high school as SENIORS!!  WHAT?!?!?!  How can this already be happening???  At least it is just half of them, I suppose.  My first class was a 1st and 2nd grade split class so watching them finish up school might be like pulling the bandaid off a little slower.  Yeah... probably not.  LOL!

Here's a more zoomed in version of the class picture.  Weren't they precious? :0)

Yeah... they are STILL precious!  :0)

So, you are probably wondering why I am so sad that these sweet babies are seniors.  Why am I so sad that they are growing up?  I don't guess I am sad that they are growing up.  I'm just sad that it has happened so fast.  I am pretty sure that these pictures were just taken last year.  HAHA!  You might also be wondering why I am so sad to see kids growing up so fast that I had so many years ago.  I mean, I was just their 2nd grade teacher.  They were just my students.  Right?  You see, there is this myth that has been told for YEARS.  It's that the teacher is the one that teaches the lessons.  I always believed this to be true as well because I had amazing teachers and I learned all kinds of things from them!  

And then, I became a teacher.  I became a teacher to this group of incredible kids... 

... and the craziest thing happened.  First of all, our little class became a FAMILY!  It was also then that I (the teacher) really began to learn.  I learned so many wonderful things from these kids and their families!  I have learned so much from all of my students and their families over the years and that is one of my favorite things about getting to do what I do, but this group of kids changed my life.  

You see, these precious babies (and they know that I will always call them "my babies") added a big piece to my heart that I didn't even know was missing.  It was so quickly that they taught me what it was like to love children unconditionally.  They taught me to always remember that every kid is somebody's baby (God's baby, their parents' baby, and my school baby) and should always feel safe and loved!

To all of you in this picture (Seniors, Graduate, and Juniors), I AM SO INCREDIBLY PROUD OF YOU!!  Enjoy your time together!  Be kind to one another and find the great things in every day!  Cherish it all and make great memories!  I hope that you all have a WONDERFUL year and remember that I am always here for you and I am cheering you on every step of the way!  I love you all so much!

Love,
Mrs. (Lambert) Cherry   

We are HAPPY! :0)

We are waiting.  We are waiting for news about our next steps in our adoption journey.  We are waiting to be matched with our sweet baby.  We are waiting to hear... something.  I knew that waiting would be a BIG part of this process.  I expected it.  I've known many people who have done this before or who are also on their own adoption journeys now.  Waiting is "just part of it."  

What I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS expected, though... I am HAPPY in this period of waiting.  Did I seriously just think that?!?!  Did I seriously just type that out loud?!?!  WOW!  I think I did.  Believe me when I tell you.  NO ONE is more shocked by this than I am!  I'm not patient by nature.  Tyler is.  He is so good at waiting.  He can wait for anything and I think he can sometimes be a little too patient.  LOL!  Honestly, though, God truly blessed me when He gave me such a patient husband!  Me, on the other hand... I am NOT patient on my own so I REALLY never expected this!  

I know that I have said this before, but our adoption journey has already been the most incredible experience of our lives (and we haven't even gotten to the best part yet) and I truly mean that!  Even in the waiting... especially in the waiting... God has been moving so visibly in our lives!  During this time of waiting to become parents, Tyler and I have grown closer as a couple with God at the center of our marriage and growing family.  We have learned to rely on God COMPLETELY and to truly have faith that He has the most beautiful plans for us and our family!  We have become more involved in our church and we have been blessed by the most amazing, loving, and accepting small group that anyone could ever hope to have.  We have made and had time to nurture friendships with other adoptive parents who have become so special to us.  People have come from all over, old friends, new friends, just to show us that they love us, support us, and are praying for us every step of the way.  

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be writing this blog post today, I would have said that they were crazy.  LOL!  I would have NEVER expected to be happy with waiting.  It's just not ME!  I guess that's the point.  It's GOD!  It has absolutely felt like God has just scooped us up in a little bucket and has carried us every step of the way!  I don't know how I could be anything but HAPPY!

Now, don't get me wrong.  I will be ELATED when the time comes for us to move on to the next step!  I don't have words to describe how happy I will be when we finally get to hold our precious baby in our arms!  Until then, though, we will continue to wait and grow in our faith as we do.  I have been asked by a lot of people how we do it (meaning wait).  (Just a little side note - I know that SO MANY families have and are waiting SO MUCH LONGER than we are/have!)  We (Tyler & I) don't by ourselves.  We can't.  We (GOD, Tyler & I) can only do it because God gives us our strength!  He gives us our joy, our happiness!  HE gives us our HOPE!!  

*Just for fun, scroll all the way down for Pharrell Williams' "Happy" - Taiwan style!*

  

LOVE NEVER FAILS!

My sister, Kaci, got married today.  She was the most beautiful bride ever and it was so obvious that her adorable new husband, Seth, agreed because he just beamed throughout the entire wedding and all of the other wedding festivities!   Aren't they just the cutest little newlywed couple ever?  :0) 

With any wedding (but especially with those that you love so much), we are reminded of our own weddings.  My own wedding was the BEST day of my life and I hope that Kaci and Seth are able to say the same!  There are MANY things that I have learned about being married, though, and these are the things that I have thought about a lot today as we celebrated Kaci and Seth's new union.  These are things that I have learned that have caused me to fall more in love with my husband the longer we have been married and the longer we have grown together. 

The preacher today really focused on 1 Corinthians 13.  I have always loved this passage but whether or not I realized it, I used to only see this as a beautiful passage.  It took a few years (and several trials) of marriage to truly understand this passage and to learn to really live it out in our marriage.

1. Love is PATIENT.  

    I sure do praise the Lord for the EXTREMELY patient man that I married!  He knows that any husband of mine would most definitely need this virtue.  This is something that I have to remind myself of often.  If I'm not willing to wait or be patient... it may not be love.

2.  Love is KIND.

     That's pretty self explanatory.  Just be nice.  Even when we have an argument, I know that I can't say something that I know would hurt my husband.  I love him.  Therefore, I should always strive to be kind to him and to build him up instead of tear him down.

3.  Love DOES NOT ENVY.

     There's no room for jealousy in a marriage.  I can't say it never happens.  I'm human.  He's human.  Envy and jealousy, however, do not come from love.

4.  Love DOES NOT BOAST and it is NOT PROUD.

     We can't brag about being better than the other or be to proud to admit our mistakes.  Pride has crept in way to many times.  It's so hard not to be stubborn and wait for the other person to apologize first when feelings get hurt but we must set our pride aside.  It is toxic!

5.  Love DOES NOT DISHONOR others.

     We are silly and we both have a sarcastic sense of humor so it's very important that even in joking and kidding that we don't dishonor one another.

6.  Love is NOT SELF-SEEKING.

     Our parents have been teaching us to share since we were little but if we are completely honest, it's so hard at times not to be selfish.  Love is putting someone else before ourselves.

7.  Love is NOT EASILY ANGERED.

     Sometimes this is hard, but I know my husband's heart and his heart is good.  As for him, let's go back to #1.  God sure did bless me with a patient husband!  There are so many times that my crazy self could so easily anger him, but he truly is SO PATIENT!  :0)

8.  Love KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS.

     Oh goodness!  God is working on me every single day with this one!  It is so easy any time a disagreement arises to just come up with a list of all the things that my husband has ever done wrong in our relationship since the day we met.  I used to do this.  I would be lying if I said that it NEVER EVER happens now but this is detrimental to any marriage or relationship!  The thing is... when I do this, do I ever bring up the list of the things that I have done wrong?  Nope.  This is just bad.  Very bad.  Love forgives and doesn't keep a list.  :0)

9.  Love NEVER DELIGHTS IN EVIL.

10.  Love REJOICES WITH TRUTH.

       I have yet to ever hear of a solid relationship built on lies.   I'm really bad at lying anyway.  I've been told that I should never play Poker.  LOL!

11. Love ALWAYS PROTECTS.

      It is our job to protect each other and our marriage.  

12.  Love ALWAYS TRUSTS.  

       Again, just be honest so that trust isn't broken.  We MUST be able to trust one another!

13.  Love ALWAYS HOPES.

       There is ALWAYS something for which to HOPE!  ;0)  

14.  Love ALWAYS PERSEVERES.

       We can make it through even the toughest times if we love by this definition.

LOVE NEVER FAILS!!

I have read this chapter of The Bible HUNDREDS of times!  It wasn't until I got married, though, that I really dissected it and understood the meaning of true love.  I often think of this chapter and this definition of love.  I remind myself of it every time I lose my patience and also with every HOPE!  Love isn't just a feeling.  It does take hard work.  Love is SO WORTH IT, though, and the best promise of all is that LOVE NEVER FAILS!!  

Kaci and Seth, I am praying for you all and I am so excited for you all as you start this journey of NEVER FAILING LOVE together!!  I love you both!

Dreams of Tea Parties and Golf Clubs

I don't know how many of you watch the TLC show, "The Little Couple," but I am just so inspired by this sweet family and their beautiful children!  Will is adopted from China and Zoey is adopted from India and they are both just absolutely adorable!  I love to watch the whole family interact as they not only face life's daily challenges but as they adjust to being a forever family through adoption as well.

Last night, Jen (the mother) and her precious baby girl, Zoey, got dressed up and had a tea party.  To some, this might seem like no big deal.  This is something that moms do with their little girls all the time.  During this episode, Jen talked about how special she wanted this to be for Zoey... and how she wanted her to remember dressing up... and how she wanted her to remember drinking from her tea set... and how she wanted her to remember getting to eat in her room... and how she wanted her to remember this very special time of the two of them just enjoying this moment TOGETHER.

Here's a picture of Jen and Zoey enjoying their tea party.  Isn't Zoey just too cute with her diva sunglasses on?  Jen looks pretty adorable with her hat and boa, too!  :0)

I LOVE TEA PARTIES!!  I'll admit it.  I got a little misty-eyed last night as I watched this (I know everyone is SHOCKED by me getting emotional!  HAHA!) because as cliche' as it may sound, this is truly something that I look forward to... something that I DREAM of doing with my own little girl (should Baby Cherry be a girl) some day!  Ok!  OK!  While I'm being completely honest, I'll just say it.  Baby Cherry may or may not already have a tea set (just in case).  :0) 

There are plenty of other things I dream of as well.  Anyone who is or who ever has longed for a child has wishes and dreams for things that they would like to do with their child(ren), things that they would like to teach their child(ren), and special traditions, morals, and values that they would like to instill in the lives of their child(ren).

Tyler LOVES golf!  He loves all sports, but golf is really his thing.  I've gotten a few little shirts that say, "Daddy's Little Golfer," and other golf related things.  He doesn't get super excited about the baby clothes, but I do know that he has hopes of teaching his son or daughter how to play this game that he loves so much.  I know that is something that he is looking forward to doing... just like I'm looking forward to tea parties!

Right now, we continue to dream... and HOPE... and PRAY!!

Holy Spirit

My brain is like a popcorn popper.  I have thoughts and ideas popping up here and there and all over the place.  I rarely finish one thought without another one popping up.  People say that this is a symptom of a creative mind.  I don't know about that.  Maybe my brain is just super full (but I've always been this way to a certain extent - lol) or maybe it's due to my very short attention span or my self-diagnosed ADD.  Whatever it is, it annoys me.  I can be thinking about how I want to plan a really fun math lesson and in the span of five minutes, I will have at least 20 random thoughts that stemmed from that original thought of the math lesson that take me in a COMPLETELY different direction and I will be thinking of why we need to buy a new handheld vacuum cleaner!  What does a math lesson have to do with needing a vacuum cleaner except that the money needed for the vacuum cleaner doesn't add up to the cost of the said vacuum cleaner... UGH!  Here I go again!  Anyway, you see the point... I think.

Because of my popcorn popper of a brain, I sometimes find praying to be difficult.  I sit down to talk with God and my prayers, just like my thoughts, are just popping up here and there and everywhere and I often lose focus and to be completely honest... I get a little frustrated.  I get frustrated because my prayer time is special.  It's sacred.  I feel like I'm causing a bit of a barrier between myself and God when I lose focus during my prayer time and it breaks my heart.  

One way that I often pray... a way that always holds my focus and a way that I always feel His presence a little stronger... is through song.  Sometimes I sing and then there are other times when I just play music (on my iPhone or other musical device - I do not have instrumental talent as badly as I would LOVE to have it!) and listen for Him and just be in His presence.  The music calms my thoughts and helps me to focus.

In the last couple of weeks, I have been praying more specifically and intentionally for The Holy Spirit and the peace that He provides (not just for Tyler and me in our adoption journey, but in other areas of our lives and for other family, friends, and people that God has placed in our path).  One song that has been a great part of my prayer time has been "Holy Spirit" by Jesus Culture.  Francesca Battistelli also sings it.  The lyrics are as follows (More of my blog post follows the song.):

Verse 1:

There's nothing worth more

That could ever comes close

Nothing can compare

You're our living Hope

And my shame is undone

Your presence Lord

Verse 2:

I've tasted and seen

Of the sweetest of love

When my heart becomes free

Your presence Lord

Chorus:

Holy Spirit You are welcome here

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere

Your glory God is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your presence Lord.

Bridge:

Let us become more aware of Your presence

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness

*Chorus*

I know that The Holy Spirit has been with me from the very beginning of this adoption journey.  I know this to be absolute!  I know this because the fruits of The Spirit (The Holy Spirit) are love, joy, PEACE, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, FAITHFULNESS, gentleness, and self-control.  I am not naturally a patient person.  I am NOT good at waiting for something that my heart desires.  In the case of our adoption, I have never had a greater earthly desire than to be a mother!  It is not in my nature to have PEACE about PATIENTLY waiting for that... but I DO!  I have such a PEACE that I know that ONLY The Holy Spirit can give!  That peace makes it so much easier to be patient and faithful as well.  I can't truthfully sit here and say that every day is so easy to wait... because it most definitely is NOT... but I have a peace in knowing that "in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him (and we most certainly do!), and who have been called according to His purpose (and we feel like we have been)."  


He also calms those annoying "popcorn popper thoughts" and helps me to focus!  

Oh, how I love Him!  :0) 

Missing Grogery...

Today, March 26th, would be my Grogery's birthday.  Grogery was my grandmother (my mama's mama).  My older brother, Will, named her Grogery.  She was supposed to be called Granny but he liked Grogery instead... so Grogery she became... to everyone who knew her.

Grogery was one of those people who just made everyone's life so much happier just by knowing her.  She was so loving, kind, patient (Oh my, was she patient!), caring, funny, and a million more wonderful adjectives!  She gave the most comforting hugs.  She had the most contagious laugh. (Oh, how I miss that laugh!)  She had such a beautiful bedtime story voice and knew how to tuck us into bed just perfectly.  She was a pretty good referee when we had the occasional sibling or cousin squabble.  She was an EXCELLENT cook!  I could go on and on...

Many of my BEST childhood memories are memories with her.  Teaching at Gold City Elementary School (the play school that she and our grandpa let us have in their basement) with my cousins, Orange Crush (with crushed ice) and popcorn while watching TV at night when we spent the night, my cousins and I having our pretend Olympics in the front yard while she judged and gasped because she was so afraid that we might get hurt while doing a cartwheel :0) are only a few of the wonderful memories that I have with her.   There are so so many more... way too numerous to name!  My life has been so beyond blessed because she was my Grogery!

I was 16 when she passed away and I will be 32 in June.  It has been weighing heavily on me lately that soon I will have spent just as much of my life without her as I had with her and it breaks my heart.  :0(  I know it may sound a little selfish to be sad when my life has been so blessed, but I can't help it.  I am so thankful for the 16 years that God gave me with such an amazing Grogery!  I am incredibly thankful that He has blessed me beyond measure with all of the wonderful grandparents that He has!  There is no question that I am blessed!

I see more and more of Grogery's precious spirit in my Mama and Aunt Debbie every day as I watch them interact with their own grandkids.  Although it makes me sad that my niece, nephew, cousins' children, and my own child(ren) won't know Grogery, it does make my heart smile to know that her memory lives on and that they will always know the love that she shared with us as it is passed on to them.

Here's a picture of my Grogery.  Wasn't she beautiful?  :0)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I really just need to take a minute and brag on my husband.  He and I are VERY opposite, so it is rare for him to surprise me with something.  He is always kind and sweet and he works very hard to take care of us and our home.  However, he isn't really into the cheesy, ooey, gooey, over the top romantic stuff.  I am.  LOL!  That being said, the thoughtfulness that he put into Valentine's Day... HUGE!!

When I got home from school on Friday, there were flowers on the counter.  They were red and white roses.  I know it is a bit cliche', but roses really are my favorite.  I wasn't totally convinced that he would remember that, though.  I suppose I shouldn't underestimate him.  :0)  I looked at the flowers and thought, "Oh, that's nice and just said thank you."  I am ashamed to admit it, but I honestly assumed that he suddenly remembered that it was Valentine's Day on the way home and stopped at Kroger and just picked up what they had.  Regardless, they were pretty and it was nice of him to get them.

Later on that night, he said, "You never asked me why I just got five flowers."  I looked at him strangely and said, "What are you talking about?"  He said, "You never asked me why I just got five flowers.  Nobody just gets five roses.  It is either six or twelve.  And you didn't ask me why two are red and three are white."  I still had a really strange look on my face, I am sure.  I had no clue what he was talking about or WHO even had taken over his body!  It is so unlike him to even count how many flowers there are, much less know how many are red and how many are white!  LOL!

"Ask me," he said.  So... I asked him.

He said that the two red roses were for he and I and the three white roses were for Maggie, Lucy, and our baby that is yet to come.

I couldn't even say anything.  I just started BOO HOOING!!! (I mean, UGLY CRY!)

And then he gave ME a strange look and said, "Well, there's no need to cry about it." LOL!

Seriously?!?!  You don't get to bring up my pups AND my baby and expect me not to cry!  LOL!  It truly was the most thoughtful Valentine EVER!!  I really do love that man and I am falling more and more in love with him as we go through this adoption journey together!