Update

Now that Richy is home I can talk about this....Richy was gone for a week hunting the mighty deer. He was in Faith, South Dakota in 47 inches of snow. I missed him like crazy and i am so glad he is home. I didnt mention he was gone before because I am always scared someone will read my blog and then try to come get me. :) I also need to say that when I returned to work from my one sick day my room was not how I keep it but it was no where near what I thought it was going to look like. My kids on the other hand must be eating left over Halloween candy everyday before school. They are crazy! I thought I would just do a quick update and i will try and post some of Richy's pictures of the snow soon.

"The Five"

Tagged again :)

Ten Years Ago I:
1. I was in 7th grade at Soddy Daisy Middle School.
2. My parents had just bought a new house so I was enjoying living in a neighborhood for the first time.
3. It was my first year in youth group because my church still thought 6th grade was elementary.
4. I was passing notes and talking about boys.
5. That summer I met Richy at a pool party. He was really mean and I never thought a little over 8 years later I would be his wife.

Five Things on my to Do List:
1. lesson plan
2. clean house
3. clean house
4.clean out my car
5. get my oil changed in my car

Five Snacks That I Enjoy:
1. cheese balls
2. Cheetos
3. chocolate chip ice cream
4. grapes
5. diet dr. pepper ( i know this is a drink but many times it is a snack for me too)

Five Things That I Would Do If I Were a Millionaire
1. pay off all our bills
2. adopt a Honduran Orphan
3. Mission work
4. travel
5. buy Richy a farm with lots of land

Five Places That I Have Lived:
1. Soddy Daisy

Five Jobs That I Have Had:
1. Office Assistant at Pannell Mechanical (high school)
2. Hamilton County SACC assistant (college)
3. Army Corps of Engineers at Chickamauga Lock student clerk (college)
4. Wilkerson Tile Co. office manager
5. Rivermont Elementary kindergarten teacher

Sick Day....

Today I took my first sick day as a teacher. I have been dealing with bad allergies since this summer. I went to the doctor in July I was given medicine and told to come back in three weeks. During that three weeks I got a new job and could not take off. So..four months later I am still sneezing, sniffling, coughing, and scratching my eyes. I finally woke up this morning and said enough. I went online and put in for a sub, emailed my lesson plans, and called the doctor. I in fact do have allergies and have to take two pills a day for the next four weeks. At four weeks he will see if he can take me off one, but I may be one of those people that has to take something everyday to control the symptons...Anyways...I write all that to say I AM TERRIFIED TO SEE WHAT MY CLASS WILL BE LIKE ON THURSDAY. The main reason I have waited til now to take off is I pride myself in my super clean and organized classroom and I fear that when I return tomorrow it will be a mess. I have seen what happens when subs are in classrooms and I fear that happening in my room. I will post later to update on what it looks like. Pray that they were able to do some work and I won't have to spend the next three weeks recovering.

p.s. Hamilton County so graciously gave a 1% raise. (10 whole dollars added to a paycheck!) and a bonus! Yay!

I've Been Tagged!

7 Things About Me

1. I love my job! I LOVE IT! I get excited about going I find complete joy it what I do everyday!

2. My favorite sandwich is a meatball sub from Subway. I could eat one everyday. I like it with Italian herb and cheese bread, mozzarella cheese, and meatballs. They are so warm and yummy.

3. I am an ink pen collector. At any given time I probably have at least 5 pens in my purse. I normally carry my pen bag and that probably has thirty in it. My favorite kind is a needle point...dork I know!

4. I talk to my cat like he is a real person. I tell him what I am doing and I ask him questions. I took a class once on oral language and I learned the more your talk to children the more they will talk to you... I guess I am just practicing with my cat.

5. I am really lazy. I love to lay on the couch and indulge in hours of reality TV. I don't get to do this very often but when i do I take complete advantage of it!

6. My favorite colors are black and white. I love black and white. They aren't even really colors but when I buy clothes, things for my house, or anything I go for black and white.

7. When I sleep, I sleep with my hand on my chin. I can't really describe it but I put my thumb on one cheek and my pointer finger on the other and rest the part in between on my chin. I have been made fun of several times for my sleeping position but I can't go to sleep til I am in that position.


I tag Brittney B.

5 YEARS!!

Today (Halloween) marked the 5 year anniversary of my mom's last mastectomy. In many ways I cannot believe that it has been five years and then in a way it feels like it has been a lifetime. During that time she had to have one year of chemo and other preventative drugs. It was a very enduring time but she battled through and came out a winner. She is five years cancer free and I thank the lord for all he did in our family during that time. I am so proud of her! Way to go mom!

FALL BREAK...A DAY WITH THE LADIES...

There are numerous "perks" to being a teacher. One is called FALL BREAK! In college I was able to experience the luxury of fall break but for only two days, now I have a week. I love what I do but I have realized that you can love what you do but can also need a break from it. I didn't want to go anywhere or do anything crazy I just wanted to relax and live life as if I had no plans. Well a week before fall break my husbands office manager was "let go" (a whole other story in itself). As many of you know I worked for Richy all summer. It had its ups and it had its downs but we made it three months of working together and we are still happily married. So hearing the news of the vacant office manager spot I knew what I would be doing over fall break....some break right? I still was excited about fall break but I didn't know what all I was going to be able to accomplish if I had to responsibilities of the office to take care of. This week Courtney is in town and I was hoping to do lots of catching up and I didn't know if I would be able to having to work. Well Monday arrived and Richy told me to have a fun day and that he could hold down the fort without me. So Monday Courtney, Brittney (thanks Christopher Columbus), and my self set out on an adventure. We started at 11:30 a.m. with a lunch at Ichiban..yummy as always, a trip to my mom's office, and then to Hamilton Place. We are all attending a wedding this weekend and all needed a dress. This hunt was not successful but it was a blast laughing at all the dresses that did not work for any of us. ( I wish I had a camera at that time!) I did walk away with a new set of sheets. We then went to Target...can't have a girls day without it. Brittney then graciously offered to make us dinner. So we enjoyed a Taco Ring and some Rotel dip at the Bates' home. We ended the day at 10:00 p.m. It was a great day and it makes me thankful for the people in my life. Even though some of us have moved away and we all are very busy it is great to have one day every blue moon to be with friends and laugh. I am so thankful for my friends. It is just funny how people come in and out of your life but you find those few people that are really there for you and love you no matter what! So I say this about fall break....if I am locked in an office for the rest of the week it was still a great fall break!

A Fall Weekend

This weekend was very relaxing. Saturday I laid around the house and relaxed. Then we spend the evening at my parents house. This was very relaxing and was like old times. Richy and I have been so busy and have not spend very much time with our families. It was great to be at my old home and relax with people I love. Sunday we went to church and it was a great service. My sister has been visiting with us and I love that time with her. I love my church but the hardest thing is going without my family. All my life I have gone to church with my whole family and these past few years without them has been different. This makes it all the better having her there now. She is a great sister and I pray that The Ministry Center is where she starts to call home. After church we went to eat with Richy's family. It was great spending time with them at our favorite restaurant..Ichiban. We ended our day playing six holes of golf (one which I made par...the others not so much) and bowling three games with our college and career. This was a great weekend and I am so excited fall is upon us!

An Update on the Wilkerson's

I have found myself busier than I have ever been and Richy is experiencing the same. Although I feel busy and that there is not enough time in a day I still find complete joy in what I do. I have to say that there have been several crazy moments in the past six weeks but I have yet to think that I would want to be somewhere else doing something else. I LOVE BEING A TEACHER! I don't have enough time or energy to tell all my crazy stories but trust me I have many, but I will say that with a class of 20 (yes I lost three....bitter sweet...I love the new number but I miss them) 5 year old boys and girls there is never a dull moment and their innocence never ceases to amaze me. I will also say that my school has children that in some cases come from homes that I can't even fathom having to live in. Every day I find myself thanking the lord for the blessings he has bestowed in my life and praying that he bring my precious children back safely the next day. I will tell one quick story.... yesterday one of my little boys who at times can be a handful started complaining of his feet hurting. I sat him down and looked at his feet to notice that the shoes he is wearing are so small that the thread at the toe is popping open and his toes is about to be exposed. I said honey your feet hurt because your shoes are just a little to small. He then replied, " Every time I get spider man shoes they hurt my feet." All he wanted was some spider man shoes and the only ones he could have were way to small, but that was OK to him because they were spider man shoes. So I am on a mission for some spider man shoes for this little boy! I love being a teacher!

On a much different note: Richy and I are continuing our golf lessons every Wednesday at 5. I love it more and more every time I play and I find myself turning the TV on and going straight to channel 36...the golf channel. I had a lesson on Wednesday and my instructor (Mike) took me onto the course to play a few holes. On one hole I managed to make par (this is when you make it in the hole in the allotted amount of strokes). I was so excited and glad that Mike was there to see it happen ( I am a teacher and I want to impress my teacher!). I have also found this time with Richy to be my favorite time. We laugh, we joke, and we help each other out. I think that this hobby that we have taken on has really brought us closer!

One Week Down.....

Well today marked to the end of my first week of teaching and......I love it. I know that these words are not always going to be coming out of my mouth but in my heart I will always know that this is what I am meant to do. I have (as of right now) twenty three beautiful minds. I have (get this) seventeen boys and six girls. This is very uneven but we only have eighteen girls in the whole Kindergarten so everyone gets six. I have met some of them but due to the nature of the school some children have just recently been registered. I am hoping to have met all of them by next Thursday. I have many funny stories already and everyday children AMAZE me even more! Next Monday is my first day with all twenty three of my children.... start praying now :)!

Rivermont...who would have thought?

I graduated in May with a degree in Early Childhood Education and I am certified to teach pre k-3. Since the end of April I have been working as Richy's office manager and seeking after a teaching position. I have had several interviews but nothing was turning into a permanent position. At the beginning of July I heard through some friends at church that an interim position was going to be available at McConnell Elementary for the upcoming school year. I didn't really want an interim position but McConnell is such an amazing school it would be worth it. Well at the same time I found about this position from a friend the principal had made many trips into the eye doctor's office that my mom works for. My mom being the mom she is told her I was looking for a job and set up an interview time with her. I met with McConnell's principal and had a great talk with her. The positions that she had to offer were only temporary and may or may not turn into something permanent. She showed me the classrooms but told me to call her in a week to ensure that I did not miss out on a permanent position to accept her interim. I called her once a week for the next three weeks. During this time I had no phone calls for possible positions. Wednesday July 30 I received a phone call from the HR dept for the Hamilton County Schools. I was offered a first grade position at Orchard Knob Elementary. I asked the lady if I could call her back after I thought about it. As soon as I got off the phone I called the principal at McConnell and she said I was going to call you this afternoon let me call you back. Later that afternoon she called me back and said that she had just heard about a Kindergarten position at Rivermont Elementary and had put a recommendation in for me. She said that she would love to have me at McConnell but she wanted me to have a place to "nest." So I got off the phone with her and called the principal at Rivermont and set up and interview for Thursday at 1:00. I went to the interview and I thought it went well. The principal was great and I could just tell great things are going to be happening this year at Rivermont. I left the interview and prayed that something would be set in stone soon. Friday morning I received and email from HR saying they needed and answer for the Orchard Knob job. I began to feel very overwhelmed. I didn't want to turn that job down and then not get the Rivermont job. I was scared of ending up jobless. I prayed that the Lord take control and at 1 o'clock on Friday I was offered a job as a kindergarten teacher at Rivermont. I accepted the position and I start Monday. Throughout the whole summer so much stuff was unknown, but the Lord was teaching me patience and was making me wait for the right job. I feel such a peace about this position. Kindergarten has always been my first pick and I feel so blessed that the Lord agreed and provided me with this job opportunity. Since I was little I have always played school. I made every play school, and now it is real. I am very overwhelmed but I am so ready. I know this is my calling and I can't wait to run with it! This weekend was tax free weekend and I was able to buy my favorite things....school supplies and now it is totally justified!

ATTENTION LADIES!!!

I am having a Thirty-One party Thursday August 7 at 6:30! It will be at my house and everyone is welcome. I would love for everyone to come but it you can't make it you have options... the consultant has a website and you can go online and view the new fall line that just started today (Aug. 1) and the old favorites. You can also order online which is the same as if you were ordering from a party. I also have some catalogs and will have them with me at church on Sunday and Wednesday before the party. Just ask if you want to look. There is some really cute stuff and I am very excited! The website for the consultant is http://www.jennysthirtyonegifts.com/. You go to shop online and then find my name. If you order it will ship with the orders from my party. I hope this is fun and fulfills your tote, stationary, and home decor craving!

Shoes...Clubs...Now All I Need is a Lesson!

Bag and shoes
my new Cleveland golf bag

They are here! My golf shoes came in on Thursday and they were just as cute in person! Since I had the shoes now it was time for MY clubs. I had been hitting at the driving range with a set of Richy's old ones, but they were to long and not mine. So, Friday night we set out to purchase my first set of clubs. We arrive at golf headquarters and I was on a mission. I told the man that I had no idea what to even ask to find what I needed. He and I decided that I needed the cheapest set in case this was something that I was not going to stick with. After picking out the Nexus clubs (the cheapest in the store) I was ready for my next purchase. Now it was time to purchase the bag. For a man this is probably a simple task but for a bag collector like myself, this was not so easy. They had some very nice pink and purple bags but my favorite colors are black and white so that was what I wanted. (plus they would match my shoes) It took my a while to find the "perfect" bag, but I found it and I was ready to check out. They men in the store know Richy by name and one of the men was actually a principal at our high school when Richy and I were there. So they were very nice and we always have a good time when we visit the store. I guess the men wanted my arrival to the sport to be great so they gave my a free 5 wood and a towel. Now I was ready. Richy and I took the clubs to the range the next night and I got to break them in. I didn't hit very much. I was scared to develop habits that would be hard to break and I want to do this right. I watched Richy try to hit the big van at the range and then we left. It was a great weekend for golf and.....I have my first golf lesson Tuesday at 4:00 with a man at Creeks Bend. I will let everyone know how it goes!

Wednesday Night with the Bates Family

The boys staying busy

Richy after dinner Richy and Mason
Relaxing after everyone left

Wednesday night church was cancelled because VBS had taken over the whole campus. This being the case our Young Adults class met right up the street at the Bates' home. Brittney B. ( i have to use the first letter of the last name because out of 5 women present three of us have the name BRITTANY) made some yummy rotel dip and rice crispy treats and Melissa provided us with a grand main course of spaghetti! We talked and ate. The boys then decided to hit the driving range....my guess this was the idea of Richy and Derek since the other three men are not nearly as obsessed as these two. This was fine so the women stayed and talked and played with the two beautiful babies. I have to say that I was a huge baby hog that night! It was a great evening and thank you to the Bates Family for having us over!

Four.....

Richy loves to play golf and I am going to start joining him. I know that golf is usually a time for men to get together with men, and he will still have his "man" time but I have decided to take up the sport and play with him. We have often thought that we would like to do some sport together and I think we have found it. I have had no experience with golf but I am very excited to learn. I made my first purchase today, and I hope they will get me started. I didn't buy clubs, or balls, or a sky caddy..... I bought.... Nike black and white hounds tooth golf shoes ( I have to look good). This evening we went to the golf store and their selection of women's shoes were not age appropriate so I came home and started searching online. I found the cutest pair. Now I understand that the look of the shoe in no way improves your game...but whether I am good or bad I will always have cute shoes!

Lock In Time!

Friday the college and career hosted a lock in for the youth group. It started around nine and was kicked off with an intense game of volleyball and then moved into an even more intense game of capture the flag. Around midnight we gathered to eat pizza and have a devotion. Dewayne did a great job and used a great illustration. Once the devotion was over the kids went back out to play capture the flag. Some of them stayed inside and played what I call "Nintendo" but I am often reminded that is not what they all are...but they are all the same in my book. Richy fell asleep on our aero bed around 1. Around 1:30 I went on a hunt for the perfect sleeping spot. In the hallway of the church we have these benches that are about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide (that may actually be a little smaller than that). I decided to put three of them together. This was one of the best sleeping spots I have ever had at a lock in. I woke up around 8 and an hour later it was all over. It was the most successful lock in I have ever been to and I am truly enjoying the time I am spending with the youth.

Conquering The Mighty Ocoee

Sunday Richy and I took a trip down the Ocoee with the youth group from church. We left the church around 1:30 and arrived at the Ocoee around 2:15. Richy and I had the pleasure of driving five of the youth up to the river. This is the first time Richy and I had really participated in any events with the youth, so I was actually a little nervous about the ride up. The kids were great and the trip up went very smooth. I did tell Richy when we got up there that I started to feel kinda old and not very "cool." The conversations they were having with each other kinda dominated the ones I tried to be apart of, but that was fine I needed to make sure Richy focused on the road :) . Once we arrived at High Country Outfitters we had to wait about an hour til we could head up to the river. Before getting on the big green school bus we were given the proper equipment needed for the rest of the day. This included a very smelly life jacket, a helmet, and a paddle. The trip leader gave us a quick tutorial and then we were off the the river. Once we arrived at the top we got in groups of six. These six people would be in my boat and assist greatly in the trip down the river. In our boat was Richy, Yancy, Kari, Dewayne, and Ethan. Our guide for the day was actually a guy that Dewayne went to high school with. Knowing the guide really made the experience that much better. I felt like we got to do somethings that not just everyone does. Not to mention our guide was a seven year veteran and really made the trip so much fun! We all made it down the river safely. We truly had a great time!

Some of my favorite moments from the trip....

The first time I saw Richy in his life jacket and helmet. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Sorry no pictures of it..but trust me.

Richy and Dewayne falling out of the raft. Yancy yells where is Dewayne and we look and all of the sudden this large arm comes from underneath the raft. Dewayne finally surfaced and with the help of Ethan I pulled him in...or with my help Ethan pulled him back into the boat. The guide pulled Richy in before we pulled Dewayne (so no I did not leave my husband in the river :).

The guide let Kari and I sit in the front of the boat. I had never sat in the front and it made the trip that much better!

The whole trip was amazing and sadly the only picture I got was of the kids in our car.

What was lost is now found!!

Richy and I have been married for one year five months and seven days....but whose counting! We were so blessed during our wedding season by gifts and gift cards. We were able to stock our house and then some. I have to admit however, that I lost about 300 dollars in Bed Bath and Beyond gift cards and about 160.00 in cash. I had it all in a zip lock bag and I lost it....well I thought I lost it. I was cleaning out my car on Monday and reached in the passengers seat back pocket and to my surprise pulled out a baggie with gift cards and cash! I almost cried I was so excited! I began to think what perfect timing it was to have found those. Richy and I just bought our house and there is lots to be done. The gift cards and cash will help so much in the decorating process. So I now like to say that I did not lose the money and gift cards I was just saving them!

Happy Birthday Lou!

The beauty of divorced parents is two birthday parties....since I was two or three everyone's birthday party at my grandparents consists of a picture taken just like this. Happy 20th b-day Lou!
Now... my mom's house for her birthday cookout!

Richy scaring Lou with the bubble wrap!

In my last post I talked about Lindsay's birthday. These are some of the great moments of the night!

Three day weekends never felt so good....

I love that this year the Fourth of July fell on a Friday! Richy and I closed up shop Thursday and put a sign on the door that said we would not be open til Monday... that felt so good! This has been a very relaxing weekend. Friday I spent time out by the pool at my parents house while Richy spent some time on the golf course. Then we were invited to a cookout hosted by the Oscai family.We had good food and a great time!Thank you Oscai family for the invite and the great time! Saturday Richy and I both headed to be pool for a day of relaxation. Saturday evening we headed to my mom's for a birthday cookout for my sister. She turned the big 20. It is so hard to imagine that she is 20 years old! Richy and I challenged my mom and Kel to a game of badminton and sadly came out defeated... unfortunately my badminton skills are not as good as my softball skills! Sunday we went to church and then out to lunch at Steve's Landing with Yancy and Kari. We then spend the rest of the day doing things around the house that needed to be done! It was such a great weekend and we are so blessed to have our lives filled with people that are truly amazing!

Oh....I have a job interview Monday at 9. I am very nervous because it is at a very desirable school and I really hope it goes well. Please be praying that all goes well and I will have a teaching job soon!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

After a rough season the Ministry Center "Pink Panthers" (as some of our fans like to refer to us as) got first place in our league tournament. This is the second time for us so we were very excited and it felt good to be able to take our famous team picture holding up our number 1! This season started out a little rocky and contained a few more let downs that hoped for but we stuck together, worked together, and pulled through! I was especially surprised at our performance in the tournament. We won our first game, lost our second, won our third, and to win the championship we were going to have to beat the same team twice.... during the first game we weren't playing as good as I knew we could but we stepped it up and pulled it out in the last inning! This win allowed us to play the team one more time for a chance at the plaque. The second game went much better than the first and we pulled out an 11-8 victory. Everyone played great and it was a BLAST! I hope next year we keep up our streak!

The First Weekend As Home Owners!

This past weekend was our first weekend to own our home. In the beginning I thought that I would feel no different about our home because we have lived there for almost two years, but I am learning quick that your feelings change when something is your own! Richy woke up Saturday morning and enjoyed a game of golf with some friends, while I was laying in bed contemplating my day my dad called and said he was making breakfast, so as usual I invited my self to join them. My dad just recently opened up their pool so I decided that after breakfast I would lay out for a couple of hours. I was trying to relax but all I could think about was how much I needed to do at home. If you know me you know that I am not a cleaner... I put it off as long as possible and but everything else in front of it. So, I got out of the pool after 20 short minutes and headed home to start on my three hour long cleaning extravaganza. I was cleaning things that I didn't know I could clean! Now that the house is ours it is something that I want to take care of and that really showed on Saturday! Saturday night Richy and I ventured out to Lowe's where we purchased a new area rug, mailbox (with OUR name on it), and a vacuum cleaner. As soon as we got home we rearranged the furniture to accommodate our new rug. Sunday we went back to Lowe's and purchased new blinds for the whole house. A couple of the spare rooms in our home have been without blinds since we moved in... it wasn't our house and I had trouble wanting to spend money on something that wasn't ours...so now all rooms have new blinds. We have only made some minor changes but it feels different. It is ours and we are finally able to do things that make it feel like a home!

I thought I would do this alot...

Well..it has been a while since I blogged so some things have changed... today we are purchasing our first home. It is the same house we have been living in but we are now going to be the owners of it. At first I guess I didn't realize how exciting this event is and now I can't stop thinking about it! We have been so blessed and we feel so fortunate to own something that doesn't just have four wheels! :) Also, I am still working at the store and I love it more everyday. Richy and I have developed a much stronger relationship and we really work together well (this took some time) . I have also had two potential job opportunities presented to me for the fall. Both jobs have so many pros that it is going to be a tough decision. My best friend Brittney just had her first child, Mason Reily and he is so amazing and a great addition to my rapidly growing amount of nephews! Richy and I are so excited for Brittney and Derek. Richy even got teary eyed holding him for the first time! My best friend Courtney has moved to Augusta. It is sad but I know that God has a plan for her and Josh and that he has put them there for a reason. Even though she is not 10 minutes away now she is still a phone call away and I think since she has left we have managed to talk one to two times a day. It has been a busy couple of weeks but I love all that is going on right now and Richy and I are so thankful for the people that are in our lives. I hope to blog about the renovations to our new home.... so stay posted!

I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE ONE OF THESE!

It is so funny how we laugh and others and then find ourselves doing the same thing. Several of my friends have blogs and I think that are great to read...however Richy and I are not that interesting, have no children, and really nothing to blog about... so I often thought it to be pointless for us to have a blog. I have even had a chuckle at the expense of my best friend Brittney becuase she has one and leads a similar boring life (sorry Britt but it is true). However after reading and enjoying I decided I should jump on the band wagon... and maybe someone somewhere will enjoy reading about the eventful life of the Wilkersons.

I am currently on the job hunt and to ensure that I do not become an overweight couch potato in my time of unemployment I am working at the tile store that Richy and I own... (more him than me).. During the day I have found that I have ample time to spend on the internet...so now I have found something to fill my time so expect frequent post from this internet junkie!