How?

How could he take the lives of those babies? How are the survivors going to be scared for life? How can so many families celebrate Christmas in just a few short days? 

I just can't stop crying. I looked at this last night before crying myself to sleep. In each of those sweet children, I saw the face, the personality of my precious 17 third graders. Yes, they can get on my very last nerves some day, but praise God I still have them all. I love them dearly and I have seen that even before the tragedy, that if anyone attempted to mess with one of mine, it's not good for them. 

It was so hard to come to school today. I wanted to just sit, talk, and love on my kids. I wanted to sing praises to my God that we are all still here. This truly shakes me to the core as a teacher. We hear of shootings a lot, but for it to be 6 and 7 year olds...I just can't get over it. 

Praying for the families in Sandy Hook. Praising God for the safety of the other children and adults. Praising God for all that I have to be thankful for.

It's a.....

Wednesday we had everyone over so that Sarah and Drew could reveal the gender of the baby. It was perfect timing with Thanksgiving and all. A lot of family were able to come that don't live around here. Moma and I spent the day decorating and cooking. We just couldn't wait!

I've already started her baby book!

When people came in, they wrote their name on either a pink carriage or a blue carriage to cast their vote. 

The table

IT'S A GIRL!!!

I am so ready to be an aunt!

This will be the first great-granddaughter for Grandmother.
She has 6 great-grandsons.

We were able to get a picture of the whole family at the party, too. It'll be our Christmas card! If you're going to do cards, too, you need to use Shutterfly. They have the cutest cards! (And great prices!)

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Weekend Shinanigans

Friday night, Will and I traveled to Memphis. We walked down Beale Street, saw some street performers, ate at Blues City Cafe, and went to the Orpheum to see the Blue Man Group. We've been looking forward to this for a very long time! It was so nice to get away and have fun. The show was amazing!

Tradition.

Such a wonderful friend. 

Saturday I was blessed to witness the marriage of two amazing, Godly people. Kelsey Laprade and Nathan Young were married at FBC in Pontotoc, MS. It was a lovely ceremony and the reception fit them to a T. So much fun seeing old friends. God was truly present at this celebration. 

My favorite Nicholas. 

At the reception, there was a photo booth set up with all kinds of props. Didn't take us long to jump in there and start goofing around!

Carlye and I. Can't wait for her to move to Jackson. 

Took some coaxing to get this picture done. :)

Fun friends!

Saturday evening, Moma and I went to the Elkin Theater in downtown Aberdeen to see Taken 2. Two tickets, two popcorns, and two drinks cost $10. You can't get better than that! Love living in a small town...some days. 

Now it is Thanksgiving week. That means that all the family is coming into town. This year, there will be 77 in attendance on the Mattox side. I know it sounds like a lot, however, that's relatively small for us. 

Looking forward to catching up with family, eating some good food, and watching football, of course. 

Wednesday we are having a Gender Reveal Party! I CANNOT wait to find out if I'll be getting a niece or nephew! Post to come! 

Mabry is engaged!

This past weekend I secretly went to Starkville. One of my best friends, Mabry Nelson, got engaged. She had NO idea! Her fiance, Jonathan, contacted a lot of her friends. She thought she was going to a small, no-name, concert. Well, her brothers were singing when she came in and all of us were sitting there waiting on her!

Me, Kat, and Derek. We were all in the Philippines together. Kat drove from Louisiana for Mabry. That was very exciting to her!

They FINALLY arrived! Mabry was definitely stunned. 

Yes, tears were shed. 

After singing Adam Sandler's "I Wanna Grow Old With You", Jonathan got down on one knee and proposed. 

She said YES!

Mabry and I! Love her very much!

It was wonderful spending time with these ladies. 

All the Starkville peeps!

Hoot. Hoot.

Let's see...I had a birthday since my last post. I turned 24 on the 24th. Pretty cool, huh? It wasn't my favorite birthday I've had. I drove home the morning of my birthday. My grandfather, Pap, passed away the night before. When I got home, we didn't leave. My family did such a good job of trying to make it "my day". We sang, had cake, and I opened a few gifts. It was definitely hard and not the special day everyone looks forward to, but I can't tell you how much I loved having all of us under one roof. It's been so long since we have all been together. I even convinced everyone to play a game! The last time Ben, Sarah, and I played a game was probably Monopoly at Grandmother's house. Crazy! We played Catchphrase and laughed so hard! We also watched Duck Dynasty, which cracks everyone up! 

I am so ready for Thanksgiving Break...only 7 more days now! Today, I rearranged my room. Hopefully, I'll get pictures put up soon. I really like this new layout. I think I've got my kids down pat. Of course, I learn new things about them all the time, mostly because they tell me everything about their lives! Haha! I do love my kiddos. And my coworkers. Oh my goodness, my coworkers are the bomb! All we have to do is give a look and we know what to do, say, who to get on to...everything! 

Pumpkins

Today, my small group went to the Pumpkin Patch. We went on a hayride through the farm, saw some cools animals, laughed, took pictures, and of course, hunted for a pumpkin!

I should've pursued photography. Think it's too late?

I was so excited. I haven't been to a pumpkin patch in ages!

The group with our pumpkins!

Then, we came back to my house to carve the pumpkins. It took forever! Most of us did the stencil kind. We had fun though...sitting, cutting, listening to music, enjoying the beautiful weather. This is the most action our backyard has seen since we moved in!

All done! There should be more curly cues, but...they broke. Sad day.

Side note: My birthday is in 4 days! :)

Wild Woman

Yes, it has been a while, so sorry. 

Last week was Homecoming Week at good ole Puckett Attendance Center. Monday, the kids were out of school. Sadly, we were not. Tuesday was Cowboy Day. Wednesday was Celebrity/Professional Day. Thursday was Hippie Day. Friday was Spirit Day.

Third Grade Cowgirls. I seriously work with the best people around. These ladies keep me sane...most days! 

BOOTS!

We are having a pumpkin decorating contest for Fall Festival this week.
I wanted to see what he'd look like as a cowboy.

Tuesday - Queen of Third Grade, Book Lady, Olympian

Hippie Day

Thursday night we went to the State Fair. It was pretty awesome!

I fed a goat and had a staring
contest with another one. 

For some reason, we decided to ride the Scrambler, or whatever it's called. Bad idea. It was fun, and funny to watch, but oh my!

Friday night we went to see Needtobreathe in Jackson.
Love them!!

Went to the MSU game Saturday. It was so wonderful being back in Starkville, tailgating, catching up, watching other games on TV, laughing, and being around people I love. 

Derek, me, and Colton. My brothers. 

Ashley, me, and Kayla. Beautiful ladies. 

I think this is our gajillionth tailgating picture we have. Love them all! :)

Soon to be Mrs. Hutchinson.

Beat Tennessee? Check! 6-0 baby!

Beautiful stadium. I can't wait until the expansion!

Needless to say, last week I was not the boring, typical me. I actually went out, on a school night! It was a lot of fun. That bad thing was that it made me not look forward to Monday even more! Haha! One more week closer to Thanksgiving!