Halloween festivities in pictures...and a few words ;)

Charlie and his pumpkin!

We had a pumpkin carving party at a friends' house last night...it was great fun :) 

Our pumpkin.  Charlie designed and carved him...



I was busy with my friend Erika working on these..they were so good!

Let the carving begin!

Now there's a good lookin' crew!

I held on to all the rings for the carving festivities..lol!



Brittany and Seven were excited about Barbie and Star Wars pumpkins...respectively. 

  

The whole gang!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!

P.S.  Our grand total of trick or treaters was 32.  Chocolate is leftover.  This is dangerous territory, people.  Dangerous territory!

Faith

These past couple of weeks have been really eye-opening for me spiritually and and physically.  And I'm not even the one who is dealing with the real pain of loss. I haven't really been blogging for lots lately because I've felt un-inspired, and I feel like God has been quitely working on my heart.  So I let him work, and I was still.  For once ;)

A student at my school lost his father tragically last month.  When I found out, I just held his classroom name tag and cried.  For him.  For his family.  For the reasons as to why it happend.  I adore this child, and everything about him.  He's 12 and his life will never be the same. 

Then, a few weeks later, a student I taught last year died of a brain tumor.  He was in remission when I had him, and the tumors came back agressively, and he passed quickly.  He wasn't in pain when he passed, and he was able to say goodbye to his family.

I come no where near to being even close to slightly feeling the pain and loss that these families have suffered.  I can only pray for them.  But my heart is shaken, and a child's suffering is always magnified by thousands.  It is unjustifiable by earthly standards.

But by God's standards, cancer has lost because he is at peace and with Him.  I was blessed to know this little boy.  He was one of the most confident, strong people I've ever taught.  A quiet warrior.  And I will never forget him.  And I have faith he is with God.

This is my favorite song our church sings.  It's message resonates with me daily. 

Biltmore Estate

The Biltmore

Well, I don't think you were left saying "Wow, they really could have Built More"...  It was SO HUGE.  Beyond huge.  Enormously massive.  240 rooms.  The largest private residence in the United States.  It was like orchestrating a massive production every day just to run it for the Vanderbilt family.  It was very interesting to see the inside and hear the history of this home.  I was glad in the end that we got the audio guide becuase I learned a lot from it....and I actually knew what I was seeing.

You aren't allowed to take pictures inside, so here are some pictures I found online to give you an idea of what I saw.  But trust me, it doesn't even scratch the surface.  Among my favorite rooms were....


George Vanderbilt's personal library, complete with a chess set and chess table owned by Napoleon



The wife's bedroom and dressign chamber... it was every girl's dream!



Dining hall...which is speratre from the "breakfast room" mind you.  I loved the three giant, roaring fireplaces!

But my favorite part of all were the views,  Spectacular!  Especially during fall!  The rest are all pictures I took.


Porch that you can walk on during the tour...dont' mind my headsets!

 Charlie and I also walked around the grounds, which are, literally, 100x the size of Central Park in New York.  The drive UP to the Biltmore alone is 2 miles long.  The grounds are complete with stables, a water fall, a bass lake, an archery area, and it's own golf course.  Not to mention miles of landscaped forest/gardens.

One of the many amazing gardends with beautiful mums



Charlie the bridge near where we stopped to have a picnic lunch



Beautiful lake

We loved the Biltmore, and we hope to go back one day.  There were tons of thigns we missed even though we were there all day.  Afterwards we went shopping :D :D :D, which was more like browsing, and then we went out to dinner at a famous restaurant in the area.  We came home by 9 pm so dead tired, but it was worth it. :)

Log cabin eye candy

My MIL was in town for the past couple of days, enjoying time with us and visiting to look at a home in the south.  It would be her and Chuck's winter home where they would spend part of the year...not to mention a great gathering place for the family.  She fell in love with a home online, but she wanted to see it in person.  Charlie and I took a visit last week to see what we thought, and really loved it, Charlie visited inside with the realtor, and we took a look again on Wednesday with her.  There are so many things we love about it... so I thought I would share it here.  It's not official, and no offers have been made, but it is a real contender.  Yay for sore markets, no?


Here is the inside...please excuse the exessive narration. I'm kind of an excessive talker ;) I hope I don't make you sick with moving the camera too fast!


It's got the log cabin-ey feel that they love so much, and it has such potential for family gatherings.

Longest day ever.

I don't know what your "everyday" looks like, but when I get to school, I pretty much feel like this...

And then this comes this....

And when that leaves then I have to grade this...

(Yes I took this photo and yet, it is normal)

All the while while maintaining this...

Strike that previous image....this is the 21st century, people....I mean this...

When I feel like this...

I've been jealous of some friends recently with "regular" jobs.  That have the energy to throw mid-week get-togethers, go to the movies when they feel like it, and don't fall asleep at 7 pm on a Friday night. 

 I want that, too!

But when I start to question God's calling in my life, I take a step back and I am reminded of how much He has worked on my heart through my job and why I was born to do it.  And, if I didn't do it, why I would feel like this...

 

"trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths"   ~proverbs 3:5-6

Fall Friday!

It's finally fall!!!  Yay for that.  The weather has been beautiful here.  Low 70s, a slight breeze, and sunny.  It makes me really happy.  I wish it was always like this...

We don't have much fall decor, but I figure I'd share what we have :)  Outside is where it counts IMO.  I'm going to pick up some pumpkins next weekend....looking forward to Halloween!

Here is my AC Moore wreath.  I found the little spider to go inside, and when Halloween passes I'll take him out.

The entryway has a few little things.

And my favorite part is the mantle and my wreath.

I love the berries, and it will transition to Christmas as well.

Happy start of fall!!!

Decided.

Ashville is known for amazing fall colors!

Charlie and I are going to Ashville in two weeks.  We need a romantic getaway.

We want to see the fall colors and the beautiful Biltmore.  I think after 5 years in Charlotte, it's about time.  We originally planned on staying at a Bed and Breakfast, but everything is pretty much booked this late in the game, so we are packing a picnic lunch and heading up.

Biltmore

  I think it's well worth getting up early on a Saturday, don't you?