It's Over (almost)...

Well, the summer is coming to an end. I'm very sad because it always goes by way too fast and I never get all of my summer goals accomplished.

This past Monday I finally moved all of my classroom items into my new room. I have a really nice big room and I won't even have kids coming in there. I'm excited to be able to spread out and have a nice space of my own. I will go up next week and try to unpack and get organized. The teachers start school next Friday, Aug. 8th, and the kids start the following Wednesday, Aug. 13th.

This week is filled with trying to get some more things done around the house. Today cleaning is on the agenda and so far I have just spent time on the computer, so we'll see how that goes!

Hilton Head, South Carolina

We returned from our annual family trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina last Saturday. That was our last vacation/trip for the summer and it is very sad it has come to an end, but it was a good trip to end on. We always have such a great time with Chad's family in Hilton Head! Some of the fun things we did in Hilton Head include: bike riding on the island, playing boche on the beach, laying out and playing volleyball at the pool, shopping, and flying kites. Here are a few pictures from our vacation:

A beautiful sunset.

Palm trees.

The James'.

The whole family.

Look closely and you will see our kites flying in the sky.

July Fun

Well, as usual July has passed by way too fast. Here are a few updates from this month and what we have coming up:

For July 4th we went to visit my mom and Roland in Big Canoe. My mom, Chad, and I ran the Peachtree Road Race on the morning of the 4th. My mom only started running about a year and a half ago and her goal was the run the Peachtree this year. So, we went to run with her and had so much fun. Our goal was to run the whole thing without stopping and we did it! It was very, very crowded so we had to dodge people and run around people pretty much the whole time. We had a great time and hope to be able to do it every year.

Last week I baby-sat all week. Since I was a sophomore in college I have been baby-sitting for this family. They have 3 girls and when I started the youngest was 2 years old and now she is 11. It's really crazy to see how quickly they grow up. The oldest girl had a leadership conference to go to in the Boston area so the parents decided to take her early to look at colleges since she will be in 11th grade this year. So, that left me with the 11 and 13 year-old girls for the week. We really had a great time and I feel more like I am just hanging out with them than baby-sitting them.

This week has been filled with doctor's appointments and getting some things done around the house. Also, we have started packing for Hilton Head, our annual family trip with Chad's family. We are very excited! We leave this Saturday and come back the next Saturday.

The Monday after we get back from Hilton Head I will move into my new classroom. I have most of my things in my house right now and I'm ready to get them out!

For those of you that don't know...Chad will be a National Team Coach for the Paralympic Games in Beijing. He will be gone for about a month from Aug. 21st-Sept. 19th. This is such a great opportunity and we are both very excited that he gets to go!

Anniversary Trip to Gatlinburg

We went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee June 21st-24th to celebrate our one year aniversary. It was so good to get away, especially after having a rough last few months. Since we have not gotten to spend much quality time together lately, we needed this time to get away and just be together with no distractions. We had such a wonderful and relaxing time and it was definitely worth it! I know Chad is having a good time and is stress-free when he gets silly and he was very silly the entire trip. He needed to get away and not have to think about work for a while.

Gatlinburg is such a quaint little town and has some cute shops! We spent lots of time walking down the main strip and eating at several yummy restaurants there. Our cabin was perfect for just the 2 of us. It had a beautiful view, a hot tub on the balcony, and a pool table (let's just say that Chad was pretty impressed with my skills and he needs to practice alot before he plays me again). We tried to spend as much time there as possible so we could relax and enjoy the surroundings. One day we spent about 5 hours at Ober Gatlinburg and were able to do the Scenic Chair Lift, Alpine Slide (which I remember doing when I was a kid and was VERY excited to do again), bumper cars, and 2 different water rides. On our anniversary we went on a hike in the Smoky Mountains and got some beautiful pictures of the views. Here are some pictures of our trip. Sorry there are so many, I couldn't just pick a few.

Our little one-bedroom cabin.

The view from our cabin.
We ate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company one night.
Hiking in the Smokies.

Alum Cave Trail in the Smoky Mountains.
A beatiful view of the Smokies.
Another pretty view.

Wow! I think we'll have to hang this one in our house.
Riding on the Scenic Chair Lift.
The Alpine Slide.

Chad loved this ride!
He talked me into riding this one and promised I wouldn't get wet.
Wet Tara after riding the water ride.

New Design

I have been seeing all these cute backgrounds on other people's blogs, so I decided I should look into it. I found out you can get free designs on-line. There are some really cute ones, so it was hard to decide. I hope you like it!

1 year Anniversary

Wow! I can't believe it! Monday is our 1 year Anniversary. We are taking a mini-vacation this weekend to celebrate. We rented this log cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee from Saturday until Tuesday. We are very excited to get away and be alone for a few days since our lives have been extra stressful over the last 4 months. There are many things to do in the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area such as: horseback riding, whitewater rafting, shopping, mini-golf (which Chad LOVES), hiking, etc. We are currently working on the agenda for the trip and hope to get to do many of these fun things. We will be sure to post pictures after our trip.

Zac and Kristin's Wedding

Chad's cousin, Zac, got married to Kristin on May 24th. They started dating a few months before Chad and I did, so they dated for almost 7 years before getting married. Kristin and I have been "roommates" for the past 5 years on our annual Hilton Head trip with their family. We are both very excited to stay in the same room as our husbands this year! The wedding was outside in a garden and the reception was under a big white tent. It was beautiful and we were so glad to be there for it. Chad got to walk Zac's mom out after the ceremony, which was pretty special.

Memorial Day Fun

On Memorial Day we had our small group over for a hamburger cook-out and to play our Wii!! It was lots of fun. After we visited for a while we ate dinner and then the men played the Wii while the women visited a little longer. One couple in our small group, Adam and Karen, had their baby that day so we made a Wii character in honor of Baby Charlie.

A Birthday, Charlie, and Arkansas

My brother, sister, and I (and of course the 2 husbands) went in together to get my mom a Kitchenaid mixer for her birthday. She has been talking about how she wants one for about a year now and I thought it was time to get her one. She absolutely loved it! Here are some pictures of her opening her present.

A couple in our Core Group (small group), Adam and Karen, had a baby on May 26th. His name is Charlie and he is so cute. We brought them dinner about a week after he was born and I got to hold him right away. He was getting a little squirmy so I put him up on my shoulder and he fell asleep curled up in a ball. It was so sweet and I was in heaven!



June 4th-8th I went to Little Rock, Arkansas. My high school friends and I had a friend reunion. They were all a part of my wedding last summer and we realized how much we missed spending time together. We all live in different places now and don't get to see each other very often and have not all been together in several years until last summer. Sarah lives in Little Rock and her parents and 2 sisters live very close as well. She showed us where she works, hangs out. likes to eat, and all the hot spots around Little Rock. We climbed up Pinnacle Mountain to see a beautiful view and got to experience many of the cute shops and places around the city. We saw Rachel, Sarah's younger sister, who just had a baby in April. Rachel's baby, AnnMarie, is so sweet and calm and I got to hold her for about an hour the first night we were there and I loved every minute of it. On Saturday we went to visit Sarah's parents and her other sister, Rebekah, and her little girl, Elisabeth. It was so great to see them, we grew up hanging out at their house alot and we all feel like they are like our second family. Elisabeth is so precious! She was born almost 2 years ago and was only 2 pounds when she was born. It is amazing to see her now. Although she has grown alot, she is still small for her age, but is very mature and speaks well.

Christie, Me, and Amber on our first night together having cocktails (or "sipping cocktails" for some of us).














Suzanne and Sarah

















Me holding sweet AnnMarie.


















Precious AnnMarie!


















Sarah and Elisabeth-she loves her "la la".

A New School and a New Head Coach

We have some news to share for those of you that haven't heard yet. Both of our jobs are going to be quite different next year and we are excited to see what God will teach us through these new experiences.

I (Tara) got a new job at a new school for next year. I decided it would be the best for me to stay in the same school system so that I would still be tenured. There is another Jefferson County School about 10-15 minutes from our house called Gresham Elementary. I applied for a transfer, had an interview with the principal, and got a job offer all within about a month. I will be a Title I teacher, which is what I did my first year at Oak Grove. I will be a resource teacher who helps struggling students in targeted grade levels. I will probably be working with 2nd and 3rd grade or 3rd and 4th grade. While I'm very sad to leave my current school because I LOVE it and the people I work with, I'm also very excited about the challenges of a new job. God has made it very evident that this is where I need to be since it all worked out so perfectly and quickly.

For those that don't know, the Head Cross Country and Track Coach at Samford, Coach McWaters, was suspended back in the beginning of March and later let go. Samford is entering into a new conference next year and they said they wanted to go in a "different direction." We are VERY close with Coach McWaters and his wife because he was our coach at Samford and Chad's boss for the last 6 years. They will be missed very much, but we hope to still see them often.

Because of this, Chad has been the Interim Head Coach for the last few months and has been very busy! I have been helping out as much as I can and going to the meets on the weekends to help him out. He also had 2 former athletes helping out with the sprinters, which was wonderful. It has been very challenging, but we have grown closer through it all.

Earlier this week Samford hired a new Head Coach for next year and are currently in the process of hiring another assistant coach. So, if everything goes as planned there should be one head coach and three assistant coaches next year. This will be a huge help and hopefully will take some of the load off of Chad! Chad and Lauren Blankenship (the other assistant coach for next year who just graduated from Samford) will be in charge of the distance runners.

Chad's job will be very different next year, especially at first as he will be learning how to work with 3 different people. We are excited to see some of the good changes that will be made, but it will be sad to have some of our traditions change that have been around for the last 13 years. Please pray for Chad as he goes through some major transitions in his job next year.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Moms and Mema(w)s!!! We are so sorry we could not be with you today. Thank you for all you do for us and being so encouraging and supportive. We hope you had a great day today. We love you!

Baxter Warren Carroll

On Saturday I went to a baby shower for my friend Abbey and her son Baxter. Several people that I ran with at Samford were in town for the shower and it was so good to see all of them. On Saturday morning I ran with Jan and Alice (Abbey's twin sister) and we were able to catch up. The baby shower was that afternoon and I got to meet Baxter for the first time. He is so tiny and precious. Erin Giesa and her mom were also in town from Florida and it was good to see them there. That evening we met a group of people for dinner. It is so good to see friends and so crazy that most of us are married now and beginning to have babies. Alice will have her second (a boy) in September.

Abbey and Baxter

Alice and Emma Kate (cutie!)

Me holding Baxter (don't I look so natural)

Some girls at the shower-Erin, Christy, Jan, Me, Ashley, Alice, and Abbey

Chad and Tara with Baxter

Cinco de Mayo

We have been involved with a Core Group at our church this year. A Core Group is a small group of people from our Community Group (Sunday School Class) who meet every 2 weeks. We usually discuss the past 2 weeks sermons, but sometimes we just meet for dinner or hang out. We decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with our Core Group by going to eat Mexican food. We always have a really great time with them and God has blessed us with some really good friends that can challenge us in our faith and pray with us. It has been so nice to get to know some other young couples that are also newly married. One couple already has a 1-year old little boy who is precious! Two others have babies on the way. Here is a picture of our group:

Chris and Dana, us, Blake and Susan, Adam and Karen

Jimbo and Hayley had already left when we took our group picture because it was Carson's bed time.

The Biggest Loser

I'm sitting here watching The Biggest Loser Season Finale. They are so inspiring! I have never been able to watch a whole season until this year. Now I can't skip a week because I'm so addicted to it. They are amazing and look SO good.

Life has been a little crazy lately. Chad has been in charge of the track team all by himself for the last month and a half so I have been helping him as much as I can by helping him with office work, going to the track meets, doing pretty much everything around the house, and making sure he is eating and getting some rest (as much as possible). I just have one question...why is our grass growing like crazy when I am in charge of cutting it. I am just beginning to learn about gardening and taking care of the lawn, but I don't think this is normal. We have been getting ALOT of rain lately, but no one else has grass that is growing out of control.

Last Thursday Chad took 4 athletes to Knoxville for a track meet and was supposed to be back late Friday night to take another group of runners to Ole Miss on Saturday morning. Some bad weather came across the area and they postponed 4 of the races until Saturday, so that left me to take the athletes to Ole Miss by myself. Luckily, Chad has two former athletes helping him out right now and they were able to come with me. I woke up at 4:15am on Saturday!!! We left about 5:45 with me driving a 15-passenger van! Yes, that is right! I drove one a few weeks ago, but that meet was only about 45 minutes away. We did not get home until almost 12:00 that night, so it was a very long day. On Sunday I took a really long nap and somewhat recuperated. I just don't know how Chad does it every weekend.

This weekend they are running at Georgia on Saturday. They are leaving on Friday afternoon and I have the day off, so I will go with them. We are taking a bus, so it will be a little easier. They do not run the next weekend, but a recruit may be coming into town. The weekend after that is Conference in Missouri. I will take off Thursday and Friday to go with them. After that, things will calm down a bit.

By the way, we finished our Crown Financial Ministries class. I started keeping very accurate records of our budget on our laptop and then it crashed a few weeks ago!! We lost everything including our taxes, which I had already done, but not filed yet. How frustrating!

The computer is now fixed and I got our taxes redone and filed last week.

We only have 5 more weeks of school until summer and I can't wait.

Through all of the business and difficult times, God continues to draw us closer to each other and give us strength when we don't have any left. We are learning to be content in all circumstances and fully trust in Him.

Tara

Spring Break

Chad and I were both on spring break this past week. It was much needed and at just the right time. Although Chad still had to work throughout the week, we were able to get alot of work done around the house and manage to relax some, sleep alot (OK, I did this more than Chad), and spend some quality time together before the athletes come back and track meets start up again. In the beginning of the week my mom and Roland came to visit. We ran some errands on Saturday while Chad was at a track meet. On Sunday we took them to church, went shopping a little, and prepped the kitchen for painting. Yes, I said painting! On Monday we painted the kitchen a beautiful green color. They left on Tuesday morning and Chad and I painted our "sitting room" which we are turning into our study. I could not have gotten that much done without mom and Rolands help! Thanks! Here are some before and after pictures:


The kitchen before painting. Check out the lovely diamond pattern. While someone spent alot of time on it, it was just not us!

Another picture of the kitchen before painting. The eat-in kitchen area is a gold/tan color if you can't tell.

This is our "sitting room" before painting. As you can see it is a lovely DARK burgandy. While it might be nice for an A&M fan, it was not for us and much too dark for that small of a room.

Mom an I are painting a coat of Kilz on the sitting room walls before painting them.

Chad decided he would help us. He is taping the walls up before painting.

The "sitting room" with a coat of Kilz on the walls. A work in progress.

Here is the kitchen after painting, but still a mess. Looks much better!

The final product in the kitchen-a dark sage green.
The eat-in kitchen. How lovely!

The sitting room. It is a little lighter than the kitchen, but you cannot tell here. Now we notice other changes that we need to make because of the beautiful wall color. We'll start with the couch, it has to go! We will turn this room into our study and are currently looking for a black desk to go in it's place. That beautiful plant and lamp need to go too!

Wow! What a difference. Now we just need to find another place for the exercise ball.

While the painting really lasted until Friday after we did all the touch-ups and got everything picked up and put back in place, it was well worth it to see the difference it made.

The rest of the week was filled with doing taxes, running errands, going to doctor's appointments, and working (for Chad). Chad's parents are coming into town tomorrow and we are planning on cleaning our siding and pressure washing while they are here. Look for that update soon! I will try to take lots of pictures.

Tara