Green & lovin' it

Good bye blogspot?

2008-11-14T20:20:00.002-05:00

So, I've been considering this for some time now....I'm a terrible blogger and must admit I only look at other people's blogs for the pictures. Every so often I actually read them, and I do enjoy that when I do. Anyway, I'm not a good blogger. I'm not dedicated like some are who update once a week. I admire those people greatly! Even though I have lots of stuff I could post, I just don't. I've recently joined the world of facebook and find it much more user-friendly. It takes SOOOOOOOO long to post just a few pics on blogspot and on facebook I can go straight to my photo albums and click the photos I want to share and bam! there they are. SO, I think I'm going to let my blogspot go to blogspot heaven. It's just too much work and I'm not good at it. So, blogspot, I bid you farewell!

Sweet Avery!

2008-10-13T20:38:00.002-05:00

I love this picture! Avery is getting so big. He weighs 16 pounds...already double his birth weight plus some!

Two Firsts! the beach and baby food!

2008-10-01T20:36:00.004-05:00

Avery had his first serving of baby cereal mixed with bananas. I think he really liked it! New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Avery loves the water! My two men!!!!

Avery Update!

2008-09-06T11:36:00.003-05:00

Avery is changing so much and is so much fun to be with. I have two more weeks until I have to go back to work and I plan to enjoy every minute of it. He is so happy! Laughing and smiling a lot! I just love it! We have really put him to the test lately. He went on his first fall retreat to Athens Y Camp. We had our own little cabin that the three of us stayed in. Then we drove to Jacksonville, Alabama to visit Jeremy's dad. He was a little trooper, but I think he is glad to be home. I love this picture; it shows so much personality! The other picture is of me and my crazy husband! He had to welcome the Greater Atlanta Christian School football team to our church and he actually wore the mullet wig! I'm not sure if I have a thumb sucker on my hands or not, but I took a picture just for fun! He was so happy once he got it in there.

Dedicated to God

2008-08-29T10:33:00.003-05:00

On Sunday we dedicated Avery to God. It was a very special service! Jeremy even preached that day and did a wonderful job. We were blessed to have my parents, Jeremy's mom and step dad, and my uncle, and my grandmother there to pray with us and share the special moment with us. The sun was shining in our faces, so we look a little "squinty," but I love these pictures anyway! Four Generations! Avery, me, my dad, my dad's mom

Hart County Football

2008-08-18T16:32:00.003-05:00

Go Dogs! Hart County Bulldogs, that is!Here we are! The Hart County Superfans! Jeremy designed this t-shirt for the youth group to wear to the football games. On the front it says Hart County Superfan and on the back it has our youth group's logo. Nine out of ten people say that Avery is a clone of Jeremy. What do you think? Of course I don't mind though because I think they are both very handsome! My little man and me! Too bad he isn't looking at the camera. We need to work on that!

avery

2008-08-09T11:04:00.003-05:00

These pictures are courtesy of Sara, my friend who lives up the street from me. She is an excellent photographer if you need one! Check out her blog: swisephotography.blogspot.com or sarawisephotography.com

Avery loves bath time!

2008-08-06T15:56:00.005-05:00

Avery loves bath time! And I do also because it puts him right to sleep! You can see him getting sleepy... And he's out... A friend of mine, Sara, lives right up the street from me. Her son, Henry, is exactly one month older than Avery. We have a great time together walking and talking about our babies. Here are two pictures of Henry. Isn't he just adorable?!

Welcome Avery!

2008-08-04T16:01:00.005-05:00

Avery Carson Green, born June 8, 7 lbs. 4 ozs., 20 1/4" long

Nearing the End

2008-05-29T19:52:00.002-05:00

The Avery Countdown says 15 days. I really can't believe it. When I first found out I was pregnant, June 13th seemed so far away. Now here I am only two weeks and one day away. I've become very sentimental about being pregnant these days. A few months ago my mom sent me an email with some tidbits of life advice. One of them was about being pregnant, and this woman said that she would have taken more enjoyment from assisting God in a miracle. That is the miracle of allwoing him to knit a baby inside your womb. I kind of teased mom about it. I'm not sure why, but I did. However, now that the end is near I am truly trying to enjoy every moment I still have of being pregnant. It truly is a miracle. From beginning to end, it is an amazing experience. I am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to experience it. Looking back I've had a very smooth pregnancy and I thank God for that! Now we pray for safe travel to the hospital, a smooth labor and delivery, and the safe birth of a beautiful baby boy. We can't wait to meet him!

Baby Showers!!

2008-05-19T18:14:00.004-05:00

Welcome Avery Carson Green! 34 weeks pregnant It was so good to see Ashley and Mary Catherine! My mom drove all the way to Hartwell to be at my shower at school! Thanks Mom! So cute! I love this little outfit!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T11:35:00.003-05:00

Getting Bigger!

2008-03-17T18:14:00.002-05:00

27 weeks pregnant and growing! For the longest time people told me I didn't even look pregnant. Ha! I'm laughing bout that now because I grew so much, so fast!!!!!!!!!!! This is a very cool passenger train car that is parked behind our youth house. It is from the Hartwell Scenic Railway. Jeremy and I are thinking of some creative decorating ideas for the bottom picture.

My Journey to Motherhood

2008-02-23T18:18:00.015-05:00

On Sunday, October 7th, 2007 I just didn't feel right. We had been gone all day on a youth outing to the Mall of Georgia to see Transformers on the imax screen. When we got home at 8:00, which on this particular day felt like midnight, I had to drag myself to Wal-Mart for some necessities. While I was there I decided to pick up a 3-pack of pregnancy tests, since I knew something just wasn't right. In the meantime, Jeremy was at a Halo 3 marathon at the youth house since the next day was a student holiday. I arrived at home and unpacked all of my groceries. Then, there was the item with no home: the box of pregnancy tests. Even though I was home alone I just couldn't wait to take the test. I couldn't believe my eyes when it was positive. I debated with myself...do I wait until 2am when Jeremy gets home to tell him the news or do I drive to the youth house and show him the evidence. I decided to drive to the youth house. I freaked him out because I told him he had to come to the car immediately. When he got there, I showed him the test and he was in shock. He didn't know what to say. We hugged, and I returned home to take another test, just to be sure. Of course, I had to wait a while to be able to take a test again, so I took another one at 11 pm. Again, a positive result. I hardly slept that night. I woke up the next morning to take test number three....another positive result!

Now, you need to understand news in Hartwell spreads like wildfire. I was only about four weeks pregnant, so I didn't want anyone to know quite yet, just in case something went wrong. I made it through Monday, but on Tuesday, I just couldn't contain myself. I had to tell. Well, the whole community knew by lunchtime. Oh well. Then the hard part began....the waiting until the first appointment.

Our first appointment was on November 6th in Athens, GA. Our little bundle will be born at Athens Regoinal Hospital sometime around June 13th. It was an amazing thing when we saw this on the screen...

It was real at this point. We are really having a baby! We got to see and hear the fluttering heartbeat. 171 beats per minute. What a miracle!

Our next appointment was December 3rd. I was 12 weeks and a few days pregnant. At that appointment we got to see this...

Our "little alien" was really growing. It was so reassuring to have this doctor's visit. Those first 14 weeks are so critical, so I was pleased to hear that things were right on track.

We have a very good friend who is the administrator at Hart County Hospital. They don't deliver babies there, but they have a very nice ultrasound machine. He invited us for a free ultrasound. Ultrasounds are the best part of early pregnancy, so we went to get a glimpse of our little miracle. We got to see some really awesome stuff that day because the technician really took her time pointing everything out to us. It is amazing how developed a baby is at just 16 weeks gestation. He had really grown a lot in 4 weeks! This picture was taken on Dec. 28th.

Then on January 24th, the moment of truth came. Is it a boy or a girl? I knew it was a boy all along, so when the nurse said it's a boy, I wasn't surprised! Now I could start calling it a him and by his name: Avery Carson Green.

Feet...

Profile shot...

Today I am 24 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I still can't believe I am going to have a baby, but we are so excited. He is already full of energy, rolling around in my belly. I can feel him move very frequently. He doesn't want me to forget he is in there. He even kicks hard enough so Jeremy can feel it. I just can't wait to hold him and kiss him and love him.

It's a boy!

2008-02-18T09:10:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let you all know that we are having a boy: Avery Carson Green

Things are awesome here. We are just working and playing. School is in full swing for both of us. We are getting ready for Avery to make his entry into the world.

An ongoing prayer request: Our house in Canton is STILL for sale. Please pray for God's will. We both believe that this is a blessing in disguise, but we are ready for the next part of the blessing.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T11:27:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas from Jeremy and Lori!

15 weeks pregnant

Too Long

2007-12-22T15:12:00.000-05:00

So, I just realized it has been four months since I posted anything. That is pretty sad! Anyway, I will outline the high points of the past months...

We found out we are going to have a BABY!!!! The due date is June 13th. We are soooooo excited. I am 15 weeks and 1 day as I type this. We will know the sex January 24th.
Jeremy was accepted to begin his Master's of Divinity at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky (cyberspace) and then a month later found out he got a FULL SCHOLARSHIP ($41,000) from lady who left a trust fund in Roswell. He will begin in February. Praise God!
The youth ministry is awesome. The people of Hartwell are so wonderful. We love it here. We are making many new friends.
I am beginning my Education Specialist Degree in January. I decided that having a baby wasn't enough, so I wanted to add something to my plate. Husband, mom, mom-in-law, and many community members have promised to help me survive. I will be done with half when the baby comes, so I think I can make it.
Prayer Request: Our house in Canton is still on the market. Please pray that it will sell before the baby comes. That is our prayer these days.

That is all for now. I will post some pictures when we get back to Hartwell. We are visiting family for Christmas right now. I hope all of you have a very merry Christmas!

Our New Adventure

2007-08-15T19:33:00.000-05:00

So, many weeks ago I posted that Jeremy and I were about to embark on a new adventure. Well, we are here! Jeremy and I moved to Hartwell, GA for him to be the new Director of Youth at Hartwell First United Methodist Church. For those of you who have no idea where Hartwell might be, it is the very last exit on I-85 before you get to South Carolina. It is a very small town: three elementary schools, one middle schoool, and one high school. This is quite a change, considering I have no idea how many elementary schools Cherokee County (my previous employter) has. Hartwell is also surrounded by the beautiful Lake Hartwell and only 45 minutes from Clemson University. Anyway, God opened the door for Jeremy to get to work with the first minister he ever worked with and who Jeremy admires greatly. We moved here on July 24th, and it seems that we have been going non-stop ever since. We live less than a mile from the church and less than two miles from the middle school where I teach. I am teaching 7th grade, which is a big switch for me since most of my experience is in 11th grade. However, I would have to say "so far, so good" with my experiences with the 7th graders. I have taught 9th grade in the past, so I just tell people that 7th graders are like 9th graders, only smaller. Life is awesome here. The people have been so welcoming and we really love it! It is definitely different, though. It is pretty similar to Dahlonega, but without the outlet malls 20 minutes away. We do live about 40 miles north of Commerce where all the outlets are, so it isn't too bad. :) Our house in Canton still hasn't sold, and only two couples have looked at it in the three months it has been on the market. Please pray for God's will in the selling of our home. We were blessed to be able to move into the house we are going to buy here, so that is awesome, but it sure would be nice to go ahead and make it official! Well, I could type so much more, but I will spare you! Thanks for reading! Take care!

Grill Much?

2007-07-12T11:49:00.000-05:00

Like most of you, I love food cooked on the grill. So, Sunday night my dedicated husband was going to use our Charcoal grill to cook us some chicken. We also have a gas grill, so we don't always use the Charcoal grill because it takes longer. Anyways, I guess it has been a while since we felt like using the Charcoal grill because when Jeremy uncovered his grill there was a present awaiting him. His first comment was "what is this on my grill?!?!" I replied "it's a bird's nest!" We keep our grills on our deck, so I guess the bird just chose the covered grill instead of a tree. I thought it was pretty cool and was very amazed at the detail of the nest. To make it even better, there were four little eggs in the nest. Jeremy and my neighbor both told me that the mama wouldn't come back once we had touched it, so we did dispose of it over the fence. That part made me very sad, but the nest was pretty awesome! Things like the detail of a bird's nest remind you of how big God really is!

Our House

2007-06-13T08:38:00.000-05:00

In October of last year Jeremy and I bought a new house. We love it, but it looks like God might be changing the direction of our life and ministry together, so we are selling it. I will post more about where we are headed when I get the official clearance. :) I do covet your prayers that God will work out all the details for the next steps in our life. Even though we'll be moving out of this house, I'll still post some pictures of our house. If you know anyone in the market for a house in Canton, send them our way!

Cruise Destinations

2007-04-11T19:31:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't scroll to the post before the cruise pics, here is where we went on our cruise: St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau. We spent four days in the open waters of the ocean! Our favorite part of the cruise was sitting at a table next to the windows while eating breakfast and looking out at the beautiful scenery. Our second favorite part was shopping in St. Maarten. The Virgin Islands are absolutely beautiful. If you ever get a chance to go, you definitely should!!!!!

Cruise Pictures

2007-04-09T19:02:00.000-05:00

Spring Break '07

2007-04-08T17:38:00.000-05:00

Jeremy and I were very blessed to take a 7-day cruise to Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten for Spring Break. The HVAC business is very busy during the summer, so this was our big hoorah for the year! We had an awesome time and were able to see some of the most beautiful parts of God's creation. Here's a pic (from the web) of one place we visited on our vacation. It is Megan's Bay in St. Thomas. I will post more of our pictures when Jeremy brings me the camera cable from work. :)

Random Update...

2007-02-27T18:38:00.000-05:00

So I haven't updated in forever, and I feel obligated to do so. Here goes...Life is awesome here at the Green house. I had a week off from school last week, which was absolutely spectacular. I got to continue organizing and arranging our new house, make the bed every morning (very rare for me), catch up on some reading, and spend extra time with my sweet husband and doggies. God continues to do a work in my life challenging me to live intentionally. We spent the weekend with some friends in Dahlonega and were able to visit Mountain Lake Community Church in Cumming. Some of you NGCSUers might remember that church. It is awesome! The pastor really spoke to me about living my life intentionally. It is soooooo easy to fall into a routine and forget to live on purpose. Maybe it's just me...but I'm guilty of that. My natural tendency is to be really hard on myself and think that I live my entire life unintentionally, which isn't true. There are many things that I do intentionally. Jeremy and I are intentional in cultivating our love for each other. We are intentional about saving and investing in God's kingdom. I am intentional about being Jesus to my students. However, like Paul, the more I get to know Jesus, the more I realize what my life is lacking. Not to mention the fact that working in a public high school can take a toll on one's spirituality, which is why Jesus taught us to pray "Give us this DAY our DAILY bread." It has to be a daily process and re-commitment to live intentionally for God and his precepts. I'm not saying anything that most of you haven't already heard or maybe even felt, but it's what is on my heart and I wanted to share. Thank God that his grace is enough for me.

Goofy

2007-01-14T19:16:00.000-05:00

Jeremy is quite the goof ball...tonight he decided to see how Daisy would like to have a piggy back ride. As if that wasn't enough, he also decided that we should document the occasion with a picture. Here it is for your vieiwng (dis)pleasure...

Our dogs are buddies. Here they are snuggling on the sofa.

Date Night!!!!

2007-01-14T18:59:00.000-05:00

Jeremy and I try very hard to be faithful with the money God has entrusted to us. Therefore, we only go out every once in a while. We give ourselves an allowance every weekend, and this weekend we decided to spend it on an official date. Friday night we put on our dating best and headed out to Red Lobster. Lily, our black Cocker Spaniel, was so jealous that she wasn't getting to go that she laid in her crate and cried. I guess she could feel our excitement! After our bellies were completely full, we came home and watched a movie. It was a very scary movie; I wonder if Jeremy planned it that way!?!?!?!!? Needless to say, we had a very wonderful night and are looking forward to doing it again as soon as we can.

Dreaming about the future

2007-01-10T19:17:00.000-05:00

Wow! What an amazing holiday season. Jeremy and I had a wonderful time being with our friends and family. Now, here we are in 2007. I am back to work and life is back to some sense of normalcy. Jeremy just started his third class in his Master's Degree; he is studying Early Childhood Education. Of course, I think he will be just fabulous at it. We are looking forward to the times we will get to spend with our future children on our time off. We are already dreaming about purchasing a travel trailer so that we can pull our home away from home all over the United States, children in tow. I can hardly wait! So friends, I hope the start of a new year finds you looking forward to all that God has in store for you. Dream big. Delight yourself in Him. May His desires be your desires. May your life be a reflection of Him for all to see. We are indeed very blessed and strive to share the blessing of Christ with those around us. May God bless you and use you in the upcoming year.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T19:17:00.000-05:00

Christmas pics...

Imagine my horror...

2006-12-02T13:06:00.000-05:00

when I was awakened by the siren of our security system at 2:30 this morning. Jeremy and I just had a security system installed last weekend. I feel very safe and secure with it on, but very early this morning I felt very frightened as I listened to the wailing siren. It took Jeremy longer than I wanted to wake up, which only added to my racing heart rate. Finally (after 15 seconds), Jeremy got out of bed and shut the alarm off. We both sat in the bed unsure of what to do; eventually we got up the courage to investigate. Before we made the journey into the unknown, I checked to see what set the alarm off. The code on the alarm panel said "04" which is the code for the motion sensors. My thoughts immediately went to our dogs that sleep in their crates in the basement. We have a motion sensor around the corner from their crates, so it could only be set off if one of our dogs were OUT of her crate OR if an intruder made it in a window or door without setting off the alarm before reaching the sensors. One time before I have forgotten to lock Lily's crate and was greeted by her at the top of the stairs the next morning. I was hoping that was what had happened this time and not the other option. We very bravely opened the door to the basement to find our beautiful Lily staring at us; I had forgotten to lock her crate. She was the intruder. I wonder what she thought when the screeching siren went off. I can picture her covering her ears with her paws. We were relieved but VERY awake. Needless to say it took us a while to unwind after that experience. Now I have mixed emotions about our alarm with the VERY loud siren...

Work

2006-11-27T19:15:00.000-05:00

I have been teaching high school English for five years now...this year I ventured into a new experience. I started teaching ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). Now, you need to understand that these students have JUST MOVED to the United States. Some of them know some English, but most of them only know how to say their names and where they are from. They are in the same class for five periods: ESOL immersion. Needless to say, this has been quite the learning experience for me. So, why am I writing about this? Because I LOVE these children. I only teach them first and second periods, but they are the highlight of my day. They are so eager to learn and are so appreciative of anything I can share with them. This year was my best birthday ever because I heard "Happy Birthday" in five languages....English (of course), Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Spanish. It was an absolutely beautiful thing; I will not forget that day. When I look at my students, I think about heaven and how amazing it will be to see every tribe, tongue, and nation singing HIS praises. Just wanted to share!

We're stuffed

2006-11-26T19:12:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday night after Thanksgiving, and we are still full from all the delicious food we ate last week. We went to my aunt's house in Ellijay for lunch, and it was awesome! My uncle Doug built the house out of salvaged wood; I am sure it is one of the prettiest places on the planet. The picture with the covered bridge is at their house. After all of that food, we went to Jeremy's parent's house and had another delicious meal. I am surprised I can even walk after all the food I ate. Currently, we are mourning the losses of the Yellow Jackets and the Falcons. Personally, I am mourning my return to work after a very restful week long vacation. Despite the fact that I have had a week off from work, I have had a very full week. I have already done most of our Christmas shopping. Our house is decorated for the holidays, thanks to the help of my wonderful husband. We bought a new tree and decorated it together. It was so fun! Jeremy and I have two dogs: Lily and Daisy. Lily is solid black and blends in with Jeremy's shirt. Daisy is blonde and is very curious about the camera. In the last picture you will see what they do best: sleep. They are rotten!!!