Southern Snow

A snow day to me is pure bliss. 

I know. That sounds ridiculous and cliche to some of you. Others of you are thinking "tell us something we don't know," but hang on! 

A snow day is one of those things that does my soul well. Each year, I wish and hope for just one good day to cozy up and enjoy time with my family.

I blogged about my sentiments here: 

http://mooseandmegan.blogspot.com/2014/01/snow.html

I'm telling you. A southern snow is very special. People from all over join together to sled on just about anything they can find--in college, we used trays we "borrowed" from the cafeteria! We don whatever warm clothes we can find and spend the day traipsing around, sledding, building miniature snowmen, and then warm up by the fire, play games, and drink hot cocoa. What's not to love?

This year, we geared up for a big southern snow last weekend! We went to the grocery story and got food (WHY do we do this? Why especially do I do this, when I know I'm going to go to my parents' house?). We got some firewood. We made sure our sleds were accessible. Moose and I also packed up some board games, our laptops, and some warm clothes. I am all about spending quality time with our people!

I was so excited when it started snowing at school. My kids rushed to the windows and I didn't fuss because I honestly wanted to join them! 

We adjusted our schedule a little bit on Thursday afternoon so that we could accommodate for missing Friday, if it came to it. I was pretty excited that it did! 

Our district called school off on Thursday night, so I didn't even have to set an alarm. I was a little disappointed when I woke up to a torrential downpour of rain and no wintry goodness coming form the sky! Moose went to work and I started cleaning the house. We lost power at about 10 and it started sleeting at about that same time. Moose's plant closed at noon and we all headed to my parents' house! 

Dad had to leave to go to Atlanta so that he could make his international flight to the Dominican Republic, but the rest of us piled up and played games and just relaxed. Moose and I stayed overnight with my mom and sisters and were thrilled to wake up to a blanket of snow!

My heart was full....and my poor sister finally got her wish. She had been sitting on the porch for hours saying "I know the snow is coming!" ha!

We spent several hours sledding and we met up with friends for games and adventures...and of course food! It was the perfect snow day.

We went back home that night, cleaned house, and got ready for the week.

The joy of a southern snow came and went with the weekend, but we made memories to last a lifetime. 

The best plans...

When you have a cough that makes you sound like an 80 year old with COPD, you don't get to enjoy other people very much. I'm not  complaining...or really exaggerating. Lol. People get annoyed when you cough for 30 seconds on end without stopping. They just do. 

Last week, I was teaching diseases to my classes. One class is particularly responsive, so I asked "what is it called when someone has a runny nose, no fever, and a cough."  Rather than answer "the common cold" which is what I was looking for, I got "what you have, Mrs. Saville." Ha! I couldn't fault the kid-he was right. It's been that way ever since. 

So-that being said, we did a lot of things this weekend, but not as many as planned--and not as many fun things. 

We enjoyed basketball on Friday night with the exception of Mack's closest basketball buddy breaking her ankle and now being out for the remainder of her senior season. So devastating! But a good reminder to play every game, treat every day, and live every moment like it could be your last. Tay didn't plan to finish her senior season Friday night, but that is what happened and I hope she can leave knowing she did her school proud. 

We were supposed to (once again) go and visit our new nephew. But, alas, the common cold. Rather than bemoan the situation, we did basically nothing. We ran a few errands, but really just had a lazy day. That night, we did celebrate both my mom and dad's birthdays (Jan 16 and 12) and spend a little time with the fam. They're all grown ups and I don't really care about giving them my germs. (Just speaking truth)

Monday was the great furniture switch up. We had the opportunity to purchase a bedroom set at an extreme value, which prompted my crazy to ensue. I moved my furniture to the guest room, the guest room stuff to the office, and the office stuff out. Hopefully this will be helpful if and when any little Savilles decide to join the mix. But-our house is still a little topsy turvey. 

So-all in all, this long weekend was a sweet time of rest, recoup, and just relaxing (with a project tossed in there...and a really sad blow reminding us that life is fleeting). 

It has helped me remember that even the best plans aren't certain. Even our best efforts to think about the future and next few weeks or years can be futile. It isn't up to us. We are to live day by day, trusting God to guide and direct. 

The best laid plans of mice and men....

Friday Favorites

This week, we did lots of things and kept very busy! Full weeks are my FAVORITE. 

Watching this girl play ball is my FAVORITE. She has been out this week with a quad injury and it has been so sad. I hope she can play tonight!

Science is my FAVORITE. The wonder these kids have experiencing the world the first time is amazing! I love it. 

The Clemson Tigers are my FAVORITE. We spent Monday night watching the most insane football game with all of our friends. It was such a great time--and on a week night! 

I'll be back Monday with a fun weekend recap. 😉we've got some fun planned for this long weekend-- love it!!!

Late nights and a long week

My weekend began with a 1:07 am text that our newest nephew was born. And I think that may be the earliest I've been to bed since!

Saturday was full of building a set for our Middle School Beta Club's Living Literature. They performed today. It was awesome:

I felt super crummy that night and took some cough syrup. I sort of forgot in my sickly state that some ingredients in that particular brand literally keep me WIDE awake. So, I enjoyed my evening of staring at the ceiling and, at least, not coughing. 

Sunday was a long and busy day that ended late due to not taking cough syrup that night and....keeping myself and moose up coughing. A blogger-friend calls herself Hazel (the 80 year old self) when she is visited by the crud. I felt like Hazel. 

Then came Monday. 

My tigers were in the national championship game!!!!! We didn't win, but it was an excellent game. Go Tigers!!! 

And the week went on as such. Tuesday was a late basketball game. Wednesday was church and dinner. 

And in the in-between, a lot of this has been happening. I'll just leave this here:

Sometimes, we live full lives. Sometimes we get busy. But I wouldn't trade it! That's it for today. No words of wisdom, nothing too exciting. 

Just some encouragement that if you're burning that midnight oil this week, you haven't been alone!!! 

I'm grateful for a long weekend to recoup and recover so we can do it all again! 

Friday Favorites--Field Trip Edition

Yesterday, we went on a fantastic cultural field trip to downtown Greenville with the entire 7th grade! Spending time with middle schoolers is one of my favorites and I thought I would share my FAVORITE moments with you. 

Ice Skating with these kiddos was a FAVORITE. Many of them had never done it before and were so tentative, but brightened up quickly!

Seeing these sweet friends open up and get more comfortable with us, as well as experiencing so many things we take for granted is my FAVORITE. 

(Like statues, elevator selfies, and Starbucks). 

My awesome teacher friends are some of my FAVORITE. 

I've been so blessed to be able to hang out with these people this year!!!

A couple other quick favorites this week:

Again with the 7th Heaven friends! We rode a hoverboard during our planning period. It may be my FAVORITE new mode of transportation!

And lastly, being back into the routine of normal life is simply my favorite. I love vacation and family time sooooo much, but I also love tradition, even if it is a tiny, simple something--like Mexican food on Wednesdays. These people are my FAVORITE. 

Such a fun start to 2016!!!

If you give a Megan a project...

it may turn into an epic scheme!

When we arrived home from our vacation, I decided to take our Christmas decorations down on that day! So began that crazy task.... I got about 3/4 of the way done and went into my guest bedroom to find this:

Major problem! That is all of my closet...in the floor.

I had been griping to Moose about my closet for a long time, however. It is 60" long but only has a 30" door, so you can see the issue--super annoying--as the right side of the closet is basically blocked form view. So, I asked Moose if I could take this misfortune and turn it into a repurposing project! He told me I could do whatever I wanted since it was my closet (grin) but that I had to get rid of 20% of my clothes to do it (grin twice). I then did what any wise adult would do...I called my mom :)

She came over and we measured and then made a trip to the hardware store. I only had to buy a new rod (and yes, I bought a steel one this time) and two rod-hangers (the little round things you screw into a wall to hold closet rods). I had an existing bookshelf I knew I could use and was able to trim down the broken rod to make two smaller ones.

My idea was to make sort of a walk-in closet feel in my closet. I trimmed the broken rod down into two smaller ones and hung them width-wise in the right side of my closet. So, when I step into the closet and turn right, I see my shirts on top and the pants on the bottom. I hung the new steel rod in the existing rod-holders for dresses. I then put the bookshelf in the left side of my closet. I have a shoe rack on the door that I left.

After going through WAYYYYY more than 20% of my clothes and shoes, I filled the closet back up. Bear in mind that I have been basically the same size since 9th or 10th grade, so some of the "precious" clothing I parted with had been with me for 12 years, 7 moves, and lots of memories!!!

This is my final product:

You can't see the right side because...no door and the scarves are sort of bulky in the way, but to the right are two rods with clothes going perpendicular to the dresses. 

I just love it!

Because of how fresh, tidy, and inviting it looked, I was inspired to clean out all of the clothes I owned. The next day, I got after it like crazy!

Drawers and my wardrobe were condensed piece by piece. Y'all when it was all said and done, I donated over 150 items. I can't believe I was that much of a clothes hoarder!!!!

I decided it is because I have been the same size for so long that I just keep adding a few cheap, donated, gift, or signature pieces every year and eventually...it got wayyyyyy out of hand! I feel so much better about what I kept and I can actually see everything I own now, which is a huge plus. I probably will make it a goal to do a realistic purge twice a year now so that it does not get this ridiculous again!

So, maybe I gave you some motivation to get rid of that pair of jeans you have been holding on to for the past ten years or that high school t-shirt that is ragged and holey! 

Go forth and organize!

Musings on the urgency of the Gospel

I'm reading the Bible chronologically in 2026. It's something I've never done and I feel like a plan will keep me accountable to do a little something every day alongside Bible Study. It will also introduce Scripture to memorize without me randomly picking verses just to pick them. 

As I was reading today in Genesis 4 and 5, I started thinking about people throughout history. Scripture tells us of several good men who walked with God--Adam, Abel, Enoch, Noah (who was actually prophecied over to be a salvation for the people. Ironic, right?). I began to think of these men and their wives and siblings, cousins, friends. What made these men special? Obviously they are listed in Scripture for two reasons--lineage of Noah and their walk with the Lord. 

Why were they chosen?

Were they chosen after they proved themselves faithful? Would they have been chosen has they not continually walked with the Lord? (Let's not get into predestination here)

Here's where I'm really going. 

Were there others? Were there women who followed their men and his God wholeheartedly? What was society like? We know in the time of Noah that literally, over the whole earth, only one man and his family were found righteous. 

Were these chosen God-followers desperate for their communities? The Old Testament Gospel is one we don't understand. It is one of God specifically choosing His people to walk alongside Him. It is one of small groups of people fellowshipping with the Father. But what of the others? What of the (at least) thousands of souls not mentioned? Are they relegated to hell for their lack of followership. I think so. And it breaks me. But, anyone who did not walk with God was not worthy of His fellowship. Fast forward to today. 

The Gospel under which we live is not exclusive. It is available to all. However, we still live in a society where (percentage wise), only a few fellowship with the Father. He has chosen "the World" (John 3:26), and yet, few follow. I present a similar question: are we desperate for those souls? Our friends, spouses, cousins, community. Why are we not desperately pleading with them to get in the Ark? Why do we live such in-the-moment lives when eternity is on the line. How often am I guilty of never once mentioning my faith to a friend who I KNOW is unsaved? And why? Fear, pride, busyness, excuse, excuse, excuse. 

And yet. Eternity is looming for us all. Will we be the generation where "only one and his family are worthy"? Those nameless faces, those "other sons and daughters" of this world are quite literally dying and going to hell. 

And yet. We go on. Sometimes proud of our walk with God in our proverbial garden. Sometimes ignoring the whole thing. Sometimes literally saying no when we are pushed to plead with our friends and others in regard to the Gospel. 

And yet. 

The time is nigh. 

Consider the others. 

Friday Favorites-vacation and New Year.

Every year on New Year, I share a few of my goals and we move on, never to view them again. (Or at least until the following New Year where I check my progress.) ha! I stink at goals and at resolutions. I am really good at planning and getting things together. I don't finish well. It is a major character flaw...and one I really need to improve! So-why not do the same again?!

This year, I'm bringing back the blog. I'm going to finish well. I'm going to continue my #SavilleLife because, if nothing else, it helps me remember my year and think back to fun memories. I am going to try to learn the art of saying "no". We'll see how that goes. Finally, I'm going to focus on Scripture Memory. I'm going to try and recap each month 1-3 verses I've memorized and why. 

Today, I'm going to link up with Andrea over at Momfessionals and tell a few of my Friday Favorites from our vacation this week. Christmas breaks have always been some of my FAVORITE and I think it has a lot to do with spending an exuberant amount of time with family, playing games, and having no responsibilities. It is also one of the reasons I'm in love with Snow Days!!! 

This week, we filled a beach house and had family time. 

Game night with these crazies is my FAVORITE.

I like all games, but cards rule my top 5. We are highly competitive and weeklong game nights are just the best. 

Eating is our FAVORITE 

Dad spend a lot of time on Yelp this year and found us some fantastic local favorites to chow down on!

Family fun is my FAVORTE

We love trying new things and being silly together! 

And finally the Clemson Tigers are my FAVORITE. 

If you want to know where I'll be on January 11, it is on my couch cheering on our Tigers as we face Alabama in the National Championship game!!! Go Tigers.