Zach and Nathana

Our first Christmas celebration was on the 23rd with Zach's parents and his sister, brother-in-law, and our niece! We had yummy chicken alfredo and a great time opening presents! Zach's parents' tree. Isn't it beautiful? Aubrie, our niece, opening her LaLaLoopsy doll from us. She said, "It's just what I always wanted!" Glad we could get it for her! Zach got a picture of his Mom since he said she's always the one behind the camera! Whoever made the Lalaloopsy doll didn't consider how hard it would be to wrap a pentagon shaped present! It's out of order, but here she is again! Zach got a gift card to Bucks and Jakes, a weed eater, and lots of stuff in his stocking. I got a sewing machine!!!, some lotion and body wash, a cake pop maker, and lots of stuff in my stocking! I guess we must have been extra good this year to deserve all that we received.

1. Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Zach had to do inventory at his store overnight. I was definitely apprehensive about spending the night alone, and a few times before I have gone to spend the night with his parents. This time I decided 3 nights was too much to impose on anyone and I was going to suck it up and just do it. Nellie slept with me each night and we were both pretty chicken, but I would say that with each night I felt more and more at ease. We both missed Zach terribly however and were very happy to have him back at home again at night! 2. Saturday I made a taco soup recipe from Pinterest, which was awesome , and then I went to Mama Joyce’s to wrap presents and make divinity. It was a very tasty day! Haha. 3. Sunday we played hand bells at church and that evening after Zach had caught up on some sleep after his overnight, we went to his Christmas Party for work. 4. On Monday we went to Turoni’s with Zach’s Mom, Dad, Granny, Papaw, Freddie, Jessie, and Aubrie. We didn...

1. Two more days of school until Christmas break! 2. Zach finished his semester on Tuesday night. I once again will brag on him, since I don't think he looks at our blog anyway. He passed all of his classes and did so well. I honestly can't express is words how proud I am of him or how proud I am to be his wife. All I can say is, God did an excellent job when he set Zach aside for me! I am just blessed. : ) 3. I am finally getting over my sickness, praise the Lord! My nose is still stuffy off and on, but I will take it since my head no longer feels like it will explode! 4. Nellie has found a new love. Whenever I am drying my hair, as soon as I turn on the drier, she comes bounding up, lays down, and rolls onto her back. Then I blow it all over her belly and sides as she just wallows. (Don't worry, I make sure to keep it moving so it doesn't burn her!) She will even roll from side to side when I tell her too. This has become extremely useful for when I gi...

Nellie is just horrified my her Mama's lack of blogging these past couple weeks! Well, more like, this is how she feels about her Santa hat this year! : ) Either way, she is too cute in this picture. So posting my ten on Thursdays has crossed my mind a million times in the last two weeks, it just hasn't made itself a #1 priority thus far! Sorry, but I do have pictures to make up for it! : ) Let's start with Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful day with both sides of Zach's family. We went to his Aunt Tammy's house at lunch time. I am not big on Thanksgiving foods, which I probably mentioned before, but I do like corn casserole, mashed potatoes, and lots of pretzels with rolos melted on them. I did not take pictures, but everything was beautiful and delicious. Later that night we met Zach's Aunt and Uncle at Cracker Barrel. We were honestly still stuffed to our gills, so I ordered a side of hashbrown casserole and was good with that! This was th...

This year I'm giving ya'll the top 22 things I'm Thankful for, since I am after all, 22 years old! 1. I am in constant thanks for the life I've been given through Christ dying for me with the promise I can spend forever with him. I am so undeserving, but he loves me anyway. 2. I am so very thankful for Zach. God has given me a best friend, confidant, and husband. He is so kind to me, loves me, and makes me laugh. He keeps me in check when I get a little crazy and holds me when I need to cry. I am so blessed to call him my husband, and I love getting to spend time together. 3. I am thankful for our Nellie Girl. We are so blessed that we decided one day to get a dog, and that God set aside Nellie for us. She is such a stinker sometime, but she has my heart, so she rarely gets in trouble. She's my little companion when Zach is gone and she is always willing to howl when she fears trouble is around. (Which is usually just her imagination.) She makes anyone she...

1. Friday I covered a 5th grade class in the afternoon. Let's just say that Friday was a loooong day. I know every grade is different, but you wouldn't believe the difference between even 4th and 5th. Whoa! I was perfectly content returning them to their teacher! 2. Friday afternoon Zach went hunting so Nellie and hung out and did dishes and a little laundry. When Zach got home we had broccoli deer braids for supper. Yum! Then we were uncharacteristically spontaneous, changed out of our pajamas, went to Target, bought 2 pints of ice cream, and the movie, "Just Go With It." Which is hilarious, by the way! It was such a great night to simply relax as a family. 3. Saturday morning we slowly and eventually woke up, loaded up Nellie, and went to my Mama and Daddy's. We dropped off Nellie and went back to town to look at Memories, an Antique shop in Henderson. Each year, the owner's mom, who is in her 80's (I think) hand makes ornaments with old jewelry, materia...

1. Saturday I went to IHOP and Sam's club with Elizabeth. We got to have all sorts of samples and see all of the Christmas stuff! 2. I also made a Christmas wreath with a wreath form, glitter paper, and a hot glue gun. Unfortunatley, Zach won't let me put it up until after Thanksgiving, so you'll have to wait a little bit longer to see it! 3. On Sunday Daddy, Suzannne, and I went to church, then Hunan's, and Rural King. I bought myself a lil' pumpkin to carve and Zach a two-man ladder stand. He was so surprised when he came home and saw me with it in the driveway! 4. Mama and Mama Joyce spent 1/2 week at Vanderbilt with Uncle Reid this week as well. It appears my Daddy did not starve, even in their absence. Haha. 5. On Halloween, we were grinches I guess, because we left candy on our front porch and left the house to find good place to hunt. Zach had to scope out the place for his new stand. 6. At Sam's Club I found the cutest baby outfits for Ryan and Kayleigh...

1. School has been pretty monotonous! I can tell the kids are feeling it as well, and we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, I think it's going to get worse! 2. Zach and I went turkey hunting on Monday after school at his parents' new house. It was quite warm, so at least we weren't freezing, which I always like. I think I came close to dozing off a few times, but then we heard a really loud noise close to us. It turned out to be a stinking little groundhog, but got it anyway! One less little pest running around there. 3. We are getting "ready" for Halloween. We don't really do much for it, but we've gotten out decorations out and bought a bag of candy. 4. I have getting to see Elizabeth a lot lately! In case she is reading this, I am so glad you are home this year! We went to the mall to get Dippin' dots the other day and they were delicious. 5. This week is red ribbon week. We have had an anti- drug theme for each day. I will gave...

1. This week has been crazy. More on that in a second. 2. Today was only a four day work week, and I am on "Fall Break" from yesterday (Friday) through Monday. This makes next week a four day work week as well. Yay! 3. Zach had his first test in Calculus this week! 4. This week I wore eyeliner and mascara to school and was informed by a couple different kids that: "Mrs. Scheller, you have eyeliner on." (Why do 6 year olds know what it is?) "You look like you have glasses drawn around your eyes!" Thanks, N, I guess that is a legit comment. They all saved themselves by saying, "You look just as pretty without your make up too!" The lesson here is, if you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen! 5. Now the reason behind the horrible week. Poor Nellie girl has been so so sick. The last time she had eaten was Sunday night. She kept throwing up, so we took her to the vet on Tuesday. They gave her a shot to make her stop throwing up, two sets ...

1. Saturday was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which Mama and Suzanne were going to walk in, but Suzanne already felt under the weather and it was raining, so we ended up going shopping. I got an adorable dress and sweater from NY & Co. I will be wearing it for picture day tomorrow at school. 2. A negative however is that I had a stupid, awful, no good fever blister pop up over night, so I don't think I am going to look very pretty for picture day tomorrow! Ugh! I guess there is always the retake day if they don't turn out well. 3. Tonight was our Pizza Box Party for the kids at school who completed the worksheets and activities that they were given at the beginning of the summer. We went to Walther's Golf and Fun and I played laser tag with a group of twenty second graders. I was thinking I was going to go easy on them and not be aggressive. That was until the little stinkers decided that since I was the only teacher in there, they were going to all, and I mean...

1. We got our mattress set in this past Saturday! It was about time. While Zach was at work, my mom and I tried to get the bed frame together. Zach's parents met me to pick up the mattress and then with the 4 of us, we got it all together! We were so excited! It is wonderful and we sleep so well on it! 2. I can't find the charger for my camera battery, which is why I haven't had pictures in a while. I hope I find it soon, especially because I want to share pictures of our new bed! 3. Saturday night we celebrated Zach's Mom's birthday at Texas Roadhouse. She was scared to death we were going to sic the birthday singers on her, but Zach was nice and didn't tell it was her birthday! 4. This week has gone by super quick! I can't complain because I just love sleeping in on the weekend. 5. Yesterday the teacher of a boy in my reading block 7. asked me if I would be interested in tutoring him. I said yes of course, but now I'm nervous and hope I know what to do...

1. The Office comes back on a week from tonight! Woo hoo! I can't wait. 2. Nellie has been hiding all of her toys. I could be wrong, but I think she forgets where she puts them. I think today is the first time I have seen her Kong toy since her birthday! She is too funny, because usually they are in a place she can't reach under. She usually will whine/cry until I figure out she wants me to fetch something for her! 3. Yesterday was Zach's mom's birthday! Nellie says," Happy Birthday, Nana! We love you!" 4. This week at school has gone by pretty fast! Now I only have to get through tomorrow! 5. Tomorrow is my first pay day! We are praising the Lord that it is finally (well, almost) here! 6. Zach got two new small tree stands this week! As I understand, he has big plans for them! 7. I am also FINALLY getting my hair cut tomorrow. I would say it's been no less than 9 months since my last one, and my hair is driving me crazy. Let's hope it turns out well! ...

Nellie's birthday was over a month ago, but it's been a busy month, so here are some pictures from her PINK birthday party. This is the centerpiece of the table. Pink everything! I was loving it! This was Nellie's cupcake. It had the extra dots because she chose to pull a cupcake down on Sunday morning when I was decorating. I snatched it back and made sure not to confuse it with everyone elses! These are her "pup cups." We filled them with either puppy chow or your drink of choice. Elizabeth and I spent a couple hours making them! I think they turned out splendidly, though! Nellie's birthday banner. Which I spent about 4 hours on by myself, and Elizabeth helped with for about 1 or so one day! It was beautiful though. (It's actually still up! hehe) Zach wants to know when I am going to take it down. Also, ignore our ceiling, we took down the ceiling tiles and have yet to refinish it! Our sweet girl in her birthday outfit! All of her gifties! Nellie wi...

Starting with... 1. Labor day September 5th. We got to sleep in and then went out and about looking for a new bed/ mattress set! We found a great deal at Baumberger's and are still waiting for them to come in. : ( I know it's not been that long, but I just can't wait to get them and sleep on them! 2. That afternoon we went to Zach's parents to cook out. It was freezing, so I got a cold/sinus infection! Boo, but we still had fun! 3. This 4 day work week seemed every bit as long as a 5 day one! 4. I am developing a highly undesirable raccoon tan on my face from bus duty. I told my principal I needed compensation! Haha 5. Zach has night classes a couple of nights, so Nellie and I usually go on a walk and I do my elliptical. Then Nellie makes me super paranoid by walking around growling and cowering like she's scared. I thought she'd be my little fearless protector, but we're thinking not! 6. We picked out our bed and I actually went out and bought it on Frida...

1. Here are a couple pictures from Zach's surgery. He is doing a little better, but is still so sore! He goes to the Dr. tomorrow for the second time this week and is scheduled to get the drain removed. Here we are after they had placed his IV and had him changed into his fashionable hospital gown. (He was not liking it!) Opening his basket from our Sunday school teacher, Jana! He loved it! Nellie was cracking me up laying under the cover like this. She was laying by her Daddy making sure he was taken care of! 2. My Uncle Reid had a stem cell transplant today for his Leukemia. It sounds as if it went well and we are so glad! Praise the Lord! Now he must stay in the hospital for the next 100 days if all stays well! 3. Today two girls in the fourth grade (two of my third graders from when I was student teaching last year) seperately stared at my belly and said, "Mrs. Scheller, when are you going to have a baby ?" Whoa. I know that my dress does not make me look so big I ap...

We have not been too exciting around here since the last post. Yesterday was a real day of rest for Zach because he took about 2 naps, each lasting at least 2 hours. I was glad he could finally get some sleep. Last night Mama, Daddy, and Suzanne brought us supper. We watched "How To Train Your Dragon" while Suzanne and I did our nails with the Sally Hansen press-on nails. Today has been discouraging in some ways. We were planning on going to church at first, and after a lot of consideration, decided that it would be way too hard on Zach. Then we decided we would just go to Mama Joyce's for lunch. I washed Zach's hair in the sink and got him dressed, and by the time that was all done he was in such pain! It is so hard for me to not be able to do much for him. So we stayed home and he got to take a well deserved nap. The afternoon passed by quickly and I was able to do my elliptical for the first time in three (I KNOW!) days. I am even more ashamed to admit that it r...

I of course say that because our rest has been few and far between. Our night went something like this. •11:00 p.m.- Zach took a percocet, I emptied his drain and we collapsed into bed. •1:00 a.m- Bathroom run •3:00 a.m.- Bathroom run #2 •5:00 a.m.- More meds for Zach •7:00 a.m.- We were basically up for good. It took forever for us to join the land of the living. I don't think I took a shower until almost noon! Zach's mom and sister came with our niece. She was definitely a nice distraction from everything because she is so sweet and funny, but our talking really hurt Zach's ears for some reason. ( and stop your laughing, we weren't even that loud, his poor head just couldn't handle the four of us. I got to run out to Target quickly while they were there to get movies Zach wanted. He was so happy when he saw I found them. I bought the A Team and (much to my future regret) Blazing Saddles. Trust me though, if you saw how puny he is, you would have ...

Zach's surgery went well, but not exactly as planned. We are home and resting. After his pain meds, he reported that, "It (his arm) felt horrible." It broke my heart, but I know now he is on the road to healing! More tomorrow, for now, we must sleep!

And I'm not talking about the Will Smith movie that came out a few years ago. I am talking about the amount of weight I have lost! (And I don't intend to go looking for it! hehe) I was really surprised when I weighed seeing as it has only been about 3 weeks of really exercising. I have been walking on and off, but just recently started the elliptical. Zach and I have been cutting back on all that we eat for a little while though, so maybe that has helped some. : ) I ask that you pray for me as I know I will (and already am) tired every day just from work. I ask you to pray for me always to exercise when I just don't feel like it or have no motivation. I have to say though, right now, I have so much motivation. I picture so many good and positive things, and I intend to keep that up!! It's up to all of you on my down days to lift me up! That's what friends and family are for, right? I also know that several of you are also needing motivation on many le...

1. Well, the last week has been anything but boring! Last week was the first full week of school and I didn't even get hit by any cars on bus duty! That's a win/win situation! In all seriousness, I am having a great time getting settled in and getting lesson plans established for my first and second graders' reading blocks. I start with them next week. 2. Nellie has one obsession. Ice, Ice, Baby. The puppy girl will do anything for ice. She just loves it. So therefore, I love to watch her eat it. It's just too fun! 3. Today is Zach's first day back to school! I told one of the other teachers at school I was like a nervous Mama, wondering if he had gotten up on time, what he was wearing, and how his day was going. He will hate reading that! (That is if he ever reads this!) 4. Poor hubs had to go straight to work after school and will be there until 8:30 or so. I plan to have supper waiting when he gets home, though. Poor boy is gonna be tired and hungry! ...

Goodness. There could not have been a harder task for the last day of this challenge. First of all, I do not always enjoy looking at pictures of myself, and second, I hardly have any pictures of just me. So, here's what I liked best. My hair curly, holding the roses Zach got me for Valentine's Day! This has been a fun 10 days!

Two songs, almost as hard as picking my four books. I just love music so much and I could listen a hundred songs. So here are just the first two I can think of that mean a lot to Zach and I. 2.Fishin' in the Dark. It has been our song since we started dating and it has been Zach's ringtone for almost as long. Interesting note though, we've never gone fishing in the dark. And also every time I hear my phone ring that song my heart speeds up because I know it's my hubby! : ) 1. When I say "I Do.". Megan sang it at our wedding and every time I hear it I tear up, overwhelmed by the love I feel for Zach. I really am the luckiest lady in the world to be his wife.

Well, it's not day 8. Three movies. 3.How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days. My favorite movie probably ever. I just love Kate Hudson in it. 2. Pride and Prejudice. The one with Kiera Knightly. I could (and have) watch it over and over again. 1. Get Smart. It has Steve Carell, and is hilarious.

Today is day 7, so it is time for four books. You should know this is nearly impossible for me to just pick four books, so I may cheat and list some series. 4. Little House in the Big Woods along with every other Laura Ingalls Wilder book. I have always loved reading, but when I first read this book in the 4th grade I fell in love with reading. I also felt I was born in the wrong time period and would be better suited as a pioneer. I eventually come back to reality though and remember all the nice things we have now, and will have to settle with that! 3. Harry Potter . The release of all seven books spanned over half of my life at this point, and I just love the magical world you get to enter when reading them. My next goal is to get to go the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! (if only!) 2. The Holy Bible. Although I won't lie and say I understand everything I read in the bible all the time, I enjoy studying God's word and trying to figure out how he's usi...

Today is Day 5, so it is time for 5 foods! 5. Lasagna. It is my (and Garfield's) favorite food ever. I would eat it every place that Sam I am would eat Green Eggs and Ham. 4. Chicken. Fried, grilled, broiled, baked, fileted. However it's prepared, I'll eat it. My Mama jokes that we'll all turn into chickens because we eat it so often! Especially from Chick-fil-a. 3. Brownies with ice cream on top. The brownies also have chocolate chips in them. Yuuuuuum! 2. Cherry Delight. I had never had this delectable dessert until I started dating Zach and his Mom made it. It is soooo good. I will usually even choose it before brownies!! 1. Deer. We use it any recipies that call for ground beef and have recipies just for it. Deer stroganoff, "deery" mac (as we've coined it), deer burgers. You name it, and we probably use deer in it. Deer is so lean, when it is processed they actually have to add fat to it to help it hold together when cooked into patties...

Six of the most glorious places in the world to me 6. Home Sweet Home. Nothing can beat it, especially when you've lived there your entire life. I love my parents' house and you can tell I still refer to it as home. 5. Our house. Yes, it is hard to call it home, but I am still working on it. I do love to come home and think about all we have done our little house and all of the memories we have already made here. It's where we settled in after our honeymoon, it's where we brought in our precious Nellie into our family, and it's where we celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple. So in a lot of ways it is becoming "home-ish." : ) 4.Mama Joyce's house. It's where my brother, sister, and I spent many summer days and days after school. Less than half a mile from my parents' house it was our second home. We learned that we weren't supposed to baptize kittens or chase the chickens, but we could certainly pick up gum ba...

*Okay, so after my fear post yesterday, last night there was a tick on my upper thigh when we got home from Target! It was a tee-ninsy deer tick and I flipped. Thank goodness it was crawling and not bitten in! Moving on... 7 wants! Woo hoo! How can I pick just seven? Or how can I come up with seven? I have so much already! 1. I want in the next few years to build my idyllic "forever" house. It is much like the home in "The Notebook" in my head, but with tall, wide windows in the front. It would have wrap around porches on both levels, would be either white or brick, would have 10 or 12 feet ceilings, with a couple secret passages/rooms. Not too much right? I'm already making my own rough blue prints! : ) 2. I want children. Obviously not too soon, but maybe in the next few years. It is so exciting to think about, and with friends starting to have babies, we can't help but talk about it! Now if you want specifics, I'd like 2 boys and 2 ...

Today is day 3, so it's time to face my fears! 8. I am afraid of the things in the dark. Not scared of the dark, as Zach would like to think, but just the stuff in it! 7. I fear/dislike change. i.e.- I get upset when restaraunts change out food items I like and mix it all up. I don't mind the good change, but the bad change is not as fun! 6. I fear being alone. When I am home alone, Nellie and I are always basket cases. It scares me, even though nothing has ever happened. 5. I fear losing my family. Even though I know memebers of my family are going to heaven when they die, I still don't like the idea of not having them here with me. Very selfish, I know, but that's human!! 4. I fear spiders. I would rather face about 5 poisonous snakes. 3. I also fear ticks. It is ridiculous how I act when I see them, but they just freak me out so badly! 2. I fear the robot type people that are at some museums that talk and move. They are creepy. 1. I don...

Day 2, so it is time for my nine loves. 1 Jesus, after all, he is the definition of love itself! 2. My Mama, Daddy, sister, brother, and rest of my family. 3. Zachary Taft Scheller. I love him to the moon and back. He's my other half and he completes me! 4. Nellie-Girl Scheller. Be still, my heart. This little puppy holds the strings to my heart and bless me, I am just her silly little puppet. I never dreamt we would have fallen so in love with her. I even love her rottenness and strong will. Heaven help me when we have kids, because Nellie loves being our one and only! 5. Chick-fil-a. God gave Truett Cathy the finesse and skill to invent the chicken sandwich and God gave me the skill to eat them. I am also enjoying the Chick-fil-a being on my way home from school! Bad for my wallet, but oh so yummy! (Don't worry, I eat the healthy stuff on occasion!) 6. Being a wife. May sound like I'm talking about Zach again, but I promise I'm going a...

One of my friends is doing this challenge, so I am taking it up too! It will mix things up a little bit! Secrets, Secrets, Secrets.... 1. I still sleep with a teddy bear. Zach persistently asks when I am going to give it up and my response is always, "When we have children... maybe." Hehe 2. I tri-fold my unmentionables (underwears!). Like fold one side in, then the other, and then under. Zach thinks it is ridiculous. 3. I am constantly discussing things with myself in my head. Not crazy talk, but more like J.D. off of Scrubs. Hence how I end up day dreaming often. 4. Even though I am an aide this school year, I am still shakin' in my boots a little. Especially about bus duty. I really don't want to get run over in the prime of my life. 5. I eat food in sequence of what I like least to what I like most. I also eat only one type of food at a time. i.e.- eat all green beans, move on to roll which I eat all of, and then eat all of lasagna. My foods are al...

....so far at least! 1. First of all, today was my first day of school... as a teacher for a change! I accepted the Title 1 Aide position at Loge Elementary where I student taught. I am so excited and happy that I am now an official member of Loge! (Although they made me feel so welcome when I was student teaching.) Some of you may be (or maybe not) wondering what that means my resposibilities are. As I understand it so far, I will: Teach a reading block for both 1st and 2nd grade. (That'll be my whole morning) Do SSP with grades 1st-5th in the afternoon. SSP is when we review math and language arts standards that students need to know. Extra perks (haha) include lunch/recess duty for 4th/5th grade, which will not be bad as it's once a week and the fourth and fifth graders can usually handle themselves! My other daily (morning and afternoon) duty is bus duty. I am the main "Stop" person at our cross walk. I was so nervous this morning for it, but I ha...