Shop Talk: A Custom Piece

Just wanted to share the first custom piece created in the shop! My dear friend Ellen requested a monogramed 2x2 magnet using her wedding colors.

The funny thing is that her request came in the most wonderful way. See, with David gone on deployment, I basically have become a part of Ellen's family (and her husband David). So Ellen & David went out of town for about ten days and prepared the most wonderful scavenger hunt for me! Every day they were out of town I would get a letter that told me where to find a treasure. So for one of the days, some cash money was hidden under one of my supply boxes and instruction were left in the letter as to what she wanted. It's always fun to create specific ideas for others. I'm excited for the next custom order to come in!

Here are just a few pictures of the final product. 

Then I wrapped it up in a cute little box!

If you would like to make a custom order feel free to message me Over at The Shop! I'd love to make something specifically for you!

Marine Corps Ground!!!

Well the title kind of says it all, doesn't it? Not really, there's a lot more to it than that.

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Here's how it went down:
This is what I know. After lunch today David went back to his company's ward room and they were each given envelopes, one by one. In their envelopes were tiny strips of paper that had their selection typed out on it. Meanwhile while he was waiting to pull the paper out of his envelope, I was getting ready for Kindergarten to come in for class. We were painting again today - aka a mess!

I knew I couldn't talk to him until after school and I told him I wanted to hear his voice tell me rather than read a text message. So I waited and waited. I'm sure my students in the last couple of classes were a little crazy because I was nervous and getting anxious. After my 2nd grade class left and dismissal began I just started to clean paintbrushes. (PS I feel like cleaning paintbrushes is ALL I do anymore!) Then a fellow teacher (she's been a long term sub for a while, is getting married in May & her fiance will be in the Marine Corps) stopped by and gave me this "well, what happened?" look. I told her I didn't know and then paced back and forth, deciding if I should call David even though my student helpers were still in my classroom. I called - no answer. Back to cleaning paintbrushes.

Eventually I got through & David said "well, I have no hair on my head" which meant he got MC GROUND! I actually freaked for a little when he started saying "I have no..." but I wasn't patient enough to wait for the rest of his sentence.


What MC Ground means:
1. I know we will still be living in Virginia for a little while longer while he goes to TBS in Quantico.
2. I will be marrying a man in a black & white uniform instead of an all white uniform.
3. I need to learn the ranks in MC terms because they are different than the ranks in Navy terms. (Not like I knew the Navy ones anyway.)
4. I need to buy some Marine paraphernalia aka hit up the Mid Store.
5. Other states we could eventually end up in would include North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Georgia, Hawaii & there's a Satellite Base in Florida.
6. David should always be ripped (major +)

Semper Fi

Nervous, Anxious & Excited

Those would be the three words I would use to describe how I'm feeling about Service Selection tomorrow. Right after lunch (i think) David is going to go back to his company's ward room and a small 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper will tell him what he will be doing for at least the next five years of his life. And yes, I will be joining him where ever he goes. Duh - I'm marrying him.

I honestly don't know what will happen if he gets one of his bottom choices. I guess nothing can really happen. We just go with it. So tomorrow is a big day for the future Mr & Mrs David Phillips. Keep us in your prayers as you go about your day. I'll surely let you all know what we find out tomorrow!

All that I have to remember is what God promises in Jeremiah 29:11. "¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Isn't life just that more promising when we know that God is looking out for our best interest? It's always hard to see the positives in some instances, but when we look back on events, at least for myself, I can see why God set certain things in place.

Thanks for your support!

Gettin' Hitched: Save the Dates

Sorry it's been basically forever since I've been on here. First quarter grades are due this week and I just finished them up today, so I'm all yours. Today is just something quick but something super important (at least to me) when it comes to the wedding day! We ordered Save the Dates through VistaPrint which offered 100 free postcards. All I had to pay for was shipping and a small fee to upload a picture. You can basically order anything from that site.

The front is a picture of David & I that we had taken last Spring by the fabulous Sonya from Sonya Ruth Photography. I'm keeping it a surprise! Here's what the back looks like though:

What are your thoughts on Save the Dates? Necessary or waste of moohla? Should be electronic?

P.S. The Service Selection Date has been moved up a week so November 30th is the big day we're waiting for now to basically see where we are headed for the next 5 years!

Military Life: Two Months from Service Selection

Since today is October 7th, two months from now it will be December 7th. Yes, many of you WWII buffs or hopefully anyone who paid any attention at all in history class knows that's a date "which will live in infamy". Well, it's a new kind of infamy for David and I.

We've been waiting for this date to come for a while. Back in September, David entered his service selections for what service he will go into after Commissioning from the Academy. The services range anywhere from SWO to Navy Pilot to Marine Corp Pilot to Navy Seals to Submarine. All you truly need to know is that this decides out fate for the rest of our lives for the next five years (at least). David's first choice for his selection was Marine Corp Ground followed by Subs & then Navy Pilot. Three completely different communities.

USMC here we come!

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Now, to be honest, it took me a little while to get used to the fact that my future husband wanted to be a Marine instead of a Sailor. But through trust in the Lord and prayer, I was able to see that this was the best option for the both of us. If selected Marines, I would most likely be able to keep my job for another year because we would be close enough to both my school and his training location. Also, David is blessed with the ability to lead. He would truly be able to lead young men & women towards becoming successful Marines themselves.

I think I also want David to get selected MC because I've already prepared myself for the MC lifestyle. Who knows what's going to happen, so I just have to trust that God is doing what is best. We shall see what happens in two months and I'll surely keep you posted on what goes down!

As for now, keep us in your prayers as we countdown towards this big event! We'll be just fine on the road ahead because we'll actually be together. It'll all work out.