An attempt at a Christmas card...

I was really excited about being able to send out Christmas cards this year (by the way, everyone will be getting them a little late....) so of course the picture had to be perfect. Join me on my journey to the "perfect" Christmas card picture...

The first one was okay, but a little awkward. Check out my Frankenstein hand.


Then it just got out of control...

Very funny Greg.

Merry Christmas from the Grinch's?

Merry Christmas from the Mercers!

Christmas firsts

Greg and I are getting ready for our first Christmas as a married couple!

And to commemorate this wonderful occasion, I photographed every step of putting up our first Christmas tree! :-)

Yes, this is the first step... it's pre-lit. Which is pretty much amazing.

Our naked tree needed a skirt...

Next is the beads. But I had to smell them first. Ever since I can remember, the beads that went on the Christmas tree smelled awful. And why I would make sure they still reeked year after year... I have no clue. But a Christmas tree is not a Christmas tree without those stinky beads.


The stinky beads on the tree!

The ornaments...

And now the star!

Drumroll please......

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!

Oh and I almost forgot! The ornaments collected for me by my mom through the years were passed on to me for when Greg and I were to start our own tree.

Check out the "globe" in the middle. Every year we joke that mom must have been feeling very "multicultural" that year. haha.

We have yet to find an "Our First Christmas" ornament, but I might just have to make a Hallmark trip this week to pick one up... and maybe a Tyler candle...and some Vera Bradley. :-)


Well, there is our first tree! I will be posting some more Christmas "firsts" later next week as I will have plenty of time on my 2 week long break!!!!

teacher appreciation at its finest

Today my 6th period class expressed appreciation for me in the best way that their generation knows how. A rap. And here is goes.

(I advise you to get a nice beat going before reading)

Mrs. Mercer
She's not a curser
But she's much worser....
Than Chuck Norris.

Thanks 6th period. I feel the love.

MiMi

This past Thanksgiving was a sad one for my family. My dad's mom, or Mimi as we all called her, passed away early that Thursday morning. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking of the funeral, all our memories of Mimi, and especially all of the things we will dearly miss with her being gone.

My mom recently posted on her blog a beautiful tribute to my Mimi and I want to share it on mine. I am not nearly as good with words as my mom is, and I think she expressed Mimi's life and legacy perfectly. You can read her post here.



We can all take comfort is knowing that she is now with our Heavenly Father happier than we could ever imagine here on earth. Until we see here again, she will be missed dearly. I love you Mimi!

Operation Prom Dress

I am back! It has been quite a while since I've posted anything; there really hasn't been much to post about! My life for the past three months has consisted of gradually lightening my stress at work and finally getting into a routine where I have found a nice (and important) balance of work life and home life. I just might have to share some of my time saving tips I came up with sometime!

And now that I am no longer lesson planning on weekends, I have finally found my way back to my favorite hobby! And what a way to kick off this wonderful occasion with a special project for my sister!

Ciara is now a senior meaning prom is just around the corner! Most girls would be rushing to department stores or specialty dress shops to find the one... but we (my mom, Ciara, and I) made a fun trip down to High Fashion Fabrics yesterday to create the one.

Ciara's inspiration for her dress comes from Taylor Swift's gown in one of her music videos. Here is a pic:

How cute is that!

We are going to follow the same basic design and materials adding in a slight sweetheart neckline, a corset back laced up with ribbon,"sprinkling" some crystals throughout the dress, and Ciara changed the color to a pretty sea foam blue-green.

I am so excited to start this project and keep posting the progress each step of the way! Next post, I will upload my preliminary sketches of our version of the Taylor Swift dress. :-) Until next time!

The crazy coupon lady is back!

Well for today at least!

I actually found the time to go through the deal blogs this week as well as my "coupon files" and match up some pretty sweet deals! (One done by myself, thank you very much!)

Now, in the past I have posted pictures with my kitchen table almost full of goodies, but today it is smaller than usual... its going to take time to get back into the swing of things!

Here is what I got at Kroger (minus the regular groceries!):

4 bottles of Dial hand soap (all free!), Gillette MVP razor (1.50), and a febreeze plug-in starter set (.79) So my total for all these items was 2.29! The retail price (even with the kroger card discount) is a whopping 19.78!


And they all went into my lovely stock-pile box which has really come in handy! Its nice not having to add these kinds of items to my shopping list when we run out... I just go to the "store" under our sink! And its even better when I bought them for next to nothing!

Well it is good to be back :-)
Is it weird to say I think I found my ultimate stress relief in couponing? haha!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

I am always in awe of how much God has blessed me, and constantly questioning what makes me special enough to receive them all.

Apart from the blessing of being saved by Christ, I am always brought to this question when I think of my family and especially, my two parents. Of all the two people I could have been born to, I was fortunate enough for Him to choose Paul and Annie Latour.

I am proud to say that today marks their 24th anniversary, and as I would love to present them with a 2 week Alaskan cruise to express my thanks for giving me such a wonderful life, right now this blog post will have to do. (I haven't even gotten my first paycheck yet! haha)

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you for....

bringing me into this world- Mom, you risked your life, and Dad, you risked your sanity! You have sacrificed so much for me to be here.

raising me in a Christian home- I know that being shown Christ's love from you two was what started me on my path to being saved and living a life to glorify Him. I don't know where I would be without everything you both have taught me.

giving me two..... wonderful....siblings- I got to have my 5 short years of only child glory, but I am happy you brought them into this world as well... We wouldn't be a "circus family" without them!

supporting me in whatever I wanted to do- From girl scouts to softball to dance to art classes to choir to even that nerdy "discovery" club at school :-) , you made me realize that I could do and be anything because I knew you would always be there to cheer me on!

helping me through those awkward years- this one definitely earns you gold stars! I cannot even imagine what it was like for you both having to deal with a junior high aged girl who came home crying every other day about the most ridiculous things! :-)

loving Greg as one of the family- from the very beginning, (and after some discussion with dad and his guns I'm sure, haha!) you both supported us and loved Greg as another son. We are so blessed in knowing that you will always be here for us.

and in celebration of today, thank you most of all for being an example of a marriage that I will always strive to create in my own life. Listening to all the stories of the very beginning to the ups and downs along the way, and seeing it as I grew up, I know for a fact that this is how God intended marriage to be and why He created such a beautiful thing.

I remember growing up hearing from so many of my friends and the kids at school of how their parents were divorced, and sometimes being told how unusual it was for mine to be married for so long. But these were the times when I was so proud to be the odd one out!

Thank you mom and dad for being "odd"

Happy Anniversary!