What made your heart sing today?

"Every single day, do something that makes your heart sing." ~ Marcia Wilder

(picture from here)

I love these notecards I recently bought at Target!

What made your heart sing today?

RBCN Ladies' Retreat

Last weekend we went to Fall Creek Falls! What a wonderful weekend. I was so blessed by it! It was such a treat to get to spend the weekend with some of my favorite ladies!

The theme this year was JOY. I am excited to share some of what we learned!

I loved the picture Erin gave us to FIGHT for JOY.

Favorite quote from the retreat:

"God has ordained my circumstances and is committed to my good."

Here are some pictures!

View from our back porch! 

Lovely walk 

Ladies + Erin!

Ladies + Lily! 

Snowing!

Walk buddies!

Cara getting some baby love 

Our abode for the weekend :)

So beautiful!

Central villa 

Snow

This was crazy!

Snow!

I love you ladies!! So thankful for you all and our time together!

Tuesday Thoughts

Hey friends!

Well, I had my first day of college classes yesterday! Second year dual enrolling and I love it! This semester I am taking College Algebra and Spanish in Healthcare. I like both of my professors!

The other day I felt inspired and decided to make a recipe off of my Pinterest board! (By the way, have I talked about how much I love Pinterest?!)





So I made these yummy and super easy cookies! Check out the recipe here. I also made yummy biscuits for breakfast- and when I realized we didn't have any buttermilk, I decided to make my own! I mixed some Greek yogurt with milk- and tah dah! They tasted great! I was glad that it didn't turn out to be a fail :)

So excited- we have a 3rd car! Meet the newest member of the fam! (we are deciding on a name...)

Coming soon... Senior photo shoot sneak peeks! :)

Here is a picture (PC: Allie!) of me taking Rachel's pictures! :)

Breakfast at Fido with my Theophili girls! So weird- last year we were sending off Megan to college! Now all four of them are going! So blessed and thankful for these girls!

Speaking of Pinterest, here are some things that make me laugh. Check out my Pinterest here.

Some quotes for the day:

“I fall in love with people’s passion. The way their eyes light up when they talk about the thing they love and the way they fill with light.”

One of my favorite verses.

“Stay in the Word. The moment you start letting go of that, you’re on the road to compromise. Stay grounded, remain pure, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.”

—	Adam Young of Owl City

Verse of the day: Deut. 31:6: "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."

Be blessed today!

Lily

#nogatorleftbehind

Let's talk about how much I love my job. It is amazing. I work with three super awesome people and our kids are so adorable.

Today my 6&unders did eight laps- the most they have done all season! Today was also the first day we have not had any tears! This past Tuesday we won our second meet- by 263 points! Last week we won by 290 points! Our kids had great swims, fabulous sportsmanship, and a super fun FLASH MOB!! (see last post for the link to the Interlude dance!) So proud of my Gators!!

Today my fabulous boss gave me the evening off! :) Mom and I went shopping- so much fun! I love you so much dear Mom! :)

It is so weird to not be at the pool... Whenever I am not I wonder, "What am I supposed to do with my life?!" So here I am- blogging a little update :)

Last week I met Sheryl Crow- so fun! I shook her hand :)

A little peek into life at the pool...

Things I say 500000 times a day! Our kids have these things drilled into them every day... Now I have them fill in the blanks or answer the question :)

- Q: How do we make ourselves float?

  A: Heads back, bellies up!

- Q: How many hands do we touch with on breaststroke?

  A: Two!

- Q: How many hands do we touch with on butterfly?

  A: Two!

- Q: What do we NOT do on backstroke?

  A: Roll onto our stomachs!

- Q: What do we do off the walls?

  A: Streamline!

- Q: What are our feet doing when we are streamlining?

  A: Kicking!

- Q: When do we take our last breath on freestyle and butterfly?

  A: At the flags!

- Q: What's the order of the IM? (for 7&ups)

  A: Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle!

- Q: What's the order of the mini IM? (for 6&unders)

  A: Backstroke then freestyle!

- Q: What do we do when we finish our race at a meet?

  A: Stay in the water till everyone is done and then shake the hand of the person next to you! Or give them a high five!

- Q: We want to have good what?

  A: Sportsmanship!

- Q: How often do we breathe on breaststroke?

  A: Every stroke!

- Q: When do we take our first breath off the wall?

  A: After two or three strokes!

- Q: What do we NOT do on breaststroke or butterfly?

  A: Flutter kick!

Yes, our kids can answer those questions! :)

Me: "What do you do if you feel like you are sinking on backstroke?" 5 year old: "Poke that belly up!" This made me laugh because I say "poke that belly up" :)

Every day I wear my hair in a bun on top of my head and I wear sunglasses. The other day it wasn't super bright yet so I was wearing my normal glasses (so I could see haha). One of my kids: "What's up with the glasses?!" Me: "Well they are what I wear in real life" :)

7&8 year old: "I'm a sea orphan!" *goes underwater* I was really confused... then asked, "Do you mean sea urchin?" too funny!

You know you're a swim coach when... you see one of your 5 year olds in "real life" and they look at you and say, "What are YOU doing here?? Why aren't you wearing your swim suit?!" :)

If you would like to read more about coaching :) check out the following links on my Tumblr!

~it's great to be a gator!

~quotes of the day

~i love my job.

~what we do when it's 60 degrees outside

~happiness (part two of the wrench story)

~quotes.

~thankful. (part one of the wrench story)

Love,

Lily

Summer!

Summer is so wonderful!

Coaching is amazing. I can't even use the right words to describe it. It is fabulous. It is so rewarding! The other day a 10 year old girl came to afternoon practice with an illegal breaststroke. We worked together and by the end of practice, she did it legally! I am not sure who was more excited- me or the swimmer :)
~~~~~
Some of my favorite quotes.

No Gator Left Behind

#winning

Sportsmanship defined by a 6 year old: "It's being happy when the other team wins."

J to swimmer: "Let's have a heart to heart."

5 year old: "When do I get a trophy?" Me: "Not today, honey!" "Tomorrow?" "Actually, we get them at the end of the season!"

5 year old: "I HAVE A LOOSE TOOTH!! LOOK!" Several other kids: "Me too!"

You know you're a swim coach when...
Last night I saw one of my 6&unders in "real life" (read: not in a suit at the pool)
Kid: "What are YOU doing HERE?! Why aren't you wearing a swim suit?!" soooo funny!
~~~~~
I get fired (that's "fired" :) daily. Yesterday it was because I wanted the kids to breathe and not have to do lots of breath control... :)

More coming soon :)

Love,

Lily

Keep Looking Unto Jesus:: J.C. Ryle

Keep on looking unto Jesus. Faith shall soon be changed to sight, and hope to certainty. Looking to Jesus on earth by faith, you shall end with seeing Jesus eye to eye in heaven. Those eyes of yours shall look on the head that was crowned with thorns, the hands and feet that were pierced with nails, and the side that was pierced with a spear. You shall find that seeing is the blessed consequence of believing, and that looking at Jesus by faith, ends with seeing Jesus in glory, and living with Jesus for evermore. When you awake up after His likeness, you shall be satisfied.

~ J.C. Ryle

coming soon... One Thousand Gifts, Update, and more! Thanks for reading!

Sunday.

Hey friends!

Hope you are having a good weekend! Hoping that we are all safe tonight with the bad weather coming in!

I hope you watched the 7 Lies about Homeschoolers video. It's kind of amazing.

I am loving this CD: The Story. "God's story of love and redemption from Genesis to Revelation told in 18 new songs." Some of Christian music's top artists have come together to create this fabulous CD! Check it out!

One of my favorites... Check out "Bring Us Home"- Michael Tate, Blanca Callahan, and Lecrae



Can't believe this week will be my last meet of the 2011-2012 season! I love my team. The Makos are the best! So thankful to be a part of it!

Yesterday I got to hang out with my dear Theophili sisters! I love them!

Thursday was kind of a rough day... But Jesus time, Chickfila, ice cream, and Pride and Prejudice made it much better :)

Check out MoneySavingMom's post on goal setting. "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time."

Check out my church's Vimeo channel in the next couple of days. Pastor Stephen had a really great sermon about spiritual gifts!

I really like Group 1 Crew's newest music video for "Outta Space Love."

Is today a big recruiting day for colleges? I have gotten 10-15 emails from colleges just today...

Favorite convo with Cara recently:

Cara: Here try this. *shoves a spoon of corn into my mouth* Cara: How is it? Me: Yuck!! What is wrong with it?! Gross! Cara: Oops I need to season it. You are my hamster. Me: Um I think you mean guinea pig...

Coming soon... finishing the photo challenge?, one thousand gifts, and more!

Thanks for reading!

peace to you,

lily

One Thousand Gifts:: Take Twenty Six

My last One Thousand Gifts post was September 25th- too long ago! It is not Monday (the usual posting day for OTG) but I decided to do it anyway :)

799. mums on the front porch from a sweet friend
800. pumpkins and more fresh flowers
801. hot tea
802. my Mako sweatshirt when it's cold
803. Pandora

804. wonderful teachers who want us to succeed
805. physics labs
806. "I don't like crowded elevators"
807. lots of laughter
808. 12 people on one elevator

809. "They are literally rocking the minivan"
810. fun friends
811. holiday party
812. my dear sisters
813. my family's great sense of humor

814. book to read from the library
815. the library
816. game night with fun friends
817. sweet notes in my mailbox at school
818. snail mail

819. Spanish class
820. Grandview
821. pleased and relieved smiles when I say "¡Muy bien!" when their answers are right
822. using Spanish as a bridge (nuestra puente)
823. "?Comó se dice en español?"

824. getting to be a part of the ESL classes
825. learning the Spanish word while they learn the English (to chew, masticar; caracol, shell)
826. understanding it when someone speaks in Spanish
827. my lab partner Dee!
828. Chickfila for breakfast

829. yearbook staff
830. excitement about this year's yearbook
831. free screenings of new movies
832. getting to sub for my dear friend's swim lessons
833. my Makos

834. playing George Winston's "Joy"
835. practicing for the Christmas Spectacular choir song!
836. playing/singing with Julia, the creative one and improvista (I think I just made up a word...) :)
837. laughter throughout my Thursday
838. high and low chat time

839. "Oh wait... you're homeschooled."
840. homemade sugar free ice cream
841. family vacation to Charleston!
842. crazy adventures on the beach
843. time with my 4 fave people

844. photo booth
845. church picnic!
846. breakfasts at Fido
847. fun nights with dear girls
848. Emma

849. lunch with Jenny, Graham, Julia, Cara, and Rachel
850. Pei Wei, Publix, and Ironwood
851. last time to take the PSAT
852. catching up with dear friends
853. sweet munchkins

more coming soon!

~Lily (who is going to try and catch up on some much needed sleep :)

Thursday Thoughts

~I love Thursdays. Why? One word- Whitver. :)

My rockin study hall clean up crew. Pow wow time. Chicks in seats. JB. Mt. Everest. Greased watermelons. Moose. "Muved." Chat times. Class pictures. Laughing a good chunk of my day. The fabulous people I am blessed to call my friends.

"One less screaming girl" ~ Jolene

~But y'all, we need to talk about Nashville's latest big news. It even made the front page of tennessean.com. There is still a special "Bieber Fever" section on the home page. I think you need to go appreciate the video on the Tennessean's website here. Here are the pictures courtesy of the Tennessean. What, might you ask, was the Biebs doing in Nashville? Downtown Franklin to be exact? Filming a music video for his new Christmas album! And of course gf Selena joined him in Music City. Last night 90% of my FB newsfeed was about JB. Facebook even went to the trouble to say so many of my friends "also posted about Justin Bieber." Selena went to the Cool Springs Chickfila (I think we would be friends ;) and a friend of ours that works there got to talk with her!

What was really great... The Tennessean: "Teen idol Bieber will prowl and swagger his way through historic downtown Franklin tonight as part of a music video shoot."

Let's appreciate this.

Merriam Webster's definition of prowl: to move about or wander stealthily in or as if in search of prey. Swagger: to conduct oneself in an arrogant or superciliously pompous manner; especially: to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence.

Very, uh, interesting verbs, there...

HOW DID I MISS JUSTIN BIEBER.

So tragic.

~Song on replay on my iTouch:

~I LOVE this blog. She is actually inspiring me to start sewing again! New Dress a Day!

~The blog of one of my favorite photographers!

~GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!! From the creators of Facing the Giants... Courageous!!

(Caution: rated PG-13. Check out PluggedIn's review, but know that it contains spoilers)

~ Umm... best college announcement ever?!

"If you’ve walked or driven around the campus in the past several months, you’ve probably noticed the large lake and new fountain—now known as Lake Lipscomb—located by the baseball field. While the lake may look like a good place for whitewater rafting, scuba diving and swimming, the fountain pump is fed by high voltage power lines and if you were to damage the electrical system by doing anything in the lake, it could create a potentially dangerous — or possibly deadly — water experience. We ask that you not swim, boat or participate in other water activity in Lake Lipscomb."

~How do you like this blog design? Is it just me or is the black bird on the right ------->

kinda creepy? It makes me think of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow... Time for a change I beliebe... :) (hehehe get it? ~;-) yeah I don't think I have had enough sleep recently... ;)

Have a lovely evening!

Lily :o)

Update

Whoa... I have not blogged in a while! Swim team started last week! I am coaching and swimming from 8:30-12:30 every day. I come home, crash, and then go to the pool to teach swim lessons in the afternoons! And then when I come home from that I crash again :) So lately my schedule has consisted of sleep, swim, coach, eat, watch a movie or two, sleep, repeat. :) I took the SAT last Saturday and am taking the ACT this Saturday...

I have also:

~had SO SO much fun coaching

~gotten very burned :(

~worn a stylin swim shirt in the pool to protect said burn

~been to several super fun graduation parties

~gone to the MTHEA Graduation

~had an AMAZING weekend last week

~spent the night at a hotel with some girlfriends to celebrate my friend's 18th (and had way too much fun- i love you girls!!!)

~got an awesome pedicure from my friend Anna

~been at a pool twice a day Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, and will tomorrow

~had Chickfila

~decided with one of my co-coaches that we have been in the sun too much

~taken lots of naps

~mostly been in a swimsuit

~decided I should have been studying more for the SAT and ACT

~gotten a frog out of the pool

~gotten a ton of beetles and cicadas out of the pool

~gotten over the whole bug-in-pool thing

~saw Kung Fu Panda 2

~am LOVING coaching!!

~prayed for something specific and God answered it- He is SO cool!

~thankful for an awesome sermon on Sunday- and the reminder that God is writing our stories!

I am going to leave you with some quotes from the past few days :)

~"Oh wait, the King is not ready. Are you ready? Ok, we can now start."

~Me: "What is your dog's name?" 3.5 year old girl: "I don't know." Me: "It is a nice dog?" Girl: "Yes." "Do you like playing with your dog?" "Yes." "What's its name?" "I don't know."

~Me: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" 3.5 year old: "A babysitter."

~7 year old kid: "I don't want to do swim team. I know everything!" Me: "I have been swimming for 11 years sweetie and I still come to practice."

~"The beetle is so cute!" - 9 year old girl

~"Um, Mom? I am kinda concerned about this dressing. It says its main inspiration is dirt." - Cara

~Kid: "The movie is about cats and dogs." Caitlin: "What's it called?" Kid: "Cats and Dogs."

~Me: "Someone didn't put her happy pants on this morning." Cara: "My happy pants are in the laundry."

~"And it came as a shock that your father the goose isn't your real dad?" - Kung Fu Panda 2 (it was awesome!)

Love,

Lil

All in a day in the Scott household

"You just don't do that!"
~My very reasonable and deep explanation for a grammar rule in Spanish

"You are an elf!"
~Emily, describing me

"Goodbye, Grandmother Lily!"
~Emily

"TOMMY NEEDS A LOLLIPOP!!"
~Cara, making this really weird and definitely out there Garageband podcast...

"Our living room is turning into National Geographic!"
~Mom, after picking an inchworm off of Lily's shirt, catching a rather large beetle, and catching some other random bug all within like a three minute time frame

"Hmm..." *looking at leaves and titles* "Siberian elm, Japanese elm... What's next? Mexican elm?"
~Dad, observing Lily and Mom hard at work naming leaves for a biology project

"Leaves are like snowflakes! They are all different!"
~Me, trying to convince Mom that I did not have ten of the same leaf ("Really! I mean, seriously! This one is MUCH larger. Much. And this one does not have a stem! Okay, maybe that's just the way I picked it... but it is DEFINITELY different. And this one is pointier! I don't care if we are in the good ole US of A this one looks JUST like the Siberian elm leaf in the identification book! Um, I don't remember where I got that one... I was wandering through yards plucking nice little leaves calling my name... Well, this one is not anywhere in the book. It's like a foot long. I think I might just label it a 'mutated giant leaf'. Yes!" hahahahaha! ok... so maybe I added a little eenie weenie to that conversation... but it was along those lines ~:-)




And did I say I only have 9 more days till school is out? yup, I'm kinda excited :o) I am really going to miss everyone though!!