So I got back from UMArmy today. What a week! It was a good time and I met some new people and got to hang out with old friends. There's not a lot that I can write... I dunno.. there aren't a lot of words to share with you about this week. UMArmy is always something you have to experience yourself.
Like I said, I did get to hang with some old friends. I got to see and talk a lot with my friend Kat Farr from last year. We get along really well.. it's kinda crazy/awesome. We talked a whole lot... it was really cool... I also got to hang out with my friend Matthew. I haven't ever been super good friends iwth him before, but I finally got to hang out with him a lot and talk with him too. This year was different simply because our church group was so small and everyone pretty much had their own friends, new or old. So I hung back some and talked with old friends, did what I needed to get done. It was different for sure.
My small group was cool. We got a ton of work done - a group of very hard workers, just not very good friends. We got along okay, but, I keep comparing to last year's small group. It was just so great last year. But like I said, we got a whole lot done which was awesome. God taught me a lot this year. We were assigned to scrape and paint this house. If you know me, you know I'd rather build something so I can hammer and cut and stuff. Not was the case... So the first day instead of scraping like the rest of the group, I grabbed a toilet brush and some clorox and this sprayer thing and got to scrubbin the mold and mildew off the side of the house. It wasn't a very glamorous job but I didn't have to scrape. And God really taught me to be more humble this week. He got me down on the ground and had me scrubbing a house with a toilet brush...
He showed me that I wasn't on that trip for myself. I wasn't there to do things for myself; I wasn't there to get my mind off of things; I wasn't there to hammer or build. He sent me there to serve others and to serve well. He sent me there to help an old woman have a better looking house. He sent me there to make an impact on someone else. I won't know if I accomplished the last, but I hope something happened in that department.
He was faithful to me this week and He showed me to serve Him and to completely surrender myself to Him. Without complete surrender, you can't truly live. So maybe now I can truly live.
A woman told someone this week that she thought I was happier than last year, and that I had more joy. Then this morning, as she blessed my communion bread, she told me I had a renewed joy and a renewed life. I truly believe that. I am so much happier. I don't know how, I don't know why. So much has happened in the past year that there's not just one thing I can point my finger at for an explanation. I just know that today I have more joy than I did on Sunday or even on Monday. God gave me a new heart this week, He washed me clean. Hallelujah and Amen.

Well today I leave for my last College UM ARMY. It's bittersweet I guess. Wendy's not going so that stinks, but Ginger is so that helps a lot. But it's all good - I am ready to serve!!! Bring it on Houston....
I'll be gone for a whole week so don't expect any updates or for me to be on AIM..
Love to you all !!

Well, my good friend beat me home today. James went to see Jesus, met Him face to face. I am sad to lose him but really, and I have to keep telling myself this, he's so much happier now where he is. And on the way home tonight, I couldn't help but think about the scripture in 1 Corinthians 13:
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
This verse totally made me smile. All I could think was that James now sees face to face. And now James fully knows. How awesome and amazing.
And what an amazing man James was. His faith over the years that I have known him has just been a huge testimony and a great example to follow. He has been someone that I look up to and someone that I could count on for anything. He became a wonderful listener and I could only hope to be that great of a friend to someone else.
Ya know, I have known the Barretts closely for probably 6-7 years, and they have been nothing but supportive of me in my college career and in life in general. James and Carol really got me through my freshman year at A&M ... and James got to see me all the way through school. I know I'm selfish, but it's true. They prayed a lot for me and they prayed me through it. I owe that family so much.
Sometimes life just sucks, and yeah, earlier this evening life was sucking. But eventually, the joy came with the morning. (Psalm 30:5) Jesus is celebrating with James, and I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather James be....

Psalm 30:5
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Haha.. I'm coming to get you Steph.. I will beat you down with my memory stick, partnered with my brute force, raw power and strong thighs!!!!

haha...

This weekend basically rocked. It was just amazing. There's nothing like graduating from college and having the freedom to just ... well the same whatever I've been doing for five years, but now I'm a college grad. I have a degree, not a major. whoop.

I wrote on Saturday and it was cool or whatever, but as I looked back on it, it seems kind of sad and depressing. So here's a better one :)

Okay so church was cool on Sunday. How often does that happen? Ha. I went to the 9:30 service and I don't remember a whole lot but Jerry's sermon was not too bad. Then I went over to the Journey. Wendy did a great job on the altar. She made it appear like there were flames on there.. so cool.. She has a flare (no pun intended i swear) for altar stuff and she's good at it. The perfectionist in her makes her art awesome and worshipful (if that's a word). Then Michael's sermon was very cool. I always like the spins he takes on an every year occasion. This week was Pentecost and he focused on Matthias. But my favorite part of his sermon was when he was talking about the power God gave the apostles. He said something to the effect of: God didn't give them superhuman powers, He gave them the power to communicate.

I'm reading this book to help prepare for this summer's junior high bible studies about superheros and the connection between their personalities and lives with scripture and christian living. So when Michael mentioned the power that God gave the apostles that day, I thought of the superhuman powers given to those heros. And I thought God could have given them the power to fly or the power to shower down his wrath on those who persecute or even the power to perform miracles of the old testament, but He gave them the power to share His word. Whoa. Yeah.. take that in for a second... I'll give you a few...






God is so loving, so compassionate, so awesome that he gave all of us the power of words. He gave us the words and the passion to share his love with others. We don't even have to know that we're speaking a different language as long as we know we're speaking God's love.

When we were in Mexico, and I said this in an earlier post, we went to this church service the last night we were in Reynosa. It was at the church we had been 'stationed' at and where we did a lot of our work. At the end of the service, the pastor asked the family we built for to stand and pray for us. They hadn't said much all week either because they were uncertain of the language barrier or whatever, but that night was amazing. I felt God in that small church. I felt his awesome burning presence in that room. When that family opened their mouths and raised their hands towards us and just started praying for us, it was amazing. Most of us didn't know what they were saying, but we knew they were blessing us, we knew, through God's awesome power, exactly what they meant. I felt his love coming from them and just permeating that room into our hearts.

Yeah. God's love is awesome. That's all I have to say about that.

K.. so i saw that friend today. He came to my house this afternoon for the grad party my mom threw. It was really good seeing him. I miss his friendship. After 5 years of little communication it's a good refresher to see my friend. I gotta say, I still am worried about him. I dunno.. he's going to be here this summer which makes me happy. :) That means I'll have Danny AND him!! But I won't have Mike.... it's okay because God is good!

Today I walked across the stage. I graduated from college today. I got my diploma today. I officially received my degree today. Today I was rewarded with a piece of paper that has some fancy-schmancy words on it to acknowledge 5 years of hard work (well not that hard) and dedication to my university and to my schooling. As of today, I never have to attend college class again.

Ooh.. I like the last one the best :) WHOOP.

I gotta say, this morning I was nervous. When we got onto the floor I was anxious. Halfway through the ceremony I was bored. When we stood to get in the line I was nervous. As I reached the top of the stairs I was ready. When I walked across the stage, all I could think was, smile and don't trip. Then I got to the end and I gave my prof a big hug which is especially funny because he's not really my favorite prof... now that I think about it, I think I was so out of it that I wasn't thinking when I walked up to him. Hahaha... wow...

Today has been a flurry of emotions, as you can tell. It's amazing how much people care for you and how they congratulate you when stuff goes good. And it's even better when they're there for you when stuff goes bad. Today was great. I have to admit, today was great. Yeah... yeah.

I was surfin around on the net and came across this song by Garth Brooks that I just love. The lyrics are amazing and they encourage me to never give up, never quit because everything around me tells me I'm different. It encourages me to follow my heart, follow my gut. Check these out....

"The Change"
One hand
Reaches out
And pulls a lost soul from harm
While a thousand more go unspoken for
They say what good have you done
By saving just this one
It's like whispering a prayer
In the fury of a storm

And I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world will know
That it will not change me

This heart
Still believes
The love and mercy still exist
While all the hatred rage and so many say
That love is all but pointless in madness such as this
It's like trying to stop a fire
With the moisture from a kiss

And I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world will know
That it will not change me

As long as one heart still holds on
Then hope is never really gone
I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world we know
Never changes me

What I do is so
This world will know
That it will not change me

They're just great. I love that song. So great.... Here's a parting scripture for you from my friend Katie. She showed me this today and I just like it :)

2 Timothy 4:5-8
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

ARGH! Why does it take being mean to get a phone call???

I have this friend whom I love very much and he means a lot to me... and we've known each other for a very long time now. I call him, I text him.. but he does not return my calls. It bugs me and worries me to no end! And I'm sure I could just say he has a communication problem, but that simply scratches the surface.

So I called him tonight because I haven't talked to him since like, January, and I wanted to see how his semester was going/ending up. Last I heard, he was graduating this semester and I wanted to extend my good wishes for him. Well, he didn't answer. So I tried to leave a message, but it was screwed up so I text messaged him.

Basically, I said: Hey. I want to talk to you. You need to call me. I call and you don't call back. I'm worried about you and you're not being a good friend. Call.

Yeah, pretty much that's what it said. So I go to brush my teeth and get ready for bed, then sit down at the computer and my phone starts ringing. Well I think it's Mike, simply because I have not talked to him all day, but it's my friend. I honestly was not expecting a phone call from him at all. But he did.

We talked for only a few minutes because he was out and I was getting ready for bed and neither of us really could talk about what really needed to be said. So I invited him to my graduation party this weekend and told him to call me tomorrow so we could talk a little and so he could get directions to the party. I really hope he calls me tomorrow.... there's really nothing like losing a best friend to lack of communication....

Gosh this sucks. I mean, I'm feeling kind of sad right now - not crying sad, but disappointed sad, frustrated sad. I'm disappointed in me for not being more persistant, and in him for being horrible at returning calls.

This has been my prayer today, and now it applies even more... These are excerpts from MercyMe's song 'Homesick' They don't apply the way you think they might, but they've been inspiration and constant comfort since 2 this afternoon. God gives me the words in my heart at just the right time.

And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you
But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home

Ha... oh yeah, Mike and I graduate this weekend. I guess that is something good to share.

Please keep me in your prayers and please keep my friend in your prayers... he ... sigh... He needs to get back to his roots and he needs to remember how it feels to be complete in Christ and to really have full satisfaction solely in that relationship.

It's a great day to be alive!
I know the sun's still shinin' when I close my eyes.
There's some hard times in the neighborhood,
But why can't every day be just this good?
-Travis Tritt

Ya'll I heard this song today, and honestly thought,
1) how long has it been since I've heard this song? and
2) how long has it been since I listened to the lyrics of this song?

I was driving down Hwy 21 on my way home from Caldwell, and this song popped up on the radio (because I'm radio ADD) and it made me smile. Because today truly has been a great day! I woke up this morning and was a little tired and a little late getting to school, but no one really noticed! I walked into the office and the ladies were so sweet to me (they usually are, but today was extra nice). The kids were pretty stinkin' good today (for the most part) and I dunno.. it was a good day at school overall. So on my way back to B/CS, I heard that song on the radio and it just made me happy! :)
So here's the rest of my evening...
I ran home for all of 4 minutes and headed out to the church to pick up an application for a summer job. Then I headed over to the Pryor's because I love them so much. I got to play with Paige for a little bit (she is getting so big!) and talk with Mandy and Stoney. They are a great family and I am so blessed to know them and have their support, love and prayers!!
After that short visit, I went BACK to the church to change clothes and see the counselors before they had their meeting. So I left there and went to my softball game. And dude... the 6:15 game was incredible! My first up-to-bat was awesome!! I hit a triple!! And then later on in the game, I caught this awesome ball out in left field! I was running up to it, cuz it was about to hit the ground, and I just ran up, lowered my glove, almost to the ground and CAUGHT IT !!! Yeah... it was just awesome.
So after the game, I went to dinner with my small group to J.Cody's BBQ for our last meeting together. It was so great, especially since it is Lauren's bday today... (HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN!)
Well, that pretty much covers it for today... seems like a pretty long day huh? Well, it was, but like I said.. It has been a great day :)

"This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24

Much love!

So much better! :)

Please do not go away until I come back
and bring my offering and set it before you."
And the LORD said,
"I will wait until you return."
Judges 6:18

The story of Gideon here talks about how God chose Gideon, the least of his family, to save the Israelites from Midian. Midian was oppressive and powerful and the Israelites were afraid of him. They plead to God for help and God chose Gideon. Gideon tests God's power and will two times before he takes off to save the Israelites. Of course, God proves His will each time so Gideon takes off.
When I saw this verse, I just remembered how God is always waiting for me to come back to him with my offering, my sacrifice. And yet, we are waiting on Him too. We wait for His truth, His passion, His will... and He waits for our offering, our acknowledgement, our plea for help, our love. His love is more than we can fathom, which in of itself is hard to understand. But He waits. For some, He waits their whole life for just a glimpse, for others, He waits through some double-triple-octuple takes, and for more, He waits for an eye-contact, grasping stare. I want to give Him my stare.
He deserves my stare, my locked-on undivided attention.

What have I done to deserve your son sent to die for me
What can I give I want to live give me eyes to see
In a world that keeps changin’ there’s one thing that I know is true
Your love is stayin’ there’s nothing else I’ll hold onto

You say I belong to you apart from the things I do
You say I belong to you I’m in awe of why you do
Why you do

-Jadon Lavik

uh huh..

I'm called to a life of silent striving,
because the world's imperfect and so am I.
As long as I have breath,
something will be incomplete.
- Stephen Simpson


since my last post, i've finished student teaching, gone to a career fair and turned in a ginormus notebook project. and that's about it. lately i've found myself to be semi-living in this void i call my life. nothing seems real right now. i'm in a funk and i guess it was just due.
lately i've read of living in the valley of the shadow of death and have realized that i'm scared of a shadow. a shadow that can't hurt me ... just intimidate me. and i'm definitely intimidated. jesus is up there, all shiny and bright, and the one thing casting the shadow is the future. you know when you're looking at someone and the sun is right behind them, so you can't see their face, but you can see that they're there? yeah, okay.. that's how i'm feeling right now. i can see that my future is there in front of me but i can't see the details of it's face or even what color t-shirt it's wearing.
But I guess that's okay... cuz ultimately, what i can see is shining right behind it. i know that god is making me step out and just trust that my future is not going to harm me and is not going to bring me down. i have to trust and know that god's got everything for me already. he knows what color t-shirt my future is wearing, and actually even knows the thread count of it's socks. which is pretty stinkin cool.

post mexico

Well life has happened between Feb 27 and today, Mar 17. I kind of figured out that I don't really like to write on here, but I like to get my thoughts down on 'paper'.
The junior high has been great. I think I really like 4-6th graders. They are a lot of fun and are still somewhat obedient. haha... I've been teaching basketball... yes, me... basketball. I like it a lot though. It is very similar to soccer and so I can make sense in my own head and then try to explain it to the girls. I definitely still love those little ones though! I only have 8 more days of student teaching once I get back to school on Monday. How stinking awesome/scary is that!! I have a large project due on April 15th but I don't have a lot to do -- it's just tedious.

We took our 2nd trip to Reynosa Mexico the past 5 days. It was great. We were in a different colonia and it seemed to be a colonia that is a lot more populated or just more central to the church. I dunno. There were tons of kids around and that was good for our kids. That quickly became the most important part of our trip. There were always kids playing somewhere. And I was super excited to see everyone trying to play soccer :) Of course :) We worked so hard; there was tons of hard labor. We dug trenches and mixed concrete for almost two full days. We built a house out of brick for a family and put on a tin roof for the pastor's home. Mexico is full of loving people. Nearly every person we came in contact with was accepting and grateful. The families there don't have a lot of material possessions, but they sure as heck have more than us Americans. They have community and they have an extreme passion for God. Last night, the family we built the house for stood up and prayed for us at the church service. It was AWESOME. They were praying, of course, in Spanish, but even our kids who don't speak or understand much Spanish KNEW what they were saying. It was AMAZING. I had never experienced prayer like that before but I sure loved it. I knew that the family was absolutely sincere about everything they prayed for. I truly have no words for that experience other than to say that God was definitely in that place. He rushed through there like a mighty wind and we felt His presence.

Anywho - it's my bed time. I am super tired and the Coopers and I are heading to San Antonio tomorrow for a Spurs game :-D WHOOP!!! I am pumped and a half :) I gotta print off the tickets tonight so PEACE out!!

holy schmagoly

Disregarding the fact that i haven't posted in over two weeks - huge surprise coming up ....

CP asked if I was interested in being a soccer coach ... and I quote ..
"hey - where are you hoping to work next year?" (him)
"ohhh... unknown really.. trying to get out of b/cs. houston area most likely" (me)
"so, not at csisd?"
"ya know... i just don't ..i feel like i really really need to get out. why?"
"well, we were thinking you would be a great soccer coach"
"i would be honored but i just don't know where god is taking me right now"
... much later in the convo as it digressed and eventually ended...
"well, i'll keep you posted and you keep me informed of what you are planning"
"i will definitely keep that in mind...for sure."
"cool! we would love to work with you."

Like Whoa!! seriously?! what do i say to that?? how.. wha... no words.. please pray for me!!! AHH!!!

jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you..."
1 chronicles 16:34 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."
jeremiah 23:23-24 "Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD , "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD . "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD .
hebrews 6:15 "And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised."
hebrews 11 (the whole chapter..)

I've been sick this weekend, even though that's not really an excuse for not blogging the whole week. The week was fine - everything is still going well. Friday I had all of my classes all to myself. The kids were pretty stinkin' good behavior wise but my voice was killin me at the end of the day and I was just plain tired. But I got to go to the girls soccer game vs Bryan and it was a GREAT game. Like awesome. 2-1 in o.t. My grandparents were in town for the weekend but it was cut short when my great aunt in Iowa passed away. So they left early Sunday morning to head back to Midland. I got super sick on Saturday; not really sure what it was. But I got close to dehydrated from all the.... well, sickness. If you really want to know, you can just ask. But for once, I'm not going to be graphic. I'm feeling better now, it's just that I'm very hesitant to eat much for fear that it won't stay down. Oops.. sorry...
SO.. Ginger left for Africa yesterday, well, Houston. She leaves from Atlanta tomorrow for Paris. I'm gonna miss her even though she'll only be gone for 2 weeks. She's gonna have a great time, I just know it.
Valentine's Day is tomorrow and it will be my first with a significant other to share it with. I tried to tell myself that it's just another day and even told Mike that. I even believed myself until he started being all sneaky and stuff... and then I admitted to myself and to him that I really am just a girl deep down and all that romantic stuff does have an affect on me. So anywho... I hope that tomorrow I can get to school alright. Tomorrow is my first day at the junior high in Caldwell. Woo hooo!
Peace out y'all.

Dude I totally suck at keeping this up. Oh well.. there aren't too many people who read this anyway.. or so I think. ha!

Well last week, was, needless to say, pretty hectic. I don't remember why... but it sure seemed like it. I caught a cold last Friday and am battling that as we speak - you know the drill: runny nose I can't seem to catch, raw nose and upper lip from blowing the nose, dry lips and throat from breathing through the mouth cuz I can't breathe through the nose. It's a vicious cycle.... But I AM going to win because I really don't want to go to the doctor for such a stupid thing.

This weekend was fun; Friday I went to almost a whole soccer game. I made it to the last 20 min of the boys' jv game and stayed for the first half of the varsity guys game. It was just too cold and I didn't feel very good, so I went home and watched a chick flick :) I sure miss watching chick flicks!

Saturday was pretty lazy.. I say that.. I got up and went to the church to help with garage sale pickup from 10-2. Then I came home and slept for about 3 hrs cuz I was so wiped out. Got up, ran to 2 grocery stores looking for a King Cake only to return with empty hands. But it was all good because I made some cornbread. Went up to the church for our 3rd annual Mardi Gras Party. YUM YUM!! Had some boudin (boo-dan) and yummy fish cooked by my honey and of course, King Cake. I didn't get the baby for once!! Whoop!! :)

The better part of the evening was seeing Steph. Gosh, I miss her so much. She is like my big sis, but without all the arguing and conflict :-p Haha. She was my go-to chick here in CS. ... oh the good times.... sigh....

Sunday has been fun - went to church, lunch w/ Mike, Wendy & Ginger, Super Bowl Party at the church, seein all the Kingwood Crew at the guys' apt, and now home. Fun stuff :)

Now I'm off to make up a bunch of b.s. for my lesson plans :-p Oops.. hope no one from my school stuff reads this. Hehe..

Oh yeah --- GO PATS!! Hahaaa.. I jumped on the bandwagon.. but I don't really care a whole bunch.

Have you ever had a divine appointment? I don't know the true definition of it, but it was once explained to me that God plans for you to meet or see specific people during your day. And you may not talk to these people or you may have a sit down conversation; you may know the person or they may be a stranger. It's a pretty awesome thing when you recognize it.
Anyway - I had a divine appointment today. On my way home from Caldwell today, I decided I really wanted some mozzarella cheese sticks from Sonic. And there are no Sonics directly on my way from Caldwell to the house. So I took the long way home and stopped by the Sonic on Briarcrest. I got to the ordering thing in the drive through and the chick talked me into a soft drink since they were half price (happy hour). So I pull up to the window, give the girl my money and she gives me my drink. I'm sittin there waiting on my cheese sticks and I look over inside the kitchen, and this girl walks over to check the order monitor and I swear she looks like this girl I played soccer with in high school.
So I kinda do this double take thing, and so does she... it's her!! I have not seen this chick since I graduated and it's not like we were friends or anything. In fact, we didn't get along most of the time! We argued a lot and I just disagreed with her on .. pretty much everything. After I graduated, she still had a year left and I'm not even sure if she graduated or not. She kinda fell of the face of the earth, or moved away (haha.. same thing) and I tried to find things out about her cuz I always wondered. You know how that is?
SO ANYWAY.... we couldn't really strike up a conversation or anything, so she smiled at me. It blew me out of the water. I never thought in a million years that she would smile at me after all the bickering and disagreeing we did.
But God's just awesome like that I guess. Well, he is, duh. There's not a lot of guess work involved there.
So back to this divine appointment thing, if you want to experience this, just ask Him. It may not be tomorrow, but I've asked before and I got one a couple of years ago. It's a stinkin awesome thing and it always reminds me of the little ways God works in my life. Nowadays, I get more divine appointments through emails from friends more than in my day.
God Bless, y'all !
(holy snap.. i'm not from texas or anything.... although i did hear that the word y'all is becoming more and more popular all over the nation in teens and young adults... whoop for that!)
Ooh! And the Spurs won :) GO SPURS GO!!!

so i see it's been a few days since I blogged..

This week has been okay. I've been a bit under the weather, but I'm starting to feel better. OTC drugs are good for me :-p (that's over-the-counter). I've been tired too but tomorrow is Friday and I'm super pumped about that!! Week-end! Week-end! Week-end! woo hoooooo!

Found out some not so fun news yesterday - Kappa Phi isn't doing intramurals this semester. I was so bummed when Katie told me that. I always thought that intramurals were a great way to grow in friendship! but apparently, most of the chapter from what i understand didn't like the competition part of the intramurals... From what I have gained from playing sports for almost 2o years, competition is part of sports and, in turn, intramurals. I guess I don't really understand. They probably just don't like playing sports or something. who knows.. ah well - hopefully Janice will get her team together and I can enjoy playing intramural sports for one last season! (tear!! sad day to make that realization...)

We started our 40 days of purpose groups this week! I really like my Monday night group and me and Wendy's Tuesday night class was super awesome this week! I think I love working with kids so much because they have so many questions!! And when I try to propose some kind of answer, I really have to think about and consider what I believe. That really builds up my faith and helps me realize how much I know or don't know, depending on the question.

Well, that's all I have for now. Please keep me in your prayers as I finish out these last two weeks at the elementary school. The hardest part of my week is sitting down to write lesson plans. Have a great weekend and stay warm and dry!!!

Once again I thank You!

Well, I truly admit I have no idea what I did on Friday at school... I think we did forward rolls. Don't know, don't care :-p It's not important really. It was an okay day. Nothing very exciting happened. Friday night I went and helped Jackie B with a secret project for 4 hours. By the time I got home, I didn't feel so hot, so I took some Benadryl and hit the sack.

Saturday I was supposed to go help with garage sale pickup, but when I woke up at 9, I didn't really feel much better so I went back to sleep till 11. Puttered around the house and went to a movie with Gin & Wen. 'In Good Company' is a good flick. I recommend it!! After the moobie I went to the church for the 40 Days of Purpose kickoff. Tailgating in 45 degree weather just makes for cold hands and cold hamburgers!! But it was fun and the 1.5 hr video we watched in the Sanctuary was really good, just really long.

Sunday has been pretty normal - church, lunch, hmwk, youth. Mike and the boys got home from hunting and Big Mike is pretty sick. He has a fever and I am thinking he has the flu. No bueno!! He's going to the doctor tomorrow (well, Beutel) to get some good meds and to get better. He hasn't vomited yet, so that's a good thing. Just keep him in your prayers! He needs to stay well so he can start the semester off on a good foot!! I am currently procrastinating... so I need to get back to my work!

Praise God for His everlasting love and the blessings He gives us every second of our day! I am truly blessed in my life and I take it all for granted. Praise Him for the gift of His Son and for loving us so much that He forgives us no matter what!

Shooting myself..

in the foot . .. Why am I such the procrastinator?! oy!

Today went well. Easy day of Road Runner - not too much stress at all. Yay! Tonight I went to dinner (Johnny Carino's) with some good old friends! We had such a blast. We got there at 6:30pm, it took us 15 minutes to get "all caught up" and then we laughed and gabbed until 10pm!! We nearly closed the place down!! It was great fun. I miss having friends like that . . I mean, spending time like that with friends. We all decided that we didn't need to drink and go to parties when we were in highschool simply because we all provided our own fun!! Holy cow, did we ever :) Good times girls, good times...
The only down side of that dinner was that I didn't get to do bible study with mike and I am having to do lesson plans for next week! Tonight! So! I'm off to do that...hopefully I can get enough done tonight so that it won't be so bad tomorrow. I'm getting really bad about this procrastinating thing... like whoa.
Have a great weekend everyone if I don't get to do an update on Friday!!

Ho hum . .

long day . . . not much to report . . . very tired . . . . maybe tomorrow something exciting will happen. Another blessing today though! God gave me ksbj all the way to Caldwell again!! :) Whoop. Have a great day, peoples!

Thursday to Tuesday ... Oops!

Wow. that stinks... i wrote up this whole long thing that covered last Thursday to today.. and some internal error occurred and didn't post what I wrote... so not cool. I'll just make it short and sweet.

Thursday and Friday at school were crazy. The kids played this game that was just really loud. They just screamed the whole time and gave me terrible headaches both days. Thursday, Coach Huddleston told me that I would start teaching the next week. Which meant I had to have a plan for all 4 days by Friday, the next day. Just a little bit of overload, but I got it all done. Friday night was meat night with all the friends and it was just a great time!! Great friends + great food = super great fun!!

Saturday was pretty lazy. Went to lunch with some Kappa Phi girls and just laughed and smiled the whole time! We had a ball! Headed to Old Navy after that and shopped for a lil while, good things were happening there :) And then went to a disco PAR-TAY and danced it up. Headed to Mike's to hang out and laughed more with everyone!

Sunday was pretty normal for me; church, lunch, youth. Went with Wendy to Kellie's new place and hung out for a little while but had to head out "early" because I had an assignment to do and also because the time on our parking meter was past due.

Monday, MLK DAY, went to Austin with Mom for lunch with Skeet Nancy and Dixie (my mom's brother and family). Then went to David's house and had a grand time eatin' it up! .... Wow.. most of my weekend revolved around food... interesting. Not a good thing when you're trying to watch that girlish figure. (No I'm not on a diet, please tell me you know me better than that! It's called eating healthy and being aware of the crap we eat on a daily basis..)

Today, Tuesday, has been long. Not bad at all.. just long. I started teaching today and everything went really well! Coach Huddleston complimented me on my lessons and gave me helpful pointers. I was able to help one of the "problem kids" today make a better decision for himself so that REALLY made my day! But now I have a headache again.. so I'd better get away from the computer.

Keep prayin for me! :) And I'll try to keep everyone updated more regularly.