A Month of Thanksgiving: Ooops, it's December!

I don't think I have known the meaning of busy until this week. This week and the coming week are busy to the fullest meaning of the word – papers due, projects to complete, lessons given, tutoring, unit planning, meetings, and wrapping everything up for Christmas break. The busyness has also been filled with good things – catching up with friends, going to a concert with a friend, being back with my fifth graders at school, and have good conversations with different people.

But, all that to say, I am sorry for not completing the month of Thanksgiving posts. I had high hopes for doing it everyday this year, but I didn't realize that the Month of Thanksgiving was also Month of Busy!

However, I wanted to wrap up with one last post for the Month of Thanksgiving. And post some pictures of what I am thankful for.

I'm thankful for extended family! It was wonderful to see them over Thanksgiving. 

I'm thankful for Faith and Sonya and their friendship. I eat lunch with them every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and I am so blessed by them. They are encouraging, funny, and thoughtful. I am so thankful that God placed us in the same house this summer and that we are still good friends! 

Last night was the senior social. I am thankful that I am a senior. I am thankful for this wonderful college that God has provided for both me and Damarise to go to. I am thankful for getting to socialize last night. I haven't gotten to hang out with so many friends in a long time and it was wonderful! And I am so thankful for Janessa and Bethany! The four of us have been close friends since freshmen year and we have stayed friends throughout. I love them!

I am thankful for my Elementary Education family! They really have become family to me. I feel comfortable around them. We laugh together, share stories, tell our hopes and fears for student teaching. These are girls who I trust and love and I am so thankful for them in my life! I could not have imagined this semester without any of them. They each add something to the class and I just love them all!

(We were missing four in the picture... but I love the ones who are missing too!!) 

It's December, but that doesn't mean that thankfulness needs to stop. It's been good to reflect on each day and realize all that God has blessed me with. ... Hopefully I'll post again soon, but we'll see how bust life gets. Until then...

A Month of Thanksgiving: Days 14,15,16, & 17

I was hoping that I'd post every day in November, but alas I forgot just how busy life is. That being said, here's a catch up post for days 14-17 of things I am thankful for.

I'm thankful for my kids in fifth grade. They brighten up my week!
I'm thankful for my cooperating teacher and the parapro in the classroom who high-fived me when I told them I was skipping a day of my classes. They told me I deserved a break. ( :) )
I'm thankful for feedback on my lesson from Dr. Pennington. All of the comments and suggestions were so helpful and needed.
I'm thankful for Bethany and Anna. Working out with them after class is usually full of laughter and good talks.
I'm thankful for Janessa and her testimony of God's never failing faithfulness... and her wisdom!
I'm thankful for submitting my SIP (Senior Integration Paper) and having that done and out of the way!
I'm thankful for good conversations with friends!
I'm thankful for chess and Micah's willingness to play it with me... even when one game took almost 3 hours.
I'm thankful for Davey's Happy Monday texts... every day this week. Haha, it had me laughing!
I'm thankful for Faith, Sonya, and Damarise and the coffee date we had on Friday afternoon. Laughter and great conversation and then dinner at home with them filled with more laughter.
I'm thankful for Thanksgiving break and Grandma's generosity in flying Damarise and me to California to spend it with family.
I'm thankful for extended family and the chance to be here with them.

This week was busy... so busy! But also filled with many things to be thankful for!

A Month of Thanksgiving: Day 13

Today I'm thankful for warmth and coziness.

Warmth from the heat in our house this morning, the piping hot coffee I drank on my way to school, and Ginny's seat warmers that kept me warm on the drive down.

Coziness from snuggling under a blanket and Skyping with Mom and Dad, studying at Starbucks while drinking a hot chocolate Christmas drink, eating Janessa's amazing soup, and coming home to listen to Sufjan's new Christmas album while snuggling under a blanket to do homework.

I'm thankful!

Time for a Photo Update

I don't have time to write a lot, although if I could pick the perfect day to just sit down and write it would have to be a day like today. It has been raining non-stop since yesterday and it is the perfect weather to snuggle under some blankets with a warm cup of tea and write to my heart's content. However, time won't allow me to do that, so I'll leave most of the stories to the pictures, since pictures are worth a thousand words. 

1. Tomato plants. To the average person, getting tomato plants would be interesting and maybe a little cool. For me, they made my month! They were about the most wonderful thing anybody could ever give me. .... And here's the tale behind how I got them. 

Once upon a year ago there was Earth Day. Now for those of you who may remember I got two free Fraiser Fir trees from Lowe's for Earth Day last year. It was so exciting! I'd always wanted to grow and nurture something and trees that would live for over 80 years seemed perfect, not to mention they were free. Well, grow those trees did... until the day they died. It was sad. I ended up getting an aloe plant because those were easier to take care of (and I'm happy to report that it is still alive)! 

Well, this year Earth Day rolled around again. I googled what Lowe's was doing for Earth Day 2012 and found out they were giving away free trees again. I was elated! If at first you don't succeed try, try again, right? I had to go down to that part of town to get fingerprinted for Student Teaching, so I planned to head down on the free tree day. I was about to leave when the fingerprinting place called to tell me they had to cancel. I was bummed. I wasn't going to drive all the way down to that part of town just for free trees. I thought all hope was lost until I called Micah, since he lives closer to that part of town, I asked him if he would be going anywhere close to there and could maybe pick me up a free tree. He said probably not and I decided that that was that. I'd try nurturing a tree some other year. 

Then came the next day. I was sitting at work when Micah called and said to meet him outside cause he had trees for me. I was thrilled! (I know... it's strange...) I came outside and told Micah how excited I was. He told me that he had something to tell me though. Apparently it wasn't free tree day at Lowe's, but he felt bad coming back empty handed, so he bought me tomato plants! I was more than excited and thrilled! Tomato plants would not only be easier to keep alive, they would also produce something edible! I was SO excited! It was the best gift and I couldn't be more thankful! 

The plants are currently in a BIG pot basking in the sun and rain and growing fast. It's wonderful!

2. Virginia. She graduated last Saturday. She has been a wonderful RA to me the past two years and I am so thankful for her.

3. Hannah Brammer. She is amazing! She lived on our hall this past year and is from Germany. She can make anyone laugh and is so sweet and kind. Saturday at graduation we had to say goodbye to her and she went back to Germany. Who knows when I'll get to see her again, but I'm so thankful that God let her come to Covenant and let our paths cross. She has been a huge blessing to me.

4. Ohh Davey! Saturday after graduation Davey, Damarise, Janessa, and I went all around town just to hang out with each other before we all went out separate ways for the summer. It was fun.

5. All together until the fall. I miss them both already!

6. Damarise and I went to our first wedding in twelve years! We got to see one of our close friends here at Covenant get married to a wonderful man. It was beautiful.

7. Alicia and Karly – two of our amazing friends who we got to know from working B.E.S.T last summer.

8. The groom and bride – Paul and Kristin. They are an awesome couple!

9. Our first dinner of the summer. Chicken breast and salad. Yum!

10. Global Trends. I am currently in this class for three hours every morning and working in the afternoon for four hours. It is a lot, but it is good. I have learned SO much in this class and am thankful for the ways it has been opening my eyes to the world around me and to God's ever abounding grace!

11. Blue feet! We played footballish monkey in the middle the other night on a soccer field in the dark. Apparently it had weed killer on it. It made our feet blue. It was hilarious. 

There's a little update in pictures until I can sit down and write more. Maybe after May when I'm done with my class and have time to think about something other than homework. We shall see. 

Sprrring Brrreak!

Spring break has come and gone and it was fabulous! I couldn't have asked for a better, more restful, more fun break. It was chocked full of great memories. Here are just a few snapshots from the week.

We cooked meals...

Got entertained by Abby (Grandma's dog) who loved Davey...

We toured Kansas City... 

Saw some fun sights... 

Did some crazy things... 

Cooked some amazing meals... 

played lots of chess...

Enjoyed each others' company...

Laughed a ton...

Told stories, said great quotes, listened to music...

 and had an incredible time together!

I love these four and I'm so thankful for them! Spending a week together reminded me just how much God has blessed me with the friends He has put in my life. They are a blessing to me! And over break that became even more evident. I love laughing with them, being encouraged by them, just sitting down and talking for hours with them, watching movies and playing games with them, and just being with them. I'm thankful! God has blessed me! And Spring Break was beyond the best!

Friendship

Sunday afternoon lunch. Cheeburger Cheeburger. Laughter. Stories. Encouragement. 

These girls are amazing. I'm so thankful for their friendship!

Happy Thanksgiving! (Thankful: Day 24)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am especially thankful for Janessa and the Chupp family. They've welcomed Damarise and me in for thanksgiving and are wonderful :)

I'm thankful for Janessa's friendship and that God has kept us friends the past three years.

Today's thanksgiving was great!

"Say Yes! To M!Ch!Gan!"

Michigan.

Thanksgiving Break.

Chupp Family.

Ruth.

Friends. 

Roadtrip.

YES!

Never Have I Ever

Never have I ever cut hair.

Wait. Sorry. I take that back. Never have I ever cut hair well. I'm sure my mom could tell you about the time I felt ambitious. Cutting hair? No big deal, right? Wrong. Mom let me practice on my little brother, Ian, because if worse came to worse he could just get a buzz. Let's just say that worse came to worse. I cut his hair alright. And Ian got a buzz. His hair was unfixable.

But that was at least four years ago. Let's move ahead to the present – Saturday night. Janessa and I were bored. So bored in fact that we borrowed hair cutting scissors. Janessa wanted to try cutting her hair and I said I was more than willing to help. Surely four years changes my hair cutting abilities, or lack there of. Then again, maybe it doesn't.

Janessa cut the front of her hair and it didn't look bad. In fact it looked great. She got the side swept bangs looking perfect and I was impressed. And that impressed feeling turned to me feeling like I could do it too! And so came time for the back of her hair to be cut. She turned to me and placed the scissors in my hands. Ah! The power.

Layers. That's what she wanted. Layers? Oh! I can do layers! Not hard at all, right? Pull the hair out, snip, snip, layer one – done! And after I was done hacking away, her hair definitely had layers.

For those who want a picture painted in your mind of what her hair looked like, imagine rice fields in China. Or a staircase. Or strip mining. Either of the images would give you a good idea of what the back of her head looked like.

Whoops.

And so I found out, yet again, hair cutting may not be the profession for me. Unless of course people want the strip mining look, cause I can do that pretty well.

For those of you wanting a good ending to this story. There is one. After much laughing, we went down the hall to Katie. Katie cuts hair. She has all the supplies. She's done it for years. And she's good at it. She fixed Janessa's hair, after looking at it in shock, and Janessa now has a very cute hair cut.

As for me, I'm laying down the scissors for now, and will instead admire the people who cut hair. Because it is not an easy job, no matter how easy it may look.

Also, a few words of advice, if you are bored, I'd recommend not cutting someone's hair unless a good hair cutter is nearby to fix what you have done. It's just a good idea, cause you never know if you'll end up with the staircase look.

Saturday

Sun shining.

Windows rolled down.

Music playing.

Wonderful friends.

Coffee at Pasha's.

Friendly baristas.

Walking through neighborhoods.

Flowers blooming.

Skyping with the family.

Thrift store shopping.

Today was a good Saturday.

"It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood!"

The birds are singing, my windows are open, the sun is shining. And oh! what a beautiful day it is in the neighbourhood!

I. love. springtime.

The trees budding, daffodils bursting into bloom, and the perfect warm weather with a slight breeze. Ah, what a perfect season to come after winter.

This weekend brought in the first day of Spring and we spent every moment we could outdoors enjoying the Spring weather. (And yes, the first line of Mr. Roger's famous song may have possible been sung by me every time I stepped outside ;).)

We started off the weekend by eating outside at a BBQ restaurant.

We also went to a nearby park...

And "played" football. I realized, again, that I cannot throw a football for the life of me. A little boy joined us and could throw the football a lot better than me. Hm. I'm pretty sure he laughed at me every time I threw it.

The river was still a bit chilly...

But the city was beautiful. "A beautiful day in the neighbourhood" may be an understatement, because downtown Chattanooga was overly beautiful!

Sunday afternoon we had a wonderful time of worship and fellowship at church. After church, we got to Skype with our family. (A smiley face doesn't do justice to how we really looked... picture me and Damarise with the most ridiculous cheesy grins on our faces... we were pretty excited!) With the time change and Damarise and I in class or at work all day, the only time we get a chance to talk with the family is on the weekend. It was wonderful to catch up on their lives and hear about what is going on with them in Africa.

After skyping, we went to Cloudland Canyon to study outdoors in the, once again, beautiful weather.

Damarise and I found a katydid shell :)

The weather was great and the company was just as great.

The weekend ended, and Covenant College beckoned us back for another week of classes, papers, work, tests, and life.

But, it was a perfect weekend full of beautiful days in the neighbourhood.

Overflowing with Thankfulness

I got a planner for Christmas this year. It has been one of the biggest blessings (and life savers) of my life. I didn't realize how disorganized my life was until I had a planner and realized how simple life could've been. I guess some lessons are learned from trial and error, eh?

Last Sunday as I was looking ahead for what the week would bring I wrote down Colossians 2:6-7 in my planner – ‎"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

What a perfect verse for this week. This week I have been overflowing with thankfulness. My planner was filled with homework at the beginning of the week and by the end of the week it was filled with events that I hadn't expected and blessings on every day.

One major blessing was the possibility of a summer job. Since Damarise and I will have no home for the summer, we were basically freed up to go just about anywhere. On Friday somebody from WinShape Camps was on Covenant's campus interviewing possible camp counselors. Damarise and I, spur of the moment, applied on Wednesday and got interviewed for a job on Friday. The interview went very well, and now we're just waiting to see if we have a possibility for a summer job.

The rest of the blessings this week are the countless ways God has blessed me through friends. He has blessed me with amazing friends here. It's such an encouragement to know that even though our family will soon be half way across the world we have brothers and sisters in Christ here who care for us, love us, and encourage us.

When I got out of my interview Friday, my RA, Virginia, and I went downtown to a little bakery to sit and chat for a bit. It was a great way to begin the weekend and Virginia is a huge encouragement. I'm so thankful for her leadership on our hall.

Friday night, Micah, Davey, Janessa, Damarise and I went to Chik-Fil-A because four of us had gotten a coupon for a free milk shake from our interviewer. We had a fun time laughing, talking, and just being with each other.

Saturday morning Damarise and I woke up early and hung out at a coffee shop with Micah for a bit. It was great to start our Saturday early, and also nice to hang out with a friend.

Also, Damarise is an amazing photographer. She's updating her Flickr account once again (YES!) So be sure to check it out. I'm a proud younger sister!

This weekend the weather was beautiful! It was in the mid 60s all weekend. Damarise and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent our Saturday hiking down the mountain.

We hiked about 8 miles.

And had a ton of fun along the way.

Today we went to the early service at LMPC. It was great. The Pastor is going through the book of Matthew right now and it has been very good.

When we got back to our room we Skyped with the family. :) They make me overflow with thankfulness anytime I talk with them.

Once again the weather was beautiful, so we hung outside and talked (or rested) while enjoying the beauty of God's creation.

This week has been a tremendous blessing all around. I'm thankful to God for all that He has provided – amazing friends, great time in His Word, family, beautiful weather, and the blessing of knowing Him more.

I am overflowing with thankfulness.

God is good!

An 800 word paper due Friday is beckoning me right now, but I am taking a break from that to do other writing. Using writing as a break from writing seems a little strange, but blogging is fun to do, and so much happened this week that I need to share it.

The first week of classes of second semester sophomore year is over. I feel like this week has been chocked full of business. And when this week ended all I can do is look back and laugh, thanking God for His faithfulness throughout this week.

It's been a good first week. Busy? Yes. Good? Indeed. Already this semester is looking better than last semester. There have been many laughs, stress, prayer, and meals shared this week.

I started back into a long work shift on Tuesday, complete with accidently getting nothing right. I messed up on everything I printed that morning, but my bosses are very forgiving and showed me what I did wrong. It was an interesting start back into work. But I think I'm back into the hang of things ... I think.

I dropped a class for the first time ever and I'm glad I did it. I didn't realize how stressful this semester would be. It's not necessarily the classes that are stressful, but also the fact that at some point in this semester I will be saying goodbye to my family as they head back to Zambia.

The fact that my family will be heading back to Zambia soon may be stressful, but it brings me to another reason why this week has been good. God is good! This semester I have no work or classes until 9:30 or 10:00. I love mornings, so I don't mind getting up early. Because of this I have had wonderful and long times in God's Word and praying. It's been a great start to every day. Damarise and I are also meeting with Janessa every Friday morning to share what we are learning from God, what we need prayer on, and just encouraging one another through the Word. It's been wonderful. God has been so faithful, and even though my family may be moving overseas, God is always near and He is with our whole family even if we are separated by an ocean. It's been a good reminder this week and I'm thankful for God's Word to remind me of that.

Another good thing is the friendships that are being strengthened. I've never lived around friends 24/7 and I've never been in the same place for more than 10 months (besides a few places). It's been wonderful to put down some roots here in Georgia and delve into great, strong friendships. I love it.

This week has been full of time with friends. Janessa always welcomes me into her room and always gives a listening ear to my silly stories, my messed up American idioms, and my struggles. She gives me advice and is always encouraging. My hall, Imani, got together this Thursday for a hall meeting. It was wonderful. And I don't say that lightly. God has blessed our hall with great girls. We all get along well together and spur one another to love and good works.

Today topped off the week. Micah took Damarise, Austin, Janessa and me to a little bakery in the middle of town to get some amazing donuts. Then we went to Pasha's coffee shop. (Which was an amazing coffee shop!) We sipped hot coffee while talking about school, life, God, future plans and silly stories.

I am truly thankful to God for the friends He has given me. Right now as I type this I'm looking out my window. I can see the mountains of Georgia and the sun getting ready to set. I'm so thankful that God has continued to provide for Damarise and me to be here at Covenant. I'm thankful for the friendships He has given me. I'm thankful for His Word and the time He has given me to be in it. I'm thankful for my job, even when I do muff things up. I'm thankful for a good first week. I'm thankful for the conversations and prayers this week. I'm thankful that God is faithful. I'm thankful that I can trust Him knowing that He is sovereign over all.

Thank you, God.