The Need to Brag

So today I was just thinking about how proud I am of my husband and some friends of ours for running a 5K this morning and the longer I thought about that, the more people I am proud of popped into my head. Some were for big reasons, others for smaller ones. I decided I needed to make a list. So here it is...

I'm proud of:
1. my sweet Ethan for running the 5K in less than 30 minutes. also for finishing a really long and hard semester beautifully.
2. my dad for cleaning out the garage, which sounds small, but it is a huge physical and emotional undertaking.
3. my mom for being willing to make the 7 hour drive out here just to see her daughter.
4. my sister, Molly, for freaking being an oncology nurse and for allowing the Holy Spirit in her to be the peace her patients and their families need during these hard times.
5. my amazing friend Heather for all the selfless work she does. being a missionary in the US cannot be an easy task and she does an incredible job.
6. my precious friend Jaime Lyn for going through the tough stuff to, ultimately follow God's call in her life.
7. my stunning friend Amanda for allowing God to mold her into the amazing woman of God she has become. (and her fiance, Seth, for realizing that and putting a ring on her finger!)
8. my beautiful friend Kimmie for literally being the walking example of "the joy of the Lord is my strength."
9. my brilliant friend Elissa for being an incredible writer. i read her blog each update and am amazed at how someone can put words together like that.
10. my hilarious friend Mochelle, for beasting that 5K and working her butt off even when she doesn't feel like it. she's an inspiration.
11. our friends Brent and Patti for following God all the way to Scotland.
12. our friend Rob who is serving God overseas (and who we get to see in just a few months!).
13. our friend Andy for being adventurous and experiencing the world.
14. my friend D'Ann for having the guts to have conversations that aren't so much fun, all in an effort to build her friendships.
15. my cousin Evan for finding his niche and devoting time and energy into becoming better at it.
16. my friend Drew (who I've known since he was about 6?) for graduating high school and memorizing the whole book of James to get his driver's license.
17. my cousin Issey for her incredible art and for being accepted into the Pratt School of Art and Design.
18. my friend Heather (who I haven't seen in forever) for being the cutest mom of preschoolers I've ever seen!
19. my friend Morgan (again who I haven't seen in forever...thank goodness for facebook) for being the cutest mom of all boys I've ever seen.


that's all for right now. i'm sure i'll come up with loads more as soon as i post this. i just wanted to get the list out while it was on my mind.

I always forget...

As I go through my day I usually think of things to post on my blog. Somehow, though, when I get home and to the computer I never remember what it was. And if for some reason I do remember if I put it off until later and then by then I've forgotten. Oh well. My life really isn't all that interesting and I flatter myself by thinking anyone would want to read about it. Nevertheless, I still post about my life.

If you have been reading this you know I am at a new job this semester. The Lord graciously provided it for me. I did not like it so much at first, to be honest with you. It was hard and tiring, the kids were mean and I could not control them. I prayed and prayed for God to teach me what it was He wanted me to learn so I could get the heck out of there. I just wanted to know my purpose for being in that place. Well, the past two weeks, the Lord revealed to me His reason for putting me there, one of them at least. I cannot go into detail on the internet about what happened, but I truly believe that God used me to show His love to some of the children I work with and they have responded. Not responded by accepting Him into their life, but by opening up to me in ways they do not usually do with other people. My heart has been broken for 2 weeks, especially for this one particular little girl. It has been hard, but I know that the God who loves me is providing me with strength to get through it and consequently, I have found much joy in my job lately, even through the sadness. I am so thankful for my God!

Just wanted to share that with you. Maybe it will be an encouragement to you in your life. But more than anything, for those that read this that pray for me, THANK YOU! God answered!

Spring Break, Part 2

So camping...didn't go. The campground was booked. We were bummed, considering I had already packed everything up and was ready to go. Instead, I sat on the porch to read and ended up hanging out with my good friends from across the street instead. So relaxing!

When Ethan came home, we got ready and went to eat sushi. It was absolutely delicious. We were walking around the bookstore about to go get some ice cream when our friends called to see if we wanted to hang out with them. We ended up having such a wonderful time bowling, playing cards, drinking coffee, watching the Office and eating cake. We are truly blessed with fabulous friends!

So the last real day of spring break is today and we are going to take it easy. We might play
tennis... I might go shopping for a little craft project I am dying to do (if it works out, I'll post a picture). Other than that, this will be an actual day of taking a break.

Here's pictures from bowling last night...

Spring Break, Part 1

Wow, I really am a terrible blogger. I think of things throughout the day that would make a great small post, but I never seem to make it to my computer at that moment to post it. So, instead, I end up waiting forever and then posting a big update, which I know is boring for everyone.

So this spring break has been good. It's the first one in a few years that I have not had to work, which is partly cool, but mostly boring, which in turn means restful, so it's really not all that bad.

We've done a lot of little things, but one of the most fun was date day on Tuesday. We planted our garden in the morning. We ate lunch together, then we got ready to go out. We went to the Kimbell to see the new exhibit, "Art and Love in Renaissance Italy." It was pretty good. After that, we went to the Fort Worth Water Gardens and enjoyed that new experience. It was really cool, so if you come to visit us, we will take you there! Then we walked around downtown, found a Starbucks, and sat outside drinking iced coffee. We came back home and cooked burgers on the grill and a cup of coffee later. It was the perfect day!

our feet in the water at the water gardens.

Rejuvenation

Maybe it's just me, but I really do not like the winter. During the cold months, I don't just sit around and thing about how much I hate the cold, but when spring finally starts flowing in and that warm breeze blows my hair around like crazy, I realize how much I missed the warmth and how much I truly dislike being cold. I feel rejuvenated by the weather lately. I wake up, open the windows and stay busy all day. I have more energy and want nothing more than to be outside. It is a wonderful time of year and I am so glad that it is here!

Also, just an update:
Went to my cousin, Angela's wedding. It was a blast! She looked gorgeous and planned one super fun party. I traveled to Tallahassee for the wedding with my aunt Anita, who as it turns out is a fabulous travel buddy. We met up with the rest of my family there. This is a picture of the fam (minus Ethan who couldn't go with us).














This past Thursday, I drove over to Dallas to hear my cousin, Issey, play at coffee shop. She's amazingly musically talented and she is a beautiful artist. She is only 17 and did such a great job. I have a feeling she is going to really make a name for herself with her art and music.















Some other good news...Ethan is finished with this weird class he was taking that kept him out of the house both Tuesday and Thursday nights. This pretty much meant that we didn't get to spend a lot of time together during the week and our weekends were booked with random things or studying. I am super excited to have him back at home. YAY!

Thanks for reading this. I know my life is not exciting, but God is good and working in our lives. We couldn't be any happier.

Mardi Gras in Texas

I love Mardi Gras. I grew up going to New Orleans regularly with my parents all the time, but especially Mardi Gras. Seeing as we live 9 hours away from the Big Easy, we have to make our own fun here. We invited a bunch of our friends over for a Mardi Gras/Oscars party. We had red beans and rice, crawfish ettoufe, cornbread, white chocolate bread pudding, and of course King cake (my favorite bread item ever). Add some coffee and it was a fabulous evening.

I love that our friends will come cram into our itty bitty apartment, be willing to sit on the floor or stand up, so that we can have a good time. We truly had a blast. We laughed the whole time! I feel blessed to have that many amazing people in my life.

My friend, Patti, brougt me some grapefruit when she came. It was HUGE! Seriously, it was the biggest piece of fruit I've seen. Here's the line up:















It literally dwarfs the other produce. It is a locally grown grapefruit too. So maybe it is true what they say: everything's bigger in Texas?

This week is going to be good. I did not have to work today so I am cooking Indian chicken curry for some friends of ours that are moving to Scotland soon. Then, on Friday I am flying to Tallahassee for my cousin's wedding. More on that later

Have a fun day

Awesome

Turns out that not having a real job is awesome when you only have a 4 day work week. My weekend begins tonight at 6ish. Awesome.

This is really only awesome because the kids exhaust me. I really do not love being at home all day with out much to do. But somehow I find ways to stay busy and get things done. Taking care of Ethan is really a top priority and that is really fun!