Once Again Reminded...

So I've been waiting for tonight for a few days now. Tonight you could see Venus and Jupiter lined up in the southwest sky. They will not be lined up this closely together again until 2015. They were so bright and sparkly. It was just beautiful. I went out to see them. Then I came and got Ethan and we looked at them together. Then we had to run across the street to pick up something from a friend and we showed her too. It seriously was neat to me just to stand outside on the balcony and watch these two planets glisten in the sky. They are so huge and so far away. I mean it's a whole other planet! Two of them. It was stunning.

I am always taken aback by the sky. Seriously, we are so tiny. Our lives really are just a vapor. The fact that God chooses us, chooses to show himself to us and have relationships with us, is just amazing. It's really beyond comprehension sometimes. He just loves us that much and lets us in on the beauty and complexity of his creation. It is so vast we can't comprehend how big it is and yet we can stand on the balcony and look at it. Pretty cool.

Since the Last Time...

So it's been a while. I seem to write that a lot. I am not a good blogger. I know that.
But since the last time I posted:
1. We went to see the Impressionist Exhibit at the Kimbell. It was seriously one of the coolest things we've done here. The paintings we got to see up close were unreal.

2.My mom and sister visited. We literally shopped til we dropped. We spent an ungodly amount of time at the Shoe Gypsy (but can you really ever spend too much time in a shoe store?). Got some way fun flats for Christmas from Mom.

3. We got to visit with our fun friend from college, Andy. He was driving through town and he spent the night. So good to see him!

4. We saw COLDPLAY! It was the most incredible concert we've ever been to. It was a magical musical experience. You may laugh at me for that, but seriously, it was!

5. Ethan's family came to visit. It was a blast! We had a lot of fun hanging out with them. It had been way too long since we'd seen them.

6. We got a keyboard!! Ethan's parents gave us a a great keyboard for Christmas a little early! It has been so much fun to play again. Ethan and I love it!

7. We saw Four Christmases. It was really funny!

8. Thanksgiving! We went to Mission Arlington to work with my sweetest friend Heather. We delivered turkeys and hot meals to about 460 people or so. Overall, the Mission served about 20,000 people. It was truly a joy to serve others that morning. Also, since we didn't go home for the holidays, my aunt Anita had us over to their house in Dallas for a big Thanksgiving feast. It was a great time with fabulous food. My cousin, Issey, is an amazing cook. Even most the vegan stuff was wonderful!

9. We decorated for Christmas. Our tree is up, the wreath is hanging, the nativity is displayed. It looks so pretty in our tiny apartment living room.

10. Finally, we are resting! We are taking a break from school work and writing papers and are enjoying doing nothing! It is a wonderful feeling!

Nothing new...

Here's a picture from Puerto Rico. We got to visit the highest waterfall in the country. It was beautiful! Didn't get to stay long, just enough time to snap a picture. That was a great trip!

Things are going great. I went to a conference this past weekend for work. I was not looking forward to it at all and sure there were some parts that I did not enjoy one bit, but I learned some wonderful things. We got to hear from women that have been working with children for up to 40 years and just benefit from their wisdom. My assistant teacher and I both tried to emulate as much as possible today and it literally changed the game in our classroom. It was the smoothest Monday we have ever experienced so far this school year. I am so thankful for it! God really knew we needed it.

Ethan has a lot going on at the church right now and he is also really busy with school. It's midterms time! I am hoping that he stays calm and well rested. I know he'll be great! Sometimes it is just hard to stay focused when things get crazy.

Well that's it for now. If you get a second and want to read a cool passage of Scripture, try Psalm 34:12-16. Really spoke to me yesterday in church. It was a nice reminder of how to live.

Have a fun day

Just some thoughts...

Well, here's a picture from camping, in the hammock. I didn't realize at the time that my hair is crazy, but that's what happens with curly hair in the outdoors.

I have been in a funk lately. My job is really crazy right now and it is wearing me down. My kids are cute and all, but they are just full of energy...is that the right way to put it? They are cute too. But I am realizing that I am having all bad days. When I am at work I am stressed and frustrated. There are many reasons for this, I am sure, but the few that I've come up with are these: I am not surrounded by the happy, positive people anymore and also my attitude is not super great. Basically, there are two options: Quit or Change. I will not quit. I love my job and I love teaching kids. So I'm pretty much left with change, which is much much harder. I have a feeling that the next several months of my life will be full of prayer and more prayer. I can't do it alone. Thankfully, I have God to rely on and lean on in my time of frustration. He is ultimately the source of joy and peace. I have got to learn to tap into that more than I am doing now. Also, I have an amazing husband who loves me and listens when I come home worn out or upset. I couldn't ask for a better partner or best friend! I also have some fabulous friends that I know pray for me and understand. They will listen too, but I know they can make me laugh. I am a pretty blessed girl! I just need to stay positive!

Can't believe September is over. Fall is officially here and I am trying to figure out how to decorate my apartment. I am not all that crafty. We will see!

Have a fun day!

Sometimes you just gotta get away...

This week was a busy one for us. We had our usual class and work schedule, but we also had to attend a conference for one of our classes. The whole conference was on the church and it was very scholarly. It pretty much made my brain hurt. After the conference, we both had to go to class and then to work. By the end of Friday, I was exhausted from thinking and busyness. So we decided what we needed was a camping trip! We wanted to get away from TV, computers, music, noise, everything. Luckily, there is a great campsite only 15 or 20 minutes away from our apartment. When I got home from work, Ethan already had the car packed and we jumped in and headed out. We got to the campsite, made a fire, set up our tent and cooked dinner. It was fabulous! We just sat in our camp chairs around the fire and talked. Sometimes we didn't talk, we just watched the fire or the stars and simply listened to the nature surrounding us that God made and put there for us to enjoy. We were really able to relax.
Saturday morning, we got up, ate breakfast, tore down camp and headed home. We spent most of Saturday shopping for Ethan's birthday. We had a great time doing that to. It was really fun just to be able to spend the whole weekend just being together. We didn't focus on school or anything. Just each other. We are very thankful for this time to decompress and highly recommend a break for anyone who feels a little stressed out.

Have a fun day

Another Week...of two...

Well, it's been another crazy few weeks. We are just really busy and it feels like we never have time to settle down. But we are really enjoying the semester so far. My kids are getting better at work and Ethan is getting used to constantly reading for school. We were going to go to Houston this weekend for a wedding, but because of the hurricane, the wedding was cancelled. So I am enjoying my day off, hanging out at home with Ethan. It has been a gorgeous day and I cannot believe that in about 24 hours we are going to be experiencing tropical storm Ike.

Ethan's birthday is coming up next weekend and we are looking at going to the Jazz Fest downtown. Hopefully that will be wonderful.

Can't believe it's already almost halfway through September. Time is really flying.

Worst Blogger Ever?

So I know I am the worst blogger ever. It has been 3 months since I've update. But a lot has been going on...

Having a long break from school was great. But it was weird to be "adults" this summer and actually have 40 hour a week jobs. It was great though. We are enjoying this new stage of our lives. Speaking of jobs...I got a promotion at work that will begin in December. I will become the Lead Teacher of a room, which provides a complete scholarship for school that Ethan and I can share. This is a huge blessing!

We had a great cookout in June, the Summer Solstice Cookout. We had about 20 friends so up and eat burgers & hotdogs and play lots of ultimate frisbee. We are very thankful for the new friends we've made here.

Our 2 year anniversary was July 1. We didn't go on a trip this year, but we did go eat at Texas de Brazil, which is incredible. If you have not eaten there, I highly suggest it! I can't believe we've been married for 2 years now. It has flown by and we are having the time of our lives.

We went to Puerto Rico on a mission trip with our church. That was one of the best trips I've been on. God worked in some amazing ways. We got to see Him do things that only He can do loved getting to tell everyone about it! We are very thankful to have had the opportunity to go on that trip together. It was neat for Ethan to see where I spent a full summer of my life right before I met him. I got to see some fun friends again. Puerto Rico is one of the most beautiful places. We enjoyed the mountains and the beach. What a blessing to get to experience God's creation in that way!

Two weeks after that, we went to Mississippi for a mission trip on the coast with a group from our church. I got to go early and spend a few days with my family first. It was really nice. The trip to the coast was very nice. We worked really hard and got a lot done. It was also really cool for Ethan and I to see the progress they have made down there. We haven't been in about 1 1/2 years and a lot has been done. Proud to be from Mississippi!

When we got back from Mississippi, it was time to start school again. We both love our classes, but have a full semester ahead of us. We are working hard to be disciplined and keep up with everything. Work for me is crazy. I am not used to children this young and I am really trusting the Lord to give me His strength because that is the only way I am going to make it in there.

That's it for now. I will try to do better with my updates. Thanks for reading! :)