Saturday, March 29, 2014

2 WEEKS!

I haven't written much in the past week, but not because I haven't wanted to, more because thing are crazy! I don't know about you, but around here I feel like we have already entered the spring busyness. It seems like almost every day there is some sort of event, field trip or activity at my school. Not to mention that we are all dying for a break! Spring break is in two weeks and it cannot come fast enough!

Will just finished working on a pilot and has a short break before his next show. I am thrilled because we really weren't sure if he would have another break.

We (somewhat last minute) decided that we should go somewhere for my spring break, mostly because we just realized Will would be off too & this is pretty much our only chance for a vacation for a while. Once he starts back on Sleepy Hollow, he will be working like crazy, probably until late fall. We had originally planned on a trip out west this summer, but we started to realize that probably wouldn't happen so we decided to go for something over spring break. I did some research & we booked flights to Mexico. We're headed to a small island called Isla Mujeres, which is near Cancun. I am SO excited and cannot wait for warm weather, lots of time for reading & just exploring a new place. Here is a picture of where we are headed:



So pretty much, we're just trucking along for the next two weeks until we can get here :)

Happy Saturday; hope it's a restful one!

Friday, March 21, 2014

TGIF

It's sunny and it's Friday!! It is pajama day, ice cream sundae day (to celebrate students birthdays) and the middle school dance is tonight. In other words, it's CHAOS around here!! 

TGIF, y'all. Hope your day is filled with as much joy as mine (and maybe slightly less hyperactivity).

(I'm wearing a onesie)

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Ugly Beauties

Last night my dear friend, Laura, and I were talking about the ugly beauties of life. We are still reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and she talks about these in the book. She talks about perception and the way we look at these sometime ugly things & change them into ugly beauties. 

My day looked like a lot of ugly beauties. Seriously. And I spent most of my day thinking "that is annoying and very ugly" and then trying to switch my mindset to "I am thankful I have _____."

Here are some of my ugly beauties today:
Alarm clocks going off so early   (I have a job to wake up for..)
The internet was down at work   (we have internet & other luxuries)
LOUD students   (they are full of joy and laughter)
Computer issues   (funny that these are my issues, again, thankful to OWN a computer)
Crumbs & messes left from kids in my car   (I get to spend time with sweet kids who love this time so much I had to BEG them to get out of the car today)

So it was a ugly beautiful day. At first glance, I would have labeled this day a 
"bad day," but it really wasn't once I changed my perspective. Sorry if you're getting sick of me talking about perspective and focusing on the good, it just keeps coming up in my life :)

(Quoting a woman who began focusing on gratitude), Ann Voskamp writes, "I can feel the gratitude starting to soak into my soul."

I love that. Let it seep in & change us.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Reunions, the dirty D & other shenanigans.

I'm sitting in bed on this rainy Sunday afternoon getting some schoolwork done while Will films today. It has actually been nice to get things organized and in order for the week. I'm also beginning to notice the tiniest scratchiness in my throat so I will soon be on a mad search for EmergenC or Air Borne ... I will NOT get sick!

I spent Friday night with some of my favorite people in the world, catching up on life, jobs, etc. After work, I drove up to Durham to see some of my college roommates. We grabbed dinner here, sitting outside with the lights & heaters made it picture perfect except let's be honest, the food was too delicious to be taking pictures. We walked around for a bit and headed back to their house for a night full of catching up. As predicted, we didn't do much more than sit and chat for hours (wouldn't have wanted anything else), most of that time was spent sitting on floor talking. There were plenty of couches and seats available but we all congregated in the kitchen and plopped on the floor while munching on warm chocolate chips cookies. It felt like it had been forever since I'd seen them, but  just a few months had passed. We still had plenty to talk about and I enjoyed every moment spent there. It was totally worth the drive!



Saturday morning, I grabbed coffee with my sweet friend, Alex, at an awesome local coffee shop (that Will would have loved), which left me missing living so close to these girls and local coffee shops. [Wilmington is severely lacking in this department & sadly we just have a bunch of Starbucks & Port City Javas]. 

I am so thankful for friendships that last for years & people who bring so much joy into my life. I'm hopeful that we will continue girls weekends for years to come.

While writing this I took a break to down some Air Borne; cheers, y'all. Here's to a good, HEALTHY week!


Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The flu invasion

I've been a little MIA from this space because the flu has invaded our house. Will started feeling not too good on Sunday and thought it was strep, but after a quick strep test that came back negative we assumed it was sinus related. Sunday night he was up all night sniffling and uncomfortable due to an achey body which meant that I, too, was up all night. He really isn't a wimp with sickness, I'm just a lighter sleeper now and I couldn't sleep much with all the getting up, not to mention I felt pretty bad for him. Around 4:45 AM, we decided to just get up. Will, sadly, had to go into work, fever/chills and all. He was desperately searching for someone to cover him, but it seemed everyone was working on something else or [obviously] was not awake at 5 AM. I put a kettle of water on for some tea and starred off in space, feeling pretty sorry for myself and my lack of sleep. Fortunately, I did settle in with my devotional [My Utmost for His Hightest] and spent a few sleepy moments offering up my day, or rather, desperately praying that I would have an easy day :)



It started out as "one of those days," where the smallest things happen and you just start to crumble immediately. My students were great and it actually turned into a very easy day of teaching. Will was able to find a replacement around 10 AM and came home and slept most of the day. I got home yesterday afternoon and began cleaning like crazy, hoping to rid our house of these nasty germs [and prevent myself from getting it]. After getting things sanitized, I settled in with a book for a relaxing afternoon. The house was quiet with two nappers [Will & Clyde] and I savored the time. 

Its Day 3 of the sickness for Will and at this point he is still sleeping. I'm hoping that when he wakes, he'll be feeling better or at least part of the way there. Thankfully he is off again today. Sickness is no fun, but hopefully we'll be a healthy house again soon!





Thursday, March 6, 2014

Longing for beauty

We long to be united with the beauty, to bathe in it & become part of it." -C. S. Lewis

Oh Mr. Lewis, you were so wise and incredibly good with words. Isn't that all we've ever longed for ... to see beauty, experience it and live in it?

My friend and I are still reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and I continue to find myself scratching down word after word in my journal. This week the chapter we're on is talking about perspective & beauty. What does it look like to see God & His beauty? Voskamp says, "We give God the most glory when we're fully alive & we're most fully alive beholding God." While studying this, I looked up the word "beholding" because I've begun to love words and why authors choose certain words. "Behold," according to my dictionary, means "to see or observe a thing or person, especially a remarkable one." If we are beholding God, then we are fully seeing his greatness and beauty; and if we are doing that, then isn't it much easier to be FULL of joy?

I've spent the last few days thinking on this and letting this idea seep into my mind throughout the day. Taking note of the laughter of children, the smiles on wrinkled faces and the rain hitting the window while I sit cozy inside. Isn't it all about perspective? If we choose to see the beauty, relish in it and speak thanks for it, then we are truly living. 

Yesterday, I felt fully alive. My heart was beating fast, my hands were shaking & my mind was racing [honestly, I think I'm a little weird that my body responds this way when I'm excited ... a little dramatic, body.] We began our ESL class for the parents of our tutoring kids. I sat in on the class and was BEAMING the whole time. Y'all, their faces! They were thrilled to have the opportunity to learn English; they were full of joy! I sat further back and observed, accidentally [excitedly] yelling out, "YES! good job!" when a mom caught on to something. In the background were the tutoring kids running, laughing and every so often peeking in to "check on their parents." It was beautiful. Every little piece of it; from the volunteers, to the parents nervously giving a few English phrases a try, to moms of different cultures connecting over conversations about cooking & cleaning. I long for that daily, to see beauty so clearly. 

Ann Voskamp says, "Praying with eyes wide open is the only way to pray without ceasing." Absolutely, amen. Let's open our eyes and behold all the goodness around us.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Life Updates

A few life updates:

1. [Probably the most hilarious update]: Somehow I found myself coaching two science olympiad teams this year. As a child my mom asked me if I was interested in doing this and I laughed! Funny how this all comes full circle, right? I honestly was clueless and fumbled my way through the preparation [half of the content was WAY over my head]. The competition was on Saturday, an all day event at UNCW, with thousands of middle schoolers. Y'all, it was insane! My school did fantastic & beat out schools way bigger than ours. Our entire science olympiad team (18 kids) will advance to the state competition. (And I had just been thinking how nice it would be to have my afternoons back ...)! But really, I am pumped for them & my competitive side is coming out. We are already back to studying/preparing like crazy. The kids I'm coaching are the best & I am so proud!


2. I'm almost afraid to write this on here because then it means people will be holding me accountable & it will be real, but I am planning on doing a sprint triathlon this summer. It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time, but never had time for it or all the other million excuses. I actually did a few sprint triathlons as a child & really enjoyed them. I think it will feel good to get back into training mode & compete in something. I do have a tendency of saying that I will compete in something and then as it gets closer, I back out, but I really want to do this!
It's not until June so I have plenty of time to prepare! Lately, I have just been feeling blah and wanting to get into better shape, so go big or go home, right?



3. It's back to life with the little orangey and me while Will is working long hours. I'm getting back into the swing of things & relearning to enjoy alone time. Hot tea, warmer weather (well, at least before today), and good books make it a lot easier.


Happy Tuesday! Praying for warmer weather ASAP!