Playing catch up. A little.

Whew! Things have been busy over here!

We spent last Thursday until this past Tuesday traveling to and from Charleston, SC. We stopped in Virginia to see my Granddad, too. I took a few pictures in Charleston that I'm excited to share sometime later this week.

As soon as we got home my parents arrived to visit. We are so so so blessed to have family who loves us and comes to spend time with us (even though they've been here three times since we last went to their house!). We ate delicious meals, ran some errands, drove downtown to see my new classroom, devoured a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, and laid around the house trying to keep cool.

We also had two mornings with the junior high kids during their summer service week. It was really fun to watch them work hard at the tasks set before them... so encouraging to see kids growing up well.

It's been hot and we are using all our AC units. Tonight we'll open the windows and let the cool breeze freshen up our rooms. I love sleeping in the summer.

Stay tuned for vacation photos and some of my musings as I mentally and spiritually prepare for Granada. We leave in 11 days. 

This is the plan, too!!

I'm sitting in a classroom that is finally quiet after a field trip and salad party for the sixth graders. The class I got today is one of the worst behaved I've "taught" this year. Taught is in parenthesis because no teaching happened this week. Certainly not today.

Though I was dying for the day to be over so I could escape from the loudness, the bad attitudes, the rudeness, I'm also feeling a little bit sad.

Because truthfully, I will miss these kids. I know so many of their names from being in the building all year. I know some of their stories. I know how to get them back on track, I know their struggles, I know their strengths. Over the last month, I imagined myself subbing here next year, having some of them again. I came to grips with the idea of being just a sub. Again.

But that's not the plan, apparently, and boy am I glad.

It's not the plan because this afternoon I accepted a job to teach fourth grade full-time next year. 

I get to work in the city. I get to teach my own kids. I get to set up my own classroom. I get to build relationships with parents as we partner to support their children.

This news blows me away and overwhelms the mess outa me. But I AM THRILLED!!

A funny dinner

Q: Who puts photos of turkey bacon and biscuits from the freezer on their blog?

A: someone who really doesn't take many pictures and whose life is filled with lots of busy things lately.

AKA. Me.

So far this week I have subbed three days. On Tuesday I drove downtown and spent the morning interviewing/ doing a demonstration lesson for a fourth grade teaching job I would like to get. Our evenings have been pretty quiet, but I am tired after working 12 hours straight and the kids are getting antsy as the end of the year approaches, which makes my jobs tough.

I have also noticed myself forgetting things when planning our my meals and shopping list lately. Yesterday morning I went to take the pizza dough out of the freezer and realized... We didn't have any pizza dough. I took some chicken out instead, but knew it wouldn't be thawed in time. So I decided to cook up some leftover turkey bacon on our big griddle and I grabbed some biscuits from the freezer. (I made them about two weeks ago, using this recipe. Yum!)

I reheated the biscuits in the microwave. Mine had jelly on them. Joel added a little bit of cheese to his. We drank OJ and relaxed and both our bellies were filled. A funny dinner, yes, but still filling and delicious.

loving life lately

A couple fun things lately:

1. Last night I skyped with my gals Annie & Mandy, who were together at Ann's apartment in Vancouver. It was a breath of fresh air to see their smiling faces. We talked about all the Japanese food they'd eaten together and the Japanese-y stuff they were still planning to do. I daydream often about those old days in Toyama. I'd love to take Joel there someday, along with any future kiddos. Though it was a hard, confusing and lonely season, Japan holds a little piece of my heart and I had such great times there.

2. Last Sunday Joel and Melissa came over for dinner. I grilled. The guys threw the football. Melissa and I both wore new, summery maxi dresses, while we sat on the back steps to talk. The weather was basically perfect and we spent hours chatting and enjoying each others' company.

3. Tonight we have our final fundraiser for Granada. Two weeks after that we have our final team meeting. About two weeks after that we'll be on the plane, heading east to Spain. Unbelievable.

4. As the school year winds down, I am thrilled to spend more time with Joel. We really try to own the summer, filling it with lots of mini-adventures just the two of us and some trips to visit loved ones. Our little family, so far from our families, is an indescribable blessing to me. I love living life with this guy.

Quietness around this blog

Okay, here's the thing. My blog fast is partly to blame for less volume on THIS blog. There are other factors, too, such as winding down a school year, applying for a fourth grade teaching job for next year, hot weather, junior high activities with church, watching TV on Netflix with Joel, dealing with the aftermath of last week's fire, gearing up for Spain, etc.

But really, I don't take pictures.
So I don't blog.

My last five or six posts have been pretty lame, if I do say so myself. Which I do.

I like to think summer will prompt me to document life a little more. Things will be at a different pace. We will go to Charleston shortly after school gets out and it will be beautiful there. We shall see.

Thanks to all of you who have been reading, despite the infrequent posts, most of which are not all that compelling.

Good and bad things lately

Good. It's sunny. I have a personal day to use today so I am living it up. We don't have to move this summer.
Bad. It's 95 degrees this week. We aren't moving this summer, which is bad and good, mostly just confusing because we thought there was an open door from God but it has closed.

Good. We have almost all our support raised for Spain. Praise The Lord. I get to have a free ChickFilA salad for lunch today.
Bad. Junior high sleepover tonight. Why is that bad? Middle school girls don't tend to actually, um, sleep, at sleepovers. I'm gonna have to either be the bad guy and make them, or just stay awake myself. Clearly it's going to be door number one. Duh. And other than that fact, this item could go on the good list. I love those kids.

Good. Our fence was the only thing damaged in the fire we had last Sunday night.
Bad. Somebody intentionally set two cars on fire in the church parking lot last Sunday night which spread to our fence and huge pine tree. It was super scary.

Good. We serve a perfect, mysterious, loving God who chooses to bless us and care for us. I am overwhelmed by his love.

Owning this season

I just came home from work, chatted with my momma for a few minutes, and read this blog post in the quietness of my room. http://influencenetwork.blogspot.com/2013/05/its-your-season-own-it.html

As I have shared before, this year has been a hard season for us. Through the grace of God, I have tried my hardest to own the season, to share honestly about the confusion and heartache and frustration we have felt. I have tried to write here, so others can know, and for my own long term memory to be clear.

There are lots of conclusions I came to through my social media fast the last two weeks. Some I am still processing and won't be able to share yet, but here is one:

The Lord is here, with me, in seasons of loss and doubt. The Lord is good and patient and longs for me to cling tightly to His truth. The Lord has forgiven me and sent his son, his child, to die because of his great love.

Pretty big conclusion.