.my everything.

I am thankful for the one Constant in this life that never changes, despite the world of turmoil around me. My constant companion and comfort, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is everything, my all-in-all. In times of distress, I'm thankful I have His promises on which to rest.

.sick sunday.

Last week was the first week back to school for my Mom's Day Out program. It was a really good week, but lots of sickness came along with it.

I am in the midst of a cold with a nose running like a faucet and a gradually fading sore throat. I really can't complain too much though because I've been hearing stories of those much worse off!

I was really looking forward to church this Sunday but didn't get to go. A man named Bruce Frye (a mucician that played with and idolized Hank Williams Jr. back in the day) is guest speaking, giving his testimony and even playing original songs. I hate that I couldn't make it this morning, and it's not looking good for the evening service either.

Hubs is on the couch working away. He has a work laptop now, which allows him to catch up on things over the weekend without having to drive into the office. It looks like he'll be working the rest of the day away while I'll be blowing my nose the remainder of the day.

Fun times in our household this Sunday. Here's hoping yours is full of good health and work-free fun! :-)

.giveaway giftcard already spent.

When I found out at 7:30 this morning that I had won Fiona and Twig's blog giveaway of a $125 giftcard to CSN stores online, I woke up real fast and left for work with an extra skip in my step.

While at work, I dreamed of what I could buy. Being the bargain shopper that I am, I tried to picture how I could get as much for that amount as I could.

After work, I came home and literally spent hours looking at everything available on the CSN stores website.

This is what I came out with:

Set of 2 Highland Feather White Feather / Down Pillows @ $29 a piece

Yoga Direct Charter Oak Deluxe Extra Thick Yoga Sticky Mat in Seafoam - $16.99

Yoga Direct Charter Oak Nylon Yoga Mat Bag in Black - $8.99


Kinetic Classicor 12" Covered Chicken Fryer - $36.99

Victorinox Swiss Army 3.25" Paring Knife in Red - $2.99


I still can't believe that I won out of over 400 comments! This feels too good to be true! I've been dreaming of buying everything you see on the list, but my budget doesn't quite allow for me to go out and buy new down pillows or a deep dish frying pan just anytime I please. The frying pan and paring knife are two things I've needed for quite a while. The yoga mat and carrying bag will hopefully serve as extra motivation to exercise. The down pillows... I'll admit, that was my guilty pleasure splurge. Since I got two of them, my hubby benefits as well, and I don't think he'll be complaining!

Thank you so much, Anne. You literally made my day and then some!

.my classroom.

Today we had Open House at my Mom's Day Out job. It went really well! I'm excited about my new group of 3-year-olds. Really looking forward to a great year. Here are a few shots of my little classroom!

.so small.

You know how sometimes you just feel so small?

Sometimes I feel so inadequate, clueless, clumsy and unworthy.

I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father loves me no matter what.

Not only does he love me unconditionally and without end, He longs for me to spend time with Him and just be close to Him.

So many times I have gotten off track on my walk with God, only to tentatively take that first step in making things right again by simply opening my Bible and searching for the right verse or chapter to read. It seems like every time that happens and I take one small step towards God, I feel Him take 10 giant steps towards me. Whether it be through blatantly answered prayer or just a shower of undeniable blessings, He always shows me He's been waiting for me. My small steps back towards Him never go unnoticed or unappreciated.

How amazing is His love for you and me. He died for us, fully knowing we would reject Him and His love over and over again in our lives.

He deserves our time, our prayers, our thoughts, our devotions, our songs of praise. Not only does He deserve it, He longs for it.

May our longing for Christ be an insatiable thirst we long to never quench.

.goodbye summer.

As soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning, my Summer break will officially be over. What's crazy is that it feels like it's taking me by surprise. I don't know how it slipped my mind that I have a training class at 8:30 in the morning for the new Kids Day Out program I'll be working for. Tuesday I'll be getting my classroom ready at the OTHER Mom's Day Out program I teach at. Wednesday I'll be getting my KDO classroom ready. Thursday is Open House at MDO. Friday I'll take a breath. Saturday I'll be taking A LOT of breaths in a CPR certification class. Saturday night we have a friend's bbq to attend. Then the following week will be back to teaching!

Let me tell you, after a couple of months of only being busy when I chose to be, the events coming up feel a tad overwhelming! It will be good to get back to teaching. If there's one thing I love about being a teacher, it's that right when you feel like you need a break to rejuvenate with fresh ideas and a larger dose of patience, you get it in the form of Summer break. Then just when you get bored and restless, it's time to go back. I couldn't ask for better jobs than the ones God blessed me with. I also still serve as assistant editor to the local family magazine called Peekaboo! I like to joke that I have three jobs, yet I'm home more than a person with one job! That's the beauty of them all being part-time! Oh, and did I mention that I'm still sewing and selling at True Treasures? So I guess I kinda have four jobs... Sweet!

Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings. I pray to be a positive example in my students' lives this year and to show them abundant, unconditional love and patience. And to teach them the things that they need to learn!

.playing photographer.

My friend Loren is a Senior this year, and I had the honor of taking some of her Senior pictures!

She was nice enough to trust me with her camera AND let me take her memory card home with me to edit the pictures. Anything that gets my creative juices flowing I love, so this was a super fun project for me!

Here are a few of my favorites. She is so beautiful!!

.kansas city.

This past weekend, hubs and I drove to Kansas City with our friends Aaron & Sarah for our 4th annual Summer KC trip. We go each year to watch the Royals play. This trip was probably my favorite one ever. It was a smaller group than usual, the Royals won both games (against the Orioles), and we just had so much fun!

Sarah and I tend to think of ourselves as being pretty "wholesome" girls, so the fact that our alter-egos when we get to KC are "Hotcakes" and "Syrup" is quite the joke!

It's always soooo hot when we go, and this year was no different. So far, it has never rained. The humidity is always awful. We've gotten smarter and have started sitting in the shade for Sunday's afternoon game. This year, for Saturday's evening game, we endured the heat to sit in the stadium's newest section of seating, right in front of the water fountains. We got sprayed the whole game, so that helped keep us cool.

One of our KC traditions is eating breakfast at Cracker Barrel Sunday morning. This year, we all branched out and ordered something we've never ordered before (except the hubs, who stuck with pancakes, but who can blame him?)

We all cracked up when Sarah somehow managed to leave a whopping 7 pegs in the table game that is notorious at Cracker Barrels. She was like, "Guys, I think I messed up somehow..."

Ok, I'll explain the glaring vendor. He walked up and down the aisles shouting, "Skittles, Twizzlers, M&M's," and would then proceed to scan the crowd with this ever-so-friendly scowl. We thought it was a riot, and we started calling him "Skittler M." We never saw him make any sales... Wonder why???

Let's see, other memories: Saturday night deciding to go swimming at our hotel's pool. We get there really late, 11 pm to be exact, Aaron makes it into the hottub while the rest of us start stripping down to our swimsuits. A janitor comes in to inform us the pool is closing. We all made mental notes to make it to the pool earlier next year!

The past 2 years we've stayed at the Marriot in Overland Park. It's wonderful, amazing, clean, modern, and the beds are like sleeping on a marshmallow cloud. Divine!

Saturday night, after the pool incident, we went back to our rooms so the girls could shower and the hubs ordered pizza. We ended up sharing a large pepperoni pizza in our room after midnight. We were all so tired, but we decided we were on vacation, so why stick to the normal, healthy routine of eating dinner at 5 or 6???

On Saturday before the game started, we shopped at Zona Rosa. If you're ever in KC and are looking for a neat shopping center, I highly recommend this one!

My parents watched Simon the pug for us. Got a call from my dad not 5 minutes after we had dropped him off saying Simon had puked 5 times on their floor. Way to start a trip right??? I felt so bad and was worried about Simon. I honestly think he freaked out when we left him and got over-excited and that's why he puked. He's been so content ever since we picked him up and has mostly been sleeping. I guess it was a big weekend for us all!