There's something beautiful to me about weeping willow trees. 

They are so unique, and their presence portrays their name. 

Today I was captivated by this tree outside my school. 

I love the fading Fall colors, and the shape its branches make as they reach for the ground. 

Today my heart is heavy. It aches for friends and family who are hurting. It aches for the many people around the world who don't yet know the joy and peace that comes from Christ. 

My heart is heavy, yet my burdens are light...because they are not my own. 

My true, everlasting, and faithful God calls me to cast all my cares on Him, promising to take my load and make it light. Today my heart aches. But He holds it in His hands. 

Dear Julie and Julia...

I'd like to start by letting you know, no kitchen utensils were harmed in the making of this blog.

And that I will NOT be starting a cooking blog OR starring in a movie anytime soon...however, if I did star in a food movie or write a food blog - it might be best titled, "Alicia at a Loss..." haha :)

Thankfully my "adopted" mom from church in college gifted me with a box of "simple" recipes when I moved to my first apartment, and this Saturday was the perfect day for some Taco Soup. 

You can't go wrong with your basic, "open and dump" recipe, right?

Adding the taco seasoning to the meat...

Pour it together, stir...

And, Ta-dah! The finished product!

(I accidentally put a little too much cheese for the picture, but luckily, I love cheese!)

So, it's not that I don't enjoy cooking...I think I just avoid the effort all together sometimes. Plus, when it's just me, it can take forever to eat things (yes, you can freeze them, but still...), or the risk that if something tastes awful, there is no one else to suffer through eating it with you! haha It could also be that I suffer with "youngest child" syndrome, characterized by the ability to make macaroni-anything, tuna fish sandwiches, frozen pizzas, t.v. dinners, toast, and anything else that can go in a microwave! Oh well! I think I'll enjoy experimenting in the kitchen more one day. For now, here's to many more simple recipes, and the protection of innocent kitchen utensils all around the world...

When I look into the sky...I think of how our God is faithful to create a new canvas there every day. I think of the beauty God displays as He paints a fresh beginning each morning then allows the day to fade into the canvas as He covers it in glorious night stars and splashes of light from the moon. No two days' works of art are ever the same. He is constantly at work on a masterpiece.

Looking up, I think of how BIG our God is. And how very small I am. Yet He cares about ME. He loves ME. He created me in HIS image and desires for me to be beautiful through Him. And as each day fades, I look ahead at the blank canvas of my life with the hope and assurance that He will be faithful to cover it with the many lines, splashes, and colors of His brush. 

Fun With Family!

It's been a fun weekend hanging out in Springfield with family! One of my sisters came from another state to visit, so of course there has been much time laughing, cooking, eating Chinese, playing with our nieces and nephews, and...just hanging out! Yesterday we had lunch at my brother's house with his wife and my niece and nephew, and my other brother, his wife, and their five girls came too! "Nanna" and "Poppy" also drove to Springfield for the day. It's rare for that many of us to be together in one place these days, and I wish I'd taken more pictures while everyone was together, but I did get a few of my brother Mark and my niece and nephew Laura and Lane! Before Nanna and Poppy headed home, we all went to Andy's for frozen custard...it was the perfect Fall afternoon with beautiful sunshine and outdoor weather!

Laura and her Daddy showing their silly sides with Poppy

A little balancing act for our entertainment while we waited for our frozen treats!

Whoops! I don't know if Lane got more in his mouth or on his outfit...haha

Laura enjoyed her frozen treat too! 

Next up for our entertainment was a little dancing act! 

I had the pumpkin pie concrete, and I have to admit...it was pretty Fall-fabulous! :) 

After everyone left town, the rest of us went to Laura's favorite place, "The Circle Store!" 

(also sometimes called Target! haha)

I'm so thankful for the family God has blessed me with! For all the laughter, love, fun, tears, support, encouragement, Godly examples, and the relationship we all have together! I'm also thankful for fun niece and nephew time, since I don't have kids of my own yet! Aunts get the best deal...you can play with them, spoil them, love them, and then send them back to their parents until next time! lol :)

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New Look!

Hooray! I think I've figured it out! :) At least for now! So here's to a new blog look!

In the process of figuring out the blog makeover thing...I'll get it soon! For now, sorry for the weird blue color with the new orange and brown polka-dots :)

It's Those Little Times...

...when sometimes God uses routine people in your day to encourage you.

Today I am thankful for the guards who check our IDs every morning at the gate going into work. I could insert top secret sounding spy music here and make myself sound super high-class, secure, and important...HA! Instead, I guess I'll just tell you I teach on an Army base, and every morning I wait in a line of traffic to drive through a gate and show ID to get on the base.

But that's not the point. God has used these men and women to encourage me in such funny and random ways over the past two and a half years. Most days I drive up, show my school ID and go through the gate with a, "Have a good day, Ma'am." But sometimes it's different.

I still remember the time my first year of teaching when I was having a pretty bad week, feeling down, and wondering if I would ever be a good, effective teacher. That was the morning I drove through the gate and the man said, "Have a good day, Ma'am. Oh, and...don't let those kids get you down!" As I passed through and drove into traffic, I got chills. He had no idea I was having a bad week. Or that I taught every student in my building. It was truly one of those times where you slow down, look in the rear view mirror, and check to see if he is still there, or if he was one of those people God sent at just the right time, just to speak with you, and then they're gone.

Lately there is a guard who says every morning, "Have a blessed day..." which just adds a little extra joy in the morning.

And today, the guard said, "Ma'am, you've been selected for a random search..." to which my mind suddenly switched into, "I hope I have all the right documents/nothing suspicious looking and that this won't take long and make me late for work..." when suddenly he said, "and you're going to have to drive ten laps around the building before we can let you go..." and cracked a big smile, telling me "Just kidding - have a great Friday!" I was still smiling a few minutes later when I got to school. A little humor  goes a long way sometimes!

So, today I'm thankful for the ordinary people I see every day. I'm thankful for the ways God uses them, while they spend hours standing at a gate, checking IDs with sometimes rather impatient people waiting to get through.

And I'm thankful that God uses me, just an ordinary person, walking through life, teaching school, loving kids, and trying to be more like Him every day (with super spy music playing in the background! lol) You never know when He will take you, an ordinary person in an ordinary moment, and use you in an extraordinary way if you just let Him!

Dear Beatrice...

You are the best red car a girl could ask for. I like all the memories I have from the road trips we've taken together, the last year and a half of college you spent with me, the kids you've hauled around while I was babysitting, and the many, many, many trips to and from work we're making this year. I think it's only appropriate that you hit your 100,000 mile mark on a trip to Arkansas! Not just everyone has a car special enough to type a letter to on their blog! lol Here's to another 28 car payments and 100,000 more miles, right?! (After all, I did see a billboard on our trip home today that said "80% of Toyotas made in the past 20 years are still on the road today...") -Signed, Your Faithful Road-Trippin', Adventure Takin' Music Teacher, Me! 

P.S. Every special car needs a name, right? haha Well, in case you were wondering, (and even if you were not!) Beatrice got her name from the boat I rode down the Amazon River on during my Brazil mission trip in college. It was called The Beatrice, and I decided that taking road trips together in my red car was almost as exciting as riding a big boat down the Amazon...almost, thus the shared name! :) 

What's your favorite car/road trip/driving memory?

Home Sweet...

Arkansas! (I'll confess that I actually cheered inside when I saw the sign! And yes, I pulled the car over to take the picture...I thought I'd better not meet the Lord, just yet! haha)

This truly is my second home. I spent five years there in college, and who knew I would love it so much? God blessed me with so many friends, "adopted family members," and a church family while I was there. I had a wonderful education at Ouachita Baptist University, and studied with professors who cared about us, were very experienced in their professions, and challenged me to grow as a person and as a musician. This weekend I am visiting for Homecoming, and my heart is already feeling full! :)

Tonight I stopped in Little Rock for dinner and some catch-up time with a friend who recently moved back to Arkansas. It was such a blessing and encouragement to just spend time talking, listening, laughing, and praying together. God has really been working in both of our lives this year, and He isn't finished yet! Love you, friend!

I'm staying with one of my favorite families from church...they have been kind enough to open and share their home with me many times over the past seven years (has it already been THAT long?!), and I lived with them for three summers during college. They continue to encourage me, even from a state away!

Tomorrow I will see the marching band (and miss that rush of being out on the field with my drum...), catch up with my SAI (music fraternity) sisters, and hopefully run into other friends.

Sunday I will worship at my church (where I will visit my favorite senior adult ladies' Sunday School class!) and eat Sunday lunch with my family from church and other guests before heading back.

My heart has been longing for a visit...thank you Lord for the opportunity to head South for a weekend of family, friends, encouragement, and memories! :)