I still wish I could put all I want to write into words, but for now, I want to share a beautiful celebration I attended on Saturday! My friend Kelly got married, and it was so exciting to be a part of her day!

Kelly has been a friend since junior high when I joined the youth group at our home church and has continued to encourage me even over the years since we have graduated and lived far away. I am so thankful for your friendship, and love you lots!

There were so many fun things about the ceremony and reception, and I love how it was unique and so "them!" :)

One of my favorite lines from the whole ceremony was when the pastor shared how Eric described Kelly, and he said "A friend...before there was ever anything else, there was a friendship, and now I am marrying my friend." I have prayed for a long time and continue to pray for the man God has for me to marry one day, but I have always prayed for him to first be a friend. So, I loved the way Eric put that. 

  

Introducing...Mr. and Mrs. Barb! :) 

I'm so excited to see the ways God will continue to bless their friendship together and use them as a couple to serve and glorify Him! Congratulations Kelly and Eric! 

Blurry

I keep typing and deleting, typing and deleting. I'm just not sure how to write in words what I want to say right now. Things feel kind of blurry, and my heart is in a blur right now too. I'm still reading all the blogs on my list...I love writing so much...I'm hoping I'll be back at it soon.

On a Wednesday Morning Off...

I didn't set my alarm, and when I woke up to the sound of rain falling down, I rolled over, cuddled in the blankets, and stayed in bed to listen...

A fresh pot of coffee is brewing, and my favorite big coffee cup and pumpkin spice creamer are waiting for me on the kitchen counter...

I am spending time with my blinds open, looking out at the rain, reading my Bible, writing in my journal, and listening to classical music...

I am thanking God for the blessings in my life, big and small, including this time to spend with Him...

I am also thanking Him because He knows my heart even better than I do. It was Him, after all, who gave me that heart, the desires it holds, the dreams it has, and the joy and contentment it is filled with, no matter what my circumstances are.

On a Wednesday morning off...

Judge Judy, a "Boot," and Patriotic Music...

What do all these things have in common?

No, I wasn't on the Judge Judy show. I didn't break a foot. And it wasn't the Fourth of July, so the only logical answer must be...

My career! haha And this week it has certainly been amusing to say the least!

Tuesday evening my fourth graders presented their program, "Sing, America Sing!" and I couldn't have been more proud of them! They were so excited, and did such a wonderful job performing! I love it when I have fun while they are having fun! :) We had about 53 of 84 students in attendance, which is actually not bad for an evening program, and about 100 people in the audience, I think. Honor is our character word of the month for November, and we chose to honor military men and women who are serving our country daily and those veterans who have served in the past. They performed a song called, "Proud of our Veterans," and there were a few tears in the audience. I really enjoyed that song! What I did not enjoy, however, was waking up every morning with the song, "Fifty Nifty United States" running through my head non-stop. Maybe it will go away now, but even if it does, it will quickly be replaced by "crazy carols" coming in our third grade December program. Oh the joys of teaching music! One program down and six more to go for the year! (Aaaaaah!)

Wednesday I watched a short cartoon from United Streaming with my students about the composer Beethoveen. We talked about what a composer's role is/was in music. We discussed how some of the songs we would hear on the movie would be familiar to us, and how even though Beethoveen is no longer living, his music is still with us. Fast forward to the post-movie discussion...we talked about some of the songs we heard that were familiar and again about how some of the music is still with us when all of a sudden one second grade boy shouts out, "Yeah...like on Judge Judy! "Dun, dun, dun, dunnnnnnn...." :) I was confused for a moment until he explained that they play that little part of Beethoveen's music when they bring the criminals onto Judge Judy. I had to give him credit for making an application to every day life, right?! Haha I am constantly amazed (and sometimes amused, haha!) by the thoughts and comments of my students!

Thursday I attended a workshop at a university near my hometown. I've been to several other workshops on this campus both this year and last, and will confess I've gotten various parking tickets for being in different lots, but they all said "If you are a visitor, do not pay this ticket..." or something like that, so I threw them away and went on my merry way. This time I actually got a spot in the visitor lot behind the building and though, "Great! Today I'm legal! Today I won't get a ticket!" Imagine my dismay when I came out and found not one, but TWO tickets on my windshield - one with a regular print-out, and another on a bright orange card stating that my vehical had been IMMOBILIZED! haha This is where being a teacher gets exciting. I mean, who else could be a teacher AND a criminal? Thursday I got to be BOTH. (But, shhhhhh! Don't tell! haha) What I failed to realize is that, even when you don't have to pay the tickets, you still have to turn them into the workshop people, so they can have them voided - and so you can AVOID having an outstanding record...lol...

Lesson Learned in Teaching This Week #1,000,001 - Vocabulary: "booted"- the act of preventing a teacher's car from any further movement. Sentence: "My car was "booted" when I failed to realize you are supposed to TURN IN (but not pay) the tickets you receive at a university when attending trainings to avoid an outstanding record." Oh the things I am constantly learning as a teacher - It's exciting being a criminal!

I really wanted to take a picture of the "boot" and the officer removing the "boot," to document my whole criminal life, but, well...I just didn't know how that would go over, and I didn't want to be locked away in the S&T jail or anything, so...these are the few pictures I got. But - the sticker is still on my car - you have to use Windex to dissolve it, and I haven't had time. Thank goodness it's Saturday! I guess I'd better go get rid of the last of the evidence from my adventures as a criminal! haha

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Fifteen...

I. am. so. tired.

Life has been a little crazy the past few days and will be throughout the rest of the semester at school.

Tomorrow is our first program of the year. I'm really excited and so proud of the fourth graders for all their hard work!

I will write more when I have time/energy.

For now, since it's the 15th day of the month, I want to share 15 things I'm thankful for!

1. Salvation through Christ

2. Family (and my many "adopted" families!)

3. Friends

4. Laughter...especially big, belly laughs, and laughing 'til I cry!

5. Music

6. My job, even through the challenges this year

7. Coffee (and pumpkin spice - soon to be peppermint mocha creamer!)

8. Ability to read

9. Internationals - I miss having a close group of international friends!

10. Sleeping in/naps!

11. Beautiful leaves

12. My camera and the time to take pictures of all kinds of things

13. Exercise - time to do it, a healthy body, and the energy it brings

14. Hot water - (and water in general - we are so fortunate!)

15. The sound system at school - Today I found all the parts (after moving buildings, giving one system away, getting it back, and having it placed sparacitcally in pieces throughout two closets, I was so glad to find all the parts and correct wires, get them together the right way, and....hear the music and microphones working!! I prayed to God as I put it all together that it would work, and He helped me through, and it really was a blessing!)

Happy November! Be thankful!

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.