So Sleepy...

Jet lag...it's a funny thing. This week has been interesting as far as sleep is concerned. I've been getting tired earlier than usual but have been going to bed at my normal time (between 10 and 11). Yet...I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed before 5:00 each morning. I hope this lasts!

Enjoy this week's pictures!

March 7: Part of my home group at Tappy's Yogurt. These are some fun people, and I look forward to getting to know them even better as we continue to meet each Sunday night.

March 8: The sky as I left school on Monday. It's been handy having my camera with me ALL the time so I can capture moments like this!

March 9: Extra recess! Tuesday mornings we are in the classroom from 8:00 to almost noon, so we usually take a small break somewhere in there. It was a gorgeous day on Tuesday - sunny and in the 70s.

March 10: My dear friend Cary, who I was able to have dinner with on Wednesday evening. She and her husband just bought their first house! It was so exciting to get the grand tour and spend some time catching up with each other.

March 11: Um, so I slacked off Thursday and don't have a picture! I took a "nap" at 9:30 p.m. (mistake #1) and didn't wake up until 12:04 (on Friday, mind you), just in time to miss my picture-taking opportunity. Oh, well.

March 12: A trip to the hospital to visit my friends, Megan and Kc. AND their new baby, Bennett. :) He is a beautiful gift from the Lord - and don't they make a lovely family?

Israel

I'm back from Israel! And I LOVED it. What a blessing to be able to walk where Jesus walked! Already Scripture is coming alive in a new way.

I only took 336 pictures while I was there. Below are 10 :). There are more on my Facebook page if you're interested. Enjoy!

February 24: I know this is a cheap shot, but it was nearing the end of the day and I didn't have many options for pictures. :) Ergo, this oh-so-exciting one.

February 25: This was dinner the first night we were in Tiberias. I kind of took a lot of food pictures because it was all so tasty (and colorful!). Hummus was a staple at every meal, and boy, did I take advantage of that. Hummus is yummus.

February 26: The Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on water and calmed the storm. Just gorgeous.

February 27: Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. This place has a really neat story, and this particular cave is where a large number of the scrolls were found.

February 28: The Dead Sea is in the background, and this picture was taken right after we floated in the water. There was a pit of mineral-rich mud for visitors to cover themselves with. We then rinsed off in sulfur-water showers, which smelled like rotten eggs. Ah, the things people do for their skin!

March 1: Camels at Petra. Of all the animals I know about, I think camels are the funniest. Naked mole rats come in a close second.

March 2: The shore of the Red Sea, through which the Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt.

March 3: A view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

March 4: This was a sign posted near the Garden Tomb, where some speculate Jesus was buried after His crucifixion. There's no way to know for sure where this actually took place, but Romans 1:4 is true nonetheless. And because of Jesus' perfect life, death, and resurrection, sinners can be reconciled to a holy God. Praise God for the gift of His Son. He is risen indeed!

March 5: Caesarea, mentioned several times in Acts. A city originally built by Herod the Great.

March 6: The day I got back to Texas. Cousin Becca dropped me off at about 2:00, and the next 7 hours were a bit rough. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I knew that would not help the jet-lag situation. Hence the large caffeinated beverage. I made it to about 8:45 before crawling into bed.

Pray For Me?

Well, friends...since I'm leaving the country tomorrow, I thought I'd post the week's pictures thus far. Enjoy! :)

February 20: So my phone died last week. It just turned off and never turned back on...I'm not quite sure what happened! It's amazing to me how much I depend on my phone...a little troubling to think about, actually. I had issues communicating with the world for a couple days, but then I found this little beauty buried in my closet. My Motorola phone from 5 years ago! The screen looked just like this for the first day and a half, but then it cleared up. I'm grateful to have a working phone for now...

February 21: Little Village preschool ministry. I love our 2-year-old class! This is Lindsey, the girl I have the privilege of working with each week. Sadly, I got a phone call today asking me to switch rooms on Sunday morning, which means I'll no longer be working with Lindsey. I'm bummed about that since we just started really getting to know each other. But I know it's about the Lord's purpose, not my plans - and I know there is another class of preschoolers just waiting to be loved.

February 22: The mom of one of my students gave me this gift on Monday - it was so thoughtful of her! She knew I was leaving this week, so she packaged up some necessary (and just-for-fun) travel items. My favorite is the book light - so excited to use that! :)

February 23: I was the 100th customer at Chick-fil-a today! Not only was my meal free, but they rang a cowbell for me and shouted with excitement! :) It's hard not to have your day brightened by that.

My (borrowed) suitcase. Tomorrow I'm leaving for Israel and will be there for 10 days - I'm so excited! Unfortunately I have to fit all this and more inside this suitcase. And it has to zip. It might be a late night.

If you would pray for me while I'm gone, I'd love prayer for:

~safety for the group I'm traveling with

~opportunities for relationship building

~ministry opportunities, conversations about the gospel with students from my school

~a deeper understanding of Scripture as I visit the places where Jesus walked

Next batch of photos...Israel. :)

Food, Fellowship, Feet, Fluffiness, Family, Fun & Festivities

It's finally Friday, friends! Sorry, I just can't stop with the alliteration. Enjoy the pictures. :)

February 13: On Saturday, Cousin Becca and I went to a hole-in-the-wall Indian food restaurant connected to a gas station. We helped ourselves to the buffet using paper plates, and we enjoyed great food and fellowship. We definitely recommend it! Sri Maharaja in Lewisville...by the way, isn't my cousin just beautiful?

February 14: Happy Valentine's Day! This is a treat I enjoyed whilst feeling icky, wearing comfy clothes, watching Fireproof, and grading. A cozy afternoon filled with allergies....

February 15: On Monday I thought it would be a good idea to wear heels to school. What is it that compells me to do this? Worst idea ever. By the time I arrived at school, I realized heels were NOT a wise decision. Within minutes of entering the room I had kicked my shoes off of my throbbing feet!

February 16: My 3rd grade team leader, Melissa. We attended a workshop on Tuesday and were able to enjoy a leisurely lunch at a Thai restaurant nearby. It was so nice just to sit, relax, and enjoy conversation without having to worry about getting back to the classroom by a certain time.

February 17: My new fabric softener I'm excited about! :) It's the little things in life...

February 18: Dinner with Mom, who I love. :) She has recently started Weight Watchers and saved up enough points to have TWO breadsticks at dinner. Go, Mom!

February 19: Megan's baby shower! She's three weeks away from her due date and still looks lovely! I think Melissa and Sharon are trying to communicate the number of petit fours they consumed at the party. :)

Unusual Happenings

What a crazy week! Between being immersed in a classroom of sick students and experiencing record-breaking snowfall in Dallas, it's been hard to get much done this week. Enjoy the pictures...

February 6: A diaper cake for an upcoming shower. Originally this picture was supposed to be posted after the shower happened, but due to inclement weather, it didn't quite work out that way. So if your name is Megan, this diaper cake is NOT for you.

February 7: *See this day's picture in my previous post.

February 8: Monday I had 13 students absent! 13! I couldn't believe it - everything from strep throat, type A flu, stomach viruses, colds...you name it, my class had it. It was strange looking out at all those empty desks and trying to teach. We spent much of the day out of our seats and on the floor. Lesson plans flew out the window; instead we made get-well cards and had math centers (2 kids in each center). We also Cloroxed everything in the room. Twice!

February 9: I made my sister-in-law's famous cookies this week - Monster Cookies. They are quite tasty, but I tend to forget the recipe makes about 5 bajillion cookies (it's a real number, I promise. I teach 3rd grade). It took a couple days to get through all the dough, and there were just...so...many...

February 10: Each week I get to spend some time with a senior from my school. This is Cassie, and it has been a blast getting to know her over the last several months. Usually we meet before school, but this week she recommended a place called Fat Straws, which serves bubble tea. It was delightful. Cassie took the picture below. Photographer in the making? She's got quite an eye for it!

February 11: This is what I woke up to on Thursday morning. Snow fell heavily all day and well into the night - Dallas had a record-breaking 24 hours with 12.5 inches of snow. It was breathtaking.

February 12: More snow. :)

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." ~Isaiah 1:18

Thank You, Jesus, for making this possible.

Cling to the Cross

February 7: I realize I'm posting out of order, but I really wanted to share these lyrics. We've sung this song the last two weekends at church, and I just love the words.

Cling to the Cross

No day of my life has passed that has not

Proved me guilty in Your sight.

The best that I have to offer are these filthy rags,

And yet You love me...

All things in me call for my rejection,

All things in You plead my acceptance.

I am guilty but pardoned,

By grace I've been set free.

I am ransomed through

The blood You shed for me.

I was dead in my transgressions,

But life You brought to me.

I am reconciled through mercy,

To the cross I cling.

No more am I a slave to sin,

But bought with a price.

Redemption that was purchased

Through the blessed cross

That You bore for me.

~written by Michael Bleecker

A Not-So-Typical Week at Work

My third grade class concluded the biggest, most exciting project of the year today - our Rainforest Animal Adventure Week!

[By the way, I'm still not sure if rainforest is one word or two - sad that I've been teaching about the ecosystem for the last three years. Any feedback on that would be helpful!]

So for this week's pictures, I thought I'd provide a little insight into what I do at work.

January 30: Unfortunately I had to go to work on a Saturday. Each year, my coworker and I volunteer for admissions testing for two weekends in January. We administer a 3-hour test to a group of 2nd graders applying to come to our school in the fall. It's not bad until we have to score the tests and write down the raw score, percentile rank, grade level equivalent, etc, etc. The first time we did this, we didn't finish until 2:00. You can guess my excitement when we finished at the above time - hence the picture. :)

January 31: This is my only non-work picture, but for those who know my January rent story, you understand why I took this. I need all the documentation I can get.

February 1: Homemade rainforest animals! Each year, my students' creativity astounds me! As we studied the rainforest and its animals, we kept coming back to this verse: "How many are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." ~Psalm 104:24

February 2: Administrators hard at work during carpool. This is the assistant principal and counselor at my school - they are wonderful.

February 3: My classroom transformed into a rainforest! As part of their project, my students had to make an animal, present a speech, write a poem, and provide 20 research-based facts about their animal. I'm always amazed at what my kids can do, and I love seeing the different ways God has wired them. Their strengths are evident in really fun ways during this month-long unit.

February 4: We take carpool duty very seriously in 3rd grade.

February 5: Every other Friday we have a breakfast feast at school. My assistant, Sharon, and I went down to partake this morning; as we were walking back to the classroom, I noticed the color contrast between the two plates. Can you guess which one is mine??