crazy love

more than a year ago, i stumbled across the blog of angie smith. she and her best friend jessica have teamed up to form the bloom book club.

unfortunately, this book club started on the 13th. i'm 2 chapters behind, but feel that i can catch up fairly easily. i ordered the book here and got a free upgrade to 2-business day shipping. i paid $8 total, getting the book for a fraction of the price.

the current book is Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . from what i'm gathering from angie and jessica's week 2 video, this is going to b e a pretty neat experience.

one of the things i want to do each week is blog about the chapter we're reading. i'm hoping to be disciplined enough to do that. there are discussion groups online to get involved in, but i'm hoping to use this as a place to put my own thoughts.

i've always wanted to join a book club, but felt that would be just one more thing on my already packed plate. i'm hoping this is a way to check one more thing off my to-do list! :)

this and that

so much excitement!!!!!

- gall bladder surgery was successful. had the surgery on tuesday, 8/25... and was at work friday 8/28. i was sore but i was there. had my follow up last week and my surgeon lifted all physical and dietary restrictions. my insides still hurt, but the incisions are doing well. too bad i suffered for 2 years with that pain... but i'm incredibly relieved that i'll never feel that pain AGAIN!!

- rachel found out this past week that she's having a BOY!!!! AHHHHHHHH so many babies! and i'm LOVING it.

- i got an amazing surprise when i returned to work: i'm officially the 6th grade general music teacher and 5th grade instrumental teacher!!!! no more 7th and 8th graders. pretty stinking cool. i still get to see my 7th and 8th graders, but i don't have to deal with them and their craziness every other day! God is good!!!!

- mike and thea close on their house this coming friday!! holy goodness gracious that 5 weeks went by FAST! i foresee many, many trips to pennsylvania in the future :)

- amanda and adah's visit is a mere 16 days away!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! we're planning a pretty rad baby shower for rachel, which has been a BLAST. i love planning things like that. i've planned and thrown a few showers before, but they've always been bridal showers. baby showers are SO MUCH FUN too!!

- we're moving into week 4 of school already... 14 days down... 166 to go!!

- today's weather was pretty much perfect. sunny and about 68 degrees. autumn has arrived!!!

- got a blackberry tour today and i'm pretty much in love.

- year of transformation. i've been praying for brokenness lately and it's been neat to see what God has been doing... hopefully i'll be able to post more on this tomorrow.

- going to fold some laundry before heading to bed!

first - a big shout out to becky plungis, who i am currently skyping with. she had to go pee, though, so i thought i'd post my absolute favorite song.

it's been my favorite for a few months, but hasn't come out yet (i think the release date is 8/25). it's by selah, who i have grown to love after discovering angie smith's blog. her husband is a part of the group - he's the one with the goatee in the video. they lost their infant daughter just hours after being born.

anyways, this song speaks to people from all walks of life, which is why i guess i love it.

i need thee every hour...

i have had this song by selah on repeat on my ipod this week. i keep thinking to the day i got back from california. the next day i had a few appointments, and i decided to stop in to see gram that wednesday. she couldn't speak, except to say "water" and "cold water"... i knew she was bad. i hated seeing her like that, and i left not knowing that she would pass from this life to the next 4 days later.

this video is not what i would have preferred, but it will have to do i suppose.

seriously?

BABY ADAH! come out already!!!!!! 24 hours in and still no princess adah. your mom and dad aren't THAT bad that you need to be THIS scared to meet them! in fact, they're pretty amazing. so, whadadya say? cut your mommy a break here and pop out already so they can meet you, precious!!





ps: i hope to one day sing this song for you with your mommy in our "old lady voices". :)

nothing of interest

i guess i don't lead a very exciting life. i haven't done much since returning from arizona. i did participate in the march for babies... i didn't have the chance to actually walk; but i did exceed my goal of $200 by $35!!! very exciting!

the following week i participated in a 3.5 mile walk that benefited lawrence and memorial hospital - the same hospital where i was born! 2 ladies from church joined me along with a student from the youth group. we had a great time just walking and talking. the 3.5 miles went by so quickly! of course i forgot my camera, so i have no proof of these festivities. :)

as far as my year of "transformation"... God has definitely been teaching me a lot this year. again i'm leaning on Him regarding my job... i got my letter of non-renewal (along with 69 other teachers in new london) and my future as a music teacher in the district is unknown. my gramma (my only living grandparent) went into the hospital while i was in arizona and is currently in the nursing home down the road... not sure if she'll ever come out. i have friends in serious financial trouble. friends with addictions. friends with health problems. lately, i ve had a very, very heavy heart.

i've had this song on repeat on my ipod for the past week. it reminds me to keep my eyes focused on God, and my praise on Him - through the sunshine and the storms.



a BIG shout out to amanda who is currently in the hospital about to make me an honorary auntie!!!! i'm hoping this post entertains her bored self for 3-5 minutes (depending if she watches the video and how fast she reads) love you amanda! praying your delivery is easy, quick, and pain free!! speaking of my honorary niece, adah... i'll be holding her in less than 2 months!!! :o)

i need your help!

i have raised $85 towards my goal of $200 for the march for babies NEXT SUNDAY! please consider donating -in any amount- via the link on my blog. one day, ALL babies will be born healthy!!!

i never made it to a good friday service today. my sister's church didn't offer one, and when i asked the secretary for any recommendations of churches in the area that did offer one, she said she didn't have that information. AND my niece and nephew had a half day of school today! on good friday?! so wrong.

i love Christmas, but Good Friday and Easter are what our faith is all about. the birth of Jesus is great, but without his crucifixion and resurrection, we wouldn't have our faith, and the relationship with our Heavenly Father that we have. every year i am more and more moved at the thought of Jesus hanging on the cross for me. it is something that i am unable to express my gratitude for in words... praise God for the sacrifice of his son!

today was spent shopping with mom, my sister and my 3 year old niece, natalya. we took a nap this afternoon, and ran to the store to get ingredients to make homemade pizza! so yummy! tonight i played uno! with my niece, becca.

off to try to sleep... this time difference has me all messed up! i'm trying my best to stay on east coast time... but... so far it's not going so well.

i'll leave you with a picture of natalya. here's the gorgeous face i woke up to this morning:

unredeemed

if you haven't already, you need to go to angie smith's blog. tomorrow she will mark the 1 year anniversary of giving birth to her daughter, audrey caroline, who only lived for about an hour outside the womb. she has used her blog to share audrey's story, and she has been such an incredible example of a woman after God's own heart for not only myself, but hundreds of thousands of people.

angie's husband todd sings for the group selah, and they have an album coming out soon. for 3 days only (and now probably just for today and tomorrow) they have the song "unredeemed" available for listening on angie's blog. i encourage you to go listen. (make sure you mute the music at the bottom of her blog page.) just a few lines in i felt the tears fall from my eyes. the song is amazing.

it's holy week, and i'll be posting some thoughts later in the week (i hope - lots to do before leaving thursday!)

be blessed!