It's a week until Thanksgiving and this is a week that I even need to remind myself of what I am thankful for. So here they are (in no particular order!). I am thankful for:
1. My wonderful, loving, caring, funny husband. I am so fortunate that he has been so supportive of me! I am SO proud of how hard he is working in school and I cannot picture my life without him. I feel ready to face everything that comes our way as long as he is with me! (As a sidenote, I'm also thankful he let me put up the Christmas decorations so early because they make me happy.... even though I know he was probably annoyed with having to help me with them 2 weeks before Thanksgiving even got here.)
2. Chloe... our dog. I guess its a little weird to be thankful for her, but she is our baby. She has kept me entertained for a countless number of hours and always seems to know when I feel sad or sick. She's the perfect thing to keep me company when Marc is gone studying all those late nights.
3. Our families. Marc and I have been blessed to have the most supportive and loving families. They have encouraged us in all of our endeavours and have supported our relationship with each other since our high school days (which meant a lot to a young couple). Each of our parents are wonderful examples of what good marriages should be, and we are so lucky to have them in our lives. We are also lucky to have wonderful siblings, who are not only our brothers and sisters but our friends.
4. My job. Even though somedays I do not feel thankful at all, I realize that in this economy I am one of the lucky few that found a steady, well-paid full time job with good benefits. It has been a huge blessing, and gave us the ability to live in a very safe apartment in a nice neighborhood. I'm also incredibly blessed that I work for a Christian agency...it is refreshing to hear clients talk about their relationship with God and their spiritual journeys. I am a firm believer that the spiritual aspect of this shelter is what makes the clients successful... without a strong relationship in Christ I don't believe we would see such dramatic changes.
5. The kids at my job. Somedays they drive me up a freaking wall, but then again they are 6-8 years old... they are supposed to do that. They always say the funniest things and they all have the kindest hearts. They make life seem so simple even though it is much more complicated for them than I can even imagine. I love them, I really do.
6. The donors. Without the people that donate to my workplace, it would not exist. I am constantly amazed at the people who will donate their time, money and effort to help those who are less fortunate. Today one of the moms was even wearing a brand new pair of jeans I have wanted! I know she was so proud that I could compliment her on something like that.
7. Our cars. Living 6 hours from home it is such a blessing to have reliable transportation.
8. A college education. And one paid in full at that. Just having a degree has kept so many doors open for me, and I am so thankful.
9. DVR. I work too many crazy hours to watch my favorite shows. Sometimes they are all that keep me sane!
10. My never dying Iphone. It has been soaked in water twice and loved me enough to come back each time. Its shallow, but its pretty much my lifeline to Abilene so I am thankful.
11. Our friends. (yeah told you this wasn't in order... they should be much higher on the list!). We are pretty lucky in this area too. We have had the same group of great friends for quite sometime and although almost everything about our group has changed over the past few years (breakups, reconciliation, marriage and even babies!), we still love them all! There are not many memories I have from high school and college that do not include them, and sometimes those memories get me through when I am so terribly homesick! (P.S. we miss you guys!)
12. Grace. (again, this should be much higher!) Boy do I need it! I can be jealous, selfish, angry, proud, and every other thing that makes me not deserving of Grace.
13. Answered prayers. It seems like we have gotten alot lately. Little Hana is doing great and precious baby Paige and Heather are healthy! The children in my class are doing better and all of my tests at the doctor's office turned out fine (even though we thought they probably would!).Marc did good on all of his tests (but we will chalk that up to great studying and only a little prayer :).
14. Having insurance. So far I have been to the doctor's office 3 times and we have paid a total of about $50. Wonderful. And I have a feeling I will be back soon... working with kids makes me SICK (I mean literally I am always sick.hehe.). This time of year, plus all those little snotty noses, means I am washing my hands every 20 seconds and still getting the sniffles and achy body. YUCK!
I could think of so many more things... but this is long and I am in super need of a sudaphed and some hot tea! I hope everything has a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your list is much longer than mine!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
So Many Exciting Things!
There are so many things for me to write about (most of which aren't of any interest to anyone but me, oh well!).
First, after much deliberation I got my haircut! And I LOVE it. It is so much easier to style in this Houston humidity (why didn't I do this when we moved here?) So without much wait here is my new hair:
Next cut bacon slices in half and fry.
First, after much deliberation I got my haircut! And I LOVE it. It is so much easier to style in this Houston humidity (why didn't I do this when we moved here?) So without much wait here is my new hair:
Not a great picture... but you get the idea :)
Next, Marc and I were planning on going to the ranch this weekend but he had another stupid test (on a Friday evening!) so we ended up not going. I was kinda bummed. It would have been so good to see family and relax all weekend, so Marc made it up to me by taking me to the Aquarium. I have to say I am SO happy we live in a place that has exciting things to do on the weekends and I love aquariums (reminds me of the one in Boston, on our honeymoon :)
We even got to eat at the Aquarium Restaurant, which was freaking amazing ) and I remembered to take pictures!!
The view from our table at the restaurant.
A gianormous eel. Seriously it was HUGE.
Marc kept trying to make this guy talk... he refused.
I loved this little guy! He was polka-dotted!
Two white tigers at an aquarium? Why not?
They were so pretty though, and really active (unlike all the animals at the Abilene zoo!)
So not only does the aquarium have a restaurant and white tigers, it also has a ferris wheel, carousel and train ride! It was so much fun!
Our view from the top of the Ferris wheel!
At the top!
Pretty!!
Needless to say, we had SO much fun! AND on top of that I found a coupon online that was buy one get one free day passes for the aquarium and rides... so we did all of it for only $16 (minus dinner of course... that was not very cheap, but delicious!).
Sunday, we had our normal day of relaxing and football watching (even though the Broncos and Cowboys didn't play, we still watched EVERY.SINGLE.GAME). We also we grocery shopping at Central Market, which is my favorite but not that close so I don't get to do it often. I love the choices of organic meat and fruits and vegetables (okay, I'm not one of "those" people... but I do think it all taste better and would much prefer to eat and cook with organic products.) Oh and Central Market has awesome sushi for a good price (and you wonder why I like it so much!)
So for dinner I made my favorite meal, and what I think might be Marc's new favorite too. I tried to take pictures so I could do my first recipe blog (and for the record I actually used NO organic food in this because I bought everything prior to shopping at Central Market)! We will see how this goes...
Cheesy Stuffed Pork Chops
You will need:
- Boneless Pork chops at least 1" thick
- 6 slices of Bacon
- 1 box of Stove-Top Stuffing
- 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
- Seasoning for Pork (I used Season Salt and Garlic salt)
Then, season pork chops evenly on both sides and fry in bacon grease until the middle is no longer pink (*disclaimer* I actually did not do that... the middle was still pink and to me thats okay because you cook them for long enough later in the oven for them to be done anyways. We didn't get sick, so you can use your own judgement call on that.)
While the pork chops are frying, make the box of stove-top stuffing as directed. Then add the bacon (crumpled) and 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
When the pork chops are done frying, cut slits in the middle and stuff with stove-top mixture. Then close the slits with toothpicks (I didn't have any, so I broke the ends off some wood skewers!) Cover the porkchops with remaining stuffing mixture and 1 cup of cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. YUMMM. (I didn't take an after picture... oh well! just know its amazing!)
I also made homemade mashed potatoes, but I didn't take any pictures. Boo. And they are remarkably easy to make so no recipe just : cut your potato of choice into cubes and cover with water in a large pan. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes. Drain the potatoes and mash (add milk, butter and other seasonings to taste... i use about 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of butter, and garlic salt, salt and pepper. Delicious, but not healthy.)
It was a great meal. I have decided to start making meals the night before (Marc is in school 9-4 most days and I work 12-8 so we have quick meals all the time and are tired of wasting money and eating boring things). Also, I love to cook and this means I will get to more than once a week now! Marc thinks I'm crazy because I cannot wait for the day we get to have people over for Thanksgiving. I love cooking and baking and I love Thanksgiving, so it seems perfect. Maybe I will make a few dishes this Thanksgiving, depending on where we end up celebrating!
Other than that everything is normal. Marc is studying, and I am reading, cooking and making jewelry. I am back to loving my job. I had a few weeks there where I wasn't sure it is what I wanted to be doing... but I have to say I think it might be just where I need to be. Plus, I get to plan the Christmas play the kids put on... HOW FREAKING CUTE! yay! However, I do need some ideas. I am in the market for a narrated Christian program so the kids don't have to memorize speaking parts (any ideas on where to buy one would be greatly appreciated!).
Oh and its not getting over 80 degrees here all week! I love this time of year!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Best friends, good food and FOOTBALL!
What a wonderful weekend! We were so happy to have Nathan, Katie and Sleeve come visit us all the way from Abilene! They are such great friends!
They came very very late Friday night (they drove to Houston after going to a concert in Dallas... so they got here at 3 a.m. or so) and we all stayed up talking and catching up (and watching The Office!) until 4:30 or so. We were all SOOO tired that we slept until almost noon on Saturday, it was perfect. Then we ate lunch at our favorite restaurant and then Marc and I gave a mini-driving tour of Houston. It was rainy and a little cold, so there was no point in getting out of the car :) Next we all went to the grocery store so we could buy food for the boys to cook. That's right... the boys cooked for me and Katie.
As soon as we got home the boys started playing some weird zombie video game that Katie and I were not interested in at all, so we did what any good wife/girlfriend would do and went to spend some money! I took Katie to the Galleria and we had so much fun. We did end up walking the entire mall (which is enourmous) looking for a Forever 21, and never found one. How can a mall so huge not have the only store we really wanted to shop at? However that didn't stop us from spending some money and having lots of fun in the process.
When we got back 2.5 hours later, the boys were still playing weird zombie game (I thought video games were just a college-boy phase, but Marc swears he will be playing them with our children some day. But I guess that means I won't have to). Once we complained enough, they turned off their game and cooked for us (in their defense, the meat was marinating). They grilled us steak, shrimp and asparagus. It was delicious! It was by far the best meal that came from my house in a long time! Katie and I made brownies for desert to top of the perfect meal! We spent the rest of the night watching college football and then watching the boys play some more weird zombie game. Its a good thing that Katie and I had a lot to catch up on!
Sunday was basically the best day ever! We all woke up pretty late and decided to spend the day just relaxing. We got a pizza delivered and laid around watching NFL Redzone during the commericials of the Cowboys game. It.was.amazing. After the Cowboys game, Katie, Nathan and Sleeve had to all head back to Abilene. It was very sad to see them go, but we had a great time with them! (We promise to make the trip to Abilene next, we know how unfortunate the drive from Houston to Abilene is!)
Here is my (actually Katie's) one and only picture from the trip :
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After that we got back to our normal routine, we watched the Broncos win (5-0 baby!) and the rest of the Sunday games. I made shrimp alfredo with the leftover shrimp from Saturday night and then Marc went back to studying. Today completes my weekend. I was really supposed to have today off, but decided to come in anyway and have an office day. I am trying to think of some new ideas that we can implement into our program and will spend the day working on those. However, since I came in today I get Thursday off! How wonderful! And we will be spending next week at the Ranch deer hunting (well, Marc will be hunting. I will be watching football and reading a good book). I can't wait to see our families!
Oh and (Belated) Happy Birthday to both of our Moms! We love you guys and we are so greatful for everything you have done for us! We wouldn't be where we are without you!
And Happy Birthday (on time!) to Marc's Brother Mitchell! We promise we didn't forget about a present, we will bring it with us this weekend!
We hope all of you have (or had) a wonderful time on your birthdays and we wish you all the health and happiness the next year can bring! Love you!!
They came very very late Friday night (they drove to Houston after going to a concert in Dallas... so they got here at 3 a.m. or so) and we all stayed up talking and catching up (and watching The Office!) until 4:30 or so. We were all SOOO tired that we slept until almost noon on Saturday, it was perfect. Then we ate lunch at our favorite restaurant and then Marc and I gave a mini-driving tour of Houston. It was rainy and a little cold, so there was no point in getting out of the car :) Next we all went to the grocery store so we could buy food for the boys to cook. That's right... the boys cooked for me and Katie.
As soon as we got home the boys started playing some weird zombie video game that Katie and I were not interested in at all, so we did what any good wife/girlfriend would do and went to spend some money! I took Katie to the Galleria and we had so much fun. We did end up walking the entire mall (which is enourmous) looking for a Forever 21, and never found one. How can a mall so huge not have the only store we really wanted to shop at? However that didn't stop us from spending some money and having lots of fun in the process.
When we got back 2.5 hours later, the boys were still playing weird zombie game (I thought video games were just a college-boy phase, but Marc swears he will be playing them with our children some day. But I guess that means I won't have to). Once we complained enough, they turned off their game and cooked for us (in their defense, the meat was marinating). They grilled us steak, shrimp and asparagus. It was delicious! It was by far the best meal that came from my house in a long time! Katie and I made brownies for desert to top of the perfect meal! We spent the rest of the night watching college football and then watching the boys play some more weird zombie game. Its a good thing that Katie and I had a lot to catch up on!
Sunday was basically the best day ever! We all woke up pretty late and decided to spend the day just relaxing. We got a pizza delivered and laid around watching NFL Redzone during the commericials of the Cowboys game. It.was.amazing. After the Cowboys game, Katie, Nathan and Sleeve had to all head back to Abilene. It was very sad to see them go, but we had a great time with them! (We promise to make the trip to Abilene next, we know how unfortunate the drive from Houston to Abilene is!)
Here is my (actually Katie's) one and only picture from the trip :
After that we got back to our normal routine, we watched the Broncos win (5-0 baby!) and the rest of the Sunday games. I made shrimp alfredo with the leftover shrimp from Saturday night and then Marc went back to studying. Today completes my weekend. I was really supposed to have today off, but decided to come in anyway and have an office day. I am trying to think of some new ideas that we can implement into our program and will spend the day working on those. However, since I came in today I get Thursday off! How wonderful! And we will be spending next week at the Ranch deer hunting (well, Marc will be hunting. I will be watching football and reading a good book). I can't wait to see our families!
Oh and (Belated) Happy Birthday to both of our Moms! We love you guys and we are so greatful for everything you have done for us! We wouldn't be where we are without you!
And Happy Birthday (on time!) to Marc's Brother Mitchell! We promise we didn't forget about a present, we will bring it with us this weekend!
We hope all of you have (or had) a wonderful time on your birthdays and we wish you all the health and happiness the next year can bring! Love you!!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
A weekend in the life...
This weekend was wonderful. My little brother (who is not actually little and 18) came to visit us from College Station this weekend and we had SO much fun! Friday night we just hung out and caught up with each other, because I don't get off work til 8 and I am pretty much exhausted by the end of my day chasing after children.
On Saturday, the three of us watched college football and ate pizza until we decided to head out to the outlet mall in Cypress. The outlets are AMAZING, but its all outdoors and it was raining so that took away some of the fun. I only bought one dress, even though there was a Coach oulet, so Marc was happy. Then we all ate at this wonderful restaruant/pub that Marc and I love called Two Rows and watched A&M play. Then we came home to watch U of H play and were HUGELY disappointed by their loss.
Sunday was a big day at our house. The Cowboys and the Broncos played each other that afternoon, which is like creating World War 3 right in the middle of our little apartment. For anyone who doesn't know... Marc is a huge Cowboys fan and I am a huge Broncos fan and we will usually cheer on the other person's team, except for on Sunday. So we did what any loving, nurturing couple would do and we bet on the game :) If the Cowboys won Marc got some XBOX game he has been dying to have, and if the Broncos won I got a shopping spree... Guess who won??? :) Yeah, I already spent all the money on some new work clothes... and a wallet. Yay for me! Although I did rub it in his face a little, I made him stuffed pork chops for dinner so it was actually a pretty even trade.
Eric went home on Sunday night and things immediately got boring around here. Marc is back to studying and Chloe is sleeping like always. I had a really good day at work yesterday, and then today came. I think my mind got confused and thought today was Monday. However, I am so excited to get through this week because Nathan, Katie and Sleeve are coming this weekend and I can't think of any thing better than seeing them! It has been way too long! I think I am going to go run. I need stress relief, and to lose a few pounds. But before that I think I want a few more Milano cookies... :)
On Saturday, the three of us watched college football and ate pizza until we decided to head out to the outlet mall in Cypress. The outlets are AMAZING, but its all outdoors and it was raining so that took away some of the fun. I only bought one dress, even though there was a Coach oulet, so Marc was happy. Then we all ate at this wonderful restaruant/pub that Marc and I love called Two Rows and watched A&M play. Then we came home to watch U of H play and were HUGELY disappointed by their loss.
Sunday was a big day at our house. The Cowboys and the Broncos played each other that afternoon, which is like creating World War 3 right in the middle of our little apartment. For anyone who doesn't know... Marc is a huge Cowboys fan and I am a huge Broncos fan and we will usually cheer on the other person's team, except for on Sunday. So we did what any loving, nurturing couple would do and we bet on the game :) If the Cowboys won Marc got some XBOX game he has been dying to have, and if the Broncos won I got a shopping spree... Guess who won??? :) Yeah, I already spent all the money on some new work clothes... and a wallet. Yay for me! Although I did rub it in his face a little, I made him stuffed pork chops for dinner so it was actually a pretty even trade.
Eric went home on Sunday night and things immediately got boring around here. Marc is back to studying and Chloe is sleeping like always. I had a really good day at work yesterday, and then today came. I think my mind got confused and thought today was Monday. However, I am so excited to get through this week because Nathan, Katie and Sleeve are coming this weekend and I can't think of any thing better than seeing them! It has been way too long! I think I am going to go run. I need stress relief, and to lose a few pounds. But before that I think I want a few more Milano cookies... :)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Small Town Kid...
In other news, I miss Abilene. I thought I was a city girl until we moved to the city... turns out I'm a semi-country girl that really likes visiting the city. I'm not sure what it is about Abilene, but it has its own kinda charm. Sometimes it really sucks to walk into the grocery store here knowing that there is NO way I know a single person in there. I hate knowing that if my car were to break down here and Marc were in class, I better have a towing service on my speed dial because there is no one else to call. And even if I did have a close friend that I could call, chances that they would be remotely close to my location in this enourmous city is very small.
So in honor of missing Abilene, and never quite being able to express it in the right way... here is a list of what I miss - in words and pictures, because well... pictures say it better than I ever could!
I miss...
- always knowing that even if there was NOTHING to do in Abilene on the weekends, we had great friends to sit around with.
- camping... well trying to camp and always returning home at 2 in the morning because it really wasn't that great of an idea.
- listening to Eli Young songs every weekend and having best friends that know every word as well as I do
- having so many people over that our entire yard was full of cars, because the crazy vetranarian wouldn't let us park in "his" parking lot
- Sharky's
- having friends that knew that 7:00 really meant somewhere around 9:30.
- when Saturday night meant that less than 8 hours went by from the time you said goodbye to your friends til the time you saw them again at church on Sunday.
- Free, delicious home-cooked dinners every Wednesday night with Marc’s family.
- watching my little brothers (and sister!) grow up.
- making Elayna help me rearange my furniture when Marc was working.
- having a house with a backyard.
- how driving “all the way across town” really meant a 15 minute drive.
- the West Texas Fair & Rodeo
- Abilene High vs. Cooper Games
- Fujis and Bonsai
- the “Butternut and Treadway” and “695-1181” commercials
- Knowing that my friends closets were a better place to look for clothes than the Abilene mall.
- The Grape House.
- not needing a GPS to get EVERYWHERE
- the Bumann's hot tub when it was 10 degrees outside.
- Thursday nights at our favorite place :)
- fitting more stuff in a refrigerator than anyone could ever imagine
-actually knowing our neighbors.
Most of all I miss...
So in honor of missing Abilene, and never quite being able to express it in the right way... here is a list of what I miss - in words and pictures, because well... pictures say it better than I ever could!
I miss...
- always knowing that even if there was NOTHING to do in Abilene on the weekends, we had great friends to sit around with.
- camping... well trying to camp and always returning home at 2 in the morning because it really wasn't that great of an idea.
- listening to Eli Young songs every weekend and having best friends that know every word as well as I do
- having so many people over that our entire yard was full of cars, because the crazy vetranarian wouldn't let us park in "his" parking lot
- Sharky's
- having friends that knew that 7:00 really meant somewhere around 9:30.
- when Saturday night meant that less than 8 hours went by from the time you said goodbye to your friends til the time you saw them again at church on Sunday.
- Free, delicious home-cooked dinners every Wednesday night with Marc’s family.
- watching my little brothers (and sister!) grow up.
- making Elayna help me rearange my furniture when Marc was working.
- having a house with a backyard.
- how driving “all the way across town” really meant a 15 minute drive.
- the West Texas Fair & Rodeo
- Abilene High vs. Cooper Games
- Fujis and Bonsai
- the “Butternut and Treadway” and “695-1181” commercials
- Knowing that my friends closets were a better place to look for clothes than the Abilene mall.
- The Grape House.
- not needing a GPS to get EVERYWHERE
- the Bumann's hot tub when it was 10 degrees outside.
- Thursday nights at our favorite place :)
- fitting more stuff in a refrigerator than anyone could ever imagine
-actually knowing our neighbors.
Most of all I miss...
And of course :
Most of all I miss you girls dearly!!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Somedays...
Monday. Ugh, just the sound of it makes me sad. Today wasn't so horrible. The kids at the shetler had the day off from school so guess who got to work at 8 AM instead of Noon? Since I basically work at a daycare (no thats not my "title" and really there is more to it than that, but on days like today no one can argue with me, its a daycare), I have to follow the school schedule. So when the kids are at school I work 12-8 so I can be there when they get home and when they are not in school I am there from 8-4. I like 8-4 better for the most part (like being able to cook dinner and see Marc) but I like being able to sleep in on my 12-8 days and only seeing the kids for a few hours instead of 8.
However, today was fun. We had a wonderful organization donate tennis rackets and I have been slowly but surely teaching these inner city kids the sport of tennis. Most of them have no idea how to play and think the rackets are better used as pretend swords, but we are working on it. So today we "played" some tennis (with balls that weren't actually tennis balls on an outdoor basketball court... but hey, we do what we can). We had our Bible study, ate lunch (well they ate, I supervised), watched Chronicles of Narnia, and had coloring contests (with Veggie Tales on in the background).
There is one thing I do miss about the summer and the 8-4 workdays, the Bible studies with the kids. I miss hearing them pray and their thoughts on the story or verse of the day. It is always so refreshing. However, since during the school year most of our time is spent together after school, all of my energy is dedicated to homework and making sure they don't kill each other. But today we got a chance to have a Bible study and a popcorn prayer. If you ever need to be blessed listen to a child pray, they are so sincere and loving and honest... everything Christianity should be. They pray for things like: mean people to have a good day, and moms to find a job, and that somehow, someway God will make a way for them to leave the shelter and live a better life. My heart breaks a little each time I hear them pray. I can't even begin to explain how much I want these children to succeed. They have faced so much in their short little lives, and it is just not fair. They are the products of a broken society, of lifetimes of bad decisions and of tragedies and struggle. I can see the attitudes and actions (good and bad) of their parents in almost every single one of them... I feel like they are bound to a cycle that has been placed on repeat. Some days it is literally almost too much, I want to be more to them than a daycare provider, and in someways I know I am. I hate the feeling that for some of them it is too late, but some days I feel hopeless. Some days all there is to do is pray, so thats what we did today. One of the little girls started the prayer and to my amazement, they all sat still, taking turns praying for things that were on their mind. Some days make the other days so worth it.
However, today was fun. We had a wonderful organization donate tennis rackets and I have been slowly but surely teaching these inner city kids the sport of tennis. Most of them have no idea how to play and think the rackets are better used as pretend swords, but we are working on it. So today we "played" some tennis (with balls that weren't actually tennis balls on an outdoor basketball court... but hey, we do what we can). We had our Bible study, ate lunch (well they ate, I supervised), watched Chronicles of Narnia, and had coloring contests (with Veggie Tales on in the background).
There is one thing I do miss about the summer and the 8-4 workdays, the Bible studies with the kids. I miss hearing them pray and their thoughts on the story or verse of the day. It is always so refreshing. However, since during the school year most of our time is spent together after school, all of my energy is dedicated to homework and making sure they don't kill each other. But today we got a chance to have a Bible study and a popcorn prayer. If you ever need to be blessed listen to a child pray, they are so sincere and loving and honest... everything Christianity should be. They pray for things like: mean people to have a good day, and moms to find a job, and that somehow, someway God will make a way for them to leave the shelter and live a better life. My heart breaks a little each time I hear them pray. I can't even begin to explain how much I want these children to succeed. They have faced so much in their short little lives, and it is just not fair. They are the products of a broken society, of lifetimes of bad decisions and of tragedies and struggle. I can see the attitudes and actions (good and bad) of their parents in almost every single one of them... I feel like they are bound to a cycle that has been placed on repeat. Some days it is literally almost too much, I want to be more to them than a daycare provider, and in someways I know I am. I hate the feeling that for some of them it is too late, but some days I feel hopeless. Some days all there is to do is pray, so thats what we did today. One of the little girls started the prayer and to my amazement, they all sat still, taking turns praying for things that were on their mind. Some days make the other days so worth it.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
New Hobby :)
So since Marc is either at school, studying, or playing some sort of XBOX game 90% of the time, I have found my own hobby (which he will probably soon regret because it means me spending lots of time in places I can spend lots of money:). I have decided to start making jewelry, and it turns out its pretty fun and relaxing and it leaves me with some awesome looking things to wear! I haven't decided whether I want to try and actually sell them (like on etsy or something) or if I want to just have fun and make them at the request of friends and family. Right now, I really just like being creative... so if you see one you like or need something specific, let me know and I will see what I can do!
Here are the ones I have made this weekend... The pictures aren't wonderful so please don't judge :)
Here are the ones I have made this weekend... The pictures aren't wonderful so please don't judge :)
The coloring on this one is a little hard to see, the beading is light and dark purple.
Other than my new hobby life has been normal! I go to work and Marc goes to school. We don't see each other all that much during the week since I work until 8 and Marc goes to school everyday at 9, but our weekends are usually pretty fun. It is so nice to have two whole days off together. We have found a cool new church and have really enjoyed going.
Also, it is our favorite time of year because our Saturday and Sunday afternoons are filled with football! Marc loves the Cowboys and we even ate a special Sunday lunch the first week of football because our cable was not showing the Cowboys game, and we had to find a restaurant that was! I have decided to stay loyal to the Broncos even though I don't agree with the firing of Mike Shanahan. So far they have surprised me, we will see how long that lasts. Next weekend the Cowboys play the Broncos... our house will be divided. Until then, I leave you with a picture of Marc and I before our dove hunting adventure and a picture of our ridiculously lazy dog...
Yes, that is how I found her after my shower, and yes that is my pillow.
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