imagine summer without....

imagine summer without....

summer porch love

• sun kissed arms aka farmer's tan
• time with friends....it may take me all summer to see them all...but i will see them all
• cleaning....closets, the top of the refrigerator, the laundry room, the play room....those places that all year long i say "i'll do that later"
• random road trips to awesome places right down the road
• popsicles but not more than 5 a day ;) 
• poptarts and cereal for supper because it is way to hot to cook
• carrying a pool bag and bathing suits in the car with you just in case you need them
• naps
• watering the garden every morning
• movies and books

......oh wait i think this is not summer at all, it is called the school year

so glad its summer and i'm not sitting around imagining what it's going to be like not to have bed times, homework, and papers to grade

what are you imagining these days? or are you living in the moment?

a brother and a friend

A friend loves at all times,

    and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Proverbs 17:17

i pray that they always be more than siblings but friends.

loyal

honest

supportive

helpful

the characteristics of a friend float around in my head.  you know a true friend.

and i can't help but be thankful for the christian men and women who showed these characteristics to myself and my family as i grew into the person i am today. 

 may i be the friend that they have always been to me.

what friends have helped you be a better friend?

lovely linky
Jumping Tandem
Hear it on Sunday

views from storms to sunshine

photo credit randall blackburn

 last night the storm clouds rolled in
they were strong and fierce
they moved quickly and left rain and
thunder rumbles












within the hour 
the rainbow appears
with the promise and hope of Him
and i wonder how those without God view rainbows












this morning the world was shiny and green
and the sun danced on the trees and smiled at me
with coffee in hand and the Lord on my mind
i knew that all the views of His great works 
are marvelously planned

You who laid the foundations of the earth,

So that it should not be moved forever!

Psalm 104:5

lovely linky
Five Minute Friday w/ Lisa Jo Baker

excited about things to come

in no particular order

• this picture   

• summer time ----- coffee on my porch, hanging out with my kids and my family, the beach
• gardening ----- growing your own food is a reward from God
• VBS ---- its a farm theme, how can you not be excited
• a new school year and basically a new job
• i graduated nc state university with a degree in middle school education with a concentration in language arts and social studies.  i student taught social studies.  i said i am going to teach social studies and i would love to teach 8th grade.  july 2006 i was hired for my first job teaching.....math.  the last seven years i have smiled though.  my friend yesterday said but your good at teaching math and i said its my job.  i did everything i could to make my math class unlike any other math class.  don't get me wrong i taught the math but we read books and colored and cut and pasted and sometimes they would look at me like i was crazy and say but this is math class. i always felt they learned the math but maybe not the best way.  but next year i get to do what i went to school to be and maybe it won't be as great as i imagine but at least i get to find out
• making progress with my children and entitlement ------- my son cleaned both toilets this morning and swept and mopped his bathroom, i'm not saying we're cured but celebrating progress
• reading ------ my list of books to read is growing and my free time is about to significantly increase
• BABIES ----- my best friend and college roommate had a sweet baby boy this week, my "sister" is having a baby in november and we find out what it is in june, and my very good friend and church sister is having a baby in august!!  there is nothing sweeter than seeing your friends have babies and knowing the love they feel deep inside because you feel it too for your own children
• weight loss ---- i have lost 15 pounds since august and i am hoping this summer i can really get into an exercise routine 
• 30!!! --- i turn 30 soon, i'm excited and terrified!

so much excitement

so thankful to God for all the blessings in my life

anything exciting happening in your life these days???

comfort in being loved

the comfort found in knowing you are loved 

is like a warm blanket on a cold day

it brings a peace deep inside that one can not explain

only feel

and this love is one we all long for and search for

there are few places in can truly be found

the first place is from your mom

my mother award for 2013 from owen
"she love my hart evrywere and anywere"

the comfort only she can give

to heal scrapped knees and hurt feelings

the second place is from your own children

no matter how much wrong you have done in the past

or how imperfect a mother you are

they still love

they look at you with those bright eyes and toothless grins

and love you like no one else

and the third place

is the most filling and everlasting

the comfort in knowing you are loved by your heavenly father

and to know the He loves YOU

is enough to carry you through the darkest days

it is what makes me wake up with a smile

it is what gets me through

and even though my love with never be enough

His will

i hope you find comfort this weekend in loving your mom, your children, and your Lord.

you may not have the first two, but we can all find comfort in our Heavenly Father.

Happy Mother's Day



linking up
Five Minute Friday w/ Lisa Jo Baker

why i teach and the best teacher appreciation gift

why i teach.....
believe it or not its not to make them smarter although i do try
it is most definitely not for a good test score
its not to make me look good
its not for the money, fame, or honor
it isn't because i even want to sometimes
it is because it is what God called me to do
i show up every day because He called me to teach
He holds my hand all day long
and it doesn't matter what I'm teaching 
God is teaching through me
and i'm not perfect
i make mistakes
i am not the greatest teacher
but i work hard to make sure my students are loved
they are listened too
they are notified of the fact that this world is big and beautiful
and they are lots of places for them to go and lots of things for them to be
and to soak in all the knowledge they can because their brain is growing
and until God calls me somewhere else
i will teach
i will love their sweet faces
i will forgive them when they do wrong
i will encourage their learning everyday
because God needs me to

***the best gift you can give for teacher appreciation.....

pray for your child's teacher every day and tell them you are praying for them

lovely linkys
Jen @ Finding Heaven                                                  

brave

brave

an old picture of Owen
"is this snake real?"
brave

i was brave once
i confronted a friend
i faced my parents when i had done wrong
i stood in front of 28 6th graders and taught algebra
i had a baby...oh wait i had two

brave
i am not
often i don't say what i need to
often i crumble and go home

but brave people.....
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
the person waking up with cancer every day
the president of the USA
Daniel
the mom with a sick child that won't ever get better
.......these people are heros
and braver is the truest sign


"Brave is a whisper some days and others its a battle cry."  Lisa Jo Baker


Linking up 
Five Minute Friday