Signs of Spring

I bought a tulip bulb along with a daffodil bulb that had already begun to grow, over spring break and today the tulips opened up with the first good day of sunshine we've had this week!

I love growing things and am delighted to have this mini garden growing on our living room window sill :)

Spring is on its way!

He Still Reigns

As I listen to the song 'Forever Reign' by Hillsong, Japan and the tragedy they are experiencing lies heavy on my heart.

This is all a part of God's bigger plan, and even in the middle of this sadness and devastation, He still reigns, forever!

I just lift up the people of Japan and everything they are going through, that lives will be changed and turned towards God. I'm praying for the Christians in that part of the world, that God will use them to reach out to other people and bring healing to the hurt. I'm praying for peace for those who feel like their world is literally falling down around them.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you;

my peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives do I give to you.

Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Looking Back

A year ago at the beginning of this month, I was here...

With awesome people like this....

And this....

Doing crazy fun stuff like this....

And this....

Thanks for the memories and....

My feet will find their way back to ya soon, Australia :)

Changes

Obama: Egypt 'Never Be the Same'

The world is constantly moving and changing and we saw Egypt make its' mark in history this week as the nation's President stepped down after 30 years in power! The strength and stamina of the protestors over the past 18 days has been inspiring, and it will definitely be interesting to watch the direction Egypt is headed as the military steps into power.

Meanwhile, I am 1/3 of the way through the spring semester as of the end of this week! What can I say, time flies when you're having fun. As I work my way through my internship this semester, I can say that I like 3rd grade more than Kindergarten, which I'm really glad I figured out now, because I initially wanted Kinders for my student teaching. I never saw myself liking the upper grades more than the younger ones, but now I'm thinking I want 3rd or 4th grade next year. I have also discovered that Kindergartners are very germy! I just keep telling myself that all these colds I keep getting are strengthening my immune system; and it could be worse, I could have the stomach virus.

Hope you are encouraged by the return of some warmer weather this weekend like I am. Sit back and relax!

Snow Days (Again)

This is the first week back to school after winter break and how many classes/internship days have I attended? 0.

Zero, none, zilch.

GCS decided to call off school on Monday because of the impending winter storm, so that meant no internship. UNCG called off all classes after 4P, so that meant no night class.

UNCG closed all day Tuesday so that meant no morning class.

Aaaand, GCS decided to close again today, so that meant no internship.

I have no class on Thursdays, so that means my first official day of school will be Friday!

God just knew that we needed to jump back in very slowly :)

Our apartment has been full of people over the past few days, playing board games, cooking, doing puzzles, and watching movies. Good times, good times.

Thrift Store Finds

Thrift stores are one of my best friends and I had a couple of good finds today:

The Salvation Army thrift in Greensboro has a great book selection and I'm always keeping an eye out for books I can use in my future classroom library. I snagged Boxcar Children book #9, Caddie Woodlawn (A favorite of mine when I was younger), Annie Oakley (a part of the 'Childhood of Famous Americans' series that I also enjoyed growing up), and an old copy (1928) of 'Wind in the Willows'.

I also found a Chris Rice CD: 'Smell The Color 9'.

The Goodwill in Greensboro does not have a great book selection but they do have a great clothing selection, and I found 2 J. Crew sweaters and another nice gray sweater, all 3 of which I can wear for internship.

All great finds for a grand total of $14 dollars spent!

Merry Christmas and Happy Snow Days!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

The snowfall we had the day after Christmas topped off the season very nicely. Steve and I rounded up two cardboard boxes with wax coatings on the outside and went on a sledding adventure! We had so much fun and were frozen by the time we finished. I even tried my hand at snow cream later that day which turned out delicious.

This was the first spot Steve and I chose for our sledding ventures.

This critter loves frolicking in the snow.

This is the most snow I've seen (about 6 inches) since my freshman year at UNCG; that snow was a memorable one that relieved us of classes for a day. Too bad it can't stick around!