smog.. (Sun.4.26.09)

on the way to church.

After having only heard about the fires all week, it was kind of sobering to drive right into the thickest smog I've ever seen Sunday morning...

The blaze - which started Wednesday, destroyed 70 houses and 19,600 acres, and continued to smolder Sunday - was 85 percent contained by Sunday afternoon, said Russell Hubright...
-The Sun News (4/27/09 update)

first comes love.. (Sat.4.25.09)

the day started with more TMP+BN collision..

(reunited with my beloved 2nd graders for Story Time! :)


and then...... after lunch, some nail painting, and a few more preparations.... it was finally time for Meg & Jonny's big day!!!



a beautiful, enjoyable wedding it was too.... <3 (love the look on Jonny's face when Candice asked him to 'hold it' so we could get a picture.. quite classic! :) two more favorites for you, Shannon.......


... love that last one! ♥

project showcase.. (Fri.4.24.09)

Miss Emma and some TMP middle schoolers.

..hanging out in the cafe with their projects on display.. very good times!

worlds collide.. (Thurs.4.23.09)

It was more of a treat than I could have imagined to have TMP come to Barnes for a fundraiser/book-drive!!

..to kick off the weekend, these ladies came to set up, gather books from their wish list, and play some games.. :)


...later that night.........

sisters.. Joy & Meg.

..not at all what I expected for Meg's bachelorette, but a seriously fun time!! ..glad to be a part of the occasion all the way around! <3

jammies are nice.. (Wed.4.22.09)

I've never been particularly obsessed with PJs ..but these days I find myself appreciating them more and more!!

....the longer the day, the nicer they feel!!

I also got to enjoy some more sweet outside time with the fam.. <3

seriously (in MB)..

photo credit: Janet Blackmon Morgan / The Sun News

Smoke billows at the Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Wednesday.

the rest of the article from the Los Angeles Times..

http://tiny.cc/sAmfV

..last I heard over 100 homes have burned!!

This community seriously needs our prayers.. not to mention some of our clothes, etc..

special delivery.. (Tues.4.21.09)

8 boxes in the back of my vehicle.

I got to deliver these to a school today. What a cool job I have.. (I like it too because I like using my muscles like this load required; I'm sure I have my dad to thank for that! :)

I think it's great that at B&N we go out of our way to make it as easy as possible for teachers and individuals to get the books and materials they need!

B&N loves teachers.. (Mon.4.20.09)

..its' Educator Appreciation week at work.. what a fantastic week to have!

Some of these cards (and the applications that proceed them) are going to a private school this week..<3

no more of that! (Sun.4.19.09)

Guess what this is...... my LAST payment stub for my car loan!!!!!!

WOOHOO!!

(Thanks to Dave Ramsey and the wealth of information I learned in FPU, I cut over a year off the life of this one!!) ..Lord willing, and I believe He is, the next one will be paid for with cash.. no more loans for this kid!!

(I figured I'd black out the account number just to be safe..)

29 before thirty #8, check!

inspired?

my attempt at haiku...
the breeze is so fresh
birds singing out my window
spring is in the air


take 2... (not haiku :)
I've had a great day
I asked it to stay
but the sun set anyway
glad tomorrow's a new day

This was inspired by my dear friend Kelley who writes Orderly Conduct.. a fantastically creative and entertaining blog! ..props to her! Thanks for the inspiration, my friend! <3

catching up...

almost there... I updated daily photos 3/26-3/30.. scroll down and check 'em out :)

...played with this photo in one of the new programs J. put on the mac: picturesque.
..fun fun! <3

tamborine girl.. (Sat.4.18.09)

'How'm I doin?'

Adorable! ..with her dad's band at the Earth Day fest at TMC today..

..too cute for words!

TGIF.. (Fri.4.17)

Alfords.

Jerry's birthday was Thursday so we celebrated at Shannon & Steph's last night...

They're the cutest. <3

attempted organization.. (Thurs.4.16.09)

my new project board.

Compartmentalizing my tasks...

So far I really like my responsibilities at work, but I felt like I needed a visual to keep me organized, and from letting anything fall through the cracks.. We'll see how it goes..

pretty candid.. (Wed.4.15.09)

celebrating Loraine.

I had a posed shot of the three of us, but I liked this one better.. I forgot the little girl's name, but their friend adopted her from Guatemala.. <3

Loraine is great. Glad I got to make it to her birthday dinner.. I've only known her a year or so, but it feels like longer!

Sam's my favorite too. You probably already knew that.

..She brought Loraine those pretty flowers (among other things) for her bday.. And she brought me pictures from Jeremy's birthday bash. She's always so thoughtful like that. (She certainly can't take a compliment though! ..I'll give them to her anyway ;)

<3

speaking of stillness.. (Tues.4.14.09)

1933 hymn.

At BSF we sing hymns and I'm glad that we do.

It's a little more difficult in the children's program (because, let's face it, they're just not as easy to sing as the little ditties they come up with nowadays!).. but they are honestly a blessing!

I picked this one tonight.. a little stretch tying it into the 'aim' (or main-teaching) of the night, but it's what I'm learning and considering, and since it was my night to lead/pick the songs, I went for it...

These are good words:

1. Be still, my soul! the Lord is on thy side; bear patiently the
cross of grief or pain; leave to thy God to order and provide...

2. Be still, my soul! the Lord doth undertake; to guide the future
as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake....

3. Be still, my soul! the hour is hastening on when we shall be for-
ever with the Lord, when disappointment, fear, and grief are gone...

..just the beginnings of the verses... hope you like....

Rools 1, 2, & 3.. (Mon.4.13.09)

Kayla's Rools.

Rool 1- do not let the cat out.

Rool 2- feed cat.

3 Rool is pet the cat,

and love the cat that means that you can pick her up.

We are in Now Yok , Kimbrley.

Love, Your sister Kayla.


.....pretty good for six!!

(please click on it to see it big for yourself.. :)

goodies... (Sun.4.12.09)

Yes, the Easter bunny still finds me...

It's probably a little sad. I'm surely much too grown for such shenanigans, but my parents do indulge... and even though they hopped a plane for NY (to visit the G-fam) two days before, they left these sweet goodies for me!!

...the best part.. Kayla's "rools" about taking care of the cat while they were gone.. way too cute for words! (I'll have to take a picture!)


I added the journal in the picture for a reason..

I've been thinking lately of a project for myself.. one that pushes me beyond the daily routine of work and life.. something to challenge my heart to dig a little deeper... hence, the journal...

I made myself a little outline, maybe it will last, maybe it won't.. the point is that I develop the habit of being still... and of listening..

I am a talker and a doer and a busy-body really.

This is me intentionally taking it down a notch.

The goal: to listen more than I talk/write.... ultimately, to learn & grow..

charleston for a day.. (Sat.4.11.09)

Charles Towne Landing, Sir.

What a glorious day it was!

..the weather was absolutely perfect and each stop was just right! (thrift stores, the state park, campus & downtown..)

..It was so nice to spend the day walking (more than we realized until we finally sat down for the drive home!!), photoing, oooing & ahhing.. eating, and enjoying.. very very nice indeed!

...a few more photos for you.. (b/c one is not enough!! ;)....


more state park fun...


J's new favorite store & one of many picturesque churches..


peeling paint.. .......and beloved CofC! <3

breakfast..(fri.4.10.09)

organic & no high fructose corn syrup.

breakfast is such a tricky meal of the day for me.. I would be content with just coffee, but I know better..

I was looking for some type of protein bar when I stumbled across these.. they're more like a cereal bar, but they had the least amount of sugar and more of the good stuff.. and guess what, they actually taste GOOD! :)

...Sat. 4/11 = Charleston day with my love!! (yay!)<3

PJs & taxes.. (thurs.4.9.09)

The highlight of my day literally was being home and in my PJs by 5:00!

..after doing nothing on purpose for a while, I finished my taxes..

Federal has been e-filed and will be direct deposited.. (yay!)

For some reason they wanted $19.95 to e-file State, so I printed the forms and just did them by hand....

So glad to have that done!

Fun fact: According to the online records, I filed on April 9th of last year too! :)

one a day.. (wed.4.8.09)

amusing myself.

Driving a lot for work is fine with me, but some days, when the drives are particularly lengthy, I get a little stir crazy and find the need to play a little! :)

...I am resolving to post these daily....
If I miss one, I can catch up a little, but two weeks behind = not so fun.
(more to come.. I will eventually catch up on the days I've skipped..)

no sign of life

take 1.

Today as I went school-visiting (as I do 4 out of 5 days for work) this is where the GPS led me.. not to blame the computer, it took me where I asked it; however, I was obviously a little concerned!!



take 2.

This is what I found at the second address I had plugged in... Oh my.

I knew this either meant no more public education for this poor town or that they had prospered and rebuilt!

Thankfully the latter was true and I am happily reporting that -after finding the new addresses- all four stops showed signs of life and learning and even joy! :)

nightstand mementos.. (tues.4.7.09)

I'm not gonna lie, sometimes it's a stretch to take a photo every single day... but I am up for the challenge; no giving up!!

I thought my nightstand books were a good fit for the day... another one that got away faster than I like!

Speaking of dying.. I've thought a lot about the brevity of life lately.. and especially about how to best spend these moments we've been given....

(we lost a member of our church this past week and J's uncle just passed Monday night).. not one of us is guaranteed tomorrow!

..how to make it count!?

I'm going to keep reading and talking the ideas out with those that will listen, then maybe I'll post my 'deep thoughts' on the subject.. until then......

it counts... (mon.4.6.09)

classic.

It was getting late and I hadn't taken a pic-of-the-day yet, so Jeremy decided to help me out.

I like it:
1. you cannot see my whole face :)
2. you can see bookland in the background
(btw, that is a term of endearment; I love bookland!)

(Jeremy didn't think it would count as my pic-of-the-day b/c I didn't take the picture myself.. I considered that, but it's a non-rule.. just in case you were wondering ;)

today.. (Mon.3.31)

the daily photos are alive and well.

don't have time to catch them all up now, but these are the moments that caught my eye today...




love those two.. glad I stopped what I was doing long enough to enjoy them and capture the moment!!

(thanks to J's Sony, I love the way they turned out... I should probably adjust the color on them too..)

window panes.. (Mon.3.30.09)

a portion of the window project I made for Abiding Village's grand opening.

This was a great challenge for me and makes me want to paint and create more regularly!

..here's the full shot..

8 panes = 8 fruits of the Spirit:

top: patience, love, kindness, self-control.. bottom: peace, joy, gentleness, goodness

new members.. (Sun.3.29.09)

Davis.

What a cutie!

We're not so new at church, but since we were part of the Beginnings class recently, we got to be part of the baptism/new member service Sunday night! :)

washer man.. (Sat.3.28.09)

I already had a post for today, but I was sitting at Starbucks by the beach and thought this made for a cool shot.. so here's to double-duty for 3/28... :)

Myranda and I have been making a point to get together lately. I'm glad for that. We had coffee and talked about Crazy Love and Jesus and life... good times.

celebrating dad.. (Sat.3.28.09)

dad's birthday celebration upstairs.

We had taco night and Mom made cake.. yummy..

I have a lot to be thankful for!

(I was trying to catch up on some pictures-of-the-day... looks like I'm missing Tuesday - Friday.. I'll have to update them later :)

the same but different.. (fri.3.27.09)

jeremy and kim in wash-cloth form.

haha.. this is me analyzing our personalities based on our napkin-style!

insightful? ;)

possibilities... (Thurs.3.26.09)

it was late.. I had no photo yet..

I like his idea: a blank slate.. the possibilities are endless! :)