shine a light on me

Random picture from my Yellowstone adventure with the siblings. I think I may have been faking sleep in order to make the picture funnier. Everyone else was sleeping for realsies.

School is going well--in fact, I feel a little guilty that I'm not more stressed out. Can I still be a good teacher even when I'm not stressed? Not sure. But I am enjoying the fulfillment of working with the same kids day in, day out, working in my field, and the paycheck (first one tomorrow!).

We have a Sufjan station on last.fm. I just heard a song by Great Lake Swimmers. I think it was called "Concrete Hearts." It was soothing and relaxing. Philip is out tonight hanging out with the youth of the church, so it's my night to veg out and eat popcorn and read and watch sappy chick flicks. I look forward to it each week, now that I have less down time.

Life is changing but staying the same, too. We had a great visit from Philip's parents and from LQS (one of my favorite people!) We love visitors, and it's worth all the craziness. Hint: Come visit.

This post is a little disjointed. I felt like updating but not in a diligent, coherent way.

I'm establishing the bad habit of coming home, putting pjs on and vegging out with food and tv or a movie. The other night we committed ourselves to not turning on the computer after 6ish p.m. And I read almost the whole book of Genesis for small group. The hard part was deciding to turn off the computer, but once we did it, we really enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of background music, soft lighting and candles, and a Good Book. Today we went for a bike ride in the beautiful fall weather. I would like to commit myself to being more intentional and active so that vegging out is more well-deserved.

We'll see how this goes.

Can anyone else not believe it's almost October? (Did that even make sense?)

everybody's got a seed to sow

School started last Monday. I was anxious the full week before, but once Monday arrived, I felt good. I had slept well and was feeling excited and only a little nervous. Feeling relaxed as a teacher is great! Of course, there is always some kind of stress available, but I'm making the choice to not be stressed about it. Instead, I'm joyful and excited to face the challenges that are coming my way.

Fourth year exceeds first year. And even second and third years.

This weekend, I had a major bout of nostalgia. We recently realized we won't be able to go anywhere over Christmas this year, which sucks. This will be the first year I won't be in Iowa for Christmas, but we won't even be with Philip's side. It will just be us. I'm a little nervous. I think it's coming out in waves of nostalgia:

-I bought crayons yesterday. 25 cents!
-I've been singing Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant several times.
-Philip and I have been looking through my high school yearbooks.
-I saw a beach towel that Al had when we were growing up.
-Philip & I watched Big this weekend. Tom Hanks has always been amazing.
-I'm missing the 80s. Yeep!
-I hula hooped at the farmers market on Saturday. I'm starting to write my birthday list.

Anyway, it's been fun to look back and remember "the good old days." At least I've had time to make WA home before having to miss out on an Iowa Christmas. I love living here. Hopefully that will help get me through the holidays. I'm grateful to have Philip here to make memories with, too. It will be special for us, I think.

The weekend is ending. It's been a good one. Lots of friends, ridiculously unhealthy food, and naps. And I'm actually feeling rested and ready to return to school tomorrow. We're starting The Giver this week, which I'm super excited for. It's a great book with great discussion material--perfect for my 8th graders.

Here goes!