KB

Dearest KB,

I love you. Although we all live in different cities and two different states, our bond has not changed. The other night that we were together was one of the most fun times I have had in a long time. You all three light up my life. You are an encouragement to me and to my walk with Jesus. Where have we come in knowing each other for six+ years and being best friends for three+.

The Lord has brought us each SO far. It is incredible to watch his work in each of your lives. At first examination, my heart breaks that I am so far from each of you (EVEN West Seattle is far when you compare three streets in PTown). But then I think and am prompted by the Holy Spirit to understand the true meaning of being far away. He has called us each to work and make his name Great. We met in college and had the same passion (sometimes having to be persuaded not only by the Lord but by each other as well) to be bold and intentional with the gospel. Now, we are all four finding out how to do that in the midst of different cultures; different from the other three.

What a great God we serve. That he would grant us such wonderful friendship. That it wouldn't end because we are far away. We have definitely been through our share of struggles, pain, tears, and discussions. But the Lord has brought us out of that stronger and more grateful for those friendships that he alone could create. I am so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for not giving up on me during my trial run as a mama. It definitely was harder than I expected but you three were intentional and loved on me even when I was really hard to love.

Can't wait for what the Lord has in store for each one of you & to be a part of that journey is truly a blessing.

Love you three.

~Meg

(That's what you get for a blurry iPhone pic)

la HAPPY

50!! 50!! 50!!


50 blog posts that is! So exciting! I am loving this new hobby & decided after seeing my dear friend Shelby's giveaway that I should do one of my own. So of course, I first asked my sweet husband & he replied sure! I am taking a break from blogging today to do my giveaway which is a lovely set of cards called the Love Card Collection from my friend Sally. I am excited to have her posting today on my blog and to give away her adorable set of cards.

To enter the giveaway:
-Post a comment on this blog post telling me what you are thankful for & how you show that you are thankful for that
-Subscribe to my blog & write a comment telling me you did so; if you already do just tell me so!
-Subscribe to Sally's blog & leave a comment telling me you did so, if you already do just tell me so!
-Tweet/Update your status telling your friends about the giveaway
-Like Sally's shop on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so, if you already did just tell me so!

You heard me, 5 chances to win this! The winner will be announced Sunday night! Get commenting! But first... read this great post from my friend Sally! Thanks for posting Sally!


















(Photo courtesy of Sally Balt)

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I have been loving Megan's JOB postings. They are personally convicting to me, a self proclaimed “pessimist” or, if I were to be honest, a women who many times chooses discontentment and grumbling over praise and thankfulness. JOB day 12, “Write down something you're grateful for that you do not yet see the outcome but you know God is working...” was an especially interesting exercise for me. I have had many moments when I didn't understand what God what doing and instead of trusting that God was at work behind the scenes orchestrating, loving and working out the best for me, I chose to forget that he who had “formed my inward parts” and “knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13) wants the best for me. He loves me so much that even the hairs of my head are numbered (Luke 12:7). He was and is at work. Why then do I so quickly forget all of that? I constantly try to take control of my life, as if I ever really had control in the first place; I try to control the hurt and then look accusingly at God saying, “Why aren’t things going the way I had anticipated and planned?!” Even writing it down makes me cringe, as I am able to see my selfishness and pride dripping off every word. I find that I do this in things big and small. I can think of many times in the past few years that I did not see situations as blessings, but now I could fall to my knees in gratitude; I am so thankful that the Lord showed me the grace that he did.

It’s so easy for me to say, “Oh, thank you Jesus for food; thank you for my MacBook; thank you for my cute new JCrew coat” (those things are blessings for sure, and definitely deserve their own thanks!), but the challenge for me is to say “thank you” for the difficult things and to recognize that God is working for his good (and my good) behind the scenes, which sometimes takes me an embarrassingly-long time to recognize. Some things that I have struggled with are: thanking God for a budget (a new thing since being married!), realizing that I was putting my faith in stuffand it was becoming an idol, thanking God for allowing me to go through a recent season of daily migraines (without that, I wouldn’t have realized how prideful I am when it comes to asking for prayer)... seriously, the list goes on and on and, as a self-proclaimed “pessimist,” the list gets pettier and pettier, believe me!

All that being said, I am really thankful for the way the Lord doesn’t give up on me and continue to work for my good even though I am extremely prideful and, I am sure, very annoying much of the time. His grace is incredible and his patience limitless. I am thankful for that. I am also thankful for people like Megan who remind to be thankful. I hope you all are enjoying her sweet little blog! Thanks for asking me to post, Megan!

SALLY

L A H A P P Y

Print & Paper Love

sally@lahappy.com

www.lahappy.com

etsy.lahappy.com

lemontree3.com

“I entered to win a Trader Joes gift pack on lemontree3.com today. Did you?”

I love this blog. You really should read it. The three girls that write on it are amazing and I love them all.

~Meg

love.

Today, I can really say that I love being a mom. People have asked that so many times since I had Siena and each time had to come up with an answer. I would ask myself, “Do I love being a mom?” I couldn’t say yes. I couldn’t say no.

I couldn’t say yes because I didn’t feel like I loved being a mom. I knew I would. I knew that the Lord created me to be one and blessed me with a baby.

I couldn’t say no because I was scared. Scared to have people look at me crazy. Scared to admit that I didn’t love the job that the Lord gave me. Scared to say no.

A couple of times I half admitted that I wasn’t enjoying being a mom. That it was really hard. That most times I was up through the night I wanted to scream. I wanted to go outside and scream as loud as I could. I wanted to throw things. I’ve talked about this unrighteous, disgusting, sinful anger before. It was ugly. That most times I had to hold my baby through naps I wanted to cry. I’d even figured out how to go to the bathroom while holding her, open the fridge and eat, pour a glass of juice, have a quiet time. Pretty much anything.

I loved it for awhile. It was easier on me and much more restful. I didn’t have to listen to much crying and I could read and look at blogs for as long as she napped.

She finally got to the point where she was waking up throughout her naps where I would have to jiggle her back to sleep. It wasn’t getting easier, it was getting harder. So as I said before, we are on a new plan. I couldn’t hold my 13 pound baby forever.

Our days are not perfect but the Lord has looked on us and blessed my prayers. Each day is not easy but I am definitely learning to LOVE being a mom and LOVE my daughter more and more each day.

Awhile back my friend Shelbs and I were reading a hilarious post on parenting and knowing if you were ready. She told me that all of those “funny” things (that were actually more like reasons not to have a baby) were more scaring her than anything. We talked about how I should write a list of reasons that make parenting a joy. I have so procrastinated writing that list because I couldn’t necessarily find joy each day. But now I am. Now I can write that list. This post is half for my relationship with Siena and half because I have such an amazing friend named Shelby Lanting. She is such a blessing in my life and I hope to bless her through this list. Her friendship means so much to me.

*It is a joy to:

- be needed by such a sweet human

- know that you can ease her discomfort more than anyone else in the world

- know that you and your husband created such a beauty

- go to pick her up and see the gorgeous smiles that come alive because she knows you are there to be with her

- watch her grow and become a little girl

- see development each day – She is about to roll over and actually put her thumb in her mouth two days ago for the first time!

- know that the Lord has put her in my life to glorify him in my actions, sanctify me in the trials and joys, and to share the gospel with her every day

- watch her daddy and how much he loves her, totally redeeming father daughter love

- see how much others get joy from her and know that she is a part of me

- watch her little 6lb self become a chubby rolly polly 13 lb girl

- see that she is growing out of her second set of clothes and get ready to get into the next bag

- change her diapers because I am making her more comfy

- change her clothes and make her super cute with large flowers on her little head

- hear her make noises and try talking back to you

- pick her up after a nap and snuggle her little head into my shoulder

- lay her on my bed and sing and dance and watch her smile and laugh at me

- watch her daddy snuggle her on sleep in mornings

- … and sooo many more.

Hope that helped Shelbs. I love you. Thank you for constantly encouraging me and being there for me in everything over the last almost 5 years!

I'll just keep smiling...

An update:
Siena Joy is a joy. Every time now I get to hold her I cherish it. She is napping peacefully in her crib and I am so thankful. There are times that I have to listen to her cry and other times she just goes to sleep without a peep. Worth it? I think so.
Here are some recent pictures

13 lbs & coffee

My baby is no longer a skinny, 6lb, nb clothes wearing sweetie.
My baby is a chubby, 13lb, 0-3,3,3-6mo wearing sweetie.

My baby is no longer waking up every 2-3 hours to feed.
My baby sleeps through the night (except when she's teething & sick.)

My baby is no longer fussy and upset all evening.
My baby is full of smiles and sounds all evening till bedtime.

My baby is no longer a baby who has to be held constantly.
My baby will play on her play mat while I get things done.

I miss that tiny fussy girl.
I love this happy, roly poly girl.


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Have I said lately that I love my MIL?
I do!
I went to get our mail yesterday and this was in it!
I LOVE Starbs, Cougs, & my MIL.
Now my hubby & I will have to have a Valentines coffee date.



















Some pics from Wednesday:

1.5

I got an idea a week ago to priceline a hotel for Chris and I's 1.5. Our 1.5 anniversary that is. When we reached our 1 year, it was August and I was 7 months pregnant and super uncomfortable. Chris had planned a getaway to the Salish Lodge that overlooks Snoqualmie Falls. I opted that we waited to go until we had Siena Joy and I was more comfy and ready to actually snuggle up to my sweetie :).

So I began to plan a little getaway for the two of us to celebrate. I was going to have it happen this Friday, the 11th, because I thought that he had Saturday off. Good thing I had procrastinated in getting the hotel because I found out Chris actually had Wednesday (today) off. It was PERFECT! God is so good. 18 months prior to yesterday we were married and exactly 12 months from yesterday I took the pregnancy test and on our 6 month anniversary we found out we were pregnant. So much to celebrate and remember.

So here is the run down of yesterday:
9am: Siena wakes up, I hurry to make Chris and I lunch
10am: We leave to go visit Daddy's office so they can see Siena Joy
11am: Meet Grandma Sherie and Grandma M at Costco to buy Chinese Chicken Salad and a Magic Bullet
12:15pm: Meet Chris back in MV (Maple Valley) for lunch and let him read this note (that I was going to print off all cute but didn't have time so he read it off my iPhone)

Happy 1.5!
Today it's been 18 months since we married and 12 months since we found out about Siena Joy. You are an amazing man of God. It is incredible to see how he has sanctified, matured, and grown you in these short months of marriage. I feel so blessed to be married to you. You lead me to the Lord when my stubborn flesh doesn't want to. You gently, sometimes strongly take over caring for Siena when I don't have the strength. You love me and show me in so many ways. Because of how amazing you are and how much I love you I pray that tonight you feel loved & cherished.

12:16pm: Chris looks and me and says, "I read it really fast because I thought you were going to say we were pregnant again!" I reply, "...no not yet :)" He still has no idea that anything is happening even though I said tonight
12:45pm: Quick trip to Safeway to pick up ingredients for din
1:15pm: Get home and shower
2:00pm: Shelbs here, fun chat while I race around cleaning and packing our overnight bag
3:30pm: Shelbs leaves, I race around doing my hair, makeup, and continuing to finish cleaning
4:30pm: Mom gets here with Siena and I continue running around finishing details (Chris' outfit on the bed, running stuff for both of us packed, and wine and wine glasses packed - which we didn't end up drinking)
5:30pm: Finish making dinner
6:00pm: Feed SJ
6:30pm: CK gets home confused about why my mom is here
6:35pm: We leave after I get done explaining that we are going on a 1.5 date and act like we will see my mom in a few hours
7:00pm: Arrive at Kerry Park - if you haven't been there, GO! We hadn't been and it has SPECTACULAR views of Seattle - we eat our yummy chicken (recipe courtesy of Stac), rice, and salad
8:00pm: Arrive at the Space Needle - have fun reading on the history and looking at the cool sites, although the entire time I felt like I was on a plane and felt dizzy-ish and scared I was going to die, but it was fun nonetheless
9:30pm: Tell CK there is one more destination and drive by Hotel Max and point to it and say thats our last destination, CK doesn't believe me at first
9:32pm: Find out there is only valet and decide not to care that we spend $30 on parking
9:37pm: Proceed into the hotel - which if you care, is extremely bizarre
9:42pm: Get into our room out of the creepy hallway and we have a nice bed (King size - amazing upgrade from our normal full, yes we sleep in a full) and a huge flat screen (also an upgrade from our tv...)
10:00pm: Won't explain the rest of the details of the night - but we are married
10:00am: Finally we both wake up and get out of bed
10:05am: Brush teeth, get running gear on, and proceed out into chilly but beautifully sunny downtown Seattle
10:20am: Get pieces of fresh apple from two vendors and munch happily on the crisp sweetness
10:25am: Explain to Chris that we should get some fresh donuts from Pike Place, telling him that is why I stuck my debit card in my running pants zippered pocket
10:26am: He looks at me like I'm crazy
10:27am: We don't get donuts and we keep running
11:00am: Stop at Nord to see my dad
11:15am: Get a roof tour of Nord and see all the cool buildings and the water
11:40am: Decide we are getting McDonalds for bfast, my fav
11:55am: Check out of hotel
12:02pm: Realize there is not a drive-through at the MickyD's and get on the freeway
12:20pm: Get into Renton near the MickyD's and realize there is not breakfast anymore
12:30pm: Release mom from babysitting duties, love that woman to pieces
12:45pm: Eat huge omelets, toast, and orange juice that my hubby made for me
1:10pm: Get Siena to sleep
2:15pm: Put Siena into the little crib we borrowed from Sheree and Jon
2:42pm: Realize as I'm writing this that my husband probably knew that MickyD's would be out of bfast once we got to Renton
2:44pm: My baby is still sleeping in her crib... yes I know its only been a half hour but it's the longest she's gone in 6 weeks sleeping alone during the day


This was a wonderful blessing from the Lord. We celebrated, laughed, talked, got creeped out by the hotel, and knew all along that our sweet baby was being cared for.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Jesus.

(Pictures to come)

5am, tippy toes & laundry

that is what today is all about.

Siena broke out of her swaddle & woke up at 5am. I fed her because I don't want to spend an hour putting her back to bed. I went back to sleep and drifted in and out because of CK's many snooze attempts and eventually got up to... yes I'll say it on my blog: pump. Afterwards, I realized I hadn't set CK's coffee so I went into the kitchen and all of a sudden he was there.

"How do you get the coffee?" He asked with a grin.
"I stand on my tippy toes." I replied (with a little bit of attitude as you all know)
"You cutest." He said with another smirk.

Yes, I have to get the coffee down while standing on my tippy toes. I cannot reach our highest cabinets and that is where the coffee goes. The coffee I don't drink. The coffee that I make lovingly each morning for my husband unless one of two things happens. 1. I make it the night before - which is amazing if I remember! 2. The baby is up all night and I can't get out of bed to make it.

There is so much laundry all the time. Stacks of laundry waiting to be put in drawers and hung in closets. A huge bin of laundry in the office waiting to be put in. I'm sick of laundry. & usually I love it.

Something I'm thankful for today:
-Mom coming over
-Seeing Ally
-Community group tonight - a party to bid everyone goodbye as we go our separate ways

planner.

Yep, I'm a planner. I love to do lists, calendars, notes, and planners... that combine all three of the previous things. I love checking things off on a list. I feel accomplished. This feeling is fine in life until it starts to creep in to your relationship with the Holy One. God does not want us thinking that spending time with him, knowing him, or any of the other facets of our relationship with him are things on a to do list that just get checked off. He desires us to know and treasure him, after all he created us in his image, for his glory and joy. We should find joy in spending time with him.

I do however, find life much easier to be handled when things are written in one place. Which is why I was so excited and almost cried the other day when Shelbs checked my mailbox for me and there was no planner awaiting me. Little did I know the FedEx man would knock on the door with it in his hands a mere 20 mins later.

My friend Lexi introduced me to tinyprints and we got our Christmas cards made through them this year. They have a great feature where you enter addresses and for a small fee they print them and mail them off! It was such a help as a new mama! Anyway, after Christmas I got an email for 1/2 off planners and I still needed one! I absolutely love it! I got to upload a picture and explain how I wanted our names. The inside is cool too, with tons of space to write!

Let me know if you want one! I have coupons for 10% off!
Beautiful Personalized Planners!

Siena Joy - Part 1

Six and a half weeks in and I cannot believe it. Time is sort of in a weird slow, fast, fast, slow mentality. I've wanted to write since she was born, but in reality I didn't feel capable until now. I'll start at the beginning, post what I get done and probably have to do some part 2, part 3 action.

October 16th, 2010 was my mom's 49th birthday. We planned on dinner out and a movie at our apartment to celebrate. That day Chris was off and so we walked over to the local coffee shop and had Jesus and marriage time. It really was glorious. We sat down with our coffee & me with my pastries... at that time there was no moment without food (who am I kidding, that time is now as well) and Chris said something that I did not believe at the time. Megan, I think it's going to be today. He then told me that two of his good friends texted him that morning telling him that they were praying for him & us. Along with those friends, the woman who owned the coffee shop also talked to us when we got there about wondering when I was due and saying that she had dreamed about us the night before. To be honest, that was a little weird... but I guess ok as we were her first customers ever at her coffee shop. We made our way home and I started having contractions around 1:30. I layed in bed for awhile, not wanting to move. I started timing them and they lasted a little while but weren't consistent.

My mom came over around 5 and they continued to get more intense. We decided to drive to The Rock to have her birthday dinner. If you know where we live in comparison to the restaurant you would realize that this is ridiculous. It is super close... but I didn't think I could make it. I had contractions while at dinner and was timing them with my Iphone, having to look away as the waitress came because I was in so much pain. Leaving the restaurant I had to sit down on a bench while Chris got the car. They lasted through the movie at our apartment and as my mom left we promised to call if we went to the hospital.

It was 2:30 in the morning and for the last four hours I had gone to the bathroom so often to make the pain less intense that I was finally in too much pain to bear it. I told Chris and had him call the hospital. They had us come in but I wasn't dilated at all so they sent us home. That was SO frustrating as we didn't want to go home without our baby. They gave me medicine that was supposed to help me sleep. I took the medicine but for about three hours the contractions became worse and worse. No sleeping happened. We called again and told them how they had changed. By this point, I could barely stand and change my clothes. We had to stop on our way from the car to the elevator and I held on to Chris while in horrendous pain. They checked me out and I was dilated to a 5. Most of this time I do not even remember but I think that is God's way of loving me :). Because I was dilated to a 5 they told me we were going to have our baby! I was wheeled in to the labor and delivery room and I don't remember much of this either. I remember starting to have bad back labor and was so happy when the anesthesiologist came and gave me my epidural. It was a huge relief. I labored until 1:40 when my midwife told us we were dilated to a 9.9 and it was about time to start pushing. At 2:31 pm, Siena Joy was born!

The biggest thing I learned during this was how the Lord can carry us through anything. I was so anxious and worried about labor and birth, thinking that I was going to have a horror story to tell people about afterwards. God blessed my prayers and thoughts more than I ever imagined. He was with us every step of the way. The whole process wasn't easy but it was not like I'd imagined. I had a baby and my life was forever changed.





*These pictures are done by my amazing friend Heidi Dean.

Headbands

Today was fabulous! 90 degrees... some amazing women and kids from our wonderful church playing at the pool... a car that is going to cost WAY less than we thought to begin with :)... and HEADBANDS!

I found my crib bedding on etsy a couple of weeks ago and just totally fell in love. So when I was finally able to order them last week I kept peeking around at other sellers and their items for little girls. Something that I am so so so in love with for girls is headbands especially when they have giant flowers and rhinestones. Anyway... I came across someone selling them for really cheap (I'm talking cheap! I bought 1 headband at Nord for around $15 -with a flower and these without flowers were about $1 each!!!) and bought 8 different colors. They came today and I was super excited to open the package and touch the colors and the texture of the headbands... I cannot wait to put them on my little angel's tiny head.

Besides headbands, I am pretty much smitten with each and every little girly thing that I come across. Patience is definitely something that you learn when you are pregnant. There are so many things to wait expectantly for... but I am trying to trust the Lord in each area; big and small.

First Baby Movement!

My wonderful husband had a beautiful banner hanging up in our kitchen congratulating me on being a wonderful mama. I know some of you think well... maybe next year? However, this baby is real and I am going through the months of its tiny little parts forming... so I think that saying I am a mama is a true statement.

THE coolest part of all of this is that yesterday I was really trying to concentrate on my body and see if I felt anything different... and I did. A teeny tiny movement. Today was a hard day at work so I spent the last hour in my dark room reading my new Real Simple. Ever since I have felt these little tiny movements that I have NEVER felt before... So they say that right around 17weeks and on it is possible to feel your baby... it is the most precious, insane thing I have ever felt!


This one is at 14 weeks and I really thought I was showing... HAHA


This one is just last night :) I think you can see a difference!

Here is the amazing sign!

Baby Knight Part 2

So... I was told that you may want to hear the rest of the story. Chris and I have been going through a process of seeing the Lord's desire for our lives and seeing that translate into our own desires. We began this process in November and three months later decided that we really wanted a baby. This does not mean that we think we are by any means ready for a baby... I remember a time either right before or after Chris and I got engaged. We were talking to Darren about how we are supposed to "know" when we are ready for marriage. He looked at us and said, "You are never ready for marriage." Jesus shows us humbleness when we realize we will never be ready or have arrived at the place of being a perfect spouse or in this case a perfect parent. Well, for the Knights... it didn't take long for this to happen. I think we decided to try to get pregnant and we were basically the next week. I had been feeling sick for about two weeks. One example of this was driving to work one morning I got an overwhelming feeling that I was going to throw up. I had to completely turn off the music, turn off the heat, and drive with a hand over my face on the freeway. Praise Jesus that I didn't actually throw up all over my clothes...

The night of our 6month anniversary came around the corner and I got off work and decided to go on a 5 mile run. Chris and I were meeting in Bellevue for dinner so I had just enough time to run and come back and shower. I got home though and had a conversation with Christina about things that were going on and I finally brought up how I was feeling. She said, "Megs... just take the test!" So I did. I have never been so anxious in my life. I was waiting and waiting. I'm going to be completely honest here. At that moment I was wondering are we ready for this, do I want this, YES I want this, are you sure you want this... knowing that if there weren't two lines I would be sad. But... THERE WERE TWO LINES! I didn't know what to do with myself... I showered, got dressed, put make up on... all in about 8mins. I was like a giddy 7th grader who liked her first boy. I drove up to Bellevue after putting the pregnancy test in a plastic baggie & into my purse. Chris got to the restaurant and had a gift for me. I told him that I had a gift for him too. He had me open mine, which was amazing! Then I pulled his out and he looked at me shocked. Is this real....??? Yes! The comical thing in the story is that the lines were quite faint (something that I have read is actually normal). So we got home and he made me go to target and buy a different brand of test which turned out to be positive but the faint lines were still there. I did get a pregnancy test at the doctor (positive) and blood work (positive) and an ultrasound (little Baby Knight's heartbeat:)

The whole thing is crazy! We are so excited. Really really excited. But occasionally it is hard to be really excited. Now more than ever I have heard everyone's opinion on everything. The thing is... I do care about people's opinions but when they are so negative, it makes it hard to be happy. I am really asking the Lord for patience and peace with our decisions. It does get hard to hear certain comments about how early we are doing this, the validity of the pregnancy, what we are choosing for me to do after the baby is born etc... But the thing that I am realizing: My identity is in the Lord. No one else. We have prayed and asked for guidance and are feeling really secure in our decisions for our family & that is EXCITING!

days off

Days off are... glorious. It is sunny outside, my washing machine is chugging along, and I get to wear sweats as long as I want. I absolutely love being home and doing mundane household tasks. Dishes, laundry, cleaning etc etc... I can read my bible whenever I want, read other books too, go grocery shopping, and plan my week of school. Peaceful days like these are glimpses of heaven. Although I'm pretty sure I don't have to do laundry there :).

Jesus,
Help me to be productive on days off. Help my mind to be saturated with you and help every thought in my head to be captive to you. I pray for trust. That in every area of my life I am leaning in on and trusting you. I love you Jesus and thank you for all the amazing people I have in my life!
~your daughter

90something cupcakes

On Friday, my class had our Valentines Day party. There was more sugar than I have ever seen in one room. At one point I counted and there were something that 96 cupcakes... ABSURD! You may ask... did you make sure that specific parents were going to buy specific things? YES! I did! But somehow we ended up with 90something cupcakes and by the end of the day I had put two on each child's plate and two in an extra baggie for them to take home. Nevertheless, that day was one of the hardest in teaching. They were on so much sugar I was glad to see them go. The 90something cupcakes was the funniest thing that day but something happened that truly touched my heart. One of my students had a quiet excitement all day and would hint that he had something for me. I told him I was very excited and that he would have to wait for the end of the day at the party. It finally came that time and he brought me over an oddly shaped package. He really wanted me to open it right then so I began to rip away the wrapping paper and I started to find something crimson... What in the world, I began to ask myself. I completely took the paper off and found a WSU pullover fleece hoody. Wow! It was unbelievable, I told him that I really wanted to talk to his mom about it after school and to thank her for the gift. After school I walked over to his sweet mom and told her how much I loved the gift. She began to tell me that her son had come home one day from school and told her how much I loved the cougars. He told his mom how much he wanted to get me something that I loved. Well, they don't have much money and so I imagine she probably told him no. He began to tell her that he would give up all of his hamburgers and pizza if he could just get me this hoody. Wow... It doesn't sound like a lot, but this is a seven year old child giving up what he cherishes and probably doesn't get very often to love his teacher.

I can totally learn from my first graders, they teach me just as much as I teach them. What an amazing example of giving good gifts. Jesus gives us the best gifts and we are to emulate that. I am so tempted to give people gifts that are convenient for me but to truly give a gift you need to sacrifice something of your own...

january

I love these people, these places, and these amazing blessings from the Lord. You can see my cat turns into a tiger at times, my new family is energetically bringing in the New Year, my husband is delving into every book he can find on theology, doctrine, and pastoring, and we are having fun hanging out with our friends (missing pictures of the Lantings though... we see them so much we haven't broken out the camera). What a crazy beginning to a year... and what crazy things are going to happen ;)