lately...

Sorry I haven't been posting a whole lot lately.  I guess that's because a whole lot has been going on around here and I haven't had lots of time.  See, we're moving in a few months and in order for that to happen we have to: clean up our house (like really good because people will be coming in to look at it and hopefully they'll buy it!), pack up everything we own (ahhh!), look for another place to live in a whole different city, plan a huge "congratulations you're finally done with graduate school" trip, prepare for said trip, John has to prepare the defense for his thesis as well as wrap up every other little thing for school, graduate, attend two weddings in different states (that we're very excited about!), have a yard sale and continue on with our day to day lives.  Man, moving ain't easy!  Anyway, that's why I've been MIA and will continue to be.  Although there's lots of stuff I want to talk about so hopefully I'll be able to steal away a few minutes every now and then to update y'all.  For instance, here's two really great books that I've read recently.  You should check them out!

 

I also just returned from a fun filled girls weekend with my mom and sister!  We met in northern VA and had a weekend full of chatting, eating, drinking, shopping and hanging out.  I am so thankful for weekends like that and so very happy that we're all able to take time out and get together!  I really do miss those ladies.  Love y'all!  Here's a picture Katie took of us soon after we arrived and were reunited at the hotel...

quote

found here

quote

Store your treasures in Heaven--not in the attic.

Anonymous

(Amen to that, especially as I'm starting to slowly pack some of our stuff.  Geez!  Where does all this stuff come from?) 

 

snowy night

Last Tuesday (as in nearly two weeks ago) the snow came down, hard.  I went to bed at 12:00 a.m. and when I got up at 6:30 the ground was absolutely covered.  And school was cancelled.  That means serious business around here.  Here's some pictures that John captured of our backyard sometime between those 6.5 hours.  I have to say they're some of my favorite snow pictures we've taken up here.  I like that it's nighttime and our yard lights are shining beneath the blanket of snow.

back yard

lilac bush/tree 

another full back yard shot

neighbor's yard

By the end of Thursday all the snow had melted.  On Sunday it was 60 degrees.  Crazy weather...I blame global warming :)

quote

A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.

Jean de La Fontaine

quote

An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hold onto one blade of grass to keep from falling off the earth.

Irish Saying

happy international women's day!

Today is International Women's Day, yay!  I am sad that I didn't even know that until one of my small group friends sent me the Google image today and said "it's International Women's Day, this made me think of you".  So sweet.  I'm thankful to live in a country where women and men have equal rights, hopefully the world will continue to change where this will be the case in all countries.  I saw where women of valor were commended on one of my new favorite blogs and I thought I'd commend the first woman of valor who influenced me, my mom.

Mom, you are an amazingly hard worker and have a strong work ethic.  You help those who need help and don't seek praise.  You fiercely love your family and would do anything for them.  You are a strong woman that has weathered many storms and I know you credit the Lord for that strength.  You taught me to stand up and be my own person.  You've taught me to hold my tongue and think through my words and actions.  You've taught me that I can truly do anything I set my mind to.  You have loved me unconditionally.  You taught me grace, class, style and poise (things that you can't put a price on).  You always have a plan for a plan for a plan.  You are full of mercy.  I know I will always have you in my corner and for that I am truly thankful.  You are an incredible woman of valor.  I love you!

some thoughts

A few weeks ago I finished this book: 

And it was absolutely amazing!  Here's the description from Goodreads: 

A strong Christian woman embarks on a radical life experiment—a year of biblical womanhood.

Strong and committed in her faith—but frustrated by the inconsistencies she saw in her evangelical culture’s view of women—Rachel Held Evans became an independent woman. But, intrigued by the traditionalist resurgence that led many of her friends to abandon their careers to assume traditional gender roles in the home, Evans had a crazy idea:What if I took “biblical womanhood” literally for a full year? In the next twelve months Rachel:

Wore a scarf over her head to pray
Called her husband “master” and stood on the roadside with a sign that said “Dan is Awesome”
Adopted a computerized baby
Perched on the roof for an afternoon of penance for gossiping
Camped out in her front yard during her period
Visited an Amish schoolhouse, a pig farm in Bolivia, and a Benedictine monastery
Took up baking and knitting
Interviewed a polygamist, a Quiverfull daughter, and a courtship couple
With just the right mixture of humor and insight, Evans takes readers along with her on a lively adventure. In the process she discovers that the journey itself leads her right to the heart of God.

Evans writes with great humor and honesty.  This book was a breath of fresh air for me,  I really enjoyed it.  It is a voice in the Christian world that is not heard very often and I just relaxed a little realizing that she was able to put words to things I had been struggling with for years.  Wow, I feel like this got kind of personal very quickly.  But really, I wish I was as articulate as Evans.  Instead I will just say that I agree with her on most topics.  I felt like she looked into my thoughts and put them on paper.  I don't speak often about my faith on this blog and maybe I'm at fault for that.  To me it is a very personal, intimate topic but hey, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm game.  What I got most from this book was "it's OK if your faith doesn't fit into this box that you were told it's supposed to fit in, and it's alright if it doesn't look a certain way".  Now that's not an actual quote of hers, just me paraphrasing my feelings.  She made me feel more comfortable in my own skin.  And I've since enjoyed following her blog here.

She recently linked up to this other post among a list of many.  I really liked it and I wanted to share it.  Sit down, it's a little long.  Enjoy...

quote

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

(this quote has been attributed to Ben Franklin, Albert Einstein, a Chinese proverb, Rita Mae Browne and Dave Ramsey so, who do you think said it?)

day 28: upside down

Couldn't think of anything better.

Gotta get every last drop, right?