good intentions...

Last night, I made sure I was in bed by 10:00.  Back to school in the morning...planning on waking up by 6, and trying to be out the door no later than 7:30.  Trying to give myself a few more minutes of peace and quiet in my classroom to get things done before the hustle and bustle of the day.  I find that by the afternoon, I am WIPED out, and trying to do anything because increasingly more difficult.

And seeing as how I developed my yearly "Winter Break sleeping patterns" of going to bed between 12 and 1...and then sleeping until 9-10, I decided that I would be okay if I could just fall asleep by 10:30.

A few days earlier, I started reading a new book after seeing the trailer and becoming interested.  So, on my phone under the covers as not to wake my husband, I continued reading this book, just for a few minutes before going to sleep:

Bad, bad idea.

Pretty soon, 2:30 rolled around.  I seriously could not believe it when I looked at my phone.  And as a side note, my husband's alarm goes off at 4:45, and he is not the quietest person in the morning getting ready, if you catch my drift.

But I just HAD to finish it.  The benefit?  I got to spend the day discussing it with students who have already read it, and one of my kids let me borrow the second one.
Score.
Now the question is... should I start it tonight?

New Day, New Year

Welcome 2014!

I found a fun idea on Pinterest, and thought I would play along.

Here are my thoughts for the New Year.

BAD HABIT TO BREAK // Jumping to conclusions.  Assuming I know what someone is thinking, feeling, or going to say...without giving them a chance.  In particular, I do this to my husband.

NEW SKILL TO LEARN // How to take really great picture with my new camera!  Especially in the manual mode. 

PERSON TO BE LIKE  // Hoping to be more like my Mom.  She is patient, kind, generous, and always puts others first.  All things I could work on.  

GOOD DEED TO DO // Remember birthdays, anniversaries, and other important occasions.  Send a card and make a phone call. 

PLACE TO VISIT // Oregon coast with my husband.  I'm thinking a cabin, the sunshine, beach, and uninterrupted time.  

BOOK TO READ // Divergent Series.  Branch outside my comfort zone.  

LETTER TO WRITE // To my Dad.  Who means so much to me, but is sometimes extremely difficult.

FOOD TO TRY // Cauliflower.  Maybe roasted?  Maybe riced?  Any maybe oatmeal.  I struggle with texture issues.   

DO BETTER AT // Relaxing.  Not worrying.  Going with the flow.  Letting things go.

    

January

While it is completely clique... January has such a strong meaning for me.

A new start.

Fresh calendar.

Goals for the year.

This year is no different.  

2014 is going to be one great year, and I want to make sure I am documenting it.

I want to blog.

{Which is a big deal since I have not wanted to for quite some time...obvious by my lack of posts.}

So here is hoping... that I will find time.  Make time.  Use a few minutes of my time to write.  

2014 is going to be a year of big thing, and I am feeling...ready. 

homemade flour tortillas...

Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour (I used a gluten free flour mix!)
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ heaping teaspoon of baking powder
¼ cup of oil (I used coconut oil, but you can use canola or vegetable)
2/3 cup hot/boiling water

Steps:

1.    Put the dry ingredients into a food processor and mix well.

2.   While it is running, add the liquids slowly.

3.       After a minute or two, it will form into a ball.  Don’t mix too long!

4.       When you take it out, knead it together and form a ball.

5.       Place it in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth for 15 minutes.

6.       Split the ball into 8 smaller balls, and then let it sit from 15 minutes to an hour.

7.       Roll out each ball SUPER thin.

8.       Place in a medium/high dry skillet, and wait for it to barely brown.  The top will puff up quickly, so flip it over to quickly brown the other side.

9.       Enjoy!

These were super easy to make, and SO yummy! 

word of God speak

I sat in my car today after a 2 hour training {on top of a very busy and loooong day} and cried.

I drove home crying.

When I walked in the door, I dropped my bags and started crying.  

I headed back out to the gym to work out with my best friend in hopes it would make me feel better. 

Seems like free therapy for me.

Got back in the car to head home again, and the tears started flowing.  

Then this song came on, and I literally had to pull over and just...listen.

Word of God speak

Would you pour down like rain

Washing my eyes to see

Your majesty

To be still and know

That you're in this place

Please let me stay and rest

In your holiness

 Word of God speak

He's here. 

He loves me. 

He cares for me.

  

He knows my future better than I ever could imagine I do.

And I need to {rest} in that tonight, tomorrow, and every. single. day.   

decisions...

I pull up this blog every day.

Late in the evening, after everything has settled down, I pull up my blanket and open my computer.

I feel like the blog posts I read are written by close friends.  I love reading each story and feeling the emotions shared about everyday life, heart ache, pain, and love.

But something in my stops me from blogging about my life.

Not sure what, but something in me says stop.



So where does that leave me?

Do I start a new one?  Do I leave this behind?  Would something new and fresh be good?  Something different?

In so many ways right now, my life feels.... unsettled.  But at the same time, life feels so great.

Ahhhh decisions.  

testing is done!

Our BIG state testing is now OVER!

Which means I am no longer going crazy in my classroom trying to cram everything I can into my little kiddo's brains.  

I am no longer reviewing everything I can think of. 

I literally felt like I was sleeping, eating, and breathing TESTING.  

I have SO much I want to blog about!

A few days before testing, I was going CRAZY, staying late and trying to finish everything. 

And then this guy showed up at my classroom door. 

I.Love.Him.

Hot coffee, and flowers.

Just Because. 

BLESSED.

weekend happenings...and the tulip festival

This weekend, was B-U-S-Y!

Friday, I came home and CRASHED after a crazy week at school!  My hubby let me sleep for about an hour on the couch...which was exactly what I needed.

We headed out that night to go to dinner at my sweet friend Donna's house with her hubby Byron and my parents.  We spend the evening laughing, eating, and playing a very fun card game called SCUM.  Let's just say I got second place and we stayed until 11PM.

We work up EARLY Saturday, which is very rare for us.  However, it was totally worth it.  My sister-in-law was celebrating her birthday and the whole family somehow was able to come together!

We woke up at the crack of dawn...hopped in the car, got on the ferry, and drove some more!

LOVED getting to spend special time with all of my family....can't believe I have been able to call them MINE for almost a year now!

Sweet Abbie playing the guitar with grandpa...love her little look of concentration!

She obviously has great style.

This is my brother-in-law and my sweet niece.  I snapped this as we were walking up to the fields...and thought it was just too sweet!

And NOW for picture overload... we spent most of Saturday at the Tulip Festival... SUCH an amazing sight!

I seriously won the mother-in-law jack pot.

 In-Laws.  Never knew I could love them this much.

 Being an Auntie is awesome.

 My hubby and I...love the bright flowers.

 Such an amazing example of God's awesome creation!

 Fields for days.....

 Gorgeous.

 Beautiful.

 Amazing.

 Stunning.

 Striking.

 Delicate.

 Special.

My sweet hubby and his Mama...in the pink field!

This is Ryan's side of the family!  The day we got married, I inherited a Mom, Dad, 3 sisters, 3 brother in laws, 4 nephews, and 4 nieces!  And miraculously, with only a weeks notice... all of us but two were able to get together and celebrate Terra's birthday!

 

I always wanted a sister...and now I have 3!

All the siblings and spouses.  Funny story... Stacy's husband Jeremy had to work...so my nephew Ian made a balloon.  It came everywhere with us, and gave us a great laugh!

 

All the women in Ryan's life :)

Fun, fun weekend...now back to the daily grind!  One more week before state testing...we are cramming! :)

P.S. Here is a neat video of the aerial view of the tulip festival... so neat!
http://www.komonews.com/home/video/148579185.html

sweet celebrations...

My hubby and I, along with 3 other amazing people, get the privilege and honor of leading a high school 'small' group through our youth group at church.

I put small in quotes because our 'small' group has ranged everywhere from 8-80! 

Yes, I have 80 kids that I love dearly and willingly subject myself to their never ending drama. 

In other words, I truly love it. 

This past Wednesday, happened to be one of our leader's birthdays.

Mel joined our group in January when she came to Winter Camp... and hasn't left since.  She has fallen in love with all our kids...and honestly, I think they have fallen in love with her!

She responds to Mel, Mama, Mama K, Mama Kunkle, Mrs. Kunkle...the list goes on.

We decided a celebration was in order, and spent part of our Wednesday eating cupcakes, laughing, and praying over her.

{Mel is the tiny woman being squished in the middle of the picture}

 

I am so thankful God brought her to our group...she brings with her years of youth leading experience, wisdom, the knowledge of teenagers since she has raised FOUR boys (currently who are 17, 18, 19, and 20...WOW), and one of the kindest, biggest, sweetest hearts. 

Thank you Mel, for your love and commitment to youth group, and to our small group! 

grey clouds...

I live in Washington {for those of you who didn't know that}.

And while we may be famous for our rain and clouds.... well, that is just what we use as a 'cover' to keep too many people from settling down here.

Granted, it does rain a lot.  And we have a lot of grey days.  And a good portion of them involve some sort of precipitation: rain, sleet, mist, hail, snow....

Today is one of those days. 

After our first few B.E.A.Utiful days of the year this past weekend... Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday have been...icky. 

Rain.

Mist.

Grey clouds.

This morning as I was getting ready, I was listening to our local Christian radio station on my phone {LOVE the new app!}.  The great thing is that they don't have the normal commercials, and instead have these great little mini sermons.

This morning the speaker was talking about being {joyful}.  How our attitude reflects our joy.  And how we are all witnesses to the joy of the Lord.

Ouch. 

I realized that my attitude, was not reflecting the joy the Lord brings...and in turn my attitude was not bringing the joy of the Lord to others.  I love those moments when you have read a verse a hundred times...but it sticks out to you in a different way.  

So this morning, opened my bible, and read about joy...here is what I found. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ~ Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Romans 12:12 ~ Be joyful in hope, patient in trouble, and persistent in prayer.

James 1:2 ~ Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

Philippians 4:4 ~ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice!

1 Chronicles 16:27 ~ Honor and majesty are in His presence; strength and joy are in His sanctuary.

Psalm 118: 24 ~ This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

I wish I would always remember to go to the Word when I am feeling down... it really does bring me JOY!

blessed...

This morning was a particularly rough morning at school. 

This past weekend was beautiful and gorgeous weather.  So was Monday. 

Tuesday?  Woke up to rain and dark clouds. 

And that is kind of how my heart has felt this morning. 

{Dark and cloudy.}

Honestly, I was grumpy with my kids this morning.  Not displaying the patience I should have.

But in the midst of all of that... I feel so blessed to have people in my life who truly care.

My dear sweet friend Nicole hand delivered a hot white mocha to my classroom this morning.  In the crazyiness of her day, she took the time to write me a little note and share some of her love. 

I cried in front of my kids. 

On the bottom she write this verse: Ephesians 3:14-21 which says ~

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Thank you dear friend for a much needed 'pick-me-up' and encouragment. 

     

task cards...

After discovering an amazing collection of task cards on ProTeacher (a free site, but you have to create a log-in!), I hopped on the 'task card' bandwagon...and wanted to make as many as I could!

I quickly realized there were THOUSANDS available...and they matched up EXACTLY what I wanted to review!

After a quick e-mail to my student's parents... 6 of them volunteers to spend their evening cutting and gluing. :)

So in what would have taken me forever...is now almost done!

Here is one collection of them... each color represents a 'topic'.  They are currently in the laminator, and when I get them back I will hole puch the corner, put them on a ring, and the kids can flip through and answer each card!

I even discovered an answer sheet!  All the kids have to do is put their answer in a box, and it will correspond with each topic covered on the card!  I am REALLY hoping this will help in covering all those 'last minute' things, as well as all the things we covered in the beginning of the year!

My students test May 7th, 8th, and 9th... only two more weeks to go!

7PM...

Tonight I stayed at school until 7PM.

The kids left at 3:25.

My 'paid day' ended at 3:40.  That's 3 hours and 20 minutes of unpaid overtime.

Started the day at 7:30...but started PAY at 8:20.  Again, that is 50 minutes of unpaid overtime. 

Not that anyone is counting...but that is 4 hours and 10 minutes of unpaid work today.  

If we also count the time I spent at HOME working on my project...which was about an hour...I'm up to 5 hours and 10 minutes of overtime...thank you very much. 

Around 5:30, I needed a pick me up.

Enter my amazing husband. 

Who showed up with a Wild Cherry and a touch of Banana slurpee.

And in the midst of my {state testing review, calling parents, planning for next week, and filling out paperwork for student's Dr. visits{.... 

I was reminded how much my hubby loves me. 

So thankful for him. 

  

ready or not...

What my school bag looked like on Friday, when I brought it home from work before break. 

What my school bag looked like on the Sunday night before school starts after break. 

I had really great intentions... but {coffee dates, lunch dates, laying out in the sun, meeting up with friends, house cleaning, car cleaning, laundry, oral surgery, ice cream eating, husband loving, and resting} seemed to have gotten in the way. 

So here I am BLOGGING, at 9:26 PM the night before my first day back....and juuuusttt starting to open up this {mess}, to prepare for the upcoming week!  

grumpy...

The sun is shining...which is rare around here it seems.

I have the day off of work.... lovely.

My husband is also home with me and doesn't have to work the weekend.... love it. 

We don't have anything planned or scheduled to do today... that is rare.

But for some reason...I am GRUMPY.

I don't want to go outside and enjoy the sunshine.

I can only focus on the fact that I have to go back to work in 2 days.

My husband's quirks are grating on my nerves.

And I'm upset that I don't have anything to do, and can't figure out what to do.

I need a major attitude adjustment.

I am thinking a pain pill for my head, a short nap, and hoping that maybe, just maybe, I will wake up LESS grumpy.  Or many not even grumpy at all.  Because, really?  

I have NO REASON to be grumpy!

Is it just me, or does this happen to you too?  

spring break....

Spring Break in Washington is always....interesting.


Monday:  BEAUTIFUL day.  The sun was shining, it was warm, and I felt...productive.  Had coffee with a friend in the morning, got to work out in the morning, and then came home and CLEANED.  Everything.  I even cleaned my car out!


Tuesday:  Not beautiful.  However, it turned out to be a great day.  I was able to have coffee with one of my best friends in the morning, got to catch up with a former student's family and hung out with them for a bit, popped in to another friend, and then had coffee with a girl who I am mentoring.  I totally felt like a normal person doing normal person things...during the day time!  During break I try to squeeze in as much as I can, because normally I just don't have time to do things like this.


Wednesday:  I ended up having surgery and getting my wisdom teeth out. Ouch.  However, it is forcing me to just relax these last few days, and I think that is much needed for my soul.  


Tomorrow is Friday, and we are headed to our church's Good Friday service, and then happy hour with some of our best friends.  


Hoping to feel better tomorrow... I'm ready to be up and moving again!

going to the dr...

I am not a fan of the Dr.

I just don't like going.

But, my husband finally convinced me, I needed to go because I haven't been feeling all that great for a while. 

When I was younger, I dealt with some thyroid issues.  They always said it was because I was on another medication, and that it made it hard to diagnose it, but that was what they thought it was.

Well, now that I am off that other medication.... I am experiencing more and more symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Here are the most common symptoms...


Feeling tired, weak, or depressed. (These last few weeks, I can barely get out of bed.  I am sleeping a lot, but I just feel...tired.)


Dry skin and brittle nails. (Check, and check.  I can lather in lotion in the morning and night...with no evidence.  Hair?  It's all falling out.  Seriously.)


Not being able to stand the cold.  (I used to be okay...not anymore...especially my hands and feet.  I cannot stand being cold.)


Memory problems or having trouble thinking clearly.  ( I feel like my brain is in a fog.  I used to be REALLY good at remembering things, like numbers and names, and now I just feel... slow.)


Heavy or irregular menstrual periods.  (All my life.  Hmmm....)

Joint or muscle pain.  (Yes, and yes.)

Weight gain (unintentional).  (A BIG yes.  I have been eating around 1000 to 1200 calories a day, and exercising...and I am still GAINING weight.  Ugh.)

Those are the big symptoms... and I have all of them.

Do you ever feel like you are being judged by your Dr. though when you come in with a self diagnosis?!?  I know its just the Internet, and I could probably diagnose myself with around 100 different thing...but this is different.  I am seeing a new Dr. this time, because my old Dr. retired.

Nervous, but looking forward to my Dr.'s appointment...hoping for some answers.  Prayers appreciated.    

ahhh...life.

Life always seems to get in the way.

I have great intentions of blogging... and then.... I just run out of time.

Between cooking, cleaning, being a wife, leading youth group, work, getting sick, prayer night, family time, trying to go to the gym, and then trying to find a small amount of me time...it seems like I only have time to READ blogs...not write on my own.

My goal this week is to post at least twice.  Hopefully.

Until then...

on a roll...

I was on such a good roll of blogging....and then that darn thing called LIFE got in the way. 

Let' see.... what have I been up to???

I was treated to a VERY special weekend before Valentine's Day with my hubby:  

Saturday morning, we drove about 40 minutes from our home to a WONDERFUL paradise... for a little rest, relaxation, and LOVE. 

The resort is in a SMALL little down north of us...and it was just...Perfect.  

Our weekend involved lots of time spent cuddling, reading, sitting by our fireplace, and just enjoying each other. 

And LOTS of time spent in this amazing jaccuzi tub.  Seriously, I want one of these in my house.

We ate AMAZING food in their little restaurant, and never actually left the building.  

It was exactly what we needed.

On the actual Valentine's Day, I was surprised in my classroom by a beautiful bouquet delivered from my man.  We enjoyed yummy food at our favorite hole in the wall restaurant, and came home and watched Valentine's Day.  Love that movie.  Except for the fact that Patrick Dempsey is a cheater.  Yuck. 

We celebrated with cookies and candy in my classroom, accompanied by a major sugar rush around 3:10.  Good thing I got to send them home at 3:25. 

Ryan and I have been busy it seems recently.... between church, youth group, prayer night, school, work, getting sick... but we have also been feeling very close.  Good close.  

I heard the word 'intimacy' describe the other day as 'into me see'.  That so so true.  

Hoping to get back on track with my blogging... yay for Wednesday already!  

  

great expectations...

So excited that today...I am a GUEST BLOGGER over at Wide Open Spaces!

Jordan is one of my favorite writers... I started following her blog from my friend Krislyn's blog; Spreading her Wings. 

Here is my L.O.V.E. story!

I can distinctly remember being 13-years-old and crossing the day off my calendar with a dull black sharpie.

February the 14th would come around and everyone would have their bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolates, large and slightly annoying balloons, and walk around school flaunting them for all to see.

My Valentine’s Day looked a little bit different. I would spend the day with my dad. Wearing all black. At the shooting range. It gave me something to look forward to, and some good quality time with my dad. And after getting my heart broken by a guy a few years ago, that target bore quite a similar resemblance.

I met my (now) husband at the end of February 2010. As Pride and Prejudice would say, he ‘bewitched me, body and soul’, and we quickly knew we would be together forever. Five months to the day of our first date, Ryan got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.

When the next February rolled around, I had some HIGH expectations for Valentine’s Day. After all, it was going to be my very first experience of a true Valentine’s Day.

I pictured chocolates, dinner out, a mushy card, lots of kisses, time spent looking deep into each other’s eyes and him telling me everything he loved about me...I wanted ROMANCE.

However, I forgot one big thing.

Being that Ryan a) was a man, and b) had never done Valentine’s Day before either, he was….clueless.

THE BIG DAY landed on a Monday and I remember getting dressed in the morning in my teacher-appropriate red/pink/white clothing even though it was freezing out. I curled my hair and put on a little bit more make-up in anticipation for the evening. I quickly hurried to Ryan’s apartment after work with my sparkly mushy card in hand awaiting all that he had planned.

He opened the door and….. looked at me like I was crazy. Yep, he forgot!

He quickly realized the disappointment on my face, realized it was Valentine’s Day (I think the HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY card may have given it away), and apologized more times than I can count. He insisted on taking me out to dinner, and we finally found the only place that didn’t have a wait agreed on dinner at Azteca.

After I stopped pouting powdered my nose in the mirror, we had a great dinner and decided to go back to Ryan’s afterwards for a movie and some cuddling. We rented the movie Valentine’s Day, burrowed ourselves under a blanket and just enjoyed each other’s company.

That night was a big reality check for me. Everything surrounding me told me I needed BIG gestures, and needed that night to be a BIG deal. But did I? Nope. What I needed was me, my man, and TIME TOGETHER. What I needed to realize was that we showed each other love each and every day of our lives. One day did not define our relationship or our love for each other.

THIS year, we are happily married and have a little bit better understanding of some of our expectations.

I like some of those cheesy gestures like cards or chocolates, and he likes a quiet evening home.

THIS year, I already have a few things in the works to surprise him with.

 (Read: a couple’s massage. I think it is a serious win-win.)

THIS year, I know I am going to cherish that time together celebrating the thing that first brought us together:

love.