blast from the past: pictures from high school

A few pictures from back in the day when I had bad clothes, bad hair, bad teeth, you name it... But they made me laugh. Praise the Lord for His grace!!!!!!!!!

1- mission trip sophomore year to DC

2- same mission trip

3- same trip. i dyed my hair on the trip.

4- had the privilege of leading Donnell to the Lord. then he asked me to prom. :)

5- resident pianist.

6- overalls. seriously. 7- just skin and bones.

8- practicing cheerleading anywhere and everywhere. in a bowling alley in indianapolis...

9- again, awful hair and clothes and smile... TFC. junior high.

10- high school. the haircut i loved but am too nervous to attempt again.

11- mission trip to DC, 2005.

12- what did i tell you about cheerleading?? 13- pants filled with balloons. 34 if i remember correctly... and my short hair.

14- youth lock-in.

15- ice breakers in youth group.

16- waiting at a train station in Chicago, 2004. seven whole years ago! TFC nationals!

17- camp retreat, Manitoumi.

18- surprise sweet sixteen party.

19- the day i decided i hated surprises.

20- mystery dinner theater at Delhi. 21- ice-blocking. :)

I hope none of you "faithful" followers take me any less seriously now. I was clueless. Really, I was. I have a certain respect for junior highers and high schoolers that actually look put together. Props to you. :)

Another fall activity: nature color palette

Today was sunny with a high of 75, so we took a little field trip around the school and collected colored things from nature and stuck them onto our "painter's palette." This was my finished product!

red: mum petals
orange: leaf
yellow: more flower petals
green: pine needles
blue: a morning glory
purple: some other pretty flower
brown: dirt... go figure. :)
white: another flower

memories are made...

when an unexpected event makes your weekend. :)
when someone shares pictures of your surprise sweet sixteen. :)
when a car breaks down in the "freezing" cold. :)
when roommates become "housemates." :)
when siblings become friends. :)
when "home" becomes a term used for several places. :)
when you realize that every day is remarkably wonderful. :)
when you have too many incredible friends to count. :)
when you look back on life and witness God's grace. :)
when late nights turn into really late nights. :)
when you're normally in bed by 10 and someone makes you more than willing to stay up til 3. :)
when you see how ridiculous you looked in high school... and you aren't embarrassed. :)
when you spend your days with children. :)
when you see the colors in a world that everyone is trying to make black, white, and grey. :)
when old friends are reacquainted. :)
when new friends are made. :)
when new steps are made after something "crippling" happens. :)

for so many reasons, my heart is filled with memories today. :)
Makes for a pretty good Monday, if I do say so myself. ;)

when bitterness sets up camp.

I've never considered myself a bitter person. I've always been the one with a smile. I've been the one who laughs too much. I've been the one who's never really gone through a particularly trying time.

Well, maybe it's the transparency I've been working towards in my own life. Or maybe it's the devil and his evil temptations. But OH MY SOUL, I am a bitter person.

I'm still smiley. And those smiles are still genuine.

But I'm jealous.
I find reasons to dislike people simply because they're not me.
I get angry with people when they don't act as I think they should.
I hold onto wrongs committed. Why? Because I want to? I'm not even sure.
I choose not to love when love should be my only option.

Simply put, I have NOTHING to complain about.
My needs are supplied by the God who created and sustains the universe.

And the Maker of the stars hears the sound of my breaking, bitter, hateful, unloving, jealous, covetous, pathetic, disgusting heart.

He hears my unvoiced prayer.
He knows my sin.
He knows me.

...but He loves me anyway.

Craft: Fall(ing) Leaves Handprint

Another day... another kids craft project. As the leaves begin to change and fall, life all around is changing. :)

Here's Friday's class project:




Enjoy the little ones in your life! :)

Craft: Fall Owl Puppet

I chose to welcome fall with a cute wreath to hang on my classroom door. Next up was getting the kiddos in a festive mood for fall by collecting leaves to use for our adorable owl puppet!

Here's my owl puppet that was our craft for the day! Next up, apple stamping to hang on our classroom door. :)


P.S. I have NO idea what teachers did before pinterest. Seriously... new bff.

DIY yarn wreath

I successfully completed my first DIY (do it yourself) project! I've started a few and have the intentions of starting a few more, but my dear friend Jennie gave one of these as a gift to another dear friend, Alyssa.

I've seen these puppies posted ALL over pinterest, which is the new rave, btw! Follow me! You won't be sorry! . . . and now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

These yarn wreaths are everywhere. So I headed over to JoAnn and picked out my supplies.

Yarn... $3.00 with PLENTY left over for my next project. :)
Styrofoam wreath... $5.00. I've heard you can buy these at the dollar store, but I was afraid of lesser quality styrofoam.
Felt... $5.00 for a HUGE box of every color imaginable. Word to my mother for finding such a wonderful thing at a yard sale!
Wooden buttons to give it a more rustic feel... $2.00. But I still have plenty of leftovers! :)
Hot glue and gun... cheap? I don't remember. lol
Total cost: $13.00 but I have felt and yarn left to clothe a small army. Maybe my students???

This tutorial looks great, but I didn't use one. Jennie explained it for a few seconds and I figured it out. Felt flowers can be found here and here.

After about a movie and a half, I was completely finished. Mine took longer than most since I alternated two colors of yarn to give it the "rugby shirt" effect, but I love it. :) It'll make my classroom door more festive once I make felt leaves with the students' names on them to hang as well!


Happy DIYing! :)