8.31.09- Day 105

First of all... HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETHANY!!!! Hope it was a great one! Thanks for being a true friend and bosom buddy all these years. It is such a blessing to walk through the many phases of life with you. (maybe someday we'll live in the same place too!)

The picture: my exciting new "nerdy" teacher cart. I got it at Office Depot. It is a foldable crate that I can cart all of my stuff around in to each of my schools. I'm always carrying 3-5 bags on my shoulders all around the schools. My shoulders said, "enough!" I can fit everything I need in/on this baby! Oh the joys in simple things.

Also today...
First PAYCHECK!!!!!
Run with Nicole (and Nigel, but he is limping around :(. I think he is getting old. He just can't keep up with us like he used to.
Chat with Mom. I love her much.
Calzones for dinner.
Chat with Dad. I'm so proud of him. He is 3 chapters down on his dissertation and will be going for his ABD soon!
Watched Fool's Gold with Al. It was a fun chick flick movie. It even had a little bit of action. Fun!
Catching up on blogs.
To Bed!

8.30.09- Day 104

Candid picture at our Financial Peace final session potluck! We had the last session, which was all about giving and reminding us of who actually owns the money that we have. It was a really good reminder that we are simply stewards and how important it is to live with open hands. It also made me feel a little better about some of my questions about the whole Dave Ramsey philosophy (not that it is perfect, but at least I know that Dave Ramsey believes that Christ and his gift of salvation to us is more important than any amount of money and that the money in our hands is not ours, it is for His kingdom.) I feel inspired. Someday, I want to be able to look back on my life and know that the wise decisions Alan and I made with our finances and through God's grace have been able to be used by God's power to make a difference for His kingdom. Not there yet, but someday...

Also today: Church- a really great sermon. I so appreciate Pastor Dean's honesty and willingness to speak truth in a way that is full of grace. Thank you for confronting the sin in our lives and inspiring us to live the way we are called to live. Lunch with friends- Colby was still in town. A little research in the afternoon and preparing banana nut bread and a broccoli dish for the potluck. Went to bed after watching the end of the Bronco's preseason game. (it may not be such a great football season here in Denver, but we'll keep our fingers crossed!)

8.29.09- Day 103

We started out the day by going hiking at Elk Meadow Open Space in Evergreen. We almost made it up Bergen's Peak, but had to hike back down because we had plans later that afternoon. I think we still hiked about 5.5-6 miles. It was a really beautiful day to hike!

After hiking, we came home and got cleaned up. We went to celebrate Andy's birthday by playing "golf"! It was a fun time. I even tied for 2nd place!

After mini golf, we went to eat at PF Chang's, one of Andy's favorite restaurants. Then, we went to Nicole and Eric's house for brownies and cards afterwards. Fun day!

8.28.09- Day 102

Child Development Center Desk (Preschool)

Here is a picture of the other desk I call "home" on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. It's actually WAY nicer than my other desk. If I could, I would just switch over to this office, but all of our equipment and the other PT's work at the main office. I do like the hustle and bustle at the other office as well.

Today was low key at work. I got a lot things done because Friday afternoons are reserved for paperwork. Hung out with Alan after I got home and did A LOT of yard work. We've gotten kind of lazy when it comes to house/yard work lately. I think that I was kind of the driving force before, but now that I'm busy, I don't really feel like doing it either. Such is the life of 2 working people. I think we just need to get in a rythm. We have also had house guest/plans nearly every weekend since I can remember (including this one). House projects in progress/waiting to be finished:

• Ceilings: We had them retextured when we redid our hardwood floors this spring. (We just haven't gotten around to painting them yet)
• Fence: We have 2 panels to go (since last winter)
• Trees: both front and back trees need trimming- BAD (I think they might be dying. We'll cross our fingers that they at least survive a few more years).
• Moving back in: So... when we redid the hard wood floors, we had to move EVERYTHING out of our house. So far, most of it has made it's way back in, but our bookshelves still have stacks of random things and most of our closets are not organized. (this seems to bother me more than Al though..)
• Mulch: We mulched in the back of our yard in early summer. We just ran out when we had maybe 1/8 to go. Somehow when we went to China, the weed monster went crazy and now we need to retake over that section. Seriously... we have access to FREE mulch and we just haven't gone to get it!
• There's probably more projects, but that's all I can think of right now.

Anyone want to come help us?!

Al and I ended the day by making white chicken chili and watching Unforgiven (an older Western with Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.) Ahhhh.

8.27.09- Day 101

Picture of the TAP room crew tonight... I haven't been in forever. It was really great though. I need people around me that care about each other and about the world. I even got to see Mark, who recently got back from Kenya/Zambia and I got to see Ryan who is most likely moving to Tennessee within the week to be an RD. We sang the song "From the inside out" tonight. It is my prayer tonight:

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out
Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out

And... some cool pictures Alan took of our recently leafing fern plant.

Also today... my first Trinneal, a stubborn child, some fun children who were actually excited to do what I planned for them, hanging out with Alan this afternoon (we actually got some stuff done), salmon and sweet potato for dinner (we did an experiment to see which type of sweet potato is better- the red ones or the brown ones. brown is definitely better. better texture and it actually has a taste!) Then I watered the grass, took Nigel for a walk, and headed over to TAP room.