Her Compassionate Heart

My Gracie Claire has the most precious heart for people. She loves people and wants to be friends with everyone. I have witnessed her sticking up for the girl who gets picked on, praying for her feelings, and really being concerned for how it had hurt her. She's very effected by stories she hears, movies she sees (story coming), and how others feel. She was telling some friends today about the money that she got from the tooth that she lost and then told them that she was going to give it in the offering at church.

We watched a movie today called, "A Little Princess." If you've never seen it, click HERE to read the synopsis.

The headmistress of the boarding school treats Sara (the main character) and Becky (the school's servant girl) like trash. Gracie Claire was VERY disturbed that people, let alone children, would be treated this way. It brought her to tears (which brought me to tears) and she wanted to know when "that lady who is the principal" would be brought to justice. I remember the first time I felt that way when watching a movie. It was "Places In the Heart".

I remember wondering and asking why a person would be treated this way just because of the color of their skin, their economic status, etc. It makes me sick. Now I have a daughter who has a wonderful heart for others and I'm overwhelmed with pride and love, while also wondering how God is going to use her to bless others. It makes me nervous to think about the possibility that she could be ridiculed because of it, but thankful to know that she is the child of a loving God who is holding her in His hands. He's the one that gave her that compassionate heart.

The Blog Group and My Dream Vacay

If you a regular reader of my blog (thanks Dad and Mom) then you remember the Blog Challenge that I did with my friend Mary a couple of months back. Well, since then, I've wanted to do another, but just didn't feel like coming up with new topics. Thanks to Becky, one of my teacher buddies, I am now an official member (right, Becky? I'm official, yes?) of a blog group. I guess you could sort of compare it to a book club of sorts, except we're writing to predetermined topics by predetermined due dates. I'm pumped that Becky came up with ideas for the first several weeks...less thinking to do on my part. We'll also be posting our links to FB and tagging the blog group members so all can see that we've finished the assignment and enjoy the reading. Truthfully, there aren't really any rules. It's more of a participate if you want, when you want kind of thing. If you know my slightly compulsive personality, then you know that I will probably participate in each week's assignment as there is a list of them and we all know how I love to cross items off of a list. :)

If you would like to join our blogging group, it is never too late to join in! Here is a list of our topics through mid-September. Ummm, if you're not a teacher, then you can just adapt the topic to your liking! :)
7/24/11--Dream vacation and why?
7/31/11--If you weren't a teacher, what profession(s) would you like to try, and why?
8/7/11--What's something that you wish you had the guts to do, at least once?
8/14/11--What does the first day of school look like/mean to you?
8/21/11--Greatest fear(s) and why?
8/28/11--Favorite childhood memory and why
9/5/11--Bucket list
9/12/11--Great author and interesting writing style

Okay...on to our first topic...my dream vacay. Ahhhh...vacation. It's one of my favorite words. More than that, it's something that I love. Vacation comes in so many forms. There is the kind of vacation that involves travel, there's summer vacation, Thanksgiving vacation, and Christmas vacation. It's one of the perks of being a teacher. There is much vacation. Side note: I'm a true believer that those of us who work really hard at what we do (it's not the cushy, easy, go to work at 8 and leave at 3 job that so many have mistaken it to be...it's lots of hard work which involves lots of preparation and long hours. Even some of our "vacation" is spent working) deserve every single bit of it! Stepping down from my soapbox. Anyhow, I love vacation.

We've been super blessed to travel a lot and have many of my dream vacations...

We went to Hawaii, particularly Oahu and Maui, for our honeymoon. Definitely a dream vacay, but it is mostly a blur. Jet lag and just getting married seemed to be a bit overwhelming. I want to go back ASAP! Plus, look at the crappy quality of the pictures. Digital cameras stunk then.

We've traveled to places in Texas, which I love to do. This was a trip to Plum Lake. Fishing and being in the woods are some of our fave things to do.

Whoooaaaa...check out the extra chunk in this photo...and I'm not talking about the cute baby Gracie Claire chunk. LOL!

We've traveled across the ocean. We spent a week in London, sadly taking a regular camera instead of digital. *sigh* We've also taken a Mediterranean cruise, which was AH-MAY-ZING! Definitely a dream.

We've also taken a Caribbean cruise (again, no digital camera) and been to MO and IL several times to see family. Not to mention all of the great vacations we went on when I was growing up! Disney World, Washington D.C., the Rocky Mountains, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua just to name a few. (The last two were really mission trips, but I count 'em.) We are so blessed by the amount of traveling that we've been able to do. We haven't taken a big vacation in a while and I'm definitely getting the itch. So, if I could pick anywhere and leave right this second, it would have to be to...drum roll please...FIJI! Yes, friends. Fiji. I'm a beach girl. I love, love, love to lay on the beach. I love to snorkel. I love to stare at the ocean. I love to play in the water. I love palm trees. I love it. Period. Plus, you get to absorb a new and different culture every time you travel. That's the best part.

So there you have it friends. My dream vacay. Although there's not some deep reason why I'd love to go there, I think it's fairly obvious by the photos I found. Truly, I wouldn't be that picky and insist on Fiji. I'd really take any vacation at this point. Just give me a beach and the ocean and a beautiful view and I'm in. :)

Fish, Mermaids, Dolphins...

These are the sea creatures that the girls have used to describe themselves as they take their swimming lessons. We've been through one whole week of lessons and begin our second week this week. The ladies are loving being able to swim every single day and I am loving that there are other people in charge of their learning. They all do so much better with their teachers, Miss Lisa and Mr. Cody, and are much more successful without me as their swim teacher. Thank goodness. We have had some big successes already in only one week. Molly was moved from the Mommy and Me class to Sydney's group. This was probably more of a kindness given to me so I wouldn't have to be at the pool for 2 sessions of swimming lessons in a row...but, Molly is doing SO much better with her teacher. Hallelujah. Gracie Claire has passed her swimming test which has been her goal since last summer. The pool we go to makes kids pass a swimming test to be able to use the huge water slide. She has been more than capable of passing it for a while now, but her courage was a little lacking. Her cool swimming teacher, Mr. Cody, got her to do it instantly! The magic of being someone other than Mommy. :) She was, and still is, super pumped! Sydney has made the biggest jump, in that she is full of courage and wants so badly to pass that swim test. She is swimming under water so well and with a little more practice, she will probably pass the test too! It's all so much fun to watch. Being in the pool is, and always has been, one of my very fave things. I love watching the girls learn to swim! Getting a nice little tan isn't a bad perk either. ;)

My sweet little mermaids... :)

Cuteness

Swimming on their own!

Showing off their floating skillz...

Swimming, blowing bubbles, kick boards, loving every bit!

They're jumping experts! :)

Looking forward to week 2!

Lake Time!!

We've had a great weekend! Friday afternoon the girls and I loaded up and headed to the hospital to see where Paul is working (another post to come about that!) and to pick him up and head to his mom's. We spent the night in Muenster and then headed out early to drive up to Lake Texoma where MaryLee and Carl (Paul's mom and step dad) are building their new house. We took a tour of the new house, which is beautiful and still under construction, and then we all loaded up on the party barge for a day on the lake. The girls were so excited, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just as excited! I love spending time out on the lake and haven't in a long time! We took a fun boat ride to a place called "Pelican's Landing" and had lunch, then we headed back to a beach area in the cove, where we swam and played and flew down the water slide...which is on the boat! We had lots of fun and the girls were exhausted by the time we went to bed that night! We can't wait to spend lots more time out there!

Our cute little lake ladies!

Love my fam!!!

The girls and their Mimi!

Love my hubster!

How precious is she?!

My beautiful 1st grader...*sigh* -- I tried getting one of Molly, but she had trouble keeping her eyes off of the water. She would yell, "CHEEESE!" and not even look at the camera. It's not surprising! :)

This is where Pelican's Landing (the place we ate lunch) is. I loved all of the sailboats!! So pretty!

Cooling off and having a blast!

Sydster went kayaking with Daddy...

Gracie Claire splashed around on her own and Molly clung to Mommy! :)

Slide time! GC L-O-V-E-D going down the slide! The first few times she went down, she told us to wait so she could get herself ready. She would sit there for a minute or so and take some deep breaths while mentally preparing herself. It was very actress like and hilarious. After she told us she was ready, we would count to 3 and she'd take a deep breath and fly down. After she built up her courage, she flew down, what seemed like 20 or so times, with no problem at all!

This little lady had to be pushed down! She gladly climbed up to the top of the slide, but very quickly lost her nerve when she was sitting up there. Paul had to pry her hands from the rails and told her to hold her breath before pushing her down. She was very proud of herself when she popped back up out of the water! No...she didn't go down again, but I have high hopes for the future! :)

As you can tell by the look on his face, Paul also enjoyed the slide. :) Yes, I went down too, but my slide pictures were just not as cute. ;) Don't you love how the Mollster is sitting all alone in the kayak in the last picture?! Parents of the year right here! :) Molly did NOT go down the slide and would not have forgiven us if we forced her to. Hmmm...maybe next time! Can't wait for more lake time!

Growing...

I posted a while back about the changes that our family would be going through this summer and into the new school year. We've gone through one of those as Paul has been interning at a hospital for almost a month now. He has had a great experience and has learned a lot. He has been given opportunities to participate in high level meetings and work with the head honcho often. It's been the best internship experience. As he only has a couple of weeks left, he has been looking into permanent job situations. When we started on this journey a couple of years ago, I knew that it would be tough. I was going back to work much sooner than I had ever planned, Paul was going back to school again, it was weird. I don't like the feelings you get with unexpected change, but through it all we've had to cling to our Father. Yesterday was one of those clinging moments. Paul has been offered a job! We should be feeling so thankful for that, right?! I mean, I bet it seems ridiculous to most that we were feeling mad and disappointed. It sounds ridiculous to me as I type it. It was a much lower salary than what was anticipated. I had even gone so far as to feel like I might have the chance to stay at home again. I was walking by sight and not by faith. We were reminded once again that we are not in control. God holds our lives in His hands. He is the one who directs our paths, not us. I'm feeling more at peace this morning about everything. No, I probably won't get to stay home this next school year, but will God still be in control? Yes! Will He be holding our girls in His hands and caring for them even if I can't be at home with them? Yes! Will he take care of Paul, the girls, and me? Yes! Will He lift us up when are at our lowest? Yes!

I don't call it irony that I read two blogs right when I needed them yesterday...it was more like providence. They reminded me how truly blessed we are and how our trials, even though they seem so difficult in the moment, are really menial compared to what others are going through. Yet, God cares about all of our trials. Amazing! Click HERE and HERE to read about how two strong women of faith are clinging to the Lord!

I am growing...growing in my faith, growing in my Lord. I want the Lord to use me to do great things for Him whether I'm a stay-at-home Mommy or a teacher. I want Him to do great things through our family so our girls can see how He works and how all powerful He is! I want Him to continue to grow me.

Blessed are those who persevere under trial, because when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

What Do We Do When We're Stuck In The House For 2 Days Straight, Yo?

We practice our mad flying skillz! :)