Well "I've got BIG plans" to quote a cute, cute children's book that was read aloud to the teachers at the beginning of school this past year. The point was that a little boy made BIG plans which never quite came to fruition. We were encouraged to plan BIG, but to also be realistic enough to allow for some flexibility. As a Christian, I think of "grace" in those scenarios. I remember contemplating grace a lot in college which was a good season. In many, many ways I need to continue each day those thoughts. I cannot just barge my way through life doing it all on my own, to the best of my abilities, and not be surprised that burn-out comes at the end of that road and that failure is a certainty in time. Rather, I must rely on the Lord who provides me with all opportunities, strength, and ability. He is a gracious God who responds to my failures and falls with compassion, forgiveness, and new mercies each day. So in that light (and with that reminder to myself mostly) these are my summer plans/goals. Aimlessness is not my strength, and without some specific goals I don't usually complete most things I set out for. So this summer I'm trying to be specific, but also gracious towards myself. Matt has also been very helpful in reminding me "not to over do it". I'm hoping for some accountability as I blog about my days, and share progress in these areas.
my plan:
Mon/Wed/Fri morning:
workout "women's fitness bootcamp" free in the Seminary gym, Bible study & prayer time, shower/get dressed, watch Martha Stewart on TV (iron during Martha on Fri), read until I'm hungry and eat lunch...
Tues/Thur morning:
walk on campus, Bible study & prayer time, shower/get dressed, watch Martha Stewart on TV (iron during Martha on Tues), read until I'm hungry and eat lunch...
afternoons (chore time & "project" time):
Mon- clean bathroom, do any CVS shopping (before the deals are gone), 2 loads of laundry
*Mon EVENING- Seminary sewing class bi-weekly (I hope to make curtains this summer)
Tues- dust, "practical pilates" free in the Seminary gym
Wed- clean floors (vacuum, mop)
Thur- 2 loads of laundry, "practical pilates" free in the Seminary gym
Fri- clean kitchen, grocery shop
evenings/weekends:
GREAT NEWS!!! All evenings are essentially free to enjoy dinner, walks, and resting with Matt... that is a great and blissful thought. And weekends will be free also for fun times together like the Farmer's Market, hiking/camping hopefully, local summer events, Shakespeare in the Park, picnics, sunbathing, blueberry picking, day trips, etc.
"projects" may include some of these things:
*new cell phone, and new cell phone service when our contract expires (for many of you this is good news as we'll finally be able to complete a conversation without my phone dying 4 times within 5 minutes!)
*prayer cards with Biblical examples of prayer
*new recipes to try (one weekly)
*swimsuit shopping
*consigning old clothes, shoes, tote bags
*Country Living idea: lamp out of old china
*"deeply clean" couches
*make wedding gift
*clip magazine articles and file to reduce clutter of ever growing inherited magazines (mailed by my thoughtful mom)
*take Matt's car in for a check before road trips
books to read:
- Girl Meets God, Lauren Winner (REREAD, in progress)
- Shopping for Time, Carolyn Mahaney
- Mudhouse Sabbath, Lauren Winner
- A Slow & Certain Light, Elisabeth Elliot (REREAD)
- Barbara Pym books (at the recommendation of a friend)
- teaching/school related books
- social justice books
other additions:
~ Vacation Bible School evenings, one week
~ Jefferson County Summer Professional Development, most days one week
~ Kansas City trip to visit family & friends, one week
~ Destin, Florida vacation with family, long weekend
You can pray for my efforts in these areas, and most importantly for my trust in the Lord that He would direct my plans and my steps, and that all rearranging would be considered from an eternal perspective recognizing His control and sovereignty over it all!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
the fruits of our labors
Well, that title is probably a bit dramatic but still fitting in my mind. Anyway, I've really been enjoying our "urban garden" this year. We have two containers near our front doors which "pep up" the rust colored door (below). I've also had fun refilling the containers we had last year on our back patio (right), and adding a few more. These pictures were also on Facebook in case you feel like you're seeing duplicates.My favorite of the flower containers on the back patio is this one containing cat mint - purple breezy looking flowers in the middle, violas pale yellow, snapdragons (not blooming when I took this picture) also pale yellow, and the fuzzy plants that are whitish and just make a nice addition. One of my friends described it as having "wild beauty" I'd agree with such a lovely description. (The watering can is also charming I think... a great $6 Big Lots find!)
We've also endeavored to plant some additional garden areas near our apartment. I found $1 boxes of wildflower seeds at Walgreens recently and decided to invest in two of them. After raking up the dirt and adding some topsoil Matt covered up the seeds I sprinkled in. We've been watering and are thrilled to see sprouts coming up. I'll be so excited if there really are wildflowers under the formerly bare stairwells in our complex. I hope the Seminary would be equally thrilled... but I'm not so sure :) Here's a small glimpse of those spaces...I'll add an "end of summer" picture in a few months to show how they turned out, well I'm hoping!
Finally, the inspiration for my melodramatic title... I used some of our herbs today from the ever-growing herb garden containers to make herb butter which was a delicious addition to our first loaf of breadmaker bread.
(I found an excellent deal about a month ago when I bought a Pillsbury Bread Machine for $5 at a church rummage sale and finally tracked down the manual and instructions online... thanks to the "breadmaker guru" site.) Today was the first day to experiment with our handy machine and it did a wonderful job! I've been wanting to use my herbs frequently so that they'll continue to grow and herb butter seemed to be just the right addition. So I mixed some chopped thyme, oregano, basil, and chives with some softened butter. Here were the results (aka "the fruits of our labors")...
On an ending note - Does anyone know of something to do with sage? Its growing bigger and bigger because I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Any input would be great!
**many more frequent posts to come, my mind seems full of topics: last day of school; summer Bible study plans; summer goals; and for fun (this is an idea another teacher friend had) compare and contrast "summer Laura" and "school year Laura" :) **
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
the world... according to my third grade class
It's been such a long time since I've posted... I couldn't resist sharing an update on my third grade life though. So, here it is:
As state testing has begun and the end of the year is coming, I've been trying to dream up creative (and still worthwhile) activities for my students. I decided during an "ah ha" moment that they could benefit from listening to a read aloud that would be much different than others we've read this year. I saw a review of the book: Three Cups of Tea (The Young Reader's Edition) and knew it would be perfect! My goal is that my students would recognize the privileged position they are in as children in America who are entitled to an education. I hope that by contrasting that with much of the world they would become much more interested in, and committed to their own learning... now and into their future lives. So we began with a little bit of "background" and are trying to build from there. It's been very exciting and interesting thus far!
All of these discussions have centered around our world map and the fascination it's created in our classroom. So we started out by locating Kentucky on our world map... from there:
"Where's the country on the map?... That's where I used to live." (country as in rural)
"Is Mars on the map?"
STUDENT: "If kids in other countries really want to learn why don't they just come to America?"
MY RESPONSE: "If you were a child in Pakistan and you were eight years old and wanted to come to America, how would you get there?" (while illustrating the distance by pointing to our world map)
STUDENT: "Walk."
ME: "Really!?! You would walk across the world? I don't think you could do that. What would happen when you got to the ocean?"
STUDENT: "I'd walk across it." (very serious response in fact, and none of the other students seemed to question it!)
ME: "You can't walk across the ocean. Look here's Florida. If I'm on the beach in Florida the ocean is the only thing I can see for as far as I look in that direction. Even then I'm only probably seeing about this much (showing about one centimeter of the ocean on our map) of the whole thing. How could I walk across it? You would have to fly or get on a boat to cross the ocean. If the kids don't have any money to go to school, then they definitely don't have enough money to buy a plane ticket or a ticket for a ship."
STUDENT: "You could still walk across it." (even still, adamant and unchanging)
ME: "Boys and girls when I tell you things like this I'm not lying. You can ask any adult you know and they'll all agree with me. You cannot walk across the ocean!"
So my goals for the final two and a half weeks of school... identify the seven continents, recognize the United States on a map of North America (the addition of Canada and Mexico would be a bonus!), and locate Kentucky on a United States map. I think we can do it!
The same students also explained to me that if they ever had worked in a sweatshop (as that term came up as part of a list of reasons that children don't go to school in some countries) they would have killed their boss. The comment was made that no one could make them work like that and treat them that way.
Finally, one of the more enlightening moments (a glimpse of hope)...
STUDENT: "So you're saying that these kids around the world can't go to school but they want to, and that we can go to school but we don't want to!? That's AWKWARD Mrs. Peery!"
ME: "Yes, that's what I'm saying... No it's not "awkward" it's really sad that you all feel that way. They would tell you that you're the luckiest kids in the world."
So they are quite interested in the Pennies for Peace program which was briefly mentioned in the book's introduction. I'm browsing that website and thinking about mentioning it to the other third grade teachers, maybe the principal and counselor also. Two and a half weeks isn't long for a penny drive... but it could help! 1 PENNY = 1 PENCIL in those school... we're very blessed, without a doubt.
I'll keep updating with other exciting glimpses into the life of Mrs. Peery's class as they come!
Laura
As state testing has begun and the end of the year is coming, I've been trying to dream up creative (and still worthwhile) activities for my students. I decided during an "ah ha" moment that they could benefit from listening to a read aloud that would be much different than others we've read this year. I saw a review of the book: Three Cups of Tea (The Young Reader's Edition) and knew it would be perfect! My goal is that my students would recognize the privileged position they are in as children in America who are entitled to an education. I hope that by contrasting that with much of the world they would become much more interested in, and committed to their own learning... now and into their future lives. So we began with a little bit of "background" and are trying to build from there. It's been very exciting and interesting thus far!
All of these discussions have centered around our world map and the fascination it's created in our classroom. So we started out by locating Kentucky on our world map... from there:
"Where's the country on the map?... That's where I used to live." (country as in rural)
"Is Mars on the map?"
STUDENT: "If kids in other countries really want to learn why don't they just come to America?"
MY RESPONSE: "If you were a child in Pakistan and you were eight years old and wanted to come to America, how would you get there?" (while illustrating the distance by pointing to our world map)
STUDENT: "Walk."
ME: "Really!?! You would walk across the world? I don't think you could do that. What would happen when you got to the ocean?"
STUDENT: "I'd walk across it." (very serious response in fact, and none of the other students seemed to question it!)
ME: "You can't walk across the ocean. Look here's Florida. If I'm on the beach in Florida the ocean is the only thing I can see for as far as I look in that direction. Even then I'm only probably seeing about this much (showing about one centimeter of the ocean on our map) of the whole thing. How could I walk across it? You would have to fly or get on a boat to cross the ocean. If the kids don't have any money to go to school, then they definitely don't have enough money to buy a plane ticket or a ticket for a ship."
STUDENT: "You could still walk across it." (even still, adamant and unchanging)
ME: "Boys and girls when I tell you things like this I'm not lying. You can ask any adult you know and they'll all agree with me. You cannot walk across the ocean!"
So my goals for the final two and a half weeks of school... identify the seven continents, recognize the United States on a map of North America (the addition of Canada and Mexico would be a bonus!), and locate Kentucky on a United States map. I think we can do it!
The same students also explained to me that if they ever had worked in a sweatshop (as that term came up as part of a list of reasons that children don't go to school in some countries) they would have killed their boss. The comment was made that no one could make them work like that and treat them that way.
Finally, one of the more enlightening moments (a glimpse of hope)...
STUDENT: "So you're saying that these kids around the world can't go to school but they want to, and that we can go to school but we don't want to!? That's AWKWARD Mrs. Peery!"
ME: "Yes, that's what I'm saying... No it's not "awkward" it's really sad that you all feel that way. They would tell you that you're the luckiest kids in the world."
So they are quite interested in the Pennies for Peace program which was briefly mentioned in the book's introduction. I'm browsing that website and thinking about mentioning it to the other third grade teachers, maybe the principal and counselor also. Two and a half weeks isn't long for a penny drive... but it could help! 1 PENNY = 1 PENCIL in those school... we're very blessed, without a doubt.
I'll keep updating with other exciting glimpses into the life of Mrs. Peery's class as they come!
Laura
Monday, February 2, 2009
Fellowship
This week has given me a lot of time to think and a lot of time to experience "real" fellowship. I'm quite thankful for it, but I've realized some things about myself that the Lord must begin to change. We in Louisville have found ourselves in the midst of another HUGE storm (another because we had one wind storm this fall which caused similar damage and kept us out of school for a week). This time, the storm came in the form of lots of ice and snow. Last Monday night it began and continued. Power went out in most of the city on Wednesday sometime. School has been out since last Tuesday (we'll return tomorrow). And most of the Seminary campus lost power including most of the Seminary apartments. They suggested that students go home if they could, as LG&E (our power company) expected the city to be without power in some place for 7-10 days.
Unfortunately, its not that easy for some people to get home... and its expensive too! The good thing about all this was the breeding ground it created for fellowship. Beginning Wednesday night our small group friends from church became fairly communal in our living situation! Two couples whose apartments didn't have power, stayed with the others who did. Our friends Jeremy and Sarah (who's expecting a baby in April) stayed with us. Among all of us we often shared meals as those who were out of their homes had food they didn't want to spoil... and those who were in our homes were beginning to run out of groceries at certain points.
The Lord really showed me that "small groups" every other week don't fill the Christian's call for "fellowship" at all. In fact, it is a great step in that direction... and I'm so thankful for our friends there... but really we became so much closer through this trying time. No, I don't think I could very easily adapt to a communal life (nor do I think Christ is calling us to). Rather, I do think we must be open as often as we're given the opportunity to enter into such fellowship. We must talk often and openly with one another as Christians (maybe just women have the need to "talk often"). We must share our thoughts, ideas, and questions in order to receive and offer wise counsel and other insights. And most difficult for me... we must leave our "comforts" of an organized home, laundry washed often, a refrigerator and freezer with only "my" food, and time for my family and I to do as we please. In order to have real fellowship we must not think first of ourselves and our conveniences. Rather we must welcome those who are in the body of Christ and think much less of ourselves. I pray that the Lord will conform me as He desires in these ways.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1-4
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 12:13
I will have great memories of this week and all it entailed... walking around the mall to stop our lethargic feelings; eating at Chic-Fil-A and enjoying the perks of free refills, coupons, and WiFi; late night conversations about Reformed theology and ministry futures (until 1am in fact); SuperBowl parties; pot-lucks with lots of friends and very well-rounded meals; the perks of a pull out couch... list could go on!
Unfortunately, its not that easy for some people to get home... and its expensive too! The good thing about all this was the breeding ground it created for fellowship. Beginning Wednesday night our small group friends from church became fairly communal in our living situation! Two couples whose apartments didn't have power, stayed with the others who did. Our friends Jeremy and Sarah (who's expecting a baby in April) stayed with us. Among all of us we often shared meals as those who were out of their homes had food they didn't want to spoil... and those who were in our homes were beginning to run out of groceries at certain points.
The Lord really showed me that "small groups" every other week don't fill the Christian's call for "fellowship" at all. In fact, it is a great step in that direction... and I'm so thankful for our friends there... but really we became so much closer through this trying time. No, I don't think I could very easily adapt to a communal life (nor do I think Christ is calling us to). Rather, I do think we must be open as often as we're given the opportunity to enter into such fellowship. We must talk often and openly with one another as Christians (maybe just women have the need to "talk often"). We must share our thoughts, ideas, and questions in order to receive and offer wise counsel and other insights. And most difficult for me... we must leave our "comforts" of an organized home, laundry washed often, a refrigerator and freezer with only "my" food, and time for my family and I to do as we please. In order to have real fellowship we must not think first of ourselves and our conveniences. Rather we must welcome those who are in the body of Christ and think much less of ourselves. I pray that the Lord will conform me as He desires in these ways.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1-4
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 12:13
I will have great memories of this week and all it entailed... walking around the mall to stop our lethargic feelings; eating at Chic-Fil-A and enjoying the perks of free refills, coupons, and WiFi; late night conversations about Reformed theology and ministry futures (until 1am in fact); SuperBowl parties; pot-lucks with lots of friends and very well-rounded meals; the perks of a pull out couch... list could go on!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
new home decorating
The following pictures show our latest decorating additions...Matt's library shelves are becoming more and more full as each semester passes and his book collections grow. Therefore, we made more room for him, by moving some of my books and a lot of old Bibles out of the office and onto a shelf near our living room/dining room. It fit well in the space and clears some shelves for him!
The next pictures show our new Audubon additions in the bathroom. I really like them. We even found the frames at Hobby Lobby during one of their 50% off framing sales... what perfect timing!
Lastly, I finished my "punch needle" project. The box advertised that it was, "fun, easy, and a quick way to smile"... seems like kind of crazy 1950's housewife marketing... but I'll admit I would agree with all claims. It only took me about one or two weeks to finish as I worked on it in the evenings over our Winter Break off and on. Framing it was a bit harder, but it worked out well. Now our kitchen has a little more life!
These are fun and restful areas of life for me. I'm thankful that the Lord has given me a desire and joy in caring for our home!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Perfect Peace & Rest
In light of an especially hectic week at school and plenty of future-related thoughts, these songs were especially encouraging tonight at church. The Lord often brings me greater clarity through the singing of His Word and His truths... funny thing, because I really don't even sing-sing (as in singing well, or in choir). Maybe they will encourage you right now too...
"Like A River Glorious"
Verse 3 is especially challenging and settling all at the same time... I know that the Lord is enthroned at Sovereign even over room 213 at Semple Elementary. Tomorrow I must act on that belief and really let myself remain in His care without becoming so upset, frustrated, and full of complains and overwhelmed feelings in the midst of it all. I have such comfort knowing that nothing is beyond His wisdom, and indeed He is Sovereign (all-knowing and all-powerful).
The next song is a new one to Clifton Baptist as of tonight. I hope we continue to sing it more and more often. You can find it on YouTube here. It is written by Aaron Keys and Stuart Townend and is based on Psalm 62...
"My Soul Finds Rest"
"Like A River Glorious"
- Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.- Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
- Refrain:
- Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there. - Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do;
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.
The next song is a new one to Clifton Baptist as of tonight. I hope we continue to sing it more and more often. You can find it on YouTube here. It is written by Aaron Keys and Stuart Townend and is based on Psalm 62...
"My Soul Finds Rest"
I am mindful and especially thankful of the Lord's abundant mercy upon me each day. I will trust Him and continue to pour out my soul into His loving care and faithful guidance.My soul finds rest in God alone, My Rock and my salvation,
A fortress strong against my foes, And I will not be shaken.
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse, And lies like arrows pierce me,
I’ll fix my heart on righteousness, I’ll look to Him who hears me.CHORUS
O praise Him, hallelujah, My Delight and my Reward;
Everlasting, never failing, My Redeemer, my God.Find rest, my soul, in God alone
Amid the world’s temptations;
When evil seeks to take a hold
I’ll cling to my salvation.
Though riches come and riches go,
Don’t set your heart upon them;
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven. (TO CHORUS)I’ll set my gaze on God alone,
And trust in Him completely;
With every day pour out my soul,
And He will prove His mercy.
Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to measure,
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am His forever. (TO CHORUS 2X)BRIDGE
O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah, hallelujah,
O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah, hallelujah,
O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah! hallelujah!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
these are a few of my favorite things...
I wanted to show you via pictures some of my most recent (materialistic) delights...
First, I'm thankful that the Lord provides for us in big and small ways, and allows us to delight in Him in the midst of it all. I hope that gifts and things will never steal my focus away from Him.
* our simple winter centerpiece... I was excited to fill the "vase" (which was a gift from a student during my student teaching) with rice we had in the kitchen, easy!
* a great towel which is a new addition to our bathroom and began the inspiration to decorate with songbirds (that I miss seeing here in the city)
* the soap dispenser came as a set with the handtowel... I really do enjoy the birds!
* my newest creative decoration which my brother thought was quite creepy... hopefully guests in our house won't, anyway I loved the glass I found for only $3 at a little shop when I was home and decided to incorporate it into our bird bathroom... so I filled it with moss and a fake bird nest with a robin blue decorative egg my mom had! I love it, Matt assures me that he likes it too, which is nice!
* we brought candles back from home at Christmas so I added this one to our bathroom
* since I became inspired by the birds, we found on ebay 2 Audubon bird prints that were a great price (only $15)... once they arrive I'll find two inexpensive frames and add them to our bathroom to complete our project
* Matt's side of the bed now, with a new reading lamp (so that he won't burn down the apartment while trying to dim the light by covering it with a t-shirt... true story, I woke up to him asking me about the smell in our room, which was the smell of a burnt t-shirt and a burnt lampshade!) and little table for his ever growing stack of books to read!
* our Christmas gift from Matt's mom and step-dad... they had one of our wedding pictures blown up and printed on canvas! its a great addition to our room, and the wedding boquet is perfect right below it
* our anniversary present to one another... we had our painting of the bed & breakfast we stayed at on our honeymoon framed, its hanging in the living room now
* my mom gave me a cobalt blue deviled egg platter... I used it for our friends' New Year's Eve party last night, and the eggs were a hit!
* the sugar and creamer set was also a Christmas gift from my mom... I'm hoping to use it soon for entertaining two great coffee drinking friends from Kansas City!
a few other favorites...
* my new stockpot "multi-pot" which dear Darcie hunted down with me... it has a steamer insert and a colander insert, very convenient!
* a punch needle project... kind of like cross stitching, but not really... I'll post a picture when I'm finished with it, I hope to buy a frame for it and hang it above my sink... its been a very fun and restful project
* new clothes from my favorite place thanks to my husband's thoughtful gift for Christmas
* a perfect chai tea mix which we've already so enjoyed:
1 c nonfat dry milk powder
1 c powdered non-dairy creamer
1 c French vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c unsweetened instant tea
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp white pepper
First, I'm thankful that the Lord provides for us in big and small ways, and allows us to delight in Him in the midst of it all. I hope that gifts and things will never steal my focus away from Him.
* our simple winter centerpiece... I was excited to fill the "vase" (which was a gift from a student during my student teaching) with rice we had in the kitchen, easy!
* a great towel which is a new addition to our bathroom and began the inspiration to decorate with songbirds (that I miss seeing here in the city)
* the soap dispenser came as a set with the handtowel... I really do enjoy the birds!
* my newest creative decoration which my brother thought was quite creepy... hopefully guests in our house won't, anyway I loved the glass I found for only $3 at a little shop when I was home and decided to incorporate it into our bird bathroom... so I filled it with moss and a fake bird nest with a robin blue decorative egg my mom had! I love it, Matt assures me that he likes it too, which is nice!
* we brought candles back from home at Christmas so I added this one to our bathroom* since I became inspired by the birds, we found on ebay 2 Audubon bird prints that were a great price (only $15)... once they arrive I'll find two inexpensive frames and add them to our bathroom to complete our project
* Matt's side of the bed now, with a new reading lamp (so that he won't burn down the apartment while trying to dim the light by covering it with a t-shirt... true story, I woke up to him asking me about the smell in our room, which was the smell of a burnt t-shirt and a burnt lampshade!) and little table for his ever growing stack of books to read!
* our Christmas gift from Matt's mom and step-dad... they had one of our wedding pictures blown up and printed on canvas! its a great addition to our room, and the wedding boquet is perfect right below it
* our anniversary present to one another... we had our painting of the bed & breakfast we stayed at on our honeymoon framed, its hanging in the living room now
* my mom gave me a cobalt blue deviled egg platter... I used it for our friends' New Year's Eve party last night, and the eggs were a hit!
* the sugar and creamer set was also a Christmas gift from my mom... I'm hoping to use it soon for entertaining two great coffee drinking friends from Kansas City!
a few other favorites...
* my new stockpot "multi-pot" which dear Darcie hunted down with me... it has a steamer insert and a colander insert, very convenient!
* a punch needle project... kind of like cross stitching, but not really... I'll post a picture when I'm finished with it, I hope to buy a frame for it and hang it above my sink... its been a very fun and restful project
* new clothes from my favorite place thanks to my husband's thoughtful gift for Christmas
* a perfect chai tea mix which we've already so enjoyed:
1 c nonfat dry milk powder
1 c powdered non-dairy creamer
1 c French vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c unsweetened instant tea
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp white pepper
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