Christmas 2013

This year for Christmas we drove down the Greenville, SC and Charlotte, SC.  We were able to visit with family and see my nephew who turned 15 months on Christmas! 

Simple Pleasures

           This morning I headed to the gym for our normal Friday assembly, but got stopped in the gym by a teacher.  As I was talking to that teacher, two small arms found their way around my legs.  I looked down and it was one of my students giving me a hug.  This particular student is a delight to have in class, but had never given me a hug before.  Much less a hug first thing in the morning in front of all the other students.  I put my arm around her, and gave her a squeeze.  She hung on for a minute and then went to sit down. I realized later that in the process, I had never even made eye contact or really even addressed her as I was too busy talking with another teacher.  How often in life do we miss those small tender moments.  Those moments that are unexpected and yet unintentionally mean the world to someone.

 Well, towards the end of the day, that same student came back up to me at my desk and gave me another big hug.  This time, I stopped, fully embraced the moment and gave her a good hug!  I told that student how important she was in my class and how wonderful she was.  Maybe today, this little girl just needed an extra person to put their arms around her and let her know that she was loved.  Aren’t we all like that?  The truth is, that little girl’s hug was needed more by me today then she even knew.  I needed that hug today  I needed that innocent hug that was given to me first thing this morning.  She had walked into school, seen me, and wanted to simply say thank you and I’m glad to see you again.  It was only a hug, but it meant the world to me.   It reminded me on a day that I needed reminding that what I do matters.  That by the grace of God, I have been given the ability to love children.  I may never be great at data collecting, or differentiating the content, or grading papers in a timely fashion, but I have been given the gift of love.  I love the kids that I teach.  They are the people I spend my day with.  They are my kids.  I know them personally.  My prayer is that my students know the love that I have for them.  That little hugs and little hands that squeeze my thigh matter.  They are just kids who want to know that they matter and are loved.  By God’s power, my heart swells with love for them.  Simple pleasures.  My heart desires to cherish and embrace every single simple pleasure it receives.

10 Years Later...

        This past September 20th, marked ten years since my accident happened.  It's hard to believe it's really been that long.  I was asked by my college to come back and speak about what God has done in my life over the last ten years.  The opportunity was such a blessing.  It's amazing how God still continues to use my story to bring glory to His name.   This song, Never Once, has become my life song.  A song that reminds me everyday that despite any obstacles, I truly never do walk alone.  .

 

 

 

 

A Visit to Charlotte

                                      We went to visit the Billy Graham Center in Charlotte.

 

 

My little nephew Noah and I are matching as we cheer on the Illini from North Carolina!

Love this guy!!

Noah- 6 months

New Year...New Resolve

I'm not one who usually sets a lot of goals each New Years. Sure, I like to reflect on the past year, but I've never been the one to say I'm going to do this, this, and this. But this year, I feel like the last few years have been sluggish years and I want this year to be the year where I really enjoy life and live life. That I bring energy to life and that life doesn't drain energy from me. I want my goals to be attainable. So small simple goals is what I'm hoping to achieve this year.

I want to:

-use reusable grocery bags at the store
-memorize verses weekly
-allow myself to buy one new clothing item every other month
-meet with a financial advisor to start additional saving investments
-Start looking for houses
-look into maybe going on a missions trip this summer
- encourage one person every day via email, letter, verbally, text, etc.
- buy only items that provide my body with nutrients and are beneficial
- walk on the treadmill 3 days a week (in addition to other cardio)
-be more assertive in overall areas of life (friendships, socially, professionally, etc)
-fast once a week
- work towards possibly doing a marathon distance (on elliptical of course)
-call dad at least once every two weeks
-stretch everyother night at min.
-eat more veggies

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!

Brave

My friend and I have this saying......it's something that we use to tell each other in college..... We would say to each other to "be a brave lil solider" whenever we were scared/intimidated of something....

Brave….

Do you ever have one of those times when you try to keep it together but as soon as you leave somewhere or see someone close to you, you lose it? Today, I had one of those moments. A long story short, I’ve had 5 laser vein surgeries and more to come in the future. Supposedly I have broken valves in my legs that need to be “shut down” and rerouted to other veins. Well rightly so, one of my biggest fear is not being able to feel my legs. During the surgery, I’m awake for it all, but they numb your leg while they insert the laser rod. The Dr. numbed my leg and started to prick the needle in my leg. While I knew that this numbing was only temporary, I laid on the chair struggling to keep myself composed. It wasn’t necessarily the pain but rather the emotional reminiscing. It brought me back to Sept. 20. It brought me back to the day that I was not able to feel my legs. I made it through the procedure and left her office. As soon as I got in my car I lost it….completely. I started bawling like a baby. I called my mom and just cried to her. I can’t explain why I was really even crying other than I don’t ever want to NOT feel a sensation on my leg (sharp, soft, or painful). I want to feel something/anything and not nothing. I was brave….so brave. While maybe I was acting like a kid in wishing I had my mama around and crying over some stupid needle that I got pricked with…..the truth is even big kids get scared and need to be brave.

Oh and if I ever have kids….I promise you I will not have an epidural that numbs your body….if my mom didn’t have one with twins, then I won’t either!!