my last day on earth

I love this quote by Jim Elliot.
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I have a bad habit of always looking forward to the next big event or stage in life.  I live by my calendar and always try to have something big planned to look forward to.  Connor always gets annoyed with me because too often my sentences start with "I can't wait til (fill in the blank)."  Right now I'm looking forward to:

• Spring break in March (the beach is calling my name!).
• Summer break!!  No school for 2.5 blissful months, plus a few vacations planned.
• Next school year.
• Two years from now when Connor will be done with medical school.  He'll finally be making some money, we can (maybe) buy a house, and (maybe) start a family.
• Lots of years from now when I can hopefully be a stay at home mommy.

Today my cousin posted this on Facebook today: "A legend about St. Francis tells that he was hoeing his garden one afternoon when someone asked him to speculate on what he would do if he knew he was going to die that day.  "I would hoe my garden" was his reply, content in what God's plan was from him that day." 

What would you do if you knew it was your last day on earth?  My answer would probably include things like: sleep in late, spend time with my family, get a manicure, etc.  I'm ashamed to admit it would be mostly selfish activities.  My answer should be: I would get up at the crack of dawn and teach my students all day, just like I do every day.  Because that is God's plan for my life these days.  What could be better than spending my last day on earth doing what God designed me to do?  This is where He wants me to be right now, so I'm working on being content in my circumstances.  I love my job and have been so blessed.  I'll try not to look forward to the next big thing - I might miss what is right in front of me!  

Just thought I'd share that with the blog world today - maybe there are other people out there who get so caught up looking forward to the next thing that they miss the beauty of living in the present.  I know I've been gone for awhile (4 months!), and I won't make promises about being back again soon.  Life has been crazy, but it's nice to sit down every once in a while and catch up on blogging.  (Summer - here's the blog post you were asking for! :))       

a crafty weekend

Has it really been over a month since I've blogged?  Oops.  Life hasn't been too exciting lately - just staying busy with work.  I desperately need a break and am SO excited to be headed to Tulsa to visit my adorable niece and her parents in ten days!  We're going to have so much fun!  I can't wait to squish those chubby cheeks. 

In the meantime, I've been getting into the holiday spirit for fall and Christmas.  I spend almost all weekend with my sewing machine working on a Christmas project.  I also started several craft projects so I'll post them as they get completed.  One project I did start and finish in less than an hour was this fall wreath.  I found it on Pinterest and it was super easy!  I followed this great tutorial and changed a few things to make it my own.  I liked the look of the fall banner in the middle of the wreath so it was more visible.  I did come away with one battle wound - while securing the branches with foral wire one of the wires shot up my fingernail.  Ouch!  It was quite painful/bloody but I'll recover :).  This afternoon I also made a batch of homemade granola - post to come later this week!

I may be biased, but she is the cutest baby girl ever!! 

 

fall fashion

This 70 degree weather has gotten me in the mood for fall!  It's still too warm to start wearing sweaters and boots, but I have been pulling all of my fall clothes out of storage and shopping for new pieces for the coming season.  Pinterest is my favorite place to find clothing inspiration (and well...cooking, crafting, decorating, and classroom inspiration also).  I thought I'd share some of my latest pinterest finds that I wish would magically appear in my closet!

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I love this look from head to toe!

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Simple and gorgeous!  I have been looking everywhere for taupe colored boots like this. Let me know if you've seen them anywhere!

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I've never had much red in my closet, but this season I'm really loving it. Especially with leopard flats!

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Also loving wine and camel together.

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Love this look for a chilly weekend!

I made this outfit last year!  Still think it's cute, still wish I had all of it :).

What fall fashion trends are you looking forward to trying out this year?  Leave a comment and let me know!  Let's cross our fingers that this cool(ish) weather is here to stay!  

face time

I wish I wasn't in this shot - I had just finished a run.  Gross!

I don't get to see my adorable niece nearly enough since she lives nine hours away.  The next best thing is face timing with her and her mommy!  I love to snap screen shots when she's making a cute (or in this case, silly) face.  I am counting down the days til I can see her again at the end of October.  That is just too far away.  For now, I'll have to rely on face timing, texting, instagram, and Beth's blog to keep me updated on all things Caroline.

How cute is she in her fish pajamas?!

      

I've had a face lift

For an explanation of my blog's title, see my "about" tab.

You may or may not notice that things are looking different around here!  I'm excited about my new blog design and hope that it will get me more motivated to keep blogging.  Life is busy and blogging doesn't fall at the top of my list of priorities, but I truly do miss the interaction with other bloggers and the friends I've made through it (wish some of you could be real-life friends!).  

Along with my face lift, I've been updating my pages.  Under the "About" tab I've explained the meaning behind the title of my blog, so check it out!  I'll slowly be making more changes around here, so stay tuned.  

On another note, I just have to share a new recipe Connor and I tried last night.  One of my favorite foods in the world is J. Alexander's Not Your Ordinary Mac and Cheese.  I dream about it and go there for my birthday dinner almost every year.  A couple years ago we tried a recipe we found online for the mac and cheese.  It was good, but not quite the same as J. Alexander's.  Last night we tried a different one and it tasted exactly like the restaurant's - maybe even better.  It's a fussy recipe but so worth it.  Now I'm sharing the love with you!  

J. Alexander's Not Your Ordinary Mac and Cheese

I don't know about the rest of the country, but the weather in Alabama this weekend has been incredible.  The stifling summer heat has broken and fall seems to be within reach!  I'm headed outside to enjoy the sunshine and cool breeze with my kindle and diet coke on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.  Hope you have a lovely day as well!  

Kristen          

2 Corinthians 12:9

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I have been meditating on this verse this week as the school year begins.  Starting at a new school in a teaching position I've never done before (inclusion) is a little scary and at times I feel like I don't know what I'm doing.  Some of my students are challenging, most of them are sweet angels, but all of them are precious.  I keep reminding myself that His power is made perfect in my weaknesses.  I'm exhausted and it's only Wednesday but I really love it.  Still, I'm counting down the days til the weekend :).  Getting back to work after a whole summer of laziness and vacations is a bit of a rude awakening.  That's just what's been on my mind lately!

Kristen        

School and Mexican Stuffed Shells

Today was my first day with my students at my new school!  It was a great day and went by SO fast.  I can already tell I've got some sweeties this year.  It was also really fun to see some of this kids that were in my class when I did my student teaching.  The school I'm starting at this year (ICS) is grades 3-5 and the school I student taught at in first grade was grades K-2nd that feeds into my current school.  So some of my first grade babies two years ago are now third graders at ICS!  I'm really excited about this school year with a new school and new job! 

For dinner tonight I made a new recipe I found on Pinterest - Mexican Stuffed Shells.  It was deeelicious.  I usually make tacos once every few weeks and am really getting sick of them so I wanted to try making a different Mexican dish.  I think these shells are going to become a dinnertime staple around our house.  I can't help but share it with you.  

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Click on the link and go make it, your stomach will thank you.  I have some leftovers already packed in my lunch for tomorrow and I can't wait to eat it again!  

Kristen