Road Trip Fever

If you know me at all, you know that I love adventure and one of my favorite types of adventure is going on a road trip. You might also know that I am pretty fearless when it comes to last minute driving countless hours so long as there is either a. a good destination, b. good company going with me, or c. something waiting to be brought home at the other end. In this case, it was all three. 

It started with this. Well, actually it started on a Friday afternoon while I was on my way home from a run and got a phone call, counting down the seconds to the above shown Ebay auction. That phone call ended with me dancing around on Cuming Street, shouting, "Yippee!! We won!!" 

A little over a day later found us like this. Me doing this... 

And Josh doing this... Just kidding. This was actually the only time in the 10 hour drive to Lone Grove, Oklahoma that this happened at all. We arrived right about 7 pm. When the man selling the bike found out we intended to take it all the way home that night (since we both had to work in the morning) he said we were crazy. Little did he know... 

Before the sun went down I saw a lot of this view right here. 

We had to stop every hundred miles or so to get gas, and of course, take some pictures of the gorgeous bike.  

Since I had the GPS, I got more of this view... 

Or this view... 

It turned out to be the coldest night we have had since like February. Josh had every piece of gear on and still froze. Let's just say, it was a very long night, especially for him trying not to freeze to death and stay awake. But, as he is kind of a beast, he not only survived but kept grinning the whole time. At this point (pictured above) we were almost 24 hours of being awake.  

And just when it seemed like we were never going to get home and the sun was never going to come up, we  found a little gas station outside of Saint Joseph to take a hour rest in. And wouldn't you know it, there was an IHOP right there. And, IHOP had coffee. Funny, after we downed that whole pot I suddenly felt like I could drive for another 10 hours no problem. :) 

I didn't have to though, we were home before lunch time. And here they are, ready for hundreds of thousands of miles of more adventure... 

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school for the kids, so of course Miss Honey had to come home for the festivities. Miss Peanut Butter and Miss Honey collaborated to write a photo scavenger hunt. We split into teams and raced to the finish. Leah's team beat us by about a minute, but we were quite creative... 

 

#10. A picture of yourself drenched. 

#9. Upside down. 

#8. On a fence post. 

#7. In a tree, at least 5 feet off the ground. 

#6. Holding an animal. (The chicken was quite compliant, for the record) 

#5. Crawling under the fence. 

#4. Surrounded by a single color. We gave it our best shot... 

#3. With the windmill fan. 

#2. With a birds nest. 

#1. Lying on the county line. 

#1. was just so good we needed two... :) 

Me and my team. Thanks, Timo, for being the one to get drenched! And way to go guys working so hard on school this year! 

Six Wheels

A few months ago my beloved Alejandro began having issues and it was clear I would need to consider something else for long term reliable transportation. I love Alejandro, but started praying for a new car. As always, God provided above and beyond my needs. 


Meet Sam (named for Sam Worthington, who has proven his low key beastliness on "Clash of the Titans"), an amazing and unexpected gift from Mom and Richard. Richard hand delivered Sam to my doorstep, as clean as I have ever seen a car, with so many extras! The ash tray was even full of laundry tokens...:)



One of the most exciting things about Sam is this right here. I have wanted a car that is a standard for years! Sam and I have already had some really awesome bonding time and taken a few short road trips. We look forward to many, many more adventures together in the days to come!

As always though, God doesn't just provide a little bit. I acquired six new wheels in the space of about 2 weeks. The other two wheels are pink, and are attached to my very sweet urban machine, aka my single speed bicycle. Let's just say riding to work is not only amazing for my cheerfulness when I get there (got to love those endorphins), but also is amazing for my fuel budget and my leg muscles...



This is my super sweet urban machine. And its matching green buddy. And the awesome guy who custom built both of them. Oh, and me. :D My transportation for the rest of the summer just got to be not only reliable and good for me, but also incredibly fun. 

Spring

Spring has sprung.

I was delighted the other day to discover one of our neighbors completely devoted their front yard to springtime flowers.

"Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime. " ~Martin Luther

Things That Made Me Smile

It is about time for another random post of things that have made me smile lately. There have been many, here are just a few...

My bike man set me up with some super sweet urban transportation. Saving up for, a pink helmet and pink seat... Not pictured, the pink gloves and my awesome peddling muscles which are getting better all the time...

Sometimes they make me cry, sometimes they make me mad, but I can't deny these boys make me smile and I am growing to love them all dearly.


Reasons to celebrate. And so much ice cream I have to work to finish it...

Sunshine, of all varieties, so I can wear my sunglasses...

And being with people I care about. What made you smile today?

Raisin Bran: The Breakfast of the Daughters of Champions

I can really be a creature of habit sometimes. I have lived here in Omaha for over 4 months now and I could count on one hand the times I ate something besides Raisin Bran for breakfast. I have sampled several varieties of the cereal, but always something with raisins and, um, bran. Whatever that is. I started eating Raisin Bran because when I was growing up, my Dad ate a bowl of it every night. Eventually he moved on to Wheaties, the "Breakfast (or in this case, late night snack) of Champions", but Raisin Bran will always be Dad's cereal in my mind. And if Dad thought it was good enough to eat every night, there must be something special about it. Needless to say, I have found it works pretty well as a breakfast for myself too.

This morning, as I was slicing up the banana over my

cereal (something else I learned from my Dad, eating a banana every day), I realized how lucky I am. I am lucky because unlike most of the kids I work with every day, I have a Dad who cares about me, who has spent 24 years doing everything he can to give me the best, who I can go to for advice, who will taught me what was right and wrong, but most of all, who set an example of putting God first in my life. You see, I have two breakfast traditions. I don't just eat Raisin Bran and a banana every morning, I also try to read my Bible while munching away, starting my day with God's word. Why? Honestly I can say it is because a. I know I want to have God as the focus when I start my day, and b. for as long as I can remember my Dad has shown by example the importance of putting God and His word first every day, rain or shine, no matter how much of a hurry you are in. As I slid the cereal box back into the cupboard I grinned. Wheaties might be the "Breakfast of Champions", but Raisin Bran is the breakfast of their daughters. At least this one.

What I Get to Do

Whenever someone asks me about my work I always start by saying, "It is going awesome; I totally love my job!" Then, more often than not, they ask, "So what exactly do you do at Compass?" When I tell them I write all the tutoring for our kids, they usually give me a look that says, "And you love your job so much because....?" I try to explain that I get to do so much more than just tutoring though. Which is the point of this post. To show a few of the other things I get to do at my job. And hopefully explain why I love it so much.

I get to ask the little girls in my small group at Kids Church

how I can pray for them .

I get to sit with them while they watch the puppet show and the Bible story.

I get to help them make crafts to remember the Bible lesson by.

I get to totally dominate while playing Hangman. (Or vise-versa...)

I get to read to my kids at the library.

I get to teach them how to find books by the authors' name.

I get to read stories to my kids.

I get to help them write thank you letters and Valentines.

I get to lose, hopelessly, to a first grader in a math game.

I get to have stories read to me.

I get to be a comfortable seat.

I get to talk to plants.

I get to ride in the van on field trips, squealing with everyone when we go over the bumps.

I get to be a part of life skills learning, such as shopping for someone else.

I get to learn new things, like ice skating.

I get to wear hot pink pants to work. And work with these awesome people.

I get to wear awesome costumes and lead impromptu skits.

I get to hang out and color with my friends.

I get to drag people on trash bags

down snow covered hills .

But best of all, I get to be here.