my attitude stinks

i haven't exactly had a good attitude lately, my attitude about my job situation that is. here it is almost the middle of july and i've emailed principals until i'm blue in the face. i have been getting really frustrated and irritated with the situation and with God because i thought i had given it to Him, and he just hasn't been answering my prayers.

well, it seems that He has been trying to get my attention lately, and i'm so thankful i have been listening. This is one thing that I love about my Jesus. He could have ripped me a new one (especially with the way my attitude has been). He could have not been so gentle and patient with me, but he has been.

My attitude transformation/my "gentle whisper" started on Sunday. Landon and I were talking about a purchase we wanted to make, but i made the comment that we couldn't because "we didn't have jobs." He very kindly reminded me that we do actually have jobs, good jobs, and we have been blessed with these jobs that we have. The Israelites wondered around in the desert for 40 years because they had bad attitudes about their circumstances. I do NOT want to be "wondering around" for 40 years!

Later that evening, we were hanging out with some friends, certified teacher friends, some of who have jobs and some who are still looking. One of the girls who is in the same situation as I (graduated May 09 and still looking for a teaching job) were talking and i mentioned how, while i was trying to be excited, it was frustrating that all these alternatively certified teachers were getting jobs and we, who went to school for 4 years to do this, were not getting hired on. She agreed, but also said "but I know God has it in control, and he knows exactly where he wants me." OK God, you have my attention.

I recently started following Max Lucado on twitter. If you don't, i encourage you to do so. On monday, his twitter said, "No struggle will come your way apart from God's purpose, presence, and permission." There is a purpose i am going through this, but the best part about it is that he is and has been with me through the whole thing. Haven't I been taught this my whole life? Yet why is it so easy to forget? It seems that getting frustrated is so much easier, but it is so much more miserable. I'm so thankful that my God is patient with me when i'm frustrated, understanding when i'm down, comforting when i need comforted, and provides Joy in the morning:) Don't we serve an awesome God?

So my attitude is changing! I have already felt a peace beyond my own understanding about my job situation. I keep thinking about the students/people i will be in contact with in the job my God is going to provide for me. And i keep thinking about how the Lord has set out those specific people that I get to minister to/surround myself with. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store and who he is going to bring into my path to fulfill his purpose for my life.

upholstered headboard

I'm looking to redo my bedroom, get new bedding, make it my escape. right now, it's just kind of thrown together. the bedding we have was just what we got to make do because we didn't get what we registered for when we got married. now that we have moved into a 2 bedroom apartment, i have been looking for new bedding so i can move our current bedding into the guest room. i've been looking at a couple different blogs, and i have been motivated with some new ideas. upholstering a headboard is one of those ideas.

this headboard looks simple but elegant, and that's just what i'm looking for. has anyone upholstered a headboard? on HGTV and the blogs i have been reading, they make it seem so easy, but i need to hear it from someone else! if/when i make my own, i'll post pictures!!

lucky me!

yesterday, my husband proved how wonderful he is, once again! First off, he ordered me Chinese food for dinner, which he doesn't like to eat chinese food very often, but he knows i love it, so that was the first thing.

When I got home, Landon had to leave to go to a meeting. My phone was plugged in in my bedroom, so I went in to check it. I had a message from landon that said "will you please make the bed before I get home?" my first thought was 'that's really weird, 1. because it was 7:30 pm. we were going to get in bed in the next couple hours. 2. he never really cares if the bed is made or not. But he asked, so I wasn't going to let him down. So I immediately took my pillow off the bed and laying underneath my pillow was this dress from Target I had mentioned I liked and a sweet card.
I'm so lucky!

My Favorites of the Summer (so far)

These "favorites" aren't anything new or anything extraordinary that I didn't know I liked before (well most of them). They are simply things that I have rediscovered that I enjoy, and it's because of the summer that I have rediscovered them.

listed in no particular order:

1. Fred, Wilma, Barney, and Betty. You can never go wrong with some good old Flinstones. I am nannying this summer, so we watch a lot of cartoons in the morning. Flinstones is one of my favorite that we watch. Sometimes I wonder if the kids even realize what's going on in each episode because there is so much adult humor (which makes it a lot more enjoyable to me)!!

2. Flowers. This is nothing new to me since I worked in a flower shop one year of college and loved every minute of it, but it wasn't until last week when I walked into a flower shop that I realized how much I miss/love flowers. You just can't walk into a flower shop with a bad attitude or a frown on your face. There is just something special about this beautiful creation that puts a smile on my face. God is SO creative!

3. Sports. DUH! Why wouldn't this be a favorite, ESPECIALLY with the World Cup AND Wimbledon going on right now! I played tennis in high school and just love the game and love watching people who are REALLY good at the game. I watched Isner win finally win the match that will go down in history. 138 games in one set is just mind boggling to me! Congrats to Isner! Also, the world cup! This one is a "new" favorite. I don't really know anything about soccer. I watched my first soccer games when i went to college and still didn't really understand the game, but yesterday, i will admit, i jumped up and down AND screamed in my apartment by myself when USA scored to win the game! I never thought I would have that kind of reaction!

4. The Pool/laying out. I always forget how relaxing this is until I do it one time, and then I'm hooked. Thank goodness for kids who want to go to the pool every day!!

5. Market Street Grocery Store. There is just something about their produce section that reminds me of the farm, home, and family!

Ok that's all for now. I'm sure there will be more discoveries seeing that it's only June 24.

God Is Good All The Time!

I've been sitting here typing the beginning of a blog and then erasing it. typing again, then erasing. so i'm just going to ramble now. at least i will feel somewhat productive.

Last Sunday at 3:30 a.m., my granddad, P (mom's dad), went to be with Jesus after a long and hard fight. He went peacefully with Landon by his side holding his hand. It couldn't have been more of a God thing for Landon to be with him during that time. I'm so thankful he was there with him. While it was so hard to see him go, he is not in pain and has a completely restored body in heaven with Jesus, and for that, I am so thankful! My grandmother, Mamurmer, is doing really well. She is so strong and I'm so thankful for her! Please continue to keep her in your prayers!

Also in my last post, i mentioned my uncle being really sick with cancer and not doing well. He is my mom's oldest brother, and he was so sick he wasn't even able to come to my granddad's funeral. Luckily, earlier in the week, before my granddad passed away, my uncle Mike was able to come one day to see him. His update is that he is at home with hospice coming twice a week. We are still praying and believing for a miracle, and we have seen miracles already. The first couple nights he was home, he wasn't very good. But the days following he has been out of his bed, on the back porch reading the paper, telling stories with friends and family, and sleeping all night with little or no medication. This is truly a God thing because how does someone begin feeling stronger after they have gone home with hospice? the Answer again, is GOD!

Thank you for all your prayers over the last couple of weeks. They have definitely been felt by my family. I'm continuing to ask for prayer for my uncle Mike, aunt J'Carol, and their two sons. Also pray for Mamurmer (grandmother) as she has lost the love of her life and now her son is very sick.

I promise i'll have a fun/happy post soon. But isn't God SOOO good?!?!

short, sweet, to the point

it's been a busy last few weeks (as you can tell with my lack of posts). so a quick recap with as little details as possible to catch you up on whats going on without boring you.

May 14- parents came into town to help us move into our new apartment

May 15- MOVE OUT/IN DAY!!!!!! we moved to a 2 bed 2 bath apt. it's SO much bigger and so much nicer. we are really enjoying it! i'll try to post pictures soon.

May 23- we celebrated our 1 year anniversary! i can't believe a whole year has gone by! it's been one of the most challenging, exciting, and fun years of my life. on our wedding day, it was hard to imagine that i could love landon even more, but i love him more now than ever! on our anniversary, we went to church, lunch, and then just spent the day together shopping, watching a movie, eating our cake, and just relaxing. we exchanged gifts and landon gave me an AMAZING gift! i'll post pictures of that soon too! we have a friend who is quite the artist, so landon gave him one of our wedding pictures to paint to hang on our wall. it is awesome!!!!

May 28- we came to friona for my sister's high school graduation. my parents are down to 2 left in the house! it's only been 1 day, and it's been so nice being here with my family. i haven't seen them in 2 months.

also, my grandad, P, had a stroke on monday and has been in the hospital. he isn't doing very good, so please keep my family, especially my mom and grandmother in your prayers.

also, my mom's brother has cancer and we have recently found out that it is worse than we even knew. so right now really is tough of my mom and grandmother having to be the strong ones.

praying for peace.

Letters

Dear Husband, Thank you for dancing with me this morning while you were on hold with the Apple Store and they were playing Techno Music. You are a good Techno Dancing partner.

Dear Steroid Shot, you are a lifesaver. not only to me, but to my husband too. Now he can breathe for the first time in 3 weeks and my trash can won't be filled with so many kleenex.

Dear Blog and Blog readers, I'm sorry I have neglected you lately. I'll try to do better.

Dear Tomato Factory, Do you really work?? I'm tempted to try you out, even though I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes.

Dear Marriage, It's coming up on a year. Where has the time gone? You are a lot of fun, but I will give all the credit to Landon since he is the reason for the marriage and the fun.

Dear God, You are BIG...a lot bigger than me. Thank goodness!!