His Love is stronger than mine.

a quiet & rainy evening... warm green tea...a house that smells of freshly baked cookies & vanilla candles... i love the romance of a perfect setting conducive to reflecting. 


in a classroom of 23 kids, all with a story, it pains me that i cannot flat out tell each one of them that Jesus loves them, that He died for them, that He wants them to be kind and selfless, that He can heal the brokenness they already have at seven/eight years old, that He can set them free...more than anything i want to take them right then and there and pray with them. 


 i know that nothing in this life matters unless it is about loving God and loving others. if i cannot preach the gospel in my classroom with words, i hope i can preach it with an abundance of hugs, homemade cookies, validating words, meaningful lessons,  a nurturing environment, tough love and gentle correction, offering grace, etc. 


i have realized that loving 23 children like Jesus loves them is so much harder than i ever thought it would be. how i need the Spirit to love them through me. believe me, there are times when i am not feeling gracious. there are times when twelve of them all need me at the same time and all i want is my space. there are times when i feel like being harsh. there are times when i am completely impatient. loving each of them and giving them individualized attention is challenging--sometimes it feels impossible. i am so thankful that the same power that conquered the grave, and the same love that rescued the earth, lives in me. i need to not only remember this truth, but believe that it is stronger than my weakness, my sin, and the "impossible." 

nestful of love's "simply burlap" giveaway!

happy saturday!

just wanted to let you know about my friend allison (from nestful of love) and her new etsy shop, featuring gorgeous burlap banners. i am so proud of her for getting this started. she is giving away one banner to one lucky reader. click here to enter! make sure you follow her awesome blog as well! she writes about adventures with her hubby and two adorable kitties, and her love for the pioneer woman, recipes, and crafts! 

image via simply burlap

living room additions & more pictures.

it has been so much fun adding decorations to our living room. for my birthday my parents gave me a gift card to anthropologie. that and a hefty employee discount scored me this gorgeous chair that used to be in our fitting room... i cant believe that it is now in our home!! it definitely brightens up the room. 

i also scored these beautiful decanters. they remind me of arabian lamps or vintage perfume bottles. they were perfect to display on the coffee table tray that i made!  

this semester i have been waking up at 5:30 even though i don't have to leave until 7:30. instead of rushing out the door like i used to do, i come down and spend time in our living room drinking coffee, listening to music, reading, pinning, and just setting my heart at rest before the day. it has been so nice and i love being surrounded by all the colors. 

i've seen lots of open shelving for dishes and mugs on pinterest and decorating blogs and have decided that i love it. our living room has a baker's rack that was left here and it has been nice to display my coffee mugs and trinkets on...it also saves us lots of cabinet space in the kitchen which is a huge plus. 

i love all of my mismatched coffee mugs and dont ever want a matching set...most of my mugs are tied to a memory and the mismatching pops of color make the room and each cup of coffee a little brighter :) 

also, i am so thankful that it is almost SPRING! it practically feels like it...our forecast for the next ten days is the 60s and 70s...i saw that and put my winter coats away :)

hope the rest of your weekend is a restful one. 

answers.

sometimes we pray and pray and ask God for specific answers. after awhile we begin to think that He is being silent... however, sometimes He is saying "just wait and be with Me, wait and be with Me, wait and be with Me." we dismiss this as silence because we're expecting something more directive, more specific, something to take action on. 


this "wait and be with Me" is as good an answer as any. it is not silence, it is the sweetness of our Lord. i am learning to be content in the waiting, as He draws me close. 


1 Timothy 6:6
But godliness with contentment is great gain. 

dr. suess day!

dr. suess day on friday was a success. the students claimed that it was "the best day ever." we really did have so much fun. we read several stories and did activities to go along with each story. 

here are just a few of the activities we did! as always, i wish i had taken more pictures of our day!

after reading "there's a wocket in my pocket," we created our own characters to put inside our pockets. i was so impressed by what some of the students came up with! i think school needs more opportunities like this for students to be creative and imaginative. 

after reading "one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish," we passed out a baggie of colored goldfish and each student made a pictograph of their fish. 

we  made "specks" from "horton hears a who" to hand out to the students. we wrapped floral tape around pencils and glued large pompoms on top, and glued teensy pompoms on top of those. the students absolutely loved them! 

we also did lots of word work and writing activities with dr. suess words and of course i passed out the green eggs and ham treats i made! 

happy birthday dr. suess!

happy birthday dr. suess! i am celebrating all day with my 2nd graders... everything we do today will be dr. suess themed... i am so excited :)

i made some "green eggs and ham" to be enjoyed while i read the story of sam i am.... they are simply pretzels, white chocolate, and green m&ms! super easy and yummy. 

my CT and i are also dressing up like thing 1 and thing 2... should be a very interesting day ;) 

you must celebrate this wonderful children's book author with something... green eggs & ham, going out to see "the lorax," or just reading one of his books for fun... i love childhood nostalgia :)

ill post more pictures of our dr. suess fun after the weekend... have a good one. xoxo

you might be super girly if...

1. you love cupcakes and macaroons

2. you have twirled in the past 24 hours


3. psalm 45:11 is written on your heart

4. the majority of items in your closet are dresses and skirts


5. you adore audrey hepburn: i.e. your coffee table is stacked with books about her, your favorite movie is breakfast at tiffany's, and you aspire to copy her look: the lbd and cat-eye sunglasses

6. your heart melts at the sight of babies, kittens, puppies, or anything small and/or fuzzy


7. you have an obsession for teapots, teacups, & tea parties...oh, & teacup inspired lamps :)

8. lace lace lace... you love it.


9. you seek to be a Proverbs 31 woman


10. fresh cut flowers make your heart smile

11. glitter is a lifestyle 


12. you have an entire board dedicated to ladylike loveliness 


13. you own red lipstick (and you may have put it on before just to kiss a handwritten note)


14. the glitter guide is a daily inspiration 


15. sometimes you just need a flower in your hair

16. you remember the game pretty pretty princess (or this was how you were proposed to) and still enjoy a game or two from time to time


17. you believe with all of your heart that you actually know adele...and that she is singing your songs. in high school it was taylor swift... nah, it's still taylor (first name basis), just as much as adele, let's be honest ;) 


18. your exclamation points are always adorned with a heart


19. you have actually tried putting cucumbers on your eyes to.....what's the purpose of cucumbers on your eyes again? besides looking legit and spa like? 


20. every now and then (and you are very particular about the where and the when) you make very unladylike faces, like so: 

being a girl is the best, no?