InstaFriday

This has been a great week so far!

Of course, I started out pretty overwhelmed and under joyed, but I realized that it has a lot to do with how I'm spending my time and what I'm investing my time in.

I've been intentional about my quiet times and 52 in 52 studying this week. It's a breath of fresh air!

Just like these lovely wildflowers. Aren't they happy?

My friend Ashley and I were driving down a back road Monday morning, and these little beauties were growing on the side of the road. I said, "I want to pick some!!!!" So she pulled over!

Yay!! I picked some for myself and some for Ashley.

They're still on my kitchen table right now.

I had to shake out all of the pollen (or whatever it was that was falling off) today. I should probably throw them out, but they're too happy still to be tossed.

One of my tomato plants outside has a baby tomato.

But I think I killed the plant, therefore killing the baby tomato. Oops.

There's still another plant going strong, and it has flowers on it so far! Hopefully baby tomatoes are in the neat future!

The other flowers in my garden are doing pretty well. I may have a green thumbnail at this point.

Definitely not a whole green thumb though.

2 Chronicles 3l:20-21

In everything he undertook ... he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.

Love that passage. 

Philippians 2:14-16

This is so hard, isn't it?

Well okay. Maybe it's just me, but I find it hard!

I don't even realize I'm complaining sometimes until after it's done and time has passed.

But this is my prayer, my ambition. 

Remember when I said I was trying to be more intentional about my quiet times and my scripture memorization? Well, I'm trying to be more intentional about not complaining or arguing as well.

So this bitty kitty has kind of taken over the house. Her name is Chloe, and she's only about 5 weeks old now.

I know, she's supposed to still be with her mommy, but she didn't have one when she was found, so I've become her mommy.

She drinks goat milk. And sleeps in a little cradle formed from my shirt. And climbs the curtains like an American Ninja Kitten.

And...she drives Izzy crazy. For real.

For the first week that Chloe was here, Izzy hid under the bed all the time. This week, she has been coming out from under the bed.

She does well until Chloe decides to play Simba from The Lion King and pounce on Izzy.

Yeah. She's pretty feisty!

I discovered a "Documentary Network" on my TV tonight.

And I just watched an hour worth of a documentary about these four Irish women talking about their late husbands and their many quirks.

Wow.

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summer walks and undivided devotion

Izzy and I are enjoying our summer so far.

We went on a "long walk" last night and this afternoon. They're long walks because it's about 30 minutes as opposed to our walks of going out, Izzy doing her stuff, and then us coming back inside.

We're going to take a long walk everyday.

That's the plan anyway!

I've come to the conclusion that I am a stay at home mom during the summer. I just happen to have a baby with four legs that wears a harness while we walk instead of riding in a stroller.

That should help my, "I want a family"-itis...right?

Hope so! :)

So far, during the first week of summer, I have...

-Spent two mornings working out with a couple friends. Love them!! (the workouts...and the friends)
-Bought more [clearance] plants for my garden. Hope they make it!
-Spent an entire day...minus about 2 1/2 hours...devoted solely to grad school work. I got most of it done! Woo! About 2 1/2 more assignments to go for now.
-Challenged myself (and have already started) to eat healthier and be more mindful of what I put into my body.

And that's about it. Doesn't look like much, but it's been pretty busy so far!

Okay, so since I mentioned my "I want a family"-itis, I guess that's a good segue into my 52 in 52 for this week...

An unmarried woman is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is conceded about the affairs of this world-how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:34-35

I apparently have a thing for the books of Corinthians. This is my 4th verse from these two books, which is the most from any book so far.

This isn't the first I've come across this passage, or the first that I felt compelled to camp out and store its words in my heart.

Not sure when I wrote that, but it is most definitely still my heart's cry today.

This season of being single (well, more like life since it's all I've known lol) can either be a blessing or a hardship. I pray that I allow it to be a blessing for me.

A time of growth in Christ, devotion to God, and learning to live for Him. 

And then when He blesses me with more than what I'm experiencing now, it will be all the sweeter.

Right now, though...

Undivided devotion.

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watching them grow

One of my favorite things about teaching is watching my students grow throughout the school year.

Seeing them grow leaps and bounds in reading.

Watching their love of math develop through the weeks.

Hearing their imaginative stories about volcanoes, dinosaurs, and venus fly traps. Yes. Venus fly traps. Everyday. :)

I'm actually hoping to find a venus fly trap to get for my classroom since they are so interested.

I looked into getting seeds, but they take too long to germinate.

These little guys though...

We planted seeds one day last week. On Friday to be exact.

Lots of seeds. LOTS.

Sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, celosias, marigolds. Even rye grass.

The students have been so excited to come everyday to see that the plants have germinated, sprouted, and now growing leaves. Some of the students have learned the hard way that some seeds germinate sooner than others. Sunflowers are the fastest. Celosias has so far been the slowest.

Today, we decided to transplant the little guys into pots. We took them out of the little mesh bag things they were in, and put them into pots so they can continue growing into pretty plants to give their mommas for Mother's Day.

As I was separating the seedlings into the pots, my students were SO excited.

They could see the roots! And some of them had the little seed covers still on the leaves.

They were also very impressed that they could see the roots coming out of the soil. I assured them that this meant it was time to transplant them!

Roots are so neat!! (Okay okay, I may have been just as excited as my students the whole time!) 

This one was also very exciting to see! 

It was germinating, but it hadn't come up above the soil yet! This was so cool!

Some of them were worried the plants were going to die because we were moving them. However, I explained that if we do it carefully and make sure the roots are buried correctly, they should be fine.

I should have taken a picture of the pots, but I didn't think about it.

Can't wait to see these little guys grow bigger! Love them!

Both the plants and my students.

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