Look…at the birds of the air

I am happy. A word that is not always a part of my vocabulary. This week God and I had a moment. One of those moments where he says “Seriously April…THAT is NOT the way I raised you”. After the sting of being ‘caught’ in my selfish and impatient ways, I responded; “Your right…that was COMPLETLY out of line.” Since then I feel free, free from hiding my bad attitude, free to say I was in a bad place, free to encourage others.

As of late I have begun a love of birds. Birds? You say? Yep…this indoor girl is gaining a love of nature. Who woulda thunk it? This week I have claimed a ‘life verse’ for myself. A verse that when whispered calms my soul, a verse that puts perspective on the most disconcerting of circumstances.

THIS VERSE: 

Matthew 6:26

Yep, I made a graphic for it. I also had them printed from Walgreens on 4x6 sheets because Walgreens was having a lot of deals this week that included getting free pictures!

How does this verse make you feel?

Do you have a ‘life verse’.

I think people read this blog but don’t always comment. Please dialogue with me. Let us be an encouragement to each other.

Oh yeah and on Friday I got this letter.

Well I thought this would be bigger and easier to read. So…FYI it says I didn’t get the job, and you know what…I’m O.K. I’m and ready to try again. Two months ago I wasn’t ready to try at all…”Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.”

 

Did you miss me?

It has been weeks and weeks since I have posted. I have been on vacation, then a week of work, and this week I have been unable to get on a regular sleep schedule and have been fighting a cold/flu.

So I present to you…my vacation in pictures!

my least favorite view…even in driving I have control issues and hate being behind people. I especially hate being behind semi trucks, it really makes me anxious, maybe claustrophobic or something?

funny view across the street from a gas station in northern rural Indiana

meet Lovice (my former officemate) and her daughter DeDe. She also as a son and husband but I did not get a picture of them.

This is the finished product of her living room, (she would not allow me to post the before pictures, believe me it was a MESS. I stayed with them Monday night and then again on Saturday night. Her homework was to go through the pile we made on Monday and Tuesday so that we could finish up on Saturday. It turned out GREAT. I really liked being able to give her the gift of organization. We could only do one room. She desperately tried to get me to stay to finish the rest of her house but I told her that her kitchen needed a psychological evaluation.

This is one of my favorite restaurants. My old officemates met me for lunch. It is a restaurant and a brewery.

Me being silly (I actually really like this picture)

This is my favorite meal at ‘the’ Brickstone, mini burgers and fries, way in the back you can see a fresh loaf of bread and some butter, I probably ate an entire loaf because it is AMAZING!

Andrea and me

me and Julie

Between Lovice’s and Jeri Ann’s I stayed with my old roommate Jana. I took some pictures but none the turned out well. It was nice to see her in her new house and to just catch up on life.

 

Mr. Cole

Miss Kenz coloring in the oversized My Little Pony coloring book I brought.

brand new Kangaroo shoes I got at a consignment store for 7 dollars…I love them! They have zippered pockets on the sides.

brand new Land’s End flip-flops I got at a yard sale for 2 dollars.

Kenzie playing in her pool. Trying to get her energy out I told her to ‘keep running, just keep running, keep running so I can take your picture” she did…just keep running!

   

Cole was just six weeks old so all he did was nurse and sleep. This is exactly what he looked like after every feeding. Instead of burping he would CRASH.

  

Happy Baby!

Cole LOVES his sister already, when she is around he looks at her and smiles.

I painted Kenzie’s toes the color of my toes…it is a good thing that it was 60 second drying paint cause I am not sure how long I could have kept her there.

We were cold so we hide under a blanket and colored.

 

Chubbers!

  

This is Jason. He was the guy in WI who did my nails. I had let them go for almost four weeks and they were looking raggedy. He was HILARIOUS and really should be a stand up comedian. It was the best nail experience I’ve ever had, too bad he is 10 hours away.

 

Can you guess where I am?

Yep, Texas Roadhouse Baby!

I stopped there on my way home from WI for lunch. I sat and read my harry potter book, and downed their AMAZING yeast rolls. I could eat them EVERYDAY!

After a week of driving, living out of my suitcase, and sleeping on three beds I was ready to come home and sleep in my own bed. I worked the day after coming back so it took me about a week to really recoup physically. Mentally this trip filled my cup that had been thirsty for awhile. I am blessed.

The following photo album is candid pictures that Kenzie took. Thought you might like to see the work through a 3 1/2 year olds eyes.

View Full Album

What We May be Missing

This was recently sent to me in an e-mail. It made me think. I hope it does you as well. Are we open to the beauty going on around us?

..something to think about...

Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 mins later:
the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes:
A 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.
45 minutes:
The musician played.Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while.About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace.
He collected $32.
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.  No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story: Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ....

How many other things are

we missing?

Winner!

The winner of the custom matte IS...

APRIL...(no not me silly)

April came to visit me from

Lynette's front porch party.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I had a great vacation (proved by my being exhausted).

I hope to blog all about it soon.