Saturday Fun Day

While it feels like we pretty much didn't have a Saturday because we had to get up at a normal weekday time and were just as busy all day long as we are during the week, it was a fun day. We got to hang out with friends and have good conversation and create what I'm sure will be good memories.

We started out the day at a charity 5K run (well, it was really a 5K walk, but we ran it because on our marathon training schedule we had to sign up for a 5K today and this one with our church sounded fun). Our church raised over 5,000 dollars for Second Mile Mission, a really cool non-profit. And, after the run Lauren and Brady's parents have people over to their house for a delicious brunch, which totally made my day because I LOVE breakfast food and hardly ever get to eat it because I married a non- breakfast food lover.

Lauren, Lauren and I, pre-race. It was FREEZING. And WINDY.

The view from across the lake--there were a lot of people out walking!

The in-laws and I--they started walking a little early so we ran to catch up with them about a mile in.

We were the first officially across the finish line, haha! Woo-hoo! (Though that probably had a little bit to do with the fact that this was a WALK, not a run. We were just the weirdos who decided to run it.)

It was a historic moment: not only did Pam and Wes walk the entire 3.6 miles at a good pace, they were even able to RUN some of it, which Wes says he hasn't been able to do because of his knees in a LONG time.

Landon's parents ran in not too far behind us.

Then our new friends, Raleigh and Kaleena ran across!

And our old friends, Lauren and Lauren.

And so did Lauren's K's mom!

Us and the Fischers and the Blanks at the brunch

Then, we ran home, got dressed for a wedding and spent the afternoon/evening at at Laura and Randall's wedding, a good friend of Landon's from his high school years. It was fun because their whole "group" was there tonight.

Landon and I goofing off before the wedding began :)

The ceremony--the chapel was tiny but really pretty.

Mr. and Mrs. Randall Braziell

Landon dancing with the bride during the "dollar dance" portion of the reception. Later in the evening we got to swing dance a song or two and he tried to teach me how to two step. I started to get the hang of it--we'll have to go out and practice one night, babe! :)

"the group" and spouses/significant others at the reception

And now, it's 11:30pm and I'm tired. And church will come early in the morning.

Good night!

A Good Day

It's midnight. And I still have grading to do. This whole daylight savings thing is still throwing me off--it's like it doesn't feel late to me until it's dark outside and by the time that happens I look up and it's already 9pm. We didn't even eat dinner until after 10pm today. We're all sorts of thrown off. Hence, me still having grading to do at midnight. And Landon sitting beside me in bed looking over case files for work.

Because...he started his new job today! And loved it, which I am so thankful to God for . And they told him today that a large part of why they hired him was his Youth and Family ministry degree combined with his law degree. They thought he would be perfect to work on all of their CPS cases, which he was hoping he would get to do a lot of. How cool is that?? I know it's only the first day but it sounds great--he is basically a CPS attorney, working on behalf of the parents (and sometimes representing the kids). His line of work is basically reuniting families (unless the parents aren't doing what they need to be doing to get their kids back). And he definitely hit the ground running today--he's already met with clients and has a trial schedule. I just love that he loves it so far and that he's in a position to do good and help people that need help; he's court appointed counsel for most of his clients who are paying next to nothing because they can't afford it. I LOVE THAT.

And, today I got to tell my kids their TAKS scores, and let me tell you, the looks on their faces were priceless. Absolutely priceless. In one class, I had one little boy who got commended stand up and tell his class, "I just want to say that I haven't passed TAKS on the first try since third grade" and the other kids clapped and whooped for him, many echoing the same sentiment. Then I had another little boy stand up and make a speech saying "I would just like to thank my classmates for supporting me, Mrs. Speights for making me practice and myself for doing my best of the test", which was of course followed by another round of clapping and smiles. I am SO incredibly proud of them. It just makes my heart happy that they can experience success and know what it feels like to work hard and overcome an obstacle that has been an obstacle to you for YEARS. So many of these kids had it in their head that they just could NOT pass TAKS. And his year they did. And now, the conversation is no longer about whether or not they'll pass next year, but what they think I should do so that they can get to commended. I LOVE IT.

Yes, today was a good day.

God's goodness

I've had this post rolling around in my head since about 1:00 this afternoon and I've been trying to put into words what I've been thinking with limited success. So I guess I'll just go for it and do the best I can.

Around 10:00 this morning, as I was in the middle of teaching my second class, my phone rang. It was Landon calling to tell me about the interview he had just finished at a law firm pretty near our house. Of course, I couldn't pick up the phone right then but called him during the passing period, before the next group of kids began streaming into my room. He proceeded to calmly tell me that he was offered the attorney position on the spot during the interview and was going to call and accept the offer and start on Thursday. And he will now, for good, be working in Houston! Woohoo! (All of his jobs since law school, including the one he took last week were jobs that required him to be out of town 3-4 days a week.) And really, there are no words for our excitement and the thankfulness I felt at that moment. It's been a long journey and a faith building journey to get to this point, one that was hard at times and had me (and Landon, I'm sure) crying out to God that I wasn't sure if I could handle any more. But, it's been one that has drawn us closer to God and closer to one another and totally worth it.

When I hung up with Landon I ran out into the hallway and told one of my friends that teaches across the hall that he got a job at a law firm that requires NO TRAVEL and she screamed and we did a little happy dance in the hallway as our kids looked on in shock and confusion. Then, I walked back into my class and saw that the TAKS scores from the reading test my kids took a few weeks ago had come in and overall my school, and my kids, did AWESOME. Even the vast majority of those that I was worried about because they didn't pass last year, passed. I can't wait to tell them tomorrow! And while much less of a relief than Landon getting hired at a law firm in Houston, where he can actually come home each night, that was still a huge relief for me because there is so much pressure on our school right now for our scores to go up and on individual teachers for their kids to make progress.

So at this point, I'm basically walking on cloud nine until, on my lunch break, I see on MckMama's blog that Stellan, their baby who they were told would surely die but was healed, was back in the hospital with the same heart condition he had while in the womb. If you haven't been to her blog, check it out and please be praying for this sweet baby. As I read through her words and hear her saying over and over again that the trials they are going through are for God's glory and His good and that they are achieving an eternal glory, I am torn. My heart is sinking for this family and what they're going through and my heart is also even more overwhelmed with the goodness of our God, who would choose to love us so lavishly, and I am also comforted knowing that this God who loves so lavishly is holding baby Stellan in His hands.

So I guess what I'm trying to say, what the point of all of this rambling is, is that I was feeling so completely overwhelmed by God's goodness and mercy on us because He does not owe us these blessings and He definitely did not have to bestow them upon us. He could have kept Landon working at the job He gave him last week, where he was driving to Tyler for the week and coming home on the weekends which, while definitely a blessing, was hard for us. Especially since we'd been doing the out of town during the week for work thing since last October. Or he could have kept him without a job for a while. And those options, while much harder for us, would have been just as OK because the end result of everything is for God to be glorified. And they would have been OK because, just like Stellan's sickness was not a surprise to God, our hard times and struggles would not be a surprise to him. But, this time, He didn't. When the oil and gas company that Landon worked for suddenly became without work, God provided him a good paying legal temp job within 2 weeks, which he began the day before his last paycheck from the oil and gas company arrived. And then, outdoing Himself, less than a week later, God provided Him with a job that seems pretty much perfect. It was almost more than we could have asked for and came so quickly. And all of this in an economy and a time in our country such as this, which just shows His power and might all the more. We are in awe. And the more I become aware of that and that hard times are not a curse from God and that in the hard times He is just as much God, never changing, still loving, still blessing, still drawing us to Him, makes me so much more thankful and overwhelmed at the goodness and graciousness that our Heavenly Father has shown us over the journey of these last 3 weeks, and even more so over the last year since Landon graduated from law school.

And we've spent the night marveling at His goodness, praying prayers of thanksgiving and celebrating with Chinese food, Dancing with the Stars and Americas Tres Leches cake, the dessert which is practically heaven on Earth to Landon. And let me tell you, seeing my husband as happy as he is tonight, with the weight of the job search off of his shoulders, is perhaps one of the biggest blessings of all.

PMT Week Five

Tonight we ran six miles and...we ran the whole thing. It's interesting how differently runs can go, how some days 2 miles can fly by and some days it can feel like you're running 20. Last week we did five miles with two little one minute walking breaks, but this week we made it the whole way and weren't even dying at the end. Now, we weren't running at record breaking speed or anything--we ran them at about a 9:30 pace--but it felt good. Dare I say, it was even fun? Yes, I think it was. Especially since I think that was pretty much the farthest I've run consecutively. Ever. Now, we've only got to add 20 more miles to that and we've got our marathon. Piece of cake, haha. :)

New York

After our conference I took a walk down Broadway and took a few pictures. The conference was awesome and New York, as always, was wonderful. Freezing, but wonderful.



Oh, and you'll probably only recognize these names if you teach (or read young adult lit), but our conference ended with a reader's theater presentation by four awesome young adult authors--who also put on a great reader's theater presentation!

Sarah Weeks, Avi, Richard Peck and Pam Munoz Ryan

Cross Your Fingers...

With any luck, in a few months, I will have...

some orange bell peppers

some tomatoes

some flowers that are still alive

and some fresh herbs!

12 hours to a clean house

So, I have officially been cleaning/cleaning out/organizing our house/weeding the flower beds for the last 12 hours. That's got to be some kind of record for me. Truth be told though, on days like this, where I have nothing else I have to do and I can just turn the radio on and go to it, I kinda like cleaning. I love how when you're done everything smells good and looks pretty and I actually know where everything is. Everything that can be cleaned, has. Everything that can be washed, has (or has been taken to the dry-cleaners). And all of the cabinets and closets are neat and organized and everything now fits where it's supposed to. Amazing. I even mad a big trip to Goodwill--it's amazing how quickly and easily we can accumulate STUFF.

And, I fell in love tonight. For Christmas I asked for an OMop by Method (and actually got it, haha!) and used it tonight for the first time to mop our hardwood floors. I'd mopped them a few times in the past and really couldn't tell much of a difference, which is really frustrating after mopping for an hour. But with the OMop, it actually looks clean and shiny and when you walk on it--this is the very best part--it feels so clean. And, the almond scent of the cleaning solution smells so good. Plus, I love that it's all natural and non-toxic and the cleaning pad is reusable--you just toss it in the washing machine when you're done and it comes out as good as new. Even the packaging that it comes in is recyclable. :) LOVE IT. If you haven't heard of the OMop, check it out. They sell it at Target. And they're not paying me to advertise their product--I'm just relishing in my clean wood floors tonight. Next time I'm at Target, I think I may just have to pick up the all-floor cleaner for our non-hardwood floors. I've heard that one smells really good too. :)

And with that, I think I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I've got to finish the flower beds and then...I'm off to New York! I know it's for a school conference and all, but I'm choosing to think of it as a little mini-vacation to finish out my spring break!

Good night!

Michael W. Smith!!!

This morning, as I was lounging in bed watching TV cleaning and organizing the house, Landon called me from work and reminded me that the Michael W. Smith brown bag concert that we'd been planning on going to was today. Grateful for the phone call, and for the wonderful excuse to delay the inevitable, I jumped out of bed, got ready to go and headed to the concert. Even though I got there about 40 minutes early, it was already PACKED. It was so cool--I guess when given the chance to see Michael W. Smith live for free, people take advantage. Because I was by myself, I managed to squeeze past large groups to pretty near the front, where I had an awesome view. Oh, and did I mention it was beautiful weather? And that I love live music outside? The only thing that could have made it more enjoyable was if my best friend had been there with me!

Thanks for bringing home the bacon, babe, while I whittle the mornings away at concerts like this. I wish you could have been there with me!

There were so many people there--and so much diversity...I love it!

A lot of people had the "He Is Risen" signs from KSBJ for Easter!

He walked in about 5 feet from where I was standing, sporting his Adidas jacket and fancy classes. Cool.

There was a lot of worshipping going on--and I was standing in front of a woman from Africa, who had the coolest accent. I listened to her sing as much as I listened to MWS I think.

I could have listened to him sing for another hour!

Halfway through the concert a group left, opening up some front row seats, so a couple of us slipped over from our spots on the side of the stage and enjoyed the rest of the concert from the front row.

The last part was all his calmer praise and worship music--it was such a neat thing to be outside worshiping in the middle of a Lowe's parking lot with people from all over the city who came out to praise God (and hear MWS:)).

After the concert I bought his CD and waited in this line for about an hour to meet him and get him to sign it. It's a really good CD, by the way--his "A New Hallelujah" album.

Apparently Michael missed the memo that we were taking a picture, because after it he said "wait, I wasn't smiling!" Haha--that made me laugh. But alas, there was no time for a picture redo. More people to meet, more autographs to give. Oh well.

Seriously though, I did get some cleaning/organizing done today (in fact that's what I'm still doing right now--except for right this minute, while I'm writing this) and even got my running in (though I did totally eat it as I ran down the uneven sidewalk in my neighborhood, right in front of 2 guys riding bikes--but that's another story for another day). So, I was semi-productive. But the concert and meeting Michael W. Smith was SO worth it. I'm learning that life is not all about being productive. And, I'm thinking that we need to start making these brown bag concerts a regular thing. If you haven't been and you live in Houston, look on the KSBJ website for the next one and go! Maybe we'll see you there...

I've got the itch...

Something about it being spring break and the weather being beautiful and the fact that over the past year our cabinets and pantries and closets have slowly begun to disorganize themselves gives me the itch to clean and organize and plant and clean out the closets and make a trip to Goodwill. Since Landon begins work again tomorrow and I literally have no plans for the rest of the week, I have a feeling that's just how my days will be spent.

I'm dreading it and super excited all at the same time.

Last spring break, Landon and I worked till all hours of the night, pretty much every day of our spring break, completing a massive house overhaul--we cleaned and organized and built shelves and decorated our guest room (formerly our "junk" room, formerly my bedroom before Landon moved in) and made about 20 trips to Goodwill. While our house is not in as bad of condition now as it was then (thank goodness, since Landon will be working!!), it'll be good to start fresh again and get everything cleaned out. I might even venture over to the garden shop and plant some flowers. Even though EVERYTHING we planted last year, except the rose bushes, died. I am determined to find my green thumb though and keep something alive, and maybe even thriving. Maybe this year will be the year! :)

I found a few pictures from our spring break work last year for some motivation, to get me out of bed and cleaning tomorrow, instead of lounging around and playing, like we've been doing for the last 2 days.

It's surprisingly encouraging to see that most of the organizations have stuck--they just need a little straightening up tomorrow--minus the flowers, which all died. So sad. I'll try again this year...any tips for growing things in Houston and keeping them alive for more than a couple of weeks!? :)


And, just so I don't mislead anyone--don't be fooled. After our work each day, there was much relaxing to be had, much sleeping in to enjoy and many rounds of Scrabulous played on our computers against each other while eating ice cream. We worked hard and played hard. It was a beautiful week. Too bad Landon has to do this silly thing called work this year. :)