Monthly Musings: March

Seems like I posted a lot about our March happenings.
I'd like to do something slightly different by remembering last March.

Here is something I shared this week on Instagram:

One year ago today, I was anxiously awaiting audition results and struggling to trust that God had a good plan for my family. His plan has been infinitely superior to my wildest schemes and dreams. (And I'm a planner!) We are beyond blessed.Celebrating ten months of adventure with Tyler, and sending hugs to the Sunshine State.
(Photo: http://www.michellebill.com/)

I don't mean to say that our lives are perfect now, or that we're happy just because God granted our wish. No, more than ever I'm aware of our dependence upon Him. I'm thankful, because I know none of this has been accomplished by our hands. Last year, I clung desperately to this verse: 

"And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left."

Today I want to remember. I want to give thanks. It's been a hard week. I've been under the weather, I've had to be when I've wanted to do, and my recital is tomorrow. Still, He is Good
He has given us the ultimate Goodness by sending his Son. I love this Psalm for many reasons, but it seemed especially appropriate as we remember Jesus's death and resurrection this weekend.
May these words bring rest to your souls.

Psalm 118

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever."

Let the house of Aaron say, "His steadfast love endures forever."

Let those who fear the LORD say, "His steadfast love endures forever."

Out of my distress I called on the LORD;

the LORD answered me and set me free.

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

The LORD is on my side as my helper;

I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!

They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!

They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!

I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me.

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.

Glad songs of salvation are in the tens of the righteous:

"The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!"

I shall note die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD.

The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.

This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.

I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Save us, we pray, O LORD!

O LORD, we pray, give us success!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD!

The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.

Bind the rental sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

The Trouble with Spring Break

The trouble with spring break is that I don't know how to rest.

Am I the only person out there who feels stressed out about a week off?

I want to rest, but I also want to work an eight-hour day and save the world on my lunch break.

It's been a week of ups and downs, but it has been wonderful in so many ways. My recital is three weeks away, so I can't afford to take a break completely; I have, however, cut back and focused mainly on my recital music.

Tyler is wonderful about helping me practice the art of resting. The other night, he told me I needed to schedule a massage as a way of intentionally resting. I had one booked within minutes! (It was glorious!)

Some other restful things this week:

1. Sleeping in until 6AM (don't laugh)
2. Baking/cooking (and NOT cooking and enjoying Ty's delicious taco dinners!)

Breakfast for the week: apples, coconut milk, raisins, cinnamon, spoonful of almond flour. SO tasty with greek yogurt!

Paleo lemon blueberry muffins! I've been using my YoungLiving Essential Oils non-stop. Yes, even in the baked goods! My apple dish is incomplete without Thieves, and my Lemon oil was the perfect complement to these muffins!

3. Making a kombucha starter

The ingredients!

Now we wait for the SCOBY to grow!

4. Folding laundry - can't remember the last time I had time for this (and all the perfect housewives cringe)

5. Exercising Brook and training with Ty! (No surprise there! This is always my release!)

My handsome triathlete in training!

Negative split stats!

From last night's ride. Note to self: don't ever cycle again after a massage. That was some serious muscle fatigue!

6. Lunch with my piano teacher and a lesson afterward - another reminder of how blessed I am to be at my school!

Learning about pedagogy literature

7. More lattes than I'd like to admit: a cow's milk, a soy milk, a coconut milk -- but I digress....

Races!

Hiya there, beautiful city!

Rocking the 9K last weekend at the Trinity Run

After telling everyone on Instagram that I placed 5th in my age group, I discovered I was actually 6th. My apologies! There must have been an error on the computers at the race site. I would have tied for third in my age group if I hadn't just turned 25. Drat! Aging is taking its toll on me already! As it stands, I was 6th out of 73 women, ages 25-29. I'll take it! This was a Thursday morning impulse registration, but I'm so glad I signed up. The course was a hilly one, but the view was 100% worth it! The free chocolate milk, iced coffee, and coconut water afterward made it 101% worth it!

Tomorrow we run the Dash Down Greenville 5K. The more learn, this less excited I am. On the flip-side, maybe I'll have a better chance of placing if everyone else is hungover...

The Waiting Game

When I was young, I saved my pet sitting money and dreamed up my next big purchase - like a Razor Scooter, a security camera for my bedroom (true story), a phone-booth telephone for my room, a CD Walkman, and eventually a laptop.

Thankfully, my parents thwarted some of my crazier ideas, and in the process taught me a great lesson about patience. My dad required me to wait ten days and think about my purchase. If I still deemed the purchase worthwhile at the end of the ten-day period, he would drive me to the store to spend my hard-earned dollars.

Frustrating, to say the least! Today, however, I am grateful for this lesson. Not only has it saved me from numerous impulse purchases and rash decisions, but it has also proved that waiting for something you care about is worthwhile.

But what about big life decisions?

Often we're asked to wait: by parents, employers, institutions, or our Heavenly Father.

Tyler and I wanted to wed sooner. I had dreamed of a December wedding.

Instead we were asked to wait. In return, we received the blessing of our parents, the presence of our beloved families...and a July wedding. Looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way. God's timing was perfect.

It is always perfect. The wait is always worth it in God's story. He loves to bless His children.

I trained hard for my marathon and planned to cross the finish line in under four hours. Red light. You can't plan around hospital visits.

While I still feel some disappointment, I also have an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my returning health. The fact that I was well enough to audition was a gift straight from Heaven.

Now I find myself in the waiting game yet again. We have some direction and information from my school choices, but not enough to make a decision or move forward. Schools operate on their own timetables, and I will not always be first on the list.

It would be easy to mope around or wallow in anxiety. Sometimes I'm halfway there. I'm taking it one day at a time, loving the opportunities and relationships in front of me.

On a perfect Friday afternoon, Brooklyn and I headed to my parents' neighborhood lake and soaked up the beauty of it all.

Brooklyn is my daily reminder that, "LIFE IS AWESOME!!!!" because she embraces every moment as if it is the best moment of her life.

February Is My Favorite

I know this month is short a few days, but February has gone by exceptionally fast this year!

We returned home from all the audition craziness and hit the road running!

I celebrated Valentine's Day with my Papa at his memory care facility. Being far away made me remember how important family truly is.

Ty's cousin, Meghan, came to visit, and we enjoyed canoeing and ice cream with the fam!
Brooklyn even went on her first canoe trip, but there is no photo evidence.

(Would you have taken your phone in a canoe with a crazy Weimaraner? Didn't think so.)

The very next day, our Japanese exchange student arrived!

Meet Moe!

(Pronounced Mo-eh)

Brooklyn is already quite attached.

Okay, so the main reason February is my favorite is because it's my birthday month. And the way I was raised was to celebrate all month long. (As I've aged, the celebrations have shortened to about a week. Growing up stinks sometimes, doesn't it?)

Birthday mail from Laos!

Check out how much Brooklyn has grown since my last birthday!

Did you know just how many free things you can get on your birthday? It's amazing, really. I ran out of time trying to do them all!

The morning began with a free breakfast (with my fab parents!) and continued with a free car wash, free smoothie, and a free sub! Ty was the lucky beneficiary of my free sub from Firehouse.

Then it was onto the happiest place on earth on my happy day!

(And yes, for free! My favorite cast member is awesome!)

EARS!

Please notice Ty's button.

It doesn't get any better than this, folks!

Ty's very first time on Small World!

We both maxed out the points on Buzz Lightyear!
In all honesty, the ride broke down in the middle, so we had a little extra time. :)

The main event for the day was dinner at Be Our Guest. I love this restaurant at lunch time, but I had never been for dinner due to the fact that reservations are so limited.

I was slightly disappointed with our seats, but I blame myself for not specifying.

Overall I loved the food and atmosphere. This is definitely one of my favorite places to eat at Disney.

Per Disney protocol, the chef came to our table and listed out my numerous gluten-free options. He even brought me GF dinner rolls to enjoy before the meal! I highly recommend the potato soup.

When your reservation is called, you are handed a Lumiere to help guide you to your seats.

Tale as old as time...

One of the features of this restaurant during dinner hours is that the Master of the House is present.
He is dramatically announced and shown through the dinning rooms to his study where he later greets guests.

We met him post-dinner!

Moe's homestay group just happened to be at Magic Kingdom on my birthday, so we planned to meet up with her after dinner and stay at the park late.

We may or may not have had some sweet fast-passes from our favorite cast member...

In line for Big Thunder 

Space time!

So fun to share in Moe's Disney visit!

It seems I always have soaring expectations for my birthday and then wind up disappointed.

Not so this year!

I could not have imagined a more wonderful day.

We we arrived home, Moe gave me this:

My new favorite morning mug!

Several families from our church are also hosting, so we have tried to organize events together with our students. Of course we had to introduce them to Tijuana Flats!

In the midst of the celebrations and get-togethers, there has also been some sweet time of rest.

We've needed it! Big decisions are ahead, but for now it's soaking in the sun and pestering our families as much as possible!

 

Farewell, February! You are one fine month!