Friday Letters: Week 2 of O&M Class

• Dear Last Night, I can't remember when I have been as tired as I was last night.  In bed ready to fall asleep at 6pm tired.  I think the craziness of my schedule, and classes, and driving to and from Rifle, and wearing a blindfold, and using a cane every day, and biking to class, and not being home finally caught up with me.
• Dear Father's Day, I wish I could be with my dad on this day.  I think the last time I was with my dad on Father's day was two years ago just before Chris and I were married.
• Dear Hubby, I get to see you this weekend, but in Greeley this time instead of Rifle.  We will have fun -- but I really have to study.
• Dear Drop-Off O&M Exam, One week from now, I hope you will be over and done with.  That being said, I have a LOT of practicing and memorizing to do between now and then.
• Dear June Grad School Class, You are 1/2 over!!!!
• Dear McDonald's, Don't tell anyone, but sometimes chicken nuggets and french fries and an orange HI-C drink are all I need to find peace in the world.
• Dear Becky and Daniel's Nugget, Thanks for staying put inside Becky.  I realize you could come ANYTIME... but you aren't due until July 2, and I really need you to arrive on July 1 or 2.  Please don't be too late... but don't be very early either.

Thoughts this Month

As I am working toward my Orientation and Mobility certification this month, I am full of wonder and curiosity about where my life will head.  I am meeting some wonderful and very interesting people from all over the country, and I hear their desires for their future, I hear what some of them have accomplished and I wonder what my life might hold.

At some point in my life...
Will I earn a PhD?
Will I work with adults learning Orientation and Mobility?
Will I work overseas?
Will I work as a teacher for the Department of Defense?
Will I teach at a university level?
Will I work for a school for the blind?
Will I go into administration for a school for the blind?
Will I have 4-6 children?
Will I raise my children and do volunteer work with the blind?
Will I work in the school system for many years?
Will I stay in little old Rifle, Colorado forever?

I don't know.  I could say the rest is still unwritten... but I don't believe that.  The rest is written in a beautiful, elegant script by my Maker.  He knows what He will prepare for me.  He knows the paths on which He will lead me.  He knows how many twists and turns and changes my life will take.

My future is perfect in His hands.

I'm just curious and excited about what He's holding for me...

Dream Wedding: Table Names

At our wedding, we labeled our tables with the names of baseball parks.  Yes, you heard correctly, and NO we did not have a baseball-themed reception.

We knew we wanted something unique for each table other than "Table 1, Table 5..." and Chris loves baseball.  I don't remember who conceived the idea to name the tables after ballparks -- maybe Chris as joke, but I designed a way that we could do the baseball park names in an elegant way.

In my opinion, its amazing what an elegant font and a black picture frame can do!

To tie the ball parks in to Chris and me, each table was given the name of a ballpark, the baseball team that plays there, the city that the ballpark is in, and then whether Chris and/or I had visited the ballpark, and when we had done so.

 

  

Chris really wanted the head table to be Busch Stadium, where the St. Louis Cardinals play, and the other stadiums, we were able to pick-and-choose which we wanted to include.  If memory serves, we had 27 tables, and 30 Major League Baseball Teams from which to choose.

We decided that the table where our parents sat would be Miller Park (get it... because Chris' parents are the Millers?), and we tried to sit people at a table that they had some geographical affiliation to the city.  We chose ballparks that were our favorites to include and had a fun time making table assignments based on baseball team alliances.

We also included table numbers at the tables so that the wait staff could easily identify their normal tables without confusion.  So, on the place-cards, we included table number and baseball park, so they could identify their table number from a distance, and then see their baseball park affiliation when they were seated.

 All in all, we were very pleased with how the whole thing came off and were excited to include something unique about us -- and especially so special for Chris, both prominently and elegantly in the wedding reception.

Treasuring the Present: FaceTime

As most of you know, Hubby and I are a part for most of the summer.  We're getting a few days a week... a few weeks of the summer, but we're mostly a part.

Today, I am so grateful to live in a day and age of facetime.  In the home where I'm staying, my room is in the basement, and there is not great phone reception... there IS a great Internet connection!

Hubby and I soon realized that we can communication much better via facetime than over the phone PLUS, we get to see each other.

It is so nice to see each other, smile at each other, make faces at each other, see the expressions on each others' faces while we're telling a story...

I even get to see Lloydey!!!

I think there is something much simpler about days before the Internet... but this summer, I am very grateful for the day and age of facetime.
 

Great Weekend

I had such an amazing weekend with my hubby!!!

It is amazing how being away from him and our home just makes limited time together SOOO great.  Our weekend had a little of everything -- time outside, time with others, time together, time with Lloyd, time working, time playing, time sleeping, time snuggling.  We just had a perfect weekend.

We spent Friday and Saturday up in Vail at the Go-Pro Mountain games were our Lloydey competed in the Doc Dogs jumping competitions.  I had fun playing with the Burst Mode photo app that takes 50 frames per second.

He competed in four competitions and he came home with four medals -- one for being a competitor, one for third place, one for second place, and one for first place.  I know, if I were to post this picture, I would include #whyisthisnecessaryinlife and #whopaysforthesethings

Anyway, in addition to the Doc Dog jumping, we saw human sporting events including extreme kayaking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and a mud run.   The temperature was a little cool, but all in all, the days were beautiful.

 Then, on Sunday, hubby and I worked.  I have a presentation due on Tuesday, and hubby is so computer savvy that he helped me create an interactive page for my classmates to interact and brainstorm with my presentation.  I am SO grateful for his help and now SOOO excited for my presentation on Tuesday.

I'm ready for my next week of class even though it means leaving my hubby and home for another week.  Now that I've started the class, I would never want to not finish.

What's ahead for you this week?

Changing Roles at the Gym

This made me laugh pretty hard...




Happy Sunday.

New Perspective on Home

Last night I came HOME to Rifle for the weekend.  When I walked through the door last night, and crawled into bed, I was overwhelmed with new levels of gratitude for our little home.

•  MY HUBBY!!!  This is not a new appreciation -- but this man takes SUCH good care of me.  From the moment we greeted each other on Friday afternoon, I immediately knew I was going to be perfectly taken care of until we part ways Monday morning.
• Our bed is so comfortable!  I can't remember ever having such an appreciation for how comfortable our bed is.  I have noticed this week that I don't sleep well without my husband, and so to crawl into our PERFECT bed NEXT TO my husband, was the most wonderful part of my week!
• I love knowing where everything is at home.  I walk through the door -- and home is home!  I know where we keep the extra paper towels, how to adjust the temperature, where to find the table spoons.  There is something so beautiful at home.  This summer, when I am living in other people's homes -- and SO grateful to be there -- it makes me appreciate the familiarity and comfort of our home tenfold.
•  Our puppy -- it is so wonderful to be greeted by a loving animal.  I absolutely missed my husband this past week... but what made missing him harder was not having a frisky, furry friend meeting me at the door.  Life without animals is not a life I particularly like.  Today, I am treasuring my puppy (and Lexie from a distance... she's still in Michigan) with a new-found appreciation for what he adds to my life and our family.
• Our bedroom windows.  I am INCREDIBLY grateful for my place to stay in Greeley, and my room is in the basement, which allows for a lot of privacy -- always a plus when you are living in someone else's home.  That being said, I am really appreciating the windows in our bedroom because I do not have windows in my bedroom in Greeley.  I love being able to get some fresh air, cool off the room with the night temperatures, and have an idea of what time it is based on the light outside.

Although its only for a few days, it feels SOOO good to be home sweet home!!!