2 dogs + 1 tiny apartment = chaos

We are blessed enough to have family who live close by and are willing to help us out with our little lady. Whether it's letting her out during a long work day or keeping her for a week so we can catch up on some R&R, they got our backs. In fact, just last week my family took her for a week so we could go to Asheville for our anniversary trip and David's family took her in April so we could go to the beach during my spring break. Seriously, these people are full of awesomeness.

When Mama Mobs called earlier this week to see if we could keep their dog and Daisy's BFF, Hank, for a couple days I quickly agreed. Hold the phone, you're probably thinking, "don't you live in an apartment?" Why, yes we do. Last time I traveled down the adventuresome road of puppy sitting things went well (minus the noise complaint from all the barking, but that's another story for another day). Jeter was also about half the size of Hank, and Daisy wasn't as concerned with playing attack.

Flash forward to this week when Hank arrived. To give you an image of Hank, he is a 75 lb. Lab/Pitt mix. All 75 of those pounds are love that's for sure, but Hank the Tank (or Hankapotamus as I like to call him) is one who doesn't realize his own strength. Last night I took them out back at 10:30pm when they still weren't tired enough to sleep and I was almost catapulted into the woods when they ran into me as they played. After about 30 minutes of this they finally pooped themselves out enough where I could drag them inside for bed. All that energy rebounded and at 6:15 this morning they were jazzed and ready for me to wake up.  Keep in mind we were outside until 11 last night playing.

For those of you not in the great North state, it gets hot here. Very quickly and very early. By 7am they'd decided it was too warm for their spoiled behinds and crawled up the stairs into the apartment. They then proceeded to drink about a gallon of water each (the jury is still out on how much was actually consumed and how much was sloshed across my kitchen floor) before regaining their energy and pummeling each other. My poor neighbors. It's a good thing we're moving soon or we'd be kicked out from all the thumping. After trying to take them out again, they flat out refused to play. They just sat there and looked at me. The heat must be too much for their furry little tushes. You better believe the minute we got back inside the pummeling commenced.

They both really are great dogs and play so well together, but this itty bitty apartment and over a hundred pounds of dog just do not mix well. At all. The moral of this story? Lauren will not be pet sitting in the apartment again. Ever. When we get a house the doors will be wide open for puppy guests, but in the apartment? Nope. Not happening.

Thankful Thursday-Only in America

Only in America
Dreaming in red, white and blue
Only in America
Where we dream as big as we want to
We all get a chance
Everybody gets to dance
Only in America

-Brooks and Dunn

As with every week, I have MUCH to be thankful for! With nothing besides a dentist appointment scheduled this week I have enjoyed lots of rest and relaxation. I even read two books (The Memory Keeper's Daughter and The Wedding Girl) while working on my tan! Here are a few things I am thanking the good Lord for today:

*country music*

(I can't think of a better way to relax at the pool than listening to some good 'ol boys singing about life)

*our military*

(we are free because of the brave men and women who give their lives for ours each and every day)

*family*

(David and I have been blessed immensely on the family front! Who else can say they actually enjoy hanging out with BOTH sides of their familes?!)

*afternoons at the pool*

(such a wonderful way to rest after a long school year)

*weekends away*

(we are so fortunate to be able to spend many weekends away visiting with family and friends. This weekend will take us to an old favorite, Raleighwood!)

What are you thankful for this week?

(Belated) Wordless Wednesday [06.30]

Time Spent in the Word

These past few weeks our church has been doing a series on the End Times. It has been an eye-opening experience each Sunday as we dive deeper into the Lord's word and the things he prophesied. One of the things our pastor challenged us to do was spend more time in the Word. I used to be really good at this. I'd set aside time each afternoon/early evening and dive into a different book of the Bible. Oddly enough as I found myself with more time on my hands this summer, I've spent more time away from my personal reading. I am ashamed at the excuses I was making up in my head. There was no reason for it whatsoever. After Sunday's sermon I made a pledge to myself to not allow those excuses to take presidence over my personal study.

I have always found this time to be peaceful. I feel so rested and relaxed after reading and pondering what the Lord has to say. Which is why it's strange to me that I got away from it so easily. If it provides me with such a wonderful sense of grace, then why do I make excuses? Because the devil has made his way into my life. Because the devil wins each time I say no. Once I really thought about all these things and discovered how ashamed I was of my failure, I realized I wasn't going to let it continue.

While it's not much, I have spent some wonderful time in the Word these past two days. I am currently reading Matthew and loving the truth that is spoken by Jesus in every verse. I feel much more at peace with life, and myself, now that I have recommitted to this. Not to mention the teaching that I am receiving from the Lord is saving me time and time again from the temptations around me.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

-Proverbs 3:5-6

The Lady on the Hill

David and I were fortunate enough to visit the Biltmore in Asheville, NC for our one-year anniversary! Being the uber history dork that I am, I have been dreaming about visiting the Biltmore since I was a kid. With a price of $60 a ticket it never made its way into the Ward family budget. David knew I had been dying to go there for a while (maybe it was the fact that I mentioned it about once a week since we started dating, oh, 4 years ago), and suggested we go for our anniversary. I couldn't love my boy more than the moment he said it was all booked!

Absolutely stunning

We woke up early Friday morning and hit the road for Asheville. After a bit of arguing over which route was correct (Google Maps needs to get on its game) we made it there in about two hours, just in time for the opening! For those of you who have not been yet, this place has organization down to a science. We were some of the first in for the day after a quick bathroom break (make sure you visit the restroom before you enter the house because even though there are over 30 bathrooms, mere peasants cannot use them).

We're thinking this would be the perfect place to be our first home, what do ya think?

We quickly got the $10 audio tour (totally worth it!!) and started traipsing around the biggest house in America. Ol' Georgey knew what he was doing when he started building this place. It was built with the most intricate architectural designs all throughout the house and across the 8,000 acre estate. This 250-room house started off as a "country getaway", but quickly became something much more. It took us about two and a half hours to tour the home before venturing out into the gardens.

I should probably write an entire separate post about the gardens and their beauty. You could spend an entire day just wandering around the many different sections of the gardens-and we almost did. We thought we'd take a quick trip down to Bass Pond and the waterfall there. HA! Almost an hour and buckets of sweat later we finally made our way to the pond and waterfall. The even more frustrating part than the hour-long trek there? You couldn't even seen the flippin' waterfall! We got a pretty good picture of it later from the car. Argh. We definitely earned our all-you-can-eat buffet at the Deerpark.

 We made it to the pond!

 David attempting to hitchhike back. We were SO not prepared for the trek to the pond.

Waterfall picture (taken from car)

Our afternoon continued with a superb lunch at the Deerpark. I highly suggest you take advantage of this if you ever get to visit. I'm not talking about a shabby spread kept warm by bizarre heat lamps. The food and service was out of this world. Not to mention they had some of the best sweet tea I've ever had, and that means a lot coming from this Southern born and bred girl! Then, we meandered (and by meandered I mean we took a shuttle) to Antler Hill Farms for our FREE tour of the winery and tasting. We pretended to be great wine connoisseurs and tried quite a few of their famous wines. All I can say is yum!

Then, we headed to the farm where we discovered a new (or old considering the house was opening in 1895) version of cornhole. We also visited some with the animals, though my dear husband was not quite comfortable with the fact that you entered the gates and they were wandering around at your feet.

 Cornhole?

This was as close as I could get him to an animal, and that is only because it is locked up in a barn and cannot escape. 

After all this excitement we took a break at the hotel before hitting up downtown Asheville. After wandering around downtown for about 5 minutes I was kicking myself for never having visited this stunning place before! The city was so welcoming and full of all sorts of kooky things including the drum circle. In the middle of downtown a bunch of people gather with African drums and just start playing. People from all walks of life come and go as they please, yet all the while creating a masterpiece. Some people brought lots of drums and shared them with random people just to keep it going. It was incredible! I highly suggest seeking this out if you ever make it to Asheville.

Drum circle!

After an hour of this our tummies were grumbling (though it took hours to reach this point since we were so pleasantly stuffed after lunch!) and we sought out food. We found a place called Barley's that had over 55 different types of beer on tap-our kind of place! We split a sourdough bread calzone (yum) and relaxed while watching the College World Series before heading back to the hotel.

 Just one of the two bars

When we returned to the hotel my sweet husband gave me two more charms for my Pandora bracelet!! One that has a dangling pearl (the birthstone of June) and another that reads "Forever Together". He had to explain it to his completely unromantic and very blonde wife (moi) that it meant "forever together in June" since that is when we got married. Seriously, how freaking lucky am I?!?

It was an incredible visit that could not have gone any more perfectly!

Thankful Thursday-Never Alone

May your tears come from laughing, you find friends worth having
As every year passes, they mean more than gold
May you win and stay humble, smile more than grumble
And know when you stumble, you're never alone

-Lady Antebellum

In honor of our one year anniversary I am dedicating this week's edition of Thankful Thursday to my wonderful husband. I shared our "story" here back in February, so I'm not going to bore y'all with all the details again. I did want to take a minute to share some of the things that make my hubby so incredibly perfect:

*his sense of humor*

(he keeps me in fits of giggles with his silly voices and keen ability to find humor in all situations. He makes life more fun)

*his faithfulness*

(his devotion to our Lord and Savior is truly inspiring and I know that I am blessed to get to walk next to him on this journey)

*the way he treats me*

(his momma raised him right. This boy's respect for women and impeccable manners are impressive! He tells me I look beautiful even when I haven't bathed and am rocking the old school sweats. You know, the ones with stains you can't even recognize. I'd say he's a keeper.)

*his generosity*

(his willingness to give and help others despite the cost it may be to him is inspiring)

*his goals*

(despite what is going on in the world around us he never loses sight of where he sees himself in the future and is not going to let anyone stop him from getting there)

*how well he knows me*

(he knows me better than I know myself and continues to find the strengths I possess before I even recognize they are there)

I could go on for days, honestly, but then I'll have nothing to share at our second anniversary. I'm sure I'll have many more lovey dovey things to share in the coming week, but until then have a happy day!

Wordless Wednesday [06.22]

Summer 2011 Bucket List

I have the great fortune of having summers off-score! This summer I'll be picking up a part-time nannying position, but even then I'll have two days off a week to be a bum. Anyone who knows me knows I have to stay busy. If I'm not busy I get bored, and I am very bad at being bored. Whenever I'm bored I somehow find my way to the mall, Target, etc. Or I end up sleeping/wasting the day away. I'd much rather have a ten item to-do list than a three item list because I know I can put those three items off all day whereas if I have ten items I know I have to stay busy to get those things done. Anywho, the moral of this rant is I like having things to do. Here is the list of things I'd like to accomplish this summer:

1. Scrapbook our engagement and wedding pictures as well as my bridal portraits. I started cropping yesterday and after 3 hours I'm only halfway through. This is turning into a bigger project than I previous imagined-oof.
2. Organize our spare closet. Since we only have two bedrooms we only have two closets to store stuff, The spare closet has become the place to throw all of our random stuff that most people store in their attics. The first things you see when you open the door: my wedding dress,  a Christmas tree, a few Easter baskets, and multiple boxes of seasonal clothes.
3. Purge books. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am an avid reader. Being a big reader means we have lots of books, some of which we really don't need to keep. I'd like to decrease our collection before we move.
4. Find a house. Even if we don't move this summer I'd really like to find a house for us to live in before summer is over.
5. Learn new recipes to share with family and friends. This is more of a 2011 resolution, but I'd like to keep it up in my spare time this summer!
6. Chronicle every vacation we take with pictures. I used to be the queen of taking pictures, but since we've been married I've kind of slacked on this. I want to get back in the habit.
   
   
   

What is on your summer bucket list?

To Teach Is To Learn

I've been putting this post off for a few weeks now. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it's because writing this means it's over, and I hate when something wonderful has to end. I have been blessed in more ways than I count this past year. I was hired to teach in a highly competitive school and placed in a very strong department on an incredible team. How many new teachers can say those things? Not many.

I was welcomed with open arms by a "family" of teachers, many of who have spent their entire teaching careers here. These people are not just any teachers. They are men and women who spend hours and hours of their evenings and weekends putting the kids ahead of themselves. That is true dedication. These people offered me support when things got tough and teaching supplies when my they realized I was starting from scratch. They also looked out for me during all those hard winter months when things got stressful around the school and my husband was states away. It doesn't get much better than that.


The kids are a whole other story of awesome. Of course some of them stressed me out (honestly, they're in middle school; it's their job to stress the teachers out), but overall we had a stellar group of kids. They gave us their best day in and day out, and that is really all a teacher can ask for. Not to mention, they made going to work fun! I'm sure Davido could have done without all the stories of the crazy things they said and did, but it made going to work worth it.


Things weren't always peachy. I'm sure you remember the numerous posts during those previously mentioned winter months. If you know any teachers then you're very aware of the January to Spring Break stress. This a time with few breaks and long hours of preparing for testing. Those of us in education help stimulate the local Starbucks and ABC stores during this trying time. We made it through though, and are better because of it. 


All in all I had a superb first year of teaching. I am so grateful to all the people who made it possible and I cannot wait to spend a lifetime doing this!

Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way.
-- George Evans

Delhomme Dip

Everyone loves a good snacky food and here is one of our favorites!

Football games were always a big deal in our family. We would all crowd together in the den to watch the Tigers play on Saturdays (before NC State claimed our allegiance) and the Panthers on Sundays. Momma always enjoyed these evenings because it meant lots of snacky foods for supper instead of a full meal. And as the one who now prepares meals for our family, I completely get it. One of our favorite snacks was Delhomme Dip, named after the infamous Jake Delhomme, the Panthers' QB for many years. Super easy and super yummy!

1 package of cream cheese, softened

1 can of chili (with or without beans)

1 bag of sprinkle cheese

1 bag of Fritos (scoops work best!)

Preheat oven to 350.

Spread softened cream cheese across bottom of 13x9 pan.

Pour chili across cream cheese.

Sprinkle cheese.

Bake in oven until cheese melts and begins to bubble.

Enjoy with Fritos and copious amount of good beer!

Thankful Thursday-It's a Smile, It's a Kiss. . .

It's a smile, it's a kiss
It's a sip of wine, it's summertime

-Kenny Chesney 

It's summertime and the feeling is fine! Or something like that. Life is good as a teacher with a break. Everyone keeps asking me what I am going to do this summer, and the answer is. . . nothing! I'm looking forward to some much-needed R&R with my hubs and a few afternoons at the pool. Some things I am thankful for:

*the opportunity to start fresh*

(one of the best things about teaching is that each year we are given the opportunity to start over, to fix what doesn't work, and to become better at our jobs)

*connections*

(it's always helpful to know someone in the right place at the right time)

*helpful hints*

(as we begin the long and arduous process of searching for a house to make a home, I am becoming more aware of how many people out there are looking out for our best interests!)

*my uber organized hubs*
(as we dig deeper into this house stuff it is such a HUGE help to have my organized/tech-savvy hubby around to keep our life in order!)

*little holidays*
(I love all things holidays, even the smaller ones like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Flag Day-you name it, I want to celebrate it)

Wordless Wednesday [06.15]

Phases

I think we all go through phases. When you're a kid the phases are much more pronounced than when you're an adult, at least that's how it was in our house. One of us would latch onto something and hold real tight for a long while. As we all aged we still went through different phases, but we became more routine in our likes and dislikes and didn't waver as much.

I'm in a phase. Specifically, a food phase. I go through these all the time. I eat something one time, and then I'm hooked for good chunk of time. A few food phases I've been through:

• Yogurt: My sophomore year of high school I ate at least one container of yogurt a day-I kid you not. Yoplait was my particular fave, but man oh man could I devour some yogurt. 
• French Toast: Throughout high school I swam competitively for a local team. If any one of you has ever swam on a regular basis you know that hunger comes along with the workout. Every day after practice I would come home and dig into two or three pieces of french toast. If it weren't for having the swim practices to balance it out I may have ballooned to the size of a house.
• Ice Cream: Another high school thang. One summer the Teeter (Harris Teeter for all you Yankees) had Breyer's ice cream buy two get three free. Being the massive family that we are, my momma bought all five. It only lasted about a week and a half with all of us there, but I was hooked. I then insisted on eating ice cream every evening. How I did not blow up in a puff fish I'll never know (must have been that beautiful 17-year-old metabolism that I didn't appreciate as much as I should have! Metabolism, if you're listening, I promise to be much nicer if you give me a second go-around). 
• Toasted Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches: This one came about in college. Being the poor college kids we were, our apartment had massive amounts of PB&J (and beer, but lemme just tell ya beer and PB&J are a no-go). One day I had a hankerin' so I fixed myself two pieces of toast, spread the peanut butter across both, then the jelly across both and BAM-delicious-o! This one is still a favorite treat of mine when I'm craving protein and gobs of fat. 

Now, I'm sure you're all dying to know the latest phase. Te he he, I know I crack myself up too. Since Davido has been gone I haven't been making very many meals. It just seems pointless when it's me and the dog (though I'm sure she'd just absolutely die and go to heaven if I fixed her up a plate of my supper). Right now we have a tie of quick and easy meals. My go-to item is either a turkey wrap with hummus (nom nom) or a cheese quesadilla. Both of which are cheap and super easy to make!

I have no doubt that all y'all think I am crazy right now. Let me let you in on a little secret. . . I am! :-) But I bet that many of y'all have your own little "phases" of things, my phases just happen to be foods-go figure. So tell me, what phases are you going through??

Happy Thoughts for a Happy Day!

 

 I'm working on remembering this on those harder days. The days that I'm too exhausted to do much of anything. The days that I feel like the world is beating me down. The days that find all of us in tears. Today? Today is a good day, but it's always a great day to remember this token of wisdom!

Thankful Thursday-Makes Me Wanna Take a Backroad

Makes me wanna take a back road
Makes me wanna take the long way home
-Rodney Atkins

Teachers across the state have much to be thankful for today-tomorrow is the last day of school!!! Today was the last day for many of our 8th graders though since we are having our promotion ceremony this evening. Hopefully the parents believe their kids this time around and won’t send them to school tomorrow! As we reach this monumental day, I get all mopey about my kiddos, but I’ll save that post for another day. Here are some things I am thanking God for today:

*coworkers*
(can’t get enough of these stellar people and their awesomeness!)

*summer starts next week*
(I think that says it all)

*medical advancements*
(We are so blessed to live in a world where we can get whatever medicine we need for whatever ailment we have)

*a great school year*
(I don’t want to jinx myself before tomorrow BUT I have had a pretty fabulous year all things considered!)

*slower pace of life*
(I absolutely adore the slower pace of life that comes with the sunshine and summertime!)

I hope everyone else has had a superb week! What blessings are you counting this week??

Wordless Wednesday [06.08]

Terrible Timing

Mother Nature has the worst timing. Does anyone else agree with me here? Periods during beach trips. Sinus infections before spring break. Strep throat during Christmas break. Well, she has reared her ugly head again-this time plaguing me during the last week of school. Evidence for my case against Mother Nature (hereby known as M.N.) this school year alone:

Exhibit A: The very first time the hubs went away for a trip to Alabama, I get sick. He wasn't gone 24 hours before I started feeling icky. Heavy meds were prescribed and I only ended up missing one day of school.

Exhibit B: M.N. struck again during the month-long outage. Talk about miserable timing. At least the first time he was only gone for a few days, this happened smack dab in the middle of the outage when there was no way in hell he could come home. This time I juiced up with some Russian Tea (recipe to come!) and was back to battling 8th graders the next day.

Exhibit C: That tramp hit me good this time. Not only is David gone again (I mean really?! What's the fun in getting sick if there is no one there to take care of you?!?), but it's also the last week of school. I was bound and determined not to let her knock me out. I'll give you one guess who won this one. Here's a hint, I'm snuggled up in bed surrounded by used tissues. I tried to tough it out, but I think by doing so I only made it worse. Joy. I won't go into the yucky details, but let's just say I didn't know snot could turn that shade of green.

I think we can all agree that M.N. is pure evil and should be stopped before she does much more damage to my immune system. I trust that the jury will make the best decision for all, until then you can find me downing shots of Robitussin and lathering on the Vick's Vapo Rub. 

Bookworm

I am a bookworm. There, I said it. For as long as I can remember I have taken every bit of downtime that I have and read. I was that kid who always asked to go to the library during homeroom and I’ve turned into the adult who always has a book in her purse. I’ll read anything actually. Books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets. You name it, I’ll read it. As I’ve gotten older I find that I have less and less time to read what I want. I’m hoping to change all that this summer.

Since I am a teacher I have the great fortune of having the summer off from work. My plans? Pool, read, nap, repeat. I’m sure errands and cleaning and a few vacations will be thrown in there, but for the most part that is the plan. I’ve already started jotting down a few possible reads, but I’m looking for suggestions! Here is what I’m thinking now:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett 

(going to be a movie too!)

If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster 

(all of her other stuff keeps me in fits of giggles so I’m really looking forward to her novel debut)

Mini Shopaholic by Sophia Kinsella (

I loved all the others and am hoping this is good too!)

Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress 

(I read a review in a magazine and it looks like a page turner)

Skipping A Beat by Sarah Pekkanen 

(read the back while waiting for the hubby at Target and it looks cute)

As you can see my list is pretty sparse. What are y’all reading these days?!?!

Southern Banana Pudding

Anyone from the South knows you don't show up to a party empty-handed. Last weekend found us at quite a few shindigs (I know our popularity is astounding-ha!) and I wanted to try something beyond the usual dish of brownies or plate of cookies. After a miscalculation on days of the week and number of bananas necessary (I'm an English teacher not a Math teacher) I realized we had a few more than necessary. After some searching I found the recipe below and figured I'd give it a whirl!

46 Nilla Wafers, divided

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 packages (3.4 oz each) vanilla instant pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 tub (8 oz) cool whip, thawed

4 bananas, sliced

1 package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Crush 30 wafers; mix next four ingredients.

Spread onto bottom of 13 X 9 pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 5 minutes; stir. Bake 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool.

Beat pudding mixes and milk with whisk 2 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup cool whip. 

Layer 1/3 of the crumb mixture and half each of the bananas and pudding in a 2-quart serving bowl; Repeat.

Beat cream cheese and granulated sugar in medium bowl with mixer until blended.

Gently stir in 1 cup of remaining cool whip; spread over top, sealing to edge of bowl.

Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.

Refrigerate 3 hours.

Top with remaining cool whip and whole wafers just before serving.

Enjoy!

It sounds like a lot of work, but it really wasn't. And, I can assure you the final product was well worth it! Here are some pictures from the process:

 The mess I created

 First layer

 Delectable topping

 Finished product!

Side view of bowl with our precious monogram-thanks Kelsey!

When the Animals Ran the Zoo

We officially have one week left of school and I am beginning to feel like a zookeeper. I love my job and all my kids (no sarcasm here, honest.), but I’m beginning to lose it. We all are. The kids are tired. The teachers are tired. The administration is tired. In fact, I have a feeling we’re keeping the local coffee industry in business right now.

Anyone who has kids, or works with kids, knows that kids do best with routines. These past few weeks all routines have flown right out the window with little birdy wings and chaos has stomped on in the door to take over. Every day we have a new schedule to follow and me being the scatterbrained nut that I am can barely figure it out, let alone convey it to the kiddos. Add the fact that we are absorbing kids as they finish testing and  beautiful beach weather and you have the perfect recipe for disaster.

Today was one of those days. We even had the cherry on top of it being a Friday AND the afternoon was blocked out for the faculty/student volleyball game. Awesome (sarcasm here). Even though I had a very structured lesson about Anne Frank and the Holocaust planned out, there was no way in hell those kids were going to focus. And I can’t really blame them. They’re a week away from sweet freedom, the last thing on their mind is what it was like to be a teen during the Holocaust. Needless to say, my teammate’s brilliant idea to take a few laps around the track saved us all.

We all survived to the game when they were able to get some of their energy out and chit chat with their friends, and we were able to do the same. By the time the bell rang it was more than just the kids racing for the door, the teachers were right there with them. Or should I say, the zookeepers.

Thankful Thursday-Nothing to Lose

I missed this last week and knew I couldn’t miss another in a row! As with every week, I have MUCH to be thankful for. Above all else I have life in my body and breaths in my lungs. A few other things I’m grateful for right now:

*friends*
(David and I have such stellar friends, both new and old, that I know we couldn’t live without)

*air conditioning*
(today’s high was 96. Enough said)

*summer trips*
(we sat down the other day with our calendars and it’s shaping up to be a pretty busy summer!)

*the pool*
(a wonderful treat on this miserably hot days)

*supportive coworkers*

(necessary during this cuckoo time of the year!)

*my hubby*

(he's a pretty cool kid)

What are you counting as blessings this week?