Spelling!

Ok everybody, raise your hand every time you hear me say a word that begins with the letter Nn!

face?
leg?
nose? (all hands go up!)
paper?
Nathan? (you're doing great!)
snack?
tissue?
cat?
note? (great job!)
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"Ok, now who wants to come up and underline one word on the board that begins with a capital N?"
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Oh man, I am having so much fun in my spelling class!
My most favoritest class is art. We get to made cotton ball bunnies!
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Anyway, school is quite the load this year. Not only am I teaching six classes a week, but I also have eleven of my own credits! But don't worry guys, I'm having a blast =)

You just wish you were in my first and second grade classes too!

Tears

I must say, I did cry a few tears today. It was wonderful.

A lot of different things had been building up, and then finding out about the death of sweet baby James, I just had to cry. I never met little James, but the enthusiasm in Jessie's voice when she would talk about him intrigued me, so I had began reading his blog. http://www.sweetbabyjames.info/wordpress/

Yesterday wasn't exactly a good day for me, so the grief and the pain of this morning didn't make for me the best of mixtures. I feel like the whole day just slipped between my fingers and was completely wasted. I think the only good thing that I accomplished this lovely day was that I drank a pot of peach tea. The yummy tea was a special treat to brighten my gloomy day =)

I never cry, though. It seems strange not to cry—I mean come on—I’m a girl, right? But I rarely do get to cry, and when I do, it is more just like a couple glistening tears down my cheek, no emotional release. Tears are a gift straight from God; I just haven't achieved a real knack for it yet.

The Storm

Are we blessed or what? Sarah calls it overwhelming, and I can find no other word to describe the feeling when we look back on our day and think of all the good. Considering that "every good and perfect gift is from the Father," it's just like WOW. No one has ever given me so many gifts in my life! He must like us very much!

This lovely storm is just one more example of how wonderfully beautiful the Lord is. Whoa, back-up a little, what storm? Tropical Storm Fay, of course! It has brought us so much joy! Last night was our storm party. It was so delightful! The most fun was actually before the party, while we were making all the food. Brownies, rice crispy treats, cookies, cup cakes... Yup, we make sure to embrace EVERY opportunity for a party! After the movie on the big screen in the chapel we made our way up the third floor. Then the rest of the evening was spent cleaning a single mans' apartment. Saying that it was a devastating mess would be a major understatement. But, by 1:30am it was sparkling clean! =)

Back to the storm... I started school on Monday, and it has just been splendid! But today was especially sensational! Fay has created the most perfect atmosphere, and very conducive to learning I must add. Today I did all my ugly work before lunch (geometry, grammar, biology...), so that I could spend the rest of the afternoon doing the fun stuff - reading! With the wind and the rain beating on my window, it sounded like God was playing music just for ME! I sat down with my popcorn and hot chocolate for the most perfect afternoon!

Back to the storm... this evening I was aroused from playing guitar by hearing my name shouted repeatedly through all the noise of the storm. I looked out my window to find a couple of drenched people from the building standing below my window beckoning me to come out. So, as duty called, I rounded up a couple more people to go outside and play in the rain with us. Singing, dancing, swinging, running, frolicking, sliding, skipping- thus the like of an MK. After awhile our faces and necks really started feeling the pain of the needle-like rain drops; so we went swimming. We were already wet anyway.

It’s all just so beautiful. Ahh. I just can't seem to get enough of the wind and the rain slapping my window. It's just little kisses from Daddy reminding us of His abundant love for each and every one of us.

A lovely storm indeed...

Raspberry Tea

I really want it. I just can't do it. I made some raspberry tea. I made a lot and only drank a little; meaning that the rest is still in the kitchen. Well, now, I want more. The problem is that mother is sleeping in her room, leaving me no way to get to the kitchen, except to go out the house by way of the boys' room, through the stairwell, down the hall, and around the corner. This is a very excruciating trek to be made in the middle of the afternoon, thus I forfeit, and am left here dreaming of instead of drink up my delicious raspberry tea.

I am still trying to catch up on sleep after the girl’s night at Jessie's house. Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favorites, and I was so excited to see it again! Thank God for Jessie's family opening up their house to us! It was a lovely evening. Complete with Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids. So I'm running slightly low on sleep, and I can't seem to make it up. The late night Olympics isn't helping much either. Also, this morning I had to wake up early to say good bye to Leah (Cha-Chi's older sister) as she begins her new life at Jackson.

I really do hate goodbyes. Two of my bestest friends left for NTBI last week, and now Leah has gone as well. Ugh. Everybody's growing up.

I'm so very tired. I hope there is still tea left by the time I am able to gather my strength. But how can I gather enough strength to get me to the kitchen, if I have nothing to replenish my fluids and rejuvenate me?

I'm a working woman now, you know. I need my strength. Just a short while ago I got back from first and second grade "Math Games" at the small New Tribes school. I'll be teaching six classes every week this year, and I am very excited!

I know Tyler is in the kitchen right now because he just called me. He was trying to get a hold of Karis, but accidentally dialed the wrong number. I hope he doesn't drink the rest of my tea. I can just see it now... He tilts the little white tea pot and into his daisy cup pours my raspberry flavored, slightly bitter, rose colored, lovable liquid. This must not happen! I must get in there. In vain I have struggled, it will not do, my feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to….

Ay, mother is awake now! I shall go drink my tea this very minute, goodbye!

Emo-Goth-Punk Day!

Oh yes, another MK holiday. Not quite sure who came up with this one, but everybody is required to participate. Emo-Goth-Punk Day means that we all dress up scary, then go to various locations to take picutures. I was the least dressed up out of anybody there, but I think we could all agree that Tyler was the best looking punk. I'll post some pictures whenever I get the pictures. Also, for the latest Mission Gossip: A new girl moved in on the 2nd floor. She seems pretty cool- she sings, drinks tea, and said she'd love to join me on my sunrise adventures. Yea!

Stay off the road!

"Wake up, Jenna! Salem needs more pictures of the family, dress nice!" Ugh. You've gotta be kidding! Turned out to be a lot of fun taking the pictures though, so I'm not complaining!
Anyway, yesterday I went and looked at the apartment Karis is interested in; and it was so adorable! And I got my drivers permit! Yea! I skipped the whole "parking lot practice" step, and just drove home in the stick shift. Oh, yeah! Ok, so I didn't drive ALL the way home, I just took over the wheel when we got to 2nd street. Yea!
Also, you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love my Tyler. (No, not YOUR Tyler, MY Tyler!) He's such a sweet kid! He was talking on the phone when Karis and I arrived home last night, and immediately he told his friend that he had to go because his sisters were home. Then he just sat down and wanted to hear everything that had happened, everything about Karis's job, apartment, my permit, Dunkin Donuts, everything! I just thought it was so cute how estatic he was about everything in K's and my day. When he prayed over our food at dinner he just happened to thank the Lord for all of the blessings showered upon each one of his siblings, but was perfectly content with not mentioning anything about himself. It's so evident how selfless he is and how much he genuinely cares for everybody else. Four Brownie Points to Tyler!

Alright, I must stop my bragging on this stunning young Gent, that just so happens to be related to me, because I have a lot of reading to do before bedtime. G'night!

Human Slurpees?

I had a terrible nightmare last night. Well, some people might not categorize my dream as a "nightmare," but I thought it was pretty scary. Promise not to laugh? Good. Ok, story time with Jenna Lyn is now in session. So I think I was visiting my friend's church when all of a sudden I found myself in a big cold room. Apparently this church grows in numbers so rapidly that they have an annual slurpee making event- the only catch is that they are making human slurpees. Sounds kind of strange? What kind of church would eliminate their youth group by making the teens into slurpees?! Well don't look at me, I was the victim! Ok, so back to the story. They locked all of us into this large, white, cold, room. Then they began the slurpee making. Big scary drills and spikes started coming out of all of the walls, so we had to dodge them. It was getting more and more risky every step we took, and, obviously, getting more and more scary. But! Don't loose hope my fellow bloggers! I have not been turned into a slurpee after all! Because of my mucho muki-muki I was able to pull myself up onto a tall stack of chairs, thus escaping the tragic death of being made into a slurpee! Yea! Oh yes, I did forget one detail. When I took refuge on the stack of chairs, I did also save Aleah by helping her up too! I'm not really quite sure where she came into my dream, but rest assured, we are both safe now! YEA!

Can any one of you interpret dreams?