Top Row Swag

The teachers have dressed up for a different theme every day this week. For today's challenge we all were given a plain Santa hat a week ago to decorate. My mother actually went to work on the hat and created this masterpiece:

I love it and was so proud to wear it today with my Polka-Dot Christmas Quilt Camp shirt. I need more occasions to wear a Santa hat now.


Today at 2:42 the bell rang to release us to Winter Break. It's strange to leave school knowing that when I come back in two weeks I'll have brand-new students and start over in the composition schedule. No more Jessica being the first one in every morning, Josh acting like he's in Black Ops, Zoey wearing her Friday tie, Kirsten eating dry noodles, or Mikaela telling me how cute things are. I am so blessed to work in my school surrounded by an amazing group of staff and students. I'm ready for a break but excited to see what next semester brings.


After school Sarah and I crafted. It was fun and funny. We haven't decided yet if we're proud of our work. I think we will be.


Tonight I got to catch up with my friend Colleen that I haven't seen in far too long. We had both had hectic weeks and were happy to have the chance to just eat dinner and watch a movie. I love Colleen's honesty and humor.


We watched the Reese Witherspoon's new movie, "How Do You Know?" 

Not one of my favorite chick flicks but Colleen and I really liked these lines:

"Figure out what you want and learn how to ask for it."

"I don't know if I have what it takes for everyone's 'regular' plan."

"We're all just one small adjustment away from making our lives work."

"George, I thought you were this silly guy but now everything but you seems silly."

This really touched my heart today. I've been reading  Don't Waste Your Cancer and it continues to challenge my faith. Today she wrote,


 "not everything has been good. or easy. or even fun. clearly. i still have cancer. i still have 4 more treatments. and until we get the results of my pet scan in feburary we do live with some unknowns. and that is not easy. but we did not sign up for easy. nothing about following Jesus is really easy. but good and hard are okay. and we get that more now than ever. but mostly cancer really has been such a gift. its changed everything. something not everyone gets. but we did. and so i see it as a real gift. not all parts of it. but most of it. and i think that is how it works most of the time. you get some or lots of bad with the good. but it makes the good that much sweeter and that much more precious. so i am thankful for that." 


I pray that I can have a heart and attitude like Libby's. When life is hard I want to hold tight to my relationship with Jesus and find the parts of life that are a gift.