Virginia Beach

JPA buried in the sand

Grandma & Grandpa with sweet baby Clara

Bliss...plenty of time spent reading.

Board walk at night after a delicious seafood buffet.

The hotel had a great pool and hot tub!

Uncle Bunny & Clara (or should it be Bunnie)

Auntie and the kids

RJ took Jonathan on the slide

So much fun!

Daddy and Jon on the ferris wheel

A perfect weekend with the family!

Tinkertoys

These tinkertoys belonged to Papa. This is their third generation of use and they are still going strong. Jonathan loves them. Here he made a car with a me in the front and in the back, Jon and his friend Livy.

Friends

I love that God has placed some amazing friends in my life. When I was part of the opening staff at Highcroft teaching first grade, on the first day of school my friend Kris brought me and Nathan dinner. (It was beef stroganoff and we still remember how delicious it was!) She was formerly a teacher and just understood the pressure of the first day.
Fast forward five years and I am now opening a new library, which is so much more work than opening a classroom at a new school. Kris and her daughters, Courtney and Kelsey ran into me at church and asked if there was anyway they could help me out. Later that week they showed up with a delicious lunch (and fresh peaches for me to take home) and stayed for a few hours to help with a variety of tasks. Kris has an eye for decorating (and I just don't). She helped me get a baseball display up and running while Courtney labeled shelves and Kelsey did an alligator display. The next day they showed up with "props" to go with their displays. I love that they are willing to go above and beyond to make everything excellent. Courtney and Kelsey came back a third time and made a "Bookie Monster" so the kids can "feed" him when they return their books.
Today, Kris and Courtney showed up (Kelsey headed back to college for her sophomore year) with a gift for me. They had been to Ikea and got me this alligator because it is our mascot.
I am grateful to have them in my life. The Lord has been faithful to us providing us amazing friends in NC.

Where did July go?

In mid-March I entered a room with shelves installed on the walls and tables and chairs stacked on top of each other. The rolling shelves were all pushed against each other and THE SHELVES WERE EMPTY!!
By April, I knew this project was mine and so I solicited help and officially started getting paid for this job on July 1.
Well, hours and hours and hours later with help from colleagues, friends and family, this brand new school library is up and running! Children are circulating books (and READING them!), classes are being taught and technology is being used. And I have to admit, that I was SCARED to accept this job, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE it! I love reading aloud to kids. I love teaching the Dewey Decimal system. I love figuring out how to make books easier to find. I love teaching how to research. I love collaborating with teachers. I love modeling technology. I love working with the art, music, p.e. and technology teachers. I love that everything is BRAND NEW! I love helping teachers find books to match what they are teaching. I love helping kids finding THE book! I love my job!
There have been moments where it was difficult and I was frustrated and cried and when I had NO IDEA what I was doing (and I know those moments are not over), but over all this position has been so rewarding and I am grateful that the Lord provided this position for me! I can see how God clearly prepared me for this position since I started in this school district in 2002. There are so many times when, you cannot see how God is moving and leading, but when the pieces fall into place, it is so fulfilling.

Isn't it beautiful?

Fixing the Sink

The other day, I was working in the kitchen and Jonathan came running down the stairs yelling, "Mom, the sink is broken. The sink is broken!" His hands were full with his wrench, hammer and screw driver. He pushed me out of the way and went to work on the kitchen sink pipes. He had his tools out--hammering and knocking on things. I asked him where he learned how to fix the sink, he said, "At Auntie's house because daddy and I fixed her sink."
I am so grateful to have a father to my child who intentionally includes him in what he is doing--even when it takes 10 times longer. Nathan is so patient and an amazing teacher. I love my sweet boys!

Olives

Weekend Get Away

Beach

Jockey's Ridge