dear daddy

dear daddy,

it's been said that you're a wonderful, wonderful teacher. many have sat under and been blessed by your preaching. the two things that you have been called to do, you do well. but you have done neither one as well as being my dad.

i may get my physical attributes from mom, but my personality comes from you. i guess that explains our shared ocd moments, the need for everything to be clean, and our excitement for the first day of school, not because school is so exciting because everything is so new-crayons, pencils, books.

you were my very first role model. you were the one who taught me to hold onto my values and never let go. i learned to trust in God because i saw you trusting in God. my kids will have a safe, secure and happy childhood because you and mom saw to it that we had that growing up. my kids will know Jesus because of your influence. when i hear people speaking highly of you or talking fondly of you as their pastor or teachers, i just think, "that's MY daddy!"

the past couple of years have been the sweetest yet, because you've become so much more than a father. i look forward to the next few years because i know they will be even better.

i'm sorry you didn't get to do much on your birthday, but we'll make up for it at the party.

thanks for being my daddy. i love you.

what now?

today i bought two games for us to play as a family-buzz word and apples to apples. i took them to my parents house after dinner, but it ended up being just me and ryan along with my parents. kelli was studying and joey was working. such responsible children.

anyway, as we were playing buzz word, it became apparent that i knew quite a bit more than ryan (he really didn't think that was possible). i even beat him on sports questions a couple of times, which REALLY bothered him. but every time he would beat me to an answer, he would look at me and say, "what now?"

seriously, ryan. i beat you at buzz word AND apples to apples.

WHAT NOW?!

be still, my heart

the spurs first home game of the 2008-2009 season is tonight. the only thing that could make this night better is if i were actually in san antonio watching the game.

oh well.

steel yourselves, people

i haven't procrastinated on my lesson plans in over a month. next thing you know, i'll be giving up dr. pep---

oh, i can't even type it.

"quality time with Jesus"

one of my good friends texted something to me a couple of weeks ago that really had me thinking. she told me not to forget to spend "quality time with Jesus." maybe this is me overthinking this a bit, but i found her choice of words interesting. if she had just said "spend time with Jesus" i probably wouldn't have thought anything of it. after all, i hear it a lot. but it was that phrase: quality time. it made me think of the love language.

i've read in the book the five love languages, and other books have said the same thing, that we tend the exhibit our own love language. for example, my love language is gifts (i know, sounds a little materialistic...ok, a lot materialistic). therefore, to show someone i appreciate or love them, my first instinct is to buy them something. it's something that we all do, whether we are conscious of it or not.

(on a side note, i think it's why i've had such a great year. the parents of my students have already bought me things for my classroom. who wouldn't love that?!)

i've recently come to realize (like in the past month) that God, in His infinite wisdom, did not instill in me quality time as my love language. why? because me having quality time with people sometimes just doesn't happen. i've grown up with my dad having two jobs and my mom continually helping him out. but i've never felt unloved by my parents or that i was neglected. why? because both of them didn't need to be aroud 24/7 to make me feel like i was worth anything. don't get me wrong-i love spending time with my family. the highlight of my week is friday nights when we go out to eat and just enjoy that it's the weekend. and i'm always up for going to my parents house and just hanging out. but growing up, my parents did what they needed to do to give us a secure, godly environment, and it worked. sure there were times that i complained. but that was just me being a brat. shocker, huh?

all this to say (sorry, i'm a little wordy) that when i received that text from my friend, i was immediately convicted. i thought i'd been showing God that i loved Him, when in truth i was just doing everything but spending quality time with Him. i was attending church, tithing, and having my quiet time. but it wasn't quality time. and it became even more apparent this morning when i talked to kelli. she had asked me a question about something, and here's what happened:

me: "it's funny that you should ask me about that, because i talked to the Lord about that very thing just a few minutes ago."

kelli: "oh really? and what did the Lord say?"

me: "actually, i told the Lord-"

kelli: "wait. YOU told the Lord?"

me: "uh.........."

ouch. so God has been dealing with me and continues to deal with me about this issue. i am thankful, however, that i have a friend who is willing to encourage me in this.

now go out and buy me something so i feel loved. =)

daddy's home!

thank you to everyone who prayed for my dad today. his surgery went well, and he arrived home about 15 minutes ago. please keep praying for him, though, because he's in a lot of pain. it hurts to see him like this. =(

we appreciate your prayers.

my orthodontist hates me

well, not really. here's the story:

i had to go back to the ortho to get my new retainers today. i sat there in the chair, trying to learn how to put on my retainers and take them out (hey, i had a hard time, ok?). anyway, when the nurse was finished, she said, "ok, now the doctor has to see you and then you can go." when my orthodontist came over to check on me, i instantly knew there would be trouble. he grabbed my top retainer, looked at it, and sighed really loudly. i heard him mumble, "this is not what i asked her to make."

sure enough, they made the wrong type of retainer for me. guess what i had to do over?

that's right: impressions.

everyone in the office just gave me a look of pity because they all know how i am-a big baby. i thought about not getting the numbing spray, but when the technician put the tray in my mouth just to see if it fit (there was no goo in the tray at all), i gagged. the numbing spray was the lesser of two evils. the good news is that they only had to do it once.

stupid impressions.