taking a breather

Have you ever had a Dove chocolate?  It's kind of like opening a fortune cookie, but even better I think.  So for our trip, my sister bought this bag of Dove's chocolate and we ate a lot of it.  :)  I loved opening each wrapper to see what it would tell me.  I really liked some of it, so I'm going to share it with you as I take a breather from all the work I am doing.

"Smiling is free."
"Happiness looks great on you."
"You're invited to relax today."
"Take this moment.  Enjoy it."
"You should charge for your great advice."
"You have a great laugh!"

I think of these words that have been given to me by Dove.  There are a lot of the same ones, but I don't remember getting two of the same.  "Life is good" appeared for my sister a couple times.  Anyway... these words remind me our words... my words... what our tongue produces.  In scripture it talks about how "The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" from Proverbs 12:18.  Yesterday in my quiet time I read from Matthew 12 and verses 35-37 struck me about the issue of our words. "The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned."  Our words are so powerful.


I still struggle with some of the words that were spit out at me that were so hurtful from years ago... I see people who walk around with scars and hurts because of words that people have thrown out at them without care or sometimes even words that were not given to them, withheld from loving, caring words.  I think of how important it is for us to have sayings like the Dove's chocolate stored up in our tongues, but most importantly in our hearts to give out freely... to be able to give life and produce fruit in people's life rather than bringing forth pain and evil.  It's a thought huh?


I'm taking a break... I have been working on a paper all day today... My daughter has been so good at entertaining herself all day.  I finished my first 12 page paper.  I need to study for a test for Monday and then start on another 12 page paper... after that I have three 5 page papers that I need to whip up.  These next two weeks are going to be crazy.  My sister noticed my patch of gray hair on our trip... So sad... Yes I do have a patch of gray hair... So sad... :)


Last night I went to a Gungor concert with some friends.  It's funny actually... I was telling people how I have never been to a concert and then last week SC reminded me that we had gone to a concert together at Ravinia years ago.  I remembered it, but after having been to a concert yesterday... the Bo Deans at Ravinia was nothing compared to this.  :)  It was an amazing display of God's talent.  I was blown away by how God can use people in so many different ways.  They are an exceptional band.  My friends and I were discussing in the car the one thing we didn't like about the concert, which was their song from a Catholic prayer.  It did not line up with our theology.  That was a great discussion on our way home.  But there was my favorite part that I do not think I will ever forget.  Toward the middle end of the concert, Gungor came up and asked us to pray "Shalom" in singing over different areas of our life.  So there is this chorus of people singing "Shalom".  I felt that was the most powerful part of the concert... there I was prayerfully singing "Shalom" - peace- over different areas of my life...  And as I sang this prayer, I could feel God's peace falling upon my heart that was a little distraught going to the concert. 


I continue to see God's faithfulness, His Sovereign hand and unfailing love over my life.  I pray that as I grow in my walk with Him and as He continually prunes me to bear better fruit, I will abide in Him and go to Him as my rich source!  I pray that I may smile more, love more, be more joyful and enjoy the life He has given me.  I am content where I am, but know that I could be deeper in Him...  more of you Lord and less of me!!!


Please pray for me these next few weeks.  


1.  To finish this semester well.  I have 7 more weeks of school left this semester.
2.  Pray for my summer class that starts right after finals.  It's going to be a lot of work that I need to finish before finals are even over. 
3.  I need a job for the summer.  I'm trying to apply for a renewal of my teaching certificate so that I could teach this summer.  Pray for all that to go smoothly and that I could get a good teaching job.  I need this to cover the classes that I will be taking over the summer and help a little with the fall.  
4. I look to the future and it's a little daunting... I am doing summer classes so that I could finish in three years as planned.  If not, I would have to find a job and make the program last a little longer.  I would rather do it all now and just start working and have to really be careful with finances.  I also feel continued peace that this is where God wants me, but I can't see past that... which at times could be very hard, especially for someone who likes to have a plan.  :)  Please pray that I could continue to rest in His faithfulness.
5.  A and I continue to pray for a new daddy.  A couple weeks ago as I was putting A down for bed, she asked me, "Mommy, don't you want me to have a new daddy?"  I felt like she was telling me I'm not doing what I need to for her to have a new daddy.  I have no control over this situation, but it is a deep longing for us both.  Would you lift this up with us?  I especially ask for prayer for the man, whoever it may be... I know that our situation is not a normal one for people my age.  I mean there aren't that many widowed men or even divorced men my age... so for a single guy to take us on... I totally get is overwhelming, but I pray for a man that will be head over heals for A and for me and will be so willing to be family with us.  

We covet your prayers and appreciate the prayers that are daily lifted up for us!!


**Okay break over... back to studying!**

**I found this on our trip and feel like this is what I want...**

Below are pictures of our trip.  It was great.  A is finishing up her break with a sleepover at her aunt's house while I go with some friends to a Gungor concert at Wheaton!!  Sooooooo super excited!

break before the storm

this week is A's spring break and it happens to be my sister's as well, on top of that my wednesday classes were cancelled this week as my school had a day of prayer.  i did get together with a friend and pray that morning, but then A, my sister and i came to galena for our spring break.  :)  it has been a really good time, but i know that when i get home, i'll have tons of work to do... until july!  today as i sat in the coffee shop with A and my sister, i got an e-mail from my professor for one of my summer classes... i have to start working on that now in order to finish that class... it's so crazy to think about.  i started to hyperventilate just a little while i was reading the syllabus, but... i know i'll be able to do it.  it's going to be quite a crazy time starting next week until july, but God has really taught me how to ask for help, take care of myself and find things that bring life into me in the midst of all the craziness... and i just have to keep relying on those small gifts that the Lord gives me.  :-)

please... i covet your prayers as i head into this storm of work after this great break.  Lord be with me... as well as A!!

**tried putting up pictures but the hotel internet is super slow... hopefully will be able to do it when i get home.**

A's spring break

today is the official start of A's spring break... yes i had her skip two days prior to this, but officially this is the beginning.  she has a full week ahead of her.  today was the only day that it would be the two of us.  so i tried to find something we could do that we have never done together and would be special.  we went to the chicago botanic garden.  it was so nice... not all the flowers have bloomed, but the ones that have were so pretty.  the whole day, which was 5 hours of walking around the garden, we talked about God's creativity and praising Him for the wonderful things He has created for us to admire.  it was great.  tomorrow i get a day of work again as my friend, JM, is taking A to the zoo!!  wednesday we are going on vacation with my sister.  then it's going to be over!!  time is going to go by quickly.  here are some pictures from today...

and then there were 6

it was a typical day at our house... no actually it wasn't.  ha ha... on wednesday, which is my forever long day at school, i came home to a house full of people.  MP, my bro-n-law, brought his family for their spring break.  it was really nice to come home to dinner all set at the counter with laughter and fun.  i was pooped, but after the kids were in bed, it was a blessing to sit down with adults and have a good conversation about what's going on in our lives.  a house that was used to 2 girls, turned into a rambunctious house of 6.

three nights with them and i am teaching A early on how to ditch school... ha ha...  it was really good. i love that yes we started out that we liked each other because of marriage, but now i really sense that we love each other because we like each other.  :-)  my brother is full of energy, loves the Lord, loves his wife and kids, strives to be the man who God has designed him to be and is just so caring.  my sister and dear friend is one of the wisest people in the world... she's beautiful, a great mother and has such a tender heart, but more than that, she's my sister and i love that!!!  they have really taken the role to walk along side me and be whatever it is that i need them to be for A and myself.  what a blessing to have that!!

we had a great time... the kids were absolutely in love with each other and had so much fun...  they even played hide and seek in our small condo.  it was great... lots of life, fun and laughter!!  thanks for coming guys!!   we love you and hope we don't have to wait two years to see each other again.  (ha ha... that's what E said.) - here are some pictures...

museum of science and industry

"where we going?"  i asked

"indonesia!" was the reply

he loves her!!

the P girls!!

auntie and kids

i feel like i look so short

the girls did not plan this... i thought it was so cute!

the rambunctious 6

cousins!!

the pond

a couple days ago in my bible class, my professor talked about faith.  something that i have been thinking about with faith is how we need to jump or step out into the water like i've mentioned before.  so my professor talks about faith and told this story of how people could stand around the pond talking about how they do believe that it's thick enough to stand on or skate on and they could stand there for hours talking about what they think and how they do believe... but they won't know for sure until someone takes that step to put into practice what they believe, which takes faith.

yesterday in my bible study we talked about this same thing... how faith is so easy to talk about, but so hard to put into practice...  are you putting your faith into practice?  one of the girls in my study reminded us that faith is not just for big things in life, but that it should be for the little things, everyday things...  for me, i have to have faith every day i drive to school.  i have seen a few really bad accidents and i show faith by driving to school and not letting fear overcome me and paralyzing me to stay home not never going anywhere.

i feel like then this faith comes only by abiding in the one we have faith in.  how could we have faith if we are not abiding?  if we don't know who it is we are abiding in... how could we have faith?  we can't...

are you one of those people who just stands around the pond talking about believing that the pond is frozen deep enough to stand on?  or are you the one that will test it out?

abide and love... the connection

God is teaching me a lot about abiding lately.  today He did it again, but it started with love and He has been teaching me about love as well.  these past weeks i feel like i have been learning about love...  how to love well. and as i read john 15 about abiding, it not only talks about abiding in the vine, but in verse 9 it says to "abide in my love".  when we abide in Christ we are abiding in His love.

my brother in law and family are in town and they took A for the day, which was such an unexpected blessing in which i took advantage of  and got to do a lot of school work.  i went to campus and conquered research on a paper i need to write.  i got to campus early on purpose to attend chapel to hear the rest of the series from tuesday's chapel.  i received a surprise present by a couple that led praise, it was amazing.  it was during that praise i was reminded of love and abiding.  the couple sang this song about love... it touched me.  i wish it was a common song, but it was something the wife had wrote.  it was just a song filled with truth that i needed to hear.  the words of the song took me back to john 15 verse 9, "as the father has loved me, so have i loved you.  abide in my love."  then in verse 12 it says, "this is my commandment, that you love one another as i have loved you."  powerful... so as i sat there praising with my brothers and sisters this song... i teared up... i have been longing to love better in every situation, in every circumstance, every person...  surrendering control and ask that the Lord will provide me the ability to love... and that comes by abiding in Him.  as i prayed, i felt this great release... i can't do this on my own... it's exhausting whenever we try to do things on our own... but with Christ i can do all things.

Lord you are the source of all things... and i cannot do anything without abiding in you and being connected to you... would you continue to grow me and help me to abide in you... deeper, fuller and richer?

i just want to finish with the famous verses on love....

if i speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, i am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  and if i have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if i have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, i am nothing.  if i give away all i burned, but have not love, i gain nothing.
love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  it does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
love never ends...
- 1 corinthians 13:1-8a-

**today i got to have a discussion with a man in my class who just got married 5 years after his wife passed away...  it was such a healing time for me to have this discussion with him - he really knew and understood where i was coming from... and the words that are in bold are some things he taught me about being in the situation that i am in.  what a blessing that the Lord places these people in my life.**

abide

i know i have shared this before.  last year as i was returning to the states, i was given john 15 as scripture to hold on to while i was transitioning from one home to make a new one.  next month, we would have been here a  year and the Lord brings me back to john 15 and the word "abide".  interesting how God works through this word to anchor his people...  

so a couple weeks ago, as i was praying the Lord impressed upon my heart the word "abide".  i remember texting a couple friends that the Lord gave me that word during the morning and asked for prayer.  in john 15 before it talks about abiding, it talks about pruning.  as i think about pruning, i think about my post from yesterday... pruning sometimes is about the "hope deferred", it could be painful.  i think of all the times that God had to prune me from... even the evilest of sin that i needed pruning in was a painful process, but at least then i knew that it was because i needed that out of my life... sometimes the good is pruned from us because the Lord sees it unfit for our lives.  today the Lord brought these words back into my life through my professor during my spiritual formation group.

i go back to the abiding and the second part of the verse of "hope deferred".  you see at times of the pruning, it is so important that we are abiding in Christ...  that our source is deeper and fuller than the part that is being pruned off and that life is fulfilled when our desires are met... and that desire is met only in Christ.  what an important word for us to remember!  

as A and i awake from a good afternoon nap, i pray this over all of you... that your lives will be abiding in Christ to experience His fullness and richness and when times of pruning do come, that your source of life would be much deeper and fuller than that part that is being pruned.  

i just want to emphasize that i am so thankful that i could experience God's faithfulness and sovereign hand in my life!!  WHAT AN AWESOME GOD WE SERVE!!!

hope deferred

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.Proverbs 13: 12

one of my professors in the past week talked about this verse.  being in the program that i am in, we talk about how our job is to bring hope back into people's lives.  how the reason that they will be in our offices because they feel there is no hope in their situation.  this verse is so true to so many of the people i will be seeing in the future... as they experience depression, anxiety, eating disorders... it'll all be because their hopes were deferred and their heart is sick.

i praise God that my hope is in Jesus and it is eternal.  i am so glad that yes at times my heart does get sick from hopes that are deferred, but my longing is fulfilled in Christ... and therefore i have life.  i can't wait to bring this hope to those who do not have it and in that experience a taste of God's kingdom here on earth.

**today A wrote a song and sang it to me... just like her daddy.  i love her and the heart she has...  God is in heaven.  He came to this earth and is now in heaven.  When will I get to go to heaven...  that's her song.**

as i think about her song, i find healing...  for there will be no sickness in heaven and all our hopes will be fulfilled once for all!!

summer in march

our days have been unlike other days at this time of the year.  today i believe was up in the lower 80s.  it was beautiful...  i was in a weekend modular class and A got to spend the night over at Uncle SC and Aunt SC's house.  she was looking forward to it for the whole week and came home saying she wished she could stay there tonight.  as much as i love my little girl and love having her around, it's been good for me to have these weekends.  although it was for class, i loved being with my classmates all day, throwing a frisbee around during our breaks, hanging out at my place and then spending another day together.  it's a blessing to be with this group in this class.  after having spent almost two whole days away, A and i went to enjoy our reunion at evanston beach.  i love walking on the sand with my bare feet.  it was super cold, but so worth it. here are the pictures below...

swamped

so remember when i wrote about how i did a personality test and i came out to be serious...  yesterday in class we were talking about all the personality types... i was explaining how i felt like i wasn't really serious (the realist) until P's death.  my professor explained that i would have always had it, but it would have looked different and maybe not as pronounced.  as she was explaining, i guess she's right...  i have been the one that thinks things through, critical of myself and others, highly responsible for my own behavior, prepared (this is a big one!!)... anyway... as i thought about things i could see that throughout my life.

prepared is a big one.  i like to write lists and then get everything done before it needs to be.  i like structure.  that wasn't on the list but i think with being prepared, you have to have structure right?

this long introduction to say... i have a huge list of things to do... actually it's not too huge, but it feels huge.  so i covet your prayers.  more than halfway done with a semester... have a paper due this weekend for my weekend class (thank you SC and SC for watching A!!  what a blessing.  she's been talking about it non-stop!!) that i need to finish... then a test next week that i need to study for before my brother-in-laws family comes.  i have two big papers due mid april... then finals... it's going to be a lot and when i look at my list... i feel swamped!!

but this is the thing... grades are not everything!!  i have a daughter that i need to love unconditionally and make priority in my life.  i have needs that i need met in order to function (like hang out with people) - self care as we call it in counseling.  i like to do fun things and enjoy life!!  that's my adventurous side of my personality... life in the present.

so as you pray for us... please pray that i would be able to balance work and play... to have both in a healthy balance.

i close heading to a stack of books with my balcony door wide open and the hope of a successful joyful day!!!

a thought before bed...

i love that today was light until 7.  i don't like that this morning i had to be awaken by an alarm and now it's 9:30 and i am heading to bed.  sometimes i think an hour change is worse than jet lag this is from a person with lots of experience.  :)  good night everyone and enjoy these days that are to be beautiful.  i have been smiling so much lately because of the wonderful weather!!

call my name...

about three years ago, my friend introduced me to the concept of the waiting room.  she talked about how before she dated her now husband, she was waiting in this waiting room for him to "come around".  when she introduced me to the subject, she and i were in the waiting room, just different ones.  i was in the waiting room of desiring a new husband and she was in the waiting room of having a baby.  we fervently prayed for one another... she currently has the cutest chubbiest little baby girl ever... and we continue to pray for me.

last night at digging deeper, our church small group, we shared about how in life there are a variety of waiting rooms.  and it's a hard place to be in... but how the Lord says to not worry or be anxious in the times of the unknown, but to trust in His faithfulness.  we may continue to move from one waiting room to the other hoping that they would call our name so we could actually go in, but til our name is called, we need to wait patiently and trust in the Lord.

i think about that for me too... how i continue to be in waiting rooms, sometimes several at a time just wanting them to call my name... but until my name is called, i will commit to remembering God's faithfulness throughout my life and continue to trust!!

God's backdrop in our lives...

the sunrise from my bedroom window....  this makes me smile in the morning.

for the first time this morning i made a green monster smoothie.  it was delish...

today was my first day of fun for my spring break...  look at the beautiful flamingos.

the clouds look awesome!!  they look fake.  it was a beautiful day!!  had tons of fun!

The beautiful walk...

remember the cubicles that i talked about yesterday.  so here i am sitting at one for almost 6 hours.  finished my paper proposal, typed up an outline, researched for my modular class, had my quiet time and lunch... this place is seriously really quiet... i have my earphones in blasting music into my brain that can't stand dead silence.  :)  finally i had to go out... i took a walk around campus.  i have to tell you, we have a pretty campus.  i can't wait until spring takes over because once the leaves start coming in the paths are going to be so much more wonderful.  so as i went out for a walk on this very windy but perfect day, i put in my headphones and start praying... one song grabbed my attention....
Draw me Nearer  - By Meredith Andrews
For your nearness Lord I hunger
For your nearness Lord I wait
Hold me ever closer Father
Such a love I can't escape

For your nearness I am hoping
For your nearness Lord I long
Have no need of any other
I have found where I belong
Yes, I have found where I belong

So draw me nearer Lord
Never let me go
Closer to your heart
Draw me nearer Lord
Draw me nearer Lord

In your nearness there is healing
What was broken now made whole
Restoration in it's fullness
Lasting hope for all who come

In your nearness I take shelter
Where you are is where I'm home
I have need of only one thing
To be here before your throne
To be here before you throne

So draw me nearer Lord
Never let me go
Closer to your heart
Draw me nearer Lord

So draw me nearer Lord
Never let me go
Closer to your heart
Draw me nearer Lord
Draw me nearer Lord

And keep me here, keep me here
There's nowhere else I rather be
So keep me here, keep me here
There's nowhere else I rather be
There's nowhere else I rather be

So draw me nearer Lord
Never let me go
Closer to your heart
Draw me nearer Lord
Draw me nearer Lord
Draw me nearer my Lord
the desires of my heart in one song.  how beautiful is that?  there are a few lines that really resonate with me...
1.  For Your nearness Lord I hunger, For Your nearness Lord I wait...* i had written yesterday of how i long for the deep deep intimacy with my Father...  and i hunger and wait for it... mmmm.... a smile grows on my face as i think of that deep intimacy with Him... how refreshing!!
2.  In Your nearness there is healing, What was broken now made whole, restoration in its fullness, Lasting hope for all who come* i mentioned how i have been struggling with lies in my life that have left an impression on my heart and life...  as God comes near to me and i draw closer to Him, i know there will be healing, there already has been so much healing... i prayed on this walk that i will be able to let God show me His truth and bring wholeness to my brokenness.  i pray that i could be a picture of restoration... Lord bring lasting hope for me and for those hurting in this world.  
3.  In Your nearness I take shelter, Where You are is where I'm home.* i moved a lot growing up.  there were pros (i am pretty resilient) and cons (no birthday parties) in that, but i felt like a lot of my friends grew up in one area, in one home for all their life... i used to be jealous of that.  when P and i moved to indonesia, i asked him to buy a house there so we would always have a home.  my friend, TB, gave me an article soon after i got there which was about home being where the family was...  i was content with that... as long as i had my family... then P died.  no home again...  then i remember AB telling me about how this is our temporary home here on earth... that our home is in heaven and there my home will be and advised me to raise A with that mindset.  A the other day said, "when i go home..." and i was like, "ummm you are home..."  she said, "no heaven... this is not my home."  this long story is just to say... this life, this place is just temporary...  where my Father is, that is where I'm home and i find shelter in His nearness!!  Lord be ever so near to me!!!
DRAW ME NEARER!!!  
**okay i need to get back to work... i want some time to play!!!**

love

today i had a wonderful lunch date with a dear friend.  she has been a gift from God since i entered into this program at TIU and has been an incredible blessing in my walk with the Lord...  she has been one to rebuke, speak truth, build me up, talk through problems, lies and happenings in my life...  she has been one to pray with me and for me...

so today we were having lunch and she referred to this quote that i am going to share...

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket —safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.


this quote is from CS Lewis' The Four Loves...


my friend, RP, has been a truth teller for me and today as we talked about life, past pains, future hopes, lost dreams, and what God is doing in our hearts... she reminded me of this quote.  so many times in life we try so hard to be comfortable and protect ourselves and loved ones from getting hurt, but the realities of life is... we'll never feel unless we take that risk... jump off the cliff and see if we can fly... and sometimes we have to do it over and over again... it's a risk, but so worth it!! 


in life, i have had my heart hurt by family, friends, boys, church, pastors, God, husband, people i don't even know...  and at times i find myself unintentionally locking up my heart in a casket, not wanting to be hurt by those again or put myself in similar situations so that i won't be hurt...  but the fact of the matter is... that does not give life.  


someone gave me possibly one of the biggest compliments that i have ever heard... said that i was a life giver...  that's pretty powerful.  so i think about that and how if i am a person that gives life, but am locking up my heart to not feel the one thing that does give life... how two faced is that right??  


i want to learn to love.  i want to be vulnerable... to those who have once hurt me, to those who may hurt me  and to those who don't know it yet nor do i know, but will be entangled with me... whoever they are... whenever they come into my path, i want to love.  not keeping it safely locked up that it would in the end be impenetrable, but to freely give... and not because i am able, but the spirit of the ONE WHO IS LOVE is in me.  


Lor d would you teach me to love... love my daughter, love my friends, love my family, love my church, love the lost, love the unseen around me, love the hurting, ....  love YOU!!!  i desire a deep deep intimate love relationship with you... without that Lord, I cannot love.  Lord and as i love, i pray for reconciliation, i pray for restored relationships, i pray for trust, i pray for freedom, i pray for your healing, i pray for forgiveness...  only you are able Lord!!  i lay it all before you and surrender!!  

spring break

If you go to the TIU library there are people that have reserved a cubicle for their studies… I mean these cubicles are covered with books and notes and tons and tons of work and when they are not there, it is guarded by a big sheet of cardboard.  I am currently at my favorite Panera reading pages and pages from textbooks for the next couple weeks and catching up on a couple class readings.  And as I sit here, sun shining outside and people chattering around me (I have headphones in), I can't imagine being one of those people in the cubicle in the corner of the TIU library... so not my cup of tea!!  :)  -  I think I would feel like I'm suffocating.  :)

My spring break is here and I am continuing my normal routines really.  Yesterday we spent it with my sister, but today and tomorrow is all work.  Our nanny is coming as usual and I am going to be productive...  

I have a paper proposal to write, tons and tons of reading to do, a research paper I need to start (which WML has already offered to help me with... thanks a bunch), a 5 page paper on a childhood pathology, an interview outline... 

So I took this personality test for my class and it said that I was serious and adventurous.  Not sure how that co-exists, but my serious side has this check-list next to me so I could check off chapters as I read them and the adventurous side is thinking of something fun and exciting to do this afternoon with A because the weather outside is calling for me to come and play!!!  :)

My spring break is looking into a serious work week, but I can't wait until A's spring break.  I will have a lot of things done by then and my full day of classes happens to be the National Day of Prayer and I don't have to go to my classes, so... we get to go and have fun!!!  WOO HOO!!!  Essentially I have two spring breaks!!!  yay!!!

Alright... I need to go back to reading about mood disorders.  :)