A Great [Easter] Song

This song was part of the Easter service this morning at church. What a fantastic Easter song!

The music's great. The lyrics are phenomenal. The video's footage, effects, and text are all delightful. I really hope you'll take a few minutes to watch it.

The service was one of my favorites that I've been here for. They had so many people involved in so many different ways. This church is wonderful about giving people opportunities to use their many gifts, and there are so many very talented people here. They even had a lot of children involved in today's service, which of course is always something I love to see. I'm really going to miss this church!

After church we had a big lunch, a big nap, and one of the other pastors and his family over to swim for a while. Delo made Easter baskets for us and even hid some eggs for us to find -- it was super-sweet! It was a very, very relaxing Easter.

So, dear friends, I'd love to hear about your Easters as well. I hope it was an all-around fantastic day!

~"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." [John 3:16]~

A Day on the Boardwalk

We drove to a town on the Gulf today called Kemah. The weather was gorgeous, there was a beautiful boardwalk to wander around, and this Midwestern girl got to see the waters of the Gulf.

And yes, today's theme song was "Under the Boardwalk" by The Drifters...despite always being on top of the boardwalk as we walked.

It started with a look around.

I still am unsure of the correct punctuation of "ya'll".

Couldn't pass up the swordfish.

This used to be a big port for the shrimping industry before Hurricane Ikewiped most of it out.

We spent a good chunk of time watching the pelicans float along and dive bomb for fish.

How many times in life will I come across the chance to partake in about 2 minutes of a hurricane simulation? The wind in that time thing got up to 80 mph.

All in all, it was a great day. But next time...

...I think I'll remember to bring sunscreen.

~"Girl, put your records on. Tell me your favorite song. Just go ahead let your hair down." ["Put Your Records On" - Corrine Bailey Rae]~

Culture Shock

It was 21 degrees this morning here in Texas, and 18 degrees back home. Something's not right. Could you people in the Midwest stop sharing your winter weather? I came here to get away from it!

It's interesting watching the response of an area that isn't used to such cold temps. There's so much talk of making sure pipes don't freeze because they aren't insulated for this. They have to worry about having antifreeze in their cars right now, too. And they just don't like this cold! I guess it's something that I really just took for granted with living with it. Never really considered what it would truly be like to live someplace without it. What an experience! It's just as much a form of culture shock for me as this cold is for them.

A new concept for me is "rolling power outages". Because their pipes aren't built for this cold, they have to keep water running to keep pipes and pools from freezing. This really ups the electricity demand, and they use these controlled outages to manage it. The electricity went out this morning at our house, and it went off 3 or 4 times at school today (which the kids thought was so cool -- whew, much better than screaming!). This is supposed to continue for the next few days.

We have snow/freezing rain in the forecast for Thursday night or Friday morning, and that will definitely mean a snow day. Who would've thought I could be facing a possible snow day while here in Texas? "Not I," said the student teacher!

Stay warm and safe, folks!

~"Weather forecast for tonight: dark." [-George Carlin]~

p.s. -- Since the time I made this original post, we got a call from the EC Director. Guess what? We have a half day of school tomorrow and no school Friday. Guess I got that "snow" day after all. Now let's wait and see what Texas snow is all about. Perhaps not EVERYthing is bigger in Texas, eh? ;)

Texas Tidbits

This this week has reminded me of so far:

- How exhausting it is to be on your feet for 8 hours

- How exciting it is to spend the day with small children

- How prepared I am for this

- It is what I chose to make it

- Asking questions is totally okay, even if it feels silly (people appreciate that more than having to fix the goofs, anyway)

- Insecurities do more harm than good...and are silly half the time, anyway

- Accents are fun. And fascinating.

Some fun facts about Texas so far:

- The big grocery stores around here are Kroger and H.E.B...hm.

- It's been cold here (like in the 40s). Texans aren't okay with that. And they have to cover their wells and plants at night when it dips down into the 20s because the plants and wells aren't okay with that.

- The people here are super-sweet and polite. Even the kids. One of my little boys came up to me, introduced himself, and even shook my hand. I was speechless.

- There are Jack-in-the-Boxes everywhere. And Sonic. And I will try both before I leave at the end of April.

- Tomball has a magnet-effect similar to Seward: once people are here, they don't seem to leave, and they're okay with that.

~"Too often we are so preoccupied with the destination, we forget the journey." [-Unknown]~

Adjusting.

Whirlwind day: Bible class. Church. Being prayed over during the service. Lots of new names and faces. Settling into a new home. Meeting the principal, assistant principal, EC program director, and a number of other teachers.

Feeling excited/nervous/ready for tomorrow. We'll tour the school and town, get taken to lunch, fill out paperwork, go through the guidelines and expectations, and get keys and IDs.

I keep getting struck over and over that this is it. The real deal. I'm a full-on student teacher. No methods classes, just teaching. And learning. And experiencing.

God's already at work here. I'm blessed beyond what I imagined, and it's only the 2nd day.

~"Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." [-J.R.R. Tolkien]~

And So It Begins.

It is 2:20 in the morning.

And I still have some packing left to do.

I'm going to sleep, finish packing, and then hit the road. On time. Which is anywhere before 8:30.

It snowed earlier. It was just an inch, but it happened to be the beautiful fat, fluffy, and glittery flakes that are mesmerizing. I admired them on the way to my aunts, praising God for their beauty. "Thanks for one last beautiful bit of snow!" I mentally told Him.

Later, as my car was sliding around on the snow and ice covered roads, I thought to myself, "Goodness, it'll be great to be in Texas."

(A few seconds later... )

"Sorry, God. It is still pretty. I'm sure I'll miss it at least a little."

Mission Texas Adventure:

Kansas City today. Spend time with David and his family.

Dallas on Friday. Spend time with Matt and Kelly.

Tomball on Saturday. Meet host family. Settle in. Think about the high of 18 degrees back home while there's a high of 66 degrees in Tomball. :)

~"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." [-Lao Tzu]~

Packing Style

"Pack. Unpack. Repack."

That's from You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown by Paula Danziger. 8-year-old Amber Brown and her mother are hopscotching to the car while chanting this. It summarizes Amber Brown's packing strategy for her trip to London with her aunt.

Packing always invokes a sort of panic.

do i need this? will i want it if i leave it behind? if i don't use this, i'll feel silly for bringing it. well, i'll bring it just in case. do i even need this anymore? am i over-packing? do i have everything i need? have i prepared for all contingencies between here, the arctic, and the equator?

I feel like I should be a pro at this by now, but I still pack like Amber Brown. I always feel like I'm forgetting something.

At least this time I'm starting days ahead of time so I can panic over a greater span of time, ensuring plenty of time to check, double-check, and re-check everything for greater peace of mind when all is said and done (and tucked into the car).

~"Don't forget to pack your courage for your journey to greatness." [-David Weinbaum]~