recently i'm... [26]

Excited about: B!! We first looked into this little guy's eyes on April 16th, and my world has been flipped upside down since then. We'll share more of his story once we pass court, but oh my goodness... God's hand is evident everywhere. I am so excited to be a mama, and to snuggle this Little Bean...


Embarrassed about: ... the fact that I drove to Lansing today (hour and a half away) to get some paperwork done... and... I had brought everything except the two documents I needed signed. Awesome. So, I'll be doing another road trip tomorrow.

Shocked by: the fact that the school year is done in 2 days. My career as a teacher is over in two days. That is blowing my mind.


Working on: transitioning our guest room into a nursery! Eek!!!

Reading: Three Cups of Tea for our book club. I read it about 5 years ago and enjoyed it, but after reading up on the controversy surrounding Greg Mortenson, I'm eager to re-read more critically. 


Listening to: I'm most recently obsessed with the song "Thin Air" by Aqualung.

Watching: Okay, I saw the trailer for The Great Gatsby, and you guys. I am PUMPED. I love that novel. I love Baz Luhrmann. It's gonna be sweet. I'm a nerd.

Overwhelmed by: my [former] seniors. They are all graduated now, and they bought gift cards for me and Marisa as a thank-you for the past four years. They got me a far too generous gift card to IKEA, because "We thought it would help with your nursery."

Loving: All this sunshine and warm weather!!

Laughing at: baby shoes! Aren't they just the cutest & most ridiculous things you've ever seen?!

b.

I know I've been terrible about updating my blog this month, but there have been some pretty exciting developments that have kept us busy.

Because, guess what? 

mommy wars

THIS RIGHT HERE is why I read Rage Against the Minivan : "where is the mommy-war for the motherless child?"

A glimpse:

"These manufactured mommy wars are predictable because they tend to provoke strong reactions from mothers who feel judged, as well as mothers who want to feel superior for their choices. A litany of analysis, outrage, and defensiveness usually follows. Women tear each other down, while the entity responsible for initiating the battle reaps the benefit (whether it be a hot debate on a talk show or a political playing card)."

"When it comes to issues of motherhood, there is one issue I care about: some kids don’t have one. All of these petty wars about the choices of capable, loving mothers is just a lot of white noise to me, Quite honestly, I’m often astonished at the non-essential parenting issues I see moms getting their panties in a wad about. Particularly when there are so many kids in this world not being parented at all."

"This is the war I’ll be involved in: We, as a society, are not doing enough to protect at-risk and motherless children, both in our country and globally."

"I’ll fight for the moms who don’t have access to prenatal care, or for the moms who have to abandon their children because of poverty. I’ll be mad that such inequities exist, and I’ll support organizations that help change it."

via

Thank you, Kristen. 

10 on 10 :: may

(Thanks, Kristen, for posting about this or I would have forgotten!)

"9" am :: breakfast o'champs

10am :: reading one of my favorite plays with 3rd hour - a raisin in the sun.

11am :: the view from my classroom. stop fencing me in, school.

12pm :: chinese for lunch!

a thank you from the chinese learning center that uses our classrooms in the evening.

no, thank you!!

5pm :: hi honey!

7pm :: dinner at the local Ethiopian restaurant, Addis Ababa!

Okay, this one is also 7/7:30pm :: Ethiopian tea. AMAZING.

And that's it! 7 on 10!

Join in on the fun here!

real life conversations, pt. 17

Overheard as I was about to walk out of school for the day: "Oh, there's Rachel - she'll know."
I halted my steps and backed up a bit, as one of our secretaries and one of my co-workers popped out of the office.
"What's LMFAO?" they asked.
I blinked, considered my options and said, "Well, they're a band..."
"Okay, I thought I heard that," replied one of them.
"And, does it also mean something... crude?" asked the other.
"Um, yes. Yes, it does."

Glad to be of use... a little concerned that I was the one they thought to ask.
It's because I'm young, right?

insta-gatlinburg

This past weekend, Doug & I went to Gatlinburg, TN with the seniors of our youth group.

We stayed at an amazing cabin in the middle of the woods.

We ate a lot of food, went to Ripley's Believe It or Not, went white water rafting, lounged in the hot tub, went to a crazy flea market, laughed a ton, and, in general, had an amazing time!

Doug & I get the road trip started - on our way to church Friday morning:

Our crazy crew:

Joshy:

Beautiful drive:

Kentucky means Ale81!

and Chick-fil-A!

hello, Tennessee:

Me & Leah, outside Ripley's:

Pretty roses in Gatlinburg:

Stopped at Hungry Bear BBQ after white water rafting:

Some of THE best bbq I have ever had:

Hoping to do another post soon with more pictures that are NOT instagram!

because there weren't enough gratuitous pictures of me

Before:

After: