Living The Good Life

Tuesdays have long been my favorite day of the week, ever since my sister (many years ago) happened to notice that her birthday that year fell on a Tuesday. For weeks before her birthday, she would celebrate Tuesdays with her family and loved ones. Sometimes she would write a note for us, sometimes she had a little treat. The entire family joined the Tuesday celebration bandwagon and Tuesday Prize Day was born. When I went to college, my mom would often make sure my care packages would arrive on Tuesdays or my dad would send me his weekly e-mail on Tuesday. I started celebrating the day with my friends, leaving them notes in their mailboxes or buying them a coffee. My friends started celebrating it themselves and before we knew it, Tuesday Prize Day was sweeping the nation. :) Okay, maybe not sweeping the nation, but it is definitely celebrated at various points throughout the country by various groups of people. Dave and I, along with Jodi and her beautiful family, still celebrate the...

Well, my summer vacation is in full swing and I am enjoying every minute of it. Yes, I have tons of things I have to get done before July 25th, but I also want to savor the short summer I get this year. Things have started out great-this last weekend we had D's little brother and his beautiful wife visit us for a few days. They drove all the way from the central coast of California to spend some time with us before we head off to South America. We had such a great time with them, here are some highlights: We started out by taking Heather and Jon to Big City Cafe for breakfast. This is one of D's and my favorite spots in Boise. The pastries are delicious, as is the coffee, and the breakfast offerings are huge. After breakfast, we were able to take Jon and Heather to the Boise Farmer's Market. Though it can't really be compared to the farmer's markets available in California, there is still a lot to see. We wandered through the booths, took advantage of the free sampl...

Every since I began teaching, my grandmother has sent me a Bible verse, via e-mail, every Monday. It is one of the things that gets my week started off right and I use the e-mail as a little pick-me-up throughout the week. I can't even begin to tell you how many times my grandmother has seemed to know exactly what verse I needed to hear, read, and become aware of in order to refocus on what is important, or just in order to gain back a sense of peace and trust. It seems like the moments of the most intense stress is when I receive a Bible verse from Grandma Damon that just calms, comforts, and supports. This week the verse we found in our mailbox was Isaiah 30:7, "Their strength is to sit still." Her message included this as well: And if thy plans are thwarted, Quietly stand thou still: Listen for God’s direction Patiently wait for His Will Lately, it seems like each step of progress D and I make towards getting everything in order for Ecuador, we come up against a roadb...