BAM!!

Today it hit me...

like a brick wall.

Noticing that praying for the things that I want to happen RIGHT NOW isn't working, I came to the conclusion that I need to be praying for patience and understanding in His timing. So, this past month became a trial run with this new prayer-time attitude and let me tell you.... what a difference! This time last month, I was crushed....see here. This month, facing the same dissappointments, I am content... happy even! Waiting for the future is much more barable when I am waiting with faith, rather than waiting with anxiety.

In case I forget, I have this little reminder.

"When you can't see God's hand, trust His heart" I got this saying, along with most of the crosses, at Hobby Lobby! Grab a coupon and go! Find it here

PHEW!

So much to do, so little time! Up late working on stuff for work, up early for work.... vicious cycle! Must.sleep.

A brief snippet of the last few days:

One of my bestest friends from highschool got engaged to her college sweetheart. They truly are a dream couple. I mean really, really adorable, right?!I got to surprise her in Toledo at her engagement party.... so fun! Her face looked something like this : O and then turned to this : ) and then this :' )

I started school Monday. I had an entire day to work in my classroom with my aide and we accomplished a TON, but every time I turned around, someone was handing me something else that needed to be done before school. I wanted to lock my door.

Today I got to meet 3 of my students and their parents at conferences and the rest follow tomorrow and Thursday. I absolutely fell in love with the kids I met today! Here's what I can get from them so far:
- Mackenzie is a twin and turned 3 on the 1st. She's adorable and so tiny that her 1 year old brother weighs one lb. less than her. She's a stage 5 mommy clinger. I asked her about her baby doll and she instantly unhooked and showed her to me. SCORE one for Mrs. Hoying! She then proceeded to brighten up the room with her "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" rendition. By the end of the visit, she was congratulating her twin sister on her "big poopie". Haha! I know she'll be tough to separate from her mom for the first week or so, but I can already tell that she is going to bloom this year.
- Picture summer tanned skin, big brown eyes, and brown wavy hair put together in the cutest combination possible and you have Kendall. She turns 4 near Christmas and had the manners that most adults are missing. The look on her face when I handed her a name badge necklace to wear on the first day of school was priceless and I knew right then that she's going to be a joy every day. When I asked her who her best friend was, she said "Daddy" and gave him a big squeeze on the arm. Pretty sure he got glossy eyed. So touching. Then I was lucky enough to be introduced to every toy she has received in the past 3 years of her life.
- I was told my 1:00 appointment was waiting in the hall so I went to find them. As I walked down the hall, I saw a little boy scramble to fit under his mom's chair. Oh boy. Damien is adorable. There's something about big brown eyes that gets me every time... not sure what it is ; ) If Mackenzie was stage 5, Damien is stage 55. He didn't leave Mom's lap and refused to talk. I mentioned how much I love Thomas the Train, but he must have seen through that and covered the character up on his shirt. I told him I loved his big brown eyes, so he closed them. His mom made me aware of the fact that he has taken to going to the bathroom outside....#1 and #2.... interesting. I finally got a grin and half giggle when I threatened to tickle and found his tickle spot. BREAKTHROUGH!... or not. He grunted until Mom finally decided it was time to leave.

Those were my todays. Who knows what the next 2 days will bring?!

Updated pictures to come when I'm fully functional.
Night.

Chopped 'er again!

As much as I love the ease of shorter hair....

pictures like this one make me miss my long locks.

Chop, chop, chop!!

I'm thinking I need some color improvement.

This is my natural color.

This is NOT!

Neither is this!

Sooo... Darker or Lighter?? That is the question!

Ugh

My life can be sooo full of blessing and happiness, yet I get hit with this crippling sadness every 30th day. Tonight's a cuddle with my puppy night. Sorry, TMI, but it feels better to write that out instead of swirl it in my brain all day.

I've been....out.

Wish I could say that I've been traveling the world; doing things like feeding the hungry, bringing water to the thirsty, and clothing the naked and THAT is why I have not written a new post in *cough* nearly 6 months. Alas.... I've been on my couch, feeding the bored (myself), rarely making sure Gibby had fresh water, and wearing the same pj's for a day or two. Same thing....kinda.

Please ignore the awkward layout... it looks good before I publish it and I can't figure out how to make it look better.

Here's a recap of my summer:

June

-I finished my endorsement at UD to teach preschool special needs. YAY!

-I got hired to teach preschool special needs in Troy at The Miami County Preschool. YAY! YAY!

-Celebrated Alex's 21st, OSU style

-My family went on an AWESOME vacation to Michigan City Indiana. Highlights of this trip were...
-My parents riding together on a jetski on Lake Michigan's chilly "waves"

-Staying in an ENORMOUS, 4 story house with a beautiful lake view -Our luau night of grass skirts, hawaiian cuisine, and freshly tanned skin.
-teaching my dad, brother-in-laws, niece and nephew how to play BeerPong : )
-getting in trouble for defiling our family and teaching them how to play BeerPong.

-Seeing my dad, husband, and brother-in-laws giggle like little girls as they drank

-Proving that I can take a shot of 1800 like a champ without a chaser or ugly face.

-Go-carting with the kids... although mine was more of a stop-cart and they left me in the dust. obviously this was taken pre brutal beating

-Soft, fine sand that got EVERYWHERE, including inside my camera causing all kinds of malfunctioning

-spending time with my family. 2 parents + 5 siblings + 5 spouses + 13 grandkids = a whole lot of Yorks and a whole lot of love.

-Our 2 year anniversary! Jace surprised me with a brand new camera! I love it! I got him Super Mario Brothers for the Wii. He has yet to play it for more than 5 minutes. I spent the greater portion of July trying to save the Princess. oops : )

JULY

-Jace turned 25!! Hurray for lower car insurance payments!

-We spent some time up at Liberty Days on the 3rd.

-The 4th was spent with all the Yorks, celebrating Grandpa's 100th birthday! He passed away over 30 year ago but he left a remarkable legacy.... it's a pretty great family.

-I saved the Princess, TWICE! haha

-Our wireless internet pooped out and I had to sit crosslegged on the floor, hooked up to the cord. This always ended with 2 numb cheeks and sleeping legs.

-I bought a membership to the YMCA... time to get off the couch
-Spent a few hours at the fair, too hot and smelly. Spent the next few hours floating in a friend's pool, heaven.

-Decided we need a pool at our future home.

-Dana and Bryan's house is finished and it's BEAUTIFUL!!

-chomped at the bit to get in my classroom

AUGUST

-Got in my classroom! Stared at my classroom. Dove in and set up my classroom. Still organizing my classroom. LOVE MY CLASSROOM! Can't wait to have 3 and 4 year olds in my classroom. Did I mention it's MY classroom?!

What I stared at for about 20 minutes...in awe

not too much progress, but just you wait!
We're located in the old Stouder Hospital... that should explain the tile EVERYWHERE!

-Things to come in August:

-Gibby's 2nd Birthday! I love my pup. She's such a blessing.

The look I get when she hopes it's walk time.... cold stare.

The look we get when we have food... notice her butt on the arm rest and that stare again

My favorite! I love her cuddly moods.

-Carol's birthday. She's a blessing too : )

-Russia's alumni tournament. We're 2 year champs!

-Shopping at the new outlet mall with my fellow teachers (definitely made me smile when they thought to include me!)

-more and more time spent preparing for the school year

-starting an online class through UD. Crazy? Yes!

-kiddos start the 31st!

So there's my summer! I promise to do better with keeping up with this... I'm sure the kids will add all kinds of spice to my life that I won't be able to keep to myself : )

For my dear Kara : )

Looks just like ya! Do you wear a skirt that short to work because I bet a lot more daddies would be bringin' their kiddos your way!!

Early morning blues

What a crazy night! I was dumb enough to finish a diet Pepsi at 11pm and it was IMPOSSIBLE to get to sleep. I finally decided to go to bed around 2am although I was still not tired. I said my prayers, no luck falling asleep, I read a little, no luck, finally I decided just to close my eyes and slip into sleep, no luck. I finally fell asleep around 3am only to awake WIDE EYED and FREAKED OUT at 3:30.
The wind blew and I woke up (usually I can sleep through the loudest storms) and I could swear I saw someone walk past the bedroom door! Gibby was zonked out at the foot of my bed and I laid there until 4, staring at the door and praying praying praying that nothing would walk through it. Finally I had enough of the waiting and decided to take Gibby and go to Mom and Dad's. I had to carry the sleeping doggie to the car, all along leaving a trail of bright lights behind me so I would be sure to see anything lurking. When we got to my parents' house, Gibby was bright eyed and excited to be at her favorite place to play. I had to grab hold of her collar and tried to silently open the front door. Of course, in my mind, this went smooth as silk. I knew my parents would be in their normal sleeping quarters (Mom on the basement couch, Dad on the living room couch) and I was sure I could sneak in unnoticed.
We almost made it, but just as we were almost past the couch, their dog, Jake started howling from the garage because he knew his buddy, Gibby, was in the house. Dad about fell off the couch when he heard the dog and caught us creeping towards their always empty bedroom. They bought a brand new pillowtop mattress and haven't been able to sleep on the nice and soft thing without waking up with stiff backs. Guess they should have kept the 30 year old creaker that they somehow managed to sell to some hillbillies! (Mom cried as they drove away from it!) I apologized for waking him up and slipped into the room, closing the door behind us. Of course the bathroom door was open and Gibby bolted in and through the door connecting to the living room. I ran in just in time to see her licking Dad's face and doing her best to wake him up. OOPS!
I brought her back into the bedroom and made sure both doors were closed before releasing her. I laid down in the bed and willed myself to sleep as I could hear her sniffing her nosey nose all over that room. She finally hopped up with me and plopped down when I heard Mom come up the stairs, ask Dad what was going on, and hear his mumbled, grumbled reply "Shell, can't sleep, woke me up, dog." That last word came out kind of snarly and I pretended to be asleep as Mom poked her head in to check on me.
I got about half an hour of restless sleep before I decided Jace would be home from work soon enough for me to brave our scary house. We drove back home, crashed on the couch with the t.v. on, and I've been awake ever since. My hour or so of sleep is somehow holding me in an awkward dance between awake and glazed. Is it bad that I am ready for bed, at 8:30 am??

Good NIGHorning : )