Friday, January 28

Date night. oh thank goodness, this week seemed like a month. We tried a BYOB on pine street, Effies. Not that great... but with all the places in philly to go, you can't keep going to the same place over and over, you gotta try something new. We change up the places, but always bring the same wine.

Always delicious. Always always always. 

Thursday, January 27

I LOVE this picture. This is what Gammy used to wear when i was little. She would wrap her hair up in curls and then put this head wrap on and be able to sleep and wake up to a head full of curls. It reminded me of my childhood, I haven't seen her like this in years. 

You could really write a whole book about Gammy. She just got diagnosed today with Liver Cancer. Its hard to believe it when you hear her talk about life and tell me her stories about being in the hospital earlier that day. Overnight they told her not to get out of bed. They put all these barricades up around her bed so she wouldn't sneak out. When she told me about it, she said "they didn't know they were dealing with the original spider man" She got up. She got out of bed. She climbed over the rails and slid her body in between the obstacles. She brought her IV pole with her, went to the other side of the bed and just got back in. She didn't have to get up, but she wanted to prove to herself that she could. She got back in the bed and laughed. There's a saying, "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade" ...Shes making lemonade... and shes laughing still. 

You can only control so much in life, but you can always control how you respond. I need to get better at sliding between the obstacles and laughing when i get back into bed.

Wednesday, January 26

I love it when you tell God something, and you think he hasn't already thought about it. A few years ago, I had this epiphany. I want to travel and do nursing overseas, in places where they aren't reached, where hospitals don't exist. I remember exactly where I was and who I was with. We were walking through the Redwoods in California... and I realized, I need to marry a pilot. Then, when I want to go to all of these places, my husband can fly me there. I know, I'm brilliant. I told God that, well, not that I'm brilliant, but that I want to marry a pilot. I did that for a few reasons, one, because I was so scared to ever date anyone again that I thought, well, this will be impossible and then I'll never have to date, and two,  if it ever did happen, I would know it was from God and I would be set for life to travel. The better part of this story is that when we got home, Chad called me that night. He was in PA and I was in CA... we had been talking once a week or so. He was doing landscape design. He was NOT a pilot. He called me and told me, out of the blue that he had always wanted to be a pilot, and it is something he still plans on doing down the road. I pretended like that was normal, that it was like every other conversation we had had. I'm not sure what else he said that night, because my mind was stuck, repeating over and over what he had just said. I hung up the phone, grabbed my roommates, ran outside with them and danced around screaming. When we got back inside, they asked what that was all about.... (true sign of good friends, they screamed and jumped with me first before they even knew what they were jumping about =) 

I think it's still in Chad's heart to fly. I think he will try to pursue it at some point. Whether he does or not, is  completely up to him. But every time I think about it, I think of how crazy God is. He uses anything he can to point me in the right direction, because honestly, I need all the help I can get =)

I saw this today at the store... it brought me right back into that moment. Jesus knows my heart. He knows what I need way before I realize it...and He's even fun enough to let me think it was my idea... 

Tuesday, January 25

I love the changing seasons. It is one of the things I really missed when I lived out West. The only side note of that, is-- I wish that winter was a little shorter. I could use a little more fall or spring and little less foggy snow filled skies. Or maybe, just switching professions would do... from nursing to teaching, where the snow actually gives you some time off. On the positive side, I do love the way it looks when the snow is falling. It will find any place to land and make a home. On the trees, or the cars, or the buildings, it lies, perfectly still and perfectly white. It defines and outlines each object. And as it lies untouched, it looks so peaceful and quiet. Outside it might be freezing and sleeting and miserable, but inside, its gorgeous.

It is a perfect night to google chocolate chip cookies, and find "the best chocolate chip recipe" and have them turn out scrumptiously.  chocolate chip cookies. yum.

Monday, January 21

Home Sweet Home.

How good is it to just be home sometimes? No matter how much I love to travel, there is always something so refreshing and relaxing about coming home. I never used to understand why my mom would clean and clean and clean right before a vacation. I used to think to myself, we won't even be here, why are you frantically running around dusting and cleaning? Years later, I have come to see that coming home to a clean house is a sigh of relief. The crazy thing about living here is that I have gotten off at this same exit for years and years, but it feels so much different now. This used to be the exit for Penns Landing or South Street, or a nice out in Old City, a fun night with the girls, concerts or ice skating... but now, its my "we are almost home" exit. I love that in years to come, my exit for home may be somewhere different, but what makes my home, my home, will never change.