It's about time

I have lived in the same place for over two years now and I am just now getting around to putting

pictures up on the walls. 

 

Better now than never right!

 

 

 

I love this time of year.  There are so many beautiful colors displaying the grand finale of this growing season.  I love to see the plants grow and enjoy the yummy growing season.

 

I am going to miss the spring and summer though.  God's gift of life that we get to witness through the growing season is such a joy to see.  The great thing about our earth is knowing that we will get to see it again.  I sometimes wish it could be spring and summer all year long so that I can enjoy all of the life that it brings but I think it is better for us to see the cycle of life and death each year.  It reminds us that the things of this world won't last forever.  That may sound depressing but my hope is not in this world, but in the one who made it!

 

(Yes I do realize the irony of posting two black and white photos only to talk about the beauty of colors in our world.)

 

 

 

hopelessly flawed

I have been playing volleyball with some friends on Monday nights for a while and it has been a lot of fun.  I'm definitely no pro at the game but I do love to play and have a good time.
Well after the second game tonight I said to one of the girls that I am not sure how it is that we keep winning.  There was four of us and six of them and we were playing pretty poorly most of the time.  Bad passes left and right, and stupid mistakes all around.  Don't get me wrong.  It was a blast and we were all having fun but it didn't feel like we should have been winning. 

As I was driving home I was thinking about this some more and I realized that there have been so many times in my life where I don' t understand how things are working out for good.  I am "hopelessly flawed" and make plenty of mistakes.  I am always being too blunt or not saying enough and yet God still finds a way to use me for good.  I'm on the "winning" side because of Him.  In fact
the only reason anything good happens in my life is because of Him.

This even came up in a conversation with a friend over the weekend where she was explaining how a girl at work had been asking her about what she did over the weekend and the only thing should could ever think to share was what had happened at church the day before.  Well this friend has begun to ask questions about her church and my friend knowing that her church was pretty old fashioned and not very interesting (you had to work to take something home from the sermon because it was so dry some times but very truth bearing) was basically trying to convince her that this particular church wasn't something she might like.  She didn't want to deter her from seeking God and going to church but she didn't want the experience of church to be something that she couldn't get anything out of either.  Well despite all of her warnings the girl went with my friend to church and they began some deep conversations and eventually she became a Christian. 

God works through us even when we feel like all we can do is mess things up. 

Look at the Old Testament with Abraham, Jacob, and Moses.  Look at the New Testament too with all of the unlikely disciples that Jesus reached out to and taught to be his closest companions and missionaries of the Gospel.  They were a band of misfits.

All I can say is that I am glad He is looking out for me.

what are you looking at?

what are you looking at?, originally uploaded by noel_harmony.

Just popping in to say Hi and let you know that I'm still alive. Life has not really been so busy that I couldn't be on here but priorities have shifted some. I do enjoy hearing about what's going on in others lives and being ab le to share bits and pieces of myself on here but I've been trying to be much more intentional about sharing life face to face with people. I don't know if I could completely give up showing off fun pictures like this though!

and this little princess...

and this little princess..., originally uploaded by noel_harmony.

This was from the flight I took to pick up Joy and Gus.  We had a lot of fun at the airport and in the plane with only a few minutes toward the end of the flight where they were both a little grumpy and possibly in pain because of the shifting in air pressure.  That always gets me too.  I fell asleep in the airplane on the way to Texas and woke up in a ton of pain because I hadn't yawned or done anything to let my ears pop and there was a ton of pressure built up. 

The only hitch was that on my way through security the machines I had to go through indicated that I might have explosives.  The only thing I had on/with me at all was Gus and I while I know for a fact he can be explosive I don't think it was the kind they were talking about.   

It was so nice to have the whole crew up here (Symph and Caleb too) for mom's birthday and just at all.  I didn't realize just how much I missed having them around.  It will be nice when they move back in February to this area. 

 

wolf spider

wolf spider, originally uploaded by noel_harmony.

I love it when teachable moments happen.  I think they are so much more fun sometimes than the lessons I plan because they are unexpected and very relevant to what the kids are interested or need to learn at the right time.  Spiders just happened to be one of the lessons that we have been learning about lately. 

It all started at nap time a few weeks ago and I was just about to turn on some quiet music when I looked down and saw this "little" guy/girl and thought that someone must be playing a joke because there definitely wasn't a real spider this big in my classroom.  Upon closer inspection however it was definitely real.  I immediately grabbed one of our many bug boxes and began the chase.  I had to move a few cots (with sleeping children on them) and get down on my belly to find it under the heater but I was able to capture it unharmed.  When I turn around with my prize one of my students who hadn't fallen asleep yet was watching with wide eyes and said in a very impressed voice "That was a good catch Miss Harmony, a good catch." 

Well that good catch went on to help us learn about peoples fears (of spiders) and how we should be respectful of them and help them not to be afraid of them if we can.  We also learned basic facts about spiders and how many legs and eyes they have and how they shed their skin as they grow.  After researching for a few days, we found out that this was a wolf spider (the eyes placement was the biggest help) and that they're harmless.  One interesting thing about wolf spiders though is that they carry their babies on their back (the mommies do anyways) for about a week before the babies go off on their own.  We read some really good books with spiders in them (A Diary of a Spider, Charlotte's Web, and Once I Knew a Spider), and had fun making spider webs with yarn and paint.

Such fun!  I love my job:)

 

What to do when your car won't shift?!?!

I call my Daddy and he comes and helps me tear the car apart to find the problem then provides the string (rope) that helps keep it together so I can get home.  Of course he complains at first and says the I need to get a new car, but if my car hadn't been so old and he hadn't had a similar problem with his Javelin when he was younger then he wouldn't have been able to help me as much as he did. 

Thanks Dad!

I miss these cuties

I miss their momma too of course.  Fortunately for me I get to see them at the end of the month.  I'll be heading down to Texas to pick them up and bring them back to Maryland so Mom and Dad can enjoy some time together on the road coming up just the two of them (and their dog Isis too).

Hopeful!

This lovely flower is what I saw this evening when I came home from work. I was reading e-mails when I smelled something wonderful. Joy had been playing in the dirt earlier this week so I knew it was going to be blooming soon, because it had buds on it then.

I absolutley love having flowers any time of year and am truly grateful for the gift of them from my students. The bulbs were given to me by one of my students for Christmas. I immediately put them in a pot and set them under the kitchen sink. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to add water or not so I didn't and forgot about it for a while. About a month later I saw that they were starting to sprout some so I pulled them out to get some sun and a few weeks later this is what I'm blessed with.

I think they're called paper whites but I'm really not sure.

This next picture is my coffee table covered with many of the events of the week.

- the boogy boo mask that Joy loves to play and was left there by her earlier this week.
- bean bags I've been making for my students (our old ones were getting pretty dirty).
- valentine's in the works for my students (involving chocolate).
- and a book that I definitely didn't stay up too late to read because I was enjoying the reading of it so much :) (especially since it was reading I didn't have to do!).
- oh and a mug of crayons and pencils that Joy was using to color (fortunately on paper and not the cover of a new book!).

That's all. Have a wonderful weekend!

looking back

So what was the best part of 2010? I was asked that question recently and had a really hard time answering. I could immediately think of what the worst part (being the optimist that I am) was but the best was really hard to decide. I have been to some pretty cool places and enjoyed good times with friends so here are the highlights:

- crawling around in the caves of West Virginia
- climbing outdoors using ropes and harnesses
- meeting my nephew Augustus Wallace Lovelady
- meeting my nephew from a brother from another mother Matthias
- getting to spend more time with my sister and her children
- spending more time with my grandparents and getting to hear their fun stories
- working on quite a few quilts to give away
- moving into a new place with more space
- getting to work with an amazing group of kids
- getting to hang out with my friends
- getting snowed in with friends and not being able to find my car the next morning
- questioning a lot about what I want to do in this life I have to live here
- kayaking under a full moon
- meeting new people
- connecting in a different way with people I've known for a long time
- unexpected and undeserved gifts from friends (camera, ipod, shoes)
- having fun taking pictures again
- laughing a lot
- playing 6 hour long board games and not hating it
- friends willing to hold me accountable and help me with my frustrations
- people who get my sense of humor
- learning new things
- getting to play more volleyball and having people think I'm great (little do they know)
- communicating my feelings

Now this list is fine and dandy but I think that the question of 'what was the worst part of this year?' needs to be asked too:

- recognizing my feelings and lack of ability to communicate them for a long time
- being a hermit when I don't want to deal with things that need to be dealt with
- being frustrated with friends who don't understand me because I won't communicate to them my frustrations (pure foolishness)
- getting injured pretty badly twice within a space of 3 months (one a torn MCL while playing volleyball and the other a badly pulled muscle in my arm after water skiing)
- not to mention getting punched in the face while playing volleyball
- having a hard time relationally with multiple people that I work pretty close with and not knowing how to deal with that
- trying to figure out what my goals are as of now, how they've changed and whether or not they are God's will or my own
- trying to better understand God's call on my life specifically
- being frustrated with the church and not motivated to do anything about it
- not being creative or making as much as I would like to have done (too many ideas and not enough time or motivation)
- putting up with childish adults (don't get me wrong I think it's great that people can still have childlike hearts when they're older but to act childishly relationally and not accept things about yourself is the kind of childish I'm talking about)
- having my own childish attitude at times and not wanting to admit it
- not being able to shut my mind off at times
- not being about to work out my own thoughts so that I don't have to think about them incessantly

Now for a new year and new challenges along with old ones.
I read this recently and thought it fit pretty well for me too, My goal is to "do what I'm doing already only better". To live an intentional life and learn from my mistakes.

Nature Boy

there was a boy

a very strange enchanted boy
they say he wandered very far
very far
over land and sea
a little shy
and sad of eyes
but very wise was he
and then one day
one magic day he passed my way
and while we spoke of many things
fools and kings
this he said to me
the greatest thing
you'll ever learn
is just to love
and be loved in return

One of my favorite songs sung by the wonderful Nat King Cole . My grandmother told me the other day that one of her favorite sayings was "the greatest thing is to love and be loved in return."  I immediately thought of this song and how much I have appreciated it over the years. I believe that this saying is in a way part of God's call for us to love, and in return we will be loved without a doubt. In fact we are loved regardless of whether or not we love others in return. God's love is all encompassing. How else can I react to his wonderful love but by loving others.

blue skies

october 23 016, originally uploaded by noel_harmony.

There are so many days where I feel like there couldn't be anything good about it when all I have to do is look up and see the beauty of the vastness above me painted with the masterful hand of the creator.

The enjoyment of colors recently

I have always loved the way that metal changes over time, and this summer I have seen some absolutely beautiful specimens of this in my own backyard.

Wouldn't these colors look beautiful in a quilt!



I want to do some upcoming posts based on colors I'm seeing lately (and even maybe some from the past). I just know that it's been pretty amazing to watch fall's changes overwhelm us lately. Last year we didn't get a lot of color in the fall because it was so dry, but this year has been a burst of color see. Even now that most of the leaves have fallen, I am staring at the beautiful deep red of a male cardinal outside my parents living room window and his mates beautiful touches of red amidst its brown gray chest.

I Thank God for the beauty he has created in everything. One of my favorite stories that Mom tells is about how when we lived in Tampa she hated the color of our house. It was something akin to pukey yellow brown and she couldn't stand it. She asked Dad to paint it but it's not exactly cheap to paint an entire house. One day when she was driving home and complaining to God about how hideous the color of this house was and how she couldn't stand it anymore God told her simply to look up and she saw one of the prettiest sunsets. The amazing thing about this sunset was that it was the exact color of the house she was complaining so much about. I don't know what exactly I would have felt in that situation but I can imagine there was awe and wonder at God's amazing beauty as well as feeling humbled to complain over something so silly and unimportant. I would feel; joy at hearing and knowing God's answer to my prayer, honor that he would listen to even the silliest of my complaints, shame at having complained so readily and incessantly, and a need to remember the moment so that I could avoid the mistake again and be reminded of God's glory in similar moments.

Be reminded of the beauty of God's creation around you and enjoy it!

A bit of sewing for Gus

A Beautiful Gift

The last flowers of fall are showing their faces around here. I'm enjoying them in all of their glory.

I didn't forget I was just waiting for better pictures

Guess what!
Symphony had a baby and his name is Augustus Wallace Lovelady!

random tidbits from this summer

Time sure does fly when you're doing lots of things and the last place you really want to be is on a computer. Anyways, here is a picture walk through my summer thus far.

lots and lots of laughing!

Especially when friends let me put daisies in their absolutely ridiculous beards.

Contemplative moments around a fire with friends after a long road trip.

Taking pictures again after a long time of not doing so and absolutely loving the way my hair looks in this picture a friend took of me recently.

A quick trip to Philly to see a friend and see God's community in action at PBU and CCC.

Enjoying getting to know my nephew Matthias (a brother of mine from another mother, and sister too).

Meeting interesting critters along the way.

Enjoying time spent with my wonderful Grams at Brookside Buterfly Gardens and having adventures while learning that riding a motorized wheelchair in gravel can be very difficult.

Visiting a most beautiful farm for a weekend in West Virginia where life slowed down considerably for a while.

Growing a vast garden only to have much of it be eaten by pesky groundhogs (this is the only time I can think when a gun would be handy).

Kayaking at night and sharing the creek with the lightning bugs.

Enjoying the River in other ways!

Letting the moon amaze me with it's beauty and light.

Climbing around with friends.

Enjoying the genuineness of pictures that are taken when not expected.