...tis but a moment.....

"there 'tis but a moment, when a man can no longer contain himself, but rather finds himself walking amongst the clouds above his head. you see one simple action, one simple movement, sends this man on the most amazing trip and adventure he could ever go on. and it happens as quickly as it ends. nothing more than a few seconds, drops compared to the standard of all time, but those seconds rather allow this man to be free, to take on the world, to challenge the impossible. you see it occurs when a simple kiss, from the woman he adores, is given. it happens at all points, at all stages through the time together, but there is something completely and utterly magical about the first one. he can do no wrong, he can fight all fights. and even when all hope is lost, and everything seems to fall apart, that kiss can grant him the strength and power to keep moving forward. there is something so sweet and beautiful about a woman's lips upon his own, or even cheek for that matter, that allows him to be swept away. lost forever in just seconds. the honey he tastes is far more sweeter the more he cherishes and takes care of the one who readily gives the kiss, not to cheapen it, or just give it away, but rather to empower the man whom she has said, here is my heart. let that man never forget the first kiss he received from the woman of his dreams"

this came to me as I was listening to some music, I guess reading Jane Austin doesn't help either. but either way, I thought it was worth sharing, just another peak into my crazy messed up mind of mine.

this is interesting for sure......

so for the last 3 weeks in chapel here at school I have spoken. dont get me wrong, I dont mind at all, but I walk out of there completely exhausted. I know it is Satan not wanting to allow me to be used by God. he has found he can hit me where it still hurts the most. he knows it well. the second message I brought was my testimony, and how God was using circumstances in my life to show me Him. well after it was done I was approached a couple of days later by a couple of the upperclassmen asking me how I could be so happy, in spite of having the love of my life look at me and say she didnt love me, and then break up with me; and then not getting my absolute dream job in Philly. they were surprised that I can laugh and smile, and talk about it like it really that big of a deal. it is. I still struggle with it, sometimes on a day to day basis. to be honest I still miss Anna alot. there isnt a day that goes by that I dont miss her or miss just talking to her

yet as this rages inside of me, I find myself comforted by my Jesus. I find myself crawling into bed and resting in His arms. and I am finding joy in seeing my kids succeed. I cant wait to be a daddy. have my son or daughter crawl up into my lap and ask me to read them Curious George, or something awesome like that. those are the dreams, slightly coming true right now, that I am holding onto. I love it when my kindergarteners give me the biggest smile in the world, or Caden drops his most famous word, pancreas. or I get to talk to my high schoolers, and when they think they have bombed a test, I get to encourage them and make them see that they actually can do the work. that is what keeps me going, even when I feel like death warmed over, my kids day in and day out are my life, and I wouldnt have it any other way!

Santiago, Chilly(pun intended)

The Andes Mountain, 1 hour to the base of them, 2 hours to the top!

so I find myself writing this on my second friday of living in Chile. I am thousands of miles away from what I call home, and yet I am finding this feels more like home. it feels right to walk out every morning and see this view. yea this feels like home. wonderful view, really good food. I think I have mastered the making of rice and adding spices that make it burn the back of my throat and clear my sinuses. granted they havent been that bad. you see it is winter here, but it feels on some days, like today, like later end of March in Ohio, but days like 2 days ago felt like mid- April in Ohio. it is nice, I think I have become the mothers on staff project, cause I will be outside in just a teeshirt and jeans, when it is 15c(59f) but it is what I am used too.

Kindergarten class. From Left- Sofia, Caden, Caleb, Belen, Ian, Constanza, and Martin

so I have had classes for the last 2 days. in the mornings I am over in the high school building teaching everything from Jr High Bible, Algebra 1(gaaaahhhh, I still dont know what I am doing teaching that), I start next week teaching ESL (English as a Second Language)(I am hoping to have my students singing Across the Field by the 3rd weekend in November!) and my favorite class in the high school, Logic/Philosophy/Apologetics. apparently it is "the" class to be in this year. all the kids are talking about it, and they have asked that they keep it cause it had the potential to get cut, but the kids said no. so it stays, but the real reason I came down here was to teach kindergarten. I love the little guys so much and we have only have 2 days of classes. I am only over there during the afternoon but today we did math and yesterday we did Bible, and then I let them get up and explore the room, go play and start to figure things out on their own. even today, I got to tell 2 of them that I love them. they had broken a rule and in punishing them, I told them I wasn't mad, I was disappointed, and one of them started crying, so I looked at them both and told them I loved them and that I was proud of them. within 15 minutes they were both smiling and laughing. I am not going to lie, to get me to leave here is going to have to be something huge, I dont think I am going anywhere anytime soon!