For once...

I would like to have a summer when I am home for more than 2 days in a row. Well...actually I don't think I would like that at all! Sorry for the lack of blogging over the last couple of months, but the summer has just flown by and I think that collectively I have been in my house for about a week and a half total! Here is the very quick recap of the adventures that have taken place over the summer...I PROMISE to have a more detailed post soon!

June 14-21- I spent a super relaxing week in North Myrtle Beach with 2 amazing families...the McSwains and the Harwoods. I have taught half of this clan and loved spending time with them and having some fun in the sun! Sand sculptures...yummy food...crazy games were just some of the highlights from this week!

June 21-28- I spent the week in Surfside Beach with my family and the McSwains. It was a great week...lots of reading and time in the sun. I love being with my mom at the beach and just taking walks, talking and relaxing! Fun times.

I came home for about 5 days and spent the majority of the time with my precious Goddaughter Ivy! WOW...what a blessing. I will post more about this later, but we had a wonderful week.

Then I headed to summer camp for 2 weeks! I will post more about this later too, because I have to say that the two weeks at Truett were unbelievable! I have never laughed so much in my whole life! The kids were great, the food was...well camp food...the staff was amazing! I love these people and can't believe that we don't do a better job of keeping in touch! What fun!

I came home for a weekend to say goodbye to my bestest friend Shannon. She is moving to Mississippi with her fiance Jordan. It was very sad, she has been an amazing blessing in my life for the past 3 years. I know that God placed her in my life for so many reasons and I know that our friendship will last forever...just 9 hours away!

Today I am heading to Sarai's for a little "bachelorette" party with Carlee and Beth. Then Sarai and I will head to Lori's for our Girls' Week not New York trip which will include a fun night in Atlanta and shopping at IKEA and H&M. Fun times to be had I am sure!

Exciting news on the Baby front...Katrina and Joe had a beautiful baby Girl on Friday night around 9:00 pm. Madison Elise Martins made her grand entrance weighing in at 8 lbs 15 ounces and is 21 inches long! Her mommy was trooper and gave birth with NO PAIN MEDS! What an amazing woman of strength. I am excited to go and meet her in a couple of weeks.

I know this has been a very random post, but I wanted to fill all of you in on my life as of now. I will be home for a few days next week and I promise to write more details about the summer of '08!


Enjoy the last few days of July with a glass of cold lemonade and some fun in the sun!
Until next week...

In the details...

I love the details...the extra things that make the experiences of life that much more enjoyable. I love knowing the details of my friends lives...the things that make them smile, cry, laugh. I truly believe that this is what enjoying the little things in life is all about. As much as I try to pay attention to this friends favorite candy, or this friends favorite flower, I do not even hold a candle to how much my God loves details. It seems that I always try to equate God to big projects...fixing the major things in my life, healing those that I love, feeding the millions of hungry children of the world, protecting people from natural disasters. And in all the big things, I lose sight of the fact that the God who loves me is SO into details. In fact, He is so into them that the body He created is a perfect reminder of how much he loves me and cares about the details of my life.

I am sure that a most of you have seen this video by now. I will never forget sitting in the Old Charlotte Coliseum earlier this year and being blown away when Louis Giglio shared this detail with the crowd. The coliseum had been full of loud music, praises being shouted and sung and in one instant it was completely silent. You see the cross of Christ literally holds us together...its Laminin.




I was not a biology major in college, but the simple definition of Laminin is this...the fibers that hold our cells together. So you see my friends, it is literally the love of God that is holding our very bodies together. Talk about the details...if you have not seen the video I really suggest you take a peek...you won't be disappointed!

Memorial Day...

As I drove around town today, thankful for a day off of school after a very stressful week last week, I was reminded by the American flags and red, white and blue everywhere exactly what this day is all about. Earlier this year, I lost one of the most heroic men I have ever known...my Pa Simpson. He served in World War II and was captured by enemy troops and was a prisoner of war for months on end. During this time, my grandmother waited faithfully for her husband to come home or to at least get some message that he was ok. She even gave birth to their first son, my uncle Bill while Pa was tortured in the Prisoner of War camps. He did make it home and continued to be as much of a hero in real life as he was in the war. He was a dedicated father and husband, and always was ready to give a helping hand when needed. So today, I remember my Pa Simpson as a man who deserves to be remembered as a dedicated hero in my life and in the lives of so many others!






I love you Pa and miss you everyday...Your memory lives on!

This weekend I was able to spend time with family as we celebrated the marriage of my cousin Josh to his wonderful new wife, Ginny. Welcome to the family Ginny!
Here is the happy couple at the reception...

 

My Uncle Joe and Aunt Reba looked smashing in their wedding attire and I know they were super tired after a long day of celebrating! But they did stop long enough to have a picture with their favorite niece!

 

Gran looked stunning in her dress and was so happy to share this day with Josh and family. She even told me she looked "sexy"! As I watched her walk down the aisle, without her cane or walker, tears welled up in my eyes, as I know she would have loved to have walked down that aisle with Pa by her side! What a pillar of strength she is!

 

Even Mamaw and Mom were there to share in the fun! Can't deny they are related!

 

Even though Papaw was not feeling up to the wedding, I did make him peel his eyes away from his Western Movies to pose for a picture with me!

 

Random thoughts from this super tired gal...

My mind is kinda racing right now with lots of thoughts and wonderings and hopes and dreams, so if this post kinda jumps around a little, I apologize. But I knew that if I did not go ahead and write it, I would forget all the things going on. So basically, I have all these different emotions right now, so I am going to attempt to give you a little insight on what I am feeling and why I am having said feelings.

I am feeling a tad bit anxious as tomorrow begins the week that all North Carolina educators dread...End of Grade Tests. While I know that I should measure my success as a teacher with many other tools besides a standardized test, I know that this is important to my school. This week will just be plain stressful...the kids will be stressed, teachers will be stressed, parents will be stressed, administration will be stressed. I will do my best to remind my students over and over that they CAN do it and WILL do well, but everytime we review something, my confidence in those two statements seems to drop just a little! So if you think about it...say a little prayer for all the students across the state who will be participating in the EOG's this week...

I am feeling blessed for the opportunity to participate in an awesome summer minstry. This weekend we had our last staff planning meeting for music weeks at Truett Camp this summer and I am so excited about what God is going to do with these two weeks in July. I am always so encouraged when we get together and I am literally counting down the days until camp. This year at middle school camp we will be focusing on worship and we are hoping to instill in these students that worship is so much more than going to church on Sunday morning. And this challenges me to make sure that I am truly living a life of worship. We read the book, The Air I Breathe by Louis Giglio and in the book, Louie reminds us that whatever has our minds attention, our hearts affection, our time, our money, our energy, etc... is what we worship and although I have heard this a million times and tried to really reflect on this in my own life, it is my desire to really make sure that the number ONE thing on my priority list would be Christ. Yeah for camp and a place where we can make a difference in the lives of students!

I am also feeling so thankful for laughter. This past week I have enjoyed being around people who make me laugh. Such a good stress reliever for such a stressful time and a way to bond friends and to just have fun. I really have not laughed so much in a while. From mother bleeper, to Danube, to Where's the Fruit, to Julie's super cute shirt...the list could go on and on. Thank you God for laughter and for friends who go along with it!

Well, I know there is so much more to share...but I must go get ready for the week that is ahead of me! Until next time...

Happy Mother's Day

Today I am thankful...thankful for a mom who is not only my mom, but my best friend, my biggest fan, my encourager and strength.




And as my heart swells with thankfulness for this blessing in my life, my heart also longs for a time when I can celebrate mother's day not as a daughter but as a mom. Like so many little girls, it has been the desire of my heart for a long time to be a mom. While I still wait patiently for this amazing gift, I have to be also be thankful for the children I get to be "mom" to each and everyday! I have been blessed to be teacher, Madrina, Auntie to some of the most beautiful and amazing children and for this I am thankful. So although I do not hold the title of mom just yet, I am slowly coming to realize that in my own little way, I have been mom to some!

 

 

The sound of silence...

Yep, that is what you have heard from me in blog world for about the last year...SILENCE! Well friends the silence is broken and I am committed to making this blog thing really work. I have found a that I am ready to share my heart, my thoughts, my story and I am sure a bunch of other random things along the way. Over the past several months, I have become quite fascinated with reading blogs, all kinds of blogs...blogs by people I don't know, blogs from my dearest friends, blogs about cooking and babies...it is bizarre, but what a blessing to be able to read stories from other people who are surviving on this journey we call life! These stories of courage and strength of mistakes and lessons learned give me encouragement and hope that I can make it too! So please check back often...leave lots of loving comments...and read all about this girl's crazy journey through life! And if I go for a year without posting...YELL AT ME!

More to come...super soon...I promise!
Brooke