Always Sunny With Him...

So this weekend, due to some uploading issues with my usual "Always Sunny With Him..." post, I decided to just blog.  Which to me is basically vomiting words.  And oh how good does it feel sometimes! This weekend I did nothing, which is one of my favorite things to do. But isn't it funny how when we say we did "nothing" we really did so much, but it is so much of our normal that we take it for granted as "nothing."  

I always say that I wish God spoke to me more.  I'm one of those "Ok God if I can chug this glass of orange juice before this commercial is over that means you want me to _____."  Really, Caitlin. What I mean is I never really stop to listen...I plan and manipulate what I hear.  Maybe its a girl thing?  Maybe its a virgo thing?  Maybe its a teacher thing?  Who knows.  What I do know is it's what I do...and that my personal goal and my prayer for myself is that I can start letting go and letting God.  What do you need to let go of and give to God?

I have learned, more so in the last two years than ever, that when you plan God laughs.  Case in Point. Five years ago I would have bet money I'd be married and planning for a baby at 24.  God said HAHAH. Two years ago I would have bet money I'd be engaged right now planning a wedding.  God said HAHAHA. One year ago I would have bet money I'd be living in my very own house right now.  But yet again God let out his deep belly laugh and HAHAed in my face.  Now don't get me wrong, they're not nasty, mean, bullying haha's.  They are more like haha if you only knew the plans I have for you type of laugh. They are like haha your disappointments would make you laugh too if you could actually see how your life will turn out. And sometimes, especially when I look back on some of the guys I dated, they probably are HAHAHAH you were honestly hoping to marry him? (because I do believe God has an amazing sense of humor).

See, if God had answered my prayers two years ago...I would have never accepted the job I have now, I would have been in a relationship with someone who didn't share my faith, and I would have been two hours away from my entire family. Two years ago I thought my life was over when those prayers weren't answered.  But oh my Lord had my prayers been answered then, I'd have lost or never known the amazingness of what I have now...my school, my friends, my kiddos, my Cami, my family.  Wow, how amazing these last two years have been.  And yea there were some sucky times.  But aren't the sucky times so much less sucky when you are where the Lord wants you to be?

So maybe hearing God isn't actually hearing his voice in the quiet of your brain (which is a HAHA moment because my brain is never quiet).  Maybe its not sitting down and having meditating prayer time when all of the sudden everything makes sense.  Maybe its applying to ten counties in your state and ONLY getting an interview in the county that you were raised in, the county that only hired two elementary teachers that year, the county where you never ever expected to work in.  Maybe its going to work every morning and going to church every Sunday and being surrounded by people who you know fit into your life as though they were made to be a part of you, and realizing you would have never known so deeply, or at all, if God had answered your prayers two years earlier. Maybe its having your 13 year old sister raid your closet and realize this would have never happened if He answered my prayers. Maybe its having a stomach disorder that basically crippled you and then mysteriously went away as quickly as it came and getting a clean bill of health as soon as you accepted God's NO and started living the life he had planned.

I'm not the type of person to hear God right away.  But I've grown to be the person who realizes two years later WOW when I didn't have my crap together, God held that crap together.  And when I can't hear him and figure things out just by listening, He says NO to my prayers and I am forced to listen. Just like a parent, He says no not to be a tyrant and to take away our fun, but to love us and guide us when we can't see the way ourselves. Regardless of how you hear Him, He is da bomb diggity and I am oh so grateful.

Keep smiling friends, it's almost Spring, and we all have our God holding our crap together s

How we Keep it Always Sunny on Sundays…

We teach Sunday School.  And smile from ear to ear for the entire hour and a half listening to the the three and four year olds play, pray and talk and talk and talk and talk. 

We go grocery shopping and make faces that we can't name...but both do simultaneously without prompting.  

We listen to our Dad's whining about how we used to bond and do fun things like play airplane.  And after five minutes of explaining calmly that when you are 24 there are other ways to bond and other fun things to do,  you honestly get tired of hearing it...

and prove to him...

we still got it. 

Jumping for the Heart...

Hey Heart Healthy Friends,

Some awesome things happened today...
1. I got my last observation of the year YIIPPEEEE! It is now time to reduce the stress load, have fun with the kiddos and count down the days to break out my toes!

2. We got to wear sweats to work today as long as we jumped. Jump roped for the heart that is.  And can I just say...there is something so very amazing about yoga pants.  I was such a better teacher today wearing the stretchy amazingness of Target stretch pants.  I had more patience, more funnies, more smiles, and more teachable moments.  True story.

3. It was Jump Rope for Heart Day!  Every year our kiddos get donations and raise money for the American Heart Association and they spend a whole day jumping rope for the healthy hearts!  They love it!  And (as you can see below) so does Shafer.

I got kind of lucky that the pics of the kiddos were blurry, so I could share them!  

They had a blast!




Keep jumping friends!!!

Always Sunny With Him...

On another note...Valentines Day made a huge come back this year. 

A big ol' jump up and down, butterflies fluttering, face turning red, buckle them in and smile the whole way home, loving the redeeming qualities of all things...even sappy holidays kind of come back. 

Happy 100th and Chinese New Years!

Hi friends!  Friday was our 100th day of school...and we did it up!  We celebrated 100 days of awesomeness all dang day...I can honestly say I don't think I have ever laughed so hard at work.  We allowed the kiddos to dress up like they were 100....

And in true Spurry fashion, I also dressed up.  Along with Chapman (who provided the walker I rode in on)

And Femi....who pointed out that this is exactly how we will look and act in 50 years.

(Phyllis and Ethel)

At one point I sprawled out on my classroom floor and had one of my students go across the hall to let Femi know that Ms. Spurry had fallen and couldn't get up. They then suggested I purchase a Life Alert.

The kiddos made super cute creations out of their 100's.  They were super creative!  Here is a face...

A butterfly....

And...um...Not sure. But they had so much fun!

Happy Chinese New Year

Many years ago, when her first adopted daughter arrived from China, a lady in our community started this wonderful event to celebrate adoption. Families with adopted children from all over our area come to be a part of this wonderful event.  My J is Korean and many of these kids represent many different Asian countries. It has been the coolest thing to see these kids grow year after year.

Holy Cuteness. 

I mean seriously....adoption is love. 

What Makes You...You?

I have said before that I truly feel I have learned so much about myself in the past year. But here's the thing... I think I have always known who I was, what quirks I have, what makes me tick, what makes me nuts, what makes me, me.  But it wasn't until of late that I realized all of those things were totally okay.

Our school manager came up with this idea to keep big paper hearts outside of our classroom doors for the month of February.  We are able to anonymously go around and write why each teacher is special outside of his/her door.  This has been super fun, especially on a bad day.  Shafer and I have termed the act of sneaking around to write on people's hearts...HEART BOMBING.  Which you can't say too loud in a school setting. Anyhoo...this has prompted me to get some of my quirks out in the open...and maybe you will too!

1. 98.7% of the time, I think I'm living in a musical I dreamed a dream of times gone by.  It typically doesn't get in my way I'm flying high defying gravity until I'm in a really 525600 minutes serious moment of my life in the rain the pavement shines like silver and I get super disappointed that in fact the music is just in my head.

2. I'm a grown woman taking graduate courses and when my papers should look like this....

I turn them in like this..          

because I can't stomach the mundane, boring, normalcy of not completing every task as though you are a first grade teacher.

3. When I take and share pictures, I tend to have to stifle my need to caption them as though I am Nicki Minaj.  Case in point below...

We be ridin' dirty....

4. I say "question" before I ask a question.
5. I have a calendar in my head. I see it. It's kinda creepy.

And even with all of those things...people still heart bombed me by saying that I was "sunshine," "awesommmeee," "practically perfect in every way," and "creative."

So come on people quirks or no quirks lets heart bomb the crap out of each other...hit them with your best shot! Firreee awwaayyyy! (you totally heard the music there right?)