Courtney

I just have to share this photo of Courtney. Because she's insanely gorgeous, and I seriously love it. It might be one of my favourite pictures I've ever taken. Just.... wowwwww. Heart eyes emoji.

football & photos

I am super multi-tasking right now: blogging, watching the State game, waiting for a load of laundry to finish in the dryer, and baking a cake for snack tomorrow. The house has begun to warm up a bit, and Michigan State is in the lead. I'm really hoping this cake comes out well. The oven is tricky for me sometimes so I'm monitoring it pretty closely. It is a lemon poke cake, and I might add raspberries and whipped cream on top when I serve. Depends on how much time and energy I have in the morning. Side note. I miss Michigan State defense that we used to have. Also,  a healthy team.
Well, my cake is out now, and I think it's okay. I have to wait for it to cool a bit before I put the holes in it and drizzle the glaze. Kelsey is gone to a costume dodgeball game so I have the house to myself. I'm nearly ready for bed. I'll stay up until the end of the game, but then I think I'm going straight to sleep.
And now for some photos from my trip home. :)

photos photos photos

Prepare for a photo heavy post! I always love spending time at Dad and Mom's house; it is refreshing, and I so appreciate my family. Realized I haven't posted the photos from my time spent up north so here we go!

 Boardwalk at Wolf Creek Trail with Courtney

 Court did my makeup :)

 Precious sister :)

 If this isn't autumn glory, I don't know what is!

 Grandma and I had a good afternoon looking through All Recipes & Food Network magazines for recipes to include in my new recipe binder. She thought I should try to make Bacon Brownies ha.

 Ready for Melissa's baby shower!

Saying goodbye at the end of my time is always really hard. It takes me hours, and I am never ready. I think that is a beautiful thing about home. I can never get enough of it. I would never want to lose that feeling. I am thankful for a home full of people I love so much that I always want more time there. Going home always reignites a determination within my core to be my best self... constantly pursuing more full relationships and peace/joy-filled interactions and attitudes.
I love where I come from, and I love where I am, and I love where I am going.

old joy

I've been staring at a blank screen for ten minutes. Not sure what exactly I want to write, but I do want to write. It was a long week last week. The internet at Dad and Mom's house frustrates me which made me want to do almost nothing on the internet besides what I needed to for my job. Besides that I was pretty much exhausted by 9:30 every night and ready for bed soon after. HISability is extremely rewarding and definitely my favourite week of the year, but it is so tiring in a normal case... and quadruply so in the year when I am diagnosed with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. While I was at camp, the doctor called me to check in on my wheat elimination diet and general health and to tell me that I have an initial positive for Lyme disease. There is more testing that has to be done, and this doesn't mean I definitely have it, but it is a maybe. I don't know if that is a better or worse thing in my mind now. But whatever it is, it is a possibility as much as it was before. So it is okay.

Thought I would upload some pictures from when I was home and Courtney and I went on a rainy Sunday afternoon adventure...

Today saw me ordering the new curriculum for next quarter for KidCentral. We are going to try The Gospel Project and see if that works out to having more substance than the Group one we were using. I also was working on choosing an Advent theme and looking into a VBS for 2016. Trying to get ahead in planning. I'll probably work through tomorrow, too, since I took a break early on in the week. This evening, Kelsey and I met our friend Marisol at a laundromat to wash all her family's clothes, bedding, towels, etc. so that their house will be absolutely clean for her sister who will hopefully be coming home from the hospital soon. They are having the house professionally cleaned; we did at least 16 loads of laundry in about four hours. Wasn't too bad, and I was glad that we could help them out in some way.