A Picture Perfect Start to March!

I feel like if I honestly had the time, I would write in this blog for hours today. So much is going on! It feels like my mind is being pulled into a million directions lately and I am so in love with that. For awhile I've been in this monotonous rut of doing the same things, day in and day out. Now, it feels like there might be a huge shake up in my every day life. I am so excited about it... I wish I could talk about it right now. But, I have to resist the urge and just play a waiting game. While I've already built up this huge opportunity in my head, I'm trying to remain calm. Things might not work out, things may stay the same, but I have got to trust that God is bringing me to a new beginning and that's enough to put me in such a good mood. March is starting off completely stellar, quite actually... and it's only the fourth! I don't think I've ever had such an eventful beginning to a new month before.

On Friday March 2nd, Ethan and I took of early in the morning for Greensboro, NC to attend the NC DECA Career Development Conference. About four years ago, I stood on the stage as the Blue Ridge Region Vice President. While at the time I didn't particularly appreciate or care for the role, looking back, it taught me so much. I was exposed to a completely different way of thinking and I truly appreciate the leadership position that I was elected into. It doesn't seem like it's already been four years, but it was time for me to give back just a little. We spent our morning judging the role play competitions and it was so much fun! Here's my handsome husband getting his judge on:



We got back from Greensboro super earlier than we planned, so around 3:30 that afternoon, we crawled in bed and literally slept the day away. I don't remember the last day I got to do that. No alarm clock, brand new black-out curtains and a cuddly puppy at my feet? Hello, best sleep ever! I think we woke up sometime in the middle of the night to eat "dinner" before falling back asleep.

Since we were SO geared up for adventure, Saturday did NOT disappoint. After returning home from seeing Tyler Perry's Good Deeds, we found little Mariska in quite the predicament. Although Ethan and I clearly stated that she shouldn't be put in the dog crate (because she always escapes and never chews anything up... what a good puppy, right?), someone DID put her in there. And when we returned, we found that she had tried to escape through the bars but didn't quite make it... she had gotten all of her body out but her leg was stuck. She managed to drag a rather large crate around the room, and injured her leg pretty badly:


Just looking at that picture makes me want to cry. Baby girl was such a trooper, though. We made our way to get robbed - mean, the Emergency Vet - and $130 later, Mariska Roo had pain medicine, antibiotics and a heart-breaking wimper. I don't think she liked the Vet very much...



But not to fear! She seems much better now. The whining has stopped and the swelling has gone down tremendously. We had to decline an xray at the ER because it was just too expensive... luckily nothing seems broken and she's on her way to a full recovery! She's not gaining weight very fast, so we started her on a new puppy diet that is sure to make her look a little more healthy in the next few weeks.

Today, though, has been my favorite day fo March so far. For two reasons. The first being that I finally organized my make-up! It went from this:


To this!!:


It's the little things in life that make me happy, really. But it's the big things, too. Like my big sister's baptism.


For years I have prayed for the salvation of my sister. I've had others pray for her, I've tried to witness myself, and I have hoped with all my might that she would come to know Jesus in a way that I knew would save her from an eternity that was less than desirable. Not embarrassed by her faith, but uncomfortable with attention, it was awhile before I found out she had been saved. But when I DID find out, nothing could have made me any more proud. And tonight, seeing her deliver her testimony in front of her church and watching her public display of rebirth... well, it left me speechless and in tears. I love her so much and I'm so proud of her. It warms my soul to know she made the best decision ever... accepting Christ as her savior!

I can only hope that the rest of March is as good as the beginning... and I have this awesome little feeling that it will be! I leave this night with one special image that Ethan captured earlier today... Mariska Roo taking a nap on my head, while I take a nap. How much cuter does it get?!