Busy Busy Birthday Bee

WOW!  I didn't think I would be as busy as I have been here.  We have had quite a few groups come in (more 4th graders) but they have been much better behaved.  The lesson flows better now that I have edited too.  I teach it again this Friday, so wish me luck.  :-P

I have also just paid the cash for my new car.  It's a 2007 Chevy Impala...and it opens up so many opportunities for me....namely going to church.  I believe that I am staying at the Methodist Church.  I have contacted them about joining a small group that meets once a month to fund-raise for missions.

Anyway, I am waiting on the paperwork for the car.  And then it will be mine all mine!  MWA HA HA HA! Once I own it, I will take some photos for you guys.

In addition to being busy, I just had a birthday.  It's my second 24th birthday!  (It sounds odd, but my 23rd was skipped in Korea.  They actually counted me as already being 23 when I came to Korea because you have to count the time you were in the womb.  With that said, my 23rd B-day was deemed me turning 24.... And thus, I am having my second 24th birthday now that I am living in America).  CONFUSING RIGHT!!! :-P

My big brother traveled all the way down here from Maryland to spend my birthday with me.  IT WAS AWESOME!  I don't think he knows how much it means to me.  I would have hated to spend yet another birthday without family.  The last 5 were that way.

Anyway, he arrived bearing gifts from the family including delicious homemade jerky and cookies.  I can wait to dig into those.  YUM!  Then I showed him the fort and batteries here.  Afterwards we went into town and toured around a bit...then had sushi!  YES!  After that it was on to the nearest big city, Wilmington.  The downtown is historic yet still has the feel of a legitimate city.  I loved it.  I miss the city life...the food and the things to do.  Anyway, we ate at what has to equate to a 5 start restaurant   I mean the waiters had bow-ties and the food was too pretty to eat, until you tasted it.  Then you couldn't stop. Ha ha.  We did a historic ghost tour that night  and then turned in.

Our Humorous Tour Guide for the Ghost Tour

The next day we toured the battleship USS North Carolina and spent the rest of the day eating and window-shopping.  I couldn't have pictured a better way to spend the weekend.

Wandering around the 9 decks of the USS NC

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

I have learned a valuable lesson.  Some days will be harder than others, and some days will be blessings from God.

MONDAY:

Well, I have to say that if Monday was a blessing, it was in disguise.  It was not only my first day solo teaching, but it was a lesson that I planned, and it had never been tried before.  AND, we were trying it on 4th graders.

Don't get me wrong, a 4th grader is adorable, smart, and sweet.  But get 75 of those puppies in a room and you have lost it!  When the bus first pulled up, a couple really adorable little girls with pink backpacks stepped off the bus.  I smiled and thought, "this will be lovely", then...the boys got off.  They ran, screamed, fell down, and I was then struck with a wide-eyed expression of fear that probably didn't go away until after work.  I taught them a lesson on the beach, and during instruction I was lucky if a third of them hadn't wandered away.  I lost a bunch of supplies, and spent the afternoon wiping sand out of the glue-sticks.  One of our five microscopes broke, but I am hoping it is just the bulb.  And as soon as I handed an object to a kid and began to give an instruction, he was gone.  He would come back about 5mins later and say, "I don't know what to do."  And in my head I would say, "I wonder why?"  But most kids didn't come back to receive the instructions that they couldn't hear as they ran off with my supplies.  Most of them proceeded to make sand angels, bury my stuff (or each other), fill their shoes with sand, or wade in the freezing water.

At lunch time, I mentally edited the lesson plan and we gave it another shot.  It was a bit better then.  And by the end of the day, my face wasn't stuck in that position of fear.  :-)  I asked one kid before she left,  "Did you have a good day?  What was your favorite part?"  And she told me, "Playing in the sand."  So even if they learned nothing about the dunes or wind energy or sand particle size, at least a group of inland city kids who may have never seen the beach before, had the chance to play in the sand.

TODAY:

Today was maybe God's way of saying, you love your job remember?  Don't worry about yesterday.  

Today, Alesha opened the office door to flood the office with the sound of bagpipes.  I have always loved that sound...and it is completely random to hear it in America, let alone South of the Mason-Dixon. But as it turned out, a man was walking around practicing his songs and we were blessed enough to have a morning cup in the doorway and just listen.

Then as we went out to do out plankton monitoring, we were met by the Dolphins.  Typically they just swim by the pier on their daily trek up the Cape Fear and we only see a dorsal.  But today, they spent possibly two hours playing in the water near us.  They were splashing their tales, blowing out their blow holes, and popping their heads up.  There were even two babies swimming next to the mothers.  THEY WERE SO CUTE!  I snapped a few really poor quality photos with my phone but then put it away and just enjoyed the experience.  I thank God for reminding me why I am here and reassuring me that I am right where he wants me.

Resting

Remember how I was sick all last week.  Well, we are heading towards two weeks now.  But I am finally resting.  Check me out...remember me, the girl who can't rest.  It turns out that all I need is a house...haha.

We are house/pet-sitting this weekend.  We are taking care of two little doggy angels in a real home.  I miss real homes.  For the past 5.5 years I have been living in dorms or apartments...so I really treasure my time in a house.  I have been able to cook in a real kitchen, sit on a couch and watch cooking shows, walk the dogs in the lawn, just sip tea sitting in the breakfast nook.  

I never thought I would say this...but I think I want a house.  It won't be anytime soon...but I feel like I would love a place to feel at home in, instead of just living in a dorm or apartment for a year before moving on to the next.  I hope that God has a home planned for me in the future.

As for the car.  It looks like it is becoming a reality.  God sure does provide abundantly.  I am getting funds together and working on the whole registering insuring thing....which is going to be complicated (because I am living in a different state than my permanent address).  But overall, despite the fact that funds will be incredibly tight, I am excited for this new phase in my life.

I don't know how the future will go...but I feel peace.  Perhaps its divine, or perhaps its because I am resting in a real home, watching birds from the nook window.