Yeah, we have no dignity.

What is it about PhotoBooth that makes people act like complete idiots? Not sure, but I hope it makes you smile.

Dear Friend,

   I miss you. That is all.

Love always,

Courtney

Videos of the day.

I really don't know why this cat one is so funny to me.
But it is.

Yes.

I present to you: the newest addition to my collection of weird car decorations.

My friend, Rebecca, gave me a birthday present today consisting of strawglasses, "authentic dino finger-puppets" and a billion little dinosaurs.  I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do with all those little dinosaurs until I was driving home from church and noticed how dreadfully bare my rearview mirror looks.

IDEA!

I got home, found some thread, and strung up the band of dinos.  Is it a little creepy? Yes. But it's mine.

 And it's awesome.

Alligator Food.

Speaking of songs..check out Gatorghost's new stuff.


I'm really diggin' it. <3

TROUBLE!

This has been stuck in my head for the past few days.

I thought learning it on the piano would get it out, but that just produced the opposite effect.

(grumbles)

Kickboxing, we meet again.

About a year ago, my brother's karate instructor was cleaning out some of his classrooms and gave my brother a punching bag. Yesterday, we finally set it up in the garage.  This could not have happened at a better time.

Dear self,

  All of your unnecessary pent up stress, anger, doubt, fear, jealousy, uncertainty and those stupid weird moods you find yourself in are soon to be obliterated.  Meet the punching bag.

Much love,   

    Courtney.

F'real, though.  This is fantastic.

God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality.  He knew it already.  It was I who didn't.  In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once.  He always knew that my temple was a house of cards.  His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.

-CS. Lewis, A Grief Observed.

Excuse me while I ramble.

"How long?" Sohrab asked.

"I don't know.  A while."

Sohrab shrugged and smiled, wider this time.  "I don't mind. I can wait.  It's like the sour apples."

"Sour apples?"

"One time, when I was really little, I climbed a tree and ate the green, sour apples.  My stomach swelled and became hard like a drum, it hurt a lot.  Mother said that if I had just waited for the apples to ripen, I wouldn't have become sick.  So now, whenever I really want something, I try to remember what she said about sour apples."

-The Kite Runner

This song has been stuck in my head all day. I couldn't sleep last night so I just put my iPod on shuffle last night and finished reading the Kite Runner.  This song came on and for some reason, I just broke down crying.  I don't know why.  Maybe it was just the book I was reading.  Sometimes I just think too much.
I dunno.  But now it's stuck in my head.

School is about to start.  I've been ridiculously busy with getting ready and finding a job.  Looks like I'll be teaching art and basic American History.  Neither are official as they are extracurricular classes for little kids.  But still, it's what I want to do for the rest of my life.  So I'm pretty stoked to be able to get a feel for it now.


This semester is going to be pretty busy.  Though I still haven't worked out the kinks, this is roughly what my week will look like:


Monday: Class from 8am-2pm. Dance from 4-8
Tuesday: Work from 9am-3pm. Class from 6-9
Wednesday: Class from 8am-2pm. Dance from 3-5. Bible study at 7.
Thursday: Work from 9am-2pm. Dance at 7.
Friday: Class from 9am-12pm.
Saturday: Dance from 9am-12pm.


Not really sure why I'm blogging this.  More for myself really.  I guess I needed to see it all laid out.  But now that I really look at it, it's not that bad.  Yes, this is one of those "type whatever pops into my head" sort of posts.  I'll probably be doing that a lot now that I won't really have time for a daily photo journal.  Honestly, it can be easier to just ramble.


I don't really know why you people read this, but I'm probably killing whatever reason you have.  Oh well.


Also, while typing this, I got an email notifying me that one of my students has Asperger syndrome. I don't know why, but this makes me excited.  I'm not happy because of his condition. I guess I'm just happy that maybe I'll be able to make a difference in his life.  I don't know.


I guess I'm also excited because I feel like God is telling me something in this.  Recently, I was feeling discouraged regarding my future and what God is calling me to do.  I had a conversation with someone who has been teaching for a really long time and he was telling me how much the system is changing and that I need to be careful when going into this field because there is very little profit and very little chance of actually getting a job.


But after that conversation, a ton of different things happened that made me even more certain than before the conversation took place.  The Sunday following that conversation, my pastor was talking about the importance of children. The importance of teaching them and guiding them and not viewing them as nuisances, but examples of the kind of faith we should have.  I dunno.  It just seemed weird he'd talk about children and teaching right after that conversation.  Then later that week, I was offered a job with teaching and childcare.


I dunno.  Maybe I'm crazy, but I just feel like God is in it.  And I'm really stoked.

August 12.

My brother is having an Eagle Scout project fundraising carwash tomorrow. We helped make signs.

My cat has recently picked up the habit of immediately laying on/falling asleep on any project you're working on, any board game you're playing, or any book you're reading.  Though, it's hard to get annoyed at a cuddly, three legged cat.  He definitely uses it to his advantage.

Mississippi State University.

Drove up to Mississippi with Kyle to help move her into her dorm room. It was fun, but sad. She was homesick the second we arrived. But she's a cool girl, she'll get acclimated quickly.

I tried turning both of these into panoramics, but picture #1 was a complete fail.

BEFORE

AFTER

Haters can hate, but I love this song.

I'll doze off safe and soundly, but I'll miss your arms around me. I'd send a postcard to you, dear, 'cause I wish you were here.  I'll watch the night turn light-blue, but it's not the same without you.  Because it takes two to whisper quietly.

The silence isn't so bad, 'til I look at my hands and feel sad.  Because the spaces between my fingers are right where yours fit perfectly. I'll find repose in new ways, though I haven't slept in two days.  'Cause cold nostalgia chills me to the bone

But drenched in vanilla twilight, I'll sit on the front porch all night; waist-deep in thought because when I think of you, I don't feel so alone.

As many times as I blink, I'll think of you tonight.

August 8.

After a lunch at Olive Garden in honor of Kylethegirl, Kristen (the smiley one on the left) and I headed back to Kyle's place to help finish up the packing.  This evening, Kyle and I decided I will drive up with her to Mississippi tomorrow and help her move into her dorm.  Although I love spontaneity (and road trips with friends), it'll be a little sad at the same time.  But I'm excited for her.  She's going to do really well in school.  I'll post photos all about it once I get back.

I dunno if it is all these goodbyes and whatnot, but I'm feeling ridiculously nostalgic today.

The weekend.

AUGUST 7. Morrison Springs at 8am is a beautiful sight to behold.  After the final dive for my certification, I spent my day with Kylethegirl at the beach.  Yes, that is the unofficial attachment to the end of her name.  I mean, you've got to find some way to differentiate between the thirty bazillion Kyle's we have in PC.

AUGUST 6.  You can never get too much soccer.

AUGUST 5.  After dive class/training from 9am-6pm, I drove to Destin to hang out with Korynne, a friend of my sister's.  Up until now, I had never actually met her, but my sister talks about her all the time.  She called me up and said she was in Florida to visit family, so she thought it'd be cool to meet my family and me as well.  She's a complete sweetheart.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with her one last time before she heads back to Hawaii.

Lame.

Little did I know, my phone separates long texts into individual tiny texts. So much for mobile blogging. I'm gonna have to play around with that a bit.

It's been a pretty good day. Went on my second dive at Morrison Springs. It was freezing. After diving, I joined my youth group at Rob's pool for some burgers, swimming, and the watching/playing of soccer.

It been a while since I've done stuff with my youth group. There were a lot of factors that played into my reluctance to go, but after a conversation I had with a friend, an article I read on Relevant, and a lot of prayer, I felt like I should go back. So, we'll see. I feel like God will work through it. He's been working through a lot lately and I don't want to shut out any opportunity for Him to work in my life.

Anyway, time to wind down, get a shower, drink some tea, eat some Thai food, read a book, and play Super Strikers with my brother.
(WHICH, ACCORDING TO HIM, IS LIKE MARIO FIFA.)

August 4.

Kaeli and Bethany are having a sleepover tonight.

Wishing their dear friend, Satya, could be there to join in on the fun, they (with the help of Isaac) decided to make a little sign for her.

August 3.

A friend of mine had a bunch of coupon tickets to Shipwreck Island and invited Dylan and I to join her and her little brother.  So, I spent the day at the water park riding rides and getting just a little too much sun.

While we were there, we ran into Haley and Maddy.

Funny, since just last month I ran into Maddy at the Atlanta Aquarium.  It seems she has a tendency of running into me at overpriced tourist attractions. 

August 2.

Dylan finally cut his hair.  Now, if only he actually acted as innocent as he looked, he really would be a new kid.

I spent over two hours trying to get this devil to cut his hair.  He was starting to look like a female and it was driving me crazy.

However, not only is this kid incredibly stubborn, but he absolutely loathes haircuts.  Aside from my best friend, Dylan hates haircuts more than anyone else I know.  Thus, most of my day consisted of various attempts at manipulating Dylan into walking into SportClips. 

It started with starvation and abandonment in the heat, then personal property theft and threats of blackmail, and finally a deal involving a compromise regarding hair length and just a bit of bribery.  Yes, I am aware that every parent is probably crossing me off the list as a potential babysitter, but sometimes you gotta do whatever it takes.  Plus, it was incredibly entertaining.

Growing pains.

God is doing huge things in my life and in my heart.  I can feel it.  He's changing me.  Not into a different person, but into the kind of woman He intends for me to be.  It's not a comfortable feeling, and it's certainly painful at times, but the knowledge of the person I'm becoming and the hope of the future He has in store makes it all worth it.  I'm growing, and I've finally accepted that it isn't easy.  Relinquishing control to Him has been a constant battle for a long time and every time, He's shown me how damaging it is when I try to do things on my own. I'm ready to listen to the things He's trying to teach me and I'm ready to let Him mold me into a better person.

I'm learning to stand by my convictions in the face of trials.  I'm learning patience on so many levels.  I'm learning how to be steadfast, honest, openminded, trusting, faithful, and so much more.  I see these things developing in my life and it's really cool.  Although I know I'm far from getting there, and that I'll never fully attain any of these characteristics, seeing these things grow from my brokenness has shown me how powerful God is. 

He's wrecked me, and through the process of healing and learning, He is refining me.  I'm learning to cling to Him completely, and in turn, I'm learning how to be more like Him every day.  Honestly, that's really all I want. Sure, there are a lot of important things that I hope for, there are plenty of things I've lifted up to Him.  But the reality is, if I don't exude Jesus, nothing else matters.  

August 1.

These kids are crazy. 

I just connected my phone with my blog. Just a test post to see if this thing works.

Homeschooling. Hah.

This never fails to make me laugh.