SNOW.

So, the exciting event of our week was definitely the snowstorm! I feel like a little kid when it comes to snow. I was watching the weather and peeking out the window constantly. The resounding conversation:
"Brent, come look at the snow! Come look out the window!"
"Yep. That's a lot of snow. Too bad you'll still have school tomorrow."
"Maybe not! Look how much there is! Look how pretty it is!"

And again, we would have the same conversation every 10 minutes. What can I say? He's lived in Boston for the last 4 years. He just doesn't understand my excitement . . .

So we got snow both Tuesday night and the main part of it on Wednesday night. It snowed until about midnight, but we went out around 9:30 while it was still snowing to check out the damage (I mean, play in the snow. :)

Excited to go out in the snow!

After the snow plow came through . . . thanks a lot . . .

Brent working hard to clean off the car. I helped some, but . . . it was more fun to take pictures. :)

 There were some others too, but I couldn't get them to look right on here.



 So, as I said earlier, I was REALLY hoping for a snow day. And, although nearly EVERY COUNTY in MARYLAND was closed on Thursday, I had the privilege of going to work as usual.

There were 2 kids when I arrived at school on Thursday.
Yeah, 2.
We got up to about 25 by noon, out of the whole school.

Needless to say, none of the teachers who showed up were excited, but oh well, maybe next time.

To placate my lack of snow day, I had a small "snow day moment" when I came home on Thursday night.

I came home, put on my pj pants, houseshoes, and sweatshirt. Then, I made myself a cup of hot chocolate while I browsed pictures of the 2011 HGTV Dream Home, which I have entered daily to win. It's where I plan to spend some snow days in the future. ;)

You are all welcome to come and hang out with us when this home is ours. I do expect the same courtesy, of course, if you happen to win it. It's only fair!

Upcoming excitement for this week: Mom and Dad are coming on Thursday! We've got big plans and I'm sure there will be lots of pictures!

Hope you all have a wonderful, safe, warm, and cozy week! God bless!

[hugsfromMD]

Sunday nights.

I find myself at this dreaded place again.

The last dwindling hours of the weekend on Sunday night.

I sure do love my weekends at home. I love hanging out with Brent, having time to cook, workout, hang out with friends, and watch football [there is always some paper-grading in there too, unfortunately]. But I absolutely loathe the last few hours of Sunday. It seems that my motivation dissipates as I muster up the energy to get off the coach during halftime to make our lunches for Monday and figure out what I'm going to wear in the morning. I have to make sure I've got stuff ready for school tomorrow. I have to remember to set my alarm [which then reminds me that I have to get up early again. bleh].

So basically, around 7 pm on Sundays, my mood tends to sink.

In efforts to battle my Sunday night blues, I'm going to set some positive goals/attitudes for my week. So, here are my goals for the next 7 days:
1. Be more patient with 1 student in particular this week. My goal is to change his/her day, instead of letting him/her change mine.
2. Begin reading Crazy Love which is the book I mentioned in my last post that our Lifegroup will be starting to study soon.
3. Call some dear friends to catch up.
4. Workout at least 4 times. (Goal: 5)
5. Savor the time I have each evening with my husband, hanging out and eating dinner together.
6. Focus on the specific blessings God pours on me each day. There is always something to be thankful for, even on those long, terrible days!

Hope you are looking for the positive every day this week, too. I know we've all got things that weight us down. This week, here's my challenge. Worry less and trust God more. I read this verse this morning and was reminded of the peace we receive from the Lord who always, always provides.

Matthew 6:25-34

       “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? . . . So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I hope you have a wonderful week and that God fills your week with lots of reasons to be thankful!

[hugsfromMD]

P.S. Congrats goes out to the Packers and Steelers, who did what the Colts couldn't this year . . . make it to the Superbowl. I'll be cheering for the Pack!

Welcome back.

I guess it's about time I posted in this new year full of promise and excitement! Hello 2011. :)

First of all, I am so excited to say that I finally finished our wedding album! It is being printed and sent this week. It took so many hours of work and editing, and it took me 6 months, but it's finished. :) You can view it online here!

Well, we've all been back to work and regular schedules again, and I hope your year has started off well. Brent and I had a fabulous first Christmas as a married couple, and enjoyed so much wonderful time with our families. I also got to meet up with 2 of my 3 favorite OSU grads! :) We were home for about 9 days, and enjoyed every minute of it!

Christmas Eve with the McLaughlins

Christmas Day with the Davis'

I love the joy in this picture. :)

Oh, how I miss these girls (and Bethany!)

Since Christmas, I have just been trying to be productive around the apartment and get back into the swing of things at school. We have report cards due next week, and even though I've been much more organized over the last quarter, there is still a lot of work to be done. I just finished entering a huge stack of grades, and have the exciting task tomorrow of writing comments and entering grades on report cards. We've got a professional day, with half of the day free to work in our rooms! I'll take whatever I can get.

I'd also like to report that we've got our apartment in tip-top shape right now. It's still not perfect (after all, it is very small!) but we have done a lot of work organizing and cleaning over the last few weeks. I remember talking to my grandma when we were home about how much I love Christmas, but at the same time, how nice it is to have all of the "stuff" put away and the apartment clean again. Besides, I've got some visitors coming in just a few weeks!! :)

In other news, I am sad to report that the Colts lost their first playoff game, so they will not be the Super Bowl champs this year. However, I am looking forward to wearing my new Manning jersey (thanks, Brent!) next year when they have home-field advantage in the Super Bowl. :) Until then, I'll just cheer for anyone playing the Patriots! (Sorry, Chitwood!)

This afternoon, Brent and I joined a gym here in Columbia, called Life Time Fitness, which was recommeneded to us by his friend and office-mate from work. We went for 2 free weeks in December, and it was so nice! It reminds me of the Colvin at OSU, except even better! Anyways, we are ready to get into better shape and now we have a great place to accomplish that! I'll keep you updated on our progress.

And finally, our lifegroup is getting ready to start a study over the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I have heard so much about this book and know it can be life-changing, so I am excited to see how God will work in our lives through this! I'm sure I will have lots to share once we get started. On the website, you can read the first chapter, so I'd recommend it if you get a chance!

I suppose I'll end my ramblings for the day there. I hope you all have had a wonderful start to this new year, and I hope that you are constantly looking for and praising God for the blessings He has given you!

Happy New Year from the McLaughlins!

[hugs]