{Yum}

There's not much better than hot carmel-y goodness when you have to drive to into Spokane on a foggy Saturday for a conference!  Such a yummy treat!

Perhaps...

I've been attending a library conference the last couple of days, and it was very, very good.  I realized that I am still learning about a lot of things, but also in many ways, I've been doing a pretty good job of what I'm supposed to be teaching as a 21st Century Teacher-Librarian.  And that's exciting, and confidence building.  Its kind of like when someone tells me that my kids are such good kids (which of course, I know, but I am biased) and I feel gratified that maybe in all my blundering through this thing called parenting, that perhaps I am doing something right after all.

Jon and I took a drive up to Greenbluff today after the conference finished up, and then went to a Junior Tackle football game.  Me, being the crazy football fan that I am, realized halfway through yelling, "TAKE HIM DOWN!!!" that perhaps that wasn't appropriate for Junior Tackle.  We're supposed to be positive at this level, right?  Oops.  Just keepin' it real here, folks.

Some of my close friends know that I've been struggling with not having enough time to deal with some of the thoughts I've been rolling around in my head.  Some of these thoughts are my own struggle of knowing whether or not I have something to offer with this little blog, or if it should just be a more family oriented update of what we've been up to.  But lately, I've been thinking that maybe I really do have something to offer this blogosphere out there.  I'm not always the most crafty, or the best photographer, or the most organized, or the best cook, or the best parent, or the most faith-filled woman out there.  But I do have real experiences, real friends and real thoughts and dreams.  So I'm going to try to keep it real, and post about those experiences and reactions and fun and hard times a little more often. And perhaps that is all I need to share.  Perhaps a little bit of my own experiences will help someone else.  And maybe I'll never be famous, and maybe I'll never write an amazing story that touches the hearts of the world.  But if the story I write and the story I live only touches the hearts of my children, my husband, and even my own heart, then perhaps, just perhaps, that is enough.

Stay tuned.

A little road trip

So, I'm spending this weekend at the WLMA (Washington Library Media Association) Conference in Spokane.  After day one, I feel good about how I do my job, and what I'm focusing on teaching my students.  I know that there is room for improvement, and I've gotten some good ideas about how to move forward.  So that's been encouraging!

Yesterday, the kids and I drove from Missoula to Spokane, which is the first time I've driven that stretch on my own.  It was a good time, and the kids enjoyed Swiss Rolls and other sundry snacks on the drive.  Panda Express for lunch and dinner with friends....  Yes, we live the good life!

For those of you who may be wondering, the creative itchiness that I was experiencing last weekend, did result in creativity happening.  I took a page from my friend Jami's notebook, and created a fabric leaf garland to go on my mantle.  It was fun, it looks great, and it satisfied that little itch....

This week promises to be busy once again.  Thursday and Friday are MEA days, and since I'm here at the WLMA conference, I won't be needing to get PIR hours, which means NO SCHOOL and a 4-day weekend!!  My dad says the apples are ready, so the plan is to cook, cook, cook and cook some more!  I can't wait for the smell of apples to permeate my house again! I'll try to keep you posted in the meantime!

'Til next time,

Mrs. Meek

{Creativity}

My fingers are itching to create...  So I'm glad that I have some time this weekend to spend some creative energy!  I'm not sure what exactly I'll be working on, but there will be some creative fruit from this weekend.  There will also be some homework and housework that gets finished up as well.  I am looking ahead to next summer already, when I will be finishing up my Master's coursework, and moving forward into the next season of life, which will include a move to Spokane!  It's scary and exciting!  We are probably going to pick apples this weekend as well, so my kitchen will turn into an apple processing plant over the next few weeks.  Apple pie, applesauce, dried apples, apples to freeze for later...  So much fun, and such wonderful days to make memories with my kids!  Here's hoping for time over the next few days to let the creative juices flow!

Seasons...

Over the summer and last few weeks, we have been making many preparations in light of our upcoming move to Spokane, Washington next summer.  We have our house listed on craigslist, we have been finishing projects, we have been cleaning like maniacs, and we have begun packing things away to declutter the house for showing.  All of it has been a good process, because we have realized how much "stuff" we can do without, and we have become better at keeping things put away in their places.  Time is always short, though, so the blogging has fallen by the wayside, as has my crafting.  I keep reminding myself that there is a season for everything, which is what has been getting me through the last couple of weeks when I have felt the great desire to craft and write, but have literally had zero time to do it.  Getting back in to the swing of school and work and making everything ready has taken all of my time.  I finally had a couple of minutes here tonight to pop on and do a quick update post!  Speaking of seasons, Fall is finally here, Grizzly Football is back, and Saturday is soup day!  I planted mums for the first time ever, and my trees are losing their leaves.  It won't be long before it is winter all over again, and I'll be wishing for a beach somewhere.  We had two showings on the house over the weekend, and both seemed very interested, so perhaps this season of life will come to a close soon.  For now, we wait and pray for God's timing in all things.  So that's it for now, until I have another few minutes to devote to a quick blog post, or perhaps a little more time to even post some pictures....  We will see how this season shapes up.  Happy Fall!

A few short days

In just a few short days, our fabulous summer will come to an end. It has been very fun, filled with travel and family and excitement. I will be very sad to say goodbye to Summer 2011; it has been a good friend to me. But, there is a time and a season for everything, and this is our last week of summer. So we will say "adios" with a fond wave and wonderful memories and look forward to the new challenges that this coming year will bring.

Whirlwind summer

Well, this summer has certainly flown by.  I can't believe it's been 2 months since I blogged!!  I had every good intention of posting regularly through the summer, and then I was busy with classes that consumed a lot of my time, Jon and I went to England for our 15th anniversary, we were home for a couple of days and then headed to Celebration Northwest in Silverton, Oregon for the weekend, and since we got back from that have been busy painting and getting our house ready to put on the market, hopefully by the end of the month.  It has been crazy!  Anyway, before you all decided that I had just fallen off the planet, I figured I better get some pictures up from our trip.  I'm going to attempt to embed a slideshow here, let's cross our fingers that it works! I'm sorry that there aren't very many captions...Google said I had exceeded my limit when I tried to add them. So anyway...here are the pics from our England trip. We had an absolute blast!!