ACK, it's MAAAY!
but i'm not pressuring myself. i feel behind in so many other places in my life, i'm not going to pressure myself about my OWN blog! haha... =)

well, LOTS going on...
for school, since the last time i wrote, there was the annual Catalina trip with the 5th graders (w/ my accompanying cold-water hives), a large fundraising event for the science lab (crazy renovations are in store!), and of course: the science fair!!

a cute project by some 3rd graders...

the most wildly popular project all night... this dad always thinks of the funnest projects. this was a marble run using bottles of all sorts and a bit of tubing.

i start teaching full one-variable experiments in 4th grade... i was really proud of my 4th graders this year! the project above was hilarious. i'm not sure how much you can see, but 2 rabbits were tested on to see what types of food they preferred. on the left, you see the rabbits literally turning their nose away or backing away from the ham, the cheese, and the butter. the night of the fair, this girl brought in one of her rabbits and little food samples for ppl to give to the rabbit. sooooo cute!

on the M front, we've had a busy few months! i took an amazing class on Saturdays, sort of modeled on Perspectives but w/ reformed theology.

and at PCC, we started a series of Report Lunches, and it's been really great connecting our short-termers w/ the congregation. we've also been planning trips to connect w/ our long-termers for later this year and next. so busy busy!

as i've mentioned before, being M director, i've been forced to exercise "gifts" i don't really have. it's been a lot of fun falling on my face, but growing. the latest area i've had to exercise is the gift of hospitality. i don't think i'm innately gifted in this area, but putting together these lunches have really made me grow as a hostess. thank GOODNESS for my ctte, many who are gifted in the areas i'm not!!!

i've also been teaching Albert's study on the Foundations of M in Genesis at my small grp. it's been awesome!

**in my personal life, i hit a large milestone in turning 3-0!!!

these Yummy Cupcakes (from my roommate) lived up to their name!! one was red velvet, and the other was vanilla almond. i ate a bit of one, then a bit of the other to try to figure out which one i'd want as my last bite. i had the hardest time deciding between the two!!!

the day of my bday was actually quite fun. since i was still on spring break, i helped out at an Easter egg hunt at Mar Vista Gardens, a low income housing facility. it was great being outside and getting to serve alongside ppl from different churches.

this is my if-i-ever-run-for-public-office picture =)

after that, i went to get a massage (my anniversary gift from dec!) and met d for a nice dinner...

what a sweetheart for not making me feel so old! =)

sometime in the last 2 months, i saw Watchmen. a thought-provoking movie, but i left with emotional baggage. in fact, i could not sleep for days afterwards. i hate, hate, HATE Dr. Manhattan. i just could not fathom a "god" who was so apathetic... it actually scared me to death. i could not shake the terrible feeling...

and then i realized something big - that i have a very special, very precious gift: i never doubt that God loves me. it's always there, the knowledge (deep deep within) that He loves me.

i actually did something recently that made me think for a second that God might be disappointed in me. for that second, i was flooded w/ dread, w/ fear, and w/ disgust for myself. is this what other ppl feel most of the time? it's terrible!!!
i was able to speak the Truth back to myself, though, and the awfulness only lasted for that second. but it made me keenly aware how precious my gift is. i'm also realizing that this is not common amongst most other believers... i wonder how i can use this gift for others...?

i think that's one of my "new year's resolutions" (ha, can i make resolutions this late in the year?). but how do i help make the Truth sink deeper in others? to help them know that J's perfect record covers all of our imperfections? i guess we'll see...

this has been long, but to end, i'll just paste on some pics of my cute, cute niece!! =)

for Easter, my sister-in-law placed E in a giant Easter basket... isn't this absolutely ridiculous and yet SO adorable?? i LOVE it!! look at that hairpin! her bracelet, her toes!

and this was just too cute...

okay, bye bye for now!