Living the Questions

while i was in ga this thanksgiving, i watched an episode (or 3 or 5) of criminal minds. one of the episodes was about a guy who took a train hostage because the voices in his head had him convinced that the fbi was after him. they pictured the voice he was hearing as a guy who stood over his shoulder, reinterpreting everything anyone said. no matter who it was or what they were saying, the voice convinced this guy that they were lying, they didn't mean what they said, they were all in on it, etc. i know that this is a serious problem (hearing voices) that some people face. but i can't stop thinking about it. don't we all have voices in our heads? no, i don't mean that we're all crazy or anything, but think about it. everyday, in every interaction with others, don't you have a voice in your head interpreting everything, telling you what to think or how to view it? a running dialogue in your head? maybe it's just me. but i don't think it is. th

a little background: i decided to come home for thanksgiving. i missed it last year, and i just wanted to come home and be a part of it. plus, i would get to see my family and some awesome people i'm blessed to call my friends. i didn't want to tell my parents i was coming home -- i really wanted it to be a surprise. so i bought my tickets (which were completely free -- a gift from God!!!) and started planning. anna and i went back and forth planning and such until we had it covered. the plan was that anna would pick me up from the airport. she had asked our parents to meet her at a starbucks for a little bit. the story was that she had a thanksgiving dinner at work so she would be getting home late and ray (her husband) was going to be out watching monday night football with some people and she didn't want to go home just yet ( how's that for a run-on sentence :)? ). when they got there, i would be there too! so, anna picked me up from the airport monday evenin

um....can november have gone any faster? thanksgiving is thursday, for crying out loud. before we know it, christmas will be here. absolutely ridiculous.

so, it's been about a week since i last posted. but it feels like it's been about a month. for some reason, this last week feels as though it has been very full, with lots going on. this isn't, however, the case. i haven't been insanely busy. i haven't been out and about all the time. things have happened, but i don't feel as though this week has been any more eventful than others. i tend to measure my weeks by the weekends. that's how i remember when things are happening, or what has already happened. and last weekend seems like it was ages ago. in thinking about this last week, beginning with last friday night to now, i'm coming to the belief that the reason i feel like the week has been so long is because of the emotions i've experienced all week long. the emotional ride i've put myself through this week has caused the week to feel extraordinarily long. emotions are a beautiful thing. a God-given gift. they allow you to feel, to

ok, you have to click on this link and watch these videos.... http://improveverywhere.com/missions/ i watched a few of them, but the musicals (grocery store musical, i love lunch musical and the food court musical) are my favorite! enjoy!

today at the j: kids, playing in housekeeping... r: go call my girlfriend. w: who's your girlfriend? c? r: no! (kids keep saying names) w: is it k? r: (looking very insulted) no! she's my wife! hahaha :) and... (trying to talk to one of our kids about being still in circle and helping our friends listen) me: e, i know that you can listen and learn at circle when you're moving and rolling and talking. you understand things and you remember what we're learning even when you're all over the place. e: yep. because God gave me a brain.

so....here's some randomness for you: *i just made a turkey welcome sign. i love it. i'll show you pictures later. *i'm more than a little addicted to the show criminal minds. and may have a slight crush on dr. reid. there's just something about him....i can't figure it out, but i really like him. *my love for this show is just a tad strange. i do not like being scared. and every time i watch it, i get creeped out and scared. but i just can't seem to stop. nor do i want to. *i can't wait for christmas season! it's really hard waiting to pull out the music, the decor, the movies, the food. i can't wait. *following that, there is an event here in fell's point called "old tyme christmas". a full day of awesomeness. i've been excited since i found out about it.....about 2 months ago. *i feel like saying this: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! *and that made me miss my sister. because she just gets it. (and to the rest of my family, i miss

boy, has it been a long couple of months . so much has happened. meg's wedding/family vacation in charleston. the new school year started at the j. my car broke. and was fixed. and broke again. seeing the reactions of the hope village kiddos when we come to their doors. my computer hard drive crashed. being in a financial situation i never intended to be in. interviewing for a teaching job. waiting weeks to hear from said job, being encouraged by a phone call, then not getting it. being up and down. and up and down. and up and down emotionally. finally seeing where the wild things are. the toilet in our apt leaking. and the hot water giving out. a visit from maria and susan. coat drive with gallery at fast. and hope village. halloween. my one year in baltimore anniversary. and i'm sure there's more. but that's what i remembered off the top of my head. it would be really easy to look at that list and focus on the negative. i know. because there have b