Well as I suspected...

Well, as I suspected... it's been a while! And lots and lots has happened! I was debating blogging in general for a while now, but after reading this post we're baaaack :) memory keeping is important, and I am really excited to work harder to be a better memory keeper. Our life is exciting and worth remembering.

Well first off, we've moved. Yes, we no longer live with my wonderful parents. We now live across town, right next to Stadium High School (where we lead YL). It's so fun being closer to... I dunno, EVERYTHING :) We love our apartment, and Austin even loves it because we are right next door to Wrights Park! He's loving his multiple times a day walks/runs/ball chasing :) I love decorating the new place :) Here are some BEFORE pics of the apt, when we were doing the walk through:

This is the bathroom, there are extremely deep floor to ceiling storage cabinets on the left, and the shower is DOUBLE the size of our last one :) haha I love the huge mirror and the sink!

This is the bedroom, unfortunately we didn't take a pic of the opposite wall (which has 2 large windows) but look at those closets!! So much storage, mine is the one on the right and Isaac's is the one on the left... just kidding :)

This is the breakfast nook. It's opposite the kitchen. It's not actually that dark and you can see Mt Rainier out it's window (Mom was very proud)

Yay for another tiny kitchen (the fridge is smaller with an inside mini freezer and no dishwasher) but the storage is like Mary Poppin's bag, we fit EVERYTHING in here (with the help of the wonderful Megan Jones :])

This is what you see of the living room as you enter the apt, we love the views and lighting from the windows. The doorway on the right leads to the kitchen which then leads to the bedroom. I LOVE the hardwoods. The entire apartment was just redone for earthquake safety (it was built in 1920s)

This is the view from the wall opposite the entrance. No surprise, but I LOVE THE BUILT INS!! :) That's the front door on the front left.

This is the storage room that is on the left as you enter the apt (the bathroom is on the right). Boy do we need this space :)

Hm... That's all the energy I've got! Here's some bullets of other things we've been up to:

• YL kick off was last Monday, it's gonna be a great year!
• NE Tigers cheer has been great! :) The 39 girls are awesome and so much fun!
• Norpoint Sting is doing AWESOME! They won their first tournament (undefeated) and won their game yesterday 9-0, Isaac is an awesome coach!
• I LOVE my job and teaching has been great this year!
• Isaac is no longer working for DB, and is pursuing a career as a teacher :)
• The Tacoma Teachers are on strike... my first full year of teaching I'm not teaching :( Hopefully it'll end soon...
• I just turned 23! Now I'm old! :)

More to come!

another summer update

today is July 6. summer is flyyyyyin by!! we are having so much fun and i would consider praying for it to never end...

that would be if i wasn't teaching again next year at the best high school in tacoma {i'm sure i'm not partial or anything...} i interviewed last week for a continuing contract back at SAMi and they offered me the job! my summer will be ending aug 29 when i go with the entire school to camp :) what public school starts their year with a 3 day camp? SAMi :)i'm so excited to be back!

in the meannnnntime... i've been spending most of my days with my two main ladies {linds and alli}. we've been snugglin and watching movies at home...

skimming at the beach at skimcamp as isaac's campers :)

piggin' out at RTB {round table buffet for those not in the know}

and making super awesome headbands we found on pinterest

and today we went to wildwaves {unfortunately no pictures, but very fun!!}

this weekend was the DB Pro/AM Skimboarding Competition a DashPoint State Park. the weather was perfect, and the day was amazing! for detailed information you can check out the DB Website buuuut isaac took first in the PRO, Josiah took 3rd in the AM, and Seth took 1st in the U16 :) So much fun and there were even girl competitors {3} this year which was so fun! Here's a pic of the top 5 pros:


Photo by Matt McDonald | More Photos: here


And here's one of the ladies who helped cheer them on:


in addition...we've been hanging out with friends, family and lost more fun stuff :) we had the privilege of attending our friend Lorien & Taylor's wedding... they had these super cute centerpieces honoring all the teachers at their wedding.. guess who got a shout out :)

their wedding was so fun and filled lots of personal touches {like a peanut butter and jelly unity sandwich} so fun to see lots of college friends...

coming up in the Thomas household:

*YL Camp Malibu
*3 more weddings {1 that I am honored to be a part of}
*Our 1 year wedding anniversary {camping and mini-trip}
*skimboard competitions
*lots and lots more :)

hoping isaac will post about the comp a bit, but not so sure about that actually happening... see ya in a month {always hope for sooner, but inevitably it takes way too long to do updates}.

<3 the thomas's

Summer so far..

This post is very scattered and it took me 3+ days to actually "complete" it... I apologize in advance.

We cannot believe it's already the middle of June. We've been married for almost 11 months. yikes.

Well, my first year of teaching is OVA. Caboots. Sianara.

We wrapped up the year with a week long mini-term. I taught "Hiking" with another teacher. We closed the week with an overnight camping trip with 27 teenagers. Isaac graciously offered to attend as the male chaperon. What a swell guy. Now he knows a little bit more about what high school is like when you aren't actually a high schooler :)

For the first time ever, Isaac doesn't have a "summer break" now it's a summer is when life gets busier and crazier :) He left EARLY this morning for Bellingham-->Canada for a skim comp, with a few work stops along the way and back. Me=sad he's gone < happy for him to be having fun!

I began nannying this week which was so fun :) I am so happy to be spending yet another summer with these amazing girls! We've already gone to the $2 theater to see Soul Surfer and went to Dash Point Beach with friends :) Next week Wild Waves is on the schedule, cant wait!

I recently (earlier this year) got involved with a non profit football league in our neighborhood. I am helping to coordinate the inaugural year of their cheer program, and I'm so excited!! Karlene is going to be helping me coach (double excited). We had a canceled carwash this morning, so did registration instead. We have 25 girls signed up already! I am really looking forward to getting to know the girls and their families. Allison {the younger girl I am nannying} is signed up and I am SO excited for more time to play with her! So stinkin cute!

Isaac was recently recruited to coach for a U-13 girls rec soccer team, and he is so excited! Lindsey {the older sister I'm nannying for} is on the team, and he is looking forward to coaching her. A bunch of the girls were on the soccer team I coached at Meeker MS last fall, so it will be fun to see them play under Isaac :)

We are starting to get involved in coordinating a Young Life program at Meeker MS, while still staying involved at Stadium. We're going to Malibu at the end of July, and will be fundraising like crazy for the next month or so to get all our kiddos to camp! :)

Overall, the summer is off to a great start and life is going great! Hopefully summer will allow for more updates on here about our life... hopefully. And just because no post is complete without a picture, here's one of Isaac, Aus, and his uncle Toby on a walk on trails right on the outskirts of our neighborhood :)

LOVE these guys so much.

I feel like I say this a lot buuuttt:

It's been a while. I am sorry. All I've been posting is random links/photos of things that I've been liking... Sorry. I've discovered I am better at reading others blogs than updating ours.

We are both FULL time adults (i.e. we are both working {and being paid!!} full time!). Isaac is working full time at DB and I am working full time as a Geometry teacher at SAMi . We both LOVE our jobs, but are missing a bit of our free time.

Along with working, we are both still leading YL and are getting more and more involved within our church. We LOVE our church and working for YL has been a.m.a.z.i.n.g. In fact, YOU should get involved!

We are in the process of figuring out our summer plans!! :) I am so excited! Isaac will be working full time still for DB running skim camps, the store front, and I'm sure a ton of other odds and ends, all while also competing and skimming all the time. I will be nannying for the two most wonderful young ladies in the entire world {for our 4th summer :]} and I am so excited! We also are attending quite a few friends' weddings and hoping to take a few weekend+ trips locally. We are currently working to plan a mini-vacation for our 1 year anniversary {HOLY COW!!}

Yesterday was our 9 month anniversary (yes, we are celebrating monthly until we reach 1 year...) and we didn't even remember until 8 PM.

Yesterday was also Easter. We had SUCH a great day celebrating with family. Isaac was gone Friday (4:15 AM) until Saturday night (3:00 AM) in Texas as a skimboarding competition with Emile and Tony. He had SO much fun: got a beautiful tank top "tan" (aka lobster burn), placed 2nd, and met tons of new people while hanging out with a fe of his closest friends. :)

OK now I'm back... finishing the other half of this post a few days later.. but that's how we're rolling lately....

We get to be home this weekend and I am so excited to just HANG. :) Maybe we will post a bit about some of the other fun adventures we have been up to lately.

Maybe not :)

Haha


OH and our great friends Greg and Britt got engaged last weekend... They are wonderful. I went to Boston with both of them and WE went to Costa Rica with both of them also :) :) We are so excited and secretly (or not so secretly..) praying for them to gravitate south to be close to us.. LOVE them. Here the adorable couple is:



Aren't they cute?? :) Can't wait for this wedding!!

Be back soon!!

Yes Please: What a dreamy kitchen

loving this dreamy kitchen & casual dining room (brick, round table, and much more) :) .... if I had a million dollars :)

painted silverware

First I saw this in a magazine, and now someone else did it too :) Can't wait to try it!

Yes Please: take a look at this beauty

well as we might have mentioned before, we're hopeful home buyers.

take a look at this beaut.

brick. the yard. hardwoods. ++much more.

we're lovin it.

Yes Please: a perfect dining room table

Well isn't this perfect for our non-existent budget?? :) YES PLEASE!!

We're outta here!

Leaving in T - 5 minutes for a mini trip with our Thomas family out to Leavnworth, WA :)





Here's to hoping that IF I venture into the snow that a repeat of LAST time does not occur :)



Have a great week!

Yes Please: Huge laundry room sink

I feel like all I've been finding lately is "wants" but if we could find a huge sink like this maybe at the ReStore or something I would just be so happy. There are just so many reasons to LOVE having a huge sink in a laundry room. yes yes yes.

Fun decoration

love this idea to use some of the sheets I've been saving :]

Something to do with all our insulators

this is so cool.

I can't wait to make them...

Did you see the brick in the background of one picture... love it.

why hello there

we're alive!

isaac graduates THIS saturday, march 19, 2011.

after that i have a two week (yup, my school takes a two week) spring break!
for spring break we are going to take a few mini-trips, day trips, and stay-cations. i.cannot.wait to just HANG :)

Isaac will start work full time at DB and boy is he excited. childhood dream come true excited. skimboarding and working for a skimboard (+ skateboard, etc.) company... he will be a very happy boy :)

we have been informed that we will be "DINKS" haha (double income no kids)

and with being DINKS come some pretty exciting things :) as in we have been spending quite a large amount of time at places like www.zillow.com





AAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDD another exiting thing....

one of my sweet friends, Shannon, GOT ENGAGED!! :) She was one of the bridesmaids in our wedding and we are just SO HAPPY for her and her fiance, Justin!




We love you Shanimal :)

Yes Please: YELLOW Barn door

same blogger as the head board, and again I am thrilled to try this out. Could this get anymore amazing? I'm thinking: NO.

Oh, and I have a job!! :)

A real life, adult, job teaching math to teenagers.

Typing that is overwhelming.

My job is here. And I could not be happier!

Yes Please: brick kitchen, or brick anything

this is the best kitchen I have ever seen. I LOVE it.

Yes Please: Painted Subflooring

This is so cool. What a fun and CHEAP option for just about any room :] My mind is racing with ideas...

if only we had a house...

Oh. My. Word.

I am off to present my plan to make this exact thing to Isaac the second I finish typing this.






From here

I am so excited.

I am forever learning.

Well, duh. Haha, but it is very true. So up until about a week ago I had our life figured out. I mean really figured out. Well at least the next 10 years or so, no biggie. Hm. I am dumb. So dumb.

Literally the day after God sent me into unfamiliar territories subbing in a "scary" high school I am presented with the opportunity (and about 1 hour to prepare myself) to sit down with a few administrators from the district in regards to a few math positions that were opening up IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR at a few unknown schools.. how does this happen?? :] It's like God gave me a glimpse of confidence so that I would say "maybe I can do this" and then he provides me with a REAL LIFE possible opportunity to actually DO IT. I was FREAKING out; super shocked, nervous, excited, and about a million other emotions all at once. The "conversation" went really really well and I am checking out a few schools next week and I cannot wait! {I will tell more about the schools and experiences after I actually see where this goes and how it all plays out}

BUT... this was not my planned life. Working at these schools did not fit into THE PLAN.

THE PLAN was not the original plan. It wasn't even the second plan. But it really felt like God's plan for our life. We felt like it was all swinging together in one full circle cycle, and this new opportunity threw us for a loop. We are currently YL leaders, living and {I was} attempting to work within this particular community, also volunteering and getting involved in multiple organizations/programs all circulating around this particular community, and it all felt right. We love building with and working in communities. We love investing and giving to the community in which we live. This new possibility {at least at this point} doesn't feel very close to "our community".

I talked and prayed with friends and family and sought advice from mentors. I prayed {and am still praying, and would love help} bold prayers for God to close doors and help me to see His clear intentions and we will see how next week goes. At this point I feel at peace with things either way. But this is really a lot more up in the air than I am used to feeling.

I don't know why I think I have the right to sit and plan out my fantasy life for hours on end; like my plan could be anything close to His plan. I know God will lead us to a life better than anything we could dream up, so why do I even try to plan ahead for so much that just is not necessary. Being prepared and thinking ahead is one thing, planning to the details and exact timing that I feel at times I just must do is very very... dumb.

My bff Megan sent this to me the other day from her devotional, and I have been reading it to myself over and over:

" Much much stress resuts from your wanting to make things happen before their times have come. One of the main ways I assert My sovereignty is in the timing of events. If you want to stay close to Me and do things My way, ask Me to show you the path forward moment by moment. Instead of dashing headlong towards your goal, let Me set the pace. Slow down, and enjoy the journey in My Presence."

and then this one from another day:

"Let me prepare you for the day that stretches out before you. I know exactly what this day will contain, whereas you will have only vague ideas about it. You would like to see a map, showing all the twists and turns of your journey. You'd feel more prepared if you could somehow visualize what is on the road ahead. However, there is a better way to be prepared for whatever you will encounter today: Spend quality time with Me. I will not show you what is on the road ahead, but I will thoroughly equip you for the journey. My living Presence is your Companion each step of the way. Stay in continual communication with Me, whispering My name whenever you need to redirect your thoughts. Thus, you can walk through this day with your focus on Me. My abiding Presence is the best road map available."



One day at a time and I will be more aware and aligned with the best plan possible: His plan.

today was a good day.

today i was scared/nervous/being a baby.

i took my first real sub job and i knew it would come and that i would never be ready but i took it.

first of all, i was pretty sure subbing was NOT going to be for me because i am not the kind of person who feels good about showing up somewhere to teach without a PLAN.

second, i look a 17 year old. who the heck is going to listen to me when i look the same age, if not older, than them. even when i try to dress older, i still look young.

third, i am that kid. the kid that spent high school pretty comfortable, and didn't really leave the comfort zone at all for college, etc.

today i went to a "scary school". i knew i would sub at schools i hadn't been to or was scared of in school, but i thought i would get the opportunity to ease into these schools... maybe start with a more familiar school? or at least a middle school? but no. i get called for a "scary" HIGH school.

it was a call for only three hours of subbing in a math class... so I took it.

as i drove up to the school, my stomach got sick.

when i got to the office the office administrator was walky-talkying the security guard to escort a boy out of PE who had his friends lift him up so he could "show is b-o-t-t-o-m" to the neighboring class in PE. yup, i was really here and this totally made me feel better not.

then i went to the class.

it was so fun. i really love subbing and high school students and math and meeting DIFFERENT types of students and i can't wait to go back! yeaaaaah!

today was a good day.

and that's the truth.

My dresser broke...

When I moved out of the dorms sophomore year of college my lovely mother treated me to a new bedroom set from Ikea. I was so excited (I had been using hand-me-downs from the neighbor in my home bedroom for the past 8+ years). We went with this set (the bed small drawers and three drawer dresser). I think some of them are different or discontinued... no wonder because... they are super crappy. Like really super duper crappy. My dresser broke sophomore year, but this time is is REALLY broken. As in, only one of the drawers has a partial base.

I was bummed because I knew one drawer broke, and because I was trying to finally clean up my vanity area... but no. I couldn't clean up because I have nothing to put my stuff away in.

Now I unfortunately {that was for Isaac} need to find a new dresser, and this makes me very excited! I will be looking for something free, or very close to free, and painting/fixing up :] I am SO READY for a new project!

We have basically decorated our whole home... so this will give me something to do for a few days/weeks! Can't wait!

project to try :]

I would like to try to make this when I get a chance :]

http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-tuesday-pillow-with-rosette-clusters-from-felt-furnishin-5095/

I know it is so stereotypical but...

I really really want to make some sort of bucket list. I have been thinking lately {who am I kidding, I am always thinking about these sort of things} a lot about the future... I have probably talked Isaac's ear off for the past 7+ years about the future. I am CONSTANTLY a year or M.O.R.E ahead of myself. I think to myself all the time about how I need to be enjoying the moments I am living and taking in every minute of this particular time in our lives because we are only going to be newlyweds living in the downstairs of my parents house with our one perfect dog with little to no income eating nachos and paninis four or more nights a week {Isaac is totally going to cringe at this run on sentence} where ALL of our furniture is hand-me-downs, free, or craigslisted and we don't own our car {yes, singular} pay many {or any!} real bills ONCE in our lives. And it's not that I am not happy. I am so happy, and grateful, and flat out in love with my life. In fact, I think the "problem" is that I am so everything that I just can't wait to see what's coming next. HM. is this still a "bucket list" post? haha...

I guess this means for now, despite all of the great things I just cannot wait to do and watch unfold within our lives, a bucket list is not happening.

THIS YEAR I AM GOING TO LIVE THIS YEAR.

and that's the truth.