American Girl Club

So somehow I volunteered to do a book club with the elementary grade girls at school. 

Ok, not somehow.. I know exactly how it happened.

I had some sweet girls tell me they wanted a club. I tried to think of what I could do for them, and remembered my favorite thing at their age... American Girls Dolls

I had Molly

My oldest sister had Samantha, and Second oldest sister had Kirsten. I was thrilled to get Molly. I played with her so much that I actually broke her leg and she had to go to the doll hospital. I might have taken her everywhere and wasn't always careful...

My dad surprised me by sending her to the doll hospital and having her fixed for me.I think I was just as excited for that as when I got Molly for the first time.

The dolls are wonderful in their own right, (It was great to get new outfits for them and their accessories, we typically only got new things for our dolls at Christmas.) but one thing that made them EXTRA special was that my mom loved them. She bought patterns and made a lot of their clothes. She would play with us, and loved seeing the look on our faces when we got something special for our dolls. 

It was her belief that every young girl should have an American Girl Doll, and my daughters will have one too. If I don't end up having any girls... well then my Nieces will just have to be spoiled by me.

 

a little catch up

The past couple of weeks have been a blur, so I am going to go back a little and catch you up. It might be a little stream of consciousness, but here we go...

We went up to watch the Super Bowl on.... well on a Sunday, I don't remember the date.

I think it is really weird that Kaepernick "kisses" the verses on his biceps after he finishes a good play because with that helmet on he isn't even close to actually kissing anything...

The next weekend we headed up to LA again for a friends wedding. Kyle was in the wedding so we were there from Thursday night - Sunday night... it was fun to see old friends, family, and of course it was great to go to the wedding.

I woke them up with the flash, but I couldn't help it.... it was so cute to see them cuddling.

When we got home we jumped into a busy week of work, but it ended so well with Valentines Day.

My desk was overflowing with Valentines from the students and parents. It was so sweet. 

Kyle drew this for me, He's so cute... I didn't take a picture of anything else he did. But I will try to take one from our date this weekend. 

My favorite Valentine of the whole day was from one of my favorite students. He sent his crush a poem that said:

"Courtney, I see you look at all the other guys, 

(and it really makes me yawn)

They are hamburger and french fries,

While I'm Filet Mignon"

HAHAHA! It made my day

 

Chosen

If you were to ask me who I am, I would probably give you a great answer such as: "First I am a Christian, and then I am a wife, then a daughter, sister, aunt... and so on." While I do truly believe that, in my lower days, the ones I struggle through a bit more, I can start to think that who I am is the culmination of what I get accomplished in a day. Or, I can think of who I am in terms of relationships, I am "so and so's" friend, I am Dave's daughter, I am a member of FBC. 

Again, those things are true, but it's easy to turn those into comparative relationships. My Dad has 5 daughters, and on any given day my sisters could be, and really are most of the time, much better daughters then I am. I may be someone's friend, but am I their BEST friend? I am a member of FBC, but again, I'm not the best member, being fully sacrificial and serving the church to the best of my ability... there is always going to be someone who can do better than me. 

Well this morning I listened to a sermon on 1 Peter 2:9 and I was so encouraged to remember that who I am is not based on what I do, and really brought my thinking back to.. "First I am a Christian.."

1 Peter 2:9

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 

"Now I love that first part as much as I love any of them. We are a chosen race. You have not just individuals but a race of people, and it's a race that's built across cultures and across colors.  There's a new chosen race, the church of Jesus Christ, the legitimate Israel of God, the chosen ones of God. Therefore, this race is made up of all tribes, all tongues, and all nations. So really, your identity as a part of the chosen race has nothing to do with you, but has everything to do with the fact that God has chosen you." -Matt Chandler

That is who I am, I am a chosen child of God, His possession.

In my low days I can remember this truth, and know that the most important thing I accomplish in my day is to  proclaim the excellencies of Him who called me out of darkness into light!