paper hearts and chocolate...

usually i am one of those annoying girls who pretends to hate valentines day but secretly loves it and is just in a horrible mood because she doesn't have a valentine. but today i woke up with a great relization. today is a day we celebrate love and there are lots of people that i love and that love me back. HENCE (yes, i did just scream "hence" at you) the following is a list (not at all comprehensible) of my valentines. please to enjoy.

catching up...

it has been much too long since i posted something. i'm not sure why i let so much time pass between blogs... i have had many thoughts since early november. i sat down at the computer so many times to write, but for whatever reason no words came. i have found some things are hard to articulate. even though i don't have an exactly coherent thought to hand you i've decided to blog anyway. so here's a teensy tiny update on what i've been thinking the last couple of months:

work:
i don't think it's possible to express in a sentence the emotions that my job brings me. in a single day i can feel rage, joy, sorrow, frustration, and hope. after the new year we started a jr. high and high school small group and i've been shocked by how amazing it has been. i've been going through an andy stanley book with them and i am so proud by how they've recieved it. we sit on tuesday nights and talk about the state of our hearts. is there anything better than that? i have to say for every aspect of my job that makes me want to rip my hair out, there is a greater ammount of love. the love i have for the students makes my heart feel like it's going to beat out of my chest. i love them, even when they're loud, emotional, annoying and rude. i love them when they're curious, kind, and graceful. mostly i love that they are going to grow into men and women who we write history books about.

bingley:
mr. bingley is the fuzziest little miracle ever to waltz into my life. caring for his little life has injected a freshness into mine. i will never again doubt the power a pet can have. he's still just a pup, which is what i remind myself when he eats one of my shoes, pees in petsmart, or nibbles my finger. best bingley story of the moment: he has a toy giraffe that i put in his crate when i first got him. he now can't sleep without it. i watch as he drags it all over the house. he lays his little head on it when he naps and if it isn't in his crate when he goes to sleep at night he will bark till i toss it in there. so cute.

me:
i've been going through a lot since thanksgiving. i've made some pretty giant decisions (decisions i'm not quite ready to share on the interwebs) and i've made some significant changes. i'm working hard on myself. over the holidays i realized that i have a tendancy to put my needs at the very bottom of the heap. i don't voice my thoughts or feelings for fear of offending someone. even simple things like caring for my body i let slip through my fingers. so i'm working at it. i'm trying to find balance. mostly i'm trying to live my life like Jesus led his. i fail regularly, but i'm feeling stronger because of the effort.

well that's it. like i promised, it's just a teeny tiny update. more to come, of course.

my year in review...

well kitty-cats:

it's that time once again; for some reason i just feel that my first blog of a new year, must include some sort of unpacking of the year before it. so please to enjoy, my year in review

the 3 best student moments of 2011:

- when ricky told me he was going to quit soccer because it was getting in the way of church

- when avalon said she wanted to live the life God had for her, not the life she has for her

- when vince, waffs, and ricky helped strangers unload their luggage at camp, wearing superhero costumes.

the 3 best family moments of 2011:

- when i got a sister-in-law

- when emery was born

- moving back in with my momma and dad

the 3 best friend moments of 2011:

- going on the cruise to mexico with rachel and the ladies

- patrick's wedding

- valentines dates with jenna

the 3 best God moments of 2011:

- summer camp with the kiddos

- catalyst

- preschool chapel

the 3 best chelsea moments of 2011:

- finally coming to grips with everything dr. palameno has been telling me for years and accepting the PCOS

- getting Bingley

- trusting myself

copy-cat

as per usual, i'm copying my best blog ideas. anyway, i was trying to come up with a good and concise way to give ya'll an update on the life and times of chelsea lee... so i stumbled upon this. By the by, if you aren't reading my friend maryann's blog you are missing some amaze-balls stuff. here's my version:



currents, 9/27/2011...

1. current music: geez, the only way i could figure this out was to look at my most recently played list on my ipod, here's what came up: gungor, james taylor, glee, and mumford and sons.

2. current wishlist: to have my very last student loan all paid off. too bad i'm still a year away from that gem.

3. current tv show: the new girl- i am shocked by how much i love this show.

4. current location: i think that would be the front steps in the sanctuary of RLC during preschool chapel. i love watching those teeny-tiny little people sing songs to God and i adore that i get to help them figure out who they are going to be.

5. current book: the help. i don't care if it's a bandwagon, i loved reading this book.

6. current indulgence: spending all saturday catching up on what's recorded on my DVR. this is not only a waste of a DVR, but it's making me a couch potato.

7. current worry: that i'm not good enough. that i'm only giving my job, my family, my friends, and my life a percentage of me. that i'll never be able to be "all the way in".

8. current project: i'm building these drawers for under my bed. and yes, i'm just as impressed with that sentence as you are. let's all take a minute to ask God to make sure that they turn out awesome and not ugly.

9. current movie: i can't get enough of crazy, stupid love. i saw it like 4 times in theatres and i never do that. it was amazing. i feel like it speaks to me in some way that i can't quite get a hold of.

it's a puplife...

About a month ago I adopted the little face above. I had been thinking about getting a puppy for awhile, but it was one of those things that I think about and talk about and then decide it's too much work and move on to something else. But when some friends of mine adpoted a puppy (who was just the cutest thing ever) and told me that there was a little boy available in the litter I just did something totally spontaneous and snatched him up before someone else could.

The afternoon I brought him home I remember carrying this little fluff ball to my car and thinking, "UH-OH! Now you've done it... Now you've got this little creature to take care of." Puppies, in case you didn't know, are a lot like furry babies. Especially in the beginning. You wake up with them every 45 minutes because they ahve to use the bathroom, they're teething so they chew everything, they get into everything so you have to watch them, they cost a bunch of money as they need "stuff", they need love and discipline and mostly time. Time to train them to be good dogs and time to care for them.

Mr. Bingley is a lot of work. But here's why he's worth it: he's got the whole "unconditional love/adoration" thang down to a science. I mean, I'm this little guy's whole world. I know that sounds insane, to love being loved by a dog... and I'm not sure how exactly to explain it... but let's just say that Mr. Bingley came to me at just the right moment. He drives me crazy but he's also the best company after a long day.

So, dear blog, get aquainted with Mr. Bingley. I promise this isn't going to turn into a blog full of posts about my pet, but I can't promise I won't be posting cute pictures and stories now and then.