Day 28

I get to start a new job tomorrow :). I am taking over for a teacher at an alternative high school. I'm pretty excited about it, but I am totally aware of how much I need to lean on His grace. I have 6 different courses I will be teaching, and no prep. So... I haven't been posting these last few days because I have been prepping. Anyhow. I have also felt the desire to take up running again, which is such a huge stress-reliever for me. Our neighborhood is mostly hills, which have always seemed insurmountable to me with running and I have avoided whenever possible. This season however, they seem to beckon to me. I keep saying in my mind, "I'm not afraid of hills." And I've gotten better at running them. I feel like it's so parallel to my life as a whole. I've often been afraid of hardship... difficulty. But as I've passed through different seasons, I've experienced that nothing can separate me from His hand. And I don't fear them anymore. Each day is a gift. Each season handcrafted from Him who is All-good. All of that makes me happy :).

Days 23 and 24 of the Sketch Project

I finally had a chance to sketch some live turkeys. It was just about dusk, twilight was setting in, and Blake came inside and asked Sara and I to come see something cool. A couple of toms (male turkeys) were getting ready to sleep for the night in a tree. I love when it is quiet enough to hear the frogs and the night noises and feel like summer is coming. My insides get happy!
Here is a picture of my cousin Sara's favorite phrase: (She has a flower on her ring-finger nail)

Day 22 of the Sketch Project

What a glorious day! Blake's cousin Sara (and my cousin now too) flew up from SoCal for a visit, so us girls went on a trip to pick her up. Sara is 31, but she had a brain tumor when she was a little girl, and still functions as one, sweetness and all :). Every minute (literally) she says to someone nearby, "Hey (so and so)..... I love you." She is staying all week with us, and I'm looking forward to a week of fun!

On her flight up, she was given a pack of Southwest playing cards, and some Southwest wings. Here is a sketch of the wings:

Days 20 and 21 of the Sketch Project

Happy Easters! Here is a sketch of a green apple in hand. A green apple in hand is better than an apple pie in the mind. heh. My hand got a little disproportionately long, but it still works:

This next sketch ended up taking a total of 30 seconds. We have tons of wild turkeys in our neighborhood, and it is hunting season. So blake got out his rifle for a quick look. It is a fast, rough sketch, but it's fun (no turkeys):

Days 18 and 19 of the Sketch Project

My brother-in-law Pete got me a super cool Christmas present this past year: a calculator watch... from Japan. It is orange and white, and all of my students are jealous:

Today, I also felt compelled to give an Ode to Birds. I absolutely love all things birds, so it was a bummer when I woke up to our cat, Bob, having left a scattered pile of feathers on the back porch. Bob is a vicious hunter. Also, while driving around, a bird decided to hang out in the middle of the street, and then met the grill on my truck. :(. So, a free sketch of birds: