11 Treasures in Today

1. Breakfast and the Word (Acts is seriously the coolest book!)
2. Morning walk with Emma ("faster Mom faster!")
3. Errands and hang out time with Mom (thanks for sewing my nursing patches on, Mom!)
4. A new blender (hooray for future smoothies!)
5. Starbucks with my wonderful mother-in-law Kris and Emma (until December... :)
(Emma says, "Thanks for sitting by me and protecting me from the wild and crazy skateboarders, Grandma K!")6. Pasta for dinner (a staple in the McGovern household)
7. Evening walk with J and Emma

I love these two. 8. Sunset (in Point Loma it's over the ocean... in El Cajon it's over the mountains... the cool thing is that it's the same sun)

9. J's photography (honey you are amazing)
10. House with java chip frappuccino ice cream (we are in the middle of the House season 4 DVDs right now...) and a shared water
11. Bedtime (this is coming very soon and it is probably my favorite time of the day)

Looking back at the future

Six days until school starts.
Six more days of shorts and tanktops, spontaneous Target trips with Mom, coffee dates, and extra long dinners.
Six more days of "Emma and Mom" weekday outings, checking my gmail instead of my apu email, and reading for fun instead of for... not so fun.
School is not so fun.
But, each day of school means I am one day closer to a BSN... and one step closer to a nurse.
A real job with a real paycheck and a real schedule with a real uniform. (scrubs of course!).
And so, although school feels like a loss of freedom, it actually is my avenue of gaining some life freedoms.
In the long run.
It's always in the long run.
Each day I will remind myself how nice it will be to come home from work and really be done with work.
I will think about the sacrifice J is making for me to go to school, and I am making to go to school, and we are making to be tight on money, and not with friends and family so much, or each other so much, and not home quite so much.
And I will remember the sacrifice my Savior made for me.
I will remember this is a tiny way that I can attempt to further His kingdom, by trying to do what I believe He has given me a heart for.
And one day I will look back and say, thank you Lord for that time in my life to get me to where I am today, as I continue to dream up my next big life plan.
And then I will remember that this is not the purpose.
The purpose is to bring glory to the Living God until we see His glory.
Lord, help me remember.
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2 Corinthians 4:17

The beauty of Monday

~ Emma at the beach
~ Coupons
~ J home early after going in really early
~ A full refrigerator
~ A successful homemade dinner (lemon pepper steak with bell peppers, corn-on-the-cob, and mozzarella sticks)
~ Yogurt Mill leftovers
~ House reruns
~ Emma in the bathtub
~ J lying on the floor petting Emma after her bath
~ Emma sound asleep on the floor next to me as I type
~ J next to me
~ This truth...

"For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."

Colossians 1:16-17

A wet dog is a happy dog

My little girl is growing up. Or shall I say, my puppy is growing up. Today I took her to the beach for the first time. I was afraid she wouldn't come when I called her... right. She ran so close to me that at times she had her head between my legs. At first she ran away from the waves, but when I went in the water and called "Emma!" she joined me. She lept and played and had so much fun in the waves (and circling me in the waves).

I began thinking about waves in my life - good waves, scary waves, new waves, familiar waves. I don't always greet each change in life with a bounding leap of excitement, welcoming more. Often times I want to run the other way. Specifically, I think about nursing and how incredibly scary it is for me to think about being responsible for patients' lives. It seems easier to run the other way. I would rather not start my second semester next week (out of four). But, I've made it through one. Each wave survived makes the next not quite as bad. So next week I am going to try to be like Emma, and leap into the semester with joy, ready for what is to come.

Thank you Emma for your simple mind. And for your joy.



"One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 3:13-14

Lazy days

Sunday moments of Joy...

~ Fun phone calls from my best friend in the middle of the night
~ Nap time with J
~ Emma prancing around the house with her bone
~ Pancakes for breakfast
~ Fans in the summer (and a barely surviving a/c)
~ Anna is in San Diego
~ The book Grandma got for me (Face to Face with God)
~ Realizing the unity of the church in the book of Acts
~ Yogurt Mill after pancakes :)
~ Watching House
~ Looking at pictures
~ Kissing my puppy

Saturday night blessings

Sometimes I am reminded of how blessed I am. Like tonight. Driving in the car with my J into a beautiful San Diego sunset. Great friends. Olive Garden's never ending pasta bowl. Laughing hysterically... until 10pm. Honesty. Authenticity.

Then I get to drive home with my wonderful husband. To OUR home. And Emma greets us from her spot on the couch, where she sleeps when we are gone, and perks her head up when she hears us. Luigi greets us from the front of his cage on his food bowl. I let her outside and then lie down on my bed with J, and we check our email. Emma jumps up next to us. And I know life is good. I am truly blessed.

Carly

One thing I love about no school in August is that my sister doesn't have school either. I love my sister! She is so fun and makes me laugh with her sarcastic jokes. We've gotten to hang out some this month (unfortunately, she is in the working world, unlike her big sis, so she has "real" things to do and is kinda busy...but not everyday!).

Today was super fun because she invited me to go shopping with her (one of my favorite pasttimes). We had so much fun! She bought me Jamba Juice (so sacrificial), went with me to return something, and was my car buddy. Then we got to meet up with our cousin for coffee, which was so fun! We have never really gotten together with her, so it was great to catch up and see each other.

I am so thankful for my sister. She is truly the best. I will leave you with a picture of when we got sushi and massages a couple weeks ago. I seriously love sisters!!

A Birthday Celebration

For my birthday, J booked us to go to the Padres game and stay at the Omni Hotel next door to the stadium. We went this past weekend. It was the best present ever!! Filled with special moments (hence why it made it on the blog :).

First off, we got to the Omni and got randomly selected to be upgraded to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Suite! OH MY GOSH! Seriously, this might have been larger than our condo. Three huge rooms and two large bathrooms, two entrances, two balconies, a kitchen, and a view of San Diego that I have never seen. Top floor of the Omni - we could see half of downtown, the entire island of Coronado, the Coronado Bridge, convention center, and half of Petco Park! Amazing.

Part of the suite

Half of Petco Park ;)

Coronado Island

Downtown San Diego at night

San Diego Convention Center

Then we got to go to the ballgame! And we got to walk across the Omni bridge! It's so cool - you walk across this little bridge and are in the ballpark without even walking out the front of the hotel.


And the Padres WON! Amazing! :) AND... I caught a give-away t-shirt!! For the first time ever!


We had SO MUCH FUN! Seriously honey, the best gift ever. Moments I will remember forever! I love you J!


And the best part was that we got to come home to the sweetest puppy ever and funniest bird. I love vacation, but I also love being home! What a blessing to have both :).

Spotlight: Emma

I have the cutest pets in the world. Seriously Emma is the sweetest 9 month old puppy ever and Luigi is the funniest little cockatiel! But this post is for today's moments with Emma. Last week Emma had to go to the vet for an ear infection, so today we went back to make sure it was better. You should see this little girl in the vet. EVERYONE thinks she's just the cutest. And she sits on the bench basically ON my lap while we're waiting to go back (sorta sad because she's nervous, but also very sweet). Then afterwards (she's healthy!) I took her to Petsmart to get a new leash (she has chewed her old one). She just sat in the leash aisle with me and waited while I took 20 minutes to try different ones on her collar to pick "the perfect one." (Still not sure if I picked the right one, but it was the best deal). She actually sat and took a bone from the cash register lady who offered it to her. And she drank water out of a Starbucks cup in the car. Now she's sleeping soundly on my bed while I type. I am convinced animals add so much to life. It's a gain you don't understand until you have your own. Then you think, how could I go back to no pets? They bring joy to life. Thank you Lord for moments with Emma.

August Blessings

I seriously love August. I never realized how much I loved August until this August. August means my birthday. It means no school. It means daily trips with Emma (our puppy) to the park. Beach days. Mornings with J. Homemade dinners (trust me, this is a new thing for me). Padres games and hotel stays with my amazing husband. Burn Notice. Shopping trips with my best friends and roomies (both of them :-). Massages with my sister. Talks about life. Coffee with Mom and Grandma. The Farmer's Market. I am the luckiest girl in the world to be blessed with August.

John & me at my birthday breakfast... sooo fun!

John, Ali and me at the Farmer's Market :)

Mark, Katie, J and me at Fred's for a birthday dinner

Emma and me on our way to the park!

"He has made everything beautiful in its time."
Ecclesiastes 3:11

"I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in your hands."
Psalm 31:14-15