#amandawantswater

hi internet friends. the truth is i have had zero time to update you on le blog in the midst of work, school, life, etc. but i haven't forgotten about you AND i wanted to share an awesome opportunity with you.

my birthday is coming up in november. i'll be turning 28! and while that is so amazing there are literally thousands, maybe millions, of people around the world that will never see their 28th birthday due to water-related disease. developing countries only dream of clean water. mothers watch their children bathe in and drink water that they know is deadly. because they have no other choice.

let's give them a choice. let's give them hope in the form of clean water, shall we?

instead of presents or well wishes, this year i'm asking you for clean water for my birthday. i am pledging my birthday to charity: water in the hopes that i will raise $280 that will go toward providing clean water to a community in Ethiopia. what is even more exciting is that right now Keurig is going to double your donation. double. that's amazing.



will you consider visiting my birthday campaign to learn more about how you can help change the world with clean water? will you consider sharing this post or my birthday campaign on your own facebook, blog, twitter? will you consider making a donation to my campaign? don't think i don't want your money. i do. i'll take a dollar. because a dollar could change a life.

here's the facts:
100% of your donation will go directly to funding clean water in Ethiopia.
actually 200% of your donation will go to clean water in Ethiopia, because of Keurig's generous donation in your honor.
water related disease kills over 3.4 million people every year.
that's way higher than the number of people that are killed by war or violence every year.
lack of access to clean water supports gender inequality in developing nations.

right now, in honor of #thankfulthursdays i'm running a super awesome contest to kick off my birthday campaign. the first person to make a donation of $10 or more to my birthday campaign will win a $5 Starbucks gift card. the first person to make a donation of $20 or more will win a $10 Starbucks gift card.

for the duration of my campaign i'm asking you to share share share the hashtag #amandawantswater. if you share your donation with #amandawantswater, you will receive a special thank you from me!

i'm so thankful for clean water. i hope i never take it for granted. will you help me give that gift to a community in Ethiopia for my 28th birthday?

the prayer i didn't pray

i'm not typically a procrastinator, especially when it concerns school. 

just ask G. he will gladly recount the many times i've placed school related activities at such a high premium that i forgot he even existed. i jest. mostly.

however, the winter break inspired a complacency within me that even sloths would scoff at. 

and in the haze of christmas joy i procrastinated in ordering my spring textbooks.

until two weeks before school. which i really didn't think would be an issue thanks to amazon prime and free two day shipping. 

only the texts i needed were unavailable for two day shipping.

alas, i placed my order through my school's online bookstore a full 10 days before the start of spring classes and expected both of them to arrive in plenty of time. except that 4 days later, the aforementioned bookstore unexpectedly cancelled my order.

um, thanks?

so i did what any rational adult would do. i panicked. and i cried. until finally i was forced to place another order and concede that i would not receive one of my texts in time for the first day of class. maybe not even the first week of class.

which led to more crying and more panicking. it's just a book. and i thought my whole educational career was crumbling at my feet.

so i prayed about it. except i didn't pray about it. i didn't even think about praying about it.

and then two days later...

my package arrived. it was sent priority two day even though i had been told that wasn't an option

and God whispered to me beautiful words about trust and faithfulness through that padded envelope.

and even James the kitty rejoiced over the grace of God demonstrated through two day priority mail.

i'm thankful that God is faithful even when i'm not paying attention. that he gives good gifts. the very best gifts. and i'm thankful that God used priority two day shipping to remind me that he loves me.

what are you thankful for? link up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with #thankfulthursdays

a new year

i obviously have been slacking on the #thankfulthursdays posts.

i'm sorry.

so to start it off i'm thankful for these ladies.

marriage has brought some awesome people into my life. i love the sisters that i've gained by marrying G. but these ladycakes are also like sisters to me. and i love them! 

what are YOU thankful for? link up on twitter, facebook, and instagram and don't forget to tag your post with #thankfulthursdays

time

It seems like everyone we know either recently had a baby, is getting ready to have a baby, or wants a baby. This is great news for me because, as I've mentioned before, I love babies.

I love to hold babies. Even crying babies. Because I realize that people only stay teeny and squishy for so long. I was 15 when my baby brother was born and I held him every chance I got. I cuddled him all. the. time. And let me tell you. I don't regret one second of all that baby loving. Because he'll never be that small and new ever again. In fact he turned twelve this week and I am in denial.

Whenever I talk about babies, people tend to think I have major baby fever. 

Actually I have the opposite of baby fever. I have the "I think I might have a mental breakdown if I found out I was pregnant" fever. If that's even a type of fever. I love babies. But I just don't want one of my very own yet. Yet. 

Someday I will probably fill this blog with thousands of pictures of my kid doing absolutely nothing. And gush over how smart and funny and brave and clever they are. I will probably be that mom who thinks my kid is prettier and better in every way than your kid. Hopefully I will also be the mom that keeps those opinions to myself. 

But right now I am a wife. A new wife. And let me let you in on a little secret, mmk? The second year is so much better than the first year. I can't tell you how thankful I am to be enjoying the second year of marriage baby free. G and I need this time to ourselves. We are grateful to God to have this time to ourselves. 

I'm thankful for all the cute little babies in my life to love and snuggle. But I'm also extremely thankful for time for me and G to live life, be selfish with each other, and enjoy the time when it's just us.

thanksgiving 2013

last saturday our home was filled with friends for our annual friendsgiving. our little house was filled with the sound of little feet and toddler voices. the quiet laugh between friends catching up. the clinking of plates and passing dishes. the low roar of multiple conversations. and the quiet moments with full bellies. 

it was a good sweet day.

 

today we're spending time with family. my family for lunch. G's family for dinner. it's a long day but we're so grateful to have today with them. i thought i'd just pop in to remember some of the many things i'm thankful for. 

...

our little house so full of love

family that will always stick by us

friends that love to the end

animal babies that fill our hearts and drive us nuts

quiet nights at home

our church that we serve with and worship with

celebrating new marriages and new babies

most of all today i'm thankful for grace that makes life sweet and worthwhile and meaningful

...

i hope your thanksgiving is full of love and laughter. i hope you can find gratefulness and joy whatever your circumstances may be. 

birth

the only thing i wanted for my birthday was tickets to the UGA vs. AppState game. i think that i should be given a cookie for asking to go to a football game for my birthday.

i am actually a big Georgia fan. i am not a fan of SEC football in general...i'm from north carolina and i bleed carolina blue. but anyone that can beat the Florida Gators has my vote. Gators = no bueno. 

G was smart enough to get tickets near the AppState band in the visitor's section. and even though we were surrounded by red, it was nice to hear our band play our fight song. Go... Fight...

this is App's mascot, Yosef Mountaineer. he was twerking and running around like a crazy person and i had to chase down this poor person in the over-sized head for this picture. and it was worth it.

UGA is in Athens. Georgia. i'm sure it's not as awesome as Athens, Greece, but it is a cool college town. we parked behind this local coffee bean roasting company. and of course, i made G pause to play model.

and then i played model for G. in my youth sized shirt. i still rocked it.

G and i were both on band the day after the game at our church, so we had to head straight home. but we made a pit stop at P. F. Chang's for birthday dinner. o. m . g. i know it's a chain restaurant and not very hipster of me. but seriously, as an asian person i feel qualified to say that P. F. Chang's is so yummy.

basically. i had an amazing birthday. thanks to G. and my family. and my friends. i am so blessed and so thankful for all the awesome people in my life who love on me and celebrate the highs with me and stand in the lows with me. 

thank you for the best ever start to a new year of life. crushed it.

it's been one week

this #thankfulthursdays every day in november thing is really helping me realize i have a. lot. to be thankful for.

just in case you haven't been following me on instagram (alovesg), i thought i'd post a little recap of what i've been thankful for so far this month.

day one

a husband not participating in "No Shave November". beards = no beuno.

day two

an early birthday present from my frand.

day three

my view from my street

day four

a chance to go back and keep going

day five

driving to work with the sunrise

day six

a snuggle buddy while the husband was away

what are YOU thankful for? post your #thankfulthursdays posts along with me every day this month on facebook, twitter, and instagram. it's never too late to join in and get thankful! perhaps your post will even make this super famous blog. 

really really thankful

Instead of No Shave November it's going to be #thankfulthursdays every day in November. Follow me on instagram for daily (!!!) #thankfulthursdays updates. My handle is alovesg

Feel free to join in the thankful spirit by posting to facebook, twitter, and instagram with the #thankfulthursdays hashtag thingy. Let's get thankful!

ash

Saturday was Ashley's family birthday party. Ashley is Gary's younger sister. I think they fought a lot growing up. They might tell you it's because they're so different. But really, it's because they are the two most stubborn of the four siblings.

The above picture is James' contribution to the party. I volunteered to make gluten free mac & cheese (a huge success) and James decided she would help by preparing the dish. Don't worry. I washed it out after this photo was taken and James was banned from further assistance. But it's the thought that counts.

Anyway. Ashley's birthday. Ashley is as strong as she is fragile. She is feisty but also sweet. She is passionate and organized and focused. She is also one of the least judgmental people I've encountered yet fiercely loyal. If Ashley loves you she will always have your back. And I love the dependability of that quality.

I am so thankful for Ashley. I'm thankful for all of Gary's family - for in-laws that I love and love me back. Happy belated birthday, Ash. I hope 27 is the best year yet!

tiny pepper

Let's start this post with honesty, shall we?

I had a hard time deciding what I was thankful for this Thursday. Not because I have so many things I'm thankful for that it's hard to choose one...but because I haven't exactly had a very thankful week.

There are plenty of things I have to be thankful for. I've just forgotten to actually BE THANKFUL. It's not that I don't appreciate the things I have, I do. But part of thankfulness involves action. I have to act thankful by using what I've been given, by valuing what is valuable, and by giving God the glory for everything I have. And well this past week, I kind of just went about my business and didn't really think about being thankful until it came time to write this post.

No bueno. 

But truthfully that's what I started #thankfulthursdays. I need accountability. I need a constant reminder that I am so blessed and need to give thanks to my Savior who gave it all for me. 

So this week I am thankful that God continues to bless me, sustain me, and restore me even when I'm not all that thankful for it. I'm thankful for his goodness in my complacency. I'm thankful that he's always faithful, so constant, and so full of new mercy every day. 

(sidebar: obviously my pictures are unrelated to my words in this post, but hey. i'm rockin' what i got. also. G took the picture of the tiny pepper and i thought it was just oh so cute.)

it's the little things

Lately, G has been playing with my hair. I'm not really the type of person that likes to be touched a lot or have her hair played with...it's just not my thing. But there's something so sweet and simple about my hubs twirling my hair while we're watching tv on the sofa. 

A couple weeks ago G spent all day Sunday watching football at his friend's house. I was totally fine with it because I had a lot of schoolwork to get through. But we're so busy through the week that the weekends are usually the only time we have to do anything fun together and I knew we'd be giving up some of that time. While he was gone, he sent me a text and totally unexpectedly told me he wanted to go on a froyo date when he got home. 

I don't want to take these little things for granted. I want to cherish them and remember them and celebrate them because even the little things matter. So this week I'm thankful for hair twirling and frozen yogurt dates.

Take a journey into my mind

Sometimes I wonder if I'm crazy to maintain a blog. I work in a public sector and anyone could just google my name and find my blog. I really don't like that.

Also, I find it really hard to be as brutally honest as I want to be. Some of my favorite blogs share some of the hardest stories. And I want my blog to be a place where I can record the hard things and the good things. But I'm afraid that if I tell you about the things I suck at and struggle with, that your judgment will be too much for me. I worry that I'll say too much or not enough and you'll misunderstand me.

But for today, I'm going to let all of my insecurities about this blog go and just tell you what's really on my mind.

I felt really guilty when my grandmother died in August. Because I didn't adore her the way people typically adore their grandparents. In fact, I disliked her a lot of the time. She said and did things that made our relationship hard. And I was unforgiving. And that unforgiveness turned into bitterness and then her mind went and it was too late to heal what was lost. She is the one who taught me how to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children". She's the grandmother who taught me nursery rhymes and how to like pretty things. I never got to mend that relationship. It just kind of died and then she died.

When my grandmother died it made me really question other relationships that could be healed but aren't. Last year my relationship with my other grandparents fell apart. For a lot of reasons, my grandfather and I stand on opposite sides of some important issues. And he threatened me based on those disagreements, and not for the first time. So I walked away and didn't look back. I still go around for family things. But I barely speak to him. In the last year and a half I've said a handful of words to my grandparents. And none of those words were "I love you". I have no idea how to begin healing that relationship. Some days I don't even know if that's what I really want. 

And I'm afraid that these feelings and damaged relationships make me a failure. Satan tells me over and over again that I am a failure. He loves to point out how all these things are my fault. All the things I've done wrong in these relationships. How I'm unlovable. I believe the devil when he tells me how ugly, and messed up, and damaged I am. I believe him because I am messed up. But the real failure is that some days I believe that's the end of the story.

But that's not the end of the story at all. While Satan is screaming my failures to me, Jesus is whispering that it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how ruined or spent I might be because it's not about me. Grace isn't given to prove how deserving or loving I am. It's the opposite. Grace is given to prove how loving and deserving God is. I am undeserving and damaged and unlovely. But God still wants me and loves me and pursues me with relentless love because he deserves my love and praise. And maybe those words seem counter-intuitive to you. But for me, the Gospel story frees me. Because my story doesn't hinge on how good I am. It hinges on how good God is.

I don't have it all figured out. I can't go back and change the way things have happened. But God already knows the end of my story. And it ends in his glory. And I am so thankful for that.

thankful thursdays.

i'm over throwback thursday. otherwise known as #tbt. frankly, i don't want to relive the glory days of straight cut bangs, matching cotton shorts outfits, and jellies. oh, you didn't wear that? i'm sorry you weren't cool.

then there's the first two years with braces. and then two more years. oh, you have perfectly straight teeth? good for you.

i digress.

i want to be thankful on thursdays instead. not horrified at my childhood fashion choices displayed on instagram for all to see.

so this thursday i'm thankful for a lot and yet not enough. i'm thankful for my husband. even though he drives me absolutely nuts sometimes. he's so faithful and i'm lucky to have someone so dedicated to glorifying God in marriage.

guys. let's get thankful. #thankfulthursdays