Patrick and I spent the day in God's word today, confessing good health and healing. I must say it's been an amazing experience for me, just being with God. I strongly recommend to anyone that feels blah or like you're just going through the motions to set aside a day to just be in the presence of God-it's so sweet.

School is going pretty well. Tomorrow is already May and I'm thinking how little of the year is left. I feel really good about the end of the year, and I even feel a little sad that the seniors are moving on to bigger and better things. In Chamber on Wednesday we made music that satisfies the deepest depths of a person's soul. I really can't put words down to describe it, but I do know that once we realized the meaning behind the text music flowed like honey. It's those moments that I hold on to for as long as possible. All in all I feel very at peace about work. I've just realized that I've been stressed the whole year almost without break. But now, now I feel such a peace. God has given me peace in my work-what a wonderful answer to prayer! I know there is still much to do before the school year is over, but it will all get done eventually. I'm putting my priorities in order.

We took Kiri and Ella to the dog park today-we haven't been in a while. Ella was so excited she could hardly stop "talking" (something between a whine and excitement). They played in the pond, shook off near me and Patrick several times, and then came home and took a nap. Dogs are great pets. They keep you active and always love you, at least mine do :o) They're the perfect substitute for children right now too. Patrick took Ella out by herself to go get the mail and left Kiri behind (because she's not as good off leash as Ella). Kiri was whining and whining so I said to her, "well dear, if you would stay close by when we ask you, you would be able to go get the mail more often." (I like to think she's my kid and she understands :o)

I wave farewell to April and welcome May with open arms.

I forgot to post these pictures from our trip in February to Flagstaff.

School is almost over...until August!

Well, school is going by pretty quickly. We just finished the musical. Seussical the Musical that is, and the kids were fabulous! All that hard work paid off. It sure did take lots of time and energy to put a show on like that. I'm glad it's over.

Patrick is in Washington watching Amy's (his sister) opera. She got the main role in The Magic Flute which is quite an accomplishment for a Sophomore undergraduate! I didn't go because of work. I'm definitely wishing I was there right now though. Patrick says it's green and lush and flowers are blooming everywhere. And here...well, I just turned on the air because I couldn't handle it anymore. Gotta love Mesa, Arizona.

I spent some time with my friend Ashley yesterday. We hadn't talked in a while, and it was so good to catch up. I know there are a lot of people I need to keep in contact with a little better than I have been.

My birthday was just on Friday and it wasn't everything I was thinking it was going to be. Patrick worked late and once he got off we went to La Z Boy to go order our new couch (my birthday present). We got there are were disappointed to find that the price we saw was for only one section of the sofa w/chaise. I thought they were one piece not two. Afterall, who's going to buy a couch with only one arm! So we ended up getting it anyway. After we were done it was about 8:15pm, and we decided to finally get some dinner. Patrick looked up this place online that played live jazz music, and he warned me ahead of time that he wasn't sure if it was good or not. So we went to go check it out. We drove a good 35 minutes into Phoenix and walked into this place. The lights were all red (a little creepy) and there were maybe 4 people in the whole place not including the bartender. He looked at me and said, "What do you think?" I said, "Let's go to Scottsdale." So that was a flop. We parked right across from Fashion Square and walked around a little to find a good restaurant. It was 9:25pm by this time and we didn't really find anything that appealed to us. So I suggested The Tortilla Factory-we had been there before and it was delicious. So Patrick looks up the address on his nifty phone and we decide to walk from where we were. After going in several circles and 25 minutes later we walk into the Tortilla Factory starving, well at least I was. They stopped seating at 10:15 so we made it just in time. We ordered some tasty food and some tasty beverages and didn't talk much. I think we were both tired and I was a little disappointed that things hadn't worked out so well that night. So that was my birthday. We got home around 12:15am and promptly at 4:15am Patrick's alarm went off. We got up, and I drove him to the airport for his flight to Puget Sound. So now he's there and I'm here.

I tried to transfer pictures from our camera to the computer but something isn't working. I might just have to buy a new cord or something.

Since the last post we've been relandscaping the back yard. Right now our sod is being put on hold because of some sprinkler issues, but I've been reassured it will happen this year. :) We have 4 trees and 3 hibiscus plants back there right now. It's been kind of tricky keeping the dogs out of the plants, and certainly impossible keeping them out of the dirt. I can't wait until we have grass!