the thursday thirty, issue six.

this life is a beautiful one, and here are just some of the things/moments/people that have made these past several weeks all that they were. perhaps they all add up to thirty, perhaps a few more or less.. but i hope you are able to identify with a few of these smile-makers nevertheless. :]

• for my birthday earlier this month, my precious mom sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers - the first time i've ever had them delivered! after a mix-up [or should i say fiasco!] with fed-ex, i got a bonus bouquet from the flower company. here they are! almost three weeks later, they're still lookin' good!

• i wish you could meet my nieces and spend even five minutes in a room with all three of them. as they approach their 4th birthdays this summer, it seems like zoey, sydni, and kaitlyn keep getting sweeter and livlier every time i see 'em. if you haven't already, go read my last blog post about a story from kaitlyn. and pray for my mom and i as we babysit all three of them while my siblings have a night out - at a rick springfield concert, no less. ;) i can't wait until my fourth niece, ari jade, finally arrives in june! a whole gaggle of little girls - what could be better?

my brother and the girls sent me a care package for my birthday, complete with drawings! is it just me, or does zoey's seem to have a picture of that creepy guy on lord of the rings?!

• teaching conversation labs with our international students in the intensive english program is such a blessing [and i'm even more blessed to teach them with my roommate and best friend!]. this semester, we've had a blast with students new and old. the pictures below are of our level 3 class playing phase 10 and the level 4's creations for our lesson on invitations and appointments. we have too much fun most days. :)

[bahaha. kelly's is the 'aztec party,' just so you know. and the green one is complements of sergej, a student from bosnia. he apparently is hosting a dance party. and he's a sexy machine. geez.]

• oh, the oscars. it was a privilege to watch it with my dear friends and compete in a nominee poole with them - even though addi won, i'm not sour. *ahem* :) if you didn't watch it live or haven't had the opportunity to youtube the acceptance speeches yet, go here and here!
• le roi soleil is perhaps the most beautiful theatric creation of the century, and our french club got to watch this musical about louis xiv last week. oh man. you need to buy it. and a special french dvd to watch it on... or just stick with the youtube clips!

• speaking of french club, our mardi gras get-together was this tuesday, of course, and brought with it my first king cake experience - in which a plastic baby is hidden inside a cake [strange, i know!] - and mask construction with kelly and sebastien. yes, we get wild here at obu. =)

• my tesol [teaching english to speakers of other languages] methods class, though it soars over my head most days, is still one of my favorites. and because i'm such an organizing freak, assembling our portfolios [which will be in this giant red file box] and compiling my own binder of goodies for teaching in the binder are actually becoming fun assignments. class... fun... who knew?

• bows are back in. wear 'em proud, girls.

• and i love my roommate. here is just one of many reasons why. :)