Another List...Because I like 'Em! :)

I keep seeing these "random lists" on blogs (and I actually stole this one from Laurel), and it reminds me of those emails that used to go around with very similar lists, telling you to fill it out and send it on to all of your friends. 

So, all of my friends in the blogger world, here you go!

1. Full Name: Charity Ruth Mann
2. What time did you get up this morning? 6:35
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Hobbit, part 2 (I tried to see Frozen, but the theater was closed...even though it said there was a showing online...long, sad story)
4. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? This is a toughie. I do love living in Manhattan, but part of my heart is still in Australia...and a piece or two is in Indiana. I'd mostly like to live wherever my husband and daughter are living. :) 
5. What did you have for breakfast? Okay, now THIS was actually fun! I wanted to make baked oatmeal but wanted something with a little more excitement. So I found this: cinnamon roll baked oatmeal. Yum!
6. What foods do you dislike? Olives 
7. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Always Australia (to see family and friends) and I'd also like to go to Scotland and Ireland (to learn about church history and meet people I have church connections to...and to see how lovely it really is!) 
8. Favorite time of day? 3:30 a.m. (ish) 
9. Where were you born? In a mid-wifery in Pittsburgh, PA
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? Does figure skating count? 
11. Favorite pastime/hobby: Does eating ice cream count? Or going on coffee dates? :)
12. Are you a morning person or a night person? Hmm...mostly not a morning person, but also not a terrible late-night person (I do like to stay up late, but I don't like to suffer the consequences the next morning). A middle-of-the-day person? 
13. Do you have any pets? Nope 
14. Are you a cat or dog person? Not a huge cat OR dog person...though I'm allergic to cats, so I'd probably pick dog (maybe someday, Elanor!) 
15. Favorite Flower? Roses
16. Favorite ice cream? Peanut butter cookie dough
17. Favorite fast food restaurant? Either Wendy's or Taco Bell (I think I'd have to go with Wendy's since they serve ice cream!) 
18. Broccoli? Yum!
19. What are you listening to right now? Elanor wimpering whilst sitting beside her daddy and trying to read herself a book
20. What is your favorite color? Blue!
21. What is your favorite vegetable? This is a hard one...Can I say salad? 
22. Obsessions? Umm...ice cream? (Maybe not an obsession, really)
23. How many siblings? three brothers, two sisters, and two sisters-in-law
24.What was the last thing you ate? Chocolate chip cookie and vanilla frozen yogurt 
25. Favorite sport (to play)? Ultimate Frisbee
26. Summer or Winter? I like both and am glad I don't have to just choose one!
27. Favorite day of the week? Thursday - family day! 
28.Coke or Pepsi? Coke
29. Taco or Pizza? Pizza! Especially homemade. 
30. Favorite singers? Right now? JJ Heller and Andrew Peterson

31. Quote I love: "The goodbye is worth it because it means you got to say hello." (Jono Blakston, my friend in Australia) This is a hard but necessary truth to remember! 

The Little Things

I always love my students' lists on their blogs, so I'd like to make my own list about little things I'm thankful for this morning:

1. My little baby Elanor, asleep in her jogging stroller
2. The ability I have to jog with her (slow as it may be!)
3. The fact that my laundry is 3/4 of the way completed
4. The kindness of my friend to loan me her car since ours is not working (it's kind of a long story...)
5. The encouragement I got from reading my sister's blog.
6. The beautiful, sun-shiny day
7. The pancakes we had this morning (even if they were egg-less and a little...um...rumpled)
8. My husband's job that he enjoys
9. Living so close to my husband's job so he can walk or ride his bike
10. My job as a teacher
11. My students who make me want to teach
12. The ability to call or Skype my family, even as we are on opposite sides of the world
13. The not-too-big-and-not-to-small-ness of Manhattan, Kansas
14. Our little home, in all its quirks and imperfections
15. The possibility of getting a new home in the not-too-distant future
16. That God has already decided exactly where we will live (see Acts 17:26)
17. That God is patient and forgiving
18. That God has given us everything that we need for life and godliness in His Word and His Spirit
19. The way my husband shows me the power of the gospel by loving and forgiving me when I am unlovely
20. An encouraged, motivated perspective on the rest of my day

What little things are YOU thankful for today?

                                                                 My birthday hike at Konza Prairie

"You haven't updated in over a year!"

My sister gently reminded me of this recently. I do admit that I have sadly neglected my blog this year! I kept thinking I would update when life became more exciting - like when I had my baby. Then, surely, I would have more exciting things to write about!

Well, now my baby is officially six months old, and I have yet to write a single post about her. Or about anything else, for that matter!

I often begin reading my students' blogs and get a sudden inspirational urge to write on my own. But do you know what happens? I keep reading their blogs, enter grades, and, by the time I am done, I am feeling too tired to work up the creative energy to post anything!

So. Here I am. Posting!

Today is an exciting day because it is our "Family Day." Every Thursday, we set the evening aside to spend time together as a family. That means no working on productive things and no making plans with other people. Well, it's not always as "exciting" as it may initially sound. Sometimes we go grocery shopping (but even that is more fun when we're all together! And it's especially fun when we bring home fun treats - like peanut butter pretzel ice cream!). And recently, our "Family Day" activities have included house hunting! This afternoon, we are going to look at another house - a house that we've been very interested in but haven't been able to actually go see until today. I can get myself all worked up about this house, trying to imagine our family into it, using all my emotional energy getting my heart set on something actually happening in our house hunt! But, as my husband recently reminded me, this may be the only time we ever actually do house hunting, so we might as well enjoy it! And, more importantly, I need to remember that God is in control, He is good, He promises to provide for His people, and He cares even about these little details in our lives! Doesn't He remind us that He cares even about grass, flowers, and sparrows? How much more will He delight to provide to those who belong to Him through Jesus? He also tells us not to put our treasure on earth - "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).

So. No matter what this house-hunting entails tonight, I am praying that God will help us to be content, to trust Him, and to enjoy our time together as a family. And those are all things He cares about!

In "baby news," Elanor is learning to sit up by herself, which is just adorable. She is very interactive and talkative, too. I was talking to her Grandma Mann today (my mother-in-law) and telling her I hope that Elanor is the perfect combination of me and Garrett; I hope that she will be outgoing and talkative but also smart, focused, and submissive to authority! I know, of course, she won't be perfect (because, as Garrett reminds people, she's related to us!). I do pray regularly that she will love Jesus and be submissive to Him. And it would be a great blessing if she had a soft heart towards us as her parents, as well!

I'm nearly out of time and a little amazed at how much I could write in such a short time. It may not be the most creative of posts, but it is, indeed, a post!

There you are, dear sister, and any others who may choose to read!

(And here's a little photo of my sweet girl with her sweet auntie in Australia!)