Not even a sparrow...

While I was away at home in Canada, a sparrow came and built a nest in one of my hanging pots. Since my roommates didn't water the plants the entire month while I was gone, the sparrow went unnoticed. It wasn't until I went to see if I could revive the plant with water that I noticed the baby sparrow inside. I was so excited to know that although my plant had almost died, it was still being used to protect the little baby. A few days ago I went out to see how the baby was doing and much to my saddness, it had passed away. I didn't touch it or get very close to it so I don't think I was reason for it's death but I was still sad to know that the little sparrow didn't make it. I have always been very sensative to animals so in my saddness I told my roommates but they didn't really share my sediments for the unborn bird. I was wondering if it was silly for me to be sad about a wild sparrow but I was reminded yet again that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without God noticing. This was the inspiration for my rug, which I design and have had so much fun making! Here's a picture of it...

This past Saturday I was at Rose Path working on this rug when I got a call from my boss saying that unless I moved to Florida, I was going to lose my job. I had a week to make the decision about whether I would accept the position they were offering me, but since I love living here in East Texas, I decided to decline the offer. I told a few people about my situation so they could pray for me and it's the best way to explain the peace I have right now. I know that God is leading me and I'm excited about a new chapter in my life. I didn't cry or get overwhelmed and I know it's because He's had me reflecting on His Word from Matthew 6:19-34. He knows my every step and just as He's aware of the sparrow who passed away in my flower pot, He's even more aware of me and my life.

One more week!

Isn't she a doll ?!? My beautiful niece Keira Grace! Just put in on here to show her off : )

Wow...three weeks already done and only one more to go! I wouldn't say I'm counting down the minutes but I am excited about getting back. There are few things about being at home that I forgot about which are both good and bad. The good thing is that my father is an incredible cook and dinners are always delicious (the only person in Texas who cooks as good as dad is Lisa Hasz). The bad thing is having to report my day to day plans with my parents. I guess "bad" is not really a good word to use...more like, "interesting". I haven't really reported my plans to anyone since I left home but I guess this is good prep for marriage. Naiyah is continuing on her bad streak. Today she ran into someone in the park right after coming out of the river so she got the girl's pants all wet. She has also emptied the cat dish completely (a few times), chewed the lid of the cat food right off, jumped the gate to get to the cat food (and while she was in the kitchen she tore into all the garbage cans spreading garbage around) and finally she just broke the gate into the kitchen (I guess she felt it was easier to break it then to try jumping it again). This week I've been dog sitting my neighbor's dog so I've been walking him, Naiyah and my parent's dog. I've mastered the art of walking two dogs on a leash (Shadow is the good dog who doesn't need a leash) which includes wrapping the leashes around my waist and abruptly stopping when the dogs are pulling too much (of course, this also includes the dogs running into each other when I stop). I'm quite the sight to see.

This weekend I'm heading on a retreat with my old youth pastor and youth group. My friend Lauren is going so my biggest reason for being there was spending the weekend with her although I'm glad to help. I've been appointed as the "Kitchen Queen" and I'll also be sharing with the teens on Saturday about the importance of reading God's Word. I'm very excited about it although I need to finish preparing.

In a complete non-related topic, the World Cup has finally started and my bets are on Germany (really, I joined a pool for $5 and I put Germany as the winners). We'll see. Unfortunately most of the games are happening during the day but my brother is taping them and I am getting TIVO when I get home so I can record them. There's just something about soccer that I absolutely love. I love watching it, coaching it, and especially playing it! I'll probably have a "Finals" party at my house to watch the last game when the time comes!

I attached another picture of my beautiful niece since I absolutely love her! With this face, she'll get away with anything! It'll be sad to say goodbye to her on Friday morning but hopefully I'll see her again at the beginning of November!

Adios amigos!