James 1:17

I'm thankful for bitter icy mornings, speckled sunshiny fall afternoons, the chaos of wild spring thunderstorms, and summer days so hot that even the wasps are too lazy to fly.
I'm thankful for peppermint hot chocolate and vintage Christmas lights, pumpkin donuts and glittery decorations.
I'm thankful for a little red car that likes to speed, a little pink house that's usually cold, and a little white kitchen full of vintage goodness.
I'm thankful for beautiful journals filled with beautiful words in beautiful handwriting.
I'm thankful for a little yellow classroom where learning, love, life, and much Spanish is spoken.
I'm thankful for the 19 little faces who fill that little yellow classroom with stories, lessons, personalities, and memories.
I'm thankful for pretty pens, brown moccasins, and cute glasses.
I'm thankful for black fur on my dress pants, catnip on the kitchen floor, and the tear in the shower curtain that ensures I am never alone.
I'm thankful for warm quilts, Cherry sno-cones, and brand new pencils.
I'm thankful for muddy pawprints, puppy whines, and big brown eyes when I've been away from home for too long.
I'm thankful for sour candy, giggly girls, and movies that last too long.
I'm thankful for a beautiful brown-eyed boy who calls me Court and chases me with a shark.
I'm thankful for fireflies and the fourth of July, cookies and cocoa, and rain-cooled April afternoons.
I'm thankful for a chubby blue-eyed baby boy who makes sure I never enjoy a Dr. Pepper alone.
I'm thankful for Breakfast at Tiffany's, beautiful dolls, and JFK.
I'm thankful for a lanky little monkey who lives so far away but loves me anyway.
I'm thankful for old Country records, worn in boots, and bluebonnets in the spring.
I'm thankful for friends who've laughed and cried with me, who've written lesson plans for me, who always remember to bring me Dr. Peppers, and who chose to see the best in me, most especially when I can't.
I'm thankful for s'mores on a campfire, Palo Duro sunsets, and the sound of crickets on a July night while out checking pivots.
I'm thankful for a family that loves hard, who keeps it real, who makes me madder than a hornet and can still make me laugh until my cheeks hurt.
I'm thankful for pearls and Christmas ornaments with years of memories.
I'm thankful for a momma who will always tell me it will be ok and a daddy who will always tell me to "Cowgirl Up."
I'm thankful for cold days, warm blankets, Doritos, and DVRs.
I'm thankful for a country that is fighting to maintain freedom around the world, and even more thankful that I've always known what that freedom is, thanks to the generosity and service of others.
I'm thankful for Texas, may her Lone Star forever fly.
I'm thankful for those who spent Thanksgiving in Heaven this year, whose love and life gave me mine.
And most of all, I'm so very thankful for the outrageous love of a Savior who willing offered His life for mine.

#texasforever

I was born on a snowflake and blew home on a tumbleweed. I've got red dirt in my soul, my blood, and forever in my socks. I've seen the majesty of a sunset splashed sky without a thing blocking the horizon for miles. I've tasted dirt on the wind and the bitter blue edge of a cold front, all in the glow of a Friday Night Light. I've seen the power of a twister, heard the thunder of a hailstorm, and braced the teeth of a blizzard. Oh I've traveled. I have smelled the cool breath of New Mexico's mountains, seen the smoky mornings of East Tennessee, and felt the ocean lapping the Virginia seashore. I've walked where legends trod, across DC's marble hallways and Berlin's storied pathways. I've even walked among the trees of Texarkana, beheld the beauty of Hill country bluebonnets, and dipped my sandy toes in the Gulf. Despite all the wonders of this earth, at the end of the day, I'm so blessed to call the cotton fields of West Texas home. I'm so thankful to live in a land of coyotes and tumbleweeds, Co-op caps and churches, Dr. Pepper and hot sauce. A land where boots and jeans are appropriate for weddings, funerals, graduations, and airports. Long live cowboys and barbed wire, horses and Chevy trucks, guitars and tractors. I can't claim Texas as my sole lineage, Tennessee won't let me. But Texas is my heritage and my legacy, along with all those legends who've walked the hallowed red dirt. I'm grateful to call this proud land my home, more so this year than ever before.

My Instagram Life

I love Instagram.  It reminds me of the good ol' days on Facebook, back before content mills and the "Like" button.  Circa 2005, we used Facebook to connect with people in our college classes.  It seems like a lifetime ago, but I remember being so excited to see photos on Facebook.  It was such an ordeal. You had to take them on your digital camera, then PLUG IT IN to the computer, then download the photos, then upload the photos! I don't think I ever imagined I would be able to snap a photo, edit it, and upload it via my phone.  It's crazy.  Anyway, back to Instagram.  I enjoy pretty pictures.  I like to take pretty pictures.  I like to be in pretty pictures. :) Instagram is still full of "pretty."  Like this lovely little gem I took at the cutest diner ever in Albuquerque.

Cute right?  I mean, it's pretty snazzy.  Very American.  Dappledy fall light.  Cheese fries.  It's cute!  And of course, it's absolutely authentic.  

I try REALLY SUPER HARD to not be obsessed with my phone.  (You probably already know this.  Ya'll should have t-shirts made or something - "I texted Courtney and she didn't respond for hours.  Or maybe ever.")  I was so LOVING life in this cute little place that I wanted to capture it all!  That involved pulling out the phone and snapping away like crazy.  Here's the real story.

I was so enthralled with how "cute" this was, that I literally shoved my sweet friend's food, napkin, and drink to the side, mumbling "Just a second, I wanna take a picture of this.  It's so cute!"  She snapped this picture in what I hope was a total jest, laughing all the while.  She aptly termed it "My Instagram Life."  It made me laugh too, at first.  But then I started thinking about the deeper meaning behind this snapshot.  This summer, one of my life mottos became "Be present."  I justified leaving my phone in the car, house, whatever.  I didn't take as many pictures, didn't chronicle everything on Facebook, didn't check-in relentlessly, and I returned very few texts and even fewer calls.  It was freeing in a very odd sense. I think I still do pretty good with this, but this picture reminded me how easy it is to get sucked back in.  But this really isn't about my semi-addiction to a phone and Instagram, or my entire generation's obsession with the "Fear of Missing Out."  The deeper meaning I see in this is how utterly consumed I can be with making sure that EVERYONE thinks my life is Instagram-perfect.  Oh my sweet friends, you're probably wiser than I am, but I so don't have it together.  I mean, I so don't have it together!  I could make a list a mile long of all the things I don't have together - my house, my classroom, my finances (yikes), my Christmas shopping, my holiday decorating, the list goes on and on.  Here's the best part - it's ok! It's ok.  It has been ok and it will be ok.  It's a lovely feeling to just say it out loud.  We don't have to have it all together. We don't have to have it all together.  We don't have to have it all together. Got it?  There's beauty in brokenness.  There's beauty in my brokenness.