He gives and takes away...

Job 1:21 says, "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the 

name of the LORD." 

In the last seven months the Lord has really been doing some work in my life, particularly in my friendships. I won't go into great detail, since those of you that know me well know the story.  God chose to remove a friendship from my life and that process was extremely painful. It has been quite an amazing learning process and know that God chose for me to go through this situation to only make me a better person. At first I really didn't understand why God was allowing me to go through this situation.  Feeling hurt and rejected by a person that you never though would treat you that way is extremely difficult. I am still dealing with the hurt months later...

However...

About 7 months ago the Lord decided to place back in my life a very special person.  Because of 

various circumstances we had not spoken in a couple of years, but in December God allowed a healing in our friendship and I am so thankful that this wonderful girl is back in my life.  God knew that I was going to need her.  

I have really been learning over the past few months what friendship is.  I lost a friendship, but I gained another one back and I have seen so much support by the amazing women that God has placed in my life.  I have also learned that it's not the amount of friends that matters.  It's those deep meaningful friendships that really matter, not the trivial ones.

Samuel Johnston said: "True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice."

I am striving to surround myself with intelligent, integrous, honest, uplifting, and godly women.  God has given me quite a few gems and I am so proud that I can call these amazing women my friends.  Thank you so much girls for always being there, for the great moments and memories shared, and for the laughter and tears.  

Ludwig Van Beethoven said: "Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours." 

Today's blessing:  Obviously it's the five wonderful women that I am proud to call my closest and dearest friends.  

Our last day here...

Today has been a great day! We finished off the Freedom Trail today and threw in a few other fun activities.

The 15th stop on the Freedom Trail is the U.S.S. Constitution. We got there pretty much when the shipyard opened that way we wouldn't have to wait in too long

of a line. We waited for about an hour and then we took a really cool 30 minute long tour aboard the ship below her decks. It was amazing to see this ship that was built in the late 1700's. It is the oldest commissioned war ship still afloat! After touring the ship we hopped back on the Freedom Trail and made our way up to the Bunker Hill Monument. This granite monument is 221 feet tall and has 294 steps up to the top. We climbed all of them! The view was gorgeous from up that high.

After finishing up the Freedom Trail we stopped at an Irish pub for on the way back to our place. We walked back into Little Italy to grab some cannolis from a place called Mike's Pastry. I had heard from a few people that their cannolis were a "must have." After lunch we walked up to the Boston Public Garden and took a ride on the famous Swan Boats. It was kind silly, but something that I had wanted to do since we got here. There is a small duck pond in the middle of the gardens and there are these boats on them that are powered by a person in the back that sits in a large white swan. The person peddles you around the small pond for about 15 minutes. It was VERY fun and I'm glad we got to do it. After that we went back to our place and hung out on our patio for awhile and then we took a picnic dinner up to the Boston

Common to enjoy our last evening here in this beautiful and inspiring city. We watched some dogs play for awhile and enjoyed our picnic and our cannolis for dessert :)

Now we're just packing and cleaning up our place, making sure that we have everything to take home with us tomorrow. I remember this feeling when we were leaving Chicago...glad to be going back to my own bed & home, so glad that I get to see my kids again, glad to see and hug my family and friends...but VERY sad to leave such a great experience. I absolutely LOVE sharing these types of memories with Layton and experiencing these types of cities that just have a different type of "feel" and energy than back home. I have learned that I come away from these trips with a new inspiration and desire for my life.

I'm looking forward to finishing up my last few weeks of summer and preparing for yet ANOTHER new and challenging year of teaching. Just because we're leaving Boston does not mean that I'm done blogging our counting my blessings. I'll still be around :)

Today's total mileage: 5 miles

Today's bum quote: hmmm...fakdjfalksjkarf...allllslofiosl....hmmrph - Said by a crazy man walking by us on the street

Today's blessing: Sharing a picnic in the Common with Layton and saying goodbye to this beautiful and inspiring city.

Bored with witches...

We took the commuter train into Salem today. We were both kinda bummed out by Salem. It seemed to be pretty hyped up on every website that we checked. It was actually a little boring, and the WAY over-played the whole witch thing. It was gorgeous day though, and the clouds were beautiful! We toured a really old house that is pretty much the only building left in Salem that has any connections to the witch trials. After that we walked up the pier a little bit in the harbor. We also took a tour of "The House of the Seven Gables." This is supposedly the house that Nathaniel Hawthorne's book is based off of. We also toured the little house that Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in.

We took the train back into Boston and I took a nap AGAIN! This has kind of become my afternoon tradition :) After my nap we walked into Little Italy to eat dinner. Layton read about this place online called Giacoma's. You usually have to wait in a really long line since they don't take reservations and it's a really tiny place. We decided to wait it out tonight. It was definitely worth it!! It was like the place we ate at last week with lots of Italian "Godfather" type people yelling and stuff!! It was so fun though. We laughed a lot and had a great dinner.

I'm ready for our last official day here of exploring this great and historical city!

Today's total mileage: 5 miles

Today's blessing: Enjoying yet another fabulous evening with Layton, laughing the night away!

Learning a little about history...

After thinking back on today, I've decided that I need to learn more about the history of our country when I get back home. I didn't much care for history when I was in high school. I thought it was pretty boring. I've learned so much while we've been here in Boston about the history of our country, and I've also learned how little I know about the men and women that gave their blood, sweat, and tears so that I could have my freedoms. Today we took the train into Quincy, Massachusetts, named after the grandfather of Abigail Adams. We took a 2 hour tour of the house where the 2nd President, John Adams was born. We also took a tour of where the 6th President, John Quincy Adams was born. AND we took a tour of the mansion and the library that the Adams family owned. I saw the chair that John Adams had a stroke in and a few

days later died in. We toured the church where John, Abigail, John Quincy, and his wife Louisa Catherine Adams where all buried. They are buried in a granite crypt that sits underneath the church. I touched the flag that flew above the White House when John Adams was President in 1791-1801!! It was all so amazing and fascinating to see!

After we got back from Quincy, we walked around so I could get more pictures of the doors of Beacon Hill and then I took a little nap. After my nap, we walked up to the Boston Common, which is kind of like Central Park. We walked around the Common for awhile and did a little people watching. I got some roasted nuts that I'd been wanting since we got here. Then we stopped off at a little pub that's up the street from our place called 21st Amendment. We shared a BIG plate of nachos.

We had a fabulous day today and are thoroughly enjoying our last few days here.

Today's total mileage: 4 miles

Today's blessing: Seeing the birth place and burial place of one of America's greatest leader!

Art...

Today we needed to sleep in after our long and tiring day to Cape Cod yesterday. After a little breakfast we made our way over to Fenway to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum. I was very bummed that they did not allow any photography. This museum was amazingly beautiful! It was a very different museum experience than I've ever had. The lady who designed the museum became wealthy after her father died and she started becoming a collector of art. She bought a piece of land in Fenway and built and designed the museum herself. Most museums that I've been to have different galleries set up for different periods of time. The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum was VERY different. She put together whatever pieces of art that she thought would look good together. There was also furniture, tapestries, little trinkets, books, etc. everywhere in this museum. In the center of the 3 story museum was a beautiful indoor courtyard with all different types of flowers, plants and sculptures. I think this was my favorite museum that I've ever been too. The way that Isabella Stewart Gardener set up each room was fabulous. I thought it was really cool that in her will she said that no one could change anything in the different rooms of the museum. I also thought it was cool, but sad, that in 1990 someone stole over 300 million dollars worth of paintings and other items from the museum. There were some empty frames left on the walls still today where the paintings had been stolen. This place is really hard to describe in words, and since I couldn't take any pictures...here's a link: http://www.gardnermuseum.org/

After we spent about 3 hours doing the audio tour in the museum we hopped back on the train and went to a place called the Sunset Tap & Grill that Layton really wanted to go to. We spent a few hours there enjoying a VERY late lunch!!

We've kind of just been lounging around the house tonight. I went back out and took some more pictures of the GREAT doors that are all over Beacon Hill. We also planned out our last few days here. It's sad to be going home, but I'm pooped and I miss my kids!!

Today's mileage: 3 miles

Today's blessing: Having an enjoyable lunch with Layton laughing and enjoying each others company!

I did it...

I rode a bike!!! We decided that we really wanted to see some of Cape Cod while we were here. Layton found a high speed ferry that goes from Boston to Cape Cod in about an hour and a half. I was totally fine with that, even though I knew I may get a little sea sick. Then he brought up that he'd like to rent bikes and take the trail out to a gorgeous beach called Race Point. After much convincing, he finally got me to agree even though I was utterly and entirely FREAKED OUT!!

I have not been on a bike in over 10 years and before that I probably only rode a bike about 3 or 4 times. Getting back on a bike is actually on my list of 30 things that I'd like to do before I turn 30...well, today I got to cross that off of my list. It was sooo scary! We rented a tandem back in Provincetown and proceeded to find the bike trail. We had to ride on street for awhile and even a small highway, so every time a car wizzed by us I let out a little scream. I also thought that we were going to tip over a few times. Let me tell you...it was not an easy task! I am so pooped out right now! We had a fabulous time learning to work together as a team to go up and down the huge hills. I made Layton promise to be very patient with me and he did an amazing job. I think I only had to remind him once or twice not to get frustrated with me.

We made it to the beach and walked around for a little bit and I got some GREAT photos! We ended up grabbing a late dinner at a small pizza place right up the street from our place. I had a fabulous day. One that I will never forget. I am so thankful that my wonderful husband encouraged me to do something today that I was much to afraid to do on my own!

Today's total mileage: Walked: 3.5 Ridden on a bike: 6+

Today's blessing: Being encouraged by Layton to conquer something that I was afraid to do...and actually enjoying it!!

A lot of history...

We were out of breakfast again this morning so we stopped at Au Bon Pain, which is Boston's La Bou. We took the train out to Cambridge to check out Harvard. It was really amazing standing in Harvard Yard knowing just how OLD it is and knowing that it is the BEST University in the world. They were doing a little archeological dig in one of the grass areas in the Yard. They said that they'd found stuff dating back to the late 1600s. We walked around Harvard for a little while and checked out a few really cool old churches.

After we saw Harvard we went up to the Longfellow Historical Site. On the way there, we stopped at a little coffee shop and had a Thai iced tea. The coffee shop was in a really important old house. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem called "The Village Blacksmith." (I actually teach this poem to my 7h grade class.) The man that this poem was written about lived in the house where the coffee shop that we stopped at currently is located! Anyway, we took a 45 minute tour of the Longfellow Historical

Site. I was so overwhelmed during the ENTIRE tour not only because a GREAT American writer once lived in, wrote in, and walked the halls of this house...but also because America's first President George Washington lived in the house for 9 months while he was forming the Continental Army. We got to see the parlor where amazing people where once entertained, the dining room where both Washington and Longfellow's family used to share their meals, the library where Longfellow used to play the piano, the bedroom that Longfellow and his wife Fannie slept in...Fannie also died in their bedroom from severe burns...the room that George Washington used as his war council room and Longfellow used the same room as his study. I stood in the same room where Longfellow's writing desk was...where he wrote most of his beautiful poetry. I stood in the same room where George Washington once slept! I walked the same hallway and staircase as George Washington, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Adams, and even Benedict Arnold! Everything in the house is stuff that the Longfellow family once used. The entire house was donated to the National Park Services by the Longfellow family estate.

We also checked out MIT while we were in Cambridge and then we went to the Christian Science Complex. The building is so amazingly beautiful. It had a very long pool in front of it that creates some amazingly beautiful reflections!

Now we're just sitting at home relaxing and planning our day out for tomorrow!

Today's mileage: 5 miles

Today's blessing: Feeling inspired to be great...Almost being brought to tears by walking around Harvard and the Longfellow Historical Site where so many amazing, intelligent and GREAT people once walked.