Dear A&M

Dear Texas A&M,

You gave us Friday off as a "Reading Day", although we all know that you gave us that day off because it was Good Friday.

Today is Easter. Easter should be spent with family and friends. Easter should not be spent driving back to College Station, finding that the internet is out, coming up with alternative plans to access the internet, and then spending all afternoon working on homework.

Did you know that MOST universities give student's tomorrow off as well for travel? That way they can actually spend Easter at home, and then spend Monday playing catch up and getting ready for the week?

Please be considerate. If you are going to give us Friday off so that we can spend the Holiday Weekend with our families, then give us Monday off so that we can actually spend the day at home instead of having to drive back here to get ready for the next week.

Afternoon Roadtrip

This afternoon I decided last minute on the spur-of-the-moment to make a quick road trip to Livingston to spend the afternoon with Laura. I was able to help her finish getting everything ready for her class' big Easter Egg hunt and the rest of the day's extravaganzas, and loved being able to just chit-chat and catch up. We talked about water polo, camp, her kids, classes, her husband, student teaching, assignments, family, friends and more. We went out to dinner and got to just talk and savor each other's friendship and company.

I'm so thankful for this sweet friend. Although I don't get to see her much during the year, I love the time we do get to share!

Tomorrow after class I get to head back to Houston! So ready for a time away from CS before the end of the semester craziness picks up!

Leadership Weekend - Round TWO!

Here we go, round 2! My bags are packed and I'm ready to head off to Livingston, TX for another busy weekend of planning for Summer 2013 at Cho-Yeh!

I woke up this morning feeling incredibly blessed. My JOB is to love on campers and counselors while living out the Gospel. My summer TEAM loves Jesus and are so encouraging all the time. So many of my friends are busy with internships this summer and a lot are graduating and getting "grown-up jobs". My summer will be super busy, but it will be full of sharing the gospel, being a servant to others, and being in a leadership role for the nearly 100 counselors that will be spending their summer serving at Cho-Yeh. That's my JOB -- what?!

Yeah. Super crazy and I definitely see the blessing that it is that I get to work somewhere that I love and where I know I am right in the middle of God's plan. He is so good. On that note, super pumped to spend this weekend with the rest of the leadership team to finish planning for the BEST summer yet at Cho-Yeh!

God has His Ways.

This week has been extremely stressful couple of days. I have seen 1:30 AM for the past 4 nights, and have been up before 9 everyday. Every hour that I have been up has been filled with one thing or another; time for rest and relaxation hasn't been an option.

Last night I ended up skipping polo to work on homework and got of of the shower around 10:20. I was brushing my hair when all of a sudden I had a horrible pain in my abdomen. It literally felt like somebody was stabbing a knife repeatedly any time I moved. I was forced to lay down and just be, and after about an hour the pain went away. Generally I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but anytime I would try to sit up I was forced back down. There was definitely no way that I was going to be able to work through it or get homework done. Thankfully, after about an hour I was feeling better and was able to crawl into bed and sleep. This morning, I feel absolutely fine. I went to my kines class and played volleyball for an hour and a half, and went to my technology class without any issues.

Last night I was extremely stressed out. This week is stressful for all education majors; we all look at each other in passing and can empathize with the exhaustion and stress that they are going through. I knew that I needed to take a break and just relax, but I didn't have time to do that. Well, God made time. God forced me to humble myself, put off schoolwork, and just be. I had Spotify playing in the background while I was working on homework prior to that incident, so the "Top 40 Christian Hits" were playing as I laid there waiting for the pain to leave. An hour where I couldn't move, couldn't study, but could just be.

One of the songs that came on was "Whom Shall I Fear" by Chris Tomlin. Seriously, you need to go listen to that song. It has been my mantra this week (this entire semester actually), and it was the perfect song to come on last night.

Point being: God has His ways. We can try to jam pack our schedule and not leave time for ourselves or for time to just BE with God, but He will go to the extremes to have that time with us. He loves us so much that He doesn't want a day to go by where we don't spend time with Him. And honestly, we should have that same passion too. So, last night, God wrecked my plans and forced me to spend time with Him. He disciplined me and showed me what I was missing.  God has His ways.

Pantry Inventory

Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
12 oz bag of Easter M&M's
16 oz bag of M&M's
Dove Chocolate Eggs
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hot Chocolate Mix
Microwavable Brownies
Microwavable Cookies
Jello
Peanut Butter
Bread
Mac'n'Cheese

Notice something? Yep -- this week I will be LIVING off of chocolate as I try to get projects done! I have also found that mixing Fruit Punch and Pink Lemonade (b/c the coke machine was running low on both) in a 36 ounce cup is the perfect concoction for ultimate hyperness and productivity!

Spring Break: SURPRISE!

The theme of this Spring Break was SURPRISE!

I got to surprise my grandparents by spending several days in Iowa! I don't get to visit in the summer's anymore, so a visit that they were not expecting was absolutely wonderful! I also got to see Aunt Becky, Aunt Amy, Uncle Dan, Leah, Uncle Doug and Aunt Dawn!

I then spent a bit of time at home, and got to see one of my best friends, Laura, on Saturday at a Bridal Shower. I hadn't seen her since before this semester began, so it was great to spend some time with her as well!

Although not necessarily "relaxing", this spring break did provide me with some motivation to finish this semester out! Only 6 weeks left!

I Blame my Kindergarten Habits

So Rachel has recently switched her major to Nutrition, and with that comes a constant critique of my eating habits. It's no shock that I am not the healthiest eater. I am not a huge fan of vegetables, and my selection of fruit I enjoy is relatively small. I can't go a day without chocolate, I simply cannot. Therefore, my food choices are constantly being commented on by Rachel.

Today, I figured it out. During my very first year of public school, I had the same breakfast every morning, therefore I'm not used to diversity of foods, I like my same foods everyday. For an entire year (and then quite frequently from that point on), my breakfast consisted of this: a ding-dong and apple juice. Everyday, those chocolatey, creamy delicious cakes were my breakfast!

Therefore, I blame my kindergarten habits for why my eating habits aren't the best now. But, I feel like I turned out okay! If my addiction to chocolate and my need for sugar in the morning is the worst thing that happened, I don't think my eating habits are that horrid afterall!

2 Years

I cannot believe that it has already been two years since this precious lady met Jesus at Heaven's gates. So much has happened since then: my 18th birthday, graduation from high school, a summer at camp, moving to College Station, my first semester of college, a Christmas in Iowa, my first trip to Honduras, my second semester of college, my 19th birthday, another summer at Cho, my third semester of college, another Christmas in Iowa, my second trip to Honduras, and now I'm already halfway through my fourth semester at A&M. It seems crazy to look back and not have those times with her. No birthday phone calls, no Christmas hugs, no ordinary conversations.

2 years ago I was eating dinner with my family and with Carley, getting ready to head to a Hillsong concert believing that Gramma was out of the woods. I had an overwhelming sense of peace at the concert, and knew that everything was going to be okay. It was then, while I was singing praises to my King that Gramma went to meet Him. 

March 4, 2011.

Pumped for Spring Break!

Spring Break begins after class on Thursday! I am able to skip my one class on Friday, which means that Thursday afternoon I will be heading home! I am so pumped to get to spend this break with my family. This semester has been so busy, and I am so excited to get to go home and see everybody. Although the time will go by way too fast, and before I know it I will be back in College Station finishing up this semester, I am pumped for the time that I will have.

Until that wonderful time can come, this week has to be survived first. Wednesday at 3:00 I will be DONE *hopefully*. I have an important math exam Wednesday afternoon, and a bunch of projects that I am hoping to have turned in by then. Wednesday afternoon, Myriam and I are going to see Safe Haven to celebrate making it through the hectic couple of days that will be the beginning of this week. Then I'll spend Wednesday evening packing and cleaning up. I'll go to my couple of classes on Thursday morning, and then I'll get to begin to head home!

I absolutely can't wait. SO PUMPED for Spring Break!

Ode to Evans Library

Dear Evans Library,

It was 9:30 when I first walked through your doors this morning. Now it is 7:45, over 10 hours after I was first graced with your presence. Although I appreciated your quietness, I am more than ready to leave your solitude and silence! Unfortunately, I know that we will too soon meet again. Until then, Rachel and I are treating ourselves to a movie night and junk food. I will meet you again tomorrow, but stay away until then!