B....O....R.......

BORING! That last post was bad. Sorry.

Last night I read the last few pages of Harry Potter 7.......ha! Don't worry, I won't tell you what happened.....I started reading the 3rd book for the 5th or 6th time....the books are good, but I don't get sucked into them like many people....so, I'll take back book 3 (i borrowed it from work) and find something new.

Scott and Carissa AND Ryan and Martha are going to be in town this weekend. I am PUMPED! Can't wait to see everyone- Martha's baby is a bigger vegetable every week- and she looks great. I'm so excited to see her in her new stretchy mom skirt. :)

I've got to get going. I'm going to be ON TIME for work today....yesterday I forgot that I was supposed to work.....whoopsie....

I'm not finding this post much more exciting than the last.....life's just trotting along....a nice little trot.

22 weeks

Last night at work, I counted the number of weeks I'll be in Milwaukee- 22. At least. I think that's the most exciting/scary part about this- I'm going there for an experience that I can't get in Lincoln- and to come right back to Lincoln after I'm exposed to all these great things leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand, it'll be great to bring them back and use them here (if i can find somewhere to teach)- but on the other hand, I might fit in really well there and find a place to teach....I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

In other news, it's very rainy today- which I really enjoy. I've been on the phone all morning talking with people about financial aid, classes, textbooks, school schedules, etc. I'm getting excited.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, F.R.!!!!!!!

I've snapped out of it. For today, at least. :) I'm over at Amber's house....we had lunch and watched "along came polly".....now we're working on a secret special thing......

Today is Johnny's birthday, so this post goes out to him. Happy birthday, F.R.......Johnny and I are half-birthday buddies- we're opposites, so today is my half birthday. I'm 23 1/2 and John is 24 today.
In other news, Nate's dad took us flying Friday night after we went out for dinner for his mom's birthday. It was so great- he let me steer and soar through the sky- SO MUCH FUN! Then we had a bit of a water fight.... *wink, *wink........
It's been such a blessing to be spending more time with Nate's family. They're a lot of fun and they've been extremely welcoming to me.

I've changed my mind.

Today I don't want to move. I've changed my mind. I don't want to be so far away....I don't want to have to video conferences, I don't want to have to use phone calls. I want to be able to hug and hold and scratch backs and sit with friends in the same room and cuddle up to movies with everyone smashed on the same couch. I want someone to be there in five minutes- saying goodnight in a driveway or front yard instead of a sweaty phone and aching neck.

Today I choke back tears and remind myself to breathe. I struggle to swallow; to blink away tears before anyone sees them. This is part of the journey. This is exciting. This will help me grow; take me to people and places I've never seen; to my new friends and favorite coffee shops. Then it'll be time to move back and I won't want to leave those friends and those places.

Life.

We are so blessed

Sitting outside on the deck with my grandfather, watching family members from states away, i was reminded by him of how incredibly blessed we are. We've met our newest member of the family, Owen Ray, who came to us just a month ago from Korea. Here's my mom loving him. Here he is after I handed over the bottle. He got a bit creative with the placement....
And here is Owen with his cousin Anna and his older brother, Liam, who is 4.
It's been a wonderful time to be home. Grandpa and I sat back as the photos were being taken of these three and watched in near silence, the whole group; some of the people we love most in this entire world.

teeth marks in T.P.

I'm home! I came back to stay at my parents' house yesterday afternoon- and it's been a great, relaxing day and a half. Mom and I went shopping today, took coffee to her best friend at work, got a haircut (mom) and eyebrow wax (me), and visited grandma and grandpa at "the office", which is their very specific booth at the Target cafe in the mall. They go every morning to sit and have coffee and watch people walk around the mall. Sitting there with them for an hour today, I was introduced to about 5 new people whom I had neither seen nor met in my life. Norfolk isn't that big. I'm starting to realize just how many friends they have and how much love encompasses that single booth in Target. What a blessing!

My cousin and his wife also rolled into town from the Milwaukee area late this afternoon. They just adopted a second son from Korea. It was so fun to meet him and see their other son, Liam, who is 4 now. We went for a walk, watched "Hercules", played cars, etc......all in all, it was a pretty eventful night. I even mouth-trumpeted the Nebraska fight song for Liam to sing along to, as he is an avid Husker fan. (We teach them young in our family). It'll be fun to be closer to them this fall.

On a more humorous note, I was in the bathroom today and realized, unfortunately too late, that someone had used the last of the toilet paper on the roll (except for about 4 squares, which isn't very helpful). So, as all of you can imagine from personal experience, I was sitting there yelling for my mom, who was a couple of rooms away. "Mom! I'm out of toilet paper!!" I cracked the door open a bit so she could reach her arm in with my rescue roll- just like she used to do when I was young. So, I'm sitting there waiting and the door pushes open, and in comes my parents' golden retriever, Maddie, with a fresh roll in her mouth. Mom sent her instead. Funny. I know, right? Smart dog. I've included a picture here only because, if you look closely, you can see teeth marks from her bringing it in. Pretty cute.
Needless to say, she saved the day. Who can argue against man's best friend? Now THIS is a good reason to get a dog.... :)

finally....

I feel like I need to post. And I've got an overwhelming feeling about having to write about so many things.....the task seems daunting. So, I'm not going to write about my trip now. I'm instead going to show you pictures of the bread that Renae and I are baking this afternoon-
We've decided to open a bakery after I teach for a couple of years and she works wherever she will. Then, we'll open up a small bakery and make beautiful, delicious snacks that will bless anyone that comes near them. Also, what if I took fresh bread to my class every friday morning....and my students would have a wonderful warm breakfast. It'd be great.

NEW YORK CITY!!!!

Hello, my friends, from the Big Apple!!! Just wanted to let you all know I'm safe and sound- although, booming with stories for everyone. I'm watching the news where they're talking about an explosion on the east side of Manhattan....a block south of the Chrysler building. good thing I'm here in my hotel room. :)

Martha came to visit me in Milwaukee- unfortunately, I don't have any horizontal pictures of her and it's taking a long time to flip them tonight- so I'll put one up later.....it was so great to see her. I got a little hair trim too....which was much needed!

This is my aunt Ruth and I the night before I left for NYC. She made me a great drink out of limes, sugar and liquor. I'm not sure what she put in them, but they went VERY well with our fondue. :)Here's a photo of me in Little Italy- the fire hydrant was calling my name....so we thought I'd better get a photo with it.These are two of my new friends, Emily (left) and Stefanie (right). They're a lot of fun- we've been all over the city together.....having a wonderful time! I'll put up more pictures when I get them on my computer.
Stefanie and Emily figuring out our next stop in the subway...Ray and I on a bus in Harlem....Times Square...
Yesterday was very eventful. We (5 of us girls) were nearly mugged in the Brooklyn subway, threatened to be arrested, and witnessed a child crossing the street and being hit by a car in times square. It's been surreal.....

More pictures and stories to come...

and you give yourself away

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

These words have brought me great comfort the past week- I'll always remember that point on the mountain when I really listened to these words and understood what they mean. It's been such a joy to see God's faithfulness ....his timing is impeccable, his grace unfathomable. And honestly, my heart races when I think of the third and fourth lines, "the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace". Are you having trouble? Worried about different things? Turn to Him and TRUST.......no kidding. That's all you have to do! He provides- and brings more comfort in those times than we could ever imagine. And we all know what it's like to be in that close relationship with our Father....and when we're there, we wonder how we ever survived without Him.....and then we realize that we were merely "getting by". There's so much more! Take those ten minutes today to invest in that relationship!

A Day of Rest

Yesterday Renae and I "studied" and "read" here at my quiet house......and on our study breaks, we baked bread and coffee cake. yummo!

As some of you know, once in a while I like to pretend that I'm on a cooking show when I'm in the kitchen. I'll talk to the "camera" and explain what I'm doing. Well, yesterday I was "going to set the yeast aside"....and then finished creating my beautiful ball of dough. I was forming it into smaller loaves when I moved something aside and found the bowl of festering yeast.....!!! Typical. So, I had to pour liquified yeast over an entirely formed loaf of bread and work it back in. It was crazy- very messy....but it did turn out just fine. I fact, I should probably put a picture on here later when I get back from work......

Camping Trip '07

I've been wanting to post these pictures for a couple of days now. It's been tricky to find the time- with everything......I met some of the ladies from work at the Starlight Lounge last night....fourth of July celebration the night before....and working during the day.

In any case, here are a few pictures. As many of you know, photos don't do justice to the beauty of God's creation. The first morning, in Denver, we ate breakfast at "The Market". Chris made friends with a baby falcon that was hanging out downtown....
Pretty cute little guy. (The bird, not Chris.......)

This is a picture of our campsite. Mike backed the car in through the trees with careful direction and we set up camp-
You can see the river on the other side...
And here it is- this is where we got all of our water from- and then ran it through a filter to make sure we didn't get sick. It was amazing to be able to fall asleep to the sound of this every morning. We also tied our water bottles and cooler to logs and left them in the river to stay cold. Worked like a charm.
The men were good about letting Renae and I have our try at gathering and sawing logs for the fire. It was hard work! Notice the determination on my face- and the continual support from Chris. Additionally, I think this may have been the only log I sawed through.


Sunlight coming through the trees- check out Nate's website for more of these awesome photos.
Nate and I at the campsite- gangster style...
We were able to hike up into the mountains and have quiet times a couple of the days. Here's me reading from Psalms- an amazing thing to read when you're in the heart of the mountains and streams. David really knew what he was talking about!
Renae and I somewhere on Mt. Evans
Here's Mike on our hike. ha. (it rhymes).
This is all of us on our way up Mt. Evans.
Here's some of the wildlife we saw- a baby big-horned sheep with his mom and brother, mountain goats, and a marmot...We also found Chris burrowing into a snow pile.....
The lake was FULL of these ice chunks-
and icicles like these
This is Nate and I on top of Mt. Evans- the view was amazing....
Needless to say, it was a beautiful trip.....exactly what I needed to rest and re-energize.

Happy Birthday, Creach!

This blog goes out to my dear friend, Carissa Martin, who turns 24 today. Happy birthday, Creature!!!! I find it very appropriate to have this post dedicated to Carissa, for she has been a great source of encouragement and strength to me and my walk for the past couple of years.
I met Carissa the summer after my Sophomore year of college. Luck of the draw, I was "thrown" into an apartment for a summer with three girls I knew nothing about. Other than the fact that they were all in Campus Crusade, I had no idea who they were or where they were coming from. Likewise, they knew nothing of me.

Carissa and I fused immediately. We were kindred spirits from day one, staying up late to write our "first book", encouraging each other in our journals and writing, leaving notes in dry-erase marker on the bathroom mirror, pretending to be storm chasers together, etc.....

***** Just found this post....will have to finish tomorrow.

left it on the mountain top

"The things of the earth will grow strangely dim as we trust in God's glory and grace"

We came back last night from the most amazing camping trip of my life. Chris, Mike, Nate, Renae and I loaded up Friday afternoon and headed for Colorado. Our first night was spent in a Denver at the Hyatt downtown....we didn't feel like setting up camp in the wilderness at 2 AM..... so we opted for luxury the first day.

To be honest, our wilderness campsite was much more "luxurious" than any Hyatt will ever be. To be in and among God's raw creation- SURROUNDED by mountains, rushing rivers and streams, wildflowers, wild animals, snow, trees, trees, trees, boulders, etc......simply amazing. My good man, Nate, took plenty of pictures. I'll be posting later this week when I get ahold of some of them. I can't even explain to you how refreshing and inspiring it was to be out there. The five of us had plenty of times in the stillness of God's creation, alone on a mountaintop, to read, pray, and reflect on the strength and goodness of our God. I'm excited to share more with you. Hope everyone is well! I am!!!!!