boundforeurope's Xanga

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 02:21:29 GMT

break.

four weeks. four wonderful weeks. it was beautiful.

here are some of the highlights:

being with my family
wearing my pjs all day on christmas
berkeley!
good/real food
watching the sunset over the bay - i missed that so much
ice skating for the first time ever in SF with michele
brian surprising us from china!
playing cards all morning with brian in our pjs
sitting in front of the fire
point loma!
going to a crab feed and eating my first crab ever
getting a lecture from lydia about using cursive vs. manuscript
church
singing to coldplay with zach, katie, caroline, and trevor
driving in san diego
snowboarding!
eating ice cream from a tub in barnes and noble
spending an hour and a half reading a name book in barns and noble
dancing!
the beach in san diego
the awesomest friends in the world
the birth of Christ
the coming of the new year
getting a drawing from hudons for christmas
simply being home....

so, i start a new semester. im not quite ready yet, but by God's grace i will be all in good time. it will be a good semester. ive learned so much from last semester. this semester will incorporate some changes from things ive learned, but im exciting about all i am going to learn.

2007........here i come.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 23:48:09 GMT

home.

phew. its so hard to believe its over. i have completed my first semester of college. it has been hard work but extremely rewarding. i have learned so much my head is still spinning. i have a lot to process still. i have learned a great deal...

spiritually: this has been a hard area. ive had difficulty establishing my spiritual routine in my new life. but, God is faithful and has been teaching me even through this. He has been showing and teaching me many other things as i encounter new ideas and experiences.

relationally: i have made truly amazing friends. i am extremely grateful. im excited about getting to know them better over the next four years. on the other hand, this semester has been hard times relationally also. it can be draining to constantly be with people who you dont know very well. it was trying on me sometimes and next semester i have made goal to schedule time for myself during the week.

academically: wow. ive learned so much. all my classes were marvelous. my professors are incredible. its hard to believe its only been one semester. i have another seven more to go!

personally: i have been learning so much about myself, who i am. its been so good. its a definitely a new chapter of my life.

so, its been a high learning curve this semester, but excitement is the best way to describe how i feel right now. this is an important and thrilling time of my life and im going to seize this time of my life and make the most of it.

some fun random pictures of me and my friends from the last semester:

its wonderful to be home. its good to rest. im looking forward to this break.

merry CHRISTmas!

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:22:02 GMT

half way.

time is such a funny thing. here in hillsdale it seems to take on a whole other identity all together. hillsdale time, my friends and i have taken to calling it. days can seem like an eternity yet go by so fast. so, here we are at over half way through the semester. this should be exciting news for all of you since this means that in about a month and half i should be home. :)

anyway, im falling more and more in love with hillsdale. i truly love it. its an amazing thing to be where God wants you to be. it makes me excited just thinking about it.

so, ive survived midterms rather well actually. i felt pretty good about them. right now we are on fall break which means we have a four day week. pretty sweet i must say. i need the break thats for sure. looking forward to a trip to see the grandparents and a road trip with some friends. hooray.

everything is so beautiful right now with all the trees changing color. however, winter is coming upon us quickly. we have already had the first snow just this past thursday. craziness. it was so much fun though. i ran outside and twirled around in it. ::sigh:: i know the snow will probably get to me after awhile, but im looking forward to experiencing yet another aspect of the beauty God has created.

so...here are some random and fun pictures to give you an idea of my life. enjoy. :)

here is my group of friends i usually hang out with. they are pretty much awesome.

pretty colors. actually they are even more changed now...and the ground it covered in leaves. we played in them last night. :)

snow! i still cant believe it...

and the leaves fall softly swirling and hitting the ground....

three of my good friends at the women's volleyball game. they are 21 - 0! and third in the nation right now. go chargers! i took pictures of the game for the school paper. i got on the front page with one of my volleyball photos. :)

i couldnt be much happier. the past holds lovely meomories, present is filled with happiness, and the future is bright. all praise and glory to the one true Lord Jesus Christ.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 01:18:08 GMT

college life.

my apologies for my long absence. i guess it would be some what obvious to say that ive been a little busy. : D

so...the main things you need to know are:

1. i LOVE it here.

2. classes are incredible. i love discussions. :)

3. the professors are amazing. nothing like the best.

4. the people are awesome.

5. the weather perfect. for now at least.

college life is awesome. i absolutely love it. i still stop every once and awhile and pinch myself to make sure its real. i still cant believe im a college student. weird.

ive met a lot of really cool people. already kinda got a group of people who i hang out with, eat at the cafeteria with (i will refrain from talking about the food), stay at the library until late hours of the morning, and generally really enjoy. HOWEVER, i miss all my dear friends at home terribly. hope you are all doing well. email, call, or snail mail me sometime. id love to hear from you. :)

so....here are some much requested pictures of my dorm room. im not completely done decorating it yet, but i guess it will have to do. thats my roommate at the bottom, Jennette. she is great and i enjoy hanging out with her.

please leave lots of comments. i will try my best to respond. : D

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 15:10:09 GMT

life.

sigh. yes, life has been rather busy. sometimes its a little much for me, but God is always gracious. so, i finally got an external hard drive, which means i was able to download all my pictures from the last month or so. it was so exciting! almost like getting a new camera. :)

so, a major highlight from the last couple weeks was getting to work in an art camp for kids. it was a lot of work but well worth it and very rewarding. i really do love working with kids. they are so trusting and accepting. i love to just watch and see how they react to life, constantly making new discoveries and trying new things. there is something contagious and refreshing about it. so, of course my camera was not far with all these adorable little faces around, so here are some of my favorites. :)

Only eight more days until i leave. i dont know how im going to survive the next week. pray for me? thanks. :)

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 22:36:51 GMT

It was a long day. One that had me rushing from one place to another packing in activity after activity. By the time I finally arrived home late that night my head was reeling from the lack of time to process what had happened that day. I was physically and emotionally drained.

After putting away the days various college purchases and preparing for bed, I headed outside for my room in the garage. At the bottom of the stairs I suddenly stopped. Something grabbed my attention. It was quite. Very quite. There was no dull roar of the freeway or whizzing of cars by the house. There was a stillness that spoke so loud that it stopped me right there at the bottom of the stairs as I rushed to bed.

So, I stopped. I simply stood and let the quiet surround me. I glanced up at the sky. It was a beautiful night. It was clear and the stars shown brightly. I was in awe. In awe of the Creator of the universe. I needed to stop. I needed that moment of quiet. I needed to be reminded to stop and listen. To stop and enjoy the moment. Enjoy the life around me. To not let not let myself be caught up in "doing" life and miss out on enjoying life.

God is so good.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 02:29:29 GMT

Phew.

So, no, I haven't quite fallen off the face of the planet. However, I have been particularly busy. This past weekend alone was entirely filled with weddings. One of which I was a guest and the other a photograther. They were both terribly fun. The first one was fun since I knew a good portion of the people there and there was great dancing. The second one was amazing since I had the opportunity to work with a fansastic photographer and play with tons of really expensive equipment. Sigh.

Oh, so this Friday I am helping to host a ball. It has proven to be quite the project with its share of complicaitons. But, everything is going to turn out beautifully. I'm actually starting to get excited (especially since I have a new dress :) ).

I've finally done it. I have filled all my disk space....with pictures.....what eles? So, no editing, no nothing. It's driving me crazy. I am going to get a portable hard drive. Soon. Very soon. So, until then...this will have to do:

It's a beautiful day. Don't let it get away. ~ U2

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 18:04:09 GMT

Summer.

Long lazy twighlight evenings. Nippy Bay Area mornings. Warm sunny afternoons. There is really nothing like summer.

Lemonade stands and gargage sales where you find wonderful hats like this one. :) I love summer.

Whats your favorite part of summer?

Sometimes the whole idea of life is too overwhelming for me.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 23:27:00 GMT

Home: Stage One - Walnut Grove

Three more days until we move back to Berkeley. I can't wait. I have missed it so much.

It will be great to just be back home with everything all in one place so I can try and organize my life again. It get to move back home just in time to pack up and leave. How sad.

I start work on Friday. I am so excited. I really wanted this job.

So, I am now officially (background check, finger printing, and all) a Rec. Program Instructor. Heck yes.

Life has been so insanely crazy the last two weeks. I have been working 8 or 9 hour days and we have to move. I'm exhausted. But, hey, college won't pay for its self. :)

Here is a random collection of pictures I've taken in the last couple of weeks. Enjoy. :)

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 00:35:34 GMT

Reflections…

CALIFORNIA. California. California.

HOME!

I can hardly believe it. It’s all gone by so fast, yet slow at the same time. I have learned so much, done so much, and grown so much. Change always makes me stop and reflect. So, here are my thoughts on the last six months.

Growth – one of my greatest desires during our time up in Washington was to deepen and in some ways restore my relationship with Christ. I knew I needed to be broken by Him. So, I cried out to Him. And that’s just what He did. He broke me completely. It was beautiful. The Lord is so good.

Relationships – another one of my goals was to strengthen my relationship with my family. The Lord really blessed this desire. Mainly because of our relaxed schedule I could actually hang out with my siblings and parents. Living in a room with my five younger sisters gave me the opportunity to interact with them as I haven’t had the chance before. I wouldn’t exchange this time with my family for anything in the world. I often caught myself thinking about leaving them. I never realized how hard it is going to be. Up till now I had been focusing on where I was going, not what I was leaving.

Study – I have learned so much in the realm of knowledge and understanding while up there also. I did an in depth study of the book of Daniel and followed up by reading Josephus’ Jewish Wars. It was a really interesting study that I learned a great deal from. Also different friends of mine encouraged me to think and ponder on a variety of subjects which kept my time intellectually simulating. I had the opportunity to do a good deal of reading which was wonderful as a love to read. My favorite book I read was Crime and Punishment – I LOVE that book.

Loss – through our great loss by the robbery God taught us the insignificance of material possessions and His great sovereignty. It is still hard to understand why He would allow that to happen, but I think He wanted to test our faith.

Friends – I know its been hard to be away from all my dear friends, but I have been so encouraged by you all. I have such great friends. You have all, through letters, phone calls, and email, encouraged me so much! It better stay that way when I leave in the fall. :)

Living – it has been such a blessing and privilege to live in the heart of God’s beautiful nature. Its has been so amazing. There is nothing like worshipping God through nature. I think living in Washington God has really grown my love for nature into more of a passion and a even greater love of His goodness and beauty.

Church – I have missed Mosaic so much. However, we had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of small community church in the valley. It was such a neat experience. The people were SO welcoming and sweet. I will miss them. It was great to see a true community church as most of the people lived right there in the valley. I love to see all the places God is working.

Memories – Oh my, there are so many I don’t think I can write them all down! However, here are some of the highlights:

- Sitting in the living room knitting and listening to the Chronicles of Narnia by candle light (no electricity) while the storm raged outside.

- Playing cards and singing to oldies until midnight with my step aunt Donna from across the street.

- Walter (the most adorable big dog ever – Donna’s dog)

- All of our wonderful friends and family that came to visit and the great time we had with them. Being separated from friends and family causes you to realize just how much they mean to you. (the Smiths are a such a crazy family. : P )

- Riding the ATV around the house. Boy, that was crazy.

- Exploring and visiting all kinds of places around us – Victoria and Vancouver Canada, Seattle, Portland and Seaside Oregon, the rain forest, the beautiful Skokomish valley.

- Eating venison and oysters for the first time. Oh my, venison is SO good! And I actually like oysters.

- Having high tea at the Empress Hotel, Victoria with my wonderful grandma, sisters, and mother.

- Dancing on the ferry.

- Highlight of all highlights: visiting the Petersens.

- Visiting Yellowstone – seeing bears, moose, elk, and buffalo. Enjoying another part of God’s amazing creation.

Things I WON’T miss:

- Walmart

- The most terrible invisible bugs in the world – noseeems, 35 bites and counting.

- Chris – don’t ask.

Washington

I will miss it. Very much. It will always have a special place in my heart. God has really blessed us through the faith and perseverance of my parents. It has truly been one of the most amazing times of my life and I will never forget it.

Pictures - Our beautiful valley...