smile!

it's friday, pumpkin.

this little girl lights up my life. i'm about to cry just thinking about leaving this face behind.

Two New Germany Posts.

About how wonderful my day was and how great God is.

Check.
them.
out.

Here and Here.


Also, Happy Birthday to the big HP*!

*that'd be Harry Potter. A day like today must be acknowledged.
ps - why didn't they have the last movie premiere today. that would've been epic.

A conversation with Taegan

Taegan: Where your flowah stamp, Tia?
Me: You know where it is... it's just covered up today.
Taegan: Tia, I think I need a flowah stamp.

Me: /rasies brows
Taegan: wight here. /points to the inside of her arm.

Me: Oh really? I don't think so...
Taegan: Why not?

Me: Because you need to be old like me.
Taegan: Oh.
Me: /whew
Taegan No, I think I need one wight now. wight here.
Me: Do you wanna come see Hop with me and Nana right now? /trying to distract.
Taegan: YEA!!
Me: mission accomplished.
 
....and by flowah stamp she means tattoo.
I guess my neices wanting one never crossed my mind when I got it. Whoops.

Parkinson's Awareness Month!!

"As many as one million Americans live with Parkinson's disease, which is more than the combined number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig's disease." via

I'm almost ashamed that I didn't know April was Parkinson's Awareness Month until today, literally just now. I most definitely will not forget it ever again.

Michael J. Fox and his daughter, Esme, lit the top of the Empire State Building in orange on Friday in honor of the month.  As you are probably aware, Parkinson's Awareness is very important to my family and I.

Here's a few websites regarding Parkinson's Disease :

The Michael J. Fox Foundation

Parkinson's Disease Foundation

educate yourself.

Seattle: Post 1

Ok, here's what I'm going to do... Every week, at least once, maybe more, I'm going to post a little bit about my trip to Seattle. It won't be in order and it might not be interesting. BUUUT it's my blog and I will do what I want to. For the first post we have March 17th. This isn't the entire day... just a few parts. And there is no cool pictures of anything interesting, unless you count Jessica, Tamura, and I as interesting... which I do!

This particular day was our first day in Seattle. Tamura made us a handrawn map (which was very cool and helpful), told us how to ride the bus to downtown and sent us on our way. We did several cool things this day, but I'm not saying exactly what just yet. So for today, all you get is some pictures.

This is me and Jess eat our Poroshky's (spelling?) at a lookout point. Apparently this particular place has totem poles left from the Indians (I didn't see them, but Tam and Jess don't typically lie, so I'm probably oblivious - wouldn't be the first time). It was a cool place, to look out over the sound, there were tables to eat on, etc. There were also street vendors nearby as well. Very eclectic place.

Obvi, this sequence of pictures was all taken at the same time, later in the day from the Poroshky's picture. We met up with Tamura after she got off, did some shopping at H&M, then went to this cool little bar for happy hour. Seriously, Seattle-lites know how happy hour is done. All three of us ate for 14 bucks, and we each had a beer for 10.50. So three meals + three beers = 24.50. The food was really good too!! So after dinner we were walking around, or back to the bus - I don't know, and found another excellent lookout. Naturally, we stopped to take pictures because the night was clear, the sound was gorgeous. Unfortunately without a tripod, there was no way my camera was going to capture the true beauty... so we improvised and just took pictures of each other. Eventually the self timer came to mind, then we all got in!! 

**Disclaimer: this picture need to be edited, but I was just too excited to start posting. Don't judge me.

two questions.

What's saving you?

What do you do?

These are two questions that I got asked while I was in Seattle.

Let me tell you, not the easiest questions in the world to answer. At first glance they seem somehwat vague, open ended, which they are, but try answering them in a way that you are happy with. I don't know if I'm making sense, but I'm going to continue rambling anyway.

What's saving you?

This could change day-to-day, and after discussing it with several girls, I think it should. I definitely have some constants, but everyday, there is usually a few different little things that save me that day.

Family. It's always saving me. My family is my rock. The one constant on earth that I can always count on. We might get mad at each other, but they are always there. always.

Friends. It could be a different friend from day-to-day, but I always have someone who understands, who gets me.

Food. Honestly. No lie. Sometimes the prospect of going home and stuffing my face with some seriously wonderful nosh saves me throughout the day.

What do you do?

I feel like the obvious response is whatever you do for a living. Buuut I would like to believe I'm so much more than my job; however, other than work I didn't really know how to answer that question. Here's what I came up with after some thinking:

Work.

Read.

Watch.

movies/tv.

Photograph.

the neices/plants/buildings.

Spend Time.

with family/friends.

Thinking about this has made me wonder...
Do I depend on the right things to save me? Do I spend my time in an adequate way that is reflective of my morals, ethics, goals, dreams, etc?

The answer: To be determined... I will get back to you when I figure it out, probably in another post at a later date.

Because every post needs a picture:

It's a repeat, but it has many important people in my life in it and it's super cute.

whats new??

its been so long since i've posted (with the exception of the last two posts, but im not counting them..) i decided im going to bring everyone up to speed. here's what has been happening since july::

1. school started. bleh.
seriously, who needs to learn about socrates?! the only thing that keeps me motivated is the thought of taking a photography class next semester!

2. i 've joined sigma phi lambda!
yes.. im a senior. and it is a little late to join. but its so much fun and i've already made several new friends!
p.s. this is a christian sorority..

3. i've recently become addicted to the new 90210.
if you dont watch it, you should start. its really good!

4. i quit drinking cokes.
but not coffee. i must have it to study.
i could only afford to cut out the carbonation. not caffeine. not yet.

5. i finally got photoshop on my laptop.
it is really hard to operate, but i'm learning. its really fun!!


unfortunately, thats about it. i live a pretty uneventful life.
pictures to come soon!

camp eagle

i went with our youth group to camp eagle a few weeks ago. it was an awesome experience for the kids as well as myself. we hiked, rock climbed, swam in the river, and did alot of other "outdoorsy" things. i was kind of nervous going because i dont really like doing stuff like that, but i definately surprised myself with how much i enjoyed everything!!

this was called sherpa, you're connected to cable running along the side of cliff. as part of a team building activity i was blindfolded through most of it. kind of scary.

mine and sterling's duct taped shoes for the mud fight. we got so gross!

some of our girls at the river :D

the hike to the windmill was pretty hard, but once we got there we got to swim. the water was pretty gross, but i was so hot i didnt care.

me and sterling matched!

Green School!

as i already mentioned in my last post, i went to super summer last week! it was such an amazing week. i was so awesome to hang out with a whole bunchof people that are all on fire for God.

these are all the Team Leaders in green school! an amazing group of people!

this is my "husband" haha we were responsible for the 15 kids in our family group!

these were our kids! they were such a blessing!

i really feel like God has called me to serve in the mission field, not just overseas, but also in my church and community. which i'm pretty nervous about, but i know He will give me everything i need.

SUPER summer.

so tomorrow morning i'm leaving to go to Hardin-Simmons University, to be a team leader at a church leadership camp called Super Summer. i'm super excited!! this is such an awesome camp, and i cant wait to see how the spirit is going to move! not only am i excited about that, but also the fun stuff too! rec time there is so hilarious! every grade is a different color, this year i'm green with the seniors in high school. at rec everyone gets all school spirited, some people even paint themselves. its great!

like i said, i leave tomorrow, but the kids dont get there until monday. its going to be competely exhausting, but so much fun!!

EASTER!!

joe, raelye, and the girls came over for dinner. then taelye and taegan got to hunt eggs! it was taegans first time, she did so good! taelye was so excited and overwhelmed she was running around so fast trying to grab them all!
















taegan












taelye









taelye assesing her findings!

misc fun!

look at the beautiful flowers i got for Valentine's Day...


































from my mom!!









aren't they ADORABLE!!









me and taylor had fun at target!

complacent

...a word that has popped in several conversations, with one person in particular.
i find it very interesting that i've heard it several times in the past few weeks an i can't help but think that it might be somewhat of a conviction from God.

so i looked it up

according to encarta, the definition of complacent is:
1. satisfied: self-satisfied and unaware of possible dangers
2. eager to please: eager to please

according to merriam-webster
1. self satisfied
2. complaisant (tending to consent to others wishes)
3. unconcerned

general consensus = self satisfied
however, i do like the definition: unconcerned.

how often are we, as christians, unconcerned with furthering the kingdom of heaven? for me personally, it is too often. i wake up everyday, go through the motions, and hope i make it home in time to watch my tv shows for that night, then go to bed. how often do i prefer to read something other than the Word of God? how often does my behavior not portray a follower of Christ? too often.

my best friend always tells me, "we are to be in the world, not of the world. that is the way that we impact the world for Him. we should stand out. people should see us and know that we are different."

i don't think i can say that people see me in that way.


then i received this verse in my e-mail yesterday:

But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
~ Psalm 13:5, NLT

do i truly trust His unfailing love completely? do i rejoice because HE rescued me?
not so much.

instead of putting my faith and trust in the people around me, who always let me down, why not put my faith in someone who loved me enough to die for me, so that i could be forgiven?

as an official new years resolution:
i'm goin to work on the two aformentioned things. and when 2010 get's here i want to look back and see a definite improvement.

two posts in one day...

its a record!

so i get the k-love encouranging word sent to my e-mail everyday. here's today's:

"Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone."
-Psalm 33:22 NLT

i just love this. it sums up perfectly how our relationship with Him should be and how much He loves us. Everyday, everywhere i go, His love surrounds me. i know this is something that we hear all the time and we should know, but today my heart was especially open to this truth today.