Thursday, March 10, 2011

nostalgia at its best.

I blame a certain favorite writer of mine for this sense of nostalgia which has overcome me this afternoon. I am very much okay with it though. So many times I get caught up in where I am that I do not take the chance to look back at how I got to where I am now in life.

I have at least five written in journals on my shelf in my dorm room. Every once and a while I take the time to peek into my past and memories. I love being able to see how I was thinking and what was happening years back in my past. My past has shaped me into who I am today and I often forget how important all my past experiences are to my future.

Here is a trip down memory lane...

Lima, Peru: Summer 2008
This picture is of Heather and I. Heather was on my team. She was a little sister to me. I am so glad I had the experiences with her that I did and in Peru in general.
Beatrice was one of the sweetest kids I met. She loved spending time with me and always wanted to hold my hand. She helped me face my fear of climbing the side of the mountain (foothills of the Andes Mt. Range...) all while holding my hand. When I should have been a comfort to her, she was my strength.
This little girl never spoke. Lacy and I tried very hard to get her to open up. She had lice and, unfortunately, there was nothing we could do about it. But we asked her if she wanted her hair redone and she nodded. Lacy re-braided her hair as I just held her hand. Her little hand in mine made me understand just a little bit better what God does for me every day as He holds my hand and helps me through the best and the worst parts of my day.
Stefanie had the most genuine smile out of all of the children I met in Lima. She glowed every time I saw her the day I was in her town. She was fearless. She came up to me and slid her little hand in mine.

"So... my day today was amazing. we washed hair, clothes and did the drama once, and led over 130 people to Christ. The total of people yesterday was 810. I am so excited. Today I was around the children when this little girl took my hands and just held them. Then I gave her a hug and she told me her name was Stefanie, so I told her my name and she continued to just hold my hands for a minute or two longer. She and the others are why God has placed me here! He is so amazing and I am so grateful!"
-From my blog post on Myspace while I was on the trip, 2008


The girl in red is Shayna. She came up to me and brought her younger brother and sister with her. I always wonder if she was the caretaker for her siblings at such a young age.
I was blessed to stay at the El Pueblo Resort while in Lima. The resort was the only place big enough to house all 500 and some of us.
This place was the prayer chapel in the resort. I loved going in here just to get away for a little while and remember why I was there.
Laura and I have been best friends since we were four. Some of the things that we have done over the years have no explination and I am just glad digital cameras have been around for my teenage years to capture it all.

Dances:
Homecoming sophomore year: Grant (my "twin") and I.
Homecoming junior year: Ash and I before the dance at Laura's house for pictures. I was Ash's "date" because a bunch of us from different schools all wanted to go to homecoming together, so Ash bought my ticket for me. :]
Homecoming senior year: Me and my brother. David, the soccer stud, was on court his freshman year of high school and I, the band geek, was not even my senior year. Though my date was almost on court, so I would have been his escort for the dance and such. I was asked to homecoming that year via pancakes. A group of us went to Ram's Horn (LOVE IT!) to eat after an away game at which we played in the stands. Dan and Ryan ordered pancakes to split and then they proceeded to shield the masterpiece which read "Homecoming?" until it was finished for me to read and respond to. I said yes, and I'm glad I did. It was the best homecoming dance I had gone to all four years of high school.
Prom (Senior year): I didn't want to go to prom unless I had a date. I am very thankful Jeremy said yes. Who would have thought that I would have gone to my senior prom with my best friend's cousin? Not I! But Jeremy and I have been friends since we were little through church. I wouldn't give up his friendship for anything. :]

Band Camp!!!
Senior year band camp... need I say more?
My last year on piccolo... with my AWESOME bff and co-section leader, Rachel.
Raids. YES!

WCSC: My home away from home...
I love my friends...
Attempt... and fail. :]
Wolverine is an amazing place. I feel completely comfortable there. It is my home away from home. I have met some of my best friends there. I have strengthened many relationships there.
Some things should never have to end. Going to camp is one of them...
Me and my little bro... :]
Friendship that will never end.
The group. :]
Watching the sunrise... Far too early in the morning.

SITS!
Summer in the Son. I do not even have words. A week in Kentucky is always a highlight of my life. Especially when spent with some of the most amazing people I know. Dancing and running in the rain, amazing speakers and artists, raw emotions, honesty, laughing until my tummy aches, french toast sticks, biscuits and gravy, rolling hills, lakes which you are not supposed to swim in... :]

Texas: SB '10 BABY!

Senior retreat: Rob's Cabin

College: Farm Day

Mi hermano y yo!
I love my little brother... well, I guess he isn't really little anymore. He is over 4 inches taller than me now...

I am very blessed. I have done so much and I have so much left to do. I can't believe that I will be adding another country to my list of visited countries next week. Haiti is going to be one of those places that shapes me and breaks my heart. I am ready for God to do amazing things. :]

Here is a cute little video by He Is We. Enjoy!

a few of my favorite things and my life.

This week has been kind of crazy already. Here is my week in review (starting at Sunday):


*Went to church with Lauren :] I love the quality time I get to spend with her in the car every Sunday morning.


*Then I went to UCC to meet with my Haiti team, my leaders, and their families for lunch.


*Did all my homework that I had left and studied for my Psych test.


*Went to small group. :] I have missed that time every week for the past couple of months.


*Sleepy sleep sleep!


*Monday Madness! A quiz in one class and a test in my Psych class. Then I went to Indy with my Spring Break team to build a BUV (Basic Utility Vehicle). I never thought building a vehicle would end up being so much fun! :] My team is great. I'm glad we work very well together.


*Tuesday morning... I tried to have my blood drawn. Okay... Story time!


Tuesday morning I was scheduled to have a little vile of blood drawn for my Fit for Life class. I got ready quickly that morning so I could get to the KSAC by 9:50 AM for my assigned time. I got to the KSAC and signed in. Then I filled out the information sheet. I didn't have to wait long before I sat down in the chair to have my blood drawn. My professor walked by to check in with the nurses since I was the last person of the day. As the nurse was trying to find a vein, she and the other nurse said the following sentence to my prof: No one passed out today!
Way to jinx me... Almost. So, she had to search quite hard to find my veins. I had run out the door without thinking to hydrate ahead of time. She finally found a vein, tried to poke the needle in and LOST IT! My stupid vein rolled and she could not find it! So, she took the needle out of my arm. None of this hurt me too much (luckily). The initial prick barely hurt one bit. Next, she tried to find a vein in my other arm. She had to get a BUTTERFLY NEEDLE! My veins were that shriveled from being dehydrated... Not my smartest move ever. Throughout this entire process I have felt a little woozy, but it wasn't bad until I thought about her wiggling the needle around in my arm to find a vein. Just as the nurse was about to put the second needle in my other arm, I said, "I don't feel well." At this point I was on the brink of blacking out. My prof was standing there telling me to "stay with us" and the nurses told me to breathe deeply and asked what I wanted to eat. I got to drink the rest of the SunnyD and eat pretzels until I was stable enough to leave and go back to my dorm after an unsuccessful trip to get my blood drawn. Later in class, my prof told me I looked like I had more color... I wonder why? :P And then he came up to me when we were doing stretches and asked me how I was feeling and such. It was quite embarrassing, but it was really nice of him to check up on me.


Now, back to my list...


*Tuesday night I was wiped! I went to bed really early (after dinner), woke up around 10:30, got ready for bed & finished my homework and then went back to bed.


*I had a quiz in New Testament this morning (which I got 100% on! :])


*Chapel was great. This week is "Sex and the Cornfields" which is a focus on relationships and intimacy and such. Tomorrow night is when there will be different panels (for singles, dating, and engaged). Chapel this morning was about hopes in relationships.


*Brit. Lit. was cancelled today. Mook was sick. :[


*I didn't have Pro. Writing today because Doc was giving all the book groups the opportunity to meet to figure things out before meeting with him this next week to discuss the progress in each of our projects.


* Tonight was chapel pt. 2. It was about the fears in relationships. Very interesting. The speaker has been using information given to him by a survey that students at my own college filled out (including my own stats).


Currently, Morgs is sleeping. I feel bad that the cold I had last week has now taken over her body. I just hope she can breathe soon. :[


I have been having a great week thus far. I am going to work out in the morning. A great start to a day if you ask me! :] Then class, and then more work and cleaning, and then another class. I want to clean my room before this weekend since my family is coming down for my birthday (since I will be in Haiti for Spring Break) and because I can't stand the mess anymore. It is driving me nuts.


Now for a few things which I love right now:


Q and A a Day: 5-Year Journal


This journal/diary has 5 spots for each day. Each day you can answer a simple question at the top of each page for 5 years! I would love to be able to look back at what I was doing/listening to/thinking over the course of five years.


Mini Bow Shoe Clips - Mustard Yellow Grosgrain Ribbon


These shoes and clip on bows! SO CUTE!


Vintage Locket and Turquoise Bird Necklace  Vintage Locket and Turquoise Bird Necklace


This locket! I love lockets. I love jewelry... period.





I am currently reading through this book during my alone time in the DC for breakfast. It is fantastic! I am excited to see what God is going to teach me through this book.


I will leave you all with some verses which I always find encouraging from Philippians 1 (verses 3-11):
 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Monday, March 7, 2011

adorable girls dressed in brown vests... and housekeeping.


I love Girl Scout cookies. I LOVE Samoas, Tagalongs, Thin Mints (with milk of course), and Trefoils.


The past few days have been a struggle for me. Everyday cute little girls are on campus trying to sell their cookies to poor college students like me. I have not been sucked in by their smiling faces and batting eyelashes.
The trick: I avoid ALL eye contact.

Secondly, my goal of this weekend was to clean while my roommate was gone. Has that happened yet? No. Have I gone to the mall with friends, painted my nails "Mint Sobet" and worked on my InDesign project... yes.

I absolutely love this nail color. And the paint does not chip for at least 10 days. It is absolutely fantastic! :]



I hope to be able to add to my list of favorite things this week. It is going to be a busy week. I have a Psych test tomorrow morning... and I am going to Indy tomorrow with my Haiti team to do a building project from 4-10 PM.


If I do not get to my blog tomorrow... Happy Monday all! :]

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

pros & cons.


Pros and Cons of this week thus far:
Pros:
·         My Psych exam was moved to Monday instead of Friday
·         Natalie Lloyd has had a ton of blog posts lately!
·         Aaron Carter is blasting from the bathroom down the hall from my dorm room. Yes, my wing has a 90s CD with some “classics”, such as “Hit Me Baby One More Time”, “Bye Bye Bye”, “I Want Candy”, and “MMMBop”. Good stuff! :]
·         The snow is gone (for now).


(FINALLY! No snow in the view from my window!)


·         My small group is going to start meeting again this Sunday! :]
·         I got an A on my British Literature test!
·         My Haiti team has 39% of our funds raised with 2 weeks to go (we were at 3% last week)
·         God is good. Always.
Cons:
·         I had a long visit to the Health Center yesterday... I went in to get Typhoid meds for my trip to Haiti. I waited an hour and a half to see the nurse, saw her for only a couple of minutes, then went to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription and they were out of stock so I had to go back today to get it


·         I’m sick... which is making me sleepy all the time :[
·         I have a New Testament test on Friday
·         I need to clean my room, but have no motivation to do so...
·         O Leader Interview tomorrow evening... Eep!
·         I was unable to go to see Susie Shellenberger speak today at IWU’s chapel (because of my class schedule I could not go off campus for an hour)
Fashion Find: I am loving Etsy (who doesn't?) Today, thanks to my lovely emails I receive from them, I found this adorable bracelet!

I love it! Too bad I'm super cheap...
I also got the new Anthropologie catalogue today in the mail. (Yay mail!) I am not sure why I taunt myself with expensive jewelry and apparel I know i cannot afford. I just enjoy pretty things, I guess...
Like this dress. Would I ever buy it? Nope. Do I like it & think it is pretty? Very much, yes.


I love photography, so a list of little things in life which I love I shall make (with corresponding pictures of course)!
Polaroid cameras & pictures

Nutella

"The Princess Diaries"


(I have always loved this dress)





Cornfields (Yes, Indiana is getting to me...)

Jumping in puddles after a storm (which I did this week!)

Since I have a test to study for, this is all for now. More pictures and things I love to come in the next blog (most likely).
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