Valentine's Day Love

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I hope everyones day is filled with lots of hugs and kisses!

I have spent the day dreaming about summer time in West Michigan...

(Photo by my dad over at www.bullmoosephotos.com/index.html)

What can I say.... I am just a little sick of the snow and cold.

I mean really Michigan... just warm up already and bring some tulips with it.

New Year- New Start

I have no excuses for staying away for so long- I simply have not thought my life has been interesting enough to write a blog.

That is exactly why I have decided to take a new take on this blog thang...

instead of attempting to write about my day-to-day monotonous life, I am going to use this as a creative outlet for my life! Get excited (all four of you that will read this) for pictures, crafts, things I am inspired by, ETC!

It's going to be good.

To start it out I will tell you a little about my truly great weekend. I do not think I can really express my LOVE for the Olympics. While the opening ceremonies last night were a little strange, (punk-rock tapping/river dance?) I still was silently freaking out inside with excitement.

While that alone could have made my weekend, my roommate Sara and I took a trip into Lansing to perhaps the greatest store on this planet. It is called the "Creation Station" and is filled with the most wonderful, random crafting supplies EVA. For just over $5 I walked away with some great, great things.

Once again, these two things could have made my weekend, but Sara and I also took a trip to Hawk Island park. I heard about it awhile ago and have been meaning to go, but just have not made it out there until today. Let me tell you... I have been missing out! There are wooden walkways along the lake and trails throughout the woods. God did some good sculpting here. Some photos from the venture....

A new beginning

In eight days I will be moving my things back out of my parents and into the very fabulous Mary Mayo hall with some even MORE fabulous girls to start a new year of studying and furthering my knowledge. This summer was a strange one to say the least. I was incredibly busy for about the first month of it, but after my many trips and such, I can honestly say I have done nothing. I didn't get a job this summer (besides the VERY rare babysitting). It has been so weird waking up every morning and have truly NOTHING to do.

Needless to say... I am excited for school. I am craving the routine! This year is going to be a good one; I can tell already. I have changed A LOT since this time last year and I am excited to see how God is going to use me.

Suummmerr

It is already July 12. I ask you... where did my summer go? It seems like last week I was packing up my dorm and moving out of Brody forever and the next thing I know summer is half over. This summer has been a strange one. Things have happened that I never expected and the things I actually did expect have turned out to be even more weird then I ever imagined.

Here is a list of the most impactful things that came out of this summer thus far...

• The new found closeness I have with the guys in our group


• Photography trips across the western United States with my Momma and Dad


• Summer Staff at TWL


• The deepness I now share with the friends I did Summer Staff with


• A desire to start journaling my prayers... in that case... praying on a constant basis


• The realization that school WILL NOT actually suck next year


• Broken relationships effect deeper then origanilly thought


• I cherish Sara Kells friendship more then I ever thought


• Jesus is changing me from the inside out and I am more then ready

Old Buttons and New Family

Today was a good day.

It started off with church then my mom and I went to Antiques on the Bluff, an antique fair along the bluff in my town, then we went to lunch. Times like these always amaze me with the conversations that occur between mother and daughter. Today was the first time that I really shared some things about last year and how I truly felt... deeper then the "Yeah. I liked school." It felt good to finally get it across just how hard last year was.

We also had a picnic with my brothers new fiance's family. I was a little nervous and not really looking forward to it, but it actually turned out really fun. Both my parents arent very social people, so it had the chance of being very awkward. But once again, it was great. It is really funny how alike our parents are; right down to looks and personalities. While at first I was pretty upset about this whole pregnancy thing, I am now getting more and more excited. I see so many more opportunities I will have to be in both the new baby's life and my brothers.

Amish Country!!

Today my parents and I went to Shipshewana (spelling?) and had a grand ole' time chilling with the Amish folk. It is such a strange thing to be driving along and suddenly, WHAM, you are staying into the eyes of a horse pulling a little old man in a straw hat along side your car. Life just seems so different there... easier, more pure, dare I say better? I don't think this calmness comes along JUST with the Amish, just small, country towns in general. I live in a pretty small town, but when I go someplace like this tiny Indiana town I am instantly in shock of how small towns can really be. People in these types of towns always seem to know something that everyone else doesn't though. I think they know the importance of cutting away all the fancy clothes, ipods, and fast cars and getting back to the basics: God, family, and nature.

So lets take a clue from those jolly folk in straw hats, black suspenders, and buggies; lets put down our laptops and go churn some butter.

Time to Get Serious

Alright. So I am bad at writing on this. When I started it, I was determined to keep at it, so this is me getting serious.

I am going to take it a little easy getting back into the jest of this and make a list of the
top things on my mind at the moment...

• Unlike all the other times I have been away from school for long periods of time, I am actually NOT dreading going back to MSU.


• I really miss Sara.


• I have no idea how I will ever make even the slightest amount of money this summer that I will actually need for next year.


• My brother is going to be a father and I AM GOING TO HAVE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN MY NEICES/NEPHEWS LIFE (especially their spiritual life)


• I hate 5.9% increases in tuition


• I have discovered a new love for classical music and Mother Teresa quotes

So thats it for now.

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

Mother Teresa