I'm a horrible blogger...

...it's been since mid April since I've last blogged. Internets, I is sorry. I can haz forgives?

Wow, since April. So, to try to recap & not bore you all:

Final Exams/Papers--went okay, I still dislike writing greatly.

Grades: 5As, 2 Bs. I'm happy. :-D <---- See? That's a big happy face! (Minus the teeth, little creepy)

Since school let out, I've spent the summer working on Kids Camp stuff and working in the library at school. I love working in there. Mrs. Celelli and I moved about 13,000 books from the old library to a classroom while the new library was being built. Tomorrow we move them from the classroom to the new library. I'm excited. The library looks fantastic! Thanks to the Texas Baptist Men for making it look oh-so-awesome.

Kids Camp was SOOO much fun--definitely the BEST kids camp I've been to so far! I have a video that I'll try to post. :-)

Other than that, I've been house sitting since the beginning of June for different people and will be house sitting (or at camp) for another 3-4 weeks... :-)

I'll try to be better, internets, at blogging, but, as you know, I is not goods at the blogs. :-(

Dear Research Paper,

I am very sorry that I have neglected you throughout the semester. Really I am. However, you are due tomorrow and I am tired. So, as I sleep and dream of sno cones and giraffes, please write yourself--you need to expand at least another 11 pages, please and thank you.

I look forward to reading you when I wake up in a few hours.
Much love,


P.S. If you so desire, you may also write several pages (or 12-15) on the paper that is due Tuesday. :)

A bit of catching up to do:

Much has happened since the Top 10 Reasons to go to the Easter Festival, so here I am to quickly summarize the last week or so in bullets:

• Easter Festival was AWESOME! (We served about 2,000 people!)
• Easter Services were great...Audie and I bought the same shirt and wore them with white capris so that we would be matching...and we told Jenny to wear a similar outfit....
• 

Aren't we just the cutest? :)

• I had a fun Easter afternoon with the Aunt Maggie & Cousins Megan, Tori, and Amanda--we ate & dyed eggs (my first time!!) and watched both Hairspray and Blind Side

This one was my favorite color...
BUT... this one was my favorite...

...because in case you didn't know: "I freakin' love giraffes!"

• Not much has happened since then aside from regular school work & papers being due. (OH, that reminds me!! I got my counseling paper back --I wrote on counseling children of divorces-- and my prof gave me a couple of suggestions for improvement and then asked if once I corrected if he could have a copy to hand out to his patients because the content was so good!!!! I got an 87 on it too--my Turabian citations weren't that great.).
• I had sno cones with my prof's wife Sara last Thursday. Might I say that I just love sno cones? I just love sno cones. Yummm. Made me really miss my sno cone buddy, Kendi, but I was excited to spend time with Sara discussing fun activities for SCS students!!
• AND, the best news of all............................................

I'm officially a SENIOR!!!!!!! only 19 more hours until I graduate!!!!

I think I ate a whole cucumber today.

I also studied from 1045am-4pm with pretty much no breaks, but it paid off (I hope!): I think I did really well on my Life and Letters of Paul Test and my Church and Personal Finances Final Exam.

Now, to study for Hebrew Prophets. Test in the morning...woo.

I love Fall 2009.

:) I love the first day of school. I love the newness and freshness of starting a new year (or semester), new teachers, new friends. I love the first page of a spiral notebook. I love new backpacks, pens that you have to scribble for a second to get the ink flowing, and choosing 'your seat' for the duration of the semester (look at me using a big word like duration, lol). I love the nervousness in my stomach as I walk into the building, wondering who is going to be in my class, and the excitement of friends I know who will be there with me. I love the expectations of what the semester has to hold. I love that I'm only at SCS this semester!!!! :) I love that I'm one step closer to graduating. :))))))))--that's a really REALLY REALLY big smile. haha). I love SCS. I love the teachers and the faculty---I love that they pray for us, care for us, send us cards when we're sick. I love that they treat us with respect.

I love that I'm taking awesome classes this semester: Survey of Religious Education, World Religions, John & His Writings, and Church Leadership. I love that I already know of at least one friend in my class. I love that my friend Hollie will be teaching a class there this semester and I love that I'll get to see her at least two days a week because of it.

I love that every sentence of this blog started with the words "I love."

Grades!

Well, another semester gone by...
Foundations for Cross Cultural Ministry- B
Philosophy- C
Supervised Ministry- A
Physics- B
Physics Lab- B
World Literature- B

Not sure why my Physics Lab is a B...unless it's because I broke several labs...he would put them together & I'd touch them & they would fall apart- OOPS. :)

I am SO thankful for the C in Philosophy! I was REALLY worried about it...tried to drop it in the middle of the semester, but they wouldn't let me. Had I dropped it, it would've meant I would've had more time to study for all my 'B' classes, possibly turning those to A classes...but also, it would've postponed graduation for yet another semester.

It's SUMMER!

Fall 2009 Schedule update

Well, some things stood in the way of me taking Greek (Which is a TOTAL bummer because I really really was looking forward to it), so my classes will be:
Church Leadership (3 hrs)
World Religions (3hrs)
John and His Writings (3hrs)
Survey of Religious Education (3hrs)

I'm not very excited about next semester anymore.

4 days

I am 4 days away from Summer! THANK GOD!

My Productive Day

Yesterday, my aunt borrowed my car, so I decided that I would use all day to study and write my Voltaire paper for Philosophy. While the books lay open and the laptop turned on, I:

• did 4 loads of laundry
• washed & dried sheets & comforter
• sorted through some old clothes to take to Goodwill
• organized my closet
• cleaned my bathtub
• hung my newest crosses & picture I got for Christmas
• hung my dry erase calendar on the wall
• moved my bed
• cleaned out Pablo's fish bowl (for the first time since Christmas)
• semi-reorganized my scrapbooking drawers
• and began organizing/throwing away the other junk that has accumulated.
• after dropping my car @ my aunt's, I ran home the 3.4 miles!
  

So, while my Voltaire paper still sits, waiting to be written, at least I have a clean closet???

It's all Greek to me!

I am so excited about next semester. I just found out that the Christian school will be offering Greek! I'm going to take it!!!

So, I'll be at the Christian School, full time, taking 13 hours:
Church Leadership (3hrs)
World Religions (3hrs)
Survey of Religious Education (3hrs)
Greek (4hrs).

100th Post---an update on my life from the last month

This is my 100th blog! I wanted it to be extra special & about something awesomely awesome...perhaps I'll post pics of Third Day?

Anyway, so since I've been back from Dallas:

Had a Spring Break from the Christian School---spent it being bombarded with Physics and World Lit makeup homework and the flu-yuck (don't eat Mexican food & get the flu...just a warning).

Went to the dr to check up on my migraines--I was still having them...so she just refilled my Rx.

Steve (our worship pastor) said maybe I was dehydrated & that was causing my migraines...so I've been drinking water like it's goin' outta style & guess what??? No migraines...and only 2 headaches in the last 3 weeks. :) Thanks Steve-Oh!

The next week was Spring Break at Del Mar---but I still had a lot of Physics & World Lit to do, so I spent the week holed up in the McNeils house (where I was house sitting) buried in books. I spent the week praying about the guy I had been dating (for a month or so)--I felt God telling me not to continue with the relationship & as I was trying to figure out how to talk with him about it, he started dating someone else. So I guess God solved that one for me. I also had to make up my Philosophy midterm (got a 43-boo) and Cross Cultural Ministry midterm (84).

Last week was spent with Oso Fun practices, finishing up my World Lit paper, and more studying...I'm trying to really buckle down--only 5 weeks until Finals!!!

Yesterday, we had Oso Fun, which was Oh-So- much fun. :)

When i got home, I laid down on my mom's bed (it was about 1220 when i got home), and didn't wake up until 330 when Bill came in...so I went and laid back down on the couch and slept until 5! I didn't realize I was that tired, but I just couldn't get up.

Then, we (mom and I, Brigetta, Susie, and Will) went to the THIRD DAY Concert at Concrete Street! It was AWESOME!!!

These are my 5 favorite pics (just because I'm tired and don't want to upload more):

Brigetta, Will, and I. :)

An awesome screen---can't remember the name of the song, but I thought the screen looked sweet.


Revelation---the name of the Song and of the Tour.

This picture is from when they came and played in the crowd...It was literally less than 5 feet from us!!! It was SO stinkin' awesome. :) (Although this picture kinda makes it look like he was further away than he really was...he was SO close). :)

This was the opening background:

Prayers, Please!

My grandma, Sally Shearer, had a stroke last night sometime. My parents got a call in the wee hours of the morning, and Bill left the house between 3 & 4am to head up to the Dallas area. The doctors said that they don't give her long. I'm not sure what long means...perhaps today or tomorrow, or two months? Not sure...but it sounds like she could pass away sometime today. My mom and I are packing our things and getting stuff organized here and will be leaving soon, I hope (it's already almost 4, which means, well after midnight before we get there --mom drives carefully...)

So, please pray that she's comfortable and not in pain and for a miracle and that everyone can feel God's presence and His arms around them. Please especially pray for my grandpa (Mark) who, I'm sure, is falling to pieces.

Also pray for safe travels for mom, Bill, and me.

And for my midterms Tuesday that I think I am going to miss.

Busy Busy Busy

I have been so busy lately that I have been horrible at keeping up with the blog- sorry. :(

Highlights in my life as of late:

• Haven't been having as many Migraines lately, but I still have had several since my last appointment. I will be going back to the doctor on March 4th.
• I went to the dentist for the first time since 2001. I had 8 surface cavities. But, my dentist (whom I also babysit for), said since it's been that long since I've been to the dentist that that's not too bad. I will be having them filled sometime in the near future.
• I LOVE LOVE LOVE my life group. It's such a fun group & we laugh together, cry together, worship together, and study His Word together. :)
• School is extremely tough on me right now...well, just World Lit and Philosophy. There's so much reading and I'm just not comprehending well...but I'm know God will get me through it.
  
• Physics, Supervised Ministry, and Cross Cultural Ministry classes are going very well.
• I've been taking some dance classes...I've learned the Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba, Country Waltz, and Two Step. All in a 1 hour class period. I have two more lessons to take, both that I'm taking tomorrow.

Well, I need to go finish up an outline for a research paper on Voltaire so I can submit it online by midnight.

New friends and Bad cats

I love new friends.

I do NOT like bad cats.

I'll start off with the bad cat story so that I can end this post on a happy note. :)

My stinkin' bad cat (Dax) tripped me last night as I was making my way up the stairs to go to bed. This was because he was excited it was bed time (it was after midnight) and he wanted to sleep in my room. So I was going up the stairs, and he tripped me, causing me to drop my lovely phone. As I watched it bounce down the stairs, I could tell it was gonna be a bad break. It broke to pieces, but between Bill and I, we were able to fix it. Except for the part where the charger goes in. So, my phone can't be charged... the Sprint store wouldn't fix it, and the cheapest phone I could get there(without renewing my contract) was over $200. I looked on craigslist, but the only ones I could find online were all from this store called Apex. So, I went there & the guys were really nice. They had some used phones that they wanted to sell for $120, $130, and $140 but I said I couldn't afford that but needed something because I use it for work. So, they asked where I worked & I told him the church, and he was like Oh, you work for a church? Hang on. So he goes into this back room and came back and said that I could take my choice of any of the phones for $100. So mom transferred some money for me, and I got a new one (well, a new to me one--it's a Katana II and looks really nice...I'm waiting for it to activate-takes 4 hours).
Stinkin' cat---making me spend a hundred bucks. :(

Okay--New friends!!! YAY!

Today, I had lunch at Chili's (yum) with an awesome girl, Brittany, who has been coming to Oso for awhile now. She's got the cutest little boy, Korbyn, and she was so much fun to hang out with and talk to. I am so glad to have a new friend near my age. Anyway, I am so excited about our new friendship and what God has in store for us! :)

Well, I've got a paper due in 3 hours and have MAJOR writers block, so I better get busy.

Bad Habits...

Over the Christmas Vacation, I got into the bad habit of wasting my 'free time' watching shows on abc.com or the cw.com or just looking at friends' blogs... now, that I have school work...I'm having a hard time not watching shows on abc.com and cw.com & looking at blogs.

Please pray with me that I'll be able to concentrate on school work and understand all the things that I'm reading.

Overwhelmed

I must admit, after my first full day of classes, I'm a bit overwhelmed. During this semester, I will have :

• 22 Reading Reports (1 page papers about what we've read)
• 10 Reading Quizzes
• 10 Physics Quizzes (a minimum of 10...)
• A research paper on a Philosopher (Voltaire is who I chose)
• A Personal Cross Cultural Presentation
• 2 Cross Cultural Field Experiences
• Book Map Presentation
• Develop a Learning Covenant
• Numerous Tests, Quizzes, etc...
• As well as reading:
• The Poem of the Cid
• Medieval Romances
• Inferno
• Candide
• The Reader's Companion to World Literature
• Ministering Cross Culturally
• A Beginner's Guide to Crossing Cultures- making friends ina multi-cultural world
• Under the Predictable Plant
• Does the Center Hold?
• As well as reading a minimum of 5 books between the classes.

AHhhhHHHHHHhhhh

Grades

I was just looking back through my old posts and realized that I had asked you to pray for my finals & grades, but I never thanked you or told you what happened...

By the GRACE OF GOD & GOD ALONE,
Astronomy=B
Swimming=A
Water Aerobics=A
Piano=A
Biblical Interpretation=B
Special Studies in Christian Worship=B.

Also, next semester, I'm taking 15 hours (I start a week from today).
Physics & Lab (4)
World Literature (3)
Foundations for Cross Cultural Ministry (3)
Introduction to Philosophy(3)
Supervised Ministry (2)

end of the year ramblings...

This year has gone fairly well...

flew in a plane for the first time ever (March)
drove to Arkansas (July)
began doing overnight babysitting jobs
bought a laptop (Oct 3)
got a new car (May 26)
ran in Beach to Bay for the first time ever (May 17)
grown closer in my relationship with God
had a blast working with awesome people at church
began valet parking to earn some extra $ (Nov)

I'm so anxious to see what God and 2009 has in store for me!
I'm looking forward to:
January: the 11th. Something always happens to me on January 11th & I'm excited to see what it's going to be...I'm considering going and getting a second hole in each ear (I've really wanted to, but I'm kinda a chicken) because on January 11th when I was 11, I got my ears pierced. So, January 11 when I'm 22, get a 2nd hole? Idk...
January: starting a new budget
February: MDA Stride and Ride
March: MDA Gala
March: Third Day Concert (bought mom tickets for her bday, which is today)
April:???
May: Beach to Bay
May: ending my last semester at Del Mar!
May: Ending my cell phone contract with Sprint...or at least ending the contract with my parents phones & sprint... ;)
June: Marilyn and Raymond's wedding-I'm a bridesmaid
June: Seeing my Dad (for the first time in 12 years).
July:?
August: Beginning my first semester as full time SCS student.
September: 23rd birthday! wow.
October:?
November:?
December:?

I look forward to seeing me this time next year & seeing how God has grown me.

I'll post some "goals," "resolutions," whatever in the next day or so that I want to accomplish next year.

Prayer Requests

As this semester is ending, I'm asking everyone to please please please pray for me...

My Astronomy Final can either break me or save me...like it's either gonna be a C or like a 30. So please PLEASE pray that all goes well tomorrow (1045am-115pm).

Then on Tuesday, please pray for my Biblical interpretation and my Christian Worship classes...I'm doing much better in both of those classes than in Astronomy, but pray that I still do well. RIght now, I think that I have high Bs in both classes...so if I do well, I could get As...which would be AWESOME!

Please pray for Kaylee Lierman...she's having tubes put in and her adenoids taken out on Tuesday (she's 13 months old) and the surgery isn't until 3 in the afternoon & she can't eat anything after midnight the night before...So pray that it all goes well. (also, pray for her daddy, Daryl who will be having surgery on january 19th).

Hmm...what else?

Please pray for my professors Nathan and Kathy Maxwell---they're going to be relocating to Florida in about a week & just pray that all goes well with the move and the readjustments and that they find a church. All of us at SCS are really going to miss them. They are awesome...I've had so much fun in her class.

okay, it's time for me to get back to studying. :-/

Been awhile

Guess I should update this.

I have been super busy with school. Papers, tests, projects, more papers...AAAHHH!! Only 4 more class days at DMC and 2 more at SCS and FINALS time. Not looking forward to Finals. They stress me out so so so so much. But, after December 10th, I will be a much happier camper (and just in time for Amanda's birthday dinner that night, yays!).

I signed up for classes next semester. 15 hours (yikes--I've only taken 12 so far & it's killing me...but I want to graduate). I'll be taking Physics, World Literature, Foundations for Cross Cultural Ministry, Introduction to Philosophy, and Supervised Ministry. Wowzas. Please start praying now for me for next semester. I was however, able to get all of my classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Tuesday 8-920 & 1-8, and Thursday 8-1220) and one online class (world lit). I'm very excited about that. But, I hope that on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I can stay responsible enough to actually study and do my work (I'll pretty much have to in order to pass all my classes).

I started occasionally working at a Valet Company with one of my friends, and I really enjoy it. It's fun, easy, and has the possibility of making good tips.

Church is going fantastic. I absolutely love everything about it. I really and truely feel that God has called me to be in the ministry. I don't even know what else to say about it...I am so happy and so blessed to be working side by side with such awesome people, helping to further the Kingdom of God. I can't wait until it can be my main everyday focus (instead of school).

I'm house sitting for like a week and a half or so...the person I'm currently housesitting for will be back on Monday and the next person leaves on Monday...So, until next Sunday, I have my own "place." haha.

Well, I've got to be up & ready to go in about 8 1/2 hours, so I'm going to go to bed.
Blessings!