The Last Few Months...

My computer is working again!! I have the best boyfriend in the whole world. He took my laptop apart and fixed it with his magic technology fixing skills. I am now backing up my files (after a slight panic that I would lose everything in my computer) and enjoying being able to do all the things that a smart phone and iPad cannot do. The last few months have flown by with a whirlwind of activities, everything from graduating and weddings to beach trips and working full time. Here is a glimpse at life lately for me...

Ivy Cutting with President Eaton, followed the next day with graduation at  Key Arena - 6/8/12

4 years and 2 degrees later, I am officially an SPU alum!

I spent my summer Fridays at FFMC helping out with "Mom & Me" story times. So fun to spend time with these little ones and their moms!

Wedding #1 Hannah & Nate's lovely wedding in Sandpoint, Idaho - 7/14/12

Luke and I had the opportunity to go to the Mariner's game and sit in the owner's booth with Mr. & Mrs. Davis! Mr. Davis threw out the first pitch to celebrate the Mariner's 35th anniversary.

No summer would be complete without a trip to the beach with these lovely ladies. So glad we were able to do this while I was home!

Wedding #2 this summer :) Esther's beautiful wedding in San Diego - 8/18/12

Love this girl!

Janelle and I got to practice our cake cutting and catching skills. We're going to see how many weddings we can cut the cake for :) I love that I get to have this girl as my roommate once again!

Last but not least, I came back from a vacation at home to a week of VBS- my first at FFMC. Such a fun week! Here are some of the highlights...

All in all, life is grand. I'm excited for this next season of life. Post-college with a great roomie, a wonderful man in my life, and not just one but two jobs I thoroughly enjoy. The best part is that it's all happening during my favorite time of year. Bring on the scarves, boots, and pumpkin spice lattes!

The road to graduation.

This is it. Yesterday was the 3 week mark until graduation and my "to-do" list has gotten progressively smaller each day. Praise Jesus! I am so ready to be done, but still trying to enjoy and cherish each day between now and graduation. I'm certainly ready for a change of pace- a new role at work, new summer plans at church, no more paper writing, no more assigned reading, going to bed early, living in a new apartment, watching friends get married...the next few months hold many exciting things and I can't wait! I have been feeling especially summery today and I'm not sure why. Yesterday I went to dinner at my advisor's house with a handful of other IFD majors and it was JUST what I needed! It was reassuring to listen to everyone else rant about being in the same place I'm at- ready to be done, but not quite there yet. I think it was just what I needed to give me the final push to get through. All that stands between me and that diploma are 3 big papers, 3 smaller papers, 2 finals, and 1 project. When I put it like that it seems so easy. Nothing to get stressed about, just something that needs to be done! But for now I just want to wear my new swimsuit (gotta love Target shopping trips) at the beach and then go to an Angel game. Is that too much to ask?

Spring Break 2012 ~ can't wait for this
to happen again soon.

Summer yet?

The Seattle weather has been flip-flopping back and forth from sunshine to rain a lot lately and I am ready for the sun to stick around for a while! Is it summer yet? Since I will be staying here for the summer I am very hopeful there will be sunshine and warmth (that's not too much to ask right?). In anticipation of spring and summer I have created boards on Pinterest, and have been pinning recipes and flowers and things to do when the sun finally stays for longer than two days. All that to say, this morning I made strawberry banana muffins for a meeting with the women of my major and they were delicious! (and totally a spring/summer food) Last summer I told myself that I would be better at making the things I pin on pinterest so I'm trying to get back into the swing of that. I also want to blog more. Last quarter I ran out of time to do the things I had to do, yet alone the things I wanted to do. So now I'm back. Back to pinning, back to baking, back to blogging, back a lot of things I missed and truly enjoy.

Summer of Movies

It seems like all I have done this summer is watch movies movies movies. But isn't that what summer is all about? Watching new movies and catching up on old ones you missed during the school year? I have seen: Pirates 4, Transformers 3, Green Lantern, Cars 2, Larry Crowne, Winnie the Pooh, Captain America, Crazy Stupid Love, The Change-Up, and The Help. And that's just in theatres. Thanks to RedBox I have watched dozens more including Gnomeo & Juliet and Soul Surfer just this afternoon. Other RedBox movies have included Morning Glory, Unknown, Adjustment Bureau, Just Go With It, The Eagle, The Switch, Country Strong, and Life As We Know It. (Geez, what else have I been doing?!) My favorite movie by far has been The Help. I saw it with my mom and we cried, laughed, cried some more, and left agreeing that it was the best movie we have ever seen. Okay, so there were no superheroes, aliens, cars that become giant monsters, or any crazy special affects, but those are not the things I find important in a movie. I had just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett and think that everyone I know needs to pick it up (it's on sale at Target right now!). The message behind the book/movie is incredible and really makes you think. How would we have acted in the same situation? Would we have been like Miss Skeeter and stood up for the maids and those who were treated poorly? Would we have been like Miss Hilly who was just doing what she thought was "right" and following the social pressures?

I would hope that by knowing and following the teachings of Jesus I would have realized that things were not right and had the courage to do something about it. But then again, there were plenty of Christians living in the South when all this persecution was taking place. Who knows what would have happened if I was there 50 years ago when these things were happening in Jackson, Mississippi. Persecution and segregation are still happening around the world, even in our own country. I haven't really come across much in my life in my little bubble of an existence, but I know that I will. How will I handle it? Will I stand up for what I know is right? Will I hide in the crowd and hope someone else says something? I pray that I will always do the right thing, no matter what that means. In the mean time, I will keep encouraging people to read and watch The Help.

Where has the summer gone?

How is July almost OVER?! Before I know it I will be back at school (for my last year- a topic I'm avoiding at all costs by the way.) The summer has been nothing and everything like I planned. It's been filled with spending time with my mom, going to the beach, tanning, Disneyland, trips up to Seattle & Portland, lots of reading, sleeping, baking, and more. This week is VBS at church and I am already pooped after one day. haha. 121 kids + "science" experiments + 100 degrees + old church with poor air conditioning = looooong day. For our experiment today we mixed sugar, yeast, and warm water in an empty water bottle and then put a balloon on the top so it would fill with the gasses. It was fun because the kids were thinking it wasn't going to work (we were learning about waiting on the Lord, hence, waiting for the reaction to occur), and then all of a sudden the balloon would inflate enough to stand up on its own and they would freak out. Tomorrow is a baking soda-vinegar solution with floating popcorn kernels, so we'll see how that works.

One little girl asked me if I was a professional scientist. I leaned over and told her that I was just pretending and asked if she thought I was doing a good job (she said yes, which was very nice of her). The little boy beside her informed both of us that he was a professional scientist. I asked him what kind of science he did and he said ALL science....gotta love working with kids!

Enough about that, this past weekend I was able to go to Portland to celebrate the marriage of one of my closest friends (and roommate from last year). She married her highschool sweetheart and the ceremony, reception, and day was just beautiful! I was able to go a few days early and help out with setting the church up and getting things ready for the reception and it was just so fun. I love everything about weddings and marriage (I'm such a girl). Lisa is so sweet and didn't want to make anyone feel bad about their suggestions so we had to pull the truth out of her to figure out if she really liked what we were doing haha. Two weeks ago her colors were green and white and she went to order flowers and decided that the orange and yellow flowers were pretty, so her colors now included orange and yellow :) It turned out just perfect because the color popped and really stood out against the green. I could go on and on about everything that happened, but I'll just post a few pictures instead.

Mr. & Mrs. Gary!

Cutting the Cake

Cutting the Cake for real. We're basically professionals now.

such lovely ladies and wonderful friends!

I am so blessed to have people in my life who are always there for me, and to have friends with families that include me in such special events. I felt like part of the family the entire time I was in Portland celebrating Lisa & Ray. Can't wait for more friends to get married! :)

Done and done.

Well, it's official- I am done with my third year of college! The stove has been scrubbed and cleaned, the living room vacuumed and dusted, sink cleaned, drawers emptied, boxes packed, sheets and towels laundered, suitcases zipped, keys turned over, paperwork signed, and ta-da I am no longer a resident of 34 W. Cremona and am on my way home for the summer! I've been counting down to this day for two months (okay, let's be real, I've been practically counting down since September) and now that it's here, why do I have mixed feelings? I felt so sad saying goodbye to some of my wonderful roommates. I will miss saying goodnight to my "Francis" every night, laughing about random things like thinking there is a raccoon in the oven, and staying up way later than planned because we're talking about weddings, grad schools, boys, friends, papers, and more. I have been truly blessed this year and can't wait to be back next year.

But now that I am sitting in the airport waiting for my delayed flight I can not be more happy to be going home. I just want to sleep in my own bed, wander around in shorts and a tank top without wearing shoes, eat yummy food, watch tv, read lots and lots of books, lay by the pool, and just relax! The next week and a half will be busy since my little baby brother is GRADUATING from high school, but after that I know things will calm down and the real relaxing will begin. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful home, family, and friends, to return to. I know that is not really normal to want to go home so much, but I've never been normal ;)

Only God knows what this summer really has in store for my life. My prayer is that I would be open to the things he has for me and take advantage of every opportunity he presents.

Summer To-Dos

• beach
• Disneyland
• movies
• READ
• get tan
• exercise
• spend more time outside (when weather allows)
• find time daily to study God's word
• intentional time with family & friends
• San Diego Zoo
• be involved at church
• SLEEP!

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken...One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: "Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love"; and "You reward everyone according to what they have done."

Psalm 62:1-2,11-12

California here I come :)

20 more days...

until HOME :)

Looking forward to:

seeing my family

spending time with my favorite little boys [and going swimming]

 hanging out with my best friends and going to the BEACH

seeing the sun every day and being warm, even if warm means 100 degrees

reading the huge pile of books I have accumulated but haven't had time for

helping out at church and serving at VBS

Baking and Cooking

Sleeping in, having my own room/bathroom/big bed, being able to do laundry at any time, having a car to go places, spending days with nothing to do, wearing shorts and tank tops every day, eating summer food and spending time outside, 4th of July and watching fireworks, wearing flip flops [being barefoot]...okay, so the list goes on and on. Basically I'm very excited to be going home for the summer :) although I am going to miss Seattle a lot- especially my roomies, friends, and church family, it is time for summer. I just have to get through the next three weeks of projects, papers, and finals. I can do it.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 100:1-3