One Quick Trip

Another summer without working at Village Creek Bible Camp is coming to a close.  I knew I was going to visit this summer and Momma wanted to go to Horsefalls too.  We finally had a time to go and visit Alison and Autumn, and then it turned out Lu was going to be there too!  I don't think we could have accidentally planned that any better!

Momma and I started out Thursday morning and made it right about noon.  I walked to the dining hall and thought they had finished serving, but I got the school schedule and camp schedule mixed up!  That allowed for some time to visit and get practically tackled in the craft room by Lu!  It was so wonderful to see so many familiar faces and lots of new ones too!  I even saw many of my past campers!  I talked to many more people over lunch and Camie came and saw us all together and just said, "Everyone's together!  Such a happy time!" 

A part of the afternoon was spent hanging out in the craft room per usual when Lu and I worked there.  It was just like old times except I didn't have to do anything and that was weird!  I didn't have to help campers or other staff!  I was just there to visit.  I hardly knew what to do with myself!

 Momma and I then went to Lansing to go wander aimlessly around Horsefall's spending too much money, but having a great time!  I went with intentions of stocking up on embroidery blocks and floss and I sure didn't leave empty handed!  I'm excited to start on new sets and make more quilts!  We also visited the hardware store where we saw Laurie and Dani!  I missed that little girl!  We then headed for the usual day off pit stop at The Skinny Dip.  Dave brought Sam by too and then Laurie and Dani came back and then Alison, Lu, Tums, and Val joined up too!  It was such a cheerful trip filled with cheeseballs, chicken strips and ice cream!

Momma and I stayed in Decorah that night and after a couple games of Rummy it was time to call it a night!  The next morning we headed back to camp for more visiting and even a golf cart ride with Camie and a quick catch up conversation.  I have missed that place and those people!  After a quick lunch, it was time to head for home.  As I said goodbye to Tums and Alison the waterworks got turned on!  You would have thought I was saying goodbye after a whole summer instead of just an overnight trip!  They mean that much to me and I miss them that much because they don't live closer!  The good news is that I'm going back to camp in September as a camper!  I'm going for the Crafting and Quilting retreat!  :)  It's going to be perfect!  :)

Wedding Weekend

WOW!  I can finally say that I am a married woman!  It has been an exhausting exhilarating weekend and start to our marriage.  I had a wonderful weekend and it could not have been better!

On Friday during rehearsal, we realized that Blake drove the peddle tractor better when he could run over the flowers, so for Saturday, we rearranged the order of him and Edy.  It went over so well!  Rehearsal went very quickly and well!  We all then went to my parents for a good grilling and hanging out.  It was so chill and wonderful for both of our families to hang out like this just before the wedding.  To end the night, Abbey did a trial run of my make-up...don't ask.  And we also played Just Dance Broadway!  It could not have been a better night as a single lady!

The next morning went so smoothly!  My last morning as a single lady I crawled into bed with Momma and told her my throat hurt.  I had been steadily getting a cold and Saturday was the worst.  Momma and I went to get our hair all pretty and I went wearing the shirt Dustin wore on our first date.  My hair looked and felt wonderful!  Thank you to Lori Yates!  We rushed back home to get my make-up done and my dress and boots on.  As I was sitting getting my make-up done, the ladies had put on 'Beauty and the Beast' which is so fitting since Belle is my favorite princess!  It was then time for some pictures with the ladies and my parents!  I did forget to get one with Ruby...

We then went to the church where I hid in the basement for the next hour and a half.  Eryn and Gwen helped out so much by getting they guys and others gathered for pictures and handing out all the flowers to everyone.  Eryn was also excited about bouncer duty because I only allowed certain people to be able to see me before the ceremony started.

And then it was time.

I walked up following all my ladies in their beautiful dresses meeting up with their men dressed so dapper.  And I linked arms with Daddy.  He was wearing my Grandpa Goudy's tie that matched perfectly.  I was wearing my Grandpa Goudy's baby ring that he gave me when I was born.  It was my little way to have both him and Grandma with me on my wedding day.  Each pair walked down, then Edy and then Blake drove down.  And then it was my turn.  Everyone stood up and then I was having a dream fulfilled by walking down the aisle and having my wedding in my beloved Lancaster Christian Church.  I started to tear up as Daddy handed me away, but I held up very well.  Matt prayed and I remember Blake sitting off to the side and he said 'Amen' rather loud.  The ceremony was quick and perfect.  I want to give a big shout out to Matt Pfad for performing such a wonderful first marriage ceremony!  You did a great job and I couldn't have asked for anything more!

We walked down the aisle to 'Lovebug' by George Strait and I said thank you to everyone in the receiving line and then, my voice was gone.  That cold took me out and I still had the bus ride and reception to get through on a crackling fading voice...

After taking some more pictures-a big shout out to Andy Ott for taking our photos- we hopped on the bus and headed to the Copper Lantern for some pool and shuffleboard after a picture at the fountain.  We also had to make a stop for kettle corn on the way out of town.

The moments of the reception I will never forget are the wonderful speeches that were given by Rach, Whit, and Chase, all the dancing and all the people.  It turns out that somehow our caketopper fell off and the man's head snapped off...  It's all fixed now!  You bet we both smeared that frosting all over each others' faces!

I danced with Daddy to 'Happy Trails' by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  This song goes back to my childhood driving around with him in the old brown pickup singing this song.  It was such a sweet happy dance!  We also had the Kearney 'Family Tradition' dance where they all circle the bride and groom and dance in and out and take turns dancing with each.  During the dollar dance, I danced with so many men that attended and some of my ladies too!  Steve, my father-in-law, joined too and hogged me for a while trying to teach me some new steps.  He might have to reteach me in the future!  I also had to steal a baby and dance with little Mason Mattingly!  He's the little boy of one of Dustin's groomsmen.  Micheal Jones also danced with me for 2 dances and twirled me twice so he could be better than his older brother, Matthew.  Also, the bartender that night was the sister to one of my students.  I almost cried telling her how proud I am of her sister!  What an emotional night!

When we left, I cried these pitiful wimpy sad sobs the whole way home because my throat hurt.  The sobbing didn't help one bit.  It was a wonderful night and ride home in the '94 pickup.  A perfect ending to a perfect day!

The next day we joined my family for breakfast and then cleaned the hall a little more before heading home to open all of our wonderful gifts.  We are so incredibly blessed by all of our friends and families.  Our day could not have been possible without each person that made a contribution.

Thank you from Mr. and Mrs. Dustin Schuett

Bye Bye Baby

My last tie to a younger, freer, non-adult version of me is finally cut.  My high school car bit the dust.  HARD.  Well, hard enough that my fiance got to looking, found me a car, and we got it!

Alison came down for the weekend.  It was a fabulous time!  Now, Alison has been my friend for nearly 3 years.  She's ridden in my car her fair share of time.  One time going back to camp from church Alison, Andrea, and I literally coasted almost the entire way on gravel because she died and that was all I could do.

Anyway, Alison and I went up to Cedar Falls the day before just fine in my baby.  She was running great despite the cold.  We ran some errands and ran into Callie and Autumn.  We also had to get Scratch.

The next day heading to church, we were doing just fine.  Seriously, my car was running as normally as ever.  Then, it just didn't want to accelerate...and then it started jerking a little bit.  Alison was chill and so was I.  I mean, we've both been in this situation with my baby before.  I pulled over, turned it off and started it again.  I was working fine...for about 5 minutes.  I pulled over, tried again and she died.

I called Dustin.

He was almost to church and came to our rescue.  We tried so hard to get it to Dustin's sister's house, but she kept dying.  We took Alison back and I had to tell her goodbye before I was ready.

Dustin and I tried again to get my baby somewhere safe, but to no avail.  She lasted 10 seconds at a time before Dustin finally gave up and him and his dad got a trailer.  Right now, she's sitting in Dustin's brother-in-law's brother's driveway.  He's a Chevy mechanic.  Sometimes it's not what you know, it's who you know.

Yesterday, Dustin found me a car online.  I prayed for us on the way to the dealership.  Today we went and saw it, took it out to lunch and talked numbers.  I am now the owner of a 2011 Chevy Equinox in a beautiful maroon color.  I think I am now officially an adult with my first loan and first time car buying experience.  WOW!

For now, my baby still sits.  She will be brought back to Dustin's to sit until he can tinker with her for a while.  Who knows, she might get fixed and become some high schooler's baby someday.  She served me well!

#seniorhigh

I've tossed around a title for too long.  Maybe that was why its taken me so long to write about my week at camp.  I thought about Sweet Repeats, Look at the Ring I Made Today in the Craft Room, and others that I can't think of now.  And maybe, I just wasn't ready to write until now.

Sunday I was so glad to go to camp!  It had been 6 months too long since I had let the Valley refresh me to my core.  It was just plain too long since I had been back.  I didn't go back for the whole summer this year.  I had sadly reached that point where my age and all that comes with growing up was limiting my work at camp.  I had been saying since last year that I would hopefully be setting up my classroom and stuff this summer.  I kept saying that I would at the very least be back for Senior High.

Sunday I left super excited!  I wouldn't be talking to Dustin at all for the week, I would be back in the Valley, I would be the most focused on God I had been in quite a while, I would be surrounded by some of my best friends again, I would meet new staff, I would have campers, etc.  The closer I got, the less I could contain myself.  I was bouncing and singing and screaming and laughing and smiling so hard my face hurt.  Before I even put my car into Park, I could see Lu racing to me across the yard.  And then all the reunions started!  It was WONDERFUL!  I got to see all of my old friends, get embraced in so many hugs, and meet so many new staff that I would come to love by the end of the week.  Soon, Andy Ott informed me that I had reached a sort of legend status at camp.  Apparently, my name comes up a lot.  I am also in the first name/last name club with the likes of Jim Day.

I soon just jumped into the swing of things.  It was almost as though I had been there the whole time.  I found out I would have some repeat campers from last year.  I was living in Lower Level which is located in Tom and Camie's house.  I started to roam waiting for them to arrive.  They were excited to see me again.  Before I knew it, we had our opening, a little switch in campers, played a game, ate supper, had chapel, and the first night of camp was done.

Monday started with dishes.  My crew kicked butt!  I do enjoy the dish room.  I like to be the runner who brings the tubs back to be sorted and washed.  And then I jump in to help with other parts too.  The day progressed and soon, it was time to go to the Craft Room with Alison and Lu.  I don't know if they really thought that through...

I was beginning to get to know my girls and we were having a great time!  The week went on and I really began to develop relationships with them.  They are in high school and going through some tough stuff.  One of them is headed to college this fall.  I was really proud of her for opening up because she told me up front she often changes the subject to the other person so she doesn't have to talk about herself.  Each girl is truly amazing and I love them all dearly.  I am so proud of each and every one of them.

Anyway, the week went on with basically the same routine every day.  Lu, Alison, and I shared my blanket for TAG time, I was blown away by God's goodness, I began to open up about my struggles in the last 6 months, and I began to feel freedom again.

Tuesday was Lu's 22nd birthday.  Let's just say that by the end of the day I hardly had a voice...  We had a great day of presents, Mickey Mouse tattoos, singing T. Swift's song, and we ended the day with an ice cream party!  :)

The girl with the glasses on the right is Jordan.  I've known her for the past 2 summers.  I've chatted with her every time she has come.  She could NEVER remember my name.  I asked her if she could this year and she did!  I didn't even say my name when I said hello on Sunday!  This gave us a special bond this week.  She is such a sweet girl.  She does have some special needs and therefore finds a special place in my heart.  She constantly talked to me this week and it was so sweet!  I even got invited to a pizza party because she made it all the way through chapel!  :)

Wednesday was AWESOME!  Along with all the typical, I had supper dishes.  Our crew started off a little rough because everyone forgot and showed up late.  I mean everyone.  Even Alison and I, the seasoned veterans.  We did get done in really good time.  That night was a lipsincing/dancing competition between the teams.  Dayton was in charge of ours.  I felt pretty confident since he leads worship and just came from a men's choir trip.  I was not expecting what I saw.  All the teams were great, but when my team showed their stuff, I was crying happy tears I was so proud!  I couldn't believe the talent that all the students had this week!  We found out later that WE WON!!!  :)

Thursday was the talent show.  Again, I sat there in wonder of all the talent in these kids!  I had some of my JUMP campers up there, I had some past campers and current campers sharing there talent.  I was like a mom in the audience yelling "That's my girl up there!"  And yes, I might have been crying during a few...  I'm just so stinking proud of my girls!

And then it was Friday.  The last full day of camp.  I was already dreading Saturday.  Friday I finished the one-on-one's with my girls,  we had the usual schedule, we dodged hail in the morning, had awesome worship, I helped with the Tiki Torch Cafe, and I read my girls Max Lucado's book, You Are Special.  I do this every single week with my girls no matter their age.

Saturday morning came and I knew I would be a wreck.  I had to say goodbye to 9 beautiful, talented, amazing girls.  I had to say goodbye to the new friends I had meet and some of my best friends in the world. I would have to say goodbye to the full-time staff who love me and that I love dearly.  I would have to say goodbye to the valley that I love.  And I cried.  I said goodbye to Gwen and my JUMP girls.  I'm just so stinking proud of them!  And then one of them said I was one of the reasons they want to be a teacher?!  That didn't help matters at all.  I recovered slightly, packed my car, and then we had a staff meeting.  There, along with Alison and Anna, a past camper, we were prayed for.  I cried again.  I told Anna goodbye and then I started saying goodbye to the staff.  I bawled when I said goodbye to Debbi, Camie, and Sue.  It was time to go do some emotional eating at The Skinny Dip.  Lu, Alison, and I were dragging out our time there because of the inevitable goodbye with 3 best friends.  And there we cried again.  In The Skinny Dip parking lot all because God has placed us in each other's lives and it hurts so much when we are separated.  As I drove away, I made it to Postville before having to stop for caffine and then I broke down again, but this time in raw honest prayer.  And then I was good the rest of the way home.  Just me and the radio blasting Jesus tunes.  Just me reflecting on the awesome week I had just experienced.

I love each and every one of these girls so much!

I Don't Get Off of the Farm Much...

We have all been looking forward to this adventure for months.  I'm not even joking!  I really don't know how it all came about, but it was decided that Lu and I would spend a couple of days at Alison's house after the Staff Retreat.  We would spend a day in the city and a day at Alison's house.

We planned and plotted for weeks.  

We counted down.  

We mapped our route. 

 And then it was time to head out.

Lu needed to leave her car in Strawberry Point and I was leading the way.  Before we even got out of Lansing, we had to turn around because I had different directions than what I thought I had...  And then before we left Strawberry Point, we had to turn around because I goofed.

5 hours in the car with Lu is interesting to say the least.  I am a good driver, I promise, but on long drives when I have passengers, I tend to give examples that would defy that statement.  We started counting deer and by the end of the drive, we got to 22.  In Dubuque, I 'almost' hit some 'gangsters.'  We stopped at a 'dirty' gas station.  Lu steered me the wrong way because she didn't look at the directions.  This was after she wiggled my rear view mirror all around to shut the light off.  Seriously, the last 20 minutes or so, I was crying and snorting because I was laughing so unbelievably hard!  We were almost there when Lu told me to look to the left at some lit up castle.  At the same time, I saw a sign for pony rides, and then a guard rail was getting a little too close for comfort...  We made it alright in the end though, and we were both glad to park my car and have it sit for a couple of days.

Monday was reserved for our trip into Chicago.  We got to ride the train into the city!  A double-decker train!  With a conductor!  We walked all the way up Madison Ave. until we got to the good part.  Like the Millennium Park, The Bean, The Art Institute good part.  After a great lunch at Noodles and Company, we headed to the Art Institute.  A big thank you to Alison's dad for making that one possible!  After checking our skates and such, we headed in.  I've never been to a place like this, and to do it for my first time with an art major was a lot of fun!  Lu kept reporting facts to us about practically EVERY painting!  :)  I got to see a lot of great paintings that I've only ever seen in books.  I live only about an hour away from the American Gothic house and have never been there.  I've seen it, but have never actually stopped.  Maybe when they come visit me, we'll go!

After that, it was time to make our way back to Millennium Park.  Sometimes, I do like to do the typical tourist activities, and I have been talking about seeing the Bean for weeks!  It ranks rather high on my list!  :) Honestly, I didn't expect it to be that large!  It was a little dirty from all the fingerprints and such, but shiny none the less!

It was then on to what I was most looking forward to!  I mean, I brought my own skates so we wouldn't have to stand in line for hours just to rent a pair.  The best part about skating in Millennium Park was that we did it for free!!!  That's right!  FREE!  There were so many people and the line for rentals wrapped around the rink!  It was a blast!  I was the one who biffed it badly and gave all those people watchers a good show. I made sure to get back up real quick!  Lu managed to step in gum while wearing Grammy's skates that are antiques!  I just don't know what to do with that girl sometimes!

After the skating was through, we felt the need to warm up for a quick minute, so we crossed the street for Caribou Coffee, and Lu needed a grilled cheese.  After a long walk back with a quick stop for Garrett popcorn, we were finally boarding the train to head back to Wheaton.  This train ride was far more entertaining with random train goers.  There was one guy sleeping, and a few others that kept talking to us about our popcorn.

Alison's parents hosted a New Year's party, so we joined in on the fun!  After a couple eventful rounds of Telephone Pictionary, we moved onto Spoons, followed by Split Decision.  I had only ever played Spoons before, so the others were a BLAST to learn!  There was so much laughter bursting through the house!  We watched the ball drop at 11, and kept ourselves busy until the approach of midnight.  The champagne was poured and passed out, and the minutes ticked by.  At long last, it was time to yell out 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, clink glasses, and shout, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!"  Then it was that time when Lu kept shooting the champagne poppers at me, even if it tells you not to in the instructions!

Tuesday morning proved eventful.  Please, next year someone tell my body that it is okay to sleep past 9 on New Year's Day.  I was up at 8:15.  I at least got a lot of reading done before Alison and Lu woke up.  Granted that I did my fair share in helping Lu wake up!  :)  Today was a major take it easy day with a brunch of cinnamon rolls.  After running a couple of errands, we settled in for a game of Monopoly that Lu was determined to play to the end.  That was until I started dominating and putting up houses and hotels and gloating my way through all my winnings! Things were a little tense for a while, so we decided that we needed to make rice krispies!  This has to be my ultimate food weakness...  The best part was that we made them into Disney shapes with cookie cutters!  Buzz Lightyear's spaceship looked more like a PacMan ghost, but they still tasted great!

Portillo's for supper!  Wow!  What a great burger!  I am a sucker fore bacon cheeseburgers and this one hit the spot!  Also, this place was gangster themed.  And it was the good kind of gangster too, like the 20's flapper kind of gangster.  It even had some great music playing in the background.

One thing that Alison asked me to bring to her house was my jean quilt.  This was the quilt that we used during TAG time every day during Senior High.  We had a good solid half hour spread out on this quilt at the top of the stairs on our last night together.  Such a wonderful time spent in prayer and in the Word.  This was such a wonderful weekend of refreshment.

The rest of the night was spent watching Beauty and the Beast.  Lu was knitting, I was doing embroidery, and Alison was crocheting.  Seriously, we're 21/22 going on 80 and perfectly happy with that!  God has given me a lot when he put these two amazing women in my life, and I know that I will have their friendships forever, and not the cheesy BFF kind, but the encouraging, challenging, adventurous kind.  We definitely don't live close enough to each other, and we don't see each other as often as we'd like, but it is great to have friends like these who will take 5 hour drives with you, or lead you around in a big city when you are all but fresh off the farm!  :) 

December 2012

It's almost that time again.  It's time to hang up the new camp calendar and flip it to January.  What a year it has been!  And it all ended with December.  What a cold month to wrap up so many things!

Low:

• I went to Pizza Ranch to meet up with Matt Jones, Julia, and Lincoln.  This was good.  Not even 5 minutes after arrival, the little thing that holds the peppermints and toothpicks got caught on my purse and dumped to the floor.  Rather embarrassing, but nothing out of the ordinary.
• That blizzard that was supposed to dump tons of snow only left my yard with a small dusting.
• Lu criticizes my driving...

High:

• I got to go see Tums in her play Bye Bye Birdie.  It was pretty great!  That was followed by Chinese with some great people!  :)

• I was able to meet my teachers and students for my student teaching placements!  I love them already and I know I will have an amazing 8 weeks in each place!
• I FINALLY got to go to Country Night with Racheal and Kelsey!  It was such a great night shuffling out on the dance floor!  :)

• Graduation.  Granted that I'm not completely done, I'm all but there.  Only student teaching is left!  :)

• I put in a BEAUTIFUL quilt!  This one could possibly be my favorite one so far!

• I got my near Christmas baby.  Isn't she sweet?  :)

• I went to camp to work for a couple of days, as well as spending the weekend with past staff!  :)
• I started a Chicago trip with Alison and Lu, but that blog happens in the New Year!
• My friends know me so well, and they gave me great gifts!  We did a thrift store challenge...well, except for Lu, and we did great!  So many treasures!!
• MY BEST FRIEND IS ENGAGED!!!!  She called me at camp telling Sue and Camie it was an emergency!  I've been bugging Caleb for months about this!!  

Favorite picture of the month!

December flew by and was filled with college, Christmas, quilts, snow, and friends.  What a crazy, crazy month!  It's hard to believe that I start student teaching in a couple of weeks!  Here's to the New Year and all we'll see in 2013!  :)

That Chicken Was SO Good!

WOW.  Just WOW.  I had such and UNBELIEVABLE Thursday through Sunday down in the Valley at camp!  I went to work on Thursday afternoon working hard in the Dining Hall getting it all cleaned up and ready for the weekend.  I also worked with Josiah and Nate for a while both days.  Andrew and Rachel hosted supper that night and it was filled with pizza and Duck Dynasty.

The next morning as I was getting ready for the day, the snow was falling BEAUTIFULLY!  It looked absolutely gorgeous!  I was sent right away to the horse area to help Kyle shovel snow.  That was a lot of work!  I took one side of the the hitching rail and Kyle took the other.  At one point, Katrina and I went up to get the new horse, Cavalier.  After helping with fencing in the snow, it was time for lunch.  Basically, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen with Debbi and Andi.  We cleaned, and cooked, and chatted.  Chatting in the kitchen has become one of my favorite things to do while I'm at camp.  There is just something about bonding while making food that warms my heart a little bit more.

At long last is was time to be reunited with my near and dear friends!  I lived in 202 for the weekend with the older girls of camp.  Three of those include some of my best friends in the world!  We got Lu talked into stopping to pick up some delicious Scratch cupcakes!  She got a little lost and delayed, but they still tasted great!  :)  Alison had her first ever, and we talked to Debbi about them later and someday when I come back, I will be able to delight her palate!  :)

The next day was busy from waking to sleeping!  The day was so jammed full of activities, friends, snow, and so much!  Right before lunch we had a photo scavenger hunt.  The Green Team was headed up by Strupp Throat and Frisky Miske, and we pulled out a pretty great second place with a couple bathroom photos racking up some points!  :)

After lunch I bundled up and headed to the horses.  I took pity on poor Bear.  Nobody wanted to ride him.  Granted that he can be kind of a butt sometimes, but overall we're buds.  At one point on the ride, he did this awkward whole body shake that I have never had a horse do before.  The ride was so peaceful and serene! I love spring/summer/fall scenery better than winter, but there is still a brilliance about the snow that always seems to take my breath away.

As if I wasn't sore enough after the shoveling of snow and a horseback ride, I decided that I could let myself get talked into a game of Broomball.  Oh, man!  Secretly, I had loads of fun!  I got really into it and shoved Patrick around a little bit.  I only biffed it once, but Patrick was nice enough to help me back up. I even scored a couple of times, but I won't share about my turns at goalie...

I used to think all those walks up to the lake were rough in the summer.  Then I walked up with all my winter gear on.  I don't think I'll be complaining this summer at all!  The Polar Plunge was hilarious as usual!  That face when the shock sets in is absolutely priceless!  The best part was that we loaded up the green dock and it didn't even budge!  One the way back down, I might have attacked Lu a couple of times and taken her out!  I was a blast, and she will never be able to get me down!  :)

Sam and Dani joined the picture at some point that evening.  I have missed those two!  They are so sweet and typical 4 year olds who ask lots and lots of why questions.  They sat at our table for supper when we had chicken strips.  Camie came over and Dani told her that the chicken was SO good.  This was so Debbi would have a little feedback for future planning.  I guess if 4 year olds like it, it's a hit!  :)

Later that night, we had a DANCE PARTY!!  Oh so much fun!  I had to ditch my long underwear and extra pair of socks because it was getting quite warm in the gym!  It was so much fun and so many memories were made!  Back in the Lodge, I roamed.  I had my PJ's and Vince shirt on and I was downstairs with Lu in the Craft Room as she finished a painting, and I was upstairs catching up on my journal by the fire.  Both nights were pretty late this weekend, but I wouldn't have had it any other way!

The next morning was crazy!  I slept in the awkward corner of 202 so I didn't have a real good home for my stuff all weekend.  I don't usually spread out that bad, but this was bad!  I had to dig under my bed for things, and I had stuff all over the middle of the cabin.  Then it came to sorting what could stay in the trunk as I journeyed to Chicago later that day.

Breakfast was wonderful and Camie took the chance to catch up on our busy lives as the sun streamed in the Dining Hall windows.  The morning wrapped up with chapel, lunch, and goodbyes.  I also may have shoved snow in Gwen's face...  :)  At last, it was time to lead the way to start another adventure with Alison and Lu. Look for a Chicago blog in a couple of days.  I already have plenty to say about that!  :)

October 2012

Can it really be Halloween already?  Am I really 22?  This month has FLOWN by and we are on the verge of November, people!  This month has been FANTASTIC with a few bumps like every other month.

Low:

• Right away on the 1st, I started my Phase 2.  The only downside was the HUG+E adjustment to an early bedtime with an early rising to follow.  I'm finally on a better schedule and now I go to bed super early and get called a grandma.  No big.
• The state decided to change/add to some rules for lincensure and now I have to take 2 Praxis 2 tests instead of one.  EXPENSIVE!  These are both 2 1/2 hours long, and not fun at all.  Not looking forward to actually taking these things...
• For 2 weeks of this month, I was driving my father's car because mine needed lots of love.  I really need my baby to last just a little while longer.  It needs to get me through student teaching and a bit longer if possible!
• Naturally, on my birthday I would break a contact.  Because I don't wear disposables, I had to order a new one and get it sent to me.  All I have are my crooked glasses that practically fall off my face.  Can't wait until my appointment over break!
• I had everything for teaching today EXCEPT the lesson plan and the main activity.  Yep, this Wednesday felt more like a Monday.  Luckily, my mentor teacher is AWESOME and was a tremendous help and I got through.  Note to self, don't forget that sort of thing again!

High:

• My Phase 2 experience has been WONDERFUL!  I absolutely love what I am doing and I really enjoy teaching at the junior high level.  My students are a blast and I have a wonderful mentor teacher.  Last week, I got to teach the students how to make Blueberry pancakes!  :)
• Momma & I hit up the World's Largest Garage Sale and I came back with quite the load of books!  :)

• My friend, Rach came back into town for the night and we got all the girls together for a night at Carlos o' Kelly's!  Such a wonderful time with some wonderful ladies!  :)

• I got to go home for 2 amazing weekends!  I love going home!  It's the best!  :)  One night involved a football game.  The other weekend was harvest and my birthday!  :)
• Camp.  Love camp, especially when it is 4 State time!  :)  Celebration of October birthdays also took place with Tums, Alison, and I!  What fun it was!

• Level 3 was last week.  What an exhausting, exciting week!  I learned so much and it was completely wonderful!  The best I ate all week was conference nights when there was food brought in.  :)
• My birthday was wonderful!  I got to hang out with my family and friends and was reunited with my bestie for the afternoon!  Love her!  :)

• I SCORED REALLY WELL ON A PRAXIS!!!  One down, one left!  :)

Seriously, this has been a wonderful month and I am only 5 1/2 weeks from graduation!!  :)  Life is so good, and I am so thankful!

This would probably have to be my favorite picture of the month!  :)

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

-Ephesians 3:12

Pre-birthday Pandemonium

I had been looking forward to 4 State since the summer ended, and it completely lived up to expectations!  Thursday I did send a message to Andrew saying that I had a teacher bedtime.  :)

Jani was the driver of this adventure and it was so much fun!  Jay and I tried hard to catch a picture of an Elect Hildebrandt sign with no luck.  Naturally, on the way out of town we had to make a Scratch stop!  :)

When we got there I was jumping up and down running around mostly out of excitement and a little because it had been a long ride and I really had to go to the bathroom.  It was so good to start running into my camp friends.  I quickly ate and headed to the Lodge to help register.  When Lu arrived, it was chaos!  She practically knocked me out of my chair.  When Autumn got there, we got our birthday presents!  :)

God has truly given me some awesome friends through Village Creek Bible Camp!  :)

Since our dear friend, Alison, couldn't come, we had a couple of pictures of her floating around doing camp things.  It was almost like she was there!  I drank out of my favorite mug and she drank out of hers!  :)

Gwen came and we redid a picture that we took last year, except this year, it was a Pray! shirt stack!  :)

That night we played a game called Passport.  The #1 thing I learned about volunteering for this game is to not volunteer to be the first stamp that people needed.  I was mobbed and literally PINNED against the wall until I stamped close to 200 pieces of paper.  My poor horse stamp nearly ran out of ink!  Shortly after worship, I called it a night.  Really, I didn't get to sleep until around 11:30, but it was good to be back at camp!

Saturday I had bathrooms right away at 7:30.  What an adventure!  I worked with a great crew who made cleaning those bathrooms used by lots of teens quite a bit of fun!  I was able to have a TAG time in between that and the start of my kitchen/servery shift.  It was such a stinking beautiful fall day to sit in a swing overlooking camp and breath in the calm chill of the day.  I love working in the servery!  It is so much fun and I love being able to connect with some of the campers through quick conversation as they go through the line.  After the lunch rush, and I quite literally mean rush, Debbi sent me to my kitchen home-the bakery nook.  I love that little corner!  :)  I got to make nearly 150 Snickerdoodles before leaving for the Craft Room.  It felt good to be back in the "Vince" shirt!  This is the Craft Room Facilitator shirt that used to be Lu's dad's shirt when he worked at John Deere.  

I had a little break and I wandered for a little bit and ended up at the Outdoor Chapel.  One of my favorite places on camp property is sitting on one of the benches overlooking the creek.  The bubbling and lapping of the water has such a calming effect.  While I am the calm, cool, and collected type, it had been a while since I had truly sat, not moving, just listening.  One of the hymns that means the most to me came to my mind.  I sang It Is Well a few times before breathing in a sigh filled with peace and joy and taking those steps back towards the people.

I had dishes at supper.  I had a great crew to work with on a Mexican Pile-Up night!  This is quite seriously my favorite camp meal.  It just makes my belly so stinking happy!  :)  I did manage to slosh so much water around and down my legs.  To make matters worse, it was nasty, dirty food water!  Soon after that shift was done, I was headed to bed.  

Believe it or not, I somehow managed to get right around 9 hours of sleep.  At camp.  During 4 State.  Everyone I told could hardly believe me!  I honestly felt like a new woman after that much sleep!  LOVELY!  :)  As I sat enjoying breakfast, Dave came up and asked me to step in the kitchen in place of Katrina who had to take out a trail ride.  I stepped in and Debbi put me back in my kitchen home to help Sarah with the cookies.  We frosted and sprinkled nearly 200 cookies and I somehow mustered up enough self-control to leave the cookies on the pan and not consume countless amounts of them.  I then got moved to the servery again.  Debbi knows me and I am so glad!  I absolutely love where she puts me!  :)  Again, it was another rush for food.  I was then able to eat and say goodbye before loading up my stuff and hitting the road with Lu and some very tired AGWSR girls.

Pull off Hwy. 149

A weekend at home!  I love weekends like that!  I was greeted by Ruby.  I love my pup!  :)

I was in the mood to be in the kitchen and I ended up making a lot by the time the weekend was through!  Biscuits to go along side fish, English muffin bread, and cookies.  All in my Belle apron!  :)

I also had a very big reunion with my best friend!  I missed her like crazy and she spent the night and we had so much fun!  :)  We talked and laughed so much throughout the weekend.  

Right away on Saturday morning we started watching movies.  We also wanted to go on a horseback ride.  Dad told me that he would help us get the horses up and we could go.  It was so exciting!  This was the first time that I went riding at home without Dad!  It was also the first time that I rode Bufford in a very long time!  He was good!  This was also Whit's first time riding by herself.  She did pretty well!  We were gone for a good couple hours.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  Fall is coming on and it was lovely to see everything beginning to transition.  A good ride with a great friend!

Naturally, when we made cookies that afternoon, we ran out of flour.  After a quick trip to Grammy's we finished the cookies while dancing and singing to Hairspray.  It was then time for Whit to leave and for me to go meet up with Momma for supper.  It was good to spend time with her since she worked all weekend.  I Skyped with Lu & Alison and we figured out some Christmas Break plans!  I won't forget my blanket, I promise!  :)  

Sundays are always good!  I love going back to church and seeing everyone.  I even had a new little baby sitting in front of my through the service!  What a sweet heart!  Congratulations, Kyle & Kelsey!  :)  I had lunch with Grammy & Gramps.  Grammy caught me up on all the neighbors and such.  She also had a whole ice cream bucket of Snot Bars ready for me to take.  I love it when she does that!  :)  Naturally, Ruby knew that I was leaving and she didn't like that.  Good thing that I was packed up with lots of goodies like leftovers and Snot Bars.  That makes going back with plans to share the goodness a little easier.  It's always good to go home!  :)

August 2012

What a whirlwind of a month!  Can it really be the last day in August?  So much has happened in the last month!  I have been incredibly mobile.  I'm finding this to be a theme of my 20's.  I'm not sure how I feel about that, but hopefully, by this time next year, I will be staying in one place for a while.  So much has happened in the blur of 4 weeks.  Mostly it was my final weeks at camp, 1 week at home, and the past 2 at school.

Low:

·         I had to leave camp.  I didn't cry last year, but this year, the tears streamed.  I was also sick my last day.

·         Couldn't eat anything at The Skinny Dip because of said sickness.

·         My poor car had to spend 2 days in the shop. 

·         The whole mice incident at LAKESIDE.  That was the only thing that I hated about staying up there, granted that it was mostly my fault...

·         I shot milk out my nose during a chugging contest with Alison.

·         I thought it would be cool to play Banana on a trip to LAX with Brock.  Clearly, it ended well.

·         After said trip to LAX, I managed to leave my Wal-Mart stuff in Brock's truck.  He headed back to Texas that night.  Glad you enjoyed my Oreos.

·         Ruby knew when I was leaving for school.  She missed me a lot and it was hard to leave her again.

·         The noise of the Horseshoe that begins rather early.  Thank you, Bartlett Construction Crew...

High:

·         My grandparents celebrated their 60th anniversary!  :)

·         My last weeks at camp were incredible and fun and so many other adjectives!

·         I got to ride the horses with Dad and without a helmet!  I missed that so much over the summer.

·         Moving to school was actually a great experience.  I remembered my ID this year and the only thing I forgot was a filter for my Brita pitcher!  The girls from upstairs helped me move in and I had a great weekend hanging out with friends from camp and going to Scratch and stuff.

·         4-way-Skype was achieved with my best friends from camp!  :)

·         Pray! Shirt Friday!

·         I got 3 mini-snow globes for my collection!  One from Lu from Yellowstone, one from Kentucky, and one from Daytona Beach, both from Bryan and Sonya.

·         I have an amazing schedule that allows for lots of free time and I love my classes.  October might sound different because that is when I will actually get busy.

·         IT'S MY LAST SEMESTER!  It's crazy and almost hard to believe that next semester I will be living with the Abrahamson's and completing my student teaching!

·         Meeting up with Rose for a 4 Queens adventure, and Aaron on his way back to Texas for a Scratch adventure.  Could my life get any sweeter?  :)

·         Hanging out at Lu's was quite the adventure.  Who knew people decorated their flower beds with a giant T-Rex?!

·         I was able to see one of my campers from the first week of camp!  She was surprised to say the least!  Her brother was in Connor's cabin, so we made a short video to send to him!

·         BASIC started up again, and with that starts small-group Bible Study!  I'm back with Jenny for one last semester and it is going to be awesome!  We started on Tuesday and spent our time getting to know each other and what we will be studying.  We're doing the book/DVD series of The Mingling of Souls.  It's all about relationships and not just the guy/girl kind.

·         God has answered so many prayers this month about so many things.  I'll start writing about some of those and share a new one every Friday as part of the Pray! Shirt Friday movement.  Not only has He answered many, but I can see the beginnings of answers to prayer unfolding. 

August, you have been good!  You always seem to bring a lot of good with the last fun weeks of camp, home, and the start of school.  This is my last August at UNI, and it is wonderful!  God has really been on the move in my life this month and it has been extraordinary to move with him.  I want to continue to feel myself stretching and growing in my faith like I have felt in the past month.  September's looking good too!  :)

"If you're not dead, you're not done."