A habit I wish I didn't have...

What do all of these pictures have in common?  Well first off, you should be saying "Why Bailey, those are all [beautiful] pictures of you!"  Ok yes, they are all pictures of me, but what else?  Well, here let me just tell you: they are all pictures of me where I feel like my hair is a focal point (that is not to say it looks awesome by the way).  How does this relate to a habit I wish I didn't have?  Well see, I pick at my hair...specifically my split ends.  And I HATE it!  I've been doing it since high school when my friend Amy made me more aware of my split ends as she occasionally would pick at hers...however, it isn't a habit of hers, it's a habit of mine and  I so badly want to break it!  I would like to break it for a couple of reasons: 1) It makes me look bored in class, which I'm not necessarily, I'm always listening.  2) It makes my hair look more dumb, and don't you know I hate to look dumb.   3) It actually hurts my finger... 4) It's just an annoying habit to have!

So, if you see me and I am shamelessly picking at my hair, I give you permission to give me a nudge and suggest that I stop.  I may appear embarrassed, but believe me, I am thankful for the role you play in helping me to kick this annoying habit in the tush! 

Oh, and on a final note, here is a little poster of sorts my roommate Brittany made for me last year...it's sort of an inside joke, but I believe that all people can enjoy it:

A favorite TV show...

I honestly don't watch that much tv...but I do have a few favorite shows.  I very much enjoy The Office and The Big Bang Theory.  Both of these shows make me laugh and I enjoy watching them with my family and Michael.  I also really like The Bachelor...terrible show, bad idea, but I still like it for some reason.  (3 more weeks of that btw). 

However the show I'm going to share today is Greek.  My sister Shelby started watching this last year and I didn't for a while and then I was a little bit hooked.  I started towards the end of the second season and have watched through the present, but at the end of J-term when I had a lot of time on my hands I decided to start from the beginning.  Just like the first two shows I mentioned it provides some good comic relief.  Anyways, with a relatively light weekend and a snow day and no homework today I've watched quite a few episodes of Greek the last few days.  And like I said, I don't agree with everything in the show--just like any other show--but I find many of the characters endearing. 

Also, I watch this with Tina and my sister Shelb, so it's just a fun thing :)

Someone I've been close with for a while...

Now in all honesty, there are a lot of different people I could talk about who I've been close with for a while, but I chose to talk about Miss Christina Joy Gibbons...

I met Tina at Hidden Acres and we worked four summers together.  It all really started summer number two and yea it's just progressed from there.  Right before prom senior year we found out we were both planning on going to Bethel!  Freshman year we had smoothie dates and watched a lot of One Tree Hill as well as bought a few movies we couldn't find at Red Box.  We have lived together the last two semesters and have memories from that as well. 

We are so different (and thus drive each other crazy a lot I'm thinking) but I love her.  We're sweet and sour, opposites that can go really well together.  Even when we drive each other crazy I know she has my back and I think she knows that I have hers. 

This is seriously one of my favorite pictures of us--bahaha

This was us stopping to get gas on the way to Iowa last fall with our other roommates

 

 

And just for good measure, a picture of all the roommates :) 

15 Facts about my Family

I've decided I'm going to do a photo thing on here just because it sounds like fun...Day 1 of my photo time would be a picture with 15 facts.

1. This picture was taken on our family vacation a few years ago when we went up to a friend's lake house.

2. We spent a significant amount of time trying to get a good picture of us on this floating hot dog...there was a lot of tipping as you can more or less see :)

3. I LOVE MY FAMILY!  Seriously, home is my very favorite place to be, especially when everyone is home and we get to hang out and just be ourselves!

4. I am so glad to have a brother like Josiah.  Even though he is 6 and a half years younger than me I feel like we get along really well.  He has such a fun personality and sense of humor and is a blast to hang out with!  It has been so fun seeing him grow up into a young man.  He is a natural leader and has a humble heart.

5. Sam is a blessing.  I love him so much and am oftentimes just homesick for him.  Don't get me wrong, I get homesick for everyone in my family, but I can just call them...but not Sam--he's not real into phone calls :)  Last time I skyped with the family and Sam came into the room I called his name and he ducked behind the couch bahaha...oh Sam I love you :)

6. Shelby has been my friend since forever.  You can see in pictures of us growing up that we were (and are) two peas in a pod.  If I could change one thing about my college experience it would be having Shelb and I at the same school!  I love Bethel and Shelb loves Central, but it would've been so fun to have gotten to spend more time together.

7.  Charlsea...that girl makes me smile :)  Just like Josiah it has been a joy seeing her change and grow.  One of my favorite things to do with Charley is to lay in bed with her and talk until it's really late and one of us (usually Charley, or Shelb if she's with us) begins to lose it and talk crazy talk :)  She is a lovely young woman full of joy and sass.

8.  I have great parents.  I wouldn't trade them for anyone else.  They have always provided what I needed and I have never doubted their love for me and my siblings.  I know that I can tell them anything and I do.  They are a wonderful support system and I appreciate and love them so much.  They also provide a good picture of what a healthy God-centered marriage looks like which I will be forever thankful for and striving to do as well in the future.

9.  We have two dogs Lacey and Libby...they are a HOOT!  We get many a laugh from them... :)

10.  Next summer our family is going on vacation to North Carolina...and we will be driving--woohoo!  Also,  rumor is that Michael will be coming with.  :)

11. One of our family traditions is on Christmas Eve we always make chicken enchiladas and watch It's a Wonderful Life--a family favorite.  The last two years Shelb, Charley, Jos and I have then played Nerts until late and had a sleepover in one room--the girls in the bed and Jos on the air mattress.

12. Our favorite snack to make seems to be puppy chow...at least that is what is made most often.  This started sometime during my junior year in high school and I never eat puppy chow without thinking of my family.  --Might I add that we make some ridiculously good puppy chow?  I don't know if it can get much better :)

13. Last weekend my family came up to visit me...well everyone except Sam.  Mom and Dad basically had a date weekend and Josiah, Charley and Shelb just hang out and Michael and me :)  We watched some movies, played some games, went out to eat, made puppy chow, etc.  It was a blast!  I wish they could come up here more often!  One of my favorite parts was our sleeping arrangement on Friday night.  Shelby, Charley and I made a big bed and it was slightly slanted, but quite comfortable :) 

14. I am so thankful for my family.  So So So thankful.  I have been truly blessed with parents siblings who are passionate about seeking after Christ.  I am thankful for forgiveness when we mess up.  I am thankful for memories.  I am thankful for support.  I am thankful for people who really know me.  I feel so so so blessed.  Sometimes I wish I could go back in time just so I could spend more time with them. 

15. Writing this has made me a little bit homesick...oof I cannot wait to go home again in two weeks!  and then again the next weekend after that for Spring Break! 

Here's the picture that ended up working on the floating hot dog... :)

I must say, we're looking pretty good...LOVE YOU GUYS!  ♥

A Brief Update...

Well it appears that it has been a while...so let me catch you up :)  I started my 3rd and final spring semester at Bethel and I am taking all education classes.  My schedule is actually titled "Block 2" and I go around with the same 14 people all day (to different professors and classrooms) and take methods courses.  Right now we have math, literacy, health, and ed psych.  I'll start some different classes after spring break.  So far it's going really well, it's been relatively busy but as I have no job it is definitely manageable.  Other than classes I have continued to be involved in Shift (a campus ministry that works with the freshman class) and Handbells (which I love more and more every practice!)...oh and I have been donating plasma--woohoo :) 

But yes, life is good.  I've also been spending more time in prayer and just trying to learn more about what it means for my will to be aligned with God's will so that I may truly know Him. 

All J-terms must come to an end...

Well it seems January is almost over somehow which means my month of taking one class is finishing up.  This is a bittersweet thing because on the one hand I'm kind of ready to get the semester started, but on the other hand J-term has been a blast! 

Here's a list of some of the things I have loved about this J-term...

• I got to finish reading a book (The Hunger Games) and I don't usually have much time for that during the semester
• I have had plenty of time to work out (spending some quality time with Jillian Michaels and her 30-Day Shred)
• I have watched all of The Office Season 4 (don't worry Britt, I will watch them again with you).  
• Monster Trail Mix...no it is not the healthiest probably, but I feel better about it with the nuts and raisins...
• Michael and I have gotten to have game nights every Saturday with his brother and sister-in-law--it's been a blast seeing them and their adorable children so much!  
• Time with friends...there have been a few girls' nights, there's been broomball games, time with Tina and Roz, and a few other things and it's been great!
• My class has really opened my eyes to issues in education and made me all the more exciting to be a teacher!
• And...Michael...man I love that guy.  We have gotten to spend a lot of quality time together this month and it has been so great!  From making meals, to movie nights, to dates, etc. it has been so great to see him so much!  

Those are just some of my high-lights from the last month.  This has been my final J-term and I'm very thankful Bethel has it.  It's always been a fun time to transition back into school after Christmas break.

I hope your January has been as wonderful as mine!

A lesson on octopus arms...

A few weeks ago I got my hair permed.  As my hairdresser (weird word, but that's a different story) was putting my hair in the curlers, she asked me if I could hold a chunk of my hair for her.  I of course did this and thought to myself, "Man, how convenient would it be if we had more arms like an octopus."  I have thought this many times throughout my life, but this time it caused me to pause.  If my hairdresser had more arms she would not have needed my help and thus we would not have interacted in that way.  Think of all the other ways we wouldn't have to interact with people if we had more arms.  We would never need help opening a door or carrying something.  Cooking with someone else would maybe just turn into an annoying occasion instead of an endearing one.  And, you would never need someone else to help you scratch that spot on your back that is both too high and too low for you to reach yourself.

It occurred to me (and this may be incorrect) that maybe God created us with two arms so that we had to interact with one another.  And, when you think of it, not only interact but learn a little bit about humility.  It can be humbling to admit that you cannot do something on your own and you need someone's help.  Having two arms can also provide a lesson of selflessness; for example, if you see someone with their arms full walking towards a closed door you have two choices: A) pretend you didn't see the person and that they couldn't possibly need your help anyways, or B) go out of your way to open the door for them and help them inside.  Choose selfishness or selflessness.


Like I said, maybe that isn't exactly why God made us with only two arms, but it kind of made me think.  It also led me to reflect on all the other areas that I need people in my life.  Let's be honest...that's a lot.

John Donne said "No man is an island, entire of itself," and further in Provers 27:17 it says "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

We, as human beings, are not meant to be alone.  Just as God is triune and in a continual love relationship, we too are meant to love him and love others and be in selfless relationships.