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| Come as you are day senior year |
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| Our last parade! |
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| Amy and I before Sweetheart Ball senior year |
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| Jenscie, myself, Janea and Amy at NHS induction senior year |
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| Jens and I at prom :) |
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| Amy and I at camp |
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| Small group frosting sugar cookies! |
Friday, April 22, 2011
A visit to UNI :)
Last weekend Michael and I took a little road trip down to UNI to visit some friends. Michael spent the weekend with Carter and I got to hang out with Amy! It was so great. Friday night was Amy's personal shower, I'm so excited for her to be getting married in a little under a month! The rest of the weekend was spent going shopping, making some food, playing some cards, and talking a lot. It was so fun to get to spend some time with her. Saturday night we spent some time with Jenscie. She wasn't feeling well so we just spent the time watching movies on her bed. I loved getting to see them! It made me think back to the times we would hang out during high school so I thought I would post some of those pictures just for fun :)
Like I already said, I loved getting to see Amy so much and to spend some time with Jens. I'm very thankful for these girls and the role they played in my life in high school. Amy and I have also gotten a lot of opportunities to hang out and just talk in the last few years and I always leave feeling very blessed to have a friend like her.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
A lesson from David
I have had the most ridiculous last week. I was in my fourth grade practicum classroom all week which was a blast and I got to teach a few lessons which I continue to learn from, but it was exhausting! Planning lessons and doing homework for Friday makes for a rough week. But, God is good all the time and He has been teaching me a lot through his word lately and I wanted to share one of those things with you.
I've been reading through the Bible in a year and am currently in 1 and 2 Samuel. The other day I was reading 1 Samuel 26 where David spares Saul's life a second time after finding him sleeping in a cave. The part that got me was when Saul found out that David had not killed him he says to David "Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again." I have always known that David was a man after God's own heart and his interactions with Saul really display this. Few people would consider the life of their enemy precious, but David did! How cool! Later in the book when Saul dies, David weeps for him. I was convicted of this this week, especially on Wednesday when I was rushing to get from one place to the next. I was driving on campus and some girls were walking in the middle of the road, there were also skateboarders taking up a significant portion of the driving space. I found myself getting frustrated with these individuals for being in my way and then I thought of David and his interactions with Saul. I reminded myself that their lives are precious and that they themselves are loved and created by God. Somehow remembering that helps to put things back in perspective. It serves as a reminder that I am to love those whom God has placed in my life at any point in time.
Conviction is hard, but I am SO THANKFUL for it! What a blessing to be able to recognize one's sin and repent in the safety of God's grace! He is good! Every day is filled with choices to make, we can choose to follow God and love or we can choose to do what we want and show hatred towards others. I am thankful for the example David is in following after God's heart and the Psalm of repentance he wrote (Psalm 51). Praise God for his word and the truth and life we are able to receive from it!
I've been reading through the Bible in a year and am currently in 1 and 2 Samuel. The other day I was reading 1 Samuel 26 where David spares Saul's life a second time after finding him sleeping in a cave. The part that got me was when Saul found out that David had not killed him he says to David "Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again." I have always known that David was a man after God's own heart and his interactions with Saul really display this. Few people would consider the life of their enemy precious, but David did! How cool! Later in the book when Saul dies, David weeps for him. I was convicted of this this week, especially on Wednesday when I was rushing to get from one place to the next. I was driving on campus and some girls were walking in the middle of the road, there were also skateboarders taking up a significant portion of the driving space. I found myself getting frustrated with these individuals for being in my way and then I thought of David and his interactions with Saul. I reminded myself that their lives are precious and that they themselves are loved and created by God. Somehow remembering that helps to put things back in perspective. It serves as a reminder that I am to love those whom God has placed in my life at any point in time.
Conviction is hard, but I am SO THANKFUL for it! What a blessing to be able to recognize one's sin and repent in the safety of God's grace! He is good! Every day is filled with choices to make, we can choose to follow God and love or we can choose to do what we want and show hatred towards others. I am thankful for the example David is in following after God's heart and the Psalm of repentance he wrote (Psalm 51). Praise God for his word and the truth and life we are able to receive from it!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
A favorite memory...
Well it's at that point in spring where the snow is melting but the ground is still wet, the weather is warmer but there's still a chill in the air...summer seems so close and I can't help but look forward to it. One thing I am really really really looking forward to this summer is family vacation! We're driving out to North Carolina and I am so excited for it...all of it. Yes, even the long car ride with 8 of us in the car (Michael is coming!!!) So as I've been getting more and more excited about this, I've been thinking about our last family vacation when we drove out to California. Here are some pictures of a favorite memory from that time. We decided to get into the Pacific--which was quite cold--and let the waves hit us (for lack of better description). It was silly and fun and I just love my family!
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| Jos really wanted to join us despite his crutches |
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| Did I mention I love them? :) |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Attack of the negative attitude
Yesterday was Monday and it really started out as a fabulous Monday. I had class early and all day long but I was feeling quite happy and content to be in school. I donated plasma which didn't go as smoothly as usual but afterwards I got to meet with two really great girls and it was wonderful! I didn't have much homework to do so I felt optimistic about getting a lot accomplished. Somehow this didn't happen and I began to get discouraged. As half an hour turned into an hour and that hour turned into two hours I began to get really upset and frustrated with my homework, my classes, my computer, the printer, and myself. Once I began thinking negatively it was hard to escape. I ended up getting one piece of homework done and then headed to bed, but still felt awful as I knew I had not behaved in a God honoring way.
It was then that I reflected on the passage from Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
I also considered 1 Peter 5:7 where it says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
So often I get caught up in completing my to-do list and I forget about my true purpose in life which is to bring honor and glory to my God. College and homework is temporary, but God is eternal. These trials and frustrations that I have now are going to (hopefully) help me in the future and my reactions to them are helping to shape me into the woman I am going to be in the future.
So, lying in bed last night I spent some good time in prayer just confessing my sins and my struggles to my savior and asking him to purify me again and to renew my heart. I fell asleep singing the song "I cast all my cares upon you".
As I begin my homework for today and my workout soon, I am struggling to feel excited about doing them. I am struggling to feel joyful about where I am and the work that needs to be done, so I would like to ask you to pray for me if you would not mind. I am praying too and striving to be joyful for I know I have much to be joyful about, but I could use your prayers too.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and if you pray, thank you for that as well.
It was then that I reflected on the passage from Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
I also considered 1 Peter 5:7 where it says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
So often I get caught up in completing my to-do list and I forget about my true purpose in life which is to bring honor and glory to my God. College and homework is temporary, but God is eternal. These trials and frustrations that I have now are going to (hopefully) help me in the future and my reactions to them are helping to shape me into the woman I am going to be in the future.
So, lying in bed last night I spent some good time in prayer just confessing my sins and my struggles to my savior and asking him to purify me again and to renew my heart. I fell asleep singing the song "I cast all my cares upon you".
As I begin my homework for today and my workout soon, I am struggling to feel excited about doing them. I am struggling to feel joyful about where I am and the work that needs to be done, so I would like to ask you to pray for me if you would not mind. I am praying too and striving to be joyful for I know I have much to be joyful about, but I could use your prayers too.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and if you pray, thank you for that as well.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Dinner and a movie...
Michael and I have had such a great weekend! It has been restful and relaxing while also being productive which was all very much needed after the chaos of last week. Last week we got back to school after spring break and over the course of the week I finished one class and added 5 new ones. New classes can be really exciting but I have this problem where I look at the syllabus and all that needs to get done and get a little stressed out about getting everything done so I kind of go crazy doing stuff the first week. This kept me up later than I would have liked as I have class at 7:45 MWF and at 8:30 on TR, but I am SO GLAD that I worked ahead, because somehow despite all of the work I did I still had A TON of homework this weekend! It was borderline ridiculous...but I suppose if you take into account that I am done with all 6 of my classes by April 29 (which is 5 weeks from now) it makes me sense that there would be so much homework to do.
Anyways, so I've basically spent a lot of time doing homework, some time getting good sleep and some great quality time with Michael. And I wanted to share about our dinner and a movie date from last night.
I went down to Michael's room around 7:00 so we could get some food and found him looking all over for his wallet that had disappeared...we ended up looking for that for probably half an hour without finding it before we decided we should just go and that I would pay. After spending some time making a list of 5 potential restaurants to go to and one by one narrowing them down, we chose to go to Outback Steakhouse. We decided we would just share everything to keep it less expensive. So off we went, it was pretty busy but we got in almost immediately and then chose what we wanted to order. We got a blooming onion (I hate onions by the way, but for some reason when they are served in the most unhealthy way possible I don't mind eating them) and an entre with chicken and ribs. It was so good, we just talked and ate and yea really good :) We ended up only eating like 1/4 of our blooming onion so we had to take that to go, but Michael forgot it on the table. Luckily he remembered it as we were walking out to the car and talking about how good the meal had been and how we probably didn't even need the blooming onion...I wish you could have seen his face right after he said that and realized it was still inside on the table. So funny! He ran back in and grabbed the box and then we headed out. We ended up swinging by a redbox on the way back to Bethel and got Despicable Me to watch. We somehow hadn't seen that one yet and very much enjoyed it. I think we decided our favorite part was when he was reading the story. But yes, it was just a nice laid back evening. I LOVE spending time with that man! It makes me feel so happy and blessed and thankful.
Oh, and we did end up finding his wallet, it was wedged way back into his couch...we had looked there before, just not deep enough apparently :) Praise God that we found it though, sure comes in handy!
Anyways, so I've basically spent a lot of time doing homework, some time getting good sleep and some great quality time with Michael. And I wanted to share about our dinner and a movie date from last night.
I went down to Michael's room around 7:00 so we could get some food and found him looking all over for his wallet that had disappeared...we ended up looking for that for probably half an hour without finding it before we decided we should just go and that I would pay. After spending some time making a list of 5 potential restaurants to go to and one by one narrowing them down, we chose to go to Outback Steakhouse. We decided we would just share everything to keep it less expensive. So off we went, it was pretty busy but we got in almost immediately and then chose what we wanted to order. We got a blooming onion (I hate onions by the way, but for some reason when they are served in the most unhealthy way possible I don't mind eating them) and an entre with chicken and ribs. It was so good, we just talked and ate and yea really good :) We ended up only eating like 1/4 of our blooming onion so we had to take that to go, but Michael forgot it on the table. Luckily he remembered it as we were walking out to the car and talking about how good the meal had been and how we probably didn't even need the blooming onion...I wish you could have seen his face right after he said that and realized it was still inside on the table. So funny! He ran back in and grabbed the box and then we headed out. We ended up swinging by a redbox on the way back to Bethel and got Despicable Me to watch. We somehow hadn't seen that one yet and very much enjoyed it. I think we decided our favorite part was when he was reading the story. But yes, it was just a nice laid back evening. I LOVE spending time with that man! It makes me feel so happy and blessed and thankful.
Oh, and we did end up finding his wallet, it was wedged way back into his couch...we had looked there before, just not deep enough apparently :) Praise God that we found it though, sure comes in handy!
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| Oh, and this is Michael drinking his Coke with a straw...something that doesn't happen very often :) |
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Dog Wash!
Well it is spring break and I am LOVING it! I've gotten to go to my Grandma Diane's birthday party, work out with my sisters (first run of 2011 today was relatively successful), watch movies, play games, laugh, make food, eat lots of oranges, visit the dentist, visit with Amy (love that girl by the way, she is such a blessing to have as a friend), and numerous other things. Seriously, it's such a good time!
Yesterday is what I want to talk about however. We (Mom, Dad, Sam, Shelby, Charley and I) took the dogs to the dog wash. Usually when we give "the girls" a bath we do so in our bathroom or, if it's warm enough, outside with the hose. This trip was very successful though and quite funny so I thought I'd share some pictures...
Yesterday is what I want to talk about however. We (Mom, Dad, Sam, Shelby, Charley and I) took the dogs to the dog wash. Usually when we give "the girls" a bath we do so in our bathroom or, if it's warm enough, outside with the hose. This trip was very successful though and quite funny so I thought I'd share some pictures...
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| Lacey trying to hide in the back seat :) |
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| She's nervous, but what a sweet face! |
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| WET DOG! Check out her tail :) |
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| "This isn't so bad!" |
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| Getting dry... |
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| Drying with the towel |
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| "Look at me! I'm all clean!" |
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| Lacey putting on the breaks...it took 3 of us to get her on the table... |
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| Wet Dog #2 |
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| She wasn't digging it at this point |
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| Helping to make sure she got all shampooed and rinsed |
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| Can you say FLUFFY?!?! |
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| Woohoo! All done! |
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| On the way home :) |
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| The Girls ♥ |
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The last two weekends
Well, my last two weekends have been really great so I thought I'd give a brief review :)
Last weekend Michael's parents were here and we went to the Water Park of America on Saturday for his mom's birthday. It was a blast! I tend to get a wee bit nervous with water slides as they are the combination of three things that make me nervous (water, heights, and speed). But, I put on my big girl swimsuit (big girl for bravery by the way) and tried everything. It was a really great time. Also, I got to spend some time with Michael's nephew Jonas who always makes me smile and I got to hold his niece, Freya, for a good long while. Absolutely loved that! :)
This weekend Michael and I traveled to Story City to see my sister Charley in her high school musical. It was such a wonderful weekend, I don't think I could ever describe exactly how much I love going home! It was fun to see the musical--Charley did a wonderful job--and I also ran into some friends from high school which was good. Other events of the weekend were two-on-two basketball (Shelb and her friend Reba vs Josiah and me--they won...but I did make ONE basket!), lots of talking with the family (especially mom), some kinect on the x-box 360 (Michael and I played ping pong and I am SO SORE today!). We also watched Aladdin, played some games, and ate some good food. I would like to say that I ate 6 oranges...yummy :) It was hard to leave today, but I know I will be back home again in a week and I am so so so excited to go back again!
Last weekend Michael's parents were here and we went to the Water Park of America on Saturday for his mom's birthday. It was a blast! I tend to get a wee bit nervous with water slides as they are the combination of three things that make me nervous (water, heights, and speed). But, I put on my big girl swimsuit (big girl for bravery by the way) and tried everything. It was a really great time. Also, I got to spend some time with Michael's nephew Jonas who always makes me smile and I got to hold his niece, Freya, for a good long while. Absolutely loved that! :)
This weekend Michael and I traveled to Story City to see my sister Charley in her high school musical. It was such a wonderful weekend, I don't think I could ever describe exactly how much I love going home! It was fun to see the musical--Charley did a wonderful job--and I also ran into some friends from high school which was good. Other events of the weekend were two-on-two basketball (Shelb and her friend Reba vs Josiah and me--they won...but I did make ONE basket!), lots of talking with the family (especially mom), some kinect on the x-box 360 (Michael and I played ping pong and I am SO SORE today!). We also watched Aladdin, played some games, and ate some good food. I would like to say that I ate 6 oranges...yummy :) It was hard to leave today, but I know I will be back home again in a week and I am so so so excited to go back again!
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