Just thought I would fill you in...

So I just realized its been months since I have posted anything on here and I just want to say sorry. After my last post (back in April) my life got insanely busy; summer was spent hanging out with my Acts 2:42 group from church and having a blast every time we did. We went to weddings, mini golfing, bowling, girls' weekend in MN, game nights, and so much more. Then on June 8th after a couple weeks of dating the greatest guy (John) in the entire world asked me to be his girlfriend...and of course I said yes. Oh I guess I should add in here that it was ANDREA QUICK who set us up on our first date lol ;) so thank you Andrea for doing that.

After 2 wonderful months of dating we fell in love and he gave me a promise ring. He is most definitely THE ONE :) Anyways so after about 3 months of dating he made of the most important decisions you can make...he accepted Christ as his personal Savior, got baptized, and became a member of our church all in one week. I can already see changes in him and I am so excited to see where God leads us.

Now that summer is over life is finally starting to slow down again.

We moved my baby sister into college, which was a very emotional day for me. It was very surreal moving her in, since to me she is still 10 years old but we have become more like best friends but we will always be sisters first.

I actually applied for a different position within Pepsi that has normal work day hours. If I get it I would be an Administrative Assistant to the senior manager for the whole upper midwest region. I know I will get it if that's what God has planned for me.

I have feel like I have grown spiritually  so much over the summer and I rely on God so much more than I ever have. Having a  wonderful Godly family and friends and even my boyfriend has helped so much.  I realize more and more each day how truly blessed I am with the people in my life.

In case you didn't know..

So in case you didn't know already I started my new job last week and I am pleased to say it is going extremely well. I love that I am always busy my day flies by which is awesome for me!! The only thing that is taking some getting used to is the hours...I work 11am-7:30pm but I don't mind the sleeping in part and I get my weekends free!! (which is so incredibly awesome cause now I can go to church EVERY Sunday!!!) I have about 3 weeks of school left and I am so ready for that!! After school is over I don't know what I will do with all my free time..maybe hang out with some pretty awesome and special people I know!!

Have some more girls nights like this....

And of course there are some new friends..but I don't have any pictures with them quite yet...maybe I will have to take some at our bowling outing this weekend....yeah I might do that!! There are so many new relationships blooming in my life its crazy!! Of course I still have my closet and dearest friends but these new ones might just make the cut ;) ha ha All in all life has been great and it's only getting better!! I will try and keep y'all updated on the new relationships that are blooming!!  

Hello Again...

Ok so I totally just realized that its been 2 MONTHS since I last posted...I guess that goes to show how busy I have been lately. So to catch everyone the last couple of months have been focused on school, work, and applying for new jobs. And for those you don't know already I got a new job; I will be working at Pepsi-Co in Urbandale in the accounting department!!! That's right every girl's dream to play with money all day and I get to live it. I start that next week so no more hotel business for me and you know I am actually relieved, why you may ask. Well I will tell you I will get to experience a job where I don't have to be on the phone 90% of the time listening to people complain about every little thing. Yes I know every job has it's downside but I was a little burned out on the hotel biz and a major plus and the REAL reason I changed jobs....Pepsi gives me insurance!! And that folks is a major need!! So now that I have a new job and with school ending in 4 weeks (that's right count them 4 weeks) things are really starting to come together.

Life still has its speed bumps every now and then but hey that's the beauty of life. You have to take the hits it gives you and turn them around for the better.

One change I am not liking at all is watching my baby sister pick out a college...she can't be old enough for that yet can she?! I say no..she is still that same pestering little 10 year old that used to beg me to play school with her or bug the crap out of Nicole and I...oh man my little sister. She's not so little anymore she will be 19 this year and it seems incredibly unreal to me!! But I wouldn't trade her or our strong relationship for the world!! I know she will do great things no matter what she does.

So besides being a debby downer when it comes to my baby sis going to college in the fall, things have been going smoothly no real bumps in the road yet but we all know how that goes as soon as life is running smooth something comes along to screw it up but no worries I will keep on truckin. And hopefully keep you guys all little more updated along the way!!

3 months and counting

So my little blur today is about my excitement. I got 2 pieces of good news today; first and foremost one of the darling little girls I watch had a biopsy on Monday and her results of the test came back negative!! God definitely answers prayers and is so incredibly awesome!!! He reminds me so often of His awesome power and perfect timing. I am learning more and more everyday and I am growing so much in His Word. Basically I love Jesus and I am so excited to see where He takes me. Second and last but certainty not least  I received all my paperwork today for graduation so let the countdown begin with 3 months!!! The only scary part about this whole thing is what the crap do I do afterwords. A couple people have suggested some things but only God knows what's in store for my life and I trust him completely.

I was reminded the other day by my dearest and two of closest friends Shelby & Nicole just how amazing God is. They always knows just what to say to me when I am stuck, or just need some encouragement. I know no matter what happens they will always be there to keep in check and will always have encouraging words for me and will love me and support me no matter what decision I make. I love them both very much, so much in fact I consider them my sisters.

Another thing I am looking forward to is next weekend I get to spend 4 much needed days with my other dearest and closest friend Kristi!! I haven't seen her since this past summer and I can not wait to get away for awhile and just spend some quality time with her. We always have a blast together no matter what we are doing. I only which she lived closer to me or visa versa so we could see each other more often than we already do.

Well that's all for today folks I have some paperwork to fill out and some plans to be made. I hope everyone has a fantabulous day!!

Smooth trip so far

So I realized its been awhile since I have posted on here but I guess that just goes to show how exciting my life can be :) I am counting down the days until graduation because I am so ready to be done. I think I will celebrate with a very long extended vacation!!

So nothing real to exciting has been happening lately around here just taken my new found view on life day by day and seeing where that takes me. I have made some new friends through my Acts 2:42 group through church its pretty much an all girls group (poor Cody, he occasionally gets the company of another guy). The group is awesome I get to spend time with great friends old and new and plus my old youth leaders our the leaders now and I love them to death!! I couldn't ask for a better group. I was hesitate at first to join (But Nicole convinced me) I mean don't get me wrong they are all great individuals, it's just I wasn't quite ready to hand myself over and well with a pushing and pulling I decided to come. It was rough at first with a preset attitude but after a few Sunday nights there I was loving it. Learning about God and getting to know other believers it was fun. (and plus Londa is a great cook). She always has something new and exciting for us to try. I am pretty sure we are her guinea pigs sometimes. (just kidding I love Londa)The Sneaky Mommy 

So I feel like I need to have a hobby, I mean with school getting ready to end I feel like I need something to do with all the spare time I will have. I know my friend and I will be looking for a place to live so that will take a lot of money, so it will have to be a cheap hobby. I wonder what I could do?!

So I know this short but I thought I would update you all on how life is going my way...believe when something exciting happens you all will know. But a something one of my best friends and I also consider my sister told me something today that really helped me and she didn't even know it. So I will share it with you before I go... 

Every friendship has a time-it's either a reason, a season, or a lifetime

She is so right and I have begun to see those friendships come about. I hope you all have lifetime friendships.

 

Friends are important

So something I have receantly realized is how important friendships are, ok not just receantly I have always known. But just receantly I have noticed that everyone needs at least one best friend. Someone you can turn to no matter what and know that they will not judge you.

I am so lucky to know that I have this person in my life (and she knows who she is) we have such an amazing relationship that I am pretty sure that nothing will break the bond we have. Here is the short version of our story....

It all started when we met in 4th grade at GPBS we could not stand each other. I thought she was a spoiled brat and who knows what she thought of me lol Now fast forward to 6th grade where we were forced to do a school project together, like me she told her mom that she didn't want to work with me but both mothers told us to suck it up basically and we ended up doing the project together. No folks we didn't kill each other we actually worked really well together. We got along so well we started hanging out here and there...now lets fast forward a bit further....to high school. We had become extremely close a group of 3 of us. We had slummber parties and hung out all the time. Then a new girl joined the group and things well started to get rough for us. Not to get into the whole story but basically this new girl caused the friendship of us 3 girls to fall apart and after my sophmore year I transferred to Lincoln to finish out my schooling. Now against what you might think I didn't leave because I was teased or picked on I simply could not handle the situation and I choose to pull myself out so as not to deal with it on a day to day basis any more. After I left the 3 of us kind of stopped talking to each other and our little group fell apart for awhile. But for myself and one of the other girls we still had to face each other every week because you see she went to my church (now are you guys catching up) after awhile we started to reconnect and low and behold we were inseperable once again. We both apologized forgave each other and moved on. We actually laugh about the whole thing to this day.

But we weren't out of the woods yet little did we know our friendship was about to be tested again....freshman year of college. We got put together as roommates. It started out great but really whoever thought two girls in that small of space was a good idea was seriously mistaken!! ha ha Of course we fought and had our riffs but who wouldn't right?? Well the school we were at wasn't for us so I went to Missouri for school and she went to another school. We didn't speak after we both transferred for about a year then we reconnected again and well to bring up to speed....we are still best friends and we both now know that no matter what may try to sever that bound it just can't. I can go to her with anything and she can come to me anything, frankly we are brutally honest with eachother.

I tell you all this to tell you this....everyone needs at least that one person that will be brutally honest with you whether its about what you wear that day or about something you are going through in life. I do think it is possible to have more than one good friend I mean who do you go to when you need to complain or vent about youre close friend ha ha I mean I have my best friend up here and I have one in Missouri that I would do anything for.

So for anyone reading this who might going through a rough spot with a close friend hang in there everything will get better I know I have been there and it might seem like you two will never be able to get past the speed bump but you will. My bestie and I did!! I would be lost with out her....actually I would be lost without ALL my best friends (which my family is included in that)

So I hope you enjoyed a little inside info on me and if you have a close friend or friends let them know how thankful you are for them!!

J'aime Paris, France

So to follow up from yesterday, I want to share with you my amour for Paris, France. It all began with a church youth group missions trip to La Rochelle, France. I believe the year was 2004 (well the summer of '04) and my church youth group was taking a missions trip to La Rochelle, France after a week at TLC (for those of you who don't know that's Teen Leadership Conference)

Why here is our little group now... (pst look below)

 

We are quite the bunch, are we not?!

Anyways, this trip (little did I know) was about to change my view on life. It opened my eyes to a world of new and exciting dreams. You see we were able to go because Londa's (the one is the blue stripped shirt on the left side) brother was a missionary over there and we were going over to help him out. We passed out tracks to tell people about his church and of course the love of God. I will never forget this trip for as long as I live.

I would totally do another trip too. You see this trip to France was so incredibly amazing that if given the opportunity and funding I would go again no questions asked. Missions is a feeling that I can even descirbe to anyone!! You see there is this missions trip called The World Race ( www.theworldrace.org ) the first time I read information on it I instantly wanted to go!!

Back to the France trip. While we were there we got the pleasure of working with Mark's youth as well (pst look down again)

There is one girl in this photo that will ever be ingrained into my mind Julia (she is in white on the right front row) They were new to the church and luckily she got to meet some loud Americans (that's how they refereed to us). So after we came home a few weeks later I received a letter from Julia in the mail and yes I still have it. I read it every now and then. Yes of course I wrote her back and no I never received a response. That's fine though that letter still and always will mean a lot to me.

Towards the end of our trip, you guessed it, we got to go to Paris for a day. It was awesome!! It still feels like a dream. We shopped, ate the delicious food, took a tour on a double decked bus and of course went to the Eiffel Tower. No we didn't go to the top but I would love to go back and go as far as up as I could handle lol

Here is another picture for you...

All in all the trip just opened my heart up to the world of missions and I have always wanted to do another one and another and another. It is an incredible experience that I recommend to ALL  I hope one day I get the opportunity to go again, who knows maybe I will get to do the World Race. But before I sign off for today I will show a couple more photos and tell you this...Missions doesn't have to be over seas it can be in your very own back yard. You see I too am working on this..you know being able to share God's love with everyone. Not that you should run up to people in the mall and yell in there faces "God loves you and if you don't accept Him as your personal Savior then you're going to Hell!!"  No don't do that but if someone does ask you don't just shy away and change the subject. tell them why you're happy all the time, tell them about your Heavenly Father. Believe me it feels amazing to share that with people. So lets work on it together shall we?! Why you think about it enjoy these photos!! 

The City Streets of Paris

Notre Dome

Champs Elysees

Eiffel Tower

Getting this trip underway...

So remember how I said I hate New Year's resolutions?! Well I am here to tell you that I made one...I know, I know why would I make one; when no one ever sticks them?! Well simply because its time for a change in my life, so what is it you ask? Well I will tell you, I am changing my diet (shocking I know lol) everyone makes this resolution I know but I really need to change it. You see high blood pressure and diabetes kind of runs in the family and I am trying NOT to get either of them. So one of my best friends does weight watchers online and I am going to kind of do it along with her.  So we shall see how that goes for me.

So something I realized last night was I really need to take a trip to Kansas City to see my bestest KC friend Kristi!! I don't get to see her very often which sucks and I miss her ever so much. We met at school in Missouri and we were room mates. neither one of us knew anyone going there and we were put together as roomies and we have been best friends ever since. Funny how complete strangers can become almost like sisters in a matter of months. We did almost everything together. We told each other secrets and shared well a dorm room. Even though we both have other friends we have known longer than we have known each other I still feel like I have known her forever.

There are so many things I want to do with my life. With school coming to a close (finally I might add) I am starting to freak out a little about what I want to do next. Do I go back for my masters? Or do I look for a more permanent residence? These questions and more cross my mind daily. Now my best friend friend Nicole and I will most likely get a place together after I am done with school (which btw I have exactly 3 classes left). I feel as if I have been in school forever and I am not quite sure what life will be like once I am done. But isn't that the beauty of it? Not knowing whats around the corner. Life is unexpected and so incredibly awesome!! I don't know whats around the corner and this "road map" that I have just shows where I have been and the rest is blank and I can't wait to fill it in. Sometimes I feel like I have come to a crossroads in my life and its hard to decide which way to go.

This sort of what my life road map looks like at the moment and frankly its hard to know which way to go!! So I get out my compass (pst thats the Bible) and it helps guide me in the right direction. (PS Don't you just love that picture)

I do know that there is one place I am dying to go....and that is PARIS!! I have been there once about 6 years ago with my church youth group and it was amazing!! I fell in love with Paris. I now buy anything Paris I can find because I plan on decorating my bedroom in my place (when I move out) with all my Paris things.

I would give anything to go here again!! You could say I am a little obsessed with Paris lol :)

I consider this blog today a little inside info on me. Which is what this blog is all about me and my journey through life. I hope that one day my journey will lead me back to France. Sometimes I do wish I could take a peak at what lies ahead in my journey but then it would be that exctiting if I did. So tomorrow is a mystery to me and so is the rest of my day. So in the big picture I sit at a crossroads trying to decide where to go from her and I pray that whatever decision I make is the right one.

So embrace your journy folks you ony get one. There are no refunds on tickets and you cannot have a do over at the end; so make it a good journy. Try not to second guess yourself and by all means have fun!! 

2010...A look back

Well it is 1/1/11 and so far we are off to a good start...I don't know if you consider working be off to a good start but why not lol Well the journey through 2011 will hopefully be a good one I am hoping to have too many speed bumps but then again I am not in total control of my journey. Yes, I get to choose which turn I would like to take when I hit a fork in the road but you see there is someone who has always and will always know what path I will choose. Who is that you might ask?! Well you see its my dad...no not my earthly dad but my heavenly one. You see there is something else about me you should all know; I am a CHRISTIAN (there I said it). You see I have believed in God since I was a young girl; no I don't have a dramatic story about how I was a drunk or got into a whole lot of trouble I was simply at VBS (Vacation Bible School, in case you didn't know) and that was when I understood the story of Jesus Christ and accepted as my personal Saviour. I was baptized a year later. Now you see I am not have always lived like I should have and yes I have made some wrong decisions that has damaged some of my relationships I hold dear but through it all there has always been one person who never once changed His view about me and never stopped loving me unconditionally. And who is this masked man you might ask...well He is none other than my personal Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. I have learned so much through the year of 2010 and still have so much to learn in 2011. No matter how hard I try I will never fully understand why He loves me so much but you see that's ok with me because HE is my Father and I am His child and His love saved me from Hell and thats all I need to survive my time in this world. For those of you who don't know much about my past I haven't always made the right decisions but you see I have made a New Year's resolution and I usually don't cause frankly I think they are pointless; but you see this year I want to start out differently I want to start living my life the way I should. 2010 started out rough for me. I spent most of 2009 trying to forget, trying to run away from myself and that carried over into 2010. By the time 1/1/10 hit I had pretty much hindered my relationship with my family and my best friend (who I have known since we were little girls) and it killed me inside to know I had hurt those people in my life. So I had to make a decision (and believe me when I say I am not so good at the decision making part), my decision move home and start fresh. Well it worked...ok kind of; you see when I moved home I forgot to do one thing...ask for forgiveness from God. I am stubborn (really ask my family) and that was something I didn't want to do. I wanted to let go of my past but at the same time I didn't there were things in my past I wasn't ready to give up. I did ask for forgiveness after much fighting with myself I realized I was only going to lose. I have turned my life around alot and you know I still have some more healing to do but I will get there. Now to cut to the chase here 2010 had a lot ups and downs for me but I made it through. 2011 has just started and I cannot wait to see where it takes me.

I had a great ending to my 2010 I spent it with what I like to call my second family. My family had other plans and since I had to work today I was unable to spend it with them so I joined my second family in some food, fun and laughter. (so thats why I was unable to post my friends)

Well everyone with 2011 underway I have some decision making I need to do so I better get to it. But I will leave with you this one of my favorite poets Robert Frost said it best when he said, "..Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.." I hope that I can take the road not yet taken when it comes to my life. Happy New Year everyone and I hope you all can take the road not yet taken.