2010

Here is a look at what 2010 held for me...

January
I moved back to school to start the second semester of my sophomore year. I was given the amazing opportunity of being an RA to 20 freshman girls. And I was blessed to bond with 11 other incredible women who have impacted my life in awesome ways.



February
My team and I went through Intensive Training Weekend in preparation for our 3 weeks in Uganda...



March
March was spent applying to nursing school and enjoying my last easy semester of college. This meant lots of Disneyland trips :)



April
This was my last month with my residents and spending every day with my staff. I passed down my hall and shared a few tears with my staff.



May
one word: AFRICA!! I spent 3 amazing weeks in Africa that completely changed my life.



Also, my baby brother graduated from high school.



June
My best friend and I went to a Dave Barnes concert. It was the start of an amazing summer.



July
Weddings. lots and lots of weddings. Holly got married, and I got to be reunited with my staff.



August
the beach!! One of the perks of living in Southern California is the beach. I grew up going to the beach all the time in the summer. and I still love it :)



and then towards the end of August, I moved back into school with my amazing roomies.

September
The chaos began. I said goodbye to having a life. I started the nursing program. And while it may be completely overwhelming some days, I usually like it :) And I've made some lovely new friends because of it.



October
I went to my first USC game! They lost. But, it's ok. Paige and I had fun. and we came away with some really interesting stories.



November
I turned 20! My friends surprised me and took me ice skating for my birthday. It was just what I needed :)



December
Finals. I officially survived my first semester of nursing school. Hallelujah. My nursing girls and I went out to celebrate.



I also found out that I get to go back to Uganda in the summer and I met my new team. And now I am on Christmas break! and it has been beyond lovely.

2010 has been a great year! and I can't wait to see how 2011 will unfold :)

P.S. thank you to Kristin and Kris for inspiring me to write this.

whooo hooo!!

This is the face of a girl who couldn't be happier to be home. Finals week is over. And I am happy to say that I have officially survived my first semester of nursing school :) Hallelujah. And now for 3 weeks of bliss. I get 3 whole weeks without having to think about anything related to school. I get to be home! I get to sleep!!!! And I get to spend time with my family...without having to worry about homework! And I finally get to hang out with friends without feeling guilty for putting off schoolwork!! Did I mention that I get to be home without doing homework?! And it's CHRISTMAS!! I absolutely love this time of the year. I can't wait for the next 3 weeks!

this week...

Finals have arrived. So, of course, this week has been even more stressful than usual. Thankfully, I passed all of the finals that I had to take this week. (now only 3 more to go...) But, in the midst of all of the craziness and stress of finals, this has been a really good week.

On Monday, all the roommates were home so we took a couple of hours to decorate our apartment for Christmas. We put a tree up, made a Gingerbread village, and watched Elf. It was so much fun. I love getting to spend time with my roomies.

Wednesday was Team Reveal night for ISP. I am so blessed. I get to go back to Uganda this summer. I can't believe that I get to go back. I could cry tears of joy, I am so excited. I am so so so excited to be a student leader to Eydie. We got to meet our team on Wednesday night. They seem like a group of really great girls. I can't wait to get to know them all. It was also a ton of fun to get to hear where all of my friends are going during the summer.

Thursday was the day that I had been dreading. I had my two hardest finals back-to-back. They were hands-on finals. Which make me WAY more nervous than a written test does. But...I survived :) and I passed both of them. Hallelujah.

And today...I'm going to Disneyland!! with one of my closest friends Kristin. I just love spending time with Kristin. She is such a wonderful woman of God and I always walk away encouraged after time with her. And who doesn't love Disneyland??!

So in spite of being perpetually stressed from my finals, I would say that this week has been a very good week indeed. I am blessed.

Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!! So, I figured it would be a good time to reflect on the many blessings that I've been given :)

Top Ten Things I’m Grateful for this Thanksgiving...

1. Grace. It saved me. I wouldn’t be anywhere without it.

2. My family. I am thankful for parents who have been married for 26 years and choose to love each other every day. I am grateful for the way that they have raised me. I am also thankful for my brother and the wonderful person he is.




3. Time with family. The nursing program has kept me so busy that I feel like I haven’t seen anyone in forever. This break has allowed me to spend time with my parents and my brother, as well as some of my extended family. And I love it!

4. My church family. They are my family. They support me in everything I do and I absolutely love all of them. Sundays are my favorite day of the week :)

5. My roommates. Kris, Jess, and Meg keep me sane. I am thankful for the laughter that always fills my apartment.



6. My nursing buddies. Many days, they’re the reason that I don’t quit the program. They always encourage me when I’m having a bad day. Jess T., Jacqui, Jess E., Cailee, Jess D., Jenna, Paige, and many others…thank you for not allowing me to give up :)



7. This country. I’m not really into politics. But, I do know that I am blessed to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Thank you to all of the soldiers who fight for my freedom every day.

8. My education. I am beyond blessed to be able to attend a private, Christian university. CBU has been exactly what I need. Now…only 2 ½ years to go…



9. Africa. I am so incredibly grateful that God sent me to Africa and used it to rock my world.



10. Sleep!! This break means that I finally get to catch up on the sleep that I haven’t been getting since September!!

Lord, thank You for all of the blessings that You’ve given me. I am unworthy.

whose idea was this??

I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving break for a LONG time. School has been absolutely nuts and stressful, so I was definitely looking forward to a break. But...as a nursing major there is no such thing as a break. So, even though I am in beautiful Oceanside in a lovely hotel with my family, I am stuck inside working on homework. Boo. Don't get me wrong, I would MUCH rather be here than at school. But I have to wonder...whose idea was it to assign me so much work over the break?? Can't you cut a girl some slack? But seeing as how the amount of work that I have to do is not magically going to shrink, I guess I'll just have to get over it. And I'll enjoy whatever time I do have with my family. Of course, this might mean that I put off most of my homework until the end of break, but I think that just might be worth it :)

bring on Thanksgiving break!!

This week has been utter craziness. I have been doing homework non-stop since Saturday. I had a really big paper due in one class and two projects due in another class. Plus all of my regular homework. Let's just say that I've been completely stressed this week. Somehow I managed to not have a panic attack and I made it through. See, I don't have class on Fridays...so my Thanksgiving break has officially started!! :) And even though my break will be filled with homework, (I truly just can't escape it) at least it will be spent with family and not in a classroom. So, I am thankful for Thanksgiving break! It came just in time.



looking forward to some time with the fam :)

USC

I get to go to my first USC game today :) I'm REALLY excited. even though they probably won't win. oh well. it's the experience that counts, right??

my lifesong...

I was listening to this song by Casting Crowns this morning. May my lifesong sing to Him for I was dead and now I live.

I once was lost, but now I’m found
I once was lost, but now I’m found
So far away, but I’m home now
I once was lost, but now I’m found
And now my lifesong sings

I once was blind, but now I see
I once was blind, but now I see
I don’t know how, but when He touched me
I once was blind, but now I see

And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings

I once was dead, but now I live
I once was dead, but now I live
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to You

right now...

I wish I could be in Africa watching these crazy kids dance...



but for today, I'll sit in my apartment and work on my Pathophysiology homework...boo. Maybe I'll put off this homework just a little longer and take a nap ;)

fall

pumpkin spice latte?? ....yes please!!

Fall is my favorite time of the year...and the pumpkin spice lattes are only one of the reasons that I love it so much.

so I say...bring on the Fall!!

P.S. Mom, thank you for the coffee :)

roomies :)

this year, I have 3 beautiful roommates that I love dearly. we have tons of fun together; laughter is a common occurrence in UP 312. Last Wednesday, the lovely Sarah Trout took pictures of us for our apartment. They came out great :)







I am so thankful for each one of these girls :)

Kris, Jess, and Meg...I love living with you!

"family"

I love my "family". I am incredibly grateful for these "brothers and sisters"...




This is more what we're actually like...




To Jess, Kristi, Tiff, Kelli, Trevor, Chris, Ryan, Kyle, and Josh... I love and appreciate you all :)

...

this homework is kicking my butt. 20 chapters of reading and study guides is no bueno. hopefully after this week, things will calm down and I will be on schedule. but for now, all I can say is thank the Lord for coffee and Pandora...

2 days down...

well I've survived 2 days of nursing school. Granted, it's pretty much just been orientation, but still. Within these last two days I've watched Osmosis Jones, heard how hard this journey is going to be over 50 times, met many of my current and future professors, and gotten my first stethoscope :) While I'm extremely nervous about how hard this program is going to be, I'm also super excited. I have some really great girls in my clinical group, and I'm so grateful for that. I'm looking forward to getting to know them better. This is going to be a crazy, long, and challenging journey. But, I'm looking forward to it :)

Oh. and within these last 2 days, I've been assigned about 15 chapters of reading over the long weekend. maybe I should get started...

today I wish...

I was back in Africa.

I'm missing these crazy kids today...





I'm so grateful for these kids. They changed my life. And, today, I wish I was with them.

happy to be back

I moved back to CBU on Tuesday. I love my new apartment so far...and I absolutely adore my roomies. I'm excited for this year :)






it's good to be back :)

looking forward to new adventures

Summer is coming to an end. It's kinda hard to believe since it's only the beginning of August. But, I move back onto campus next week. And, all of my lovely RA friends moved in today :) I'm super excited to get back to campus. I'm really excited for my apartment. And I can't wait to live with the 3 awesome girls that are my roommates. There are fun times ahead in UP 312 and I can't wait for them all! I'm also starting the nursing program this fall. And I'm really excited about that. I'm so happy to finally feel like I am a step closer to graduating and becoming a nurse. I'm also really nervous about it because I know it will be really challenging. But...it will be a good growing experience, right?? There are a ton of new, exciting, and slightly scary things coming very soon. And I'm looking forward to experiencing them all and becoming a better person because of them. In an effort to embrace the new things (and also because I was just bored with it...) I got my hair cut today. Like, I chopped it all off today. And...I like it :) Here are the before and after pictures...


before


after

this has been a wonderful summer and I am SO very excited for the new adventures that fall will bring.

beautiful women

I was blessed with a wonderful staff full of beautiful women. These women have impacted my life so much and I love each of them dearly. Yesterday, Holly got married :) And most of us were able to be there to celebrate her day. Holly made a beautiful bride. And it was absolutely wonderful to be reunited with my staff. I miss not seeing them all every day. I am so grateful that the Lord gave me the opportunity to be a part of Simmons staff 09-10. I'm so thankful for the sisterhood we share. My life has been changed by the friendships that I have with these women.

A couple of pictures from Holly's day...


me, Kell, and Jana


Simmons Staff 09-10 (minus a couple)

Summer Adventures

I'm loving this summer and the adventures it has brought...


little brother graduated from high school


Jolene graduated from college


I went to a Dave Barnes concert (which was incredible)


Mom and I went to the beach


my family went to the Del Mar fair


we went to the beach again...but this time we took Zeke...


and Sammy :)


and I watched Beaumont's fireworks with these lovely girls.

I'm looking forward to what else this summer brings...

Summer

I love Summer. I'm loving being home from school and getting to spend time with people. I love being able to spend time at home and also having the time to get to hang out with friends. I absolutely love being able to be more involved at church. I love getting to work in the nursery and playing with adorable kids. I love being able to babysit. I love spontaneous Disneyland trips. I love practically living at my best friend's house. I LOVE the beach. I'm definitely planning on going as much as possible. I'm going tomorrow :) My family took a trip to the Del Mar fair...which was tons of fun. And while the heat is not always my favorite thing, it hasn't been too bad so far. All in all, I am thoroughly enjoying my relaxing summer. I am loving this break before going into the madness of the nursing program at CBU (which I have been officially accepted into). I am so grateful for this summer :)

I'm looking forward to lots of this...



family + the beach


P.S. I'll post pictures from my summer adventures eventually

Uganda

As I said in my last post, I left my heart in Africa. I thought I'd blog a bit about what my team did and experienced. The 3 week trip is really hard to summarize, but I'll hit the highlights. And if anybody actually reads this blog and wants to know more about the trip, I'd be happy to tell you in person :)

My team did a few Vacation Bible Schools in and around the city of Jinja. We were given the privilege of going into a couple of villages and share with the children there. We would bring supplies to do a craft with the kids and we would tell a Bible story that corresponded with the craft. Then we would also sing a couple of songs. We had really awesome experiences every time we did a VBS. Here are a couple of pictures from the villages...


There were 250 people at our first VBS in the village


104 came forward to make a decision to follow Jesus


This little girl was adorable...and LOVED to sing louder than everyone else


On our second day in the village, they took our team to show us where the nearest well is


our VBS at Revival Christian Center

we did a couple more Vacation Bible Schools at a couple of other locations, but I don't seem to have pictures from them.

our team also helped with a youth conference at Calvary Chapel, Jinja. We all helped lead small groups.


my small group girls

all of our other time was spent at Living Hope Children's Home. I love those kids. They are a HUGE part of why my heart was left in Africa...and here are pictures of some of them...


Zuruta :)


Elijah and Dan


Hot Tamaly :)


Henry


Sharon


Jemimah :)

These are just some of the kids and these are just some of the pictures. There's a TON more on my facebook.

Our team also did some touristy stuff. We got to see the Source of the Nile, take a boat ride down the Nile, go to Bujagali Falls and some other stuff.

The trip was incredible and it changed my life. This was just a small glimpse of what it was like :)

Like I said...I left my heart in Africa.