Photo fun!!

Stealing home in Florida

Tobi and Victoria Beckham

Jessica's wedding


Dan and I in the wedding


I discovered this awesome site called http://photofunia.com/. You upload pictures and you can do some amazing things. I will warn you, once you enter the site prepare to not get up for another 3 hours. It's so fun! Here are some that I did...Anyways I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!!!!

I think I can I think I can....

This morning I had to pick up one of the kids I drive to school at 7:45 am. It's my winter break, and people my age are known for making bad decisions such as staying up till 2 am. It was hard to wake up and enter out into the cold. My mom kept telling me to give myself enough time. I dismissed her advice and took my time getting ready....bad decision #2. The roads were horrible, and I hit a ton of traffic. I decided to take the back roads (dirt). Among myself were trucks with four wheel drive for sure. I was certain I could make it. I looked for my phone, and couldn't find it. I accidently left it at home which brings us to bad decision #3. So if I hit a pot hole while busting a tire in the middle of the woods on the back roads I'd have to send a flare up. Anyways I get to this hill and my car just does not want go up it. My car spun out, and went all over the place. I was going backwards!!! I kept tapping my gas, and trucks passed me up a few times. It took ten minutes but I finally got up the hill. Snow is pretty for a couple of weeks, then I'm ready for summer to come back.... Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Quinn

So I should be studying for my statistcs exam that is at 1, but I decided to post instead. Last week while I was in Tennessee my sister adopted a kitten for me. I had told her how much I liked him, and he was just the cutest kitten I had ever seen. His name was Quinten, and he had 3 siblings. He was the only one that was solid gray. He has the prettiest eyes too. The first night I got him he somehow got out of his crate and woke me up at 5 am. I still don't know how he got out, but since then we just let him be free. He's such a good kitten. He hasn't done anything bad so far, just bite when he plays. Here are some pictures of him.

Back from Tennessee

Well my mom and I came back from Tennessee yesterday. It rained from Tennessee all of the way to Hall road, then it was snow. We listened to hard drops of rain for 12 hours straight. There were definitely some bonding moments during our screaming fits over getting out of the car. We had such a great trip with my grandparents though. I didn't want to leave. We left Tuesday night spur of the moment at 6:30 pm. We had reservations at a hotel, so we decided to go instead of wait till the morning. Our hotel was the Baymont in Lexington Kentucky...if my mom would have stayed asleep I would have just driven straight through. I do have a great shot of her sleeping, she would kick me if I put it up here though. We got to our hotel, and noticed right away that it was on the freeway. It was about 1:00 am so we decided to just go to sleep. At that point I would have slept in the car. Our room was facing the highway, so every 3 seconds it sounded like a plane was taking off. The light was flicking on and off in the bathroom, it was hilarious. Then the next morning I was waiting to take a shower and I heard my mom messing with the knobs in the shower. Apparently it wouldn't shut off. If she turned them one way hot water would come out of the faucet onto her feet, the other would spray cold water out of the shower head. I couldn't stop laughing. If you want to hear the sound effects of this episode, just ask. All I was looking forward to was the continental breakfast. It was decent, I would give it about an 8 out of 10. The bananas were too ripe. We then got to my grandparents and relaxed. They took us out to Ruby Tuesdays which is my favorite ever. We all got mini hamburgers, they were cute. My grandma made an awesome thanksgiving dinner. It was top notch. She made two pies and they seemed to last the whole trip. She always seemed to offer me the pudding pie when I was already in a lactose coma, she means well. The weather was beautiful, and in the sixties the whole trip. One night we went on a walk, and the stars were amazing. It's unfortunate we don't get to see them as easily here. There were millions everywhere. We watched a few movies with them, and talked a lot. My tradition is to go horseback riding, so I made my mom go. I usually have the horse named "wrangler" but someone already took him. They brought me a beautiful horse named tattoo. When the girl brought him to me she told me he was slow and eats everything on the trail. Come to find out she wasn't lying. We did the hour and a half trail. Every chance tattoo got he ate something. They kept telling me to kick him because I was about 100 feet from the group. I kicked him with all of my might, and he didn't budge. It was so fun though. Here are some pictures!

Tennessee time

I have made my own tradition of going to see my grandparents every Thanksgiving in Tennessee. This will be my third year, and I can't wait to go. I love going on road trips, and making memories. In the past I have brought a friend, but this year my mom is going with me. My grandparents are honestly my best friends. I feel like they are my parents, and they are amazing people. My grandfather was in the air force, and my grandmother raised her six brothers and sisters when her mother had died when my grandma was only 18. These are just two amazing things about them. I love hearing their stories, and how they survived life. My grandpa didn't get far in school, but he is the smartest man I know. Along with these trips comes some randomness. While Madison and I were there last year my grandpa started pulling out alcohol from forever. Then he got to a little tiny medicine bottle. I had no clue what it was...then he says "this is 120 proof.....moonshine" It was so funny to me that he had this. It's illegal, and in many old country songs...In the middle of the night we stole it to take pictures. Just the smell of it could knock you over. He won't tell us where he got it from, just that it came from the "hill people" riiggghhhht. So change of subject but I have been finding these little awkward worm type bugs all over my house. Two were in my room, one in the kitchen, and one on my bed!!! Sickkkkk. I caught two of them and brought them over to our family get together to learn that everyone knew what they were...pantry pests. Cute. My uncle said they are only killed by bombing the place, and setting up traps. He said they eventually grow wings. I asked him what stage the horns come in, geesh. I'm totally grossed out to sleep in my bed. I set up two traps, and got a bomb for when I leave. Ewwwwwwww

If you want me to

I need to watch this video every day. It's such a pretty song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvqbDiOjuwE

Praise You in this storm

I had a couple of down time days, and they weren't fun at all. This song by Casting Crowns is just so powerful. Every time I hear it, I get goosebumps. Even during bad times we need to still praise Him through it all. I have learned that if I let myself sit in my sadness, satan wins. I'm to the point where no matter what, I will still give Him all of me. Whatever satan tries to throw at me to bring me down, it won't matter. I will still praise Him.


I was sure by now,
God, that You would have reached down and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen and it's still raining as the thunder rolls I barely hear
You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"and as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away.
And I'll praise you in this storm and I will lift my hands for
You are who You are no matter where I am and
every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side and though my heart is torn I will praise You in this storm
I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You and raised me up again my strength is almost gone
how can I carry on if I can't find You and as the thunder rolls I barely hear
You whisper through the rain "I'm with you"and as
Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away
I lift my eyes onto the hills where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Updates!!!

So kickboxing was a little better this week. I actually brought my mom this time as a guest. She's a cute little mom. She was nervous, but she got the hang of it. That class really motivates me to get back into my healthy habits. So this is really random, but has anyone attempted to do a somersault as an adult? I haven't in years. I was just wondering if anyone suffered injuries after doing one? I did one, and gave myself a migraine, and hurt my back. Who invented those anyways? We are not rollie pollies. It's alright though, it made the kid laugh, and that's all that matters. I have recently been addicted to the game text twist. If you have never played it, it's amazing. I decided to buy it so I can play it during my finance class. I no longer know anything that is happening during class. It has completely stolen my attention. Anyways I have to get going to class. Hope everyone's week is going well!!

I didn't sign up for boot camp

I take the kickboxing class at Lifetime every Tuesday night...It alternates between a guy, and girl trainer. It's a moderate class, so I know it won't be the easiest. Last night it felt like I was at boot camp. We did so much stuff it's not even right. And if you leave the class full of 80 people you look like a wimp. Even half way through it I was struggling to stay on my feet. I woke up this morning feeling paralyzed! Muscles I didn't think I had are introducing themselves painfully for the first time. I love it though. Anyways, I almost adopted a kitten the other day, but found out while in the "aquaintence room" Madison and I are both most likely allergic. Glad we found that out before we got it. Hope everyone is having a great week!!!

FREE TACOS!!!

In case you didn't know I'm addicted to Taco Bell. If I was not lactose intolerant, I would eat there for every meal. Anyways as my roommate and I are driving down Rochester with intentions of going to Walmart, she randomly remembers that it's free taco day at taco bell. Of course I wanted to take advantage of this...was it really true??!?? We came up with the idea of going to as many taco bells in the limited time we had. We attempted four taco bells, but were only successful with three. (The one was not corporate owned) I wish I would have known this, it slowed us down a bit. We laughed every time as we ordered our free tacos. Every time they would ask "would you like anything else....so nothing else....ok" hahahaha. I called as many people as I could to tell of this amazing event. I even told people walking into Target as my roommate walked the other way embarassed. I got responses such as "They are!!!," and "No Way!!" I figured I would be a good citizen about it, and let my community take advantage....I did however forget that I had a kickboxing class an hour later...that was rough. Hope everyone is having a great week!!!

Almost time for graduation!!!

I scheduled my classes last week. It went very well! I will only have to take 4 more classes, while doing an internship, then I'm done. I wasn't expecting to be able to do my internship until the summer, but it looks like it's going to be next semester. I have to find a sports related internship by January. I have looked into a few places, but haven't heard back from anyone yet. We'll see what God has planned for me. On Thursday we presented at Oakland University for Disney. It was the best we have ever done. We had about 60 people show up. 47 set up interviews! It's usually like 15 people total, so I was very excited. We exceeded our goal of 21. I was so excited that I actually skipped my finance class to stay and talk to people (don't tell my mom.) Just kidding, she reads this anyways. Hi mom. Our family set a new record in Guiness book for singing "once upon a dream" 103 times with miss Belle Friday night. I loved it, it totally made my day. Unfortunately we did not get to see the outcome of the movie, but who needs that? I am sure I would have done the same when I was that age.

Pandora

There is a site called pandora that is like internet xm radio. It's awesome! It's free, and you type in the artist/song you want to listen to. You can have as many as you want, no commercials. (Sorry if I sound like I'm trying to sell something) I put in a ton of christian artists, and just let it play throughout the day. What's cool is it plays artists that are similar to the one you searched. So you end up learning about new artists. Check it out! http://pandora.com Hope everyone is having a great week!

Awesome Video

We have this painting up at school. Here's the process of it. http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=050e84e2a0f0b9fdeea1

Take a breath

So after 10 hours in the car I felt like doing something productive. I got out the new tv stand for my room, and decided to put it together. It's sauder, so it didn't look too hard. I am usually capable of building them. So I turned on wife swap, and started building away. It's amazing how hard the diagrams are to follow. It's like someone made them in the dark....I got to the last steps and noticed it wasn't looking like the picture at all. So I checked all of the A, B, C.... pieces. They all were right. The measurements must have been wrong, because it did not match up. I got so mad that I shoved it back in the box and cut my thumb. I guess I deserved that. The thing is I had listened to Joyce Meyer on the way home, and she has said a lot about not letting Satan use things to steal our joy. I got so mad that this little project wasn't working, that I actually hurt myself. I bet Satan loved that. Now I just have to take it apart....with a smile.

Good times in St. Louis

Jessica and Phil picked me up from the house, and I stayed with them for one night. It was a ton of fun. I got to see their cute apartment. I was the first guest to stay, and I even got to be the first to sleep on their blow up mattress. We went to the zoo, and it was free. It was a beautiful place, and all of the animals are really up close. You could even feed the giraffes! Jessica's comments are always making me laugh, but my favorite was when the leopard came out of where it was hiding and she says "Oh my gosh! Welcome!" I guess it doesn't come out much, so it was a pretty exciting event. Then we went to Union station, which used to be the old railroad station. It's now a mall, and pretty unique inside. Then we got back, and everyone was so tired. Their cat Hobbes is so cute. Then I got back, and we headed off to the kids' bounce party. It was at this huge building, and there were about 7 blow up bouncy things. It was incredible. I finally gave in and bounced myself. Man was that a workout. I'm starting to realize I don't have as much energy as I used to. Speaking of which, I'm going to have to hit the gym when I get back.....

Day #2

It's been a lot of fun so far here in St. Louis. This morning I woke up to apple cinnamon pancakes. (Pancakes are my weakness, I would rather go to I-hop than some fancy place for dinner) It was a nice drive here, not too bad. We had our laughs. I'm really excited to see Jessica and Phil! Supposedly we are going to the zoo, and I can't wait! More to come...

The chaos ends....

So today was most likely the busiest day of my life. I had some technical difficulties the last few nights. The school's website was down, so I couldn't get my assignments. Then last night our computer at home was acting up. I just wanted to get all of my work done. It's ok, because I got to play with Belle! Anyways I had a stats test, and a finance test. I took a deep breath, and prayed before both of them. I actually feel like I did well. I'm not the best test taker in the world. It's such a good feeling to be done with it all. Now I can enjoy my vacation in St. Louis! Madison and I drove to her parent's house in Fowlerville, and I love it here. We have been friends for 4 years and I haven't ever hung out at her house. It's really cute, and country out here. Her grandparents live right next door. Makes me miss living behind my grandparent's. Her grandma was out there gardening, it was cute. They are both from the south, so she is good with the home cookin'. We ate some pears from her pear tree, (mine had a worm in it, but I just smiled, and found the garbage.) Other than that it was a good pear. What are the chances of me picking the one with a worm? We leave tomorrow morning, and I'm so excited! We are staying with Madison's sister and kids. I even get to see my best friend Jessica. I can't wait! Hope everyone is having a great week! God Bless!

Set me Free

This is such an awesome video!!! Every time I feel down I just watch it. It reminds me of how much God is in control! Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w39vErgIMM&feature=related

For Bob

When I get where I'm going on the far side of the sky.
The first thing that I'm gonna do Is spread my wings and fly.
I'm gonna land beside a lion,and run my fingers through his mane.
Or I might find out what it's like
To ride a drop of rain
Yeah when I get where I'm going,there'll be only happy tears.
I will shed the sins and struggles,I have carried all these years.
And I'll leave my heart wide open,I will love and have no fear.
Yeah when I get where I'm going,
Don't cry for me down here.
I'm gonna walk with my grandaddy,
and he'll match me step for step,
and I'll tell him how I missed him,
every minute since he left.
Then I'll hug his neck.
So much pain and so much darkness,in this world we stumble through.
All these questions, I can't answer,so much work to do.
But when I get where I'm going,and I see my Maker's face.
I'll stand forever in the light,of His amazing grace.
Yeah when I get where I'm going,
Yeah when I get where I'm going,
there'll be only happy tears.
Hallelujah!I will love and have no fear.
When I get where I'm going.Yeah when I get where I'm going.


We love you Bob.

Oh to be young again

I wish I could go back in time, and not have to worry about school, work, and everything else. I would love to just be young again and have no worries. Like in this picture, I'm most likely thinking about when I get to watch Winnie the Pooh, and eat cheerios.

This week is so stressful it's not even funny. I have class, work, a paper due, a case study, a business journal, a stats test, and a finance test all before Thursday. It's out of control. Midterm week is not fun at all. Then I leave for St. Louis Thursday. I just pray that God doesn't let me get too stressed out with all of it. Just have to take one day at a time :)

Wrong number

So in between classes my roommate Madison and I went to the Village of Rochester just to look around. We were walking out of the parking lot joking about how miserably cold out it was. I took my phone out of my pocket and saw that I had a voicemail. I listened to it, and didn't recognize the voice, listened some more and realized it wasn't a call for me at all. It was a woman that said "Hi this is Nicole the nurse from Hospice. I was calling to remind you that I'm coming over to see Mark today" I felt terrible not letting these people know that they hadn't reached the right person. I immediately called back, got transferred a few times, and ended up leaving a message. It didn't hit me until later in the day. I wanted to cry thinking of this situation. I imagined the man was in bad shape knowing that Hospice was coming to his house. How old was he, how bad is he, does he have family and friends, what does he look like, does he know Jesus?....Tonight I pulled into the parking lot at the gym, and called my mom. I told her what happened, and that I missed my opportunity to help in some way. I could have helped this guy out, and it was right in front of my face. Then it hit me. Pray. Prayer is so powerful. Of course God put this in my path for a reason. Even though I would love to meet this guy and help out, God will take care of it. I prayed during my whole work out...even in the steam room (since all else you have to think about is how much you feel like you're on fire and can't breathe) Anyways I have a lovely morning of dealing with parent's of 4 year old basketball players at the Ymca tomorrow. I need some sleep.

God is awesome, and surprises me every day.

Ouch, my brain hurts

So out of all the 5 classes I have I think that my 8 am ethics class is the hardest on the brain. I thought it would be finance or stats...nope. Our teacher is a sweet old little man, totally harmless, but his class hurts my brain. Here is an example..."Is it ethical to bring food into a theater even when you're not supposed to." We talked about this for the whole hour and 15 minutes. People come up with the craziest reasons, and excuses. I'm sitting there thinking of the millions of treats and drinks I have snuck into the theater. I never even really thought about it. Here's another "If you're being chased by a tiger with a friend, would you stay hoping your friend would help you defeat the tiger, or run hoping it would eat your friend." I was just about to drift off into sleep until I almost choked hearing this. Here is my favorite..."You are driving out in the country, you hit a tree and your car flips over leaving your best friend/family member stuck and hurt. If you don't get help they will die. You find a house and run up to the door yelling for help, but the woman at the door gets scared and slams the door. Her child is outside next to you...do you 1) not harm the child 2) threaten to harm the child but don't actually hurt them. 3)threaten to hurt the child severely, but no long term damage 4) hurt the child with long term damage? People debate in our class the whole time. I just sit there and am entertained. I should bring some popcorn next time, it's better than a movie. Who thinks of this stuff?? Hahaha

The cold is here

I started writing a blog about my week, and I realized that it was not exciting at all. I decided to share lyrics to a song I really love instead. It's "Opposite Way" by Leeland. I went through a lot of changes this summer, good changes. It's such a good song to encourage change. Yes you have to give up things for God, and I wasn't willing to before. This song makes it so clear that it's ok to be different, and go against the flow. I have been tested so many times, and tempted to just give up. Lately I have witnessed what it's really like to fully give yourself to God. It's not easy at all, but when you really think about what you're doing, it's the only thing that matters. It's awesome to be at that point in my life. I'm glad I can go the opposite way of the world.

Living in the same town
For all these years
Doing the same old things
Hanging with the same crowd
And it’s starting to get crippling
You’ve never felt in place
And you tell yourself it’s all okay
But something’s different today
You want to run the opposite way
And it seems like you’re locked in a cage
And you need to find a way of escape
When everyone is setting the pace
It’s okay to run the opposite way
The Father sent His Son down
The light of men
The cross He bore was crippling
Rejected in His own town
They couldn’t see the sun shining
He knelt in the garden and prayed
Father, let this cup pass from me
It’s not Your will for me to stay
Your will for me is the opposite way
And it seemed like He was locked in a cage
And He couldn’t find away of escape
But through the cross He conquered the grave
My Jesus ran the opposite way
Oh, and through the cross He conquered the grave
Oh, He ran the opposite way
Yeah, through the cross He conquered the grave
So you could run the opposite way

A beautiful gift

On Sunday I went to go see Henry Poole is Here with my Aunt Shannie. It was my third time seeing it, but that's only because it's so amazing. I highly suggest going to see it. Last year my aunt Susie had taken her life, and it's still pretty hard to think about. After she had passed each of the nieces had gotten a bag with her jewelery. She had written our names on the bags and separated her things into each bag. This made me feel comfort that I could take a part of her with me. She and I were very close. I would spend up to three hours on the phone with her. She was the kind of person who would make you laugh until you cry. I used to tell her all of my problems, and she would simply make them go away with laughter. Anyways Susie had the tiniest fingers, and none of her rings fit me, because God blessed me with size 17 fingers. I was thinking of putting one on a chain, or even getting one re-sized. I never did, they just sit in my dresser. Before Susie had passed she used to tell me about how she was gaining weight, and that her fingers had gone up a few sizes. We would just laugh about it. Before the movie started my aunt Shannie pulled out a box. She said she had found it after cleaning up Susie's stuff in her extra bedroom. I opened it up, and it was Susie's wedding ring. A smile came to my face immediatetly. I couldn't believe out of my whole family I would get to have it. It meant the world to me. I tried it on, and it fit perfect (thanks to Susie's new ring size) God works in amazing ways. I feel like I have a part of her with me. It's funny looking at it closely at the marks and scratches on it, and wondering how they got there. That ring spent it's life with her. I know it sounds weird, but it's so cool to me. It was something always with her.

Anyways this morning was a gong show. I woke up, and my arms must have fallen asleep while I was sleeping. I woke up to my loud alarm clock, and couldn't turn it off. It was hilarious, but annoying. Then I got into the shower, and there was zero hot water. Let me tell you that was the quickest shower I have ever taken. I had to just keep telling myself some people aren't even fortunate to have clean water.

First Post!!!

Well I finally got a blog, and am pretty excited about it. Hopefully I can get the hang of how to use it. School has finally started, and I love it. I missed a lot of things about Rochester. As much as people complain about it (including me) it's still a great school. Maybe my thoughts would be different if I was still eating the cafeteria food..... Anyways my schedule is pretty crazy, but I seem to have it under control. I know God is guiding me, and showing me how to keep things in control. I'm finally wanting to do the best I can in school instead of just get by. I'm thinking about going down to Florida next fall and getting my masters at Southeastern University. It's another christian school, and it only would take me a year to get my MBA. I'm so excited!! I miss living there. The classes are night and online, so I would work Disney on the weekends, and probably somewhere else during the week. Then eventually move back to Orlando. Just gotta pass these finance, and stats classes....