Merry Christmas, friends! I'm writing this from my grandparents' house in Arvada, Colorado. It's been a wonderful Christmas celebration, and I thought about just writing about it myself. However, I happen to have a cousin who's a published author, so I recruited her to help me with this blog post. We had a lot of fun. Thanks, Alison!
What has this Christmas been like?
-We all got together to open presents and have fun.
-We ate really delicious food, and nothing got locked in the oven.
-Many people asked me questions about Florida.
-My mom and my cousin Alison accidentally coordinated their presents.
-We went to Christmas Eve service.
-During the candlelight singing of Silent Night, my aunt Valerie's hair caught on fire.
-It snowed!
-We played a lot of cards and board games (and I won at Life).
-We put together some towel packs of essentials for the homeless in Des Moines.
-We re-discovered the old miniature foosball table in my grandparent's basement.
-We also discovered an unopened box containing Windows 98.
-There was an exciting announcement, and much crying, screaming, and hugging commenced.
What will be different the next time we're all together?
-There will be more people in college: my cousins Haley, Shannon, Peyton, and Alison.
-My aunt Valerie and uncle Chris will be dealing with empty nest syndrome.
-My grandparents' dog Charlie will still be begging for food, and will probably be fatter.
-Grandma will be expert at using her iPad.
-The Broncos will have won the Super Bowl.
-My cousin Adrian will be even more ripped.
-My cousin Haley will have won seven swimming gold medals in the Olympics.
-My mom and my cousin Alison will coordinate their Christmas gifts on purpose.
-The Bruins will have won the Stanley Cup.
-My uncle Dave and aunt Keli will have traveled to all the continents.
-My cousin Alison and I will have won one foosball game (out of hundreds of attempts).
-My cousin Alison will have published another book.
-My aunt Keli will have created an award-winning world-renowned screenplay.
-My cousin Christian will excelling be in middle school.
-My aunt Laura will be enjoying not having empty nest syndrome yet.
-Grandpa will have read every book ever published.
-I will have a call to a church... somewhere.
-My brother Zach and sister-in-law Lindsey will be a lot more exhausted, because...
-our family will have grown by one!
That's right, the exciting announcement was that Zach and Lindsey are expecting a baby this July. The next time we're together, guess who will be getting all the attention?
Once I return home this Saturday, I will add another blog post just of pictures from Christmas!
Friday, December 26, 2014
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
The Party Has Arrived in the Midwest!
Hello, friends! I'm writing to you from my favorite chair in my living room in good ol' Urbandale, Iowa. It's wonderful to be back home. I arrived Monday afternoon and have been enjoying the cold and the company ever since. My parents were almost as happy to see me as my dogs.
Friday was actually pretty eventful. I had a coffee date with Michael in the morning - we went to Black Dog Cafe by Lake Ella. In the afternoon I volunteered at the food bank. When I returned, I was excited to find an e-mail from Laura Blank, one of the campus ministers from UCF. We've jumped into the planning process for Real Life College Faith, which you will hear more details about as it gets closer. After I gave a thorough reply to her e-mail, I ran some errands and then came back to church. Sarah came shortly after with her adorable puppy Ollie. He commandeered the plastic bottles from my recycling box and showed off how he can sit and beg.
On Saturday I mostly just lazed around. I slept in, watched a good amount of Castle, and packed for my trip home. Sunday I went to Bible study and worship, ate lunch at Voodoo Dog with Anna and Evan, hung out with the Winters in the afternoon, and finished my packing and preparation. Monday PJ kindly took me to the airport and in a few hours I was back in the Midwest eating my mother's pork roast and mashed potatoes.
It's going to be a rather busy vacation. Tomorrow I'm driving to see friends in Wisconsin (hence why I'm writing this post on Wednesday). I'll get back and spent about a week here before heading to Colorado for Christmas. We'll have our small family Christmas at my brother's place in Marion, IA over New Year's. And before I return to Tallahassee, PJ and I will attend the LCMS-U conference in St. Louis. It'll be busy, but fun and exciting!
I have two good pictures for you today. The first is of Ollie the adorable puppy, in the process of destroying a water bottle. The other is of me and my good friend Rachel from my home church, Messiah in Johnston. It was delightful to see everyone tonight at the Advent service!
Friday was actually pretty eventful. I had a coffee date with Michael in the morning - we went to Black Dog Cafe by Lake Ella. In the afternoon I volunteered at the food bank. When I returned, I was excited to find an e-mail from Laura Blank, one of the campus ministers from UCF. We've jumped into the planning process for Real Life College Faith, which you will hear more details about as it gets closer. After I gave a thorough reply to her e-mail, I ran some errands and then came back to church. Sarah came shortly after with her adorable puppy Ollie. He commandeered the plastic bottles from my recycling box and showed off how he can sit and beg.
On Saturday I mostly just lazed around. I slept in, watched a good amount of Castle, and packed for my trip home. Sunday I went to Bible study and worship, ate lunch at Voodoo Dog with Anna and Evan, hung out with the Winters in the afternoon, and finished my packing and preparation. Monday PJ kindly took me to the airport and in a few hours I was back in the Midwest eating my mother's pork roast and mashed potatoes.
It's going to be a rather busy vacation. Tomorrow I'm driving to see friends in Wisconsin (hence why I'm writing this post on Wednesday). I'll get back and spent about a week here before heading to Colorado for Christmas. We'll have our small family Christmas at my brother's place in Marion, IA over New Year's. And before I return to Tallahassee, PJ and I will attend the LCMS-U conference in St. Louis. It'll be busy, but fun and exciting!
I have two good pictures for you today. The first is of Ollie the adorable puppy, in the process of destroying a water bottle. The other is of me and my good friend Rachel from my home church, Messiah in Johnston. It was delightful to see everyone tonight at the Advent service!
Thursday, December 4, 2014
It's December, What?
Hello, friends! I apologize for my two-week hiatus from my blog. I intended to write another blog the weekend after my November 20th post, but I was entirely too exhausted, in body and soul. Then, of course, came Thanksgiving. But now I am back and I have lots to say! I'll try not to make it a novel.
First, an update on the events of November 20th. I think the campus has recovered fairly well. The new university president wanted campus to return to normal as soon as possible after the shooting, so the library re-opened the morning of November 21st. The only difference I noticed on campus that day was that there were news vans hanging out around the library. One really cool thing that happened at University Lutheran was receiving "Where Is God Now?" booklets from LCMS Disaster Relief. I know some of our students greatly appreciated them.
We had our TrueLife Thanksgiving potluck that evening, and I think it was well-timed. We were able to get together, eat some very tasty food, and just enjoy being with our fellow Christians and having fun. It was a release for everyone from the senseless incident of the previous day. The main attraction of the potluck was Caroline's roommate's kitten, who is a complete spaz. Enough said!
After Friday, I was back to the normal routine for a few days. We had a tailgate, Bible study, worship. I wrote devotions and contacted students. Then, I (finally) cleaned my apartment and drove to Panama City to pick up my parents from the airport! We had a great time together over the holiday. We spent Thanksgiving at Gary and Jessica's apartment, where we enjoyed wonderful food and conversation. We spent Friday and Saturday in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama, returned to Tallahassee for church on Sunday, and then spent the night in Panama City Beach before my parents departed on Monday. My favorite part of our travels is a tie between the white sand beaches and the dolphin tour we took! (Margaritaville was also a big hit!)
If you happen to see my dad anytime soon, make sure to ask him about the very nice park ranger. ;)
This week has been mostly normal. I volunteered at the Children's Home Society for the last time of the year. (Man, isn't that weird?) I wrote devotions, but in a new way, basing them on our new annual focus! I contacted and met with students. We had our weekly staff meeting. Yesterday evening was our German Christmas Service, which was really fun. Our choir was wonderful! (Also, I now have 2/3 of an apple pie if anyone would like some...) PJ, Matt and I had many laughs over PJ's sermon illustration. Today I went out to the community garden for the last time of the semester, and I got to jump in leaf piles. It was wonderful. After we returned, Elm and I went out to Food Truck Thursday!
You are now approximately up to speed on my life at this moment. The next time I write a blog, I'll be in Central time! :D
Here are some pictures. The first is me on Panama City Beach. I had accidentally arrived at the airport an hour early, and I thought, "Spend an hour in an airport, or spend an hour on the beach? Hmm..." The second is the light show we saw in Orange Beach. The third is the view from the private balcony off of our Sunday night hotel room. Awesome, right?
First, an update on the events of November 20th. I think the campus has recovered fairly well. The new university president wanted campus to return to normal as soon as possible after the shooting, so the library re-opened the morning of November 21st. The only difference I noticed on campus that day was that there were news vans hanging out around the library. One really cool thing that happened at University Lutheran was receiving "Where Is God Now?" booklets from LCMS Disaster Relief. I know some of our students greatly appreciated them.
We had our TrueLife Thanksgiving potluck that evening, and I think it was well-timed. We were able to get together, eat some very tasty food, and just enjoy being with our fellow Christians and having fun. It was a release for everyone from the senseless incident of the previous day. The main attraction of the potluck was Caroline's roommate's kitten, who is a complete spaz. Enough said!
After Friday, I was back to the normal routine for a few days. We had a tailgate, Bible study, worship. I wrote devotions and contacted students. Then, I (finally) cleaned my apartment and drove to Panama City to pick up my parents from the airport! We had a great time together over the holiday. We spent Thanksgiving at Gary and Jessica's apartment, where we enjoyed wonderful food and conversation. We spent Friday and Saturday in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama, returned to Tallahassee for church on Sunday, and then spent the night in Panama City Beach before my parents departed on Monday. My favorite part of our travels is a tie between the white sand beaches and the dolphin tour we took! (Margaritaville was also a big hit!)
If you happen to see my dad anytime soon, make sure to ask him about the very nice park ranger. ;)
This week has been mostly normal. I volunteered at the Children's Home Society for the last time of the year. (Man, isn't that weird?) I wrote devotions, but in a new way, basing them on our new annual focus! I contacted and met with students. We had our weekly staff meeting. Yesterday evening was our German Christmas Service, which was really fun. Our choir was wonderful! (Also, I now have 2/3 of an apple pie if anyone would like some...) PJ, Matt and I had many laughs over PJ's sermon illustration. Today I went out to the community garden for the last time of the semester, and I got to jump in leaf piles. It was wonderful. After we returned, Elm and I went out to Food Truck Thursday!
You are now approximately up to speed on my life at this moment. The next time I write a blog, I'll be in Central time! :D
Here are some pictures. The first is me on Panama City Beach. I had accidentally arrived at the airport an hour early, and I thought, "Spend an hour in an airport, or spend an hour on the beach? Hmm..." The second is the light show we saw in Orange Beach. The third is the view from the private balcony off of our Sunday night hotel room. Awesome, right?
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