My Life's Little Adventures

Life as of now

2008-11-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

So currently, I am attending Continental School of Beauty in Henrietta. I started school there in July and will be finished in February. I have been learning so many things right now I am capable of cutting hair, coloring hair, perming, relaxing, nails, and some skin care. It has always been my dream to do this and I'm having so much fun. It has been an experience so far as you could imagine being in a classroom full of women. Some days can get ugly but when it all comes down to it we're all there to do hair and learn how to deal with each other. This week I have discovered one of the hardest lessons I need to learn. How to have confidence in myself. I find myself afraid of letting me be me. I want the people around me to know who I am and what I believe in. Easier said then done. Life in the real world is not what I thought it would be but I have support and love from a God who is stronger than any of my biggest fears. So this is what is currently going on in my life. I'm going to try and keep up with this blog and post some of my hair projects! Stay tuned

*beauty tip #1* Tea Tree shampoo and hot water make a relaxing foot soak for a long day :)

2008-11-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful opportunity to work in Nicaragua with ADRA. It is by far one of the best things I have ever experienced in my life. I learned so much that writing it all down would take forever. I learned so much about myself, the country, the people and most importantly about God. We had our share of difficulties on this trip and it brought us all that much closer to God. We left Nicaragua with our building structured and with heavy hearts. The children and people of Nicaragua captured all of our hearts and leaving them was the hardest part of the whole trip. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my short time there. God is working in this little school and town. Continue to pray for these people they need our prayers every day!

ADRA CANADA TEAM IN NICARAGUA

The Three Amigos

Katie and I

Some of my students :D love them!

The kids loved to help us!

After a long hot sweaty day!

Some very beautiful girls!

Michael and I on and Island with a volcano in the back round (cant remember what one).

Pictures

2008-04-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

This is me enjoying the 70 degree weather this weekend!!

Michael and I at an Indian Restaurant in Red Deer.

Charlee and I... one of our finer moments :)

Reef and I at Tim Hortins! Ain't he so cue?!?!?

From left to right Harbour, Naultica, and Reef. The three children I babysat this year.

Decisions

2008-04-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

I picked this picture because it reminds me of home. Home is where I'll be really soon!!! I am so excited but really nervous at the same time. I have been doing a lot of contemplating lately about my life and my dreams. Lately I have been learning to let go of what others want in life and live the way I've dreamed. Don't get me wrong I'm not rebelling. I still take what others think into consideration and respect advice. Its just that their are a number of things I've wanted to do with my life and I've decided to follow through with them regardless. I decided to take next year off (if all goes to plan) and get my license to do hair. I plan on attending The Continental School of Beauty in Henrietta and moving back to CUC and continuing my education after I'm finished. I want to do this for a number of reasons. It has always been my dream to do hair since I was a little girl and I figured what better time to do it than now? I also would like to have something I can fall back on in the future and have a decent job to get me through school. Doing hair has so many possibilities. I feel like this will give me a chance to grow for myself and make me become a more social person and met new people! I think it will be a fun experience and I'm so excited but so scared at the same time because one of my dreams is actually becoming a reality (like my Nicaragua trip!). I still want to continue my education here at CUC because as my mom says I owe it to myself to finish. I've come to the end of my second year of college and it would be a shame to put that all to waste. So I'm not giving up on that!

I don't know what the future brings but I'm for once in my life excited about this decision! I know that God has a plan for my life and I can't wait! Please continue to keep me in your prayers and thank you for all of your love and support!!!

~Black Tie Evet~

2008-03-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

So this morning I woke up and ate brunch in the cafe and ran back to my room to get ready to go to the mall. Charlee and I had to find dresses for our black tie event! We were told that you had to dress up really nice for this event. The choir was putting on this dinner to raise money for their bejing trip. They are going to be performing for the olympics this summer and singing with Harvard! CUC choir is moving up in the world! But anyways so we got tickets thanks to Mamma D and Mr. K. So Charlee, Steve, Michael and I all piled in the bug and headed to the mall in Red Deer. When we got there we walked into the entrance where a grocery store called Safe Way (kinda like Wegmans in NY) was and we found that they had a Starbucks!!!! We decided to start our spending event with some Chocolate Chip Frappichinos! They were so yummy!!! So we all headed into the mall we peeked in and out of a few stores until Charlee and I found a store with ton's of dresses! Needless to say we were trying on a bunch of dresses until we finaly fould some! It was an adventure shopping let me tell you but it was so much fun! We managed to find our dresses rather quickly and headed back to the school to get ourselves ready. We were cramped for time but managed to get everything done and make it to the dinner on time. We were entertained by some of the Choir memebers and the food was chineese style. We piled our plates high with food and filled our tummys till they couldn't hold anymore. It was a really fun night full of good food and fun pictures!

Working

2008-03-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

So I am working at the front desk right now, from 5pm-7pm. I don't mind this shift too much. Usually people just call and ask what time supper is. It usually gets quiet when everyone leaves for supper. So nothing exciting has been hapening so far today. I took the hardest test of this semester this morning. It was in Chemisty. I'm actually taking a science class called Physical Science which is a really general overview of Physics, Astrology, Chemistry and something else not sure what that is yet. But yeah it kicked my butt! I'm just relieved that it's over with now. I'm so thankful that its the weekend. The past few days have been really stressful and I'm anticipating a quiet weekend. Yesterday I worked ten hours babysitting, went to class and studied. I was saposed to work from 1am to 3am but thankfuly someone switched shifts with me! All I have to say is thank God it's friday!

Well since my last blog I decided to wait everything out. Or maybe I'm just ignoring the circumstance but right now I can't afford to dwel on it. We have one week of classes left and finals are coming up!! This semester flew by so fast! I'm excited about this summer and that brings my spirits up. I know God has a plan for my life and I'm not going to give up on my dreams. Like Noami told me the other day, you just have to keep positive and surround yourself with positive people. I am thankful for the encouragment I have been getting lately! I know God always works for the good of those who love Him. The challenges we face never go away. There is always something we struggle with in life, but God always works them out for the good. How would we ever grow if we never had struggles that made us fully depend on Him? My God is so good and I am humbled to be his child. So if you are facing troubles just know that Jesus loves you and knows your heart and will be with you!

Thanks for all your love and prayers!

Don't Give Up, You are Loved!

2008-03-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well today started out ok. I woke up at 8am to clean for two hours then I went to my science class and had lunch. I sat with Michael in the lobby for about an hour until he finished his paper and went to work. Then I went to my room and laied down for a little bit. I decided I needed todo something productive so I decided to go to the finance office to start my financial clearance for next year, something I have been procrastinating. So I called and asked if I could come in and meet with one of the ladies. I got there and was really anxious. I prayed for good news and as soon as we started figuring good numbers things started to look not so good. We came up with a plan for next year but everything depends on this summer. I have to come up with a big lump sum again to come out here in the fall. I basicly have two months to come up with $4,ooo. I know its not imposible but right now it just feels like a lot. Well the lady that is head of the finance office came in to speak with me. She tried discussing a few options with me, none of which really seemed to be possible and asked me wether I have considered going to a different school. I almost cried! My journey here to CUC has not been easy but God has carried me though He has provided for me and right now I'm trying to figure out what to do next? I feel like He wants me to be here but at the same time I feel like maybe I need to be going in a different direction. So many options have run through my mind today and I'm still feeling lost. I just need all of your prayers. I need to decide what to do for next year. I know God is with me and will continue to do so I just need to know what direction He wants me to go in. I don't think its all about the money right now. Please pray for me.

Reading break... or something like that

2008-03-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, sorry everyone this has taken me so long to update my blog. This semester if flying by me so fast its almost over! I'm on a reading break right now and I have yet to do any reading. I am currently enjoying sitting on my bed listening to music and typing. I have been productive today. I woke up at 8:00 this morning insted of sleeping in. Trust me it was tempting! So I cleaned the whole downstairs insted of sleeping. I cleaned the lawndry room, chapel, kitchenett, and the chatter box (movie room). Cleaning is what I did. Then I ate a really yummy breakfast that the dean and some students made. Yummy pancakes and veggie links. Then after I finished stuffing myself a group of us sat and talked and decided to watch a movie. We watched the Attonment. It was a really good movie it was my second time watching it but it was still good the second time. Anyways then after watching that movie Michael and I decided to wash the bug. We took it to the wash and Michael had a blast! Needless to say it was squecky clean. Then we decided to do some deep interior cleaning. It was amazing. I'm sure he'll post pics on his websight. So after that we ate supper and went out for ice cream. It was a fun day. Yesterday was a blast too we went to the west edmonton mall and I finally rode the indoor rollercoaster! It was crazy insane!!! I thought I was going to have a heart attack! So reading break has been good so far and I have yet to do some reading. Oh the pic is from St. Pattys day. If you want to see more you'll have to go to Michael's websight www.pbase.com/justanotherconcussion. I hope you all have a good weekend! I love and miss my familiy so much! Oh and keep our Nicaragua team in your prayers we have about 40 days until we leave and we really have to come up with funds!!! Gotta run!

Thief of Always

2008-03-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

This is just a song by Jaci Velasquez that I found encouraging. I think its good to evaluate the way we live our lives sometimes. This song just impressed me and I hope it encourages you.

Before the winter chill has gone,
The springtime rivers rise.
Before the setting sun has disappeared,
The moon is rising high.
And time waits for no man;
Seasons come and go.
In the midst of an ever - changing world,
This one thing I know:

You've got to live every moment
As though it was your last,
Before the thief of always
Steals tomorrow from your grasp.
Before the chance to know His love
Has somehow passed you by,
Let your heart reach out, right here, right now,
For the Lord to touch your life.

Before the trees have shed
Their autumn gold to leave the barest bark,
The frost beneath our feet will sparkle bright,
Like crystals under the sky.
And time waits for no man;
Seasons come and go.
In the midst of an ever - changing world,
This one thing I know:

You've got to live every moment
As though it was your last,
Before the thief of always
Steals tomorrow from your grasp.
Before the chance to know His love
Has somehow passed you by,
Let your heart reach out, right here, right now,
For the Lord to touch your life.

Don't ever doubt that God can lift us high.
Allow the flame of Heaven to be our guide.

Live every moment
As though it was your last,
Before the thief of always
Steals tomorrow from your grasp.
Before the chance to know His love
Has somehow passed you by,
Let your heart reach out, right here, right now,
For the Lord to touch your life. Oh...

Ouch!

2008-03-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

So Monday Night was saposed to be our last soccer game. We were playing a team from Lacombe in Red Deer at the Collicut center. I was nervous just like any other game and anticipating a win. My line was starting first. Desarie was to my left and Natasha to her left. I was playing right wing. We started off a little rough but the intensity of the game picked up after the first few points were scored. We were down 5-1. Some how I maniged to kick the ball so hard it went through the goalies hands and her feet and into the net!!!!! I was so excited and so shocked that the ball actually went in! So right after this whole event we lined up again to begin another play. The intensity of the game picked up a bit more and my ambition grew quite big. My aponint was getting readdy to boot the ball down the court when I put my foot in the way to stop it. Some how in the mix of it all my foot twisted inward and I heard pop! Imediately I fell to the ground and grabed my foot and knew it wasn't going to be good. I admit I screamed a little it was more out of OH CRAP! than anything. I couldn't feel anything at first and my teamates and coach came out to see what happend and brought me over to our bench. As soon as I sat on the bench I began to cry because the pain begain to kick in. Getting my sock and shin guard off was a pain! Luckly Michael brough me some ice and Charlee, Steve and Michael comforted me. While I was sitting on the bench in pain I watched what little of the game that I could. My injury put a little big of optomisim in my mind while watching the game. It put a different perspective on things for me. I usually stand on the sidelines and yell at my team but for some reason I decided to look at the good things my team was doing. Our game that night ended with a score of 6-3. We lost but it was the most our team had scored in a game! I was pretty proud of my team that night. As far as my ankle... well I went to the doctors the next morning and got it looked at. They took x-rays to make sure it wasn't broken sure enough it wasnt! I was quite thankful for that for many reasons! I think this has taught me to be more patient and thankful. I have a really good boyfriend and roomate who have been really helpful and patient with me. So thats the update for now. I'm going to go hobble around on my crutches. Stay tuned for another blog update! Charlee will appreciate it! hehehehehehehehe

Happy Sabbath

2008-03-08T08:45:00.000-08:00

So I have been reading the book of Psalm for my devotional for the longest time. I plan on finishing it this weekend but it seems that there are so many good verses. I usually read one or two before I go to bed every night and somehow they alway seem to fit my day perfectly. When I first started to read it It seemed like a rolar coaster. It seemed that no matter what God had done people would prais him and then question him. Sometimes I feel my life is like this that no matter what mericles he has put in my life I always seem to question. But I think the questioning is a good process. How do you learn if you don't ask questions and go out on a limb? My favorite verse today comes from Psalm 130. "If you O Lord, kept a record of sins, O lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Isreal, put your hope in the Lord for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Isreal from all their sins." I really love this verse. God is so good and so full of love. It doesn't matter who you are or what your sins are He is always there holding out His arms waiting to embrase you and whipe everything away and bring you into his kingdom. Sometimes this is so hard to grasp because we as humans tend to hold onto pain. When someone wrongs us we tend to hold onto that "sin" even after we say I forgive you. Thankfuly God is not like that. His forgiveness is so deep and so full of love. I don't know how we could live without it.

Ok so I should probibly get back to work now... I just thought I should share this with you all! Have a Happy Sabbath and a good weekend!!!

3 years

2008-03-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

Yeah so I didn't update this last weekend. On March 1st 2008 was Michael and my 3 year anniversary. We began our celebration with a yummy dinner at the Olive Garden in Edmonton. It was so nice to have yummy food. Michael got linguine alfredo and I had cheesey ravioliees of course. Prior to our stuffedness we spent about 50 minutes in the West Edmonton Mall shopping. Michael got me a new pair of shoes and a bathing suite(not to wear at the same time*ahem Charlee) for our extended celebration the next day. Ok before you get the wrong idea we were going to Banff to the natural hot spings and see the mountains. So needless to say that is what we did on Sunday. We left the dorm at 8am and were on our way to see the beautiful mountains in Banff. We arrived in good time it took us about 3 hours with two pit stops at Tim Hortins (breakfast and a pee stop). We parked the bug and headed up to the Gondola that took us to the top of the mountain! It was so beautiful and cold! It was a sereal experience to be ontop of a mountain and being surrounded by mountains. Michael of course had a field day with his camera and got some really good pictures. We headed back down the mountain on the gondola again and headed to the hot springs. We were both looking forward to this after being so cold. When we got to the building to pay for our tickets to get into the hot springs we found out they were closed and wouldn't be open till later that night. Unfortunatly we didn't get an extended curfew so we wern't able to do that. Disapointed we decided it was time to go back to school. Michael wanted to take a more senic route back and found about a half hour later getting to that road that it was closed due to weather conditions. So we decided to turn around and headed toward the British Colombia border which we wern't so far from. We explored a few kelometers into BC and decided to head back to school. We shared a lot of good laughs on the ride home despite the disapointments. It was a really fun anniversary. Oh and I forgot to mention Michaels gift, I made him a 20page scrap book in less than a week! He was pretty surprised and thought it was a really good gift. It was a fun and memorable anniversary.

Homesick

2008-03-02T22:31:00.000-08:00

Things just kinda hit me today. I think it was on our way back from banff that I realized something. It was a car I saw that started my thinking, it was a Rav-4 same color as my moms car and it made me think of home. I started to think of all the things I enjoyed as a girl, sitting on my dads front porch watching the rain fall and dreaming of what my future would be like. I loved to play in the back yard with my sister and my baby sibblings. Now everything seems to have fast forwarded and I can't make it stop! Everyone is getting older, my sibblings are growing so big, I miss them all. I miss my family a lot. First semester here at CUC I felt homesick a lot but this semester it hasn't hit me until now I guess. Its almost over I know five more weeks but I'm ready to go home. The sad thing is that when I go home it wont be the same. I have to grow up! I have to make my own home, work and live my own life. I am excited and anticipating it but I'm scared at the same time. I miss how simple life was as a child. I wish I could be like the kids I babysit, they run laugh and play all day without a care in the world, the only struggle they have is spankings every once and a while. If only life was like that again. I remember my dad telling me when I was younger to enjoy being a kid and that most of your life is spent being an adult. It's so true. Childhood flys by so fast and then we have to grow up, get jobs and pay taxes until we die. Blah! So borring. I think I'm just not ready to grow up! Can't I regress? I am happy though I am living my dreams, I have always wanted to graduate from high school and get a degree in college. I'm living that dream right now. I will have the most education so far in my imediate family. And soon I'll be traveling to a different country where they speek spanish and I can learn of a new culture! (it has always been a dream of mine since i was little) I guess I just have to keep telling myself things in life don't always come easy, you have to work hard for what you want and pray to God for strength and patience. Its like the speaker said this weekend at church you don't gain faith by miracles but through trials and resistance. He explained it like working out in the gym, they only way to strengthen your muscles is by resistance and its the same with faith. If you don't use your faith muslces how are you going to grow? I guess my temporary troubles and stresses with school will pass and God will guide the rest. I just hope my family knows that I love them very much and I think and pray for you every day! Even if I'm not there God is and He is the closest thing we have to eachother.

So Tired

2008-02-29T01:11:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! It is 2:11am here in alberta and I am so tired! You might be asking why don't you just go to bed?! Well I'm working at the front desk in the dorm. It's rather uneventful right now. A guy from west jet just dropped off a piece of luggage from edmonton, which is an hour away. You know what he dropped off?? A SLEEPING BAG!!!! That had to be a pretty sucky trip. lol. Kinda comical if you ask me then again anything seems pretty funny right about now. I have been up since 5:45am yesterday morning! Well with the exception of a two hour nap before work. I had soccer practice yesterday morning. I didn't want to go but was so glad that I did because it turned out to be a really good practice! Now if we could only play like that in a game!Anyways so after practice I quickly ran back to the dorm took a shower and walked to work. I babysat for about 4 hours and got to leave early to study for my exam! So far this week I have had a math test on wednesday, developmental psychology test on thursday and now I'm anticipating my third test in science later today! I will be so glad when its all over. I don't see how having this many test can be a healty thing for a person. So anyways here I am working front desk. I'm imagining my nice cumfy bed with fluffy pillows and soft sheets.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ahem ok im awake again. Well I guess I should find something productive to do with myself for the next forty minutes. I hope everyone is sleeping well and enjoys their weekend!

Happy Sabbath!

2008-02-23T08:24:00.000-08:00

So I am working at the front desk now and have only been here for 24 minutes. I was reading my bible and felt really encouraged. A verse that really impressed me was Pslam 106 verse 1; Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever. In chapter 106 and 107 its talking about Moses and his people and how they kept straying away from God even though He delivered them so many times. It made me think that no matter how many times I fall down God is always there to pick me up! I am so thankful and blessed to have such an awsome God! It also brought another good point to my mind. Reading these two chapters I thought how could these people reject God after He has been so good to them? I realized that sometimes I do the same thing. I need to, and I challenge you to, take time every day to see how God is leading in your life. He is always there and is always ready to help. This is such an uplifting thought! "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."

ADRA Mission Trip Summer 2008

2008-02-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

So as you can see this is a picture of Nicaragua. I have signed up to help build a school and some housing for the teachers of Managua, Nicaragua. A select handful has been chosen to go from CUC and we are helping the people of Nicaragua through ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency). We begin this adventure in May. We are not sure what date exactly yet (we still need to buy tickets) but it should be around the 1st or the 4th and we will be returning in mid June. It will be a total of six weeks. I am super excited to finaly have the oportunity to go to a spanish speaking country. It has always been a dream of mine because I want to learn the language, be in their culture, and help the people! I think this is going to be an amazing trip. I can't wait to meet new people, learn of their culture and just be of good service. We were brefed last thursday about the information for this trip and will find out more as we get closer. For now though our goal is to each come up with $1,800. So if anyone is interested in donating let me know! For now our focus is on fundrasing and getting all the necesary paperwork done. I am excited to have this oportunity and see how God is going to bless! Right now I can honestly say I have mere cents owned to my name but if God really wants me to go on this trip I know He will provide abundently! He has done it before in my life and I'm excited to see Him do it again. I challenge you as well if you want to see God working in your life tell Him to do so and you will be so blessed to see the results!

Day after Valentines

2008-02-15T13:09:00.000-08:00

So it's the day after Valentines. Yesterday was a bussy day for me but a good day. I spent most of my day babysitting. The day before valentines day I was bussy making cupcakes for the kids I babysit and for some friends. I thought it would be a fun idea to have a little party with the kids and make a special treat for my friends. So on valentines day I brought the cupcakes to work along with some blue's clues valentines day cards. The kids were so excited about the cupcakes!!! They had a blast writing on all the cards and slipping them under the doors of their baby sisters room, putting them on their grandmas bed and handing a ton to their mom! It was really fun to see the kids having fun. I think it was the first time they celebrated Valentines day. So I told the oldest Harbour that when she gave the Valentines day card to someone she had to tell them Happy Valentines day and that she loved them. It was really cute. Reef the middle child is still young to understand but he had so much fun. It was a really good day with the kids. When I put Harbour to bed she gave me a huge hug and told me she loved me. It was so sweet. I am really thankful for those kids. They have taught me so much! So after working I walked back to school and ran up to the ABC to drop off some cards to be mailed out and picked up a card and some candy for Michael. I think he knew I was up to something. I felt bad because I didnt really get to a chance to make something or have time to be creative but he seemed pleased with the card and candy:) So after classes it felt great to finally be on break! We kicked off our break and Valentines day to a movie in the small little theater in Lacombe. We watched Fools Gold. It was a funny and adventures movie. It turned out to be a pretty good Valentines day. The picture up top is of the flowers I got from Michael the night before Valentines day. I will write more later about my upcoming Mission trip to Nicaragua!!!!!!! Stay tuned!

Hakuna Matata

2008-01-28T11:40:00.000-08:00

So I will begin saying It is soooooooo COLD today!!! Right now it is minus 40 outside!! It has been so cold since yesterday. As you can see from the picture above our window on the forth floor had frost on it when I woke up this morning! Last night was our Student Association Banquet and the theme was Hakuna Matata (Lion King) it was really fun. We left the dorm around 4:30pm running to the bus in negative 30's or so weather! It was fun running outside in open toed heals and a dress!! All the girls were frozen! It was a adventurest night. So we went to a restaurant in Red Deer that was all decorated in a jungle theme and the tables were nicely decorated with a fish in the middle (hence the picture). The fish we had at first were a little sickly looking so we switched them with another table that was empty :) (we found out later that one of those fish died). I got to keep the fish on our table so Charlee and I have a new pet in our room. I named them speckle and dot. It was a really fun night oh and the picture of Michael with the panty hoes on..... well they had four guys come up and blindfolded they hand to put panty hoes on up to their knees and Michael won! Don't ask me how he knew how to do that but um yea... it was funny. He won a candle that he gave to me. After our yummy food and fun events at the restaurant we headed out to the bus again and headed out to the bowlorama. We bowled in the dark with disco lights. It was so fun our team keept getting strikes. Oh and I forgot to mention for all of my family members who have never heard of five pin bowling.... it is so fun! There are five pins and a tiny ball! It was a really good night. So thats my update now I have to run because I have class in 15 minutes! I hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Time

2008-01-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

This semester has given me time. I am only taking three classes and I have two jobs sometimes three. I know you maybe asking time... what time??? My earliest class this semester begins at 10:55am. I work tuesdays and thursdays babysitting and on weekends I spend a couple hours working in the dorm front desk. Some times durring the week I'll clean some of the dorm as well. I feel as though I have so much time. How I spend this time though can be challenging. Mornings lately have been a bit of a challenge. I just want to sleep as long as possible and I know I could be waking up early to study or do something productive. The more time I find myself with the more I begin to think and evaluate. I find myself going through a list of senarios of how I can plan my life... where to go... things to do. I have contemplated taking a year off and becoming a missionary. I have also contemplated the could of beens as well.... what would it have been like if I stayed home or what would it have been like if I went to this school or that school ... I find myself thinking too much. BUT..... when I start to worry or start to feel discouraged I read my bible and I try and think how God has blessed me so much already in my life. I can't control what happens in my life all the time, I have choices to make but somethings can't be changed. The way my family is can be complicated but I wouldn't choose a differnt one ever! I have learned so many valuable lessons through my family and their struggles that it has made me who I am today. God has blessed me with such a diverse family. It seems as though no matter what decision I make in my life God is right there with me when I make them. Some times my decisions can lead to pain but somehow God makes the best out of every situation. My life today would not be the same if I did not know Him. I have peace that I would not have otherwise. I have a love that beats all other love. I wish everyone could know how great God's love is, how He can make you feel like royalty when this world makes you feel like dirt. I know one thing for sure I want to make my time more devoted to showing people God's love. If you just forget religion and all the rules for a moment and realize the love that God has for you, it can change your whole world around. This is what I feel God wants from me lately. To take my time and share His love to others.

2008-01-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas Break and Happy New Year 2008!

2008-01-07T14:27:00.001-08:00

Well Christmas break at home was way too short! I'm missing home already! It was a good break and it was so good to see my family and friends. Most of my break was spent working at a company called the Scholars Choice in downtown Rochester. When I wasn't working I was spending time with my family, running around doing last minute christma shopping oh yeah and painting/rearranging my room! We had our annual Gauck/Parrish Christmas party. It was really nice to see the whole family. It seems like each year it grows! My Christmas break ended with our drive out to CUC. Michael, Charlee, Azalea and Myself all put our clothes in ziplock baggies and headed out across canada in the little blue VW Bug! It was quite an adventure thank God we made it to CUC all in once piece!

20 YEARS!

2007-12-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was a big day for me. Twenty years old! It seemed like another day to me and I felt like birthdays are just overated. Once you get older you have to go to work or school and its just not the same as when you were a kid. So yesterday I slept in and went to work for the day. After work I was quite hungry and wanted to go to the cafe. Michael was waiting to go with me and as we headed outside he said he forgot his card so he couldnt pay for the meal, so we went back inside the dorm so he could get his key card. When we went inside he took me downstairs to the chatter box and opend the door. To OUR surprise......... no one was there! Everyone was still up in the lobby trying to get my surprise birthday put together. It was quite funny and memorable. Needless to say we had pizza and ice cream cake for supper. It was a fun night with friends and good food. Michael also got me a bunch of reallly pretty daisies. It was a fun night. Thinking back on it now I'm really blessed to have such a supportive and loving family. I had so many cards on my desk from everyone. I'm very thankful for my family and friends for all their love. I can't wait to go home next week for christmas break! One week from today I will finally be on the east coast. It feels so close yet so far away. The only thing keeping me is four finals. Soon it will be all over! I'm so excited! Well I should be off to my last class of the semester!

Happy Birthday Michael!

2007-11-29T22:28:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Michael's birthday party! He got some loving spankings from his older sister and in tern she got some lovely boys boney butts on her lap! It has been quite an eventful day and I'm quite tired, I will write more later! Home is just a few days away!!! Thank GOD!!

Random Events

2007-11-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a while since I've added anything in here. It's been really bussy at school these past few days. Saturday night my roomate Charlee got in a car accadent and we drove out to Calgary which is an hour away from school at like 11pm to get her. Her car was pretty damaged but her and the passenger (Josh) are fine, just a couple of bruses and a bit shooken up. The truck is luckly going to be repared. So things are going good with that. The next day was CUC's banquit which me and a couple of people convinced Charlee and her date Josh to go to. It was fun I ended up doing six girls hair that night. It was a blast. Michael and I didnt end up going. We had prior plans to have our own little date at East Side Mario's but once the accadent happend we couldnt go and we couldnt buy tickets to the banquit. We ended up walking down town to Subway and rented two movies. All in all it turnd out to be a pretty good night.this is Crystal, Patricia, and Carlee ( three of the six girls hair that I did:)

the two pictures above are of Charlee and Josh, and Charlee's awsome hair!

Anywho, tonight we have a game agaist the TBS Strickers and its at 9pm. So I should head off to supper and get ready for soccer.
Hope we win, Wish us well!!

Pictures

2007-11-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

Learning to Love God

2007-10-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

I feel as though God is trying to paint a different picture of Him-self in my life. I think I have always seen Him up in heaven looking down on this earth not really understanding what we have to go through on a daily basis. I realized the other night that He really does understand how our lives are here. Jesus was born as a bastard. He knew what it was like to live in a home where your siblings are not related, a broken home if you will. The bible never portrays Jesus talking to His father, so in a since he knows what it is like to live with divorced parents, or have a distant relationship with a family member. Jesus knew what it was like to have everyone hate you, for those of us who feel alone, He has been there too. For those who have been falsely accused of something they never did, He understands your frustrations because He has been there too. What I’m trying to get at is that Jesus can be apart of our daily life. He walked on this planet and knows the life that we have to live. He died for us so that we could know that He loves us. He would die for just one of us on this earth! If I was the only one on this planet who wanted something more from this life, He would have died just for me! It’s amazing how much He loves us, and wants to be apart of our lives. He can be that friend when we are lonely, the parent we never had, the foundation for a broken home, the justice for those of us who have been wronged. His love is infinite for each one of us and all he asks is that we ask Him to become apart of our daily life. He wants to be there for us each day rejoicing when we are happy and crying with us when we are sad. He loves us and it is our joy to share it with others around us!

CUC vs. Ham Sandwich!

2007-10-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

So Wednesday was our first Aurora Girls soccer game. CUC vs. Ham Sandwich. Our team packed up our things and at 7:45pm we left the school in our bus and headed out to Red Deer. Our indoor soccer team is actualy caled futsal (foot-sal). For me this has been a new experience since I have played outdoor soccer for about 9 years. Our practices have been every Sunday morning at 8am and every Thursday morning at 6am!!! We have a pretty dedicated team this year. So anyways back to game day... we arrived at the Cullicut Center in Red Deer thrity minutes later and headed to our designated locker room. We geared up and headed out to watch a teer 2 team finish playing their game. Their are three levels in indoor soccer, teer one, two and three, one being the best and three being the lowest. Our CUC girls team is teer one. I was quite hesitent watching the other girls play because it seemed like their game was so slow! I was in for a big surprise for our teer one level!

In this picture (Michael took looking from the above seating) #8 is my friend Alina, the girl next to her is Patricia, the guy in the jeans is my coach Mr. Smith, the girl with the red hair is Stephanie, and then their is me. We are all eager to get on the field and play. Our turn came to go on the field and our nerves were running high. We warmed up running around the field a few times , stretching and taking some shots. Coach called us over and told us who was starting! I was so excited to be one of the startes! I played with Leah, Chelsey, Lynn, and Lawren. We have three lines and ours was the first to go on. It was quite a high energy game and deffinatly the most intense game I've ever played in my life! It was a fun experience although the air in the gym was so incredibly dry! Our team was gulping water down every chance they got. Ok the air out west is deffintly dryer but this was extremly dry! Back to the game... our team scored two goals all thanks to Chairlee. Sadly we lost by 4. We held off the other team for quite some time but our goalie ened up getting injured. Later she found out by going to the hospital that she tore a muscle. All in all it was a good game and a great learning experience for our team! Tomorrow is practice at 6am! We are all anticipating the next game!

West Edmonton Mall

2007-10-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

This sunday those of us who didn't go home for Canadian Thanksgiving went to the worlds largest mall, The West Edmonton Mall!!! It was fun and much anticipated! This mall was so huge! I was so confused, if I didn't have Michael along with me I'd still be in the mall lost! It has an indoor wavepool, roller coaster, and hocky rink as seen above. In that hockey game it was girls vs. boys and the girls beat the boys 9-6! It was fun to watch for a little bit. OH! There was also a seal show. They had all sorts of entertainment in this mall! Their was exotic aquariums, a pirate ship, Chinatown and an amusment park (which had the indoor roller coaster). Their was so much to see!
Sadly, I only bought one thing, actually Michael bought it for me. I got a pair of dress pants or my student teacher observations. Michael spent all day going to all the electronic shops looking for an external hard drive. Sadly he couldn't find any in his price range or the right amout of storage. Needless to say he didn't get anything. We did have lunch at Taco Bell though!! I was so excited! They don't have Taco Bell around Lacombe or Red Deer so it was a treat for me!

My Canadian Thanksgiving break was fun. I got to sleep in and catch up on some school work. Michael and I had 4 thanksgiving dinners!! My boss Julie invited us to her house on saturday, then on monday the Ontario club had a dinner at Caseys cabin and in the dorm the lakeview hall president made another thanksgiving meal for those who wern't in the ontario club... I went to both! The food was really good and the meal in the dorm actually had chicken, I thought it was quite funny because we arn't alowed to make meat in the dorm kitchenette. Anywho, yesterday Dean Shannon invited Michael, Charlee, Azalea, Troy (Azalea's boyfriend) and Me to her house for another thanksgiving meal! I am so turkyed out! It was a good break now I'm getting ready for our Mid-Terms!!! Luckly I only have two. Soon I'll be home! I can't wait for Christmas break! Only 9 more weeks! YAY!!! I miss my family. I do enjoy being here though, I am learning each day why God has brought me out here and am happy that He has blessed me and keeps taking care of me. That is what I am thankful for this Canadian Thanksgiving.

Mountains!

2007-09-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Charlee, Azalea, Michael, Wendy (friend of the family) and I went to kananaskis to see the foot-hills of the rockies. We woke up around 7am and left at 8am. To get to Kananaskis it was a three hour drive. It was well worth it! I have never seen the mountains before it was hard to comprehend. The mountains seemed so close but were so far away. When we arrived we planned on eating an early lunch and head out on a hike in the forest. I had to use the bathroom....or washroom shall i say... and there were no flush toilets just the ones with holes in the ground. I know its not that bad BUT, I have a big fear of these things. I'm always afraid that something is going to come up and bite me!!! So after much mental preperation I went to the "washroom" and headed out for our hike. The weather that day was just beautiful! Couldn't of asked for anything better! We headed out on our walk past a lake. For a while we were in the trees I snapped a few pictures and we headed on our way. The air was so fresh! Honestly I have never smelled pine trees so vivantly a i had there. It felt so good to soak in the sun and smell the fresh air! It had been so refreshing after being at school all week long. We came to an area where you could definatly tell there had been a rock slide. Only a few loan trees had survived. It was just amazing to see how the earth changes it self. Taking Human Ecology, I've come to appreciate nature and learning more about it. Continuing our walk we noticed the path we thought we were taking actually wasnt. We countinued to walk anyways and headed more into the forset. Our walk ended up being about a 5 hour hike. It was really beautiul to be in God's nature on the sabbath. We did see evidence of bears but i think it had been a couple of days since the bear had been there. I think that was the only thing I was scared of. The wind was the coolest thing. Hearing it blow through the trees, its sounded like a waterfall. We did see a waterfall and a stream on our hike. That was my favorite part. i love waterfalls. The water in the stream was so extremly cold though. I could only put my hands in for a few seconds. Charlee on the other hand, put both of her bare feet in the water and timed herself. She stood in the water for about 10 seconds as we all watched and chuckled. The waterfall was so extremly beautiful. The water was gray and white and the trees surrounding were pine and some of the trees fell in the water. I managed to get a few good pictures. At one point of our hike we actually did some scrambling. We got on all fours and tryed to get up the rock slide. It was easy going up but qutie difficult to come down. Coming down it was harder to keep balance and keep from twisting your ankle. I managed to sit for a minute and take in the beautiful scenery. Being up higher I could get a better view of the mountains and the trees. If you look closely to the picture on the left you an see Michael, Charlee and Azalea climbing up the rock slide. Our hike ended up being 5 hours. It was so nice being out all day, but I was ready to head back sit and eat some super. When we reached the car again we drove to another park ate supper and headed back for school. On our dive back we noticed some incredible smoke coming from the mountains. We saw helicopters flying over earlier but wasn't sure what was going on. We found out later that there had been a "controled burn" in the forest. It was really neet to see how the smoke covered the sky and see the beaming red sun setting. It was one of the best sabbath's I'd ever experienced.

1st Sabbath

2007-09-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

Today is my first official sabbath at CUC. Last sabbath was new student orientation... we spent most of it listning to skits and getting to know other students. It is nice to know some familiar faces now. When I first got here I only knew one person. I'm really thankful to have Michael alont with me for this new adventure. I dont feel too alone in that aspect.

Our ride out here was quite an adventure! I've never seen so much road in my life! Some days it just seemed like the road would never end! I was always thankful for our pee stops and food breaks. Michaels parents drove along with is for three days and on the forth day we were on our own driving 14 hours until we reached CUC. I think the drive out here made me appreciate being here even more. Not to say that I didnt want to be here but, it made most of my nerves go away.

I am taking four classes this semester, Canadian History (Yikes!!), SDA Christianity, Human Ecology and Intro to Education. I should be done with school in about 4 years and have a BEd in Elementary Education... that is if I don't change my mind again. I hope after my observations for Intro to Education I will actually be sure of what I am doing.

Thankfuly I got a job before I came out here. I am a secretary in the education department. It can be challenging at times because I'm not familiar with the computer programs but its slowly getting familiar. I was greatly encouraged by my boss, she is pleased to have me working with her. I wasnt sure how I was doing but she told me a few days after I had started working for her that she was happy to have me.

This coming week will be our first full week of school and soccer try outs! Should be an exciting week!

My Life's Little Adventures

Life as of now

Pictures

Decisions

~*Black Tie Evet*~

Working

Don't Give Up, You are Loved!

Reading break... or something like that

Thief of Always

Ouch!

Happy Sabbath

3 years

Homesick

So Tired

Happy Sabbath!

ADRA Mission Trip Summer 2008

Day after Valentines

Hakuna Matata

Time

Christmas Break and Happy New Year 2008!

20 YEARS!

Happy Birthday Michael!

Random Events

Pictures

Learning to Love God

CUC vs. Ham Sandwich!

West Edmonton Mall

Mountains!

1st Sabbath

~Black Tie Evet~