A GOOD Adventure . . .: January 2012

I feel as though I am looking out the window of a train and I simply see shapes and outlines. I know what I am looking at because I see them everywhere, but I don't know them by name. My life is just going by a million miles in minute...

So many have been asking how am I doing, and here is what I have to say about that!

I have been here for 5 months now, and this place is really starting to grow on me. I don't think I will ever call it home, but I am definitely enjoying the experience. With that being said, I have had my ups and downs. The last few weeks have been very hard. I miss my friends deeply!

I miss everyone back home very much. My friends are irreplaceable. I may not be able to talk to you everyday, but that doesn't mean I am not thinking about you. As time goes on, I am starting to form very special relationships here and I am so thankful for them.

I am also learning that God puts people and friends in your life for a reason, a season and sometimes a lifetime.

Some of my friends have been placed in my life for a reason, to help guide me, share with me, encourage me, with difficult situations and when their time is up, they are off. This may be because they walk on or they force you to take a stand. What I have come to realize is that their job is done. God placed them in my life for a purpose and when that purpose is fulfilled, their work is done and its time to move on.

There have been some that have come into my life for a season. These friends have shared experiences with me, laughed with me, cried with me and grew with me. I wouldn't have been able to grow had you not invested, shared, and walked with me. But there comes a time when the winds shift and the tides change and the compass is pointing you into another journey.

Lastly, I have friends who will share the rest of our lives together. They will walk alongside me, through the ups and downs. They see me at my best, and they see me at my worst but they choose to hang on. When they see me slipping up, they love me and walk with me through it. They are gracious and compassionate. They are slow to anger and they love me deeply!!

Because of all of you, I am a better person today than I was yesterday and I will be a better person tomorrow than I am today!

The Holidays!

The holidays are starting to look a lot different than what I was used to. My mom and I now live in a state half way across the nation, which meant we would not be able to make it home for the holidays. In some ways, it was nice and relaxing and in others I missed my home very much! I really missed not being able to watch my kids preform in their Christmas performance, being in the classroom working on the special Christmas projects, spending time with friends, and visiting Disneyland, the most magical place of all especially during the holidays!

So lets see...where do I begin? I guess the beginning is a good start.
My sister came out to visit for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was so excited to see her at Thanksgiving. I waited just out side of security to see her! I would have tried to make my way to the gate but that idea would have lead me to jail. When I saw her, I got all teary eyed (she didn't see of course, or at least I don't think she did). I was soooo excited to see her. It had been 3 months, but it seemed like years, especially considering we were living together before I moved out here. We have gone through a lot of great times, and a lot of hard times together. We are bestest of friends...huh sissy!

Anyways...that is beside the point.

While she was hear, we had a lot of fun! We hung out, reminisced about old memories (the things I used to do to her = priceless), watched a TON of Gilmore Girls. Here are some pictures of her trip from Thanksgiving!

POPS....has every soda you can imagine ROWS and ROWS...FLAVORS upon FLAVORS!

Our little Thanksgiving Dinner....I didn't even get all the delicious food :( It was nice and mellow!

Now for Christmas....we didn't think Nickie was going to be able to make it out. Tickets were upwards of $1,000 and it just didn't seem feasible for such a short amount of time. We were starting to loose hope, but we all pulled our pennies together and found a ticket for half of that! It was a little Christmas miracle for our family! In buying her ticket, we spent all of our money. We didn't have anything left for her visit. We were all seriously going to live off of Top Romin for a week. But we figured, who cares as long as we get to be together. So Nickie was supposed to get here on the 22nd, but her flight was over booked. They asked for people to volunteer their seats and in doing so they gave free mileage to them. However, Nickie wasn't willing, she wanted to make sure she was here for Christmas. But they didn't get enough volunteers so they bumped her and because she wasn't willing, they gave her a check for $1,300. That was almost 3 times the price of her ticket! Because she didn't sell out for less than best, she received something so much great! It was the ultimate Christmas miracle for my sissy, mom and I. We were able to have a Christmas after all with a delicious dinner and presents. God is good!

Here are pictures from her Christmas visit....

Christmas Eve dinner....