favorites.

favorite things of the moment (in no particular order):
1.) chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream
2.) the carmel sauce at starbucks
3.) www.saribari.com
4.) dreaming of owning a pair of tom's shoes www.tomsshoes.com
5.) filling out my planner with things "to do"
6.) being able to sleep in and then have a quiet time with the Lord.
7.) talking to my new-old friend Leeann on the phone
8.) knowing tomorrow i'll be with Leah, Leeann and Katie (maybe Caleb)

the prettiest i ever was.

I just thought I'd share this thought. When I was in High School I can rememeber specifically thinking "This is the prettiest I'll ever be! I will never be this pretty again!" Seriously, I thought that. I was thinking more about how we (supposedly) digress as we get older, not so much that I was gorgeous. Mind you the fact that I submitted myself to a awful haircut the day after I graduated only affirmed my statement. But seriously though. I was just explaining to someone this story the other day and we laughed and laughed. No deep thoughts about this, just thought I'd share a quirky thinking about me. :) Oh vanity!

Transitions

Transitioning from Oklahoma/Arkansas is always bittersweet. The sweet part is the joy of riding with the windows down in my car at noon with out breaking a sweat! And the ability to wear jeans and sweatshirt after the sun goes down!

The other part is the transition people. I kept expecting to see Grace or David walk into VBS today asking where they were suppose to volunteer, and Christa asking which room Bailey & Caden go in. I waited to see Nathan Jackson come and fix the broken set and Katie bouncing Caleb on her hip and...you get the point. I sometimes think it would be amazing if I could have everyone here yet not change their lives. It would be Montana/Tulsa/Arkansas/Chicago all in the same place. But only the parts I like. :)

Do you think that's what heaven is like?

Twenty (27) Seven

i've so much enjoyed this birthday that i don't want to go to bed though i work in a few short hours. pictures are yet to come from the lovley day. so far...27 is very good. 26 was hard, i'm looking forward to 27.

thank you, Lord, for life, blessings, friendships, and love better and more perfect than i could ask or imagine.

Movies of the summer...

Movies. So, I've never been very fluent in movies. As in, I just really haven't seen very many classics. So this was going to be my summer to watch the movies that have changed our culture, the way we think and have impacted society as a whole. Sister Emily even gave me a few recommendations.

Sometimes though, things don't quite end up the way you plan. Due to circumstances and settings (and because I really do love them)...below are the movies I've ended up seeing so far this summer...

Hannah Montana: The Movie

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (watched it twice and cried)

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (watched it twice and loved the outfits)

He's Just Not That Into You

So needless to say, it has become more of the summer of chick flicks. I will watch some classics, but for now I've enjoyed watching easy, entertaining, emotionally rich movies.

the comfort of eternity.

I realize it has been well over a week since my Grandpa's funeral, but I still want to note it. I walked away from the funeral with a greater desire to live a life that spoke of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Grandpa was an evangelist. I also walked away with the desire to find a husband who is as crazy about me as Grandpa was about Grandma. He was a loving husband.

Since being home I've received many hugs, a card, and even gifts. I feel kind of odd because I know that I'll see him again and also because he is finally home. Yes, Grandpa is very much missed here on earth, but the comfort of eternity helps heal the loss of a humble, quiet, godly man.

Camp High

I feel like I could crash. Today after my final I felt that camp high. The feeling of pushing through something bigger and harder than you thought you could survive. I survived. The last three weeks have been filled with thirty hour work weeks, a summer class, homework, tests, reading, pre-wedding parties for a friend...and a bit of sleep sprinkled in between.

It's in the moments of pushing so hard and feeling so weak that the noise of life turned down and the presence of Jesus became so much greater. That's my favorite feeling. It is almost as if I'm too tired to hear anything else.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done and the best thing".
That is starting to make sense. Sometimes there are things (realtionships, jobs, circumstances etc.) that are just so incredibly painstakingly hard. Yet the rewards are so much greater. Going through these challenging weeks/seasons makes me realize the reward of hard work and being faithful to what God has called. If he calls, he will provide.

That, my favorite people, is my post-Foundations of Family Therapy Summer 2009 class take-away.