Easter Weekend!

So Easter was yesterday and it was AWESOME. My little sister, Sarah, came into town last Tuesday night/ Friday morning (like 1am) and spent the weekend with me. None of my family here knew she was coming so it was a big surprise. Its nice to have it all out in the open now! It was so hard to keep it a secret from them. :)

On Friday Sarah came to work with me and we took the little boy I nanny to the zoo... which was fun until he had a huge fit- screaming at me in the middle of the park! People were staring, he was yelling that I was the worst babysitter ever and that he hated me... I'm surprised somebody didn't call child protective services. Talk about embarrassing- it went on for like 20 minutes and we finally had to leave. But then we got snowcones as he took a nap in the backseat of the car- and they were delicious :)

At the zoo!

We did get to see the snakes before the big meltdown...

After I got off work we left to spend the night at our grandparent's house in Pauls Valley (about an hour and a half south). They were VERY surprised that Sarah was with me! We had fun eating, decorating eggs, shopping, and running around town. 

That night we hung out at Bricktown. We ate at Zios (soooo good!) and went to Pinkitzel, which is this adorable little candy and cupcake shop. It was a lot of fun but would have been better if we had been prepared for the cold weather... we were wearing tank tops and it was SO cold. Stupid bi-polar Oklahoma weather!

Coloring eggs with Grandma!

Yummmmy dinner 

Most delicious cupcake I've ever had! 

So that brings us to Sunday- Easter! Service was wonderful. The kids sang (and did really really great!), the worship was good, the sermon was good, there were a ton of people there, and I got to see a lot of my students, even though we didn't have youth small groups. Right after it ended we drove up to Billings, where our other grandparents live. There, we surprised the rest of the family and ate lunch. It was nice being with aunts and uncles and cousins for Easter :) The little ones had a great time hunting for eggs and we took a ton of pictures! It was just overall a great day!!

Gracie Beth and Sarah- I just love this picture! lol

Little Luke :)

Trevor finding eggs

Most of the grandkids! 

Now Sarah is back in Arizona and I have to go back to work tomorrow. It was sad to see her leave but I will be back in Phoenix in four weeks from today to see her graduate! I'm really looking forward to that :) 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! 

He is RISEN!! 

Updates... finally! :)

So its been a reallllly long time since I've posted anything and I keep thinking that I should... and then I get too busy. I'll try to get better about it!
A lot has happened since February. Exciting stuff though :) First of all, I moved into a house with two other girls, named Sara and Becca. They are amazing and I'm having so much fun living with them! Sara works at my church as an administrative assistant and is also a great photographer (I just can't escape them...lol). Becca is still in school and has a hedgehog as a pet- so fun! So now I live in Edmond instead of half an hour away, which is really nice. I'm enjoying being close to my students and not having such a long commute.
Second, I got another job. I am now a nanny for a family with a 5 year old boy and 9 year old girl. They only live 2 miles away from me so thats really perfect. I'm grateful for a second job but I'm definitely looking for a part time teaching job next school year!

Everything at the church is going really really great. I love my students! We just had the girl's retreat last weekend and it was awesome. We had about 150 girls come and it was so cool watching God move in their lives. Kelly- my boss- spoke about submission (John 3:30- "He must become greater; I must become less.") and worship was amazing. And we had some really awesome give aways... and I taught a breakout about singleness and having high standards. It was just overall wonderful! I love my job :)

Last order of business... it was 12 years ago today that I was diagnosed with diabetes! Happy anniversary to myself! I can't believe its been so long. As much as its been annoying and a big pain, I know that there has been a reason for it. I would like to share a story with you :) Last summer, I worked at a youth camp called Centrifuge and almost every week, there was a diabetic camper. Week 5 or 6 (they all start running together...) there were two diabetic girls who came from the same church. One of the girls really blamed God and was angry that she had diabetes. I was able to talk to her about the challenges of having diabetes and worrying about your health. And about the fact that God has a plan and reason for everything. It was so cool! Her youth leader came up to me later and said that she talked about it in front of her youth group for the first time and finally decided to give it to God and not be angry anymore.
Its amazing that God uses our "imperfections" to impact other people. We just have to be willing to be used by Him!

Well I hope you enjoyed the updates about my life over the past couple of months. I'll make it more regular from now on :) And if I forget, I know that Brenton and Julie will hold me to it.

Snow Storm Observations

Today was the first time I was able to really leave the house since the storm hit (other than dinner with the family last night). It felt so good to drive again- even though its a lot harder on slushy roads! I went to TJ Maxx, Target, and to the mall. And got quite a lot accomplished.

I learned/ observed a few things this week, thanks to the snow storm. Thought I would share them with you :)

1. Cars get dirty in the snow. I don't understand this! So white fluffy stuff falls from the sky and somehow my truck has brown spots all over it? It was perfectly fine before the blizzard and now I can barely see out of my windshield. It just doesn't make any sense!

The truck I'm driving... taken the day of the storm. 

2. Note to self: Stock up on Diet Dr. Pepper before a snow storm. I ran out on day 4 and had terrible cravings... Not to worry though- I made it up today by drinking two Rt. 44 Diet Cokes w/ vanilla. Yes 2 of them... I might be addicted.

3. A high of 40 is all in perspective. I kept seeing status updates this week from people in Phoenix about freezing because the weather was in the low 40's. And here, we've been PRAYING for 40 degree weather so that some of the snow would melt. I just found this funny... :)

4. When there is a lot of snow on the ground, the snow plows push it all into HUGE piles! Today in the TJ Maxx parking lot, there was one that was about four parking spaces wide and twice my height. That is a lot of snow! I think that they should just bring out some heaters and melt it. Simple solution!

We're supposed to get snow again this week (ugghhh)... Please pray that it doesn't interfere with my flight on Wednesday! I'm so ready to visit Phoenix and don't want to be snowed in again!
Okay thats all for now. Church tomorrow!! Yay!

PS... Congratulations to my friends Kara and David, who got engaged yesterday! So happy for them :)

Snowpocalypse 2011

I survived Snowpocalypse 2011! It started at about 10pm on Monday night and was snowing like crazy until yesterday around 4. There is snow EVERYWHERE!! And pretty much everything has been closed down since yesterday- lucky students here get three days off this week! I'm hoping to be able to leave the house tomorrow... I'm starting to go crazy just sitting at home. Not to mention I'm having Sonic withdrawals! However, a good thing about snow is snow ice cream- made with a whole bunch of (white) snow, vanilla, and condensed milk. It was quite delicious! Other than making ice cream, I've slept, caught up on tv, and played Go Fish with Trevor. :)

On Monday before the storm hit, I got to hang out with some of my 6th grade girls. We went to Starbucks and had some coffee and delicious pastries- and were very loud as we talked and laughed. Poor people trying to study next to us... lol. I had so much fun getting to know them a little better. They're such a great group of girls! And they took me to an amazing store called Tiger Lily where I bought a pair of Toms for 30 dollars! 

I've been meaning to post some pictures... so here you go!

Trevor at his birthday party

Julie's visit- about to eat fried pickles. Yummm!

Pops is a delicious restaurant with hundreds of different kinds of pop!

Playing some games on the Middle School Missions Trip- Look at Devin's concentration!

Working hard on the missions trip :)

A bunch of my AMAZING students!!

I'll remember to post more pictures from now on :) 

Goodbye for now! 

God's Purpose Prevails

To start off...

"Winter storm warning in effect from 6 pm Monday to 7 am cst wednesday,
Winds will also produce dangerous wind chill values. 
Impacts, travel will become very hazardous or impossible. Isolated power outages are likely in some areas. 
The extreme cold following this storm system will produce a critical sheltering event for those with any prolonged power outages. 
Definition, a winter storm warning means significant winter weather is expected or is occurring. 
Precautionary/preparedness actions, delay travel and stay home if possible until conditions improve. 
Make sure you have an adequate supply of food, water and necessary medication to last through the duration of the winter storm."

Pray for us! I do not understand how yesterday was beautiful and 75 degrees and a crazy storm starts in less than 24 hours! I am definitely going to Walmart to stock up on some food tomorrow. If you have any tips or advice for me on how to survive my first winter storm, let me know! 

On another note, I had a great weekend! Yesterday was Trevor's birthday party at Celebration Station and it was great seeing Gracie and Luke and the rest of the family. The place was PACKED and really loud but the kids loved it. And although Trevor didn't seem impressed by the present I got him when he opened it, I talked it up later and now he thinks its pretty cool ;) I'm telling you, its so much easier to shop for girls! 

Today was crazy busy but really wonderful. I have to leave my house at 7:20 on Sunday mornings to get to church on time- good thing my church has delicious and cheap coffee! Service was great and everything on the middle school side went smoothly. And I met a lot of new students today! (And accidentally introduced myself a second time to several students too... there are just so many of them to remember) After service I helped out with auditions for the middle school worship band. I played Paula and told all the kids that they did great :)  

I also went to small group tonight. One of the best parts about going to such a large church is the opportunity to meet so many people my own age. I went tonight with my friend Ashley to Chris Newkirk's group and I loved the people. It was actually one of the best small groups I've ever been to- just a ton of discussion and truth and love :) 

Then after small group I hung out with another new friend, Sydney. She's also pretty new to the area and is on Young Life staff! Thats so fun since I did Young Life for 6 years during high school and college. I'm so grateful for the girls I've been able to meet and become friends with already and I'm really excited to get to know them all better. God is so good! 

I know a lot of you are praying for my second job situation and I appreciate it. Tomorrow I'm going to turn in a substitute application for Crossings Christian School, which is between Yukon (where I live now) and Edmond (where the church is). A couple of people I've met have told me that I should apply and it seems great. As soon as I get a steady second job, I'll be moving to Edmond so I can be closer to friends and my middle school students. And not have to spend so much money on gas driving back and forth! :) 

Here's a great verse to keep in mind. Its one thats been especially good for me over the past few weeks!

"We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, 
   but God's purpose prevails."  -Proverbs 19:21 (The Message)

Goodnight :) 

Sunny with a high of 75...

Today I got ready and put on a long sleeved shirt, scarf, jeans, and boots, and headed outside... to the 73 DEGREE WEATHER! What?!? I was actually hot and had to take off my scarf and turn on the air conditioning in the car. I just don't understand this bipolar Oklahoma weather. This weekend is perfect but in 3 days, we're supposed to get a crazy winter storm. Silly. And I forgot how good 70 degree weather feels! Oh Phoenix- how I miss your amazing weather this time of year. 

In fact, I missed a lot about Phoenix today. Like the fact that my family and friends live there! I decided to go to the mall today (yay Dillard's sale!) and everywhere I looked, I saw girls with their mom or a group of girls with friends. And I so wished that I could call up my mom or Jessica or Julie or Kara... or a lot of other people, and just meet them at the mall. Especially when I tried on a dress but I couldn't tell if it looked good or not. I have a hard time making decisions on my own! And its just weird to ask a stranger for their opinion. Oh well, I get to visit AZ in a week and a half and I'm really looking forward to it :)

I did get to hang out with Lesley tonight though! We ate at Panera (a lot like Paradise Bakery, for all you Phoenix folk) and went shopping for shoes and my 5 year old cousin's birthday present. So thank you to Lesley, for making this kinda homesick day much better! 

My last bit of news is that I applied for my Oklahoma teaching certification today! It will take a few weeks to hear if I have to take any extra classes or tests to get it. I'm reallllly hoping I won't have to! But either way, it will be nice being certified here. Hopefully next school year I can find a half time special education position :) 

Well, tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I'm really looking forward to going to Celebration Station for Trevor's birthday party and seeing some family I haven't seen since I moved. So goodbye for now! Time for some rest :)

In the Beginning

So I've been thinking about starting a blog for awhile and now that I'm living far away from my friends and family in the great -and warmer- city of Phoenix, it seems like a great time! For those of you who don't know my journey to Oklahoma, I'll start from the beginning...
Last summer, I got the opportunity to serve at a camp called Centrifuge for the summer (amazing experience!) and taught a class for middle and high school girls in the afternoons. We talked about sacrifice and girl's issues and boys and relationships... And I loved it! Every week, I saw God work in the lives of the girls and I was so humbled to be a part of it. So thats basically when I realized that I was called to work with teenage girls.
Fast forward a little... When I was coming to the end of student teaching, I started looking for and praying about positions working with girls and I came across Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond (thanks Skyler!). I contacted the girl's ministry director, Kelly, and just a few months later, I was hired as the middle school girl's intern! I graduated on December 16th, packed up my stuff, and officially moved on January 10th.

I love love love my job. God is soooo good! Basically, I get to hang out with really awesome 6th-8th grade girls and build relationships with them. And help plan events and do whatever else they tell me to do. :) It's fantastic. I actually already got to go on a missions trip with the middle school students! The first weekend I was here, we went to a church in Oklahoma City and we were able to help them out by painting, landscaping, and prayer walking/hanging up flyers. It was so much fun and I got to know about 60 of the students right away. I'm so excited about whats to come- excited to get to know more students, excited to build deep relationships with them, and excited to see what God is going to do in their lives!

Other than all of that, I've been busy trying to find a second job. I interviewed at Childtime a couple of days ago and was called yesterday about "moving forward with the application." I don't think thats where I'm supposed to be though. I'm just not feeling at peace about it. So... I'm still praying and looking. I have to keep reminding myself that God has it figured out and to leave it in His control. So much easier said than done!

Well, its late here and I planned on going to bed awhile ago- but then got too excited about my new blog. lol
So finally, goodnight!

"He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less."
John 3:30
:)