Florida!

Hello everyone! I am in Florida right now and LOVING my vacation. It's been a bit of a rainy day but that's okay because we have plenty of other things to do. We went out to breakfast at Golden Corral this morning (delicious!) and I am STILL not hungry at 6 PM! Lol :) Right now I'm sitting on the living room floor of my Grandma's mobile home watching Family Feud and eating peach rings. This morning we went to a flea market and I found some great deals. At one booth I bought an amazing birthday present for my best friend which I am tempted to keep can't  can't wait to give her, and at another I got some cute seashells with pictures on them as a souvenier for myself and two of my friends.

So far the best part of my trip BY FAR has been seeing Katy, her family, and teeny tiny baby ELIJAH SAMUEL! He is so beautiful. He's quite a little grumpyface! Usually his face his scrunched up in some adorable way, even though he's quite peaceful and content. Hopefully I will be able to upload pictures when I get home - I don't have a card reader with me.

After a fun morning with great friends yesterday, we went to the beach. The taste of salt, the feel of the warm waves, and the soft sand all added up to an amazing experience. Feeling like a master builder and artist, I created my first sandcastle EVER which I am quite proud of. And, I collected a few pretty seashells of various colors.

Well, soon I will have plenty of pictures and LOTS more to say. Hope you all are enjoying your weekend as muh as I'm enjoying mine!

Adventures

Well, life is as busy as ever! The past week has been mostly just school and normal life, but tomorrow I leave for Florida! I am am So excited because 1) I have never been to Florida, seen the ocean, or even been on a plane before so it is a new adventure, and 2) My very dear friend Katy happens to be 10 minutes away from where I am going (my grandma's cabin) and she just had her first baby very early this morning so I cannot WAIT to see them both!

My life is a wonderful adventure these days and I am loving every minute of it. Here's a sampling of some of the wonderful things going on in my life these days:
1) Practicing Moonlight Sonata (3rd movement) for a recital on may 17th, and my part of an 8-hand arrangement for church in 2 weeks
2) Reading the book Radical and studying it with our youth group
3) Planning for a month long trip to Arizona this summer to intern with a missionary pastor's family in a Hispanic church plant (which happens to be only a few hours from the Grand Canyon - maybe I'll get to see it!)
4) Going on a plane for the first time this week
5) Looking into/praying about going to New Tribes Bible Institute after high school
6) Going to Florida, seeing the ocean, and maybe even swimming with manatees - how cool is that?!
7) Seeing a friend who is now married, in her own home, and a mother! I can hardly even comprehend it!
8) Going to a "Heart of Addiction" counseling conference next week at our church
9) Watching another brother move away and my last one preparing to be gone for the summer - yikes!
10) Experiencing my walk with Christ becoming more personal than ever in prayer

I am so blessed!

Spring in Kentucky!

Well, I suppose it's about time I gave an update on my life! And before I do I might as well confess that I should be doing math right now. But I'd rather bog and listen to music, quite frankly. :)

Over Easter weekend we (Mom, Cody, and I) went to Erik's house in Kentucky. It was wonderful! Cody got a job at Answers in Genesis' warehouse, so he moved into Erik's house. Erik's best friend, Otto, also lives with him, so now Erik's house has become a houseful of guys. I can hardly believe Cody's actually gone for good... it's strange to think that he'll never live here at home again. Also, Erik's girl, Leah, was volunteering at the Creation Museum for a couple of weeks, so I got to see her too. She's such an amazing girl - I really enjoy spending time with her! The weather is absolutely beautiful in Kentucky right now. Where I live, spring is just mud, rain, and snow with a few pathetic flowers. At Erik's house, however, it's green, sunshine, and floods of gorgeous flowers covering the ground! Hearing the birds sing made my heart sing. We got to go on lots of walks in the woods, on beautiful trails, by the Ohio river, and just all over the place.  I love his little town and all of my wonderful friends there. Oh, I miss it so much! And of course, I visited the gardens at the Creation Museum and thoroughly enjoyed it. I got to sit by the waterfalls and flowers and just enjoy reading my Bible for a long time. I just keep praising God for what a fabulous visit it was.

Left to right: Otto, Erik, Leah, Me

Uhhh.. cute couple?? Haha!

I've also been thinking about the future quite a bit lately.  God seems to be leading me to some awesome things, and I am just praying and trying to figure out how they all fit together! It's exciting to know that He has ordered all of my steps, and all of my days. I am hopeful and eager to see all that he has in store!

Well, I had better get back to it. We're headed to Florida in less than a week and there's lot's to be done before that. Enjoy your day, everyone - and just remember, it's almost the weekend! :D

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11

Wow...

I just want to give a testimony of how amazing my God is. I hardly know what to say... He is just SO amazing and good!

First I will tell you all thank you for your prayers about the situation I shared in my last post. I have seen my amazing God do amazing things and change hearts for His glory, and it has blessed me so much. I still ask for your prayers though - there is still a LOT going on.

And well, all I have to say is that I have been so incredibly blessed this past weekend (and all my life really, but specifically now). I am so thankful for all God is doing and what an amazing, wonderful life I have. Sorry for two really vague posts in a row, there's just not much I can say!

Truly God is good.  

Psalm 73:1a