I know I am WAY behind!!!!

Ok so I know that I am so far behind on blogging but it's just that when you enter the "real world" and you don't have direct access to the internet..it's a little bit hard to get around to it!

Anyway...let me start at the beginning...

The Wednesday after my graduate interview, my letter arrived in the mail just as the board said it would. Now the thing about the letter is that when you submit your application, you are required to include 2 self-addressed envelopes...so basically you have just addressed either your acceptance or your rejection letter....a little unnerving to say the least! Anyway....mine came and thanks be to God, I have been accepted!!!!!!!! I begin classes on August 20, 2009 and am so so excited that I just can't see straight...this is a dream I have had many many years and prayed that God would lead me in that direction if that was His will....and so far it is!!!

About 2 years ago, I started thinking about getting another miniature schnauzer...I had one when I was in high school and he died my first year of college...So we decided that if I got into PT school, I could get my own apartment and get one...Well as you have concluded from the previous paragraph...the first part of that has been accomplished....and now the second part has as well...

Meet Max! He is the newest addition to my family. He is a miniature schnauzer and is almost 6 weeks old. We weighed him tonight and he weighs 2 lbs. and 14 ounces.


He is just pretty much the coolest thing ever and already oh so spoiled! I will post more pictures at a later date!

Been a Long Time Coming....

What a month! So many new experiences and happenings since the New Year began!

Time for a recount:

1. I got a new job at Baxter Regional Hospital as a ward clerk....and "retired" from it 2 weeks later...don't ask....I'm still scarred....
2. Took a job as an ER Clerk at the Community Medical Center in Calico...LOVE IT!!!
3. Took ANOTHER job as a rehab tech at the nursing home to be worked in conjunction with my other job! I work for a company called Therateam, which contracts OTs, PTs, etc. out to nursing homes to provide therapy to nursing home residents!
4. Received my letter from UCA PT that I had been granted an interview for acceptance into graduate school!
5. Turned 23 on Feb. 17
6. Learned how to play Bunko with a group of ladies from Conway...and I won....on my bday!
   
7. Had my graduate interview for physical therapy school on Feb. 18
8. Received my letter from UCA OT that I have been granted an interview for that program as well to be held on March 9
   

I now wait patiently for my acceptance/rejection letter from UCA PT....I so desperately want to get in but am trying my hardest not to think about it because God has already planned this stage of my life out for me and has done so in a way that I will prosper....We should know this week of the results....

Pray for my sanity!

Hmmm...

Well the long wait for Christmas is over and done...and soon so will the wait for New Years...it seems like every year at this time, I somehow start to reflect on this past year: the blessings God has given me (whether I called it that at the time or not), events in the world and what I hope and pray for in the upcoming year. This year is a tad bit different...my whole life is about to change between starting a job and beginning graduate school to getting married and changing the last name I have had for the past 22 years.

This next year I have so many dreams and aspirations already on my mind but I also aspire to always remember that God had my entire life planned out long before I came about and he planned it in a way to bring honor and glory to Him. He planned it to help me grow both as a young lady and as a Godly daughter. I want to have more patience and a nicer tongue especially when I get frustrated or encounter things I don't understand at first.

Of course, I have many more "New Year's Resolutions" but I don't want to jinx myself by putting them on here...maybe later :)

Snowed in at the Grove....

I made it...I finally made it! I am an official alumnus of the University of Central Arkansas. I have successfully completed the curriculum and now am the proud recipient of a bachelor's degree....and I have NO job....lol....but I'm looking...and more importantly...I'm praying that God puts me in the place where I can do him the most good...and in turn it will do me the most good...

Graduation was GREAT! Dinner afterward at Shane and Tanya's was WONDERFUL!!! Graduation presents are good!

Time for a recap of the weekend post-final exams!:

FRIDAY:

• I picked Josie and Tess up at Ozark, brought them back to Conway, picked up Olivia and Ella and the four of us headed back to my house to make cookies. Needless to say when you have 4 girls ages 10 and under, there will definitely never be a dull moment..and a pretty big mess to clean up afterwards...but it's worth it to have the giggling sounds fill the house!
• After cookies came supper. I had originally thought about cooking supper at the house but then decided that it would be easier to take them out so to Pizza Inn we went! They were good and then we headed to Antioch Baptist Church for their annual "Bethlehem Revisited"...It was AMAZING!!!! Meagan showed up to help us go thru and I don't know what I would have done without her...She was a lifesaver..
  
• The girls ended up falling asleep on the way home which was adorable!
• I stayed up until about 1:00 am packing my room while the girls slept...Seeing my room so empty was sentimental..it signified a new beginning for my future but also an end to the life that I have known for the past 4 years...I guess every new experience ends an old one.
  

SATURDAY:

• I got up early to cook breakfast for the girls, get a shower and then get them showers! Granny and Papa got to the house about 11:00 even though they got lost and ended up in downtown Conway...hehe...then the coolest thing and possibly the best graduation present ever. I used my roommate's computer to use a program called Skype, which allows for video calls...The girls got to not only see their daddy for the first time in a very long time and even better, he got to put faces with voices! It was very cool for Uncle Steve to get to see all of his family!
• Graduation was neat and not too long which was nice! One of the honor students who started college when I did and has been in a wheelchair for as long as I have known her...walked at graduation....without her wheelchair...She had to have help but she was determined and received a standing ovation and thousands of tears! What an amazing and awe-inspiring moment which made graduation one of the most memorable moments of my life...
• After graduation, my family and I headed to Shane and Tanya's for dinner and it was amazing! They have become my second family and very dear to my heart so being able to have my "2" families was very cool!
  

SUNDAY-TUESDAY:

• Joe and I got up really really to head to Paragould to see his college buddy Luke!
  
• One thing I wanted to do was to go to Lake Ashbaugh and see the ducks coming in! It is an amazing experience and one of my most favorite places to be!
• We ended up getting snowed aka "iced" in here but have had a blast anyway!
• We've made sausage wontons, creamy tacos, cookies, played countless games of dominos and battle of the sexes...we have laughed more in these 2 days of being snowed in than I have in a very long time! I'm almost sad to think that tomorrow the weather will be better and we will head back to the hills!

Good friends, good memories, and laughter are, in my opinion,
the some of the most valuable assets a person can have.

Things to do post-graduation....

Lots of people make lists of all of the things they want to accomplish in their lifetimes...While I haven't made that list yet (but do have some things in mind to put on it)..I have made a list of things to do post-graduation and pre-graduate school. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Read "The Shack"...if you have never heard of it, go find it and then read it..It is a book about a man's relationship with God even with all the trials and tribulations he has gone through...I think....
2. Visit caves in Arkansas and southern Missouri...I work at Blanchard Springs Caverns, which is rated #1 in beauty in the nation, but I don't have much to compare it to...
3. Read the Bible completely from front to back...
4. Get married...guess I gotta put that one on there...don't wanna upset anyone...HA!!!!
5. Start and finish my cross-stitch afghan...one of the ladies in the gift shop taught me how to cross-stitch last winter and I bought an afghan and have a pattern laid out but haven't started it.
   
6. Take a sleigh-ride through Yellowstone...We are going to Jackson Hole, WY on our honeymoon and this is at the forefront of things I want to do!!!
7. Donate my hair to locks of love after the wedding...as thick as my hair it, I could probably make 2 people a wig...
8. Treat myself to pedicures every month even though I have the most ticklish feet in the world and I almost kick the girl in the face EVERY time she gives me one!
   
9. Work on not almost kicking the pedicure lady in the face everytime she gives me a pedicure! lol....
10. Write down 10 blessings I have witnessed/been given each day...small number actually.
11. Learn to quilt from Mrs. Riggins (one of my most favorite ladies in the whole world)
    
12. Learn to relax (this may take a while)
13. Ride my horse Louie and get him back on track!
14. Continue to learn sign language to the point where I can give my cave tours completely in sign if need be...at the drop of a hat...
15. Take a road trip...to anywhere....just to go....no plans
    
16. Learn to be a better money saver instead of an expert money spender...(this REALLY will take a long time)

That's all I can think of for now but it's probably more than I can handle as it is....we will see how it goes!

Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"

Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it...

Nothing a lil sugar can't fix...

I know it's bad...but after 3 VERY stressful days and 1 more week of stress to come I find that a little chocolate and sugar sure to make things so much better...not on the waistline mind you but everywhere else!

This semester for me has been all about faith. Here's why:

1. I met a wonderful group of ladies for a bible study regarding faith this semester.
2. I have had to relearn how to have faith in myself in regards to school grades following one semi-bad and one horrific semester last year.
3. I have experienced how my faith has affected my relationship with God. Honestly, I'm not sure why I didn't do this one earlier because it is really amazing to sit back and let Jesus work in your own life and handle the things that you knew without a doubt you had no control over...and even the things you thought you did.
4. I have learned to have faith when it comes to other people. From sharing my own faith, to encouraging others to find their own faith God has truly revealed himself to me and hopefully through me.
5. I have learned that the key to a good marriage comes from a great relationship with our Heavenly Father and that through them all things are possible. I am excited to start my life with Joe but also to start a new page in my spiritual relationship as well.
6. God has shown me the important things in life as well as the petty things. In return, I have realized that nearly everything we face is petty compared to the power of God. He holds the world in His hands.

Now on the lighter side, here are some things I have learned in my time as a undergraduate student at UCA:

1. Flip flops + Rain in Conway = not such a good idea...unless you like to fall down...or are just feeling gutsy...or stupid
2. Rainboots are Heaven sent...when it rains, it FLOODS!
3. My bestest friend is an 8 year old because I love to watch the world through her eyes.
   
4. You can always go home....
5. I will never understand Chemistry.....and I don't really want to....(the latter statement might be directly related to the first)
6. Anything can taste good if it's free
7. Day planners are essential
8. It is a rule that everyone will get sick the week before and/or during finals....but now I know the scientific answer behind it....
9. Staying up studying all night is never a good idea and really never turns out to be a happy ending
10. Mountain Dew's and cookies for breakfast are not cure-alls
11. Being open and public with my faith was far harder than any class I have yet to take and probably will take. I learned not only that people do not share the same belief altogether as me, but also people who say they are Christians can have a totally different take concerning God than I do. I don't mean this bad or anything, I just mean that before college, I just assumed that if you were a Christian, you had the same beliefs as everyone else.
12. My family is the most important thing in my life! Before college, I took them for granted so many times. I saw them everyday and couldn't wait for the day that I would leave for college. I vowed to never look back and that I would never go home on the weekends unless I just had too. That approach lasted about 3 months
13. The most sentimental time is when your Grandfather asked you to pray at his table at Thanksgiving.

I have grown up so much over the past 4 1/2 years from first setting foot on this campus as an 18-year-old child to getting ready to set foot on a stage I never thought I would make it to as a 23-year-old child (what? I've still got learning to do!!)....My experiences and life lessons here have prepared the way in which God has already laid out for me.

Just gotta have faith!

Dear Gracious and Heavenly Father,

The following post is really more about talking to God in a more personal way than anything else. It isn't intended for anyone except for my every merciful and loving Heavenly Father.


Please help me to obey your will, to say I can and I will instead of I can't and I don't want to. You would never place me in a situation in which You knew I could not handle. I can handle any situation thrown in front of me because of Your infinate wisdom and love.

So many things I have laid upon my heart that I desperately need You to take hold of. I am not strong enough on my own to bear them or wise enough to resolve them. I ask for Your guidance in these matters so that every thought I think, every word I speak, every hug and kiss I give, every decision I make be not a reflection of my own self but a true reflection of You and Your love for me and all of your children.

You, and only you control the past, present, and future; all for Your glory. I fear that the people on my heart right now are hurting badly and I just pray Lord that you would let me be a light to them so that when they look at me, they see You and Your promise that everything will work itself out in time in just the manner that only You can tell. These life experiences, although seem unbearable to some at this moment, will one day be looked back upon and considered only minor stumbling blocks compared to the prize which lay ahead.

We are forever blessed with an Eternal Heavenly Father whose loves us not only in times of joy and triumph but also in times of sorrow and despair. You understand our every need even before we do. You know our hopes, dreams, goals, fears, and flaws and You still love us unconditionally. You pick us up and put us back on our feet as well as knock us down in order that we might stand firmer on Your word. Earthly fathers discipline their children in order to teach them; You do the same because You love us more than we can even begin to comprehend.

I ask Your guidance in the upcoming week, over the holiday break, and into finals week and graduation that even though I might be in stressful situations I will not feel stress because I have You to guide my every footstep. I pray that people begin to see glimpses of You in me so that You would be able to work in their hearts the way You are working in mine each and every day.

My prayer is that you mold me and shape me into the Godly woman and future wife that you would have me become.

In Your heavenly and gracious name by which we are saved, Amen

"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all of your heart"
Jeremiah 29:13