Family Time...

Well, I am canceling all former, current, and future plans for this weekend in order to spend the weekend with my two beautiful cousins, Josie and Tess....I am going to pick them up at Russelville Friday and head home for the weekend! Activities are being planned as we speak by myself and I think every other member of my family! We all are pretty excited to get to see them and spend some time with them!

The leaves are beginning to change and that excites me as well as saddens me. I love this time of year more than any other and the leaves are one of my most favorite things right next to Christmas lights and fireworks. What saddens me is that for the past year I have been thinking that I would be getting married during this time and that the leaves would be in full force. Now that we have moved our wedding to the spring, I won't get to experience those colors. We had thought about doing some engagement pictures amongst the leaves and still might if we can find time. I guess that just leaves us to try to get in pictures next year! Oh well...

I saw my neighbor again last night..She brought me some pumpkin bread that she had made just for me to show her thankfulness!! IT IS WONDERFUL!!!!! She doesn't realize just how much of a blessing she is to me...She always reminds me to just keep truckin' no matter the situation...I hope that I can have her perseverance on day..

School is actually going really well...My grades are better than they have probably ever been and hopefully continue to be...Since it is my last undergraduate semester...I want a 4.0...That would be a large accomplishment regardless but considering my courseload this time around...it would be HUGE!!!

Speaking of school, I guess it's time to get back to studying!

That is all...

And So Begins Another Week....

Another week has begun and it's already a Monday! No matter how hard I try it is always so hard to get into bed on Sunday night at a decent hour and then oh so hard to get up the next morning...

On a more positive note: I really love my classes this semester. Each one is different but in a sense very well connected to one another which makes learning the material both easier and more interesting.

I spoke with the head of the physical therapy department at the hospital in CR on Friday and it turns out that I will have a job after graduation!! I have a little bit of "lag time" between graduation and graduate school so I thought that the best plan would be to get a PT tech job at the hospital because it would correspond with my future career...So I am super excited about that!!! That time will also allow me to finish all of the tiny details before the wedding...less stress is SO much better!

My neighbor came over again last night to inform me that her mother is doing well which is music to everyone's ears!! She also told me that she was going to bake me some pumpkin bread for being such a good neighbor and not allowing her to pay me...I said I wouldn't accept her money but I would accept food...hey a college girl's gotta eat!

2 weeks 2 days and counting until Fall Break is finally here! While the semester is actually passing by fairly quickly, I still welcome any type of break available...Hopefully I can finish up my observation hours and retake my GRE in that time period...That would definitely alleviate some stress. I looked at my calender this morning and realized that we come back from Thanksgiving break this year to our last week of regular classes before finals...and I come back from that break to take 3 science tests in 3 consecutive days...That means my break will be spent with lots of good food..and lots of studying!

The wedding plans are beginning to get started...again...I am really trying to make myself at least start thinking about it...I really am having a blast being engaged though...I always thought that once you were engaged you had to be married right away..after all, you spend so much time waiting for that moment in your life that when it finally arrives it's time to get "hitched"...but now I realize that being engaged is a great time in itself..and it's more than just the planning, the bridal fairs (which are currently my FAVORITE), the money, and of course the dress...it's about taking time to be with your family because you realize that you are about to have a whole new family and a new place to come home to each night...while that's exciting I want to relish the time I have left as a daughter and a sister before I become a wife....and one day A LONG LONG TIME FROM NOW....a mother...

On that note, I am going to get back to my Monday...and my homework....

That is all...

If you just realize what I just realized....

Well today marks the first official post of my blog...I had a blog my freshman year of college on a website called "xanga"...but it slowly faded away as I got busy...

I think about my life from the time of my "first blog" until now and I realize that I am a completely new and different person...in some ways I suppose that is good and in some ways maybe not...

I hope that this blog will be a way for me to see the world in a new light...taking time from each day to simply be quiet, listen, and observe my life for the great, wonderful, and blessed gift it truly is...

One night last week, I was really having a tough time...just kind of feeling sorry for myself...not seeing the purpose...I think everyone's been there at least one or twice...probably more...but the coolest "uncool" thing happened the very next day. Our next door neighbor came over in tears because she had just taken her mother back to the hospital due to her battle with cancer which had now spread to her breasts...she had lost her cell phone and wanted to know if she could pay me to borrow mine so that she could call hers to see if just maybe it was inside her house...well of course I told her not to worry about the money but just to take my phone over there and then she could just bring it back when she had found it...when she came back she had found it and was relieved...we ended up sharing a hug in the living room, both of us crying....

What I realized in that very special moment with my neighbor, even though I don't know her name, is my purpose...the same purpose I was unsure of just the night before...God calls us to be neighbors...even if it just a simple hug and prayer...that's my purpose...to shine His light on someone who needs it...

It really helped me to realize that my life is full of purpose and that instead of feeling sorry for myself that I don't know what it is, I should embrace that fact because it just means that God will show me what it is when the time is right...so really my purpose in life to serve him...no matter how big or how small the mission seems to be...

That's all....