Its been almost 5 months since I moved into my new house, and not once have I been kept up late because of loud music. Not once.
I climb into my really comfy bed (pillow top mattress and box spring set, that I got off of Craigslist; along with the bed frame, for $200!) every night, and I sleep through the night. Every night.
And I literally thank the Lord for it every night. :)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
I'm Still Here!
I bet you thought I was just going to give up on this blog! Well, I kinda wondered the same thing, but I am not ready to give up yet. I do have A LOT going on, but this blog is a great way for me to not only share all that's happening, but also help me process everything. So, while my schedule has limited my blogging recently, I am committed to keeping this going and am hoping to make more time to write.
Since its been over a month since I last updated, I am aware that there is no way that I will be able to update you on everything. So, as has been my recent blogging style, I will just give you the highlights.
I had a week off (YAY!) after the mission trip and then we all went to Sandy Cove for our staff retreat. It was such a treat!! Usually we spend our summer staff retreat at Camp Men O Lan. Its always a fun time, but its very "camping". We sleep in cabins, the bathrooms and showers are in a different building, and there are a lot of bugs, haha. I'm NOT a fan of any form of camping, so while the company makes the retreat a wonderful time, I am not usually excited about the accommodations. In addition, the activities that are available at Men O Lan are mainly family fun things (which makes sense, since there are only 2 single people that come on the staff retreat). I don't want to sound like I am complaining, I do enjoy staff retreat. Its a huge blessing to be able to get out of the city for a few days, and to spend time with the staff (all of whom I really enjoy!). I'm just not much into "the great outdoors". :) (To me, hiking is just walking around, sweating and avoiding bugs, haha).
So, going somewhere new this year was exciting for me! Sandy Cove is more like a hotel overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. It was so amazing! We slept in real beds (not cabin bunk beds), had a ton of options during free time (pool, frisbee golf, miniature golf, volleyball, etc), had AMAZING food at every meal, and were treated to beautiful sunsets every night over the Chesapeake Bay. I loved it!! I doubt we will be able to go there again any time soon (a supporting church blessed us with this opportunity; normally, it's about 4 times the cost of Men O Lan), but I definitely enjoyed it this year!
After returning from staff retreat, I spent most of my time working on my CASA case (the court date was coming soon), getting ready for fall ministry and cleaning my house. I never have time to clean when ministry is in full gear, so I like to try and at least start the season with a clean house. It was pretty boring and low key, and I loved it. :)
I also had the AWESOME opportunity to see my Hokies play at the Tech Vs. Boise State game on Labor Day! I haven't been to a Tech game in years, and while we did lose (sad), it was a really exciting game!! I LOVED IT!!! Ashley went with me, which was also awesome. She is a huge football fans as well, which made it even more fun! I love football!!!!! :)
The weekend after Labor Day kicked off the fall for me, and I have been going pretty full speed since then. I had the opportunity to travel to Lebanon, Indiana (about 30 minutes from Indianapolis) and surprise my friends Matt and April. April and I have been friends since 7th grade (18 years!!), and I absolutely love her husband and three daughters. To make a really long story short, I was invited out there by a couple from Matt and April's church who were interested in supporting me (thanks to Matt and April sharing with them all about my ministry!). So, I flew to Indianapolis on a Friday where this couple (Gary and Lana) picked me up and took care of me until we could surprise Matt and April later that evening. And they were surprised! So, I spent the weekend hanging out with Matt and April, while also meeting with several elders from their church and even speaking to a Sunday school class and the youth group. It was so fun!! And fruitful! At the end of the weekend, this couple not only committed to supporting me monthly, but their support amounts to approximately 1/3 of all of my support!! 3 weeks later, and I'm still in shock! Praise the Lord!!!!
I got back from Indiana on Monday, spent Tuesday unpacking and cleaning, went to court for my CASA case on Wednesday morning, and then drove 8 hours to NC, to be sleeping soundly at my parents house on Wednesday night. It was a whirlwind to say the least! I only got to spend 4 days at my parents (which is okay because I did get to see them several times over the summer), but it was a really nice and relaxing time. Plus, my dad had plenty of time to take care of all of my car needs. :)
I got back to Philly this past Monday, and I have been spending this week really trying to get things together for the fall (I should be ready for this, but I am not!!). Everything starts up again next week and I won't have any real time off until Thanksgiving... so I have a lot to do! I am excited to get started, but I honestly don't really feel ready for everything. Ready or not, though, the fall is here!!!
Since its been over a month since I last updated, I am aware that there is no way that I will be able to update you on everything. So, as has been my recent blogging style, I will just give you the highlights.
I had a week off (YAY!) after the mission trip and then we all went to Sandy Cove for our staff retreat. It was such a treat!! Usually we spend our summer staff retreat at Camp Men O Lan. Its always a fun time, but its very "camping". We sleep in cabins, the bathrooms and showers are in a different building, and there are a lot of bugs, haha. I'm NOT a fan of any form of camping, so while the company makes the retreat a wonderful time, I am not usually excited about the accommodations. In addition, the activities that are available at Men O Lan are mainly family fun things (which makes sense, since there are only 2 single people that come on the staff retreat). I don't want to sound like I am complaining, I do enjoy staff retreat. Its a huge blessing to be able to get out of the city for a few days, and to spend time with the staff (all of whom I really enjoy!). I'm just not much into "the great outdoors". :) (To me, hiking is just walking around, sweating and avoiding bugs, haha).
So, going somewhere new this year was exciting for me! Sandy Cove is more like a hotel overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. It was so amazing! We slept in real beds (not cabin bunk beds), had a ton of options during free time (pool, frisbee golf, miniature golf, volleyball, etc), had AMAZING food at every meal, and were treated to beautiful sunsets every night over the Chesapeake Bay. I loved it!! I doubt we will be able to go there again any time soon (a supporting church blessed us with this opportunity; normally, it's about 4 times the cost of Men O Lan), but I definitely enjoyed it this year!
After returning from staff retreat, I spent most of my time working on my CASA case (the court date was coming soon), getting ready for fall ministry and cleaning my house. I never have time to clean when ministry is in full gear, so I like to try and at least start the season with a clean house. It was pretty boring and low key, and I loved it. :)
I also had the AWESOME opportunity to see my Hokies play at the Tech Vs. Boise State game on Labor Day! I haven't been to a Tech game in years, and while we did lose (sad), it was a really exciting game!! I LOVED IT!!! Ashley went with me, which was also awesome. She is a huge football fans as well, which made it even more fun! I love football!!!!! :)
The weekend after Labor Day kicked off the fall for me, and I have been going pretty full speed since then. I had the opportunity to travel to Lebanon, Indiana (about 30 minutes from Indianapolis) and surprise my friends Matt and April. April and I have been friends since 7th grade (18 years!!), and I absolutely love her husband and three daughters. To make a really long story short, I was invited out there by a couple from Matt and April's church who were interested in supporting me (thanks to Matt and April sharing with them all about my ministry!). So, I flew to Indianapolis on a Friday where this couple (Gary and Lana) picked me up and took care of me until we could surprise Matt and April later that evening. And they were surprised! So, I spent the weekend hanging out with Matt and April, while also meeting with several elders from their church and even speaking to a Sunday school class and the youth group. It was so fun!! And fruitful! At the end of the weekend, this couple not only committed to supporting me monthly, but their support amounts to approximately 1/3 of all of my support!! 3 weeks later, and I'm still in shock! Praise the Lord!!!!
I got back from Indiana on Monday, spent Tuesday unpacking and cleaning, went to court for my CASA case on Wednesday morning, and then drove 8 hours to NC, to be sleeping soundly at my parents house on Wednesday night. It was a whirlwind to say the least! I only got to spend 4 days at my parents (which is okay because I did get to see them several times over the summer), but it was a really nice and relaxing time. Plus, my dad had plenty of time to take care of all of my car needs. :)
I got back to Philly this past Monday, and I have been spending this week really trying to get things together for the fall (I should be ready for this, but I am not!!). Everything starts up again next week and I won't have any real time off until Thanksgiving... so I have a lot to do! I am excited to get started, but I honestly don't really feel ready for everything. Ready or not, though, the fall is here!!!
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