Just finished up watching Bourne Supremacy with the fam while eating yummy homemade apple pie….Mmmmm. And now after a sweet night, I am starting to get sleepy. Bedtime for meeee!! Because tomorrow I must get up early and take Laura to school…oh high school, how I don’t miss thee! G’night, all!!

Right now, I’m sitting at home listening the rumbling of thunder and the soft whisper of the rain…ah, how I love thunderstorms!! Lightning illuminating the grey sky as the clouds glow a softer purple…rain slowly washing away the heat of the day…beautiful.

Oh, you know what one of the best pleasures in the world is? Well, we grow tomatoes at our house…and today I was outside and popped a cherry tomato in my mouth…and seriously, there is nothing better than eating a cherry tomato fresh off the vine…the sun-warmed tomato bursting with delicious flavor, gosh – I love it!!

And now it is time to go to church youth group. Hopefully we make it through the storm!!! I do so love thunderstorms…but not so much when I have to drive in them! Ah well. They’re still beautiful!!

Well, once again it’s late at night and I’m writing in here. Hmm, that could be dangerous. Will it stop me? Of course not!! Anyways, it’s been a few days since my last update and a lot of sweetness has been going down!!

I guess the last time I wrote in here was…Friday night? Well anyways, Rob woke up early on Saturday morning to go to Tally for a wedding…so I haven’t seen him since. Sadly. But it was humorous to wake up to see him leaving our room in a shirt and tie!! I was most confused until I remembered the wedding! That morning…I don’t entirely remember what I did, but I know I was supposed to be packing ALL of my stuff. And I’m pretty sure I got none of it done then! Anyway, Saturday afternoon, me and Galan went disc-golfing with the Lebos, which was as awesome as always! I actually played pretty decently, so I was most pleased! After that, me and Galan and George played around in the Lebos’ pool for a while and had a little dinner…until I went on to the next phase of the night – contra dancing! I went and picked up David from his house and Deanna and Shari from campus and we went dancing. As always, the dancing both exhausted and exhilarated me(hmm, can I use exhilarated that way? Oh well, I just did) and by the end of it, I was ready to go home!

So thus ended Saturday.

Sunday. My last full day in Gainesville. Well, at least for a while.

It started with bacon and coffee. How else can I begin my Sunday mornings??? So I relaxed and ate and drank and read until we went to church. Church was as wonderful and encouraging as always and I tried very, very hard to not think too much about the fact that it could be my last time in Creekside for quite some time. After church a bunch of us decided to go to Hot Wok for lunch and so about 12 of us invaded the place! We actually had to get extra chairs – that’s how small it is there! After a very big meal, we attempted to leave. I say attempted because Andrew’s car wouldn’t start, so we tried to figure out the source of the problem. I could go through the details of all that we did to try to fix it, but I’ll just cut to the conclusion! He got a new battery and all was well!

Now after this, I had planned to pack the rest of the day and then leave for Tampa sometime Sunday evening. But did things go the way I planned….well…not exactly. Once I got home, I started packing, but then Mary and Allison came over bearing the first two X-Men movies(since after seeing Wolverine, I had admitted to not seeing the trilogy). I was determined to ignore the movie playing in our living room, but after more people came over…well, I couldn’t resist the temptation any longer! We watched the first X-Men. Then we watched the second one! After that, it was dinner time so we ordered some pizza(for the approximately 10 people that were here at that point!) We also decided we needed to see the third X-Men, so we started that up! I was determined to finish packing though, so I did. And right as I was ready to pack my car…it started pouring rain. Nooooo!!

I was a bit distressed at this point, because I’d promised my parents I’d be home. But I called home and I was assured they wouldn’t mind if I came the next morning!! So I sat down and watched the third X-Men with everyone still at our place(Let me see if I can remember who all was there….Alex and Deanna and Shari and Amy and me and Galan and Andrew and Melinda and Mary and Allison and Rebekah….yeah, I think that’s about right!!) The movie finally ended(oh and I have to say…I quite approved of the X-Men trilogy. Not going to take over my favorite movie spots…but they were most enjoyable with all their mutant-y goodness!! I think Mystique was one of my favorites…just because she almost always dominated everyone…even if she is evil. Oops.)

But after that movie ended, people started leaving and I had to say goodbye. I hate goodbyes. Mostly because it means you never know quite when you’ll see people again…so I try to avoid saying goodbye as much as possible. Anyways, after that Galan and Melinda and Andrew were going to watch a scary movie(something I’m not particularly a fan of!), so me and Deanna and Amy and Shari went back to their place to watch Robin Hood – Men in Tights. Again, not my favorite movie…but it does have some pretty hilarious bits!!! It was a perfect way to end the evening…relaxing with them as the night slowly wound to a close…I said goodbye to them too, and it was quite…well, I can’t really say sad, just because that doesn’t really grasp my true feelings – seems too trite. Anyways, Amy’s leaving for her job in Panama City so I don’t know when I’ll see her again…so yeah. All I know is, we will be having Gville reunions!! I so decree!!

And thus ended Sunday.

Monday was my 22nd birthday! WHAT.

It started with me and Andrew packing my car and then me driving back to Tampa!! It was sort of a hard drive, mostly because I was a bit sleepy from my long day before and because it was raining the whole way. Anyway, I made it home safe at long last! I got to hang with my dad and have lunch with him and just catch up…and it was awesome. That afternoon was pretty sweet because I was able to just relax…I actually took a nap on the couch! That evening, Vickie came over and then we had an epic dinner! We had roast chicken and potatoes and onions and stuffing and cranberries and a tomato salad…oh yes. We had a delightful dinner and then spent the evening just talking and relaxing and eating piping hot chocolate volcano cake(well, I don’t know if it’s actually called that, but that’s what I’d imagine chocolate magma to taste like….SOOOOO good!!).

I realize this entry is getting rather long. Oops. Once again, my apologies!!

I’d like to write more(like about today’s Great Tire Adventure with Dream!) but I think I shall cut it short, for your sanity as well as my sleep!! I just want to say how thankful I am for all of my friends…and if you’re reading this, you’re in that category! Well, unless you’re some random person I don’t know. If that’s you, then you COULD be my friend…you’re just not yet. Anyways, just having the encouragement and love and unswerving compassion from so many people…it’s overwhelming. And it’s this, more than almost anything, that reminds me of the great love my God has for us…His love that shines through all his children! Sometimes I don’t understand why I am so blessed. But I am nonetheless!!

And I thank my very best friends(and you know who you are!!) for just always being there for me…when I’m stupid or tired or silly or weird or mean…you still care for me. You still encourage me. You still rebuke me! You still love me. Oh what a great God we serve!!

Alright, it really is time to get this show on the road. So goodnight!!

Wow, the last couple of days have just been AWESOME. I’m back in Gainesville…enjoying my last few days of the college life, yeah!!

I wish I could fully explain how I feel…so full of joy and yet wistful at all that I will soon be leaving. I wish I could tell you how great the last few days have been…just relaxing and chilling with my friends – from watching Fellowship of the Ring while a thunderstorm rages outside to playing Assassin’s Creed with the rooommates (think epic rooftop-running, knife-throwing, swordsman-awesomeness type game!!) to having intense conversations with Rob (four years is just not long enough to spend with him…….) to having one final Prayer and Praise tonight at Laurie and Janna’s new place(walking outside under the stars and praying with your friends – what can beat that????) to having my birthday celebration with the roommates and Shari and Amy and Deanna and Alex (I’m not really a fan of big parties – spending the night getting sugared up on chocolate deliciousness while talking and laughing and just enjoying life with your best friends…oh is God good!!!).

So yeah. It’s been real. It’s been fun. And I am ever-so-thankful to our Father from whom all blessings flow!!! All glory to Him!!!

Today’s such a beautiful morning!! Well actually, it’s not morning anymore, but it’s still beautiful!! I slept in for the first time in a LONG time and then made some delicious coffee as I read and relaxed on my bed. Oh and why am I doing so much relaxing? Well, I just – you know – graduated. Yep. It feels like it was just yesterday that I started at the University of Florida, and now I hold a degree. Wow. Finally though, I can see the fruits of my labor…and yet again, I can’t thank God enough for his goodness to me in giving me the ability and giving me the strength to survive college (mostly!) intact!

And I really feel like writing a long semi-philosophical entry about life and my upcoming adventures in Texas and my sorrows at leaving my friends and my sadness about going so far from my family and my (still!!) uncertainty about the mysterious nature of females(ok, maybe you all don’t want to hear about that…!!) and my growing excitement to see what kind of epic journey is in store for me as I take the plunge into the oh-so-deep river of post-college life. Will my journey down this river be relaxing and trial-free(ok, I know the answer to that question) or will it be as crazy as descending the Falls of Rauros(+10 to anyone who knows where that comes from!)?

But really, I know that even though I don’t know the future, I know it will be good. And I know that even though I’m leaving all my friends behind, I WILL meet new awesome people in Houston. It has so been decreed. And I can thank God for his wonderful grace that He has given to me.

And now, I go. Today is going to be a day of Middle-Earth Domination as me and Galan and George Lebo play some sweet Lord of the Rings Risk. And in the middle of the game, I’m going to make an awesome pork chops dinner. Mmmm….I’m already hungry. Oh wait. That’s because I haven’t eaten anything today. Oops.

Farewell all!!