I’ve just had the most lovely day. And to think it all started at 4:30…yes, in the morning! You may wonder why I was so insane to wake up at such a dreary hour…and yes, there is a very good reason! But first of all, I must enlighten you all on the beauty that is early morning…for some reason, there’s nothing quite like being awake and knowing that most people around you are drifting through sleep and yet I’m enjoying the beauty of the night while looking towards the coming of the sun! Ahh, I love it.

Anyways, where was I? Ah, yes. The reason I was up so early! Well, Deanna was in town! For about…an hour. But of course, could I pass up the chance to see her one last time before she goes off to the far away country of Hungary? Of course not. So me and Julie met up with her at Starbucks(after random adventures getting lost in the massive airport!) and had coffee(mmm, mocha goodness..) and enjoyed just being together, even if it was for a mere hour. And then…she left us. I don’t think it’s really hit me that I won’t even be able to see her for a whole YEAR. Ridiculous. And…sad. So I will not talk about this anymore.

SO. CHANGING SUBJECTS. After that, I left the airport(changing clothes in my car before I left!) and drove straight to church! Which was very sweet, I must say. Again, it makes me realize how much I need to worship and fellowship with other followers of Christ! I so miss Gainesville, where I could do that basically every day! Galan, Andrew, Rob…we had a sweet apartment. I miss y’all.

Ah, but how good is my Father to give me an awesome church here in Houston! I really don’t know why I fear and why I get anxious about my future. I’m so silly! So, yeah, today was pretty sweet. And I’ve had an awesome afternoon after church just relaxing. I do so appreciate the rest that God gives us! How sweet is His pasture!

And now, farewell! May all of you be blessed as much as I!

HOUSTON, what!

That’s right, I’m now working full time with Cameron and living in my own apartment and a thousand miles away from most of my friends. Is this what “real life” is all about???

Two things I’ve learned about Houston that I shall kindly pass along:

Number 1: It is hot here. Very very hot. So hot that in the thirty seconds it takes for me to get into my car and drive, I get a lovely sheen of sweat on my face. I used to think Florida was just as hot. I was wrong.

Number 2: There are some sweet(and by sweet I mean insane) road systems in Houston. Driving the beltway in the morning really reminds me that I’m ALIVE, blood pumping through my veins and cars roaring by. You most definitely have to be on your game to drive in Houston!!

And before you all get the wrong idea, I really do enjoy Houston. I’ve already found an awesome church(Baptist Church of the Redeemer!) and I’ve had some good times hanging out with my work people!

But hey, I still miss y’all. A lot.

Oh and one more note…just got my first ever digital camera…arrived today!! I haven’t opened it yet – been whetting my anticipation by waiting all night. So expect for me to have some pictures of H-Town soon!!

Oh and one more random story that was almost tragic but ended up in a rather delicious manner…last night I was making some chicken parmesan (first epic meal in the new place!) when a giant thunderstorm attacked my neighborhood…the lightning and thunder was nonstop and I was just a tad nervous. Still, I was just minding my own business frying chicken when the power went out. Power being out meant that my stove did not work which meant that I could not finish my meal! Thankfully…within about 20 minutes the power came back on and I completed my dinner and ate it…albeit at around 10:30 at night. And it WAS delicious.

And now…I’m off. I think ’tis time to play with my new camera.

Today was a sweeet day. Celebrated Laura’s 16th(WHAT!?) b-day since I’ll be gone when it’s her actual birthday…we made delicious cinnamon rolls in the morning(with coffee of course!) and finished off the day with chocolate pie and watching Two Towers…oh yes!! Also got to eat lunch at Friday’s with Chris and Liz…good times talking about our fav books(I have so many new book series I now want to read thanks to Liz!) and Muse(I still think Black Holes is the better album, Chris!) and other awesome randomness – man, I realized I’ve known Chris for so long and it was quite…sad…saying goodbye, not knowing when the next time we’ll be together is. Wow, is this what being an adult is like…? So many of my best friends that I’m leaving…but all I can say is, I’m just ever so thankful that I’ve had such sweet friends in the first place. Ah, God is good!! And now it is getting late…so farewell!!

Oh and…

Last night in Tampa.

Tomorrow…Houston bound.

Time to rock and roll, y’all.

Time for bed soon(it is getting LATE!) but just wanted to say that the last few days have been pure awesomeness…hanging with the fam, breakfast with David yesterday, lunch with mom yesterday and lunch with Laura today, sweet time at Rays game tonight with whole family(first time Maryanne and Laura had been to a pro baseball game – it was an awesome game, we beat the Angels 11-1, yeah!)…oh yeah and Houston?

I’ll be there in four days. Eek.

I feel like I’m Bilbo the hobbit, saying farewell to all my favorite haunts in Tampa…oh how I will miss Florida.

But now, bedtime!! Goodnight all!!

Wow, has it been just…an amazingly awesome last few days. And those words really DO NOT adequately say what I’m feeling. Just because I’m terrible with words and all…getting your emotions onto the printed page? Not easy.

But even though these past few days are worthy of pages of writing(don’t leave – I won’t really write that much!!), I really do need to go to sleep soon because church is in the morning and getting eight hours of sleep would really be quite delightful!

But yeah…let me at least briefly describe what I’ve been doing recently. Went back to Gainesville this past Wednesday…one last hurrah!! On Wednesday night, got in and chilled with Rob for a while…was so good to just hang with him and talk and….have great times. I have to say, I’ve had lots of good friends…but never one quite like him. And I am most exceedingly grateful to my Father for blessing me so!!!!

I will not be derailed too much in this brief recap though…! And so Wednesday night was suitably glorious for my return(me and Rob and Andrew ended up watching a movie that will remain nameless, but started with “Pride” and ended with “Prejudice”. Hey. Don’t judge) and ended with me reading some classic Lord of the Rings as I drifted off to sleep(nothing better than reading about sleepy willow trees to help you go to sleep!).

And Thursday started just as relaxingly…sleeping in late and eating crispy bacon with the dudes…yesss. Later that night, me and Rob headed over to Dan and Betsy’s house for just pretty much the most perfect night…playing horseshoes in the rain…grilling and eating deliciousness…talking for hours on end…and just soaking in the blessings of such sweet fellowship!!! You know those friends who you can just talk to about ANYTHING…and whom you just CONNECT to? Well, my conversations with Rob and Dan and Betsy are just always amazing because they’re those type of friends…a communion of love, indeed. So that night…well…just YES.

And the next day was just as sweet. Wow, looking back on it, I really can’t believe how awesome all these days have been!! And I’m rapidly falling asleep, so I better stop rambling and hurry up! But yeah, did some errands in the pouring down rain in the morning(cut my hair…it is so short now, eeek!) and then in the afternoon went to see Rebekah Hope! She’s been staying at her family’s lake house after her surgery, so a bunch of us went to chill with her…it was a pure delight to see her again!! And that evening, prayer and praise. For one last time! We ate delicious spaghetti and read through 1 Thessalonians and sang and talked about controversial topics and prayed and worshiped God. And that really says enough. Oh, and we ended that night with some delicious coffee(Laurie made it – how I will miss her! And not just for her coffee!)

And this morning(we’re finally to today!) began as all mornings should. At the disc golf course. Me and Rob and Galan and Deanna and Shari and Laurie and David and George and Becca went over to Northside park and hit up the course bright and early(8:30 IS early, I swear!) and it was ever so beautiful…I love doing things early in the morning and watching the wisps of fog melt away as the sun hits them and seeing the sparkling dew on the grass and feeling the very first hints of the sun and watching the clouds form in the sky…and walking through all of this with your very best friends. Truly, I’m going to miss this.

And now, I’m home in Tampa. And while I love my friends OH SO MUCH, I also love my fam and it was so good to be back with them and talk with my dad and mom and chat about random stuff with Laura and Maryanne in my room and just relax on my bed. And speaking of bed. It is time. I think I said this was going to be a short entry. Oops. You all have permission to slap me next time you see me!

And I really want to write a more insightful entry about college and my feelings about leaving it…and yes, that will probably also be a very long entry. Alas, now is not the time. And I feel my heart is too full…as I have said before and will say again, I feel so overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord. I can never stop thanking Him for his marvelous blessings to me and for the friends and brothers and sisters He has given me in this life…and I can never stop praising Him for His love that extends over the heavens and is greater than the seas…and I can never forget the works He has done in my life with His mighty hand…and all I can do is love Him. Because He loved me first.

I am now chilling on my bed, feeling in the mood to write, but not sure what to write. Should I write a poem? Or a short story? Or a random musing? (Oh wait, that’s what I always write here) Or…what? Give me a prompt, someone! I need creativity, but it has fled from me. Oh muse, heed my call and return! Return on the wings of the moonrise and in the chariot of the sun…or else I will die from sporadic poetical random outbursts! Like this one.

..oh, I’m doomed.

Wow, am I exhausted!! It’s a been a crazy and TIRING last few days…

I don’t have time for a long update(well technically I DO have time, but it’s getting late and I rather want some sweet sleep!!)…so I guess I’ll just have to summarize!

Maryanne graduated from Gaither this past Friday! WHOA. My little sister is now practically a college student. Craziness. I just wish I could be at UF one more semester, because I think that would be really sweet to be able to be at the same school with her! Unfortunately, since she’s four years younger…we’ve never been able to be in the same school together. Except for when we were home-schooled, but that doesn’t really count. Anyway, the graduation was super awesome!! And nice and short. College graduation ceremonies…take a hint!!

And because she was graduating, my Uncle Maury and Aunt Cheryl came from Omaha, Nebraska to visit! They were here from Wednesday of last week until today…they stayed at the nearby Baptist camp(where I worked a few summers ago), so I spent much of my time ferrying them to and fro…I think I could drive that route without headlights, blindfolded. Don’t dare me to try it though.

Anyways, the time with them was sweet! We watched lots of movies with ’em, went to the beach, had way too much good food…you know. Oh and speaking of movies, last week the whole family(minus Katharyn, sadly…) went and saw Star Trek at the theatre. It was most excellent – better than I expected! – mostly because it pulled a lot of the old lines from the TV series and really kept the spirit of Star Trek. We were pleased!

Anyways, there is much more I could talk about, but it is time for sleep. So farewell. And…live long and prosper.

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!!