Hello again!

Well a lot has happened since I last posted anything on my blog. To much for me to really mention everything. I do give my apologies though, I haven't been very diligent in keeping everyone updated. Well, I can tell you a little about what has happened in the last week or so, I think.

A couple of weekends ago was the weekend for the Christmas pagent at GBS. It was December 7th through the 9th. It was also the weekend of my eighteenth birthday! I sang in the choir and was also in one of the street scenes. It was so much fun! My family wasn't able to be there on the first night, which was my birthday, but they came down on Saturday and we all went out to eat at Max & Erma's for my birthday. Then after the play we went out again, this time for a friend of mine's birthday which would be the following week. It was a really fun weekend. I was so happy to have everyone there. My mom and dad came down with my grandpa and Ashley Frye, a friend of mine frome church and school. Amber Plemmons also came down and was able to go out to eat with us. That was the weekend before finals! AHHHH! No, it really wasn't that bad. I made it through alive and actually I don't think I really did that bad on any of my tests. My last final was on Thursday so I was able to head home Thursday night. I was so excited to be able to come home. I came home on the 13th and get to stay until January 7th. I can't believe the school year is already half over! It has gone by so fast!!

I am really blessed. God really knows how to take care of me! Last time I was home, I went into Hobby Lobby, where I worked over the summer, for a visit and they offered to let me work while I was home for Christmas. So I started back to work on Monday. It's going pretty good. I had to refresh my mind on a few things and they have gotten new registers since I worked there last, but other than that I'm think I'm doing pretty well.

Today was the funeral for Bro. Shoemaker, a man from my church. He was a very sweet man and his wife really means a lot to me. She told me that she really worries about me when she knows that I am traveling back and forth to GBS. My dad and brother Michael had the funeral. During the funeral I was sitting there thinking about my grandma. This will be the first Christmas without her. It all seems so strange. It just doesn't seem like she is gone. But you know, this is probably the best Christmas she has every had!! She's sharing it with the ONE who is the whole meaning of Christmas, Jesus Christ.

But enough of the melancholy this is the season to be jolly. And jolly I am. It snowed!!!! I was so excited! Hopefully we will have a white Christmas. The day after it snowed I let my dog outside for a little while and she had so much fun in the snow that I decided to go outside with her. So we went outside for a while and played. It was so much fun!! I can't wait until Christmas!

Christmas really is my favorite time of the year. The lights that sparkle on all three of our trees, the snow, the decorations, it all just seems so magical. There just seems to be something in the air that is contagious. I love it! Yeah, you will run into those grumpy shoppers every once in a while, but you run into more that wish you a "Merry Christmas" instead of the controversial "Happy Holiday." If only people would understand the true meaning of Christmas and experience that meaning in their own lives, then would it truly be a very Merry Christmas. Yeah, this isn't my normal type of blog, but I guess it's like I said before, there is just something about this season that makes one really contemplate. Hopefully I will have a new post before Christmas, but until then, have a Very Merry Christmas!!!

Homecoming!

Last night we started the GBS Homecoming. That is when the alumni come back to the school for the weekend. Yesterday we had a service for the alumni at seven o'clock in the evening. President Avery wasn't able to be there for the opening ceremony so they had a video that they had made the day before of him welcoming everyone. Then they had a quartet and trio sing and then a few of the alumni sang solos and some of the old quartets came back to sing as well. Dan Plemmons was in one of the alumni quartets. I was so happy they were able to come. I got to spend some time with Amber Plemmons and she stayed in my room last night. Then the choir sang. It was a very moving service! Then after the service we went down to the gym for the homecoming fest. All the educational divisions set up booths selling food and drinks. A few did something a little different to attract attention. One was set up like a Hawaiian booth and they had a little place where you could put your head through the hole to make it look like you were surfing and then someone could throw wet sponges at them and try to get them wet. The freshmen set up a booth where you could pay two dollars to have someone put in "jail" and the only way they could get out was if they would sing or pay two dollars. It didn't seem to go over very well at first,they kind of had some competition from the misterial booth. The ministerial booth had Jeremiah Parker play his guitar for them and one of the quartets sang. They even got one of the alumni to sing with them. So what could you call that then? Well, then towards the end the freshmen booth started getting a whole bunch of people to sing. It was so funny! They got Joel Hood, Andrew Dahler, Nick Turner, Jeremiah Thompson and Nathan Gumbiner to sing some veggitales songs. Gumby (Nathan Gumbiner) sang "You are my cheeseburger" and then someone payed to have Joel put in and he talked the other guys into singing with him. They sang "Oh, where is my Hairbrush?" By the time these guys got up there to sing they had a whole crowd around them cheering them on.They didn't know the words so they would listen to what Larry the Cucumber was singing and then they would follow along. And when it would come to a part where a "narrator" would talk they would pass the megaphone around to each other and move their mouth like they were the ones talking. It was hilarious! The gym was so crowded it was hard to even move around. And it was so noisy too!! By the time the night was over my throat hurt from hollering just to be heard. Amber and I got our picture taken with the king, a little boy from one of the booths. He was so cute! They were using him to try and "lure" people to their booth. Well, I will try to keep everyone updated. I will be going to youth challenge in a few weeks, so I will make sure I take my camera so I can update my blog when I get back. Talk to you all later. Thanks for all your prayers!

A quick update

Well, it's been quite some time since I last updated my blog. But I have been so busy lately. Well, I 'm not really sure where to start, but a lot has happened, well maybe not a lot but some things have happened since I last wrote. Well, the last week of September we had a school picnic on Saturday. We played games of frisbee, softball, ultimate frisbee, volleyball and many other games. We had so much fun! A few of my friends (Sam and Isaac) decided to sit under a tree and play for everybody towards the end. We tried to contribute a little to them by putting money in the guitar case. : ) They really appreciated that I'm sure. The little boy is my D-group leader's little boy. His name is Zachary, he is so cute. Well, anyways, the last three weeks have been phonathon. One of the busiest times of the year for the Office for Advancement, the office I work in. We recruited students to call potential donors Mon. - Thurs. for three weeks, from 6pm until 10 pm. One other girl works with me as a floater, she does whatever she is needed to do, she was a really big help to me. We switched off and on for the three weeks. So we both were down there working at least two nights a week. There were a few weeks that I was down there for three nights. So as you probably guessed I was very, very busy. That all ended last Thursday. This week I have been working on Homecoming. Homecoming is this weekend when all the alumni come to visit the camp for the weekend. Today I was asked to "model" a sweatshirt and pink GBS hat for a picture witch will be shown on a big screen tomorrow night, the first night of Homecoming!! Of course I am thrilled about that! (yeah right!) Well, I guess that pretty much sums up everything, sort of! Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I have recently decided to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. I went to a training class Tuesday night witch means that I can gradually work my way up to working with the clients. I also forgot to mention that I have already taken four test since being here. So far I have only gotten three grades back. I have made two As and one C-. The C- was in General Psychology and we were told, by our professor, from the start that we probably wouldn't get a very good score since it was one of the hardest test in the class. So I guess I really didn't do that bad. I guess I can deal with a C-. Okay, now I think that's it! I think I have updated everyone completely. So, continue to pray for me. College life is fun but a little hard to adjust to as well. But thanks to God I'm making it through it all. I really appreciated the encouragement cards I got last week from Hannah and Ashley. They really encouraged me. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I try to update my blog a little more often. Talk to you all later. Bye!

College Life!

Well, I'm here! This is my first week of classes. So far nothing too hard. Just an overview of what to expect. Sorry it has been so long for me to get this updated, but I had a little computer problem and was without a computer for a while. Last week was freshmen orrientation. It was actually a fun week. We spent the week doing one assestment after another. That got a little tiresome! As you can see I am all settled in. My room mate is really nice and easy to get along with. That makes things a lot easier too. I don't really have too big of a load for the first semester. I will be taking fifteen and a half hours of class a week. Three classes a day, and I do not have any seven o'clock classes. Thank the LORD!!! So I think this first semester will go really well. I am really excited about this year, I think it will go very well. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. They have been a real encouragement for me. I just remind myself from time to time of the people who stood around me, Ryan and Megan and prayed for us. That just reminds me of the people who care for and are continuing to pray for me. Thank you all so much. I already have had a few answers to prayer. The first one happened just a few days after I got here. I'm sure my mom has filled you all in but just in case she didn't I will go ahead and tell you. I was really hoping to get a secretary position in the work study program but I never really applied for it. The second day I was here, Bro. Hooker found out I had arrived and asked me to come up to his office. Then he asked me if I would like a position as his secretary. Of course I said I would. Well, to make a long story short I found Friday that I got the job and started that afternoon. Then the next answer was just a few days ago. I was down to just six dollars and didn't really now how I was going to come up with some money to come home this weekend. Well, my church took up an offering and sent it to me. So I think God is going to take care of me this week. I have no doubt in my mind that this is where God wants me to be. Well, I have to get ready to go to chapel. I will do my very best to keep everyone updated. Thanks so much for all your prayers.

Heading to College!

Well, tomorrow I leave for college. I know it has been a long time since I last updated my blog, but a lot has happended since my last blog (sort of). As you can see the house is quite a mess. That was just last night. My mom and I got to work and packed everything up and got it in the van last night and now we are ready to roll. I really am excited about going to college, it is going to be so much fun! And contrary to what my father says, I am going for a bachelor's degree in church and family, NOT just a bachelor! : ) Although that might fit in some where. I have spent a lot of time this summer getting things for school and now all that has paid off and it is actually time to go. I'm excited but a little sad at the same time. It's just another chapter of my life that is closing and I realize that there is no going back. Things will never be the same. And as scary as that is, I can't help but be excited at the new realm of possibilities awaiting me. As my mom says, it really is exciting to just sit back and see what God does. One of my moms favorite songs is "I enjoy the trip", and I'm finding that I too am enjoying the trip walking with my savior. Well, I will try to keep this updated and let everyone know what's going on at college in the next couple of months. See ya around sometime!

New Friends!

A couple of weeks ago I spent a week at Rock Lake Bible Methodist Camp. It was so much fun! There were so many teenagers there to hang out with. We would spend the day playing volleyball and softball. Then in the evenings we would stay up late and play some other games ;) It was so, so much fun. These were a few of the girls I met at camp. Except for Alyssa, of course, I've known her for a year now. Left to right is Valerie Keep, Me, Alyssa Coxon, Esther Hough, Sarah Hough, and Anna Hough. I had an awesome time. I also met a few girls who will be going to GBS this year, and I found out about seven teens from Rock Lake will be going next year. It was so cool to make some new friends.

Emma's First Birthday!

Today was my beautiful niece, Emma's, first birthday. She was so cute! And she got so many cute presents, as you can see. The red wagon and cabbage patch doll was from her mommy & daddy. She loved riding around in that wagon. Later on we had some birthday cake, but we never could get her to eat any. We tried to get her to eat it with her hands, but she wouldn't, she wanted a fork. Even then she wouldn't eat it she just wanted to feed her daddy. In the end she ended up eating the candy orange slices off the cake, she never did eat her birthday cake. It was quite an enjoyable day, watching our little Emma on her first birthday.

My Grandparents.

These are my best friends, my grandma & grandpa Murphy. My grandma passed away March 17, 2007. We found out a few days after Christmas that she had cancer. Grandma was always there for her grandchildren and she was the most fun to be with. We always went places with her. I would go and spent a couple of weeks with them in Florida sometimes. There were a lot of times I would come home from school and not be able to find anything to snack on so I would ride my bike to Grandma & Grandpa's house. I miss my grandma very much, but I know she is in a better place and she will be waiting there for me. She was a very godly woman who loved God with all her heart. No one could ever doubt that. She was always ready to stand up in church and thank God for something. Even if it was just thanking Him for helping her find something she had needed for a good price at a garage sale. She is dearly missed by her family, but we will always remember her as a smiling, encouraging, godly grandma.

Me and my school friends

This picture was taken on the day of my graduation. These are two of my friends from school, Michael Maloyed and Michael Miller. I didn't realize what they were doing until after the picture was taken. I thought for once they were going to take a serious picture. Yeah right! :) I had to put up with these two for one whole year. Don't you feel sorry for me :) They played a lot of pranks on me over the school year, but I guess it was my own fault because I always fell for it and I always reacted. Which, of course, is all they wanted-- a reaction.

The Town Gossips

It isn't the clearest picture, but I am the one in the middle. This was our spring drama at my school this past year. It was a western comedy about two law breakers who decided to go straight. Then they were mistaken for bank robbers and to hide from the law they pretended to be cousins of a family in town. I played Sarah Perkins, the wife of their cousin, George Perkins. In this scene the town gossips (school friends Makayla and Kallene) came for a visit to find out all about the new "eligible bachelors" in town. It was kind of funny because their skirts were so big that every time they came through the door (even during practice) they would push me into the wall. It was a lot of fun playing that part.