Growing Up

"There are three things that are important in human life. The first is to be kind.  The second is to be kind.  The third is to be kind."

"Be kind because although kindness is not by a long shot the same thing as holiness, kindness is one of the doors that holiness enters the world through, enters us through -not just gently kind but sometimes fiercely kind."

Frederick Buechner, "Growing Up"


Happy Friday

You know that feeling...

...when you haven't slept in about 2 1/2 weeks and there's puke all over every single piece of clothing and bedding that you own? 
Well I'm experiencing that feeling right now but i wouldn't trade it for anything

Sentimental Saturday

Everyone is gone today and it is awesome. It is terribly cold outside but the snow is so pretty. I'm sitting in the living room procrastinating from all of the laundry and cleaning I need to do today and I came upon a folder of pics on my computer called "Ode to Edmonton" so I thought I'd do a little tribute to the fun times I had before I ended up here.

Now that I'm living in Linden again my time away seems really far away and sometimes I forget about it but it's fun to think about all of the adventures I had before I landed HOME again.

First stop after High School: Sweden, where I met some FANTASTIC people and learned lots about God. Most of the girls I met here are people that I still admire the most out of anyone I've known. I think about them often and I am thankful for the experience that I had in Sweden.

This pic is with Heidi the day that she left Sweden and I didn't see her again for a very very long time. Now she lives in Santa Cruz and working there for the summer that I did is one of the best things I have done.

Lets skip over my 2 years at Canadian Bible College because let's face it... I didn't like it there and I can't say it had a huge impact on my life in any way.
My first night in our apartment in Edmonton living with Kirbie and Jenna our sink explodes and there is water everywhere. Only one of the eventful things that happened while living with these two fun girls:) Here we are eating chocolate to try to make ourselves feel better about our flooded bathroom and University starting TOMORROW
Mexico with Kirbie, Kyle and James. I am obviously not good at disguising that that shot tasted GROSS!!

Oh Kyle, you were so much fun. Here's when he brought us a Christmas tree so our new house would look festive!

Sarah and I driving around Seattle trying to figure out where the heck Highway 405 is.... it took FOREVER!!

And then there was the Art class I took with Angie. I was a little bit out of my league to say the least. This was a very common look for me to have on my face during this class.

Mike being REALLY excited for Sarah's birthday. The three of us had some great times living together:)

And now I'm married to the best roomate yet and I've ended up back on the farm which always was the most homie feeling place nomatter where I lived

Yah for this walk down memory lane:) Now I think i really do need to do the laundry...

Just when I thought the week couldn't get any better

... Eggnog is out in Superstore everyone!! Wahoo. I am sooo looking forward to my morning coffee tomorrow

I'm not going to say this is true...

...let's just say I found it interesting:)

postsecret

a reminder of what makes life full

"I have come to believe that by and large the human family all has the same secrets, which are both very telling and very important to tell. They are telling in the sense that they tell what is perhaps the central paradox of our condition -that what we hunger for perhaps more than anything else is to be known in our full humanness, and yet this is often just what we also fear more than anything else. It is important to tell at least from time to time the secret of who we truly and fully are--even if we tell it only to ourselves -because otherwise we run the risk of losing track of who we truly and fully are and little by little come to accept instead the highly edited version which we put forth in hope that the world will find it more acceptable than the real thing. It is important to tell our secrets too because it makes it easier that way to see where we have been in our lives and where we are going. It also makes it easier for other people to tell us a secret or two of their own, and exchanges like that have a lot to do with what being a family is all about and what being human is all about. Finally, I suspect that it is by entering that deep place inside us where our secrets are kept that we come perhaps closer than we do anywhere else to the One who, whether we realize it or not, is of all our secrets the most telling and the most precious we have to tell."
-Frederick Buechner

A Beautiful Mind

This movie never ceases to amaze me. Such an incredible story. Maybe I'm not supposed to love Jennifer Connelly's character as much as I do but her overall spirit and commitment to stand by her husband is something that I admire.
That acceptance speech at the end of the movie gets me everytime.

"Thank you. I've always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason.
But after a lifetime of such pursuits, I ask,
"What truly is logic?"
"Who decides reason?"
My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional -- and back.
And I have made the most important discovery of my career, the most important discovery of my life: It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reasons can be found.
I'm only here tonight because of you.
You are the reason I am.
You are all my reasons.
Thank you."

It was a good time...

"I have learned that one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back - that the essence of life is to go forward. Life really is a One Way Street." -Writer Agatha Christie

Tonight I was thinking back to being in University and living in the crappy apartment (known as baywood) that first year in Edmonton. Boy did I ever NOT know what I was getting myself into at the time. Even though it seems like I'm such a different person and that is such a different life sometimes I miss it. It was fun being so poor and not caring one bit. I remember living off a box of Christmas oranges one week because I didn't want to spend any of my student loan money on groceries. It was fun parking in that same spot by MacDonalds every day and going for that beautiful walk to school. It was fun going out with the girls and protecting Christine from creepy guys.

It seems so weird that that part of my life is over. Don't get me wrong I'm glad to be where I'm at right now but as life keeps on moving forward I tend to get a bit sad about everything that is over already and all of the people who are so far away.

I guess I can only hope and pray that my life continues to be filled with so much adventure and friendship and love and that one day maybe my heart will be ok with moving on.