december, really?

well, i made it. my last paper has been edited and handed in. classes are done until january 13th. i was sooo excited for this break, but now i'm finding that i'm busier than ever! i have a ton of babysitting jobs, christmas parties, birthday parties, etc. this week was crazy! however-i'm not going to complain. its still nice to not be doing school work. hopefully things will slow down next week and i can actually relax a bit.

is it december yet????

my advise-don't get a new laptop at the end of the semester! it's too tempting to use during those boring classes! for example-i'm in class right now! ugh-i kinda feel guilty, but sometimes class is so off topic and irrelevant to my future that i just tune out. it doesn't help that i have 6 hours of straight classes either. i also can tell its the end of the semester because i seem to find almost ANYTHING to do that can distract me from my work. last night i finished up dinner and knew i had to get back to work. but instead of throwing the dishes in the sink and getting to work i cleaned the kitchen to perfection and then i refilled the salt and pepper shakers. did that need to be done? no! were they almost empty? not really. after i did it i totally realized what i was doing and had to laugh! anyways-i'm sooooo looking forward to the month of december when i have NO classes or assignments. i plan to sleep late and spend endless hours in front of the tv, while reading mindless books. aaaahhhh. i can't wait!

p.s. isn't my laptop pretty? its purple and i love it!!

my new life

sooooooooo...a few things have changed lately that prevent me from blogging the way i'd like to. grad school has taken over my life. every bit of free time/down time is now devoted to writing papers, reading thousands of articles and books, going to class...and did i mention reading and writing? wow! its crazy the amount of work i have to do-but don't get me wrong-I LOVE IT! i'm learning sooooo much and have the most fascinating professors. i actually look forward to all my classes, which is quite a difference from undergrad!

i'm also in love with not working. (maybe kelley was right all those years...working is overrated! ) here is what a typical day of mine looks like:

8:00 alarm goes off
8:30-9 i actually get up
9-9:30 coffee and the today show
9:30-10 check email and get my facebook fix
10-go for a walk (this is a recent addition to my day)
11-shower and get dressed
11:30-12:30 school work
12:30-12:45 lunch
12:45-3:00 school work with frequent breaks to get a drink, use the bathroom, check email, etc.
3:00 get ready for class
3:30-leave for class
4-10 classes (yes, three hours classes back-to-back) it hurts my butt!
10:30-get home and unwind
10:30-11:30 school work
11:30 facebook fix, check email, watch some TV
12-bedtime

okay, okay-i know all you moms hate me right about now. i'm sorry! but now do you understand why i love not working?!?! i know this one year of freedom from work is going to fly by, so i'm trying to enjoy every moment of it!

i apologize in advance for my lack of blogging. all my writing is now devoted to school work. but i will make an honest effort to keep you up to date.

(and if you're interested in boosting my self esteem-please become one of blog followers. i only have 2 right now and that makes me sad! )

beautiful child

the past few weeks have been GREAT! i've dived into this new chapter in my life and i couldn't be any happier. every night, when i lay my head on my pillow, i fall asleep thanking god for all that he has given me and for how he has provided for me to fulfill my dreams. i also thank him for my family who i've also had the awesome opportunity to spend lots of time with these past few weeks, and it has been wonderful! two weeks ago we headed to wrightsville beach for the weekend. it was ry and i, michele and dylan, and kim and howard with the "jcrew". the jcrew is their five kids, jaylyn, jessie, jovie, jax, and jaegar. despite the hour of unpacking/packing the cars every time we went to the beach-it was so much fun. all the kids are at really fun ages and we all enjoyed being with them at the beach. jaylyn is kim and howard's oldest and she turned 9 years old august 24th. jaylyn has grown up so much lately. she not only acts older, but looks a lot older too. it has been so neat to watch her grow up. jaylyn was only 2 when i moved to nc, so i've had the privilege of really watching her grow up. she has an amazing heart for god, she loves her family and is so giving. being the oldest (which i can relate to) she is often required to be the helper or the "built in babysitter". she never seems to mind though and you can see in her eyes how much she loves her little brothers and sisters. when we were at the beach we celebrated her birthday. ryan and i have jaylyn a card and some money. when she came over to say thank you to me, she gave me a big hug and whispered something into my ear that i will never forget. she said "i love you more than you will ever know." it was so precious and so sweet, and i know that it truly came from her heart. i love being a part of her life and i can't wait to watch her continue to grow up. as long as she doesn't grow up too fast!

wake up little suzie, wake up

so today was the first official day on campus, i had orientation this morning and tonight i go to meet all my professors. then we start classes tomorrow. because i'm in the school of education (soe) all my classes are in the same building. this is a plus because unc's campus is pretty big and parking is an issue. so, i took a few minutes this morning to roam around the building that i will be spending LOTS of time in over the next 2 years. i found a great computer lab, my professors' offices, my classrooms and then i stumbled upon the greatest thing i've ever seen. it's a starbucks vending machine!!!! for just $1.25 you can have a fresh cup of starbucks coffee just by swiping your one card! and this machine really makes fresh coffee, because it grinds the beans just for your cup of coffee. oh my, grad school just got a whole lot better!

my little BIG brother

my little brother is not so little anymore. he turns 19 in a few weeks i can't believe it. i have trouble remembering things that happened just a few years ago, yet i remember the day he was born, and the day we brought him home from the hospital, like it was yesterday. i even remember the day that my mom and dad told us (me and ry) that my mom was pregnant.

i was 9 years old and i had had a bad day at school. i fell during gym class and skinned both my knees pretty badly and then i got one of my notorious migraines. needless to say i wasn't very happy when i got home from school. when my dad got home from work my parents called ryan and i into the kitchen and asked us to sit down at the kitchen table. my mom proceeded to tell us that we were getting something new and that they wanted us to guess what it was. we had no idea, but we were excited...so we started yelling out things like, a dog? a cat? a bird? a gerbil? a hamster? we kept guessing wrong so my mom gave us another clue. she said, it has 2 arms and 2 legs. i was stumped. i had already names all the possible animals that i could think of, so i said "a dinosaur?" this made my mom and dad laugh really hard. finally my mom said "do you give up?" and ryan and i said "YES!" and then my mom said she was having a baby. i was ecstatic! i loved babies and wanted nothing more than to have a REAL baby to play with. over the next several months i became very involved in my mom's pregnancy. i served as her spokes person, telling every person we came into contact with that she was having a baby. i went with her to her doctor's appointments and was fascinated with the sonograms. the last month of my mom's pregnancy was filled with anticipation. i wanted everyday to be the day that she gave birth. it was a hot summer and that made it hard on my mom, yet she never seemed to slow down much. our neighbors had a swimming pool but they were only out on the weekends, so they gave us permission to use their pool during the week. we spent many hours at their pool that august. every time my mom got in the water the baby( we didn't know if it was a girl or boy) would kick. my mom would always let me know and i'd quickly swim over to her so i could feel the kicks. it was magical to me. my mom was scheduled for a c-section on august 29th. ryan and i spent the night at my grandparents house. in the morning we headed up to the hospital to wait for the new arrival. it felt like we were waiting for DAYS. my grandparents, my dad, ryan, my aunt gay and i, all waited outside of the operating room. my grandfather entertained us by stealing wheelchairs and stretchers in the hallways. and then finally the moment came. the nurse came out rolling a baby cart and she said "its a boy!" i remember being overcome with emotions and immediately i started crying. we all ran over to the cart to catch a glimpse of the sweet little baby. we got to ride in the elevator with the nurse to the nursery. everyone was crying tears of joy, even my dad, and that made me cry even more! a few days later he had a name, jason edward, it took my parents a while to decide between the name jason and justin. i think they made a good choice! before he came home my grandparents helped ryan and i decorate for his arrival. we hung white and baby blue streams all over the place, along with balloons. i even taped up steamers across the entrance to the house, so that my mom would have to cut them before entering the house. he wore the cutest NY giants sweatsuit home from the hospital. he looked adorable and so little! that day was one of the happiest days of my life. i was so excited to have my very own real baby to play with. my dolls did not compare to the real thing! after the excitement of bringing him home my parents sat down on the couch to relax and my grandparents headed home. i remember having a very specific mission in mind and i was very intent on carrying it out. i headed into the living room and asked my parents if i could show jason around the house. they smiled and said yes. so, i took him in my arms and took him into every room in the house. i told him what each room was and what we did in that room. looking back, i'm not sure why that was so important to me. obviously it meant absolutely nothing to a 3 day old baby! yet i loved doing it and will never forget it.

fast forward almost 19 years later and jason is getting ready to enter his sophomore year at high point university. he's a great person, with a big heart and a smile that could melt anyone. we aren't as close as we use to be, but i believe that in time we will again be very close to each other. right now we are just in very different phases of our lives and he has a rigorous social schedule to attend to! he will always be my little brother though, and he will always hold an incredibly special place in my heart. i love you jay! thanks for giving me such special memories.

Our hearts

This is the song that Annie's sister found, that TRULY sums up how we all feel about the mission trip we just went on. I had to post it because it is so beautiful and so true.

Written by Sara Groves

I saw what I saw and I can't forget it
I heard what I heard and I can't go back
I know what I know and I can't deny it
Something on the road, cut me to the soul
Your pain has changed me your dream inspires
your face a memory your hope a fire
your courage asks me what I'm afraid of(what I am made of)
and what I know of love
we've done what we've done and we can't erase it
we are what we are and it's more than enough
we have what we have but it's no substitution
Something on the road,touched my very soul
I say what I say with no hesitation
I have what I have and I'm giving it up
I do what I do with deep conviction
Something on the road, changed my world

Click on this link to see the music video by Sara Groves:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--52356267