Crash 2009

I know that I haven't updated in a while, but my life has been so busy! Thankfully I am doing wonderful and have a lot to catch up on! I am dedicating this post to my experience as a counselor at Country Lake Christian Retreat a few weeks back! I have grown up going to camp every summer at Country Lake, but this year was my first to be a counselor, and I LOVED it. It had been a while since I had been there, but things haven't really changed. I was there for a week (June 14-19) with a bunch of kids that will be starting 6th grade in the fall. I didn't really know what being a counselor would be like, and it was sort of a last minute decision to do it, but I really want to get involved in the Jr. High ministry at church, so I thought this would be the best way to jump in! :) We had some great adult volunteers that week, but a majority of the counselors were high school and college kids. We even had some camp teams from KCU, CCU & Milligan with us! It was great getting to know a lot of the staff at Southeast that I will be around all year long. Well each counselor got teamed up with another counselor to form a small group with 8-10 kids each. My co-leader was Sean, one of the guys from KCU. He was a sweetheart, and we definitely made a great team. Our kids were great too! Below is a picture of my girls and I... & below that are the boys of the group!!


LtoR: Rachel, Sydney, me, Emmalee, and Jill!



LtoR: Austin, Sam, Zac, and Cameron!

A lot of the leaders had... I don't want to say "trouble" with their groups, but a lot of the time they felt like they weren't able to get through to them or that they wouldn't pay attention, etc., but that was NOT the case with my kids! They participated in our small group time, and even when they acted like they weren't paying attention, I knew they were listening. :) We were the silver team, and we came up with our team name: SUPER SILVER SEVEN!! and some cheers that we chanted *or tried to chant* during our recreation/game time. It was a lot of fun, and we really bonded, and I can't wait to see these kids come over to The Block in the fall for middle school church!

I want to briefly share with you our theme for the week. As you probably saw when you first came to my blog was the title, Crash 2009. We talked all week about the rhino who has sort of become our youth "mascot" at church. The rhino is a really neat animal, and there were some really cool facts about the rhino that we were able to incorporate to our everyday lives as Christians. Our slogan for the week was this: Advance The Kingdom With Your Everyday Lives. We talked about how the rhino is the only animal on earth that does not walk/run backwards. It can only move forward, and that is what we want to do as Christians and in advancing the Kingdom. The rhino also has terrible vision and has to rely a lot on what he/she hears in order to determine what direction to go. This ties in to how we need to take time to actually listen to what God is trying to tell us instead of just walking aimlessly by our own direction. We talked about how a rhino can only see 35 ft. in front of him but when it is charging, it takes 40 ft. to stop. The rhino does not have obstacles, and we should not have obstacles in our Christian walk but turn them into opportunities. We also talked about the rhino's horn. Many people think that it is made up of ivory, but it is actually made up of thousands and thousands of hairs that are interwoven together. We talked about the power in numbers and how it benefits our Christian lives. There is power in numbers and when we get other people on our side and link together than you can do much more than you could alone. At The Block (my church's student ministry center), we actually have a rhino head crashing through one of our walls. It's really neat, and we encouraged all the students (and leaders) to be rhinos. And while a group of sheep is called a flock and a group of fish are a school; a group of rhinos is called a crash. These kids that were at camp are so special, and as a ministry, we believe that even though these kids are only 6th graders, they can crash this world and make a difference and change it for the better. That was what this week was all about, and I don't think I could have spent my week in any better place. It was really a great opportunity to reach out and connect with these kids. I don't think I will ever forget all the fun and memories that were made. There were 4 other girls besides myself that were the dorm leaders for 40 girls. It was quite an experience, but I loved being a mom to them, if only for a week. I was the 2nd oldest of the leaders in my dorm, so I really had to step up and be more than I have ever been to these kids. I can't wait to see what else lays in store during my time serving in this ministry, but if it is any better than how it started, I can't wait!

- b -

Louisville

I absolutely love being in Louisville for the summer (and every other part of the year as well). I feel like I am at home here, and I know everybody and everything. It's my home, and I hope that it stays that way for a very long time. I have not been doing much lately. I've worked at Steak 'n Shake 3 times since I've been home. I've unpacked nearly everything, put all my textbooks up for sale, taken Colby to get his yearly check-up, etc. I've just been doing a lot of little stuff. I've gotten a few pet sitting jobs in here and there. It's easy way to get some extra money in and not actually have to go into work. I have been using this advertising website recently, and I just thought that I should do a little advertising! It is called Care.com, and it is a website that you can go on and either advertise for babysitting/petsitting or look for different jobs. I obviously don't have any reason to advertise for childcare, but I talked to many parents of children (and dogs) that need some extra help. That is where I met the couple that was looking for a full-time nanny this summer. I didn't end up getting that job, but I have had really good experiences with the site so far, and I recommend it if you are looking for some extra cash and have some extra time! It is completely free to post a profile and resume, and the only reason you would have to pay is if you are advertising for help. Obviously, as with any other social networking website, you should be cautious and use sound judgement when responding and arranging to meet possible employers. But it is a really good site, and you should check it out if you're interested!

Other than just getting used to being back home, I have been volunteering with the Jr. High at Southeast. I haven't gotten seriously involved yet, but camp is next week, and I am going to be a counselor there. I am so excited, and I cannot wait! I just pray that God places the right students into my family group and that he uses me to impact their lives somehow. I remember how much I looked up to my camp counselors, and I just hope that I can be that for these guys and girls. Please pray for me while I will be there and for the students that God is bringing to this camp for a reason. Hopefully I will have some great stories to share when I get back on Friday! :)

Being away from Alex has been tough, and even though we get to video chat on our laptops, I still miss being with him. I am going to get to see him next Saturday in Lebanon for his 21st birthday, so I am really looking forward to that. What I am more looking forward to is him MOVING TO LOUISVILLE at the end of December! :) He has been studying to take his GRE to get into graduate school at UofL, and hopefully he will pass! He told me tonight that he took a practice test and passed it so hopefully that is a good sign. ;) He's so smart; I know he can do it!

Well, it has been a long and boring few days. Me and Danielle had our wisdom teeth out on Tuesday morning. I was SO scared and terrified of what was going to happen, and Danielle was as calm as can be. My procedure ended up being the easier of the two, and I had much less pain than she did. I am fine now, and she is getting there. She had better get there soon though because she is taking the ACT in the morning!! But other than a little swelling and pain, the procedures went fine, and we are both doing great. Thanks to everyone who was praying for us! I don't really have much else to say, but pray for me while I am at camp! Pray that it doesn't rain all week, and that God really shows up among these middle schoolers!

- b -

Proud Big Sister

Saturday afternoon, my brother, Nick, took his black belt test for karate. My mom, sister and I went to cheer him on, and while we knew it was going to be a difficult test, we did not know HOW difficult and intense it really was going to be. After almost three hours, a black eye, a scraped shoulder and bloody nose, my brother passed! He is now a black belt in karate, and I could not be more proud. Here are some pictures from the day! The students first had to do all their forms and kicks and punches. Next they had to fight 8 men in a row for 1 minute each. That is where Nick got all his bangs and bruises. After that, they had to do 50 good push-ups, 50 sit-ups and then 50 balance kicks on each foot. They had to grapple, and then after they were done with everything, they had to do 10 minutes of jumping jacks in a row. When they had 30 seconds of jumping jacks left, their teachers decided that they needed to do 15, and they extended the time. The boys finished their jumping jacks with much sweat and tears, but they finished. It was the hardest thing that Nick has ever had to do, and I am so proud of him! We celebrated at dinner that night, and then today we had some cake in light of all he has accomplished.




















Congratulations Nick!

- b -

Memorial Day

I know it was over a week ago, but I just now got my Memorial Day pictures uploaded to my computer. On Memorial Day some families have cookouts and some families head to the lake for the long weekend, but my family does something different. Every Memorial Day we head to the grocery and pick up some flowers, and then we drive over to the Zachary Taylor Cemetery off of Brownsboro Rd. and pay our respects to those who have served our country and died because of it. Not all those who are buried at Zachary Taylor died during the time that they were fighting, but nevertheless, they served our country and have passed away since that time. It seems that we go more than once a year, and it is hard to just go, look at the graves, place our flowers down by a few and then leave. But this year I really wanted to feel more than just the same things that I feel every year. I was looking out across all of the graves, lined so neatly and orderly, and I made myself picture one thing. I made myself, in my mind, replace each grave stone with a young man (or woman) standing up in attention. When I did this, I was overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed at how many people had really died so that I could be free and live the comfortable way that I do now. I was overwhelmed at many of the dates I saw on the tombstones. Many of these young men were barely a year or two older than I am. Making this substitution from a gravestone to an actual person made me really see and value Memorial Day in a way that I could have never imagined. Here are a few pictures from that day, and I hope that in the future, instead of just grilling out and hanging out with friends, you will really remember what Memorial Day is all about.






A freshly dug grave.. :(


Age 20


Age 21

- b -

Yard Sale!

Summer is officially here! I have been going to school non-stop since I started in the Fall '07, but I am excited just to be working this summer. I don't have a job yet, but I was interviewed by a family to babysit for this summer on Thursday, and they told me that they interviewed two other people and are going to be making their decision this weekend. I am so nervous, but I hope that I get this job. It would be such a great experience and GREAT pay. I'll let you know when I find out! :)

So I haven't finished unpacking all my STUFF, but this weekend was our neighborhood yard sale, so I decided to set out some things. After I got all my stuff together, my sister, brother, mom and dad all had stuff to put out, so I threw theirs in as well. It was a very hot and long day, but at the end of all of it, we had about $200 more dollars than we started off with. What a great start to summer! :) It really was fun but also a lot of hard work. My little brother made coffee, pink lemonade, muffins and brownies to sell in the morning to those early birds. It was so cute, and did very well! People enjoy cheap, homemade treats! We got rid of a lot of our junk, and I am glad for that. After it was all over, my mom loaded up her car and took most of the rest to Goodwill for a donation. Here are some pictures from our yard sale! (These were taken before my mom put all of her stuff out. We did quite a bit of rearranging afterwards.) Hope you all enjoyed your Saturday!









- b -

P.S. We put one of our puppies, Lexi, up for sale, but nobody bought her. We didn't think anyone would, but we thought it was worth a try! If anyone is looking for a little chihuahua puppy then send me a message! :) She is 6 mos. old and AKC registered showdog!

Two More Days

This semester is almost officially over. I have two days left in Jackson, and it's starting to get a little sad. I'm so ready for summer, but I think it's hitting me that I am really going to be leaving all my friends for good. Alex & I went home this weekend and brought most of my stuff back to Louisville. I spent two days cleaning my room that hasn't seen a dust mop in ages and also helping my little brother Nick with his room. I had an advising appointment at the University of Louisville on Friday afternoon, and it looks like I am going to be in school for another 3 years; and that is just for my bachelor's degree. I am bummed, but I am not really that upset. No, I do not want to have to pay for 3 more years of college, but their teaching program looks very promising, and Alex is moving to Louisville in January if he gets accepted to UofL as well. I'll just take it one semester at a time, but I think I will like it.

I have been working and studying to get ready for finals week. I have completed one of my binders to turn in tomorrow, and I have some French worksheets left to do. I am exempt from my French final though, so that is a complete relief. I have a Geography final tomorrow night, and then one more binder and a take home test to turn in on Tuesday. After that I am free! I am just glad to not have too much to do so that I can spend a lot of time with my friends before I go.

I've really been praying a lot about this summer. I feel like I have completely gotten out of a normal routine, and I just want a simple one to get into this summer. Me & my mom are going to start working out a lot and cooking. I am going to prepare a meal once every week for my family so that I can get better at it so that I can someday feel Alex something that is not microwaved! :) I am hoping to transfer to a hotel in Louisville as well. I've contacted two different hotels that say they are interested, and I am going to be contacting them this week when I get home and am settled in. I really do love my life, but I need a pattern or something. Women's Summer Bible Study is always refreshing every Tuesday morning. I can't wait, but I am going to finish this school year strong! Pray for me please!

- b -

10 Days of School Left!

The spring semester is almost to a close! :) It has long been awaited, and I am just beginning to catch up and have some fun! If you don't know, this is going to be my last semester at Union. I just miss my family and friends back home a lot, so I decided that I would go to the University of Louisville in the fall! I have already completed my orientation, and now I have an advising appointment on May 15th so that I can register for classes! I am really excited about moving back home, and I am sure that I will love it. I just hope I have as much time as I think I will to hang out with my friends from high school, etc.

This semester, one of my classes has been corresponding with a 6th grade class and doing a book buddy project. It has been really fun and interesting, and their class is actually going to be visiting Union on Thursday, and we are going to be throwing a party for them! It seems like it will be really fun, and I cannot wait!

I am still not sure what I am going to be doing this summer. I am not sure if I am going to be taking classes, where I will be working, etc. so I am a little stressed out. I got a call today from a perspective employer at the Embassy Suites in Louisville, so we'll see how that pans out. I will definitely keep you all updated! I hope everyone is enjoying the almost-summer break! :)

- b -