Just Blessed.

It's amazing how quickly your perspective can change after connecting with a few good friends.

How many of you know that Satan tries to tear you down with the smallest, most ridiculous lies? How many of you know that usually this works?! If we are not on our guard, he will come in -- and the Bible tells us that he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He does NOT have our best interests at heart. He doesn't even care about the condition of our hearts in the slightest.

But TRUTH, on the other hand...

I have not been forgotten - by God OR people.

I'm not a burden.

I don't need to wish for more or less or better. I can be content with where the Lord has me right now, because I trust that it is best.

I am worth it. I am worth it.

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I really had a good day today... I was pretty tired this morning (come to think of it - I had a horrible night's sleep last night. I kept waking up every hour, thinking it was time to get up. I hate when that happens!), but today was a good day. I took my FIRST test as a student at BSU and I got an A! Ah, relief. :) I'm staying fairly well caught up with homework. I had a good workout at the rec center on campus. I skyped with two of my best friends who are just such a blessing to me... then one of my old roommates called me and we chatted for a while. THEN one of my GIs who worked with me last year in ATF sent me a long facebook message with this title, "'Member how we used to have weekly meetings and I would fill you in on my life?" (Funny - our weekly meetings were on Mondays!) then she proceeded to tell me about her life... I feel so honored that she still wants to include me in her life!

So... after a few solid days of feeling more disconnect than love... tonight was more refreshing than you can even know. I thank the Lord for sweet friends and subtle reminders of truth... and HIS love for me.

1 John 4:16
"And so we know and rely on the LOVE God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

Silly Kids

Gannon and Channing were both awake AND dressed by the time I got to their house at 6:30 this morning. Even after two TV shows, a good breakfast, brushing teeth/hair, we were still ready to go 40 minutes before school started. :) They wanted to play tag or go outside and run around... I don't know where all that energy came from... I was still trying to wake myself up. They weren't going for my idea of quietly reading books at ALL. (Oh well, it was worth a try.)

We ended up playing this dancing game on the wii that's very similar to DDR. I figured that would help get some of that energy out before I dropped them off at school. :)

Anyways - they were so funny at breakfast (as always!) - so I thought I'd share these pictures! They're so goofy. Notice Gannon's apple: they both asked for apples, and in my ignorance, I gave them each their own. So they ate bites small enough to just barely break through the skin all the way around... with about 70% of the apple still on the core they announced that they were "done." Now I know to cut it in half and not listen to those little voices that promise to eat it all........ I'm learning all these little tricks now, by the time I'm a mom my kids won't be able to get away with ANYTHING! hahaha :)

It's a perfect night.

I am a blessed girl... skype and pandora on my laptop, a stack of books/Bible/journal, Jamie's fuzzy blanket, and a cup of coffee in my Portland Starbucks mug. Yep. This is my kind of night.

This morning I video chatted (had a video chat?) with my good friend from Texas, Meghan, and her 14 month old daughter, Emma - which was so refreshing!

Then I went to Rembrandt's (coffee shop) and I had a giftcard (double bonus!) where I spent the afternoon getting a TON of homework done. Ah, the sweet feeling of accomplishment. I do love that. I still have much to finish this weekend. But that was a good boost of motivation to get me through it.

THEN I went to the Miller's house to watch Channing and Gannon this evening so their parent's could go out. We had a delicious meal of chicken nuggets, frozen peas, and apples and watched "Imagination Movers" and "High 5" and then played outside before bedtime. I read a bedtime story and a Bible story, then Gannon read a Bible story: "God said, 'UH OH, where did all the fishies go?!'" Oh my word - that kid cracks me up. Later, his Dad told me that last night Gannon said, "Where's Kaween? I love her!" And Channing told me all about her awesome sleepover with her best friend. They're just so great.

And now... I'm at home and I have the house all to myself. So I'm livin' it up on a Saturday night - sitting at the kitchen table with the aforementioned necessities (coffee + fuzzy blanket + books + music + a friend on skype) and enjoying life. Pandora just knows my life today... thank you for making the most awesome playlists.

10 Things to Do BESIDES Homework

My mother would not approve of the nature of this post... but I'm posting it anyways! ;-)

Also - I have no idea WHY I'm posting this because I don't know what else to do with my time besides homework... I don't know. I'm just weird. Or maybe I'm normal... most people don't necessarily enjoy homework, right?

1. People watch. I'm sitting in front of a huge window in the SUB and there are just so, so, so many people on this campus...

2. Eat skittles. My friend Natalie sent me an AWESOME care package last week and it was full of goodies. They can't go to waste!

3. Look up songs on iTunes. I've been listening to air1 (the radio station) and there are just SO many great, new songs out now... I wouldn't want to miss out on these....

4. Clean the house! That's what I did on Wednesday and it brought a definite sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that my homework did NOT bring...

5. Go bowling? Yes... there's a real life bowling alley in the Student Union Building! No... I have not tried it yet. But it's definitely an option.

6. Doodle in my notebook next to my lecture notes. Maybe if they looked PRETTY it would actually make me want to look at them!

7. Go to Target and buy the pair of moccasins that I've been wanting for months (now that it's Fall it actually makes sense to wear fuzzy slipper-like shoes. I'm so excited!) -- Yes... I'm guilty of that one today. :)

8. Call a friend. I really SHOULD do this one because it really would be worth my while. Or even write them a letter. That would be nice.

9. Exercise - If I really am going to finish this homework ever in my life then I will need those endorphins to kick in and provide some lasting energy.

10. Blog and read blogs. :) (This one seems to be my distraction of choice lately!)

Oh dear...

I just had a WONDERFUL week with my friend, Brianna, here visiting: we slept in (well, she did), tried new restaurants, went for a bike ride (until we both got flat tires! Ever heard of a goat head? I hadn't.), sat in a coffee shop (okay many coffee shops... many times. I think coffee shops are my love language.), skyped with our old roommie (Nicole Lira), and one day we just stayed in our pajamas until dinnertime and watched movies... because we're adults and we can do what we want. :)

But she left me this morning. She drove away from Boise all the way back to Montana. How could she do that to me?! (Okay, fine... I'll stop being dramatic)

(I must really be into these parenthesis phrases tonight... ha!)

So Brianna's gone. AND Jamie is on vacation in Maryland.

All I have to say is... it's a good thing I'm introverted and actually enjoy being alone... and have a list of homework that will never end to fill my time. (seriously... it took forever to knock off ONE quiz from my list of homework tonight. So yes, I decided to blog instead of push through. It happens.)

Ready to start WEEK 3?

This week will be my third week of school. One month ago TODAY I drove away from Texas to move to Boise. Since then I've spent a few days in Oregon, started school, started watching a pair of great kids everyday, switched my license plates AND driver's license over to Idaho, been visited by an old Teen Mania roommate, and been to The Pursuit's college group once and Intervarsity (BSU Campus Ministry) once. It feels like life in Texas existed forever ago.

I figured that the one month mark would be a good time for an update:

1. I'm surviving. :)

2. I really love living with the York family! Josiah (the 16 month old) is a great distraction from homework. Jamie is an amazing friend to me - she even shared her stash of thin mints when I was having a rough day. Robbie shares a lot of wisdom and helps me all the time! Also - I definitely love making my room my OWN. I just put up a bulletin board last night and filled it w/ cards and pictures and memorabilia. I love it!

3. School.... well, I'm getting the hang of it. As of right now, I'm completely caught up in all reading/assignments in half of my classes. The other two classes I still have quite a bit of reading to do. I have great professors and, for the most part, my classes are very interesting. The campus is AWESOME - there's a bowling alley in the student union building and a Chick-fil-A will be opening soon! Next semester I'm going to try to take some online classes as well as on campus classes - this will free up my schedule even more so I can get another job. Sadly, I found out that I misunderstood the cost of tuition for out of state students... this completely caught me off guard. My wonderfully gracious Mom offered to take out a Parent PLUS loan for the remaining few thousand to help with this year. I seriously considered dropping my classes this semester due to the unforeseen cost. I decided to push through and reminded myself that next year will be better.

4. Social? Uh, not really. Like I said at the top, I went to the college group from church last week and Intervarsity at BSU. I'm not super excited about either one... but I'm not going to give up. (Transition takes a LOT of endurance...) I've met a couple people at school and a couple people in both of those groups... but I really just know names. It takes a lot to go from acquaintance to FRIEND. I'm okay with that, though. I've become more introverted than I thought.

On the other hand - I have two of the greatest friends in Virginia and we skype once a week to continue accountability... I am so blessed by them and their commitment to still invest in our friendships even though we're all in different seasons of life. I definitely look forward to the time we get to spend together thanks to technology!

5. I already posted a blog about Channing and Gannon - so you can see below to read about my experiences with those two crazy kids. :) I feel so warmly welcomed into this awesome family! I'm even getting better doing Channing's hair in the mornings! And on Friday Gannon told me he wants me to stay forever. I don't know what his obsession is with that word, but it's sweet. I'm sure I'll have PLENTY of funny stories to share as time goes on...

I love my new job!

For those of you who haven't yet heard - two days after I arrived in Idaho I was hired by a family to watch their kids in the mornings. (EARLY in the mornings... 6:30-9:30am. Plus a few random evenings.) They are a WONDERFUL family!

Today was my third morning watching Channing and Gannon and taking them to school - I love it! Gannon is 3 years old and makes me laugh a lot. He often says to me, "Are you going to stay here forever this day?" (melt my heart, child!) This morning he asked me that and I said, "You're cute, Gannon." He said, "NO I NOT!" So cute. :)

He also loves to turn on music (or the wii!) and dance. I thought we were doing so well today with our morning routine until I went into Gannon's room and he had turned on music and was dancing around his room without any clothes on! (boys will be boys... haha!) I said, "Gannon! It is time to get dressed!" - trying to sound firm. But he could tell I thought he was pretty funny. :)

He also feels the need to repeat after my GPS (Jack) when it gives me directions. He'll be quietly talking to himself in the backseat then... "TURN RIGHT! You're supposed to turn right!" He's such a good helper. :)

Channing is 6 years old and so smart! She's in the first grade and loves to do crafts (which we did BEFORE 7:00 this morning... oh my). I think it's funny that two out of three mornings this week she's asked if she can have candy after breakfast. I respond with, "No, you may not, but thanks for asking." :) I know that she and I are going to be great friends because this is the second day that she's randomly bursted out singing Christmas songs! [Last year my roommate sang Christmas songs just about every other day and we celebrated Christmas/Hanukkah about once a month. It was such a beautiful thing in my life.]

I love doing Channing's hair for school in the mornings... wow - I'm really not used to doing another person's hair! (especially a wiggly 6 year old!) I just barely got the art of doing my OWN hair down like... last year. Well, I'm getting lots of practice in - ponytails, barrettes, ribbons... it's so fun!

Also - Gannon had on Dinosaur pajamas this morning.... since living in Jurassic Park last year, dinosaurs just have a special place in my heart. These sure are some great kids! I'm excited to get connected with this family that loves the Lord and is already so supportive of me. I can tell that this "job" is going to be such a blessing.