Hello! Has it really been 4 months? Wow! Time has just whizzed by! It is now under a month until I step foot on to Iowa's campus, my home for the next 9 months! As it gets closer and closer I get more excited and more nervous. Sometimes I can't sleep because I am so excited and other times it is because I am so nervous! The thought has many times crossed my mind to just stay home and go to Iowa State. I would be so much more comfortable here and it would be so much easier. No worries though! I will be going to Iowa! That is just how my mind thinks when things start to change. Anyway I have a count down started on my phone and it says I have 27 days 19 hours 35 minutes and 41 seconds until I can move in! Can't wait!
Alright enough about college. I am not even there yet and I can't shut up about it. Many things have happened since April 7, 2011 (the last time I posted). So let's see-
#1- I GRADUATED! Yeah! So I started a graduation post back in June and never got around to finishing it. So I am just going to incorporate it here. I had two parties. One for friends and then one for family. We really didn't want the two to meet so we kept them apart. Just kidding. We did because we didn't want the family to have to make two trips because that would have been lame.
This picture is of me (obviously) and the barn door I had pictures on. Kelsey made the beautiful letters and Wendi (the stellar brains behind all the decorating) had the barn door. We just hung ribbon and then put pictures up with clothes pins. It was really cute if I can say so myself. I loved my friends party. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. I couldn't have asked for better weather or people. Thank you to everyone that helped. We couldn't have done it with out you!
This is the Martin family. It was great to have all of them there. Ok, I guess this isn't all the Martins but I meant having everyone who came there. I don't think I have seen any of them since and I miss all of you. It is time for another visit! Also, I thought I picked the best one but obviously not because Grandma's head is turned. However, she looks just as cute :)
This is the Lawson family and for once in our lives we look bigger than the Martin family! Even though it isn't so. One of the coolest things about having the Lawsons there was that Callan was there. I think he was like a week old at the time and I have never seen a baby so young. It was so cool. Anyway, I also loved having everyone else there. Believe me, Callan wasn't the most important, just the newest! As you can see there is another new face in the crowd. That is Erin. Alex's girlfriend. It was great having her there and getting to know her, too.
Actual graduation day finally came. I walked across the stage (without tripping) and I am officially a high school graduate. I really couldn't have cared less about the ceremony. I just wanted my diploma. Actually, I don't even know what to do with that now. It just feels great to be done with high school.
#2- Work- I am working at three different places this summer. I work most at a Kids Club in Slater and I love it. I love the kids and the staff; it has just been an all around great experience. I also work at Hy-Vee still, but not as much as I used to. I also started working at Celebrations. It is an event and party store in Ames. I love it there also. It goes along well with my major, event coordinating. I work as much as I can everywhere that I can. Somedays I work 11 hours, which I know to people like my dad who used to work 12 hours in a foundry is nothing. But, if you ever try to talk to me and I am grumpy or tired that would be why!
#3- NOLA!!- Oh my goodness you guys. My heart has been exploding with details of New Orleans that I have been wanting to tell you. I just can't even explain how great of a trip it was. I went down there praying God would stretch me and show me a side of Him that I had never seen, and boy does God answer prayer! He showed me how He was alive and working. I have never seen such an on fire ministry and it was awesome. Everyone at Urban Impact had a heart for what they were doing. The full time staff, the interns and even the volunteers. It was so cool. At the same time God was stretching me. Usually when you go on missions trip you are working with kids, which we did. Also what usually happens is that you connect with at least one kid if not more. These kids become your buddies for the week and its cool because you are ministering to those kids while you love on them. This, for whatever reason, did not happen for me. I didn't connect with any kid, so I didn't feel like I was loving on any of them that much. Now let me make something clear. There were tons of us and not enough kids for all of us, and I understand that. If you know me well, you know that I love kids. I love their imaginations and that they don't worry about what others think of them. So it was really hard seeing my friends connect with kids and having that impact. God was showing me that I could serve else where. I thought I would go on the trip to serve the people of New Orleans, but God showed me he wanted me to serve the people of Ames while they were in New Orleans. I am not going to write down what God allowed me to do through that because I feel as if that would be bragging and I don't want to brag about what God had me do. Also I didn't even do that much. I don't want you to think I was washing people's feet or something! Even writing this feels like bragging so I am sorry if that is what it sounds like. Romans 4:2 just keeps popping in my mind. "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God."If Abraham who was going to sacrifice his son for God isn't justified through works. Then who am I to boast in the "works" I did in NOLA. I did however connect with a little boy during the movie on Friday. His name was B.J. and he sat on my lap while we watched the movie. This was one of the most refreshing things that happened all week. I just held him. It wasn't like I was comforting him. I just let him sit on my lap. God finally allowed for a connection to be made. I think that was one of the hardest parts about leaving was that I finally made a connection on the last day we were there. God also showed me that He was in control even when things seemed chaotic. I am a person who likes a plan and likes to be organized, hence the major. On this trip I felt as if sometimes there wasn't a plan. Nobody really knew what was going on and that tried my patience. I shared that at Say So (a time where people shared what God had taught them) because I thought that was the biggest lesson I learned. Looking back though, I see it wasn't. God has really laid on my heart to become a part of a ministry like Urban Impact. I don't know what that looks like so at this time I am just praying that God would show me where He wants me. Don't worry I am not going to apply for the internship at Urban Impact because I don't think that is where God would want me. Anyway, thank you to all the leaders and staff at UIM. You all showed me a side of God that I hadn't experienced before.
After that wordy response I am sure you want some pictures. So I am going to post some of my favorites from everything I have done since my last post.
Lauren me and Rochelle during Senior Celebration on our last day. I don't know if you can see but there are just mounds of glitter in our hair. I am pretty sure some of it is still there.
I absolutely love this picture of Ashley. She hates it, but there is just something about it that I love.
Raegan and I
The two graduated cousins. It's so weird!!
Shell and I pretending to be models in the streets of Jefferson.
This picture is just so us. Don't you think?
Small group plus some with a musician. He played when the saints go marching in and we froze on the last note. Some nice passerby took this pic.
I just love this picture of Shell. I don't really know why and she probably hates it. I just love it.
Yes. You are seeing correctly that is Sylvester Stallone. He was filming a scene for his new movie right across the street from the church in New Orleans. It was really cool to watch.
Holding the alligator. Ashley was freaked out, but I was ready. I didn't really get a good one of us both holding it but that's ok because this picture is just hilarious.
Anyway, this summer has been hectic but so much fun. I wouldn't trade it for anything!
