Grandma and Grandpa's House

A goal/activity of mine was to visit my grandparents - which I did this weekend! They live in Canandaigua, about an hour southeast of Rochester. My aunt was having a shower for my cousin, Becca, who gets married in 2 weeks, and the shower was near my grandparents' house. After church on Sunday, my family headed to Canandaigua. The shower was fun - she got some nice gifts and we played some fun games and ate good food. After that we hung out at my grandparents - mostly hearing stories, looking at pictures, and watching videos of my Grandpa's time in Ecuador recently.

We spent the night there, and my family left this morning. I hung out with my grandparents (and their large dog!) for the Memorial Day Parade. Then we came back for popsicles - it's so hot out there today!

Overall, I had a nice visit with my grandparents. It's nice that they aren't too far away this summer.

Strong Museum of Play

My family came up to visit for the weekend! After going out for lunch, Julie and I headed to Strong Museum of Play. For those in the Binghamton area, it's like the Discovery Center on steriods. We had lots of fun playing around with all sorts of things! Here's an unproportional house - haha!

They had a Wegman's to go shopping in - here's Julie picking out some eggs.

All ready to check out - the conveyor belt actually moved!

And the register printed out everything you bought with prices!

This is the big mouth at the dentist station - great for practicing to brush your teeth!

We had a fun afternoon together : )

Missy's Long Life

This is our puppy, Missy, when we first brought her home - almost 15 years ago! She's so little in between all of us there. Well, I got some sad news today - that she had to be put down. She hasn't been doing well this past week, and we all knew it was just a matter of time. She was going to come up with my family and visit me this weekend. This afternoon I had missed a call from my sister, Julie, while I was riding my bike. I called her right back, and in tears she said, "Missy's not doing good." She explained that she had been doing really well since going on the medicine and was even pretty perky, so Julie decided to talk her for a walk. She did great on the walk and had lots of energy. However, once she got home her legs went out from under her in the back room of our house. She struggled and could not get back up until she was on the carpet. Later, when she was outside, the same thing happened - she struggled for about 5 minutes to get up and her eyes rolled to the back of her head and went side to side. She ended up rolling into a flower bed. My parents both took her to the vet. Sadly, Julie had to work so was unable to go. The vet said there was nothing more he could do for her medically, so they decided it was time.

I didn't think it would be this hard on me, but I am in tears as I write this. My mom said it was hard to see her go like that - struggling and such. She pictured us being in control and deciding when to take her in. I'm sad I will not be able to see her one last time this weekend : (

I remember when we first got Missy - I would have been 6. She had a brother that we took outside with us to decide which one we would take home. He had the squirts though, so we chose Missy! I remember she was $30 - and I thought to myself, "I have that much, I could buy her!" Missy has always been good around kids, and my grandpa loved her! I know she will be missed in my family. It just won't be the same walking into the house and not having to look for Missy.

Here is me playing with Missy and a stuffed animal. Check out my post on Monday, May 24 for more recent pictures of her : )

Crosswalk Conversation

This morning I was on my way to work, and as I was getting close the the crosswalk the vehicle stopped really early - I was not at the road yet. I thought it was strange, but just kept walking. I got half way across the road and heard the lady calling out. I turn and hear her say,

"Honey, have a good day, and smile - you're beautiful!"

What a way to start the morning! Unexpected kindness it still out there. Have you shown some lately?

DogTown

I went to a new place for dinner tonight. A friend of mine is always talking about Dogtown, so I had to go check it out for myself. I went with my friend, Alicia, and we had a fun time exploring together!

I got the Cincinnati Red Dog, which has cheddar cheese and their own DogTown chili sauce. I got some DogTown home fries too - all very filling! Each of their hotdog creations are named after dogs - there's the Pit Bull, the Boston Terrier, etc. Alicia got the German Shepherd.

It was a fun way to spend an evening together!

Missy

This is our puppy, Missy, at Christmas time. She will be 15 in August and has been a wonderful dog for many years. We got her when she was 8 weeks old - I was 6. These past few years she has been getting older and older - with the gray hair showing more as she slows down.

She has some fatty lumps, and more recently her head has become crooked. My sister sent me a message this morning explaining how Missy has been doing lately. She has been walking very cautiously and has trouble with stairs. They have confined her to the first floor so she will not have to do the stairs. Before she was confined to the downstairs, it took her until 1pm one day to come down for her breakfast. Her head is becoming even more crooked, and she sits down slowly.

My family decided to take her to the vet to see what our options are - medicine or putting her down. My dad and sister took her this afternoon. He concluded she probably has a tumor in the vestibular brain region or in her inner ear. Both of these locations would affect her equillibruim, resulting in the crooked head. He gave her some medicine to help with the pain - though it will not help the tumors go away. Mostly likely we will be scheduling an appointment in the near future to have her put down : (

Here is Missy 2 Christmases ago joining us for some fun in the snow!

Book Number 3

I finished my third book last night. I borrowed it from my advisor at Roberts - The Memory Keeper's Daughter. It is not based on a true story as I usually like, but it kept my interest. It is about a couple who has baby - twins actually, but the father does not tell the mother about the girl who was born with Down syndrome. Instead, he gives the little girl to the nurse to take to an institution to care for her. What the father doesn't know is that when the nurse took her to the institution, she couldn't bring herself to leave her there and kept her to raise on her own.

The husband tells the wife that she had a second baby that died, but that their son is healthy. They have a funeral for Phoebe, the little girl. The nurse ends up moving to Pittsburgh with Phoebe and raises her to have a good life there dispite her condition.

The book mostly follows the twins' separate lives, until the end when the truth comes out.

Charlotte Beach

I met another goal today! I went to Charlotte Beach. This is on Lake Ontario, and I've been wanting to go for a while now. The GAP group at church met there tonight to play volleyball and hang out. We had 3 good games of volleyball, cooked some food on the grill, took a walk out on the pier, and grabbed some Abbott's before heading home for the night. GAP does volleyball every other Saturday - something I will definitely look forward to this summer!!

Besides going to Charlotte Beach, I also finished another book today - that's book number 3! I post about that tomorrow...

Guatemala

2 summers ago I went on a trip to Guatemala. I went with a group from school - although it was mostly alumni that went. It was such a good experience to be outside of the country, to serve the people of Santa Cruz, and to spend time with the children.

The girl in the picture is Salena. She would find me every day and give me the biggest smile. She held my hand as we walked around her village, and she showed me her church and other things important to her. I had somewhat of a conversation with her with the little Spanish I knew. I found out about her family and other things - I wish I had my journal with me, so I could tell you more about her!

I bring this picture and topic up now because the team from Roberts is leaving tomorrow for a week of ministry. Our SIFE Team has taken a trip down for the last 6 years. This is number 7, and the last trip to this village. We have helped them grow ecomonically and helped improve their education. We do not want them to have to depend on us, but rather be sustainable on their own. We have seen much improvement since first coming to the little village.

I got to be part of a special trip as we took the Junior Highers outside of their village for the first time to their capital city - Guatemala City. We took them to the zoo, the library, the mall, on a ferris wheel, to a movie, to Pizza Hut, and more! It was a great time to give them a vision for their future.

I will definitely be thinking and praying for the team as they are in Santa Cruz, Guatemala this week. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures and hearing stories of how the Lord will use them.

Worship While I'm Waiting

I have been a John Waller fan for a year and a half now. I appreciate the words to many of his songs. Worship While I'm Waiting is in the movie Fireproof. During times when we are not sure of what is to come, we still need to be worshipping the One who does. I know a lot of people who are waiting right now - waiting on jobs or a place to live. May we all be able to worship and serve while we wait.

Here are the lyrics, or you can listen to the song here.

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Front of the Class

When I was home over the weekend I watched the movie Front of the Class. It is based on the true story of Brad Cohen who has tourette syndrome. School was never his favorite part of growing up - the teachers all thought he was making noises just for attention. He did have one principle who tried to get the teachers and students to understand more about his condition, and Brad decided he wanted to become the teacher he never had. He struggled to find a teaching position, but finally he got placed in a 2nd grade classroom. He explained his tourettes to the children and let them ask anything they wanted about it. He made learning fun in the classroom and his students appreciated him.

Overall, it's a good story (and it's based on a true story, which I always like!). There is also a book by the same title that I have added to my ever growing list!

GAP

GAP stands for Graduates and Professionals, and it's the older college group at my church. They are split up into several small groups that meet once a week for Bible study. The group I got involved in meets on Tuesday nights. I met with them for the first time today, and we had a potluck dinner. They just finished studying Revelation, and we will pick a new topic/book of the Bible next week.

GAP as a whole also meets on occasion. They have a speaker this Friday night, and then food and volleyball on Saturday. I am looking forward to getting to know other people in the area, and I'm glad they are letting me join even if I'm a bit younger : )

Tonight we also played one of my favorite games - Hoopla! If you haven't played, let me know, and we will change that. It's a Crainium game where you have to get the group to guess the word on your card by doing one of four actions/clues. It's a lot of fun!

Training Begins!

I started my half-marathon training program today! It's really a 12 week program, but I am doubling up on some weeks and making it 17. Some days (like today) I will do stretching and strengthening. I stretched well and then used the weight machines. Other days you run 2-5 miles or do crosstraining, which is biking, swimming, or rollerblading for me. On the weekends you do the long run, which is anywhere from 4 to 10 miles, then the big 13.1 in 17 weeks! I've been running for a few months now, so I'm excited to get on a real schedule!

I also started both of my summer jobs today - it was my first full day! Let's just say I will be doing A LOT of filing this summer!! Hopefully they will come up with some different tasks for me to do every once in a while. My jobs may not be too exciting, but I think my free time will make up for that. I recently joined a kickball team for young adults in Rochester. I don't know when my games are yet, but I'm pretty excited! I'm also part of a Bible study for post-college age at my church (may be a bit older, but close enough for me!). We have our first get together tomorrow night, and we are doing a potlock dinner - looking forward to meeting new people. This same group (they are called GAP - Graduates and Professionals) meets throughout the summer to play volleyball, which I am really looking forward to! It should be a fun summer with new people and experiences.

Lastly, today is my sister, Amy's, birthday!! HAPPY 23rd BIRTHDAY, AMY!!!

Amish Grace

I have read my second book. I recently finished Amish Grace by Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher. This is the story of the forgiveness that followed the shooting in the Amish schoolhouse in Nicklemines, PA. One of the authors, David Weaver-Zercher, from Messiah College, came to speak at Roberts last semester. The book gave several other examples of times when the Amish community has extended forgiveness. In this particular case, the shooter killed himself, and that day the Amish went to visit his family - showing grace during this tragedy. One part of the book included a verse from Romans 12:21, and I will leave you with it:

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

SIFE Nationals

I met another goal this past week! I traveled to a state I have never been to before. The SIFE Team from Roberts traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the National Competition. We flew out bright and early Tuesday morning and returned by Friday late afternoon. The weather in Minneapolis was much like Rochester: cold and rainy.
This is the part of our team that traveled to Nationals. We had a great time together - there were definitely many laughs throughout the trip. We had one day of competition, then we learned we moved on to the second round - this meant we were in the top 20 teams in the nation - something we have not done for 4 years! We competed again the second day, and came in as part of the top 16 in the nation. We are all very proud of our team and what we were able to accomplish this year.
This is our presentation team, who always do a wonderful job representing the hard work our team has put in throughout the year. They memorize 24 minutes worth of lines that go along with a video of statistics and pictures. They then have a 5 minute Q&A period where the judges can find out more about our team.
The Mall of America was right down the road from our hotel. We spent Thursday evening there. We rode the rollercoaster and went out to dinner. I even found an elephant to take my picture with!

Amazing Race

I have been watching The Amazing Race online throughout the spring, and today I accomplished another one of my goals with it. My goal was to watch all episodes of a show from start to finish. The final episode was last night - the one that revealed the winner of the 1 million dollars! However, I had to wait until tonight to watch it online. That show would be so much fun to do!! I definitely enjoy traveling, and all the little tasks contestants have to do would be neat to do and figure out.

Our family used to make up our own Amazing Race type contests. There would be clues or items we had to find - we would get creative. What an experience the real Amazing Race would be!

New Room

This is a view of my new dorm room. I have moved across the way for the summer. I will have a roommate for the first few weeks, but then I will have an extra bed if anyone wants to come visit!

Graduation was yesterday. I attended because my cousin, Becca, was graduating. I also wanted to see all the senior business majors - it will be strange next year without them. After graduation we headed over to my cousin's house for a dinner celebration. Then we all helped her move out of her dorm. Some girls left behind quite a bit of food, so I claimed it. This is the pantry in my room: I will be pretty well stocked for the first few weeks. Lots of pasta and oatmeal! Here is a view of the other side of my room. I have the closet on the left:
I start working at one of my jobs tomorrow, then I have to get my car worked on and inspected. We leave for Minneapolis on Tuesday (at 3:30am!!). I am looking forward to a great summer! Glad it snowed today to welcome me..haha!

I Passed!!

Well, I accomplished another goal - I passed Western Civilization with Dr. Caton!! Now, this is just a Gen Ed class, and all we did was take exams, but they were tough! I got some of the lowest grades I have ever received. I would count the questions on the test and determine how many I had to get right just to get a 60! History has never been my favorite subject, so I knew the class would be a drag. I am just glad to have it over with - and I received a B, which is higher than the C I was thinking I'd be getting. Now the only Gen Ed I have left is Senior Seminar - glad to have those all out of the way!

The End

I just came from my last final of my junior year! (I would have been done yesterday, but somehow I missed my final on Tuesday, and my professor graciously let me make it up today!) This semester has been okay. It's been a lot of 'take notes, take an exam, take notes, take an exam.' I think I learn best with papers and projects, where you have to do some work yourself! I'm a business major, so I am used to lots of projects and presentations. However, I only had one 1 credit business class this semester. Next semester will be full of business classes, so it should be very project heavy! I am also looking forward to taking Leadership in Ministry, taught by the pastor of the church by campus. It'll be a full 18 credit semester, but it should be a good one! But why am I thinking that far ahead?! I've got SUMMER to look forward too!!

SIFE Competition

I am traveling to Minneapolis, MN next week with the SIFE Team from Roberts. SIFE stands for Students in Free Enterprise, and all year we have been working on various projects. Some of the projects work to earn money, while others use that money to help those in need. I have been involved in SIFE since freshman year. I have served with the CASH (Creating Assets Savings and Hope) project, as a tax preparer doing people's taxes for them for free on Saturday mornings. I have traveled to Guatemala to help a village's business ventures and to show their children what the future can hold for them as we took them on a field trip outside their village to the capital city. I have played an ethics game with children, taught a business program using friendship bracelets, prepared and presented Financial Freedom workshops for freshmen classes at Roberts, directed a CASH training video, and so much more! Our team has invested so much time and effort into our projects, and each year we present on what we have done. Our 24 minute memorized presentation was recently judged in Cleveland, OH at Regional Competition. We did well and have moved on to National Competition, which is next week in Minneapolis. Our team flies out Tuesday morning - we are meeting at 3:30am to board the bus!! We have 3 days of competition and events then come back on Friday. This trip will complete another one of my goals: to travel to a state I have never been to. Should be an adventure!

Straining Forward

On Sunday, the pastor directed us to the book of Philippians. I couldn't help but notice an underlined and noted verse on the next page. I will share it with you:

Philippians 3:13b "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead."

The note I have written next to it says, "Don't let the past stop you from now striving to become like Christ." We can't let hard times stop us from pressing on to our goal - living in Christ-likeness as we look forward to eternity in heaven!

At this time last year, I was not at a good place. I had several decisions to make about my future, but I was letting past failures get in the way of the current life I was living. I was confused and frustrated, not sure what I was supposed to do. I was also trying to please everyone - which, believe me, is impossible! I have since, by God's grace, come a long way. It's been a trying year, but I have learned and grown so much because of it. I am thoroughly looking forward to this summer and what the Lord has in store for me. Will you join me in "straining forward to what lies ahead?"

One Life to Love

Last semester I went to a concert in the area. I really went because John Waller was going to be singing, but 33 Miles was the main band. I really enjoyed what the lead singer had to share as he talked about Guatemala - I went to Guatemala on a mission's trip 2 summers ago, so it holds a special place in my heart. I also liked their song One Life to Love.

The chorus goes like this:

You only get just one time around,
you only get one shot at this

One chance to find out the one thing
that you don't wanna miss
One day when it's all said and done
I hope you see that it was enough

This one ride, one try, one life to love

You can listen to the whole song on Youtube here. I love when it comes on the radio!

I had a friend share this on her Facebook, and I commented that I liked the song. She said it reminded her of my speech at graduation. I talked about living your life the way you want to be remembered, making sure that in the end we can look back and be pleased with how we lived for the Lord. I encourage you to take the time to reflect on your life and make sure you are using your one life for His glory!

Buffalo Zoo

I accomplished another goal/activity today! I went to the zoo with my friend, Danielle. She goes to school in Buffalo, so I went over for the afternoon. We saw monkeys, polar bears, a rhino, a giraffe, and of course some elephants!! The forecast called for thunderstorms, but we walked over and the weather held off for us. It was a fun afternoon to spend with a friend before my busy week of finals. Now I am off to study for my Western Civ exam!

Shadowing: One of Three

Wow! May 1st already! I had to write the date this morning, and I was surprised to have to write May already..time sure does fly!

I'm doing pretty well with working on accomplishing my goals. This one has to do with school - sort of. For my major we have to do an internship. I am doing mine next spring at Heritage Christian Services. They are a not-for-profit organization that helps those with developmental disabilities. I will be interning in their fundraising and grant writing department. The two ladies in that area seem very fun to get along with, and I'm looking forward to learning a lot. Besides my internship I decided I want to shadow people in their job as well. My goal is to shadow 3 by the end of 2010. I think it can be done!

I recently got together with Amy Eisenhauer who works at Roberts in Alumni Relations. She has some experience in Community Relations, which is what I was interested in. For one of my classes here we do a mock interview night. I interviewed with a lady from a credit union who said I would probably be interested in their community relations department. I asked what all that involved, and basically it is event planning to get the company's name out there. Although I've heard it can be stressful, I think event planning would be fun. (The fundraising aspect of my internship would be the event planning side of me.) I talked with Amy about what she does at the school and Homecoming came up. This is a big event that happens every year. It involves current students and alumni. I told her I would be willing to help out with it - it would be a great experience for me to help out with a big event like that! We will be in touch again in the fall.

For my other 2 (maybe more!) shadow experiences I am looking into the United Way and the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The ADA has a special events position that I would be interested in learning more about.

When I was in high school I was the class treasurer for all 4 years. We had to do various fundraisers to raise money for our senior class trip to Toronto. I loved organizing the events, making sure students sold their tickets, and running the event. I loved the feeling of success afterwards, and enjoying the rewards of our hard work. I definitely enjoy the switch from Accounting to Management, but the money thing is still in there for me!

I will keep you posted on any other shadow opportunities I have : )