Jumping Cow

Once again my day was filled with something strange occuring. Many of you know that I am taking a minimester at Hawkeye High (which is totally worth it!. The class is Environmental Conservation and one of our lab activities is to build a solar oven. So today our groups were busy working on constructing these marvelous heat absorbers when we hear CRASH! BANG! THUD! CHING! CHANG! BOOM! BANG! Everyone stopped and was like WHAT the heck was that!?!?! Bet you would never guess that it was a cow who made all the noise. My class is out at the farm site and my teacher was looking out the window at this cow that he thought was maybe 3 feet away and then the next thing he knows the cow jumps through the window!!! That's the second animal that I know of has jumped through a window. Why do they do such odd things? Oh well it was entertainging for alil while. Oh and for you animal lovers the cow did not get hurt too bad, just some blood from coming in contact with the glass. (What in the world provoked the cow to do such a thing?!)

Traded the kid straight up! Saw him the next day and my shirt was no longer white but brown.

Cuchara verde?!

My grandpa aka Along and that is Dan there in the back.

Good Friday Service

To my right are two girls that still talk to today through email and letters. So sweet let me tell ya! Oh and the baby, Adorable!

Cerissa, Yo, Megan, Lydia, ROXXXAANNEE, Marjan, Jen, and that kid Chris in the back are painting the feeding center on the island of Bocachica, CO.

I like. . .

1. people who can make me laugh
2. people who are always there for you no matter what or how horrible you may look
3. people who laugh with me and not so much at me
4. people who go waterskiing/wakeboarding/tubing/jetskiing
5. people who travel
6. sincere but sarcastic persons
7. the color red
8. to be the tough girl (NO one sees me cry!)
9. to cook/bake
10. JESUS FREAKS
11. I love foreigners!!!!!!

Shopping Blues

ok this is whats going on in my mind right now. This afternoon after I was released from class I went shopping to just pick up a few items, however I ended up calling my friend who was supposed to be on a cruise somewhere down by Florida and we went to the mall. I always get items that are on sale for dirt cheap. Seriously I bought a skirt tonight for $20.00 and that was realllyyy stretching it for me. So I got alot of nice clothes but on the way home and till now I have felt sorta guilty about spending a good portion of my birthday and Christmas money on just clothes! That was the last thing I wanted for Christmas! You know that saying "What is it going to count for eternity?" Yeah I am not liking that i know that saying at the moment!!AAAHHHHH!!!! I have to admit though that lately I have been pretty careless with this world because my mind set has been everything is going to pass away so why get involved? Yeah definately working on living in the present with headlights shining on the front door of home! I wish I could escape at times just to get a climpse of him face to face. Someday my friend, someday. "He gives life to the fullest!" It's not boring, worthless, waste of time, or easy. His life that he brings to all who receive him is an aesthetic ride that by far out lasts an 8 second ride!

"Trust God? Are You Crazy?!"

"keep Trusting God!" is the phrase that I immediately heard after several tragic events occurred. "trust God? Are you serious? I mean how could He allow something like this to happen? Why trust him? I thought He loved me and would do anything to make sure to protect me from harm?!?!?!" Personally I was struggling with this phrase trust God. My friend said that he wants to know if his faith is really true by having something not so good happen to him. Of course none of us want to go through what alot of us have been through the past 6 months but i tell you what you will either turn or burn! I had to find out what it meant to really trust God and what gave me reason to trust him. First of all I looked outside my bedroom window to find a beautiful farmland. He is the creator of this gorgeous, beautiful earth. His power is displayed throughout his creation...think about it! He created everything from the ocean floors to the Rocky Mountains to the very tiny nuclear atoms! Pieces of God are EVERYWHERE! Trust him because he is bigger than your problem! I'll stop right here and let you think about God and how powerful and majestic he is which we can see through his creation! Creating the earth is a much larger task than what some of us are going through. I think He can handle it!

How long must this continue on?

The story of my life is as such: returned from DTS at the end of May 2004 and I was excited to see some old friends. However in June the disease began. The disease of death that is. It first began with my great aunt's funeral, she was old and it was her time to go. At her funeral my cousin Kyle was a pallbearer. He was the youngest one with the other guys. one being my dad. I thought as I saw them carring the casket that Kyle for sure would be the last one to be taken because he was so young compared to the others. However about three weeks later Kyle was taken home. Then while at his funeral I saw his girlfriend being comforted by her oldest sister. Next thing I know I am attending his girfriend's sister and brother -in- law funeral. Now I did not see Nick Trunnell at the previous funeral so my creepy thing was broken i guess you could say, but still the 5th person within the last 6 months!?!?! And the crazy thing is that in the last 4 years 7 people have died that are affiliated with Walnut Ridge, my highschool. Death is such a reality to me that going to all of these funerals has almost become a routine for me. I just want to know if we will ever get a break from this continuous dying. I know that we will eventually someday but for the current time how long must we continue to regularly go to funerals of loved ones? God is very distant at times like these. Many turn and run the other way. But what are they running to? They find nothing. The only place you can find hope, peace, comfort, and truth is through Christ Jesus. Everything else is meaningless and will leave you in a search forever.

What it means to be a child of God

I can not tell you how many times I have been out of breath from laughing at young children doing silly things. They are so innocent and unware of what they are doing at times that you can not help but giggle because it is so cute. It is sooo much fun to watch them play because they are filled with energy. Everything they do is an all out effort. Did you ever notice that when kids are playing they like to do their best in whatever they are doing. Ok not every child is like this but generally speaking. Children teach us at times more often then adults end up teaching them. A 10 year boy in the family gave his birthday toys away to kids who are in need. I ask myself "would I have done that when I was 10? Would I give up my presents on my next birthday?"
This reminds me of a little street girl that I saw in Columbia. By street girl I mean born, raised, and survives by the street. She probably has no mattress, no pillow, no pjs, no bedtime snack, no protection. She sleeps on the cement underneath a bridge for protection from the weather. Nothing is what she has. Nothing as in material or wealth or goods. She has joy. Now let me tell you the story.
One day we were walking downtown Bogota which was very dangerous because it was a large area for theft. People sleeping in the medians, concked out with the clothes on their back. I almost stepped on a guy too cause i didn't see him lying on the ground. Anyways about the little girl...this little girl walked by a beggar who was holding out a cup and asking for money. She gave him the little money that she had. It was maybe $1.oo at the most! The man was old and seemed to be crippled. After dumping her earnings into the beggar's cup she skipped off with her friend laughing, smiling, and full of life.
Children teach us so much that they do not need to analyze everything they do. Well should I give to this person or should I help this person out with this situation? A child is most likely willing to step in and give a helping hand. Those innocent little hands leave huge fingerprints on whatever they come in contact with.
Basically what i feel like writing about tonight is to remember or re-embrace the fact that you are a child of God. He gives you that joy that innocense. He loves to watch you play and enjoy yourself! God is calling you to come play with him. I think he said he wants to do some finger painting with you! HOW FUN and REWARDING to get to go to work with Daddy?!?!?!

Short tis is

So I have been extremely busy these last few days!!! Of course it is that time of year when teachers and professors have to cram in all the stuff they have not gotten to yet before the semester is over with. Which by the way we only have one more week of classes!!!! I won't be a freshman anymore!!! YEAH!!! Our intraumural volleyball team won the semifinal game tonight so now we play for the Championship on Tuesday. It's alot of fun to play. :) Has anyone completed their Christmas shopping or are you close to be done? I need to get some rest. Short tis is.

God's Boxes

I have in my hands two boxes,

Which God gave me to hold.

He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box,
And all your joys in the gold."
I heeded His words, and in the two boxes,

Both my joys and sorrows I stored,

But though the gold became heavier each day,

The black was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black, I wanted to find out why, And I saw, in
the base of the box, a hole, Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused,

"I wonder where my sorrows could be!"

He smiled a gentle smile and said,

"My child, they're all here with me."

I asked God, why He gave me the boxes,

Why the gold and the black with the hole?

"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings, The black is for you
to let go." We should consider all of our friends and family a blessing.

Meaningless Meaningless!!!

Tonight at 20/20 we discussed the book Ecclesiastes and the topic of meaningless. What is meaningless to you? Maybe it's the simple things like laundry or sweeping the garage floor. Maybe school is meaningless for you. So often we get caught up in this physical world that we forget why we are really in existence. Our lives have become ruled by schedules and planners and date books. How can you really plan something so far in advance? You don't know when the Lord may call you home (that is if you have received him as your Savior). Sometimes earthly hope is completely meaningless to me. All things under heaven are going to pass away. Pain, heartache, suffering, relationships, everything is going to be wiped away. Why get your hopes up for something that last only for a moment? Hoping that one day I will stand infront of my Lord and I will kiss the feet of the man who paid the price for ME to save me from eternal death, and I will live with him forever, that is putting your hope in something meaningful.

A case of the sometimers

So Lor forgot that she had a thing called a blog, but now she remembers thanks to some helpful friends.:) Well hmm this week I am busing writing another one of my essays. It's very important to me to do extremely well on these essays because it is a course for my major. For about two years now I have had pain in my right shoulder, usually aggravated most when playing volleyball or anything like that and well I finally decided to get it checked out. This thursday the 18th it is getting more checked out with an arthogram and an MRI. Im not too siked about the MRI because my whole body has to go in the machine! I don't think I am clasterphobic but then again I have never been in a situation really that I would feel that way. Plus seeing the ones in teh movies just doesn't look like something I would want to be inside of! Oh well maybe they could just blind fold me then I wouldn't be able to see and that would be better than seeing that i can't get out. Sorry about my sometimers disease. Lets hope it doesn't turn into alzhiemers anytime soon!!!!

Green usually means go

So I'm on my way home tonight from BASIC (which was incredible by the way) and I just came off of highway 20 and I am waiting to turn onto highway 63. As usual I am just singin along with shane and shane. After alittle while I'm like maahnn is this light ever going to turn green!!! Then after I don't know how long I saw that the cars going the opposite direction were stopped. The light had been green for I don't know how long. Yeah good thing no one was behind me cause i don't think they would have liked my spacing out. Gotta love it!

Ready to Burst

Hi. I really want to share this tonight. I may seem or appear quite and shy to some, but you guys have nooooo idea how weird I can be. It's not like dorky wierd but it is more like a good weird. When I think of that day when I will be running to meet Jesus and it will be better than in the movies when we embrace or when I bow down at the throne with all of His glory and honor and holiness and ALL of Him or when I think about the praising and worshiping that is going to occur in heaven, the sound of multitudes of voices of different beings all so beautiful that it will not be a sound rather it will be something that we can not explain, basically when I think of Heaven I scream alot and its pretty high!!!! Seriously I think that is why I am aliitle deaf beacuse I have hurt my own ear drums. OH MY GOSH!!! I am so stoked so ready so anxious so desiring so yearning so longing and so much more for the moment when i can kiss the feet of those who's feet were peirced for me!!!!!!!! No words could ever describe the love Jesus gives; our tiny vocabulary does not even begin to try to find a word that explains it. OH another I am so extremely excited about is dancing in the presence of the Lord. This may come to a shock to many but I love dancing. It only comes out then when praising God. oh quick story. Last Winter when I was at YWAM in Denver worship times are pretty free and awesome. Well i like to move when Im praising my LOrd and this guy behind me thought I was all wierd because I liked to move around soooo much. So I hope I don't scare any of you by my craziness but man sometimes it may seem like IM a kid who needs to take some REDLIN because Jesus makes me so high. Im writing this because I am fed up with and tired of hiding the true joy I have and that it can be yours too!!!! I want people to be able to see what is really on my heart. Sorry this may seem long to some but to me nothing is ever to long when discussing Jesus, never ever ever!!!!!

"Prayer does not change God, it changes him who prays!"

Kyle Edward Zey

cool dude

Never forget about golf ball hunting, bike riding at butt crack of dawn, horseback riding, hiking, and whatever else we did on our vacations.

Three Amigos--Uncle Rob, Kyle, Josh. Sorry if this does not come out clear.

Smiling for the camera!!! :)

If you scroll down you can see that I have posted some pictures of Kyle. It seems to help to think of memories but then it doesn't at times because then you miss him because they truely are just memories now. However we have gotten through it thus far only with the help of Jesus, so we will continue to press on. Someday we will get to see Kyle again. I bet he is living in his mansion right now made out of logs. He got the bestest log home he could have ever imagined.

Hmmm What to tell you about what has been happening in my life recently. Pretty normal right now with school and work and church. Oh I am going to coach a club volleyball team this year. Pretty stoked about that!!! It's definately gonna keep me busy or maybe not. OH something else is that this Saturday I get to see Shane and Shane in concert in Minnesota and they will be presenting their new stuff!!!!!!!!! I'll be sure to take some great pics to post so you all can see what you misted. :) That is all I have time for now. Have a nice night or day or whatever it is to ya.

Song of the Week- Homesick- by Mercy Me

Your in a better place I've heard a thousand times,
and at least a thousand times i've rejoiced for you,
but the reason why I'm broken the reason why I cry
is how long must I wait to be with you.

I close my eyes and I see your face
if home 's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord won't you give me strength to make it through some how,
I've never been more homesick than now.

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways,
the reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
but even if you showed me the hurt would be the same cause I'm still here so far away from home.

I close my eyes and I see your face,
if home wheres my heart is then I'm out of place,
Lord won't you give me strength to make it through some how,
I've never been more homesick than now.

In Christ there are no goodbyes,
in Christ there is no end,
so I'll hold on to Jesus with all that I have to see you again
to see you again,
and I close my eyes and I see your face,
if home's where my heart is then I'm out of place,
Lord won't you give me strengh to make it through some how,
won't you give me strength to make it through some how,
won't you give me strength to make it through some how,
I've never been more homesick than now.

I think she's alittle too old for ya bud!

Aren't those mountains just gorgeous with the clouds in the sky like that too!?!?! uuhhhh gptta love it!

THE FOOD

The Menu at the reception.

SMILE!!!!

Anthony, cousin Nicole, Lins, and cousin Natasha

Beaver Meadows Resort in Colorado

Hudson Pictures

OKAY!! Finally got some pictures up! but they are mainly of my nephew Hudson. Wedding pictures shall be entering the site soon. I have been pretty darn busy lately, but I am very glad about everything I am busy with. Heather and I are leading an 8th grade girls small group, and I love it!! It is soo much fun getting to hang out with these girls and become friends. More rewarding though is what they teach me and what I might be able to speak into their lives also.

Part of the Pink Passion Group

Not looking forward to this!!

hudson and his new toy

Let's hope he never does this to whats inside that bottle.

MMMM and you thought only feet tasted good! Wait till you try fingers. They are finger looking good!

leave me be. its time for my 5th nap of the day.

Grandpa and me going for a dip.

This is my normal look-dazed and confused.

Pet the kitty. DON'T GRAB!!!

Have you ever tasted feet? I reallyyy like it. They are sooo yummy!!! ---Hudson

Grandma and Grandpa are very sad to leave their grandson after spending the whole week with him!

It's been awhile....

OK So I have been really busy lately and have not kept this blog that interesting. However I promise you that after this weekend it will be interesting because I am on my way to Colorado this afternoon for my oldest brother's wedding ceremony on Saturday. Our parents are already gone and lins and I are taking the amtrak train. I am sooooo EXCITED that I will get to see some of my YWAM FRIENDS!!!!!! Even though it may only be for a few hours, still it is wayyyyyy worth it!!!!!! (I LOVE YOU GUYS!) Anyways check this out again in sometime mid next week and hopefully I'll have some cute pics of Hudson.

Cattle Congress 2004

ok so the other night me and my siblings went to the rodeo at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo. I must tell you I enjoyed it very much,the cowboy thing and all! Have you ever seen the Taco John's commercial with Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey? Well he was at the rodeo the other night and it was sweet how he could ride the dog like it was a horse. Whiplash rounded up some goats a few times, but then it started to get old and boring. I've been to rodeos in my day and well this one i cant believe was called a rodeo because there were only 4 bull riders!OK I WILL FINISH THIS LATER. GOTTA GO TO CLASS.

Communication

Communication. What is it? Well ill tell you one thing i seem to be one of the last people on the lines of communication in my house. On Wednesday my sister ended up going to the hospital and she had a cat scan done and they found a cyst. It's benign and shes in no pain. This happened maybe around 10 or 11 in the morning. WHen does Lori find out about it though.......oh not till thursday morning. "WHy didn't you call me!?!?!" I asked my mother and she said "WEll you were in class and busy." SHoot I could care less about school or work when something like that happens. People have to tell me these things right AWAY!!!! TOday is her birthday and i am the last to know about the party we are having tonight with grandparents and that we are going out to eat. Geeze i know im not home that much but still you think they would leave a note or a message on my phone or something. Frustrating to be the last to know these things sometimes. But oh well i guess someone has to be the last so looks like its me for this crib anyways. Ummmmm yyyyeeeaaahhhhh im gonna have to move to my homework noowww. Have a greeeaattt night folks!!!:)

Blonde Moment of the Day

WOW!! Today has been extremely long for me. It began with working at Kohls from 8am to 1pm followed by class at 2 which lasted until 3:15. Then I got to go to church at 5 and meet fellow staff members of middle school small group leaders. So we had the first night of small group and it went really well. I think we'll have lots of fun and hopefully everyone will grow alot! After small group with middle school I went to college small group with the Neys because I had no idea what was going on with this new thing they are doing so I just sat in on their group for the night. So I am getting ready to leave and I am looking for my keys. looking looking looking looking. look in my bag oh bout 5 times. i had people helping me look but we could not find them. "Where did you put them last?" "Well I remember throughing them on the floor in the student center but after that I'm not really sure." I call my friends to come give me a ride home so they are on their way. Jason's like "are you sure they arent in your bag? Do a little shake." So i did and nothing. OH well my ride was on its way and it was all good. Before Jason goes out the door he says "I hope you don't find in some place funny." (or something like that) and about 30 seconds after he left i felt a bulge in the front pocket of my bag. NO WAY!!!! the keys were in my bag the whole time!!!! OOOPPPPiiieessssss!!!

In Memory of Loved Ones

All though you are presently not with us, your spirit continues to live on with ours. We may never understand why you were called home at this time, but we know that it was all in God's control. It hurts to think of what it could have been like if you were still around and had a life of your own; married, kids, and what not. Memories of you will never fade away; they will remain in our hearts and minds for all of our following days. It's hard to grasp the thought that the joy and laughter God gave you to bless us, will never be expressed again until we meet again. But how much more wonderful is it that you are having an even greater joyous time in heaven. One fine day we shall come face to face and embrace in remembrance of each other's races on this place. I am extremely homesick and getting very anxious to see my Daddy!

Typical Monday

Hmmm, So yyyyeeeaaaahhhh. It's about 9:30 at night and I have not done a single glimpse of homework at all today. Why? Well it's just one of them days where you can't really focus much and I am not worried about my homework at all. Who really gives a rats rear end! After playing around with this thing for about an hour and a half I still have not figured out how you put pictures on display and how you change other stuff too. This seems to be frustrating for someone like me who is sort of technologically challenged. Peace in the middle*

ANDRES!!!

Marjan, Me, Jen- Cliff Jumping in Bocachica!:)

How CUTE is SHE!

My First Blog

Well I finally have done it. I've wanted to create a blog now for quite some time now, but never got around to it because I thought it was one of those things that takes along time to set up. Oh how wrong was I. It was really fast setting this up which makes me happy cause I don't like computer things that take along time.