I just finished a 360

360. I'm not talking about the degrees of a circle. Quite the contrary, my reference to this three-digit number implies a mostly linear action--sitting straight, looking ahead at a professor and the whiteboard he/she stands before. Yes, 360 are the number of hours I spent in these last 17 weeks behind a desk in a college classroom. Five papers, six speeches. 40 philosophy vocabulary words, and 182 history flashcards later...I AM FINISHED with spring semester '09! 17 units are behind me!

After my last final this morning, I walked around my little community college campus and indulged in some silly sentiment. I almost felt sad. My mom once said that she experienced a certain gloominess when all three of us girls (I suppose that would mean me specifically since I am the youngest!) became potty-trained. No more diapers. No more rashes. No more baby wipe odors that clearly identified her as a mommy of little munchkins. Of course, Mom really was glad that her "diaper duty days” were over. Yet this milestone also meant that her little baby girls were growing up. They would never return to the diaper stage (at least for another 80-90 years! We’ll see). While I certainly felt no sadness at leaving the Huggies behind, today I did feel a twinge of dolefulness stemming from the fact that I will never go backward.

The General Education units I have whittled away at over that last 2 1/2 years only mean that I am closer to earning my bachelors degree. Only two more years to go! But don't "big girls" earn degrees? Don't adults graduate and get jobs? Naturally, there is much more to being a mature adult than graduating with a piece of paper from a college; however, I have been working, studying, and praying to be a woman with a heart after God for years and now I find myself in the very shoes of the first nd in the process of the second.

God is so very good. I don’t know what shape the future will take, but I know God is there!

Happy Summer!

These are a few of my favorite things....!

They say you are the kiss of death

but I mind you not oh Garlic Breath!

Comming Soon...

A view from my bike!

Sweet Home Tagged me!

What is my current obsession? Planning all the things I’ll do when school gets out (Like looking for a job…anybody?!!)

Which item of clothing do you wear most often? My newly resurrected jeans (the ones I couldn’t fit into for over a year—until now. Yeah!) and my yellow baby-doll top!


What's for dinner? Leftovers…Reheated beef stew and homemade bread.

What are you listening to? Classical music. Particularly the best of Hyden. Ahhh so calming!

Say something about the one that tagged you. My sweet, sweet sister who I appreciate more now than ever for her trust in God, her love for others and her courage.

Guilty Pleasure? M&Ms and ice cream (I was going to say Golden Spoon, but I am SO not guilty about that!)!

Favorite vacation spots? Colorado and Montana. Actually, Oregon ain’t so bad either!

What am I reading right now? Knowing God and The One Year of Christian History

Four words to describe myself. Busy, Enjoying-God, Loves-to-laugh, very-curious.

First Spring thing to do? Clean my room and my car. Oh, and shopping at on apen-air farmers' market!

What do I look forward to? Time and energy not claimed by school that I can spend on reading my own books and writing my own thoughts.

Let's see I'll tag:
~*~Leighways
~*~ Our Adoption Blog (if you can. I know you are busy as your adoption is soon to go through)

It's Her B-Earth Day!

Today is a very special day. It has to do with life and a mother but nothing to do with "Earth Day" (although I thought I would slip it in the title just because *smile*). Today is Plain Ol' Vanilla 's birthday!! The happiest of Birthdays to my precious mom!!

Photos of the Week

Yes, it is Spring here. The buds can't help but happily welcome the world (and my camera lens) with their colors, shades and textures. I took these on my "all things flowers" photography walk (though I did slip the tree in there)!

Easter Series Part 5--He is Risen Indeed!

… How could this happen? Wasn’t Jesus the Rescuer? The kind God had promised? It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
Yes, whoever said anything about the end?
Just before sunrise, on the third day, God sent an earthquake—and an angel from heaven. When the guards (who had been guarding the tomb in which Jesus’ body lay) saw the angel, they fell down in fright. The angle rolled the huge stone away, sat on top of it and waited.

At the first glimmer of dawn, Mary Magdalene and other women head to the tomb to wash Jesus’ body. The early morning sun slanted through the ancient olive tress, drops of dew glittering on the leaves and grasses—little tear everywhere. The friends walked quietly along the hilly path, through the groves, until they reached the tomb. Immediately noticed something odd—it was wide open.
They peered though the opening gin to the dark tomb. But wait Jesus’ body was gone!
And something else: a shining man was there, with clothes made from lighting.
“Don’t be scared,” the angel said…”Jesus isn’t dead anymore … He is alive again!”

…The other women rushed home, but Mary stayed behind. How could it be true? Jesus was definitely dead—how could he be alive? Just them Mary hear someone else in the garden. Perhaps it’s the gardener, she thought. He’ll know where Jesus’ body is.
“I don’t know where Jesus is!” Mary said urgently. “I can’t find him.”
But it was all right. Jesus knew where she was. And he had found her.

Days later, after showing himself to many of his friends when he was talking with his disciples... Something amazing happened. Jesus rose up into the bright air higher and higher. They shaded their eyes and watched him go, until a cloud hid Jesus so they couldn’t see him anymore. They stood looking up in to the sky like that for a long time
Suddenly two shining men appeared. "What are you doing?" they asked. "Jesus has gone to heaven. But one day he will come back. In the same way you saw him leave. From heaven. And from the sky. "

Jesus' friends went back to Jerusalem with a strnge gladness inside their hearts. And something Jesus said stuck in their minds: "Even though you won't be able to see me anymore, I will never leave you. No! Not ever I will be with you. Yes! Always and forever!"

And it is all true. Every last word of it!