as of late ...

new address...

2010-04-12T02:28:00.001-05:00

i want you to keep reading my blog but i am moving.

please now keep up with my blog at

http://adamofam.blogspot.com/

thank you!!

i'm still not married yet...

2010-01-22T01:25:00.004-06:00

but i am getting closer everyday.

i am now only 43 days away!!!

in the mean time i will be staring at these engagement pictures to help pass the time.

hope it works, i am really ready to get married.

i'm looking back...

2010-01-20T09:20:00.007-06:00

at 2009 in pictures....

january...

i bring in the new year at amy's

february...

we celebrate valentine's day... (we had boys with us i promise, this was just a girls pic)

march...

i go to new mexico for a mission trip with the teenagers...

then i go camping with seminary friends...

april...

i start playing on a ultimate frisbee team...

we win first place in our league...just kidding. we lose a lot. but we steal the championship t-shirts while the game is going on and pretend we won. just as fun.

may....

luke and i compete in our first triathlon....

we also don't come in first...

i also visit the cute friends with my dear friend allye....

june....

start dating dominick :) happy faces, happy faces

july...

luke and ashley get married.... more happy faces

cody and i get a new sister...

august...
i got to colorado, cody and i hike for 1,589,642 miles...

then on to see luke and ashley in their new home town....

september....
we have hick party at church..

october...
we have fall festival at church and i get strangled by an ninja...

november...
we get engaged, it becomes my favorite month ever...

december...
we wedding plan, we celebrate christmas and everyone is exhausted.
all in all, one fantastic year. looking forward in great anticipation of 2010.

i'm passing test

2010-01-13T08:53:00.004-06:00

so, i am getting married and we are having a wedding hence the lack of recent blog post. one of dominick's groomsmen lives out of state and i have not yet had the pleasure of meeting him. since the wedding will be our first meeting he took it upon himself to get to know me a little better/see if i am good enough for his friend. this was the facebook interchange between us and i thought you might all enjoy it. it made us (mike, dominick and myself) laugh.

also he told dom that if i didnt pass his test he would be forced to release a wolverine during our wedding.

Mike McDonald January 10 at 8:52pm
So, I am very sad that i don't know you...and that ill first meet you when i'm in your wedding(which I'm very happy about.) So i decided to facebook you a few questions...like a get to know chelsea better quiz.
1. Favorite color
2. Favorite Band
3. Which do you think would win in a fight a bear or Dom.
. Apples or oranges
5. Winter or summer
6. Superman or Batman
7. Why do you follow god?
8. Who would win in an arm wrestling match, the statue of liberty or king kong
9. The Office...best show ever, or who cares?
10. Last question... Is dom's friend mike crazy...or dom's coolest most awesomest friend ever?

thats all, good luck and god speed.

Chelsea Calcatera January 11 at 2:21pm
Mike,
I am also sad that we don't know each other. Dom speaks very highly of you and honestly I am pretty intimidated/nervous about the man love between you two. I will gladly take your test and hope to pass with flying colors. Should I fail and you feel forced to inform Dominick that I am not cool enough for him be warned that I will then be forced to kill you. :/

1. baby blue and green (mainly the color of a clean sky and trees)

2. this one is pretty hard. I dont think I can list just one so i have broken down some categories:-favorite band to see live:MuteMath
-favorite single man singer-George Strait
-favorite country band-Randy Rogers Band
-favorite when i'm mellow and happy- Joshua Radin
-mostly played in my car are mixes of mae, anberlin, david gray, cross canadian ragweed, bob marley, death cab for cutie, lady antebellum
-favorite music for worship-shane and shane, shawn mcdonald, dominick adamo

3. the bear if it were a fair fight, dom if it was prison rules

4. yes please

5. summer- I love to play outside and swimming and the ocean and being able to wear sandals. However I have never lived in a pretty place during the winter were snow is a regular and I truly believe that if I lived somewhere were it could be winter and you could still play outside because there is snow and not just ice falling from the sky that I would enjoy winter much more.

6. Batman, he was really just a man with no special powers just smart gadgets and a lot of bravery.

7. Because without God, his son Jesus Christ who is my savior, my life would be pointless/hopeless/depressing instead of being joyful/hopeful/with purpose.

8. King Kong. This probably makes me the worst feminist ever but women can't/shouldn't be able to, beat men at arm wrestling. Even if they are tough women who stand for liberty.

9.Up until about a year ago I would have said The Office is the best show ever. While it still ranks in my top four it's position as my favorite show has seriously been challenged this fall by 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation and Community. Definitely not "who cares?" It is still a work of awkward genius.

10. Dom's friend Mike is the coolest of Dom's friend as well as the one I feel most challenged by for the position as "The love of Dominick's life." \

hope this helps in my winning your approval. looking forward to meeting you,

Chelsea

Mike McDonald January 13 at 8:42am
chelsea...i just informed dom, that you are for sure, funnier then him. well done you passed with flying colors. my favorite was the reference to "prison rules" because in my world, those are the only rules. look forward to meeting you soon too

Chelsea Calcatera January 13 at 6:58am
glad i passed, i hate wolverines

i'm engaged...

2009-12-07T22:13:00.003-06:00

and it kinda stinks.

sorry, i love him and i really want to be married to him but running around and making plans to be married and not actually being married just kinda stinks.

we finished registering and now i really just want to live in a house that we both live in. saying goodbye to him everyday is not fun...and i love fun.

the planning is going good. we are getting married in 89 days, hopefully i will be done planning by then. sometimes i dont think so. it feels like the Lord, in the way that when you learn something new about Him you realize how much you dont know about Him. every time i finish a task a bunch of new task come out of nowhere.

but they promise me that at the end of the planning i will be married to dominick. so i press on.

because i really want to be married to him.

also he wrote about being engaged too.

i'm engaged!!!

2009-11-22T22:14:00.004-06:00

so in previous post i have only referred to a "favorite" without ever really coming out with it. but for those who don't know, i have a boyfriend...

wait, i mean, i had a boyfriend. because yesterday he took me here...

the botanic gardens in ft. worth

he took a picture of my hand holding a leaf (turned out to be the last picture of my non-engaged left hand)

then he sat me down on this bench

and then this wonderful man...

said some wonderful things to me (which will be cherished in my heart forever) and asked me to marry him!! through the tears i said, "yes, yes....yes, yes, yes!!"

so now he is my fiance!!

i was pretty excited!!

i mean, look at this beautiful ring!!

after the gardens we went to dinner at taverna, an italian restaurant he took me on our first date.

after dinner he had planned a party with our family and friends. his parents and my parents as well as his sister, her boyfriend and some seminary/non-seminary friends were all in attendance. it was the perfect end to the perfect day.

so basically i have been on cloud nine for the past 30 hours with no intention of coming down.

dominick really is my favorite.

he began as my friend, a dear friend who i shared many conversations with and stood out among the crowd to me as a wonderful man. then one day we were rock climbing (something we had done several times before) when he looked at me and asked me on a date (something he had not done before). i said yes, of course and thus began our dating relationship. since then my love and admiration for my friend has only grown. i love his thoughts, his company and count myself blessed that he would ask me to share life with him.

to say it simply, i love him and thank the Lord for him daily.

please pray for us as we prepare for the adventure our Father has in store for us as we seek to be obedient to Him in all things.

being a grown up....

2009-11-11T08:42:00.004-06:00

last saturday morning i woke up slowly, taking my time in greeting the day. i then turned to my roommate and said, "i think i will have cake and ice cream for breakfast." she replied with, "i will have cookies and ice cream." we then (still slowly) made our way to the kitchen to make our breakfast. then we plopped down on the couch and turned on a movie. as i took the first bite of my ice cream and cake breakfast i thought to myself, "i'm having cake and ice cream for breakfast. i didn't have to ask permission or sneak this....this is what it is to be a grown up."

to those who don't love the state fair...

2009-10-28T15:38:00.011-05:00

i don't understand you. how? that is my question, how can you not love the state fair??

i love the state fair of texas. it is one of my favorite things on earth. this year i went with dominick and had the most wonderful time. i was amazed at how big it is and how much there is to see. like this guy, who has no bottom half.

dominick was excited to but was able to maintain his cool.

i unfortunately was not...

we stopped to say hello to big tex...

like i said, so much to see like award winning jams and sauces...

star wars exhibits made out of legos...

a k9 movement show...

which we agreed would be more appropriately called, "old ladies dancing while their dogs jump around near them" as proved by the pictures below...

clog dancers

i took this picture from the waste up, because as dom put it, "sometimes when you reach a certain age, you should no longer wear short skirts." but boy this lady could dance...

a monster truck, who doesn't love to see a monster truck?!?

we saw elsie, the borden cow...

as soon as we walked away from elsie, we both looked at each other and simultaneously said, "poor cow." it was funny...and true.

cool bunnies, and dom breaking the rules, which we all know i find attractive.

and of course sampled the wonderful fair food!!!

my first bite of what i consider a fair must have, fried cookie dough...

this crazy went for the fried butter and before you judge, it was delicious!!

there was a pirate dive show...

he jumped from way up there, the pool was only 10 feet deep!!!

dom is classified as a woolly man, also attractive to me.

of course there was a mj tribute in the form of a fun house.

dom sat in the new jeeps at the car show and again you guessed it...attractive!!

we watched the bird show,

dom at the bird show, they release a bird from the ferris wheel behind him and it flies down to the stage, it was pretty stinkin awesome!

so if you don't love the state fair then basically i don't understand you and i think you should go to the state fair with me. maybe i can explain it to you and help you love it too, because it is simply wonderful.

also recently we went to a mavs game for a friends birthday.

so my last few post have been light but i feel a spiritual rant coming on which will be spewed out on this blog. tony, my boss shared some sermons with me on living out our faith in the act of giving to the poor and the last two days of listening to these sermons has been a beating. i am, as dominick calls it, "being worked over" by the Lord. lots of tears, repenting and being grateful for grace has been going on. a few other thoughts have been up in the noodle as well that had i not been so exhausted from the last couple of days would be in this post but for now are being put off till next time.

i will do my best to not be so long between post next time. to those that read, thanks for caring about me and my life, i definitely do not deserve it but am grateful to you all...all seven of you :)

i think i'm ready to talk about it...

2009-09-15T10:37:00.007-05:00

summer is over, it was official when i sat in a room filled uncomfortable desk and listened to and elderly brittish gentleman talk about the koine greek language.

i was sad to see it go.

summer 2009 will forever be one of my favorite summers. plenty of playing, watching people i love get married, and spending time with favorites.

as i look back on the summer the memories flood my mind and bring me great joy.

however, there is one memory that brings no joy.

it only haunts me.

truly, i am haunted.

so there i was, enjoying one of these wonderful summer days at hurricane harbor with my good friend/new roommate julie. julie and i had spent the day riding rides, catching waves (artificial of course) and generally laughing our faces off. we were just about done with the day, out of the lazy river for the last time and headed to pick up our stuff and head out the door when we saw it.

it was a sight i shall not soon forget as much as i would like to.

a girl had pooped her pants.

this was no little girl, this was a teenage girl who had pooped her pants.

this is how it went down from what i could tell. (this might not be the most accurate, it's what i could gather from the scene i observed...from a far.)

said girl was playing in the wave pool, disregarding her growing discomfort in the name of fun. her group tired of the wave pool and exited. she then pooped her swimsuit bottoms. in a desperate effort to avoid further embarrassment she took of running toward the lazy river which was about 30 yards away. about half way she was busted by a hurricane harbor employee (who i'm guessing at this point was hating his life) and forced to remain less she spread her excrement further across the water park and dangering the health of other attendants.

so there she is stuck, held captive by the employee and forced to remain in the middle of the crowds, poop down her leg and in a trail behind her.

another employee quickly brought her a disinfectant spray, paper towels and a trash can with which to clean herself and dispose of properly.

to recap:

-she pooped her pants in the middle of the water park
-is now cleaning her poop off her leg in the middle of the water park

as you can imagine at this point she is pretty angry/embarrassed. embarrassed about what happened, angry at the harbor's policy to not let her run and hide.

so this is where i come in. but what do i do? this was the question at hand. what can you do in this situation to help this poor girl.

anyone?

really, are there any suggestions? there was nothing.

nothing.

absolutely nothing we could do.

we kicked around the idea of gathering other ladies to help us and hold our towels up around her but that would have just drawn more attention. also with the trail of poop she left someone would have had to stand close to it to form a solid circle.

so we walked away. we continued in our task of leaving the park in utter shock, horror and sadness of not being able to help. as we left we knew it would be an event that took time to process and sink in.

only now is what i saw real.

that evening i called a creative friend who i thought might have had a really good idea had she been in that situation. (it should be said about this friend that she was much more compassionate than i was) anyway, after some thought she spoke...

"the only thing you could have done, was gone, stood next to the girl and poop your pants."

what a delight...

2009-08-27T14:38:00.011-05:00

i am back from my vacation to colorado with everything you hope to come back from a vacation with:

-good quality time with our Lord

-a refreshed spirit

-cool stickers

-good time with family

i had the most wonderful time, just can't say it enough. i had a wonderful time.

wonderful

i think i will just share pictures and write as it comes to me.

first i went to visit cody and he took me hiking.

i was excited about it.

the aspens were beautiful.my brother was precious

this is cody when we got to a creek with no clear crossing point. we still had a couple of hours of hiking to do that evening so we didn't want wet socks. he was trying to decide our best choice. i went first and made it dryly (thank you, thank you) then i watched him cross, all the while chanting, "fall, fall, slip, fall." i am not as precious as he is.

so then we were hiking in these woods...

we came out of the woods to find....

it was cool to make a new friend but i didn't want him to join our hike.

this is at the top of triangle pass. it took a lot of time and effort to get here but it was entirely worth it. this is cody pointing to the pass, we were tired at the end of this day.

after my time with cody i drove a few hours north to visit my other brother luke and his wife ashley. this is luke and his dog in front of his house.

one day the three of us went to downtown ft. collins. it was a beautiful downtown area.

luke bet me a dollar i couldn't sit on the second pole.

get paid!!!

luke and his wife ashley. as you can see by these pictures...we are not very good at behaving in public. we stopped at ben and jerry's for a little afternoon ice cream. and jenga...

luke is usually too cool for school so i was grateful that he was being a good sport today.

one day while i was there luke caught 7 fish in a stream by his house so we fried them up that night and it was free dinner. then we played guitar hero.

this is on the drive from their house to estes park. it was simply amazing. when we arrived in estes park we turned around in this neighborhood while looking for a parking place and found these guys.

i liked watching my brother and his new family.

then we went to rocky mountain national park and it rocked my face off.

saw this guy.i was again, excited. the best sister-in-law ever with her colorado friends.

then we saw sheep with horns...NATURE!!

overall conclusions:

-God is good, he has made a lot of beautiful things and it is only by Him that we are beautiful.

a certain person who i am enjoying the company of a lot lately was pointing out to me one day while we were in the car together that ft. worth is kind of fake. the grass next to the highway is not natural, it was planted there because they messed up the natural foundation with the many highways. this makes this person sound cynical which he is not (ish). a little cynical and a lot wonderful..anyway back to the point.

i thought a lot about what he was saying while i was enjoying the beauty of our Father's natural creation. what He makes is beautiful. He doesn't need our help. He is good all on his own.

what a wonderful thing that why we were

ugly,

sin covered,

He chose to make us beautiful.

-another conclusion:

it is good for humans to sit in front of big things God has made and remember that we are small.

we think we are important, deserving and it is simply not true.

we don't deserve anything but hell.

i wish i could really get this through my head. this is the kind of truth that if i could truly understand it gratefulness would be produced in an amount that might change the way i live.

help me Lord.

but simply, it's good for us to remember we are small.

i'm in...crested butte, colorado

2009-08-18T13:49:00.005-05:00

and it's beautiful.

this is a view from my drive yesterday...

after church on sunday i took off and made it to amarillo where i crashed for the night. on monday i drove the rest of the way to meet my brother cody in gunnison, co. (his summer home).

last night i slept in my car at the ranch where cody works (it did not go well).

I am currently waiting for him to get off work today so we can start our hike. we are going to hike tonight, camp out and finish up the hike tomorrow. i am pretty excited about it and it's wonderful to be in the mountains and breathing fresh air. if i wasn't missing him, it would be perfect.

check back soon, i plan on taking a lot of pics on our hike.

meet daniel and laura...

2009-08-08T08:44:00.007-05:00

last night i went to a delightful party to meet my friend laura's new fiance, daniel. daniel and laura met while serving overseas, fell in love, got engaged and now we all get to meet him.

the party was hosted by caroline and was just a treat to attend. we ate bbq outside, sipped on pink lemonade and enjoyed some homemade ice cream and brownies. it was all so delicious and it was a great time to spend with people i really love and just don't get to see as much as i would like.

caroline prayed for daniel and laura before we ate and it was such a sweet prayer. as tears came to her eyes caroline thanked the Lord for what He has done in the life of our friend and for the gift He has given her. caroline asked that we would celebrate the working of the Lord in the lives of daniel and laura.

i loved it. we should celebrate. and not just this one occasion. the Lord is good and we should be in constant celebration...or at least enjoying a lot more of it.

after the party i was thinking of a prayer gathering i went to for laura before she left for her time overseas. we prayed that the Lord would have His way in her and glorify Himself in her life. I don't think at the time we planned on Him doing it the way He did but grateful that He has nonetheless. He is just exciting like that.

so does everyone love daniel?

of course, he is wonderful. as he and laura shared their story of falling in love on foreign soil with an extra set of rules i looked around the party at those listening. they laughed at daniel when he made a joke, responded with the occasional appropriate, "ahhh" when he said sweet things about our friend and i could tell the entire party was falling in love with daniel.

the moment when i knew he loved my friend and was good enough for her came earlier that evening. while passing through the food line laura accidentally dropped a piece of sausage on the ground in the kitchen. when she told daniel he, without hesitation, bent down, picked up the sausage and ate it.

when a man does that for you, it means he is really in love.

congrats my friends. i love you and look forward to watching you become one.

too much it seems

2009-07-27T11:50:00.002-05:00

lately life has been kind of crazy. it feels like everything happening is so heavy. events and activities are not simply happening but leaving their residue on me. that is the best way i can think to explain it.

i feel drenched in the residue of the events of my life.

this weekend i sat at a wedding of two people i dearly love and it was just one of the best weddings i have ever been to. adam crawford administered and he made sure the focus stayed on the love of Jesus Christ and what a gift marriage is and that its purpose, while it does make us happy, is not to make us happy but to glorify God by being a picture of how Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her and how the church should submit to Christ. it was wonderful and a truly worshipful wedding.

the reception was a blast, a room filled with people i love. some i hadn't seen in years, some i love but live in korea and some i had seen earlier that day but was grateful just the same for time with them.

in the same weekend i attended a funeral of a young man who chose to end his life. i watched his family walk in the church and sit down and the expressions of confusion and glimpses of anger were all too evident on their faces.

i begged the Lord to help me trust Him, to help me cling to the promises He gives and believe them in my heart and know in my head that they are true and that He is good. and He did. i sat there singing praises to my Lord and the weight of His presence seemed to find its residing place on my chest and was heavy there. amazingly enough, it did not feel the slightest bit burdensome in its heaviness, it felt the opposite.

extremely freeing.

like i could walk up to the balcony, jump off and fly home.

all the way home.

i told Him he was the only one that could do that. take this horrible tragedy and make it good, give it purpose and provide comfort. i asked Him to do that for the family. when i finished telling Him that he was the only one that could do that he responded by telling me...

He is the only one that could do that.

and that makes Him good, trustworthy and Jesus.

doing things only He could do.

i don't know how to explain it any better than this. its just been a couple of those weeks back to back where it seems like life is happening an extra amount and right in front of my face.

the fact that it is real, painful and joyful at the same time and happening at this very moment. and mostly it is happening with a purpose and my aim is to make it matter for that purpose.

for the sake of GLORY to the ONE who is WORTHY.

that's unfortunate

2009-07-15T10:50:00.008-05:00

just for grins...

some unfortunate tattoo spelling mistakes:

this is the season that is "hott"

your "tomorrow" doesn't look bright

maybe he couldn't afford the apostrophe and the "e."

some unfortunate names for the chosen profession:

how do you heckle this guy with any cleverness because it just seems too easy

it's like free advertising

it's his name and what he does!

unfortunate sign failure:

"wait, i came here for fun?"

hope you enjoyed

i feel sick...

2009-07-13T15:54:00.006-05:00

i am just sick over this:

as believers we are called to care for orphans.

It is a beautiful picture of what God has done for us when people who have no reason to care for a child adopt it, bring it into their home and love it unconditionally.

and it is a tragedy when in an attempt to make money a company like Warner Bros. would appeal to the fear in people.

Heather (who i don't know but whose blog i read daily) said it much better than me. please rerad what she wrote. also spread the word, don't go see the movie and pray with me about whether or not we should protest this movie at a selected theater.

it's just gross and it's one of those things that makes me cry out to the Lord and beg Him for a quick return and thank Him for His mercy but also ask for much, much more. because this is what we are without Him.

sad, greedy people.

also when believers adopt, it's quite amazing. just ask Aaron and Charity. if you think there might be any truth to this stupid movie please read their blog and see what adoption is really about.

i have a sister!!!

2009-07-06T15:00:00.007-05:00

It was a beautiful wedding and such a wonderful time. It was so nice to see so many friends and family from all over in one place. Truly a sweet time.

i know, i know...

2009-07-01T22:20:00.008-05:00

It's been about a year since I've posted. For the three of you that read this, i apologize for the time you have wasted checking my blog just to see the same, lame old post. basically, summer came and my life got crazy. If your starting to feel sorry for me because my life is busy you can quit because its been crazy with fun.

But first things first...

Tomorrow I leave for the wedding of one of my most favorite couples ever!! Luke and Ashley are getting married this Saturday and I am so excited about it.

As far as brothers go...

I have the best ones. My brothers are amazing. Even though they are both younger than me you would never be able to tell by the way they take care of me, look out for me and are just sweet to me.

Luke has become such an great young man and it has been such a treat to be his sister. He is so fun to be around, is not afraid of adventure and simply enjoys life.

And Ashley,

I mean, I didn't know sister-in-laws could be this cool. She is fun, sweet and wonderful and I am so excited and blessed to soon be calling her an official sister. Since I was a little girl I always wanted a sister and to be getting not just a sister but Ashley is such a cherry on top.

So I am thrilled to be headed to Arkansas to watch one of my two favorite brothers and my Ashley get married. Family is coming in from all over and good friends are also making the long trip and it going to be a fun-filled wonderful celebration of a weekend.

So, as of late...

It has been a very interesting season of life. In the same month my car was totaled (everyone is safe and no one was hurt, also I wasn't even in the car) and my parents decided they are moving. This wouldn't be that big of a deal if I wasn't currently living with them. I was planning on moving out anyway but now they have a contract on their house and I have to be out by the end of the month.

No worries.

I have a plan...ish.

Because my insurance people are amazing I already have a new car and am apartment shopping with two girls from school so hopefully soon I will be in a new place.

It seems simple when I blog it but it has felt like more. Maybe I have just been over-dramatic lately. Maybe there is more that I am forgetting about, I know there is more that I just don't have the courage to release to the blog world.

This summer has been a time of what I like to call, "My life up in the air." There is plenty to be

worked out and several areas where I believe the Lord is calling me to take some risk. I really like adventure and gray areas so usually I am down for that sort of thing. However, there are a few specific areas that I am not so keen on jumping out without being able to see the floor beneath me. Thankfully, Jesus continues to remind me that He is worthy of being trusted. He is good and everything He does is good and I can run to Him and find rest for my soul. I am overwhelmed with His promises of peace. It has been a sweet time of Him reminding me, me listening and by His mercy, stepping forward.

In all this going on the Lord is being really present with me. I will be honest, there are times in my life when I look around at other believers and it seems that they don't struggle. Maybe not that they don't struggle but they never seem to be without the Lords presence or confused by the Lord or wondering what on earth they are doing. And basically these are things I think and feel a lot of the time. Lately, it has been different. The Word is speaking to me instead of just being words on a page and the presence of the Lord is piercing my heart and making my love for Him pour out onto the floor and everywhere around me instead of seeming a thousand miles away.

I pretty much love it.

Anyway, sorry I took so long. I will try to do better in the future.

triathlons are fun...really

2009-05-11T22:23:00.019-05:00

so, i finished my first triathlon. i trained, i worked i prepared (ish) and now it is over. its always weird for me when things that you look forward to for a long time and prepare for are over.

distance: swim - 300m, bike - 11miles, run - 2miles

time: 1hr, 18 min

luke's time: 1hr, 7min

i lost to luke with his no training, no spandex, 1985 bicycle self.

i also lost to some 12 year-olds but it happens.

it was a very fun weekend, we left saturday afternoon and made the drive to new braunfels where the triathlon was held. we had to hustle to austin to be there in time to pick up our packets before the bike shop handing them out closed. after we had our packets we just enjoyed the road trip. we stopped so the dog could play, we ate dinner and enjoyed the wonderful summer day.

here we are loaded, gassed up and ready to go.

we had dinner at an italian restuarant in whole foods. it was delicous and a good source of needed carbs for he upcoming day.

after that we made our way to my friend tasha's mother's house who graciously allowed us to stay with her to crash out. at 5am on sunday morning my alarm went off and i found myself surprisingly waking up from a deep sleep. i had anticipated nervous sleep but instead had good rest. but immediately sunday morning my nerves we intact and active. i woke luke and ashley up and we began to ready for the day. after arriving at texas ski ranch we realized we had to park in the rear parking and walk about 1/3mile to the race area. about halfway through our walk luke and i realized we didnt have our helmets (which are required)for the bike race. luke walked back and got them and i began to feel rushed. but luke returned and we pressed on. first we went to rack our bikes in the transition area and get marked up. while laying out my towel and shoes i realized i didnt have my shoes. thankfully ashley walked back to the care and got them for me while i got my timing chip and finished setting up. after ashley returned with my shoes i finished getting all my stuff ready and started stretching.

here is luke and i before the race, marked up and ready to go.

luke and ashley before the race.

after all that feeling rushed i had plenty of time to get ready. after hanging for a few minutes i jumped in the lake to get a feel for it and have a quick warm up swim. that is when i discovered that the water at the texas ski lake was the grossest water in the united states. it smelled like poop, was black (also like some poop) and left a residue on your skin (like poop probably would if you swam in it). i was disgusting.

there were 1,000 people in this triathlon so we had to take off in waves. the 1st wave took off at 8:00am, luke's wave took off at 8:03am. he is the one on the right side of this picture in the yellow swim cap.

luke is in the water and in the race!

luke is out of the water and headed to the transition area to get on his bike. i am still on the beach waiting to start.

luke was the only male in his entire age division not in spandex and he was pretty proud of that.

here i am in the water waiting to start. i am in the red swim cap.

my start time was 8:18am.

and im off!

just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming

out of the water, complete with 5 o'clock shadow from the poop water and headed to my bike.

the transition area.

luke is done riding his bike and starting his run.

when i finished my bike ride i could see that luke was already finished, in my defense he got a 15min head start.

i could see the finish line and i was ready to be there.

the conquerers

i repped my "just kidding" tye dye uniform in honor of my ultimate frisbee team.

all in all it was a very fun weekend.

on another note, i am done with seminary for the summer and grateful for a break and am loving the extra time to play outside.

friends

2009-04-21T22:45:00.004-05:00

lately i have been thinking a lot about friends, my friends, friendships and all that goes with it. right now is a time in my life where i feel like i have the coolest friends. i feel like i have always been blessed with great people in my life and i am so thankful for that. it is a gift i don't deserve and now is no different. i am surrounded by some wonderful people who i constantly learn from, am challenged by and laugh at a lot.

first of all there are all my friends at seminary, these people are so much fun and we have a blast together. i love that we can be quoting the last office episode we watched together or discussing our ultimate frisbee strategy and then seconds later be in solid theological conversation. basically, very cool people that i am thankful to get to spend time with.

in our ultimate frisbee tournament we lost in the second round but during the championship game we stole the winners t-shirts and took pictures like we won, but we didn't. our team name is "just kidding" so it seemed appropriate.

and then there are these girls, they are the coolest.

this family has me over for dinner just about every wednesday for the last year. they are a wonderful family and i have been so blessed by them and their friendship. Angela (the mom) feeds me, listens to me talk about my life and encourages me when i cry. she is a wonderful friend and i have learned so much from her. she puts so much thought into what she does as a mom and i am constantly learning from her.

all this friendship gush has come about because i just got home from seeing driving ms. daisy at the casa manana theater in ft. worth. i went with my friend tasha to this play that was so great. and allow me this disclaimer: i am not one of those super cool, artsy, deep people who always learns from every little thing. however tonight, God really taught me through this play. the friendship between daisy (played by the awesome sandy duncan who i love and was amazing in the play) and her driver, hoke, is one of circumstances. their friendship was an unlikely one and it grew out of a common respect for one another. as tasha and i discussed it afterward we noticed that there were never really any nice moments between them or great things that brought them together but that they expressed so much gratefulness for the things they did for one another.

i thought about how different my friendships are. some are full of great moments, conversations that change my thoughts about things, and a large amounts of expressed gratitude. others are more purposeful but without as much emotion. i don't know if any of this is making sense but i love that God knows what i need more than i do and He gives me this wonderful gift of friends. i had such a good time with tasha, she is so compassionate toward the lost and it makes me love them more too.

enough friendship gush, basically i am grateful for the people in my life and aware that they are a gift i am not deserving of.

also if you are one of my friends not mentioned in this post, know that it is not because i am not grateful for your friendship, just too sleepy to mention everyone.

happy birthday to you

2009-04-07T08:34:00.004-05:00

happy birthday to you

happy birthday dear ashley

happy birthday to you

friend,

i love you so much! i hope you had a wonderful Korean birthday. know that today you were thought of, prayed for and missed.

inadequate words

2009-03-25T22:10:00.006-05:00

so here it is…finally a report.

new mexico was amazing. it was my favorite trip of all my trips in my time here as student ministry intern/ministry to girls.

basically every morning we worked with a group called LOVE INC. or LOVE IN THE NAME OF CHRIST. they have a warehouse on route 66 and they collect donated items and then distribute them to churches and families in need. we helped with some cleaning an organizing of the warehouse. and because some people think its cool to donate couches that they have previously used as dog beds and are now drenched in dog hair, spit and pee so much so that it is no longer good enough for their dog that it must be perfect for people in need because they don’t deserve nice stuff, we helped throw things away as well. we got some solid work done and i was really proud of our kids. they worked really hard while we were there and there were only a few of them that i wanted to slap upside the head with sharp objects. but even those were completely overshadowed by the students who were truly grateful to serve.

in the afternoon we headed back to the church to put on a block party. the church has a large parking lot across the street, perfect conditions for a block party.

we had a bounce house (essential block party item), cotton candy, hotdogs, popcorn, snow cones and all for free. people from the surrounding neighborhoods wandered over either with their kids but usually looking for their kids. once they were there we were able to talk to them, tell them about the church and most importantly about our Savior. the teenagers set up a face painting table and someone had the idea to have them make those bracelets that tell the gospel story.

black = our sin
red = Christ blood shed for our sin
blue = our sins are washed away

white = we are now cleansed from our sin and pure in Christ

green = the new life we have in Him
yellow = the hope of a next world, the streets of gold we will one day walk on

this really helped the teenagers share their faith because they could talk about the beads as they made the bracelet with the kids. one day while sharing with a little girl, julie (one of my favorites even though i am probably not supposed to have favorites) asked the little girl what she thought about everything she had told her. the little girl was amazed that Jesus loved her and confessed that she loved Jesus too. julie shared with her that she could be a follower of Christ by believing in Him and following Him all of her life. The little girl prayed to become a Christian and said that she loved Jesus and wanted Him in her life. (fun stuff right?!?) well when julie and the little girl had finished talking julie correctly figured that she should probably find this girls parents and tell them about what happened. she also wanted one of our adults to go with her and be there if she needed help. someone suggested todd harris, one of our super-awesome adult volunteers, julie began to look for todd but could not find him. she could not find him because he was already inside the church with the little girl’s parents, where the father of the little girl had also JUST PRAYED TO RECEIVE CHRIST!

if you don’t think that is a fun story you need to get a new definition of fun in your life.

please pray for this family. pray that these new seeds will fall on good soil, grow into strong trees that bear so much fruit.

this is julie and little girl….too precious

and as for me, i had such a sweet time with so many of the girls in my group. i mean i just loved it. i was so encouraged to see how many high school girls are trading the things the world tells them to desire to run after their savior. it was a precious, precious thing to me to get to see them not be satisfied with simply claiming Christianity but striving, longing and crying out for Jesus. they are neat girls and it is a joy to work with them…for the most part.

one girl made me cry because she is trading (in my opinion) obedience for a boyfriend which makes me sad.

she told me she liked him. i asked her, “do you think he could lead you spiritually?”

she said, “no.”

i asked, “do you think being in a relationship with him is going to help you grow in the Lord? do you think your walk with the Lord will be stronger because of his encouragement and guidance?”

she said, “no.”

before the trip was over and after our conversation she had confessed her feelings to this boy in which they were reciprocated, held his hand, and made me cry.

our last day of our trip was one of my favorites. we went to the isaleta pueblo (a native american reservation). our first and only stop was the catholic church at the pueblo. the pastor of the church we worked with told us about how for the people of the pueblo their religion was a combination of a, forced upon them catholicism and the original religion of their people which is the worship of creations like the sun, moon, stars, etc.

we walked into the church, most kids were in and out in a few minutes but some lingered and I stayed with the lingerers. as i looked around the church i noticed how many pictures and statues there were of Jesus on the cross. now I am not in any way trying to neglect the cross or its worth or meaning to us as believers.

however, the cross is not were it ended for Jesus.

three days later, three days after Jesus died on the cross He rose! He did not stay in the tomb but the stone of the tomb was rolled away because our Lord had risen. He conquered death and it no longer has a sting or a victory because it has been beaten by Jesus Christ and that man that conquered death is our Lord!

this truth just washed over me while i was in this church and was so wonderful. i just let the tears fall down my face and praised the Lord for His greatness, more greatness than I am aware of or capable of comprehending.

but it didn’t end there…

with a face damp of my own tears i cried out in prayer to my Father for the freedom of the people of this church. that they would no longer be captive to the enemy, slaves of the evil one that have them here believing lies and worshiping false gods when another truth began to sink in.

i deserve that.

(more tears)

i deserve to be enslaved to that same enemy, captivated by the same lies. if left to my own works, will and desires i would be worshiping false gods, walking in this world, chains around my ankles, believing those lies and without hope of a future kingdom.

that is a scary thought.

but again, this is not where this story ends.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is NOT OF YOUR OWN DOING; it is the GIFT OF GOD, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Ephesians 2:4-9

this is amazing stuff. something i am sure i still do not understand in fullness.

that me, a sinner, wretched, lousy creature

who was perfectly content to stay that way

was taken out of darkness…

set in marvelous light

and given a hope

without ever doing one thing to deserve it.

(even more tears)

last Sunday my pastor was praying and he said that our words are just inadequate when we attempt to praise our Father and give Him the glory due His name.

they are inadequate when attempting to give thanks as well

i'm missing laura

2009-03-22T20:51:00.008-05:00

laura this post is entirely for you...

i thought since pictures of my new chacos would make your life complete then we might as well do a little chaco photo shoot. i hope you enjoy...

my chacos are on the left, then amy and our new friend julie on the right.

also, i miss you.

for other readers, cool stories and fun lessons from spring break in new mexico are coming.

new mexico...

2009-03-14T22:53:00.003-05:00

i'm currently in new mexico on a mission trip with the youth group that i work with. we just had a surprisingly fun day of traveling and i am glad to be in a hotel room for the night. we have returned to work with the same church we served with last spring and i am really excited to be back. last year was an amazing time and i am looking forward to see what the Lord has in store for us this week. tomorrow we start a week of block parties that the surrounding community will be invited to share in free food and games. we are hoping this will be a wonderful time of outreach for this church.

if you would like to pray for us please pray

-that our group will be unified and focused on our goal

-that the Lord will be merciful with the people of this town

-that it will be a time of growth for this church

if you want to keep up with me i will be on twitter...just kidding, i can't imagine ever twittering.

one wonderful weekend...

2009-03-11T23:20:00.005-05:00

the weekend was wonderful, we talked, laughed, played games and went on a walk. it was so nice to catch up with my precious friends and hear about their lives, kids and husbands. i am so grateful for these women in my life that are so wise that i get to be around and learn from.

so many times i almost took a picture for my blog readers (the two of you) but the moments were just too good and perfect. instead of taking a picture and possibly disrupting one of those wonderful times of honest sharing or gut wrenching laughter i would just sit back and watch my beautiful friends and think about the wonderful gifts the Lord gives us.

i slept probably a total of four hours the entire weekend but it was too much fun to spend time sleeping.

i did make it away with this picture of tasha. we were playing a game about cowgirls telling the truth or something like that. it had a lot of questions that you had to answer truthfully. for friends i thought i knew pretty well i definitely learned some new things and revealed some secrets myself. good stuff

also i thought it would be fun to jump in the lake and try out my new triathlon uniform. i was right, it was fun but also very cold.

and my new chacos are awesome!! very light and awesome!

they're here!!

2009-03-05T11:23:00.007-06:00

my new chaco sandals are here!! i ordered them from rei (because i have giant feet and can't find my size when i go into a store like a normal person) and today i got an email and they are in!! the cherry on top, i am getting off work early today, its gorgeous outside and i'm going to pick them up. i might wear them tonight when i play ultimate.

also this weekend i am headed out of town for a little bit to spend time with some wonderful friends. i have been needing some "out of town time" and am thrilled to be getting to spend this time with friends that i respect, love and always learn from. i am going with the four women from my home church who came to visit me when i lived in china. pretty much the coolest ladies ever!

(i know there are more than 5 (me plus the 4 ladies that came to visit) people in this picture but the two other girls were the other girls that lived in china with me)

stay tuned...more to come

do it!

2009-03-04T13:49:00.004-06:00

do it please. lets all earn swagbucks then we can use them to take trips together.

earn swag bucks

do it now, thank me later!

the greatest state on earth...

2009-02-25T14:55:00.005-06:00

i am not one of those people that think texas is the greatest state on earth, that it's God's country and just feel sorry for all the people that aren't blessed enough to live here. i promise i am not one of those people. i mean i like it as much as the next person, people are friendly here and it was a great place to grow up, but i promise i am not one of those people.

however, yesterday i was absolutely in love with texas. yesterday, february we had the best weather ever. it was warm and sunny and in february!!

i thought seriously about quitting my job so i could go outside and play.

i decided to just wait until i got off work to play since that would be the responsible, adult thing to do. also i like to eat everyday and my job plays a major role in that enjoyment.

but then the time came, i rode a borrowed bike. i ran a little bit, i reveled in the warm weather. all the while i was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt...in february!! colorado may have its glorious mountains but can you play on them in shorts and a t-shirt and without frozen snot creeping down from your nose toward your mouth in february? i think not!

so yes, yesterday i probably would have told you that texas was the greatest state in the world.

where are the men?

2009-02-18T21:53:00.007-06:00

the first time i heard the pastor jr vasser preach he asked this question. tony evans believes it is a crisis in our world today. that the men are simply not stepping up and taking the role God has given them. instead they are running and hiding. (i know not all of them are doing this but a lot of them are)

tony (the minister to high school students at the church that i work at) spoke about this tonight to our youth. well actually he spoke about david and how he did step up to fight goliath and how men need to follow his example. and he said to the girls that david is a biblical example of the qualities they should look for in future husbands.

as tony talked i sat in the back and looked out over our kids. i laughed as i noticed that the girls were quiet, still, listening intently.

the boys were laughing, playing and pretty much forgetting that they were in church. ugh

seriously? i mean, seriously?

2009-02-11T16:05:00.009-06:00

this is our theme for the student life camp we are taking our youth to this summer...

im pretty excited about this, for our kids and my self as well. the culture we live in today teaches, more like screams at us that the world should revolve around us. the sad part is that as believers in Jesus Christ we are also believing these lies.

Jesus said,

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
Luke 9:23

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:45

Jesus makes this point again and again, that as christians it is NEVER ABOUT US.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER.

we are to be always putting others first.

but the world tells us something else. and we are inclined to listen to their messages.

i have spent a lot of time thinking, conversing and praying about this over the past few months. i am noticing that when i am upset about something or i think someone has wronged me or i was somehow not given justice that at the root of those frustrations there is a train of thought that i deserve better. there is the inclination that life is about me and this should just not have happened. plainly, that is a lie. mercy Lord please. let me not inherit what i deserve, without you i am a liar, adulterer, murderer and so much more. what i deserve is an eternity in hell without a second of relief.

PRAISE THE LORD that is not what i have waiting for me. that because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, instead of what i deserve, an earthly lifetime of dreading death because i know all that waits for me is a lake of fire, i have a lifetime of hope awaiting the day i will be with my savior.

how can i know this and still think the way i do? why do i believe this and still act the way i do?

Lord, please remove in me every selfish thought. please retrain my heart, mind and soul to be as you were, a servant of others. please make it obvious to me when my thinking is in opposition to what you would have me think and the attitude you would have me walk in.

mercy, mercy, mercy i beg.

why...why, why?

2009-01-16T00:20:00.004-06:00

why do people do this to their dogs?

seriously, if you do this please, don't.

it's not cute.

babies are cute.

dogs in clothes are just unhinging. it unhinges me.

next time you have the urge to do this, if you are a believer please, adopt a baby instead. aslo, i don't mean to offend, but it is my blog and today i was at the park and now this is what i am thinking about. there you have it.

just not sure yet

2009-01-07T22:45:00.009-06:00

i am still deciding if i want this to be a blog i update often with everyday happenings or if it just something i use when i feel like i have words pouring out of me and i want to share them or at least get them down.

for now, i am just going to post some pictures.

luke purposed to ashley and she said yes so they are officially engaged!! i am pretty excited about this, i adore ashley and she is going to make the most fun sister-in-law ever!!

and my little brother is being a grown-up which makes me so proud of him and want to cry all at the same time.

this kid is the greatest.

his new fiance says that when he is around me, his big sister, that it brings something out in him that is a quality she doesn't always see.

"you bring out the butt hole in him!"

she says this as she apologizes for the way he has us both squished between the couch and one of those 36" rubber balls people are now using for exercise which means they are in the living room. for luke, to have a ball in the living room, and his sister and then expect him to not use one to torture the other is unthinkable. i try to get mad but then i look at him and he gives me a look like, "isn't this the most fun you have had all day?" and in and instant i know that it is so i just laugh until i can barely breathe then laugh some more.

and its true, in my life of also attempting to be a grown up and going from work to errands to more responsibilities to be around him and immediately be 12 years old again is just a delight.

tomorrow we are going rock climbing. i am excited...and scared.

being sick in warm weather

2008-12-31T10:19:00.005-06:00

yesterday i got sick.

i hate being sick.

i threw up.

not only that, i was sick on the most beautiful day.

it was the perfect day for a run at the park, sunny, warm and in december!! warm days in december, i believe, are little treats for us that live in a place as boring and flat as ft. worth. there are no cool state parks here where we can hike. no mountains to look at, nothing cool like that at all so having it be t-shirt and shorts warm in december is a perk and i had to spend it laying in bed watching a movie. it was double lame. one lame for throwing up, one lame for being inside on a beautiful day.

new blog

2008-12-29T15:54:00.001-06:00

so i now have a blog. we will see how it goes. as i grow older it seems my friendships are much better than they used to be but also quite spread out across this globe. this is my attempt to keep up with these people i so dearly love.