welcome to summer

the semester ended today! THANK GOODNESS.
normally during the last few weeks of the semester, i am just ready for it to end. by this semester...i NEEDED it to end for my physical and mental health! for example, i was constantly running from class to meetings to work to homework to group projects, etc. also, chris got about 4 hours of sleep sunday night, 3 hours monday night, and 7 last night. i got a little more than that, but not by much. let's just say it was just a really challenging semester...actually it was just plain hard. i did learn a lot...but i am so happy it is OVER! :D

i cannot believe we are SENIORS! it doesn't seem that long ago that we walked onto campus (with a lot of stuff), scared, yet confident, as freshmen. and now, we are on our last year of undergraduate. it's a good feeling. CRAZY, but a good feeling. i know this next year is going to FLY by. we are so excited to keep moving forward and seeing what God has in store over the next year and beyond!

we are trying to enjoy life (although school sometimes gets in the way of that). ha. but we are having fun together! can not believe it is almost a year since our wedding (11 months tomorrow - the 23rd). even with the lows - the highs are so amazing and i can't wait to create more memories together.

we have quite a few friends getting married this summer (which will be fun) and two of the couples will be living in Marion this summer. so we will have TONS of fun together...YAY for married friends! :D *side note: that is something we have totally missed out here. not having really strong Christian married couples who understand where we are at. we have amazing friends who are so supportive, here and back home, but it will be so nice to have friends (in the same town) who are married and in similar situations. thank you, LORD!*

so i know this is a bit long, but it has been quite a while since my last post - you know - busy with the semester and all. :D

i plan to blog a lot more this summer. i really love to write and this is such a great way to update about our lives.

now, with the semester finished and the papers and projects behind us -

WELCOME TO SUMMER!

~L

C6 Youth Group

hey all - i just wanted to show off the kids in my youth group a bit. :D i love these guys so much! they are so great!!! the youth group is called C6, which stands for class 6. the whole idea is that in white water rafting, there are 6 levels, or classes. class 6 is the highest, most dangerous level. that is how we want our youth to live for Christ - at the highest, most dangerous level. we want them to LIVE DANGEROUSLY for the Lord.
(chris created the above logo for the youth group).

the first set of pictures are from our superbowl party at the youth pastor, Kaleb's, house.
the second set of pictures are some i took this past fall.

part of the group watching the game


claire (left) and alissa (right) are two other
youth leaders who also go to IWU


us :D


jamie and jacb is next to her


left to right: devina, ashley, and preston
(ashley and preston are dating) :D


left to right: preston, daniel, and chris


playing a game called British Bulldog.
devina is hard core!!!


the gang!



love,
~L

"Beautiful Day"

this semester, i am taking a psychology class called, Positive Psychology. This class focuses on optimism and resilience - instead of focusing on negative aspects of psychology such as abnormal behavior, etc. Anyways...one of the aspects of positive psychology is "treating" clients in "positive" ways. For example, have them create and have a beautiful day or write a letter of gratitude (and reade it) to a person who has impacted you. In the class, we have to do these things as assignments, and today is my "BEAUTIFUL DAY."

i planned out things that i wanted to do that i enjoyed. i slept in a little longer. Chris and i made waffles this morning. we went out to lunch. i'm going to play wii after this...etc. it is about purposefully doing things that you enjoy, and really savoring them. letting that bite of ice cream float around in your mouth, noticing the smell in the air, really engaging in what you are doing. so far it has been good.

now, i still have to go to class and work - and my class today (and other homework i had to do) was not so beautiful, but i still have to take the good with the bad. and the bad can help me better appreciate the good.

i have been thinking that this "Beautiful Day" idea is a lot like a Sabbath. it is a time of rest, enjoyment, savoring the moment, appreciating the things and moments in your life. even though we all should be taking a Sabbath weekly, i think i am also going to have a "Beautiful Day" every month. a time where i am extra intentional about what i am doing. a time when i do things i enjoy to relax, rest, and recuperate.

i'm also trying to think of a different name for this "beautiful day." the term "beautiful day" works well, but that is what the positive psychologists call it, and i thought i would try to come up with a name for MY beautiful day. if you have any ideas, post a comment with your ideas.

also, i would encourage you to try having your own "beautiful day." your "beautiful day" can look like however you want it to. go to lunch with a friend, go to the park with your family, play games with your spouse, stay in bed all day long, go somewhere all by yourself. whatever you want to do...just be intentional about it, and savor it. and don't get upset if your day doesn't go perfectly. my plans had to change due to other circumstances, but i'm still savoring and appreciating the moments. i am having a "Beautiful Day."

love,
~L

p.s. the weather has made my "beautiful day" better. it warmed up a bit and is nice and sunny. however, i think it's kind of sad that i am happy that it is 38 degrees. ha. :D

where do we go from here?

happy new year 2009...
one of my new year's resolutions - TAKE MORE PICTURES!
yes, that's right, i spent 2 weeks in CA and didn't take ANY pictures. maybe Paige is right - i don't document my life. :D

regardless of the extreme lack of pictures, we had a great time! seeing family and friends, cookie day, Christmas, shopping, party at the Jennings, more shopping, NOT DOING DISHES! :D it was wonderful.

we came home on the 29th. our flight was much better coming back to IN than it was going. let's just say that our flight from IN to Chicago is supposed to be about 45 min., and we were on the plane for 4 hours.
it was weird coming back. none of our friends our back, we don't live in a dorm, and school isn't starting for another couple of days. we have been filling our time with watching "House" and playing our new Wii. :D
to be honest, it was actually quite lonely to come back. i don't even want to say that we came "home" because it doesn't feel like home. we have been very homesick since we've been back, and have just been unsure of where God is leading us, now and in the future.
i know things will get better once school starts and we're too busy to be homesick. but, at the same time, i don't want to just fill our lives with noise. i may be trying to tune out the homesickness, but i don't want to tune out God.

please pray for us as we seek God's will for our lives and as we grow closer to our Lord.

love,
~L

hello, from the freezing cold

once again...i haven't blogged in a while. please forgive me...last week was insane with finals and papers and books...but it is OVER (at least until january).

one thing i will say that is good about Indiana is that it has seasons! the leaves turn these amazing colors and the trees are beautiful. even though fall has come and gone, i wanted to show you all some of the wonderful colors we experienced before the stupid snow decided to take over. also, i threw in a couple pics from the halloween party we had at youth group. Chris dressed up in 70's clothes and i was a Starbuck's barista. :D















over thanksgiving break, Chris and i went to my aunt and uncle's house in Charleston, Il. My family flew out to join us, as well as my other aunt and uncle from Ohio and my two cousins and their husbands and kids, and my grandparents. it was a full house, but so much fun. it was the first time since my 8th grade year that we were all together!
we took a picture of all of us, but i can't seem to find it right now.

now that finals are over, chris and i decided to put up some Christmas decorations. it's our first Christmas as a married couple, so obviously, we had to document the occasion. :D

our first Christmas as a married couple :D


our little tree...yes it's crooked...yes, we like it that way.


the nativity set that Chris' Grampa Knee built him
over multiple years


our two little trees : ]




can't wait to see you all so soon when we go out to CA.

~L

6 months ago today...

i married my best friend when we said, "I DO."







i can't believe it has been six months since our wedding! we have been through so much - both good and bad, but mostly good - in the last six months.
i am so blessed to have such a wonderful man to be by my side - to experience the good times with and to work through the hard times with.

we have had so much fun being married:
driving across country in 5 days
setting up/painting/fixing our house
watching 5 seasons of alias in 5 weeks (watching 7 hours of alias in one day)
fishing for our house keys through the window with a cb radio antenna
chris stealing my pj pants and putting them in the freezer
chris pushing me in the shower - clothed - and turning the water on
then me getting him back by spraying him - clothed - with the hose on the kitchen sink

trips to indy, ft. wayne, and kokomo
watching movies
cooking dinner - some good, some not so good
birthdays
surprises
date nights

it's been a wonderful six months. living with, laughing with, and enjoying life with your best friend is the best thing in the world. i can't wait to see what God has in store for the next six months - and forever after that!!!

- L

fall break...and more

wow, it has been a REALLY LONG TIME since my last post...sorry. chris and i have been really busy with school, work, church/practicums/working on the house, etc. we're having fun (as much fun as you can when you're up to your nose in papers, books, and projects).
a few weekends ago was fall break. chris and i worked on the house and got a lot done. actually chris got most of it done, but i helped. :D we did a lot of cleaning on that friday (kitchen, cars, powerwashing the house), and chris fixed a ton of little stuff around the house. (i didn't know somuch could be done on such a little house). Then on saturday, i went to work and chris and his friend, Nate, painted the kitchen. Chris painted to cabinets brown, and nate worked on the trim and our orange stripe. it's not done, but so far it looks good. right now, our house is in chaos because our cabinets on the kitchen floor, our kitchen table is in our living room, and our appliances are on the kitchen table (in the living room). we are hoping to at least get the cabinets back on and the kitchen table (with appliances) OUT of the living room this weekend.

on saturday night, chris and i got dressed up and went to muncie for a date. we went to olive garden and target (have to go whenever we can), then we went to applebee's for desert. it was fun to just get out of marion (and our crazy house) and try to relax.

Sunday was a relaxing day filled with sleep and food. :D

other than that, things have been pretty uneventful. my friend kati got engaged...super excited for her!

chris and i have just been trying to stay on top of things and relax and hang with friends in our "free" time.

oh, and i funny story: i was at work, when a lady and a man came in to the store. i was checking her out - she was buying $85 dollars worth of boxed cards. this kind of surprised me, but i thought, "whatever. if she has the money...by all means...we'll take it." when it's time to pay, she uses two travelers checks. we don't get a whole lot of those here in marion, IN, and i didn't know how to use them. i called about 5 of my co-workers, and finally figured out how to do them. (the customers were getting a little frustrated at how long it was taking me). unfortunately, i accidently rung them up as 50 cents, not $50. i felt so bad. now they were getting really frustrated. i offered them some free coffee while i figured it all out. i did get it all figured out and sent them on their way. i felt really bad for taking so long and delaying them, but the thing that really killed me was that the woman was Jeannette Oke, as in the AUTHOR! yes, Mrs. Oke was in our store, and I screwed up her traveler's checks. :D i felt horrible because it wasn't like she was having a bad experience at a restaurant or clothing store. no, it was a CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE! oh well. i just kept laughing at myself the whole night. as bad as i felt, i also thought it was REALLY FUNNY! :D

so, sorry for the novel i just wrote. hope i was able to catch you all up. and i'll try to better stay on top of blogging. :D

Please be praying for Shay as he is in Europe working with missionaries. He left on October 28th and will be there until November 26. Please pray that God will use him, and give him the confidence to be outgoing and loving to the people he encounters. his blog is

shaybogear.blogspot.com. he's good about updating it, and it can help you better know how topray for him.

pics from fall break:

beautiful sunset on the way to muncie
(they're a bit blurry because we were driving)




our kitchen with no cabinet doors




our cool light we put in the kitchen


our pumpkin orange stripe (it was supposed
to be burnt orange, but whatever)


nate, painting the trim


painting the cabinet doors


cleaning the over - he's so good


fixing the shower faucet


chris working on his car


love,
~L