let it begin

We made it! We are in Flagler Beach, Florida about 30 minutes north of Datona.

We got here around 9 am, unloaded the car and CRASHED. We were so exhausted. We left our house around 3:30pm yesterday, made a few stops, and really started cruising around 4:15pm. Chris drove most of the way…I got the 3am-5am shift. :D it was good, though. I enjoyed driving and letting him sleep. (By the way…singing songs from musicals and tv show theme songs helps to keep you awake. Ha.)

At about 5, chris took back over the driving. We got some Starbucks and breakfast and kept on driving. It was a long drive, but it went surprisingly quickly. Glad to finally be here.

            My favorite part of the drive, though, was this morning. It was sunrise and we had just entered Florida. We were driving down a tree-lined road, coffee in hand, rain pouring down the windshield, and Shane and Shane music playing. It was such a worshipful time. I love the sunrise. This wasn’t your classic pink clouds, sun coming up over the ocean – sunrise. But it was the simple dawning of day. Light breaking through. It was peaceful. Relaxing. A feeling of being close to the Lord. It was so nice - I had to capture the moment. :D

So…we are here. We slept for a while. Then went shopping for some supplies and food. It’s been raining off and on, and has been gloomy all day. The temperature is nice…but I would LOVE some SUNSHINE! :D  

 

I will continue to update more as the week goes on. And will be adding more pictures. For now…here are some pictures of the trip down here. check out facebook for more pictures. i'm off to eat my husband's Hawaiian bacon teriyaki burgers!

the traditional profile pic that i always take on road trips              

excited to start our trip      

welcome to KENTUCKY

kentucky

sun setting in kentucky

dreaming of sand between my toes

so i know in my last blog i said i was going to blog more, but i haven't...sorry. i plan to work on that. in my defense, however, i'm doing may term (which is over tomorrow, 5/15), and there really hasn't been much to blog about. 

we have been just working, relaxing, and watching a ton of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. we love that show and have been really enjoying watching it together. let's just say we finished three seasons in about 3 weeks (give or take). :D

we leave for FLORIDA in a week from today! SO EXCITED! we are going to celebrate our one year anniversary. can you believe it...ONE YEAR? i can't. it's crazy to think that it's already been a whole year. loved every minute of it. :D we are staying in a house on the beach in a town, called Flagler Beach. it's about 20 minutes north of Daytona. we are just planning on being beach bums, doing some shopping, and celebrating our anniversary. we have been counting down the days until this trip! we are driving down, straight through, 16 hours. that will be an adventure in and of itself. we are planning on breaking up the trip and staying in a hotel on the way home. 

i will definitely post pictures of our trip and adventures. so excited to have beautiful scenery to take pictures of. :D 

sorry this blog is sorry of boring...just wanted to update you all. 

more interesting blogs to come (hopefully. :D)

waiting for the beach,

~L

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