NILMDTS

My amazing Auntie is a photographer and recently got involved with an organization called "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" (nilmdts). It is a volunteer organization of photographers that are called in to take family pictures when a baby dies. My aunt has, unfortunately, been called in 5 times since November. It seems crazy that so many of these sweet babies are dying.
My aunt sent out a text asking if anyone in the family would like to volunteer to be her assistant-help her with paperwork, lighting, positioning, etc. I thought since this organization sounded amazing, I would apply for the position.
Last night, my aunt called me to let me know she had been called in. A full term little boy passed away unexpectedly. She wanted me to take a few minutes to pray and see if I was ready to do it. I got off the phone and instantly started crying-I can't imagine losing my baby. My awesome Mom prayed with me-for comfort for the family and strength for me and Auntie-that we would be God's hands and feet on one of the worst days of this family's life.
When Auntie and I drove to the hospital, she prepped me on what would happen and what the baby might look like so that I could be more prepared. When we got to the hospital, I was nervous and couldn't concentrate on praying. But I asked that God would give me the strength and courage to help this family and not cry. The baby had been delivered at 4pm and we weren't called until after 10pm-we didn't get to the hospital till 11. The nurses said he'd probably been gone 24 hours prior to delivery.
I walked in the room and instantly felt like there were angels in the room with us-taking care of the parents and watching over the sweet little baby. My aunt introduced us and we looked at the baby. Nothing could have prepared me for that-it honestly was the most horrible thing I've ever seen in my entire life. He was such a cute baby with teeny ears and a little button nose-but at the same time, you could see the horrible effects of death on his little body.
As my aunt positioned him for pictures and talked so sweetly to him, I was so impressed with how she handled herself and how tender she was with both the baby and the parents. She was definitely Jesus to that family last night. She got beautiful shots of him by himself and then with both his mom and dad. She also got very cute pictures of baby and dad's feet together-they had the same exact feet-so cute!
As the photo shoot was going on, I saw that the family was LDS-the dad was reading scripture as we took pictures. I just prayed the whole time that God would wrap them up in His comforting arms and give them peace--peace that surpasses understanding is what my Mom prayed. And I prayed that God would be glorified in their lives through this experience. At one point, I kept feeling like God was telling me to ask the dad if I could pray with him-he was crying while the mom was taking pictures with baby. I didn't know if I was allowed to or not-I wish I had. But hopefully my silent prayers were enough for the moment.
I know my aunt's pictures of the family are going to be amazing like they always are and that the family will be so blessed by them. They were so appreciative of my aunt coming out at night to take pictures. I think this is an organization I would love to be apart of-but last night was rough. I was completely silent the entire time and all the way home. I was just in shock at what that sweet boy looked like. But I know that was just his earthly body and he's in the sweet arms of Jesus now!
Anyway, if we're facebook friends and you see a status of mine saying something about needing prayers for a nilmdts family, please pray! Prayers are so incredibly powerful! I'm excited for the day when Jesus takes us home and death loses it's sting! God is so good and I'm thankful that my Auntie uses her passion to be God's hands and feet. What amazing women in my family to look up to! Father, I pray for the family from last night-I pray You would wrap them up in Your loving arms and give them peace that surpasses their understanding. And I pray You would be glorified! I love you Lord-Amen

Disneyland!!! Ohhh Myyy Gawwwwsh!

   For 3 months we have been talking about going to Disneyland over Thanksgiving break, but of course, being the Gabriel Family, we procrastinated on planning. Then poor Hunter got sick and we assumed we weren't going. Then when we arrived at my Aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner, Gabbie and Hunter asked if we were packed and ready to go. SO after some last minute planning, we got a few hours of sleep and left at 2:30 in the morning for a fun roadtrip to the happiest place on earth!  I could go on and on for pages about our two days at Disneyland. I was like a child again-staring in awe at all the beautiful buildings decorated for Christmas.  We took a picture with Cruella DeVil who was so funny! "This is Disneyland-make a fool of yourself. I'm never going to see these people again." :) We road on the Matterhorn with the little abominable snowman guys-note: that ride is bad for your back haha Then we saw Cinderella telling her story in the princess area and tried to copy her precise princess poses. We rode on Its A Small World which was a lot cooler than I remember it being-and all of us enjoyed the little boy behind us screaming "DADDY! Look!!!" His parents were sitting right next to him..

   Next we went to Frontierland and took a ride on Thunder Mountain (fast passes are bomb!) which was a lot of fun. Then we rode on the Sailing Ship Columbia where Alyssa got in trouble for trying to go below deck which was pretty dang funny! Afterwards, we went on the Jungle Cruise with our cheesy tour guide-his jungle jokes weren't very funny. Poor guy. Then we toured Tarzan's sweet house! That was awesome! I kinda wanted to live in there...
   One of my favoritest rides was Pirates of the Caribbean-that was awesome! I love Pirates in the first place and the sets were so cool-and the new Jack Sparrows around the ride were very realisitic. We ran over to Space Mountain which was so much fun! We have hilarious facial expressions in our picture. Afterwards we went to Buzz Lightyear's little ride and I rode with Hunter around the race track-she is a hilarious driver! We also rode on the Indiana Jones ride-much scarier when I was a child but still fun!

   We hopped over to California Adventures to ride on Tower of Terror (long line) and California Soarin', but by then we were all beat, so we went back to the hotel and crashed!

   The next day we went to Cali. Adventures and immediately went on Tower of Terror. Good gracious. Hunter and I held onto each other for dear life while Auntie and Mom laughed hysterically! I wasn't so amused but that's ok. Then we rode on California Screamin' which I was a little freaked out for, so I rode with my mom. That ride is so much fun!! We decided to ride on the swings, which some of us didn't think was so fun, but the ferris wheel was not fun whatsoever. It was freezing and the cars swing around, so I cried. "Shut the front door!" :) We went on Cali. Screamin' again to recuperate from that craziness.

   We went to the Bug's Life story which was so cute! Technology for future generations is going to be insane! Then we got lunch...well, my family got lunch and I got lunch for a fairy lol I wasn't very hungry so I got the kids meal for $7.00. Seven dollars!! My family gave me their leftovers as pity food :)

   After lunch we went on California Soarin' which was SO cool! You have to try that! And then went shopping where we ran into my mom's old friend, Cyndi. Her daughter cried on the ferris wheel too--I feel vindicated!
   We got in line for the Toy Story ride (not worth the hour wait) and decided to go on Cali. Screamin' for the 3rd time because it was so fun! I was really hoping the line to Toy Story would take enough time that we'd miss our window for the fast pass to Tower of Terror, but we made it just in time! :/ The second time was better because I knew what was going to happen, but ufda! Freaky!!
   We went back to Disneyland to watch the fireworks and go through the castle when it started to rain--freezing!! The show was really cool and the Disney workers took their sweet time taking the rope down to get into the castle so we were absolutely soaked! We decided to go on the Snow White ride to dry off-it was nice and toasty in there! :) Finally, we headed back to Cali. Adventures, soaking wet and freezing and sore, to watch World of Color. While we were waiting, we each said what parts of our bodies were hurting and then did a little warm up dance. World of Color was very cool!

   We went back to the hotel and drove back home to reality on Sunday and I must say, I'm having a hard time being back here. I could live at Disneyland-with better shoes. Don't wear chucks to theme parks. Dumb idea! Anyway, it was the best vacation of my life---I had so much fun with my awesome family!! I love you guys so much!!!
(p.s. the rest of the pics are on facebook!) :)

mwah mwah mwah....

Random thought of the day...I think I have an inferiority complex or something. Maybe that's not the right word-I don't know. I just feel like everybody has all their stuff together and I totally don't. Take, for instance, my friend Jeremy who has his own place, is living in a different city, has a job, goes to school, knows what he wants to do for a career, has a girlfriend, has a social life....etc etc. He's practically a real adult already. And he never seems scared of anything having to do with growing up-I don't get it.
Or my friend Tiffany who also lives out of state, in her own place, with a job and friends and never seems scared of doing grown up things. Am I the only one who thinks growing up is scary?
I just feel like everyone has everything figured out for the most part and are enjoying their lives and I'm not at all. That's not normal, is it? I think I might procrastinate so much because I just can't stand the boringness of my life right now. Ohhh well-better than drama, right?

Good Week!

   Hi everybody! I just thought I'd leave a happy note in my blog. This week has been a really good week--I only had one day of school, got to go on a field trip to Superstition Mountain, and something exciting happened!
   I got an unexpected email from a friend of mine that I hadn't talked to in a very long time. They were just really good emails and I feel so much more at peace about the whole thing-hopefully her and I can work at being better friends :) And praise the Lord for that whole situation-He told me to wait to send her a letter I had written because He knew I needed to wait for her email. And the whole thing just reminds me of something in the Beth Moore Breaking Free Bible study. Beth Moore wrote about Isaiah looking up to King Uzziah as a hero. Isaiah says "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord." Beth Moore follows it up with a quote from Oswald Chambers: "Over and over again God has to remove our friends in order to bring Himself in their place, and that is where we faint and fail and get discouraged. Take it personally-in the year that the one who stood to me for all that God was, died-I gave up everything? I became ill? I got disheartened?-or I saw the Lord?" In the worst year of my entire life, I had to mourn the loss of my stepdad and some of my friendships-but I choose to see God through all of the hurt. What will you do when you've experienced loss or been hurt-give up? get disheartened? or see the Lord?
   As an added bonus to my great week, my best friend Tiffanacus is in town for her mom's wedding and I get to hang out with her gorgeous self tomorrow! Yay! :) I am so excited!!
   P.S. Just so everyone knows, if someone tells you to use vinegar to clean water rings out of your marble table, DON'T listen to them!! I cried after I took that bad advice-but thankfully, I have a smart Gramma and a sweet Momma! :)

Blah...

   Do you ever just want to escape your life? To fly somewhere far away from everything you know and experience something new-something fresh? Lately it seems like everybody else has all of this amazing stuff going on in their lives while I've been stuck in the same old rut since graduating high school. Friends are getting in relationships, getting married, having babies, going on trips, moving-all kinds of exciting things. And here I am, still going to a community college with barely any friends, still job hunting, still waiting for old friends to actually care that I exist, still waiting for something exciting to happen-or preferably, for Jesus to rapture us home. I am so ready to go home!
   Obviously I am happy for friends and family when fun things happen for them. I just wish something cool would happen to me. I have been so busy between school, service learning, homework, job hunting, taking care of the house, and other random stuff that I have been counting down the days till I got to go with my family to Disneyland. I am in desperate need of a vacation away from here! But I don't think I can even do that now. I think I ought to just save up as much money as possible and move to Australia.
   Of course I see the blessings God has given me and I am content with everything I have-I have an awesome family and two really sweet best friends (Mb and Tiff). God keeps providing for me and I have more than I deserve. But I can't help but feel like my life is in an endless cycle of monotony-like a broken record player. Please, somebody get me out of here!!

Thank God Almighty-I Am Free At Last!

   There are a few things I want to blog about in the coming week but this one just came to mind this morning.  I'd really like people's input on what they think since this is fairly controversial among Christians.
   I remember in high school kids talking about suicide and that people go to hell if they take their life.  When I would ask where it says that in the Bible because I had never seen that, they would always reply something along the lines of 'Thou shalt not murder' and that your body is God's temple. While I completely agree with those things, I wanted to know where there was a specific verse or passage that directly said if you take your life, you go to hell.
   Only 2 weeks after Scott died, I was talking with a friend of mine at school about Scott being in Heaven.  When he realized that Scott had taken his life, he said "Oh! That's different! When you commit suicide, you go to hell." (First of all....who does that?  Show a little sensitivity..) Anyway, we talked about it and he couldn't come up with a specific verse or passage either.  All he said was 'Thou shalt not murder' and that your body is God's temple.  He also said that as Christians, you're supposed to just have faith enough to get through depression-that you aren't being faithful if you deal with those issues.
   Well here's what I think: First of all, depression is something I have struggled with for a few years now.  And it's not because I don't have enough faith in God. Many many Christians deal with it and rely on God to pull them out.  But I don't think its fair of someone who has never dealt with depression to say that you should just faith your way out of that deep pit like it's no big deal.  I understand what he was saying, but it's not that easy.

   Secondly, can anyone anywhere justify the statement that when you commit suicide, you go to hell?? I think when people say that God can't save you when you take your life, you are putting God in a very small box.  I don't think that when someone takes their life, God throws His hands up and says "Oh! I can't help you now! You've gone too far."  When Jesus was on the cross, He didn't say "I'm doing this for everyone except for those of you who commit suicide."  Does anyone hear how ridiculous that sounds?? The Bible says that nothing can seperate us from the love of God-that includes suicide. The Great I Am is so much bigger than that one final mistake.  If you read in Job chapters 38-41, you will see the majesty of God. 
       "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell me, if you know so much.  Who determined its dimensions and stretched the surveying line?  What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?  Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?  For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.  I said, 'This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!'  Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?"
   Don't you see?  He is God Almighty-Creator of Heaven and Earth!  He is all powerful-He commands the sun to rise, gave the oceans their boundaries, and set the earth on its foundations!  He is not stumped by your questions and He doesn't need you to survive-And He certainly is not limited in power by your decision to take your own life.  My God is not small enough to fit in a little box so that I can better understand Him or try to tame Him.  He is the Great I Am!
   I am not God, so I cannot tell you if those that take their lives go to Heaven-that is up to God to decide.  But everything that I know of the God I serve tells me that He is so much more powerful than that decision to take your own life-so much more powerful than the powers of hell that lead people to suicide.  That is why I look forward to one day seeing Scott again--I believe with my whole heart that because He accepted Jesus as his Savior, God accepted him into Heaven.
   To anyone suffering in darkness, there is hope when you are in a pit of despair! Jesus says "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Casting Crowns sings "Set Me Free": 'It hasn’t always been this way-I remember brighter days-Before the dark ones came-Stole my mind-Wrapped my soul in chains-Now I live among the dead-Fighting voices in my head-Hoping someone hears me crying in the night-And carries me away--Set me free of the chains holding me-Is anybody out there hearing me?-Set me free--Morning breaks another day-Finds me crying in the rain-All alone with my demons I am-Who is this man that comes my way?-The dark ones shriek-They scream His name-Is this the One they say will set the captives free?-Jesus, rescue me!--Set me free of the chains holding me-Is anybody out there hearing me?-Set me free--As the God man passes by-He looks straight through my eyes-And darkness cannot hide--Do you want to be free?-Lift your chains-I hold the key-All power on Heav’n and Earth belong to me-You are free-You are free-You are free!'
  "So Christ has truly set us free!" Galatians 5:1  Glory to God! He is so merciful and loving!  Come to Him if you are weary and burdened-For the Great I Am will set you free!

Scotty P

   One thing you have to know about me and Scott is that, honestly, I couldn't stand him for a very long time. I wanted nothing to do with him and I hated that he was worming his way into our family.  I wanted my mom and Scott to break up-I never wanted him at my wedding-never around my kids-definitely didn't want to live with him.  I have journal entries written by a very angry, resentful me wishing that my life was normal and Scott was not part of it.  It took a couple of years for me to like Scott and I put him through it.  But that is how I knew I could trust him.  He chose to love my mom through it-to even love me through it, even when I didn't love him.  He was so patient while I made him pay for other people's mistakes.
   Scott asked me and my sisters in March 2007 for our blessing to ask my mom to marry him.  He brought us each a rose in a red vase, which I used to hide my face from him.  I knew if I looked at him, I'd smile or laugh because I was uncomfortable with the discussion we were having and I was so mad.  I was days away from my 16th birthday and I felt like he had just ruined it.
When my mom and Scott finally got engaged in 2008, I was happy for them but I also cried for a long time that night. I felt like I was losing my mom and all I wanted was time with her. I think she asked me to be her maid of honor to make me stop crying ;) I really still wasn't very thrilled that they were getting married.  I think it was a few weeks before their wedding that the three of us were driving together and I told them that, for what it was worth, I gave them my blessing to get married.  It made them laugh, but my mom told me later that it meant so much to Scott.
   On June 7, 2008, I stood next to my mom while she and Scott promised to love each other forever.  It was a beautiful ceremony-Scott's shoe broke open (I don't know how-everyone remember that?) :] and we had a fun reception.  I danced with my mom at the reception, still crying that I was losing her.  But I also danced with Scott and I remember thanking him for loving my mom.  I was so happy she finally found the right man-one who would love her and treat her like a daughter of the Most High King.
   It wasn't all sunshine and roses from there-Scott and I got on each other's nerves a lot about dumb stuff.  I struggled (and failed) to be a good big sister to Carly.  But there was a lot of good stuff too--Scott's cooking (delish!), watching tv with him and eating frozen grapes, his lack of a filter ;) , the way he loved our family-especially mom.  I will never forget one day coming home from school and I was so hurt and upset by something that had happened-I sat at the kitchen counter crying and Scott just came behind me, wrapped his big strong arms around me and held me while I cried.
   He always prayed with me when I needed it-prayed over my room when I was scared, probably prayed for me to like him more ;) A few weeks before he died, I was crying about mean things people at school were saying about me and he and my mom sat and talked with me about it for a long time and then just layed with me in bed while I cried.  I wish I had more sweet moments like that with him.
   On October 25, Scott was in an off mood.  He didn't go to church with us and I figured I should stay out of his way.  I wish I hadn't.  I have struggled with guilt over being the last to see him-a moment I wish I could take back and redo.  I wish I had run over to him and told him for the first time that I loved him.  Would that have changed anything?  Struggling against a force dark and strong, Scott decided that day to take his own life, believing that we would be better off without him.  What a lie he was told.  That day, my whole world was flipped inside out.  I kept praying over and over that God would just bring him back-he did it for Lazarus, couldn't He do it for Scott?  I tried to be strong for my family-grabbing them by the hand and praying for them.  I stayed up that night with my mom, holding her while she cried the most heart-wrenching cry I have ever heard.
   A few days after it happened, I had a dream about him.  We picked him up from the airport-he had only been on a business trip and he had no idea why we were so excited to see him. I woke up so excited because I thought Scott would be downstairs and I could go see him-and then reality set in and I layed down in bed and cried.  On the Wednesday morning following his death, I woke up before the sun rose and I sat outside in the cold October air and watched the sun come up with him and God.  It was so peaceful-and a sweet reminder that God was still with us-He is ever faithful as surely as the sun will rise and that everything would eventually be ok.
   I have had close to 10 dreams about Scott since he died and for the first 3 or 4, he never acknowledged I was there.  Finally, I had a dream that he came home when my mom and I were home alone.  He finally acknowledged me and knew why he had been gone.  He said God gave him a few hours to come back to be with us.

   Today is one year since Scott went home to be with Jesus-one year he has been in the presence of our sweet Savior-one year that we have rejoiced for him and mourned for our deep loss.  I want today to be about remembering good times with Scott-the wonderful blessing he was to our family and the passion he had for Jesus.  I want God to be glorified through our pain and through Scott's life-Out of the ashes, beauty will rise.  A sweet friend of mine sent me this prayer today: 'God, I thank you for Scott’s life. I thank you for the good memories with him. I thank you for the laughter felt. I praise you for your everlasting, never ending, and flawless love you give us.'  Our family is so homesick, but we hold tight to the fact that God's love is perfect and that one day, we will see Scott again in Heaven.  Glory to God!
Remember to tell your family that you love them-you never know what those words could mean.  Scotty P, I'm sorry I never told you-I love you so so much.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1435796814394&ref=nf
(Video of Scott)


 

Hmm...

I told myself last night that I would not do anything fun until I had gotten all of my homework done and had cleaned some of the house. Alas, I have already checked facebook twice (although the first time was for about 1 minute and the second time was to get to my blog link).  I just thought I would share this random little idea I have bouncing around in my head.

I've been thinking about being a high school English teacher-I am majoring in education right now.  However, I have not been convinced at all that this is what I should do! For my intro to education class, we are having to read a book called "Letters to a Young Teacher" by Jonathan Kozol-it is such a good book! He was an elementary teacher and the book is his letters to a young elementary teacher, sharing their opinions on education and how to teach.  I just finished chapter 9 (about making learning fun) and it makes me want to be an elementary teacher so bad! He talks about a teacher who gives her class a caterpillar as a classroom pet and how after the butterfly is released (with a huge celebration), they learn about the life cycle of a caterpillar.  He also talks about one teacher who sees a student staring out the window at a squirrel during reading time and instead of telling him to return to his seat, she simply joins him and embraces that moment of childhood wonderment. 

Oh my goodness-I want to be an elementary teacher now! I would love to be one of those teachers that my students look back on fondly because the class was absolutely magical. And think of how cute my room would be! I'd have books galore and fun things to do-oh my goodness. Maybe that's what I should do! What do you think?

Healing

B- I don't know where you went.
I tried to call out cause I just needed to vent.
I reached out to you cause I loved you and missed you.
I figured you'd answer cause of all that we've been through.
But you never replied and you never reached out
And I figured it was because of your new life now.
But I'm tired of waiting for a friend that won't come
And I wish I could stop feeling and just be numb
Cause your absence is one of the ones that hurts the most
But I can't keep waiting on love from a ghost.
You were there on the absolute worst day of my life-
When my world turned upside down & my heart felt like it was stabbed with a knife.
And I thank you for holding me while I cried.
But you know, I cried for you too.
And all I kept wondering is "what did I do?"
But the question won't be answered because you won't speak
And this one-sided relationship has made me weak.
And I'm tired of waiting for a friend that won't come
And I wish I could stop feeling and just be numb
Cause your absence is one of the ones that hurts the most
But I can't keep waiting on love from a ghost.

Z-I don't know what's the deal.
It seems like everyone's lips are sealed.
Same question to you-What did I do?
Or are you just ignoring me cause it's convenient for you?
I'm tired of all these waiting games
and feeling like I'm the one to blame
when where were you and where was B
the past 12 months when I needed to grieve?
I love you Z-you're my best friend-
I'm just waiting for this silence to end.

S-I never knew what I had in you till you were gone
And now I keep hoping for that glorious dawn
When Jesus and His angels come to rapture us home
And then I will never have to face life alone.
I wish you were here to make everything alright-
Just seeing you would make each day so much more bright.
You were an enemy, then a friend, then like a dad
And I want you to know that I miss you so bad.
I'm sorry I never told you and I guess I never knew-
Scotty P I really do love you.

My Sweet Savior-the only one who has ever always been here for me.
"I'll hold tight to what I know-You're here and I'm never alone."
I love you

Aha!

   As silly as it may sound, for a very long time, I have struggled with the idea of men having feelings.  Obviously it makes sense when a man is sad about a family member dying or is happy because his team won the game. But whenever I hear a man say something about "it really hurt my feelings when...", I instantly think "Wha??? ..I didn't know you had feelings to hurt..What are you talking about??" The first time I remember seeing my Dad cry, I was surprised and confused because I honestly didn't know that men had the physical ability to cry. Crazy, right?
   Well I have started reading For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn-I'm 3 chapters in and already, you guys are making more sense to me! Chapter 2 has been my favorite so far-Your Love Is Not Enough: Why your respect means more to him than even your affection. A man would rather be respected by his wife than feel loved by her. My first reaction to this, as a woman, is "what does that even mean?? If I'm showing you I love you, obviously I respect you. Why is feeling respected more important than feeling loved?" Well, as I read and the author revealed answers to those questions, past conversations with men popped into my head.  My brother-in-law asked me one day, "Ari, why do you act like I don't know what I'm talking about?" I went home feeling like he was mad at me and I had no clue why! All I had done was told him that somebody had said something contrary to the advice he had given me. I wasn't at all saying "Frank, you have no clue what you're talking about. Thanks for the dumb advice." But after reading chapter 2, I'm guessing Frank probably felt like I didn't trust his judgement and therefore, he didn't feel respected by me.
   So then I'm thinking-well, geeeze! Where's the line in all of this?? How do I know if I've accidently disrespected a man?? To me, this is completely overwhelming and intimidating. I don't want to ever come across as disrespectful. And I don't want to walk on eggshells thinking I can't joke around with a guy. (P.S. Ladies-publicly teasing a guy can sometimes be a huge problamo. Be careful what you say/how you say it!)
   The chapter answers my questions: show him you trust and respect him by allowing him to do something without interfering-don't nag at him to get something done (he already knows!)-understand that your man is not stupid-and build him up! There were more points in the chapter-these are pretty big ones though. Anyway, after that chapter, the whole respect thing makes way more sense to me and I understand why it is so incredibly important to a man. Whether you're in a relationship or not, you need to read this book. And men-there's a For Men Only book too--I'm sure there's helpful insight on women in there :)

Fun Times!

Meh! (Gabbie and Hunter know whats up! haha!) I love you guys! Had an awesome night with the family celebrating Gabrielle's 14th birthday! She got super cute stuff, we got to share some funny inside jokes, and the girls were sweet enough to teach me some songs on the piano! Thanks!! Happy Birthday Goosie! I hope this next year is amazing just like you!
Anywho-I am going to bed on time tonight! I have my first meeting with my mentor teacher for service learning tomorrow! Good night everyone!
P.S. Remember to tell your family you love them-they are a gift from God :)

Daily Stuff and a Prayer

Well it's been a busy weekend but I haven't had much to say the past couple of days. I told you I watched Australia the other day-and then I watched it the day after that because I love it so much. And Hugh Jackman is in it. :)
We had Frank's dirty 30 party on Friday night which was a lot of fun! Southern cookin'-wii playin'-and lots of cuuute babies! Every baby in my sister and brother-in-law's small group is so incredibly cute I could just die. They need to host small group and I'll just snuggle all the babies. :)
Today we cleaned up Gramma's house-Levi and Caleb and I watered/weeded the front and back yards. And it was good to just hang out with the family and do something to help my Gramama :)
And then tonight I babysat the Bisgroves! Love those kids-love that family! What a blessing they are! :) I got my first fit from Mister Connor tonight about eating a corndog-he opted to go to bed early lol So cute :)
Tomorrow is my sweet Goosefraba's 14th birthday-I can't believe how old you are-it's nuts! I'm excited for her birthday party! Then monday I get to meet with my service learning teacher and I get to see all my favorite high school teachers and people in the office! Yay! I'm so glad I got placed at Higley! Go Higley Knights! :)
P.S. I think we should all say a quick prayer for the family of the man who was killed today at Texas Roadhouse in Gilbert. My family knows very much the power of prayer-11 months ago today our prayer warriors lifted us up and surrounded us with prayer and we are sooo incredibly blessed for that and I think much better off than we might've been otherwise.
Father, I pray for healing for the Zamora-Robles family. Wrap Your loving arms around them to comfort them in this horrible time. Father I pray that they are surrounded by people that will love and comfort them and constantly lift them up to You in prayer. And I praise You that one day, You will conquer death once and for all and that death will lose its sting. Amen, Father!! Amen! I love You, Lord!

Amour-Upendo-Liefde-Dashuri-L-O-V-E

Yay! Guess what?! I finally got placed for my service learning! Awesome! I'm at Higley-so now I get to see my office buddies and some of my favorite teachers! :D  <---that's me being excited! Anywho-this is going to be a short post cause I have a little homework to do and I need to eat dinner. I watched Australia today (Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman) and it is so incredibly romantic-I've just been in a cloud since then. I don't know if you do, but I get wrapped up in movies, so I feel like I'm still in them even after its over, which is so nice with romance movies. If I could live in movies that would be wonderful. If Hugh Jackman would marry me, that would also be wonderful...sigh.. <3 So if you haven't seen that movie, go watch it asap. Its awesome! Also, I highly recommend Pride & Prejudice-such a romantic book and movie. I should just be a movie character-wouldn't that be nice? I know I'm not the only girl who wants a truly romantic, adventurous, wonderful romance story for herself. I love love! :)

Life Decisions & Movies!

So I know I said the other day that I'm thinking I don't want to get married. But then I watched "Killers" yesterday with Ashton Kutcher-he was such a sweet husband in that movie! So now I'm re-thinking...if God would provide me somebody amazing and schmokin hot like that, that'd just be awesome. :) Speaking of movies, I've seen a lot lately-here's my reviews: Munich-horrendous. don't watch it. Sleeping Beauty-the bomb, obviously. Green Zone-good but I probably won't watch it again. Date Night-ha! larious :) Killers-makes me want to get married. What movies have you guys seen lately that were good?
Anywho-I'm in an intro to education class and every day that I'm in there, I re-think becoming a teacher. I don't know that I really want to do that. I don't know that I'd even make a good teacher. So that makes me want Jesus to just rapture us soon so I don't even have to make a career decision. Hopefully the service-learning coordinator will place me soon so I can get in a classroom and find out if this is maybe something I want to do. Sigh..I don't know why people make growing up sound so fabulous. It so is not! Tests, homework, classes, work, bills, relationships, responsibilities...psh I'd rather be a kid! :) Maybe I should just go work at Disneyland-I can play Sleeping Beauty! :)
I'll post more later--going to run some errands around school!

Procrastination Station!

Alright I have 6 minutes to blog-I like to start at even times for my homework which is just another way of saying that I procrastinated so much that yet another hour has gone by, so i might as well just take up these last-now 5-minutes to do something I want rather than do homework. :)
I had my banned books & censorship class tonight--what do you guys think of banning books and censoring what students read? (4 minutes..)
Anyway, on my way home from class, I notice the car behind me is flashing their lights at me. I don't recognize the car, one of the front headlights is dimmer than the other, they're following closely....I'm thinking "what does it mean when someone flashes lights from behind??" And I'm about to call Alyssa to ask. Anyway-naturally I check to make sure my doors are locked, hope I hit the next green light, and start thinking about a random route to take so I don't lead this person to my house. And then Amanda texts me "Hi!" and she pulls up next to me smiling. Super sketch Mandy. Super sketch. Haha
Ok about 30 seconds left. Oh nope. Nevermind. I'm out of time haha Hope you enjoyed my random story :) Love you!

Post Numero Uno

Hi family! My only followers :) This blog is just a bunch of random randomness, so I hope you enjoy! I'll keep you updated on funny stories, highlights of my day/week, thoughts, adventures, whatevah! I know you are getting so excited right now haha :)
First blog thoughts: Now I know I'll get a bunch of comments about this one but lately I've been feeling like maybe I'm not supposed to get married? And with all this talk during the Money, Marriage, and Me series at church about how hard marriage is & this and that, why does anyone get married in the first place? I dunno..I'm just not getting it right now..  Ok comment away on that one! :)
One last thought before I go eat my delicious smelling dinner! Anyone have ideas for a special thing we could do for Scott's one year? I think it is stressing Mom out and we want to be together as family that day. Any cool ideas you've thought of/heard before? (Kinda like the balloon releasing thing that we did for his birthday) Let me know! I love you fam! :]