Goin' Home...

So I am headed back to the CO for Christmas tomorrow. Cayley and I are flying out tomorrow morning and I don't have to be back until the day after Christmas! AMAZING. I am so excited I can't even truly express it. Last night my three roommates and I went out for a nice dinner (money provided by my brother, he's amazing). It really was just a fun time with each other, a time to love on each other and spend a good amount of blood money (kyle you know)! Here is a pic of us at the restaurant...

(from left to right: me, Drace, Cassie, and Cayley)

Over the last few weeks it has been a whirlwind of work and play. For Thanksgiving I was able to drive up to Knoxville, Tennessee, where 10 of my friends from college (Colorado State University, in case that was up for debate) met and celebrated this day. I cannot tell you how unbelievable this was. To have my closest friends from college all together all the way across the country is amazing. Here is a picture of us at a little park in Knoxville...

Great crew right there. I was able to stay two nights with Pamela and David and John and Melissa. So on Friday we decorated Dave and Pamela's apartment for Christmas and listened to the blessed Christmas music.

Here is the 5 of us after a hard day of decorating. I love this picture, because I am right where I love to be, in between my two favorite couples in the world!

These are my girls, Lolo and Kat, from Starbucks, in our new (Red) aprons. These two girls have made my 3 and a half months at Starbucks some of the best months of work ever. I have enjoyed getting to know them and especially getting to laugh with them so much during a typical work day!

And lastly I just thought I would put this picture in, so you could see our Christmas decorations for our apartment...

Cassie got a little crazy and decorated one night. It's nice, huh? Anyway this is just a small look into my life in Birmingham (and Knoxville) the past few weeks. I am so excited to go home and spend time with family and friends, snowboard a little, and just be around snow. But as I look at my life in Birmingham, I feel so incredibly fortunate to have met the people I have, to live with the girls I do, and to have acquired the job I have...it really is a Wonderful Life :)!!

Birthday Joys and more...

Man I haven't written in awhile, and I have had a wonderful couple of weeks. My 25th birthday was October 9th and was so honored by so many people. To start out about a week and a half before my actual birthday my parents, grandparents, sister and roommate took me out to eat at a restaurant called Sumo. It is a hibachi grill where you watch the chef cook right at your table. SO FUN...and I was able to get up there and flip a few things. I was laughing the whole time, I am not at what, but it was fun! Here are some pictures from that...

Here is my grandparents and I, I LOVE THEM!! I am not sure what the gramps is doing, but they are sure wonderful, eh?

Then on my actual birthday my sister and my roommate and their friends (and mine) took me to a restaurant called Iguana Grill. The way they celebrate birthdays is by apparently dropping a big tray behind you, scaring you half to death, then while singing (keeping you distracted) they smash a little whipped cream right in your face! Quite the celebration...as you can see below...

Currently have no clue what is about to happen...

OH, yes there it was! It was a big ol' surprise!!! After dinner we went back to our place and my friend Aaron's roommates came over and we had birthday dessert and played Rock Band...which I will say I am NOT good at! But it was such a fun night and I really appreciated everyone who came and celebrated me turning a quarter of a century old (or as some would say 1/4 dead).

Just thought I would put this on...this is Cayley and I the night of my birthday. It is so fun having this with my little sister (and mom)! Cayley's ankle looks good, huh? Yeah bad bad sprain.

Other than my birthday I have been doing a lot of things. One night we had a pumpkin carving contest and my partner, Zach Shipps and I tied for second place! It was awesome!!! We had to carve a scary story and then present it with the story. Here are a few pictures of that...

The top picture is Zach and I working away at the masterpiece. And this picture is the presentation. Man we just blew people away! He's a little taller than me (just a something to note).

In addition, I have gotten involved in a church and within that a small group. The people are wonderful and all around my age. It has just been fun to get to know people who love the Lord and love each other and have totally invited me into that! So yeah that is my current life in a very very small nut shell, maybe even a pistachio shell. I apologize to all my fans, I will try and stay a little more current with this from now on.

A Very Proud Older Sister

And why? Well....
I just had to share this with the world! Cayley's picture was found in the University's cafeteria on a pole. It was life-size, no scratch that, it was well beyond life-size! In fact, standing next to it, I was about to her hip, true I am short, but that is BIG!! Truthfully, she is going to hate that I put this on here, but I just had to show her off to the world, because she won't do it herself. Which really is why I think she is so amazing, right?

Life As I Know It

Wow, I mean so much has happened since I last wrote! My parents left the south, just left me here in a different place, no clue where I am going or who I am going with and....

OK so here is the truth I have begun to love my life here in Birmingham...the people I get to work with everyday at Starbucks have brightened my life! They have amazing hearts and desire to share them with anyone and everyone. It has been so fun to meet and become friends with those with southern hospitality.

Last week I was able to go with some students from Samford University (where my sister goes) to Juvenile hall to sit and talk with, read the Bible with, and pray with young women who have gotten into some kind of trouble. I was amazed that God had directed me to this place. I mean after all, I would love to be doing work in the inner city, with girls just like this. It was a surreal and honestly a hard night. I was so glad that I was able to pray out loud for them, that they were able to hear the Word of God from my lips. That they were able to hear the truth that God LOVES them so much, no matter what they have done. When we were about to leave a girl asked me to come back into the room so she could ask me to pray for her. I of course said I would and that she could pray as well. It was like a light bulb went on! I am not kidding, I loved every single part of that time with those girls, as hard as it was. God is so good!!!

I also went to this big old gathering called The Basement. There were like 3 or 4 thousand people there and here is the crazy part, they come every week to this place. I gave you the link if you want to check it out. Here is the thing, I laughed almost the entire time to myself. When you get there there are strobe lights and rap music. The music is generally the background music to different popular rappers, such as Dr. Dre, Eminem, you know the goods! So here come these rapping Christians changing the words to all these songs...saying stuff to effect of JESUS JESUS JESUS, drivin to church drivin to church!!!! HILARIOUS!!! I was laughing so hard. I was trying to decide the whole time, is this good? I mean I realize that the words that are normally to most of those songs are trash, so why not put funny christian words to them...I mean it's the beat we like, right? I don't know, all I knew was this is so funny, I wish someone was here that would appreciate it with me!

Well anyway that is me...I will write again, thanks for reading and thank you for your prayers!!

My Little Roommates

Cayley and Cassie, my new and wonderful roommates! I mean one is my sister, who I have lived with before, but to be living with her again as adults is great. We all were given these purses, don't we look awesome!!??

They are a blessing and I am so grateful for them. Here is a picture of Cayley and I as well.

Anyway just a quick update on my life and the girls I am able to live with.

My Dear Nuggets

As a quick shout out to my beloved Nuggets and Mr. Allen Iverson himself I would like to start by saying I am so sorry for leaving you. Please know and believe that it is not you, it's me. As I am gone this year in Alabama, know that I will be checking on you daily. I was sad to see that Marcus, Eddie, and others have been traded or have gone to different teams. With no warning? Hurt I was, but I know and believe there is always a bigger plan than my own. Thank you to J.R., so glad to have you back this year and some to come! And welcome Sonny Weebs to the Mile High City! Good luck to you all! But to Mr. Iverson, I am a your big no matter the distance. Here is a tribute to you sir!

Good luck this year boys...I will be back to the promise land someday!

Home Sweet Alabama...

Well I guess I finally found my home for now. And I will say I NEVER thought I would say home sweet Alabama. I got to Birmingham, AL a little over a week ago and started working at the 'Bucks (Starbucks that is). First I would like to say, I love working there. I love coffee and I love that I get to make drinks for people. On a sort of different note, I went to work at 5:30 the other morning to learn how to open the store. When I was getting ready so early in the morning I was not excited about going outside, because as any good Coloradoan knows, the mornings are freezing, even in the summer. So I bundled up and was ready to go, but as I started thinking, I'm not in Colorado anymore, I'm in 'Bama and it is NOT cold here, even in the early early mornings. And I was right, it was warm...at 5 in the morning. Talk about culture shock, I was in it!

But I will say B'ham is a fun place, it's beautiful and so full of trees, which my Colorado is not so much known for. I am trying to figure out what to do about friends, and how to make some here. If any of you have ideas, I would love to hear them :)!! I went to a Bible Study with my roommate Cassie the other night and met a lot of cool girls. I problem is I don't if that is the church (the B.S. is through a big o' church), Brookhills Church, that I want to be apart of. I really want to be involved in a multi-cultural church, so I am not really knowing what to do. So if you think about it, will you just shoot a little prayer up to the Big Guy for wisdom for me? Thanks!

Anyway so that is my life, work, reading a many a book, and thinking of how to make friends. And may I repeat, just thinking, not acting...;)! Ok guys that is all for now!

Oh except for my newest addition to my foot and that is my tattoo. It is from Joshua 1:9 (or 1:1-9), "have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous..." and it is the Hebrew characters for strong and courageous. I got it with my cousin, Laura. We decided over a month before that wanted it when we were talking about our previous years and how both of us did not exactly have a good one and we wanted something to mark that we trust God, no matter the trials and that we will walk in strength and courage! Love it! And her little brother, my other cousin, Chad got it with us as well. It was a fun day.

This is Laura and I before we got our tats, a little scared I guess. At least she was, I was just trying to be nice!

Here is my tattoo, not the greatest picture but you get it!

Laura, Chad, and I after the deed was done, see how dang happy we are!!

Ok now for real...bye