I bought an album of Sovereign Grace's worship music yesterday. This is my favorite track off of it. I have been listening to it on repeat all day. It has mesmerized me; both the words and the music are incredible. You can listen to part of it here. I think this song is a great reminder that this earth is not our home. Our home awaits us. We will someday be in heaven, before the throne of the King of Kings, praising our creator. How glorious!

It is not Death to Die

It is not death to die
To leave this weary road
And join the saints who dwell on high
Who’ve found their home with God
It is not death to close
The eyes long dimmed by tears
And wake in joy before Your throne
Delivered from our fears

Chorus
O Jesus, conquering the grave
Your precious blood has power to save
Those who trust in You
Will in Your mercy find
That it is not death to die

It is not death to fling
Aside this earthly dust
And rise with strong and noble wing
To live among the just
It is not death to hear
The key unlock the door
That sets us free from mortal years
To praise You evermore

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)
Original words by Henri Malan (1787–1864).

The grandi-howards have crab feasts for all their family to come to two or three times a summer. All five of their kids came today and some of their kids and some of their kids. Joe also invites some of his old friends. I pigged out on Trader Joe's cornbread and Popeyes spicy chicken. I got to show off my ring to all my "cousins" (Joe calls me his granddaughter since I have lived here longer than anyone else). heh. Being a part of a big family looks like a lot of fun. I hope my siblings and I get together lots of times after we are all married and have children. I look forward to that.

One thing that I love about living with the Howards is getting to talk to so many interesting people. These are people that I would never strike up a conversation with normally... like Joe's old high school friends and people that taught under him when he worked in the schools around here. It is so much more interesting then talking to people who are my own age! I love talking to people older than me. They are so much more interesting and have so much more to offer me then my peers do. I feel like time is well spent talking to people like that. I also enjoy being just old enough to carry on a somewhat interesting conversation from my part. I can talk about school and work and what I am doing. It is great. I really have enjoyed living here! It has been a huge blessing.

Oh and I bought a new music cd at Covenant Life today. It is incredible. It is called Come Weary Saints. Some really meaty praise music. I'm really feasting on it. Also, on my playlists recently have been igrace hymns cds (not the prettiest voices to hear singing - but the words are such gems). Mr. Howard and I were discussing how great and uplifting and convicting old hymns are today!! I love them. And of course GT and the Halo Express... I just bought them all on Cd (all 7 of them) and I have been listening to pure scripture for the past week in song form. It is incredible. I have felt so encouraged all week at school. A couple "bad" things happened at school and I was perfectly content and unfazed. I claim it was the music I was listening to this week. I think it has a huge influence on my life.

And thanks to Mr. Howard for the great pointers on how to make my wedding invitations look more classy. I will probably be trying some of those tips. Woohoo.

This is my favorite bouquet!!

This bouquet is lavender roses, astilbe, and agapanthus (Lily of the Nile).

Has anyone heard of agapanthus and do you know where to get it? I don't really are aout the astilbe. I don't think it really adds anything to it. I just love the lavender roses and dark blues together!! Beautiful!

I have a dream...

Since taking classes at Salisbury and transfering to Maryland, I have wanted to change the way Salisbury teaches engineering. I have wanted to offer them solutions to helping students addapt to College Park and having ways to make sure that what they learn at Salisbury will be the same as that at Maryland. I've been throwing the idea around recently about teaching once I get out of school (which is why I am getting my masters). So I found this job posting at Salisbury tonight and I was seriously excited. The one problem with it - they want someone with their Ph-D. I believe that I have the experience to be able to fill the position since I transfered to Maryland and I know people at Maryland that I could partner with.

Anyhow, that is my dream right now. I'm praying about it. You can too. I know God will give me whatever is best to serve Him, but this sure does sound fun!! I'd love to have you pray with me about this. Life is exciting, isn't it?!?

"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. "

News about me:
* I am totally in love with my ring (and Jared). My ring just gets prettier each and every day. I love staring at it in the brightly lit classrooms. It is especially nice when I am seriously bored. I didn't ever think I would like looking at a polished rock so much. heh. I never thought I would like flowers or get married right after college either. I just think Jared picked out the perfect ring for me. I LOVE solitary, round-cut, traditional rings. Man, I love it. :)

News about someone else:
(since I keep getting asked.....)
* Stephanie is having a boy.
* Her due date is January 4, 2009.
* She is feeling better than she has.
* Ben and she are in the process of looking for either a new apartment or a house.

This was my favorite dress. But I couldn't find it anywhere to try on. And the dress I finally picked out is so much cooler than this dress and not really like it at all. ha. When we first went to try on dresses they made me try on dresses with parts of this dress in them. I never liked any of them. Sigh. A few days later my mother was feeling rather depressed and told me that dress shopping would cheer her up. After visiting another store, we went to a store downtown and I started trying on random dresses. The last one I tried on was the one that I didn't ever want to take off. It was so much fun to wear. I brought Sarah and Hayley back later the next week to see it. And TODAY... I finally went and bought it. It will take four months to make, but it is going to be SOOOOOOO awesome. And no, you don't get to see a picture. You will just have to come to my wedding to see it. It is made by my favorite wedding dress designer (or the one that I liked the most of her dresses), Maggie Sottero. What fun!! And I got 10% off the dress today.

So ... I BOUGHT MY DRESS!!!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I can't wait to try it on... I think I will be driving to see it all the time and trying it on.
It is amazing!

300 days...

Until I don't have internet anymore,

get to wear my favorite dress,

and eat chocolate peanut butter cake.

Excited?

My parents, Dean, and Jared came to visit me today!! People I know (and like) are always such a welcome sight. I get to see Rachel Townsend tomorrow and we are going to see Jars of Clay, Third Day, and Switchfoot. I am really looking forward to seeing Jars of Clay!! Woohoo. Oh, and I get to hear C.J. Mahaney preach tomorrow! I have never had the pleasure of hearing him speak. I love his wife and his books. I just finished Feminine Appeal. I couldn't put it down. My favorite C.J. book so far is the Cross Centered Life. Jared gave it to me for graduation, but I left it at his house. And since I don''t go over to his house very often, I borrowed Dad's copy and have been rereading that one. heh.
So parents, good friends, great music, and wonderful preaching... it looks to be a good weekend.

I saw this today... I thought some of you would like to see this. It very touching.

I'm a teacher now...

I really enjoyed teaching today!! It was a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me. I had a blast for two hours helping students learn about circuits and how much fun they are. If I continue to enjoy teaching this much, I think I will apply for a job teaching physics back in Salisbury next year. That would be awesome! So I loved my first class. They all were very good... well, there is always that one kid in every class that thinks they know everything, but even he wasn't too terrible. I think I handled him pretty well. I didn't let him get away with anything. Oh, and one last thing... I LOVE LOVE LOVE real chalkboards. The ones that erase really well and are just plain wonderful. Wipe erase boards have nothing on chalk boards. I want to get a chalkboard when I homeschool my children. That would be fun. :)

Funniest moment: The class starts off with me lecturing for half and hour before lab starts. So they all sat down at their lab benches and I started teaching. This one kids goes, "Wait! YOU are our teacher?!?!" It was really funny.

I teach my first lab today.

YIKES!!!

I must be at school (because I am posting). Today Sarah, Mom, and I woke up at 5:30 (which is the time Jared wakes up everyday. I don't know if I can get out of bed that early when I get married to him. Although, it will give me quite a bit longer of a day) and drove up to College Park. They dropped me off and I just finished orientation and filling out payroll information. They went to Ikea and Anthropologie and maybe David's Bridal to look at bridesmaid dresses. I'm waiting around for a meeting with the professor that I am TAing for this semester. She is a new teacher at the University and I don't know if she has ever taught before... sigh. I am sure it will be fun, I was just hoping to have the professor that has taught this class for the last four years. He was awesome to work for last time I helped with this class. I still feel just as not qualified as I did last time. heh. I wonder if you ever truely feel prepared for anything in life. I guess that just makes us depend on God more.

I don't know what I'll be doing this weekend. My watch stopped so I am going to need to go get the battery replaced on that. Maybe I will beat Jared at some more Cribbage. He almost beat me last night. It is really a fun game. I enjoy it a lot. Luke, Dad, Jared, and I played "Up the River Down the River" on Saturday and Mom, Dad, Jared, and I played Hearts and Spades on Sunday. I love playing card games. Cards cards cards. I keep forgetting that I want to teach Jared how to play Clue. I played it with Stephanie while I was in Denver and I really enjoyed it. I bought it for her so that she could have a game. I let her pick anything and that was the game she picked. I hadn't played it in years, but if you all go out to Denver and visit Stef, you can stop in and play Clue with her and Ben.

Anyhow, I am off to my meeting. I should have a few interesting stories once my job really starts up. I think I am going to be a really mean TA (or at least strict). Happy Labor Day Weekend!! The traffic on the bridge is already terrible. Boooooo!

My sister drew this picture!! I'm a huge Christian Bale fan. One of my friends at school and I celebrate Christian Bale by having CBADs (Christian Bale Appreciation Days). We watched all his movies worth watching and some others that we would like to forget. heh. Anyhow, this drawing would only be more awesome if she had given it to me...

WANTED: 1 Wedding Photographer

I need a wedding photographer... :) Any ideas? I figured that last time I needed something big (a house in College Park) I posted it on my blog and I ended up living at the Howards (which has been amazing), so maybe someone out there knows a photographer who would be just as amazing (they could even be half as amazing and they would still be totally awesome because that is just how great the grandi-howards are!!).

S A V E T H E D A T E

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Time: TBA (between 1-3 sometime... the bride can't make her mind up)
Who: Jared and Faith are getting married!!!
Where: Providence Presbyterian Church
Reception to follow in Princess Anne.
More details to come.

I might be buying my dress this week!! :D

I went to the gym today and this afternoon I am going to take Hope to see Journey to the Center of the Earth. I've had a lot of fun cooking this week while my parents are away. Cooking always takes longer then I expect though. I have to start on dinner as soon as lunch is over. So far we have had roast beef, green beans, mashed potatoes, and blueberry pie and chicken pot pie, corn on the cob, tomatoes, rolls, and peach pie. Tonight I think we will use up the leftovers from the pot pie.

In other news, tomorrow Hayley, Sarah, and I are going dress shopping. I want them to see the dress that I really really really really really like. YES!! And then we might go sailing. What fun the summer is!

Olympic gold medalist and outspoken Darfur activist Joey Cheek has had his visa revoked by the Chinese embassy, hours before the speedskating champion was set to fly to China.

Click for the rest of the story.

For those of you that don't have facebook. Here are a few shots from Colorado!! I have seen the Air force academy, Pike's Peak, the outside of Whit's End (it was closed), the Rocky Mountains, Boulder Co, the Denver Zoo, the Denver Capitol building (totally awesome), and hiked and walked around all over all sorts of small towns and little trails. It has been a blast. I love seeing old friends and getting to spend time with them and my little sister. I will be sad to come back. The first and last photo are from a little 100 year old amusement park that we went to on Friday night. The middle photo is the Air Force Chapel (it is AMAZING)! The chapel and the capitol have been two of my favorite places that I have visited so far. I love architecture. It intrigues me. I'll talk more about it later, but I think Stef and I are going to go play Ultimate!! YES!! Love to all at home!

Anna and I went and explored downtown Denver today. The capitol building was really awesome.

Just a quick note:

* This week (Monday - Friday) I was camping with my family in beautiful Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland. We hiked, relax, saw the olympic kayak team practicing, and saw Dark Knight (AMAZING MOVIE) at midnight on Thursday night. It was great. I love camping with my family and I can't wait to take Jared along camping with me!!! YES!

* Saturday night I went to the Delaware State Fair with Rachel Townsend, Hayley, and Jared. I stuffed my face full of all sorts of good food. I had Grottos Pizza, kettle corn, carrot cake, and strawberry pie. It was amazing. I love summer.

* Tomorrow I leave to fly out to Colorado to visit Steffy and Sarah Meadows. Anna and I are going to Whit's End, Pikes Peak, the Air Force Academy Chapel, Red Rocks, Denver, and all sorts of other fun places. I hate flying, but I look forward to being there. Funny, I miss Jared already though. What will I do with myself?!?

I'll blog again next week when I get back. I'll be back on Wednesday (the 30th). :D Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Oh, what a melancholy choice this is,
Wanting home, wanting him,
Closing my heart to ev'ry hope but his,
Leaving the home I love

Since I had a suspicion that Jared was going to ask me to marry him Friday, June 28, I had a little time to think about it. At first, I didn't think that was such a great thing because at first thought I just wanted to tell him to wait. But then I thought that I would probably just keep telling him to wait for forever, if I had told him to wait. Once I started thinking about it, I realized the only two things that were keeping me from rushing into marriage (other than school - heh) was the fear of growing up and not wanting to be the first to leave my family.

Growing up is not fun. I mean it is, but at the same time I just wanted to stay 10 for the rest of my life or maybe to stay 17 (and a senior in high school). Or to bounce between those two ages, with the knowledge that I have now. I wanted all my siblings to stay frozen in time and for my family to go camping together and to laugh together forever. However, that is not how God designed this life. We get old. We grow up. We leave our families and go own to have our own. The memories we made with our families remain, but we start to make more with new people and in new places. It isn't bad, just hard sometimes. But God is good. I know that he doesn't ask you to do something and then not give you power to do it. And things that seem like they are going to be hard are good for you because you have to depend on God alone for your strength because you know you can't do it by yourself.

As to the second reason, I have already been the first one to leave my family. I went away to school two years ago. And I am the oldest so it makes sense. I will still see them and can still have fun with them. I just won't be there whenever I want. This is probably the harder one for me to swallow. I miss my family so much when I am away at school. I miss being a part of their lives, not just them. I miss sitting in Sarah's hallway talking to her until all hours of the night, being teased by Luke, and trying to be heard at the dinner table. I miss my Dad giving me hugs and leaving me presents under my pillow, I miss my Mom's cooking for me, and Anna asking me to take pictures with her. And it is hard for me to know that I will be in the same city as them, but living a different life. I know I will see them, but I won't be there to catch every job and hear every story that happens. It makes me sad. Sigh.

I realized that if God is calling you to something you should jump right in and face your fears. He knows what he is doing and delaying that is going to just cause you more trouble. I didn't have any valid excuses for not saying yes. Skip over the next paragraph... it is sappy.

I think Jared is a great guy. He encourages me Biblically and points out things in my life that I need to work on (but he does it without making me feel less then him). In the past year he has become so much more caring then I could ever imagine. He tries to look for ways to make my life easier and encourage me. Like when I drive the 2.25 hours back to school, he talks to me on the phone while I drive. This may not seem like much, but 1. I dislike driving and 2. He dislikes the phone and 3. A year and a half ago he wouldn't have done this. He took me to see Leeland this past semester. Again, this doesn't seem like a lot either, but Jared doesn't like concerts and he doesn't like much CCM music. And he went to Delirious with me two weeks ago!!! That was so awesome because he gave up his seat for standing with me at the front. And it was probably the last Delirious concert I will go to. If you had asked me two years ago who did more work in our relationship, I would have said me. I remember talking to my mom about this and how I felt like I was the only one that ever gave anything. Now I feel like Jared is so thoughtful all the time and doesn't give me enough chance to give of myself. heh. I have no reasons not to marry him. He makes me laugh. He knows how to communicate his way through a fight that I have started. He is patient with me and he points me to a great walk with Christ. I thank God for having blessed me with him. I thank God for last summer.

God is so good to me. I trust him. I look forward to seeing what the rest of my life holds. Happy negative one anniversary, Jared! I look forward to spending my life with you.

Goodbye, my Marble.

Last July I had to say goodbye to my dear cat. My parents took her to be put down because Tiger had caught a bat and we didn't know if it was rabid. But she ended up coming back. I thought she was going to be put down, but instead last minute they just put her in a cage for six months. This time she won't be coming back. I really thought that since I had cried my eyes out last summer and had prepared for her to die that I wouldn't be as affected this time around. I think the part that makes me cry the most is thinking about whenever I used to cry. Marble would come running from whereever she was. Most people though she was a grumpy cat, but she was the sweetest, dearest cat to me. When I cried she would run over and still her little head in my face and curl up next to my head. It was so cute. She'd let me cry into her fur and do whatever I wanted to with her in those moments. I cried with her a lot over the past 14 years. She was my baby; she listened to everything I said. I'll miss her little marbled face. She's had a good life and I thank God for my funny little cat. Goodbye my furry friend. I love you.



Pictures from December 2006.

The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. When I was little I used to ask if I could have a picnic for all the families instead of a birthday party. I love having lots of people over at my house and getting to play games and sit around and talk (the talking part has only become a favorite of mine in the past few years). This year I brought one of my friends from school home with me. I remember once that Sarah Meadows was saying that she like when her two worlds came together and got to meet. I didn't know what she was talking about then, but now I understand and agree. It is really neat.

The fireworks got rained out and Hayley, Rachel, Jared, Laurie, Luke, and Michelle and my family sat in my living room with the lights off and watched the lightning and rain outside. It was fun. I like doing random what-other-people-might-consider-boring events with my family and friends.

Hayley, me, Michellle --> my friends are both taller than Jared... weird.

My dad wears this shirt every year. He was explaining to a group of us this year that is doesn't work out very well to wear it on St. Patrick's day or Easter. Dad, also left me m&m's under my pillow when I came back this weekend. YAY!! They were peanut m&m's. Yum yum yum.

A table shot. This is the 4th for me. People eating in my backyard. Eating so much food until you burst. I love it.

Saturday, Michelle, Sarah, and I went to visit Jared's cute little house (and no Jamie, I didn't get pictures - maybe someday). Then we went and picked blueberries out and drove down to the Taylors for some board game and sailing fun. Also, really awesome food and confetti cup fun!!! I don't know what it is about confetti cups that I love, but they sure are good. Mrs. Taylors grilling is always good. She even cooked my meat well done for me. How sweet. It was delicious. Hayley even made us a cherry pie for dessert. That was awesome as well.

Sunday my Mom made me sweet corn and green beans from the garden before I drove back to college park. The sweet corn was amazing. I had at least 7 ears of corn before I left!! I left at 2:40 and arrived in College Park around 6:30. Yes, it did take that long to get back here. The traffic was awful. Boo holiday beach traffic. Michelle and I listen to Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader on the way back. Then as I was carrying in my stuff I found this in the back seat:

I flipped it over and on the back (like the picture) was a card from my dear Jared. He's so sweet. That made me smile. It is sitting next to my bed now reminding me how thoughtful Jared is. I thought I would tell you all how great he is to me. It is making me smile while I finish up these two project papers and take two final exams and have a cold. Miserable summer cold.

In my last post I forgot to say how AMAZING my ring is!! All I told Jared was that I wanted it to be traditional and classy and not too big and white gold. I know Jared is great at picking out gifts for me. He is always so particular about what he gets. I knew that he would do a great job. And he didn't disappoint. Afterwards, I asked him how long he had my ring and he asked, "this ring?" I looked at him and said, "were there others?" Sheepishly he admitted that this was the third one that he had bought for me. :D That is my Jared. My ring is perfect for me!! It is the most beautiful ring that I have ever seen. The stone isn't too small and it isn't too big. It sparkles like crazy and I love to play with it. I couldn't have imagined it any better. Jared is great. My ring is perfect. :D Weeeeeeee!!!

Anna kindly took a few pictures of us today. This is probably the best shots you are going to get of my ring until 1) you come see it in person or 2) I get my wedding photos.

Jared actually held my hand. ha ha. I can't wait to be able to hold his hand and hug him whenever I want. That will be so fun.

I know the pictures are kind of goofy, but then so are Jared and I. I hope that these make Jamie and Dasha, Mrs. Shelton, Linnea, and others in far off lands very happy. :) Oh and my ring really is incredible!! I love it more each minute. Weeeeeeeeeeee!

* My favorite number is 3.
* Jared and I are 3 years and 33 days apart.
* My birthday 6.21.1986 can all be divisible by 3.
6/3=2
21/3=7
1986=3=682

I love 3s!

So what could be better then to get engaged 33 months and 3 days after you were first asked out?!? It just added to the awesomeness!

For those of you that want the story: Last Saturday when I was home for my birthday Jared asked me to come home this weekend. He said we would go canoeing if I came home. I have been asking Jared for almost 3 years to take me canoeing, but we hadn't ever been, so of course I said yes. I came home this weekend and on Friday Jared took off work an hour early so we could leave around 3 and canoe down to Shad Landing and have an early dinner. We paddled down to Shad Landing (which took about an hour and fifteen minutes) and ate lunch/dinner. Jared packed lunch meat, cheese, bread, chips, yogurt, red grapes (my favorite, he likes green grapes), and Gatorades. Once lunch was over, we left. We outran a storm on the way back (it rained on us for a short time, but it was so hot I didn't care) and loaded up the canoe. I then dropped Jared off at his house and took the canoe back to my house and showered. I ran out to pick up movies for Anna because she was sick. Jared came and picked me up around 8 and we went to see Wall*e (which is an adorable movie). Then we headed back to my house around 11:30 and walked around my neighborhood. Jared then suggested that we go look at the stars in my field. So we walked back there and looked at the stars. There was no moon and all the stars were really hazy. So we are sitting on a picnic table out there just looking around for a while and then Jared asked me which star was the brightest and so I looked around and didn't see any that stood out, but then I turned around to look at him and he was smiling and holding the ring. So he got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him. And I said YES!! Then we hugged, prayed, and went inside to wake up the family around 1.

My mom has a picture on he blog that is sort of similar to my ring. Anna has been sick so I haven't gotten any pictures yet. Maybe next weekend when I come home.

Saturday we went to see Delirious? and that we so amazing. We had front row standing sections thanks to my Dad and Luke. It was so great to take Jared to something I greatly enjoy. It was very sweet of him to go on the 10 hour trip down to Richmond and back with my family and me. Richmond was great. We ate at an delicious little Mexican restaurant and had Krispy Kremes and saw Delirious? in this incredible old opera house called the National. The traveling was not great, but it was worth it. It was a neat concert.

So there is what I did this weekend. Any questions? Did I forget any details that you want to know?

I get to see Delirious tonight!!
I'm so excited.
Here is my favorite song, Majesty and another cool song called Wonder. :D

Majesty

Here I am humbled by your Majesty
Covered by your grace so free
Here I am, knowing I'm a sinful man
Covered by the blood of the Lamb

Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine
Since you laid down your life
The greatest sacrifice

Majesty, Majesty
Your grace has found me just as I am
Empty handed, but alive in your hands
Majesty, Majesty
Forever I am changed by your love
In the presence of your Majesty

Here I am humbled by the love that you give
Forgiven so that I can forgive
Here I stand, knowing that I'm your desire
Sanctified by glory and fire

Wonder

Is it any wonder that my heart is on the line
Is it any wonder that my words are out of time
Is it any wonder that I miss you like your mine

Oh sweet heart you've broken this sweet heart
Oh sweet heart you've broken me.

You set my world on fire
I'm turning inside out to be with you
So I'll be waiting here
And our love can live forever
Coz In your eyes I've seen who I could be
So I'll be waiting here

I also want to take time to publically thank my parents for being so awesome. I love them both very much and I can't even begin to express how wonderful they are to me. I had a lovely birthday with them. My Dad gave me a pen knife and a screwdriver and two textbooks. heh. My Mom made me cream puffs and waited on my hand and foot. She also bought be crossword puzzles. Both my parents are so dear to me. I love them so much. Thank you both for putting before me good examples of what a Christ centered life and relationship is. Thank you for sending me to college and for encouraging me and being proud of me. I love being your daughter.

My Dad is great. He will listen to me ramble on for hours and hours about school while everyone else is bored out of there mind. He likes math. I like math. It works out well that way. My Dad also leaves me presents under my pillow at random times. He came up to visit me this semester and snuck upstairs and left me a bag of ginger snaps (one of our favorites) under my pillow. It was so sweet; it made me cry when I found them after he had left. He is one of the smartest people that I have ever met and he had the best sense of humor. He has been a great example in my life and I am so thankful for his guidence.

My mother bakes and cooks me whatever I want each time I come home. Even if she wasn't planning on it and I mention that I want something else. She is amazing. I love her dearly. She listens to me talk about anything that isn't school related. She gives me hugs (so does Dad). I get so hug deprived at school. She fills my car with gas and writes me at least a note every other week at school. Her notes most often come at the perfect time and cheer me up and encourage me to press on.

I am supposed to be taking an exam right now, but I felt like telling the whole world how wonderful my parents are for me!!! I am so blessed. I thank God for that. I hope I can be like them someday. They've taught me a lot. I love them. It is neat how God gives us the parents that are best suited for us. I am so glad for mine. I couldn't have asked for more.

I know both of my parents love me very much and that is a great blessing. Even great is the blessing that they love God and have taught me to follow Him. Thank you both.

A few thoughts from John Piper:

1. Can we be set free from the fear of failure by telling ourselves that it is in our nature to fail?

In part, yes, but for the Christian there is far more. The fear of failure is ultimately conquered through Christ. We need to…

…own up to our sin—the real failure. We fall short of and belittle the glory of God by pursuing our own greatness. (Romans 1:18-23;3:23)
…change our goal. In faith, we should pursue the glory of Christ, the perfect one, rather than our own perfection. (Galatians 5:1-5)
…trust in Christ for our perfection, because we are judged according to his righteousness as he intercedes on our behalf continually before God, the Father. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Which brings us back to where we started. Do you really trust God this morning? Do you trust him for who he really is—a sin forgiving Savior and an infallible guide to everlasting joy? If you do, you will aim to make his counsel decisive in all your decision making.
And the counsel that you hear in Psalm 25 is . . .
First, that as you walk with him there is going to be trouble, and you will struggle with fear and loneliness and guilt and confusion.
Second, that when you do, you should come to him in prayer and bring all your struggles with no hesitation.
Third, that the basis of your expectation when you come is not that messages are promised in visions but that guidance is promised in humility and in the fear of the Lord.

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Immerse yourself in the written Word of God; saturate your mind with it. And pray that the Spirit of Christ would make you so new that the spillover would be good, acceptable, and perfect—the will of God.

Meet Wordle

This is my last blog post.
I used the word home a lot.

This is the second chapter of Philippians: http://wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/25476/Philippians.

This is an awesome website: http://wordle.net/

1st day being...

22

Well, after tonight half of my semester will be finished!! Next Tuesday all my midterms will be finished. I think summer classes are easier, but maybe it they are just so quick that you don't have a change to realize how much work they are. Either way I have enjoyed my two classes so far. :) I love learning.

I get to come home tonight to celebrate my birthday and see my family!! I am excited for real meals. I have determined that I should never live on my own. I love to cook, but it just isn't worth it for one person. It is so much more fun to cook for other people. I was telling my mom all the things that I have eaten in the past 9 days up here and it went something like this: stuffing, English muffins, sunchips, granola bars, frosted mini wheats and milk, yogurt, cheese and crackers, crepes, dinner rolls, baked beans, grapes, and kiwis. As I was talking I realized that I am eating a lot of carbs. Carbs seem to be the easiest food to make. Kiwis are my favorite fruit right now.

For my birthday my parents are taking me to see Delirious? next weekend! Their new album continues to grow on me while Coldplay's hasn't increased in my opinion. Sarah gave me Les Mis to listen to and that is my other new music fad right now. I have been listening to it really loud when my two roommates are gone. I love Broadway. I want to go see more musicals. And plays, I would go see plays again too. I hope the Grandi-Howards take me to more plays this year... :D

The gym has been so empty and nice whenever I have gone in the past two weeks. However, last week some girl had a seizure and today the fire alarm went off. Thankfully, both days it was relatively cool outside and I finished my run around campus. It made it a little more interesting. I found out that I can run from my parking spot on campus to the gym in about five minutes. That was pretty sweet. I usually pay 75 cents to park their for an hour. So now I can save money next year and I will just run to the gym.

Another thing, it is so much easier to go to the gym when someone is going with you or you are making someone else go. So hopefully Mom will go with me when I get home. :) I fight myself every day to go to the gym. I tried lifting today, but my chest still hurts from the car accident last week so I gave up and just ran. I wonder when that will get better. I looked online and I think I might have bruised my sternum. Anyone know how long that takes to get better? They didn't say much about it online, but the symptoms sounded like what I have. It hurts when I pull the wrong way, laugh, cough, breath in deeply, and most of all when I turn my neck and upper body to back up my car (weird).

Well, I should get back to studying for my midterms and writing these project management papers. I am beginning to like civil engineering. I especially like Reliability Engineering. I think that would be a neat career. It is under appreciate in the engineering field, but it is really interesting. I would get to break things and find out why they fail. That has always been my favorite thing to do. I love breaking things and then figuring out why they broke and how to make them better. I love learning that there are all these ways to break things that give you information to build things better and how people don't ever think to apply them. I really love everything I have learned in reliability; I would say I have enjoyed both my classes, but I had to write that dumb journal paper for my reliability class last year. That class itself was interesting. I am very happy that I decided to go to grad school. I seriously love learning all this stuff. Okay, I really have to go.

See you in Salisbury this weekend! Going away from home makes home even better when you get to come home. :D One day more all on my own...

Home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home!!!!

This video just makes me smile. :D
He looks so happy. I love that line about the law of averages.
Michael Crawford is singing on the Wall*e soundtrack!!
Thank you Mrs. Taylor for introducing me to the real phantom of the opera!!

And thanks to Hayley and Sarah for giving me the best birthday present ever two years ago. Seeing Phantom on stage is still such a wonderful memory. I will never forget it. It was lovely. I just smile when I think about that too. I am richly blessed.

New Blog Stuff

I started messing with things last night and then I had to fix all the mistakes that I saw. I know that there are probably many more, but I am going to bed. If you find anything that looks funny or links that don't work please leave a comment and let me know of the flaws. And I am still messing with the colors, but I am tired right now. Good night.

I really liked Coldplay's last album. I've been listening to their new album and so far I only like a few songs off of it, I really don't like two of the songs, and I don't care about the rest. However, I think this video is especially pretty. Apple was brilliant when they put this together. I really don't like Apple so that is saying a lot.

My Friday the thirteenth camping trip and car accident.

I have included pictures and maps below to help with the explanation. So my small group left this morning at 8:30 to head down to the Big Meadows area and go camping for a night. We passed Harrisonburg and headed out of Skyline Drive. I noted them both on the map. Along with a very small town of Elkton and an even smaller town of Grottos. Note those two towns they will be needed later in my story.


The next picture is of the entrance to Skyline Drive. We were following my friend Michelle (far back might I add since my other friend Rebecca is the most cautious driver that I know). And she missed the entrance to Skyline Drive... So at the top of this hill she randomly pulls into this u-turn lane (I would put her in same school of drivers as Stephanie Hornor...maybe not as spastic). I am turning around and looking at the entrance to Skyline Drive because I recognized it and wanted to see if we had really passed it. I never saw Michelle turn. Rebecca did, but when she went to stop her rug was all crammed under the brake petal and wouldn't go down. So I never saw what really happened because I heard Rebecca cry out and as I turned I flew forward into my seat belt. OUCH. We stopped immediately, but Michelle's car flew across the opposite lane of traffic and over the hill between the two roads and into Skyline Drive. Only her one air bag went off, neither of ours did. Needless to say the camping trip was ended here. Everyone was stiff and sore, but we all were walking around and talking. The park rangers were awesome, as were the ambulance drive and the fire men. They were all so sweet and talked to us for a long time. The single cop that showed up (later than everyone else mind you) was extremely grumpy and gave Rebecca a ticket for speeding and for being reckless even though we all (all three of the rest of us) tried to tell him that it wasn't her fault and she is the most careful driver that we know.

Rebecca has AAA and had to go with her car. So I rode along to go with her car and her. The tow truck the cop called was from Grottos (remember on the map where that is). He told us that Grottos had nothing in it for us to wait around in and so he was going to leave us in Elkton where at least they had a few stores to hang out in. Fair enough.

So he left us at a Pizza Hut. We used the restroom and I quizzed the cashier on what was in the area that was fun. She told me to go to a battlefield that is over an hour away (sounds promising this little town does, right?). She told us there was a Dairy Queen and gas station across the street and the other way there was a dollar general. We hung out at DQ for an hour and a half and ate our ice cream and started shaking and just wanting to find some shoulder to cry on. Then we wandered down to Dollar General for some form of entertainment (cribbage maybe?). They didn't have cribbage, but I bought cards and Sorry to play with Rebecca to take her mind off the whole day. Then we happened to look down the street and saw a Subway!! It was wonderful because we hadn't eaten all day since breakfast and it was now around 5:30 and Rebecca's parents were still an hour away. So we went in there and ate subs and played sorry.

After her parents arrived, we drove down to Grottos to pick up all our stuff from the car and then we drove the four hours back to College Park. And now I am back and about to go to bed because I am really tired and sore. Anyhow, what is a story without car pictures. Below is Rebecca's cute little jetta. The poor little thing. Her Dad said it was a lemon anyhow.

If you think about it, you can pray for Rebecca. I know she is going to take it really hard. She already has a pessimistic view on life. So I know this is going to be rough on her. She looked so sad all day and I couldn't even get her to smile, which I can normally do pretty easily. Thanks!!

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!!

This is my new favorite application on google. I have always loved looking at the satellite pictures on google maps, but now they have STREET VIEW!!! It is super awesome coolness. Can you find where in the US of A this picture is? I'll give you a hint, it is in the United States (but those are the only places so far with streets). It shouldn't be too terrible hard. I left the address in from when I was poking around different places in the country. And one more clue: it is more northernish. Out west is so depressing with no trees and all that brown. I am so glad I like in a pretty state. I like the look of the entire east coast. :)

To prove the great stalking capabilities of google maps... I give you the hospital where Sarah Meadow's works. I also found Stef's apartment, but it was too far off the road and kind of blurry.

Lisa Wright has a blog and pictures of her three adorable children!! She is Lisa Sperow for those of you who don't know who I am talking about. My old babysitter.

I graduated last week.
I am a really mechanical engineer now!
And a real physicist.


I stole this picture from Anna. Maybe I will post more later, but they are all on my flash drive, which is on my keys, which is in my room, and I don't want to walk back there because I am making chicken pot pie and german chocolate cake for dinner. I like cooking. I start classes again Tuesday. I am paying for my summer classes so I can finish my degree in a year. I didn't realize summer classes cost SO much more then regular schooling. Yikes. $444 a credit hour. I am taking 6 credit hours. The school would pay for them if I did my degree in two years, but I am trying to finish in a year.

Have you read about this? I felt like crying when I read this. I have always really like Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. They seem so real.

Maria Sue Chapman (2003-2008)
Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed Wednesday night in a tragic accident in the family driveway on Wednesday evening. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him... not to Franklin as we all so desperately wanted.

Your prayers are needed for all in the Chapman family. This is a family who has so generously loved and given to so many. Just hours before this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman's completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago. These words are unthinkable to type. And yet we trust in a God who was not surprised by this and because of Jesus I am certain through faith in Him we will see Maria again. - Jim Houser (Manager)

What this quote doesn't mention is that one of his sons was driving the car. That makes it incredibly harder on the family. Please pray.
* By mail, send to PO Box 150156 Nashville, TN 37215.
* In lieu of flowers, the Chapmans request any gifts be directed to Shaohannah’s Hope.

In the words of SCC:
"We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end."

edit: Thursday morning

At 9:45 I finished my last exam and left 15 minutes early to go figure out grad school stuff yet again (I am trying to sign up for two classes and one of them isn't showing up...anyhow). At noon I turned in my journal paper. So that means... I am finished undergraduate schooling forever!! And now I am going to go play soccer with Andrew and Chris. Then gym with Michelle one last time before she leaves me. Tonight I am going to dinner with my small group and then Michelle and I are going to watch movies tonight (I'll probably crash since I only had two hours of sleep). Tomorrow I am going to go bike riding with the Howards to get ice cream and then graduation!!! la la la. Who ever thought I would graduate college, God is great. Through my weakness He is strong. :D Weeeeeeeeeeee!

I'm just going to just write down here because it is along the same line of thought. Soccer yesterday day was amazing. I love playing soccer and it rained yesterday for a while during the time we were playing and that made it all the more better. Plus, it was only me and 7 of my favorite guys on campus playing, so that was even better. And I can still play soccer, which is sweet!! So that was great. Then I went on a trip to Michelle's house (in Odenton) to pick up her honor cords that she forgot (no, I didn't buy honor cords because I didn't feel like paying the money for them). Then we took showers and headed to DC for dinner! *green turtle doot doot* Dinner was really good and laughing with all the girls was a blast. Then we headed back to Michelle's house to watch Equilibrium. But the guys called and wanted to play signs. So they came over around 10:30 and stayed to 3 playing signs.

Signs is this new game I just learned. Each person has a sign (like mine was looking at my watch and Andrews was throwing a frisbee and Alision's was opening a book...etc). There is this invisible ball that you are trying to pass around the circle and hide from whomever is in the middle. To pass the ball you must first do your sign (to show that you received the ball) then do someone else's sign (to send the ball), that person must see you and accept the ball by doing their sign and then pass the ball along. It sounds complicated, but it is really fun. The person in the middle goes around asking people if they have the ball until they catch a glimpse of the signs and can follow them to a person and make someone mess up or have the ball for longer than three seconds. It gets pretty intense at some points.

Then I crashed on the floor and slept until 7. And then I went back to the Howard's and slept some more until now (10:50) and now I am going to get dressed to go on a bike ride with the Howard's. We are going to get ice cream. Woohoo. Tonight I am coming home to pack some stuff, get a good night sleep, wake up early to make the Howard's Swedish pancakes tomorrow, and go to graduation!!

Life at school, without school, is great fun. :D I should hang around after finals more often. Everyone but the seniors are leaving this morning though... sad sad sad. I am glad I am coming back next year to see almost everyone.

Best Friends

Anna took us on a photoshoot to Pemberton. I love these pictures. I love these people! I love being home; six days to graduation. :D

Today is national Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!!

*hint*
*hint*

I love chocolate chip cookies. I'll give rain checks and you can send them to me next semester. :D We can pretend that September 20 or October 11 is ccc day and I'll enjoy them just as much (for those of you who didn't plan ahead this year to send me cookies today - heh).

(Scott, Fred (and yes, I am always on a team with another F name making it impossible to assign things by letter - I just think it is funny that I am always with a F since there are so few F names), Allison, Me)
(Cameron, Fred, Me)

Since I haven't posted pictures of me for a while... here are two from today. This is my senior project prototype... (Dad the second one of the back of my head is for you - note the beautiful circuit board and me hooking in the voltmeter - isn't it great? :D Oh, you can also see the red bucket playing double duty by running up the stairs and back down the stairs to act as the holder). Anyhow, sorry but I can't really explain what is going on in these pictures for patten purposes. This is only the prototype, the actual system looks a lot cooler. But I thought I would post pictures (one of the guys is taking the photos - so he isn't in the pictures) of the best team that I have ever had (the best team comes with drawbacks though, they work too hard and we spend too much time in meetings - heh). But if that is what I have to give up to not have to write the entire report (like I have in previous semesters), it is a small price to pay. Anyhow... here is what I have been working on for 16 weeks. It is pretty exciting! The final report is single spaced and 120 pages and the final presentation is tomorrow. I get to wear a suit!! :)

I turned in homework yesterday and that 120 page final project report. I took one final exam today and turned in a presentation for that class and a homework set. I have my final presentation for my senior project tomorrow. And then all I will have left are:

* Mechanics Final (Saturday --> requested to be moved to Tuesday at 2pm and granted. YES!!)

* Reliability Final (Wednesday 8am)

*Reliability Journal Paper (Wednesday 5pm)

* Graduation Main Commencement (Thursday night May 22)

* Graduation School Commencement (Friday noon May 23) and I am so glad I refused to speak at graduation. That would be too much pressure.

Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
“Lord, why was I a guest?

“Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there’s room,
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?”

I've had those words stuck in my head for the past two days so I thought I would post them here. In other news, I finally got my admission to the graduate school moved from Fall 2008 to Summer 2008. YES!! That means I can take two classes this summer and only have six more to graduation!! I love jumping through all the hoops and filling out all the paperwork to get what I need done. Also for more exciting news, I just bought Jared his birthday present (see below picture). Aren't they nice? I like them. And I am coming home this weekend!! I requested that my Saturday exam be postponed (I have never done that before), but I wanted to be home this weekend. So, I am taking a make-up exam on Tuesday instead. It will be a lot of work on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I will have Saturday free now! Woohoo.

Oh the deep deep love

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbid to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love,
Amazing grace

My Dad, Mom, Sarah, Hope, and Jared all came up today and went to church with me and brought me strawberries!! YAY! I made swedish pancakes, peaches, fried apples, and sausages for breakfast (I made them for my small group on Wednesday and I had leftover material). Double YAY! It was so great to see my family and go to church with people I know. Thanks! I really appreciate you driving all the way up here to spend the day with me. :D You have started my week off well.

And Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

I love you so much.

12 days

My life as a Dilbert comic strip... I laughed outloud at this today. Maybe because this is what I am doing for my final reports. They ask us to quote so many cost figures on everything under the sun and how much you think the user is going to have to pay over the entire lifetime of the machine... and on and on and on. So yeah. A lot of it is guessing and using some formulas that sort of make it look more official. It still takes a long time.


This is the comic (thanks to Jared) that started me reading (and enjoying) Dilbert. heh.

C.J. Mahaney is awesome!! He is coming out with a new book soon that is called Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. It comes out in September. But he is previewing parts of the book on his blog right now. This is the 2nd of seven parts (he only has five of them up so far). I think this book sounds like it would be good for many small groups and young women. His latest section (section five) is about the father's responsibility to the daughters. Take your Dad shopping; it is fun. :) Anyhow, I really like this post. He gets to the heart of the matter. I think the American church is afraid to do that a lot of the time. We seem to treat the symptoms but not the cause. And a lot of us don't think because we don't struggle with the same thing guys do. That is dumb. God says to encourage both your brothers and sisters to Godliness. Anyhow, I like the way CJ puts this.

"Any biblical discussion of modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline. We must start with the attitude of the modest woman.

This emphasis on the heart is front and center in 1 Timothy 2:9. Note the phrase “with modesty and self-control.” All respectable apparel is the result of a godly heart, where modesty and self-control originate. Your wardrobe is a public statement of your personal and private motivation. And if you profess godliness, you should be concerned with cultivating these twin virtues, modesty and self-control.

Modesty means propriety. It means avoiding clothes and adornment that are extravagant or sexually enticing. Modesty is humility expressed in dress. It’s a desire to serve others, particularly men, by not promoting or provoking sensuality.

Immodesty, then, is much more than wearing a short skirt or low-cut top; it’s the act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It’s pride, on display by what you wear.

Self-control is, in a word, restraint. Restraint for the purpose of purity; restraint for the purpose of exalting God and not ourselves. Together, these attitudes of modesty and self-control should be the hallmark of the godly woman’s dress.

In Paul and Timothy’s day, modesty and self-control were foreign to many women walking through the local marketplace, just as they were to Jenni and are to the majority of women at the local shopping mall today. And these concepts are certainly foreign to modern fashion designers, whose goal in clothing design is sensual provocation.

But for godly women, modesty and self-control are to be distinctly present in the heart. The question is, are they distinctly present in yours?

Such an attitude will make all the difference in a woman’s dress, as pastor John MacArthur has observed:

How does a woman discern the sometimes fine line between proper dress and dressing to be the center of attention? The answer starts in the intent of the heart. A woman should examine her motives and goals for the way she dresses. Is her intent to show the grace and beauty of womanhood?.... Is it to reveal a humble heart devoted to worshiping God? Or is it to call attention to herself, and flaunt her…beauty? Or worse, to attempt to allure men sexually? A woman who focuses on worshiping God will consider carefully how she is dressed, because her heart will dictate her wardrobe and appearance.*

Any conversation about modesty “starts in the intent of the heart.” So consider for a moment, what is the intent of your heart in purchasing clothes to wear? Does a humble heart and a servant’s heart dictate your wardrobe and appearance? Is your shopping informed and governed by modesty and restraint? Or is your dress motivated by a desire for attention and approval from others? Does your style reflect a lack of self-control?

There’s an inseparable link between your heart and your clothes. Your clothes say something about your attitude. If they don’t express a heart that is humble, that desires to please God, that longs to serve others, that’s modest, that exercises self-control, then change must begin in the heart.

For modesty is humility expressed in dress."

edit1: blue (May 6)

There isn't too much interesting stuff happening to talk about. Here is my list of things to do before the semester is finished (oh and I graduate...):

This week:
* I-Beam Built and tested (this Friday, May 2 - finished)
* 8 homework problems for Mechanics (Monday, May 5)
* Senior Class Homework - 3 pages essay on modeling methods (Tuesday, May 6)
* Senior Final Project Report Draft - we are up to 130 pages so far (single spaced) ... (Wednesday, May 7)
* At least a four page essay on Reliability and Absolute limits on parts (Wednesday, May 7)
* Build prototype of turbine (Wednesday, May 7)
* Programming code homework - I have never programmed before this homework is impossible, so far it is 150 lines of code... and I'm like half finished (Thursday, May 8)
* Final Senior Report Due (Friday, May 9)
* Beam Report - already written - 14 pages single spaced (May 9)


Next week:
* 4 homework problems (Monday, May 12)
* Reliability 4 homework problems (Monday, May 12)
* Grad Class Final (Tuesday, May 13)
* Final Presentation Due and Given in Senior Project (Wednesday, May 14)
* Mechanics Final (Saturday, May 17)

The next week after that:
* Grad Class presentation due (Monday, May 19)
* Reliability (grad class) Final (Wednesday, May 21)
* Reliability Journal Paper Due - so far this is 11 pages, single spaced, 10 font....yeah, bleh...(Wednesday, May 21)

*GRADUATION!!!

(Friday, May 23)

Gray text is stuff I have already finished and have marked off my list. The beam project is for my mechanics of materials class - we had to build and I-beam that held 1000 pounds and broke right afterwards. The team that had a beam that reached 1000 lbs and then broke the closest to it won. Out of 120 students, our beam broke the closest at 1069 lbs. It is funny to me since we didn't do any work on the beam at all. My beam partner and I are both seniors and have too much other work to do so we just built the thing because we didn't have time to do any real calculations. I mean, we did a few, but once we got a number that looked good we went with that and didn't try any other designs. So that was pretty nice. ha.

Today, I have spent almost the entire day programming in the wonderful language of Matlab (which really isn't a language... I don't know what you would call it). I am trying to get this wave to propagate over a board so that it can search for the quickest way to route a board with the least amount of wire and the most efficient way. It is SOOO frustrating because I know what I want it to do, but it doesn't do what I want it to do. It is sort of like my flesh. I am sure there is some lesson in this... like stick with battling against the flesh even when it is hard and you are discouraged.

Stef also called me today, which was awesome. I miss my good friend Stef so much some days. Almost as much as I miss my family. Life just isn't as much fun without them around. I am always so happy to hear from her and all about her new life. For some reason I have taken like no pictures with Stef. I guess since we are always on the move when we are together and don't have time for that kind of nonsense. heh. I'd post a picture of her and me, but I can't find any. Anyhow, I thank God for Stephanie Hornor and her friendship. It is a blessing and a great encouragement.

I got to see Derek Webb in concert last night with Sandra McCraken (his wife - my favorite song by her was Goodbye George) at this fun little coffee house right near Tysons Corner Virginia (Vienna I think). Anyhow, I liked Derek Webbs music before I went, but after seeing him in concert I like him even more. He and his wife both sang some of their solo stuff (with one of them playing in the background - they both played guitar and would harmonize with each other - it was really neat - if I could sing I think it would be awesome to write and play music with my husband). They were just so adorable together. It was so cute to watch. And then they sang songs together from their new ep called Ampersand (how cool is that?!?). I love the word Ampersand. Ampersand & ampersand. :D Anyhow, it was a really nice study break just to go down there with some of my friends for his show. He is really entertaining in concert.

And this is one of my favorite songs that we sing at RUF... I found them singing it on youtube. They sound better in concert.

Download the new Coldplay song for FREE tomorrow!!

Thanks Coldplay!

And a free show... details to come...

I love these people!!

These are my favorite six people in the entire world (and a random uncle in the first picture)!! I can't wait to come home and spend some of my summer with them! I miss them all so much. Aren't they beautiful?!? I love them each so much. I have the perfect family; I love being a Harr. It is a great life. Thank God for a family that loves me and cares for me and makes me laugh so often. What fun. I love you all!! I was sitting around thinking about how wonderful you are and how much I miss having you all around last night. It made me very sad. So I just thought I would take the time to tell you all how much I love each and every one of you. :D You are my favorite people in the entire world and I thank God for you all.

Things I LOVE about Spring:
* The smell of fresh cut grass
* Mud between my toes
* Flip Flops
* Dresses and Skirts
* Jumping in puddles
* Flowers in all colors
* Playing outside
* Open windows
* The smell and feel of warm rain

Praise God for changing seasons. Spring is always something to look forward to. I love spring. If I didn't have school it would be my favorite season. I think once school is out spring is going to trump summer and become my favorite season. :D So I guess this is summer's last year as number one. heh.

Blogger just ate my post.

Blah.

Went off to school and learned to serve the state
Followed the rules and drank his vodka straight
The only way to live was drown the hate
A Russian life was very sad
And such was life in Leningrad
-Billy Joel

I woke up at five, drove over 100 miles, waited in line for over an hour, and then found out that the FE was cancelled and postponed to a "later secret date". We will be informed by letter when that date is. So I guess I just sit around and wait for it and keep studying. That has to be one of the most maddening mornings I have experienced in a long time... They could at least offer to pay for gas money seeing as it is so expensive (I paid $3.39/gallon yesterday - or $63.97 to fill my whole car). It was a circus. We had to go to the bathroom before the exam because they said they wouldn't allow us to use the restroom during the exam (WHAT?). We weren't allowed to take anything into the bathroom and there could only be one of us in the bathroom at a time. There was only one toilet. It is held at this national guard armory which is made of stone and looks like a big fortress/prison building. I imagine life in the USSR to be somewhat of what I experienced today at this place. It was deary, dull, and people kept yelling at me to do certain things or to not do other things. We all stood in line quietly with our yellow permission slips of paper, our government issued photo ID, and hard candy (if anyone had food that would take it away from you). They were also making people take off their hooded sweatshirts and checking all calculators to make sure that they all conformed to the standards. Yeah, I'm surprised they were frisking us too. I never got up to the check in desk though, so they might have been. At least I know how to get up there now... I have such fun to look forward to at this later secret date...

Story: I got to this stone armory building and walked to stand in line around 6:45am. After waiting in line forever (excluding a bathroom break from hell - we basically had to stand next to the wall and put all our testing materials down on the ground and file one at a time into the restroom while people were yelling at us), we started getting worried because it was 7:45 and we were supposed to be seated by then. Finally around 7:50 a man sticks his head out the door and says, hold on, we are going to let you in in a minute. Then around 7:55 they let everyone in. They didn't ask for our IDs or check our permission sheets. So we all filed into the main testing room and they yelled at us not to touch anything. Once we were all in this old man gets up to the microphone and says, "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news, you have more time to study. The bad news, you will have to come back to take the exam." You can bet that wasn't met with the warmest welcome ever. ha. I mean, who announces a cancelled exam like that. We have had plenty of time to study! We don't want anymore time to study. That isn't good news to any of us. He then went on to say that they would contact us with a new exam day sometime... This exam is given national only twice a year. So to reschedule is going to be a big deal. I can't imagine having to take it again for at least a month. My best bet is sometime this summer. Woohoo! More studying. It is a good thing I don't really have any summer plans yet.

I guess I'll go start my four projects now or my three sets of homework due next week...

Thanks for your prayers! heh.