HSM3

Saturday night some of my girls decided to go to the 10:00 showing of High School Musical 3. I've watched the other movies with other college students, so it seemed only fitting that I go see the new one with college students...plus I didn't think my peer group would actually want to go. It was a fun little movie - upbeat music, fairly believable plotline, exciting choreography and, as would be expected, very very cheesy!

There was a display in the lobby, so I took a photo of the girls with it. From the left: Kayla, Adrienne, Nicole, Ashley, Jessica, Chad, Chad, Taylor, and Sarah. (Chad & Taylor are cardboard cutouts of actors from the movie!)

Little Rock, Arkansas

OK, if you have ever bothered to scroll to the end of my page (which you probably haven't!) you will notice that there is a feature called "FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed." This records the traffic on my site and tells me where people who read my blog are located. There are often random hits from far off lands that show up once - sometimes they are Google hits or surfers from other blogs. One location shows up on a regular basis and I am curious to know if I actually know the person or if they are just intrigued with my rather random life here in Goshen! So, if you are from Little Rock, Arkansas and look at my blog sometimes I'd love it if you would make a comment on my blog so that my curiosity can be put to rest. Anyone else who wants to comment is welcome to also...it'd be fun to know who is reading these ramblings that I put out on the Internet. No spam though please! :)

Beautiful plates!

A few weeks ago I posted an entry about how my staff went and painted plates at the Pottery Bayou in Winona Lake. I picked them up a week later and tonight we had our first dinner on them. Aren't they beautiful?!

Kelly

Jon

Jenna

Josh

Bryce

Me

Ashley

Julie

What a view!

These photos don't do the view from Crystal Mountain the justice that it deserves, but it was all that I could capture on the point & shoot camera I was using. Truly a breathtaking view in real life!

Makeover shots

Here are the before and after photos from the makeover my friend did on me at our home group retreat last weekend.

Before...

After...

Home Group retreat

At the end of the summer I suggested the idea of taking a Home Group Retreat to my group one week. I had envisioned us renting a cabin somewhere - taking all the kids and spending the weekend an hour or so from Goshen playing games, going for walks and hanging out. They loved my idea of a retreat, but took it to an entirely different level!

The weekend of October 17-19 we went to Crystal Mountain, Michigan to a resort where our group leader's parents own a condo. This was by no means a little cabin near Goshen. It was a fancy resort about 4 hours from Goshen. Another difference was that we did not take the children with us - they instead stayed with grandparents and friends while the adults took a weekend away. And the time just playing games didn't really happen either. Instead the guys went 4 wheeling, the women went shopping and we all went on the alpine sled together.

So while the trip was not exactly what I had planned, it certainly wasn't a disappointment! It was a much needed break after a week full of meetings and two days of class down at Huntington. I had good conversations with the women in my group and even got a makeover from one of the ladies! Here are some photos...

Amber curling my eyelashes during the makeover

Bonnie & Doug at the top of the Alpine Slide

Amber at the bottom of the slide

My Fabulous home group!
Back row - Kevin, Austin, Fritz, and Doug
Front row - Patty, Bonnie, me, Chrissy, and Amber

Typical ordinary days

I love to write in my blog when I have fun and exciting things happening. The slow ordinary days don't make for the most riveting reading, but alas that is most of what I have been having lately. These are not bad days by any stretch of the imagination, in fact these typical days help give the fun events and weekend excursions that much more significance in my life. Anyway, here is what a couple of my days the past few weeks have looked like...

Monday
8:00 - woke up, check email, read online news, showered, curled hair, etc
9:30 - filled out programming spreadsheets for weekend activities, sent email to students about discipline from the weekend, completed reimbursement forms, etc.
10:30 - went to Aldi and Wal Mart to pick up groceries for tonight's RA birthday party
11:15 - walked across campus to do campus errands - pick up mail, check Student Life mailbox for new postings, visit boss for signature on reimbursement form, accounting office for cash, and dropped by to chat with Deanna.
12:00 - Luncheon with Career Services director to discuss Strengths Quest
1:00 - supervision with Kelly
1:40 - read homework
2:00 - supervision with Julie
2:40 - read homework
3:00 - supervision with Jon (Jon doesn't show up)
3:30 - walk back across campus
3:35 - check/answer afternoon email
4:30 - make dinner for Julie's birthday celebration
5:30 - girl RAs show up to decorate for party
6:00 - rest of RAs arrive for dinner
7:00 - do dishes and put away leftovers
7:30 - watch old episode of Friends
8:00 - computer stuff
8:15 - Chad & Caren come over for dessert and to watch "How I Met Your Mother"
9:00 - Write memos for student files, email students, make signs
9:30 - walk floors - post signs, tear down old signs, visit with students, etc
11:00 - back in office on computer - checking facebook, reading friend's blogs, etc
12:15 - wash face, get in jammies, throw a load into the washer, watch tv while load washes, transfer load to dryer
1:15 - go to bed

Tuesday
8:00 - woke up, check email, read online news, showered, curled hair, etc
9:30 - made grocery list for evening events
9:45 - went to Aldi and Wal Mart to buy groceries for tonight's events
11:00 - unload groceries and bake brownies
12:00 - lunch with a friend
1:00 - meeting with my boss
2:00 - errands around campus - pick up mail, check Student Life mailbox for new postings, and dropped by to chat with Deanna.
2:30 - respond to email, vacuum living room, and clean off dining room table
3:30 - meet former RA for coffee - decide to go to Winona Lake to pick up pottery that current RAs painted a few weeks ago, also stop at Kercher's to pick up cider for the Java Junction
5:15 - back home - bake pumpkin swirl brownies, make topping for brownies, and bake chocolate chip cookie bars -eat some dinner too!
7:30 - Women from Kratz First come down for dessert at my place - I serve the pumpkin swirl brownies and the topped brownies
8:15 - clean up from dessert event, put meatballs into crockpot
8:30 - make a quick sweep through the female floors to visit with students
9:15 - back in apartment to bake pizza rolls and set up for Guy's movie night
10:00 - guys come down to eat snacks and watch "Iron Man"
12:00 - guys leave, I clean up after them
12:30 - check emails, facebook, etc...
1:15 - wash face, get in jammies, throw a load into the washer, watch tv while load washes, can't wait until load is done washing before heading to bed
1:45 - go to bed

Living Room

Sunday, September 28th was my last Sunday working in our church's "Living Room." The LR is the room where we serve coffee and snacks before and after church. I have been in charge of this ministry since it began 3 years ago. I did this largely on my own and have been feeling burnt out for quite a while. I finally got up the courage to resign at the end of the summer and have felt such relief!

A bit of my resignation letter... "I've come to the realization that it would be best for me to step back and take a break from the Living Room. My burnout/lack of passion is reason enough to step out of this ministry, but it's not my only reason. I want to create more time in my life to connect with the LifeSpring college students, to work with the Beck’s at walking with those who are struggling with finances, and to create space to discern what God has for me next. These are all things that I feel God is putting front and center in my heart these days and I'm excited about them!"

As you can see, I'm not stepping down so that I can be a pew warmer from now on, but to make room for new opportunities for ministry at LifeSpring and for growth in my life. I'm very excited about it all!