Currently Paper Roses (Texas Dreams Trilogy #1) By Amanda Cabot see related

happy bastille day!! you know, if we were french, today would be the big fireworks day that we americans experienced 10 days ago.  hmm...

summer is already rapidly coming to a close. in exactly one month from today, i will be departing for tennessee. i'm really excited to see mountains (not to mention familiar faces of bryan students) again. i do enjoy reading for months on end (as well as my newest obsession, puzzles!), but it will be kind of nice to get back into classes, if one can enjoy school. i have a feeling that sophomore year will be quite different from freshman year in more ways than one. besides the fact that i'll be trading one sister for another to share the bryan experience with, i'll also be employed in a different position, be taking math and spanish again (after 3 years of rusting in the back of my brain), and miss seeing each member of the class of 09 in the cafeteria or in the hallways of mercer. *sigh* things change. i'm sure it will still be good.

all this to say, i'm really enjoying summer while it's here. signing out,  abuela

Currently Christmas in Connecticut By Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, J. Carrol Naish, Donald Woods, Rosina Galli see related

here we are in the middle of the summer. it's interesting at this point to look back at the month of may and the first part of june and just see where we've been and then look ahead to july and august and see where we're going. as i mentioned in a previous blog, so much has happened in such small spans of time. VBS went by in a blur--i suppose 38 four-year-olds help that along. a nice peaceful vacation to our classic indian springs state park (where we tried to break all of our classic traditions): it was strange to see my 2 younger sisters behind the wheel much of the time, this was the first time EVER where we never used the fireplace (instead we used a fire pit outside), didn't go swimming in the lake, i didn't watch my family play mini-golf, and most important of all, my oldest sister wasn't there to share the moments and capture an abundance on (digital) film. but hey, while we were there she's been over in europe having a wonderful enriching time of growth and learning experiences according to her letters so i suppose, to use an odd phrase, neither of us got the shorter end of the rope. 

random fact for those of you who have read this far: i just realized that sunday i ate asian cuisine (stir fry), monday i had italian (pizza), and tuesday, aka today, i had mexican (tacos).....hmmm....i haven't had good old american food in a while.....as you can see my mind is currently wandering so i'll be signing out,  abuela

Currently God's Handmaiden By Gilbert Morris see related

2nd Week of Summer Reflections

have you ever stopped and thought about the irony of attending birthday celebrations in the winter and then attending a funeral in the spring? this has been the most unusual first week of summer i have ever experienced. it was probably a combination of staying home while the rest of the family is still in school for another couple of weeks, burying my 96 year old grandmother, and knowing that the first of college is already behind me. it's amazing what can occur in only a week's span.

graduations (of both my older and younger sister back to back--both made or are making speeches). *sniff* i'm so proud of them. both younger sisters (yes, nezzy, you too!) have passed their drivers test and will be most likely owning their own cars or at least driving long before i ever will consider it.

at this time of life as i have observed both age extremes in recent days (grandparents to the tiniest 8 week old infant), i have come to appreciate the diversity that one encounters in people. life would be so boring if we were all 3 years old (ok, maybe not completely boring) or if we were all 75. being in the middle of the road of youth and watching my parents in the middle of the road of adulthood, it is interesting to look both ways--where you've been and where you're going. all my life i've heard adults say "as you get older, time always seems to go by faster." in the last several years i have come to discover this truth for myself. indeed, waiting for an hour doesn't really feel like a year anymore (at least not most of the time) and a school year doesn't feel like a lifetime...in fact, it doesn't even feel like a year. as time progresses and everyone around me is aging (including myself) i continue to grow more and more aware of how precious each moment of life is. we often take the little things for granted: beautiful flowers, a much-needed rainstorm, the abundance of food available at our local grocery stores, close friends and family that are always there, and the list could go on and on. looking back at old pictures at how we once were, i am amazed at the difference in some and the sameness in others. i love life and living! sometimes, i can be so ungrateful for all of these blessings and the ability to think about them, but i just wanted to take a few moments of my time to express them and your time to read this. it's a good reminder, i thought. signing out,  abuela

Currently The Dream (Singing River Series #2) By Gilbert Morris see related

The End of the Beginning :'-(

alas, it is true. freshman year is over. english research paper is forever behind me (such a good feeling). biblical foundations presentation last week went well. stage movement performance went surprisingly smoothly with very few problems. i've already seen a video clip of it and overall, it looks really good. kinda sad the class is over. it's been a good year.

it's strange to be done with classes and staying on campus for several extra days. i've been slowly packing up my belongings and the room already is starting to look bare despite my roommates' stuff strewn all over the floor b/c they are packing too. last test yesterday. 

last night was really fun. played phase 10 (a card game) w/ a bunch of girls on the hall while people kept walking over our game carrying stuff down to storage and packing up. afterwards, our stage movement instructor invited both the beginner and intermediate classes to her appartment as an end of the year party. there was a pretty good turnout and we had a good time eating and talking and eating (homemade kettle corn!). it was kind of funny; at one point we looked around the room and noticed that all but one of the girls in the room at the moment was a psychology major. go figure. i have listed in the past ways that college has changed me. well, here's another one: i let myself stay up later (sometimes). the party didn't start until 9:30. then around 11 we all went over to rudd auditorium (downstairs in brock hall) and met up with a bunch of different people to do ballroom dancing. so much fun! one guy had bought this huge stereo system from a thrift store as well as all of these records. we were dancing from 11 until about 12:30 doing everything from the waltz, the cha cha, swing dancing, tango, fox trot, etc. 
today has been pretty uneventful. graduation saturday, vespers tomorrow night. *sniff* kind of sad to say good bye to all of the seniors (my sister included). signing out,  abuela 

the tivoli was in a word (or phrase) as it's always been the 2 other times i've been there. beautiful, fun, and i noticed, approximately the dimmensions of rudd auditorium (approximately). film festival was quite enjoyable.

one, two, three o' clock, four o' clock rock....we're gonna rock around the clock tonight..............ok, not tonight, but on wednesday at 4:00 we will be in our beginning stage movement performance.  kind of excited, kind of nervous. it's been a great semester in that class. i was kind of hesitant to take it and really only took it for the credit, but looking back, i'm glad i learned what i did. now whenever i see a musical whether it be live theater or a movie, i have a bigger appreciation for people's talent. yah, i can't get that song out of my head. it's really catchy. and we have to hear it over and over during rehearsal. 

biblical foundations presentation went well. besides the above paragraph, the only other thing that i'm focusing on school-wise is this wonderful research paper for english class which i will be SO glad when it's over. sad that we're on our last week here at bryan. it's been a good year. words can not fully express all i've been able to experience. signing out,  abuela