Life Update...

Wow. Where to begin. I feel like more has happened in the past two months then almost all of last year....!

--Turned in all of my grad paperwork to Fresno State and am planning to start my master's in Marriage and Family Therapy this fall. No idea what it will all look like yet because I'm still planning on working full time and going to school part time for now. So I took the first step and got all of my paperwork in. And so begins the start of a new chapter in my life...

--A lot has been going on at work, as many of you have read in the Fresno Bee about the layoffs and salary reductions affecting various people at the university. It hasn't been easy for anyone. I've been trying to keep perspective and focus more on my job of working alongside and coming alongside students rather then dabbling in all the politics... As staff reductions have taken place, there is still the same amount of work to be done but now with less people. This has made everyone have more work and in some cases some have been given two jobs to cover. Needless to say, things can be stressful at times.

--My grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer again after being free from it for over 10 years. "It doesn't look too good honey" are the words that continually ring in my head. She had a double mastectomy on Monday and received her test results on Tuesday showing that even after the surgery, the cancer was still present in her body and had spread. There are no adequate words to describe the deep sadness that has been in my heart since hearing the news. It's hard. Very hard at times.

Many of you know I am incredibly close to both my grandma and grandpa. I often think of the time I spend with them like a mini retreat as I glean wisdom from them and am continually encouraged by them in all I do. They have been my rock through a lot of life's pain.

I think those are the three main things that have taken up most, if not all, of my mental and emotional energy as of lately.

Through it all I am reminded of how blessed I am to have people in my life who walk alongside me and love me deeply. And God is using each of these things to teach me more about myself and more about Him and His faithfulness to me.

Romans 5:3-5 has remained a constant in my mind "...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us..."

Hope does not disappoint us. Everything and everyone else in our life will. He, the giver of true hope, won't. Ever.

Many of you reading this have been the ones walking alongside me through all of this. And thank you will never be enough. But thank you. And unfortunately, I think there is still a lot of walking to be done on this road. But keep walking I will. Only by His grace.

Coming Soon...

A life update. Be prepared...life has been busy! For now I'll leave you with this quote...

"I can sum up everything I've learned about life in three words...it goes on."

I thought he was taking a picture...

This is just one of the many videos Lisa, Derek and I took on our trip to the east coast this past summer. Here, we are having lunch (that's a pickle I'm eating) and waiting in the airport... It's amazing the things that happen when we're bored... Good times...

Jen, who does Joaquin Phoenix remind you of...?

Don't let me down now... :) This is a funny clip (and I owe Eric the credit--I swiped it from his blog!)

Finish The Sentence...

Finish the sentence...

I don't know... what tomorrow will bring.

I talk... under my breath sometimes and yes, when I'm tired, I mumble.

I love...good dark chocolate and taking a nap on a rainy day.

My best friend... is really funny when she wakes up in the morning or from a nap. And she gives really good hugs. Oh and she has a fetish with a certain kind of shoe...

My first real kiss... made me really really nervous.

I hate it when people... don't listen or assume they know what I'm saying when I haven't finished talking.

Love is... worth it.

Marriage is... "you before me".

Somewhere, someone is thinking... how am I going to pay my bills?

I'll always... be afraid of hippos.

The last time I cried was because... of a few different things that all added up. When it rains it pours.

My cell phone... rings a lot

When I wake up in the morning... I stretch my legs and touch my toes before getting out of bed.

Before I go to sleep at night... I like to do Sukoku (or Su-do-key) as my mom calls it :)

Right now I am thinking about... how not having a gallbladder isn't fun sometimes.

Babies are... a miracle.

Yesterday I... had a lot of meetings that revolved around Starbucks or food. I'm not saying this is a bad thing...

Tonight I will... see what comes!

Tomorrow I will... work and hang out with my grandparents.

I really want... to be a radio DJ someday.

I was a jerk...

This afternoon I was driving down Kings Canyon avenue and there was a car in front of me going REALLY slow.

We're talking 5-10 mph under the speed limit kind of slow. I wasn't in a huge hurry, but I really didn't like the slow pace she was setting.

We approached a red light and I stopped behind her. I was annoyed and was trying not to think about it so I turned up my music and started singing along. The light turned green and she started to go, so naturally, I also began to accelerate.

Then she suddenly brakes and decides to just stop. She stopped and just sat there while the light was green. Needless to say after following this slow car for a while and then having her stop right in front of me, I was pretty annoyed.

So I honked. And I can't lie, I kinda sorta laid on the horn...only for like 3-4 seconds (please note this is me now trying to justify my honking...)

I could see her stare at me through her rear view mirror.

I finally had the bright idea to turn my music down and then I heard it...

The sirens from the approaching ambulance.

That's why she stopped. She wasn't being a dumb driver. She was obeying the law. I was the dumb driver.

Like I said, I was a jerk.

So to the lady that I unnecessarily honked at, if you're reading this....I'm sorry.

Please forgive me. I was a jerk.

This has been on my mind a lot lately...

"Don't doubt in the darkness what you know to be true in the light"

As I heard this quote, it resounded with truth. It's always easy to question the truth when we find our self in darkness or going through dark times. Although when life appears to be "on track" and things seem to be going well, we usually don't question the truth that we must cling to, when we're standing in the light.

As I heard this quote, it reminded me all the more how important it is to cling to the truth that God is unchanging and although situations change, and people change and relationships change and circumstances change and LIFE changes, HE doesn't change.

Ever.