Happy Valentines Day!

I know it's a day late but I was super busy yesterday ...

I had fun making valentine cards :)

I have the sweetest Valentine! ;)

A beautiful bouquet of flowers, pop tarts, and a giant bag of animal crackers. My Valentine knows me way too well :) He even had cupid deliver them to my room while I was in class in the morning. What a sweetie!

LOVE

xoxo

Busy week ahead of me :/ Wish me luck!

{Weekend}

The joys of this weekend include:
- Culver’s
- Playing Volleyball for 2 hours!
- Playing cards until 12:30 am
- Leg wrestling with Gail (haha)
- Sleeping in on Saturday
- Lazy Saturday morning
- Homework
- Dordt Track Meet
- Basketball Game [super exciting game]
- Pizza Hut date with Scott
- Dea-ncing with the Stars fundraiser sponsored by Dordt College
- Glee with Scotty-poo
- Cinnamon Rolls in the Coffeehouse at Church
- Pink Valentines Pancakes with the Girls for Sunday Dinner
- Homework and chilling all Sunday afternoon

You Have a Package!

Today my joy was found in a simple box. The box was not pretty or wrapped, but the contents inside were more than enough! I received a Valentine's Day care package from Grandma and Grandpa today! It brought a giant smile to my face :D I love to get things in the mail and this one was filled with goodies. I had so much fun unwrapping its contents tonight after some hard-core homework time. It was a nice break from my day to sit and indulge in some chocolate.

Thank you Grandma!!
xoxo

Sunshine

It has been so cold and depressing lately but my day today was brightened up by some much needed sunshine. Even though it is still unbearably cold the sun was a nice sight today. I could definately see God through the sun shining through the windows and the dark shadows falling on the sparkling snow. So in the midst of such a long winter, today I find joy in the sunshine.

Happy Birthday Merissa!

Today Merissa turned 20! We had a good time celebrating although I left my present for her at home :( We stayed up together until midnight to see her birthday come in and we went to HyVee and got all you can eat pancakes and french toast for supper with a big group of friends...

And got to eat cake!

It was so much fun celebrating her birthday. She also got her presents in the mail and opened them on skype with her family. It was great fun to see so much joy in her life and look back on all the joy that her life has brought me!

The Little Things

Yesterday I got back to Dordt after a long trip from home. I did not want to leave once again, but after a long trip it was nice to be back at Dordt. Scott was so happy to see me again :) and it was great to watch the superbowl with him and the guys. We ordered pizza and ate cake and cookies. It was great!

Today was an extra busy day. I have to play a little catch-up after a blessed weekend at home :) I slept through my alarm and ran out of staples putting up my bulletin board in a rush. However, my day kept getting better from there. I got all my homework done in plenty of time, and my SmartBoard lesson got pushed back from tomorrow to next week so I have a whole 'nother week to put it off :). I got to watch the Bachelor the a room FULL of girls and eat left-over goodies from the superbowl. I got to eat lunch AND supper with Scott today which is always a blessing when our schedules match up. And I took some time between classes to open up my valentines gifts from my mommy :) It was the little things today that brought me joy that took me away from what could have been a very overwhelming Monday.

Missing home already!

Human

While finishing our workout for soccer today this lady walks into the room where are stretching after she has clearly been working out herself. Coach asks her how she is and she replys, "Good! Well I'm hurting, but that just means that I am human, so I'm good."

What a statement. This was such a good reminder to me to celebrate the life that we are given. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! For I have overcome the world" John 16:33. Although we experience so much pain in this life on a daily basis we can find comfort in knowing that God has conquered this pain and that someday we can live a life without hurt or pain or trouble. So today I find joy in this pain. It lets me know that I am alive and living for a higher calling put on this Earth for a reason.