Prayer for Jenna's family

Please pray for Jenna Witherspoon's family. Jenna was a precious little girl that went to our church that has been battling brain cancer since 2004. Jenna went home to be with her Heavenly Father yesterday. Pray for her family that they will be comforted in this difficult time. If you want to know more about Jenna and her story visit her Caringbridge site at www.caringbridge.org/sc/jennawit

new year's resolutions

Just read my friend Courtney's blog & was inspired by her to make some new year's resolutions...

*To spend more time with God--in prayer and His Word. This is such a hard thing for me to do. I am not very disciplined at this and it's something I really desire. My mom recently gave me Beth Moore's study on Daniel...I'm looking forward to starting this and really want to stick with it.

*To read more. I love reading. I've got a few books I really want to read and it seems I never take the time to do so.

*Cook more. I really want to cook dinner more for me & Matt. I love it when I do cook, but so many times I am just too tired or don't feel like it. I just need to make it a habit.

*Continue to stick to Weight Watchers and work out on a daily basis. I have done very well with this up until the holidays. I need to get back in the swing of things.

graduation pics!

I am now a college graduate. It feels good. Nice to have three important letters behind my name: BSW. I'll post pictures later--I'm pretty exhausted now and not feeling too well.

blah

So, I graduate in 13 hours and all I can think about is how tired and frustrated I am. Blah.

Christmas picture

This is our Christmas picture...the cats weren't too happy about it and DJ's eyes are glowing green. haha. Oh well.

graduation

In nine days I will be graduation from Winthrop with my Bachelor's of Social Work. It has been a long journey and it's amazing to look back and see where I am now. Four and a half years ago, I never would have dreamed that I would be married and settling down in life. God has brought me through so many experiences to lead me to who I am today. I am thankful for who I am and what God has done in me and through me in the past four and a half years.

These are the girls who I have struggling through this program with...we've laughed and cried together...we are a family. I am so proud of each of them and cannot wait to see where God leads them in their social work careers.

at the Christmas tree farm

this pic is kinda blurry & it was sunny, but still...good times with good friends at the christmas tree farm.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Saturday, we went to Penland's Tree Farm in York to cut down our Christmas tree. It was a wonderful experience and we even ran into some of our favorite people there--the Schnees! Here are a few pics of our humongous tree (it's 9 1/2 feet)!

thought this was cute

happy thanksgiving!

May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize,
May your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off of your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We have a lot to be thankful for!

a thankful heart

I feel that lately I have been showered with God's blessings.

My internship has been wonderful. I've loved every minute of it and can't believe that it will be over with in a few more weeks. I am blessed to have the opportunity to continue to work with Lutheran Family Services after I graduate. This is an amazing opportunity for me to learn and grow as a social worker.

I have been blessed with amazing friends and a strong support system. Since Matt and I moved in with Paul & Kelly I havecontinued to realize what amazing people they are. We are so blessed to have them in our lives and even open their home to us. I have also been building other relationships with friends and I feel each one is a blessing to me. When Matt and I got married, my life and friendships changed dramatically. It seemed that all of my single, college friends didn't want to hang out anymore because we were married. Yet, we hadn't been married long enough to have married friends yet. It has been a year since we helped start up the young married sunday school class at church and this class has been an awesome way to meet other young couples that are experiencing the same things we are. We have truly met some great people and formed friendships.

I am also thankful for the opportunity to move to New Orleans. This has been a dream of mine for 3 1/2 years now. I am grateful that God placed a husband in my life that shares my dreams and desires for serving others.

We are having a Thanksgiving dinner tonight at our house. If everyone comes, there will be 18 people here ranging from church friends to work friends to neighbors. I am really excited about this time of fellowship.

I just feel overwhelmed with blessings right now. My life is far from perfect, but I can see God's hand moving in awesome ways and know that He is a good God. God is God and God is good.

i got a job!

So, my internship supervisor told me today that she is planning on hiring me after my internship is over in December! I'm going to be doing recruiting and licensing of foster families in the Catawba area (Lancaster, Rock Hill, & Gaffney) for Lutheran Family Services. I'm thrilled!

an old soul

The other day I was talking to my field instructor about my dreams and desires for my life. We were also talking about my internship and how things were going with that. She made the comment that I have an "old soul". This was the greatest compliment she could give me. She stated that while I am young in years, I am mature, responsible, and caring. I attribute all of this to the experiences of my life. I had different experiences growing up than most kids. For those of you who don't know, my dad is a social worker and my brother and I basically grew up at the children's home he worked at. Only a fence in our backyard seperated us from about 80 children placed at the home ranging from age 5 to 18. These kids were my life--my friends and playmates. I spent countless days playing on the playground, in the gym, and riding bikes with them. When I was young, I saw no difference between them and me. As I grew older and built stronger relationships with these children, I realized the pain and struggles that they were going through. I truly feel blessed that at a young age, I was able to realize that pain and suffering are a part of life. All of my experiences and knowledge helped fuel my passion for helping others. My heart burns to help families and children through hard times. I want to share the hope and joy that God can give them no matter what the situation. This is what excites me about my future. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me and my family. While I do take pride in being an "old soul"--I know it's only because of my Creator. He has made me who I am today.

Happy Birthday Kerry!

It's Kerry the cat's birthday. He is now three years old. What a precious cat! If you don't know, Kerry is Paul & Kelly's cat, and now kind of ours since we live with them.

the fray

I just bought tickets to see the Fray on January 22nd! Heck yes I am excited!

quick update

Thought I'd share what the past few days have been like. Matt & I began moving stuff to Kelly & Paul's on Friday and continued through yesterday. We actually still have some cleaning stuff at the apartment and some stuff to donate to Goodwill...we'll get that out tonight. I think moving is a great thing to do every few years. It makes you clean out all your stuff and evaluate what you have. I couldn't believe how much junk we had accumulated. My mom made the comment "Just remember when we brought you to college 5 years ago we could fit everything in one van and now we have to have a big U-Haul"...it's true. Granted, I did get married and accumulate some furniture during that time, but I really do have a lot of junk. Makes me wonder where my priorities really lie sometimes.

Our cats are adjusting to living at Kelly & Paul's. We sent Tigger (my 21 year old cat) to live with my parents because we didn't think he could handle living with Brogan (Kelly & Paul's dog). My parents say he is doing well. I'm glad. Peaches and DJ have been staying in our room a lot. Peaches stays under the covers and DJ stays under the bed. DJ has been wandering out some and I think he'll feel comfortable being out of our room soon.

My internship is still going well. I got to do my first home study on a foster parent by myself yesterday. That was fun--I'm sure I'll be doing hundreds more during my career as a social worker.

I'm going to walk across the street now and hang out with Jenn & the kids she's baby-sitting. I'm getting my haircut later (just trimmed I think).

this is my life...

As of late, my head has been swimming in a state of being overwhelmed. My internship is very hectic right now as we are trying to get all of our foster homes through the yearly re-licensure process. So, I am busy being a full-time social worker, trying to keep up with all my assignments for my seminar class, working at the gym, and packing up the entire apartment to put into storage for 8 months while we live with Paul & Kelly. It's a crazy week and I really don't know how I'm going to have time to pack everything and get it ready to move on Saturday. I sure will be glad when the move is over. Pray for my sanity this week. Praise God that He is in control.

ink

I got a tattoo today. I absolutely love it! I've wanted this for a long time and it's bee-uuu-tee-mous!!!

Boyfriend cuts up corpse, cooks it

Boyfriend cuts up corpse, cooks it

Have you guys heard about this?

Yes, this is the city that I love and am moving to next summer.