Spring Break is SO Unpredictable..

I almost bought a car today! That's so crazy and spontaneous of me. I guess it would've been even more spontatneous if I did buy it...

My parents have been very worried about my car because of the trouble it has been giving me lately.. It has about 133,000 miles on it.. it's getting up there. So, we went to the dealership and found this awesome Ford Fusion. Yeah- me, a Ford Fusion? Who knew I would like it so much? But, we ended up not going with it. I figured $328 a month was quite a lot on my college job pay. We ended up deciding that I should save until the end of the year, when I am only a year away from graduation to purchase a car. Oh, and if you are interested in a nice, affordable car.. I'd say look at the Fusion. They drive wonderfully!! :)

Other than that randomness, my parents and I have just been enjoying the time together. My dad got home last night, and so we have a little bit of time before he goes back. Tomorrow, my dad and I are going to all the missions around SA and flying kites. I'm excited!! :) Pictures for sure.

I haven't done any school work. Maybe I should do that so I don't make a fool of myself on Monday night... I give my presentation over Flannery O'Connor that night!! Crazy. This semester is flying by...

Airports

Oh man, today was quite the eventful day.
To spare you the lengthliness of my story, I'll give you the summarized version:
- Wake up
-Doctor's office w/ Aunt and Cousins
-Drive to Airport
-Dad calls, flight delayed for an hour due to storms all over TX.
-Go home
-Go to Airport
-Stand in long lines to receive our military pass
-Mean people work at the airport
-Dad calls- flight cancelled
-WHAT??!
-Dad calls again, rents a car with another soldier
-After waiting for about 5 hours, I was finally able to pick up my dad!!

Today seemed like it would never end. I think it was definitely a lesson on patience. But he's here, and he's asleep! Our family feels complete with him.

Tomorrow will bring many joyful moments and I am so excited!!! :)

"I'll do it later...."

I have a really bad habit of procrastinating. I blame it on college, but I think I've had it since before college. I've been given a list of chores to do (and it's not even that big of a list- vacuuming is not that hard), and yet I still haven't done it since I woke up at 7. (I know, 7 am is quite early for a Spring Break- I think my mom is trying to convince herself that her daughter is a morning person) Hopefully, after I finish posting this, I will vacuum, because we all know that the sole purpose of this post is procrastination. :)

My dad called today and told me that he should be getting in around noon tomorrow. I'm excited! It seems as if the day keeps dragging on!

I haven't done much else today. I really should clean. :( Hopefully once this summer arrives, I won't have too much cleaning to do... it's going to be my last summer living at home. That's kind of strange to think about! I'm excited about it, too, though. :)

"Bluebird Blogs"... Simply Amazing.

Well, I can definitely say a huge thanks to Susie, designer at Bluebird Blogs! She is so nice and wonderful at what she does! :) My blog design won't be up for a couple of days, but I can assure you that I love it a whole lot! :) If you ever want to have your blog designed, go straight to Bluebird Blogs!

:) Spring Break

Sometimes I forget why I have this blog at all- to keep in touch with friends, to remember random events in my life, and of course, for fun.

I always associate my Spring Break with my first steps of becoming a Christian. This week, 6 years ago, I was seeking anything I could find that would tell me more about God. It's pretty cool. :) I finally became a Christian a few weeks after that. It's always fun to think about.

Aside from that Spring Break, I think that this Spring Break is probably going to be one of the best for me. My dad is coming home for his 2 week leave, and I plan on enjoying every second of my time with home. We only have 1 more day!

He says he already has a list of meals he wants us to make, and that includes some that I have learned after having my own oven! :) I'm pretty excited about that.

Other than that, my mom and I have just been busy preparing the little things for him. We're making sure that his plants look good, and of course, his truck.

I'm also trying to get some homework done. I have a presentation to give on Flannery O'Connor the Monday night I get back. I'm not excited about that at all! :( It's okay though, I'm pretty good at working under pressure.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Spring Break!!

Nonsensical randomness...

I apologize if my posts have made no sense at all lately... including this one.

I am pretty much finished with school work right now. I only have one thing left, and it's a multicultural breakfast on Friday. Our country is Germany, which is pretty fun!

Jenn (roommate) and I have been going to the Daily Grind the past couple nights because or our new love for Tazo Chai Frozen Milk Tea (is that what it's called?). I am not a huge fan of buying tea, but oh man... I recommend this one! Plus, the coffee shop is just a ton of fun. I have known this guy that works there since my freshman year. His name is Leonard, although he sometimes calls himself "Dr. Love" for his matchmaking skills. Well, he served in Vietnam and is just a cool guy. Anyways, he pretty much gave us the best compliment I've ever heard the other night. We were on the topic of singleness (come on now, he is Dr. Love), and he told us, "There's no way you girls will be single for the rest of your lives- you're too pretty." For some reason, I just needed to hear that. Sometimes it's pretty believable that I became a nun in my sleep or something!

Oh and I have a small prayer request for myself. Lately I have been tossing things back and forth in my head that I'd really rather not toss back and forth in my head (sorry for that redundancy). It's nothing bad, I just really don't want to be thinking about these things. I feel like they're annoying, and they serve no use to me.

2 days- Spring Break! Dad's Leave-5 days!

I am so excited about this break. I don't think it has really hit me yet that I'm going to see my dad soon! :) I think it's just been different because I'm not living in SA, and so I feel like I'm the one gone sometimes. I'm just excited about seeing him though. I can't wait until the day he finally returns and we can all be a family together (well, in Texas atleast) amd life will go back to somewhat normal. That will be nice.

So, yeah. School has been going good. I'm regularly busy, that sometimes when I find myself actually sitting down and doing something that wasn't planned, I freak out a little. I am learning to cherish my sleep.

I took a test this morning that was pretty easy, and now I'm going to transcribe a poem into the phonetic alphabet. Plus babysitting, plus reading for Linguistics...

Overwhelmed? I hope not. Maybe I'm becoming numb to it all.

Oh Spring Break :)

Give Me a Break!

No, I don't mean that in a negative way ;) Latel, I haven't been spending my Saturday's in any other way but studying, but I gave myself a huge break yesterday and joined our college group for our "mystery road trip". I'm horrible at figuring out surprises... I knew that we would go to a ropes course- and that's just what we did! We all drove up to Georgetown and really bonded as a group, which is good because I can feel our comunity getting closer. Everyone in our group is really gettng to know eachother, and it's nice to have. It seems like it's so much harder to find in college when everyone is kind of "on their own road". I hope that I continue to have a good community once I graduate :)

Well, a couple years ago when I worked at Camp Buckner, I got certified for ropes course. I hope you can imagine me climbing up 30-40 ft. poles and setting up ropes course sets, tying knots, attaching harness', all of that. Well, whenever I worked at CB, I was absolutely terrified of the "Pamper Pole". I did it once, and that was it. I didn't want anymore of it. It was fun to brag about, but it was my least favorite. You had to climb to the tope of a pole, stand up on it and jump off. That's one of the hardest things to do because you are pretty much focusing on jumping/falling. On every other one, you are trying to avoid that.

Well, guess which set we did yesterday with our group? Yep. The Pamper Pole. My biggest fear. But I did it. I stayed on top of that pole deciding what I wanted to do for a good, long while. Everyone was saying encouraging words, and finally, I jumped off. The best part is when you're coming down- it's just something about the adrenaline, but I still can't believe that I was that scared. Golly :) Oh, and all of the girls did it, too. 2 of our guys didn't. Just goes to show.... haha just kidding!

Guatemala!

So some of the best news ever happened today! :) If you didn't know, my parents have kind of been against the idea of me going on missions out of the country. This has been a big deal to me ever since I entered college because there are so many opportunities available to me. I never felt called to any specific country, but the idea was always in the back of my mind. Well, this year, at UMHB's annual Missions Emphasis Week, two missionaries came that had done 10 years on the mission field in Guatemala, and they still go back. It was a cute little couple, probably in their fifties, and I loved them. Well, they spoke in Spanish the whole time because they were presenting in my Spanish class. Before they came, I was expecting to be bored out of my mind because despite my 7 years of some form of Spanish class, I still don't know that much. I understood everything they said. I even talked back. This made me so happy. My heart broke for the Guatemalan community because they live a very poor lifestyle, and their water system is full of bacteria. They are in constant need of donations for things that we so often take for granted- clothes, purified water systems, food, education, even a church to fellowship and worship in.

Ever since that class, Guatemala had been on my mind, and slowly began growing on my heart. I had mentioned it to my mom in small talk, just trying to gain her insight on it sometime last semester. She had said that I could go if my dad approved. Well, it took me forever to work up the courage to ask my dad, and I finally did today. I was going to wait until he came home to ask him, but I felt the time was today on his phone call. I had mentioned a shirt that I had bought in support of the Omega Kids mission team from Baylor that is going to Guatemala this Spring Break. I told him what it was raising money for and what there trip was about. He said he thought it was a great idea and then I mentioned that I wanted to go next year. He said "You should! It sounds neat, and it's your last Spring Break."

I was speechless.

I couldn't believe that he had just said what I never thought he would say. Ever since we hung up the phone, I can't stop thinking about it. I don't know if I will be going through Omega Kids, but I'm pretty sure I will. If not, I am thinking of going through Buckner, who also owns the camp I worked at 2 summers ago. This is SUCH exciting news! :) I will continue to update you with news on a future trip that I am so excited about!

Isaiah 61
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.

5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

6 And you will be called priests of the LORD,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 "For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them
and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed."

10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.

Some thoughts just running through my head...

At my small group tonight that I meet with each week, I couldn't sort my thoughts. I haven't been able to sort my thoughts. I'm one of those people that wants answers to questions- clear, distinct answers. I am not getting those answers right now. For some reason tonight, after reading a portion of the sermon on the mount with our group, I felt the need to just be still. I realized that I go throughout my day as a pretty cheerful person (lately). I have been making it a point to try to encourage those around me. I have been going out of my way to meet with people and enjoy time with friends. I have been doing all of these things, and while they may be good, they are not when I haven't found the time to just be still. As I walked back to my apartment tonight, I looked up at the stars and the moon, and everything in me wanted to be somewhere else. My life is not bad at all- I am very blessed. But when I forget about being still, and meeting with Him like I do with my friends, with study groups, with text books... it dawns on me all at once that I am not investing enough of my time in Him. I go throughout my day trying to please Him, talking about Him, thinking of Him... these are all good things. But what about spending just as much time meeting with Him?

Tonight Shawn passed out a list of questions that she found online, and I think they are very important to ask:
1. Am I investing in myself?
2. Am I genuinely interested in others?
3. Am I doing what I love doing and loving what I do?
4. Am I staying in my strength zone?
5. Am I investing my time with the right people?
6. Am I taking others to a higher level? (mission)
7. Am I taking care of today?
8. Am I taking time to think?
9. Am I developing leaders?
10. Am I pleasing God?

None of these things are possible if I'm not on the same page as my awesome Father in Heaven. If I try to accomplish these things... I fail. I feel miserable. Because during the midst of me not spending as much time with Him as I should, I begin to try to do the other things without Him. I begin to live in a way that suggests I don't need Him.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:2 (the first beatitude)

So I want to seek His face. I want Him to be my fuel. If He's not, then what I am doing is all in vain.

I never really write a whole lot about this, and I'm sorry to be so transparent, but I want to begin writing things on here that could be of encouragement to you. I want to call them "devotionals", but I don't know if this post would be considered that or not. I hope that this was encouraging to you- maybe you could recognize some of the same characteristics and need for change in your life. I pray that in any way, my words will spur you to chase after our King.

Car... again?!

Okay, so without going into too much detail (simply because I don't really want to dwell on this as much as I can), my car is having problems again. I'm taking it to the mechanic today, and I'm beginning to wonder if these series of problems is actually a hint that my car is about to die. I don't know, and I can't think like that- right? If you read this, please pray about this. I don't know how much money I can spend on this, especially since I have to take summer school.

Adventures in Townsend Memorial Library (and other UMHB spots)

So today Lauren and I did our usual weekend activity and went to the library to work on school work. No, I'm not joking, this has actually become a routine for us. Luckily, to keep our sanity, we shook it up a little and decided to document our adventures by photograph. So, while we don't normally do our homework while roaming all around the library, we figured it'd make for a good blog post! :)Today I kissed Orlando Bloom because he likes to read... :)

Lauren is trapped!

I've got school spirit, yes I do, I've got school spirit, how about you?!

There are so many things to do in a library... Lauren takes lessons in fencing :)


I "remember the Alamo" with a smile :)

Lauren learns survivor skills... just in case.

She is sooo excited about reading!

It's quicksand! Wait... quickbook?!


Way cool picture- good photography skills, Lauren!

I'm sure this girl is just as excited about reading, too...

I am excited!

This has been a wonderful week :)

God has just been reminding me exactly why I'm even in the education field. Let me share with you... About a week or so ago I was having huge doubts about my major. Nothing seemed to be going right, and of course there were some battles in my head. You know, the "You'll never be good at it" kind of thoughts. I even considered changing my major... to communications! My basis for this decision was only because I would save money and graduate a semester early. (I know, but I was on the extreme of 'I hate school right now!') I don't know if it's wrong to have these thoughts sometimes, like when you're up really ate and you just want to be in bed... but I'm pretty positive it's wrong when it's all you think for about 2 days straight. School had gotten that hard. I was mainly doubting because I was not even enjoying my Literature class- the one class any English major should enjoy. I wasn't thinking of the fact that I wasn't putting nearly as much effort into this class as I could have. So that was last week. It was not fun at all. Well... this week, it's as if God was like, "Krista, what have I called you to do?!" Well, let me tell you what I know. I know that God has called me to work with children, big or small. I know that God has called me to do this in different settings. I also know that I have a huge imagination and I often get far too much ahead of myself.. with thoughts of, "I can go to seminary and be a children's minister, I can go work as a camp director, I can teach, I can teach and go to seminary...." My brain seems to think at a speed that is not healthy, because with these thoughts come a desire for it to happen right now. So I forget the present and it's dire effect on the future. Well, this week... God has been confirming to me that I am in the right major. On a test that I was hoping to make a B in, I earned a 91. In a class where I wasn't understanding anything, everything began making sense. In classes that used to bore me, God has used to ignite a fire of passion for what I am learning. God has reminded me that teaching in itself is it's own mission field, and has endless possibilities. I have even compared public schools to communist countries... and something about not being allowed to tell children about Jesus makes it even more exciting to me that I will (and I will) find ways to. I am going to purposely choose books that will remind children of Jesus and get my foot in the door. I am so excited about the future, but for the first time in a long time, I am excited also about the present. I am learning valuable techniques and life lessons. I am learning the importance of a career that I often forget. I am excited!

91!

If you've talked to me recently, you know that one of my hardest, yet most enjoyable class has been Linguistics. Last week we took our first test and I was having so much anxiety about the test. Well, I went in and I was conifident that I passed it with atleast a C, hopefully a B. Well ,if you've guessed from the title of the post, I was totally surprised that I made the second highest grade in the class- a 91! I was so excited that I knew I had to blog about it. It's so easy to forget that studying pays off when it seems as if you do it all the time. :) So, moral of the story: study!! :)

Attention!

Attention all non-blogger friends!!

+ 10 Points to Rachel for finally jumping onto the Blogger Bandwagon! I highly recommend you follow her lead, and get on! :) If you don't have one... you're missing out. Plus, I'd put you on my link list! :)

Oh, and by the way.. what are we going to do in a year when we are almost all graduated?? I know, crazy thought to think about... I know we will still call each other, but trust me- blogger is a great way to keep up with the little things.

Oh, and Lauren B., I'm gonna have to see pictures of kids somehow!! :) (You know I'm kidding!)

A love for music and reading...

+ = WONDERFUL! :)


Can you guess which music I am listening to as I read?

Well, if you didn't guess Pride and Prejudice Soundtrack by Dario Marianelli, then you have not been keeping up. ;)

I have a pretty big test tomorrow night, and so I'm re-reading some of our short stories in American Literature. I think I have come to the conclusion that Theodore Dreiser writes very eloquently. It's as if the words are jumping off the page and taking the shape that they would be if it were all real. It's like dreaming while awake. :)

Or maybe the P&P Soundtrack just has the effect on me.... Either way, I am very much enjoying myself right now! :)

Weekends are one of my favorite things..

After a long, somewhat tough, week... I am enjoying the weekend. While I do have to study, I'm also finding time for myself to have some fun. I have a pretty big test on Monday in American Literature, but it's okay :)

Yesterday, Lauren B. and I went to a bunch of little shops and tried on cute little clothes.

I'm also very excited about an upcoming blog design by Susie at Bluebird Blogs. :) It should be done soon!! :)I've yet to decide on a color scheme from the many I am thinking of...

Okay, well it's time to enjoy lunch with a good friend and hen get some serious studying done! :)

Weekends are amazing!

This week was like finals week, only it felt a little worse than that. I had 3 tests in a row! :) I don't even think my finals are like that this semester. Anyways, I made it out, and now I plan on enjoying my weekend! :) MLC has a retreat tonight, which I'm excited about! We'll play games, act out osme skits, read the Word, worship, and eat some breakfast that all the boys are making. That should be interesting! haha ;)

So, I hope everyone else has a wonderful weekend! :)

Prayer of St. Francis

I pretty much love this:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Miss Quinn! :)

So I have started going to my "adopted mom's" 5th grade English classroom every Friday. It has been very insightful. :) Last week when I went, most of the kids just kind of stared at me and didn't really want to talk, with the exception of those sweet girls that smile and say, "You're pretty!" (now THAT makes my day). Well, today, when I walked in, all I head was "Miss Quinn" from a number of students. It sounded so great :) I never knew how affirming it would sound to me, but it was just like music to my ears. I had to stop and actually think, "I am going to be 'Miss Quinn' to SO many students in a couple years. That's crazy!

I'm really enjoying my classes. They have already proven to be challenging, but I'm enjoying the informaton that I am learning from them. It's just kind of neat to read for my homework, and then discuss it in class. Many students here always say, "Better you than me", but I really am enjoying it. Granted, I do have my days where I just feel overwhelmed, but those experiences are teaching me how to manage my time better. My hardest class yet has been General Linguistics. There are a lot of technical terms that I have to remember, but I can't say that it's not interesting. :)

Anyways, I'm going to read, drink tea, and listen to my Pride and Prejudice soundtrack. I am such a girl :)