2007 in review

January-May- Science Olympiad (this is last year's picture, I couldn't find one from 2007!)




March 23- Spending time with the exchange students from Spain (the first and the third ones)








April- The throwing team







May12- Prom 007







May31- Graduation!!!!








June 7-22- Mission trip to Romania







July 16- Last time together before Andy left for Basics







July 20- Vacation Bible School








July 21- Finishing the basement as a surprise for my parents while they were in Canada








August 3- A friend from Romania came here for the weekend








September- Started college. Spent all day in Downtown GR








October 13- Going to the zoo








November 2- Football playoff game








December 1- Mom's surprise 50th Birthday party








December 28- My birthday

Didn't do too good...

In October, I wrote my "3/4 year's resolutions". I am sad to say that I didn't do very well on those. I did go to the zoo with Kaylyn and Libby. Then we stopped and got apple cider and caramel apples, just not at an orchard, but I'm going to count it. I didn't take a roadtrip yet, unless you count the tour of Holland the other day, but I do have plans with a friend to go down to Indiana sometime in January. Still haven't gone to Ray's...I need to talk to Zack about that... Sadly I have not been reading once chapter a day, but I have been getting more into my devotions. As for the eating and exercising...I don't think that's going to happen. I keep on buying candy and saying, oh, I'll eat healthier when this bag is gone, then I just buy more! And I still think about exercising, I just haven't done it, which reminds me, I have a new dance DVD, I should go try it right now....

Pictures

Here are some pictures from yesterday




This is the cake that Jeremy, Alyx, and I made








And this is the cake that my mom made for me. Funny thing was that both cakes were "funfetti", my favorite.






Gift time! I just opened the newest CD from Thousand Foot Krutch.








Horrible picture, but oh well. I'm very excited with the Spanish thing. I went straight up to my room to try it out. It's a full immersion Spanish course and it's easy to use and I already have learned a lot!

On this date in 1988....

...another baby entered the world. That baby was me... Melissa Jane. At the time we lived in New Mexico, as my parents were missionaries on an Indian Reservation. The day was very similar to today. Right now it is snowing like crazy. When I was born, my parents had to drive through the snow up the mountains to the hospital! But I arrived safely, at 4:14 in the morning.
This morning, I received breakfast in bed. It's a tradition we've done for as long as I can remember. We get to choose the meals for the day. So I had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I expected the Pillsbury ones, but my mom made them!!! Yummy... Then I went out with my friends Alyx and Jeremy, we went to Panera Bread. Then back to Jeremy's house where we baked a cake. We got a call that a friend was stuck in the median by BK, so we drove down there, but she was stuck pretty good, we needed a tow truck. Now I'm home, supposedly cleaning my room, but actually checking blogs. :) For supper we will have Chicken and Rice casserole and yeast rolls. Alecia is coming over after dinner, and we'll probably watch a movie (hmm....Remember the Titans?) and hang out for a while. I'll try to update later with some pictures.

Together Again!!!

This afternoon my Cell group (Bible study group) got together because Andy is home and we wanted to do something with him. The plan was to go iceskating. So Cameron and Andy met at my house and then we went to get Zack and Kevin since they live on the way. I got directions from Google maps, because the site for the arena had it posted. So off we went. Well pretty soon we got to the end of the road, and had to go either left or right along Lake Michigan. Hmm...we followed the directions to a T...but the arena was no-where to be seen, and neither was the street it was on! So we turned and thought we'd go into Holland, to find the street. Of course, no cell phone service so we couldn't call for directions. Finally we got service and Zack called his dad. (Thanks Mark!!!) So off we went again. We were way on the opposite side of town. So I trusted Zack and followed his directions. And....we made it to the arena! (Note to self: do NOT use Google map directions any more!) But we made it and we had a blast skating! Zack and I both decided that we were NOT going to fall. I was a little "scared" when we started out, but once I warmed up, I could almost keep up to Zack :) We played tag most of the time, which kept things entertaining. Kevin fell enough times to make up for all of us, who by the way, never fell!



1- Andy
2- Cameron
3- Zack







1- Cameron







1- Kevin
2- Cameron
3- Zack
4- Andy




I sat down to take some pictures (and because my feet hurt!) Then of course when they saw that I was taking pictures they came over so I would...but I did anyway :)

Christmas '07

Wow! All that preparation and just like that Christmas is over and done for another year! Crazy isn't it? But it's worth it! Think of how long they prepared for Christ's birth, thousands of years...makes what we do seem so insignificant.

We made it home from Canada safely this afternoon. I drove home from the border which was nice because it gave me something to do :) We had a very good trip. Tomorrow harsh reality is going to hit when my alarm goes off at 4:10 to get up for work!!! Oh well....

Here's a few highlights from the trip...



We spent the day Saturday downtown Toronto. We got lunch at a Thai restaurant...delicious!










3 Generations. Mom, Me, and Grandma









My cousin Bradley aka Rudolph! :) I see him only once a year, but he really hit off with me and always wanted to be by me.








Grandma and Grandpa got a cell phone!








My cousins BethAnn and Nicole relaxing after dinner.






Also...thanks for all the input on what to get for the gift exchange! I bought a handheld Deal or No Deal. The gift I received is a stovetop expresso maker. But then my uncle felt bad for me because I don't drink coffee, so he gave me a bag of candy to go along with it :) I also got the movie Remember the Titans (one of my favorites!) from my grandparents.

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope that you have a blessed Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!!

In Canada

So here I am...in Canada :) Amazing how I can still blog right? ;)
Anyway, we left on Friday afternoon and made it here Friday evening. Yesterday we spent the day walking around Toronto. We took the GO train in and walked and walked and walked. But we had a good time. I'll post some pictures when I get home. I can't use the internet on my laptop because my Grandpa doesn't have a router...but anyway.
Today we went to church, this morning was the children's program and tonight was the candle light service. I really really missed our service at Lighthouse though!!! And I'm terribly disappointed that I have to miss the candlelight service at church tomorrow night!
It's been raining all day here, but it's cold now and they say it will change to snow later on. I saw that we had some pretty nasty wind and such at home. I hope my house is still standing!!!
Anyway, I believe they're waiting for me to start a game upstairs, so I better go! Good night!

Are you a sheep?

I read this the other night for my devotions. I really liked it and I thought I'd share it with you. It's from "Soul Journey 365 Days of Spiritual Inspiration". I must admit that it's the first devotional I've actually used for the complete year. Usually I get bored or don't like the one I use so I'm constantly switching, but I bought this one at the beginning of the year and now I only have 11 more days left! Anyway....here it is....

Cast-down Sheep
Phillip Keller, in his classic book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, gives a striking picture of the care and gentleness of the shepherd. When David said, "He restores my soul," he chose language that every shepherd would understand. A sheep is built in such a way, that if it falls over on its back, it is very difficult for it to get up again. In this position, it flails its legs in the air, bleats, and cries. After a few hours on it's back gas begins to collect in its stomach, the stomcah hardens, which cuts off the air passage, and the sheep suffocates. This position is called a cast-down position. A cast-down sheep needs a loving shepherd to restore it.
To restore a cast-down sheep takes time. The first thing the shepherd does is massage its four legs to restore circulation. Then while calmly reassuring the sheep with his voice, he gently turns it over, puts his hand under the sheep's belly, lifts it up, and holds it so it can gain its equilibruim. When the shepherd feels that the sheep can stand on its own, he lets the sheep go and watches it take a few faltering steps. He has restored a cast-down sheep.
What a picture of what God does for us! When we are on our back, flailing because of guilt, grief, and grudges, our loving Shepherd reassures us with His words. With His tender hands He lifts us and carries us until we've gained spiritual equilibrium.
Jesus wants to restore your soul. Let Him remove your guilt, reliever your grief, and replace your grudges. If you've been "cast down" for any reason, He's the only one who can help you get on your feet again. he is your confidence, joy, peace, and strength.

Scripture: Psalm 23
Meditate: Psalm 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters.
Destination Points: What has caused me to be in a cast-down position? How will I trust the Shepherd to restore my soul?
Bottom line: Like a shepherd, Jesus leads us.

Bine ati venit! Welkom! Bienvenidos! Welcome!

Welcome to my house! It's cold outside, so c'mon in and warm up!









We have some cute snowmen to welcome you to our home. The big one says "come on it, it's cold outside!"











If you go up those stairs to visit me, you'd be greeted by this wooden Christmas tree. I made it for my mom a few years ago.









Then let's head back downstairs to the living room. Here you get the full extent of my family's decorating!







We display all of our Christmas cards here. After Christmas, we put all the cards in a basket, and after dinner, we choose a card and pray for that family.











This is "my" part. I bought this house for my mom last year or the year before, and it's my favorite thing to set up each year.







We are very big into the St. Nicholas Villages. Here you can see just a sampling of the houses we have set up on top of our cabinets in the kitchen.





Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of my house!
Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Santa Clause is Comin' to Town

Today was my first day of no school! Yay! Except, I do have 2 exams to study for, so I did spend a little bit of time studying today. But I slept in....boy that felt nice! Then I watched Rachel Ray, which I never get to do because I'm at school. I studied somewhere along the way. I made some more White Chocolate Chex Mix, and some chocolate filled crescent rolls. Really good....all you do is buy regular (not butter) Pillsbury crescent rolls, put some milk chocolate chips on the wide end (you can use as many as you want), roll it up like normal, but seal the ends, and then bake as directed. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while they're still warm and you've got yourself a yummy breakfast or snack! Anyway, I had to go out and buy wrapping paper so I could finish wrapping presents. I planned on doing it by myself, but when my mom got home from work, she wanted me to wrap gifts with her, so I did. I had already done hers, but I had to do Nate's, Dad's, some for friends, and the gift for our exchange in Canada. Thanks for all the suggestions you gave me...I ended up buying a handheld Deal or No Deal. It looks like fun, and it's something I wouldn't mind getting myself! :) Plus, it's worth more than $10, and I got it for less than $10 (shhh! don't tell!) It took us a while to wrap the gifts, I actually don't mind wrapping them! I took some pictures of our tree with presents under it. This isn't even everything, because mom couldn't wrap my presents with me around!!!



In the dark, the lights really stand out











It does look pretty in the light too, you can see the ornaments better













This is the house ornament that I mentioned above as my favorite