I should have known better...

here we go again.

((crazy tween song by Demi Lovato. and yes, I know how dumb that makes me look)).

Family

I feel like there is always this pressure to "go out" and "be with friends" instead of just relaxing at home.  Teenagers, college kids, even young adults these days always seem to treat home as a boring place, or somewhere you don't want to be for an extended period of time.

You know what I hate?  One day, I am going to wake up and realize that I spent too much time away from home.  That my days of my entire family...Mom, Dad, big sis, me and little bro...all actually living together under one roof?  They'll be gone.  I mean they already kind of are in some ways, as I'm off at college for most of the year and Laura is in the process of trying to find a job so she can move out.

Now, all of this isn't to say that home is going to stop being home, or that family isn't going to be family.  But those little moments...watching tv together, fighting over the last Christmas cookies, wrestling for the best couch space, being able to kiss Mom and Dad goodnight as their 10:30 bed time rolls around...they're going to become fewer and farther in between as time progresses.

Moments with friends?  Incredibly important, much loved, impossible to replace; but, there'll always be room to create more.

Moments with family?  Incredibly important, much loved, impossible to replace; but, even though we don't really recognize it, a great deal harder to hold on to.

yessss

I love spreading my nerd-ness to others.

In this case, happens to be that another friend started a blog.

Moreeee ways for me to stalk those I love.

:)

Decisions, decisions...

What to do?

Sometimes I wish the answer would literally drop from the sky into my lap.

"Unto us...

...a child is born." ((happy birthday, Jesus)).

Christmas come and gone already.

They say time passes faster and faster with every year.  I now know this to be true.

Christmas always makes me reflect on my family, on the blessings in my life.  Makes me realize how lucky I am.  I honestly and truly lack nothing.  Everything I need, I have.  Everything I want...well, thats always a different story.  But, as one of my favorite artists Gavin DeGraw so wisely sings, "What you want and what you need are never the same."

For example, I wanted the 29,970 cookies I ate today.  But I certainly did not need them.

In all seriousness, though...I've got to stop wishing, wishing, wishing for the things that I just want...and focus on and give thanks for the things that I have.  God has more than provided for me for the past 20 years.  Where's my faith?  It'll all work out.

Christmas Eve

I always love the candlelight service on Christmas Eve.  The music, the candles, the crowd...just warms my heart.

Tonight, I prayed for the courage to love the Lord more than anyone else in my life. 

It'll be a tough journey, but its what I need. 

what my heart needs.

Starting Over

I made my first blog to document all my time abroad.  I gave out that blog address to lots of family and friends.  Now that I am home, I'm realizing that family members in particular are still reading my blog.  And while I absolutely love that, sometimes I just want to be that immature, emotional young adult and post some sort of entry about something stupid...but then my family starts asking questions. 

Rather than delete my old blog, I figured I'd make a new one.  I can still post to the old one occasionally, let my family see what I'm up to, but for the rest...it'll all go here.