Say Hello To A New Beginning

I have officially graduated.

Yesterday was my graduation party. So many people came and everything was amazing. I am very thankful for all the cards I received and for all the people who showed up to say congratulations!

My best friend had her party today :)

CONGRATS STEPHANIE, WE DID IT!!! :D

It all seems so odd. No more school! And change is just around the corner.

I'm leaving June 3rd, heading off to a Christian camp in Wisconsin for two months. Steph is headed off to college sometime in August.
We're so old now haha :)

I can't say for sure what the future will hold, but as long as we cling to the Lord and follow in His footsteps, I'm sure everything will work itself out.

--- Caroline

When Life Throws You Lemons, Sometimes It's Hard to Make Lemonade

Sigh. Life never quite goes the way you think it will.
Especially not for me right now.

Ok, not the cheeriest first post. Sorry about that. :P
What's going on:
I'm getting "shipped off" to go work at a camp in Wisconsin this summer, starting on June 4. I had applied for a position at the camp months and months ago, and they never got back to us, so I assumed I hadn't gotten the position and was then looking forward to a summer spent with friends. Then, BAM! out of nowhere, we get a call telling me I got a position and am I still interested?
I don't want to go. I really don't want to go. But this seems to be what the Lord's picked out for me to do, so I'm going. What was really nice was I talked to my Grandma Edith recently and she told me about a time when the Lord called her to do something she really didn't want to do, and it ended up being one of the best things that happened to her. That really encouraged me. So I'm beginning to accept this, but it's still hard. Leaving for two months. Not getting to be with my friends all summer, and do the things we were planning.
So yeah.
Then a couple of days ago, on Monday, I came down with a sore throat. Real fun. Then came the stuffy nose, the aching joints and the splitting headache. Mom took me to the doctor's yesterday, and they said I either had strep throat (which I've already had once this year, in February) or I have strep throat and mono. Joy. So they gave me antibiotics and said that if I didn't improve by Friday, I would have to go in for testing for mono.
Thankfully, I seem to be doing better today. Throat doesn't hurt so much, and I'm feeling better. I slept most of yesterday and have been drinking alot, so I think that helped.
But it's hard because there's a good chance I won't be going to help out with Awana at our church tonight. I'm one of the leaders for the kindergarten girls. I love working with "my" girls! And tonight is one of the last nights of Awana, too. The doctor said if I've been on antibiotics for 24 hours and am doing better, then I should be fine, but mom's not so sure. Sigh. Maybe I'll at least get to go to youth group tonight.
So that's my life right now.
Besides me having difficulties with school :P

Somehow things will work out, I'm sure. I just gotta trust the Lord and lean on Him for strength.

Warning: A Bit of a Deeper Post...

Being a "Girlfriend"

Being a girlfriend is not just about being beautiful and attractive for your guy. It's not just about letting him chase you, letting him do sweet things every time you're mad at him and not just receiving flowers and gifts during your anniversaries. It's not about doing those girly things just to get his attention and not just about feeling mighty every time he did everything you want. It's also being an emotional partner wherein you support him in every opportunity he takes, you appreciate everything he does for you and you thank him for doing it, you remind him on the things he must do and what he must not. Just because you know that you can always keep him on his feet doesn't mean that you can manipulate him. You understand him not just as a partner, but an individual too. You help him in every way showing him, that in a relationship, there's no "I" or "you", there's only "we" and "us". You know also that a man has their ego, and even when it becomes a little irritating sometimes, you still understand that it is part of his nature. A girlfriend is just not a term, it also has responsibilities that every girl must know.

You're a friend, a sister, a second mom, a teacher, and a best friend.

I found this quote on pinterest. I thought it was really good.

Especially since we had talked about a lot of this stuff with Libby in bible study.

So this is for the men we have in our life, and the men we will have. So much media is focus on pleasing ourselves. (media, ads, and movies) I like how this quote posts the kind of stuff we, as girls need to do.

And I can't write about this and not mention the Proverbs 31 woman. That is the ultimate example of the role model to follow.

So yeah. I hope you enjoyed this!

Bucket List

Here's a bucket list of everything we need to do this summer.

Go to Maquoketa Caves
Go Garage Saling
Mini Roadtrip
Lots of Swimming
TV or Movie all nighter
Youth Group Trip
Stargaze
Go watch a sunset
Have a campfire with smores
Make some fun cupcakes/decorate them
Go Bowling
Go to a concert
Get a tan
Shop til we drop
Sing a lot, record it on an MP3 player or laptop
Pick an official 2014 summer song
Kayak/canoe
Read a book
Have a Game Night
Go thrift shopping
Go to the State Fair
Sew something
Wash the cars

The Moon and Summertime...

So the moon was super cool the other night. :) It wasn't really red though. More of a coppery color. Found an article the next day that had a picture of it.

We watched it from the roof. Since it was 29 degrees we could see our breath! Everytime Aubrey would move, we would get a "giraffe" of cold air. (Draft) Say Drafts. It sounds like giraffes. No kidding. Maybe it's a weird Iowan accent or something. Anyway the blankets then got a layer of frost on them. And if it wasn't cold enough; we took an ice cream break, and had some of Caroline's mom's delicious chocolate cake. :)

So, we totally need to make a summer bucket list; and accomplish a lot of it! This is the "last summer." The summer that we are both out of high school; but it's before we hit the "real world". So this summer has got to be the best.

What are some fantastic bucket list ideas?

Gearing up for the blood moon... and the eclispe

So pumped for Tuesday. :)

So the "gang" (although I don't like that word and we need to come up with a title.) Let's go with "crew" because it sounds cooler. (Or as Caroline would say, it sounds Coolio, but not in reference to the rapper) So, anyway, we all are going to watch the lunar eclipse tonight. It will take place anywhere from 12:55-6am. So we are staying "up all night". (and we'll jump around until we see the sun) We will be watching this from a roof, so we will have a great point of view.

Central America is the perfect spot to view this event. It is going to be awesome!!! So from what I can gather from news articles, we will have an eclipse and a blood moon. 2 for 1. I don't even know how they can pack that much awesomeness into one night. :)

My co-worker Maisie has a theory about how blood moons are related to wars. Will be interesting to see if that plays out into anything.

The term blood moon is interchangeable with the term Hunter's moon. Sometime's if you are really lucky the moon turns exactly the color of blood, but that does not happen very often.

Whatever the case, no matter what we see. We will have an awesome night. If anyone will ever end up reading this; leave a comment about any cool space events that you have seen. :)

-Steph