Top Ten things that make me happy.

10. My living room is painted two different shades of blue.
9. I am going to Chicago today with my two favorite people.
8. Furniture comes one week from today.
7. Chocolate.
6. My ring still sparkles.
5. I get to see Nate play soccer tomorrow. I loovvveee watching him play.
4. I have some really fun ideas to have a better walk with Jesus on a daily basis this semester.
3. I run a half marathon two weeks from Sunday.
2. I have come reallllly close to drinking a gallon of water in a day... Soon I will do it....
1. I am marrying my best friend in the whole world in 309 days. We will have slumber parties every day... who doesn't love slumber parties?

And the hits just keep on coming...

Sometimes I do really dumb things.

Move In day...

So I drove to Indiana with my mom today... I have been sooo excited because this year I get to live off campus in a real house!! Needless to say, it looked a lot better/ cleaner/ less like it was going to sink in on itself when it was decorated and had furniture. I hate it. But tomorrow my mom and I are going furniture shopping and I will get a bed and a couch and a kitchen table and a desk.... and hopefully that will make me feel better. Then I will be making a calm and collected, yet FIRM phone call to my landlord. There are drops of coke (or beer) on most of the walls, lots of dead bugs, and a mixed smell of natural gas and mold. My mom says it has character... I say it has a cellar under the carpet in my room... I'm angry and a little stressed, but it will be fine... I never saw my other living spaces as bare as the house is, so I'm probably just seeing a lot more things than there really are...

The move back was great. I easily fit all of my stuff in my little car and I was very proud of my light packing (Thank you, storage unit!) I only cried when sad songs or music that reminded me of home people came on... I forgot I get sad when I move back to school... I'm glad my mom is here and furniture shopping makes people happy or gives them dierrhea.... We'll see how it goes.

Engagement Pictures...

Natey and I had a fun photo session on Saturday to document our engagement... It was fun because we got to do a lot of hugging and kissing and we got to spend some time getting to know our wedding photographer! You can see some of the pictures here...

And the changes unravel...

So between playing with my new future nephews and reading until my brain collapses, I have been thinking a lot about my future. It feels like things are about to start changing in big ways. Nate leaves for school tomorrow. His last soccer seasons EVER. I'm so excited to watch him play and lead his teammates... Also, down the hall from me, I just heard the question... "Mom, how am I going to pack for college?" Next week while I'm off at the lake with friends, my baby brother brett will be heading off to his first year of college at Baylor. He is so excited and we are excited for him. He has an amazing life ahead of him. And finally, when I get home from the lake, I will be heading to Anderson, Indiana to finish what could be my last year of education. I am ecstatic, but a little uneasy. See, my brain is a funny thing... Senior year means a lot of things for me: Learn how to be a good wife, this is my last chance to bump my gpa, find a job, pick a city, find a job in the same city with the husband I've picked, plan a wedding, pull off a wedding, don't fall (during graduation or the wedding)... All legitimate worries I think, but all these changes are accentuating the unraveled worries in my brain. I think it goes something like this (with a few random thoughts in between): Senior Year, Graduation, husband, honeymoon, job, house, dog, baby, baby, baby, baby (yes that's four), 7 year itch?, pre-school, MIDDLE SCHOOL, high school, college, college funds etc. etc..... And that's a little insight into my brain. It's going to be a great year I'm sure full of fun and scary and exciting transitions and memories. Good thing I'm not in control.... Or I'd be having four kids.

To Do...

I've got way too much to do to be done with my summer school stuff in time, but I have no choice other than to do it... So here's the list.

RLGN 4010 (History of Christianity). This one goes first because it is going to be the most difficult.
~4 more chapters of "Christian Theology" by Alister McGrath.
~Read in its entirety "The European Reformation" by Carter Lindberg
~Write four 3-4 page essays.

CMIN 3080 (Personal Ministries: Enabling the Christian Community)
~Finish Reading "Cultivating Wholeness" by Margaret Kornfield
~3 - 1 page essay question responses
~2 - 1 page pastoral reflections... (whatever that means)
~1 - 5-7 page paper that incorporates it all

CMIN 3050 (Corporate Ministries: Communicating the Gospel)
~Read "Welcoming the Stranger" by Patrick R. Keifert
~Read "Leading the Congregation" by Norman Shawchuch and Roger Heuser
~Read "The Practice of Preaching" by Paul Scott Wilson
~2- 2 page essays
~Make a program for an average sunday service
~Three sermon analyses from 3 different speakers

Due Date: Monday, August 18, 2008.