Brother Ross and The Don are my heroes!

Yesterday they went out and replaced the battery in my car! It got me home! Unfortunately, this morning, it wouldn't start. BUT the problem was that (last night) as they were tightening a bolt, it punctured the battery, forcing a leak in the battery, and so the bolt was basically sitting in battery acid all night long. Earlier today I saw the bolt and it was insane how much it had been eaten away. So Ross replaced it again for me. It's good to have little brothers and good friends!

Anywho, I'm super tired right now. I'm pretty sure I could fall asleep before 11 tonight for sure. Today was good - soccer tryouts have begun! It's gonna be fun and interesting to say the least! I think I started a bad thing when I called Katie "Jockstrap" and Stephanie "Booger" .... let's hope it goes no further. As for me, I'm Coach Satellite. Since they gave me that nickname, I might be entitled to call a few of them "jockstrap" and "booger" among others as they come to me. ... I still don't think "jockstrap" is appropriate, but it is funny. :o)

Tomorrow is more tryouts. I'll be sure to have more layers for tomorrow because apparently, and this is news to me, it gets colder outside as the sun sets. Who knew? Did I miss the memo? haha.. Tomorrow is also Gilmore Girls. I doubt I'll make girls' basketball. We'll see. I'm pretty wiped as it is. Chalk it up to me staying up last night til close to 1:30am.... I'll live.

So I came up with a little list for Thanksgiving... So in no particular order:

• God's grace, forgiveness and love
• family
• a roof for free (to me)
• something to eat
• friends who really do care
• friends who night not care
• a job that pays enough
• a job that I can't stop talking about
• cellphones and phone cards
• airplanes
• time
• cameras that capture memories
• my health
• computers that connect the world
• co-workers and students
• emotions
• laughter
• tears
• political freedoms that I wish the rest of the world could share
• the little things in life

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, near and far.

what a stinkin awesome weekend.. seeing one friend, hearing another and making new ones.. :o) rock, rock on.

more to come later ...

Happy Birthday Wendy!!

YOU ARE 24 YEARS OLD TODAY! haha.. you're old... hehehe...

I love you!

It's goin alright! No huge complaints, just continually learning that I need to trust God more than I do.

Tonight, we had a softball tournament and in the second game, I hit a ball the farthest I have ever hit one!!! I was so pumped that I didn't even care that the left fielder totally caught it and got me out. :o) Oh well!! It was fun. My shoulder is sore... hmm .. now that I think about it, it's probably from me diving and tumbling for the ball (which I missed) in the first game. haha.. yeah.. that is probably it. hmph. Oh well again!! It was worth it.

There are 6 days until Thanksgiving holidays and I'm getting pumped! This weekend is gonna be interesting. Not a lot of plans... And if I don't blog before then, Happy Birthday Wendy :o)

Wow.. check that out.. It's been almost a year that I have been blogging! Wow!! Has it really gone by so quickly?? Has it really been almost a year before I started student teaching? Wow.. Crazy how time flies. I'll reminisce no more, I'm afraid of what I'll start to do (aka cry).. and I'm at school right now so we'll just not go there.
Have a great day and I'll blog more as cool things happen.. haha.. Actually I'm going to go for a run this afternoon and then go hang out with Kat in the tent. So weird that she is camping out for u.t. tickets. Gosh.. insane. LATA!!

December is going to ROCK

The days just fly by and they all run together!! Work is going well. I am doing a lot of physical stuff because of my current rotation, but I like it a lot! Over the past week and a half or so I've been doing a lot of looking into the future. I am pretty sure that I will be taking my special ed certification test in February. And I'm currently looking for an apartment for me and Kat for next semester. And then I have to look for a job for next year.. and in addition to all this, I'm working on my summer plans already! I really really want to go to Camp Barnabas for an extended period of time. So there's a lot on my mind, but it's all positive!! And hey, there's only 2 weeks and 2 days until Thanksgiving break!! YAY!! (GASP!) And then soccer starts!!!!!! AH! I totally forgot!! WOO HOO!!!! And THENNNNN Wendy comes home!!! AND THENNNNNNN Ginger comes home!! AND THENNNNN Kathrin and David get married!!! December is going to be a GREAT month! I can't wait!

What an awesome image.. David Crowder on keytar.. :o) How wonderful.

This concert was simply amazing. It was fun just going with all my friends and having a good time. Shane and Shane were awesome.. as always.. David Crowder just rocked my socks off.. again... There's no way to even start telling you about the concert. It's just one of those things you have to experience.

The trip home was QUITE the experience... I was so tired and I only made it home by the grace of God and Menges talking to me the whole way. We did however, meet up with another group of our friends who were on the side of the road ... You can't really see what's happening.. but there are two police officers there.. and Laura's booty is kind of blocking the reason they're out. It's a flat tire.. big time flatness.. Menges and I stopped to take photos and check up on them. They were good to go - no major problems other than being stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire and no idea how to get it off of the vehicle. :o) (I directed them in that part..kind of)

Overall it was a fun, fun night! It made the rest of the week seem very long, but if I had to do it all over again... I would!!

I know I haven't posted in a week, but I am waiting to get my pictures from the DCB Concert off my dad's digital camera. So be patient.. an update is coming soon!!

Yay! Today was Astroworld! Got up this morning, running late of course and headed to Houston. Had to sit in traffic for almost an hour just to make a u-turn and then get parked. We walked to the front of the park, got in and headed immediately for Dungeon Drop. We had to wait in line for probably 50 minutes, maybe a little less, but it was fun! Then we walked around to XLR8 and I rode that backwards for the first time ever. I gotta say, I don't really like going backwards.. That line was close to an hour wait as well. Then we went to Greased Lightnin' and waited for .. yup, you guessed it, an hour. Headed for Batman's escape and waited in line there for an hour and a half! Insane, I tell you ... On our way to the other side of the park, we stopped and grabbed a funnel cake with powdered sugar only and ate it in front of the next ride, Serial Thriller. Our wait on this ride was close to an hour and 15 minutes. At this point, it was 6:30pm and we were trying to make a dinner date with Steph, but it didn't happen unfortunately. We were just too far away from her and wouldn't have made it to her house before she had to leave for a par-tay. So we drove home and then I got to play with Jackie's cousins for a little while.

I think the lines were so long because of 2 reasons. #1: It's the second to last weekend that Astroworld will be open, so people were taking advantage of that fact (myself included) #2: There was a company picnic being held today, so that's just even more people. I also remembered what I love and hate about amusement parks... a couple of things I love are the social time and the thrill of the rides. A couple of things I hate... waiting in line for one hour only to be on the ride itself for no more than 1 minute, 30 sec... also.. a vast majority of people who go to amusement parks are really trashy and rude and have no care or concern for your personal space or your hearing. Example.. as we were waiting in line for Serial Thriller, there were a few girls, roughly 13 yrs old, who were behind us. Granted, they are 13.. but they did not know how to stand still and stop bumping into us and were screaming a good portion of the time we were in line. Oh well.. it's not a big deal - not worth worrying about. Overall it was a fun day and I enjoyed getting to hang out with Jackie since we never see each other anymore.
I am/was somewhat bummed because there were a few rides we didn't get to go on becuase we simply didn't have time. We didn't get to ride the Viper, our favorite ride, or the Cyclone, which is really not scary, but it's just one of those that you have to go on every time. We also didn't get to ride the Looping Starship because it was closed or the Ultra Twister. Um.. I almost always ride the Serpent, (which is a kiddie ride, but it's fun anyway) but we didn't have time. It was really almost sad to walk around and see stuff shut down. There were lots of concession stands not open, and a few rides that were not being operated. Yeah, sad is a good word to use. But.. I'm sure some company will open up a new amusement park in the Houston area. It just is a good money maker.
Tomorrow I am going to watch A&M soccer beat the hell out of Texas Tech. And I've also got to clean my area of the house since we are having company next weekend (yay Whitney!). Monday is the David Crowder Band, Shane & Shane concert and I am so pumped about this!! I can't wait! David Crowder in concert is just .. energizing and awesome. I'm so ready Freddie.. :o)

Stolen from Kaylie's info .. "Love without rules."

This has always been something that I have strived (striven?) for in my life. It's not easy, by any means, but we are called by Jesus to "love without rules." He tells us in the gospel to love our enemies; obviously we cannot have rules or guidelines to our love if we are told to love our enemies. This is just a thought from my mind at midnight ... It's a cool statement and since the author is unknown, I'll be using it frequently. :o)

Be sure to look for me on Friday at school .. I'll be the stud with the super cool jersey .. thank you Kat Stock!

I know I haven't posted in well over a week, but I just haven't had the energy or the time and there really hasn't been a whole heck of a lot to tell you about. Just keep me in your prayers as I try to get a glimpse of the future - like the summer and the spring. :o) Love ya!

It's been a long week for some reason. So today's verse of the day according to BibleGateway.com is "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1 I've been so tired lately and I can't tell what the deal is. It's a mixture of new allergies (because of the cold front) and of medicine and of crazy days at school. The past two days have been different schedules because of circumstances so that makes the day hard too. So please continue to keep me in your prayers as I am adjusting to day to day living. I'm looking forward to the weekend because of Shella's wedding and seeing Kappa Phi girls! Also I get to see Kat Farr from UMArmy because she has a soccer game this weekend in town. So it's gonna be a good, but busy, weekend!

REQUEST(S) !!


I am going to Breakaway on Tuesday and I'd love to have anybody join me! Holler back.

AND.. I really really really want to go to Astroworld on October 22nd!!!!! It's the weekend before it closes and I WANNA GO!! So if you want to come with me that'd be awesome because I don't want to go alone!! Holler back on this as well :)


I had a great weekend in Midland, wish I wasn't so darn quiet around my family, but oh well. Got the cousin married and now I have a new cousin(in-law)!!! She's a fun one! However, I did drive all the way home (without trading drivers, thank you) and I have to be at the school tomorrow morning at 7:45 because I have a job and I have to go to work tomorrow. haha.
Softball game tomorrow night :o)

Peace!

Some Aggie funny ..

Some thoughts before we start a new day ...

This is actually what I was thinking about during Jerry's somewhat good sermon (actually preached solely on scripture!!) last Sunday...
Here's part of the scripture: "So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus." Mark 10:49b-50
In the version I read, it said take heart. But either way, this kept repeating through me head all throughout his sermon ... take heart, get up! He is calling you. He's calling ME. He's calling YOU. How awesome and how great is it to know that we are being called by CHRIST.. we're being called. This is not some junk spam email that we're getting, nothing impersonal. This is not a telemarkter just doing their job, wanting to entice you to sign up for a credit card or donate money. This is CHRIST .. calling YOU and ME. These are intimate, planned, personal phone calls. These are the calls that last a lifetime, when you talk about everything and nothing for hours and hours. This is the call that you don't ever want to end early or screen with your caller id. Pick up the phone! It's worth more than a missed tv program, it's worth more than an instant message conversation, it's worth more ... so much more.


Tonight as I was finishing up my bible study in preparation for tomorrow, the last question I had to answer was "What are you living for?" At first, I didn't want to even think about it - our questions in this study tend to get us to focus on the negative in our lives. I chose to go for the positive tonight. This is a "personal response" question, so consider yourself blessed to be reading this...
I live to glorify Christ! I live to survive in this world. I live to bring joy to others. I live to be a good friend, listening ear and helping hand. I live to love, to give to recieve an everlasting life.

What are YOU living for?

Totally random thought ...

Does Delaware still exist?? Seriously! All through grade school you have to know that the capital of Delaware is Dover and that George Washington crossed the Delaware in Battle of Valley Forge.. but then, after all the history classes are over and real life takes over most of your life, we never hear about Delaware. Does anyone know a person who currently lives in Delaware? I am wondering if the government took over this state way back when as a place to test their secret weapons or maybe it broke off and is floating in the Atlantic somewhere....

Looking for feedback..

So over the past 24-36 hrs, I have been in close to constant communication with Wendy. She's been pretty worried (and rightfully so) about her town and her home. And she's made me worried too... But that's okay because it helps me realize how important she and her family are to me. So we've been talking a lot about pictures we've seen and trading web links and stuff. Finally I found this radio website that has been streaming information about the Golden Triangle and the damage there. People can call in with inquiries about their neighborhood's damage and also with information they have received. So I gave this link to Wendy and we were talking about it. Here are just some of her comments about one of her hometown radio stations.. They're pretty funny if you know anything about the area..

wendy: man you've got to love the way people talk

wendy: now there is a news report about vidor
wendy: i can honestly say that no one cares if vidor is still there or not


Ah. Them southeast texas folks is funnyier than 'coons in a kiddie pool .... whoa, yeah i made that up. scary huh?

Well, she's comin. Rita is on her way, and they are predicting that she's headed straight for Matagorda Bay, which is south of Houston, North of Corpus Christi. They've set a mandatory evacuation for Galveston and they have suggested evacuation from Houston, and surrounding low-lying areas. Here in CS, the Aggies and Tigers have moved up their games to Thursday night, both at 7:30pm. School is still on for now, hopefully we won't have a need to cancel it. Mom made me go out and buy some water holders and I bought some Gatorade and juice. I've never been through a hurricane, so I don't really know what to expect, but I'm not super worried.. yet. I think it will all depend on how hard and how close it hits Houston, but CS is in the crappy part of the storm, the northwest quadrant. So even if the eye doesn't go over us, it might still seem like it.
We'll see what this storm brings. We just have to remember that no matter the size of the storm, our God is so much bigger!! Please be praying for those who are evacuating and those who can't or won't.

okay so i was thinkin ... you know, there's been horrible devastation with Hurricane Katrina, and all these statistics and it all just boggles my mind. 6 major hurricanes in 13 months? Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne (all in 2004), Dennis, and Katrina (in 2005). And recently Ophelia (which I'm not sure was "major") and, coming soon to an evacuation route near you, Rita. What is going on?! Seriously! I dunno.. It's so weird. Rita is headed straight for the Texas coast, where so many New Orleans residents are currently living. It seems that this storm is headed right for the area that has been giving so much relief and so much care to those displaced peoples. I have heard some comments about how God used Katrina to "cleanse" New Orleans, when funnily enough, the French Quarter which is a pretty dirty place seems to be the least affected by the storm. It's open and partially functioning while some homes are still under water and are uninhabitable. So I've kind of blown that assumption or excuse off. And you know, some people say that this is God's wrath being poured out on these people because of their lifestyles and I'm not so sure I agree with that either. I believe that God is love and that He has sent His Son to pay for our sins and that He has given us free will. I believe that God's wrath and anger ended with the new covenant. I don't know if any of that has biblical base, but it's what I think.

So now, with Rita headed our way, I think this is partially Satan, wanting to get to us. Because we've poured so much caring and love into these people, Satan is wanting us to feel down and kind of .. punish us? for helping out. I dunno.. these are just thoughts.

Also, there have been all these benefits and concerts to help out the relief efforts in the wake of Katrina. And I'm all for that don't get me wrong. If I had the financial ability to give money then I'd do it. But what, not irks, but .. challenges me to think is that all these benefits have names that include the word hope. And I don't really know why. I mean, yeah, it's because they want to let the people of New Orleans and Louisiana that there is hope after the chaos. But I wish that they would use the word love.