Paper chain madness 

Christmas Tree 

Christmas in the dorm!

Hi everyone! I just finished decorating my dorm room for Christmas! Here's the lowdown: my bulletin is covered with wrapping paper (which is wonderful because it was very ugly before), I have a mini tree that sits by my computer. The tree is silver and has mini ornaments on it as well as a pink ribbon at the top and a mini paper chain made from wrapping paper. Laura and I made paper chains out of red and green construction paper, so there is one fat one for a countdown until christmas break, and another that is taped under my shelf over my bed - very festive. It was really fun to decorate! Oh, I'll put a picture of it on here.

Thanksgiving Break

Hello. I just got back from Thanksgiving Break which was wonderful! It was so nice to sit at home and just to be around the people I love the most. Coming back, Drake really feels like its just school - which is nice. I'm here to study, go to class, and study some more. That's what's important to me right now. So okay, here's the breakdown of the break: I got home Tuesday night around 8pm and my sister was home at 11:30 that night as well. On Wednesday I went in to New Life for chapel to see my brother John play the drums for Praise Band - he did a really good job, it's so fun to see him up there praisin' away. Later that day, mom and I went to Target to shop for the big Christmas exchange gifts. Boy was just Target exhausting! Thursday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving dinner at 1pm. That proved to have all the elements we were expecting: Olives and pickles, the company of our aunt uncle and cousin. :) After gorging on turkey and potatoes, we succumbed to the tryptophan and vegged on the couch. That night we watched 'Elf' with such beloved phrases like, "You must really like sugar" - "Is there sugar in syrup?" - "Yes" - "Then YES!" as well as "We elfs try to eat from the four foodgroups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup." On Friday mom kayla and I woke up early to brave the shopping crowds at Daytons, oh sorry, Marshall Fields (you can change your name, but to me you will always be known as dayton's), and found a few gifts and used a few coupons before calling it quits. That afternoon John gave me his gift for my birthday, the box set of Shrek 1 and 2 DVDs! So we watched it after a dinner at Applebees: which we have some great quotes from kayla :) Saturday I slept in and then we all helped cook Thanksgiving dinner round 2 - I made the sweet potatoes. Oh and at that dinner I tried the homemade cranberry sauce - very yummy! I think I was just scared of the cranberries that look like a can. After lunch/dinner we cleaned up the kitchen and Grandma and Grandpa came over to wish me a happy birthday before I left. We went to church that night and then had my 'birthday celebration' with cake and presents. Yea for J Crew apparel! That night I went over to Michael Derricks house for a revisitation of our wonderful Hot-tub parties from high school. It felt like we hadn't even left. Great time. Sunday I got up and packed up my stuff and was out the door at 10am. Ah, that was a great thanksgiving break.

India: 1945

Wow, that was one exciting class hour. Okay, here's the lowdown for all of you who wish to read about our pretend world of India in 1945. Alright so I, the British Governor General, kept the peace in the Constituent Assembly long enough to present my proposed Constitution (which I had worked many hours on) and then soon after that they proceeded to kick me out of the meetings (as they were instructed to do so by their role packets). Before we voted I reminded them that if they would try to create their own Constitution they would have to have it approved by the current government in India (The British Government). - My Consitution already had the approval of the Prime Minister and the King - however they booted me out with a vote 8 to 6. So the rest of the period I got to sit back (in New Delhi, the back of the classroom) and watch them figure out who will lead, what the agenda will be, lol, they are back at square one. So, we'll see where this leads.

Ups and Downs

Wow, college is weird. Okay, now after I've stated the obvious. Let's see, yesterday I had classes all day and found out I got A's on both my Econ and Math tests (woohoo!) and then there was the Mark Study that night. Today however, is one of those 'down' days. As in, I was still reading more information regarding my FYS class all morning. Then I get to FYS and it's not much fun. After that I try to work on my accounting - not going so well - and make a trip to walgreens by myself cuz I wanted more rice cakes (I'm strange). And, ick, I have volleyball practice tonight. The practices used to be fun but now, since not many people come and those that do stand around and talk most of the time, its not so much. Alright, I need to go do something. Bye all!

Fall Conference: Deeper

This weekend I went with the Intervarsity group on campus to the Fall Conference at the Downtown Marriot in Des Moines. The theme for the weekend was: "Deeper" and it was all about going deeper in our walk and relationship with Jesus. The first night we were reminded of the fact that God is Near and desires to be near to us. We came to the conclusions that God is always near (honestly, you can't get more near than actually living in a person) and it is us who fail to admit that he is near. Thoughout the weekend we were reminded that God delights in us. Also, that we are called to live in a way that makes God look glorious. We need to remember the goodness of God. We need to change the direction of our words. We need to remember the model of Jesus, and we need to do something life threatening together (that point was directed at our chapter groups). Those instructions are given to us, the church, from Paul in Philippians 1:27-2:15. One other neat thing I learned is that in Exodus 3:14 God gives us his name. The NIV says "I AM" but in Hebrew, the word for I Am is a small word with no vowels and is almost just like a breath. Interesting huh! Other things that happened: We we challenged to start Scripture studies with people we know on campus. Also, as a chapter, we agreed to do evangelistic prayer in the dorm rooms. Once every other week or so we are going to go around the dorms and if there is a door open, just offer to pray for the people within and ask if they have anything they want prayer for. We want to be known as the people who pray. Also, we agreed to pray blessings into the lives of two or three people in our IV group every day at least until Christmas. Probably my favorite part of the conference was just being surrounded by other people who love the Lord. Worshipping together with them is so great. Well, I should go finish up my homework.

Running Around

Ok, so I set out from my dorm at 12:15 for my Econ exam (beginning at 12:30) umbrella in hand. I get to about 50 ft from the building and realized I forgot my calculutor (now it's about 12:20) and I won't pass the test without the calculator. So I close the umbrella and run back to my dorm, yes people stared, lol. Alright so I run upstairs and into the room and grab the calculator, leave, run downstairs and briskly walk back to Aliber. I did arrive at 12:25 or so, giving me enough time to catch my breath before beginning. By the way, I feel very confident with that exam. Alright, I'm off to class.