Funday Sunday! :)

I have decided that I am a fan of "picture" blogging. Pictures tell stories and often are very clear as to another person's perspective....However, I am not that talented of a photographer. But I love taking photos just the same :) ...stay tuned for the fun pictures to come documenting my day!

So I have coined today Funday Sunday! Here is why:
1. Went to church with my friend Brittany from Seminary and her 2 friends who were visiting from Iowa...Laura and Laura!
2. Worship was great (and lead by my favorite worship leader- who I "know" and would love to know better! ha ha)
3.The sermon was great as well! We have been doing a series called "Why Me" which is basically about where God is in the trials and pain of life
4. Enjoyed a yummy brunch after church with Brittany, Laura and Laura
5. Studied at Fort Snelling State Park
6. Enjoyed some roomie time with Amanda (finally) as we drove to the park and studied together



Pretty fall leaves...my favorite color for leaves!



Amanda taking photos on the beautiful fall path at the park



Me and my roomie, Amanda



Our study spot - where we had to fight off both ants and mosquitos... ugh



Fort Snelling State Park is quite close to the airport....so airplanes would frequently fly over head and make us feel like they were coming straight at us. Here you can see the "Delta" airport sign from where we were sitting. The noises didnt quite fit with the scenery...oh well.

Studying in the park was a nice change of pace and scenery. However, the bathrooms were already closed for the winter, the bugs were carrying us away, and our tummies were growling...so our trip had to come to an end. Now...time for a yummy dinner of spaghetti and then more reading :) Fun, Fun, Fun! And then off to another week of work and class!

Sleeping In .... ZZZzzzzzz

IT'S SATURDAY!!!! :) Officially my new favorite day of the week. No obligations and plenty of relaxation. Well, and homework. But either way, as I was getting ready for bed last night and relishing in the fact that I could sleep in as long as I wanted, I started to think - "but will I really sleep in?" Some times I'm just not good at "sleeping in" and won't sleep past 8/9am. AND THEN I started thinking "Well, what really defines "sleeping in"? And then I realized "Shoot. Hermeneutics must REALLY be getting to me if I am thinking this intensely about sleeping in on a Saturday ha ha Oh interpretation, subjectivity and objectivity. Well, at least I can say I must really be learning something in seminary! And even applying it to my every day life! Needless to say, it's Saturday and I officially "slept in" and didn't get out of bed until 10:30 am :) Life is good! Had a very relaxing morning and am now in major need of starting homework! ASAP! And don't ya know...I have Hermeneutics homework for my goal for the day :) Happy Saturday!

Sniffle, Sniffle

The weekend is almost here again and I'm finally just writing about last weekend! This "balance" thing really isn't working out for me....it has been more of a balancing act really! ha ha

Last weekend I was able to enjoy life as a "mommy" or should I say nanny! I spent almost 72 hours straight with my nanny kids!! It was loads of fun, but super exhausting...especially since I got sick :( Jaden was sick already on Friday and Zoe has been fighting the sniffles herself. So between playing non-stop with the kids and crawling into bed with Zoe when she would wake up in the wee hours of the morning for no apparent reason, I inevitably ended up with a terrible cold myself. However, I think I have already improved quite a bit! But it has been seeming to suck the energy out of me this week! Anyway, here are some fun photos to sum up the weekend :)



Zoe putting the cookies on the tray....she had them all lined up on the edge in a straight row...it was so cute! ha ha



Zoe after I showed her how to put the cookies on the tray :)



Sprinkle, sprinkle



Are they done yet????



Playing "The Princess Game" AKA Pretty, Pretty Princess



The Princesses :) Zoe won the game of course



And finally, every princess needs her fingernails painted :)

At this point, my camera battery died :( Which means I didn't get any pictures of Zoe collecting leaves for her leaf rubbing pictures, or painting, or playing "movie theatre" (Zoe's favorite activity of the weekend which I improvised after I got sick ha ha). And Jaden really was present all weekend! He is just much less photogenic sometimes ha ha. Harder to photograph him basically. Although he did help eat the cookies, collect the leaves, paint pictures, and played "movie theatre" with us :)

All in all it was a fuuuunnnn weekend! Love the kids and it was weird to leave them!! Now....back to school for me. I feel like all i do is read, read, read, and then read some more! At least it is all fairly interesting. And I like to read. I don't think I have ever read this much in my entire life though! ha ha Well, I guess it's time that I did then!

I was supposed to be heading up to northern Wisconsin this weekend with my dad and brother, but after getting sick (and behind on homework from nannying all last weekend), I don't think that will be happening. I will just have to enjoy the fall colors right here in good ole' St. Paul! It just isn't the same though.... Well...back to reading and then time for bed for me! Gotta make Chandelle a healthy girl :)

WOW! It's Wednesday!!!

The weekend sure flew right by...and apparently this week is flying by as well! It's already hump day. The weekend was amazing though!!! Getting to see so many summer project friends...including the newly weds Liz and Garrett Davis!!! AH! So exciting! The picture below is from all of us at the wedding. Love these people and miss them soooo much!



After catching up with everyone at the wedding, my friend Jeff suggested we have a blog for us all to stay updated on what's happening with everyone. We thought Ben Tesch would be the man for the job....but then I got to thinking - "Why couldn't I make us a blog!? I blog." So that's my new project. Making a group blog. Not sure if people will really follow it, or even how I should approach this idea....but I'm excited for it! Especially since I am seriously thinking about getting rid of my facebook account. It's just taking up too much of my time.

So I'm officially on day 3 of full time seminary. Still a crazy thought to me and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. It is all very interesting stuff to be learning, but this week I"m just really busy and don't know when I'm going to have time to do all of the reading. I guess that's why I get 2 weeks for "reading weeks" with no class...so that I can catch up! ha ha This weekend I am spending the weekend with Zoe and Jaden...nannying ALL weekend long! Pretty excited for this! Hopefully it will be relaxing and fun :)

Well...I guess I should get to some of that reading which I seem to have so much of. At least I get to carve pumpkins tonight at Bible Study! Can't wait for that!!! I even have a porch to put the final pumpkin on :) YAY!

Finally Friday! :)

Woo hoo! It's finally Friday! It has been quite a week! It definitely dragged on and on and on. Seems like last Friday was almost 3 weeks ago!! This week was full of finishing up my 2 week September School class (which meant writing a super long reflection paper), nannying, attending a 4 hour seminar on how to do research!!!! (biggest waste of my life)....and well maybe that's it...but it seemed like a ton! I went to bed at 8:30pm last night because I was soooo exhausted from it all. But now the weekend is here! And it's off to a decent start!

Highlights from my Friday:
1. Only worked until 2pm
2. Pay day!
3. Ate ice cream .... for dinner :) Or at least started dinner with dessert. Have been craving Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream all week! Delicious!
4. Showered in the afternoon ha ha
5. Took time to lay on the couch and watch a movie
6. Ordered tickets for my mom and I to go to Women of Faith at the Xcel Center in October!



And to top it all off!!!! I just realized that Halloween is coming....which means pumpkin carving...and I have a porch this year to put pumpkins on!!!! :) Soooo excited about this!

So my Friday has been pretty relaxing...but my weekend in general is PACKED full!

Saturday I am attending the All Seminary Retreat at Bethel until 2:30. Can't wait to meet more sem students! And then my dear friends, Athena and Maggie (who I went to Australia with last summer!!), will be coming to visit for our lovely friends Liz and Garrett's wedding on Sunday!! Soooo excited for these 2 to get married :) <3 Monday because I start classes at the Seminary! AH! :)

Well...I think its early to bed for me tonight...so that I can stay awake for all the fun this weekend! :) Happy Friday!

But the Lord Determines My Steps

So today officially marked my last day of September School class at Bethel Seminary. I learned the mircroskills of counseling and honed in on my acting abilities as I role played counseling sessions every day for the past 2 weeks. It was only a basic counseling skills course, but I think I learned more in the past 2 weeks that I did through all of college! At least in terms of applicable work knowledge and such. The past 2 weeks definitely weren't a cake walk. I think I broke down in tears on more than one occasion as I battled with God over where he is calling me in all of this. I have realized that I just have a lot of fear. I'm afraid to actually do what I want. I have always thought of being a counselor, but never saw it as a possibility for me. I have also always just wanted to be a stay-at-home mom...so then how does grad school fit into that picture?? Luckily, and strangely, enough part of the class requirements included writing a reflection paper on my calling to counseling, my strengths and limitations within the practice, and where God is at in my journey. I actually enjoyed writing this paper! So much so that I put it off until the last minute because I was stressing out over it and then stayed up until 2am to finish it because I was on a roll! ha ha But after writing this reflection, and actually reflecting on my experiences and what God might be calling me to, I have realized that I am exactly where God wants me...even if it isn't necessarily my first choice. But then again...it is almost like a dream come true.

I have been feeling so beyond blessed over the past few weeks. I graduated with a 4 year degree - debt FREE! and now I'm at Bethel!! Bethel of all places. A Christian school that in some ways I always day dreamed about attending. And now here I am! And working towards my MASTERS. My teachers pray for me before I take tests or leave class! Its just all so crazy and surreal. And to top it all off I'm living in a cute little apartment, still getting to see my best friend from college on a fairly regular basis, have found a great church community and have even started to make some great new friends. I also have the best family who continues to support me in my craziness and indecisive confused moments. Its just so weird because this is never the way I saw my life going. In a lot of ways, I'm loving it. But in many ways I'm also missing home like crazy. The Proverbs are full of so much wisdom and are a good reminder - Proverbs 16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." But I'm still missing the little things in life that you take for granted when you live in a small town. I wish there was a way to combine St. Paul and Cornell. But I think I have always wished I could combine Cornell with wherever I was living.

I guess God has me exactly where he wants me. I cant always tell why he wants me here or what he is doing, but I'm going to trust him that he is working out the best. Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28 "In ALL things God works for the good of those who love him." That is super encouraging in this time of confusion.

This is What a Weekend Feels Like :)

Life in Stillwater is officially over. And life in St. Paul is in full swing! I have been living in the Bethel off campus housing (fountain terrace) for about a month now! WOW! Time sure flies! My roommate, Amanda, wont be moving in until next weekend. At first, living alone really sucked! But in some ways, I have become accustomed to living alone. In a lot of ways, though, it has been pretty lonely.

Over the past 2 weeks, life has been pretty hectic. I resigned from my job as the Director of Children's Ministry. Making that decision was one of the hardest things I have had to do. But I know it is for the best, even though I miss the kids at the church like crazy! I decided that the time commitment of that position, as well as the stress level, was going to be too much for me to continue working there while going to grad school. Instead, I will be working about 25 hours a week as a nanny-a low stress job, where I can leave work at work. My last day at church was about 2 weeks ago. And then I headed to Colorado for 10 days with my mom, brother, and grandma to visit my Uncle. It was a great trip and I enjoyed being with my family, but it didnt seem like a vacation because we were always on the go. And my family started to drive me crazy! ha ha But now that I'm home, I wish I could be on vacation still. I really loved Colorado, and the mountains, and am seriously thinking about moving there after I finish Seminary. We will see where life leads me.

Since being home from vacation, I went straight to work and worked long days. But it was great to see my nanny kids again! I missed them so much while I was on vacation! Today was my first official day "off" and this weekend is my first weekend off since January!!!! SO this is what a weekend feels like! I definitely love consecutive days off. I spent today at the Minnesota State Fair with my friend Christina. We saw many of the main attractions at the fair, including the lumberjack show! And, of course, we ate our way through! I shared cheese curds with Christina and then enjoyed an apple cider freezie (very yummy!!) and a cherry sno cone. And then I took home a small bag of kettle corn and, of course, I couldnt leave the fair without a caramel apple! YUM! This was my first visit to the fair "on my own". I have always went with my parents. And even then, I have only went twice or so. But I effectively navigated the bus system and rode for free! And then found my way back to my car with my friend Christina. When I got home, I was so dirty (and hot) from the fair that I jumped right in the shower. It appears that I gained a new foot tan at the fair from my sandals too! I thought my feet were just that dirty. Nope! ha ha Now I'm just relaxing and planning for my Sunday :) Church with my friend Katie before she leaves to Ghana for an entire year! Maybe life isn't so bad, but finding balance is hard!