Other blog

I won't be posting any more on here till after I'm done with my current adventure, so be sure to check into my other blog - www.karmensYWAMadventure.blogspot.com

Good song

I came across this song recently and have listened to it numerous times since then. The lyrics are really powerful and thought provoking. Good thing(s) for us all to hear, no matter where we are in life, and especially good if we are in the midst of some sort of trial.

Here are the lyrics...

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace.
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
We pray for healing, prosperity.
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.

All the while, You hear each spoken need.
Your love is too way too much to give us lesser things.

Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?

What if trials of this night, are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear.
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love.
As if every promise from Your word is not enough.

All, the while, You hear each desperate plea.
And long that we'd have faith to believe.

Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?

What if trials of this night, are Your mercies in disguise?

When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win;
We know that pain reminds this heart, that this is not, this is not our home.
It's not our home.

Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?

What if my greatest disappointments, or the aching of this life;
Is a revealing of greater thirst that a world can't satisfy?

And what if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights;
Are Your mercies in disguise?

And so summer begins...

Summer has begun! It's been busy and fun, and is about to get even busier! Keep checking out my other blog to keep updated with that part of my life. One more month and I'm outta here!

Here's a few snapshots from the past few weeks :)

Eloise's most unflattering position, hahaha.

Eloise never really gets into tvs or computers, but when I watched this video (watch it, its so funny!) she was glued to the screen. So funny.

One Year Anniversary Outing :)

Kyle and I spent out one year anniversary (this past Saturday) in Minot. We walked around the mall, ate, drank coffee at Barnes and Noble and went to this Scandinavian Heritage Park where they hold Norsk Høstfest every fall. I've wanted to go there for years, so it was really exciting to finally get to go. The day was sunny and beautiful, and we took some pretty neat pictures :)

Prom

Prom was this past weekend, and it was a blast! Here's a few pictures from the day :)

Here's a group picture, from left to right its Nathan, Cassidy, Carly, Guy, Brandon, Britney, myself, and Kyle. We had pictures and dinner before prom, then all hung out afterwards. They were a fun group.

This picture cracks me up cause it almost looks like an optical illusion. I'm 5'2 (about 5'5 in these heels) and Kyle is 6'1, but he looks even bigger than that in this picture.

Of course all the mothers (not mine, haha) were around, telling us how to pose :)

My friend Kayla was there taking pictures of us as well.

Jessica and myself

Kyle's mom insisted both families take pictures under the arch, haha. This picture and the next crack me up cause Kyle is towering over my family, and...

... in this one I'm quite a bit shorter than everyone. This is Kyle's family, minus his sister Jessica (pictured above)

Alex was home visiting from culinary school so we had to take a KKAH picture :)

January/February

I know there's been a lack of posts and a lack of pictures, but life has just been crazy lately. I need to get back in the swing of taking a lot of pictures, but for now here's some from the past two months :)

We dressed up Eloise in Lyrik and Aiden's clothes. It was so hilarious, and they just had to pose with the poor, embarrassed Eloise.

I love her tummy sticking out - so funny!

And now with a beanie on.

Jessica and I realized we unintentionally bought the same dress, just in different colors, so we both wore them to church and took a picture.

Kyle and myself in beanies made by my mom :)

Valentines Day :)

Besides the few events these pictures represent, I've just been in a whirlwind of busyness. School has been harder this semester. Even though I'm only taking 2 classes, they are the two classes I have been dreading and putting off for the last 2 years - College Algebra and College Composition 1. They're going fairly well, just a lot of work. I've also been working 4 days a week, as well as helping out with the youth group. Family and friends are squeezed in between, making for quite the full schedule. Keep checking out my other blog to stay updated with all that is going on in that area. Less than 4 months and I'm out of here! Crazy.

New blog. New adventure.

Here's a quick post just to pass on a link to my new blog

karmensYWAMadventure.blogspot.com

The posts on there will explain what that is all about, so I'm not going to type out all the details here. I'll still be using this blog, that blog is just for specific posts related to my trip.

Enjoy!

2011?!

I remember long ago when I would think of future years such as 2011, they seemed impossibly far away, so the fact that this year is upon us, is just crazy to me. Even though it's hard to get used to, I love the start of a new year, all the possibilities. I love wondering what I will be reflecting on when the year comes to a close. As of right now my life plan is pretty wide open; I don't have definite happenings in the near future set in stone. It seems all of my goals are at least a few years down the road, so trying to figure out what to do in the here and now can get a little overwhelming.

This year I hope to continue working as much as possible while continuing my online courses. I'm not so set on getting a degree, but I like learning and if I feel like getting a degree (a 2 year one, if anything) I'll be well on my way.

I'm going to get more serious about saving money (which for now, sadly, means no extravagant trips). Eventually I'll have to do SOMETHING, so I want to have the money saved for whenever my random self gets an idea.

It's possible that I won't be in Watford by fall or the end of the year, but that's all very undecided as of now.

Another big event that I have no choice in the occurrence of, is my twentieth birthday. The thought of completely waving goodbye to by childhood and teenage years terrifies me more than it probably should, but as of August 26th, 2011, I'll have no choice but to face the facts.

Other then that, my expectations for the year are pretty wide open. We'll see what happens!

2010 is over....?!

I can't quite grasp the fact that 2010 is over. This year went SO fast. I feel like I've probably thought that about many years past, but I think I can honestly say this year went the quickest for me. It's been a jammed packed year full of so many things, most of which have been wonderful.

New Years Eve is just about my favorite holiday. There's just something about looking back on what has taken place in the last 365 days that I love. Here's a little recap...

Started off the year with possibly my biggest adventure yet (Toss up with China) by heading off to Europe. It was an amazing trip full of so many good memories. I fully intend on going back in the next couple years; there are still so many places I need to see!

Only a few weeks after returning, I got another job - church secretary! It's been a lot of fun.

Spring was dominated by prom planning and then the actual event. It was so much fun and an experience I'm so thankful for.

I went to Alaska in May, what an amazing trip that was! Such a beautiful place.

The summer consisted of working, hanging out with friends and family, and a roadtrip with friends. It was a good summer overall.

In the fall I started up online classes again, and the balance between work, school, and free time, has been somewhat of a struggle, but I've managed.

Winter has been basically the same as fall, very busy but also full of a lot of good happenings.

Overall, my year has been wonderful and busy! The first half of the year was more eventful in the bigger ways, but the second half was amazing as well! Can't believe it's all over with.

Last few pictures of 2010

Christmas break was really nice and relaxed for the most part. Good friends were home from college and I was able to spend more time with them than I was anticipating. North Dakota has been getting blizzards like crazy (at least weekly this month, or so it seems) so that's added to the coziness of being with friends and family indoors :)

I didn't take too many pictures, but here's some I did manage to get.

Kyle and I on Christmas Day.

Myself and Eloise on Christmas Day.

Poor Eloise ventured under the stairs and got herself stuck. I heard her whimpering but didn't think anything of it till it kept happening. I felt terrible when I saw her panicked face in the midst of all the barriers.

Kyle and I on New Years Eve :)

Tis the season...

My favorite time of year has arrived - Christmas season! So far it has been busy with work and school but after this week I'll be finished with classes till January and work will only take away 16 hrs a week. My friends from college get home at some point this week and my friends that are here in school get out next Thursday. I can't wait to have cozy Christmasy nights with friends and family. Hot chocolate, a christmas movie perhaps, and being cozy inside while winter rages on outside. Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

Eloise cracks me up on a daily basis.

Kyle and I had one of those Christmasy nights last week, except no movie and we freezed a bit outside to take these pictures. We cooked dinner together, started doing a panda (!!!) puzzle, then set out with a big thermos of hot chocolate, parked somewhere we could enjoy the winter scenery, and drank the hot chocolate. We talked and then took these pictures. It was a really fun night.

And now, I'm off to study for finals...

Fall=Fun!

I've been slacking in the picture department lately, but for the most part life has consisted of work, school, and friends and family squeezed in between. However, I did manage to get a few pictures of some of the fall events that have become somewhat of a tradition for me.

I went to youth convention October 21st - 23rd. It was my 7th year going, but my 2nd year going as a chaperone. I went every year 7th - 12th grade, except my 8th grade year. It is always a lot of fun, but being a chaperone has made it more of a responsibility. It is still an awesome and fun weekend, the experience is just different when you are in charge of people. I had intentions of taking all kinds of pictures, but basically all I ended up taking were 50+ pictures of me and Jessica.

Here we are posing with our new Dino friend :)

We entertained ourselves on the trip there (about 5.5 hrs) by taking all kinds of pictures. She's 4 years younger than me, but one of my closest friends and I am so so blessed to have her in my life. <3

Another event that has become somewhat of a tradition in the fall is the fall play, put on by the high school. I've felt almost every year for the past 5+ years or so, and it is a lot of fun. It was this past week, Thursday-Saturday night. Kyle was in it and since it's his last year, I went every night. I didn't get sick of seeing the same thing three times, in fact I was bummed out when the end of the performance came Saturday. I feel like I'm graduating all over again, dealing with all of these nostalgic 'lasts' with Kyle.

His part was a French woodsmen, and after the performance Friday, we took this picture. :)

Homecoming fun!

This past week was homecoming week. Even though I don't go to the high school, I still got in on the fun. Friday night, after coronation and a parade, there was a homecoming football game. I went with one of my closest friends, Jessica, and participated in the whole 'wearing a guys football jersey' tradition. Girls will ask guys for their away game jerseys (reverse colors) so they can wear them at the game, while the guys play in the opposite jerseys. I wore Kyle's jersey(didn't even have to ask! :), and it was a lot of fun!

Here are Jess and I after the game. She is 4 years younger than me but way taller than me, hence her bending down in the picture :) It's so odd for me to be staying the same size while all my friends surpass me.

Kyle and I were supposed to take a picture before the game in our matching jerseys but didn't get the chance till after. The number 54 on the side of his jersey is in honor of a classmate of mine (when I attended the public school in Jr. High) who tragically passed away a week after his high school graduation last year. He played football and last fall they retired his jersey and printed the number on all of the home game jerseys.

:)

This picture makes me laugh :)

Jumping picture!

Me and Jess (she's Kyle's sister) attempting a jumping picture.

Kyle's nearly a foot taller than me and his jersey, when untucked, was like a nightgown on me. We got a kick out of it and had to take a picture.

And that was my weekend! Thanks to Kyle I've gotten in on some fun high school experiences I've otherwise missed out on, such as prom and this whole homecoming tradition. It's been really fun!

End of summer/Beginning of fall

Not too much to say, so I'll just give a little photo recap of the 6 or so weeks.

Nerdin' out with one of my best buds :)

Beautiful summer day, messing around with a friend's crazy sunglasses.

Jessica and I helping out at an outdoor event at our church.

Eloise and myself on my birthday.

A close friend got me this awesome, handmade (not by him, but who he bought it from) panda beanie.

I got so many panda things for my birthday, my panda shelf is just about on overload.

My 19 (!!) year old self in September.