Monday, March 9, 2009

apt. staff & co.

i had a great weekend. here's why-

breakfast in the bon
food shopping for dinner & u-scan
making dinner & dessert!
the finished product
basketball!!

we're #1!
jacob, alison, molly, becca, rebecca, jared
4/5 aacs-alison, scotty, lisa & scotty
most of the gang, ready for dessert & movie

Saturday, March 7, 2009

small blessings

a few of the things (or more accurately, people) who blessed my week...

aac meeting-swinging in the park
hot tubbing for the 2nd half of our meeting-
lisa, denae, alison, abby & scotty
spring play with my room-mate!
visiting benjamin road with my 2 favorite benjamins!
spring is here!
there are definitely more people, conversations, songs, e-mails, phone calls that blessed my week than are represented by these pictures. i am loved.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

signs of spring

as nice as the 85 degree weather sounds that cash was bragging about, found in sunny phoenix, i don't know that i would want to give up my past two march mornings in oregon.
47 degrees, nippy like the start of spring but not too cold.
the sun is shining, countering the slight chill in the air.
i even got to wear my sunglasses on my way to class!

so, all this to say, while arizona may be a little warmer at the moment,
oregon isn't a bad place to be in the spring.
and if you don't believe me, look at what i came across on my way to the library today...




choice C

thanks guys.
my logic for living in salem is convincing.
of course i should live in the city where i work.
it makes sense to save on gas, sleep more as i learn how to be a grown-up & work at a real hospital for the first time.

and then i look at my list with "elizabeth/j are here" on the pro side for newberg, and "elizabeth/j are not here" written for the con side for salem. (written by them, of course)
i have emphatic votes for newberg from ben. from molly. from brittany. from lacey. from becca.
i have my apartment filled with people i love and i wonder what i am going to do without them.
if only they were jerks, this decision would be easy. =)

instead, i feel a little weepy this afternoon and want to crawl under the covers until choice C is available.

a) live in newberg
b) live in salem
c) everyone i love lives on my street

i choose C.

Monday, March 2, 2009

small things

i've felt really blessed in a few of my recent purchases. none of them were big things, but they were enough for me to sense God's attention to even small details in my life.

a couple weeks ago, i wanted to get a down comforter (well, actually 2-one for me & one for gramma) at the ikea sale. since this was my first visit to ikea, i was excited. i had the dilemma of skipping church & getting there when it opened or going to church & risking not getting my comforter. i decided shopping wasn't a good alternative to church, so i went to church. it was such a good decision, as i appreciated the fellowship, was blessed by the music & was encouraged by the message. the pastor spoke about living in the present & choosing to enjoy each moment (psalm 90) which is exactly what i needed to hear. as i left the church parking lot, i felt a great deal of peace & knew that i had chosen well. even if it meant i didn't get my comforter, it would have been worth it. however, i DID still hope that i could have both.
when i got there, i learned that people had gotten there at 7:30 (it opens at 10) and when i arrived (at 10:45) they were sold out. i was disappointed, but looked around the different aisles, trying to still enjoy my first visit to this store. when i neared the end of the maze of aisles, i discovered three lines & learned that they were for the unclaimed comforters! i quickly hopped in line, and was actually first in line for the twin comforters. however, i doubted my ability to claim two comforters as i had hoped. but as i waited, a woman came up, holding two twin comforters. she had changed her mind about wanting them, and wanted to know what she should do with them. the ikea employee told her she could give them to the people in line. since i was first in line, i got them both!! =)

this past week, i decided it was time to get a new coffee cup. my purple one has been serving me well for five-ish years now, but the seal isn't working so well & it seems like it might be time to retire it. i knew i didn't want to spend a lot on it, so i decided i would just start looking, not expecting to find anything right away. when i went to church yesterday, they were selling coffee mugs for $5, in the hopes that people would bring these, to decrease the amount of paper cups used. not only are they green (my first color choice!) with scripture, but they were the perfect price! i hadn't even looked at all, when God blessed me with this mug. i used it today & it was simply a delight.

lastly, i went to goodwill a few weeks ago, and this happened to be a goodwill going out of business. and while i was not happy for the circumstances under which this happened, i was so blessed to find a number of fun additions to my wardrobe for $2 each! in order to clear the racks, everything was $2 or less.

when i look at how God has blessed me in these small ways, i can't help but be confident that he will be faithful to me as i begin look for a place to live (& decide where that will be!), as i start prepare to say good-bye and as i begin get ready for the next adventure. i know we're just beginning march, but if the past two months have indicated anything to me, its that time flies.

yo-yo

this is a yo-yo that teaches everything there is to know about life,
but it spins so fast
it's all a blur
& it takes a long time to figure out that
that's exactly what it's trying to teach you -story people

i feel like i'm holding the yo-yo right now.
and i really don't appreciate the life lesson its teaching me.


Sunday, March 1, 2009

another list

i made a pro/con list. well, two actually.
one for living in newberg & one for living in salem.
although i see the logic in living in the city where i work, i can't deny that my heart is in newberg. aside from being able to visualize all my concerns about this decision, these lists were exceptionally unhelpful. my head and my heart don't agree, and i don't know what i am going to do. all i know is that this week is going to be a lot of praying.

a great weekend

i had a great weekend.
after a full & busy week, it was so refreshing to get to see people i love and relax some.

ben's surprise birthday party!
alison, ben, brent
amberle, jacob, ben & rebecca
(with swiss family robinson to follow at my place!)
my track meet buddies: abby, lisa & alison
doing our stretches
girl's basketball game with my room-mate
they've had a perfect season!
amanda & alison