Generosity

Just recently, I was the subject of what I would consider kind of a random act of kindness. A friend did for me literally one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me before. I was shocked to the point of almost saying no because I could not fathom the enormity of his gesture. But my friend is kind of the deepest parts of his soul and refused to let me say no. So I didn't and it has given me so much joy. And made me think a lot as well. There's a part of me that is jealous because I wish I was able to be that generous for others. Which got me thinking even more. What does it mean to be generous? Does it have to be some grand gesture or can you be generous on a small scale? Does generosity have to involve something material or can it involve some other area, like emotions? My hope for myself is that I will be able to find ways to be generous to others on the smaller scale and look forward to when I have opportunities to be generous on a much larger scale! And just because I feel like making you all think about it too...what is something generous that you have done for someone or has been done for you in the past?

Mountain Sunrise

**I wrote this post a couple weeks ago when I was bored in class (imagine that) and never got around to posting it. Better late than never, right?

This past (way past) Sunday, Easter, a few of my friends and I got up at 4 in the morning to go to the 6am sunrise service at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in the mountains near Denver. For those of you who don't know what Red Rocks is, it is a natural amphitheatre with great acoustics surrounded by beautiful red rocks (duh.). Definitely a small piece of God's handiwork.

Going to this service was a great experience. Walking into the amphitheatre with 10,000 people in pitch black, watching the sun rise over Denver and leaving under blue, cloudless skies is something I will remember for a long time. The service itself was nice but left a lot to be desired, in my opinion. I'm really glad I went though. :)

And now! we only have 3 (actually only 1.5 now!) weeks of classes left in the semester and then one week of "finals" and paperwork. I seriously can't believe I'm almost finished with two semesters of graduate school! Then only two semesters of classes left. And then lots of big decisions need to made. Oiy. But worrying about all of that will come later. First comes playing in the mountains. :) My friends and I are all working on making our Colorado summer bucket lists so we don't miss out on anything. The best part of the summer is that we will only have class 3 days a week which leaves plenty of time to play! Sooo, summer would be the perfect time to plan your visit! HINT, HINT. NUDGE, NUDGE. :)

In all honesty, thoughts of hiking and horseback riding and rock climbing and rafting and laying by the pool and playing volleyball under the sunny and cloudless blue skies are what will keep me going for the last couple weeks of the semester. Here's hoping it will work!

Family Ties

My family ties have gotten stronger and stronger as I get older and move farther away from home. And because of that, I have missed my family intensely since I moved out to Colorado. But then I get to be thankful for things like Spring Break and cars and good highways that bring my family out to visit me!

My mom, dad and sister (we missed you brohan!!!) were out here this past Saturday through Wednesday and it was so awesome to have them visit. We got to do a couple of touristy things (Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Celestial Seasonings factory, Boulder) but the best part was that we just got to hang out. It was so nice to be able to spend time with people that know me well. I don't have to worry about what they think about me because I know they love me no matter how weird or crazy I am. :) In all honesty, if I don't learn anything else about myself and life from being out in CO (which I definitely have), I will forever be thankful for the reminder of how important my family is in my life. And I will work very hard to remind myself of that feeling when I end up having to move back in with my parents after I'm done with grad school. :)

random ramblings

I am officially in the midst of SB '10 and I'm not having a completely terrible time! I think the only reason I'm looking forward to being done with Spring Break is that we only have 6 weeks of classes left in this semester and I am quite ready for this semester to be over. (I suppose you could also say that I'm kind of (read: VERY!) excited to have my parents and sister here at the end of next week!) But with the rate things have been going around here, I will blink and it will be the middle of the summer.

Because I don't really have much else right now, here is a list of random things.
1. After years of being lame and wavy, my hair is now curly (with some effort and lots of gel).
2. New pet peeve: Greeley drivers. Especially the ones who feel the need to ride the brakes as they approach a GREEN light. Especially when I'm driving behind them on my way to school. Late, of course.
3. I have a design for a tattoo and a potential spot picked out. Now I just have to decide if I can afford it and/or if I'm just going to wuss out. Maybe I'll get it with brohan when he gets back from the big sandbox?
4. I'm not very good at living by myself so I do my best to keep myself entertained. It's a good thing there aren't hidden cameras in my apartment because you would all think I was nuts. (Seriously, I accidentally turned my recorder on one day. NOT pretty.)
5. I just signed up for my first 5k. Here's hoping I don't make a fool out of myself. Who knows, maybe this will be my first step towards running a marathon someday. (Ha!)
6. I succeeded in getting burned today while laying by a closed pool in 70+ degree weather. Thursday night and Friday it is supposed to snow. I'm gonna go ahead and say that Greeley weather is more temperamental than Michigan weather.
7. I have already read 6 books so far this week. It was kind of surprising, even to me, how badly I missed reading for pleasure, getting to immerse myself in a world that is not my own for a little bit. I wish it could be Spring Break every week so I can continue that tradition.

so close i can almost taste it! SB '10

And so the countdown begins. Starting tomorrow I have:
5 days
11 classes - 11 hours - 660 minutes
3 clients - 6 therapy sessions - 3.5 hours
1 diagnostic - 2 hours + several hours writing a report
3 midterm meetings
2 thesis meetings
plus homework and sleep.


Boy am I soooo ready for Friday at about 1pm. I don't anticipate that my SB will be all that exciting (especially compared to the last two), mostly because I will be sticking around Greeley, trying to get ahead on homework and sleep. But the time off is beyond necessary. It will be wonderful to have the days all to myself, to actually get to be outside in the sunshine instead of stuck inside all day long, getting to do whatever I want. :) All I need to do is survive the aforementioned (isn't that the weirdest word??). 

I'm hoping to do some mini day trips around Greeley, Boulder, Ft. Collins, etc., see some movies, definitely read some books. Speaking of books, I would love some suggestions for good books to sink my teeth into for the week (not that I expect many of you have time to read all that much right now :D). Of course, if any of you want to quick buy a plane ticket and come out to visit me, I won't say no! 


On a completely unrelated note, I went up into the mountains today with a big group of people from my program to go sledding at one of our professor's cabins. Definitely one of the perks of going to school in Colorado! If you ever have the opportunity to sled down a very steep driveway on the side of one of the foothills, I would highly recommend it! I would not recommend, however, creating a train using 3 sleds and 9 people. It doesn't work out that well except for crashing and catching some good air as you ride over the snowbanks on the side. Overall, it was a MUCH needed break from the normal mundane weekends I've been experiencing lately. 

Here's hoping I make it through the week with my sanity still kind of around!

::shocked gasp::

...she posted!

My mom keeps bugging me about how I am still "in the midst of chaos". In other words, she thinks it's annoying that I haven't updated my blog in about...3 months. Whoops. BUT, unfortunately (and not all that surprisingly), the label still applies, although in a bit of a different way.

I'm going to back up for a second, though, and go back to my wonderful month off of school. It was probably one of the most amazing months I have had in a long, long time. Not only because I didn't have to worry about school for a whole 31 days but also because it was jam-packed with the people and places I happen to love most in this world.

Because describing that month in detail would require you to sit and read for a verrrry long time (which I know you don't want to do), I will break it down in an easy-to-read list format of the best parts:
     *sleeping in my own bed.
     *driving my parent's new car.
     *hanging out with my fabulous family! (especially my parents and sister, of course)
     *visiting the lou and scoping out Mal's territory in the south (the drive was NOT one of the best parts. Illinois is freaking boring to drive through. good job home state)
     *spending lots and lots of quality time in Michigan, more specifically G-Rap (I even got the shirt!)
     *hanging out with my favorite Green Beret.
     *seeing two of my wonderful friends pledge forever love to two beautiful women.
     *partying at a couple weddings and on New Year's Eve with the greatest group of friends a girl could ask for!
     *going to church again at Ada Bible.
     *sleeping in past 7 am.
Kind of a rag tag list, I know, but it's just a short summary of my month. Despite the fact that I live near the mountains, that month back home really tempted me to skip my flight back to Colorado and just have someone ship my stuff back to the Midwest so I could stay forever. If nothing else, my Christmas break helped me realize that I will forever me a Midwest girl at heart.


Ever since I got back out here, though, time has just been flying by, faster than I ever though it could. We are already finishing up our 7th week of classes and clinic this semester! School has been very different this semester as compared to the fall. I now have 3 clients all on my own and while I'm just barely beginning to feel more competent, it is definitely stressful trying to figure out what in the world I'm doing. I think the biggest frustration of this semester is working out the best way to serve my clients and remembering that I'm still a student at the same time. I'm still in the process of finding the right balance for all of that. (Although, I've never been good with time management or homework so you can all pretty much guess how that whole thing is going.) So, to sum it up, I'm busy. And stressed out. And already ready for the semester to be over.


Thankfully, there are several shining lights in the midst of it all. 1. I love my friends out here. They are just a great encouragement and never fail to make me laugh, which is the perfect thing to make me forget the stress for a quick second. 2. I have been singing with the praise team in my church every once in a while and it is so wonderful. I think I forgot what an escape singing can be for me and to get to help lead my church in worship make it just that much better! 3. A couple of girls from my program and I started a Bible study. We meet once a week and we're doing a Navigator's study on experiencing God in your life. Not only has it drawn me into closer relationships with these girls, it has also brought me closer to God and closer to an understanding of who He is in my life. I come away from Thursday night with such a sense of much needed peace. I honestly don't think I would be surviving the semester without it.


I know that was a lot to read and I appreciate that you stuck with it. :) I had to make up for a three month absence somehow though, right? Hopefully it won't be so long in between posts but, you just never know! :)

in the midst of chaos...

...I'm still here! 

Surprise! It's much easier for me to update my blog when it involves procrastinating on homework than when it means taking up good family/relaxation time. It also helps that I'm sitting in a class that no longer holds my attention because my brain just dead. 

I know it's been a long time since I updated and I apologize for that. Sometimes it's hard for me to motivate myself to do writing "for fun" after spending my time doing writing by force. Thank you graduate school. Plenty of fun things have happened in my life in the past couple of months and I hope to put up some pictures of those activities when I have more time.

At this point, I only have three (!) days of class left and next week is finals. I have spent all day trying to fathom the fact that (1) it's December (umm...what??), (2) I have almost completed my first semester of graduate school and (3) in a week and a half I will be back in the Midwest for a whole month. 


My time out here in Colorado has just flown by. I feel like I have barely moved here and now I'm winding up the semester. The best part of all of this is that I get a break for a WHOLE month when this is finished. I never thought I would say that I would be excited to get back to the midwest. But I am. Don't get me wrong, I love Colorado. Unfortunately, I have not been able to enjoy this state as much as I would have liked. And the taste of home that I got in the 5 days over Thanksgiving just about did me in. I was pretty ready to skip my final projects and my finals and never come back to Colorado. Yeah, I'm that stressed out.

I think that's all for now. I'm only allowed to procrastinate for so long these days. The rest of this week and the beginning of next week will be pretty close to the fire down below but knowing that I get to spend quality time with family and friends in the very near future is the only thing that is motivating me to continue. Your prayers for peace, sanity and concise writing will be greatly appreciated. 


On a MUCH happier, sunnier note, constant Christmas music makes me smile. And is much needed. And seriously awesome. **Simply having a wonderful Christmas time!**

sneak peek.

eastern slope of the rocky mountains.

western slope of the rocky mountains.

much, much more to come!! 

public education at its finest.

We spent the first hour of my 3 hour night class watching the Tigers/Twins game online because my professor is a huge Twins fans. Good thing I'm not paying a lot of out of state tuition for this class...


::insert annoyed face picture here::
                

SLP love.

I seriously love my "job". I have one client this semester and she is just adorable. I'm so happy to finally be working with kids. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed working with adults at Calvin. But, to have an idea of the direction I want my career to go and to have it proved in just a few short weeks at UNC, awesome. Even better, I'm turning into a total nerd. We were working on a sound today that I thought would take several weeks to even get a semi-correct production. Right towards the end of the session, she got it! and I wanted to jump up and down with joy. I was just so excited that she was figuring it out and I was the one helping her do it!! So rewarding, even on this tiniest level. Sigh. I just LOVE it. :)

the familiar.

Not gonna lie, I have really been missing the familiar lately. Between all the fabulous pictures I've seen of ArtPrize (extremely bummed I can't see all of that beauty, by the way) and the updates from my fabulous roommates that I've been getting, it makes me a little bit sad that life has moved on.

I know I've said this before, but every once in a while, the fact that I am a fourteen hour car ride away from everything I've ever known decides to just slam me in the face. So please bear with me as I make myself a little list.

I miss:
*my roommates (all 6 of them) and every interaction, planned and unplanned, that living in a house with 6 beautiful, funnay (yes, not just funny), talented, powerhouse women entails.
*other friends that saturate my memories from the last four years (the hope house, vassar boys and girls, rossman girls, almont girls, just to name a few).
*grand rapids. downtown. reeds lake. kava house. having the mall close by. mom and dad scholten and vanderlaan's houses. the derb. queen's pub. wolfgangs. marie catrib's. pita house. wealthy street bakery. calvin college. the campus store.
*ada bible church. pastor jeff's sermons. anne ferris and the rest of the DV team. the kids and their enthusiastic participation in their favorite music! DV:FX and my brief foray back into acting.
*the general feeling of being at home and the sense of belonging and comfort.
*the beauty of fall in michigan. the changing leaves. the crisp air. enjoying michigan football games (go BLUE!).

Needless to say, I loved living in Grand Rapids and thoroughly enjoyed the four years I was there. I really just wish I could somehow combine that experience (well, mostly the people) with where I am at right now. That would make life just wonderful. But, instead, I am working on loving Colorado, Greeley, UNC and loving the memories that I got to make in the center of the mitten state. :)

Officially Official.

As I sat down to write this, I realized that I have been living in Greeley for a full month. Time has flown by! School has been in session for three weeks. We've mostly gotten past all the intro/review work in our classes and we're finally starting to dive into new material. I'm definitely still working on getting back into the school/homework mindset. It's been a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, mostly because a lot of people that I know are not back in school and doing homework.

As a whole, graduate school has been a bit of a mix between what I expected and not at all what I expected. I decided not to get a job right away because I wanted to make sure that I could get this new schedule under my belt before I added more to the mix. But, after working along with my course load at Calvin for 3 years, I feel like I have a ton of time on my hands. I really like it but it's definitely different to get done with class at 12:05 or 1:45 (or 8:50 on Wednesdays :D) and not have anything to do.

I'm also still working on getting used to the fact that I'm in Colorado, halfway across the country from anywhere else I've ever lived. Even though I did the drive myself, it's still not quite sticking. Just this week, one of the girls in my program was talking about finding some Michigan State gear (her husband is a fan. gross.) in the local Wal-Mart. In my mind, that was not strange at all. I'm used to seeing UM!/MSU stuff in stores all the time. I didn't get it until one of the other girls started laughing about how far away we are from Michigan. That kind of rocked my mind a little bit.

Speaking of the girls in my program! They are beyond awesome. We are all quite different but I've connected with a group of them that I think I'm going to become really great friends. This weekend, a bunch of us went up to one of my professor's cabins in the mountains and had a great time hiking and hanging out. Although, I must admit, the more I hang out with them, the more I realize how much I miss everyone from back home (both MI and IL). I was homesick for the first time this past weekend, especially after I remembered that I couldn't just make a quick drive to see my family or my friends. So, know that you are all missed sorely.

But, don't take that to mean that I wish I wasn't out here. Like I've said before, I really feel like this is the place for me. I am absolutely in love with this city and this state. I'm doing my best to get involved in things and see as much as I can. That way, when you all come to visit me (hint, hint), I will be a fabulous tour guide. :) Seriously though, I have an air mattress that is just begging to be used. Come visit!!

New beginnings.

It's kind of funny how big changes and new adventures in your life make you almost forget what came before. I haven't even been in Greeley for a week and I already feel like I've been here forever. While the still unsettled state of my apartment and lack of a social schedule tell me that isn't the case, I feel like Chicago and Calvin are lightyears away. Obviously, I miss them immensely (the people in those places even more so) and it feels strange to not be in either place but I'm really excited to be where I am now. As I said before, I'm settling more and more into the comfort that this is where God wants me to be and I'm ready to see what He has in store for me while I'm here.

The trip out here was both eventful and uneventful at the same time. Other than the obvious 'I'm-moving-way-across-the country-away-from-everyone-I-know' thing, nothing big happened. We, my parents and I, drove west on I-80, then I-76 and then I-34 (a super easy trip. you should come visit) with an overnight stop in Nebraska along the way. We arrived in Greeley around 11 on Tuesday morning and (mostly) had fun unpacking and getting set up. We were able to find some of the furniture that I needed and made several trips to Target for other necessities, plus fun things of course. :) My parents were actually only here for 24 hours but I am beyond thankful that they made the trip with me. I don't think I would have survived such a big move on my own. My dad made things happen and my mom made sure things didn't happen (mainly, any panic attacks on my part). And since their departure I've made a friend, got a library card, got a UNC id card, got my books (all $2387498345 worth), unpacked more boxes, explored more of Greeley, climbed part of a mountain, visited Estes Park and so much more.

And so, that brings me to the next adventure on my list. School starts tomorrow! I'm both nervous and excited. I'm ready to get started, to have something to do with my days (even if it is lectures and homework), to make friends, to learn more about what I love to do. But I'm nervous about being at a new school, about making new friends, about being a good example of Christ and His love, about the lectures and the homework and the clients. Your prayers are much appreciated!!

Pictures of the trip out to Colorado and my apartment!

Climb every mountain...

I feel like I've climbed several mountains in the past week, both literally and figuratively. Obviously, the move across the United States to the beautiful state of Colorado has been a bit of an adventure (more on that later). I'm adjusting pretty well and I'm very excited to share pictures and stories. After several failed attempts, I created this blog (welcome, by the way) and now feel more technologically stupid for the endeavor.

And, just this morning, I climbed an actual mountain (well, only part of the way up. stupid lack of oxygen) with my new friend, Diana. It was a beautiful small mountain called Crosier Mtn. near Estes Park that afforded some great views of beautiful peaks and valleys. Part of the way up, we decided to stop and catch our breath and found this great rock formation to sit on that overlooked some pretty fabulous scenery. (Part of the view from our rock ^) I'm not usually one for silence but sitting up there around 8:30 in the morning, it was incredible to just hear nothing. It was so peaceful and definitely a place I will return to with my Bible because God was just so evident there.

Even though I've only been here for 3.5 days, I have already fallen in love with Greeley and the mountains and Colorado. My overall consensus, despite all the hard work I'm going to have to do for school, is that I'm really going to enjoy living here. I truely feel that this is where God wants me to be, where I can grow and learn a whole lot about myself and enjoy some adventure all at the same time!