Hannah

Yesterday in my photography class my teacher brought in her 8 year old daughter Hannah. Hannah has been blind since birth. She read us a story in class and I was amazed watching her read braille. Hannah was very intelligent and was very enthusiastic when reading. Her personality was so spunky and I thought she was so precious. I truely enjoyed meeting Hannah.

My teacher, Rebekah Hubley, has the cutest family! Her blog http://movingmountainshubleystyle.blogspot.com is very moving. Her daughter Hannah and son Jonas, who is from Haiti, are both blind. Her older son Micah struggles with spina bifida. Her family is also going to be adopting a girl from China who is also blind. I would encourage you to read her blog. Her families story has impacted my life and I hope that it will impact yours as well.

Oh Happy Day!!

I just found out that Cassie, Bradie, Emily and I will be living in FORESTER VILLAGE next year! I'm so stoked! Kellyn, Beth, Brittany and Carrie also got into the apartments! Woo hoo we're all so excited! This news really brightened up my day = ]

Tonight I have night class, boo. I'm hoping we get out early. This week our assignment was experimenting with people in black and white. Here's one of the picture's I'm turning in.

I think it turned out pretty well = ] Then tonight after class I have to study for Ed. Psych. And we have a mandatory floor meeting. Yep my life is pretty lame right now hahaha. I hope you're all having a good start to your week!

Overused?

I was wondering if the word love can be overused? So often I find myself saying I love that or I love this, but do I really truly love it? I think I use the word love just a little bit too much. The word love has become one of my main words that I use to describe something.

Here is a list of things I say I love, but don't actually love:

• my clothes
• the books I read
• the TV shows I watch (except for Greys)
• my pictures
• my shoes
• Roxy
• my bike
• my cell phone
• Facebook
• my camera

Here's a list of things that I do actually love:

• my Saviour
• my parents
• my brother
• my extended family
• Dusty (RIP)
• my friends

There is a big difference between my two lists. My first list is all made up of material things and my second list is all the important people in my life. Instead of saying love when I describe things I am going to say enjoy or like, etc. The word love is so strong and I feel that it should be used in moderation.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 reminds us of what love really is

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does now envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Change of Heart

The past couple of days God has really been speaking to me about how I need a change of heart. Last night I just prayed that God would give me a better all around attitude. I have been holding things in from the past and I decided that I need to get over them and move on. I don't want to have any enemies so I finally decided that I would bridge the gap with some people who I have broken friendships with. Things are starting to turn out positively and I'm very glad.

I was reading in James 3 last night and some of the verses really stuck out to me.

• verse 6 talks about how we need to tame our tongues because the tongue corrupts the whole person
• verse 10 talks about how cursing and praising to God should not come out of the same mouth

So to all who read my blog, I am trying to work on taming my tongue and sticking to my change of heart. Pray for me : )

Spring Break went by too fast!!

Spring Break 09 flew by! I felt like I took one blink and it was already time to head back to Indiana. I'd like to share with you some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

This was where we stayed, Marriott Beach Place Towers. It was wonderful!! Thank you Luke's parents : )

This was the view from our balcony. Absolutely amazing!! I want to go back right now!!

This was our first official night in Fort Lauderdale. We went out to eat at this wonderful restaurant called Mangos. However we decided not to take a cab back and ended up walking about 3 miles back. I got some pretty bad blisters, actually I still have them.

Beach day #2. It was a gorgeous day! Just the right amount of wind and the sun was so strong! I loved it!! We also saw some sexy women wearing thongs, however I didn't get a picture haha.

This is probably one of the most awkward pictures, but I love it. I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends to go on spring break with. We had so much fun together!!

This was our 3rd day but it rained ALL DAY!! But the waves were AWESOME so we went in the ocean even though it was freezing! Patrick came out with us, he was the only brave boy.

Patrick and I didn't plan to match, it just always happens : ) We went out for a nice walk on the strip together. It was wonderful!!

This was Emily's last day with us : ( It was a little too windy to be at the beach so we decided to lay out by the pool. We relaxed pretty much all day while reading our books = ]

Our last day at the beach!! It was pretty sunny though so I was happy. However I decided to not put any sunscreen on and I ended up regretting my decision later.

We decided to dress up for our last night. We went to this fancy restaurant called Charlie's Crab. It was right on the intercoastal canal and our table was by a huge yacht.

Patrick and I

We bought matching shirts and wore them on the way home : )

Well these pictures pretty much sum up my trip. I had such a good time and I want to go back right now. I am so sick of school!! Only 8 more weeks until summer baby!!

SPRING BREAK!

Yes, you've guessed it! Spring Break 09 is FINALLY here! I leave tomorrow for Fort Lauderdale! Bring on the beach, sun and ocean! I'm so excited...it's supposed to be in the high 70s and low 80s the whole week! I'm just praying that it doesn't rain at all. So I just wanted to inform you that I will not be posting anything for the next week. To all my friends, I hope you have a GREAT spring break. Until next time...

Tribute to my best friends!

Over this past year and a half I have come to realize that I have amazing friends in my life. When I graduated high school early, I was sad to leave my friends behind. My life began to change and none of them realized what I was going through. But this year they are all going through the same I went through. I believe that we are now all on the same page in how much we value one anothers friendships. I have some crazy unique friends, but my life would be so boring without them.

Stephanie Joyce Cook

We were pretty much inseparable from 7th grade through senior year and we always have a great time. She knows me inside and out! We can go without talking for over a month and pick up right where we left off!

Brittney Paige Anglin

We've been friends since 4th or 5th grade. We have so much fun together and this girl cracks me up. I feel like we always pick up where we left off too = ]

Benjamin James Fox

We've been friends since 5th grade and there's never a dull moment. He's my tight like an "X" buddy and we're pretty much always normal when we're together.

Whittley Sheets

We've only been friends for about 2-3 years, but I feel like I've known her for much longer. She is one of the sweetest girls you'll ever meet.

Tiffany Faith Neilson

I'm not really sure how long we've been friends, but she came into my life because of Alex : ) She now lives in Florida and I never get to see her!

Jordan Lee Kirkdorffer

We've been friends for about 3-4 years and we always have a rockin time together. He goes to college in Nashville so I never get to see him.

Alexander Andres Korenstra

We've been friends since junior high. This is typically what Alex is doing every time we hang out haha. He has a great laugh and runs track at Notre Dame!

Dustin James Eby

We've been friends since junior high and this is a typical Eby face. He is one of the biggest goofballs I know!

As we go on, we remember, all the times we had together and as our lives change, from whatever, we will still be friends forever

I just wanted you all to know that I love you all SO much and I miss you all like crazy! I can't wait until summer so we reunite again = ]

Spring Break is almost here!!!

Sorry I haven't had time to blog lately. I've been so busy with getting all my homework done and I went home this past weekend. But good news...only 3 more days until spring break and 5 more days until FLORIDA!!

Spring break will start after...

• I go to 6 more classes
• Attend 2 more chapels
• Take 2 more tests
• Take 1 quiz
• Get plenty of sleep
• Clean my room and bathroom
• Pack

I'M SO READY FOR SPRING BREAK ITS INSANE! I'm ready to relax and not worry about school at all. All I can think about is the sun, sand and ocean. Eeeee I'm so pumped!

On another note, American Idol is on for TWO HOURS tonight! Its the Top 13! Get excited! Kellyn and I have already claimed the Roush 2nd lounge = ]

I hope you all make it through the next 3 days! Good luck with your tests!!

SB on the Brain

I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to study. I have two tests tomorrow and I don't want to study at all! There are only 9 days until I get a break from school and only 11 more until I head to FLORIDA!!! I can't freaking wait! Right now all I can think about is spring break. In 11 days I will be here = ]

I hope the next week and a half goes by so fast! Tonight I will have no social life because I have to study. BOO!

Sorry to my fans...this post wasn't one of my better ones.

Photography Class

I am really enjoying the photography class that I'm taking. I thought at the beginning of the semester that it was going to be pretty hard, but it's not hard at all. Brittany and I are learning some great ways to take pictures and I LOVE IT! This week's assignment was exposure and light. We had to experiment with moving light.

This was the first one I tried

Brittany spun Christmas lights around and I set the shutter speed at 30 secs

Thanks friends for spelling out my name!! I love it!

The last two photos I am turning in for class. Tonight I have class until 9, then AGP meeting at 10 and then working on my geography presentation with my Bachelor obsessed partners. Hopefully we have time to work on it : )

Wonderful Weekend

I had a wonderful weekend at home! It was so good to be with my family again. Friday night I hung out at home and it was so nice to be with my family. Saturday morning my mom and I headed to the mall to do some shopping. I got a ton of great stuff! Seeing all the summer clothes made me want to be in Florida so bad! 2 more weeks baby! Here's a glimpse at what I got...

The weekend went by way too fast. Before I knew it...it was Sunday. I loaded up my stuff and headed back to HU. I hope the next 2 weeks fly by because I am so ready for spring break. I have so much stuff to do before spring break though. Boo school! Well I hope you all had a great weekend! Until next time...