Energetic Eighteenth

Jon and I on our 6 month anniversary :)

On my way to dinner and a movie with friends...

So for almost 2 weeks I have not had to work, I was not on the schedule for awhile and then the family I work for had their step-daughter keep the 2 kids for awhile so, I am on a semi vacation...however, the setback to this is not making money so hopefully I will be back on the schedule this week! 

I have had so much energy during this 2 week break, I helped clean out my room at home-my parents have our house on the market, and helped my get the house cleaned and organized, then came back to Cleveland and helped my boyfriend clean and organize his house and we celebrated our 6 month anniversary :) then I spent all of yesterday cleaning my room and getting things that I never had a chance to unpack, unpacked. I still have some unpacking to do but should be done in the next few days.

I also have just had a blast with my friends this week, just so much fun hanging out and spending time together, it's really felt more like summer and its been so nice :)

So, I am gonna clean some more and then meet Jonathan at the gym for bf/gf workout! 

Love.

Food for today's thought:

"The summer night is like a perfection of thought." -Wallace Stevens

Short Seventeenth

Not much to update here...Zoe made it safely to Colombia and we miss her already!

Tomorrow is my 6 month (new) anniversary with Jonathan, so I am going back to Cleveland; I've been at home for over a week just chillin with the fam.

Today mammy and peepaw (my grandparents) came over and brought lunch with them-mammy's famous chicken salad! It was nice to hangout and fellowship.

This afternoon Aaron, Zoe's boyfriend-who is living at our house on and off- and I are going to see The new Batman movie The Dark Knight, I'm trying to befriend him and help take his mind off missing Zo so much poor guy :(

So, thats all for now!

Food for today's thought: 

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."- Martin Luther King Jr.

Sorta Sad Sixteenth

A montage for Zo:

This is Zoe's leaving week, she is moving to Bogota, Colombia in South America to be a missionary for awhile, and I am sorta sad thats she's leaving, sorta sad in the sense that I am so happy for her because she has been wanting this for so long but sad in the sense that I am gonna miss her soo much! 

Zo, I know that your gonna read this, and I just want you to know that I love you so much and I am so glad that through the crappy stuff I got you :) I am soo excited that you are gonna live out the calling you have felt for so long and I can't wait to see what happens with dresses ;)

Love you so much!

Food for today's thought:

"Sisters annoy, interfere, criticize. Indulge in monumental sulks, in huffs, in snide remarks. Borrow. Break. Monopolize the bathroom. Are always underfoot. But, if catastrophe should strike, sisters are there, defending you against all comers. -Pam Brown

Feeling Fifteenth

Well, as the title says, I am feeling...a lot. Although I don't really feel like getting into it all, I did want to express some of my thoughts.

I am missing my boyfriend Jonathan, due to my Canadian visit and his ministry work we have only seen each other one day for three weeks, and I am missing his presence in my day-to-day...

Memorial day, May 2008

I am already missing my sister, Zoe who is moving to Colombia, South America next week to start her life as a missionary there... 

Memorial day craziness, May 2008...

I am missing my dad, with little reason to give, other than with the things and thoughts that are going on right now, his presence is greatly missed...

My little brother Ben, Daddy and me circa 1992...

I am missing my 2 dear friends Andrea and Amanda because they mean the world to me, and not having them here is more difficult than I ever expected...

Amanda, Andrea and I in our last month of college together, May 2007...

So, with all that said, I know life goes on, and missing people only makes them more special :)

Food for todays thought: 

"Why can't we get all the people together in this world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-buys. I know what I need. I need more hello's. 

-Charles M. Schulz

Fresh Fourteenth

Well, as demanded :) by my sister, it's time for an update: 

So, we rolled in yesterday afternoon from Canada, exhausted, as we had gotten up at 3:30 that morning, had a flight, a layover and a delayed flight back into Atlanta...My grandparents graciously picked Zoe and I up from the airport and then waited around for Mom, Derryck and Josiah to roll in about an hour later. After picking us up they dropped Zo and Jo off and the 5 of us went to Mexican, enjoying a nice margarita and some lovely food :)

Last night I went to bed at 9, and slept til 10 this morning lol, I was soo tired, but today I felt much more fresh and revived, however it is time for sleep again, and I am getting sleepy!

Canada was amazing and so much fun, I loved being there and meeting new family, it was a definite blessing!

Tomorrow is a fun day planned with Zoe, a girls day that I am looking forward to!

Enjoy some pics of the trip! 

Food for today's thought:

"I have spread my dreams beneath your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."

-W.B. Yeats

Toronto Thirteenth

Well currently I am sitting (as you can see in the top pic) in the Toronto airport waiting for my flight to Calgary. I am meeting up with the fam for Derryck's family's family reunion...thats a weird sentence huh?

We will be in Canada til the 5th and I'm looking forward to spending my birthday-tomorrow in Banff, which everyone says is absolutely gorgeous!

This airport is huge and my feet are killing me, and I can't wait to get to where I'm getting...

The second pic is a skyline of Toronto, wish I could see more than what I get from the airport window...

I'll write soon!

Food for today's thought:

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narow-mindedness." -Mark Twain

The Totally Tired Twelfth!

Whew! I am soo worn out. Working out, working all morning every day, class every afternoon, 2 exams this week, and work 7-7 on sat and sun...I will be relieved when this week is over!!! I have had a good time this week though, I went home with Jonathan for fathers day, and then came home Sun to 2 of my friends birthdays which was a blast.

In other news, I have found a new job, a better one! I will be a nanny for two great kids, making $10 an hour! Yay! I start there this sat, the 7-7 and I am looking forward to it. 

Jonathan has been asked to come back to Virginia to take the next step in accepting a youth pastor position at a church in Richmond, and they have asked me to come as well, and they are paying for our flights and everything :) I think its crazy and cool and scary and exciting all rolled into one...just need to keep praying and being open to possibilities...

Anyway, thats all for now! 

Food for today's thought:

"Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depends on you."

-St. Augustine

Easier Eleventh

Well science has proven to be MUCH easier than I thought it was going to be. Class is supposed to be from 1-4:50 and the third day in, the latest we have gotten out is 3:30! The professor doesn't like having such long classes, so we don't stay late. There has been no homework, no quizzes and the lab is EASY! Thank God for such a break! 

On another note, I made a B+ in Spanish 211, which was the first 2 weeks of last month and a A- (!!!) in Spanish 212, the last 2 weeks of last month!!! I am soo pleased and grateful to have gotten the grades I did and I am soo happy! 

On one other note, I have lost 12 pounds since the beginning of last month! Weight Watchers and continual healthy eating and exercise have really paid off and I am happy with the results. 

Also, I am in a wedding on Saturday for a friend of mine that I have had since we were 7 and I am looking forward to seeing her and others that I haven't seen in forever.

So, this month, things are easier than I thought that they would be and I am relieved...the only downside is the waking up at 6 am, I HATE it! So please pray for continued strength for me to keep pushing through.

Food for today's thought:

"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be." -David Viscott

Tired Tenth...

All I want is sleep. Sleep, sleep and more sleep. After an entire month of spanish, that is 114 hours of class in 19 days, not to mention the 1-3 hours a night of studying and homework, I am now officially exhausted, both physically and mentally. I am on the verge of getting sick, I can feel it and that is just NOT acceptable! I started work at a Veterinary hospital last friday, the pay is great however I will have to get up at 6, leave by 7 to be at work at 7:30, work til 12, drive the 25 minutes back to Cleveland to sit in class from 1-5 every day this month. 

I am taking Earth & Space science, and PS I loathe science, especially 4 hours a day! 

So, I am tired and feeling icky and I would greatly appreciate ANY prayers you have, 

thanks and much love,

Jill

Food for today's thought:

"Science is a cemetery of dead ideas" -Miguel de Unamuno

"If it's green or wriggles, it's biology. If it stinks, it's chemistry. If it doesn't work, it's physics"

-Handy Guide to Science

N-sane Ninth!

Sorry for the lack of update, I have been soooooo busy with 6 hours a day of Spanish plus another 1-3 hours of studying every evening plus working out and sleeping haha! I don't have much to say other than Spanish is going remarkably better than I had thought, which is wonderful, but trust me it has not been easy! I will try to update later in the week!

Food for today's thought:

"Learn as much as you can while you are young, since life becomes too busy later." 

-Dana Stewert Scott