My Brother and Sister are the Coolest EVER!!!!

Yesterday they went on a secret mission to retrieve an old desk that had been dumped in the desert. They're going to fis it up :)
I LOVE THEM TONS!!!

WOOHOO!

I am SO excited for this friday!!!

I wish Kristen could be coming with!!! It reminds me of last December..... :) fun sister times!!!

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

text: George Matheson
music: Chris Miner

1. O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer fuller be.

2. O Light, that follow’st all my way,
I yeild my flick’ring torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day,
May brighter, fairer be.

3. O Joy, that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

4. O Cross, that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red,
Life that shall endless be.

This is on Indelible Grace's self titled album. I like all of their songs but I am currently very much enjoying this one. I've been thinking a lot about the sovereignty of God...I am being continually brought back to the magnitude of who Christ is and what that means even just in daily life--how it does or should affect the way I live, etc.
I love the title and opening line: O Love that will not let me go. It's so beautiful and full of hope. I've been feeling really exhausted and incapable of a lot of things lately...being reminded of His love that will not let me go is wonderfully reassuring and incredibly renewing.
I have to go write a paper. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. 17 days until thanksgiving break! I am SOOOO excited. I can't wait to give and get hugs! hehee.

PS hymns are so rich

Fall is SO Beautiful!!

I love walking up the hill through the blanket of orange and yellow leaves. In the early morning when I walk to breakfast and crunch through the leaves I smell that musty, earthy, autumn smell. aahh. It is so amazing. And in the later afternoon the light filters through the trees and the ground is illuminated! It's absolutely astounding! Here are a few pictures...though they don't quite do it justice :)
(hallie took the pictures...she had a "picture time" yesterday. She's super cute :))
PS a few of the bottom ones remind me of what Narnia must be like :) Lovely, magical, mysterious, beautiful...

One of the Many Caedmon's Call Songs I Love...

You Created

Who is like unto the Lord our God
Who dwelleth on high, Who dwelleth on high
Who is like unto the Lord our God
Who dwelleth on high, Who dwelleth on high

You dwell in glory
The heavens are Your home
You began the story
And made Your beauty known

But You created nothing
That gives me more pleasure than You
And You won't give me something
That gives me more pleasure than You

You hung the planets
In Your image You made man
I'm overcome and broken
At the wonders of Your hand

Bummer

It's official! Plato says I'm stupid:

"Then a soul which forgets cannot be ranked among genuine philosophic natures; we must insist that the philosopher should have a good memory." -Plato, The Republic


sigh

Putting Things in Perspective

Please Pray.
My Grandma took my Grandpa to the emergency room in the middle of the night last night. His chemo has recently been having a huge affect on him. He has been throwing up a lot and is really malnourished and dehydrated. They have him hooked up to an IV but he's really weak. When he was throwing up last night he started bleeding internally. They don't really know what's wrong, he'll be in testing all day today. I love him so much. I wish I could be there with him...I'm grateful for the time I'll have at thanksgiving.
Times like these help put life in perspective. What is really important? How do we spend our time? How should we spend our time? What things are lasting and therefore worth devoting ourselves to?...just some thoughts.
Please pray.

Just Missing My Friends

A LOT

Derek Webb

Derek Webb has a new album releasing Dec 26th!!! I can't wait! It's called Mockingbird...if you want to hear song clips go to grassroots. It sounds more like his new one than his old one...which is kind of a bummer, but it still sounds great. I can't wait! woohoo! And I'm going to his concert in two weeks!

I'll post about fall break asap. There's a lot to tell. It was wonderful...but i didn't really do any homework! yikes :(

Oh well, that's what breaks are for......right?

Missing My Home

All this talk about going home to see family this weekend makes me sad. Don't get me wrong, I'm SUPER excited to go home with Hallie and meet her friends, spend time with her family, eat real food, etc. But all the excitement makes me miss MY family. A LOT.
I got an email from my grandma this morning. She's going to put together a goodie box for me to bring back with me after thanksgiving! So then I started thinking about thanksgiving...and all my wonderful family! I miss them TONS. It's going to be so fun...just listen to all the people who will be there: Kristen, Luke, Mom, Dad, Jay (more time with Jay. yay!), Piko (we're still working on him...but it's pretty much a given. we've decided, even if he hasn't), uncle matt, and papa and grandma! woohoo! Yummy food, yummy cookies, wonderful people. God is so good!
Now I have to buckle down and focus so i can get there...must study lots. Alright, I'm off to meet with professor Sundahl about paper topic ideas. Man, oh man! I don't know what to write about!!

Perhaps I'll update this weekend from Hallie's. If not, I'll be back sunday or monday to update and load PICTURES! I love pictures.

PS My brother is pretty much the worlds coolest kayaker...yep

Fun Times

Allie's visit was SO much fun!! She got in Thursday night and hung out while Hallie and I were in class on Friday morning. I thought about skipping math to hang out with her but ultimately decided against the idea (actually...piko gave me a speech about how it is my duty to go to class, even when i don't want to. so i went. bummer). alas. We left for Jackson around 1 on friday afternoon. By "we" I mean Allie, Hallie, and I. We went to the parlour for ice cream (YUM) and then went to target to shop. WOOHOO! Lots of fun :)
We got back to Hillsdale around 6:15 and ran into Kroger to buy groceries for dinner. We picked Donna and Emily up and then went straight over to Piko's to cook. It was SO fun...and SO good!! We had quesadillas (crispy because we used his oven!), chips and salsa, with beans, avocado, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and grapes for desert. Oh my goodness! I ate SOOO much!! We also watched center stage. good movie. A special thanks to Piko for letting us use his apartment and awesome kitchen (and we didn't burn it down!)
When we got back to campus we decided to stop by Galloway so the guys (isaac and mark) could spend more time with Allie. We ended up watching Raising Arizona in downstairs Kresge (in my history room...hehe). The group included: mark, isaac, brad, jared, chase, erin, allie, hallie, and myself (and occasionally andy). It was a very interesting and bizarre movie. But sometimes funny...mostly it was fun to hang out with people. And people don't know very well still. After the movie was over we started walking back to Galloway...but saw leaves and decided they would be fun to play in :) so we played with leaves. It was amazing.
We didn't end up going to bed until around 3:00! ack! And we had to get up the next morning for our super cool shopping adventure. Allie, Donna, and I drove to Lansing to visit a few malls. It took longer than it should have. we got lost a few times. oops. it was really fun. we always managed to fin the right road...mostly by accident. We found lots of great deals...at Gap, Old Navy, etc. AND!! I had a kristen moment...I ran into an old family friend! Her AND her daughter...they're from the UP and used to go to the same church as us up there. I was good friends with their youngest daughter and kristen was good friends with their oldest daughter. It worked out nicely. It was so weird to see them there. but cool!!
On the way back to Hillsdale we made a few detours. some on purpose some on accident. hehe. We wanted to stop a few times to take pictures of the BEAUTIFUL trees! oohhh. so pretty!
Once we got back we just hung out and talked...and played apples to apples and "I have never..." and even our own version, "I have..." Basically this weekend was a blast. And now I have to do tons of homework. this always happens...bummer.
Enjoy the pictures!

PS I'm really missing my family today. a whole lot. probably the most yet. sigh.

Pumpkin Carving

So today Hallie, Isaac, Jared, Chase, Andy, and I went to the Arb to carve pumpkins. It was Jared's idea and he bought the pumpkins. Chase brought crazy patterns...they are so hard core about their pumpkin carving. I always just did a triangle for the eyes, the nose, and then a smiley mouth with teeth showing. :) hehe. They did owls, faces, and andy did the headless horseman. crazy. Hallie and I were in charge of the de-gooing. my favorite part :)
It was a beautiful afternoon (but got a bit chilly in the shade). The trees in the Arb are all different colors...and the leaves are falling! There was this crazy muskrat or something in the pond that kept swimming across with grass in its mouth. All we saw was a moving tuft of grass. Pretty confusing at first...quite the sight.
It was a wonderful afternoon. But now I really must study. LOST comes on in two hours and I have 40 latin vocab words to learn by friday and a whole bunch of english reading. sigh.
YAY for Autumn. It is SO BEAUTIFUL! But i'm discovering already that as much as i like cold weather, I'm going to need more warm clothes. :)

My Silly Mom....and special news!!

I got this email today from my mom...with pictures of porcupine babies. Aren't they CUTE?!?! I think so. OH!...and the special news is this: we now have an answering machine that accepts long distance phone calls!! WOOHOOO! PLEASE CALL!

ALL I WANT IS REAL FOOD!

Oh man, oh man! I want my mom's wonderful cooking!

Things I miss most:
-real mashed potatoes (the ranch kind)
-my mom's beans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-fajitas/tacos and la mesa tortillas (don't forget the guacamole and fresh salsa!)
-my mom's seasoned, baked chicken
-corn on the cob
-spaghetti
-my mom's lasagna
-my mom's gourmet WONDERFUL pizza! (the best in the whole wide world)
-stir fry and rice
-my mom's "special" gourmet, broiled sandwiches with slices of avocado and tomato. YUM
-mom's fresh caesar salad with grilled chicken...or even just her regular salad that is so so good
-HER FRESH BREAD!...and cookies, and occasional pies, and any and all other baked goods

The list pretty much goes on forever. Now that I'm hungry and depressed I think i'll go finish my latin.

PS This crazy reading program I am doing made my eyes burn today! they're still super sore...exercising the eyes is more painful than it sounds (the visual span and visual swing really take it out of me. phew)...all that to say i can't focus on my homework because my eyes are burning! I suppose looking at the computer screen won't help...hmmm. sleep sounds good. soon!