Multiple families

Throughout our lives we have different groups of people we associate and hang out with. I myself have many different groups that I call my families. My own biological family, church, friends, school, music, and these lovely people (many are not shown in the pictures below... because there are too many to fit in one pic).
This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to spend 3 days with some of the coolest people ever. We prayed, laughed, cried, screamed, snored, danced, and ate together. We sang, shivered, talked, ran, and worked together.
It was a weekend of memories and spiritual growth and I come away from this experience with a greater love for Jesus in my heart and a love for my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. And so this particular family of mine (name of group will remain anonymous) continues to grow and I am so excited about all the amazing people I get to know better and how they will better shape me to be more like Christ.

Team Clay - Christ Loving Awesome Youngsters whose goal it is to be molded by Jesus. This cool group of people was my "small group" family this past weekend. We shared serious times of heart to heart conversation, hilarious laughter, intense competition, and ernest prayer to the Lord.

Although busy with school, spending a weekend looking at this scenery does a heart good!

Gathering in my "large" group was awesome too. We had wonderful times of sharing, worship, prayer, learning, and laughter. When 80 people get together to learn more about Jesus, cool things happen!

Team Clay and other teams in an intense round of "flour in the sock". I have never played a game like this, and I will never forget the memories of this time.

And of course Team Clay stood strong, winning the final round with their general (yours truly) carrying the banner proudly to the victory!

Wonderful meals... a time to hang out with new people and then leave with them being friends!

One of my favorite friends named Kristy! We had yummy hamburgers for lunch that day. Also, it is really cold outside.

Each table was covered in paper and loaded with crayons, markers, and paint. Hence we relied on our childhood to inspire us once again and the creative juices began to flow once more.

Team time - A cool time, a blessed time, a fun time, a memorable time, a bonding, a totally God-honoring and God-present time!

My cool cousins...

My Grandpa...

Here is my grandpa... my friend, my hero, one of my greatest encouragers, and one of my best friends and most favorite people in the world. Grandpa, I will miss you. I love you!

Runin' with Daddy!!!

Saturday morning dawned cold, windy, and slightly sunny. I rolled out of bed at 8:09 with a pounding headache and quickly slipped into my running clothes. After taking something for my headache I made some toast and then daddy and I got into the car. All the way to Everson, Daddy kept saying that it was too cold to run, that it had better not be cold when we got there, and that if it rained even a few drops he would NOT run under any circumstances.
Where were we going?
Well, we were going to both run in a small race in Everson. Both of us were running the 4 mile race as we had decided that it wouldn’t be a good idea to run the ½ marathon. We arrived in plenty of time and registered. Finally after waiting for what seemed like hours, all of us the racers moved to the starting line and then we were off. Aaaaah… running! Its great! The first ¾ of a mile were glorious. Both daddy and I were flying along and passing people. But after that the wind picked up, coming in strong gusts and making it feel as though you were running in place. My pace dragged and I watched as my dad got further and further ahead of me. Eventually he was so far in front of me that I could no longer see him. I think that the next 2 miles were some of the worst miles of my life. I have decided now that running in the wind is painful, torturous and all out frustrating. I also have a theory about mile 3, because in this race there was no mile 3 mark and in the last race I did, there was no mile 3 mark as well. What is with that???
After I turned onto the last stretch that was about a mile long, I felt better. I was in a rhythm, things were going great! I passed the coffee shop that my friend Bailey works at and she came running out and cheered me on!! I love her!
And so, much to my chagrin, my dad beat me! I am very proud of him though! Yay!!! The best part was that we both placed 3rd in our age groups!! Daddy with a time of 34:25 and me with a time of 42:14!!! It was so much fun to run with him and I am so excited for the next race that we can do together!

Being Thankful for the People...

As Thanksgiving rolls around yet again, I want to stop for a moment and be thankful for as much as possible. But right here I want to especially give thanks for the people in my life ( only the first four groups are in order, the rest are random).

• The Lord: Thank you Lord for being my Rock, my Savior, my Comforter, my King. You are the One that has given me eternal life and the One that renews my strength each day. Thank you for showing me yourself and for being faithfull and kind.
• Dad and Mom: Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for desiring the best for me and striving daily to bring me closer to the Lord. Thank you for your faithfulness. I love you both.
• Melissa: Thank you for putting up with me and hanging out with me. Thank you for all the wonderful and sweet memories that we share together. I love you.
• Grandpa and Grandma: Thank you for being some of my best cheerleaders. Thank you for the pride that you take in your grandchildren and for genuinely caring about us. I love you both so much!
• Emily: Aaaah, what do I say my awesome friend? You are wonderful. I praise the Lord that He has brought you to college, it has been a blast. I love you tons! Thank you for listening to all my talking, for calling me, for IMing me, for studying with me, and for being such a great friend.
• Vanessa: Thank you friend for all the fun and encouraging talks. It has been a blast over the last year to get to know you. You are a very dear person and I look forward to getting to know you more in the future.
• Shelby: My dear, dear friend... thank you for being such a good listener, encourager, advisor, and friend. What fun memories I have with you! I feel blessed to have you in my life and am grateful for how you have helped me through tough times. You are a jewel!
• Bailey: Thank you dear for being awesome! You have brought much joy to my life. I am so glad that we are alike in so many ways. Thank you for being willing to listen and encourage and then being so much fun to be with.
• Karissa: My bestest Spanish buddy. Thank you for the late nights, the studying, the getting breakfast together and for walking me to class. You are awesome and I pray that we will be friends for the rest of our lives... and maybe towards the end of it, we can have a full conversation in Spanish.
• Grant, Dylan,Andrew: Thank you for being my "brothers". Thank you for caring about what happens in my life and being willing to help me when needed. All the times of laughing, playing, studying, talking, etc. are very important to me. Thank you for your patience and for teaching me more patience... you guys are the best brothers anyone could ask for.
• Anna: I am so grateful to the Lord for placing us in the same class! You have made it so much fun and I have so many great memories of studying and freaking out together and then being serious! What fun we have!!
• Courtney: My friend, a short time I have know you, and yet it feels like forever. You are a treasure. I miss you lots but know that the Lord has a plan for you. Thank you for your spunkiness, fun, laughter, and serious side. Remember that I am always praying for you.
• Kalee: Oh friend, what would I do without you? You are a sweet treasure to me. Thank you for all the talks and fun times. I laugh so much with you and it has been fun to watch the Lord grow and bless you over the year.
• Roxanna: What fun it has been to got to school with you. Thank you for your kind words and thoughtful encouragement. Thank you for taking my observations of things so beautifully.
• Mandy: Thank you dear one for your wisdom and care. I love you and am so grateful to the Lord for blessing me with your friendship.
• Kaisha: Thank you friend for your joy! I love being with you and have so many sweet memories. Thank you for you example of patience.
• Trevor, Ryan, Mark, Wes, Kyle: Thank you guys for being there for me at school and church. Thank you fro listening and offering words of advice, encouragement, or humor. School wouldn't be the same without you guys!
• Kelsey: My sweet friend, thank you for caring about me. I treasure the sweet talks we have had and all the times you have come along side me with a hug, a friendly word, or a thought out piece of encouragement.
• Abigail: Thank you dear for all the encouragement you give me. You are so great and I am so grateful for you. We have memories that will last us a lifetime.
• Sarah: Sweet girl, you are a treasure. You will never know what a blessing you have been in my life. Your words of wisdom have planted great seeds and I am so grateful to the Lord for allowing our paths to cross. I love you my sister in Christ.
• Jordan: Even though I don't see you very often, I know you pray for me. Thank you for caring and for genuinely wanting to know what is going on in my life.
• The Running Start Ladies (Laine, Sarah, Tricia, and Bridget): Thank you for welcoming me so kindly. Thank you for making me feel wanted and appreciated. You have made working at school such a fun experience. All four of you are very dear people and i am so thankful for the opportunity to get to know all of you better over this past quarter. What a wonderful team you make!
• Corina: I have felt so blessed to get to know you over the last few months. You have blessed me greatly by your example of gentleness and patience!
• Mrs. Larsen: My second "mother". Thank you for your sweet words of encouragement. Thank you for giving me opportunities to minister. Your care and love mean so much to me and I love you.
• Kristi: Thank you dear one for you example. Thank you for your encouragement and advice! You have been a great friend to me.
• Pastor Steve, Pastor Dax, Pastor Mark: Thank you to the greatest pastors. Thank you for shepherding your flock according to Scripture and for making God the most important. I have learned so much from all three of you.
• Janel: You are so much fun and I have laughed tons with you. Thank you for your kind and gentle spirit.
• My Brigadoon buddies: What fun you all are!!! We were the most amazing cast ever. You all have been such a blast to get to know and I will forever treasure the many times spent dancing, singing, laughing, talking, and acting. You are my stage family!
• Brittany: Thank you dear for your ready encouragement and smile. You always brighten up my day and bless me.
• My piano students: What talent!!!! I am so blessed!!! You all constantly blow me away. I love you all and am so thankful to the Lord for blessing me with 7 of the best students in the world!
• Marg: Thank you Marg for giving me so many wonderful opportunities. Thank you for teaching me so much and being flexible and encouraging with my schedule.
• Mr. Rutgers: Thank you for directing choir and for giving me singing opportunities. Thank you for caring and taking me before the Lord in regards school.
• Mr. and Mrs. Bell: Thank you for keeping the boys at your house. You will never know how greatly you have blessed us. We love you both!

I pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Praise the Lord for His goodness!!!

My sister...

This is my sister. My beautiful, crazy, and fun sister. She is really cool! Melissa has a sense of fashion that nobody in our house has. She can't be quiet... always singing. She will singing anything from Broadway to pop to classical to her own songs. She plays the violin and can make almost anything sound good on those strings. When she finds something she likes she then loves it. She is passionate about what she loves. We have a lot of fun together. We sing, ride, go places, and do tons of stuff together. Melissa was the one that biked next to me for 7 miles on one of my long training runs. Melissa is the one that stays up late dancing to songs. Melissa is the one that was my "guy" for learning dances in plays. She is the one that laughs with me and that does crazy stuff with me. We have rapped out together, gotten dressed up in crazy clothes together, and trained our horses together. Throughout her life she has wanted to be everything from a major league baseball player to a dancer to a fashion designer and even a soldier at West Point. I am so grateful to the Lord for giving me such a wonderful sister. She is my best friend and I don't know what I would do without her. I love her tons!!