life update 11/10/17

Hey friends!

UPDATE:

Wow, this semester has really flown by! UT is now on a shorter semester schedule, so many of the class times and course schedules have changed as well.

It is hard to believe that it is already November, and that December and finals will be here before I know it! This semester has been filled with many bumps along the way but I have come to this point stronger than ever. hills and valleys, people!

I have been meeting up with Chris & Pip for dinner about once a month or so near campus. How cool is it that God has us in, pretty much, the exact same area in this season of our lives!

I have been trying to get more involved with The Catholic Student Association on campus this semester. I attended Girls Night where we learned how to paint a beautiful fall tree and I have been going to the general meetings as well. I would love to really get to know even more people in CSA.

Freshmen Camp is in full swing like always at this time of the year with mandatory Thursday night meetings. At meeting last night, we had our annual Friendsgiving meal. If you don’t already know, I have stepped up in the University YMCA and Freshmen Camp programs this year… I am now the Christian Emphasis Coordinator and I give a little devotional speech before each meeting, it is a nice way to start meeting every week and bring people together. Taking on this role on Cabinet for the UY also consists of office hours in our UY house. During office hours, I clean the house, work on my devotional for the week, homework and anything else I need to get done. 

Next weekend, we are trying something new for Fall Retreat and going up to Camp Storer for a night. We are going to do some volunteer service work around camp to work off our stays there throughout the year. I am really looking forward to it! That will be my 9th time at camp in 9 years:)

I am also taking a huge step into being a level 2 Freshmen Camp Counselor, facilitating more and learning as much as I possibly can… (so please pray for all of  that!)

A few more things:

•I’m scheduling classes for next semester so that’s exciting!

•Babysitting, working and going to college creates a very busy schedule for me! 

•God has been really teaching me patience in all aspects of my life, recently. 

•I have been LOVING to post on my blog and get my thoughts out there.

•I am excited for thanksgiving soon and getting a couple days off!

•I have a huge trip to my favorite place EVER with my favorite people EVER, lined up for about 2 months from now and I can’t possibly wait!!

I’m sure there’s a ton more but… Any and all thoughts and prayers are more than welcomed in the coming weeks as this semester is ending! 

Thanks to all my family and friends for sticking by me and encouraging me along the way! Have a great day :)

still trying…

im not good at telling stories. I’m so easily distracted it’s not even funny. i'm a messy eater. half the time i don't make sense. i lose track of time easily. i leave the tv on. i'm unsure about every decision i make. I’m on my phone for too long.  i always forget to bring dishes from my room. i don't reply to messages for days. I suck at a lot of things and sometimes i just want to stay in bed all day and throw my phone across the room. i engage in conversations i have no interest in. i sometimes don’t think before i speak and I have no idea what I’m doing. I have no clue why I’m in college.  I trust people too easily but then sometimes i don’t trust them enough. I hide things from my friends even though I know they will always be there for me. I always think I’ll just figure it out when the time comes without actually doing something about it when i can. I feel like God is so far away. 

I am broken and lost and confused in life. 

i care more about the opinions of others than my opinion of myself. 

i'm still trying to figure myself out. i'm trying to acknowledge the not so obvious and not so appealing traits about myself. not for any reason. just trying to get to know myself a little better.

what it’s like when your dad works from home…

so long story,

February 2010. My mom, sister and I are at home. Dad went to work just like normal. Dad calls (which isn’t unusual). Except it wasn’t Dad. It was one of his coworkers. My dad broke his leg. And it’s bad. He twisted it in plastic wrap while working and fell. They are rushing him to the hospital. Meet him there. My dad has never broken a bone in his body.

I’ve never seen my mom drive so fast. Immediately, he was pushed in the doors on the stretcher. soon to find out Dad broke both bones in his leg. emergency surgery. immediate tears. 

a rod is put in his leg and multiple screws at his knee and ankle. I’ve never seen my dad in so much pain before.

He was so upset this happened. multiple nights in the hospital. we were so scared.

finally he gets to come home. which was followed by countless days with his leg in a cast, having to keep it elevated. lots of meals and long nights were spent in his lazy-boy chair. months later, I remember the day they said he could finally put weight on it. crutches and walkers and canes were a normal thing in my house during that time. he can’t run at all anymore. and he can’t walk long distances. 

the doctor said he needs to get the strength back in his leg, he suggested going on a bike ride if he thinks it was healed enough. 

that’s what sparked my dad’s obsession with old bicycles…

from that point forward, hundreds of bikes have came through our barn out back and basement. my dad buys them at a cheap price, fixes them up to the best it can be and resells it. any bike. any age. any condition. he will trade pieces and parts and clean the bike up to look brand new. 

he goes to bicycle shows, swap meets, estate sales, garage sales, old pull barns just about anywhere he thinks he could find an old bicycle. 

my dad does it all and on top of all of this he still works a 40+ hour work week. 

Isn't he the coolest? 

here’s a small glimpse as to what it’s like having a “bicycle shop” out of our house:

•it’s not an unusual thing to come home to 3 to 5 bicycles in the front yard for sale

•when someone pulls in the driveway, we automatically know to yell “Dad! Someone’s here for a bike!” it’s a normal saying around the house these days

•it’s also not an unusual thing to come home to some person in our driveway talking to my dad about bikes or him giving us a 5 minute warning that someone is coming over to look 

•my dad is usually texting or calling people who want to make a deal on a bicycle

•my sister and I are always making signs with how much money my dad wants to get from each bike $$

•he will buy a bike from a garage sale down the street, make me ride it home, clean it up and put it by the road and make a profit

•he once saw my friend riding an old bicycle from when my dad was a kid he tracked him down and asked to buy it from him 

(he did. it’s in the basement.)

•he’s known as “the bicycle guy” around town

•it’s “you got a bike you’re getting rid of? I’ll send whoever I can to pick it up!”

•it’s having to run outside in the pouring down rain to get a bicycle that someone is coming to buy soon

•it’s taking multiple pictures and editing them multiple ways of each bike he has

•it’s getting out of the shower and being surprised that my dad sold a bike within the time I was in there

•it’s going on bike rides around town with my dad  riding a new bike each time

•it’s people saying nice bike. all. the. time.

•it’s all hands on deck when it’s garage sale day around here

•it’s getting a phone call (or just coming home to) and it’s my dad asking can he sell MY bike… 

(wasn’t very happy about that one, but he said he’d save the money for my books for college)

•it’s having my dad scroll through my Facebook just looking for a good deal on a bike someone must have posted

•it’s looking for free bikes along side of the road. doesn’t matter the vehicle we are in. he will make it work. (even if it means taking them apart, loading them in my little car. the trunk didn’t shut. probably not good. we always get the bikes though.)

•it’s driving anywhere and seeing a bike for sale along side of the road and telling my dad and he says “get in the car! let’s go see if it’s still there!”

•it’s taking a Father’s Day trip to the Bicycle Museum of America (it was really fun trip!)

•it’s when me or someone in town is having a problem with their bike, they bring it to my dad. 

my dad simply does it all. If you need anything, my dad can do it. (or he knows someone who can!) my dad is awesome and I am so grateful for him and his hardworking and adventurous personality!

I love you Dad, thank you for everything!