Welcome Back!

Well as much as I like to check other people's blogs you would think that I would do better at updating my own. But all well, I am here now and a lot has happened since I last posted. First, I got over my nasty cold. I hate being sick so it was a blessing that it didn't last very long. Secondly, I enjoyed a wonderful spring break with friends. Meghan, Regina, Christine and I all traveled 14 hours to sunny warm Florida. The weather was perfect! No clouds and it only rained one day for about 30 min. and was 80 degrees or better all week! I worked very hard on my tan, laying out all day on the beach. After about an hour or so I strained my self and walked to the water to cool off. As you can probably tell it was a very stressful vacation. We also got to see an alligator on our air boat tour of the Everglades. We stayed with friends of my family, Marilyn and Dean and their son Douglas. It was so good to see them again, since I have not seen them since the wedding last Christmas.

The weekend after spring break I got to take my first trip to Baltimore! A friend from my hall, April lives just outside and we enjoyed a weekend road trip to her house. In addition to seeing Baltimore's inner harbor I also got to meet all of April's family. Including her both sets of Grandparents, three aunts and uncles, her cousin and her baby, her parents siblings and the siblings significant others. It was quite the experience but everyone was so nice. I also got to go to the cheesecake factory which was pretty much the greatest experience of my life! I LOVE cheesecake!

The following weekend I was again headed out of town on a road trip. This time to Winchester, VA for some R and R. I went with my RD Christina and half of our RA group to Christina's family's new home. It is huge and has a theater in the basement. We spent the whole weekend watching movies and eating really good food. Christina's mom was such a blessing, serving us and she even taught us some cake decorating techniques. On Sunday we backed giant cupcakes and practiced our new found talent. They turned out really good and we brought them back to Liberty to share with the rest of our group at RA group on Monday night.

This weekend was college for a weekend and the busyness that comes with having 1500 extra people on campus. Yesterday April and I took 10 of the campus serve kids to the YMCA to go swimming. Finnely the site leader also came with us to help supervise the kids. I was surprised how well it actually went. I think that it was seriously the first time that some of those kids had ever been in a pool. The idea that some people never learn to swim baffles me. I have been in swimming lessons since I was six months old and I can't remember a time where I didn't know how to swim. I can remember when I didn't swim well but I have pretty much always known how to swim.

This week we will continue to interview prayer leaders for our hall next year. We have already offered a couple of spots so it is exciting to see how the team is coming together. Please pray that God will continue to give our big four wisdom in making decisions and discernment in who we choose to lead the girls on our hall next year.

Well I think that pretty much brings us up to date on my life. I know that it really isn't that interesting. Sometimes I think of funny things to write about but then by the time I actually have time to write about it I can't remember what it was I was going to say. Anyway, I promise that in the future I will try to be better about updating.

Love From Liberty,
Peggy

Being Sick Is No Fun!

Well I guess if I had to catch this stupid cold that is going around this week was more convenient to do so than most. In an effort to protect myself last Wednesday during room checks I went around a bleached all of the door handles, inside and out. And I guess it worked, I made it through college for a weekend with out getting sick. Unfortunately on Sunday night it hit me hard and fast. I stayed in bed most of the day on Sunday trying to fight it off before it came on full fledged but it didn't quite work. Yesterday I was miserable and only went to one of my classes and only because I really could not miss. Last night I was feeling a little bit better so I took two Benadryl and called in sick to work and slept for over 12 hours. I woke up at 2 o'clock in the afternoon today but I really am feeling much better. I think between the drugs and sleep and fluids the worst is over and hopefully by tomorrow I will be fine.

Tomorrow I am celebrating Valentines day! I know that I am a little late but over the last couple of years some friends and I have created a tradition of getting really dressed up and going to a nice restaurant and celebrating our singleness, our friendship, and the love from our savior Jesus Christ together on Valentines day. We always have a good time and it is a good time to catch up with those who we don't get to spend as much time with as we would like. This year Meghan and Regina were out of town on Valentines day so we are celebrating a little late. Actually it is probably easier to get a reservation a the place we want to go to now then it would have been this weekend so it is really a good thing. I am really looking forward to our night out, I only hope that this cold is gone by then so I don't have to pack tissues in my purse and embarrassing blow my nose at the table.

I Am NOT A Dater-Hater

I am not a dater-hater as some are. In fact I really enjoy the holiday that is most closely associated with having a significant other, which I do not. Valentines day happens to be towards the top of my list of favorite holidays. Christmas is first, with Easter following a close second, then there is my birthday but pretty must right after that is Valentine's day. This surprises a lot a people as I am notoriously single. But the great thing I think about Valentine's day is that it is about love. And to celebrate love you do not need a boyfriend or a girlfriend. In fact, the greatest gift and display of love comes not from a husband or wife but from Jesus Christ. He loves me more than any other human being ever could. His sacrifice of love for us on the cross comes unconditionally and is available any day of year. So this Valentine's day I will be teaching swimming lessons and hanging out with my cousin who is coming for College For A Weekend and I will be celebrating the ULTIMATE gift of love, JESUS CHRIST. If I am finding my worth and value in him then I can be happy and feel the same love that those who are going out to eat or some other special event can.

Grad School!

So today I went to my first graduate class. I felt behind before I even went into the room. First, the bookstore does not have the books right now. They are on order and should be here the week of the 21, hopefully before my next class as we have reading due. I would have ordered them off line but they were only like three dollars cheaper so by the time I paid shipping and handling and waited for them to get here I might as well have bought them at the book store, so that is what I am doing. When I got to class some of the other students were talking about a paper that was due today and how we were supposed to have three articles about change to discuss. Well I just added the class officially on Monday, so I didn't receive the e-mails with this information. As many of you know I like to be prepared and so when I found out I wasn't I was a little worried but I tried to not let it get to me.

When the professor arrived at class she had us all introduce our selves, saying our major and what our career plans are. Well I am not actually in the program I am dual enrolled while finishing my undergrad degree, so I don't have an official major in the program. Also I have no idea what I want to do with my life, which is part of the reason I am going to grad school, to give my self a little more time to decide. Several of the students are graduation in May and so they know exactly what they want to do after this. So for the first 15 minuets or so I felt a little out of my league but then the professor informed us that the paper is due next class not this one and that she knew that some of us did not get the message to bring articles and so it was fine if we didn't have them.

After this I felt better and I managed to get through the rest of the class holding my own, sounding somewhat intelligent, even if I had know idea what I was saying. I must say it was nice to be in a class where people want to be there and care about the work that they are doing, which is sometimes not the case in undergrad classes. Also the class was very diverse with a student from China, Brazil/Chile, and one who's parents are missionaries in Greece. I love diversity which is one of the reasons that I think I love big cities so much. Anyway, I am excited to try and do well in this class and to see if the communications graduate program is something that I really want to pursue. Time will only tell.

Love From Liberty,
Peggy

Peace and Quiet

Classes don't start again until Monday but, Danielle and I have been back at school for almost a week. I must say that it has been nice to go to bed a little earlier and for the time to relax but, the hall seems so empty without the life of 56 girls running through it.

I don't know that I could ever live by my self. I think I would be board out of my mind and go crazy. It has been so nice this week spending time with Danielle, sharing about our breaks and getting things ready for this coming semester. But even with her company these empty rooms long for their residents to return. It makes it easier to miss people when they are so encouraging and respectful. As a dorm supervisor of sorts I couldn't ask for a better hall. I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in the coming semester in and through the lives of the girls on this hall. I miss then and can't wait to see there sweet faces!

Love from Liberty,
Peggy

The Most Meaningful Christmas Gift

A thought from Christmas. I know that it was weeks ago but my parents only have dial-up which as you may remember is very slow and temperamental so I typed up my thoughts and saved them to post later.

It is Christmas Eve and after attending the candle light service at Oak Grove Christian Church as we do every year we went to our neighbors Tania and Bill's for supper. After eating and spending some time over there we came home to open Christmas gifts. We don’t have a particular tradition for opening gifts as my dad used to work a rotating shift not guaranteeing him Christmas day off. On the years that he had to work we would open presents after church, amazing how Santa knew when dad had to work, and then on Christmas day while dad was working mom would take us to a movie. They first year I can remember us doing this we went to see Mona Lisa Smile, with Julia Roberts. The years when dad did not have to work we would open gifts on Christmas morning and spend the rest of the day playing with toys and watching Christmas movies such as Frosty the Snowman and Santa Clause is Coming to Town. When we were little we had huge Christmas’s with gifts every where. Dad used to film us opening presents and even at 20 years old he recorded me. This is the first year that he didn’t video tape us opening our gifts. I suppose now that Jenna is 18 and graduated we are too old for it.

This year marks a very special Christmas as it marks the receiving of my first letter. They were supposed to be a surprise but mom accidentally said something to Jenna one day and she said something to me. Every year since I was born my dad has written me a letter on Christmas and around the time of my birthday. The letters include a summary of things that happened in my life that year, how I have grown or changed, etc. Dad asked me this summer when I would like to start getting them, knowing that they would be very special to me I wasn’t sure I wanted to read them so I replied when he passed away. Of course this isn’t really logical but I didn’t want to say when I wanted the letters I knew that my dad would start giving them to be when the time was right.

It was my last gift tonight and my most meaningful one. I waited to read it until I was in my room alone because I knew it would make me cry. It is so special to think that my parents thought ahead to begin doing this the very year that I was born and to keep it up all this time. I think another thing that makes it special is that they are from my dad. You always hear of how moms saved every little thing but you rarely hear of a father doing something this special. And it is not a thing. It isn’t a dress that I wore or a picture I don’t remember drawing but it is about me and a documentary of my life and of our lives as a family and about the people that had an impact in our lives. Needless to say it made me cry and actually I am still crying as I am writing this. This is something that I will treasure forever and is perhaps the greatest gift I have ever received apart from my salvation.

I hope that one day I can give my children something as special and meaningful as this and maybe it can become a tradition. I am going to keep the letters in my hope chest with other special memories that I have. I think it would be wise to type out the letters as to have a back up copy in case something would happen to the originals. This will also ensure that when I am gone or old and gray and can’t see well anymore that others will be able to read the hand writing and read about my life, even the parts that I can’t or won’t remember.

Forgetful Me

I just realized that I never finished posting about my wonderful leadership team. I am the worst about coming back to things like this. Its like when you are on the phone with someone and you have to leave suddenly to do something or someone else is calling you and then you forget to call them back, that is me, all the time. Usually it happens when Jenna calls me. She always seems to call at the most inconvenient times, like when I am about to eat or go to work or to a meeting. And I always tell her I will call her back later and I do but by the time I remember my later ends up being days later not minuets or hours. But what are you going to do? I am just fortunate that my sister loves me enough to not hold a grudge and simply call me back if it is really important.

So what you should know about the rest of my leadership team is that God has really blessed me and that they are such a blessing to me and to my hall. I love them all and they are such an encouragement to me. In addition I am so excited to see how God is going to use each of them this semester and in the future. I can't wait to see where they are in ten years and the amazing things that they will be doing for the Lord. So, thank you girls for everything that you do! I love you!

Love From Liberty,
Peggy