Finally a warm enough day!

Today has been alright.
I had to work in the morning, but it's not hard or anything anymore, so it's no big deal. I just hate waking up at 7 or 7:30. It feels too early! Probably because I sleep a lot later on the days that I don't have to work. Not tomorrow though! Tomorrow I'm going to leave the house at like 6:30 am and go pick up my cats in Grand Rapids because they got fixed today. Fun stuff, let me say. Then I'm driving back home, and taking off for camp to pick up Dani and visit Jenny. =)
I can't wait!!! I finally get to see one of their rodeos!

There have been deer munching in the horse pasture for the last week or so. It's so funny and they're all so cute. Last night there were two little fawns in there. There must be some good grass growing in there since the horses left. Speaking of the horses, I miss them. I can't even think about it. And it's not just that I want to go just ride a horse or have a horse again or something. I want K-Rue and Buddy. It's so much more difficult than I expected. I was sitting around yesterday thinking "why is this summer so different than usual?" And I don't think it's because Jenny's gone, or because I have a different job or anything. It's because the horses are gone. All I used to do in the summer was take care of them and ride. I'm not even tan because I don't go out riding in my tank tops every day. I don't like it.

I'm sitting outside on the deck by the pool while a few girls are over swimming. It's nice out here tonight, finally, for a change. The sun is about to set, and I feel like I should be down at the beach instead. It was so pretty when I was down there on Saturday. It's a shame I don't go there more since I live right by it and I love it so much.
I need to hit the sack soon. It's gonna be an early morning.

Your light will shine

What a week it's been so far. I started out the week with the huge undertaking of riding my bike what ended up being 35 miles instead of 50 because of the wind. I actually sort of enjoyed it even though riding was so painful, especially the half going straight into the wind, but to my surprise my muscles weren't sore at all, which may just be some sort of miracle. My only explanation is that maybe bike riding uses a lot of the same muscles as horse-back riding, but I haven't even done much of that at all lately. That morning in church, the speaker had been talking about how God created EVERYTHING, so He can make anything happen. Honestly, during that bike ride, I had to remind myself that God could physically make my body do this. That's how hard it was, but it was so worth it to finish.

My friend Patty from school came up from Sunday night until this morning and it was so nice to hang out with someone from school. I hate to say it, but I could go back anytime. Oh well, I still have so much summer left ahead of me, and that feels good too. We went to see Transformers 2 yesterday afternoon, then last night we went to the Jason Aldean concert downtown. I didn't even know who he was, since he's a country singer, but I actually sort of liked it. ha. I told Patty I might have to switch to a little country for awhile, especially since Jenny will probably want to keep listening to it when she gets home.

I miss my horses. I know I keep saying it. I just want to see them so bad. Yesterday Patty and I went down to the barn I worked at to visit the horses. We groomed one of them for a few minutes and I showed Patty a few different things, and then we went to visit with the goats. I'm pretty sure no one ever cleans out their water buckets so I took a few minutes and did that and played with them a little. I need to go down there more and hang out with the animals. I miss that too.
Hopefully, like I've said time and time again, there could be a trip to Tennessee in the making for sometime in August. That would be absolutely amazing.
But, for now, I just painted my nails pink and I'm working on some laundry and stuff and praying for everyone up at camp this week and the things they're going through. At this point, its about all I have to do.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings, and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him rule over the works of your hands, you put everything under his feet.
Psalm 8

Refreshed and provided for

I took my first solo mini vacation yesterday and drove up to camp to visit Jenny for a couple days. And I just have to say, I think that little trip is going to get me through at least the rest of the week, if not more. It was truthfully probably the best part of my summer so far, and I really needed that trip.
It was SO amazing to get to ride, and ride Holly at that, who is my favorite horse up there at camp. Jenny and I got to take her and another horse out alone on the trails, which was super fun, and were remembering the old times, when it was us and Bud and K-Rue. I've realized how much I actually need horses to live basically. I don't know, there's just something about being around horses, riding and taking care of them, that I can't get away from, and can't ever get enough of. I like it.
I just loved the atmosphere and the focus on God-- there's so much concern and care for the campers, and it's amazing how much of an impact camp has on the kids. The staff works so hard to make everything fun, and I saw in the two days I was there that the camper's lives were being changed.
It was fun to hang out with people too-- I met a bunch of new people over the course of just a day. Needless to say, I really didn't want to go home at all. I know I could have been up there for the whole summer, but I still think I made the right decision in being here for the summer for some reason, and I'm just glad I can go up to camp whenever I want to. I think my friend Mary and I are going to try to go up again as soon as our schedules align.

HE provides

It's been awhile since I've posted anything on here-- I think it's because last week just wasn't my best weeket ever. But hopefully I'm past that for the most part. It's hard with Jenny and my horses all gone. We had like our little "family" of the four of us and now I'm the only one here, and two of them are never coming back.
I also started my job this past week. At the meeting on Thursday I found out that I had to work on Friday, which I wasn't planning on. So I figured I'd have to be there until about lunch time on Friday-- nope! Four thirty or so. It was a long day, to say the least. But Saturday was a lot better, because the people I worked with were a little more entertaining and the area we were cleaning was a lot easier to clean. Working in housekeeping, though, makes me want to come home and clean because I feel like I've been cleaning so long that everything should just look perfect when I get home or something. Last night I came home from a party WAY before the rest of my family, so I cleaned like the whole house, watched TV and went to bed, all before they even came home.


Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or stow away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuble than they?
Matthew 6: 25-26

blog?

I always decide I want to update my blog, but when I sit down to do it I can't even think of what I wanted to say in the first place.

This morning I finally made myself get up and work out at a decent time. I was in the basement on the bike and I cracked the window a bit because I was so hot, and my cat Jane came up to the window and was trying to get in. She like layed on her side and stuck her paws through, thinking she could somehow figure out how to squeeze herself in.

This afterrnoon I babysatt for a few hours. I actually had a lot of fun. I took the kids outside on the swing set for a long time and they had a blast with it. Swinging is just fun. I really don't understand why people don't swing more. It's just amazing. Kids like being outside so much better than being inside, it's so much more interesting, I guess because of all the bugs and animals and everything going on outside. There's always something to look at or play with that can't be found in the house.

I really only have like three more days until work may start consuming my summer. Hopefully I can find some fun things to do before that happens. Yesterday I got bored enough to go down to the barn I used to work at and groom a horse just for the fun of it. I think I was having a little bit of horse withdrawl though-- that'll never go away. =) Sometimes I just need it.




Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from Heaven above
with wisdom, power and love
Our God is an awesome God

Sadly...

I just realized, as I sat here adding Hillsong United music to my playlist online, that tonight would have been the night I would have been going to their concert if it hadn't been cancelled. Such a shame, I really wanted to go. Someday...

I finished my third book for the summer this morning-- The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. It was basically about this teenage girl who was "raped" by her ex-boyfriend one night while she was drunk and trying to win him back. I don't want to give the book away to anyone who hasn't read it, but a bunch of terrible things end up happening, and the girl and her whole family end up learning a lot about themselves and how much they need each other.

I bought the final Jane Austen book that I needed to finish out my collection, so I'm going to read that next, and then maybe attempt to tackle Jane Eyre, but that's pretty thick and I'm not sure if I can handle reading it over the summer. If I don't finish it within like a week, I would probably just get frustrated and give up. I'm thinking I won't be reading so much when I start working next week.

I played my violin at church yesterday. It was really different playing by myself than with Jenny, because it was totally up to me what I did. I kind of liked it. I love playing at church, especially since it's about the extent of my violin-playing these days, which is sort of a shame, but that's how it goes I guess.
I'm so bored, I should probably do something for awhile. If only my school friends were here... we could get breadsticks.

GR. sort of.

I'm sitting in my dad's office in Grand Rapids. Waiting for 1:00 to roll around so I can leave to pick up Jenny at camp up north. It's only 8:51 at the moment. This could prove to be a longggggg morning. Oh well. It's kind of hilarious sitting here listening to people in the office. Sometimes it reminds me of The Office. There's this big copy and supply room and it's amazing. Someone told me I can sit in the extra cubicle. Yes, maybe I will sit in the extra cubicle and write my blog. That would be strange.
I'm freaking out a little bit, because I know my cat is at home giving birth at the moment. My mom called and said she was having them in a box on the deck. She's a first timer, so I'm a little worried. I like being there when they have them.

Last night was pretty fun though. Lea came over and we went to BOB EVAN'S for dinner! It was amazing. We both got strawberry stuffed french toast and hash browns or whatever they are. This old lady working there walked past and goes "Is that on your diet?!" We weren't sure whether it was a compliment or an insult... so we're pretending it was a compliment. Lea and I were coloring with crayons on the backs of our placemats, and our waiter Jon, who I'm pretty sure went to my high school, pretty much thought we were freaks. Right before we left, Lea wrote "I love Jon" on the placemat and outlined it with quarters from the tip. Awesome.
Then Brian came over, too, and the three of us had a fire. Lea and I pretty much started it ourselves... with some suggestions from Brian. haha. Then we went and climbed up into the loft of the shed next door at the rental house, just like old times when Jenny and Dani and I used to hang our feet out the little door up there and watch for the neighbor boys.
THEN we wandered around in the woods for awhile while it was getting dark, and Brian said he either saw a deer or a coyote run away when he came back up by the barn. I'm not sure. I'm thinking it was a deer.
After that we got out some s'mores stuff and found some branches to roast marshmallows on, and we sat on a blanket by the fire. I just have to say, it is so much better to sit on a blanket by the fire than to sit on a chair. But Lea and I were having a few issues because I kept putting paper in the fire and it was blowing out at her while on fire. She actually had to stop, drop and roll.
Then we got out my guitar for a bit and took turns playing it. Great times, great times. I'm glad we did that instead of going bowling.


This is where I'm wishing I was. Next summer =)