How many of you can spend a Saturday night at your aunt and uncle's house watching Madagascar 3 with two munchkins and say it was a good time? This is just one of the simple reasons that there is no place like home for the holidays. As I drove home from Trinity Thursday I couldn't help but fall in love with home all over again-the snow, the fields, the openness, the skies, the stars-beautiful.
Yesterday the family gang trucked out to the Green Lake Christmas tree patch on the farm and picked out the best tree of them all. We had supper at Christiano's and headed home to trim the tree. The house successfully smells of traditional pine needles and all the ornaments with special memories are tousled within the tree branches.
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| see, snow! these girls made sure we picked the perfect tree. |
Rewind.
The past few weeks have been kind of a blur, here's a shot at remembering.
Almost two weeks ago I turned 21. Officially the worst time of the year to have a birthday while in college. I had the most important exam of the year to study for and exams were the following week. My roommates and friends managed to surprise me and we went out to eat together and made it back to campus in time to do some serious homework. I have become so thankful for the girls I live with and with all the friends I have at Trinity to make everything a good time. My birthday kept on going this year, I got cards in the mail all the time until I came home, and Nathanael had a special present for me too. He told me he was going to have the necklace he gave me cleaned, that little trickster had a diamond put into my heart necklace! I am definitely spoiled!
Remember your college days? Thanksgiving until Christmas break is literally a crawl on your hands and knees, hold on for dear life event. I honestly don't really have anything new to report because my days have been filled with studying, homework, and ridiculousness. Alumni 215 tended to get a little nutty due to a lack of sleep and study overload. I love laughing with them.
Through the countless hours of studying, I have officially made it through the pits of hell of my first semester of nursing school. My tutor/study group of girls were reminiscing about how we didn't know anything at the beginning of the semester and now can successfully assess patients, administer meds, give shots, etc. We have come so far!
When I was home for Thanksgiving Pastor Jeff preached on a passage from Daniel, it included this verse and I have kept it close to my heart as I finished the semester.
"At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever." -Daniel 4:34.
During my break I look forward to watching Landon in the Sunday School Christmas program tomorrow, lighting candles tomorrow night for the candlelight service at church (probably my favorite church service of the year, minus Easter), snowmobiling, snowboarding, seeing the residents at Markesan Resident Home, being with my family, fireplace lounging, shopping with my sisters, visits to Grams, some Oostburg time, seeing Nathanael, preparing for my upcoming trip to Ecuador and just enjoying home.
