perseverance

ugh.

that is how i feel.  it is so hard to still be in school.  i wish i was toward the end of physician assistant school and applying for REAL jobs!  I can't wait for the day that I will have a normal life... but what is normal?  i guess :)

i think that really... i'm just sick of chemistry.  it is on my schedule for the next 9 months (organic this summer and biochem in the fall).  and i have to try really hard at it because i am not good at it.  but i am very thankful for the opportunity to get an education. only 1% of the world has a college degree. god is so good. i am thankful for the passion that he's given me to live my life serving people as a physician assistant.  i just need to persevere through this phase.

the best part of my life is that paul will have the summer off soon!  so i will get to see him more when i'm home! wooo. and we've been married for almost 8 months! he's awesome.

so my mamaw just sent me a picture of this cute purse she made

she is so talented

i wish i could devote my time to doing cute things like this.  i love looking at my friend amy's blog (click here). she is sooo cute and crafty!

here is something that someone should do because i don't have time... i would love to try this this scarf out.  maybe in 5 years :)

so paul and i have this wall in our bedroom that we can't really hang anything on because it holds all of the electrical wires for both us  and our neighbors.  so i was looking at these wall decals and maybe just to hang a frame over one of them... what do you think?

and 

see. this is cool, but maybe with like a picture in the corner of it where it begins or something.  i just don't like our bare wall.  we can't paint and wall decals stick to the wall... so this is the best type of thing i could thing of... any ideas??

well off to homework!  the dawson's will be in ohio for easter!!  woo!

borders and miley cyrus.

funny story...

so amanda came up last weekend while paul was at a youth retreat.  it was so rejuvenating to be with her.  she is one amazing woman and i am so blessed to call her friend.

well anyway, we decided to go to borders and work on homework... which we just ended up looking at decorating and craft magazines for the majority of the time (haha).  when we finally got started on our homework a weird MAN walks by and says "woops!" and drops a note right in front of amanda.  he was probably 30-something... so this definitely wasn't a joke.

she opens up the letter and it's written in PURPLE addressed to 'Miley Cyrus'.  we immediately laugh hysterically not knowing what to think...

the note consisted of phrases such as:
'i wrote this in purple because i know it's your favorite color'
'i love you and would like to get to know you over the next couple of months.. very slowly, but you're always with someone'
'your intelligence intimidates me'
'if you want to leave him for me here is my number... if not, i'll back away'

hahahaha!  we were freaked out/thought it was funny.  after we contemplated what to do over the next couple of minutes (we were afraid to go to our car, we thought he would follow us), we decided to talk to the manager at borders.  he was so thankful that we did because this was NOT THE FIRST OCCURENCE!

the previous week he had done it to a 14 year old.  and a couple of other times before that.  the manager knew just who he was.  this man would also come to children's hour at borders and sit with the kids and listen to the stories!  i know, right- SUPER CREEPY!

anyway, we ended up calling the cops and they came and took a report and put a restraining order on him.  he can't go to borders anymore... but that doesn't mean he won't stop.  - he'll just look for miley cyrus somewhere else. the sad part is that, i'm sure he didn't think he did anything wrong.

he literally thought amanda was miley cyrus.  now i think it is hilarious... amanda looks nothing like miley cyrus... they both have brown hair i guess, but amanda is wayy prettier.

seriously, weird things like this happen to amanda and i.  we won't even get started on how we became best friends... hahaha

  

spring.break.

this week has been awesome. cyndi, jesse, steph, and james came to visit.  how nice it was to be with family and friends. 

we went to new york city and saw doug and luke! it was great to see them.  while we were gone, our friend boh was watching des, our puppy.... des ran away from boh.  we were incredibly worried the whole time we were in NYC.  as soon as we got into our car to make the long miserable trip home because we were sooo worried... we got a text! our neighbors found des and he was safe!  funny how god works... even this little dog we prayed for and he was found and not harmed at all. he was just jealous of our adventure in NYC so he decided to take an adventure in the thriving metropolis of Mercersburg (1500 people reside in Mercersburg).  so PTL Des is okay. we learned our lesson though.  whoever dog sits next will not allow des to go out the door without a leash.

AND... amanda is on her way to see me now!  i'm soo excited.  Can't wait to be home again for Easter break... it's almost here.  and just one more semester of inorganic chemistry... the i'm done with it forever.  except of course, what i'll need from it for organic chem and bio chem... yikes.  i'm intimidated.


cute quote:  “Love is what makes two people sit in the middle of a bench when there is plenty of room at both ends”



PS  settler's of catan is seriously the best game in the WORLD! i'm addicted. that is all we've done over break. i highly reccommend it.

God is good.

There is a woman at Paul and my church.  Her name is Beth Ostoich.  She is one of the FIRST faces we saw at Tri State Fellowship on our first day visiting.  5 months ago... her smile was so lively and genuine.  She was very inclusive and knew exactly who to hook Paul and I up with to become a part of a community.  She is the life behind the church that we're attending.  It is funny because we are going to a church that doesn't promote female leadership (something that I disagree with) and yet she is the brains behind the community.  God is so good.

Beth Ostoich

A couple weeks after we met Beth, we found out crazy news... Beth has brain cancer. the same thing that Marilyn's (paul's boss's) husband jim died of this last summer.  I would have NEVER guessed this woman with so much joy would have something so devastating.  just to be in her presence brings a smile and you feel so comfortable and at rest around her... not judged, but loved for who you are-- she makes you feel wanted.  I am so broken this morning after reading her last post on facebook about her life and her cancer.  her faith and honest relationship with the Lord amaze me!  Her body is really failing her.  Here is an excerpt from her post on december 3rd:

"These update emails have been shorter and not as frequent. The biggest reason is that I cannot communicate well anymore. I have lost a lot of peripheral vision and issues to pressure on my optic nerve. While I still can see, it's no longer with efficiently. I can take me three or four times as long to write an email, for example, and that's on a very good morning. But I can't tell you how much your letters, emails, cards, visits, gifts, food, and on an on ... how much all of this means to me and my family. Thank you for LOVING me and my family, and for walking this journey with us all together Please stay in touch with us even if we can't stay in touch with you. 

I have learned a lot about my Savior just in the past few weeks. He has stayed with me during bouts of anger at Him and what is happening to me and my family. He has stayed with me when all I can is to weep. My Savior has give me Paul, who loves me and gives me what I need even when I don't know what that is. Paul, who has taught me about looking to Jesus in a way I never have before. My Savior has stayed me in the middle of the night when terror was all I had, and He calmed me and kept tell me how much He loves me. And my Savior has walked me through to peace, a peace I never could have imagined to have. But I do now. Do I still have fears? Oh, more than every before. But I a new confidence in God's work and that He protects me in the midst of fear and weakness. I pray that God will be working in your lives, too. That we trust what HE IS DOING. And as we learn to trust we are learning to LOVE Jesus in a new way.

I am asking God that my words have communicated to you ... despite my frailty of not even having words.

I have one last thing to share, before getting to leave for radiation. Please listen to this wonderful song and join me in loving Jesus because of it. "

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1llIIhBMCjU

Please pray for this woman, who has within minutes of knowing Paul and I, made an unbelievable impact on our lives.  Pray for her family.