I'm Still Here

Hello to all of you lovely people who take time to read what I write! As some of you may have noticed, updates have come few and far between this summer. Actually, that's probably putting it lightly. I believe the only thing I've posted since I've been home was an entry for Hannah's birthday. But it's not for lack of trying. I have returned to a world that lacks 24/7 access to fast, [mostly] reliable internet. It seems like anytime I actually have the chance to sit down and type a few lines, the computer decides to act up or something else demands my attention. That's no excuse though, and if, by some chance, any of you have actually noticed my temporary absence here in the blog world, I apologize. If you haven't....well, no worries then :)

I mainly wanted to drop by and let you all know that I'm still here. I still have plenty of awkward, silly moments and God is still teaching me new things constantly. I just haven't had the opportunity to write about them of late. I'm determined to make this change though. I may end up writing some crazy long entries to make up for lost time, but I will dedicate more time to sharing what God's doing in my life.

For a quick catch up:

• I started going to a Bible study with my aunt a few weeks ago and I have really enjoyed it. The group is composed of about 10 different women, varying in age. Most of them are married and have children. Even though I'm not exactly in the same stage of life as these women, I believe this study will be an invaluable experience. It's a great opportunity for me to study God's word with women who are much wiser than myself and have a plentious supply of valulable insight and experiences to share with me. We're going through a book called Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges and it has been great so far. More on the book later.
• I babysat for a family a couple of weeks ago that was very diverse. Four kids: twin boys and two adopted from China. I should probably dedicate an entire post just to them-it was just that kind of experience. For now, I'll stick with this description: interesting, fun, challenging, new, educational. I colored a lot. And answered 1.6 bajillion questions.
• My grandma had a knee replacement on Monday, so my aunt and her family have temporarily moved out to the house. This should make for quite a party. Criminal minds marathon? Nertz tournaments? I think so.
• This past week, my dear cousin Hannah and I were in charge of snacks for VBS at her church. It all went very well thanks to careful planning, flexible schedules, multitasking, and some mad cleaning skills. A bonus: I was able to meet some of the people that I will be spending over a week with on a mission trip. It's nice to get the "new girl" awkwardness out of the way.
• Tesa came down for a visit. She, Hannah, and I have been party animals, I assure you. Chinese food, Criminal Minds, coffee, more criminal minds, and some very interesting conversation. I notice a "c" theme there. Hmm....
• I finally delved into blog bliss earlier and began to cach up on my blog reading for the first time in two weeks. Yes, that is correct. Two whole weeks. I'm sure some of you are frozen with disbelief. I read for over an hour and probably only made it through half of the entries I had missed. But I plan to sit down and read some more very soon.
• In less than 24 hours, I will finally be reunited with my best friend and roomie, who I haven't seen since we moved out of our dear old dorm room. To say I'm excited would be an understatement.
• VBS at my church begins on Monday. I'm helping with music, and I have yet to listen to a single song or learn a single motion. Time to get down to business. Kids, prepare yourselves for a musically fantastical boot camp.
• Friday, I leave for a mission trip and I am getting really, really excited! More details on that later.
• I'm currently reading Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff, Answering the Guy Questions by Lesly Ludy, and Mermaid in the Basement by Gilbert Morris. (Which has almost nothing to do with a mermaid...or a basement.)

I believe that's all for now. Prayers for my grandma, VBS, and the upcoming mission trip would be much appreciated. I'm too tired to edit this at the moment. If there are errors, I apologize. Hopefully I'll get around to tidying things up tomorrow.