Canada Eh!

For those of you who did't know, I left my house on the 1st of this month to go to Victoria, Canada with my family!

I learned a LOT on this trip. One of the first things I learned is how much I really do not like riding on airplanes. lol. We went on 2 planes to get to Seattle, Washington, one of them being an hour-long flight, and the other one being a 4 & a half-hour-long flight. It's kind of depressing, thinking of how I want to travel the world, yet I dislike flying with a passion. lol :) I'm not very fond of ferries, either. I got REALLY sick on the ferry on the way back. It was BAD. Anyway, moving on...

We arrived at my sister Devi's house on the afternoon of Wednesday, the 2nd. It was SO GOOD to see her! I have not seen her for years! And my nieces! AH! I love them to pieces! Annabelle is 5 years old, she is so beautiful, and beyond intelligent. She has got to be the smartest kid I have met her age in my life. (And I know a LOT of kids her age) I don't know exactly how old Eleanore is, but she is my little baby niece, and she is really adorable, too. She's so cheerful :)

We did so much during the week and a half. One day we went on a hike that led to the ocean, and we spent some time there for a while. We went to a really great indoor pool a few times, went shopping, went out to eat a few times, went to some movies, and did all sorts of things! We got to go to the Vancouver Aquarium the day before yesterday, and that was pretty cool. Abyni's birthday was on the 4th of July, so the fact that we could all be together for her birthday was really great.

Devi, Lincoln and I went shopping one day. It was nice to have a day out with just the two of them. I bought myself a skirt that I love with an intense passion, it is VERY happy-making :) I found a pair of jeans that I loved, and my INCREDIBLE brother Lincoln bought them for me :D

I really, deeply enjoyed being with everybody. Usually when I'm hanging out with people, I feel like I have to be the entertainer. If I'm not entertaining everybody, I feel as though I'm being boring company. This was not the case at ALL at Josh and Devi's house. Just BEING WITH everybody was enough. It didn't seem to matter if we were all just sitting around at the house, it was still really enjoyable.

It was beyond wonderful getting to grow closer with these members of my family whom I rarely get to see. I couldn't believe how much of a 1-on-1 relationship developed between each family member and I on the trip. I would think that with 9 people under one roof, you wouldn't have much of a chance to spend time with each person 1-on-1. That was not the case, however!

I got to know Josh (my brother-in-law) better, and I like him a lot. He is a very intellegent person. I couldn't spend 20 minutes around him without learning something new. He's hysterically funny as well, and I'm so glad that I got to get to know him better.

Devi and I had a few talks and got to chat a lot during the trip. I love her so much, and I loved getting to see her as a Mother. She is a very fantabulous Mommy :) I really seemed to "click" with Devi right away, almost like we had never been apart. I remember the time that we spent together when I was young very well, I bet that has something to do with it. I really see a lot of myself in her.

It was really different having older siblings around! I was not the first one who was asked to look after Zaya and Abyni, or help with other certain things. It was so strange!

Speaking of Zaya and Abyni... goodness gracious, they have gotten so old all of the sudden! Lol, I'm so used to hearing people say that about me, but I cannot believe how much it really happens! They are such sweet kidleewinks! Zaya has such a heart... and he is so fun, such a character! Abyni is a sweetheart, too :) I grew a lot closer with them on this trip.

My relationship with Lincoln grew a lot stronger on this trip, as well. I was blown away seeing how much we have in common as completely different people. It seems like we did a lot together. He taught me a song on the piano, which made me immmensely happy! Then he helped me learn the intro to the song "Pieces" by Red on the piano. YAY!!! He cannot read sheet music, but he can still play some really great music on the piano. That inspires me a lot. He helped me out with a lot of things. And it wasn't just about the things he helped me out with, it was the time we spent together, talking and hanging out. I am so thankful that I was able to spend so much time with him, since I hardly ever get to see him.

Being around my Dad and everyone else at the same time was unusual. It was really nice getting to see him with all of his kids, though. I could tell he was really happy, and it made me happy to see him really happy :) He does so much for us. Thank you, Dad :)

I am so thankful for this family of mine. My Dad, Josh, Devi, Lincoln, Zaya & Abyni! (And my nieces) We are all so very different, yet the same. We all really seemed to CONNECT with each other. It didn't seem to matter that we had been away from each other for a long time.

It seems like there is something I really want to get out and say... but I'm not sure what. There is actually SO much more I want to write about this trip. I really did learn so much, and get so much out of it. I desperately hope we can do a trip like this next summer. I MUST see my people again. Hopefully even before next summer!

Immeasurable thanks to everybody who was a part of getting this trip together. I know it took a lot of time and money, and I am forever grateful for everything. Seriously.

To my Dad, Josh, Devi, Lincoln, Zaya, Abyni, Annabelle, & Eleanore:

I MISS YOU!!! 





and even more so...             I LOVE
  


YOU ALL 




Let's keep in touch :) 

"I Want to Love You like it's Automatic..."

I bought Stellar Kart's new cd for my friend Kerra as a birthday gift last month, and now this week I have been borrowing it. lol :)

There is a song on the album called "Automatic" and I love the lyrics a lot! The chorus goes:

Just like I breathe
and my heart beats

I wanna love you like it's automatic
make you into my good habit
You're the only one that really matters
every minute everyday it's automatically ok
when I make it all about you

Can you imagine being able to "automatically" love Jesus? Every single breath you took would automatically be taken for the glory of God. I was thinking that would be awesome! Those times when I would usually be grouchy, unfriendly, or rude, I would instead do the opposite- just out of habit! I'd get to love like Jesus does out of habit! Praying wouldn't be something that I'd "find time to do", but rather, something that I just did out of habit constantly.

At first, I thought that would be a great way to go. But then I got to thinking about how wonderful it is to grow as a child of God, and it occured to me that if I were to "automatically" love Jesus, I wouldn't get to experience much of the joy that comes with learning to truly love Jesus. Making good decisions instead of bad ones wouldn't be an exciting accomplishment, it would just be the way it is.

After thinking about that, I am really thankful for the freedom God gave us. I just hate my sinful flesh! Knowing how many mistakes I make EVERY SINGLE DAY really makes me terribly distraught. I want to do so much for God, but first I MUST learn to let go of my wishes and my will, so that I can fully surrender to His. He's not going to let me work for Him in a bigger way unless/until I'm ready. Right now I'm going through training ;)

I want to be in ministry. Our Pastor said that if you are a follower of Christ, then it doesn't matter what job you have or what you do for a living, that is your ministry! If you are a stay at home Mom, that's your ministry. If you are a plumber, then that is your ministry. Whatever job you have- that is your ministry! I am SO curious & excited about finding out what field of ministry God's going to lead me into. I really do want God to use me to bring others closer to Him, there is honestly no other job that sounds more fulfilling in my opinion. My favorite topic of conversation with other people is God, and things He has taught me in life. How blessed I feel, knowing that God's going to give me so many opportunities to talk to people about just that, as I continue to grow in my knowledge of my Savior :)

*Happy Sigh*

My Dad is going to drive down tonight so that he can see me in the morning! Not ONLY that, but he is bringing Zaya and Abyni along with him! I'm so excited! We are going to drive to Joplin to see Living Sacrifice and Demon Hunter in concert, which is going to be just amazing! I don't really like listening to either of the bands album's for more than 5 minutes, but I think I'll REALLY like them live :)

My friend Garrett & I are going to get together sometime next week to do some songwriting together! How exciting is that?! I can hardly wait! I can't believe someone so musically talented asked ME to write songs with them. lol! I'm really looking forward to it. I have always wanted to do stuff like this somewhat, and I'm beyond thankful for this opportunity :) Thank you, Garrett!

Oh, one more thing: Yesterday I drove on the busy highways & also on the turnpike! I have had my permit for awhile, but haven't been allowed to drive on those bigger roads until now. I was scared to death before I got on the highway, and then when I got onto it, I was like, "Wow, this isn't so bad!" Hehe :) And the turnpike was amazingly splendid. I felt so FREE! :D

Well, off to eat dinner! God bless!

James 4:8 - Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.