Being in college is like being in the womb. No really, it is. When you are in school, you are safe and you know what is going on. You know what is expected of you...go to class, learn, do well. I happen to like the comfort in that. Just like time in the womb is a time to grow and prepare yourself for the real world, time in college is a time for preparation and growing. Once that time is up, you are expelled from your nice little cocoon into the big, scary world. A baby cries after it's born...the world is bright and cold and foreign and just downright frightening. I know I will experience the same emotions once I graduate...my safe, familiar world will be gone and I will be forced to experience the newness of the strictly "grown-up" world.

Some days I anticipate this greatly, but some days I am just terrified. There are just so many options, and so many situations that require trust. It's a good thing I know the God of the universe...otherwise it could be too much to handle.

Little University on the Prairie

I live here for roughly 224 days of the year. I am in class for approximately 480 hours...the other hours are spent being a typical college student, e.g., watching Disney movies, complaining about the campus dining services, staying up waaaay too late. Where is this, you may ask? It really could be called the little University on the prairie- UNK.

In case you have never heard of it, UNK stands for the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The city of Kearney itself is pretty cool- Kearney, NE is located exactly 1733 miles from Boston and 1733 miles from San Francisco.

UNK is located on the prairie...although it's not too far west from my home town, I notice many differences. It is incredibly WINDY! And very, very flat. There are also fewer trees.

UNK is the smallest of the Nebraska state universities...obviously most people know about the Huskers, and maybe the Mavericks, but UNK tends to get forgotten. :(

UNK started out as a teacher's college way back when (1905). Today it is still known for being tops in education colleges in Nebraska...a big reason why I chose to come here :)

(This picture below is of the building I spent most of my time in- the College of Ed.)

The stadium and field where I marched many times the past couple years. Go Lopers!

This is my roommate and me with our stuffed animals...we are having way too much fun being together this year!

I've decided I need more Carter moments in my life.

Carter moments? No, not Jimmy Carter. Baby Carter...he was one of the 1-year-olds I took care of at the daycare this summer. And I miss him a lot.

To put it simply, Carter was amazed by the littlest things in life. I would be playing with him, and I would pick up a little toy to give to him. Most times it was something as simple as a colored block. I would hold it in front of him and he would drop whatever he had been playing with and get such an expression of wonderment. "Whoa", he would softly say...it's really hard for me to describe in words his expression, but know that it was absolutely precious. This child could be so taken with something so ordinary; it amazed me.

And now thinking back to those small moments, being privileged to be with a beautiful child with an appreciation for the things in life, I want to become more like that. It's currently a goal of mine to stop and be amazed by things that aren't spectacular. Or even things that are, but are habitually passed by. Like a sunset, or the crisp, whiteness of a book's pages, or my smartphone. Just a thought, and a memory, and a goal...thank you, Carter.

Goodbye summer, you were wonderful...

Last year I decided to do a write-up of all that I had done over my summer break. I really enjoyed looking back over that and reminiscing, so I think I'll take the time to write out all that I've done this summer, too.

A list of summer accomplishments and activities (in no real order):

1. I worked at a daycare, and with that I learned a lot about babies.

2. I also worked at a pool, which allowed me to get a nice tan!

3. My family and I took a short trip to Minnesota for my uncle's 75th birthday party. It was a good time!

4. Every other week I cleaned house for a neighbor friend of my grandma. I loved that I got paid in dollars and  sometimes also vegetables. :)

5. I was able to go to Worlds of Fun twice...both times with good friends.

6. I also got to go to the Henry Doorly Zoo twice...once with family and once with UNK friends.

7. The Saunders County Fair was not missed! I had fun riding rides (including the Octopus with the unforgettable pink car...ahem) and eating turkey legs and funnel cakes with my cousins!

8. I did some catching up with friends I don't get to see when I'm at school...some of them I only see once a year or so.

9. My grandma, my sister, my friend Kayce, and I all completed the Beloved Disciple bible study by Beth Moore. Definitely one of the highlights of summer!

10. My sister and I got to spend the whole Saturday of Stir-Up Days wandering around Ashland. Included in that day were the parade, cake walk (I won a cake!!), art show (Melo got a blue ribbon!), ice cream social, snow cones, and root beer kegger.

11. The last week before I came back to school my family and I went to the Black Hills. We visited friends and family, as well as our favorite vacation spots. My favorite part was visiting my 3rd cousin Kate and her family on their ranch in Wyoming. We got to ride horses and go 4-wheeling in the dark and have fun exploring the ranch!

12. In July I helped out with VBS at my church. I got to lead four second grade girls...a bunch of fun. :)

13. I was asked to help review writing skills with two boys I used to babysit for. I had a good time helping them write informative, persuasive, and compare/contrast essays and they did an excellent job!

14. Even though I couldn't go to church very often (only Sunday school), I got to play piano for offertory a couple of times this summer. I just love playing on that grand piano!

15. Several times throughout summer my church friends and I went bowling...my skills actually improved, which I once thought was not possible...ha!

16. Lastly, I got quite a bit of reading done, including:

• A Painted House by John Grisham
• The Confession by Beverly Lewis
• Shiloh Season by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• Stories Not for the Nervous by Alfred Hitchcock
• Life on the Edge by Dr. James Dobson
• A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
• The Good Book to Great Health by Arnold Susser
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
• Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
• The Postcard by Beverly Lewis
• The Crossroad by Beverly Lewis
• Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge
• Lyddie by Katherine Paterson

I haven't posted any pictures from our latest trip (to the Black Hills/Wyoming), so I will do that now! Even though this post is becoming very long :)

In Custer State Park...an absolutely perfect time of day to take this picture.

Needles Eye from below

Melo and I went to Storybook Island in Rapid City for a few hours. I added this, or something like it, to my list of things to accomplish in my lifetime. I would LOVE to open up a park like this someday!

Melo in Yogi Bear's pic-a-nic basket

Me in the Hundred Acre Wood

101 Dalmatians :)

This is my cousin Kate and I in our impossibly cool hotel suite. It cost us less than it would to stay at Super 8 and it was full of antiques and was beautifully decorated. The older couple who run it also made us a hot breakfast for free the next morning...I definitely, definitely recommend it if you are ever in Hot Springs. You can choose from the Miner's Suite (the one we got), the Oriental Suite, Cowboy Suite, or Victorian Suite.

Real life Lopers!

Summer never ceases to bring me more memories!

Big and small provision

I'm moving back to college soon and I've been looking for more dorm stuff throughout the summer. First of all, I've gotta say that when I get an idea I want to carry it out NOW. I literally drop everything to pursue a new project...this has its ups and downs. Sometimes being like this is good, because it is certainly a strong motivator. But it also can become an obsession...I cannot rest until I have done what I've set out to do.

So back to the search for more dorm supplies. I needed some plates that would be microwave safe. The problem is, most of the cutesy inexpensive ones aren't. I seriously looked and looked...everywhere...at nearly every store you can name. I was on a quest to find the perfect dinner plates to suit my dorm lifestyle.

Well, I didn't find them. Every time I found something I liked they were either not microwave safe or they were too breakable or too expensive or too flimsy. It drove me crazy not being able to find something I could so perfectly imagine/design in my mind! So I quit looking...I decided I could use paper plates (even though in my mind I was grumbling).

We were in South Dakota last week and were hungry one day, so we stopped at a tiny supermarket. I can't even tell you what it was named...it's wasn't Walmart, though. My family and I were browsing the aisles, looking for something to tide us over until dinner that night, when I found them. Them? Yes, them. $1.99 each, green and purple (the colors of my room), microwave safe, beautiful plates! I was so pumped! I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I was so happy. God provided me with what I needed, even wanted. Right down to the exact colors. Wow!

This may seem like a silly story, but to me it speaks volumes. If I can trust God to provide something as insignificant as dinner plates, how much more can I trust Him with the big matters in my life? Through this, God explained some of my worries. Frankly, I am worried and frantic about getting married. I know I'm young, but I feel as if I'm always on the lookout for someone. But God has revealed, through my little search for dinner plates, that if I stop worrying and stop busying myself with searching, He will provide. He wants me to trust Him. How can I trust if I continue to search on my own? I believe that, just like my beautiful green and purple plates, God has someone amazing out there for me. What do I have to do? Stop searching and trust. God doesn't disappoint.

Such hard work...

One of my jobs this summer is working at a craft center. We sell ceramics to paint, leather to stamp, and lots of various odds and ends. It's definitely a good time at the craft center, no doubt about it. Basically I get paid to listen to music, read, do my bible study, and paint. All I have to do is help out the customers in between. :)

Some ceramics don't sell as quickly, for a couple reasons. 1) Some of them are hideous. I don't know why people would ever want some of those things in their houses. 2) Some don't get noticed. It's always helpful to see a painted example...the customers are able to see what the finished piece would look like. So I painted quite a few this summer. And I took pictures.

Painting these was certainly fun, but I don't know if I would want to display them in my house! At least they'll get seen by tons of people where they are at :)

5 things you didn't know about me...

• I want to own a cat in a wheelchair. Accidents often happen, leaving animals disabled...I think most times they are simply put down, but I think it would be just great to have a little guy like this. 

• I don't like writing in a journal or a diary. When I sit down to write, I have way too much going through my head, so I try to write really, really fast. Because I write so quickly, my handwriting looks horrible! I'm such a perfectionist and I just can't stand to have my thoughts recorded in such an atrocious manner...ha! So I think that's a big part of why I like to blog; the font is all the same, no matter the speed.

• My family used to have 4 little Banty chickens. (from left to right: Poker, Chico, Chipper, and Pharaoh) I loved these little guys! Unfortunately, some kind of animal- we think it was a weasel- came and massacred them. Someday I hope to have some again!

• I don't like taking pictures unless they will be unique. I took some pictures of animals at the zoo the other day; I logged onto Facebook today and noticed that someone else had taken pictures of the same animals, from the same angle. I got so disgusted that mine were not unique that I probably won't save them. Also, I don't believe I'll ever get the urge to look at zoo pictures. I'd much rather see animals in real life!

• Someday I would love to be a professional organizer. I didn't know such a job even existed until a few days ago I read about it in a magazine. How cool would it be to get paid to organize stuff for people?! Back when I was about 7 or 8, I used to ask my grandma if she would like for me to sort/rearrange her kitchen cupboards and closet. I did it more than once, for no reward. I think this is a sign that I should consider organizing professionally. :)