Sunny with a chance of…sun

I am in Jacksonville! For real!

It has been so great and so much fun so far. I’m living with a team of girls, the “A-Team”…and me. There’s my leader Andrea, and team members Amy, Ali, and Ashley. Then there’s me- not with an A, but a K. It kinda makes me smile. :)

We’ve had a lot of orientation sessions so far, very informational and good to know. Many “mixers”, too, which help me to get to know the 169 people here…hopefully by the end of the summer I will know most everyone! There is definitely a whirlwind of names floating around in my head.

Another thing. Although it is Florida, where it literally is sunny with a chance of sun pretty much everyday, I’m much colder than I was in Nebraska. Why, you ask? These dorms are FREEZING. I’m so glad I had Nav leaders to tell me to bring lots of warm clothes! Extreme goosebumps can be painful.

Here’s a glimpse of what life is like for me in Jax!

Our door. The paper is glittery, and says “Razzle Dazzle” very much. :)

     

My bed (note the palm trees out the window!)

All our beds…

Closet, with hallway view.

Lastly, my team! What a great group of girls. :)

South by southeast

I'm definitely in the south. It's hot, there are big bugs, sweet tea, Chick*Fil*A, little old ladies with sweet southern drawls, and houses with big white columns on the front.
It's fantastic!

I've already been to 4 states brand new to me, and another will be added tomorrow, when we reach our final destination. Florida.

P.S.
It's so great that I can publish all this right from my phone, on the road. Hooray!
Oh, the marvels of modern technology.

More to come later!

Ready?

The support letters are sent.

The bags are packed. (Hoping I packed light enough…!)

It is official. I leave for Jacksonville in…7 hours. So exciting!

I’ve thought about my expectations for summer 2011 as I head to Florida. Some things I want to see, and will be looking for, are:

1. I want to know God more. I want to clear my heart of all the philosophies about God my mind has come up with, and let God tell me who He really is, without  my own ideas getting in the way.

2. I want to better realize my worth in Christ, not in abilities or circumstances…

3. I want to better control my attitude. This past year, I didn’t go as far as changing my attitude, despite my circumstances or emotions, but it was a learning experience for me. The fact that “things are what you make of them” has really been reinforced to me, and I’m sure this summer I’ll be provided times when I can actually apply this, and choose a good attitude even in a not-so-good situation!

4. I want to form some great friendships with fellow believers. This summer couldn’t be better in regards to fellowship!

5. Lastly, I want to establish and/or improve these  life-long habits: prayer, daily quiet times, and sharing what I believe with others. Pretty straightforward, but very important.

So long, Nebraska! I’ll be back in The Good Life in about 2 months. :)

Focus.

It’s so hard for me to focus in life, sometimes. Part of it is the fast-paced lifestyle that modern technology now allows us, and part of it is my own natural tendency to keep busy. I was looking through some old papers the other day and found one from 3rd grade. It was a before-school-started letter that my mom filled out and returned to my teacher, filling her in about my personality, strengths, weaknesses, and such. My mom wrote down that “Kimberly doesn’t sit still and relax a lot at home. She goes from one activity to another.” Let me tell you, nothing has changed in 13 or so years.

While it’s a blessing, it’s also a curse. I have a naturally creative mind, which allows me to think up all sorts of projects to do around the house. This even includes cleaning- yes, I do volunteer to clean out my mom’s closet! It’s crazy, but I love doing things. I am able to get so much accomplished in a day, a benefit for both me and whoever I may be helping out. But…the downside is that with all this busyness and accomplishment, I neglect some very important things. Like spending time with God, for one.

I’m so excited for this summer. I’m pretty nervous at the same time, too, since I have to go through the whole having-to-meet-people-since-you-know-absolutely-no-one. But that’s okay. I’m outgoing enough to do it well (not the case my freshman year of high school!). Two whole months of fellowship and encouragement in my walk with God. I know I need it and so I’m putting myself out there. It’s gonna be a blast, and I pray that it changes me and establishes life-long habits.

For a better picture of where I’m headed this summer, check out: JAX STP 2011

Summa time

Oh, sweet summer time. You’re back! And I’m taking full advantage of that.

Today I had two picnics in one day. For lunch, my mom and I ate outside on our picnic table- tuna sandwiches and curly fries. It was wonderful. And then tonight, my sister and I went on a for-real-picnic…you know, a REAL picnic basket and blanket on the ground type of thing. It was wonderful again.

I have less than two short weeks to enjoy all my summer stuff here in Nebraska, and I plan on doing just that. So far so good, though. Today summer was enjoyed thoroughly.

MEOW.

I love being able to see my cats every day now that I’m home. :) I wuv them! I’m not a crazy cat lady or anything…yet. But who knows? If I end up an old spinster teacher, I may become just that. Oh boy.

But in all seriousness, I really do love my cats. All four of them live outside (my dad is pretty strict about having animals inside- it was a miracle that we convinced him to get our dog, Gabby). My cats are Thomas, Mosa, Girly, and Dani. They all have distinct personalities and you would NOT believe how much drama goes down between them! Oh my, some days it’s just incredible. If you’d care to get to know each of them a little better, keep reading.

First there’s Thomas. He’s old, like 12 or something. He came to our house one day about 10 years ago, and stayed ever since. He’s got a pretty sweet lightning bolt patch of white on his back, but that doesn’t say much for his personality. He’s pretty mellow. He lays around all day, and won’t move unless you’ve got cat treats. He goes bonkers for those.

 

Then we’ve got Mosa. She’s quite the character. She also wandered to our house when she was only a kitten, a very feisty one at that. I thought she was a boy, so I named her Amos. Well it turns out she was a female- of course- so I added an ‘a’ to the end of her name to make ‘Amosa’, or ‘Mosa’ for short. She’s moody and could bite your head off, but definitely my favorite cat because of her sassiness. She is also cross-eyed, adding flair to her overall likableness. (This picture makes her look so evil…yikes!)

 

 

Mosa had one litter of kittens, and begat Girly and Daniela Sofia. We thought Dani was a boy (I guess we didn’t learn after the first incident), so I named her Danny. After finding out she was a girl, I fancied up her name a bit. She’s kind of an outcast. The other cats practically hate her and always chase her off. Not sure why…but she is kind of a hog when it comes to eating!

 

Girly is the runt of the litter and thus has the least brains. She’s the prettiest cat, but also the dumbest. Sometimes I call her Stupid, which isn’t really very nice, but kind of funny! I think she never figured out how to purr. She sits in the pouring rain even when she could take shelter in our shed…how dumb can you get?! We still love her, though. Here she is getting a bath.

 

Basically these four little critters are great. Every time I step outside they make my day more interesting, even if they are just sitting in the sun, looking content with their eyes shut tight and a slight- could it be a smirk?- on their faces. They are just the best!

Settled in…for a bit.

I’m back at home.

*sigh*

You can easily tell by the ridiculous amount of stuff piled in the living room. I’m glad for such frequent moving, because it provides an opportunity for me to downsize…but it also reveals how much of a princess I tend to be! It doesn’t seem like I have this much stuff when it’s all packed away and organized so nicely. :)

I love being home because cupboards are full. I can search the kitchen for something to eat and always find something healthy (thank goodness!). And so far, I’ve used a different kind of lotion every night after my shower. I love opening up our bathroom cabinet to find about 50 half-used bottles of lotion. I like variety and this is it!

There are about 3 weeks left until I leave yet again. I think all this moving around like a nomad is good for my soul. It doesn’t allow me to get too attached to my living situations, and it leaves me with a renewed sense of adventure. I guess I’m always ready to move on to something new. I suppose eventually I’ll settle down, but not until I’ve seen as much as necessary for knowing where I want to be for a long time.

Well. I’d better get to bed soon, for I have much un-packing (and re-packing) to do tomorrow! Goodnight, internet. I’ll talk at ya later.