Winter Break

The school semester is over. That's pretty much all I care about right now. I've been enjoying some blog reading. It's been great to just relax, watch some TV and look at some pretty and unique things online.

I've run away back home for the break.

I wish my pancakes looked a bit more prehistoric.

Sometimes, I wish I had a mustache and a beard. Now I can!

This semester has come with lots of engagements and this ring is simply precious.

New store discovery: Madewell with a scarf I love and a jacket to die for!

It may be my love of travel, but globes have captured my heart.

twentysomethings.

A prison testimony a friend of mine sent me earlier this semester.

Officially obsessed with this super cute and fun wedding!

What a great use of space with this little "igloo" bookcase/room.

Bike thieves? No problem. Here's one way to keep your bike from being stolen.

That's enough for now. Heading out for some lunch and to wrap some presents.

Thankful

It's a few days past Thanksgiving, but I thought I'd share with y'all what all I'm thankful for (or at least the things that come to my mind in this instance):

+ My family
+ True friends that will be there through thick and thin
+ Podcasts and beautiful Texas scenery
+ Lovely ASC girls who are willing to hold me accountable even when it's tough
+ The opportunities that God has given me - Brazil, Nicaragua, reconnecting with old friends, attending Texas A&M, etc. etc.
+ Laughter
+ Ponkeys and Teal Jaguars
+ Working with some of the best youth ever
+ Roommates whom I love
+ Aggies beating Longhorns in football
+ Photography and creativity in the world

There are so many more things, but this is a small glimpse of what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving season. What are you thankful for?

Guess I Should Update y'all?

...But not with my life just yet. I don't really feel like hacking away at the keyboard just yet, but I did find this unpublished post filled with fun things:

There's nothing like a tall glass of sweet tea and reading some blogs to find fun things to share with my friends...

One day my prince will come and he will like traveling, baking and lazy Sundays...

Art and music will keep the family together.

Canoeing makes me wear my heart on a string.

Keeping the wheels turning all the way home.

God created Australian flora to be beautiful.

Just 'getting them'. Them = youth.

Even Mario likes to get some shopping done.

Please buy me all these cameras/artwork. They are gorgeous.

Happy Halloween!

I'm (hopefully) headed home to celebrate with family and friends tomorrow. It's all up in the air right now as my tummy is a bit too rumbly to be comfortable on the road. (If you want that cleared up a bit more, I haven't felt too swell today.) Halloween will be fabulous either way! (Even if I'm just sitting on the couch in our living room watching movies and studying all weekend.) I really hope I get to see my family and friends though!

My sister, Lori, and I are Dalmatians in that picture NOT cows. That is all.

You can have your cake...

...but you may never be able to eat it if it's this cute:

Thank you yourmindblown.com, for showing some awesome cakes that not only make me want cake, but a cake that will be incredible.

La Chureca Is Holy Ground

Tonight at Disciple, we spoke about the part in Exodus where God speaks to Moses in the burning bush. Moses takes off his sandals because he is on holy ground and hides his face in reverence. Laurinda, our pastor and leader of the study, asked us if there has ever been a time we were on holy ground. Tongue-tied is the only way I can describe that moment as I saw the faces of those that I passed by in La Chureca, the city dump in Managua, Nicaragua, the faces of those that I spoke with, tarped houses for and generally enjoyed. Our team claimed La Chureca in the name of the Lord as his holy ground. Tonight, as Laurinda spoke about holy ground and us being on it, I began to read part of Exodus as if the Lord was speaking directly about La Chureca in the passage.

The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in [La Chureca, the city dump in Managua, Nicaragua]. I have heard them crying out because of [the situation they are in], and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the [oppressors] and to bring them up out of that land [known as La Chureca] into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey ... And now the cry of the [Churecans] has reached me, and I have seen the way the [government] are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you ... to bring my people the [ones I adore] out of [that filth and grime]." - Exodus 3:7-10 NIV

God said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in [La Chureca, the city dump in Managua, Nicaragua]. I've heard their cries for deliverance from [the situation they are in]; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of [those who oppress them], get them out of that [dump] and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey ... "The [Churecan] cry for help has come to me, and I've seen for myself how cruelly they're being treated by the [government]. It's time for you to go back: I'm sending you ... to bring my people, the [ones that I adore], out of [the dump]."- Exodus 3:7-10 Message

The Lord is crying out for his beloved people who are living in this filth, grime and oppression as the world turns, having the knowledge of this and yet living life as if it is not a reality but just a fact of life.Wake up, for it is real and Jesus Christ desires to redeem his beloved people of La Chureca.

Great Mornings Start With Photography

I woke up to go get my senior portraits done at A&M today. Loved the photographer they had! He's from Columbia and got his start on photography when he moved to the U.S. with his dad over 20 years ago. It was fun to just talk to him about Spanish and Photography. He let me in on a few secrets on how to fully get into the field and emphasized the necessity of experience. Definitely could use some more of that. It was a wonderful chat and a great start to an extremely hectic day.

& Clyde has absolutely nothing to do with anything,
but he's cute and probably one of my best photography subjects.