First semester has finally landed

Well, my official arrival time was 9:00am this morning. I took my FAA written for my private and passed with a 92!!! yay! Ahhh, freedom! All my finals went well and now i have about 4 weeks off. I am definitely looking forward to coming home for christmas! yeah for Oregon! I'm doing really well though. I have finally become accustom to life at LETU and actually feel comfortable. I have really found some awesome sisters/friends on my dorm floor - we always hang out - a huge blessing and encouragement. Last friday we had our davis (dorm) christmas party - which is where the photo was taken of me and kristi - one of the girls in my close group of friends. We had a fun white elephant gift exchange and afterwards i went to see the movie narnia - great movie! So now, i've been informed that i am supposed to be excited about hanging out with katherine (another girl on my floor) after her final and we are going to paint our nails :o) first time for me this semester -yikes. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts and encouraging me thru this semester. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in Oregon.

up, up, up, and away!!

well, this sunday afternoon, I finally decided to take advantage of an opportunity and go fly with a couple of guys. My TI for flight science was doing some training and another guy on my brother floor was going along as safety pilot, so I got to be the backseat. It was fun though to be up in the air again. There was some pretty big clouds with some rain, but I also got to see the campus and recognizeable parts of longview. So we flew for a about 50 minutes. I'm definitely glad I went even though now it isn't as exciting to think about doing homework. I can't believe I'll be doing most the procedures next semester with primary flight! Last night I also splurged and went to a high school that was performing Les Miserables - sooooo good! It was a musical and the students were amazing - it was protected so that you couldn't even take pictures or video their performance. Afterwards, a girl on our floor had made us cheesecake - super good - and then eventually some people in our dorm watched The Interpretor - good movie. So I have had a good weekend and don't look forward to hitting the books again :o)

My nephews' "take-offs" have been successful

Sorry, but this fly girl had to boast about her adorable nephews who I'm sure will take over this world at any moment (i'm also sure their mothers would agree). Owen is walking around now and jabbering. He now has some curls too. Jordan is ready to turn 16 and get his license. One of his favorite activities is vacuuming - yup! Hopefully, he will still enjoy doing it when I have my own place and can invite him over! Hope you like the pics :o)

Cross Country has finally "landed"

Last Saturday was our conference meet at Mississippi College in Clinton. I had an ok race, but am thrilled to now have a break. It is amazing what a difference it makes with homework and rest - to not have to go to practice. Only two of our runners are going to regionals at Hendrix College in two weeks - Shane and Heidi. You had to qualify with a low time in order to make it. The weather has been getting chilly - like high 30s in the mornings, but usually it is always bright and sunny - so by the afternoon, its warm enough for a t-shirt. For fall break, I went to my Aunt Rhoda's home in Forney, TX after my home meet at LETU. It was nice to relax and sleep in - but unfortunately, I also had a long paper to finish before the end of break - at least I had time to work on it though. Nothing too exciting going on now. 22 more days until thanksgiving break and like 45 more days until finals are over and I fly home for Christmas! Ummm, am I anxious??? In a little over a week, I get to sign up for the second semester classes - I'll be taking mainly flight courses and then calculus - fun! This afternoon, I finally got to have some down time and enjoy the sunshine while I sat in the grass and sketched the bell tower on campus. It was relaxing. I ended up reading a book for my Bible class - called The Universe Next Door - outside in the sun as well. Yesterday, it was stormy - thunder, lightning, and rain - so I am trying to take advantage of the good weather. I love you guys - thanks for checking on me.

Mississippi Cross Country Meet

I give up! doubles again! Does anyone know why this happens??? Anyways, here is my cross country team in Victsburg, Mississippi! We are exploring a national park on the civil war. This is a battle ship that sank in the river, but they recently pulled it out and you can actually walk on it. The people in the picture are (from left to right) Silas, Kevin, James, Dannay with little John, Heidi, Coach Langley with her son James, Shane, me, and Greg. IT was a very long trip since we stayed at least 3 hours at the park and didn't reach campus until 10pm on saturday. The cross country meet went all right - i didn't place too high, but atleast I got to see another part of the US. It was pretty cool crossing the huge Mississippi river! Our conference meet will be here in two weeks from now. Next weekend is my home meet at LETU - but it is kind of a bummer because that is fall break and lots of people will be gone and I might not have the opportunity to leave. This last week was mid terms with lots of test and now I am facing even more papers. Do you ever get a break! Its cool to think that i am over half way done with semester classes and have only 2 months until i fly home for christmas! i love ya guys!

Important pics!

Yes, they still came up as doubles! GRRR. Well, Erika and I finally broke down and decided to have our picture taken together! It is definitely nice being in the same major - we bond by all the late nights/early mornings covering our flight homework. Another important picture is of some girls on my floor and me the night before the rita hurricane -we were bored. I hang out a lot with these girls. We encourage each other through out the week with prayer, notes, group studying, and just time together hanging out. The other picture is at a Cracker Barrel in Arkansas after our Hendrix College cross country meet. They are playing checkers. The food was so good! One of the benefits of doing a sport is getting to eat out after meets for free at nice restaurants. I had a really good weekend. My great aunt Rhoda and her friend Clyde visited me and took me out to eat and to Wal-Mart - all together a very special treat! Next weekend i'll be going to Mississippi for a cross country meet. Thanks for all your prayers and support. Knowing so many people care about how i am doing means so much. God has totally been my strength thru every day. He is answering my prayers daily. I love you guys!

Duplicates again! University of Texas at Tyler cross country meet

Well, here are some more photos: the beginning of my race - i look really excited!, the start of the boys race, and Heidi with the coach's son, John. It is fun having the boys around - kind of reminds me of my nephews. We left at 5:40am for UTT and our race started at 7:30am. I placed 16th out of 38 and my time for the 6k was 29:15. It is the first time i have ever ran that distance, so i can't really judge how well i did personally. Afterwards, we got to drive back to longview and eat out at IHOP - yum! And i had some visitors at the meet! my great aunt and her friend came to watch - it was really nice to have their support there. So tomorrow at 7am i begin my third week of college classes! Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement. I love receiving your comments/hearing from you anytime. (keep me posted from your end as well :o)

MORE PICS!

Well for some reason, it doubled each picture so i guess you just have to enjoy seeing them twice. The one with girls sitting down at a table is sunday night eating out at Joe's Pizza - so good. No one could even finish one slice of pizza because the serving was so large. Saturday i went to Erika's soccer game. they won 2 to 0. She is the one in the yellow. And then there is my fellow runner Heide, with Coach Langley and me after our trip to Southern Arkansas University. We left at 5am! But we had a good time and everyone had a good first meet of the season. please leave commits. i love to hear from people. :o)

Life in the Dorm

Well here is where i "play" at my computer :o) I have my cockpit poster up on the wall and i have my pictures up and some monkeys on my bed. and from a further view you can see i have storage underneath my bed and some rugs from home and my new moon chair - super comfy. and next is my nice closet with plenty of space. and last is the bathroom with 2 sinks for 4 girls, 4 drawers, and not shown in the picture are more shelves, shower, and door going into toilet area :o) so i have it pretty nice - can't complain. and it has AC - so usually at the end of the day i'm in sweats and a jacket or blanket on for warmth - weird, i know. So for those of you who wanted to see where i lived - i hope you enjoy the pictures.

I should be working on homework but....

i wanted to update everyone. thanks for keeping tabs on me :o) Today ended the first week of classes. I'm a bit overwhelmed with the work load, but i'm excited about my ground school for getting my private certificate and i really liked the flight lab - we get to fly simulators. This week we will be tested on take offs. Last night and this morning! i was up with my roommate studying for the first chapter quizzes in our flight class. We finished at 3:30am and went to class at 6:50am! fun time. luckily i got to take a long nap after the flight class until chapel. Longview has been receiving around 3,000 refugees from the huricane. There are actually some staying at my college and there is a shelter close by where people are volunteering. Its pretty crazy to hear what is going on. Well tomorrow morning is my first cross country meet in southern arkansas. We are leaving at 4:50am! I run a 10am - so it should be a full day. Things are going pretty well. they definitely keep you busy. I really enjoy the girls on my floor and i'm slowly getting used to the population of boys on campus. i love to hear from you. Hey - if you see or hear from my mom - give her a hug from me :o) thanks! back to the textbooks :o) i'll try to take some pics on tomorrow's trip and post some of them.

Freshmen Orientation

First some more pics! My mom and i in my new dorm room - we are called the Davis Lambs. Next, i got to ride in a Hummer! Very nice ride. And finally my cute nephew Jordan in his sweet ride! Well, they definitely keep you busy. Last monday i started cross country - running, swimming, and lifting. Last thursday, the other freshmen arrived (about 350 boys and maybe 50 girls)! Everyone is pretty friendly and welcoming. So far we have done those fun "getting to know you" games, indoor picnic, community service at a nursing home where we got to play BINGO!!, watched a drama team perform, had a floor meeting to get to know each other, desserts, and today i went to church with some girls on my floor - and enjoyed it. Tonight i'll have sub sandwiches and then dessert at my mentor's house with my cornerstone group - its a class i'll be taking this fall - teach you the skills to make it thru college, and have us decide what we believe for ourselves. Friday i got to register for classes. i'm taking 17 credits along with cross country. so i'll definitely need your prayers - as always :0) Last night we had a major storm - lots of loud crackling thunder, flashes of lightening, and huge drops of rain. I was soaked in a matter of seconds as a chose to walk out the door after hearing a warning not to go outside :o) So anyways this fall i'll be taking my ground school and flight lab! exciting. Some of the girls are watching Princess Diaries 2 down in the lobby - i think i'll go check out since i have free time.

The Beginning of College Life

Well Texas is way different than Oregon. Duh. Its way hotter and there is no mountains and people phrase things differently and have weird accents, but people are friendly, its green and there are trees, and you can wear shorts and a t-shirt at 8am until 10pm or later if you wanted. The dorms have AC but at times it seems too cold - but i'm not complaining. Friday i moved into my dorm with my roommate Erika from Chicago. She is busy with soccer and now i'm finally starting cross country. We have our room all set up. We both like the color blue and have airplanes for decor. We found out we have the same poster of the inside of a cessna cockpit. She thought i had put up her poster :o) My mom and i had a wonderful time together setting things up and going shopping at the super wal-mart and target. I'll try to get a picture up of the inside of my dorm soon. So today at 10am i will run 5 miles, lift weights, and swim. The rest of the day i'm free so i'll try to find someone to hang out with. Its a bit odd because the only people on campus right now are those doing sports or in some leadership position. So i am meeting a lot of upper classmen. The girls on our floor have really taken me in and introduced me to a lot of people and included me in their free time. So far i've went running with some of them, went to wal-mart, watch Hitch in the lobby,and helped them move storage. So there isn't too much going on. Thursday is check-in for freshman and when orientation begins - should be interesting. I've heard the other students planning for our activities. Anyways, i am alive and am so far surviving away from home and in the heat. Hopefully my next post will have a picture :o)

LOVE AT LAST

Thankfully with my friend, Sarah's, help we finally figured out how to post some pics!!!! YEAH!! So... TOP: My sister Kimber and Ben are dancing at their wedding on July 23rd. It was an absolutely perfect --beautiful--wedding! MIDDLE: My two adorable nephews - soon to be my bodyguards. Jordan and Owen. They are checking out the golf clubs :o) Owen got to ride on the wagon for the wedding. BOTTOM: The Bride - Kimber, Me, Mom, Katie, and Amy Now Kimber and Ben are settled up in Bethel, Alaska. He is preparing his classroom for the school year - teaching 4th and 5th graders. Kimber is working as an RN at the local hospital. I am in the process of finishing up my college packing and saying good-bye to people. I leave bright and early thursday morning for Texas. I can't believe its come so fast. I'll do my best to keep you posted on how college life turns out to be for this aerogirl :o)

On the Look Out for Running Shoes

Has anyone heard of the new design of shoes called nikeFREE??? if so, whats your opinion? Even if you haven't heard of them, whats your advice for buying new running shoes for cross country?? I'm one step closer to college life. Friday was my last day of work! yipeee! and my time left is three weeks and counting. i only have 2 more saturdays --WOW. i would love to hear from anyone :o) and i'm still working on posting pictures. (there is always more to learn)

What can two one-year-olds do?

*Hide the remote control *Call Hong Kong *Empty your bag or drawer in record time *Explore every nook and cranny of your house - even the ones you forgot about *Help you unload the dishwasher - yep, the big knives too *Visit you while you are meditating on the pot *Sweep and eat remains off of your kitchen floor *Deliver the nastiest surprises that reek like nothing else *Talk in a foreign language - including sign language **But best of all, they give you sweet slobbery kisses, share their cheerios, and invite you to giggle and laugh at all the funny things they do ***Their smiles and special expressions are priceless ~in honor of Jordan and Owen

The 6 Question Quiz for Class of 2005

Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16 Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you. the best advisors you will ever find are in your mom, dad and grandparents. Remember that. They may not seem to be up on all your ways of thinking, but they bring to you years of experience that are much of the time necessary to make wise decisions. As the years go by you will find a striking similarity in your thinking and theirs. Fact is, it won’t be them changing. Try and recognize the extreme value in your parents’ counsel. And while you are at it, pray for them. Pray that God will maintain the fire of His passion in their hearts. Question 1: Are you going to try and do this? Will you do your best to honor and respect your parents? Deuteronomy 6:4&5 Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is One! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. This is the backbone of our faith. Christ repeated this when he was asked the trick question, ‘What’s the greatest commandment?’ Being God, He recognized this command and the second—to love your neighbor as yourself—as the most important commands of our Christian walk. With these two in hand, you will successfully walk God’s way. Everything in our Christian walk revolves around these two. Remember Christ said, “Do this and you will live” It’s the foundation of the Christian life. We are meant as Christians to give it up for God. 100% It’s definitely not an easy command; but it certainly is the most fulfilling to complete. Question 2: “Are you willing to obey the two commandments? Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Remember the saying: “Life is hard and it’s going to get harder. But hard isn’t bad.” You will go through some extremely difficult challenges in your life. Challenges that would make a grown (wo)man cry; guess what -- you now are grown up. Much of the time the ONLY way to fight through the difficult times is by laying it on the Lord. You are going to have to trust in God, without understanding the why’s much of the time in life—and that precisely is what faith and trust are about. You must KNOW He’s there guiding you , walking with you and loving you—sometimes without seeing or feeling Him. Question 3: “Will you trust Him?” Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. There are so many questions in life as to just how to serve God. At times, the answer is so elusive, at times so simple. God does not need our sacrifices—he wants our lives. Remember the verses before this one? “What does God want? Sacrifices? Burnt offerings? Thousands of rams? Rivers of oil? Nope! He wants your life! Go look up the two commandments again! Question 4: Will you strive to do justice, to love kindness and walk humbly with your God? Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord. Our day to day lives, our education, our work, our family—whatever--we are taught to do it ALL for the Lord and not for those looking on. No matter if you are off to LeTourneau or Yale or Cal Poly or LBCC. No matter if you are heading overseas on a short term missions trip. No matter if you are going to go bag grass seed. No matter if you are going to pump gas. You’ve gotta do it for the Lord. Everything you do, everything you say is for Him. HE is the one that’s watching and will give you the ultimate approval. The approval others give you is needed and sometimes important – it’s called encouragement. Ultimately though, His encouragement should be what we strive to attain. Question 5: Will you play for the audience of One? Romans 12:1&2 paraphrase: I beg you, in the light of what God has given you and all He has done for you, that you give your life back to God. Make sure that you are giving him back something good, holy and acceptable. It’s an act of worship to your creator. Don’t get caught up in what the world around you is trying to get you to do – they’re just pulling you down. Instead, be transformed, be changed, by getting close to God and His Word, by renewing yourself. And the cool thing is, when you cuddle up with the Lord, He will show you His good and perfect will for your life. You know the line: Sacrifice to God Reject the world Be transformed by God Live His will Easy words, hard to do sometimes. You have to start now and make a commitment to it. In the 80’s Steve Camp wrote a song called Living Dangerously in the Hand’s of God: There's safety in complacency but God is calling us out of our comfort zoneinto a life of complete surrender to the cross. To live dangerously is not to live recklessly but righteouslyand it is because of God's radical grace for us that we can riskliving a life of radical obedience for Him. Question 6: Are you ready to Sacrifice, Reject, Transform and Live? Will you live a life of complete surrender to the Cross? Will you live dangerously in the hands of God? This stuff is just words on paper until you accept it. I want to read you a quick story; maybe you’ve heard this, maybe not. During the presidency of Andrew Jackson, George Wilson, a postal clerk, robbed the federal payroll from a train. In the process he killed a guard.The court convicted him and sentenced him to hang. However, because of public sentiment against capital punishment at the time, a movement began to secure a presidential pardon for Wilson. After all, it was his first offence. Eventually President Jackson intervened with a pardon. Amazingly, George Wilson refused. Since a refusal of a presidential pardon had never happened before, the Supreme Court was asked to rule on whether someone could indeed refuse apresidential pardon. Chief Justice John Marshall handed down the court's decision:"A pardon is a parchment whose only value must be determined by the receiver of the pardon. It has no value apart from that which the receiver gives to it. George Wilson has refused to accept the pardon... We cannot conceive why he would do so, but he has. Therefore, George Wilson must die." The scripture is just words on paper for you until you receive it. And it’s like a pardon from a death sentence. Your life will only be lived when you fulfill God’s Word. I pray for you often, more often than you might think. I pray that you will above all, live your life fully and radically for the Lord Jesus Christ. That is after all the most important goal in life.

Picture Patience

Anyone else having problems putting pictures on your blog. I've been trying for the past hour and nothing is showing up. I even went to the "help" link and followed the steps :o) Well...i am excited to use my blog and hopefully in the near future i'll have pictures up. At least i am learning patience and perseverence.