Happy 2009

I don't know about you, but my holiday season was too busy to even think about posting! With working full time, finishing my class for this semester, planning our upcoming wedding, and visiting with family and friends, time has flown by so fast!

Merry Christmas, everyone, and Happy 2009! It will certainly be a year of big changes for me...marriage, a new apartment, a new church...but I can't wait to see what wonderful things God has in store for us. :-)

Friday Funny

"Excuse me...I need to count on my fingers really quick."

That's what the cashier at the bank told me today when I made a business deposit. :-) What I wanted to say and didn't was..."Please don't. I just deposited three thousand dollars!"

Because I need the reminder...

I just completed finals week at USC and I need the reminder that there's way more to life than success or GPAs. So here are the lyrics from one of my favorite songs and the reason for the title of my blog. I hope it encourages you as much as it always encourages me.

BE YE GLAD
Words and Music by M.K.Blanchard

In these days of confused situations
In these nights of a restless remorse
When the heart and the soul of the nation
Lay wounded and cold as a corpse
From the grave of the innocent Adam
Comes a song bringing joy to the sad
Oh your cry has been heard and the ransom
Has been paid up in full, Be Ye Glad.

(Chorus)
Oh, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad,
Every debt that you ever had
Has been paid up in full by the grace of the Lord,
Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad.

From the dungeon a rumor is stirring
You have heard it again and again
But this time the cell keys are turning
And outside there are faces of friends
And though your body lay weary from wasting
And your eyes show the sorrow they've had
Oh the love that your heart is now tasting
Has opened the gate, Be Ye Glad.

(Chorus)

So be like lights on the rim of the water
Giving hope in a storm sea of night
Be a refuge amidst the slaughter
Forthese fugitives in their flight
For you are timeless and part of a puzzle
You are winsome and young as a lad
And there is no disease or no struggle
That can pull you from God, Be Ye Glad.

Has it really been 18 months?

Yes, I'm afraid so! So much has happened that I won't even try to do a full re-cap except to say I have a great fiance, a great job, new friends in SC, and I'm enjoying living at home (for another 3 months, at any rate :-p)

My Sister's Wedding

Almost a month ago, my wonderful older sister Amy married her college sweetheart Bruce. It has taken a little while, but I finally have the older brother I always wanted. :-) Amy and Bruce are very happy (of course) and have settled down in Florida. More pictures will be posted when we get the official ones from Kelly at K.P. Photography, but here are some that family friends took.

Getting ready for the Big Day

Ready to walk down the aisle

Amy, Bruce, Laura & Valarie (flower girls and Bruce's sisters)

Bruce thinks a wedding is an exhausting experience!

Amy and I

Robert and Bruce

Duck, duck, duck....goose!

Duck, duck, duck....goose! Only this time, unlike one of my favorite games from childhood, I get to pick seven geese! :-) Sounds kinda like the 12 Days of Christmas, doesn't it? :-p

Anyway, I choose 1) Mrs. Alexander, because I have yet to type my sister's new name, not to mention she's great at this kind of stuff; 2) Robert, because he's my favorite brother; 3) Ashley, because she's super cool and the only one of my roomies who hasn't been tagged yet; 4) M.R.H., because he's one of the few people who actually read this blog; 5) Tim M., because he'll have interesting answers; 6) Stephanie W., a friend from Richmond, because I've been meaning to write her an email and haven't gotten around to it yet, and 7) Missi B., because I love to read her blog and look at cute pictures of baby Jade. :-)

Now that I've already started the game, let me explain the rules. :-) I was "tagged" by my wonderful boyfriend Joseph (jomoe.blogspot.com), and instead of chasing him around a group of people sitting in a circle on the floor, catching him and making him sit in the "mush pot" (like I would in the aforementioned game), :-p I will instead share seven random pieces of information about myself with my limited Blogger readership.

1. I like heights. It doesn't matter whether it's sleeping on the top bunk, living in a two-story house, walking along the top of a wall, fence, or even a curb, or sitting on the outlying crags of Maryland Heights, I love getting a great aerial view.

2. I generally prefer sitting on the floor to sitting on a chair or sofa. Exceptions are made, of course, for overstuffed and very comfortable chairs and sofas. :-)

3. Speaking of sitting on the floor, if I'm playing with your child or younger sibling, chances are I'm enjoying myself as much as they are. I still like to play with Legos, building blocks, Lincoln Logs, TinkerToys, magnets, marbles, bean bags and all other sorts of cool stuff. :-)

4. I enjoy my own companionship and am very easily entertained. A good book, blank journal, or pretty scenery will keep me entertained for quite some time.

5. I used to be an avid Major League Baseball fan, who collected hundreds of baseball cards, listened to games on the radio, and memorized rosters, pitching rotations, batting orders, win-loss records, and other stats. Go Braves!

6. One thing I want to learn is how to click my heels together like Maria does on her way to the Von Trapp home in the Sound of Music. :-) So far, I've only been able to manage something that looks like a stumble, followed by falling sideways.

7. Another of my quests for knowledge involves learning how to whistle sharply by putting two fingers in my mouth. It's a skill I've always admired and aspired to attain. *grin*

Here's hoping I've entertained you a little! :-)

She's back!

At long last, I have finally returned to the world of blogging. Of course, by now, all my friends have probably decided to give up checking my blog, but I'll see what I can do about changing that situation.

This post would be the length of War and Peace if I attempted to fill in all the details of the past many months that have gone by since I last posted, so I'll just start with right now. I am in South Carolina, enjoying gorgeous spring weather and looking for work. Tomorrow, I am off for yet another interview, so hopefully, I should be able to post details on that soon.

Rejoice with me, Part 2

I HAVE OFFICIALLY GRADUATED! ;-D

Rejoice with me!

I may not post very often because life is crazy busy lately, but at least when I do post, it's something happy! ;-) After a couple months of sending out dozens of applications, being interviewed over the phone, and making the trek from FL to VA for in-person interviews a couple times, I finally have a job. :-) I start work as the office coordinator for Senator George Allen's Richmond office next Monday! :-D Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement, y'all, and I hope to make it up to Purcellville every now and then. :-)

Random observation

Cats may not be evil, but ours is definitely a heathen. :-) Normally, during the frigid Florida winter, when the temperature drops below 60 degrees, the Jones family cat loves to finish eating and then curl up on the living room hassock she has claimed as her own. Most of the time, she is content to sleep there as long as we allow her to. However, Robert and I have noticed that as soon as we begin family devotions (morning or evening), she'll hop off the hassock and meow to be let outside. :-)

The Job Search Continues...

...although not among these interesting professions. :-D More funny pictures can be found where I got these (http://girltalk.blogs.com) at the January 13th posting. :-)

Catching up with myself...

In other words, I'm nearly done with the last credit of my DRW research hours that I have been working on over Christmas break and will soon enter the ranks of PHC grads! :-D (Yes, I'm thrilled, in case you can't tell!) It's hard to imagine that I'd normally be going back for spring term about now and in two days, classes at PHC will begin without me for the first time in 3.5 years. (I'm sure they're thrilled too. :-p)

2005 in Pictures

Great wingmates and friends! :-)

Spring Break...Hannah Curby came home with me!
Free Indeed recording trip
Congratulations, Mark & Erin!
Rooming with Ashley in the fall! :-)
Congratulations, Pete & Kelly!
Sarah's Christmas Cantata at Ketoctin
Sarah's Christmas Cantata at Ketoctin

My Thankfulness List

In addition to all the wonderful reasons I have to give thanks--the love of my heavenly Father, the love of familiy and friends--I thought I'd share some of the little daily things that make me happy whenever I think about them. :-) The following is a random (and by no means exhaustive) list in no particular order of what I give thanks for. :-D

Fireworks, feather pillows, hand bell choirs, strangely-shaped packages, dark red poinsettias, mountains shrouded in mist, hearty laughter, low stone walls, hymnals, fluffy clouds, long (and short!) letters, sunsets and sunrises of all colors, freshly-mown fields, snowball fights, being read aloud to, mud that squishes between toes, singing with friends, hot cocoa, books with leather binding and gold edges, lightning, little stone cottages, bales of hay, snowmen, foot tappin’ music (along most other kinds too!), lighthouses, fun roomies, paper extensions, icicles, chirping crickets, changing seasons, white sand beaches, pecan pies, dark purple hydrangeas, postage stamps, fresh pads of paper, twinkling stars, sea shells, hammocks (especially the kind filled with pillows!), tart lemonade, Pastor and Rosaria, candles, fairy tales, ballads and legends, aerial photographs, new-fallen snow, long walks, brightly colored markers, boots, Free Indeed, Christmas ornaments, going home for Thanksgiving, sand dunes, Psalm sings, improved dining hall food, pencils with sharp points, AWANA, the Land of Lyonesse, crunching leaves, childrens’ pop up books, little Corgi dogs, ice skates, March 1st, double rainbows (and regular rainbows too!), banisters to slide down, college graduations, the Virginia Reel, Christmas lights, plaid flannel shirts, PHC Chorale, the taste of salt spray, neatly wrapped boxes, fireplaces, watermelons, being told stories, crisp and cool weather, a dormroom painted with C34 instead of P12, blinds that actually work when you pull the cord, "split shelves", bracing wind, kayaks, twirly skirts, s’mores, winding backroads, thunderstorms, Japanese maples, good RAs, “distinctive” words, Spring Break, oatmeal with brown sugar in it, spiral staircases, wide staircases (or any other type of staircase!), kites, unique dress socks, laundry machines that don’t require quarters, doodling, the crack of a baseball bat, a capella harmony, sweet tea that isn’t too syrupy, Maryland Heights, calligraphy, polished wood, large gardens (both the flower and the vegetable kind), butterflies, pancakes and maple syrup, Christmas caroling, the Appalachian Trail, swimming, wrap-around porches, crocheted blankets, rooftops, chimneys, strawberries and cream, porch swings with enough room behind them to swing non-sedately :-p, autumn colored foliage, the constellation Orion, red barns, hand made quilts, the smell of cedar, Gala apples and tulips. :-)

Feel free to make additions! :-)

Howdy, ya'll

You know, Erin, you could have made life easy on me and just stayed on Xanga. :-)