Week 1...done!

Hello there everyone!

As most of you know, I just started my sixth and final semester at CFNI. Ahh! Yep, i did say final. So, as of December, I will be done with school and needing a job. Not sure where or doing what yet, but I know God has it all worked out. So, He'll show me in His time where He wants me. Until then, I've got tons on my plate to keep me occupied.

This week was completely insane! Julie & I arrived on Thursday night to Dallas, and had to be up at 6 to lead worship the next morning for a new student retreat. We made a small attempt at unpacking, but then Julie had to go practice for a night of worship & I had to go to meetings. The next day we had a wedding to go to which was an hour an half away, so no unpacking then either. The wedding was beautiful, though. Congrats Whitney & Aaron.


So then came Sunday. We went to the store to get some supplies, then headed to Opening Rally. Afterwards I had a meeting/practice with the SOWTA (School of Worship & Technical Arts) leadership team. It went well, but I was exhausted!!! Went home to eat and unpack a bit (a very small bit), and then headed to bed. After all, I had to be up to sing in chapel the next morning.

The first day of school was mostly orientation, but since I was a part of the leadership team, it was a lot of running around and trying to help keep things running smoothly. I'm sure it's usually hectic, but the fact that we have 130 students and 100 of those are brand new students made it insane! God is growing the School of Worship faster than we could imagine...or keep up with. So the staff and leaders have our work cut out for us this semester. We spent the next two days doing auditions, then Wednesday night had a meeting to form the worship teams and small groups. Thursday we met with our small groups, which was awesome! I have an amazing group of people, and cannot wait to get to know them better over the coming semester. Thursday & Friday we also started classes, which is now tech arts for me. I'm not the most technological person in the world, but I'm excited to see how this semester goes.

Oh, and i almost forgot that in between all of that excitement was auditions for Praise Band (separate from School of Worship stuff...can be confusing, i know). I had already been on Praise band for the last year, but they require each year that you reaudition. And also, a certain roomate of mine (who is drummer) auditioned as well. We found out the results yesterday... and Julie & I both are on Praise Band!!! I am so proud of her. She's worked so hard over this last year and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her.

So, that was my first week of school! LOL. Crazy, I know. But, it is now Saturday and I can attempt to unpack again. haha. I'll let you know how that goes. I love & miss you all very much. Please keep in touch.

Halfway There

I can't believe it's half way through the semester. A little more than half way actually. Time really does go so fast. And only one semester to go after this. Whew, I really can't believe I'm almost done here. December is coming faster than I'd like to think. But, I'm getting WAY ahead of myself. Haha. We'll cross that bridge when it gets a little closer.

Anyway...the last month has been CRAZY! School of Worship is incredible. I've been learning so much. But it's also been a lot of work. It's a heavy workload with extra projects thrown in as well. So my schedule has been ridiculous, which is why I haven't been able to update at all. Right now I'm in the middle of songwriting class, and we're working on our CD project for the semester. I'm producing one track, and am actually singing on another. I'll be going into the studio today to record a scratch track, and then over the next few weeks will be in an out of the studio while we lay down all of the other tracks. And, for the track I'm producing, I got the best drummer ever! :-) Julie's going to be playing drums, and I'm so excited. She's actually playing on three tracks, as there is a sever drummer shortage. So it will be fun to work together on this. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

I was home for spring break, as some of you know since, well you saw me at home. haha. It was really good to see all of you. I'm sorry it wasn't longer, but the good news is I will be home for the summer! So there will be lots of catching up with everyone then. And I will actually be home this coming weekend and the third weekend of April, both times for a wedding. But there won't be much of a chance to visit, since I'll be in town less than 48 hours each time. :-( The bad news is I'm going broke because of so many weddings! The good news is I'm racking up the frequent flyer miles!!!

I'll keep you all posted on the project and how it's coming along. I'll be sure and bring it home in the summer so you can have a listen! :-)

Superbowl Sunday

Happy Superbowl Sunday!

I actually get to watch the game since Tanya now lives in alumni. And while I'm not really a football fan, it's fun to watch anyway. Julie & I are rooting for Pittsburgh (they're the closest to NJ!) and Tanya & Kim are rooting for Arizona. But I must say I am most excited for the one hour Office episode that is going to be on after the game! Haha. That's gonna be the highlight for me.

Also, I cannot fully enjoy the game since I have my first exam for the School of Worship tomorrow morning. We were supposed to have our test Friday, but due to the "ice storm" last week, it got pushed back a day. So I have an exam and paper due for worship theology that I'm working on while the girls are watching the game. (yes, I should be doing that right now but I needed a break) I was also supposed to lead worship in the House of Prayer on campus this last week. Each first semester student has to lead twice during the semester and be evaluated, but due to the unexpected day off, my first one got canceled. So, I will let you know when I'm scheduled to lead again. School of Worship is truly incredible and I am learning so much! I really feel privileged to be here right now.

In some not so good news, the flu made its way around my apartment these last few weeks. It started with me (surprise, surprise), but very quickly moved on to Julie, then Kim. Lauren managed to stay healthy until this past Friday when she started having symptoms. There are actually a lot of people on campus that have been hit with it, and apparently Dallas has been on the news because there's massive flu outbreaks all over. A few campuses around the area even closed for a few days because so many students were sick.

But I'm healthy now and getting ready for the recording that's coming up on the 13th. It's our annual recording, and I will again be a part of the choir for it. The best part is that this is the first recording that will be made up of students and the worship leaders at the school! I'm so excited to be part of this. It's going to be amazing!

God Bless! Love & miss you all!

It's a New Season

Hi everyone!

Yes, I am back in Dallas and back in school. Julie & I made it safely back last week after an interesting trip down. Our flight on saturday was canceled because of the "storm" and so we rescheduled it for Sunday night. We were rushed through the wheelchair woman (Julie sprained her foot) and barely got to say goodbye to our parents. That was a little rough, but probably easier in the end on all of us. When we finally got to our gate, we found out that our plane was already there and it was almost time for us to board, but we were missing one important thing...a pilot. Oops. So, first it was just going to be about a 15 minute delay, but of course, as time went by, our departure time got later & later. Finally, they said they were going to start boarding us so that when the pilots did arrive, we were ready to go. So, I dragged all of the bags on board (I'm sure it was quite a sight!) and we sat there for another hour. Finally, the pilot came on and we were ready to go. And we'd only be about two hours late. Haha. We got back to our apartment around 11:30, and I headed straight to bed. My team was up for chapel the next morning, and I had to be up and 5:30 to get ready!

The next day I was exhausted, but it was still a good day. It was great to see everyone again, to sing with my worship team and to start the School of Worship. The first day was a little rough, as there was a lot of orientation and introductory information. But once we got past that, the rest of the week was amazing! I have already learned so much that has helped me, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the semester will bring. In addition to still being part of the Praise Band, everyone in the school of worship is put into teams that lead worship in the House of Prayer on campus throughout the semester. And each student is required to lead at least twice! So, I'll be leading in a few weeks, and again at the end of the semester. It's going to be a crazy time! I know that I'm going to go through a lot of stretching and growing, but I'm excited to see what comes out of it.

It was great to be home and to see everyone. I wish that it wasn't so brief, but it's always good to get together and catch up and have fun no matter how short the time. I love and miss all of you and think of you often. I promise to be more diligent in updating my blog. :-)

Earthquake!?!

Howdy everyone from Dallas!

I don't know if it made national news or not, but apparently there was an earthquake here in Dallas Thursday night. Actually, two of them which were a three on the Richter Scale. So scary!!! We felt nothing, so no worries.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27472024/
And I thought the tornadoes last semester were bad. But we're all still here and no one is hurt, so on to the more boring stuff.

I felt so bad about my last post being so short. I was really feeling sick, but wanted to try & post something. So, I apologize for being so brief. But I promise to give you more detail this time. And for those of you who were wondering, I am feeling much better now. I did have a sinus infection, but it was not nearly as severe as usual. After a few days of rest I was back to my normal self.

Last Sunday night we had game night at my friend's house! It was so much fun. I made my mom's amazing peanut butter brownies and Julie & I taught them nertz!!! haha. They are hooked. And they taught us speed, which is pretty fun too. (Though nothing like the intensity of nertz) Oh, and we played taboo too! It was a blast!!! It really cheered me up since I was kinda bummed about missing the game night at home. :-(

For lecture this week, our guest speaker was Sy Rogers. He was an incredible speaker. What an amazing man of God! If you get a chance to google him and read his story please do. Such an awesome testimony. The lecture hour flew by this week. And he even did an extra two hour question and answer session. He was such a blessing to the entire student body.

My worship team was also up this week. Yay Yellow!!! And even though we only were scheduled to sing for chapel on Thursday and Friday, we ended up having all day prayer on Friday for the upcoming election. So, the normal 35 minute chapel became a three hour worship & prayer session, which we were on stage for the whole time. It was exhausting & my feet we so tired after. Haha. But it was an awesome time in God's presence!

And then last night, they had all night prayer on the campus. Julie was asked to play drums for the first two hour set, so of course my roommates & I went along from 10-12. Then we came home and played nertz til about two in the morning. :-) It was a blast, but I was definitely exhausted this morning. Always worth it, especially for nertz!

Oh, and one more exciting piece of information I forgot to share. I found out a few weeks ago that I am eligible to receive a music minor. I will have to do a special three piece voice recital with two classical pieces, which will be at the end of the semester (probably in the middle of finals - lucky me!) But I have met all of the other requirements, so once I do that I will be awarded the minor.

Only 55 days til Christmas! Ahh! We have a countdown on our door! :-) L0ve & miss you all!

It's Actually Cold in Texas!

That's right, folks. Believe it or not, it is 55 degrees here right now. Insane! And of course, it comes on a day when I'm not feeling very well. I got my first sinus infection of the semester on Sunday, and I've been sick in bed for the last two days. Ugh. But my fever finally broke last night and I was able to make it to some of my classes today. I'm just glad it didn't last as long as it usually does. Thank God!

But enough with the sickness. School's been going really well and we're now officially past the half-way point. Only seven and a half weeks of school left! Wow. That is so crazy. And let's not forget about our road trip!!! My roomates and I took a trip to San Antonio and it was awesome! I had never been, and I was so excited to just go sight-seeing. Take a look at my pics cause Julie took some amazing photos. We visited a Japanese Tea Garden, The Riverwalk which is Downtown, and shopped til we dropped, of course! haha. Our hostess Mona (my roommate Tanya's cousin) was so great about trying to show us every possible thing she could while we were there. We came back extremely exhausted! San Antonio is a beautiful city and I'd love to go back to see more of it sometime.

I love and miss you all so much! I can't wait for Christmas to come so we can catch up! And you all better get ready for game night!!!! :-)

Thank you!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but the internet in our apartment has been down for almost two weeks now. Ugh! It's so frustrating. But we're trying to make the best of it.

Anyway, I wanted to thank all of you for the birthday wishes! My friends made it a really nice day, though there was little time to enjoy it. Tuesdays are my busiest days, and my worship team just happened to be up twice that day. Haha. But the girls decorated the apartment and Julie baked a triple chocolate cake!!! It was SO GOOD! So, all in all, not a bad birthday at all.

And this coming week is midterms. Ahh! So strange to think we're half way through the semester already. Yet, here we are. And my roommates & I are going to take a trip to San Antonio next weekend. We have Friday off from school, and Tanya's cousin goes to school there. We're staying with her & it should be a blast. She has a ton of stuff planned from what I hear.

So, thank you again for all of the birthday cards, emails, texts messages, phone calls, etc. They meant a lot! :-) Love & miss you all!