I really want to be here right now:



This is one of my favorite beaches in New Zealand. There is just something about this place that keeps me relaxed. Even now when it's been almost 3 years since I've been there... just seeing this picture helps me to relax. (Seriously... I even have a picture of this beach on my desktop at work.)

Tomorrow I fly out to Texas. I'm super excited... a bit nervous... and a little scared. I'm praying that God shows me a lot on this trip. I want to see my parents vision for this town... I want to SEE with my eyes how God has them there. I want to see if it's a place I could live myself. (No this is not something I'm praying about right now... but I need to consider it.) I feel like there's a lot of pressure with this trip. That's why I want to be at Piha Beach. I've got so much to do tonight... I wish my bags would pack themselves. It's pretty much all ready, I've just got to make it all fit in my suite case. THANKFULLY... my friend Andy is on Spring Break this week and offered to do my laundry yesterday while I was at work. This is my friend who could have her baby ANY DAY now... but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She knows all that I have to do... and all that I'm going through... she wanted to help. I'm blessed.

So for now... I guess I'm going to have to settle for some lake in East Texas. (Where my parents have just bought land.) I don't think it'll be the same... Piha Beach New Zealand... Athens Texas.... somehow I don't think they can compare.

Easter Weekend

This past weekend was really great! I ended up at my sisters house to have Easter with her and what I call her "D-ville Family". I almost didn't go... I had planned to get two new tires for my car on Friday, but there were some other things wrong with it, so it ended up costing me over $400 total. (I had planned on $150.) Thankfully the guy worked with me. Crazy car expenses. So I struggled a bit with the thought of driving down to D-ville, knowing that I had to drive to G-boro this Thursday to fly out to TEXAS! (More on that later.) But I went... and man am I glad I did. I had one of the best weekends I've had in a while.

When I got there on Sat, Jessi and I went and met some friends at the park for an hour or so. It was so nice just to catch up with them. They just had a baby right before Christmas and Jessi hadn't seen him yet. He's grown since the last time I saw him. We had our "baby fix" for the day, and went to dinner at her roommates parents house. Then we did something I hadn't done in YEARS!!! We dyed Easter Eggs. It was so much fun! Then we went home and played my new favorite game... ROCK BAND! Can I tell you how much I love this game. I had played Guitar Hero before... and it's pretty sweet, but with Rock Band so many people can play and you can rotate what you play. Oh goodness, I so want this game, but so DO NOT NEED IT. I would be addicted I'm sure. I stink at the drums, but am pretty decent on the singing, and the guitar I LOVE. The first time I tried guitar hero I stunk so bad... but I can honestly say I am WAY better than that time. =-)

Sunday was great as well. The Easter Bunny came to the house... then church was really good as always. Then it was back to the roommates parents house for lunch. (This is also the pastor of the church.) It was great... I felt so at home... Jessi and I just jumped in and helped cook and get things set up. There were about 20 people that came... and we had an Easter Egg hunt for the little ones after lunch, then played games into the early evening. We laughed, ate A LOT! and just had a good time.

Then it was home to Jessi's to fall asleep watching a movie only to wake up at 10:30pm and have to drive back to L-burg. Monday was a sleepy day!!!

Last night was crash and tonight is catch up/clean because on Thursday...

I AM GOING TO TEXAS!!!!! Yee Haw

I can't wait! Last night some of the ladies in my small group prayed for me and my time there. It was so sweet to have friends that have been through this crazy transition of life with you. They know how I'm going to have such mixed emotions while I'm there. They were there for the first... "Yeah, so my parents are moving to Texas" to the more recent "I hate Texas" or even "darn Texas" (except it wasn't darn there but another word instead. =-) ) While my distaste of Texas may have changed, I still don't like the fact that this is where my parents live. But I'm gradually getting over this, and hopefully this trip will help.

So this is my life right now. I'm sure there'll be more to write about after this. I'm still mulling over my emotions from a few weekends ago when I went to NC. Time heals things... at least that's what I'm praying for.

On a side note... check THIS BLOG out. It's the church that I've been visiting. Their youth group is in New Orleans this week on a missions trip. loVe New Orleans. One of my good friends is there with them, so it's neat to read about their experiences. Please be praying for them. Make sure and read Day 1. I LOVE what they do to bless the people around them on their way down. What a wonderful opportunity to show Christ's loVe.

Crankypants No More

Today turned out better than I thought it would. It started out with me not feeling so well (sinuses), to me being cranky at work, and this afternoon after work I was fine. Being a woman is so weird sometimes.

I am blessed with some great friends. Tonight we decided to have dinner and a movie at my place... and it was wonderful. We had pancakes and turkey wraps. (I wasn't planning on this, it was a spur of the moment, so we raided the fridge.) It was fun. We watched an episode of The Office, then popped in a movie. And now everyone is gone and I'm off to bed. I'm thinking the crankiness is because I haven't caught up on my sleep from the weekend. If not... maybe I can take my friends to work with me tomorrow?!?! Now THAT would be fun.

Thanks guys for a great night.

Crankypants

I am cranky today. I don't know why. It's not that time of the month. I went to be early last night.

I don't know what's going on with me today, but I am just cranky! I want to go home and go to bed!

I was talking with our office secretary, and she says that everyone in the office is cranky today. Which is true!

It must be cranky Wednesday or something.

This Past Weekend

I went home to North Carolina... But it wasn't home. It was nice to be where things were familiar, but even that was weird. I knew it was going to be weird... but I didn't know how much.

This is part of an e-mail that I sent to a friend on Monday. It's easier to copy and paste rather than re-write it.
My weekend was good. It was WEIRD to go home. I didn't like the new pastor... he's nice and all, but so NOT like my dad. Which is fine, I know I can't expect that... but it still hurt my heart to see someone else on that stage preaching to that church. He's very quiet and NOT FUNNY AT ALL!!! He tried... but he just can't compare. My dad is one in a million. He's crazy and has the personality that can get along and reach ANYONE. This guy... well I was bored and didn't agree with some of the things he said. He's VERY traditional and preached from the KJV. Oh no! =-) And he said that rated R movies are bad. Which some are... but not all are... and I HATE it when preachers talk about things like that without giving explanations. He could have said that some are, but some aren't, it's not about the ratings... it's about what's in it. Some PG-13 movies are just as bad. Why didn't he say that all movies are bad? Not just R rated. It just made him sound legalistic to me... and I don't want that for Eagle Heights.

Being at the church made me miss my dad sooo much. At the end of the service they played his favorite song before they left... and all I could see was him sitting on the stage crying to that song. Crying because of the words... crying because he was leaving. And of course... I started crying. Not the little tears that I had cried earlier. (Yes... I cried a little when I saw the new guy on the stage.) But this time I couldn't stop. I was ruining my makeup and everything.

It was great to see the people though. I love that church and miss those people like crazy. I don't want to move back, and if I did, I probably wouldn't go there... but still... those people are my heart. They have a piece of it, you know?

Other than that... we had a good weekend. I had a LOT of fun with Jessi. And LOVED hanging out with our Aunt Becky. I love her... really I do. Sometimes she gets on my nerves, but I do love her. She made me miss my mom. We just hung out and did things you do with your mom. It was great. I'll go back to visit them soon I hope.

And the time with Jessi... sweet. I am blessed to have her as my sister. I love her!!! We laughed... talked... a lot... and just had fun. I couldn't have gone through church on Sunday without her.

That was my weekend. Mom, this is what I couldn't say on the phone. Hope it makes sense.