Independence Day

Independence Day was celebrated this year by traveling to Shipshewana where my family and I enjoyed shopping, eating, and simply being together.  After walking around to the many different vendors we traveled to a friends house where we had a BBQ.  Although I have no pictures to prove from it, we had such an enjoyable time together.  We spent many hours sitting around the living room simply laughing and rehearsing old memories together.

  

You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.  ~Desmond Tutu

A moment lasts all of a second, but the memory lives on forever.

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.  ~Joyce Brothers

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.  ~Barbara Bush

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.  ~Anthony Brandt

Summer Happenings

Can you believe it is July already! The month of June seems to have flown right by me.  However, I have enjoyed every moment of my busy summer.  This is the most busy summer that I can recall.  But in the mean time I try to find a little bit of time to hang out with some of my favorite people: 

I also celebrated my 21st birthday! Yes, I truly feel old now! 

 And now that I am "old" I get the awesome priviledge of being able to work with the youth in my church.  My focus is more on the 7-8th grade girls.  I have had so much fun working along side of these young people.  This last week we had our first activity of the summer.  We went Frisbee golfing! Even though we were being eaten alive by the mosquitoes, we had such a great time.  I really enjoy working with these girls.  I hope to truly impact even just one of these girl's lives.

Not only do I get to work with these young people in the youth group, but also this next semester I am going to be student teaching these junior high kids.  I am going to be teaching 7-8th American Republic as well as 12th grade Speech.  I am so excited to actually put my education to use and stand before a classroom!  This big responsibility has greatly added to my business this summer.  Every spare moment I have I have been making visuals, games, and anything else to add to my teaching.  I know teaching will be a lot of work for me, however, I simply can not wait!

Good Reads

I would briefly like to share with you a few good reads that I came across on my vacation:

This first book came highly recommended by a friend of mine. This fairly large book kept me captured the entire way through.  It begins with a young rebellious boy who seems to always be getting in trouble at school and with the town police.  However, as the boy grows up he eventually ends up going to the Olympics and breaking several mile records.  However, in the middle of the Olympic he was called into WWII.  This is where the story gets amazing.  I could go on and on explaining each and every detail to you.  But don't worry I won't.  All I will say it that is a book that I think every American should read.  It will make you to appreciate all that are soldiers do for us, and it will also will renew your pride in America.  We truly have the greatest country in the world.  

This second book also came highly recommended.  This book was a great inspiration!  Encouraging Christians to trust God even when God doesn't work as we think He should.  Angie writes so personally and she is completely transparent, letting her readers see what was going through her mind when the doctors told here that her unborn baby was incompatible with life.  She shares the many lessons she has leaned through the trial she has gone through.  In the end she confidently tells her readers that God meant it for good. God has a plan for all He does.  

Now, I would like to recommend these two amazing and inspirational books to you!

Wild West

If I could sum up my life right now in one word it would be... Busy!

But that's okay, that's the way I like it.

Right after my little sister's graduation from high school,my family and I headed out West!

We started our trip by taking a nature walk, the view was absolutely amazing!  It was something we Hoosiers were not used to at all.

We then headed back to our beautiful cabin to catch up on our scrap booking

We also played several games of pool.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming was one of my favorite places.

However, no matter how hard we tried, we just could not fit in with the cowgirls around us.  Let me tell you we kinda stuck out!  Every person around me had on flannel, cowboy boots, and a hat...and there we stood... The answer to your question is YES, people did stare at us and ask us where in the world we were from.

During this trip I finally learned how to bead. :) And believe it or not I actually really really enjoyed it! It was so much fun to create my own bracelets.  I already have many people in mind in which I can give these small gifts to. 

Proudly showing off my creations

Despite the cold weather Yellowstone National Park was beautiful!  

Patiently waiting for Old Faithful to shoot up!

There she goes!

 We saw hundreds of buffalo!

Teton National Park was absolutely breathtaking!

Then..we spotted him... the creature we had been longing to see the entire trip... a MOOSE!

 On this trip we saw buffalo, moose, deer, elk, and several other strange creatures that I could not identify   However, this little marmot was my favorite.

Bar J Ranch was quite entertaining.  It is definitely the place to go if you long to hear a grown man yodel!

My trip out West was definitely a trip I will never forget! 

My little sister's graduation

On May 19, 2011 my little sister graduated from high school. Even now as I type these words I can hardly believe it.  My little sister is now a high school graduate!

I remember the days when it was nigh to impossible to go a day without a large blown out fight.  I also remember the days of playing from dusk to dawn.  I remember the days of going off to day camp together.  Then we hit our teen years together.  We had a lot of good times together.

Then Thursday, I watched that little girl walk across the stage and receive her diploma.

 I sat there wondering where the time had gone.  My little sister now stood before me as a beautiful young woman.

Lauren- I am so proud of the woman you are becoming.  You are beautiful on both the inside and out. I look forward to making many more memories with you in college.  I love you little sis.