One semester to go...

I will be posting a more lengthy post about my trip to Dayton soon. (It was fabulous and deserves more than a couple of minutes of thought). But I wanted to take a minute and remember that this is the LAST semester of school for me (hopefully ever). The last set of finals; the last papers-ok not really since I will be writing as part of my job; the last grades; the last few months where I have days off and spring break and time for lunch or coffee breaks with friends. The last semester with the friends who have become like family-in a few months we will all disperse and take the legal world by storm. I started this crazy adventure not really knowing what I wanted to do or be or practice. It's amazing what a few short years can do.

The end of this chapter is just the beginning of another--the next one is a very dark chapter called "Studying for the Bar Exam;" After that, the chapters should be brighter and cheerier. But this chapter--law school--has shaped me in ways I never thought possible. And I think I might be sad to see it go.

An exciting weekend and another friendship story...

I like to document things in my life-thus the blog, and my journals, and emails...I have a lot of documentation. But one of my favorite things to document is the story of my friends. I know I have done this once before--for my very dear friend Ellen-you can read our story here. So it seems fitting on the eve of a visit to her that I should document the story of Erin.

I have only been in the same room with Erin on five occasions in the last 2 years, and yet she is one of my best friends. It happens that way sometimes. We met at the end of my first semester of law school. She was visiting one of my classmates and came to our semi-formal. She wore glasses and Converse sneakers. It was friendship-love at first sight. And then I found out that we also had TONS in common. Conversation was easy. It was like we had been friends forever and just didn't know it until then.

I next saw her for our formal in February. We both wore Converse sneakers to this one! We started following each other on Twitter-and when she found out Corey and I were visiting Knoxville the next month, we met up for wings and a Mountaineer victory over Kentucky to get in the Final Four! 

Our long-distance friendship took off from there. Thank GOODNESS for gchat and email and twitter. For some reason we were ridiculously honest with one another-despite not knowing each other very well. We talked almost daily-about important things, and not so important things. The months have turned into years-we have seen each other a couple of times when Corey and I visit the Taylors in Knoxville, but we mostly communicate on the interweb-and that is perfectly ok for us!

 THEN...Erin finished her PhD (YAY Dr. O'mara) and got a job in Dayton. Two hours closer to Morgantown... manageable distance for me to drive solo. Soooo... road trip! I am excited to post about our first ever girls weekend. Libby is joining us-and of course Fancy-Erin's delightful Corgi will be there too. Be sure to tune in as we explore her new town and have our first adventure together. First-not last for SURE!!

I hope to do a little bio on all my friends as the year progresses. I am so thankful for all the amazing women in my life. So plan on stories involving Danielle Taylor and Becki Jackson, Abby Quinn Lilly and Meghan Taylor--I am sure Chelsy Gevas and Lauren Estep will be in there too. These women all shape who I am and have been amazing friends to me! I want to make sure I remember their impact on my life!

New Year

A post about resolutions on New Years. I am the most original person on the planet! But I am excited to put on paper what I am hoping and praying to see this year.

I am a goal-setting kind of person. I like having something to work toward. I like seeing my progress. I like the feeling of finishing something I set out to do. However, I am also very hard on myself when I don't reach them. I ruminate on the things that I couldn't accomplish instead of moving forward and trying again. 

But this year, I want to do a NEW THING. I was reading Isaiah this morning and God says,

"Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See I am doing A NEW THING!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." 

Isaiah 43:18-19

This year I want to keep my eyes forward-even when plans fall apart, or the world isn't what I think it should be. I want to see what God is doing and join in. I want to rest in Him. 

So that sounds nice, but what does it mean? For me, it means not setting such definite goals. All my life it has been... I want to lose 10 lbs; I want to memorize 4 verses a month; I want to run 3 days a week.  Those goals are all great! But for me, it can turn into a prison cell. Instead I want to make a list of my prayers--a list of the woman that I want to be, what I want my life to look like. I will try to post about how they are progressing, and any and all tips that I can give.

My prayers:

To be in the Word-to fall more in love with Jesus everyday

To teach my kids the Word and help them fall in love with Him too

To be tuned in when I am home

To cook as much as possible

To be an encourager to Corey

To graduate from law school

To pass the bar exam (eek)

To take care of my body

To believe compliments 

To read books

To read books to my kids

To teach Libby to tie her shoe laces

To take walks as a family

To grow deeper in my friendships 

To learn patience

To start more traditions

There might be more. I might update the list occasionally. I will *hopefully* be able to cross a few off (namely law school/bar exam).  But I am committed to this year being a wonderful and hard and growing and crazy year. I am excited to see the NEW THINGS that God has in store for me, for my family, for my church...

Hello 2012. I am ready for you!

Break is halfway over?

WHAT? That is ridiculous. But the first half was filled with wonderful Christmas fun. You can check out all the festivities on the family blog here.

So what will I do with the remainder of my break?

READ:
Now I am enjoying "Game of Thrones" (on my new Kindle Fire--thanks Mom!).

PUZZLE:
We bought a 2,000 piece puzzle and started on Christmas. It will probably not be done until next Christmas.

TRAVEL:
Next weekend Libby and I are heading to Dayton to visit one of my very best friends, Erin! It should be a really wonderful girls weekend before the LAST semester of Law School begins.

I want to start on some knitting projects too. But I think my hands need a break for a couple days.  I must say, the break has been wonderful so far. Next post will probably involve some goals for 2012. Hard to believe it is almost that time again!

Christmas is *almost* here...

And it snuck up on my for sure.

I don't like to be rushed-hurriedly trying to get things done stresses me out. But Christmas came out of nowhere this year. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I have yet to wrap a present. But this morning I was reminded that Christmas is not about presents. Or rather it is. It is all about one very special gift.

I was reading Romans 6, and the last verse says "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (v23). God's gift to us-his Son.

Christmas is so wonderful because of all the magic surrounding it. The trees light up, the presents appear, all the anticipation and wonder. And the amazing mystery of the birth of a Savior. God's great gift to the world. I am amazed by how He came into the world-a helpless baby, born in a manger. And I am amazed at why. To save me, a sinner. To rescue me, a prodigal. But I am so very thankful for the gift of life that I have been given in Christ. And I hope His love fills all of your festivities and all of your hearts. Merry Christmas.

Exhale...

Finals are OVER. They were actually over on Tuesday, but I still haven't had a lot of time for blogging-

SURPRISE!

Oh well. Finals were exhausting. I feel like I say that every semester, but magically I forget until they come around again.

Sooo True.

But it is done. And I am one semester away from graduation. I am looking forward to celebrating that fact with my friends tomorrow at our Semi-Formal. We get dressed up. We have good food and drinks. We forget all the stress....we laugh...we have fun.  

As for the rest of break...I am knitting up a storm to get ready for Christmas. I'm hanging with the kiddos some-yesterday was Libby's Christmas Program so check the family blog soon for photos and hopefully a video! I'm back in the office too. Every year I have big plans for break, and then it whizzes by without me realizing it. So this year, I have 2 concrete projects that I want to accomplish.

THIS...

and THIS...

Both are knitted-I haven't delved into the crochet world yet. And I SUPER excited to make them! Added to the fun is that 4 or 5 of my friends have expressed an interest in learning to knit, so I will get to work on my projects while hanging out with some really awesome ladies.

I'll post photos-unless they turn out terribly...

images from here

In the thick of it...and some thoughts on Jacob.

I'm in the midst of finals. One has been turned in after a very long Saturday (12 hours in my dining room chair). I have two left - closed book exam Thursday and a take home due a week from today. And then I am DONE. Until next semester...
On a different note, last week Trey was preaching at church about Jacob. Now we have been in Genesis for the last several months, so Jacob has obviously been a topic before. But two weeks ago was the account of when he wrestled with God. They wrestled all night, and Jacob didn't let go. Instead he said "I will not let go unless you bless me." (Gen 32:26). And the blessing? A new name "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." (Gen 32:28).
Struggle. Jacob struggled. He refused to quit until he got the blessing. But struggle seems like a four letter word in our society. We have this notion that struggling means that we have failed instead of seeing the struggle as the process of succeeding. We don't want to struggle, we think it should be easy-so we give up. It is a word that reminds us (or maybe just me) of tiring, hard, painful events with no purpose. But that is isn't what the word means. It does involve tiring and hard and painful events, but it is for a purpose. We fight and claw and work and labor to get the blessing-for Jacob it was a new name. Maybe the blessing is different for me or for you. But if we fight and claw and refuse to let go, there is a blessing...

Easy example...If you struggle with growing out your hair (this isn't about me AT ALL), it is a fight to not go to the hairdresser, especially when you feel the mullet coming on. But you fight the urge-you remind yourself that a cute hair cut is in your future. You work through the awkward phases to get to the blessing-an awesome new do. (in my case, I want this one...

Harder example...If you struggle with school, you study and read, you make flash cards, you struggle with the material until you know it. The blessing? a better grade, a better job - maybe. Certainly an understanding of the material, that light bulb moment can be a blessing!

Hardest example...If you struggle with body image (like most women I know including myself), it may seem that the struggle is against food and motivation-the endless cycles of diets or exercise. But really I think the struggle is against the words that we say to ourselves. We have to struggle to love the bodies God has put us in, and fight with the influences and the messages that say otherwise. I know I certainly have to claw my way out of the pit of comparison. And the blessing? Contentment? A deeper faith in the God that made us? I'll let you know when I get there!

this pic says "One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful" -Freud

(Side-note, I don't ever look this cute while struggling with life,

 I usually have on man-sweatpants and stained T-shirts. :)

Whatever it is, STRUGGLE. Don't let go. I want to fight and claw and work until I get the blessing. And maybe at the end, you will see that the struggle really was beautiful because God used it to shape you.

images can be found here.