Pine Cove- Trick or Treat

The theme of the Watermark Youth Retreat this year was trick or treat. A fitting theme since it was over Halloween weekend.

Day 1: We got to Pine Cove around 10:00pm on Friday night and changed into our Halloween costumes. We had our first "club" which consisted of upbeat worship music and a crazy rules video that David and Bode came up with. Afterwards we played a "trick or treat" game which resembled capture the flag but instead of a flag the kids had to make it to a leader on the opposite side and ask us "trick or treat". We had to alternate "trick" and "treat". "Treat" consisted of a ticket that they had to turn in for points and "trick" consisted of flour, shaving cream, silly string or whipped cream being sprayed/thrown on them.

Wesleigh (fairy), Faith (elf), Sarah (Sarah Palin), Me (rainbow), Izzy (Izzy bottle), Lauren (Izzy bottle), Cali (Hershey Kiss), Melissa (lightning), Sydney (vampire) The Storm: Lightning, Pot of Gold, Rainbow, Sun, Rain, Rain, Thunder Me and Melissa getting ready for the trick or treat game... Game face ON.
Katie, Me, Sarah... After the game.

Day 2: We had 2 Club sessions on Saturday that were both amazing. The first one talked through Genesis 3:1-9. David talked about how Satan tricks us into sinning and how sin draws us away from the Lord through shame and guilt. He ended on the truth that God always seeks us (Gen 3:9) despite our sin.

The second club consisted of two leader testimonies, communion and an open mic for the students. Around 50 students got up and shared what the Lord was doing in their lives during the weekend, or the struggles/trials they have endured in the past. It was a very powerful evening that I will not soon forget.

Our group at breakfast.

During free time two of our girls wanted to do the zip line so Melissa and I each got to zip with a girl. I was pretty scared from the top of the zip line but it was over soon enough and totally worth it!

Sydney and Melissa Me and Wesleigh
Zip on!

Saturday night we played Recon, which is quite possibly the best game ever. The kids had to make it through the woods in the dark to the tower where they would change their Cheerio for a Fruit Loop or the secret bunker where they would get a Frosted Flake. The leaders were all in the forest to stop the kids. When we would see a kid trying to pass we would tell them to freeze and either crush their Cheerio or make them do something to regain it. At first we were all crushing but as the game progresses we were supposed to let them earn back their Cheerio. It was great fun. I had kids doing interpretive dance while singing "I'm a little teapot" or "twinkle twinkle little star". Amazingly entertaining, though I am not quite sure the kids liked it as much.

Day 3: The last Club used Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (the quest for the Holy Grail) to teach the kids three challenges related to the three challenges Indy faced to find the grail: (1) Only the Penitent man will pass (2) Walking on the Word of God (3) Leap from the Lion's Head - leap of faith. The final challenge to the kids was that they must choose wisely meaning they should drink from the cup of life (Christ) instead of the other cups that lead to death (sin). It was a great analogy that will hopefully stick with the kids for a long time.

We had some great bonding time and I got to know these precious girls even better over the three days. I can't wait to see where the Lord brings them in the next few years.

Pine Cove Craziness

This weekend was the Watermark Junior High Pine Cove Retreat! My girls stole my camera while Melissa (my co-leader) and I were getting ready for bed one night and this is what ensued. The videos are a little long but I am positive they will be useful for blackmail in the future! The joy of having these girls through their senior year in high school! Haha!





The retreat was great fun. I will post pictures and details tomorrow.

Is it January yet?!?!

Thanks Erin for the link. Bittersweet but worth it.

T-minus 14 Days

"The Board of Law Examiners expects to release the results of the July 2008 Texas Bar Examination on Friday, November 7, 2008." Yikes! I am very nervous! Actually, if the Bar Examiners stay true to form, I should get my bar results sometime during the afternoon of the 6th. "How do you know if you passed?" you might ask. The answer may in fact be the cruelest trick yet. Potential Texas attorneys find out if we passed by going to a website and looking for our names. My name will either be on the "pass" list or it won't. Talk about brutal. Oh well, I guess it is like ripping a band-aid. If I fail, no reason not to tell you all because you can see it for yourselves.

I went to the Richardson Public Library today to rent a few books and as I got out of my car the horror that was Bar Prep returned quickly to my mind and made me shiver. Nothing like visiting your old study spot to make you remember the hours and hours and hours of studying. I continue to be prayerful and optimistic that I passed the bar, but part of me is horrified that I didn't. I guess we will all know soon enough.

Tagged... Exposing my Randomness...

I was recently tagged by Lynn and tasked with posting 6 random facts about myself. The last couple times I have been tagged I just re-posted my last response (The weirdness of Jen) but since it has been a year and a half, I figured it was time to grace you all with new material. So here goes:

1. I still chew on my pens. I am an adult and I should have outgrown this disgusting habit a long time ago... But when I am writing I can't seem to keep from chewing on the end of my pens. It is not so bad when my pens are safe and sound at my house but when someone asks to borrow a pen at a restaurant and I pull a mutilated pen out of my purse, I get a little embarrassed. I should learn to keep "new" unharmed pens in my purse, but eventually every pen meets with the same fate so my effort would eventually be futile... A better alternative may be to quit chewing... I will try to work on that. Ask me for a pen in a year or so and see if I have made progress.

2. I can be lazy. Shocking that my over-achiever self could have a lackadaisical bone in it, but it is true. I really enjoyed my time off... more than I was expecting. I have been able to get a lot of random stuff done that I don't normally have time for in the hecticness of life, but I have also spent a lot of time sitting and doing almost nothing. It gets old eventually, but it took me a few months instead of a few days... Which is truly shocking if you know me really well.

3. I wish I could sing. I am almost tone deaf and have always wished otherwise. I don't want extraordinary talent... but just enough that I didn't feel self conscious when singing in front of people... Or I guess I could also live with being oblivious to the fact that I can't sing. Then I would no longer feel self conscious. I don't really mind making a fool of myself so that may be a funnier option... All of my friends would then be inwardly conflicted with whether to tell me I was horrible when I belted out a jam... Haha!

4. I have a life list. I just put it on the Internet today. It is no where near complete but like everything in live... it is a work in progress.

5. I am as hard to wake up as a 12 year old boy... Assuming a 12 year old boy is hard to wake up. ;) I can sleep through alarms, turn them off in my sleep, talk in my sleep (so if you call me to wake me up... it may not actually wake me up)... It is bad. I am debating on buying a Sonic Boom Alarm Clock but I keep hoping one day I can overcome my comatose sleep on my own... anythings possible, right?

6. I am reading for fun again and it is glorious! Before law school I would read around 25 books a year for sheer enjoyment. In law school my number dipped down to about 5 a year... But I am back! Since the bar I have read seven books for fun and I am in the middle of two more. Yea for law school not quenching my desire to read... well long term anyway.

Carli

A little over 10 years ago I introduced my best friends to each other. Lindsay, one of the most beautiful people I have ever met... both inside and out and Chris, who in addition to being quite handsome is hysterical, deep and loyal. They were instantly drawn to each other and through high school and college they grew to love one another in a way that is extremely rare in young people.

I give them the credit for my being so comfortable around couples today. Because the three of us were all but inseparable in high school and though they were dating (or interested in one another) for most of it, I never once felt like a third wheel. They both loved me as a friend but that love was also deep and real and always made me feel welcomed and wanted. I looked up to both of them in high school and was truly awed by their love of Christ. They are part of the reason I am the woman I am today.

Chris is the first man I helped pick out an engagement ring, which was a huge honor. They were married in December of 2004. To this day the love that Chris shows for Lindsay is one of my benchmarks for men that I date. I still remember the way Chris would talk about Lindsay before they started dating. The way he called her "beautiful" took my breath away. It was more than a superficial comment. That was one of the best parts of having male best friends (now it can get me in trouble, but back then guy-girl friendships were much easier)... Seeing the way men pursue a girl/woman they are TRULY interested in is exciting and encouraging and every girls dream (assuming she is interested in the guy as well).

Chris called me a little over a year ago and told me that he and Lindsay were expecting their first child. I could not have been more excited for them and yet I was completely freaked out! They were my first really good friends to get pregnant and having known them since we were kids ourselves made me feel so much more grown up than when friends I met in college got pregnant. I mean we were kids together... how are we now old enough to have kids?! But old enough to have kids we are... and I soon recovered from my freak out, which is good since three other friends got pregnant shortly after Lindsay and Chris.

Chris is in the army and he and Lindsay are stationed in North Carolina, thus when it was time for their delivery I was no where near. They had a happy and healthy little girl named Carli on May 8, 2008. I have wanted to meet her since that day but with graduation, the bar, and such I have not made it out to NC in her five months of life.

I was pleasantly surprised when Lindsay called me out of the blue last week and told me she and Carli were in town for the weekend! I immediately made plans to spend time with Lindsay, her family and Carli. I got to spend several hours with the them on Friday and Saturday and I am already smitten with Carli. She is beautiful and I can see both Lindsay and Chris in her. It is hysterical to watch her face. She has the biggest eyes I have ever seen and she seems to live life in a state of perpetual surprise. She is such a happy baby and so easy. Chris and Lindsay are so blessed!


While I spent time with Carli, I was struck by how deeply I still love her parents. I don't talk to Chris or Lindsay nearly as much as we did while we lived in the same city and had ENDLESS TIME to hang out (got to miss high school and college)... But with time and decreased communication our friendship has not lessened. I am confident that Chris and Lindsay will be my dear friends for the rest of our lives, no matter how much distance there is between us. I loving having timeless friendships... the kind that you could go a year without talking and pick up right where you left off. They are truly a blessing from the Lord!

I was also honored that I played a small part in Carli's existence. I introduced her parents. I am part of her story... I am sure Chris and Lindsay would still have met and gotten married if it weren't for me introducing them... but God gave me the blessing of introducing them and now they have a precious daughter. Thank you God for blessing them with Carli and blessing me through knowing them and now knowing her!

Nashville Baby

My trip to Nashville was oh so enjoyable. Fun fellowship with Amber, great food, shopping, new friends and fall for the first time! It was beautiful. Instead of posting a day-by-day play-by-play I am going to post the highlight events. Enjoy!

Fire on the Porch
Amber and I went to a Mexican restaurant with some of her friends and I was quite sceptical. It was no Chuy's but it did the trick in a pinch. :) Afterwards we went to a group of her guy friends' house and build a fire by the front porch. It was relaxing and honestly, it felt homey even though I was in a new place with new people.


Kayaking the Harpeth
Amber, Rachel and I took a trip to the Harpeth for some canoeing. I had never been canoeing before and since the river was a little low (not exactly the rainy season) we decided to rent a kayak as well instead of having three to a canoe... Probably the smartest decision we made that day because the water was LOW. We had to stop about 150 million times, get out of the canoe, and walk it to navigable waters, get back into the canoe and paddle further down the river... Until we hit rocks again and then started the process over.

Amber and I took turns kayaking and canoeing and I very much preferred the kayak. My opinion may be based on the fact that none of us had any real experience canoeing but we could not get the canoe to go straight to save our lives... the kayak was so much easier to navigate!

We went on what should have been a 2 hour trail and managed to turn it into a three hour event full of frustration, singing ("just around the river bend"... right?!?! "Majesty!!!"), laughing so hard we collapsed, and awe at the beauty surrounding us.

We were so very ready to be done at this point... We are about 2 hours in... little did we know we still had an hour to go...

Broadway
Apparently no trip to Nashville is complete without a trip to Broadway. I did very much enjoy seeing downtown and hearing "Dixieland Delight" in every single club (four times in two hours... I would think it was a record, but Nashvillians seem so crazy about the song that it would not surprise me if some clubs had it on constant repeat).


Going to the park with Riley
So pretty everywhere. I could not get enough time outdoors in Nashville!


Pancake Pantry with Presidents
On my last day in Nashville we went to Pancake Pantry to partake in the pancakey goodness. While we were eating Amber and I both noticed that the guys at the table next to us looked a lot like George W. and Clinton... and looking a little harder the woman beside "Clinton" looked a lot like Sarah Palin... A lot... Which could not be a coincidence... When people started taking pictures with them we realized it was definitely not a coincidence. Turns out they were in town for the Debate at Belmont.

Bush was a much better impersonator... but maybe that's because Clinton looked intoxicated or high...

GPS = Amazing

As some of you know, I am in Nashville, TN until tomorrow evening. Tonight I was tasked with driving home from the hospital after dropping Amber off at work (Sad day... she had to work my last night in Nashville, but at least she was off for the first 3 nights), driving to WhichWich to grab dinner, driving to the hospital to drop off dinner and hang out for a few hours, driving back home from the hospital and tomorrow morning driving to the Pancake Pantry (apparently AMAZING... I will let you all know when I post the details of my trip) to meet up with Amber... All of which in a city I have never seen or been to before.

Even with my good sense of direction, I was a little nervous about finding everything... Until I pulled out Amber's GPS... After using it tonight I am convinced it is the best invention ever! I managed to get everywhere I needed to go with ease. I have used GPSs before with others driving but never in a new place all by myself. It was freeing! I felt self-sufficient even though I was completely dependent on the GPS... An ironic feeling but I loved it! I want one.

Aside: I realize I am WAY behind the GPS curve and most of you have known the awesomeness of GPS for a few years now... But it is new to me and I wanted to blog my excitement!

Itch... Itch... Go Away

I am back! I survived and I feel better for running... I am back on the wagon. My pace was horrible but now I have something to improve upon. I wish I could remember that though I hate running, it does good things for me like increase my endorphins and apparently open my capillaries and arteries... All of which are good things...

I say apparently because I just researched and found that last tidbit. See, when I stop running for any period of time and then start again, my legs itch... It is not painful, just uncomfortable. I never knew why but after feeling the tingle today I decided to look it up... Here is the answer and it creeps me out enough to keep running!

Why do my legs itch when I run?

A. Don't worry; you aren't alone on this problem. It usually occurs during exercise performed after a long period of inactivity. The itching is not on the skin, it is inside the skin.
You see, there are millions of tiny capillaries and arteries inside our muscles which expand rapidly due to the demand for more blood that is brought on by exercise. When our bodies are sufficiently fit, these capillaries remain open allowing maximum blood passage, but, when unfit and inactive, they tend to collapse, allowing only minimal blood passage (which is sufficient for a sedentary person, however). The rapid expansion of these vessels causes adjacent nerves to send impulses back to the brain which are interpreted as an itch.The problem should go away once you have increased your fitness level.

I am determined to decrease the itch. I do not want to be considered a "sedentary person"... Ewww... I just chringed at the thought.

Running?!

While in Houston I developed a healthy respect for my nemesis, running. I ran multiple times a week because I wanted to improve. I almost got to the point where I would no longer call running a thorn in my side when I moved to Dallas.

Sadly since in Dallas, I've run on the treadmill a hand full of times (stress relief during bar prep) and I have yet to run outside. I attribute this lethargic fact to the heat and to losing my Garmin for the first three months after my move (It was in my junk bag that was the last thing I unpacked... which should give you more insight into my feelings about running.).

All that to say 1- today is the day! Since the weather is so very nice, I am going to go for my first Dallas run outside. Nothing too presumptuous. A couple miles I think... and 2- My recent track record has shown me that I am horrible at motivating myself. I need a triathlon, 5k, 10k or half-marathon looming in my future in order to get off my behind. This fact is truly unsettling!