Christmas and Spokane Trip!

The whole McCAnn Family on Christmas Day! First time we were all together in like 10 years!

After a wonderful and special Christmas Day with the family, I took off for Spokane to go to Niall and Janae's wedding. Ebay drove from Portland to Tumwater, and we drove from Tumwater to Edmonds to meet up with Jimmy! We headed off to Spokane...

Spokane was great! We spent the afternoon watching Oprah and relaxing and had a fun night hanging out with everyone who was in town for the wedding! Tuesday morning Ebay and I walked to Starbucks because we didn't have a car and then watched America's Next Top Model at the boys house ALL afternoon! Tuesday night was the wedding...it was BEAUTIFUL! My favorite part was hearing them say their own vows! The reception followed and Ebay and I enjoyed dancing with all 10 of our dates :) I caught the flower bouquet and Jimmy caught the garter! (meant to be???? um not after 20 hours in the car with him..haha) Anyways, it snowed a foot and we got stuck in Spokane an extra day! Keith was kind enough to drive us to Old European for breakfast (first meal in the 2 days) and then we all played in the snow and went sledding! Ebay and I hitched a ride from him downtown where we walked around in the blizzard looking for a particular store, slept in the food court, had bottomless fries at Red Robin, slept in the Nordstrom lounge, saw a movie, slept in the food court again...and then Keith got off work and gave us a ride home! Jimmy, Ebay and I drove back Thursday and made it safely over the pass even though he claimed he only had 8% visibility through the windowshield and that his car was hemorrhaging gasoline. But, we made it :)

Jackie is back from Australia and it has been great to see her. She packs up and leaves tomorrow to move to Ellensburg (yay she will be closer to Spokane).

Home.Relaxing.Family.Holidays.

Our $15 Christmas tree we got at a parking lot :)))

So in the past few days I have basically gone from going 100 miles an hour every second of the day...to about 5 mph (which is a stretch). Therefore, I have already complained to my mom several times of being bored! And I have only been home officially for 2 full days! I suppose I need to learn how to relax and allow myself to do nothing! So yesterday after my mom and I spent 5 hours setting up the tree, we laid on the couch and listened to the David Archuleta Christmas CD TWICE. And as usual, within a day or two I'll be busy catching up with friends and family as they come into town for Christmas!

I came home to a puppy :) Liana is a foster parent for a puppy for 2 weeks. It just got rescued and cannot be adopted because it is too 'hyper' for a house so they are trying to help her adjust by putting her with us for 2 weeks. We haven't had a dog around for at least 6 years so it is quite the treat. We named her Lady Doga/Bella and she is a mix (Great Dane and German Shepard). Basically, she doesn't weigh too much less than me! We call her our Christmas puppy :) Her behavior is like Marley from the movie Marley and me!Meet Bella..and our neighbor cat Daisy that thinks it lives with us!

I had a special visit with Claire last weekend in her apartment! It was so wonderful to finally get to see where she lives and where she works! Wilder is soooo nice! We enjoyed wine, thai food, starbucks and FRIENDS (all the essentials)! It was so nice to catch up! Wednesday I'm heading up to Edmonds for the day to see Jimmy which should be fun! Anyways, I miss you all and hope you are enjoying the Holiday time with your families!

Danika came to town!

I'm currently in a funk (the first in many months) so I am going to make a list of all the things I have to look forward to! I'm sure the funk will be gone by the morning :)
1. Two days with my 2nd graders and making gingerbread houses with them

2. Finishing up my last 2 papers of the semester

3. Seeing my 2nd graders perform in the Cougar Choral

4. Getting to see Ebay's class

5. Coffee with Judy

6. Lifecenter with Joanna, Ebay and Danika

7. Seeing Claire on Friday and spending the night in her apartment

8. home. seeing family. relaxing

9. Possible snowboarding lessons with Liana

10. Snowshoeing with Papa Ron...or hiking

11. Day trip to Edmonds to see Jimmy

12. Jackie coming home from Australia

13. New Years!

14. Possible Portland adventure

15. Jan 4th fly out of SeaTac for Tanzania

We had a goodbye dinner for Jimmy this past week. It was very fun and I LOVE this picture. Take note of the reindeer antlers attacking his face!

One year ago....

If you know me, you know I love reminiscing about the past. So as I sit here in the Service Station (of course) avoiding homework (duh), I was wondering what I was doing one year ago... We were playing the family game...Danika was the Green M&M...typical
We were caroling in the neighborhood...Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer! Those neighbors will be sad when we don't show up this year :(

We were rocking out at the Senior Christmas Party at the Bozarth Mansion (beautifully planned and coordinated by Danika!)


And we celebrated Ande's 22nd birthday with Bud Light Lime, the movie Elf and a sleepover!

I miss you girls terribly. I wish I could be more present in your lives. We SERIOUSLY should all think about Seattle next year. How amazing would it be if we were all in the same city again? Just a thought :) Ebay and I have Spring Break in April from the 4th-8th. We are thinking Hawaii or Mexico. Anyone in?
Love you all and enjoy your first week in December
xoxo,
Analisa

The Top Ten of Thanksgiving 2010

10. Only setting my alarm clock once while I was home !

9. Watching episodes of One Tree Hill with Liana and then falling asleep in her bed :)

8. Getting paid to do Liana's laundry

7. New hair color (Liana dyed my hair for me and ran out of dye in the middle of the process)

6. Celebrating Dad's 57th birthday...dinner and a movie

5. The typical McCann family stories that are too inappropriate for the Internet

4. NO HOMEWORK

3. Some fabulous girl talk with Mommy and Liana

2. Catching up with old friends (mainly Steven Paul Cable, Sarah and Kristina)

1. A WONDERFUL Thanksgiving Day with my whole family...and having Grammy there with us!What an absolute blessing

3 weeks until Christmas Break. 6 days @ Willard. 6 Days @ Whitworth. 3 weeks at home. Then off to AFRICA....

My car back in Spokane...Ebay and I successfully dug it out of about a foot of snow!

Last November at the Cornerhouse :( The day of our Thanksgiving meal :))))

Sunday morning and snow is coming down. Perfect excuse for a Peppermint Mocha :) 2-5 today at Starbucks you can buy one holiday drink and get a second free. Ebay and I will be going there soon!

Life has been busy but wonderful! Ebay and I joined a new lifegroup at Church and have enjoyed meeting new people. We also went to LifeCenter's college night (ages 18-24) on Thursday. We ran into Michael who was doing the sermon and he was really excited to see us. Saturday we had some of our West Central friends over for wine and a movie. Let's just say, with all our best friends being away we have been forced to step out of our comfort zones and meet new people. It has been a great experience though and we are looking forward to building new relationships!

Today, LifeCenter began a new series called, "It's all about God". Joe discussed how we live most of our lives focused on ourselves. In reality, life is not about us (me), it is about God. He broke it down into three simple points: Creation is all about God (this is God's world), History is all about God (this is God's story) and I am all about God (I am not my own, I belong to God). Lastly, I love this point: we are TWICE God's because he first created us and secondly, he bought us. This is all just a reminder that everything we do, we should do it for God's glory.

I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday wherever they are and whoever you are with. Enjoy the snow, sunshine, rain... and know that I miss you all. I am so thankful for each one of you and the amazing work that each one of you are doing.

xoxo

Analisa

Surprise!!!

After a long week of school and craziness I hopped in my car Friday at 12:01 right after class and headed home to Tumwater. Jackie leaves on Tuesday for Australia and I will not see her Thanksgiving or Christmas break so I wanted to spend some time with her before she left! I took this opportunity to not tell my family I was coming and surprise them! Friday night I walked into the house and my mom and to call my dad into the room to assure her that it was really me and she wasn't seeing things. Once my mom believed it was me and my dad asked the predicted questions about the pass, we hugged! Liana was off at some dance so when I texted her and told her I was standing in the kitchen she was shocked! Oh I love surprises:)))

Saturday morning Jackie and I met at our Starbucks and snagged the comfy chairs of course. We ran some errands (Fred Meyer's and Great Clips) and then had El Sarape for lunch. Afterwards, mom and I went to Goodwill for some shopping and then to grammy and grampys! My grandma was super surprised and it was great to see her! Mom and I visited Liana at Safeway who was getting canned food donations for the food bank! When she was all finished we stopped and visited my aunt and uncle for awhile, played nerf guns with Timothy and then had McDonalds for dinner :) Finally, we rented the vulgar but hilarious movie, Get Him to the Greek and had a sleepover with Jackie.

The trip was short but sweet and well worth it! I feel rejuvenated for my last week and a half before Thanksgiving and I look forward to be coming home soon again!

DiStRaCtIoNs

It is Saturday night and I am sitting at the Service Station working away on homework (surprise, surprise). I am thinking about all the things that distract me from doing homework so I decided to make a list:
1. My blog
2. Reading everyone else's blog
3. Texting
4. Phone calls
5. Food
6. People watching
7. Pandora
8. Checking my Whitworth e-mail
9. Facebook
10. America's Next Top Model, Survivor and the Amazing Race
11. Attempts at napping
12. other homework
13. Talking to people at the Service Station
14.....and the 45 minute phone conversation I just had with my mom!



HERE WE GOOOOOO HOMEWORK!
Ebay and I have grand plans for the night: Clean R apartment while drinking margaritas!

It's November?

The last week of October whizzed by as I was busy carving pumpkins, making holiday treats, attempting to work those treats off by exercising every day, working on endless piles of homework and BEING SICK! Since I made it through all senior year without getting sick once, it seems I am making up for it this year (already sick twice in 2 months). No worries, after 10 days I finally made it to the health center to get some antibiotics...should be good in no time!

Needless to say, life is going at a crazy pace. Halloween came and went just like my pumpkin I carved (already rotten :( ). Ebay, Joanna and I had a fun Halloween evening and went as two kitties and a hippie! We branched out and attended an actual Halloween party which was fun only because we ran into Bobby Hughes and friends:) Halloween itself was pretty low key...I almost wore my kitty ears to workout, but forgot. Don't worry though, Ebay and I wore them to church Sunday evening which definitely got us some Halloween Candy :) Sadly, we had no tricker-treaters at R apartment, which was fine since we took shots of NyQuil and got in bed by 9!

So, October is gone, November is here! Today is another Princess Day celebration (about 3 and 1/2 years). We will celebrate by Didiers of course...and peppermint mochas compliments of Claire (THANKS!). Hopefully now that I am on meds, I will start getting better. Ebay and I are starting a lifegroup tomorrow through lifecenter...it is for SINGLES post-college 22-32...hmmmm should be good :)

Great thing I learned @ church: The church is not a rest home for saints, it is a rescue place for sinners! AMEN! Joe also said, "Let's get it right and say, I am just a turd trying to follow Jesus".

Also, I am going to give up sweets until Christmas (except on Tuesdays so I can have dids)
Love you and miss you.
Analisa

Rockford, WA Population: 500 (our Friday night)

So Josh is our friend who volunteers with us at West Central and he was celebrating his 22nd birthday on Friday. Ebay and I decided to take part in the celebration along with many other West Central volunteers and friends. Little did we know that we would be heading to Rockford, WA for a wondrous evening at the Harvest Moon bar...

Located 45 minutes from Spokane, Rockford has one street light, two bars and lots and lots of tractors. We walked into Frednecks bar and even with our plaid shirts, cowboy hats and boots we were called "city slickers". Not feeling the vibe, we headed down the street to Harvest Moon where we felt more welcomed :)

Analisa and Ebay dancing to: Larger than Life By: Backstreet Boys

Before you knew it, the 10 of us were on the dance floor doing the hoedown and dancin country style. Marty, the dj allowed us to request any song we wanted. Let's just say we had quite the variety: MC Hammer, Michael Jackson, 50 Cent, Technine, Backstreet Boys (yes, Ebay and I performed our dance), Lady Gaga, ACDC...the list goes on. We danced from about 8:30 to midnight, had the country bar on it's feet and got some locals to join us on the dance floor. I even believe the girls made it on top of the bar when the song "Single Ladies" came on. This night turned into much more than we could have ever expected from a town like Rockford. Long lasting memories were made as well as 15 embarrassing videos recorded :)

The Sunday Night West Central Dinner Crew :) These people are AMAZING!

Saturday was amazing as well! Had a wonderful phone convo with mommy, went to a yoga class, carved pumpkins, made lots of yummy treats, watched Hocus Pocus and ate Burger King :) LifeCenter was great on Sunday and we talked about the famous question: If God is so good then why is the world so bad? I got some great perspective on this topic! Sunday afternoon was relaxing and then Sunday evening the West Central crew stayed in and made SUSHI :)

LOVE YOU ALL! Have a great week!

Westboro Baptist Church Demo

Today Whitworth and the Spokane community came together in unity in response to a demonstration put on by the Westboro Baptist church. The WBC is a church group located in Topeka, Kansas that has very radical beliefs. To voice their beliefs, they travel all around the country demonstrating and holding signs. According to WBC, they came to Whitworth because, "the college students spend more time pursuing their drunken sins than their academic success. Their professors happily teach them the lie that "it is OK to be gay" and its just fine to flip off God and mock his servants". We know this is very scewed and far from the truth. While it is disturbing and frustrating to hear this, Whitworth responded in such a way that demonstrated love and peace.

Whitworth students united by wearing the color red to represent love. A "Love Walk" took place around the football field as a fundraiser, prayer went on in the chapel all day and signs were made to show that God loves everyone.

While WBC held up disturbing signs, Whitworth faculty and students held a sign saying "LOVE" and stood silently behind the protesters.

This was a bitter-sweet even. In one aspect it was a great thing to be able to show our love for these people and hopefully let them know that God loves them and EVERYONE. However, it is sad to see such awful messages represented on the signs and that people actually believe them to be true. Hopefully this only brings the Whitworth community closer in embracing everyone for who they are; a son or daughter of Christ.

Relationships are fundamental to life!

The past 3 weeks Ebay and I have been lucky enough to have guests! Jackie came over the beginning of the month, Lindsay followed the weekend after, and Ande and Claire were our recent visitors!

Ande's blog had a wonderful summary of our time together this weekend! I though I would extend her blog by adding a few details to our weekend :)

1. First off, hanging out together in the living room and chatting away felt as if we do it every single day.

2. We ate lots and lots of crackers, cheese and carrots at Manito while watching two men take numerous pictures of their car (yes, their car) in front of the Japanese Gardens. They made sure to hit every angle as well as get some with the hood up and hood down. Interesting.

3. Joanna, Claire, Ebay and Ande attempted to lick/suck on ENORMOUS lollipops that Ande brought. Very entertaining to watch them try and stuff a six inch, square sucker in their mouth.

4. Ande suggested Taco Bell for dinner (AHHHH TACO BELL). We all enjoyed a taco or two and watched a cute homecoming couple enjoy a Taco Bell dinner with a table cloth, candle and real dishes!

5. To work off our Taco Bell, we watched a tutorial on "How to do the Jerk", to the song "You're a Jerk". We learned the moves the reject and dippin.

6. Decided we needed to show off these moves downtown so we hit up Jimmyz where we were far from impressed by the males. Rollad and his dance moves, the guy that claimed it was his 23rd birthday and his friend Luka, Michael who was impressed by our jerk and Ross just did not cut it. So.....

7. We left and went to McDonalds for three small fries, a cheeseburger and 7 ketchups for Ebay.

8. Sunday, we went to Dutch Brothers before church only to watch a guy drive reverse through the drive-thru, try and scare us by putting on a Halloween mask and then throwing confetti out his window...

9. Oh and Ebay never really got the jump down :)
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend filled with more amazing memories!

Daze...

The past 8 days has been quite the daze...

Last week I had my first official Graduate school breakdown that resulted in my walking out of class half hour early! Ebay and I had many overwhelming days where we felt constantly confronted and reminded of the brokenness that exists in our own backyard. It seems that we couldn't go anywhere without feeling depressed about the things we were seeing. Whether experiences with our families in West Central, issues with our students at school or simply making a trip to WinCo, I feel like I am intentionally searching for any bit of hope that exists for these people...

God of course came through and at church we received an important reminder that while all of this brokenness does exist, there are many people out there helping. Joe began the new lifecenter series called "Filling the Hole in Our Gospel"...he reminded us last Fall that as a church we sponsored 1,500 kids in ONE day! He also explained that our giving went up 7% and therefore, 20% of finances went directly to local and global ministries. They introduced a new program call Love 360 that focuses on local and global service. He encourages everyone in the church to get involved with SOMETHING! So it was good to be reminded that many people are giving time to serve and help alleviate the brokenness we are confronted with.

School is busy and stressful...I feel like I am going going going. Grammy had a set back that put her back in the hospital. All I can know is that God is taking care of her. This week has been hard but a song that has helped rejuvenate my hope is Jesus Saves by Jeremy Camp. Listen to it!

It was also so wonderful to see Lindsay this weekend! Linz, thanks for sleeping with me :) Nothing makes me happier then the times I get to spend with such wonderful friends. Looking forward to seeing Ande and Claire this weekend :)

Peace and love,

Analisa

A weird half hour

Tonight I had a weird experience. I was studying and doing homework at the Service Station like I typically do. There was a YoungLife event going on so I saw a ton of Whitworth people I knew. It was wonderful to catch up and be immersed into the community. Looking around @ the coffee shop I observed many different bible studies going on, students studying and others simply hanging out. All of this is pretty typical for a night at the Service Station.

After studying, I had to make a stop at the grocery store for a few things so as I normally do, I crossed the street and headed to WinCo. Now Ebay and I go to WinCo probably 3 times a week and it is no surprise to us that the culture of WinCo is one of its own. Unfortunately, many people in the community resort to WinCo because of the cheap prices of things. Therefore, there is an expectational diverse population. Tonight when I walked in I felt as if I were walking into a grocery store in a third world country. I'm not sure if it was just the night or the contrast between the Service Station and WinCo but I felt my heart breaking. I am definitely not trying to place judgment or assumptions on the outward appearance of people because that is not my place. It was however apparent that there are so many people struggling simply to afford groceries.

Feeling in a bit of a daze I waited in line at the checkout. The nice lady at the register noticed my Willard Elementary badge and asked if I was a substitute teacher. I told her no and explained to her that I was student teaching. She proceeded to tell me that she is a substitute in district 81 and has been for the past four years. However, she then explained to me that she holds a Bachelors and Masters in teaching but has not been able to get a job since arriving in the United States from the Philippines four years ago. She explained that she is completely qualified to teach but her heavy accent turns people off for hiring her. Therefore, on her nights she works at WinCo to pay the bills. Here I am, 22 years old working on my Master's Degree. In less than a year I will probably not have a problem getting a job because of my race or language...but here is this women completely qualified for a teaching job (probably more experience then most) but can't get a job because of her accent...

WinCo has not just been a place to buy my groceries but has been a place that reminds me about the small blessings I have in my life. "Lord, break my heart for the things that break yours".

Welcome Fall :)

We are matching in our dresses and black sweaters!

It's 7:30pm and pitch dark as I sit at the service station on a Monday night! With an iced mocha in hand I am attempting to be productive at homework, completing to-do lists, working on Tanzania TA stuff, lesson plan reviewing and of course updating my blog! However, after a yoga class at OZ fitness (Ebay and my new home), I feel simply NAMASTE :)

This past weekend I had a spontaneous visit from best friend JACKIE! After missing her last weekend while I was home (she was in New York!!!) she decided to hop over the mountains for a weekend in Spokane. She arrived Friday night and we wasted no time and headed out to get some THAI FOOD! Shortly after, we enjoyed a bottle of red wine and a movie. Saturday was quite busy! We stopped by OZ fitness where Drew gave us a tour and a free week trial! We then headed to Nordstrom Rack, Value Village, the boys house to say by to Zach :(, Praire to sunbathe until the sprinklers got us, WinCo for groceries...then we cooked a yummy dinner, got some bulk candy at the store, picked up Jimmy and Bill for our movie date and saw Despicable Me @ the Garland and then headed home! What a fabulous day!

Sunday was glorious! Church was wondrous and appropriate. The message was all about not getting burned out, tired out and stressed out! I'd say this is a great time for each one of us to prioritize our lives and make sure we are taking care of our bodies (hence joining a gym and doing some yoga). Jackie took off and I did some homework! Ebay and I had our first workout session at the gym which was good. I had a soccer game with the good ole' Ninjas in the pouring rain and then we had a blessed evening down in West Central.

There is an update friends! Looking forward to many things this week. Missing Liana and the rest of the family but g-ma is still hanging in there! Love you all and keeping everyone in my prayers!

"We are only special because we belong to God"

As I sat with my grammy this morning on the couch of her home, she shared with me this wonderful quote. She told me the story of how when she left the hospital on Friday, one of the nurses wanted to walk her out even though it was against the hospital policy. The nurse told my grandma that she was special...something that many people believe about my grandma. Anyways, my grandma looked at the nurse and said, "I am only special because I belong to God." One of the many selfless things my grandma told me.

Sitting on the couch and looking at her just brought tears to my eyes. We began talking about prayer and she said that when she was in the hospital it was so difficult to pray because people were always in and out of her room. Finally, now that she has been home, she has been able to resume her daily meditation. She shared with me that when she is finished praying, she feels a sense of peace and a readiness to go home to God. I asked her if that is what she wanted...to be home in Heaven instead of experiencing the chronic pain and suffering. She told me that sometimes she wants to be home with God but that he continues to keep her around for a reason and that there are still so many people she feels like she can help. 27 years after her first stroke, chronic/daily pain, a brain hemorrhage and surgery in which she experienced near death, yet she still wants to help others and make a difference...

I also asked her if she is ever upset with God because of all the suffering she has had to endure. She is the LAST person who should deserve this to happen simply because she is one of God's angels here on earth. My grandma of course believes that it is not God who causes suffering and that he is responsible for the healing...and that she thanks him every day for blessing her with more time here on earth. Wow.

Love and Blessings: according to Grammy this is what life is all about. Loving everyone around us and being thankful for all the blessings in our life. Life is about being connected to God and being connected to others. Besides God, my grandma's relationships with people are the most important thing in her life. She has touched so many lives by simply showing each and every person unconditional love. My grandma has been a blessing in my life and many others. There is no doubt that she is the most special and amazing role model in my life. The world definitely needs more people like her. Having her home is such a miracle and blessing and I hope to live each day in her honor but most importantly, God's honor.

PRAISE!

Tomorrow I am flying home to Tumwater...

I am celebrating my grandma's homecoming with my family!

After seven weeks in the hospital, she finally gets to come home!

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers...

God worked a miracle :)

Back home to Life Center

Sunday morning started off just right with a nice 2 hour hike on Beacon Hill. Yesterday I had a craving for hiking so I had my mind set on waking up early and getting some trails in before church. Just my luck I woke up to pouring rain but decided I would still set off on the adventure. Getting drenched as well worth it though and I enjoyed being out of the city a big in the silence of nature. Maybe I will make this an every Sunday routine!?

With all the weekends spent back in Tumwater, I have not been to Life Center since July 25th. And boy have I missed it! Never have I felt so connected to a church! So it is safe to say that I was absolutely in Heaven this morning when I finally made it to a service. I was lucky enough to go with Jimmy this morning and meet up with Phil when we got there. As usual we sat in the 3rd row so we could be up close! The worship was amazing and I felt like I could not focus on anything other than praising and worshiping God. The song that reached me most this morning was, "Nothing But The Blood of Jesus"...What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. No matter how many times I mess up and sin, I know that God will forgive me -- just one of the few things that makes him amazing.

In this chaotic period of my life, it was appropriate that Joe's sermon was on Balancing Work, Family, Self and God. While technically I am not working, I consider Graduate School my full time job. Joe referenced Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other Gods before me" to explain that work may be worship, but we cannot worship our work. He explained that when work because the most important thing in our life, that is idolatry. Secondly, he taught that we are to "Love our families, but not more than God". This seems like a difficult concept to agree with but says that our family cannot be our God. If we love God more, then we will love our family better. The third point he made was to "Take care of yourself but don't be selfish". We are responsible for taking care of ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually but we can't get wrapped up in it or it will become selfishness. Lastly, Joe said to LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT...and there are not buts. Living a balanced life means putting God first. If we let Jesus lead, our life will be more abundant.

I felt right back at home at LifeCenter and am so blessed to have a church I feel so connected to. The rest of Sunday was nice and relaxing as well. I had lunch with Jimmy and then took him to the airport for his first MedSchool interview. I came home and spent the afternoon doing homework, catching up on the phone, staining chairs, watching FRIENDS and cleaning with Ebay. I am looking forward to two days @ Willard with the 2nd graders and then 3 days of classes @ Whitworth!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. GOD IS LOVE :)))

Weekend in Spokane

It has been almost 6 weeks since I have spent a weekend in Spokane. It felt a little strange not to be packing up my car or suitcase to drive or fly to the westside. As much as I miss my family and wish I could have seen them and my grandma, it was a little refreshing stay around town. I guess I didn't have much of a choice since I had to take the last of the West E (hopefully). Therefore, Friday night after a long day at school, Eric (an MIT friend) and I camped out at the Service Station till 10 pm, cramming in some studying! Saturday morning I set 3 alarm clocks for 6:00, 6:15 and 6:30 am. This was to avoid the slight possibility of me sleeping in an hour and showing up late to the test...Anyways, the test went well, I hope!

Saturday was spent doing some good ole' garage saling. Ebay and I scored 2 chairs for our new dining room table and I purchased two collector item Olympia Beer glasses. I still don't know why they were for sale and why they only cost 25 cents! After hitting up most of Spokane, we treated ourselves to Subway and successfully watched a whole disk of One Tree Hill. The whole day we were anticipating the arrival of Team Baylis (Tom and Linda). They finally arrived at about 5:30...and a couple hours later we rolled into Outback Steakhouse for a lovely meal. Not surprisingly, we made quite the scene. After getting kicked out for being too loud (just kidding), we stopped at Albertsons for a nice bottle of Bella Wine. Then Ebay and I accompanied Jimmy to his hour long shopping trip at Winco and ended the night watching Ratatouille.

Sunday was just as wonderful! I made a batch of bran muffins in the morning (my new, weekend routine), attended a wedding, hiked around Riverside State Park and even saw two porcupines, watched the OC...and of course...did HOMEWORK!

While I missed Tumwater...it was very nice getting to spend a weekend in Spokane.

Simple, Weekly Update

Tuesday: In-service day @ Willard, more classroom preparation for the first day of school, Social Studies Night Class, Didiers with Ebay and then trip to Walmart, home at 10 pm!

Wednesday: In-serive day @ Willard, Starbucks to use WI-FI, Taste of Thai with Emily and Ebay, watched Emily pack, prepare for first day, last night sleeping with Emily :(

Thursday: Emotional goodbye with Em, FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, Princess Day, Service Station with Ebay, wine and dessert with Ebay, Walmart Trip, 4 episodes of the O.C, sleep!

Friday: School day, nap with Ebay after watching 50 First Dates, Taste of Thai...again, rent the Back-UP plan and buy ice-cream, watched the Back-UP Plan with Ebay and ate ice cream, packed, bed, sleep!

Saturday: Early morning flight to SeaTac, home to TumH20, visit with Grammy all day, dinner with the fam, some O.C watching, watched the Back-UP plan with Liana, sleep time!

Sunday: Early morning homework, coffee with Jackie :), helped mom at school, visit with Grammy :))), Ande and Claire arrived in TumH20, chilled at the house, drove around Tumwater, Downtown Oly for Harbor Days, THAI Pavilion for dinner, walk around Tumwater Falls, met Jackie and Starbucks (again), back to the house, Ande and Claire left, Jackie and Analisa pillow talk, back to visit and say goodnight to grammy, hung out with Steven Paul Cable, home, sleep time!

Monday: Bran Muffins, visit grammy for last time this weekend, back to SeaTac, back to Spokane, reunited with Ebay, Winco trip, back to R apartment, home and sleep!

A wonderful first week of school (and so proud of Ebay and Claire for their first weeks too!), a great visit home, busy busy busy but lots and lots of love :)

Family is the greatest!

My first week at Willard Elementary preparing for the start of the school year has been very exciting. However, I thought I would take the opportunity to come back to Tumwater for a few days to spend time with my grandma. She has moved from the hospital to a rehab center which is absolutely amazing progress from where she was 2 weeks ago. Today I am sitting by her bedside watching her take a little afternoon nap. This whole experience has shown me how important family is. Since my grandma's first day in the hospital, different family members have been taking 5 hour shifts spending time with her in her room and making sure there is always someone to keep her company. My grandma has given so much to our family and it is now our turn to be there for her.

Spending all this time with my family has really made me appreciate my mom, dad and sister. My dad and I have had some great quality father-daughter time together. We got to go on a kayaking adventure in the Puget Sound, we ran a 10k race together which I wouldn't have completed without his encouragement and we also enjoyed some hiking in California together. I really enjoy the ability to have these adventures together and I look forward to many more in the future! He pushes me to always be the best that I can be :)

My mom and I have had a great time talking about teaching now that I am beginning in my 2nd grade classroom. It has been so special to share with her all that I have learned. I have always looked up to my mom and the wonderful teacher that she is and I am looking forward to the wonderful support and advice she will be able to offer me this year. Since being home it has been a humbling experience to see how supportive she is to grammy and all the time that she has spent with her by her hospital bed. My mom is a prime example of putting family first...I am so lucky that she is my mom.

It has also been such a blessing to spend more time with Liana. That girl keeps me entertained for sure...whether she is performing the stanky leg or the jerk or discussing plans to be a 'balloon animal maker', she is always bringing a smile to my face. It makes me so happy to watch her blossom into a young adult (now that she is 17) and see all that she is capable of. Liana is a spitfire and she is not afraid to be who she truly is which is a very admirable quality! With everything our family has been through the past couple weeks, it has reminded me that Liana and I will have each other for the rest of our lives. Sisters are truly a blessing and I couldn't ask for a more special and wonderful little sis :)

So while being in Spokane immersed in my busy life as a graduate student...and enjoying weekends with my friends, it is important not to forget what life is about and that family is truly the center of it all.

August 25th 2010....

Four years ago I was making my first official trip over the mountains to Spokane, WA in anticipation for my first year as a college student at Whitworth...


I'll never forget my first day meeting Emily McGrady-Beach, my roommate. Before getting to Whitworth, I stopped at the Francis Starbucks to change my clothes so I looked halfway decent. However, there was Emily in our dorm room wearing a cut off and basketball shorts :) A life-long friendship began that first day...never would I expect that we would have to say goodbye to each other...

Emily and I downtown Spokane during our "Intro to Public Transport" hall activity

Freshman Year, September 2006

Do you girls remember MOCK ROCK and our dance performance...or Yell Off and all the BJ cheers we learned? What about 'wooing?' where we had the chance to scope out all the hott freshman boys! There was also the Fancy Feast, birdy and perch, cutting off our fears in the Chapel...

B2E: Baldwin 2nd East

Well, I am still a Whitworth student however, a Master's student just doesn't have the same feel as an undergrad. I mean, I can no longer attend and take part in Mock Rock or Yell Off....there is no more streaking around campus or moving into dorm rooms...no more meals in Saga or walks in the back forty...Yes, I will still be on Whitworth attending my Master's classes but I will no longer know or recognize everyone I see. Most of all, my best friends will not be walking around campus with me :(



However, there is nothing to do than be excited for the new phase of my life that has begun. I have spent 3 days in my 2nd grade classroom at Willard Elementary helping my mentor teacher get ready for the students to arrive. While I was dreading going back so early, it has actually been quite enjoyable getting back into the groove. Plus, I have been able to do what I love best: setting up a classroom and cutting out lots and lots of laminated things :) There is no doubt that this fall semester is probably going to be the busiest but I am looking forward to a challenge!

hmm....where will I be August 25th, 2014?

GAGAUGUST = Sucess!

With everything going on with the family, I found myself very excited for GagAugust weekend as a way to 'escape' reality, let loose and have fun! Jimmy, Keith and Ebay arrived in TumH20 Friday night...let the festivities begin! We began by searching through the woods for smores sticks (the boys were scared), roasting marshmallows, ALMOST getting in a car accident although I promise that I DID NOT SEE ANY CARS COMING (the new Ford Invisible just came out), watched a movie called The Crazies which resulted in the 4 of us snuggled up on the couch together. The evening concluded with star-gazing in the field (although the boys kept freaking out about bugs and Petrov the dog) camping out in the yard, Jimmy's snores, Keith's pillow talk and Ebay sneaking out of the tent and sleeping in my bed....and that was only Friday night!

Saturday began with breakfast, coffee and a trip to downtown Olympia for the Pet Parade. The 81st parade was a success of course and was deeply enjoyed by Ebay and the boys. On our way to the Capital, Keith got sidetracked and we had to stop at a Bike store...typical. However, we made if to the Capital building, successfully did some yoga and guacamole on the fronts steps, explained our plan to put Mercedes in the pet parade next year, toured the building...and then left! We hit up Value Village on the way home for our GAGA outfits, watched Talledega Nights then got ready for the big night!

We drove up to the Tacoma Dome (even got massages on the way up), walked around downtown, had our picture taken by millions of fans, sang GAGA songs with fellow concert goers, helped direct Lindsay to our parking lot, squished onto the LINK that would take us to the Tacoma Dome, safely made it inside the Dome for the concert and then enjoyed 2 hours of absolute INSANITY AND CRAZINESS...totally work the $65 ticket. Lady Gaga told us to be free and LOVE EVERYONE just like Jesus :) After laying in the field, the 5 of us crashed in the tent for a good nights' rest!

Sunday morning we enjoyed some time with my parents at the house before we went on our way. Lindsay headed down to Portland for some camping and Jimmy had his LONG drive back to Edmonds. Keith, Ebay and I set off for Spokane. We made some fun stops along the way including Lake Kachess where we decided it was only appropriate to swim in the mountain lake...it was totally worth it! We also stopped at the wild horse monument, experienced a very steep hike and 50mph winds but enjoyed the wonderful view at the top! Keith told me to roast a marshmallow using the car heater...so after 20 minutes of the heat on full blast, we enjoyed a smore in the car! George, WA would have been a better stop if Keith didn't drive past the sign I wanted a picture in front of...better luck next time! And of course, we had to stop for ice cream cones at McDonalds. 8 hours later...we safely made it back to R apartment.

The end. See facebook for pictures.

Well, it is official: I can not fall asleep! So instead of counting sheep, I decided to get updated by reading everyone's blogs which I have not had time to do in the past week! Although, I realized that I haven't been the only one slacking on blogs so I chose to update mine :)

First off, thank you to everyone who has been keeping grammy in your thoughts and prayers. Miraculously she can now open her eyes, turn her head to whoever is talking, squeeze your hand and respond by shaking her head yes and no. This is tremendous progress, especially so late after the surgery. This has been an extreme testament of my faith and a reminder to never underestimate the power of God in any situation and that he is capable of absolutely anything. No matter what happens, I know that my grandma will be taken care of by God (she is one of his angels :) ). With all the hurt, fear and sadness I am experiencing, thinking about eternal life brings peace to my mind.

My grandma with my sister and I :)

On another note, I am looking forward to a fun-filled GAGA weekend with friends! There is so much to look forward to: smores, camping, the Pet Parade, a tour of the Olympia Capital, spending time with friends and most importantly, the LADY GAGA CONCERT! It will be a nice way to end the summer given the fact that I am supposed to start school on August 23rd.

Meanwhile, I miss everyone so much. I feel like I miss out on so much of your lives when we don't get to talk or see each other every day! I wish we could just hit a life pause button and then we could all meet up and catch up! Time is obviously precious and I am just so happy that our friendships are continuing to deepen. I love you all.

Oh and San Diego was wonderful. We only were there 3 days before we had to fly back home unexpectedly but we spent a whole lot of time at the beach which is what we needed!

Also, I started attending yoga classes at the Valley since I have been home...some NAMASTE has been very helpful.

PS: You all know how I always get chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles...well that all began back when grammy started picking me up from school! She would pick me up once a week and take me to "BASKETS and Robins" and I would get chocolate with rainbow sprinkles...she always got pralines n' cream in a sugar cone :) When she wakes up, that is the first place I am taking her!

Home sweet home!

Now that I am officially on summer break I have made the much needed trip over the mountains to good ole' Tumwater, WA. I set off on the 1-90 drive Wednesday at 3, stopped in Moses Lake for a yummy Vanilla Latte (no mocha!!) and trekked through the beautiful mountain range and made it to TumH20 in exactly 5 hours! I was happily greeted by my mom, sister and dad in the driveway :) Within 10 minutes of being home, I took off for my half-marathon training run...and was quickly reminded that I live by cow manure pastures. As we said in high school, "if we can run through this smell, we can run through anything." However, I did appreciate the ability to run without having to stop at any intersections because I was out in the country :)

My first day home was quite the day! My best friend Jackie came over to my house in the morning and we prepared for our kayaking adventure on the Puget Sound. Our first stop was Starbucks of course for our morning coffee, and then we took off to the Boston Harbor marina and rented a double-kayak for a couple hours! The kayaking trip was quite relaxing...we came to like the "paddle 6 or 7 strokes, and then float" method. We made friends with seals and porpoises (mini dolphins) and searched for starfish, crabs and jellyfish! As usual I collected some shells on the beach...and Jackie wrote in the sand! After our successful kayaking trip, we headed to downtown Oly and went to the Farmers Market! We enjoyed lot's of free samples...I was a little disappointed they did not have asparagus for sale but Jackie walked away with some blueberries and peaches. Upon leaving the Farmer's Market, we used our "treat receipt" from Starbucks and got our second fixing of coffee for the day! We explored some wonderful stores in downtown Oly including Orca Books, a scrapbook store and even a vintage costume shop! Oh how I love Olympia :)

The coming days will also be filled with lot's of adventure! Tomorrow, my dad and I are embarking on another kayaking trip....probably more intense then the relaxing one I had today! Saturday we are also doing a 10k in Vancouver, WA...and then Sunday the McCann-Holcomb family is taking off for SAN DIEGO,CA for a family get-away :)

CONGRATS CLAIRE FOR GETTING A JOB! I am so proud!
Miss you girls in Spokane...keep holding down R apartment Ebay, Em have a great time in Seattle and Joanna, pick up the espresso machine :)
Dani, hope all is well in Visalia, CA
Ande, have a great hike with Ashley this weekend!
Lindsay, have fun crabbing with Em :)

What a weekend!

When I got out of my last class of the summer term at 4:00 on Friday, I hurried back to R apartment to meet Ebay and head to the Corner House. Claire, Joanna, Ebay and I took off Friday evening for a long-awaited road trip to Seattle for Lindsay's birthday! The drive over was fabulous...it included a stop at Taco Del Mar and Starbucks of course. After listening to mine and Ebay's favorite song, "We are the World", we felt inspired to make signs to hold up in our windows. One sign read, "World Peace" and the other said, "Everybody's gonna love today". Our hope was to bring simple smiles to people's faces as they passed :)

After 5 hours, Sabrina (Claire's GPS) helped us safely arrive to Lindsay's humble abode in Burien, Wa...an eclectic house situated right on the Puget Sound. Not surprisingly, we had a loud welcoming that involved a GAGA 'RA RA' huddle in the middle of the road. Typical of the Corner House. After settling in and catching up, we got some rest before the weekend festivities began!


Saturday morning we took off for a hike at Wallace Falls State Park, located in the middle of nowhere (passed Sultan and Startup, WA). The hike was beautifully situated in the mountains and had the most scenic views. As usual we had our goofy, girly conservations but also found peace in the wilderness and sat on a ledge with the most breathtaking view. Feeling God's presence around us we had a wonderful talk about God and his greatness.

The hike ended at some waterfalls where we ventured down to the rocks and played around! So fun! After the 5 mile hike, we headed back towards the city, stopping for $1 cherry baskets along the way and at Alpen Drive In for some good ole hamburgers and fries! We also stopped at this little chapel situated on the side of the road. It seemed to be a place for passersby to stop, pause and worship the Lord...so cute :)
Once back in the city, Ande showed us around Edmonds, her Aglow International office and her house. It was so special being able to see her temporary home! The evening with the girls concluded with a lively meal at Thai's Corner and a bonfire on the Puget Sound full of smores and wine. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSAY!

Sunday morning we had the blessing of attending Lindsay's church in Burien called Taproot. It was a small but happening service with amazing worship and an awesome word. WE LOVED IT! After church, Joanna, Claire, Ebay and I headed back to the East. Driving into Spokane we experienced less appreciation for our World Peace sign (some man shook is head and said, it's never gonna happen). He definitely smashed our young, optimistic outlook! However, he smiled and gave us a thumbs-up for our, "Everybody's gonna love today" sign :) Overall the weekend was amazing! Looking forward to Tumwater in a few days :)

Last Week of Grad School Summer Term!

As I am sitting in Starbucks finishing up science assignment that is due in 40 minutes (yes I procrastinated for once, and yes I am distracted by my blog), I am shocked that this is my last Wednesday of my first MIT term. I have been in school full-time for almost 7 weeks...16 credits and 8 classes later, I am a quarter of the way through with graduate school. It is amazing how much information was thrown at me in those 7 weeks...I hope after one month off I will still remember all of it!

Fortunately, part of my last week at school has been helping at a science camp for kids called Camp Invention! It has been going on all week at Whitworth and the MIT's have been able to spend half of the day helping out! As much as I have enjoyed my MIT classes, I must say that playing with the kids has been the highlight....I guess that is why I am going into teaching :)

While school has been awesome, I am definitely looking forward to a month break before I start up in the fall. Here are some things that I am really looking forward to:

• Lindsay's Birthday in Seattle with Linz, Ande, Joanna, Claire and Ebay
• A few days of NO CLASS in Spokane and finally decorating my bedroom
• Heading back over to the WestSide to see my family and best friend Jackie!
• 10k Race for the Homeless in Vancouver, WA
• SAN DIEGO with mom, dad and liana...watch out California!
• Liana's 17th Birthday...AHHH!
• Gaga Weekend: Linz, Jimmy, Ebay and maybe Keith: we will camp out in my backyard, make smores, go to the pet parade in Tumwater, kayak and canoe and then attend the best concert ever!
• A week of relaxing in Spokane
• half marathon training

ONLY 2 MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL!!!!

PICTURES!

The girls of summer in Spokane (including Liana)!

Our living room :) This will be our 'Africa' room after we finish decorating it!

Our little kitchen and bar :)

My wine bottle collection in my bedroom! This is a 'detached headboard' I bought from the Goodwill. I plan to put flowers in the wine bottles somehow...I have also written out each memory that the wine bottle holds!

This is a wall in our dining room! We decided to make our dining room the France Room :)

Ebay and I cooked asparagus, beer shrimp and salad for a dinner guest! Because we do not have a dining room table yet, we had to settle for the couch cushions.