SICK

Yes, I am sick.  As in, stuffy/runny nose, sore throat, entire body aching, wishing-I-was-in-bed sick.  Ugh.  But I came to work, because I'm a faithful employee (and part-time means if I don't come to work, I don't get paid).  Yet, all I want to do is go back to bed.

So, to take my mind off the fact that I'm not feeling too good, I want to praise God for the things He has done/is doing in my life.  Ready?  I thought so :)

First of all, I want to thank Him for my family!

Me with my nephew, Liam, and my niece, Bella, at Disney for my 25th birthday :)

Me, Mom, my brother-in-law (Matt), my nephew (Liam), my niece (Bella), my grandma, and my sister (Jessica) in New Mexico this past March.

Me, my two sisters (Jessica and Sara), my Mom, and my niece and nephew in church last year :)

My cousin, Jennifer, her daughter, Bailey, and I at our family reunion in Marietta, SC at the beginning of July 2013.

Next, I want to thank Him for my closest friends :)

Me, Hannah, and Amy :)

Me, Stephanie, and Amy :)

Dakota, Amy, and Me...I hang out with Amy a lot :P

And finally, I want to thank Him for Tyler :)

We take silly photos together :)

We hug a lot.  This is us, hugging.  Without hair.  Or clothes.  Or noses.

I am thankful for so many other things, but these are the people God has put in my life to bless me beyond measure.  Thank you, Lord! :)

Fear Not! I am Still Alive!! =)

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated! A lot has happened in the past six months. Let's see, where to begin...? Well, first of all, I began working as a nanny for 3 adorable children in the month of March. Their names are Trey (6), Elizabeth Claire (4), and Jesse (2). Right now they are on a 2 1/2 week vacation in the Florida Keys which I was supposed to be on, but it didn't happen, because the morning of the trip, I woke up sick, and I'm still recovering. Here are some pictures of the cuties!

^This is Trey, the oldest. He is so independent and strong-willed! I told him that he will definitely be a manager or a boss when he grows up!

^This is Elizabeth Claire, the middle child. She is very much a little lady, and she is always asking me to play games and read to her.

^Here is EC again. This picture was taken when we went to a petting zoo/farm back in June. It was a fun day for the kids!

^Here is Jesse, the 2-year-old. He likes to get into EVERYTHING! Even just watching him is a job in and of itself!!

<3 :) So those are the kids I babysit for during the week. Aren't they adorable? I've also been working on getting my Masters degree in Professional Counseling through Liberty University since last October. The first week of this month, I drove up with my mom to Liberty for a week-long intensive. And intense it was! It was a class which covered the basic skills and techniques used in counseling, so throughout the week, we practiced counseling each other. I talked WAY more about my life that week than I have in a LOOOOOOOONG time! It was exhausting! But well worth it =) I learned many things that I believe I will be able to implement in my future career - whatever that may be. During our roadtripping to and from Virginia, my mom and I stopped at my Aunt's and Uncle's house in South Carolina to visit with their family (which includes them and my cousin, Aaron). We went hiking (well, what hiking we could do with it being so hot outside) and sightseeing in Greenville, South Carolina. What's that? You want to see pictures? Ok!

^This is me and my cousin, Aaron, being awesome at Reedy River in Greenville, SC.

^Me and madre =)

^Me, Mom, and Aunt Joan at a place called...I think it was Table Rock?

^Uncle Stephen, Aaron, and I all climbed and hiked for over 30 minutes to find this waterfall (which was barely at a trickle because of the lack of rain recently)!

^About to enjoy a delicious meal together! So as you can see, it was tons of fun =) I'm so glad it happened and I can't wait to visit them again!! Another thing I've been up to is volleyball on Tuesday nights. Of course. It is my weekly stress relief, and, I'm ashamed to admit, the only form of exercise I get in my life as of late. But I love it. And every week I have had to miss has been TORTURE! I'm hoping to start up the volleyball league again this August - and hopefully, my team will dominate! Aaaaand the most important thing that has happened in my life in the past 6 months - I was able to see my best friend in the world, Hannah Isobel Osborne, become Hannah Isobel Hancock on May 19th!

^I got to see Marris and Tim, 2 people I worked with at Camp Gilead! Yay =)

^Hannah and myself at the reception. How happy does she look?!

^AND I got to see Luke, Geezer, and SISTER! Score! All in all, it was a great time. I have great friends. And my life has been amazing so far =) Can't wait to see what God has in store. My next post will be just pictures - so watch out!!!!! Later! =))))))))))))))))))))))

Countdown to the End.

This is my last day in Germany. Consequently, this will be the last time I post in my blog whilst in Germany. Hope you enjoy it!

Yesterday, we went to Cologne, or Koeln as the locals call it. We wanted to visit the Chocolate Museum and the Sports Museum, but they're both closed on Mondays. Sad! So instead, we took a boat tour down the Rhein River (and no, it wasn't 3 hours long. And no, we didn't shipwreck on an island. Name that show.)

After the boat tour, we went to the cathedral in Cologne. It took roughly 500 years to complete. No joke. They started building it in the 1300's and didn't complete it until 1880. Crazy, right?

Wilhelm took the boys on a tour in German starting at 2. Alwina and I were going on a tour in English starting at 2:30, so in that 30 minutes, we decided to grab some lunch at McDonald's (her idea, not mine, thank you very much). So there we were, eating and having a grand old time. I went to take a drink of my Coca Cola Light, and all of a sudden, some unknown and UNappreciated object went down my esophagus. Here are my conjectures as to what it was:
40% sure it was a bee stinger. There are bees like crazy in Germany.
30% sure it was a piece of fry or batter from the chicken nuggets.
20% sure it was a a piece of plastic (straw or drink lid).
5% sure it was an actual entire bee.
3% sure it was an extraterrestrial.
2% sure it was a small, extremely angry man with a pick-axe.

So those are my guesses. In any case, it hurt like something that hurts a lot. So Alwina and I were walking around, trying to find a bathroom without a huge line that I could use, even though we had 5 minutes left before the tour started. But we didn't find one. So we took the tour anyway. And I couldn't tell you anything the guide said, because the whole time, I was thinking about how much my throat hurt. It. was. awful. I kept having these visions of my throat swelling up, being unable to breathe, and dying. Which would not be cool. Dying in Germany of a bee sting in my esophagus. So there I was in a beautiful German cathedral dying of a bee sting. It was pretty funny, now that I look back on it. But at the time, I was flipping out. Okay, enough about that. Pictures! That's what you were waiting for, right? Well, here they are:

After the tours had ended, and I was still alive, we walked back to the car and drove home. As we were driving home, we stopped by a futbol stadium so the boys could have a look. Alwina and I stayed in the car, talking about girly things, until the boys came back. Then we finished our long trek. I shot many videos of the boys doing funny things. I have a great game I can't wait to introduce to the college group back in Florida! And on our way home, we stopped by Alwina's parents' house to pick up Levin. We had dinner and tea. What a delightful family. I will really miss them :( We finally made it home around 10 pm, and I went to bed (after Skyping a certain beautiful best friend for a bit!)

Today is a lazy day. I will do laundry, pack, Alwina and I will go shopping later, and I'll try and tie up all my loose ends, so to speak. For breakfast, we had french toast. Alwina said every time they eat it, they will think of me :) For lunch, we will have MANTI!!! My favorite meal here. And that's about it for the day. Pray for me as I make the long and arduous trip home tomorrow. Pray that I will not miss any flights! And pray that I will not get sick on any flights either. God is good. <3

PS: Guess you're celebrating tomorrow!

PSS: Exophagus - the next video game hero, fighting strep throat and other viral infections one throat at a time!!!

Fellow ck-er: Just move to the US already! :D

Sickness: Day 7.

Obviously, I didn't post last night. Because I haven't been able to sleep very well lately. I keep coughing all night. It's no fun. So I decided to stop staying up so late blogging and Skyping.

Yesterday, I woke up at 11. Ate breakfast with Alwina. The boys were at her mom's house all day, so Alwina and I went grocery shopping by ourselves. It was nice. I didn't talk much, because I still sound like a man, and whenever I talk, I cough. After we were done grocery shopping, we went into town to buy some postcards for me and some school supplies for the boys. We stopped at a bakery/cafe for lunch and I got PIZZA! It was soooooo good :) Last night while Alwina and Wilhelm went to church, I stayed home, watched a movie, and went to bed early. Even though I couldn't fall asleep until about 3 am because of my coughing. Bleh.

Today, we had to be up by 8:30, because we went to Wilhelm's brother's house for breakfast. I was feeling awful, of course, due to lack of sleep. I'm glad I forced myself to go, because Xenia (Wilhelm's brother's wife) was so sweet and nice the whole time :) And they have a daughter named Julia who is an absolute doll! After we left their house, we came home, hung out, ate lunch, and resumed our English lessons (with a new addition - Julian, Alwina's 11-year-old brother). Today we finished learning the furniture around the house. They all drew a map of their house and labeled the furniture inside. After the lesson, we drove to Alwina's parents and I got measured for a skirt that her mom is going to sew me (yay!). Then we (Alwina, her mom, Levin, and myself) went for a walk. It. Was. Splendid. I took lots of pictures (which I'll upload later) and enjoyed myself immensely. Then we picked up Wilhelm from work, came home, had dinner, and Alwina, Levin, and I went for ANOTHER walk. I like going on walks here :) After we got home, we did family devotions (Psalm 17), and now I'm sitting in bed with Alwina's newest homemade remedy on my chest and back. It kinda smells like cinnamon and apples. Mmmm. haha It's just a little weird that it's on my body and not in my tummy...hmmm. We'll see how this ends.

More later!

PS: Hope you're Gesticulating Concerning Telepathy. :)

PSS: I miss our talking already! Wish you weren't so busy with your job right now. You know who you are!