long awaited vaca.... is ALMOST here!

a few years back i read the book "through painted deserts" by donald miller. great book that can open ones eyes to God's beauty and the simplicity of friendship. well friends, tomorrow morning i am embarking on a small road trip up to medford oregon to see the lovely rachel mccord. i am excited to drive, soak up God's creation, pray, and have a good time by myself. once rach and i unite after a long awaited time, there will be tons of giggles and silly jokes... which i can't wait for! on saturday it is amanda and michael's lovely wedding in northern oregon! ah- so stoked for them and for the wedding. its going down on the dance floor, let me just tell you that! on sunday rach and i will depart for the lovely portland, oregon. i have never been there before so i am excited for coffee shops and fresh air... and free transportation! then on monday "my long awaited vacation by the mountains," according to my fortune cookie, will be here! the picture above is lake siskiyou... not the best quality. camping is filled with star gazing (which look like diamonds), smores, laughs, tons of cream soda, swimming, kayaking, ROPE SWING!, hiking, meeting new friends, reflecting on the goodness of God, and some good R&R! Bah- I am so stoked. Hmm... thank you long awaited vaca!

passion...

was flowing from my lips when I just had a phone interview with an organization in D.C. I loved every second of it. I can't wait to be challenged and to grow.

AHHH- I am so excited. Within the next few weeks I will be hearing back from Internships. Pray that God will place me where He can be most glorified.


----------------Also....

Funny conversation with Isabella last night on the way to frozen yogurt (6 year old girl).

Me: Who is Jesus?
Isabella: God's Father.
Me: Haha, I think he is God's son, but he is still God.
Isabella: Yeah right! (Giggles).
Me: Do you know why Jesus had to die?
Isabella: Because no one liked Noah!
Me: Hahahaha....

While laying in bed with Isabella so she would go to sleep...

Me: Sweet dreams! Dream about disneyland and Minnie Mouse.
Isabella: I don't really like Minnie Mouse...
Me: Well okay, what about Ariel?
Isabella: Ya!
Me: Okay, I will see you in the Ocean. We will both be Mermaids and swim all night long. It will be sooo fun!
Isabella: Okay, love you!

(5 minutes go by...)
Isabella: Angela....?
Me: Yes Isabella...
Isabella: Watch out for the Sea witch, okay?
Me: Haha, I will. Good night.


Haha, gotta love 6 year olds.

Oscar, my love.

mourning and grieving are completely necessary in life. whoever says that they are not is bogus.
i have been grieving and balling my eyes out about oscar for the last few weeks. i must say this is quite a dramatic process to go through. i love animals- a whole lot. oscar has been the best dog a family could have. we have endless funny stories about him and i have complete bragging rights because i found him in the newspaper when i was eight! he has brought joy to my life, has licked my tears away (which some may think is gross, but i think its cute), and has been spunky until the end..

he isn't the same oscar though. his skin is changing. he has lost hair on his butt. his pancreas has failed him and he can't hold any pee. he is constantly thristy and is shaking all the time. he has no strength to keep his head from hitting the ground when he wants to lay down... its so sad. every single day i want him to stay alive just so i don't have to say goodbye. but i think its time to say goodbye. i don't want him to suffer anymore. its so sad to see him suffer. i just saw my mom say goodbye to oscar and it was the saddest thing. i hate goodbyes.

through this whole process i have learned that the simple things in life are important, that oscar will forever be part of our family, and that i will never say no when my kids ask for a dog. growing up with a dog has taught me so much about responsbility and endless love... i can't even begin to tell you.

i love this little guy. i always will.

(his ashes will be placed in a pet cemetary in napa valley. atleast i know where he is going.)

AZ prayer time.

Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
Praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
Praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

Tonight at VBC we had a beautiful time of prayer for the AZ mission trip. The whole time I was sitting and praying all I could think about is how beautiful and wonderful God is! Every single prayer that was said I could not help but think, "God is totally going to answer that" because of His glory being shown.

I prayed and will continue to pray...
for people to see God's glory on the reservation- through the sky, the mesas, and the land
for to know that God is already at work on the reservation and in the peoples hearts
for people to know that God is a missionary God and desires all to come to know Him

for the Navajo's hearts to be open and for the spirit to work in the students lives through building relationships with the Navajo people.

I praise God that He has created different languages, skin colors, cultures, and people. It is so incredibly beautiful to me.

I will admit I am so sad I am not on the trip. I feel like I have the trip memorized since I went the last four years. As I am writing I can picture perfectly how beautiful the stars are, how brilliantly bright and luminous the clouds are during the day, and how vast the land seems.

I miss Laquita, Juanita, and Jaquita terribly! I am praying that they will come to know the Fathers love and that there joy would be endless. They are so precious!

I am excited for the team and I am waiting in expectation for what the Lord will do through the lives of those on the trip!

Teddy the Thyroid

As some of you may know, I have hypothyroidism. An odd disease where your body is out of wack and your metabolism is super slow/low. It is not life threatening by any means, but it has started to catch up with me. Pop a pill in every day, thirty minutes before food, and you are good to go.

About four years ago I got diagnosed with it and instantly gained twenty pounds. It does not allow me to loose weight, no matter how much I work out and watch what I eat. This week has been my peak of annoyance with it!

One thing that bothers me: Doctors who think they can give me simple answers and think I don't do my research.

Well well news flash Mr. Endocrinologists... I have done lots of research and have read lots of books of hypothyroidism.

The sad part about some Endocrinologists is that all they want to give their Hypothyroidism patients Levothyroxine... which will help with the T4 count but does not help with the T3 count at all... leaving ones temperature still low, energy levels low, weight gain still uncontrollable, etc.

But I am SO thankful that I have discovered this natural hormone that can help with T3 and can eventually cure hypothyroidism (which I did not think was possible!) After being on the phone with Holly Anderson today, founder and director of PMS treatment clinic... I have learned a lot about bioidential hormones for hypothyroidism. Haha, don't worry I will not be treated for PMS. The only bad thing is that its all the way in LA. I have an appointment for next week and I think it will be worth the drive. I will do anything to have my energy back and my body back to normal.

Here is a little diagram of Adam. This shows the thyroid gland, a part of the endocrine (hormone) system, which plays a major role in regulating the body's metabolism.

Ha, sorry for anyone who read this who is under 50.

"The World is at my Feet"

Titled "The World is at my Feet."

I love this tattoo for many reasons. The nations are at our feet. I am excited to see where God will send me.

And I also can't wait until the day when we will all be together praising God's name in thousands of languages. It will be beautiful.

My love.

Meet Oscar.
He is 13 years old.
Which means I have had him since I was 7.
Which MEANS he has been apart of my life since I can remember.
He is the most caring,
loving&
friendly
dog
I have ever known.
There is one problem...
He is sick.
I am so incredibly sad about him being sick and in pain.
He is probably gonna have to be put down soon...
Pray for Oscar. I know silly... but God created Him so I think its okay!
Pray that I can be at peace about it.

My FAV!

I know Christmas and Easter should be my favorite holiday, but the fourth of July is by far my favorite "American" holiday. I love it and really do get excited about it more than any other holiday for a number of reasons. First of all its an excuse to eat hamburgers and all American goodies, BBQ, watch fireworks, cuddle up on a blanket and watch fireworks, swim all day, stay up to the late hours of the night when its warm out, wear my awesome fourth of July shirt, and of course celebrate our Independence. I just love it.