Well, here we are at the end of a very long week. I have a huge pile of books to conquer today, but the Lord will get my through it. I also have a paper I need to write. It's not due for another two weeks, but I like being able to stay ahead of things. So with so much work you're probably wondering why I would take the time to blog. Honestly? My brain hurts and I need to write something for fun that doesn't involve analyzing Pensees wager, the proofs for Christianity, Plunkitt's "urban machine," or the recurrence of thighbones in the Odyssey. That would just be discursive. ;) :)

Biblical Emphasis Week was incredible!!! A wonderful man named Dr. Cokrell (I butchered the spelling), came and taught about faith and God's promises (past, present, and future) found in the book of Hebrews. The mandatory sermons were Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning, but he also provided a tuesday and a wednesday night sermon, both of which I absolutely loved! There's too much information for me to summarize it and do it justice, but just know that I was thoroughly encouraged.

Racquet Ball is God's gift to man. One of several gifts of course. ;) :) Thursday night Stephen Gibbs taught me how to play, and I was seriously in love by the end of the hour (with the game :P). Seriously though!! It's a lot like tennis in that you have to be fast on your feet, but at the same time it's completely different in the technique and the force with which you try to hit the ball. I haven't been able to beat him in a game yet, but the closest I got was 8-10, and that last point took forever. Friday night we played suicide with Ian (one of the best racquet ball players here), and even though I got a measly 5 points (we played to 15), I beat Ian twice and Stephen 3 times. I was quite proud. The only side effect is that I woke up this morning terribly sore. I had stretched, but I should have known that after playing two hours of intense racquet ball, I'm bound to feel it in the morning. :)

The Reading here is pretty insane. I mean, it didn't come as a surprise, but it still takes getting used to. Thursday morning I literally read for 8 hours with one break for lunch. I'm reading from 4 textbooks, long lectures that serve as textbooks, and two regular books (one of which I finished: Plunkitt). I'm slightly intimidated just since I'm so very new to all of this, but at the same time I have wonderful friends to come alongside me and build me up.

I really am so extremely grateful to my friends. They seriously are an incredible blessing. Love you guys! ...well, mostly girls ;) :) but the guys are incredible too. :)

We are printer conquerers!

Hiding behind our lives. ;) :)

Our lives. :)

2 mile run! Yeah Baby. :) People I don't yet have pictures of: Stephen Gibbs, Hannah Farver, Sarah Betts, Ian Reid, and  Kira Clark among several others. :)

Why do I do what I do? Why do I wake up every morning? Is it because I have to? Would I wake up early every morning if I didn't have to? Why do I commit myself to my learning to the degree that I do? How much of my studying is inspired by wanting to "get the grade"? How much do I work merely for the sake of learning and absorbing? Do I wake up every morning with the Lord first and foremost on my mind, or rather, do I roll out of bed and worry about whether I'll be able to get everything I can done?

These questions have been plaguing me as of late. Now that I am (essentially) on my own I decide what time to get up, when I should eat, if I should eat (which I do :P), how much I should study, etc. Up until now I have always done these things because my parents told me to, but now that they aren't here what is it that motivates me to live as responsibly as I can, all in the Lord's strength of course. I would like to think that I do these things to bring glory and honor to Christ, but it feels more like I'm merely doing them because "I should." This morning as I lay in bed I thought to myself, "What if I just slept till 7:30 instead of getting up at 6:45?" That was started me thinking about why I do what I do. Ultimately, I want the answer to be because of Christ.

I know this has a tendency to get cliche, but it really is so true. I'm sure it wouldn't sound so cliche if I could fine a better way to describe it.

I've also been thinking a lot of fear; everything from menial to serious. How can we find the balance between a fear that keeps us wary, and a fear that completely cripples our interactions with others? Then again, what have we to fear if the Lord is always with us. I've found, especially lately, trust has been an issue. I find myself second guessing innocent motives; a practice I have never before done in my life.

After talking to a dear friend of mine I was encouraged to bring all my fears to the Lord. However, as life has shown me, just because you pray at night and say "Lord, I lay my fears and my failures at your feet," doesn't mean they go away. In fact, in some cases they get worse. However (for me) it's a way to recognize your complete and utter dependance on the Lord. There have been times where I've been in the middle of temptation and I have sobbed uncontrollably on my knees, begging the Lord for strength to resist, only to fall the very next day. For such a long time I was driven completely by despair, however, this nameless dear friend, has helped me to see, that God uses our failings and our weakness to bring glory to Him, in the same way he uses our triumphs.

So those are some of the things I've been dealing with. I apologize for how very ineloquent I am in the articulation of them.

Quick Summary:
- Saturday: Was a blast. I read all day long. Then saturday evening Hannah and I went grocery shopping, went to a friends birthday, and then watched the first two episodes of North & South, for British night.
- Sunday: I went to church with Betsy, Hannah, Courtney, and about 6 other guys. The service was so moving. This was when I really started struggling with condemnation, failure, and fear. But the Lord's mercies are new every day and he is helping me work through it.
- Today went well. I was a bit exhausted from the week, but the Lord gave me the strength I needed. I've finished most of the week's reading ahead of time, so I hope to get a head start on some essays tomorrow.

Other than that all I can say is that God gives me just the amount of energy I need to get through each day. How could I ever ask for more.

He is enough. He is more than enough.

Soli Deo Gloria :)

*P.S. Pardon the grammatical and spelling errors.

This past week has been wonderfully crazy. I'll to summarize as best as possible.

Monday I stayed in the hotel while Mom, Dad, and Daniel went out sight seeing. I was exhausted and needed to rest before the big move. That afternoon we drove to Leesburg, bought almost everything I needed, and watched the Ducks games. So sad. :-/ Tuesday was move in day. I saw quite a few old friends plus some new faces. I got moved in for the most part. Tuesday night we went to a little Italian restaurant with the Blacks and stayed there about 30 minutes after closing. We laughed so hard at the silliest things. :) Then we had a very mini very short lived snow ball..... "fight." *Wednesday I finished moving in and met a ton of people. A couple Bens, a few Chelsea's, a couple Rebeccas, and a ton of Sarahs, plus a very dear Hannah who has adopted me into a very complicated family. It's easier to just remember I'm her little sister. :) **Thursday I woke up early had breakfast early and then completely organized every single item I owned. My closet is now organized into pants, skirts, sweatshirts, jackets, and shirts; each category in color order. Also, my entire schoolwork is color coordinated. I'll spare you the details of which subject is which color. I ran with some friends, did a ton of reading and studying (It wasn't actually due, but I wanted to get a head start), and ended it by watching about 20ish minutes of Despicable Me. And now it's Friday morning. :) Big day. Almost all my classes are today so I need to wrap things up but first.

*Alright, so embarrassing thing number one. It's actually not embarrassing, it's just funny. A bunch of my new friends invited me to play the Wii game "Just Dance" after dinner with them. Among them were Hannah Farver, Gracy Howard, Ian Reid, Kyle something or other, Bonnie, and one other girl. It was a ton of fun and super hilarious, however what none of us had realized is that..... it was dancing, even though the girls weren't dancing with the guys! Which is not permitted on campus due to some things with the board of trustees (friends, please don't mock ;) :)) We were politely asked to turn it off and all of us did so right away. I teased them about getting me in trouble the first night, however, it wasn't really that big of a deal. We communed to a conference room to watch Sherlock Holmes, but before we started had to reconvene in another room with a bunch of people to watch Charlie Brown. :)


**Another two of my new dear friends are Taylor Eckel and Alyssa (I can't remember her last name). We all decided to go running thursday early eveningish. I had a blast, even though I was a bit out of shape, I made it! That's not the silly part. When we came back, we strutted through the main building to get to the locker room which was in the basement. I had seen someone slide down the stairs earlier and I kind of wanted to try it. I should have known better. ;) :) The flight in itself was quite beautiful, however the minute my feet hit the ground I slid and fell right on my rear. I was laughing so hard I just lay there, but when I glanced up I saw a friend of mine looking through the window of one of the doors. I wasn't sure if he saw anything but I was embarassed all the same. We all kept laughing all the way back to the dorm.


Love you girls!!! :)

That's all for now. Gotta run! :)

"Hugging a stranger" Only tes knew him so it counted.... ish :)

Just stumbled across these while uploading the D.C. pics. :)


Scavenger (Picture) Hunt:

"Someone walking a dog"

"Nativity scene"

"Everyone drinking out of the same cup"

"Crammed into a small space"

Now I call that air!

Just cause, and i needed coffee. :)

"Jumping off a swing" I actually kind of like this picture. It's funny. :)

Quick update. :) 

I had a fun little story to tell tonight, but then I forgot it. Today has been... exhausting in many different ways. There. :)

Mom and I made it to Palo Alto (about 30 minutes of San Fransisco) in great time despite the thirty minute break we took to get coffee and check emails. I didn't have coffee, but I did order Orange Chicken from Panda Express. To my great dismay the chicken made me feel quite sick. :( The rest of the drive was uneventful. We got into Palo Alto and did some errands before going to my Aunt's.

      1. Meet Lara: My mom's sister, fashionista, sweet, about the same height as me and blonde. :) I love her dearly.

      2. Meet Jack: Eldest Stephenson at age 14, avid reader and trumpet player, honest, frank. :) I love him dearly.

      3. Meet Charlie: Youngest Stephenson at 13, can make an origami tank out of everything, including a dollar bill, the comedian of the whole family (including extended) as well as the baby. :) I love him dearly as well.

Tomorrows agenda: 

• We'll drive to the airport, and arrive hopefully by 7:30. Then we are wait-listed for a 9:00am flight and a 10:00am flight. 
• If we don't get onto one of those then we have a for sure flight at 4:20, but then we won't get into D.C. till 12:00. In which case...
• We will either drive three hours, get a hotel, wake up at six and drive the final three hours, or we'll get a hotel, and then wake up at threeish and drive the full six hours. We reeeeally hope this isn't the case, but it's looking more and more like it.
• If we get the earlier flights, then we'll be able to drive halfway and get the hotel at a much more reasonable time.

Quick Post:

Monday: I slept in which was really nice. I had been up super late the night before. Then I finished packing my entire wardrobe + a few office stuff into three large boxes. We then shipped them off, and I believe they are headed to the Blacks. Well, they better be.

On a separateish note. I'm so excited for Tamara's birthday!!!!! :) :) :) I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to get her. :)


I also got my meningitis shot. If you get the sickness you die, and you only have to get the shot one time. I thought it was quite the deal. :) At exactly 3:00 the sun came out and I jumped as fast as I could into some cute "city" clothes, and went and did a photo shoot with Mrs. Phelps. It was super fun. We got some awesome shots on top of a parking garage. She wanted to do a shot of me crossing the street, so the minute the walk sign turned on I ran across the street then walked slowly back; ran across, walked slowly back. Needless to say the people waiting at the stoplight must have been very amused. :)

It's funny how people try to be nice, but it just comes out awkward. For instance while we waited for the walk sign to go on, a couple people drove by and yelled out there window "You look really cute!" I get that they wanted to encourage me, and participate in the senior pictureness of it all, but it just came out creepy. :P :)


Almost exactly an hour later, the sun went away, and due to the general scarcity of clothing (grey skirt, black tights, heels, and a black lacyish top) and lack of gloves, we got coffee and called it a day. I then went over to Dev and Bren's, where Jen met us and we made m&m cookies and planned Bren's scavenger hunt birthday. I'm so sad I'm going to miss it. :(

This morning: I slept in again, and after devotions and some sudoku, I went to the doctor's then headed to the gym and ran for three miles.

I am NOT a distance runner, so it was quite challenging. Oh yeah, and I'm training for a half-marathon. :P Kira and I are going to do it together. It's in March in D.C. Fun right? ish. :) 


I also love being able to talk to my brother about anything. I'm really going to miss him. 


I'll be pretty busy the next couple of days. I'm visiting my school friends tomorrow for a bit, photoshoot pt. 2 is happening, and I have a prayer send off thing, then thursday is Meg's birthday!!!!!!! So excited! :D And I leave friday. Four days! EEEK!!!!! :)

God is so incredible. I can't believe how he's leading my life, even after I screw up so much. He's so amazing. Glory be to Him alone!!!!

~Belle

Howdy folks. :)

1.) I've been convicted about how long I've been making these posts.
2.) I don't have a whole lot of creative juices flowing
3.) I won't have much time in the next couple of weeks so...
4.) These posts will be a bit shorter than usual.

Thusday: I woke up, yes I know it's so very unusual. ;) :) I woke up at about 8. Went to the gym for an hour. After a quick shower I flew (yes, flew) over to my massage therapist for one final session (my neck has been in an incredible amount of pain :P). In preparation for our New Year's Party I made a lovely chocolate truffle tart. Other than that, the rest of the day was spent cleaning clothes and getting ready to pack.

Friday: Was awesome!!! :) I made about 60 chocolate chip cookies for the teens. Christian organized a progressive game party for all the teens in the church. The way a progressive party works is that a group of people start at one house, then go to another house, then another, etc. etc. The group (about 15) started at our house. We played the Name Game (the name of a disney character, actor, singer etc. is taped to your back and you have to ask yes or no questions to figure out who it is), and two rounds of occupation charades. Then we went to Christian's house to play apples to apples, and eat some more. :) Lastly we went to the Ripley's made an AWESOME human pyramid, played human knot, and ninja. I won the first round! ::smiles proudly:: Christian won the next. Then Anne, Taylor, and I headed to our separate homes. The New Year was finished, or I suppose began, as mom, daniel, and I stood outside in the snow, and hugged, prayed, and said we loved each other.

Saturday: I slept in till an insane hour. 9:45. :P I can't remember much about that day.

Today: We were very happy to have the Goldmans in church with us. They then stayed after for a lovely brunch. :) I made breakfast for all the kids. Talk about a lot of food. :P :) Anna, Cassie and I cleaned the kitchen. They went home at about 2:30. Everyone went out and I was left to start packing.

Other: I'm really tired. A bit overwhelmed. Really excited at the same time. And I leave in five days...... yeah. Nervous. But happy to be able to start a new chapter/life. As I joked with a friend I'll be "in a "cupid's arrows" proof vest, with a hand gun, carrying around a shield from the roman times complete with helmet, just in case :)"


That's all for now. Take care! :)

~Belle