Goodbye 2010.

2010 is almost gone and 2011 is close at hand. It's a little hard to believe that a decade of the millennium has past. So much has happened in the past decade and so many, many wonderful things have happened in just this past year. I'll give 10 highlights of this past year (since it was 2010 ;) ) and hopefully I can limit it to just 10. We shall see. (also, these are in no particular order.)

1. Snow Days. Spring semester of college came with endless snow days. It seemed like there was one every week. It was a nice rest in the midst of a busy week, and snow is always welcome. There were always fun times had during snow days–whether it was playing games on the hall, hanging out with friends, cleaning a closed library with Bonnie, or running out to a stuck milk truck and receiving half a gallon of milk :) Snow days were always a blast!

2. The Winter Olympics of 2010. Winter Olympics are my favourite. Ice skaters twirling multiple times in the air, speed skaters whizzing on the ice without crashing (most times), and amazing snowboarding stunts–ah! Winter Olympics! Our RD would open up his apartment every night to anyone who wanted to watch the Olympics. And every night a crowd gathered in his apartment to cheer on their country. Laughter, cheering, screaming, and clapping filled his apartment. And the 2010 Winter Olympics made every night a fun exciting time of getting to know other people on the campus. (Also, speaking of the Winter Olympics, another thing that came about because of the Winter Olympics was our (my siblings and my) video of our version of the Winter Olympics... if you haven't seen it you can watch it here.)

3. Accepted! I got officially accepted into the Teacher Education Program at Covenant College. Middle Grades with English and Social Studies concentrations. It was exciting!

4. Easter Break. Janessa got to come home with us for Easter break. It was fun to have her be part of our family for a week and have her see where we get all our quirky tendencies from ;) We got to tour around down town Kansas City with our cousin Jennifer as an excellent tour guide. And, all in all it was a fun and relaxing break.

5. Last days at Covenant College. When the stress from exams was gone Damarise and I went through the all-too-normal process of packing up our bedroom. And since we were still hanging out at the college for a few more days we mixed in some fun times. We (Damarise and I) went thrift store shopping and on a mini tour of Chattanooga with Janessa, Micah, and Josiah. And during that time somehow something popped up about us spending spring break of 2011 together. So far, that plan is still in tact. Woo hoo! I also got to watch my wonderful RA, Stacey graduate. Those last few days at Covenant were filled with fun times and great memories.

6. Being home for the summer. I loved being back with the family for three months. It was nice to go to the park most nights and walk or play frisbee and football with them. Also while on summer break we got to see the President of the USA, I learned how to make yogurt and peach pie, and how to properly run the dishwasher (which has become a tale that Damarise loves to tell. :) ) We also got to tour all around the US as a family. Okay, not quite all around. We went to Arkansas several times and had great visits with friends each time. We also took a family vacation out to Colorado. We got to see sand arches, go "white" water rafting, see the Olympic Center, and have some fun and relaxing times together as a family. The summer was wonderful and I'm so thankful for all the fun things that took place.

7. Teeth. Yes, teeth. This past year I have had dentists, oral surgeons, and orthodontists doing something with my teeth more than... well, than any other time in my life. I got braces right before Christmas of 2009 and since that time I have had several cavities filled, an expander put in, three wisdom teeth pulled, several teeth tightened, straightened and moved about. And through it all I have realized that a.) I would never want a job that has anything to do with teeth and b.) I'm so thankful that there are people who are good at working on people's teeth. Also, I'm very excited because on January 5th my braces are coming off. Woo hoo!!

8. New job. Fall Semester 2010 began and I was looking at a full class schedule. But God is faithful, and this is still such a cool example of that! I began the semester planning on continuing my job from the year before, Facility Services i.e- cleaning toilets, dusting tables, and vacuuming the library. I didn't mind my job, and I had an amazing work partner. But, God knew that that job would be too stressful for me. So a week before school began the Chapel Department contacted me saying that they were hiring me as their secretary (more or less). I was a little bummed at first, not wanting to leave behind a job that I enjoyed. But as the semester progressed I realized just how grateful I was for the new job. The job gave me time to accomplish what the Chapel Department needed, and also gave me time to read for classes. Also, every Wednesday the Chapel Department gets together for a prayer meeting, I love being able to catch up on how everyone is doing and pray with them. It's been a great job and I am so thankful for it!

9. 18 Credits. This past semester I took 18 credits. Some classes I enjoyed more than others, but all in all, each one was beneficial. Two of my favourite classes were Doctrine I and Youth Ministry. My Doctrine professor explained the truths of God so simply, yet so powerfully. I left every class wishing I could just sit in the class for the rest of the day listening to my professor talk about God. Every class put me in awe of God–the Creator of the universe and my Lord and Saviour. I also enjoyed Youth Ministry a lot. I loved learning about the youth culture of the US and how I can minister to youth. It also made me more certain that I want to work with youth and especially missionary kids.

10. Christmas Break. It seems fitting that I close this with the most recent excitements – Christmas Break. Christmas Break has been filled with fun and relaxation. It's been nice to catch up on some reading, spend time with the family and see lots of friends. We've seen friends from Mozambique, Covenant College, and soon from Arkansas. We've also gotten to play some fun games, see some snow, and laugh and talk together.

So, this is goodbye to 2010. I can't wait to see what God has prepared for 2011! Happy New Year, everyone!