So this weekend started out great. Esther came home and we got to hang out on Saturday. We also discussed some of our plans for the next few months-none of them are one hundred percent yet. She gave the idea of me staying with her in the dorms and going to classes with her at Trinity College for a week or two in April. That would be fun-I'd get to see what it's like to be away at college before I'm actually away at college come August/September. She might stay here in St. Cloud over the summer and intern at Cornerstone which would definitely give us a lot of hang out time together-I hope she does that. Her original plan was to spend the summer in California with her grandma and her cousin, but it doesn't really look like that's going to work out. She's still trying to make up her mind though. There's so many things she wants to do. I'm definitely still trying to go to Ecuador; I've got a meeting tonight with the missions group. Yeah, I finally found who I needed to find for that, yay!! Hopefully that works out so I can have something confirmed for the summer.

Sunday was okay-that's when I found who I needed to find, and I got the house to myself that afternoon which was way cool. I love having the house to myself. I did miss bible study though; my parents actually wanted it to be family movie night, but I wasn't interested in any movies that are out right now. Next weekend, I want to see..um, something that I can't remember the title of right now..

Anyways, just when we reached the halfway mark in our first deployment-there's bad news. Ed starts hearing that they may have to stay overseas another 4 or 5 months beyond their originally anticipated return date. . I immediately see the downside to this, but Ed, optimist he is, sees the good to an extended tour in Iraq. He'll have less time left in the Army when he does return, and less chance of redeployment. I'll also get to stay at school with Esther for a couple more months. I still don't want his tour extended though--I miss him so much; I want him home NOW.

Oh, and to top off this weekend, my cat has gone missing. We're not sure if she's run away or she's just hiding, but someone left the backdoor open long enough for either cat to escape. We got Scrappy back indoors, but Addie is still missing.

[Thanx for the prayers ikamashokie, hikarixgaki, and Nuttz.]
{Edit: We found Addie; she was hiding.}

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Last night was my first meeting for the Ecuador missions trip. And probably my last. I'd feel more comfortable going on a trip like this with at least one person closer to my age, and while last nights group of people were great, they're all a bit older than I am. Esther has previously mentioned that Trinity College goes on a missions trip every year for spring break, and that appeals to me more right now for many reasons. Esther would probably be along, and there'd be a few more people closer to my age. I'd also have more time to save up the money for a trip like that; not just 2 months to raise $1500. Also, the meeting last night ran later than I'd've liked--I didn't get home until 10:30, and the meeting started at 7. I was soo tired when I got home, and I missed a possible chance to talk to Ed. I was too tired to get up and online to see if I could've had a chance to talk to him. .
I'm definitely going to get online tonight; I hope he does too.I think I'm also going to try and talk to Esther tonight; I'm going to give her a call. I hope she's not working or overloaded with homework. I want to ask her what Karl said about interning over the summer; I haven't done that yet cause I was planning on going to Ecuador, but now that's not going to happen I may intern at Cornerstone over the summer if at all possible.

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Stupid computers-stupid internet. The cable went out last night, so I wasn't able to get online to talk to Edward. And wouldn't you know... that's the night he actually gets on! I emailed him from my phone to tell him my cable was out, but I haven't clue as to whether or not he got and read those messages. I really wanted to talk to him last night too. I wanted to tell him about how I got into Trinity College, and how about excited I was. I wanted to tell him about how Esther and I have set a tentative tent for me to go and visit her at Trinity in a few weeks. I want to tell him that my dad has almost got the webcam working-he found the software and everything, but Yahoo Messanger is saying it's behind a firewall and can't allow it to run. Even when the firewall is disabled! There are so many other things I wanted to talk to him about, and I didn't get to last night because the cable was out. You have no idea how irritated I am right now. And not even a quick email, a quick comment on my page or my last blog to let me know he's thinking about me, and may have gotten my messages about getting into Trinity and the cable going out? Hmph. This week is so a high and low week--and it's barely even Tuesday morning. I found out on Sunday that Sydney is having two surgery's over the next couple of months, on Monday I find out that I got into Trinity and will get to go to school with Esther in August--but the cable goes out so I can't even tell Edward, the one night he get on after a couple days of not getting online. Makes me wonder what kind of news Tuesday will bring..if any. Hopefully it'll all just be good news from here on out--that'd be nice! I hope I get to talk to Ed soon, cause I've got a lot of things I want to say, to get off my mind and off of my chest..so yeah. That's all I've got say for today..Love, Laura Almenas.

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So, I've talked to Esther, and I'm definitely going over to Trinity next week[end]. She was even able to get me free food vouchers! . I love Esther; she's one of the few people that can cheer me up just by saying "Hello" whenever I call her. I needed that last night. I can't wait to see her again and just hang out; I miss her!!!

About yesterday's blog...um..I got an email that Ed's unit is most definitely getting an extention. . . We were expecting, sure, but it still sucks. I just want him to hold me real close and real tight right now; I just wanna cry in his arms. And I can't!! I hate this right now. I can't wait for this whole thing to be over.

Esther has been saying she's going to help keep me busy over the summer when she's here, and that school will definitely help the time move along much quicker. I hope she's right. I really hope she is. I've got some stuff planned for June, like Vacation Bible School at FUMC, and -maybe- SuperWow again this year. I don't know, SuperWow is fun and all, but I feel a little too old for it. It's more aimed at high schoolers, not college students.

July may be a long month though. I know some people I definitely wanna hang out with this summer, maybe have a few beach days in July, assuming they stay here for the summer. At Cornerstone last summer, they had a few activities throughout the summer, like bowling and ice skating..maybe they'll have that again this year? That'd definitely be a time killer.

Also, job hunting is horrible. Nobody's called me back and I NEED a summer job. I need money for school next year, dangit. And I don't qualify for too many scholarships..though I'm going to apply for all of the ones that I can. Pray for that, k?

So yeah...that's my blog for the day. Sorry I haven't written in a while; I'm sort of going back and forth between blogging and writing in my notebook (which got totally trashed yesterday when it fell in the tub!!).

Love, Laura Elizabeth

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I got to see my baby's webcam!!! I almost forgot how cute and handsome he is...pictures just aren't the same. They really aren't. God, I miss him. And he is SO CUTE AND SO HANDSOME. Man, I want a hug from him. What wouldn't I do for a hug!?!?!? I love you, beau!!!

I should go to sleep since I gotta pack for my trip tomorrow....but I can't!!! I keep thinking about Ed and NOT sleeping!!! Not that Ed keeping me up is a bad thing..

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So, I got to visit Esther at college last week..so much fun!! I got there around 5 on Weds. afternoon and we had dinner together Chick-Fil-A. You ever tried dipping those waffle fries in the ranch dip?? It's GOOD. After dinner, we went and put my things in the dorm room we were saying in and went off to church. It was awesome! The youth group is a bit smaller than Cornerstone, and runs a little differently, but it was still really cool. They had music--my favorite part of worship and one of the few things I couldn't live without, nice people, and a good message that reminded me of the one Pastor Karl gave the Sunday prior..hm. Maybe God is trying to tell me something? I got free stuff too, and candy, although it wasn't really necessary. I enjoyed my time there, I had a lot of fun.

On Thursday, we went to two classes in the morning, and one in the afternoon. I don't remember what the classes were exactly, but some of the students shared their experiences of witnessing to others. Mike told a story about him and his partner were witnessing to an old man, who was friendly at first, but got angry at them when he learned one of them was sometimes hard of hearing. Later, when they caught up with some of their other Christian friends, they found out another pair had come across the same old mine--they just didn't see his angry side! The second class of the day was...well I don't remember. I started doodling...I think it may have been something to do with poetry or whatnot.

Before lunch, and after the second class of the day, Esther and I walked around the campus. At least..we're pretty sure we were still on Trinity Property. We sat with Charlie and some of his friends at lunch before going to a dorm meeting that was being held that day. After lunch we attended another class, and I doodled again. I was starting to fall asleep at the point, and indeed took a nap after the class ended and Esther went to work. After napping, I hung out for about an hour, sent a few messages on MySpace, and then went to dinner. (Would you believe I got quite a few messages and comments while I was gone? I never get any when I'm at home!)

Ed called after dinner and I got to talk to him for a little bit while I waited for Esther to return from work. I also watched some Tv and Pirates of the Caribbean. We went out to Starbucks once she got back with Charlie, who is a really cool dude who shared 'the mormon bathroom' story during the drive. I don't think there is any way I could retell it the way he told it, but it is hysterical! He's a bit of a comedian, that Charlie is. He told a couple of jokes while we walked around outside of Starbucks, next to Publix and Target, before we headed back to Trinity.

Friday, I attended two more classes with Esther: Interpersonal Communications and Intro to Psychology. Those two were probably my favorites. They both kept my interest long enough to keep me from doodling too. IC was probably my absolute favorite. I don't quite remember what was being taught, but something about relationships with friends and how the professor is friends with some people who are now in jail..Yeah. In Psychology we learned some of the different symptoms and behavioral patterns of people with schizophrenia which was very cool to learn about. (I'm planning on majoring in psychology/counselling, so it's no surprise I found that course interesting.) We had chapel after Psych. and I don't remember the message exactly as my mind kind of drifted elsewhere, but I got to learn a few new worship songs, which was way cool! The speaker did a really good job, and there were a few announcements made concerning the graduating seniors and whatnot.

After lunch on Friday, Esther and I both finished packing our things for the weekend and headed back home. All in all, my trip to Trinity was AWESOME. I totally loved it and I cannot wait to go there full time in the fall. Great classes, nice people, and someplace where I finally feel I belong. That's where I'm meant to be, I can feel it. I just have to wait a few more months..now to get that $200 I need to reserve my space in the dorms and in the classes...hm. Any ideas? I'm job hunting, but it's not going very well, so any ideas would be welcome!!

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