It's a brand new month and the start of a brand new life, in a way. I start school in a few weeks and moving day isn't set in stone, but sometime next weekend. That is really soon! I'm excited, but scared at the same time. It's a good scared though. I'm glad Esther's going to be there with me-that means I've already got at least one friend I can count on, not to mention those I met back in May. That's definitely going to make it easier for me to relax, and not stress so much when I'm out there. My dad did pay the $50 tuition deposit and $150 for a dorm room, so all of that is taken care of. . I've just got to worry about what I'm taking with me and how it's getting there-I can't exactly go back and forth as easily as my sister can from her school. She's actually moving out TODAY. . It's kind of weird, but kind of cool at the same time.

I'm wondering what my schedule is going to end up looking like. I know I want to set some time aside to work on planning my wedding, and also some time to be able to go to the gym, but that I can probably squeeze in the mornings, even if it does mean getting up earlier. I started a new workout regime yesterday, it's a simple routine I found in an issue of Shape I had lying around that's only for twenty minutes and made for beginners. Perfect!! LOL. I think I'm going to stick with that for the next month or so, until it gets to be too easy.



I cannot wait until the summer is over for two reasons. 1-I'll have something (school) to keep me occupied until Christmas, and help the time go by faster. 2-I'm a klutz in the summer. No joke. I've already managed to burn myself twice in the same spot this morning..and yesterday I managed to get a cut on my finger dusting!! Dusting is suppose to be safe...not for Laura the Klutz. . I can't wait for my klutzy season to end!

Yeah, I'm not really in a blogging mood right now so I'm going to end this here, but I'll try and post later this week or next week.

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A few nights ago, my mom asked when I start school at Trinity..Orientation is August 18-21, so I'm guessing around the 22nd or so. And the residence hall opens on the 18th. That is just a little less than a month away-I'm excited, but I'm also scared. In a good way, though. It's like when you're first getting behind the wheel of car or something. I don't all of my anxiety I'm feeling has to do with college being a few weeks away though-I'm starting to anticipate Ed's homecoming even though it isn't for another couple of months.

I'm really stressing about school at the moment though. I have bills that haven't been paid, and they were due yesterday. My dad did attempt to pay them yesterday since we've the money and everything; he couldn't get through so he's going to call first thing Monday morning, but I won't have a guaranteed spot in one of the dorms. You have no idea how much the idea of not getting a dorm room freaks me out. Pray for that, please!! I've also got to go and get my transcripts from Valencia transferred, which I thought had been taken care of months ago, so I'm going to do that on Monday as well. (And hopefully stop by the post office to mail Ed's latest package which is filled with a ton of stuff!)

Anyways, today I'm going to try and not think about all of that since there isn't much I can do until Monday. I'm going to sleepover at the Schroeder's with Esther after we make some spaghetti ( ) at her house for her family and some people they have staying with them..I think I'll be making a sandwich or something. Yeah, I don't like spaghetti..and yes, I know that's weird. Especially when I love all kinds of Italian foods, lol.

I've also got some items put aside for the garage sale we're trying to have before school starts; I may leave a box or two at her house for that. Hopefully we'll be able to pull off this garage sale that we've been planning to have for awhile now-and that it will go off successfully. My hair is also starting to bug me, I think it's about time for a trim. TRIM. I am not cutting it all off or anything cause I love having long hair, but I don't want to look like...a monkey. . Inside joke, nobody but my bear is going to understand that..lol. It could be worse, there are uglier animals.

Wow. I'm going to stop here, cause this post is getting kind of long. I'll try and write more on Monday or Tuesday, since I'll be busy the next couple of days and probably won't have time to do so.

*Prayer Requests*
-Garage sale Esther and I are trying to have before the start of school on the 22nd.

-Unpaid bills and dorm room/roommate (since Esther and I have decided not to room together for the sake of our friendship.)

-Transcripts

-Esther and I are also going to need some form of transportation to hopefully drive back home some weekends, and to our jobs over there (although, I think she's working on campus..I won't be.) I'm also going to need a job as soon as I get out there, so pray for that as well.

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So it's been awhile since I've written an actual blog, but I think it's for the best. I've been incredibly busy this summer, which is surprising because when it first started I had no plans to do anything but VBS and chillin' out in front of the TV. (Which wouldn't make for a very interesting blog post, in my opinion.)

Back in June, I volunteered to do Vacation Bible School (VBS) at First United Methodist Church (FUMC). It was a lot of fun-moreso than I've had volunteering in the past for the event because I got to be an actual teacher this year instead of one of the teen helpers. There was music, arts & crafts, and a great message! It's a little bittersweet looking back since I know I won't be able to do it again next year since I'll be moving to be with my (future) husband. Anyways, I worked in the Kindergarten classroom, so my kids were aged 5-7. They're so cute at that age-especially when they do the hand movements to the words in the songs! Each day of the week, we had a new memory verse and throughout the day, whenever the kids heard one of the activity leaders say the memory voice, they raised their hand and (kind of) mimed cracking a whip or doing a lasso while saying "Yeehaw!". (The theme for VBS this year was Avalanche Ranch-so basically a wild west type theme.) It is seriously one of the coolest things ever to see 20 kindergarteners mime whip-cracking while saying "Yeehaw!"

The organization that FUMC decided to donate to this year was Give Kids the World (GKTW), which is really cool because it's local, whereas in previous years they've done fundraising for organizations that aren't so nearby. It was also really cool because they didn't just raise money to donate--they had each child bring in a teddy bear (or other stuffed animal) to give to the children at GKTW, and on Thursday in Arts & Crafts, they each got to make a card to tie around the bears necks. You know those kids are gonna smile when they receive those bears, and that really warms my heart. Volunteering can be so much fun!!

Okay..so that was from June 18-22. From then to now, I've really just been hanging out whilst working on a wedding registry, which is a lot harder than it seems. Gotta love checklists for this kind of stuff!! I've got about 1/4 of it done..and my half of the guest list is definitely finished, although I do need a few addresses and phone numbers from a few people, but I've got time for that since the invitations won't be out for another couple of months. Sigh. Can't we just fast forward to the honeymoon already?

Esther got back from her family roadtrip on the 25th, and we've been hanging out a lot since then. Interesting things always happen whenever we get together...there's the afternoon we spend 20 mins at the gas station trying to figure out how to pay for gas with cash instead of a car, the countless squirrels who've just barely survived getting run over, a homeless man knocking on the car window and making some sort of peace sign at us while getting directions from her dad, etc. The most recent event was when I went over to make a lemon pie dessert and then watching Chronicle of Narnia for the first time. (By the way, I'm totally hooked on that book series now..) I don't think I've ever been so into a movie since the first Pirates of the Caribbean. I was totally hinting for spoilers as what was to come next but Esther and her brother, Josiah were pretty good at keeping mum..and I'm just as involved in the book series too. I'm currently reading Prince Caspian, but I'm about done with it.

Last night, Esther and I did a little bit of scrapbooking which was really fun, and we discussed plans for her birthday next week. She's thought of maybe having a pool party or something where she can get all her different groups of friends together, but nothing is really planned at the moment. We also talked about the garage sale we've been planning all summer to have--now that summer is almost over, we figure we should probably pick out a time and date for it real soon. School starts August 17th!! I'm really looking forward to starting school for once--and moving out and living (sort of) on my own for awhile!! I'll have a roommate, but I'll still be pretty much on my own..

So that's what's been going on in my life lately..I'll try and update more in the coming weeks!!

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Everything happens for a reason. Just remember that and we'll get through this.

We all make mistakes-we're all human. But every mistake we make, gets made for a reason. Only God knows what that reason is long before we ever do...or will. We just have to put all our trust in Him, and have faith that He will show us what that reason is in His perfect timing.

"Beauty from Pain": My whole world is the pain inside me/The best I can do is just get through the day/When life before is only a memory/I'll wonder why God let me walk through this place/And though I can't understand why this happened/I know that I will when I look back someday/And see how you've brought beauty from ashes/And made me as gold purified through these flames

After all this has passed, I still will remain/After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain/Though it won't be today/Someday I'll hope again/And there'll be beauty from pain/You will bring beauty from my pain

Life isn't always easy--nobody's ever said "Life is easy." But there is the saying, "Life is hard. Deal with it." It will suck sometimes, and feel like nothing is going right, but there will be days, weeks, months, years even that it will seem everything is going your way.

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Okay. That was directed towards a specific person, but I think everyone should read it because we've all been in that emotional state at one time or another. Anyways, remember how I said I was thinking of making website layouts to maybe earn some money? Well, I may start doing that over the summer..except I'm not going to start with layouts, I think I'll work my way up by my making some cute little icons/tags. And it'll be donation-only for awhile since I'm still just a novice at this stuff. I've already got some ideas, unfortunately most are for site layouts I want to make in the future, but it's better than starting without any ideas at all, right? (If you've got any ideas, please let me know what they are; I could use them!!)

In other news, Ed and I have been back together for a whole year now!! Yay!!

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Ok...so I am way too happy and excited to go to sleep right now, but I probably will in about an hour or so. I just got done talking to Ed and we've set a date for the wedding [I think..] Anyways, we're planning for Feb. 20. Yay!! And we've heard to expect him home at the end of December..maybe, hopefully, before Christmas, but that doesn't really matter to me so long as he comes home safe and sound so I can give him a big hug and kiss! And soon.

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"Life as an Army spouse is never dull, especially for the four women and one man who are the center of this dramatic series. Visit the website to learn more about the cast, episodes and more." It premieres tonight at 10 PM EST. WATCH IT!!

I watched this online the other night, and I thought it was a pretty good show. Not totally accurate, maybe. (I wouldn't totally know for sure though as I'm not yet married...) But no show is 100% factual no matter the subject. Oh, and DREW FULLER is in it. I haven't seen him since Charmed. OMG. I freaked, I love him...he is gorgeous!! Don't worry, I still love you too babe. .

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