Spring Break Missions Trip

For Spring Break this year, I went on a missions trip with one of the campus ministries on my campus. We went to New Orleans to help with Hurricane Katrina relief. Even though it has been almost 4 years since Katrina, there is still a whole lot of work to do. We didn't acutally stay and work in the city of New Orleans, but we were in Slidell, LA, which is a city about 45 min. from New Orleans. We stayed at a church there and worked at a house fairly near the church. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Here are some general pictures! Enjoy!


The church we stayed at, Aldersgate United Methodist Church

The building we stayed in, which was specifically built for Hurricane Katrina relief.

The story about the building we stayed in

The actual flag that flew at the church during Hurricane Katrina on August 29th, 2005.

Life

Well, one of the reasons I haven't posted in such a long time is because I have been so busy. This past week has been crazy. I started getting sick last week, so I have been kind of under the weather. I have been coughing and just not feeling well all week. I also had two big tests and a lot of other homework assignments.

In general, classes are going well, even though they are keeping me busy. I am continuing to love nursing and be so glad that I changed my major. Anatomy & Physiology is continues to be work intensive, but it is so interesting. Nutrition and Global Agriculture are going well also. Really, the only class that is giving me trouble is American Literature from 1865 to present. As many of you know, I have a lot of trouble with reading and reading comprehension. Also the teacher that I have is not too great. We just took our first test on Friday and I don't think it went very well, but I will not know until later this week. I am persevering through this class and will hopefully pass it because I need it in order to graduate. I know that I had mentioned in my last post that I had a lot of classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which was not normal for me, and that I was kind of concerned about how that was going to work out. This has turned out to not be a problem at all. It was kind of difficult at first, but I have adjusted to sitting in class for so long and paying attention for the whole time.

The other big thing that happened this week is that when I went to the Health Center on Friday to get some antibiotic for my sinus infection, I found out that I have mono. This would explain why I have been so tired recently, but I can not figure out where I got it from. I don't usually share drinks with people and I definitely haven't kissed anyone at all. I must have gotten it from someone sneezing in my face or something like that. Apparently, it is extremely common on college campuses and is all over the place at UCM. In general, this should not be a big problem, but I am going to be extra tired for about a month or two. Hopefully is won't be that big of a deal, though.

Basketball Games

So, I am sorry that I haven't posted in forever, but I have been super busy. One of the things that I love to do as a college student is to go and support my school's sports teams. I can get into all of the games free when I present my student ID and I usually don't have much going on when they take place. To me, it is also a great form of entertainment. Well, today was a big day in the world of UCM sports. The UCM Mules (men's) basketball team was on national TV for the first time at home. We played our big rival Northwest Missouri State University and absolutely clobbered them. The final score was 78-48. I went to this game today and it was so exciting. There was so many people there and so much energy there. I made a sign to try and get on TV, but I don't know whether it worked. I think I might have ended up being on TV, but I am not sure. My parents said they didn't see me, but I know I got filmed by several cameras. Here are some pictures from the game.
The pep band.
The cheerleaders and Mulekickers during a time out.
Some of the UCM players deciding on a play.
Me holding up the sign I made. GO MULES!

I'm an Aunt Again!!!!

Well, very early this morning at 12:45 I became an Aunt again!!!! My new niece's name is Olivia Edith White, which is extra special because my Grandmother's name was Edith. She was 5lbs. 10oz. and 19.5in. long. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!
Olivia
Lilli meeting her new sister for the 1st time

Lilli holding her new sister

Back at School

I am now back at school. I got back around 1:30 this afternoon. Since being back, I have been really busy getting ready for classes to start tomorrow. I am excited about this semester, but I think it is going to be quite challenging. The classes for this semester are Anatomy & Physiology II with a lab, American Literature, Global Agriculture, Nutrition, and a Supplemental Instruction Lab (which is like a big study group) for Anatomy & Physiology. Tuesdays and Thursdays are definitely going to be my busy days this semester, which is a lot different than normal. I am a little concerned about this because classes are a lot longer on Tuesdays & Thursdays. It is usually the opposite of this set up so it will be interesting to see how things go. I will try to do a better job keeping you updated on how things are going this semester!

Another big thing that happened today was I got a pet betta fish. I named him Squirt. He is beautiful with red and blue coloring. Here are a few pictures.

Visit with Eubanks and End of Christmas Break

For the last week, I have been visiting some very good friends of mine. I have had so much fun. They have four kids that are a lot of fun and absolutely adorable. Two of the kids are twins who are only about 2 1/2 months old. They are so cute! Their two older siblings are a lot of fun to play with. After this week, I now understand more of what it is like to be a parent of four young children. I fed and held the twins, played with the older two, helped around the house, made dinner one night, and had a blast doing all of this, even though it was a lot of work. I have been friends with this family since I was in High School and I am so glad I got to see them. This was also a big trip for me because it was the first long road trip that I have taken by myself. It went well and I didn't get lost, which is great for me. Here are some pictures! Enjoy!










This trip to visit these friends was unfortunately the last big event before I go back to school. Classes start on Tuesday, so I will return to school on either Sunday or Monday. I can't believe how fast this break has gone by. It seems like I just came home for Christmas Break and now it is over with. I have had a great break doing so many things like spending time with family and friends, shopping, sleeping, watching movies, and just being lazy. I am ready and somewhat excited about going back to school, but I am definitely not looking forward to going back to studying and doing homework. I am fairly concerned about how hard some of my classes may be this semester, so hopefully they aren't too hard. I will keep you updated.

Christmas Break

Well, I got home from school this past Friday. I am so glad to be home and done with school for the semester. One of the things that I love to do at Christmas time is decorating a gingerbread house. This year I also decided to decorate a gingerbread Christmas Tree. These were both pre-made kits that I bought. I love doing this every year. Enjoy the pictures!









Also last night we recieved our first real snow of the season. Here are a few pictures! Enjoy!

Our front yard.




My car with snow all over it.


A beautiful Holly bush with snow on it.