Summertime!

This last Sunday 4 of my high school friends(Carly, Justine, Ally, and Laura) and I all got together to play some beach volleyball at Huntington beach. We had a blast! We got there around 10 am and played all the way till 3pm ! And I have got to say we had the most interesting array of people trying to join our game...from the annoying Jr. high boys all the way to the old men with dredlocks hahaha. It was sooo much fun just playing and being with

my old teammates. I missed them. =] love u guys!

Learn Something New Everyday..

Recently I started a friday morning bible study with a few of my girlfriends and I have got to say I'm so glad I did. This Beth Moore bible study called "Breaking Free," has taught me so much already and we're only the second week in. The main point of the study is, being able to break free from the bondage of sin by making Christ a reality in our lives. We looked back at previous stories with Kings and how they let their pride get in the way of their relationship with God and it taught us girls that we have to thank the Lord for every moment of our short lives, because He makes it all possible. Also how we need to realize our sin and cry out to God for help so we actually can break free.

I want to share something that happened to me recently that I thought was a total blessing from God. You may know that I have been trying to raise money for my Africa trip coming up this August. Anyways it's $3000 to go and you know how hard it is to raise that kind of money, so I am trying to think of ways I could raise it. I thought selling cookies at my moms work might be a good idea so I tried it. I've only done it a couple times and I have made around $200! That is all God. Time and time again He never fails to let me know how much He cares about me. Thank you Jesus! =]

My 1st missions trip to Kenya

I have wanted to for awhile now write down my experience in Kenya or at least scrapbook but neither have happened until now. Now I'm not the type of person who is afraid to leave home, in fact I love being away from home! Millions of miles away from my nagging sisters?! Sign me up! lol jk But since I was young, my mom and I always talked about going to Africa on a missions trip and in 2008 we we're blessed enough to go on the trip. By the way huge thank you to all my family and friends who sponsored me! Couldn't of done it without you.

It all started August 10th, 2008. We enjoyed a long 18 hour flight and then we arrived in Nairobi, Kenya. We go to meet some of the staff (Francis, Maggie, Elzbeth, Anne, Sella, Michael, and Joshua)that we we're going to work with through an organization known as CCP or Chosen Children of Promise. They gave us a tour of the slums and at that moment I realized just how blessed I am. As you drive down this red dirt road you see such poverty. People living in little tin rooms the size of out-houses, little 3 year olds walking around bare foot, lots of stray dogs feeding off the trash in the road. Most people don't even own a bed. It was just shocking to me. Words couldn't describe the feelings I felt. But the amazing part about all of that, is that these people are more grateful than anyone I have ever met. That's actually kind of sad if you think about it cause the one's who have nothing are appreciative and the one's who have everything aren't. Lesson of that day: Never take anything for granted. Anyways we got the privilege of praying with these families in their homes. Such an amazing moment cause you really saw the hearts of these people and the rawness of their lives.

Our 3rd day in Kenya we really got to see the beauty of Gods creation by going on an incredible safari through the African plains. We saw pretty much every animal from the Lion King. lol It was so crazy to me seeing animals out in the wild with no gates in between us. Kind of scary but definitely more exciting!

I'm not going to write down every detail of our trip but I definitely want to talk about the main reason we came to Kenya. We came to spread the Word of God and show love to His people and we did that by running a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the kids in Nairobi. Before we came on the trip our team divided into 4 groups: Bible Stories, Music, Games, and Art&Crafts. We all worked really hard in preparing fun things for these children to do while incorporating the message of Gods grace and unfailing love. I think the kids really enjoyed it and our whole team really bonded well with these kids. It was sad when it was time to pack our bags and say goodbye to these people we had grown so close to in our short time there. People were trying to hold in tears but I'm glad we could make an impact on their lives, cause they definitely changed ours.

My baby girl

I can't believe how fast my puppy is growing! I used to call her my lil polar bear but now she is almost 3 months old! She's my little princess and gets spoiled to death. Anyways here are some pictures of bella to see the difference and see a little bit of her personality...

A day in Lake Arrowhead

The other day my mom and I had an idea to go to Lake Arrowhead. I was able to bring along my friend Jenna since it was only Me, my Mom, Brandy and Cammie. After Jennas Dad(Gary) heard the idea he wanted to join in the fun. As we were heading up the mountain(around 7 am) we could barely find snow and we were getting worried that we drove all the way up their for nothing. But we actually found some snow when we got to the village. We ate breakfast at Waffle Works, fed the ducks, and looked around at some shops. Then it was time to find some thick snow to play in....so we decided to head to an old camp my sisters used to work at called Ponderosa Pines. When we got their the field was full of snow and there was a perfect hill to sled down. We ended up staying there for awhile sledding and having snow ball fights. It was a perfect day.

My Best Friend Carly

I have known this girl since 2nd grade and she has been the most amazing friend. I feel like she is my sister. We have had so many adventures together from Hawaii, to Yosemite, to Africa, to Newport, to Allasal Ranch and many other places. We have a blast when we are together and I feel totally at home when I'm around her. I know I could tell her anything and she wouldn't judge me and that's what makes us inseparable. I love her sooo much and I know we will be best friends forever.

My Best Friend Jenna

My childhood memories all go back to her. I have known this girl since birth, but there was a huge gap for a lot of my life where we didn't even talk. Not that anything bad happened, we just did our own thing. April of this year we actually got to pick up our friendship where we left off and have been besties ever since. She is my other half and I don't know what I would do without her. Her kind spirit, generous heart, and overflowing love for Christ is what makes her my best friend.