.disappeared.

Let me be honest here: I hope it's never in God's plan to move me to somewhere where it snows a lot (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc) because I just can't deal with this snow and ice junk very well. I think I would be a much happier person if I didn't deal with the snow. However, if it is in His plan, I guess I'll learn to deal with it.

Regardless, last week was slightly awesome, as I had 2 1/2 days off of school from the ice/snow storm that took over the world. I enjoy being inside, but after that period of being indoors soooo long, it was nice to leave. BUT WAIT....when it came time for Emily+roommates to go to school, 2/4 cars of our house were frozen to the ground. So after making it back to campus last Thursday, I spent the afternoon trying to pry my car and a roommate's car up from the ground. (Side note: This was after I'd spent 3 hours over last 48 hours breaking sheets of ice off my car and driveway). So, all 4 of us girls are chipping away at our driveway, when a neighbor literally pops out of NOWHERE! Craziness. He is able to get both of our cars out of the ice in ~20 minutes and then he helped us free our cars AND he cleared off 1/2 hour driveway in another 30 minutes! Just as my roommates and I were discussing how we wanted to clear off the last part of the driveway, we turn around and the neighbor was literally nowhere in sight! It was the weirdest thing, like he just disappeared! SUCH a God moment when I realized how much one man's time meant that we could all FINALLY drive our cars again and that we could all walk up our driveway (which is quite an accomplishment, given our previous track record of falls in the last week). SUCH a good, good God we serve!

.B key.

I seem to be fixated on the fact that 2011 is a year of unending changes. I suppose when every class continues to remind me that I'm less than 9 months away from being done with classes, needing to register for boards, and needing to look for real big girl jobs. On top of that, there is the whole dilemma of looking for jobs, picking a city to live in, and trying to start the rest of my life. I just had to write a 3 page reflection on "my strategies during fieldwork to prepare for the boards/being a real OT". During which, the 'B' key fell off of my laptop keyboard; it made me slightly excited for the day I get a paycheck and buy a new laptop. I mean, I've had this one for nearly 5 years (which I suppose is a long time in computer years), but I definitely am needing to start making money for real life...and a new laptop. Regardless, last night was much needed.
A dear friend (also, my boss from last summer) came and we had a girly dinner/sleepover night. It was SO great to spend time with her, hear about her life, and and talk about the future. Her contract with summer camp ends in December, so she (like myself) is looking for where God may be leading us in the future. And then, it's always good to have girl talk (about boys/crushes, obviously), cook delicious food (I now can make sweet potato fries!), AND crochet hats. Win. Such a good night, and just a good opportunity to actually talk about LIFE and love (and of course camp) with someone who knows what I'm going through right now AND who shares a heart for helping individuals with disabilities.
In other news, I'm done with 2 weeks of classes, 8 weeks to go. AND I'm sending out my first fieldwork letter this week....EEK!

.los cambios.

God has made it extremely apparent to me in the last few days that changes happen. Whether we like it or not, changes will happen...for the good and for the bad. Even when changes seem to be happening for the worst, He always has another plan in store for us. For example, I was very upset when the semester started because I have night class during my bible study/young adult ministry at my church...that was definitely not okay in my book. Last night I went to a dinner with friends from church where my Bible study leader announced that they were changing the structure of the young adult ministry, and Bible study would probably be switching nights. Super amazing news of the day. And during this dinner with my Bible study leader and her roommates (also beloved friends of mine) I realized how much I miss the sense of community. Seeing those three girls LIVE LIFE together in their apartment and to enjoy spending quality time together really makes me miss "the ol' days" when my roommate and I were like that. And it made me realize how much I'll even miss the small sense of "roommateness" that I have when I move to Columbus here in a couple months. Strangeness.
I also have come to the conclusions that: I have lost a lot of my Spanish skills since I haven't used it in years, I'll probably have osteoarthritis later in my life (especially my left shoulder), and changes are meant to happen.

.Rivers.

I just finished quite a wonderful book (Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers). If you haven't read it, go pick it up, buy it, or something. It paints such a perfect picture of redemption and how never-ending His love is for us. Something so beautiful that I forget on a daily basis. Definitely puts things into perspective; even when I'm just living my life I'm soooo far from being anything close to perfect, but He loves us NO matter what. Just a reminder I suppose I needed to hear.

.tenth.

It just now has hit me that I am 10.5 hours away from starting my TENTH semester at UIndy. Ridiculousness...I suppose the good news is that I only have 1 more after this one! I'm surprisingly excited about starting, but I think that is partially because I had a fabulous weekend, and I couldn't be more thankful for getting a chance to relax/socialize with wonderful people before classes start. Friday night I met some wonderful couples from a friend's church and spent the evening playing a murder mystery game with them. Epic. Yesterday I spent the evening with camp people and meeting the boyfriend's classmates at their med school formal. It ended up being really fun, and I felt stupid/awkward with so many future doctors all in one place! :-P Not really...but the thought most definitely crossed my mind at times! :) I also lucked out and got the "good sections" of classes...meaning that I only have 1 night class on Tuesdays and I'm done on Fridays at 11:30! Although nearly all of my friends are in the other section, I definitely am excited to have gotten in the more conveniently scheduled sections this semester (aka the next 10 weeks!) Other than that, I suppose I am just feeling hopeful about what He has in store for the semester and I am getting anxious to see where He is leading me after October 29 (graduation!)!!!!

.oswald.

Well...here we are, roughly ~365 days after I decided to start blogging. Although I've realized I'm by no means a GOOD blogger, I have made it through a year of posting my thoughts/realizations/silly little stories on this site. In attempt to be a fraction as awesome as Twin (teamhildebrand.blogspot.com), I've decided to reflect on the happenings of the last 12 months in a "Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011" post. BUT in attempt to be thankful for the last year, I'm gonna leave each month with just a few POSITIVE highlights, because 2010 was most definitely full of good times, despite a few rollercoaster-esque moments.

January- Quite frankly, I can't remember much about what happened during this month. I'm gonna go ahead and say that I was blessed to start my second semester of OT school, because I know that actually did happen. Around this time, I think I also decided that I was moving into a friend's townhouse for the following school year.

February- More school. Spent a much needed weekend at my sister's dorm. I wrestled with a lot of emotions during Valentines Day weekend, only to be reminded that I live for an AMAZING God and he has blessed me with so so so many wonderful people in my life.

March- More school, but the highlights of the month included: finishing all 10 seasons of Friends and roadtripping to see Team Hildebrand where we made a super long paper chain awaiting the arrival of Fetus AND my beloved Motorola Razor took a tragic spill.....oops.

April- I finished classes for undergrad/second semester of OT school. I was blessed beyond words with the doors opened for me during the "Class of 2011 OT Lottery" process for our fieldwork assignments.

May- Month of craziness....I graduated college and moved into a new apartment all in the same weekend. I spent 2 weeks doing fieldwork and then moved to camp for the summer for our two weeks of training. And my long time roommate and her boyfriend were FINALLY married and it was one of the most entertaining weddings ever. I also started talking to "the guy who gave the poop talk", who would become my current boyfriend...haha.

June- Spent the whole month at camp and hit up a couple of great weddings. Best day of the summer was doing adaptive waterskiing with kiddos during our two week camp. The two week session was the best (greatest kids ever) and craziest (bed bugs!!!!!!) session ever.

July- Spent the whole month at camp. I could go on and on with this subject, but I shall refrain.

August- Bummed around Findlay and became 'official' with "the guy who gave the poop talk" at camp ;). Went to the Train/Needtobreathe concert which was AMAZING and I started my 3rd semester of OT school.

September, October- School and re-learning to look at the positive side of things when one of my favorite campers passed away. And my niece (not biological, of course) Lily was born!

November- Finished classes for the semester. Had a joint celebration with the bf and I and then spent a week at home for Thanksgiving for the second annual Thanksgiving with my family and our close friends

December- Went to clinicals for the first part of the month and then bummed around Findlay seeing LOADS of wonderful people and then rang in the New Year in Indianapolis!

My sister has jokingly asked what my New Year Resolutions are for 2011. I have told her that it is my goal to stop attending UIndy before the year is over....which sounds incredibly amazing at this point. Although that is true, I have a deep desire to grow deeper in my faith, as I know that 2011 brings many changes with school, clinicals, and searching for a job. Today I picked up a copy of "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, as I have heard a lot of good things about it (and seriously, Oswald is just about the coolest name ever). I'm excited to see what He has in store for me during the next 362 days of 2011 :)

.slaves' room.

I love that every time I go to camp, I learn something new...not just interesting medical procedures, but more about LOVE (and how much I generally fail at loving everyone!) God used two people to teach me more about love in 40 hours than I could have imagined. First was a young adult with severe cognitive delays and sensory needs...basically he just needs someone to walk around behind him with his walker 24/7. He walks and walks and walks and that's it. There's no expecting this guy to do an activity or socialize with others. He also has a reputation at camp as being a difficult and hitting most staff when they work with him for the first time....AND THEN I got asked to work on my first "duty" with him...which somehow turned into 2 1/2 hours of walking circles around the first floor of this mansion house (where we were staying) with him. It's just AMAZING to me how important non-verbal communication is and how sensitive people can be to the sense of touch. During my 2 1/2 hours, the guy stomped his feet a few times (meaning that he was happy), reached out to hold my hand a couple times, and only hit my arm 5 times (pretty good since he greets a lot of staff with a smack to the face!). SO cool to get to spend that time with him.
THEN the weekend progresses with my roommate. We were sleeping in "the slaves' room" in the mansion, so it was an itty bitty 2-bed room in the attic. It was just myself sleeping in a room and caring for a 43 year old woman with cerebral palsy. Her CP has left her speech nearly impossible to understand (at first) and hardly any motion at her joints, other than her shoulder, hips, and elbows. Needless to say, it was an extremely loooooooong first night as I was trying to figure out how she likes to get ready for bed/understand her speech/not lie awake alllllll night because I was SO scared she'd call out to me in the night and I'd be passed out in my bed. But luckily, I slept extreeeeeeeemely light so I heard her every time she tried to say my name (and also every time she snored and ground her teeth...hahaha). But the weekend continued and I found out how hilarious she was and I got to be really good at understanding her speech. Just a cool lesson that He continues to show me through campers about how to PATIENTLY love others, even when it's getting on my nerves. <3

.good.

God is so good. Today was a VERY difficult day at work (very very emotionally draining...I don't think I'm meant to work in end-of-life care!) but I can't thank him enough for so many ways that he has blessed me. I got a confirmation phone call from a lady who works at the same hospital where I will doing my Level II Fieldwork and she agreed to house me! She lives in a 2 BR, 2 bath condo by herself, and she is offering me a pretty reasonable price to live in her fully furnished spare bedroom...not to mention that she is a sweet connection to the hospital!! :) I talked on the phone with her and we seemed pretty compatible as far as interests, cleanliness, and fun personalities! :) On top of that, one of my mom's college friends has offered to open up her home to me whenever I want to eat a homecooked dinner with her and her family. AND she has an 11 year old son with special needs who she has offered to let me borrow as a "guinea pig" for anything that I would like try on him/to hang out with him. Then, I just signed on Facebook (which has gotten exceptionally creepier with the new look) to see that one of my campers from 2009 "tagged me in one of his activities" (whatever that means). BUT regardless, he put that he added "swimming with me (and several other staff)" to his favorite activities!!! :) To top it all off, I had a 4.0 GPA this semester. I couldn't feel more blessed right now!

.khakis and polos.

I can't believe that in 7 days I'll be home for what will probably be my last Christmas break EVER. When I look at it like this, it makes me want to go for my doctorate...buuuuuuut not that badly ;) I have 5 days left of fieldwork, for which I could not be more thankful. It's definitely been a rough couple of weeks there and I'm ready to be done....mainly I'm ready to be done wearing a combination of the two pairs of khakis and three dark colored polos that I own. I haven't realized how much I really love sweats until I'm forced to rock the khaki/polo look 8+ hours per day for 3 weeks. I'm starting to pack for home for a MUCH needed break and for CAMP this weekend. I'm PUMPED for the Christmas reunion for our adults...I haven't seen any of the adults campers since May, which feels like FOREVER ago! Luckily I will be able to re-connect with a bunch of friends after work each night, so I'm hoping that will make fieldwork a little more bearable. Here's the big 3 things I'm most recently thankful for:
1. Good health. It breaks my heart to see what some of my clients are going through and I can't imagine being in their position.
2. Tide to Go pens. I know this might sound ridiculous, but I spill things all the time. Since I have discovered this wonderful little pen, I think I have saved several items of clothing from various food stains. :)
3. Getting to go "home" to camp soon for the holidays!! It's just such a beautiful place and I can't wait to get there and see all sorts of wonderful people! :)

.diciembre.

OH SNAP. how is it diciembre already?! (<--Part of my Christmas break plans include whippin' out some more Spanish to prep for Medical Spanish in the spring!) Well I supposed I am an epic failure about this blogging schtuff. Oops? I mean, I'm gonna go ahead and blame in on being a 2nd year grad student...I feel like that is a legit excuse. I suppose that school kept me over the top, ridiculously busy for the last month. Those last 3 weeks of classes involved turning in 4-5 major assignments per week, as opposed to the normal 0-1 that we had all semester. It was not fun, however, I survived, and kicked it in the butt (just found out today that I have a 4.0 for the semester!) As soon as finals were over I got to head straight home (after an epic double birthday celebration...dating someone with the same birthday is a lil' strange!) for an AWESOME Thanksgiving break. It was just so so good. It made me realize how much I REALLY REALLY have to be thankful for (<-- sorry to end that in a prepositional phrase). Since Thanksgiving break, I've been back in Indy doing clinicals at a hospital. God is DEFINITELY challenging me to love on these clients and my "co-workers". This is no easy task, and these clients are EXTREMELY difficult for me to love on, but God has clearly placed me here for a reason, even though I am unsure of what it is. I guess I am enjoying them, in the respect that I'm NOT in the classroom 8 hours/day anymore AND my homework load is very light...aka I get to see people on weeknights to hang out! :)
Even though I'm semi-miserable at clinicals, God never fails to show His power in my life. Last week my mom FREEEEEEAKED out on me because I haven't started thinking about where I was going to live when I move to Columbus in 3 months. Well, God is a cool guy. I sent one message to the hospital's Facebook page, and sure enough someone who works at the hospital offered to house me for 3 months in her fully-furnished condo. I'm still waiting to talk everything through with her, but WHAT A BLESSING!!!!!!! :)
I suppose I will list my 3 blessings since the last time I've blogged...or at least just 3 good things I can remember from the last month ;)
1. Thanksgiving Day. I've never been close with my extended family, but boy was this the BEST Thanksgiving ever. My family celebrated with close family friends for the entire day (into Black Friday until 8:00 AM) and it was RIDICULOUSLY fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long while :)
2. The BF- I hate to sound cheesy/awkward/mushy-gushy or anything like that, but God has truly blessed me by putting him in my life. Don't know how I would have made it through the last 6 months without ripping my hair out if he wasn't in the picture...
3. Christmas trees- my family picked ours out the last time I was home and it was just LOVELY. They just smell so good and just everything about Christmas makes me happy :) :)