Beltway.

There are so many things that I will miss about Abilene when I leave, but one of the things I will miss the most is Beltway Park Baptist Church. It is possibly the first church I have even been to where I do not have to force myself to focus and listen the entire time. The preacher there, David McQueen, is fantastic you can see his passion for preaching and I love going to church each Sunday.

This Sunday we sang a song I had never heard of and I fell in love with it so I wanted to share it. Of course I came home and bought it off i-tunes. 

Freedom.

This blog is for those who have served our country.

As most of you know today is Veteran's Day. I love this day, really I do. There are so many reasons why I love Veteran's Day, but the main reason is the reactions veterans have: they show such great love for our country. I cannot describe to you why, but every time I see a veteran in their uniform I get teary eyed. I cannot explain why, but there is something inside of me that automatically reverts to crying. I get chills every time I hear "God Bless America." I always have an urge to meet the veterans. I want to hear their stories, to learn from them.

One of the reasons why the military means so much to me is because of my Dad. My Dad never served in the military, but he is absolutely obsessed. He loves WWII especially. I think I get my love of history and my love for the military from my Dad. I remember this specific vacation we took when I was about 15 years old. We had stopped in Fredericksburg, TX so my Mom and sister could shop. Meanwhile my Dad and I took a tour of the Pearl Harbor museum they have. I remember many vacations that had to do with some civil war cemetery or taking a tour of some old naval ship. I loved this and it will forever be something my Dad and I share.

This past summer (Summer 2009) I got the opportunity to Study Abroad to Oxford, England (another thing I am absolutely obsessed with). One of our trips we took was to Normandy. I will cherish these memories forever. They mean so much to me. It was insane standing on the same beaches that our past soldiers had. Our tour guide said the weather was exactly as it had been 65 years ago. The awesome part was that we were in Normandy on D-Day plus 2 (2 days after June 6, 1944). It made the experience even more meaningful. It was raining and so cold. It put everything into perspective. I tried to understand, even tried to comprehend what it was like that same day, 65 years earlier.

A veteran we met in a museum in Normandy. He was awesome. (Notice the purple heart)

Remains from the floating harbor they built.

Allies

Kylah, Lacy, and I on Omaha Beach 

The U.S. cemetery in Normandy. This took my breath away. 

Unknown Soldier. Brought tears to my eyes.

Pointe Du Hoc

Famous statue in St. Mere Eglise. Paratrooper who caught on the spire and pretended to be dead until Germans took him captive.

Area around Pointe Du Hoc where Army Rangers scaled the cliffs. Those are wholes from bombs. It was bombed for 24 hours straight.

That day on those beaches changed my life. As cliche as that sounds it made our history so real. I have always loved and respected those who have served for our country, but from that day on it will have a whole new meaning to me.

West.

This last weekend I headed west with Kylah to her hometown Dimmitt, Texas. Most of you probably won't even know where Dimmitt is, but it's west of Amarillo. It was a great weekend. On Friday I left work at about 2 so we could get to Amarillo before 7. Kylah's brother Kade was playing his last high school football game against Highland Park. It was absolutely freezing that night, but I had a blast watching Kylah's brother play. I had not been to a high school football game since I graduated HS. He played so well and had an awesome touch down. Dimmitt ended up winning 41-28.

Then Saturday we slept in, laid around the house, and then drove over to Clovis, New Mexico to visit with Kylah's grandparents and family. Later that night we relaxed and watched "Post Grad" a really funny movie that we can relate to at this time in our lives. Sunday we got up and went to church and then ate lunch. It was possibly the best lunch I have ever had. Kylah's dad cooked these amazing steaks and her mom made this amazing corn and green bean casserole. Followed up with banana pudding. Who wouldn't love that? We left Dimmitt about 3 and got back around 7.

It was a very relaxing and chill weekend. I absolutely love Kylah's family. They have become a "2nd" family to me.

Go to minute 1:56 "Riddle me what??"

Update.

So I start my new internship in less than 2 months (January 5th). Yes, I am extremely nervous. I will go from living in a college house, in a college town, and doing college things to living in Fort Worth at my grandma's (who is awesome), and working 55 - 60 hours a week. Woah. I will have to wake up at 6 every morning and do real work all day. I'm not so sure I am ready for this haha.

But I am pumped to live in a different scene and work in a city for a change. I will, however, miss all my friends! But I am making plans for them to come visit on the weekends and we can go shopping and do all the fun things Abilene doesn't offer.

Also, Jordana's wedding is a little over 4 months away. My bridesmaid dress is in and I just ordered a potential pair of shoes! This is crazy. We already know one of the dates of her bridal showers. It will be here so soon. My internship will end on March 11th and I will fly down to Austin so I can join all the pre-wedding festivities on Saturday and the wedding will be Sunday, March 13th.

(Also, Erin is getting married June 18th. 2 friends down, many more to go haha.)

After my internship and Jordana's wedding we hope to take a fun Spring Break trip with all our ACU friends. We are thinking somewhere in Florida. Then I will come back to school and work on March 21st. I will take 6 weeks of class where I go like I have been enrolled in the class all semester, but I have to teach/catch myself up on the first 7 weeks of material. Yes, definitely not excited about that part at all.

Coming Soon:

• A weekend trip to Dimmitt, TX. (Kylah's hometown)
• Thanksgiving with the family
• Galaxy ski trip after finals