Fruit!

While I am oh so happy to be home, there is one thing that I am really missing!

Picking fruit off of trees whenever I wanted to. Mangoes, bananas, papaya, soursop, apples.... ah, I think I ate at LEAST one of each every single day.

To The Graduating Class of 2010,

If there were ever a time to dare, to make a difference, to embark on something worth doing...It is now. Not for any grand cause, necessarily - but for something that tugs at your heart, something that is worth your aspiration, something that is your dream. You owe it to yourself to make your days count. Have fun. Dig deep. Stretch.

Dream big.
Know, though, that things worth doing seldom come easy. There will be times when you want to turn around, pack it up and call it quits...Those times tell you that you are pushing yourself and that you are not afraid to learn by trying.

Persist.
Because with an idea,determination and the right tools, you can do great things. Let your instincts, your intellect, and your heart guide you.

Trust.
Believe in the incredible power of the human mind, of doing something that makes a difference, of working hard, of laughing and hoping, of lasting friends, of all the things that will cross your path.

Find Beauty.
Beauty is everywhere. Just open your eyes! The "simple" things of this earth will slowly become not so "simple" anymore.

LOVE.
Love deeply... with a sincere love. A love that is never ceasing, rather always constant. A love that is not judgemental, rather compassionate and seeks to understand. A love that KNOWS NO BOUNDS!

Determine Priorities.
Jesus. May He always have full reign of our lives.

The lockers are cleaned out, the books turned it... Next year, the start of something new brings the hope of something great. Anything is possible... There is only one you, and you will pass this way but once.

So live this life! And live it well.

Oh, how I love each and every one of you.
~Alyssa

Remembering.

I'm just thinking back to times when life was simple. The days when nothing else in life mattered besides having Jesus in my heart, family to love, friends to lean on and plenty of hope for a beautiful future. Those were the days when life was easy, and I'm convinced it's necessary to get back there before I can officially move forward.


SO... today I am remembering. Talking to Jesus about how grateful I am for every single piece of my life... but especially the simple times.

....

I wonder sometimes why God allows me to go through what I go through.

But I cling to this~ He is being glorified.

Friends, Food, Laughter... and of course a little Audrey :)

Last night was SO fun. 8 girls, one house... TONS of craziness. We got there at 6, put our stuff in the girlie room, and looked around. Modern paintings, sleek decor, comfy atmosphere... beauty. We ate dinner~ soup, salad, bread. Lots of bread. We ate on a converted door that was made into a table. No joke. Huge table! We cleaned up, then spontaneously decided to play a game. Guesstures, it is! Two teams of four, one completely dominating the other! We played three rounds, and still weren't sick of it... but decided we needed some dessert. We learned to talk in an African language on the way to the kitchen, and even did some tribal dances ;) We had peanut butter pie for dessert. Ummm, heaven is the only word worthy of describing that pie. Then, the movie marathon began. We got all ready for bed (pj's on, teeth brushed, beds ready), and settled it. Ten Things I Hate About You was first on the list. L and I were asleep within ten minutes. The lights were out, and I had a blankie, I couldn't help it! Next thing I knew, lights were on... first movie over, Gilmore Girls in! I'm all for a little GG, so I decided to stay up... until I got tired twenty minutes later and fell back asleep. In that twenty minutes, I accomplished alot! K and I ate a box of Mike and Ike's... and even contemplated making some more bread. Bread notion was declined. hahahaha. Slept through the night, and all woke up to Baby meowing at the door. We let him in, and put on Breakfast at Tiffany's. AUDREY HEPBURN. I needn't say anymore. we ate chocolate chip pancakes and strawberries, and laughed some more... then headed home.

I love you, girls! thanks for the great conversation.

Some good, some better.

I think every day is a good day, some are just better than others.

This week was "better", today was just good. Today I had to search for the beauty, and I got stung a few times too. On the bright side, these past few days I've seen beauty in every corner, and no pain.


Get me through these last few days with dignity, Jesus.

Reality.

Reality is quickly sinking in to my little brain. I have 20 days left with the people I love. 7 of those days will be spent on a tropical island, and then we will come home and graduate. We'll say hi every now and then on FB, but other than that, June 1st is goodbye to kids that I have known for years. Same classes, same teachers, same lunch-time routine. For years. I spend more time with them than I do my own family. I have been so blessed to be surrounded by these people. I am cherishing every.single.moment and will not look back and say I wasted this time. No, this time will be spend making memories and rejoicing together in the fact that... wow, we just completed 14 years of school. Only four more to go!

HUZZAH!

A Myriad of Little Things...

... more often than not add up to make something pretty great!

Conversation of photography, children's names, marriage, purity, and dozens of other one sentence rabbit trails... all make for one amazing little chat.

There are some people I am friends with that never cease to continually show me the beauty of this life. I am so blessed to be living the life that I am living. God just blesses my socks off with the way He orchestrates events.

Who woudld've thought... a two day trip. Purpose~ to check out a Christian college. Outcome~ four girls get to talking, not at all knowing that God has a beautiful plan for each one of them... and that those perfect plans???

They just might be connected, somehow making them all that much more... well, beautiful.

God, you are so so so great!

"I love more than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow."

Talkin to Jesus

Jesus,
My Daddy, Papa, and Best Friend… I love you with every fiber of my being. Shake the foundations of my heart. Touch my lips and touch my life. I will not burn out; I will burn bright. I want to see you, Daddy. I want to learn to love the way You love. Change scares me. But in this moment of transition, in this weird season of unfamiliarity and sudden loss, I’m still going to seek Your face. I’m not looking for anyone else’s approval anymore. No more emptiness. For I will always be empty when not in Your presence. Bathe me in the Holy Spirit, Jesus. I want to do something brave and beautiful. From the deepest corners of my trembling heart, I’m whispering these words: Here I am. Send me. Because my days don’t mean anything if they don’t belong to You. I praise You with everything I am… and I love you forever.
Yours,
Alyssa

I will Live.

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music."

What to do.

What if... when life throws you lemons... you don't have a lemonade recipe???


THIS is the predicament I am in right now. Figuritavely, of course.

God, you are good.

~Poppins

Happenings.

Just some random things that happened today.

1. Our school was put under lockdown. Scariest time ever! I was seriously super scared. I cried and everything. Prayed super hard with a friend, hid in the dark corners of the anatomy room, was glad we had a future cop with us, grabbed some scalpels to "fight" if we needed to, thanked God for all the blessings He has blessed me with thus far, furiously texting friends and family letting them know I loved them. Yes, I am a drama queen, but this was seriously scary. Thanks for protecting us, Jesus! You are amazing.

2. National Day of Prayer. Heading out with an amazing group of girls to sing and pray at the city hall. An interesting experience, for sure.

3. did well on a Finite test. Amazing. How did that happen?!

4. had a discussion about the female reproductive system. Fascinating!

5. borrowed a calculator, mine ran out of batteries.

6. Made a friend mad. Distancing myself.

7. found out the musical next year is going to be OLIVER! :)

8. was bummed realizing that I don't get to be a part of said musical.

9. day dreamed about mommyhood.

10. helped a friend write an essay. I love to write.

11. gave some driving tips. hahaha.

12. Praised God for who He is. Man, He is absolutely amazing. I am always in awe when I make it through another day... How gracious is He to let me live like I live?! To let me experience what I experience?! To let me love like I love?! God, you are SOOOOoooo good!

~Poppins

beautiful.

My mom, My Dad, My brother, Sarah, Nathan, Jax, Jonny, Jake, Lisa, Jeff, Katelyn, Zachary, Connie, Shawn, Cindy, Becca, Carrie, Mrs. Henry, Mrs. King, Mr. Borden, Mrs. Rhyne, Mrs. Griffin, Chris, Rachel, Emma, Matt, Jon, David, Maeghan, Shae, Laura, Sarah, Kelsey, Molly, Tyler, Andrew, Micah, Jen, Alex, Sydney, Jere, Lindsey, Bethany, Paul, Janell, Karlee, Caleb, Caden, Tricia, Naomi, Ava, Luke, Anthony, Adiah, Ava, Blake, Jesse, Austin, Kim, Andrew, Julia, Arlene, Jessica, Jessica, Emilee, Sarah, Elyse, Ashley, Leah, Tim, Hannah, Elsa, Mrs. Doebler, Mrs. Weatherford, Mrs. Hughes, Beth, Mrs. Magly, Mrs. Mathews, Mrs. Orr, Mrs. Zittel, Lauren, Hannah, Josh, Elena, Darren, Jessica, Allyson, Daniel, Bryce, Won, Yutaro, Simon, Katie, Alex, Jillian, Claire, Korina, Lexy, Lexi, Jordan, Haven, Shayanne, Gracie, Jon, Inger, Amy, LeAnna, Brennen, Breanna, Jenny, Kacia, Megan, Rylin, Lincoln, Zach, Sawyer, Fisher, Brittany, Erik, Gina, Garrett, Hayley, JJ, Josh, Kaylin, Karen, Karie, Justin, Keegan, Kevin, Kris, Mrs. Dummer, Lily, Jonathon, Stephanie, Terri......

and so many more. I praise God for the gift of who you are. I'm simply aquaintances with some of you, others of you are my best friends in the whole world. Each and every one of you, though, were molded and formed by the God of the universe... and that alone is the reason why I absolutely, wholeheartedly, with everything I am~ praise God for you. You all are beautiful people, each playing a very different role in my life. If you ever wonder if you are loved, you don't have to look far. I hope I can always radiate to those around me that GOD is love. Never-ending, never-changing, always perfect.

May He always be magnified.

To My Boy

Every day for the past like week or so… by the end of the long day I’m a total Negative Nancy. Ugh. I know. It’s awful. I think MY current physical status combined with my empathetic-ness just makes for a bad outcome. So… when I baby sit (which is very rarely lately), my poor little boys usually get the worst of Miss Alyssa… and they’re STILL oh so gracious! What a blessing. Anyway, for the past few months I’ve been teaching my little brother Jonathon to memorize scripture, and he LOVES it. I love it as well because I’m learning too, and watching him find such joy in this task has encouraged my heart. So yesterday… he asks me to say “the joy of the Lord one.” He’s talkin bout Nehemiah 8:10. For the life of me I couldn’t remember the end of the verse. I was feeding his baby brother oatmeal and didn’t feel like getting up to look up the verse… (Yes, that’s the bad nanny I’ve been)… so very quietly… like a whisper… he looked up at me with his dark hazel eyes and said, “It’s strength, Lyssa.” The joy of the Lord is my strength. Say it, Lyssa! Say it!” If that’s not Jesus speaking to me through a precious little boy, I don’t know what is. I got tears in my eyes, said the verse, and kissed him on the cheek while praising God for the gift of children! What would I do without them! :)

Sweet Jonny Boy,
You are one of the sweetest boys I know. You make me have that silly little feeling in my stomach (you call it... luuvvv) every time I look at you. You are so handsome, funny, smart, and gentle. Even at your young age, I know you love Jesus. It's a child-like faith, simple and pure. And I love that. I love watching you desire to read your Bible, and I LOVE how you ask me to sing you "a praise song" at bedtime. Thank you for being patient, and having that uncanny way of knowing just when I need a hug. You are absolutely incredible, baby boy (even though you're not so baby anymore!), and I thank God all the time that I get to be a part of your life. I'll always be your sis, even when you don't need me to tuck you in at bedtime ;) Hugs, sweet boy. I love you so much.
~Alyssa

Engrained.

There are certain moments in my life that I will never forget. Some of them are obvious like my wedding day, birth of my children, the day I got my license, graduation. Days that everyone remembers. But there are some days I will always remember that are unique to just me. They don't happen often. I make memories often, but most of them I will forget about until I look back and read what I wrote about them ;)
Yesterday was a day, simple as it was, that I won't ever forget. Not because it was adventerous or wild, somehow different or crazy. Nope, it was truly a very "normal" day. I woke up, had a doctor's appt, talked to a friend on the phone, watched a movie, then talked with a friend for a few hours.... and it was during this very simplistic day, that I realized something.

My life will never appear flashy or special, perfect or insanely wonderful.

But to me, my life (as I would plan it out) is perfectly wonderfully specialized to be everything I could ever hope for.

I realized this yesterday... at midnight, as my brain is swirling with thoughts of motherhood, traveling, schooling, friendships, marriage...how they all somehow fit together for a beautiful purpose.

THAT is why yesterday was one of those days that is permanently engrained in my memory.