2010 - The Year of Conquering

The year of the Learning Curve (2009) was just that...A lot of learning and starting from ZERO! But it's been amazing nonetheless and 2010 can only get better!! I'm VERY excited about start of this new year. Excitement ABOUNDS!!

Theme verse for 2010:
"...in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
Romans 8:37

Theme picture for 2010:
(yes...Aslan!!)
Theme song for 2010: I haven't picked one. ;o)
(2009 was Jon Foreman's Your Love is Strong)

Goals for 2010:

1. Continue Reading
   I love it! I remember having a conversation YEARS AGO with someone about books. I told her that I really like them, but never seemed to have time for them. She answered, "Well, we all have 24 hours in a day and I read every night. You make time for it." And I am thankful she said that because back then I didn't think it was that easy. It's true for a lot of things!
   
2. Teach
   I'm really close I can taste it. I have LOVED every minute of the time I've had off. I can't say it enough. You couldn't pay me to go back to where I was. I'm in a much happier, healthier state and I'm more than ready to teach!!
3. Geocache
   Back in August, I saw a group of boy scouts geocaching and I loved it. I said I'd do it but I haven't. So I promised a cousin of mine that I'd go on a bear hunt once a month and keep my geocaching profile updated.
   
4. Go on a Mission Trip
   My dreams have always been to teach and use the summers for mission trips. So, why not start this year. I'll have more information on this soon.
   
5. Lose Weight
   It's on "the list" every year...and I wouldn't have it any other way! I've recently made some progress and hope to continue into the next. I feel GREAT!! Thanks to the Wii Fit Plus, I am tracking the progress daily and it's ADDICTING!!
   

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Imogene had the baby doll but she wasn't carrying it in the way she was supposed to, cradled in her arms. She had it slung up over her shoulder, and before she put it in the manger she thumped it twice on the back.
I heard Alice gasp and she poked me. "I don't think it's very nice to burp the baby Jesus," she whispered, "as if he had colic." Then she poked me again. "Do you supposed he could have had colic?"
I said, "I don't know why not," and I didn't. He could have had colic, or been fussy, or hungry like any other baby. After all, that was the whole point of Jesus - the he didn't come down on a cloud like something out of "Amazing Comics," but that he was born and lived...a real person.

-Barbara Robinson
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Books of 2009

Since one of my goals for the year was to read more, I want to share with you the books I read this year. It's really crazy to think that there are about eight days left to the year. If I get another book read in that time it would be a miracle.

So...without further ado, here is the list of books I read this year.

1. Let Me Be A Woman, Elisabeth Elliot
2. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
3. One Day, All Children...: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach for America & What I learned Along the Way, Wendy Kopp*
4. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah*
5. The Butterfly Jar, Poems by Jeff Moss*
6. Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity, Charles R. Swindoll
7. Confessions of a Shopaholic, Sophie Kinsella
8. My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult
9. Big Russ & Me, Tim Russert*
10. The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Brennan Manning*
11. A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry*
12. Crazy Love, Francis Chan*
13. Joseph: A Man of Integrity & Forgiveness, Charles R. Swindoll*
14. I Would Die For You, Brent & Deanna Higgins
15. The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffegger
16. Like Water For Chocolate, Laura Esquivel*
17. The Book of Romance, Tommy Nelson
18. Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen*
    
19. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
20. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson*

I've put a star by the ones I think are my favorite! (And just because it doesn't have a star doesn't mean I didn't like it...it just means it wasn't a FAVORITE.)

Of the christian books, Joseph: A Man of Integrity & Forgiveness by Charles R. Swindoll is my favorite. I couldn't help but fall in LOVE with the man of God from ages past!

And for non-christian reads, I'd have to say that I really and truly enjoyed Like Water for Chocolate. Couldn't put that one down at all. There is something about Spanish Literature that leaves me wanting more!!

So, there you have it. I accomplished that goal. Gold star for me! :o)

My Christmas Wish List

I think this all fits in one of those USPS mailers that you can ship to me for like $4 or something. I'm just saying that if you so feel led to give all this to me at once I'll hook you up with my address. :o)

1. 3 Pack of Moleskine Journals
2. Victoria's Secret Love Spell Lotion and Body Splash
3. Fat Tubes of black and white acrylic paint
4. Gift card to Barnes & Noble
5. Support for a mission trip to Kenya (OR support to send me back to Casa Bernabe in Guatemala).
   

I'm keeping it simple.