Long Overdue

Hello peoples!

It has been waaaaaaay to long since I last posted. Not for a lack of potential content, I just didn't do the best job of finding time to blog. But this means I have a lot to catch up on, so I won't be running out of ideas anytime soon. But before I get into the super detailed "where have I been for a year," I wanted to give a brief summary of what I've been up to.

When I last logged on I was excited to have just started college and was still nervous about how I would make friends. But little did I know that within the first few weeks I would meet some of the most amazing friends, who I have terribly missed during the summer. The support network I've built at college is something I know I will have with me in years to come. I am soooooo pumped to get to see them this weekend for a leadership retreat with our campus ministry (I'm going to be a small group leader this year). On the academic side of college, one year later and a change in major, I'm now pursuing getting my bachelors of social work. I'm so excited to be starting down this path and it's all because of the mission trip I went on last summer to China. God really worked on my heart during that trip and I now know that the adoption world is where my heart is.

Speaking of the mission trip, I had the opportunity to do another mission trip this summer and got to do some extra travelling prior thanks to my dad's work. Dad and I left the day before my birthday for a Mediterranean cruise. It was my first cruise and was pretty amazing. I've got lots of photos and stories to share, but I'm saving that for a separate post. After returning home completely jet lagged, I had a little over two weeks to get ready for a second mission trip to China TO THE SAME ORPHANAGE! It was absoulutly incredible to have the opportunity to return to my "home" in China and get to see the wonderful staff and sweet kiddos. Again, more on that to come later. Quickly backtracking to those two weeks before leaving, that was when I started working at my job, aka babysitting.

It may not sound very glamorous but I have really enjoyed it and learned a lot. I sit for two girls, the older of the two is in my sister's Chinese dance class, which is why I was asked to do the job. I have a nine year old "typical preteen" (her phrasing not mine), and a six year old monkey. Love these little girls to bits and pieces but occasionally they can be a bit of a handful. I've continued babysitting since returning home from China a week ago, but with jet lag refusing to leave and sinus issues since the trip, keeping up with the girls has been a bit of a challenge. However, despite this so far being a tiring week, it is also my last week since college move in is next week.

Well it's really late as I'm typing this and I should really get to bed. Like I said, I've got a ton of catching up to do and a lot that's coming up. I'm really going to work hard to get better with blogging more consistently. But until then...

That's my view!