Take Me Back to Creative.

Ahhhh!!! Classes start back up in a week and I am EXCITED!! I'm ready to take my major head on and hopefully create fantastic stuff. I've been busy getting stuff together for school-including meeting with the administrative people, getting software, etc. I also finally started contacting people for two different group things that I feel God really layed on my heart at FLI. I'm excited. Now I just wait and pray!!

Yesterday my friend Tabs and I went out on a photo adventure. I am so rusty but it was SO much fun!! Here are some pictures. I'll put them on my photo blog later. That thing seriously needs an update!!!

(my lens doesn't have an auto-focus function-so I've been trying really hard to get better at manually focusing-which is really hard since my eyes are kind of not fantastic)

i love detail

cute alley :)

see the reflection?

train. typical.

I need to take pictures more. Taking another class would probably be good too. :)

It's hitting...

It's finally hitting me. I'm home. I am back. God has me HERE in Northern Illinois for a purpose unlike anything I've done before. Oh my goodness.

This is a picture of my classmates from the past semester. We did EVERYTHING together. Laughed, cried, climbed mountains, tried new things, studied, read thousands of pages, sat through class, ate, played games, and so much more. Basically, collectively we are EPIC. We are "heroic or grand in scale or character". Love it. The lessons I learned through my classmates and professors were beyond anything I expected for the semester. People at home keep asking me what the best part was, if I got everything out of it that I expected, what the worst part was, how I feel being home, etc. I simply don't have answers yet. I'm floating on the clouds of thankfulness. I am beyond thankful for everything I learned, everything I experienced, everyone I met, everything I did. Everything.

Here is to you Focus Leadership Institute-Class of Fall 2010. You all have impacted my life. The honesty you spoke with, the advice, the vulnerability. Everything you gave to the experience. You are all phenomenal.

Marsh-what?

This past weekend I had the joy of visiting one of my roommates from FLI!!! And I got to see my practicum buddy for about 45 min-which was also awesome. But. Oh my goodness. So refreshing seeing Janae!! Loved catching up on life and also just reflecting on the semester-the good and the bad. Time for a picture story.

(this suitcase is a beast. janae took it home for me and it was a struggle to pick up...basically it had all my books in there. today i bought a new bookshelf so i could actually FIT all my books in my room!! crazy)

(starbucks date)

(janae might have found the best game ever)

(best part? there is a biebs face for each lovely woman in 1038!)

(saying "so long and see you sooooon")

On the drive home I was pressing scan on the radio and found a Christian station-and this song just captured my attention. I rarely just LISTEN to a song. For some reason I think it's perfect that this one was just there for me to hear. It's called "Restless" by Audrey Assad. Click here to listen to it!! The lyrics are on the video.

My life since getting back to Illinois (all 8 days of it) have been crazy. Hanging out with people (which i LOVE) looking for a job (eeeeh) and organizing my life (oh man) have been really interesting. Plus having oral surgery last week and trying so hard to learn to talk with my dang retainer has been testing my patience. I feel like I'm always learning patience. I love people! I just keep praying God will transform my heart through this. Pray for me.

Two weeks till school starts.

Exodus 14:14 "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

T.E.X.A.S.

T.E.X.A.S. doesn't really stand for anything. I just like spelling out "Texas." Anyway. I love that my dad's side of the family lives in the Lone Star State. I love that I was born there. Someday I might move back there. Although I'm not a fan of not having a white Christmas. I'm back in Illinois for New Years and it RAINED. What is with the weather in America this year?!

this is my family. we're crazy.

we can also be normal. (missing laura and ryan)

she wanted my purse. I got her one of her own.

grandparents. :)

sisters :)

my mother and me

we were dancing...a lot...

baking cookies!!!

finding girl scout cookies. yum.

pop was showing us something in the country. i love the family country place.

the new country house. i miss the old big one that everyone could stay in-but this one is quaint.

country.

loving life :)

It's always wonderful to see my family. Especially since we hadn't been back down to Texas since before I started college. It's crazy. And now the song is stuck in my head, "The stars at night are big and bright (clap clap clap) deep in the heart of Texas!!!"

Yes. :)

Oh HEY makeover.

Let's just say that the past week has been full of interesting makeovers.

1. My computer- Miss Mary Mac- got the Christmas present of new software. Aka I saved everything to my external hard drive and got better software so my computer would run better but while transferring everything back to the mac I somehow lost pictures and music. SAD FACE. Don't worry. My FLI buddies gave me good tips on the music thing so I recovered all my favorite stuff. The pictures? Well one of my projects will be reloading and re-editing everything from the semester. I'm planning on making a book from the semester. Probably on snapfish. I'm thinking about working on it for a month or so then when I see a good sale I'll BUY it. Normally I'd scrapbook...but...we'll see. :)

2. My mouth. Yay oral surgery. Let's just say my mouth is uncomfortable but the pain killers help. But...I have this "fun" retainer I have to wear the next 3-6 months...however long it takes my mouth to heal. Oh my goodness. If you had a hard time understanding my speech before...well...it's like relearning how to talk...haha. Oh well. Can't wait for this phase of teeth stuff to be over. I swear the teeth people in my town have had WAY TOO MUCH FUN with my mouth. The end.

Things I'm learning: patience, patience, and patience. :)

(I would totally add pictures...but...let's just say I can't find them in the way it's been organized...haha)

Paint a Picture

I thought I had a clear picture of what I was going to do when I get home. I haven't even been home 24 hours and I'm already panicking about everything that I felt God was laying on my heart. It's like I'm about to paint a picture. I have all the tools, a blank canvas, and inspiration. The hardest part of art for me is actually starting on a piece of art. Something about those first few strokes and the placement of them. There's something beautifully intimidating about the whole process.

That is where I am. I am at the place in creating a piece of art that scares me half to death yet thrills me at the same time. At the same time I realize that sometimes during the process of creating, you can get another idea, find a different medium to use, and even take a completely different direction that you actually started out with. Everything I want to do now that I am home from Focus is an idea in my head-my inspiration. My semester at Focus gave me the tools. The next few months and even years are my blank canvas. Here comes a new work of art. I'm just praying God leads me. I'm praying God leads every stroke that is my action.

John 3:30 "He must become greater; I must become less."

A Wedding

i caught the bouquet...decapitating half the roses in the process :)

Immediately after graduating from FLI, my family and flew my home state of Texas. I have Aggie pride in my blood and I dearly miss spending time at the family house in the Caldwell country. (My grandparents have since sold the huge farmhouse, which really wasn't a farmhouse, causing tears from all the grandchildren.) One of the reasons we are here is to celebrate my cousin's wedding, the other is to celebrate Christmas with the Elsik clan. I love it.

Anywho. Seeing how my cousin's wedding turned out, has further solidified my desire to do something with wedding planning. I remember 3.5 years ago when we were visiting for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary when Laura first saw a candy display for wedding favors. You better bet she used that idea at hers. Her wedding was gorgeous. She was gorgeous. It was wonderful.

Since facebook is constantly changing it's layout (I swear the creators of it are A.D.D.) I figured this might become a better place to update on my life. The end. Here are some pictures from the wedding. :)

yay marriage!! I've always looked up to this woman :)

panther. all the girl cousins minus the bride

mi familia. we clean up nicely.

getaway car!!! we got to decorate it.

all the girl cousins!!!
(caitlin, ashleigh, meghan, briana, laura)

elsik men!!!
(austin, uncle gene, pop, uncle scot, dad-steve, trey)

cake.

chapel.

first kiss as man and wife.

see. beautiful wedding.

Us. Minus Laura. Plus we're all single. :)

There's a glimpse into the beautiful event. Seeing my cousins kind of made me sad we didn't grow up with them in Texas. I'm thankful for my life though, and glad for the opportunities I've had to visit them. Oh life. :)