I'm home.

Well im home..my canvassing summer is completed-all 10 weeks of it. I miss the team a lot, you really do become a family. I made my summer goal in money so i'm thankful for that, but i'm also very thankful for the books we were all able to get out..and the lives we changed through God. Retreat was amazing..it felt so good to finally really relax after a long 10 weeks. I spent as much time as i could at the lake, and got a major sunburn because of it. by the end of the first day of retreat i already looked like a tomatoe and stayed that way for a couple of days. I made friends from other conferences also, and i hope to see them again next year. :)
  I've been home since Wen. evening. I've had to do some readjusting, but even though its not exactly the most interesting at home, it's nice to see my family again. One of my sisters and her husband came down this weekend also so i've been spending a lot of time with family since i've been home.
  School starts in a week or so also..so i'll be busy soon. And that's just a short update on my life.

Canvassing summer.

Well it’s almost two weeks into my canvassing summer.

Currently there are 6 students-Bridgette-25-she’s also the bible worker for the program, Anthony-16, Benjamin-15,Neiko-14 and four more girls coming Sunday. Crystal James and Eric Heredia are the leaders in the program.

Girls have the house next door to the church and guys stay in the sabbath school rooms in the church. I have kitchen duty, breakfast is provided by the program so I make breakfast every morning along with Neiko who helps. We make lunch type foods for breakfast because it’s a more filling meal since we just have sandwiches for lunch.

For the first three days of the program we trained for canvassing, I had to relearn a new canvass for this program which was somewhat tough. It’s made me a better canvasser though so it’s all good. We started actually canvassing the 27th.

  I’ve drilled my canvass into my head so much that the other night during our bible study i fell asleep in the church pew and started giving a canvass in my sleep, or so they said. Some of us get up at 5:30am and go play basketball at the local gym for an hour in the morning before our day starts. Friday is our free day and we’re going swimming and then playing basketball today.

  That’s about all of the basics of what’s going on in my life. Life is definitely a lot more complicated and sometimes frustrating but we have a lot of fun on our off time and even though it’s physically tiring and even mentally, canvassing is a blessing knowing your getting books into peoples homes that could be their only chance to hear the message.

There are 7 weeks left in the program, in three weeks we move to Murfreesboro. At the end of the program there is a retreat where all of the Youth Summit programs come together, my summer is going well. Im tired like all of the time and sometimes things don’t go the greatest...but hey thats life. Gotta focus on the good things in life. ;)

I would post pictures but my camera gave up the ghost a couple of days into the program, im waiting on the camera my moms sending. i’ll post pics the next time Im able to get internet connection. :)

later people.

Annd im off ;)

Well..it's here. Imma be off like a herd of turtles in a couple of hours :P lol. I'll try n keep my blog updated whenever i'm able to connect to the internet, whenever that will be. I'll be back beginning of August. ;) alright peoplezz. love you guys :] call me sometime! 423.223-6171. And have an awesome summerrrrr =]

*Boring?

To do today-

*Pack
*Clean
*Errands in town
*Physical :-O no no no. yess..I need to get that stuff out of my way so i don't have to deal with it when i get home from canvassing. :/
*Work out at the property

And that's all that I can think of..pretty boring day.I have three days until i leave for the summerrrr. I'm excited, my friend Sarah is going to be there. two weeks late, and only there for three weeks..buuut she's still gonna be there. yay Sarah :D haha.
Sunday is gonna be crazy busy. The floors will be finished by Sunday so i can get my stuff in my room and unpacked sunday morning, and then I have to be in Murfreesboro by 4pm Sunday afternoon. It's about a 2 1/2-3 hour drive there. Ick. I have to get my pretty room all organized..and then leave. saddening. But i'mma be too busy to be sad :P lolz.
I think i have a low blood sugar high. After like i think 8am i can't eat until after my physical. And i skipped breakfast. So i've had no food today. Except for one bite so when mom asked if i'd eaten anything, i could say yes. ;)
 Anyway imma finish up this really boring post. Have a good day everyone :)

*Today

*I overslept thanks to my alarm clock not going off, woke up to everyone getting ready to leave for the property and opted to stay and tackle my packing instead of going with.

*So I accomplished packing everything packable in my room,Including a lot of stuff for my summer. I sorted through things and got rid of a lot of things i don't use or wear anymore. I got home last night and switch on my light only to see it spark and die. I wasn't happy, now i have to use one little nightstand light. I will be so glad to come home at the end of the summer to a nice house.

*Went white water rafting yesterday with a group from some of my friends church. Had a blast ;). We were all soaked and freezing by the end but it was definitely worth it. I came so close to going over the side, instead I almost cracked Jordan's knee with the helmet on my head. Ouch. sorry Jordan :P

That's about all that i can think of to jabber about currently. stay tuned for more boring posts. ;)

Wide awake

..So it's 1:30am in the morning. I should be asleep, but my brain refuses to shut down and let me sleep. Instead im sitting here with my brain going a mile a minute thinking about all of the stuff I have to get done this coming week, and then in the two weeks I have before school starts when I get home in August.
  The house is so close to being finished. To have it finished enough to move in the flooring has to be sanded and varnished, appliances and bathroom vanities installed and doors hung.
  Thats basically just a brief update on the house..im going to try and get some sleep now.

Finally!

My raw throat is almost gone..and I feel much better. Now if it'll just heal enough so i can eat :-)

House update

Interior painting is finished as of yesterday. Cabinets are going in today. Next its the wood flooring in the living room and and downstairs hallway, tile in the kitchen,laundry room and master/downstairs bathroom. Upstairs flooring is already down. Then its appliances and whoopee moving time!! :-)

Choices-we all make them.

The past week i've been trying to get over some nasty bug i got, not too fun..being stuck at home not doing much gives me too much time to think-But its been good for me.
   For the past month or so I've really been struggling with depression, which isn't me. Usually im an upbeat person. No matter how hard i tried i just couldnt seem to be myself. During that time I made a choice I have hugely mixed feelings about, a choice which I definitely regret in a lot of ways.I'm finally snapping out of it though..and things don't look so down anymore. I still may have lost something over my choices..but hey,I guess you don't always get what you want in life.And even with the things you do want, there are always negative sides..sometimes you just have to look at the entire picture to see how great it really is. Sometimes you can be blinded by what the "norm" is..sometimes that isn't always the best in the long run.

Josh Groban - You Are Loved

You Are Loved

Don't give up
It's just the weight of the world
When your heart's heavy
I...I will lift it for you

Don't give up
Because you want to be heard
If silence keeps you
I...I will break it for you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up
Because you are loved

Don't give up
It's just the hurt that you hide
When you're lost inside
I...I will be there to find you

Don't give up
Because you want to burn bright
If darkness blinds you
I...I will shine to guide you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up
Because you are loved

You are loved
Don't give up
It's just the weight of the world
Don't give up
Every one needs to be heard

3,2,1.

  Three weeks left until I leave for the summer. And in those three weeks I need to finish up Algebra 1(ahh!), help get the painting finished at the property(which includes siding, pickets and yess interior painting finally:D), hopefully moving in(I reallly don't want to have to come home to a room full of boxes), sew throw pillows, curtains and my window seat cushion cover and all of the rest of odds and ends that need to be done and then im off to Murfreesboro,TN for 10 weeks. Summer of canvassing here I come:) oh, on top of what i listed-getting my permit fits in somewhere in the next week or so. ;)

Michael W. Smith - Healing Rain

Smile, God loves you. :)

Isn't that reason enough to smile? :)

Miss ya'll :)

                                                             Canvassing group. :)

"Red Sky" by Brandon Heath

Change..It can be a good thing.

This past few weeks I've really been doing a lot of thinking about the direction my life has been going. Where my focus and interests were and whether or not they were really in the right places. One thing about canvassing, all of that time spent walking sure gives you plenty of time alone with nothing to do but think and walk. Sometimes that's what you really need..time to just think everything out. Somewhere during all of those hours I finally came to really realize that even though I had convinced myself that my interests and focus's where just fine..they really weren't and it was time to stop ignoring it and do something about it. I guess i just needed something that really spoke to my heart..and I can't even really explain what it exactly was, I do know that I'm working hard on getting things back on track and figuring things out. Nothing is going to really work in your life unless you make sure to involve God, he's the only one that will get you through.

Middlesboro canvassing trip April 2010

This past week I was in Middlesboro KY on a canvassing trip led by the KYTN conference youth director, Pastor Cesar Quispe.
 We were able to get a lot of books into homes all throughout Mboro and we also got out a lot of Discover bible studies.The entire week was a spiritual blessing and I'm thankful for everything that Pastor Cesar talked about in his worships and his sermon sabbath. I improved on my canvassing skills and met a lot of awesome people throughout the week. I will be in Pastor Cesar's summer canvassing program this summer also and I'm really looking forward it.
  I want to encourage everyone that has interest to definitely give canvassing a try, It is a huge blessing!

Spring has Sprung!

Along with all of the beautiful beginnings of spring our house has been getting closer and closer to being finished. It's dried in and now it's down to all of the inside work. We are expecting to be in, in about 3-4 weeks!!
We have a lot of fruit trees on our land already and the list includes Apple, Pear, Peach, Cherry and Persimmon trees. There are also dogwood, redbud, and different flowering trees that im not sure of their names. There is also an old grape vine that mom found, which the neighbors mentioned produces a lot of grapes.
  I've found my favorite part of the property already. The creek that borders the back property line has a sandy bottom and a section of it has a sort of sandy beach with a poplar grove surrounding it. I love going back there to read or just sit and think.
  We've been getting to know our future neighbors. There is a sabbath keeping family who live on a neighboring street and they have a program which helps young adults who have just gotten out of correction centers readjust to living in the real world alcohol and drug free. They had our family over for Easter dinner, a long with a couple of other really nice people from the area. The neighbor right next to us have been really good about calling if they think someone that shouldn't be there is over at the building site or things like that. We've all enjoyed sampling Ms. Jessie's pears which came from our trees. Our neighbors are all very nice people.
 We're all really looking forward to getting moved in and we hope that everyone able to will stop by and visit.     Have a wonderful Spring!

Life in the wild,wild boondocks

I’m out at our property at the moment enjoying the sunshine and the wind. It seems so long since we’ve had a truly warm, beautiful day! Its middle 50’s with a slight breeze. Feels more like spring then winter. It’s sure nice after feeling like we’d suddenly been transported up north what with continually getting snow here.

  So far the garage is standing, not finished but dried in.They start on the house tomorrow. I'm going to be missing out on a lot of the last parts of building what with being gone over summer break.I'm not that jealous though considering they have all kinds of fun things like hand painting all of the siding for example to look forward to. Canvassing sounds much more interesting to me.

  We’re building a cape cod style house. I finally get the window seat I've always wanted since the house will have dormers. Anddd here come the neighbors two labs. Their sometimes overly friendly. One of them just tried to eat my phone. Our dogs are going to love having them to play with.Tia and Kylee are going crazy being cooped up on the little lot we’re living on right now. 

  We’ve met some of our neighbors so far. We have an 80 something year old woman who is supposed to be some shot at shooting, her son who lives with her and has 3 or 4 kids i think. There’s the war veteran who is a little on the eccentric side(but aren't we all?) and the list goes on. Although somewhat eccentric to be sure and sometimes a little backwards they are friendly people and I think I'm going to enjoy living here for the last 2 1/2 yrs at home.

  Now I'm just rambling to keep myself entertained..I guess i should finish this up and see if i can get a turn at driving the tractor. To be continued. :)

Canvassing. =]

I figure it's about time for another post. Im so delayed usually, what's it been, almost 2 months since i last posted? yeah sad story.
I've been canvassing lately with a group from the private academy i'm attending next year. I've met a lot of great people while canvassing and i'm getting a lot closer with some of the kids i'll be going to school with next year while canvassing with them.
You definitely meet some very interesting people, but you also meet some pretty amazing people. It can get kinda boring when your out there walking with long stretches between houses and only your thoughts and God to talk to but I'm finding myself enjoying it after all.
Im going to be doing the summer canvassing program this summer with Heritage Academy in Knoxville,TN to help pay for my tuition. It's a 10 week program with only one weekend home. Im really looking forward to my summer! My first summer away from home. I'm hoping to make some lasting friendships, good contacts in canvassing and all in all a memorable summer!
I would encourage whoever has interest in getting good material into peoples homes to definitely canvass. It can be depressing when you go a while without selling, but when you do it's really rewarding knowing that hopefully they will read it and it will bring them closer to God.
I think i'm finished rambling now, but i thought it was about time i posted some of my thoughts on canvassing.

2010!

Wow! So i'm really behind in posting to my blog. Not that anyone reads this or is interested...but i'll still post.

The beginning of November found us closing on the house and then closing on the land. My parents now own 10 acres in the Grimsley,TN area. Building is under way! In the process of cleaning up the land we removed somewhere between 1,000-1,500 glass beer bottles, huge construction bags full of household trash and around 350 tires. The former owner was a real winner. It's a pretty piece of land though with two creeks and a spring on it.

December was a busy month. School in the morning and working out at the property in the afternoons.

Dec. 18th at 11:13 pm I became an aunt again! Little Katelyn Christine Rice arrived two weeks early weighing exactly 6 lbs. There were some complications with the pregnancy so my sister ended up with a c-section. We're all relieved and happy that Alina and baby Katelyn are safe and sound! Jonathen is already infatuated with his little sister. He's quickly becoming a very good big brother. My Mom flew out Christmas day to spend two weeks with the Rice family. She has really enjoyed spoiling her grandchildren!

My brother Seth and I went up Dec. 24th to spend some time with my sister Sarah and Brother in law Ryan. We came back Jan 1st. We really had a good time with them!

My baptism is January 9th,next Sabbath. I'm being baptized in the Meister Hill Memorial SDA Church. I have a wonderful church family there and Pastor Colburn is a really good Pastor.

I urn 15 the 13th of this month. It's come up quickly. My parents are dreading the thought of my getting my permit. I'd like to know why, i'm already a good driver!

In this coming year i'm planning on volunteering afternoons at the local church school, doing Col. work with the Heritage Academy program, possibly working at a local bakery, and of course school. I'll be a Junior the next school year. I graduate in 2+ years if everything goes as planned and then after a year of generals in college onto Dental Hygiene school. I had considered nursing for a while but I just can't seem to see myself as a nurse.

Life is busy and sometimes rather complicated..but isn't that how life always is? I'm blessed with some wonderful people in my life and amazing friends! All in all 2009 was a pretty good year. Confusing and unsure to start with but it sure got better as the year went on! I hope everyone has a wonderful and richly blessed year to come! Happy New years!!