mother's day

fish fest 2009

my mom is off in sonoma/napa valley with my dad for their 30th wedding anniversary this week. so, i don't get to spend mother's day with her this year. but it's okay, because she told me that they are having a great time (no sightings of the bachelor though aka ben! hah!)

happy mother's day mom. thank you for always looking out for me and for showing me Christ's love when i needed it the most. i love that you write me letters and text me that you love me throughout the day. you are the sweetest. i love you very much!

be strong and courageous

so my trip to romania is quickly approaching (it's a little less than 6 weeks away!). and i cannot believe it is already here and soon i'll be there. i don't remember if i talked about any of my fears concerning the trip on here, but i have been freaking out a little about the thought of staying in romania for 7 weeks. it was getting to a point where i would have little mini panic attacks when i thought or prayed about the trip. my fears were always about me. i would tell God that i was scared of being there for 7 weeks. scared i would freak out and want to come home. scared i wouldn't get along well with the other team members. scared that i would go crazy being around my friends for so long with no breaks. scared i wouldn't have any time for myself. scared that i was only going to romania because i wanted to go and that the Lord hadn't really called me there. these fears were taking over any of my thoughts towards the trip and i started to have a negative outlook on the whole thing. and then God told me to stop (in a kind and loving way of course :). He reminded me that He was going to use me and that all my fears and concerns were selfish. they were all about me and my comfort. and i am so glad that He reminded me that this trip was not in any way about me. it's all about Him and what He wants to accomplish there through myself and the team.

last saturday, we had a breakfast for all the girls going on the trip. and one of the girls made everyone cards and each person got a specific verse. mine was so perfect. i know God put it on her heart to give to me. God is so sweet like that! my verse was,

Deuteronomy 31:6: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."

*

it was amazing reading this verse on my card! i wanted to cry! i'm so happy to know that God knows all about my fears and that He promises that He will be with me and take care of me. i just love Him :)

*image found here

currently

Reading: Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Divergent is one of my favorite books and i have been waiting for Insurgent to come out. i'm only in chapter 4, but so far so good :) plus, four is there. possibly my favorite book boyfriend ever. yeah, he probably is.

Watching: well, last night i watched some of How I met Your Mother with natalie. j-just would be proud of me, since she's been telling me to watch the show for a long time now. and i was not disappointed! it's pretty funny!! natalie was dying laughing every five seconds. 

Thinking about: this book, forgotten god by Francis Chan. i just finished reading crazy love by Chan a few weeks ago. i downloaded all the books for free on Easter and am so happy that i did! Chan really wants you to dig deeper into God's word and wants you to really understand what you believe and why you believe it. this book is all about the Holy Spirit. and so far i have been loving reading it! the fact that the God of the universe dwells in me is insane. and i've thought about this stuff before, but going through this book in particular has really helped me to understand even more how much of a crazy idea this really is! but it's so true! and i'm so thankful that God does dwell in me and that His Spirit resides in me.

Loving: lot's of things. #1: beach babe dvd. i love karena and katrina! they're really inspiring and funny. and i really have been enjoying working out with them through their dvds. seriously, go buy a copy! #2: blogging!! i know i haven't been blogging much, but it really makes me happy reading other people's blogs. makes me feel like i'm a part of their lives in some small way. weird? i don't think so!

Anticipating:  how i leave for romania in exactly 7 weeks. and that i will be there for 7 weeks. and 7 weeks seems like such a short amount of time (as in, i can't believe i'm leaving so soon!!!), but then it seems like such a long time (as in, i can't believe i am staying in another country for 7 weeks!!). i'm excited. but mostly really nervous. but, me being nervous or worried is because i'm simply focusing on myself. focusing on my needs and my wants and my insecurities. and not focusing on what God has planned or what He wants to do with the 7 weeks. so, i'm trying to be a little less worried or anxious :) but still, 7 weeks!!!!

Listening to: this song has been stuck in my head lately. i first heard about sucre through elsie's blog because her husband is a part of the band (and he is an amazing musician!). and the lead singer, stacy, was originally in the band eisley. i knew she looked familiar! i've also been listening to the mars volta a lot recently. talk about bringing back memories! hmmmm

Eating: peanut butter. lot's of peanut butter. peanut butter and cheez-its. it's so bad for you. but it's so good at the same time. so i try to limit myself to just a few pieces a day. it reminds me of going to my grandma's house when i was little. she always had these orange crackers that had peanut butter in between the crackers. yummy!

Feeling thankful for: a lot of the little things. lately, i've been really thankful for my health and the fact that i don't have any health issues. it's something that i easily take for granted everyday. the fact that i don't have any allergies or sensitivities. it truly is a blessing that i easily forget about.

7 weeks til go time!

i leave for romania in 7 weeks. that's really weird. that is all.

some of the team

www: women's retreat edition

 here's what we wore during the first two days of the women's retreat. not our cutest, but still... we like it!

natalie hated me while taking these haha

i love this collar!

and my shoes in the last photo are boys shoes from target. so it's nice having tiny feet, cuz the possibilities for shoes are endless i guess? yeah.

music monday: hillsong united

this isn't a normal post or anything but it is monday and i want to post a music video! i didn't realize that my friends ryan and michael listen to this song a lot whenever we hang out, but a girl sang it this weekend when i was at ccbc and now i'm obsessed. it's so good!

we love pp

so, did i mention that natalie and i love phillip phillips? oh i didn't? well, now you know!

you're in love with him too now, huh?

dude, he's so amazing. and, we just love him. we knew our love for him was meant to be as soon as we heard that his name was phillip phillips. natalie and i love when people have first names as their last names. some examples include: matthew christopher, luke bryan, bob dylan, cara lucas, or bob branden daniel. we wish our last name was really paul instead of paulk. cuz then we'd have a first name as our last name. bahaha. our first name as last name obsession started way back when jon peter lewis was on american idol.

he was so cute!!!

yeah, jpl was super cute. the one week i didn't vote for him, he went home. i'm not even joking! it was personally my fault that he went home. i'm sorry jon peter lewis!

in other news, i'm pretty sure i gave myself a bladder infection today. because i drank 1.5 liters of water and then held my pee for over an hour. and then i couldn't even walk to the toilet cuz it hurt so bad. yeah, i'm an idiot! hello!

and natalie is embarrassed that i post this stuff. and i'll probably get embarrassed about it later. but oh well!

www: easter edition

www: what we wore! dang i'm on a roll. two posts in one day! shoot! anyways, this is what nat and i wore for easter. natalie is the cutest sister ever. and i adore all of these photos of her. i'm sure you will too!

oh natalie!

yep, she's adorable. and i'm glad i stole borrowed this dress from her! and yes, you should be jealous of my burn mark and my band-aid. i know you want a matching one, too. don't worry, all you have to do is work at chipotle and you'll get lots of them!

happy easter!

on the way to grandma and grandpas!

happy late easter! nat and i had a lot of fun hanging out with our family at our grandparent's house. and we definitely looked really cute that day (i stole natalie's dress again :) muahaha ). i hadn't been to sunday morning service in forever, but i finally got to go that morning! it was awesome being with my family and praising God for His Son. dude, it's so sweet that my family is saved. and that they all love jesus. it makes me happy. i really am super blessed to have such a close family. and i'm even more blessed that they all love the Lord. thank you God! :) 

nat, casey, and sandy. cute babies!

natakie!

 

my sister and grandpa

mom, me, nat, and grandma

our cousin brianna is going to be a model one day, i decided.

proof: sandy really is an alien. WHO SITS ON A TABLE LIKE THIS?!?

bahaha natalie!

pastor bob said this and i really liked it: "the fact that Jesus is risen means Jesus is ruling!" woohoo!

JESUS IS RISEN

ps. the only thing that would have made easter even better is if peeta hutcherson had made a guest appearance.

natalie and i want blog friends

why can't natalie and i be friends with blog people in real life? maybe one day! maybe if i actually blogged and posted pictures (i probably need a camera for that, huh?) and was actually funny or entertaining on here, we would all become friends! so please go read this blog right now: busy bee lauren. you'll probably cry and pee your pants, all at the same time. i know natalie and i do whenever we're on there. natalie frequently refers to her as our sister, or says things like, "why aren't we best friends with lauren?"

and it's a good question... why aren't we best friends with her?!?

maybe one day! bahaha

warning: if you did not like hunger games (book or movie) then do not ever go on her blog. i forbid you... seriously