Some things change, some things stay the same

My life seems to be a whirlwind of chaos right now, but somehow I've started to realize that some things change, and some things stay the same.
Things that are changing:
-I've moved into a new house. I seem to do this at LEAST once a year. I guess I like to move (NOT EVEN TRUE!). My new roommate is incredible. Chelsea is possibly one of the most laid back people I've ever met!
-Change is definitely in the air at the Stirring. A new gathering? A new building? Who knows what the future holds, all I know is that things are changing, and I'm loving it.
-Summer is over :( But Fall is right around the corner! I'm ready to break out my scarves and jackets, and store away my shorts and tank tops for the winter!
-Simpson students are back, which means lots of familiar faces are returning to work with the kids again! I love this time of the year when the students come back and are SO refreshed and ready to hang with the kids. It gets me so excited... so so excited!
-I gave up Diet Pepsi. This is a pretty big deal. Months ago, I swore that Diet Pepsi would be the one thing in my life that remained the same... forever! But, as it turns out, Diet soda isn't all that great for you... who knew?! I've officially kicked the bad habit. I'm on to drinking GIANT bottles of water, and the occasional rootbeer.

Things that are staying the same:
-School. 16 units. Yup, my last year at Chico is this year. I'll be graduating in the Spring with my BA... can't wait can't wait! I'm pretty darn ready to be DONE with school. The only thing that's different about this semester is that I'm commuting to Chico two times a week. Good thing I've got some awesome pod casts!
-I'm still working toward that half marathon. I've regressed a bit... only running 2-3 miles per run max. But hey, I guess you've got to start somewhere, right? 2 miles turns into 12 in no time... ha!
-LIFE GROUPS ARE BACK! I'm leading on this Fall, and I'm pretty darn stoked about it. It's a women's group on Wednesday nights... I'm excited to see who the Lord brings to this group. Something powerful and amazing happens when groups of women get together... Wednesday nights are going to be epic!
-The Stirring will be starting another Under the Chuppah series in a few weeks. Imagine that, the Stirring talking about sex... ha! That's definitely something that will always stay the same :)
-God has been continuing to give me crazy dreams and visions for the children in our community. My heart burns for children. I take it with me everywhere I go. Every child I meet, every conversation I have, I feel like God's heart for His children is at the forefront of my brain.

There's a sneak peek at what's been going on in the world of Emily. There's so much more, but if I ever want to blog again, I'd better save some of it, huh? Here are a few pictures from the INCREDIBLE staff retreat we went on in August. We had a blast out on a houseboat... dreaming and laughing together. I'd say it was up there on my "highlights of summer" list.

Summer Bummer

I went to Marketfest tonight for the first time this year. Such a hugely horrible idea. First of all, I grew up in Arcata. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the weather in Arcata, but I'll let you in on a little secret; the all time high over there is in the 70's. It's never hot there. There is fog. All the time. Thick fog in the morning which burns off into thinner fog in the afternoon. Until the evening fog rolls back in. Fog usually keeps the temperature right around 60 degrees. This is the weather I grew up in for 18 years of my life. 60 degrees all year round. Lots of rain, even more fog, and the occasional burst of sunlight for a total of 20 minutes a week. Now, compare this weather to the ghastly weather here in Redding. It was pretty darn close to 100 degrees today. I've lived in Redding for 6 summers now, and I promise you, I'll never get used to this heat. You know what I'm talking about... the kind of heat that makes you think your skin is literally melting off of your body... the kind of heat that makes your brain physically shut down... I become the most unpleasant person known to man kind when I get hot. I'm not even kidding. I turn into a disgruntled, grouchy, whiny, short-tempered, sweaty, sassy person when I'm hot. What's worse is mixing the heat with large groups of people. That just makes me anxious and unpleasant... not a good combo. For those of you who have ventured out to experience Marketfest, you know that there are always a million people milling around Library Park, trying to find the spot where the giant misters hit you just right. So huge group of crazy people paired with unbearable heat equals a pretty unhappy and grouchy Emily... Next time I'm thinking about going to Marketfest, will somebody PLEASE talk me out of it??

Who knew?

After a few trips to farmer's market, I've discovered something new and surprising about myself... I love gardening (this coming from the girl who's killed EVERY house plant given to her... even the "fool-proof" ones). I'm not necessarily GOOD at it, I'm not sure if I'll even be able to keep any of my new plants alive, but I've realized that I love to garden! I love watering my little mini-garden early in the morning. I love squishing the snails that crawl up into the planting box and threaten the lives of my soon-to-be tomatoes. I love trimming the overgrowth from my neighbors darn rose bush that steals the sun from my newborn cucumber plant. There's something so nurturing and therapeutic about watching a plant grow and produce life (well, veggies at least!) that gets me excited! I have a big enough yard, maybe (depending on how many of my plants survive the next few weeks) I'll plant a REAL garden one day!

So now I ask, any tips for a beginning gardener on how to keep my lovely plants alive?!

Life is good!

I'm officially done with finals. It has got to be the greatest feeling on earth! I passed all of my classes this semester, and now I'm officially a CSU Chico student. Nice. I'll buy everybody a Chico State license plate holder, sweatshirt, or some other lovely souvenir! I now have piles of dirty dishes in my sink, and a floor that is in desperate need of sweeping due to my die hard, week long study session. I can now lay out by my pool, clean my house, watch t.v., sleep in, go running and enjoy my life stress-free. It's an amazing feeling. I'm on vacation. Who's coming over to celebrate with me?!