home

so its been forever. and i will be the first one to admit I have been preoccupied with well...life. This being the first time I have visited Lima in nearly 2 months its been a good day. Always good to be back. Always good to reset your mind.

I randomly got a text from my best friend today asking me if I were home. I was so i anxiously called him back. we ended up staying up talking about faith and life for awhile tonight and he got me excited about things i haven't been excited about for a very very very long time. My faith has been put on the back burner for awhile lately just because of school and all the stupid stuff that I have been dealing with. But there is no excuses from now on. I have the tools to live a life that I want. I truly am in charge of my happiness and I am in charge of myself following Christ.

Tonight, shenanigans are over. Feelings are rushing through my mind. And for once im not scared. Its good to feel this passion once again for it has been far too long. The future is real and so is this life I am holding in my own hands. I am ready to surrender all and devote myself to the Lord.

Thank God for Andrew...he was truely an answered prayer tonight.

and so it begins...

So I moved into my apartment officially almost a week ago now. My roommates are finally all moved in and the fights are over. THANK THE LORD. but we all sat back and laughed today when we looked back on the last week and figured out how stressful we made move in to be. This is a huge time in our loves and we shouldn't be making it difficult for ourselves and each other to enjoy it to the fullest. I absolutely love this house! Its cute and cozy. I even have my own parking spot in which is worth every penny I paid for it! the grocery shopping is fun. and the decorating is even more enjoyable. So here is to a fun year! A year full of memories we will never forget and nights we want to last forever. I can't wait to see what this year has in store for me. Especially the friendships that are becoming stronger and stronger with the day. My good friend Adam and I have become close over the past few weeks, and this year will be an interesting one with him. He will be sadly but proudly leaving for the ARMY in June. So this time we have together is precious.

Lord help me with this year. Help me stay focused, happy, and most of all Help me to do your will.

Keep on Keepin on'

-Kristen

"When you relinquish the desire to control your future, you obtain happiness."

home sweet home

Well, I have officially been home for a full week now since I got back from New York and let me say, it sure is nice to be back. This is the longest period of time I have been home since December. At first I was loving it, then wanting to go back to Columbus, but now I'm living the dream here in Lima. I wake up late, lay around, scrapbook, visit friends, cook dinner, and stay up late talking on the phone. Just like old times and I love it.
I am anxious to get back to school, for a new year to start, a new position in clinicals and most of all a new house. but I am not ready to give up my summer.
Today I had lunch with two of my aunts. It was surprisingly fun. They are a little crazy but today it gave me a much needed understanding of things in my life. They explained the reasons behind my dad being the amazing man that he is. The reasons he never missed a sporting event of mine, and the reasons he drove back from Cleveland when I was in 7th grade to make my volleyball banquet. An amazing thing. I love my parents, both of them, more than I could possibly imagine. They are helping me get through college, spending so much money and time. I wouldn't be able to do it without them.
But on another note I have been hanging out with old friends lately and it has been amazing. The people that I did not really hang out with in high school because I thought I had better friends, but the truth is now they are the ones that still call me and text me to hang out when I come home. And I cant believe that when I was in high school I didn't give them more of my time. But you cant undo the past, you can just learn from it.
I am getting back to the livin part of life this summer, soaking up the sun, peace and quiet and my family as much as I can in the nest few weeks until I have to move back with my 2nd family in grove city.
Also, through these past few weeks I have found out how good of friends that my roommate and I actually are. We call each other more times a day than necessary and help eachother through everything.

that is all I got for now...its scrapbooking time :)

"Hold your head high. Don't ever let 'em define The light in your eyes. Love yourself, give them Hell. You can take on this world. You just stand and be strong And then fight Like a girl." Oh, with style and grace Kick ass and take names. -bombshel

keep on keepin on :)

The End of an Era

So as I sit in my living room in Morrill for the last full morning of my sophmore year I cant help but look back on all of the good times I have had here, all the friends I have made and all of the crazy things that have happened while I lived here. All I can think of is how much I have changed. How much of an independent I have become, and how good true friends really are.
I will miss the days in the dorm and I will forever hold these memories close to my heart. From the first day of meeting Kayla, my now best friend, to the late nights, the drama, the slamming doors, the picture parades, the greys marathons, jumping on the beds, the people watching and the pulling of shenanigans. These things will not end...believe me..they are just moved to a new location. Our house on 14th will be a lot more homey than our lovely dorm in Morrill things will be more loud and fun than ever.
The people I have met have touched me in a way I have never known was possible. I have made more friends than I thought possible. I have turned into my mother in such a way that I cannot walk down the street without seeing one person I know. Although I do not hang out with all of them as much as I would like due to my crazy schedule it is always good to run into people. Tomorrow it will be hard to part with some close friends. Josh being one of them, possibly one of the greatest guy friends I have ever had, moving back to connecticut. Megan is going back to parma sadly I will miss her dearly but will hopefully see her this summer and she is an honoray member of our new household sleepin in my room in her princess sleeping bag hahaha.
But, it has been a solid 2 years. The best years of my life. Full of stress, fun, and craziness that would be a best selling novel.
I am truely grateful for where I am and how far I have come in the past few years. God sure knows what he is doing :).
I can't wait for more memories to come and I know its just going to get better.
On a different note. Lima is waiting for me! a weekend at home then back to the bus. But July will be absolutely amazing. Its going to be jammed pack of fun with the quad and JP ...o and how can I forget the notorious Mr. E's haha.

Another year down. 4 more to go :) keep on keepin on.

Kristen

Song lyrics of the day

"Schools out for summer"
"Be happy while your here, be cool, be hard, be weird, Its just four years"
"She loves her mommas lemonade, and hates the sound that goodbyes make"
"I love sleeping in on saturdays and I love college football games, I love not acting my age, and good barbeque.

Days where you look to the skies and shout Alleluia with tears in your eyes

In order to fully appreciate things in my life I feel like I should thank one person. God. He sure knows what he is doing lately. When things started to get rough, I looked to him. Look at me now. I am happy, successful, and almost done with school :). This years has been full of twist and turns. Days I thought would never end and Some days that I wished would last forever. Its weird how time flies.
I am reflecting on this school year a little early because of the AT banquet that my family and I attended last night. I never thought this year would go so fast. The days I dreaded going to clinicals and class I now look back on and wish they were still here. I know I am going to miss the adventures of this year but there is so much more to come. SO many friends have been made, and kept. So many early hours with football that Jimmy and I dreaded then and laugh about now. I will miss my seniors and GAs that I have spent countless hours with over the past year. Days in the ATR will not be the same without Shaun, Kate and Jarrett. They got me through the rough days and made the good days that much better. Between Kate and I dancing during field setup to telling jokes and stories with Shaun and Jarrett. The days will not be forgotten and I have learned more life skills this year than I ever thought possible.
As for people in my class. Wow the bonds we have made, the memories that will last forever. Its crazy how time flies.

I now look back and thank God for every bit of stress he gave me and every challenge he laid down for me to conquer. I cleared them all with ease due to Him. I am one of the top of my class and a scholarship winner. Things that I never thought would happen. I am the kind of person that just keeps trucking and does not normally get recognized for the simple things. But I guess its the simple things in life that get you through and the simple things in life build up and I now know that I am making a difference in peoples lives. One of my good friends in AT told me she looked up to me the other day. And it took me awhile to grasp it. I got so focused on doing my own thing I did not know that I was affecting others lives in a positive way. I am proud of the person that I have become over these past 2 years at college and I feel like there is no where to go but up from here.

I guess what I have learned is that good things do not go unnoticed, so keep trucking and one day you will get to a place where you want to be.

But for now I have 2 full weeks left of school. A large paper to write, and a lot of people to see before summer begins. I have lunchs planned all week to catch up with old friends from last year and I am pretty excited about it.
When school ends I will be moving to Grove City with kayla and her sisters family once again. And going back to Lima for the month of July. And how could I forget the quads trip to Cedar point on the 13th? :)

So many good things are to come that I really do not mind that I am still in school. These are the days that I will remember for the rest of my life so I am busy living them, and enjoying every second of every day.

Keep on Keepin' on.

Kristen

I am going to leave you with a few of my favorite country song lyrics of the past week!

"God is great...and People are crazy" ~ Billy Currington

"A lotta people called it prison when I was growing up but these are my roots and this is what I love...I wouldnt trade one single day here in Small town USA" ~ Jason Moore

"She smiles at strangers on the street, remembers every bodys name, calls her momma everyday, got the look, got the friends, gives the world all her best, but she hides all the rest :). Shes got smile like california, shes got a spirit like new orleans, eyes like the lights of New York city, cool as a carolina breeze, but underneath shes got a heart like memphis. " ~ the Carter Twins

"Life is seen more clearly through our tears, and we all find some faith when we face our fears." ~Dierks Bently

It just keeps gettin' better

Well, the Bucks won the regional. It was a battle on Friday vs BYU but we came through pretty easily today with UK. I was really excited. AND georgia won so that means for the super regional the girls are going to Georgia :). The means a 4 day weekend for me including Kenny Chesney concert, Reds v Indians game, and Hanging with the Quad :). What a great weekend to look forward too. I have no homework and a full weekend to myself. I get to go to Lima for a whole 4 days.

Plus, Nick came and saw me today since he was in town for his business meeting. We got pizza and shared old stories. It made me even more excited for summer to spend more time with him.

Even more good news, I have a solid tan although it is a farmers tan. I have a tan none the less. But I have to even it out before AT banquet in two weekends in which I am wearing a very cute dress that I got a Rag O Rama for 13$! Oh how I love the thrift store :)

Until Next time...keep on keepin' on.

-Kristen

Some words of wisdom for the day:

"If you don't think everyday is a good day, imagine missing one."

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel, are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur."

a turn of events

So talk about a turn of events. Last week was somewhat stressful between the rain, softball, and getting things accomplished, but I have really taken things and formed them into a motivation to keep going and finishing out school strong.

On Friday I had the chance to go to a Christian concert with my friend Kelsey and her boyfriend. I was not originally planning on going but she won a free ticket and I ended up getting out of clinicals 2 hours earlier than normal, so everything ended up falling into place. I really do not think that this was a coincidence, God knows what he is doing. I got some priorities straight on Friday night and then everything has fallen into place perfectly since then.

Saturday I worked a double header in which we swept Penn St. and then ate delicious dinner with the team from Hoggies(simply amazing). From there I headed to Relay for Life, which may I say was one of the coolest things I have done at OSU so far. People making money and having fun with no alcohol for 24 hours for a good cause. I have to admit I did not think it would be as fun as it turned out. I walked from 8-4am and I somehow still had energy left. It brought back memories of family members who have suffered from cancer. Everyone around me had secretly been affected by cancer in one way or another, true feelings came out and tears were shared. For the first time I felt truly connected to the upper classmen of AT. it was pretty incredible.
After I was done walking we participated in the 1st annual trainer Olympics and I was the proud 1st place winner in the ice bag making competitions. I swear us ppl in AT have a weird weird sense of humor.

My week just kept getting better because my parents ended up coming for mother's day to chill with me and Kyle. It was fun and they even brought me my new shoes :)

over all these hectic days and the past few days that I did not describe I have had a change in heart. I am no longer tired because I am excited about life once again. Things are finally starting to fall my way and all of my hard work is starting to pay off. I was told today that I was at the top of my AT class and that I have been doing well in clinicals and people actually look up to me because of how involved I am with the girls on my team. It really meant alot to hear that I am actually being noticed for working my butt off. All of the stress and bad days are totally worth days like these. Days where u feel nothing can bring you down.

SO now that I am done bragging about how sweet my life is I have to go study for my pathophys test because I have the day off of clinicals :) o how days can be perfect.

I guess that's why OSU is honoring today and calling it "the best day ever" and serving treat on the oval that I did partake on with my friends.

And in closing here are some of my favorite quotes of the day!

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. ~Benjamin Franklin

If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time. ~Edith Wharton

"When you relinquish the desire to control your future, you obtain happiness"