Life Update

It's been quite sometime since I really updated you all on the happenings in my life. While they aren't very exciting I thought I'd let you know about them in a bulleted list (my favorite):

• School is finally feeling more like school. I have a million things to do and I feel like there is never enough time to do it all. I've started having tests as well, which kind of stinks, but is to be expected.
• The first day of school I decided that I was going to try and read the Bible in a year so I bough a Bible that lays that plan out for you. I haven't been very successful at doing this so I'm hoping to get back in the grove to have it all done in a year (or maybe 1 1/2 years ;)
• I've of course been busy with all things DG. It will be very strange next semester to not have a position in DG. I think it will be nice, but also very strange to not really know most of the happenings as I find out about now.
• Lately I've been having some really nice chats with people in the house-especially my roommates. I love living with all of these women and talking to them really about nothing. When else in my life am I going to have the opportunity to live with 34 other women and really get to know them? I just love living in the house and will miss that a lot next year I'm sure.
• Last weekend was parents weekend so DG hosted a brunch and I hung out in my room with other people whose parents didn't come. I also went to Sweetheart Sing, which was a lot of fun to watch. It was my first time watching the whole thing. DG won it for the sororities as well so that was cool.
• On Saturday I went to Quad Creek Cafe for supper with Amanda and Courtney. It was good to catch up with them and also have a nice Sodexo buffalo chicken wrap. Courtney and I also then went to the movie The Help, which we both really enjoyed.
• I also did all of my mounds of laundry over the weekend-so that was quite the accomplishment.
• On Sunday I went to church with Yvette and Sarah and their moms, then studied until chapter.
• Yesterday I went to Ames and ate at The Cafe with Isaac and my mom. My mom and I then went to Orange Leaf (a frozen yogurt place in Ames) it was SOO good. I like it much better than yo2go as there are more flavors and fresh fruit toppings.
• DG Bible study starts tomorrow and so I'm excited about that and to see what God has in store for our little group. I really hope that we can be vulnerable with each other and really grow in our faith together. This semester Sarah and Michelle are leading with me so that will be good I'm sure!

Happy Birthday!

Today my little brother turns 20! So he's no longer a teenager, and is officially an adult.  I hope that you have a wonderful day Isaac and don't get too crazy :)

Worship Wednesday-"Come Down"

Last Wednesday at Intevarsity we sang this song and I really liked it so I told Sarah that I would post it for the Worship Wednesday post and she was excited because neither of us knew who sang it. Well I got home and could only remember the chorus 'Come down' and then couldn't find the song online so I gave up and posted a different song that I liked. After church on Saturday we still both couldn't figure out what any other lyrics were and then we were getting confused by the lyrics of songs that we sang at church. It was really bothering us both so I texted Courtney to see if she knew what any of the lyrics were. She asked one of the people that was over at her house and they remembered: 'standing boldly in the throne room with my heart poured out before you' and so I googled that line and finally found the song. It's called Come Down by Interface and I really like it so I hope that you enjoy it as well :) [Also Traci and Sarah it's much earlier this week so you should enjoy that ;) ]

Mom update

As some of you may or may not have known my mom had a cardiac ablation on Friday and things went well. If you knew about this I thought I should update you to let you know that everything seems to be well. So thanks for the prayers they were very much appreciated from our family.

Cyclones Win!!!

Today was the annual Cy-Hawk game series. The last time I was able to actually watch the game was in 2007 (this was my first cy-hawk game seeing in person and also the last one that Iowa State won).  Recruitment has always been this weekend so I've always been busy with that. Having recruitment over Labor Day was a major plus so I could watch the game. Anyway I invited Traci to go along with me and grandpa to the game! After meeting my grandma we went to the Hampton tailgate. We also saw Angela and Jamie there and chatted with them for a bit. I forgot to have us all take a picture together, which was unfortunate, but I at least got this self portrait one of Traci and me!

Here's a nice video of the team coming out if you're interested in that:

The stadium was packed with people:

The game was really fun to watch. I really wasn't expected ISU to do much, which is normally the case with ISU football. After the first possession ended up with a fumble I really wasn't thinking that it would be a good game. Then the cyclones picked it up and ended up winning the game after 3 OTs. Both teams played great and I of course was very excited about the ending! [Traci not so much]

People storming the field after the game. [Isaac was one of these people]

It's a great day to be a cyclone!!!

Recruitment

Last weekend it was recruitment at Drake. This year recruitment was a little different for me as I was a recruitment counselor so I was disaffiliated. For those of you not familiar with Greek life this means that I wasn't really part of my chapter. I couldn't wear my letters, or anything else that had to do with DG. I also couldn't tell people what my last name was or what house I was in. It seemed silly at times, but overall it's best for the women going through recruitment. When they don't really know what house I'm in they're able to talk more freely about what they liked about each house without worrying about offending me, etc. It's also fun to see what house they think I'm in at the end of the weekend. The quote that the disaffiliated girls used during recruitment was this: "We remove our letters to help you find yours." Which I really liked.

I started out with a group of 11 women. They were all great women and half of them decided Greek Life wasn't for them and the other half joined a chapter. It was really cool to be on this side of recruitment again and see how each of the women felt about each chapter and where they felt comfortable. At times it was frustrating with schedules being changed at the last minute, etc. But overall the system worked out like it always does and a lot of women were about to find a place to call home within the greek system at Drake, which is awesome.

I can't imagine what my college experience would be like if I didn't go through recruitment my freshman year and join DG. I wouldn't have had the leadership opportunities that I've had nor the friendships that I've made. I think that even though the Greek system may have some flaws overall it's a great system and I would encourage everyone to at least give it a try.

The end of recruitment also brought about Bid Day, which is one of my favorite days. People like to compare it to Christmas. This is when all of the women receive their bid and find out what chapter they will be joining. It is also the day that I got to become re-affiliated with my chapter and got to tell everyone that I was a DG and be reunited with all of my sisters [we spent the weekend in a hotel]! Being one of the recruitment counselors I was one of the people that taught the new members how to scoop. We also went to sleepy hollow and played games and outdoor laser tag which was fun.

Here are some pictures of my bid day fun:

Worship Wednesday-"City on our Knees"