Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

It was a low key year for the Hart family, but there are no complaints in that!

Even though it wasnt a big family get together with lots of food and presents it was just what we needed this year. No hassle, figure out as we go, little plans Christmas!

We spent the morning of Christmas Eve having brunch with my mom side of the family in Oceanside. A perfect half way point at a delicious little Mexican restaurant. 

Then we headed home for church and dinner with our neighbors! The service was about the Lost and Found in the bible and how no matter what we matter to God!  Then we enjoyed a delicious 5 star lamb dinner. Then I was off to Kris' house to meet his Dad's side of the family and celebrate the rest of the night with them.

Christmas Day or should I say, Jesus' birthday!!

I was woken up at promptly 9:05 by my 2 little sisters/neighbors, it is a tradition to celebrate in the morning with the neighbors and we normally end up gathering at our house cause the Harts sleep in the longest and have to be woken up. After we did stockings and opened up presents between the 4 of us and then my Uncle and Cousin came over for the rest of the day. We hung out, played boccie ball, and watched football, a very relaxing, no hassle Christmas day!

Christmas 2011 was a good one! No complaints here!

Hope everyone else had a great Christmas too!!

<3

It's been a year

365 days ago I graduated from Sonoma State!

3 1/2 years of my life were spent up in the little town of Rohnert Park, Ca. Now I could write a really long post about those 3 1/2 years and the good and the bad times but I think most of my readers (if I have any, cause sometimes I think I just do this for myself and maybe my mom) would read the first couple sentences and then click next. Instead Im going to focus on this year that has just passed and where I am at today.

It has been a great year to say the least. I have been very blessed in most areas in my life this year and I thank God for it everyday! 

It took me about 4 months to find a steady job that I love!! I work at Fortress Eyewear Group, which is a Christian sunglasses company. I am right now the Admin and Social Marketing person but starting January I should be full time and in charge of Marketing for our women's line, Crush. Check my company out...http://www.fortresseyewear.com/index.htm. 

I live at home with my parents, which can be hard at times but its saving me money, the food is good and my parents are great, so I cant complain to much haha

I have been able to keep in touch with my friends from up north and visit them a couple times but I have also gained new friends down here and been able to hang out a lot with my good friends from HS who have also moved back home! 

I volunteer in HSM at Saddleback Church and lead a Life Group of 15 Senior girls with Betsy! It has been a challenge but I love it! I have learned so much and these 15 girls are amazing women of God. I am so excited for the rest of the year with them and then to send them off to college!!

A couple of my friends and I have started our own little bible study! These girls and the study we have done so far have been so great! Check out Beth Moore's "So Long Insecurity" study, highly recommend it!!!

I got to go on a missions trip this summer only a short 2 1/2 months after I started my job. I guess, no I know, that that is one great thing about my work is that they support my walk with God and encourage me to go spread God's love!! I went to Costa Rica with HSM and got to work with some local churches down there. I not only met some of my life group girls there but my boyfriend. It was a great trip and a huge learning experience for me!

A lot has happened in a year, and I cant say it enough how blessed I have been/am! I am excited to see where God takes me these next couple years! 

Full time job, grad school, moving out on my own....who knows!!!

<3D

what do i want?

Its that time of year when you can ask for anything and everything you want, in hopes that someone will buy it for you and leave it under the tree. A time to want more then you ever really needed and to write a list longer then any grocery list your mom has ever written. Its the best season yet, but for some reason I have no idea what I want :/
I normally have a typed of list with pictures, prices and the exact places you can get it but not this year. For some reason I can not come up with anything that I really want. Of course I can ask for money, gift cards, and some good movies but that is kinda a lame gift list. I mean that is my gift list this year but Im going to own up to it and say its lame. I dont have that one huge gift that my parents splurge for or those random things here or there that Ive been eyeing for awhile. I literally can not think of anything.
So am I content, finally, with what God has given me, am I just not asking because I can finally afford the things I want by myself, or am I just weird for not being able to write up a great Christmas list?? Maybe it is all three or just one but I can say that I am so happy with where my life is at right now that Im ok with not having a list and getting whatever people get me.  If I had to choose which one though, was my issue, Id say the first two more then the last for sure! 
So if you are trying to figure out what to buy me and you keep asking me what I want, you are going to get the same answer, "I have no idea." So feel free to do the usual Starbucks card, or gift card to Nordstrom cause I can always use those haha but I have no great ideas of what I really want or for that matter really need right now.


I hope everyone is having a great a December so far! I cant wait to go Christmas light looking, sit in front of the fire, watch holiday movies and eat home made fudge (YES mom even though this family is on The Daniel Plan we will still be making fudge and eating A LOT of it, no excuses!!!). 


But dont forget why we are really celebrating this season...God gave us the greatest gift this month! Im counting down the days til Jesus Birth {22}!


<3D

Blue Man Group!

GO SEE THEM!!!

plain and simple they are amazing you will love it!

This is my second time going and I still laughed and loved the show! These guys are so great at what they do!! I went with my family this time and we had pretty decent seats. It was a groupon or daily deal, one of those great things on the internet now, and so we got 4 tickets for $30...STEAL!

You weren't suppose to take pictures or anything but the ending was to good to not capture!

So here it is...

SO COOL!!!

<3d

6 days in NorCal!

6 days and 5 nights with my best friend is going to be hard to describe in words but I guess if I have to it would go something like this...
amazing, super fun, parties, sleeping in, laughter, dancing, car rides, sonoma, friends, swirls, shopping, rain, jokes, bars, food, starbucks, breakfast sandwiches, sunny but cold...the list could go on for awhile.

I was blessed to have met Caylin in my last semester at SSU and we have become so close since a little over a year ago. Since we are far apart though we both make trips up and down the coast to see each other! I loved/love spending time with her. We always have the best times together! Here are a couple pics of my trip

We got to go visit our other roomie NOELLE and celebrate her bday with her! I miss living with both these girls so much!! The 3 off us together can be crazy but we sure do know how to have a good time!

<3 you XXX

SSU...sunny in the middle of November. Thank you God for the great weather while I was visiting NorCal!

I loved seeing old friends! We also got to celebrate Jeremiahs 21st Bday with him!!

Shout out to Chloe, Robbie,  Brian, Alicia, Kaitlin, Jenna, Elizabeth, Maeve, Angela, Chris, and Joel! 

It was good seeing all of you!

Thank you Caylin so much for letting me stay with you and for taking me all around San Jose and up to Sonoma!! I love you so much! 

CB and TP...lovey dovey

You got to love Groupon, o and an amazing boy friend who takes you to see Chris Brown and T-Pain!!

Groupon provided amazing seats while Kris planned a great date night!

This was an amazing concert!! I love T-Pain and Chris Brown and watching them perform was such a treat!

I loved listening to some of my favorite music and dancing the night away with Kris.

I would highly recommend seeing both of them in concert! 

TYGA

CB

This one was recorded just for Caylin!

A Halloween Bash

With a pumpkin carving contest, caramel apples, tons of food, Just Dance and friends and family this year we celebrated Halloween with a Bash! Our annual neighborhood pumpkin carving get together turned into a full on party! With some dressed up in costume and others not, we all had a blast laughing, eating and celebrating together!

Our Hoof Heart Ed? pumpkin with its "o no" face and a "fart" coming out his backside!

I loved spending time with Kris, best friends, family and all my neighbors! 

Happy Halloween!

My Parents are so dang cute!

‎33 years ago...My Mom and Dad met on this bench at Lake Poway. 

They spent last weekend at a Firefighting reunion with all my Dad's buddies and got to take this picture!

They are a great example of love and what a lasting relationship looks like!

I am blessed to have them as parents and to be able to learn from their marriage to know what I do and dont want for my own.

Thank you for being such great examples, for showing me what love is, for showing me what I deserve and for always being there for me through my relationships!

I love you!

Punkie

its all in a days work...

One of the many fun things I get to do at my job!

We try on sunglasses all the time...we have mirrors everywhere!

Just checking out some possible future styles...what do you think?

I love my job and cant wait to start the next chapter here in January!! 

Full Time... taking on the marketing for our Women's line!

Hope you are having a great day!

Cancer Survivor

As we are sitting in the family room the other night, my Dad pipes up and says, "o man I could get free breakfast tomorrow." As I paused the TV with a questioned look on my face my Mom asks, "What? Why?" "I'm a cancer survivor. They are having breakfast at the run thing and if you are a survivor you get breakfast for free. says my Dad" 

My Dad the cancer SURVIVOR, it is funny because my mom and I never really put two and two together. As my Mom explained it, "the way I saw it is you survived the surgery." But after she said that the whole cancer survivor thing truly set it. My Dad survived cancer, not just got through a surgery! He over came that obstacle in his life and is now cancer FREE!!!


Le me back up since a lot of people are probably finding out about this for the first time, my Dad had Prostate Cancer. We caught it early enough that they were able to go in during a surgery to remove all of it! It was weird knowing my Dad during the months before his surgery was sick inside but on the outside seemed exactly the same. The cancer didnt change who he was at all, it was just trying to take over the inside of him. My Dad and our family got through those months with constant prayer and family/friend support. It wasnt easy and I asked God numerous times why, but we all knew He had some reason for doing this, and that there was something to be learned. 


So here's to you Dad for enduring the pain, stress, and everything else that came with the cancer and congrats because you are a cancer SURVIVOR!!!

I decided this might be a way I can support the cause and honor my Dad haha...Im sure he will join me!

things i've STUMBLED UPON!!!

I am now addicted to Stumble Upon. It is such a great tool to see things you love, learn knew things, get ideas and so much more! So here are a couple things that I have bookmarked and love!


Cascade Braid
Step One: Begin with a standard 3 strand braid. Step Two: After 3 or 4 weaves, drop a strand. Gather a new strand that pulls the braid toward your wanted direction. Repeat as many times as necessary until you get your desired shape.

Nutella Sandwich Cookies, makes 10-12.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon (aluminum-free) baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of Nutella.

Cream together the butter and sugars, stir in egg and vanilla. Now mix in flour, baking powder and salt until just combined. The batter should be crumbly and you will probably need to use your (clean) hands to combine it a bit more to form a dough ball. Cover in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Now form into small round disks, about 2-3 inches in diameter and uniformly thick. You want your cookies to all sort of match each other in size because you will be placing one of top of another to form sandwich cookies. Bake at 350 F for 15-18 minutes, allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before adding filling. Once cool, spoon a couple of tablespoons of Nutella on one cookie and place another on top. 

[Both from The Beautiful Mess Blog]

Check out Stumble Upon...you wont regret it!

The Script

Last Saturday Gloria(a good friend who I have know since High School) and I took Betsy(my best friend since kindergarten) to Hollywood to see The Script. We decided to spend some time doing tourist things there so we hit the road early in the afternoon and got to downtown Hollywood during prime freak show hour. Ok thats not nice but I just think it is funny that people come out in costumes and think they can pull off characters or just do dumb things to make money. Personally I get a kick out of it, and I am guessing so does everyone else who sees them. But anyways, we walked Hollywood Blvd and went through the Kodak Theater, walked down to this Italian Fest that was going on and then decided to have bday dinner at CPK (YUMMM!). After some great cocktails, pizza and salad, we headed to the concert. After waiting in line for about an hour we headed in to the Palladium Theater. This place on the outside doesnt look so great but inside it was really cool! The night started off with Hot Chelle Rae, the band that sings "Tonight Tonight." They were really good and my favorite part was when Chord Overstreet came out on stage and sang and danced. His brother is in the band so he was there supporting him, and Im pretty sure I was the only one screaming and freakin out that he was there on stage, but whatevs haha. Then The Script came out. Now I am going to be honest I only have listened to a couple of their songs, but after hearing a full night of them, I love their music. These 3 guys are from Dublin and lets just say they live up to their Irish ways and it made for great entertainment and music!!!  


All in all the night was so much fun! I love hanging with 2 of my closest friends and making memories that will last a life time!

Check The Script out!!! http://www.youtube.com/user/TheScriptVEVO?feature=artistob

Sum up of the past month almost

Ive kinda been busy but I also have kinda just stopped blogging. I always go and start but then end up getting interrupted or whatever so I dont finish, so right now I have a ton of drafts in my posting box, that if I posted would just be delayed and make no sense. So here is the blog to catch everyone up on whats been going on!

I have been to my favorite place...Sea World, with my sister and some close friends. I have been going here since I was little and every time I go I always get that giddy grin and dream of becoming a Sea World trainer. My dream still is a dream, but that is ok, God had other plans for me, rather then swimming with Shamu or playing with Sealions all day.

I explored the dog beach with one of the cutest dogs ever...Bailey (my friend Kris' dog). I love that we have a beach where you can take your dog and enjoy the ocean, sand and the California sun!! 

I did what I said I would never do after leaving high school, and went back to a High School football game. In my defense I went and am going to go to more High School sporting events now because of these lovely ladies below and all of my other small group girls. I will support them in all they do their last year of High School and be there for them every step of the way. I am so excited for this year with them, to grow in God, friendships and more!

O we had a freak storm here in the OC. Yep thats right, I woke up to massive, yes massive, thunder, lightening and HAIL. The lightening was so close it hit outside my house on the sidewalk and the hail was just obnoxious bouncing everywhere. It was crazy and so cool only because it doesnt happen very often down here. I on the other hand was prepared and ready, since I lived in Sonoma for 4 years I kind of dealt with this type of weather a lot, so I grabbed my rain boots and reminisced on the good ole' days in Ropo.

O and yes it was sunny while all this was happening.

I think that kind of catches everyone up, now the rest of the blogs from here on out will be better, but I couldnt move on with out explaining what has happened up until this point.

Is my wisdom gone??

This past Friday I got my wisdom teeth taken out, and as of now, a day later, I am pretty sure my wisdom is still in tack.
But lets go back to the beginning and how it all went down...
Since my teeth were not impacted I only had to be put under laughing gas, which at first freaked me out. I do not like things on my face and I am claustrophobic, so the only thing I was really worried about was this mask sitting on my face the whole time. 
When I got into the room they placed this thing on my nose and the air flowing out of it was cold and smelt kind of weird, so at first I just breathed in through my nose and out my mouth, but that did not last long. The assistant lady came in and told me to close my mouth, and that is when this stuff really started to work. My mouth was numb but my body was completely movable, I had control of everything I was doing but for some reason I felt so out of control. I did not like the feeling the laughing gas gave me. I started to cringe my hands tighter and put my ankles together, and for some reason all I wanted was to take my sandals off. As they waited for the stuff to really kick in, I set there praying and thinking about the randomest stuff. Then I started to laugh, and realized that people were probably watching me so I laughed even more and then somehow controlled my hilariousness and went back to just sitting there. Finally they came in and started, I have no idea when he took the first two teeth out cause all of a sudden I just felt pain and the doctor said "hold on, ok we got 3 out of the 4." I was like "o wow ok I am doing good", but little did I know that this freakin fourth one was gunna be a real toughy. Now before the fourth one came I learned the difference between pressure and pain. Apparently I was feeling pressure when I squinted my eyes, griped the chair and locked my ankles tighter, when the whole time I thought that meant pain. But no the doctor told me differently cause every time I did that he said, "O you feel the pressure? Yep this one is a toughy, I am going to have to use the drill." Well know that I am aware of the difference between pain and pressure the fourth tooth needed to come out and there was A LOT OF PRESSURE!!! So I tried to focus on other things, instead of the drill noises and pressure of my tooth being pulled, so I listened to the songs that were playing on the radio. Bad Day by Daniel Powter, Your Like A Dream Come True by Brain McKnight and Crazy For You by Madonna...what a great mix hahaha. I was thinking about it in the room and I have no idea what station they listen to but these are some oldies but they did remind me of some good'ole times! So then it was over and the weeded me off the laughing gas and raised my chair up. I proceeded to grab my phone and type some of my memories of the past hour down and realized that I dont remember about a half hour of the whole process which is funny cause I was awake the whole time, so it all just blurred into a few short things. Then I proceeded to take a picture and laugh at myself cause the gauze made my cheeks look huge, and walked about to the lobby were I waited for my mom.
Getting home and finally having all the laughing gas out of my body and no medication in my yet was the worst!!! The freakin fourth tooth, the left bottom, hurt like a...well it hurt a lot. So as I lay down to watch TV I just cried waiting for the Vicodin and advil to kick in. Then I had some visitors, the lovely Rohdes, which was so nice for they brought me movies and magazine, and then the rest of the day was spent relaxing, icing and watching a lot of TV/movies. At night my bestie Betsy and some friends from Costa Rica came over and we watched the Adjustment Bureau, which was a great movie and I recommend it to all!! It was nice to have people around but I am sure glad they left when they did cause I finally reacted to the food I tried to get down and Vicodin and ended up throwing up. After that the whole wisdom teeth thing has been smooth sailing.
Saturday and Sunday have been great, not to swollen and just doing as the doctor says, relaxing, icing, heating and taking meds. Overall the worst part was the couple hours after the surgery but other then that its not that bad. So if you havent had them out and you are reading this dont worry to much, I mean everyone reacts differently but I promise it will be over soon!!

Baseball and Horse Races

Coming back from CR I had a a full weekend planned.

It started off with some Angels baseball. Where we kicked butt in the 13 inning after a long close tied game. After we got to enjoy a summer night concert with Mercy Me performing. I love watching a Christian band play in a public place and watch so many fans stay to listen to their amazing music!!

On Sunday my family and I headed off to the horse races in Corona Del Mar, floppy hats and all. It was my mom, sister and my first time so we each got to bet on whatever horses we wanted, with my Dad's help of course. The best part, our seats were right in front of the Celebrity box where the Saints football players were  sitting. It was fun to watch them gamble, cheer and sigh the same as all of us. Overall I won 4 out of the 5 races I bid on and ended up way more successful at guessing then my sister. I would suggest the horse races to anyone!! It is super cheap, minus the drinks and betting part, and so much fun to just watch the horses and people around you.

After a great weekend back, it was back to work for me on Monday. It was nice to get back to a normal schedule and see everyone at my work. They even had a little pizza party at lunch and had be talk about my trip! I do miss CR a lot and seeing all of the students/friends everyday but it is good to be back!

Back to the real world

I have been back from Costa Rica a little over a week now and though it was not hard to get back on track it was hard to leave such a beautiful country behind.


The mission trip in itself was amazing. Costa Rica is a beautiful country, full of loving people just waiting to hear about the love of Jesus Christ. It was a great experience for me and it was such a blessing to watch the students of HSM serve the lord and grow in their faith as well.


We started off in San Jose were we stayed at a great little hostel in the heart of the city. There my van group went to a local High School, Junior High and orphanage. At the high school we were able to communicate pretty well since half their classes are taught in English, but since it was our first stop it took us a little longer to get in the groove of things and feel comfortable. The Junior High was probably our hardest stop, since we were not aloud to speak about Jesus at all. This confused and frustrated my group at first but after talking it over we realized it is not always about speaking but about showing. We played games with them, did a short lesson on tolerance and morals and just loved on them and at the end we gained more relationships there then anywhere else. The orphanage was small but full of children, aging from 3 months to 12 years old. Just playing with them in their tiny backyard and giving their care takers a break for a couple hours was so rewarding. Our hearts broke for those kids knowing that they were just dropped off, and though the care takers and local church love and take care of them so much, you know all they want is a real family.
After the first couple days we rejoined with the other 2 groups and went to feed the homeless, to an old folks home, another orphanage were all of the children there have some short of mental/physical disability, and Jholy(a local ministry that is part of one of the churches we worked with, that puts on secular plays and shares God's love at the end).
Feeding the homeless touched a lot of our students. I have had the privilege to feed to homeless at Skid Row but for a lot of our students this was their first time. It was a reality check and definitely put life in perspective for everyone! At the old folks home we spent the hour dancing, and seeing the smile on their faces was enough to touch our hearts. The metal/physical disability orphanage was really tough to see. The children there aged from baby to later 20's but even though their age was old they looked like young teens because of the illness they have. To watch the nuns just spend all their time just caring for these children made me so grateful for the life I have. It was hard enough to take care of the kids for the couple hours we were there, but there is no way I could do it everyday, I have so much respect for those nuns! Jholy was a really cool experience for us as well. It is a local theater that is run and put on by all ages and is paid for by their own money or donations by people who come to their shows. It was neat to do some warm up exercises with them and then be able to watch one of their shows at night. The city supports them completely because they dont affiliate themselves with the church but they do spread God's love in their own way. All their shows are very secular and appeal to everyone not just the Christians.


Now we are only at Sunday, I know we did a lot in the first 4 days but dont stop reading just yet. Sunday we went to the local church we were working with (a purpose drive church, pastored by Giovanni) and taught in the youth room and got to know the youth group a little bit. It was cool to see how their youth group does a service compared to Saddleback. After we headed back to the hostel to hang out and then later that night went back to the church to celebrate Mother's Day with them.


Monday we left for Jaco...ahh the beach...hahah I wish, more like ewww the heat and mugginess. In Jaco we went to a turtle hatchery, a teen mom school, the slums and zip lining. The turtle hatchery ended up being a bust but it was fun to spend time on the beach and watch a storm. The teen mom school was really neat. It is the only school in CR that allows teen moms, pregnant or ones with kids already, to go to school and get help from a babysitter while in class. We got a chance to celebrate Mother's day with them with some pastries , prayers and talking. The slums really made us all be thankful for what we had. These families lived in man made built shacks a little ways from the freeway in the woods by a river. It was so fun just hanging out with them and then surrounding them with love and feeding them. The students really loved hanging out with these kids and really formed a heart for the less fortunate, and we walked away wanting to grab things from home and send it to them.

The last day was spent relaxing and zip lining through the trees of Costa Rica. It was a fun way to end the trip and just talk about all that we had learned about the past couple weeks. Coming home was rough and we left a group of people who we built lasting relationships with. After crying and hugging a bunch we walked into the airport and onto the planes back home, as changed people. I learned so much about myself and about others. My relationship with God grew stronger and I came home wanting to do local peace work. I also gained a small group of senior girls who I am so excited to get to know and mentor. This was an amazing missions trip and I can not wait to go on more in the years to come!

Costa Rica through the eyes of a student!

Kris Paulino


The last few days have been pretty crazy here in Costa Rica. Friday was a very emotional draining day. We started the day by going to an old folks home in Heredia. It was a very different type of ministry than what we had been doing in the previous days. It was actually a lot of fun just to hang out with them and love on them. I danced with a lady in a competition and we came in 3rd place. Even though we got out, she still kept dancing which was really funny. It was cool to see a really practical way to serve God and I realized it was somethng I could do at home. Later in the afternoon we went to an orphinage for handicap children. This was one of the more emotional ministries we did all week. It was hard for me to see the older kids and adults there because here I am, about to go to college and start my real life, and for them everyday is a stuggle to live. Seeing this truly inspired me to live my life to the fullest and to use all of the talents God has given me for His kingdom. After the orphinage, we went to Pastor Arthur´s church and hung out with their youth ministry. It was fun to play soccer with them and just be kids.


On Saturday we got up early and went to the JHOLY theatre where we met up with Hector and his wife. They showed us a PowerPoint of their plan and mission for JHOLY. I was extremely suprised how strategized the whole program is and how much dedication is put in to the show. Some of the actors put us through some excersises that they do to get ready for the shows. They took these excerises really seriously which showed their passion for the JHOLY ministry. I was kind of bummed because we weren´t able to feed the homeless due to the heavy rain. After lunch, we went over to Pastor Rudy´s church and visited their Mother´s Day Hoedown. It was hilarious because we did some dancing and they had some of the moms model for everyone. That night we went back to the JHOLY theatre to see their prodection. It was amazing. I had know idea what it was going to be like but it exceeded any expectations that I had. It was awesome to see how they shared the love of Christ to packed theatre even though the show had nothing to do witha bile story or anything like that. That to me was one of the best parts of our trip because it was put on by students for students.


Now were leaving for Jaco tro work with some river kids in the slums which should be very intresting. Bye Mom I´ll see you in a few days.

Peace out San Jose, Costa Rica, Hello Jaco!

Hey Everyone

We are leaving San Jose this morning and off to
Jaco, the beach or should I say the more humid, more hot temperature city were Phil and others have said we will be sweating A LOT!
I am so excited to see another part of this beautiful country! Last night we ate dinner on the top of this hill that overlooked basically the whole city, all the lights were amazing! This place is so big, we have not even touched half of it.
I have to go to breakfast now and get ready to leave but here are some more pictures...

Love you and miss you all from home!

 Mikaela and this statue thing that is at every resturant!

 pouring rain at our hostel

 some of my van group

the stanky crew! (Krissy, Me and Tanner)

CR cont...

Back for like 20 so I decided to upload some photos and wrap my story up until this point!!!

The came home from the streets tired and sadden. Their hearts were touched and they realized things that they never really thought before. As we were debreifing this morning with everyone, students spoke up on how they take things for granted or how actions have consequinces! It is great to see them realizing but not just that wanting to do more about it!

So today we are off to a retirement home, were vistors rarely come and then another orphanage. We are going as a big group today so all 26 or 28 of us! I can not wait to see the students and my heart be changed after today. More heart wrenching stories and sad faces are coming our way.

Please keep praying for us and the work we are doing down here!
Thanks

The locate AMAZING coffee shop the leaders escape to for a refresher!

Emily and Me! Love to watch my lil sis grow in the Lord! 

 Tanner and Krissy talking to the orphans about Jesus and his love for them

 Krissy and the 16 week old baby that was just dropped off. The baby doesnt even have a name.

 Hotel Toruma! First Hostle

 The pool at the Hostle...pretty cold!

an authentic meal! SOO GOOD! chicken, rice, veggies, black beans and onions!

Costa Rica So Far

Well it sure has been a trip so far!
Finally we arrived a day in a half late to Costa Rica!! We spent that day just relaxing, catching up on sleep and preparing for the next couple days!
I have been blessed with an amazing group of students we I am learning more and more about each day! They have been so strong and with no complaints at all! I watch them in the activities we do and plces we go and I can see them growing in the faith, learning more about who they are and stepping completely out of some of their comfort zones!
With the days being pretty long we are all tired by 8 but we seem to stay awake to talk as a group, journal, read the bible or just soak in what God as done that day! The first day my van went to a High School and Junior High were we had a lesson and games for them. We got to talk and love on students and show God´s love. Though at the JH it was a little harded because we were not aloud to talk about Jesus, we as a group though frustrated and not wanting to go back there the next day, stepped it up and became a light for God.It was all about showing and not telling and making them realize that Christian and the church we were partenering with that day love them so much and want them to know God!
It was hard to go back the next day to the JH but we sucked it up for God, knowing there was some reason we were meant to be there.
The night after our HS and JH experience our van group got together and just debreifed and some of the group told their testemonies. I was so proud of them for being able to speak on the spot and just share with the 10 of us their life story and how they came to know God! I was touched to hear their stories and so excited to get to know them more and help them in their faith walk!
The next day(Thursday) we went back to the JH and then to an orpahanage in the afternoon. I saw hearts stirring as students were breaking for what these kids didnt have and learning that though they have so little and are unwanted they still have smiles on their faces. The orphans loved seeing us. We played with them for a good 2 hours, soccer, jump rope, bubbles and slinky. Just to see them happy in that moment was enough. Then Tanner and Krissy stepped up and gave them a story about how much Jesus loves them and how he will never leave them. I was so proud of them stepping up and doing this, when it was so last minute!!
That night we hit up the streets super late at night with all the groups and passes out food to the homeless and talk to them. My students heart broke as they saw these people on the streets having nothing, and listening to their stoiries of hardship. .....
I have to go, breakfast time but I will finish later with pictures to come too!!!

Beyond tired

Sorry for misspent things in on my phone, anyways...

I don't think, no I know I have never had to deal with this much bad customer service and postponement. My Costa Rica team and I were suppose to be on a flight this morning at 1 am as we bored the plane excited and ready to serve the Lord we set I. Our seats and tries to fall asleep. About an hour maybe a little more later we get taken off the plane, yep it was canceled. So 26 of us were tired and with out a plane to Costa Rica. We get put up in a hotel only to wait another hour for a bus to tKe us there. Once there the students spread out over couches falling asleep were ever they could, while we wait another hour for our rooms. Finally 5 am we get keys and are off to get 5 hours of sleep before breakfast and leave for what they told us was a 3pm flight. HAHAHA that is all I'll say cause after getting no phone calls from the airline, Traveling back and forth between hotel and airport and me on hod for 5 hours total today, at least 45 min a call, I do have other choice of words but I'll refrain. Finally we got a 2:00am flight and some answers and hopefully compted tickets. So now we are in the airport once again, tired and excited. We pray for a safe flight or for the plane to actually take off and good service.

Taca is our airlines and I they have the worst customer service!! Don't expect them to answer the phone or be at the airport before hours.

I am excited for this trip but so unsure of what God is trying to tell us. I am pooped and ready just to crawl in bed. Please keep praying for our team!!
Thanks

I'm on a mission

NO NO NO not that type of mission...I am on a mission trip :)

I am off to Costa Rica, off to explore a new place, off to lead 23 high school students on a life changing experience, off to learn, off to step out, but most of all I am off to spread God’s love!

I am going with Saddleback HSM to show God’s love to the people down there. You might be thinking, “Wow Costa Rica you are so lucky that is no missions trip that is a vacation,” but I won’t be sitting on the beach sippin margaritas, tanning, and enjoying a new resort. I will be in the slums of Costa Rica, working with local churches, teaching and playing with children, painting, cleaning, witnessing and more.

I am hoping that I will be able to get on my blog to post pictures and such(I am currently figuring out a iphone app for that) otherwise you can follow the HSM blog http://hsmcostarica2011.blogspot.com/...we are trying to have a student write something every night but the days will be long and full of work so we might just all crash.

THANK YOU to all who have and are supporting me on this trip! I cant wait to send you pictures and notes telling you stories and how God changed my life and the students lives! Please keep praying for safety, protection  guidance, and open hearts for our group and the people in Costa Rica!!!

See ya in 2 weeks!

2k4kids

2K4Kids

The 4th annual 2K4Kids went so well this year! With a year of change, growth and new beginnings, I am really starting to see our impact on students and other people's lives! In this past year the 2K4Kids foundation with the help of many have started a club on a local campus, had a successful 2K4Kids 4th annual walk/run, gave out many scholarships and packaged up a good amount of backpacks full of school supplies and gave them out all around Temecula, Falbrook and Murrieta area! This foundation is doing great things and we are just beginning, as a young foundation we are looking for ways to grow and raise more money to help students reach their goals and have their dreams come true! I can not wait to see what this next year brings!

At the event it was the last time me and my sister would see our cousin before he left for his freshman year at UofA, so we decided to have a little fun. Now we always have fun together and have gotten closer over the past couple years but I think we hit an all time high last night! I mean he needs to have some good pictures of us for his dorm room so that he doesnt forget about us right?? So here they are...

kindness at its best

We love him soooo much!

If you want to learn more about 2K4Kids and what we are doing check out the website! Feel free to donate, or learn what you can do to help us, help others!!

Love you and miss you everyday Kari! Hope you have a smile on your face when you see what we are doing in your name!! xoxo 

A weekend full of family and friends!

It has been such a great week/weekend. Though I have been feeling super crazy and like my plate just keeps piling up, I have had time to see many friends and spend time with family!

It all started Wednesday with half price drinks n games at Dave n Busters with a friend from High School, Kevin L. Now I am going to be honest I am not big on going back to my High School days but there are those certain people who I still love to keep up and hang out with, Kevin is one of those. I had so much fun catching up on life, and playing random games. I recommend Dave n Busters to anyone, especially on Wednesday because it is half price!!

That same night my Aunt came to start the gift wrapping extravaganza for 2K4Kids annual auction and dinner that is happening this coming Friday! Since then we have been organizing baskets, wrapping baskets, numbering baskets, printing out description/auction sheets and getting them all ready so that our guest can bid on them. We will be busy working bees until Friday at 6 when the dinner starts!

Thursday my old roomie, and really good friend Noelle came down to visit me! I am so thankful that she came down here since I cannot come see her up north for a while! It was so great going out to lunch, talking about life, hanging out at the pool, and having dinner with my family! I love having my friends from up north come and visit it me! I miss them so much and it really shows me who my true friends are!! I already miss her and its only been a couple days!

Today I got to head down to Carlsbad to meet up with Brit Hutch! Even though it was raining as I started my trip down to SD, by time we laid our towels down in the sand it was sunny and hot! It was a perfect day to catch up on life, talk about our futures and just enjoy the beautiful beach!

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family! I love having those days of catch up with good friends, and just enjoying each others company!

This week is going to be a crazy one but I cant wait for Sunday to come…for I am off to Costa Rica with 28 HS students to serve!!

Things of the summer

As we are basically in the middle of summer and we have a little over a month until it is over I decided it was time to post some must have summer items.

Now I know my post so far have not been like this one but I think mixing it up a bit will keep you(the reader) coming back for more! Well at least I hope :)

My favorite summer outfit so far is my Maxi Dress. It is super comfortable and you can dress it up or down!

Second thing on my list of must haves are my sunglasses! Maybe I am biased because I work at a sunglasses company but seriously you cant really go with out them when the sun is beating so bright these days! My favorite (though I seem to wear a different pair every day) is the Paisley! Check out our websites! If you are a guy reading this we have some for you too!! http://shop.fortresseyewear.com/

Next up the sandal. Now I love my rainbows and would normally say those are the must have but I think for this summer I am all about the T-strap style. Rainbows are for the beach, lake and pool. T-straps are for shopping, dates, nights out, well really anything.

A Fan, everyone needs a fan in this heat! So that is why it is my number 4. This fan is top of the line. Ask anyone who has it! They go into your windows and intake cold air and exhaust hot air from the room. It has a temperature gag and all so that your room gets as cold as you want it to!

Lastly you need to spend time with friends and family... I have gone to disneyland, baseball games, the beach, dinner, movies, game nights, and more with family and friends so far this summer. 

My next big stop is Costa Rica for a missions trip with Saddleback high school students, my sister, A.C., phil and anna!!

I hope everyone's summer is going well!!!