Homeschool

After reading the title of this blog you probably think it's a Paige rant against homeschool. It totally is not. This summer I am taking fine arts online. So far it has been one of the better decisions of my life. Yesterday was the end of week 3. Lets just say that my grade is stunning. Above is the piece of artwork that I am most proud thus far. I draw a pretty fly shoe if I do say so.

Picture this. Tuesday night 10 o'clock eastern time...which means its 11 in Indiana and my things are due at 12 eastern time. I am sitting up at the kitchen table doing my art projects. Grant also decides to grab a piece of paper and starts to draw somethings and my mom is sitting next to us and encouraging us. I said "this is totally what homeschooling would have been like. It was cute. Late night homework at the kitchen table. My mom the art (interior design) major cheering us on. Anyways...I got it all done by 12 eastern time.

If you were going to ask if I recommend fine arts online? I would say YES. 3 weeks in and I am still a huge fan.

Let's see

Let's see if I can still do this. I hope you know that I pick such random blog titles. I just suddenly had a wave of inspiration. Oh wait...now I realize that is happening. It is summer...yet I am still avoiding homework. I am taking fine arts online. Which is a great idea...but I still have homework. So there is still that little thing to be avoided.

Anyways so far it still feels like summer has not really started and yet it also feels like it is going to be over really soon. Haha clearly I am confused. The weather has been awesome though. I am thankful for that. I am getting a little sick so I am drinking water like I am being paid. Speaking of being paid. I have no idea how much money I have. I never look. It is a blessing and a problem I think. Maybe I will look into that after this.

This past semester I was inspired by a book I read in one of my classes to avoid mindless TV watching. My summer goal has been to not sit down in front of the TV and just zone out. I can only watch recorded shows or shows that I have scheduled into watching. So far it has worked out well. I have been reading a good amount.

When is it going to start feeling like summer?

I hate adjusting to a new schedule. I really don't like it. Nope. Not really. I know pretty soon I will be adjusted to it and then in the fall I will miss this schedule. It's all so weird how that works. This whole blog post is just weird..it's like "whatever whenever". Do other families have that? When mom is not cooking dinner we call it whenever whatever. You can eat dinner whenever you want to and you can have whatever. That's what this blog is. I am now going to be sappy and tell you about the things that I miss right now.

Overall I miss IWU.
I miss my room. I miss my quiet time on my futon. I miss the way my clothes were organized in that room. I miss bike rides with Kim and dinner with her to follow. I miss sitting at the desk with her. I miss being on duty. I miss North Hall. I miss my one on ones. I miss my staff. I miss dancing. I miss covenant and business meeting. I miss chapel. I miss baldwin hahaha for the community and not doing dishes. Heck i miss the peanut butter. I miss not paying for coffee and using points for my afternoon iced coffee from McConn. I miss not having to drive to see my friends.

It's all the little things. Am I happy now? Yes. I am. I don't mean to sound depressing. That is not my intentions. I am happy now. I am happy at home. But it is still an adjustment. I am tired. It has made me realize how much of a community I developed this past year. I am so thankful.

To end I am going to reflect on things I love about being home.
I love having such awesome places to run and bike and running and biking with my dad and brother. I love long family dinners on the deck. I love sitting on the deck and reading. I love the way the house feels on a hot morning. I love learning and I am learning a lot. I love building relationships and I am building a lot. I love bonfires. I love my community here. I love all the fruit. I love the possibilities of summer. I love having my coffee on the deck.

It's all just weird. But it's my blog. I can vent if I want to.

Coffee and Connecting

Over this last week I have been very thankful that I am a coffee drinker. Since my internship has two parts I have had two first days. On both of those first days I was asked "do you drink coffee" with that questions I could reply quickly and enthusiastically. I love coffee. I am totally addicted. At the church the student ministries staff walks upstairs together to the chapel and enjoys community, conversation, and coffee. I am all about that! I mean if I didn't drink coffee.. I could go just for the community and conversation aspects but coffee just makes the connection deeper. At lighthouse they drink coffee all day and it was a great connecting piece.

After thinking about this concept over the past few days I have been amazed by how many deep conversations and relationships that have been built over a cup of coffee. It is so normal for people my age to get to know each other better over coffee (cough...McConn...cough). It's not as formal or as much of a commitment as sharing a meal/breaking bread but it can be just as intimate. Having coffee can also be totally casual. It really could go either way. But if you are a coffee lover you know how quickly a bond can build when you discover you share the same love/addiction.

Coffee is also a total mood adjuster for me. That and Jesus. In the morning my coffee and quiet time usually go hand in hand. Its beautiful. Both wonderful things...and when their forces are combined I am literally a new woman. These last few days have been long and I know that I will be in a better mood and get more things done if I have coffee again in the early afternoon (says the girl who just got her 3pm iced coffee). It is literally magic. The world seems manageable again.

I am thankful for my coffee addiction. I think it has more benefits in the work world than it gets credit for. So here is your credit coffee. Thank you. I love you. I'll see you in the morning...,and maybe again tomorrow afternoon?

Graduation and Fruit Pizza

This Saturday my dear brother Grant graduated from college. I am so extremely proud of him. He is going to be fantastic teacher and it was so fun to be able to celebrate him on Saturday. The whole family drove 8+ hours in one day to go down to EIU and back home. The STL crew came as well and drove back to STC for the night. It was so fun to see Austin as a walker.

Here is my dad and I hanging out after the ceremony during picture taking time.

And here is the cute little boy we call Austin.

Today is my wonderful friend Tom's birthday. So we celebrated that. My girl Katrina and I made some fruit pizza for him. We went out to lunch and watched Tangled. Happy Birthday Tom...you earned it!

So, that's life right now. It is full. Its great. I love being back with old friends but totally am missing my IWU crew. I should probably be working on Fine Arts homework right now. Here I go...

It's good to be back!

Summer is here. I am home. The sun is shinning. It feels like Summer out. I am oh so blessed. This past year has been incredible. Friendships have deepened. New friendships have formed. I was successful academically and learned a ton. I am for sure in the right major. I love the things that I am learning and I feel passionate about the projects/papers that I work on. I think that is a great sign!

You might be wondering what the heck are you doing this summer? Well... it was crazy how it all fell into place but it was such a God thing. He clearly laid it out just right.

This Summer I am living at home. I will be doing my communications internship at my church. I will be doing a mix of communication things as well as student ministries things. I am pumped. I think it will be extremely fun and I think I will learn lots. One of my best friends from home, Tom, will be alongside in that adventure.

I will also be taking two other courses online. I am going to tackle Fine Arts and Intro to Computing Concepts. Hopefully I can rock those.

I have big expectations for these next few months. I am excited to see the ways that God uses me/stretches me/teaches me.

Currently I am unpacking and getting settled back in my room. Tomorrow we drive down to EIU to watch Grant graduate! So exciting!

I best get back to unpacking. But I'll leave you with a few pictures of my recent events!

Here is my sweet Kimbo! Kim, Kendra, and myself went in on a storage unit. That way I didn't have to bring home my fridge or futon! 

RA's stay at school a week after the dorms "close" to close the dorms. Most afternoon's I had kool-aid on the porch with Nick and/or Grant.

During that week of just RA time each staff makes a music video. Here are some of our stud brother RA's all dressed up. Check out the video! We had a really great time making it. 

I said "see you later" to room 109. I will return to this same room next year. Kinda funny. However, Emily will not be my roommate. I have loved living with her this year. We laughed, we cried, and we danced..a lot. She was a blessing to me this year in more ways than she knows.

I had my first dinner at home sitting on the porch. For sure one of my favorite spots of the house. So relaxing and it encourages conversation after meals. I also picture myself working on my online classes from this spot. 

I found this poster while cleaning my room. It got a lot of facebook hype. Pretty funny to think that it was 6 years ago. 

This morning my dad took me out to breakfast at my favorite place. I love our daddy daughter dates. I am so thankful and blessed by his role in my life.