One Year.

This year's flown by. As most of you (probably all of you) know my family had a kind of rough start to 2012 with leaving our old church. That was a weird season and I'm super glad that we're out of it, for the most part. (What I mean by for the most part: I still have days where I miss people a ton and wonder what it would be like if we had never left, but other than that, we're out of it.)

Seriously, despite the sleepless nights, tears, fights and (sadly) loss of friendships and family members that the whole ordeal brought about, tons of good has come from it. I'm not even sure where to begin.

This weekend marks the weekend we started going to CCC. A year ago this weekend, we stepped into our first service at our current home church. It took a ton of prodding and dragging me to get there. I didn't want to go. AT ALL. I was "happy" where I was. (Ha! Not. But I pretended I was.) I didn't want to leave all I'd ever known.

When we got there, I remember thinking it was a little weird. I don't know why I thought that, but I did and I sat in the row of chairs with my parents and a couple friends thinking about how much I didn't want to be there.

Anyway, flash forward to today.  I literally spend at least 3 days of the week there. This week, I'll actually be spending 5. And I love every minute of it!

Okay, that's a very brief recap of the year. I'm not done yet, though. What good things came of what I would consider to be the worst time of my life, so far? Where do I begin... the list is SO SO long.

1.) Faith. Through that stormy season, I didn't really have anyone to lean on except God. (Who's the best and only One you can lean on at all times.) I wasn't sure who I could trust. I felt like everyone was betraying me. God got me through that and He can get me through anything.

2.) Family. My family grew a lot closer to each other. I don't know how to explain it, really. I just know that my sister and I are now best friends, when we used to be enemies. My mom, dad and I get along better than we did. (though I'm occasionally (read: often) more stubborn than I should be on some (most) issues and argue with them...) It's kind of funny, because people said Kylene and I were going to fall away from our family because my parents were teaching us to rebel against authority. Really? They didn't teach us to rebel... and we're closer than ever... so I guess we proved THEM wrong.

3.) Friends. I used to be super popular at my old church. It was a small church in a small town and I'd grown up there. Then I came to CCC and thought I knew no one. Surprisingly, I found out that almost 1/2 of our co-op families go there, so I did have friends! It was (and is) really cool getting to see old friends at church. I hadn't seen some of them in years. That's not the end of it though!

About 8ish months ago, we became part the youth group, C7. This youth group is amazing. At the same time, we joined "Revo Band" (currently "Heirs") the church's youth group worship team. We were immediately welcomed and accepted. We didn't have to try to impress anyone, we didn't need to wear any masks... it was like a whole new concept. There are currently 18 (I think? About? I don't know...) teens and leaders in the band and it's just awesome. I've gained some amazing brothers and sisters from Heirs. It's so encouraging to be able to gather with people that are there to support each other and above all, glorify the Creator.

4.) Dreams. Again, how do I explain this? It's... difficult. In a nutshell, I'm able to dream again. To think about the future, while living and loving the present moment. Those dreams are coming true, too! I'll have to give more on that in a couple weeks though... there's some very exciting news!


In the meantime, go follow Heirs on facebook and on twitter.

More Like Family: Co-op

Omygosh, guys. It's almost June. We're a month away from 2013 being half over. How crazy is that?! However, I still have over 7 months of this year left and I plan to use them and enjoy them fully. That being said, summer has begun. Well, for me it has.

Monday marked the last day of co-op for the year. (Ah!!!) It was so exciting and so disappointing at the same time. No more homework? Yay! No more super early Monday mornings? Hallelujah. Plus, co-op being over means that summer plans get to come to being soon. (Summer camp, bonfires and crazy sleepovers, anyone?)

On the other hand, though, I'm really sad. I'm going to miss watching the little ones and trying to corral them. (Easier said than done, but hey!, they're worth it.) I'll miss singing with my worship team girls. I'm going to be depressed when I don't get to see my amazing friends. I'll miss my teachers. I'm going to miss the random conversations, (Journalism class. Enough said.) the crazy laughter, the occasional shocking moments, the weekly memory making... okay, you get the picture.

My co-op's more than an intense once a week class day, as I often describe it as. It's a family. It's a place to belong. It's a community.

I could list so many things I love about co-op, but I kind of already did that. I can't list all the crazy memories of the year- that would take all of summer break. (AND I am NOT spending all of summer break blogging photos and memories of the school year JUST to go back. I WILL enjoy this summer and it WILL be the best yet. (Seriously, though... it will be.)) But I can't leave this post without adding a few highlights from this year. It was truly amazing.

Twister Hobbit Movie night with my best friends, Mary, Bekah and Ky. Ky and Mary were talking the entire time: quoting the movie, speaking in whale, (thank you for serenading us, Mary. (-_-) ) and freaking out about Gollum. Of course, Bekah and I weren't much better... we talked a lot too. But, hey, at least WE didn't get locked out of the movie room!

Little kids. They're amazing. Most of my year was spent with little kids, believe it or not. They're a ton of fun! They're not really worried about making themselves look like idiots. They're more concerned with having fun. I think some adults (and teens) could learn a thing or two from the little ones around us.

The last day of co-op is always themed. This year was "Superhero day"! I dressed Thor inspired. (He is the BEST superhero, after all.) Before the morning started, I was helping watch the Z kids and I "borrowed" Cole's ninja mask so I could pose with the infamous "Nacho Libre" (Tommy)

The formal. I wish I had a decent photo of our whole group. Josh, Danielle, Lizzy, Bekah, Mary, Ky and I all went. It was a night to remember. We danced our feet off, we went a little crazy and when we were too tired to dance any more, we kept dancing. I saw some old friends and made some new ones. We danced and danced and danced and sang and made total fools of ourselves. So much fun!

Not sure why, but this photo makes me smile. Isaac got his hands on my camera and started snapping away while he was sitting in my car after co-op, talking to my sister and a couple friends. He got around 20 shots. This was definitely the funniest!

Omygoodness, don't get me started on how much I love this girl. She became like my little sister this year. She's super mature for her age and she's super fun to be around. From this year alone, we have a ton of memories and inside jokes.

The King Tut field trip was a blast! I love Ancient Egypt. The mystery and richness of the history... it makes me stand in awe (and shock) when I think of some the events that have taken place there. It was awesome to be able to see some of it in front of my very own eyes.

Oh, this picture makes me laugh, worry, (what WERE they doing?!) and tear up a little... Dani's not coming back next year and that... well, that's super sad. We've known each other for forever and she's not going to be in the area any more. (I'll probably post more on that later...)

This was taken on the last day of co-op this year. We always go to a park. I guess they were practicing their superhero moves? I don't know... still, so fun!

The Journalism team. This year was so much fun! Everyone brought something new and fresh to the table (literally... we had a round table...) and our articles were top-notch this year. Way to go, team!

Last day of co-op photo op with the girls! Next year just won't be the same without some of them. Each of them have impacted me in positive ways. Love these girls.

Meeting Hazel was a major highlight of my year. She's so precious and sweet. I love her so much already. I can't wait to watch her grow and follow God's plan for her life! She's going to do great things.

Well, I guess it's with that I say "I'll see you in my memories" to the co-op 2012-2013 school year.

And let's start summer off right with a fantastic quote.