Yeah for Blogs!!!

Howdy folks, family, and friends! It has been a great while since I have sat down to write the latest that has been going on. I don't feel too guilty about not writing, though, since the name of my blog is the Hillbilly Quarterly. I might only get to write every three months this year, who knows?

Christmas break was great! We got to go to Texas to be with my aunt, uncle, and five cousins. We played a lot of games, went rock climbing for my cousin's birthday, dipped in the pool (it was really cold!!!), sang Christmas hymns, went on walks down to the lake at the end of their road, tried some Sushi, and just enjoyed talking and being with each other. As always, we were very sad to leave at the end of the week, but we said our goodbyes and look forward to our next visit. In addition, Luke and I are hoping to go to Ecuador with Uncle Nathan for a couple of weeks this fall to see all of the places that he and mom have told us about for years (they grew up there as missionary kids). It would be so fun to go with Uncle Nathan! We'll see what happens.... For the rest of Christmas break, I worked for my dad answering the telephone at his office and cleaning when they were short-handed. Anne, my dad's accountant, made the whole office experience quite fun with her bubbly personality and great stories. She demonstrates such a love for her kids, makes me look forward to having my own kids some day if that is the Lord's will. Hmmm....our family also got to hang out with some of our really good friends, it was quite hard to quit partying and get serious about going back to school. But the fun has to redirected sometime. : )

School started off with a bang. My body decided to start the semester off with a cold that kept me sneezing and feverish for the first couple of days of lecture, then sniffling the rest of the time. I am thankful that it happened at the start of the semester instead of at the end when all of my papers and projects seem to be due at the same time. I think I'm going to stay pretty busy with 18 hours. I'm taking: American Lit 2, World Civ. 2, Communications, Probability and Statistics, Spanish 2, and Intro to Political Science. Political Science is going to be hard! I'm not sure how it will shake out.....anyway! At least it will help me understand current issues better.

Our family has been attending Cornerstone Church of Knoxville and I have really been enjoying it! Last week Mike Plewniak, the pastor that leads the college ministry VFC, spoke about relationships. Though this sermon was geared more towards the college students, it applied to any person in the church. His "Six Transforming Effects on Relationships" can be found on Cornerstone's website for free download if anyone is interested. I recommend it since I think most people have relationships on their mind. Even if it isn't God's timing that they should be in one, there are definitely things we can learn to put into practice now. I know I have a lot to learn about being a servant! www.cornerstonechurchofknoxville.com 1/21/07

Well, that's all folks. I need to read for class tomorrow. Blessings!