Xtreme Winter 08-09!!

over new years the VL crew headed up to Gatlinburg Tennessee for the Xtreme conference. we had a BLAST!! we were only up there for three days =( but they were the best! we got to hear some amazing messages from Dr. Ergun Caner, Josh McDowell, Tony Nolan and Johnny Hunt. Also we got to hear some awesome bands that were AMAZING! there was Barlow Girl, Unhindered, Rush of Fools, Third Day, Relient K, KJ-52, Newsong, and my favorite Flights From Egypt! ;)

well as always the VL crew can't go anywhere together without coming back with a story to tell...so....like i said we were only up there for three days, BUT we probably got a total of 8 hours sleep the whole time we were there...if that. so on our long drive home SOME of us had a little trouble staying awake. we tried to keep this person awake by giving him mountain dew and whoppers but this is what we got instead...

following this was a long conversation about the Oakridge boys which ended in Joe singing El Vira (wish i could have gotten that on video!l lol ) so yeah the ride home was definitely one to remember. here are a few more pics from the trip.

the girls on new years

me and megan on the way

third day and barlow girl

this one's for Brandi!!

so yes i realize that i haven't updated in a while but being a teen gets a little crazy sometimes!! lol im going to try my best to update more but im going to squeeze all the latest info on whats been going on lately to make this a short post.

so yes being a teen......where should we start....ahhh i have it.....DRIVING!!! yes i am driving not by myself yet but still im on the road so make sure you are wearing your seat belts at all times especially if you see a little black car drive by. ;) actually im not that bad...i think. im getting really comfortable and used to it so its nice. but one thing that drives my parents crazy is that it is mandatory that i have music playing. i don't know why but i get really nervous if the radio isn't on. not a good habit to get into i know but im being really smart about it. i've made a cd of all my favorite songs so all i have to do is pop it in and turn it up! *another thing to look out for...my singing!! haha!!

speaking of singing...the other night a bunch of my friends got together and we went to a Kareoke night!! the night consisted of my friend Sarah (a.k.a. Aqueeta) choking on her pizza, Alex almost knocking his off the table, and a bunch of girls wearing tie dye t-shirts singing Baby One More Time by Britney Spears! (yes that was us!) needless to say...we know how to have fun!! also a couple nights before that we all hit the bowling alley and i learned that i can actually bowl better with my left hand! I think its all that Wii bowling Alex and I have been playing!! =)

school is going great. first semester just ended!! second semester looks like its going to be a little tougher but hey its high school...bring it on!! i'm taking all of the same classes this semester and i have the same teachers so there's not much adjusting so i'm looking forward to it! i know my mom's not going to want to hear this but i was thinking about it the other day and i've only got 3 years and i'm off to college!! yes you heard right!! COLLEGE!! scary right?? i've got a couple places in mind but i definitely feel God calling me into ministry so we'll see where He leads me. =)

uhh Christmas break was awesome!! we went to Albany to see the grand parents and that was really nice! while i was down there God was really working on my heart. I went to visit my Pepa who isn't doing to well financially and i was such a great blessing. Of everything that i saw a couple things really stood out. Because my pepa isn't doing so well when it comes to money he was not able to get us presents this year...or so we thought. now i dont know if yall really know where Albany is but we're talking south Georgia...like SOUTH Georgia. you know like eat chicken after church every Sunday, crop growing, horse farming, deer huntin' SOUTH GEORGIA. so at the last minute me Pepa decides to surprise us with a gift. now we all know the saying great gifts come in little packages right well this one really was great. it was a carton of eggs...not just any eggs...these were eggs laid from the hens in the back yard! now although i was born in albany Georgia I'm not your average country gal. so to me this doesn't seem too sanitary right. i know I'm crazy but still just seems a little nasty to me. but despite the chicken poop germs that may have still been on the eggs i looked beyond that to see what he was really giving us...everything he could. this reminded me so much of the story in the Bible where the Pharisees were bragging about how much money they were giving to the church when a very poor women came and dropped two pennies into the offering plate. God said that her offering was so much more valuable because she gave everything she had. so i can't believe I'm saying this about dirty chicken eggs but they were probably one of my favorite Christmas presents this year!

new year was amazing i got to spend it with some of my favorite people in the world, my VL crew! we went to the Xtreme conference in Gatlinburg Tennessee and had a BLAST! i will be setting aside a post just for all the details on that because it will need it! lol

those are just a few of the big things that have been going on lately! =) i will try my absolute best to try to update more often (and i will include lots of pictures) but like i said, being a teen can get a little crazy sometimes!