Cheers!

I leave bright and early tomorrow morning. . . as in by 5am. The sun won't even be awake by then, which is a miracle. You should right this down in your diary of many secrets and wonders so that one day you may tell your kids and grandkids that Josie K. was up and awake with coffee in hand before the sun ever showed his face. ;) So, I'm driving out with my friend Anna and we're taking four days to drive out to the beautiful Colorado. I am so excited about this road trip! The second night we're staying in this cool place in New Mexico, which I can't say here because I'm keeping it as a surprise for Anna. muhaha. But it looks fabulous and makes me happy.

Our itinerary, if you care to know, is as follows:

Thursday -- leave Starkville, MS around 5am and drive West. Most likely reach Little Rock, AR by lunch and Apache, OK by 6pm. Apache, OK is our destination for the first day, we're staying at a ywam base's hospitality suit for the night.

Friday -- leave Apache by 8am and continue driving West. By this point we will have traveled through MS, AR, OK, and be heading into TX. We're planning to stop at every State sign and take a picture. It's going to be awesome. Ok, continue driving and eventually reach NM where we will spend the night in unsaid location.

Saturday -- leave by 8 or 9am and head North where we will travel through Starkville, CO....completely awesome. Pictures will be taken. Take slight detour to the Great Sand Dunes, which are reported to be really cool. Drive to Colorado Springs and bunk for the night.

Sunday -- Tour around Colorado Springs and just chill and hang out for the day. Hopefully go see the Garden of the Gods which are also reported to be really pretty. Sunday is up for change and fun.

Monday -- drive to Denver and send Anna back home on le airplane to MS. Most likely cry some more. Drive by myself to Arvada, CO where I will know no one and be spending the next 5 months of my life. Eeegads.

I'm freaking out just a little bit, but i'm mostly just getting ridiculously emotional. I was watching what not to wear and started tearing up. I mean...c'mon! These next two weeks are going to be long, weird, exciting, good, scary, and thrilling I do believe. I know I'm going to miss my family and friends immensely. But I also know God is loving and I know that He is good and I know that He has called me to this place at this time and that He will never leave me. And for all of those truths, I am extremely grateful.

So, here's to life more abundant and love without end. . . .to God and God alone be the glory! Psalm 115:1

~Josie

The Mantel Of My Abode

Because I am moving I decided it was time to give you a glimpse of the changing mantel in our house. These were taken, not with a purpose in mind, over the past year because I'm just weird like that. I just thought it was cool how the fireplace, and the house in general, changed over the course of G.C. and I living here. Granted, I did most of the decorating and redecorating...you can thank my SP for that too. ;)

August '10

September '10

October '10

November '10

Christmas '10

Last week '11

We will not comment on the lack of months mentioned in the above mantel documentation. Kk. I will miss its cuteness, but i have completely redone my room at my parent's house and it IS AMAZING...just fyi. I am in love with its awesomeness.

I got to sit outside on campus today in my hammock. The wind was blowing and gently swaying my hammock and I under the gathering of trees. I may or may not have taken a nap and it may or may not have been wonderful. I'm half way through the second book in the Anne of Green Gables series. Those books are dear to my heart. I'm starting to panic now that my departure date for YWAM is in the mid 20's. Life is about to change but it's going to be great. I'm going to miss absolutely everyone to the point where there could potentially be rivers of tears. Does pepperoni and/or bacon count as "red meat" for this anemic child? If not, it should. . .

~me

Return To The Home Sweet Home

I am in the process of packing up my room and the likes and I thought this chart was accurate to my current situation:

Well, it's been said that talking leads to thinking and thinking leads to decision making and so on. In this case it is perhaps a decision that should have been made a month ago, but my head wasn't properly situated upon my shoulders and therefore was not functioning to its best ability. Since I am moving off to the lovely Colorado next month until mid February the current living situation, in the long run financially, was decided not to be the wisest. Hoorah lame sauce. The one ridiculous thing about having to move out is that I had finally gotten the place decorated to the point where it felt homey and inviting. You can thank my SP for that. There are many other downsides, but we shall not mention them all here just yet. Just know that this makes three years in a row of moving. Yucko zucko.

Although, on the positive side of moving back home is that I have thoroughly cleaned almost every nook and cranny of my place and thrown away many much things and feel very victorious. Organization is my friend. It was just one of those days where I couldn't sleep because the urge to clean and organize was greater than my desire to sleep later, which generally means business. So business is what I got down to. I felt like that wild loony tunes character Taz, the Tasmanian devil, except that I was productive in my whirling about ways. Yes. Also on the positive side of moving back home is free meals and reclaiming my beloved closet. My closet is the bees knees, i kid you not. I'm sure my parents are also thrilled about my return back to the home sweet home and the fact that they will actually get to see their wonderful daughter before she leaves for seven hundred years! (emphasis added for dramatic effect)

Wish me luck in my packing and moving endeavors! I only have 35 days before I head off on this grand adventure and more to do than I think my poor brain can currently handle. But I think it's going to be fun just the same.

~Josie