Ashton--
I loved having you here for as long as you were :). I think I'm liking the whole you commuting to Purdue thing...I know it's really an inconvenience for you though. Sorry if I seemed a little out of it and stuff. I think it was hard for me to adjust to school after such a long break. I guess I'm glad the first week is over and stuff. I'm in this mode where I want to do all of my homework right now so I won't have to worry about it, while at the same time I have no energy to do any of it. One step at a time, right?

This Monday being Martin Luther King Jr. day, we have no school. I want to plan something great and exciting! The Purdue group is going on a snowboarding trip...yeah, I really don't enjoy that. I've decided for as much money and time that it takes I'm not going to invest in it. I really don't enjoy being cold either (Andria can attest to that :)...).

I'm thinking that our family hasn't gotten together for some good hang out time for quite a while. I miss all of you! It was so great to have Clint here Wednesday night too...skip-bo was crazy cool(Except for the fact that I didn't get a single card out of my stack the whole game...stupid nine on top.)! Sigh...it sure does feel good to be Friday. Later! (I chose the picture because I'm ready for green to come back)

New Classes

I'm waiting for everyone in our house to get ready so we can go out to eat! It's going to be so nice :).

While I have time I'll share a little about the class I had today...
I decided to enroll my self in a speech class, because I'll then have it out of the way when I graduate and go to Purdue in the fall. I kinda expected my teacher to be intimidating and stuff...you know, have superior communication skills and such. Upon entering the class, I noticed some sloppy writing on the board announcing that he(Mr. Nelson) only had one of his two hearing aids, so we would need to speak loudly for him to hear. Knowing that I might have to repeat myself ten times I decided that I wouldn't attempt to say anything...I'm sure the other students felt the same as the class remained deathly silent. We watched him shuffle around the classroom for a while. When he began to introduce the syllabus I was surprised at how completely mono-tone his voice was. I thought that speech teachers were supposed to be somewhat exciting and engaging when they spoke...isn't it supposed to be what they're good at and stuff? Needless to say, my speech class turned out completely different than what I had expected! I guess it's a good thing that I won't be intimidated by Mr. Nelson...he said we could call him "Mr. Ed". This kinda makes me chuckle because he is nothing like the Ed Bahler that I call Dad.

I'm happy to announce that my other classes seem to be going pretty well. Janessa and I have the first two classes on Mon., Wed., and Fri. together!...It couldn't have worked out better :). I'm going to have a positive outlook this semester even if some of my teachers are a little duddy!

Bowling tonight

I start school this Monday! As my last freedomfulfun (new adjective I just created) activity I think I'll go bowling with some cool girls tonight(Katelyn V., Janessa, Sarena). I'm pretty much expecting to beat all of my bowling records...and probably all of yours too :). No, I'm not too hot when it comes to bowling, although I think it's great fun.

I should really be thinking about what to make for the wonderful dinner mom and I will prepare for the cool girls that are coming...considering We'll be eating in like two hours and I still have lots to get done before that time. Probably we'll have some elegant dishes and some candle light. Maybe some party favors would be nice...and, like, some champagne and stuff.
...No! That is Waaay too much work! I'm sure we'll throw together a delightful little spread. :)
Alright, love you all like...the lamp does the light bulb! Awww now that is a sweet little comparison. Basically I'm saying that I can't shine without all of you that I love. My life is dark and barren without your presence near me...need I go on or do you feel the deepness of my appreciation? :)

Nothingness...

So I'm back home after a long and crazy weekend in South Bend with Ann. Overlooking some pretty stressful situations the wedding went good...I was glad to be with Ann and help her out. I recently found out that I have another whole week of break!...so I thought I would be in classes today and here I am blogging...crazy. I haven't quite decided what I'll do with this extra week. Probably something amazingly productive (yeah right). So far I've managed to do nothing with my day. I had breakfast with Ann and her boys and drove back to Lafayette. Now I can't get myself to do anything. Maybe I'll clean my room, do some errands in town, etc. Anyways...on to more important things. I've managed to make a small sum of money towards the funding of our trip to Florida! I'm going to visit Jen if it's the last thing I do. :) I'm getting very Jennysick. Ok---I'm going to have to stop writing and start doing. Here I go to seize the day!

Home Alone Tonight...

Yes It's true...I am home alone at this very moment. The house seems pretty lonely when I'm the only one to fill it up. I must say, though, that I really don't mind it. I think having a night with only myself is really good every once in a while. It gives me the time to think about important things and...reflect. Reflecting is always a good thing.

I drove back from MaryAnn's house this morning for church. I was glad to be able to see Mom and Dad before they zoomed off to Florida. How I wish I could go with them! I miss you guys Jen! They left for Indy tonight to sleep in a hotel so the morning rushing to the airport would be a bit easier. I had a good talk with Dad about how life changes so much. It's so important how we handle and use the change. I don't think I very often have a good attitude about the big things that change in my life. It's also crazy to think that most times we don't realize how much we appreciated something until it changes. Maybe we didn't really even know that we appreciated it until we experience what it's like without it (confusing...but, maybe it kinda makes sense?). I guess It's really important to try to fully realize that the stage of life I am in now is awesome because I'll only get to experience it once. :)

Christmas Break...

I can't describe how wonderful It's been to relax. It's amazing. I spent a few VERY GOOD days at Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Denny's house with Ash. I love that girl so much. There aren't too many people that make me laugh as hard as she does. It was so nice to spend some one on one time with her. I need to mention that the sacrifice she made to not be with Bryan for those few days is quite impressive. (Thanks Bryan for being so willing to let us spend some time together...I needed it more than you know!). Another crazy cool thing was that Sadie came out Thursday and Friday. She is also one of my favorite people as you well know. I couldn't ask for a better friend...she is simply priceless! Ash and I met Liv in Bloomington Saturday evening, which was cool. Liv is so much fun...very dramatic :). I guess you could say I was spending the week with some pretty cool girls. I am so thankful for all of the time I had with them too!

Wow!...It seems I'm feeling very thankful and happy tonight! There are those certain special times when it really dawns on you how much you love your friends and family. I guess this is one of those times :). I feel like I could spend ten thousand hours and never fully express how much the people in my life mean to me. I love you all much much much.

I still have another whole week of break...yessss.

Christmas is just around the corner.

This Sunday is the Matthew Christmas gathering. This means that there will be lots of talking and laughing with much food. It's always great to see everyone. I love having all of my aunts in one place...they create great energy and all have a fun sense of humor.:)I'm excited! I just got done doing some major grocery shopping for mom today so that we'll have plenty of food for the holidays. Let the fun begin...