Peace and quite.

I want to reflect on a facebook status a good friend of mine made just over an hour ago. However, I will first preface my response with some background information on my friendship with the amazing girl who posted it. Katie Schroeder. Katie Elizabeth Schroeder to be exact (we have the same middle name, so I felt like that was relevant). This is a girl who I didn't start getting to know very well until the middle of last semester, but someone who I now feel very close to and very fortunate to have in my life. She is kind, sweet, and has such a great spirit about her all the time, and I feel very blessed to have her in my life. There are a handful of people that I feel this way about, you all know you are, but I wanted to talk about Katie in particular because she just posted this status that really resonated with me and I felt like it was something that has been on my heart as well. Here it is:

"It blows my mind that I go to a school with 32,000 people and yet here I sit in a lounge completely alone. I think God just gives us peace and quiet when we really need it."

Isn't this true? I have been feeling so much of this lately, and I am so thankful for it. Even with the already hectic schedule that has come along with the start of school, I feel like God has been honoring me with time of solace and chances to think about things on such a greater level than I ever have before. He is so good.

This semester is going to be challenging in academics, my continuous struggle to find a place of employment, and even my social life. That has already been made very apparent.  But as of now, I am up for the challenge. Get back to me in a few weeks on my feelings about that statement, haha. In all seriousness though, I am looking forward to living out God's plan for me during this second semester. It's going to get real, real quick.

One last thing. It wont do them justice, but I just wanted to mention how truly blessed I am to have these young men and women of Christ in my life. Every single day they are challenging me to be a better person and I honestly could never thank them enough for that. I never would have imagined finding such inspirational friends in my college years. Love you guys :)

...The ACTUAL last thing. I started listening to this song a lot over Christmas break and have been loving it. Check it out.

A Lot of Ketchup.

Not really ketchup.

Well guys, it has been a truly amazing break. It may not have been exactly what I had expected, but what was there to expect anyway? My time spent with friends and family has been so valuable and my time spent alone, mostly in the first week and again here in the last week or so, has been much needed and valued as well. Before I get to the exciting stuff I just want to briefly touch on that. 

I am so thankful for the rest that I have been blessed with over this break. I am thankful for the chance I have had to think about the important things, where I would like to see myself, and most importantly, time spent seeking God and his plan. It has been so peaceful.

Christmas was great. I got to spend so much time with family, both the Swift/Hankins side and the Trost/Mayfield/Dinges/Kennedy side. (P.S. To any of my friends who ever receive random comments on facebook from anyone with these last names, it's just my family.)

New Years was pretty awesome as well. I had the privilege of spending it with a lot of new friends this year. After a full night of celebrating Daniel's birthday, cake on faces, cake on boots, bubbly all over just about everything I owned, being compared to Kelly Clarkson's music, and more, I decided I was fully ready to welcome in the new year. Even still, I can say that I am so excited and looking forward to what this year has in store.

If you follow me at all on facebook I am sure you know all of this already, but I'll fill everyone on some details that facebook may not give insight to.  As most of you have seen, I did travel to Chicago with my dearest friends Brooke and Jordan to visit my favorite Chicagoan (is that right?), Morgan.  It was quite a swell time, let me tell you!  I experienced many firsts including: 

My first train ride! And many of them after that.

My first Portillo's hot dog!

Which actually doesn't have any ketchup, coincidentally...

My first reflective picture at The Bean.

My first time in the 2nd tallest building in the world.

My first time making chocolate cupcakes with cookie dough icing.

It was such a great trip. My only regret was not taking a bus to the corner of Canal and Bowery and standing next to him. 

...

It's a song reference, if you don't get it, dont worry about it.

Really.

There is one more regret too, and that would be not asking if we could sit in a different car on the train ride back to St. Louis.  Big mistake.  I am much more... Cultured now, you could say.

Alright, so there is something I wanted to leave for the end. One of my favorite nights of break was my night spent with my friends who have been there for me for many years now. A big group of Ash Grove graduates, plus Tayler :) got together to celebrate both Jadon's and Josh's decision to leave for the military this month.  Jadon, on the right, left for Texas to join the Air Force on January 2nd. Josh, on the left, left for California this week where he is going through boot camp to be a Marine. These are honestly two of the nicest guys I grew up with, and I wish them the best of luck in everything they do!

I will be heading back to Columbia this week to start classes next Tuesday. I am so excited to be back with my Rock family, but I will be missing my real one here in The Grove as well. It is going to be a challenging semester, but I am looking forward to all of the challenges and lessons it brings. Love you guys, thanks for reading :).

In memory of Granny Ruth

I woke up this morning to the news of my Great-Grandmother (Granny Ruth)'s passing. We have been expecting it for a little while now, but her passing still brings sadness, nevertheless. At 92, she lived a very long, mostly healthy life. Granny Ruth saw and experienced things in those 92 years that I could never even imagine. She lived through the depression, raised three children who have been by her side at all times these past few days, made several places to call home over the years, and so much more. She lived all these years and did all these things while never even getting behind the wheel of a car, well, legally anyways. She told me a story once that led me to believe otherwise, but she never did have a driver's license. Like I said, I can't even imagine.

In the time that I knew Granny Ruth, I know she loved many things. She loved her children, her nine grandchildren, her many great-grandchildren that can't be counted on my hands and feet, stealing cookies from the cookie jar, Lucy the Chihuahua, daytime television, watching me "run over those hills!" as she would say, and much much more. 

Although her passing brings sadness, I know in my heart that Granny Ruth lived a long life and is now with her Savior in Heaven visiting with Grandpa Bill, 8 of 10 of her siblings, and her great-grandson, my cousin Hayden.

Here are some photos in her memory:

Great Granny Ruth with Uncle Paul, Uncle Dwain, and my Granny (Jean).

Lucy.

Four generations.

Easter.

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."

Philippians 3:20-21

Some late night blogging.

All of my energy always come so late at night. (Hence the fact that Im blogging at 1:40 in the morning). I could probably contribute it to my multiple cups of coffee I had around 8:30. I don't handle late night caffeine very well.

Christmas was so great. Being home and getting to spend time with my family is always so... Just awesome really. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas. It came so soon this year though, does anyone else agree? I still feel like I should be waiting for Christmas, but it's already come and gone. It was a beautiful holiday, nonetheless.

Next is New Years. I am really looking forward to 2013. Now, I don't believe in New Years resolutions really. Let's face it, they never last. And shouldn't we be bettering our lives at all times of the year? I don't know, that is just my opinion on the matter. HOWEVER, I am still looking forward to the year. 2012 was great, and I will reflect on that in a minute. But I'm ready to close parts of that chapter and move on with my life, while continuing to build on the amazing aspects of my life that have began to evolve in 2012.

2012 in a nutshell:

18th birthday.

My decision to attend the University of Missouri.

Last State Beta Club Convention.

A lot of self-improvement after some major changes in my life.

Last school play.

Graduation.

A summer filled with goodbyes and more self-improvement.

Also, trip to Alabama and Louisiana

  & trip to North and South Carolina

Mizzou.

So many friends.

Connecting with the best church family I could have asked for.

Halloween REMIXED.

Thanksgiving.

Finals.

And now we are here :)

Looking back, it has been a really good year. So many lasts, so many firsts. I'm happy to look back and be able to say that I probably wouldn't change a thing. With all my trials and mistakes have come knowledge. Without every little detail of my past, I might not be where I am today, and I am happy today.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On another note, I've noticed a flaw in my thinking lately and I would to share it. More or less I just want to share it just as a reminder for myself to stop thinking this way. Constantly, I am looking toward the future, planning for the future, imagining the future. "STOP THAT, ANNA. Enjoy now before it is too late. Be better at living in the moment. Sure, be prepared for the future, but don't forget that you will never get this moment back." That's my advice to myself as I have began to notice how quickly my life seems to be passing me by. I am tired of only planning for the future and forgetting to live for every single day, every single moment. I don't know if anyone else struggles with this, but it's something to think about at least.

I apologize for the scatteredness and multiple grammar mistakes in this blog. It's 2:00am and I've lost my mind!

Henry wanted to make an appearance on my blog.

One last thing. I just got iTunes money for Christmas. Album, song or artist suggestions anyone? I can think of plenty I could get, but it has to be really worth it, so give me good ones!

Until next year,

Anna

The sun always rises after a storm.

It has been forever, I know. The last few weeks have been filled with studying, exams, more studying, and more exams. Before that was Thanksgiving break, which was truly amazing. I couldn't have imagined a better break home from school, except if I would have got to spend a little more time with friends from high school. Besides that, it was hard to go back to school after such a good break, but I did it. I stuck it out and finished. My motto throughout the past week has been, "Well, if I fail out of college now at least I can say I completed 24 credit hours!" I'm kidding of course. I won't fail out, but just in case... Anyways, after 6 tests/finals in the last two weeks, I finally made it home on Thursday night. I was so anxious to get home. I'm not really sure why, because I absolutely love my little life I have made in Columbia. Actually, that is probably a lie, I know why I was anxious to get home. Never mind that though, I am already missing my friends from Mizzou. Thank goodness for Brooke, Tori, Jordan and Daniel Boone for living so close to me. 

This break has already been much different than I was thinking it would be. Even just in two days I can tell it is going to be a lot harder than I expected. That's what I get for trying to predict the future. I am convinced though that God is going to use this time for me to grow closer to Him and really make sure I am putting Him first in my life. 

When I think back to where I was even a month ago, I realize I felt so comfortable with my life and the way things were going. With time has come a lot of questions though. Questions about what I am supposed to be doing with my life. Everything from my major to what I am supposed to do with myself over this break. This is hard for me because I like having a plan, it's just my personality. I'm a planner. But I think God is using this time to teach me that I don't always have to have a plan, because He does, and I need to learn to rely on that and trust that.

I don't know much about what these next 5 weeks are going to look like. I have hopes to spend time with friends from Ash Grove, my family, take a trip to Chicago, spend time with Jordan, Tori, Brooke and D.Boone, etc. Those are the only plans I have at this point and that is okay. I am learning to be flexible and take my life as it comes. Maybe I'll even end up back in Columbia sooner than 5 weeks from now, we'll see. I am trying to learn that the best part about not having a plan is knowing that I can be more in tune to God and his plans that way. Thanks D.Boone for that one. Also, sorry I'm referring to you as that, but you understand the confusion. I hope everyone is having a great Christmas break so far. And if you are a real person and have a real job, I'm sorry that you don't get a Christmas break like the rest of us. Unless you are an educator, you are real people and still get a break. Good choice in professions.

Thank you Margaret for introducing to me to this song on this week. Your timing couldn't have been better. It's perfect.

Also, as always, some pics from the last few weeks.

Plaza Canvas Group aka "Hipster CG" after regaining #1 status.

Cotton House, looking good guys.

Haha, love them :)

How many people can we fit into Katie's car? A lot.

I feel so fortunate to have this lovely group of women to share 
my life with every week.