WANTED

WANTED: Two young girls on roller blades are being sought for questioning after holding up traffic on Morton Avenue last night at around 9 pm. Witnesses say the two were heading down the road, headed towards the Dairy Queen. They apparently changed their minds and then went to the truck stop, buying coca cola icies before returning out to the road. The two are being sought on charges of running red lights and causing all North bound traffic to switch to the left lane, causing back up problems. Anyone with information of this incident should report to the Morton police station immediately.

Home again

I'm back. And I'm wondering if that's makes me happy or not. Adam helped me wonder somemore when he called my cell phone at 8 am this morning. Twice. (Please keep in mind that 8 am here is 6 am Mexico time)

My flight was long. I sat by this family with 3 boys, ages 6, 4, and 2. They kept me pretty entertained. Everything was an adventure for them; especially taking off and landing. They thought the bathroom was pretty neat too. :D

I learned some great jokes while in Mexico and I think I'll share them. Despite the fact that so far, everyone thinks they are dumb, I still like them.
1. Girls are better than guys. Want to know why? Whats a girl's best friend? A diamond. Whats man's best friend? A dog.
HAHAHA (are you laughing?)
2.What blood type are you? I'm IB positive. I B positive you ain't coming near me with that needle.

That's all I'll torture you with for a while :D

Monday is cookie day

Yep, it was cookie day. Brooke, Katie, John, Ben, Heather, Helen and I turned out about 16 dozen cookies. Oatmeal and Peanut Butter. Great fun! It took hours, but we got it all done. We all wore the great aprons again. Then we hung out and attempted to play chutes and ladders. Then I played with Timmy, and then we all left. We went out to eat tonight with Joe and Denise, and Brooke, Jenna, and Emily at this place called Momos. It was great! Then we went to the grocery store and I bought beer pops. Never had them, but I was told not to come home without them.

At the restaurant, they have balloons with helium in them. We got some, and then took videos. Hehe...Twinkle Twinkle Little Star sounds really funny when you just inhaled helium. :D

I also got the family presents today, but I can't say what they are. I have no idea how I'm going to fit all my extra stuff on the way home. My bag was stuffed on the way out.

The weekend

And what a weekend it was. Saturday morning, Katie, John, Ben and I went into town and I got another pina colada. I asked, and no, they don't have alcohol in them. When we got back, we watched Phantom of the Opera. Now I have all the Schicks singing opera too. Hehe. Its great. Between singing opera, we quote from Pride and Prejiduce. "Oh what are men compared to rocks and mountains; and carriages that work." :D

Then Katie and I layed out. I don't think I got any sun, but we got Katie's whole wedding planned. :D Then it was out to the campus for supper. When we got back, we walked into town again, and Katie and I got chocolate shakes and we watched people dance.

When we got back, we had some real fun. It was possibly the most fun thing I have done since getting here. Picture a 1 1/2 inch cockroach in the shower, 5 people crammed into a tiny bathroom, very flammable air freshner, a lighter, a loud "foomph", a bright light, and lastly, one very crisp roach. Total fun. If you want to see footage, ask me, cause I caught the whole thing on video.

Today was church, all in Spanish, so I sat there, catching a word here and there, but generaly having no idea whats going on. After church, I helped make lunch with Brooke, Jenna, Katie, Heather, and Heather's grandma. The aprons are great! Back at home, we watched Princess Bride, and then Katie and I did some shoe shopping online. Back at the campus for supper, I served butter and sour cream (for the baked potatoes). Then all the above mentioned people washed the dishes. Wearing the awesome apron again. I am seriously begginning to wonder if I am destined to wash dishes for the rest of my life. Then my mom called, and I got to hear the announcement news. Major shocker! Then we all sang, again in Spanish, but I can at least read the words and sing the tune. Then we all got chased around by Emily, who was holding a frog. Andres was hilarious. He wanted to hold it, but every time Emily came close to him, he'd scream and almost choke me.

Anyway, thats my news for the weekend.

Learning Spanish

Yep, I am learning Spanish. It's a slow but sure process. I added about 5 new words to my vocabulary today.

This morning Katie and I woke up when John came in and told us it was time for breakfast. We both stumbled out of the room and had started down the stairs when John gave us this increnus look and informed us that there were 7 people over for breakfast. We quickly got dressed and made ourselves look presentable. There were indeed people over, and after they left Katie and I did the dishes, and then I read my book. For lunch we went out to the campus, and for the first meal since I got here, we didn't have beans and tortillas. After lunch, Katie and cleaned some stuff in the school room, and then read books to Blanca. Well, Katie read books. I didn't understand a word from any of them. Then we went back home, and I read my book and drank diet pepsi and ate twizzlers. Mexican diet pepsi is SO good! Its way better than the pepsi made in the US. I want to bring some home with me :D We went back out to the campus for supper, which was another awesome supper that included beans and tortillas. Then I played catch with Andres and Timmy, two little boys that live there. They are so cute! On Friday nights they have this youth group type thing at the campus, so we went during the singing, but we left before the Bible study and games. And now we are going to watch Pride and Prejudice. I love that movie!

Oh, I have funny story about John! Tonight while we were eating supper he asks: "Is today Friday?" To which I answered: "Yes." He was quiet for a little bit, and then says: "Oh, I thought yesterday was Thursday." Katie and I stared at him for a while, and then died laughing. He didn't catch on for a long time, and then it finally occured to him how dumb his statment was. Hehe....just a funny story to brighten your day.

Today was super hot. Like 104 degrees. And its still 92 degrees now. Sigh...I really wish there was air conditioning at U. Bill and A. Joan's and at the campus.

Dirt

Today was a dirty day. If I ever thought Kansas was dusty, I had so never been to Mexico. There is only dirt, dust, and sand, and its windy. Anyway, this morning one of the little girls, Betsa, came over. I played about 15 games of Chutes and Ladders with her. Seriously. It was interesting, cause I didn't understand her, and she didn't understand me, but it went fine. I have the first 6 numbers in Spanish down pat. A while before lunch we went out to the campus, and Emily and I whipped up a chocolate cake. Then we had lunch. They eat alot of hamburger with beans and totillas and stuff. After lunch, Emily and I stuck around and made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies. Then we headed out to the barn, where we cleaned stalls and then we sadled up and went riding. It was really fun. We rode down to this dry river bed a ways behind the campus, and we ran the horses in it. I am very sore now; I have to be real careful when I sit down. :) Then we came in and cleaned up and ate supper. I had real Mexican guacamole, and I actually liked it. Then we ran around outside with the kids, and then came back home. But we weren't there for long before we headed for the plaza for "Culture Days". Katie and I shared fresh squeezed lemanade, and I tried this Mexican thing called Churros. It was awesome- it tasted kinda like a funnel cake. Than we walked around, and listened to this group play music, and we just got back.

And that is just another day in the life of Heidi while in Mexico. :)

An interesting day

As fun as my first full day in Mexico was, it wasn't exactly what I had pictured. First of all, I woke up laughing because the gas man came down the street and his music was SO funny. I guess the different gas companies each have a song and it plays constantly. So after that, I thought about getting up. I hurried out of bed quickly when Zion (thier dog) bounded into the room to give me a kiss, which according to Ben is a sign of affection, but I'd rather do without. This morning I actually woke up to him licking my face. Gross! Anyway, I got up, and went down stairs to eat breakfast. It is very interesting when you pick a box of cereal and don't know what kind it cause its all written in Spanish. I ended up eating Lucky Charms because I could recognize the guy on the front. Then we went out to the campus and for the rest of the morning, I proceeded to clean out horse stalls with Emily. Then was lunch, and then Katie and I relaxed and read a book for a couple of hours.

Church was last night, all in Spanish. I think I caught about 4 words out of the whole thing: Fire, tongue, yes, and thank you. I got to meet some of the little kids, not that I could say anything to them that they would understand, and vice versa. After church, we went to the plaza, and I got this pina' colada drink that consisted of pineapple, lemon, and lime juice, as well as cocconut milk. It was SO good, maybe one of the best things I've had in a long time. When we got home, A. Joan dug out some old home videos and we watched those for a while. There was one of me and Tyler "making a movie" about his missing bull frog. The best thing of the whole movie is when A. Joan asks us our names and I say about Tyler: "His real name is Leroy, but everyone calls him Encylopedia." Hehe...I have no idea where I came up with that. Then we watched footage of a bunch of guys riding bikes off a ramp into a lake. It looks like a blast. I wanna try it sometime.

It took me 3 showers before I finally figured out the water faucet. In Mexico, they are switched. The hot water is on the left, and the cold is on the right. Also, the Spanish word for hot starts with a C, so the hot water faucet is marked with a C. It was a cold 3 showers.

My first day

Well, I made it safely to Mexico. (Obviously since I'm writing this post.) My plane to Minneapolis was very small; it only had about 10 rows of seats. When I got to Minneapolis, I was in for a shock. I was no longer in Peoria with only 8 terminals. I had to take a tram and then walk for a long time, going up and down stairs before I finally got to the right gate. Aunt Joan got my flight time mixed up so I was waiting at the airport for over an hour before they got there. Then we went out to eat and ran a whole bunch of errands.

Some random thoughts I've had since I left: 1. Why do you have to wear seat belts on planes? I mean, if the plane crashes, wearing a seat belt isn't going to save you. 2. Flying over Peoria looks a whole lot different than flying over Arizona. Peoria was all green, and AZ was totally brown. 3. Everything down in AZ in Spanish. While in Walmart, I noticed that all the signs were witten in Spanish, and I could count on one hand the caucasian people I've seen since getting here. 4. It is very hot in Mexico. It was 94 degrees this afternoon. 5. John doesn't know how to do laundry. (i.e. Do you use the same laundry detergent to wash whites as you do colors? hehe...he just asked me that. At least he can start the washer.) 6. You feel really dumb when people talk to you in Spanish and you have absolutly no idea what they are saying. (I was asked to move the cart while in Walmart. Thankfully A. Joan came to the rescue, cause I had no idea what the lady wanted) 7. Do NOT pet the cat. He will bite. The dog is a friendly though. (a little to friendly if you want my honest opinion.) 8. I can't use a laptop. I am using one now and its taking me forever to move the arrow around. 9. According the time here, I have been up since 2am.

And thats all I have to say right now. I think we are going to go to the campus tomorrow. We all oppted to stay at home and chill tonight.

One more random thought: My spelling is going to bad cause the spell checker is being blocked by the computer. :)

Traever's crucifix

Away I go to Mexico

I can't believe it. 24 hours from now, I will be in Minneapolis Minnesota, switching planes before I continue on to Tucson. It seems very surreal. I mean, I'm the girl that's gone to Kansas for every spring, summer, and winter break since I was about 13. I've never been out of the country, and now I'm flying across the country to go to Mexico for a week. Wow.

Yesterday was Schick family Mother's Day at out house. Having the Schicks is always interesting. A few examples: Traever constructing a duplo crucifix and trying to convert Wesley; Jason's story about the farmer that took a sheep worming pill, which took him forever to tell because he was laughing so hard; Grandma talking really loud the entire night (she's getting a little hard of hearing); Me washing all the dishes; 3rd and 4th helpings of dessert; And hearing Jessica and Lynette's stories about their sweet, adorable kids. I skipped out at about 8 :15 and went to my grandma's to borrow a suitcase. I think it's a bad sign when you only have half of your clothes in a suitcase and it's already full.

Hopefully I'll get around to doing a few posts while I'm gone, but then again, maybe I'll be having to much fun to even think about it! :D

Still not studying

Well, another day has gone by. Another day that I haven't even looked at my math book. The way I figure, I'm going to have to re-learn the whole book on Monday between the hours of 10 am and 5 pm. Than I wonder if I shouldn't study at all, just to see how much I really retained. (Which would probably be about nil).

I cleaned my room today, and the big pile of clothes laying on my chair has now returned to the closet and dresser. I don't know why, but I have trouble keeping my clothes in the closet. Usually, my closet is about empty and my clothes are either on the chair in my room or hanging on the hooks in the bathroom. Its a good thing I don't share my room or bathroom with anyone else. I did have to think, if I move to Kansas, and if I just happen to room with Chelsie, that you would never see beds, desks, or any other surface.

On my way to work tonight, I stopped at Leman's and I got to see Cliff. He is actually a cute newborn, and very sweet. I wish I had an older sibling so I could have nieces and nephews.

3 more days till Mexico!!

Break (almost)

I have now been done with my "hard" finals (I still have one more Mon. night) for a little over 24 hours, and I have accomplished a lot. I have written a resume (okay, so my mom wrote a resume, but I sat right there and told her what sounded good), gone out for lunch, gone shopping, been sick, cleaned my bathroom (the clothes that are supposed to be in my closet have returned home after a very long stay at the hooks on the wall), finished putting away clothes that have been sitting in a duffel bag on my bathroom floor since I went to Kansas almost 3 weeks ago, and worked my way through a big bunch of books, including Jane Eyre, A Woman Name Damaris, A Bride for Donnigan, and They Called Her Mrs. Doc. What a great 24 hours it has been.

Sick of studying

Yeah, that would explain me right now. My mom keeps trying to tell me that I only have 12 1/2 hours till my biology final and that I should study, but I'm sick of it. I studied the digestive system for a whole hour today. How boring. I need tips on studying when you just really don't feel like it. I can beat stress; figured that one out a while ago. Here's the formula: eat 3 cookies and take a 45 min. nap. It does wonders. :)

My weekend

My weekend was a typical weekend at home - pretty boring. I went to sing at Washington Christian Village on Friday night. Jenny was there and it was so great to know that she hadn't fallen off the face of the earth. So on Saturday I attempted to study, I really did, but didn't actually end up getting a lot done. Work on Saturday night was a lot of fun. I got to work with Audrey, and it was a blast. Then church today, and my brother's birthday party tonight. He's 9 now. Wow... We had tons of people crammed around our table (14 people + 1 highchair) but no spilled water glasses (only scoops of ice cream sliding around). The sweetest boy in the world came, and I think we have more pictures of Wesley than we do Luke! I'm trying to think of things to write because I really don't want to go study for my history and music finals tomorrow morning. Alright, I'm going to study. Wish me luck on my finals!

I have survived and other random things

Wow. I have now survived two semesters of the most in-depth anatomy and physiology class I could have asked for. Know whats really scary? How about the fact that I have now learned (or at least should have learned at some point) all the anatomy and physiology I will need as a nurse. I told my mom that she asked me if I feel like I know enough. I don't.

Last night my whole family sat down and ate supper together for the first time in weeks. It was great! I think we sat there for a whole hour, just eating and talking. We all told stories that we cracked up about but anyone outside our family wouldn't think funny at all. Great times.

This morning on the way to school, I actually got to pass people. It was really fun. Despite the fact that I speed (going way over sometimes) I am still the slowest car on the road. If I go with the flow of traffic, I would have to go about 80 mph; and I refuse to do that. I think that my speedometer is off. But this morning I passed a lot of people. Maybe my speedometer got fixed.

I know I'm spoiled, but I really like having an automatic garage door opener; I especially like it know that my garage door doesn't' work. I've gotten used to having to push it up to back out and then closing it before I leave; I'm fine with it. But last night someone decided to be safety conscious and clamp the door handle to something- without telling me. So this morning (at 6:30am- not when I am in the best of moods) I rushed out the door, threw my stuff in the car, and pulled the garage door open. It didn't budge. So I tried again, pulling up as hard as I could. And it still didn't move. I was getting a little annoyed, but I thought I would try one more time before I went in to wake Adam so he could help me figure this out. I tried, and it didn't go up. Then I noticed that clamp on the side, so I undid the clamp, pulled up the garage door, and sure enough, it went up like a charm. (I, on the other hand, was not feeling so charming)

Yesterday I knew I need to study, but I wanted to go on a walk to, so I grabbed my notes for my bio final, and headed out to the road. I'm sure I looked like a nut, walking along the road reading my bio notes and weaving along the side of the road. It ended up being a long walk. I just kept going, and when I looked up, I was almost to Morton! (at the corner of some road and Hirstein)

Only 1 more day of school and then finals! Hurray!

Two Ugly Sisters

Luke (my brother) is usually pretty outspoken about how he thinks I look, but today was about the worst.
He went to the barber to get his hair cut, and the lady (his barber is a lady named Angie) was talking about how her co-worker thinks she should brush her hair more often. She then asked Luke what he thought and he replied in his typical non excited manner :"Doesn't matter to me; I have two ugly sister." I'm told the whole place about died.

I Surrender All

This morning as I was getting ready for school, I was singing this song, and it occurred to me that if I could have only one prayer for my life, that this song would pretty much sum it up. I couldn't remember all the words, but after looking through every song in two hymn books and a call to my uncle, I finally found out the words to the last verse.

All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him, in his presence daily live.

All to Jesus I surrender, humbly at his feet I bow.
Worldly pleasures all forsaken, take me Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender, make me Savior wholly Thin.
Let me feel the Holy Spirit, truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord I give myself to Thee.
Fill me with Thy love and power, let Thy blessing fall on me.

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

Givers and Takers

Last night I was reading this devotional book that I have been going through for the past week or so, and this portion of the chapter just really stuck out at me, and has been sticking with me today.

"Teacher Bill Gothard illustrates the difference between "energy givers, energy takers, and energy wasters." An energy giver is joyful in spirit and considers the needs of others before her own. An energy taker expects to be served and is a continual drain on others. An energy waster is able to contribute yet complains about the work and weighs down the spirits of others, thinking only of herself. We daily have a choice to make. Will we be "givers," "takers," or "wasters?" Life will be difficult, yes. Yet as Abraham Lincoln once said, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." We can choose to bring sunshine or rain by our attitude and disposition. As Christian's, we have a joyful task of bringing sunshine in a way that can brighten even the most difficult days!
Certainly there may be times when we struggle to be willing, but even then, we can choose to have a joyful spirit. The Bible say we are to work "...Heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Col. 3:23) Our emotions may not be in line initially, but they will follow our outward actions. Ask God to give you a joyful willing spirit, then go at your task with a smile and wait for your heart to catch up!

So many days I complain about the things I have to do, and go about doing things with a bad attitude. If I smile, and say a prayer for a better attitude, God will help me. And even if my heart is still complaining, it will eventually become content in my task.

An Awesome Weekend

This is weekend, I got to go to Kansas again. It was such a great weekend, full of great talks, an awesome Bible study, and very inspirational singing. Some other highlights include:

~Getting to talk to Shelli without being at work or talking on the phone
~Not sleeping the whole way out or on the way home (not that I didn't want to)
~Having Chelsie make up a "chores list" for when I move to Kansas
~Cleaning the Ronald McDonald House
~Anna's incredibly comfortable bed
~Sharing testimonies on the way home (mine was definitely the most boring)
~Somehow finding a $10 bill in my car when I went to leave Morton (hum...I wonder how that got there)
~The Bible study on 1 Corinthians 3:1-15
~Singing in the dark
~Discussing what we thought it would look like when Jesus comes back