Two.

I first met Daniel in sixth grade. We were in the same band class. He played trombone. I played flute. We ended up being in band together all three years of middle school. Also in middle school, we were a part of something much more important. Our band teacher led a Bible study on Thursday mornings. We'd gather in the bonus room in a wonderful family's home with other middle school students and start our mornings in the Word. I got me through my middle school years.

Yes, I know this isn't middle school, but I don't have one from middle school readily available. So this will have to suffice.
On the river, Summer, 2010

Daniel and I became better friends in high school. We had a similar group of friends and were part of a lunchtime Bible study. We got to be a part of one of the largest youth outreach events our senior year. We celebrated with a group of friends at his house before our senior prom. I found an awesome friend in Daniel. He helped make high school as awesome as it was.

Senior prom, Spring 2005

He went to college in southern California. I traveled down there to help move one of my best friends into (a different) school and a group of friends went to Disneyland, Daniel included. During spring break, I went and visited my best friend, and once again got to enjoy Disneyland with friends. Daniel and I stayed in contact, not as much as we used to, and spent time together with friends over the summers. I was still thankful for this friendship.

Spring break trip to Disneyland, 2006

After we had both graduated from college, I was living in Corvallis. Daniel was living in Portland. When fall and football season arrived, I knew I could count on Daniel to have a love for OSU football. I decided to ask him if he would be at an upcoming game, and he said he would be. We agreed to meet up and say a quick hello before the game started. Seeing him again served as just another reminder of how thankful I was to consider him a friend.

Easter, 2010

After that game, we began talking more often. I had two season tickets to all the OSU football games and was always searching for friends to take the extra ticket. Daniel (happily) agreed to take the tickets and we enjoyed the last two games together. After the last game, he drove me back to my parents' house and we spent some time together, watching other football games. Now, by this point in time, we were talking daily, and throughout most of the day via text. While watching the game, I decided to try a little experiment. I told him to feel how cold my hand was and I placed it on his own palm. He responded with "it's not that cold" and I immediately thought...experiment failed. But to my very pleasant surprise, it did not. He intertwined his fingers with mine and held my hand. YES...thank goodness. When he eventually had to drive back up to Portland, he grabbed my hand as we walked outside and we said goodbye, agreeing to see each other the following weekend, as I was going to be up in Portland for "something else" (which I honestly don't remember now).

OSU v. TCU Game, September, 2010

November 22, 2009, I headed up to Portland and over to Daniel's house. We sat in his basement, talking about what we were going to do. After getting over the shock of me not yet having seen this movie, we decided to watch "Up." His mom later asked if I would be staying for dinner. Now, at this point, I had known Sarah for years, and I will tell you this...when she offers dinner, you say yes. Not just to be polite to her, but to be polite to your taste buds. She asked Daniel and me to run to the store to pick up some last minute items. We finished the movie and, before we left, Daniel stopped me. He grabbed my hands and said he was going to wait until we went to Zoo Lights the next weekend (which, good thing he didn't, because we didn't end up going), but that he instead wanted to ask now. He then asked me if I would be his girlfriend. With rosy cheeks and a massive grin, I said yes.

On the boat, Summer 2010

November 22, 2011; two years to the day that Daniel asked me that question. As I look back over the past two years, I am amazed. I am amazed, one, at how quickly the last two years have gone. I am amazed, two, at all he and I have been through. Our relationship hasn't been perfect by any means. But we have always come out stronger. We're both in graduate school, working on finding the balance in life (if that's even possible).

Ski Bowl at Mt. Hood, Summer, 2010

I cannot even begin to express just how thankful I am to have this man in my life. He is an incredible man of God with an indescribably beautiful servant's heart. He is a true gentleman, which is (unfortunately) a rare find these days. He is kind and joyful and makes everything more fun. He is passionate and driven. He is a constant in my life, reminding me to find joy and praying me through everything. I know this sounds cheesy, but I am truly better just by being with him.

Hoodoo, New Years, 2010

Daniel, thank you for keeping Christ at the center of our relationship and for being a man of integrity. Thank you for being my rock, for challenging me, and for reminding me what it means to find joy in everything. Thank you for your encouragement and your willingness to go on this journey with me. I'm glad my hand fits so perfectly in yours. I like you infinity.

Beach Trip, August, 2010

Tradition?

I love following people's blogs. Even though I may not be close with them, I feel like I can get to know them and connect with them based on what they write. I have a new favorite blog, thanks to Brooke. I have never met this woman, but she has the most precious little daughter with Down syndrome and I love beautiful and honest her story is. If you want to check it out, visit www.kellehampton.com. She does this thing called a "Friday Phone Dump," where she makes a collage of photos that she's taken throughout the week. Genius. So friends, I will be doing the same. I don't want to steal her title, so I have to come up with something creative...suggestions are more than welcome, please. Anyways...until then, enjoy!

Sisterhood = Prison?

I decided before I left for college that I definitely wanted to join a sorority. Many of my family members were a part of the Greek system when they went to school and loved it. So why not?

I went through formal sorority recruitment and it didn't work out. I can't tell you why exactly, but it just didn't work out. But I was still determined, so I signed up for informal recruitment. I was invited over to Delta Delta Delta (DDD) for an event. There was a moment during one of the events where I just felt at home. I felt like I belonged in this house and I wanted SO badly to be a part of it. Thank goodness they felt the same way...a few days later I was offered a bid.

Being in the house made me the happiest girl in the world and had a huge part in making my college experience what it was. I had a house full of girls that I could turn to for anything and everything. People that used to be strangers suddenly became family. I was at home.

In my junior year, I decided that I no longer wanted to be a teacher. Five terms left of school and my life was directionless. I turned to my sisters and, even though they didn't have all the answers, they provided insight and comfort. Turns out that was exactly what I needed.

As I was spending some time in another room in the house, I asked one of the girls what class they were reading for. She began telling me about this class she was in called "Inside-Out." This class takes a small group of students from the university to the Oregon State Penitentiary, Oregon's maximum security prison, and inmates there become classmates. She had nothing but wonderful things to say about the experience. I asked her for more information about it and spoke to the instructor of the class about it. One thing led to another and, before I knew it, I was sitting with 14 other students from my university, learning about the dos and don'ts of prison.

Summer passed and school had started again. It was a lovely Oregon fall day and I loaded my car up with three other students for our journey to Salem. The car was buzzing with excitement and nerves, wondering what to expect. We parked and made the long walk to what has to be one of the most daunting looking buildings you'll ever see in your life. You go through a metal detector, trade your license for a red visitor badge, and listen to gates as they slam behind you. Five flights of stairs later and we're seated in chairs, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our classmates. They began to trickle in, all of them in blue, circulating the room, shaking our hands and asking to sit next to us. Once we started talking, you couldn't stop us. Life was good for people on both sides of the razor wire.

I can't remember a time when ten weeks went as fast as those ten weeks did. When our final class arrived, we celebrated. We ate too much. We laughed. We said goodbye. This wasn't a typical goodbye. This was a legitimate "I'm never going to see, hear from, or talk to you ever again" goodbye. Friends, that is the hardest kind of goodbye there is. It sucks.

As I drove away from the prison for the last time, I figured it out. The stories that these men shared, the heartbreak and they joy they brought willingly and beautifully to the table...those are what led me to consider correctional counseling. Those are what led to me to believe that these guys deserve a chance and someone who believes that.

I'm now in graduate school for counseling. I'm almost done...as in five and a half months left almost done (not that I'm counting). I'm in my internship at Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility, one of the state's close custody facility for adjudicated young men. Many of the students at school say they have the best site. They are horribly wrong, because I know I have the best site.

Had it not been for the interesting title of the book that one of my sister's was reading, for the mini crisis that I was having, for not being a DDD, for not going through informal recruitment, for not choosing to join a sorority...I wouldn't be where I am today. People think I'm crazy for wanting to work in a prison, and I can see that. I get it. But the heart and the Lord lead you to exactly where you need to be. I guess cement walls, blue jeans, and razor wire is my calling.

Hi.

I've decided to try out this whole blog thing. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to talk about it. For all I know, I'm going to just use this place to spill out what's on my mind. I'll try to avoid it, but I can't make any promises. And who knows...maybe my words will connect with someone somehow.

Most of you who are going to read will likely know who I am. So to you all, I apologize for this introductory post. I guess you'll just have to come back and see what else I write. Or you can read more and maybe learn something new. For those that don't know me...hello. Here are the top 11 things you need to know about me (don't ask me why I chose 11):

1. I love the Lord. Seriously...He's awesome. He's led me in a variety of directions I never had planned on going, let alone looking at. Thank goodness He's been with me the entire way.

This obviously isn't me, but I love this picture. It's a guy I went to Haiti with and I feel as though this photo says "Sometimes, you just have to lean on Him." Story of my life and I am thankful.

2. I'm a student. I'm in year two of graduate school, working towards a masters degree in counseling. If all goes as planned, I'll be graduating on April 28.

3. My family is awesome. I know everyone claims that their family is the best, but mine legitimately is. Immediate and extended...best ever. They have blessed me immensely.

My immediate family. Dad, mom, and big sister. She's smaller than I am, but she's three years older. She has Down syndrome and is the coolest person I know.

4. Meet Daniel. We first met in middle school...in band class. We were friends in high school, went to different colleges in different states, and reunited at an OSU football game. We have been together almost two years now (and by almost, I mean a week from today will be two years).

This is Daniel. Yeah...I kinda like this kid.

5. Haiti is where I want to be. I spent some time in Haiti in March on a mission with my Church. It absolutely ranks in my most life changing experiences. I can't wait to go back.

This is Lovely, an orphan I had the opportunity to love on for a few hours. She wouldn't let me put her down and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

6. I hope to go to prison after I graduate. Before you jump to conclusions, let me explain. My dream job is that of a correctional counselor. I fully believe that God called me to this through my joining of a sorority in college. Hey, I think I just got an idea for a blog post. Stay tuned, folks, an explanation of how my sorority led me to correctional counseling will be coming soon.

7. There are multiple little ones in my life, eight to be exact, that make me melt like a popsicle on the Fourth of July. A post about each of them will be coming soon. I'm on a roll.

The eight littlest loves of my life:
(Top row - left to right: Tucker - 23 months, Audrey - 5, Emerson - 4, Briella - 3 months)
(Bottom row - left to right: Catherine - 12, Caroline - 2, Beckett - 3, Elliot - 2)

8. I have the best dog in the world. She rescued me (some will claim I rescued her) a little over a year ago. Hey look...three posts now to look forward to!

This is my Lilly Bean. She's a seven year old Heintz 57 dog (we have determined that she's pit bull, border collie, husky, and beagle).

9. I have some of the loveliest friends a girl could ask for. Many are local. Some live a state away. Some live across the country and others live out of the country (currently...they're in Haiti...lucky). I am a rich person because of them.

10. I l-o-v-e taking pictures. Over the summer, I had my first love affair with a D-SLR and I have been hooked ever since. People make fun of me for taking pictures all the time, but they'll thank me someday. I just know it. I hope to someday have a small photography business on the side, but we'll see...I have a ways to go.

11. I try to be an open book. I'll gladly talk to you about my rockstar mother who kicked cancer's butt. I'm not afraid to tell you what it's been like growing up with a sister that has Down syndrome. I'll talk your ear off about prisons and how much I love my internship at the youth correctional facility.

Maybe that's why I started this blog...to start my book. To open my heart to others in hopes of opening eyes and hearts.

So thank you for stopping by. Maybe I've already driven some of you away. Maybe I've hooked you. Who knows...but either way, I'm looking forward to meeting you.