DG NATCON!!

i'm pretty thrilled. the national conference begins two weeks from today! here are just a few things i'm excited about:

1. I GET A JULIE HUG!! jules, renee, and brad are all coming up! and staying with us, i think. i love kresge's! i'm looking forward to seeing all of them again.

2. INSIGHT 3 mini-reunion. josh, julie, and matt will all be around for the weekend! whoo!

3. bag-stuffing. always a blast! and the other volunteers this year are SO much fun.

4. registration. i love talking to people from all over the world and getting them registered for the conference. and, all day friday there is a pre-conference buzz. so exciting.

5. worship. it's always incredible. can't wait.

6. attending the sessions. i'm especially excited to hear sam storms and pastor john.

7. i now have permission to update my facebook status during the sessions, thanks jeremy:)

8. not gonna lie, i'm pretty excited about the chipotle dinner after bag stuffing on wednesday evening...

i just reread that. i sound a bit giddy. and i guess that's ok, because i am rather giddy at the moment.

INSIGHT 4

wow. i cannot believe this is the fourth year of INSIGHT at bethlehem. i have been incredibly blessed to be apart of it through the years. i have gained so many dear friends. this year is no different. i'm already really attached to the students. i never expected to love them this much or so quickly. but they are all wonderful, and they keep me laughing. they have done a wonderful job and reaching out and involving me in their lives. i'll say it again. i'm SO blessed.

a few weeks ago, mom and i went on the fall retreat. it was a blast! the ride up was hilarious. ryan g. got everyone started on funny/embarrassing stories. andrew and shane engaged in a lengthy and humorous conversation on all things sci-fi. and i got to hear all about katie's family.

the rest of the retreat consisted of sharing testimonies - always a sweet time. several crazies who decided to tube in the cold, rainy weather. many games of dutch blitz.

a community effort to finish a 1000 piece puzzle, marshall, becca, and i stuck it out 'til the end:) lots of food. lots of laughing. the funniest part of the whole weekend was trying to figure out and replicate the stitched artwork in the hallway.

bizarre. i know.

then, the ride home. oh, it was so fun! mom was being really funny. ryan and i quoted brian regan back and forth. and i got to know jeremy so much better, oh man...

all-in-all, good retreat!!

besides the retreat, we've had some really fun times hanging out together: dinner and cut throat mafia at the girl's apartment, bonfire in our backyard, and the BCS scavenger hunt.

becca, katie, beth, kristi, bethany, hannah, jeremy, brandon, brad, shane, sam, devin, andrew, ryan, joe, and luke: i'm thrilled to be able to spend the rest of this year with you! thanks for being wonderful:)

mini update

praise God! i love all my classes this semester. i'm so excited for everything i'm going to learn this year. and i love my homework so far. score.

and it's quizzing season again! first practice this friday!! speaking of, i'm off to memorize. we're working on 1 and 2 corinthians and titus this year. should be pretty great!

oh, and i got a macbook pro this weekend. i'm pretty thrilled. still trying to figure it all out. and trying not to spend too much time on photo booth, as entertaining as it may be...:)

back to real life

so, i feel like a bit of a lame wad, but i'm moving on from the student posts. maybe just postponing them, we'll see... i still love them like crazy, but there are so many things going on that i want to blog about including all my travels this summer, school, and a new year of insight students!

well, i started school again today. i had american novel this morning. so far, i love it. i'm excited to read a bunch of novels, and my teacher is SUPER funny. i'm really looking forward to having a schedule again.

this week, i've been working at sweet martha's cookie jar, a cookie booth at the minnesota state fair. so far, so good. it's hard work and i come home aching and exhausted, but it's a blast!

i'm listening to michael jackson again. he has been my most-listened-to the past month or so. musical genius.

i'm officially loving september in minneapolis. it's beautiful today.

i had the nastiest corn chowder today. i'm still nearly gagging from the taste in my mouth... i'm going to go brush my teeth.
alrighty, i'm back. much better.

well, i have another class in a few minutes, so i'm off and absolutely delighted to be back in real life!

ciao ciao:)
-whit