Following HIS Lead

well, since my last post we have traveled through PA, WV, OH, IN and currently in KY fixing to go to TN.

in leiu of going to NYC val and i went to grove city, PA, the birthplace of our friendship. it was great to see larry, melissa and the kids,


we had some good food and much needed sleep, and of course, lets not forget SHEETZ.



sunday after church we headed to kentucky to visit yet another one of val's leadershape friends. katie k is really cool-i liked her a lot. we saw superman returns on the IMAX-and in 3-D, quite exciting, let me tell you, and plus we got free disposable cameras!




this morning we got up bright and early, as in 7am (the earliest we've woken up on this trip yet) and spent some time with the Martins! it was so good to hang out with oren and cindy; such a blessing and an encouragement.

as for the rest of our trip, we're planning to be in Nashville to grub with mr. Brinkley and possibly his rockstart roommies, Jeff H and Matt L for lunch, maybe see a little of nashvegas as they like to call it. after nashville its back to Jackson, MS for recovery.

fun fact for the day: I have been to all the midwest/eastern states in the United States of America (thats not including new england). val still lacks minnesota and michigan.

first of all, to all my faithful reader, my sincerest apologies for the lack of posts during our east coast adventure, but our internet availability has been less than stellar; but no worries...we're back online!

the next few posts will account our last couple days along the coast-accompanied with photos :)

enjoy.

current location: brooklawn, NJ
aggie count: 8

Wednesday was a long day.

I met with 3 people at school for 2 hrs. and then we headed out of town and drove to DC. The meetings at school went really well. I met with the summer director of my program, who in fact kinda started the MAIS program. I then went and talked with a girl who graduated from the MAIS program a year ago and now works for the International Affairs department at ECU. Talking with her was very affirming and i decided on my concentraion: International Education Administration. Since i nailed down my concentration i was able to register for my last class. After meeting with Brandi i headed up to the foreign language department, and took care of some legistics stuff and by noon, Val and i were on the road.

My duplex!


Once in DC, literally, right after we walked out of the metro, it began to ran...and not just a light drizzle. We headed up Pennslyvania Ave and saw the White House and Washington Monument. At the WH, we were stopped by a secret service agent, who turned out to be an Aggie (class of '02)..so Val and i were relieved that we werent being arrested and were excited cause he put our Aggie count at 2.




Since it was getting late, and we were coming back Thursday, after a dinner at a hole in the wall joint (and i mean, linoleum was screwed into the wall), we headed out to Baltimore, where we were staying for the night.

Thursday we saw the sights of Maryland and more of DC. We stayed the night with Val's friend Thao, who is a art student at MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art). Let me just tell you, sleeping on hardwood floors isnt the greatest, especially if it feels like your sleeping in an armpit, and there are semitrucks driving down the street at 6am, but on the upside, Thao was an awesome host-she made us crepes and showed us "the real" Baltimore...tacky flamingos, Mexican wrestling masks, and junkie antique/thrift stores.



After seeing the sites in Baltimore, we headed back to DC where we visited the Smithsonian. we saw the air and space museum and the american history one. it was kinda funny seeing a lot of things that i grew up with on display in a museum.




For dinner, we met up with one of Val's buddies and he took us to a great Thai place in Virginia, close where he lives...He's doing an internship at the dep. of justice and lives outside the city. After dinner, we headed out to Philadelphia, but didnt quite make it cause we got stuck in traffic...yeah who gets stuck in traffic at midnight? me and val do. so we ened up staying on the Delaware border, where we hoped to again update our blogs, but it didnt happen.

Today we slept in until 10 and then headed off to Philadelphia. We got into town and got in line to see the "sacred relic" of our great nation: the Liberty Bell; after an intense security search, we were able to take in all the bell's greatness.


After the Liberty Bell, we walked over to the Visitors Center to figure out what our next moves were going to be. After a yummy philly cheesesteak, we walked around The 2nd bank where many portraits of important US leaders are kept. can you guess whose in the portrait? I'll give you a multiple choice: A. John Kerry or B. Andrew Jackson after The Second Bank, we attempted to get on the internet with Philly's free wifi because we had some free time before our tour of Independence Hall started, but it wasnt working right, so we chilled in the visitor's center.

The "birthplace" of our nation was a cool place. Inside the historical park we went into Congress Hall, and then into the Independence Hall, where the Delcaration of Independence was signed-where yet again, the securtiy was tight..as in take off belts and watches (why? we're not really sure).



After the tour we headed out of town, and found a hotel. Grabbed some dinner at Friendly's and now are relaxing in the hotel room.

Check back around Sunday...tomorra we're headed out to Grove City to visit the Lewis family!

So "life is highway, I'm gonna ride it all night long..."-thats the motto of this trip: ALL NIGHT LONG

my trip to Jackson was quite uneventful-me and my luggage (minus my travel pillow) arrived around 6:00, I ate with Valerie's friend Anna and her family...her and her husband Grant are really cool and they have 2 really sweet kids. I hung out with them until Val got into Jackson which was until 11:00pm. Once home we crashed. Overnight was when things decided to get crazy.
We woke up Monday morning and her car wasn't ready, so we couldn't leave as planned..and so we waited, and waited, and waited and then waited some more. Val had so much grace and patient with the mechanics and we were finally on the road at 6:30pm in Val's mom's Explorer (Thanks Claudine!) cause her car still had problems. So we drove straight through the night Mississippi to Alabama, up to Georgia, South Carolina and finally to my soon to be new home of Greenville, North Carolina.

Here in Greenville has been quite exciting already. i met my roommate, Brandi, shes going to be a grad student in the fall studying Public Health. I think i'm gonna like her a lot and think it will be good living with her. We got ourselves a nice little duplex close to main campus..and its pretty cheap. Tomorra im meeting with my advisor and meeting some peeps in the department and then we'll be heading up to Baltimore, MD.

well, we're gonna find some grub.
grace & peace,
alisha

well, we arrived at 10am this morning droopy eyed and very excited to be out of the explorer.

valerie has the most recent post, check it out at vblakey.blogspot.com, but i'll put up more later...

peace from the east,
lish

unfortunately, this weekend i was without my camera so there are not photos to share with yall of the fun weekend I had with Charlotte, Emory and Mik. BUT i will let you read about it!

Sunday afternoon me, Charlotte and Emory drove up to Charlotte's house on Lake Grandbury to relax, play in the lake and celebrate the 4th of July in style.
Most of the time we were playing 42 and the dominoe "put up" game. Monday we all slept in and purchased the goods needed for the fun that night. after Charlotte's dad got off work we hit the water and i attempted to learn to water ski-and failed miserably. we had fun, the lake was pretty empty, Mik knee boarded, Emory did as well as I did and Charlotte showed us all up..but she grew up on the lake! After dinner, we headed up to the FBC-Grandbury parking lot to launch the 22 2 liters of diet sam's cola and the 7 boxes of mentos we purchased earlier that day. let me tell you it was awesome. apparently the phenomenon is to watch the diet coke spray out of the bottle, but we did it extreme-launching and throwing them in the air, watching them crash down and going flying in crazy directions exploding diet coke everywhere; we even got one to clear a light pole! we also experiemented with regular cola and dr. thunder, but neither worked as well as the diet coke. Tuesday rolled around and we all woke up early to hit the lake while it was smooth. I succeeded at wake boarding as well as knee boarding. After playing we headed to the square for lunch and to walk around, and it was scorching hot. The rest of the day was spent at the Terrel's preparing for the 4th party and once the guest came talking and mingling. Wednesday on the way home to CS i was hurting, and still am a little bit. All my muscles and joints were pretty sore, but it was fun nevertheless

It was a great couple of days to get away and good fellowship with summer friends that i didnt know very well, but got to know better. I was glad to get the invite and the Terrel's hospitality and kindness was such a blessing. My 42 fix was met and we had a bunch of laughs.

thats it...i've been working parttime back at aggieland...not my favorite, but i needed some income.
I leave for North Carolina in 4 days and then will be road tripping it with Valerie all the way up to Philadelphia back down through Kentucky and Nashville. I'll be back home in CS the 23rd and will most likely start packing for the big cross-country move.

I've officially been registered for 2 courses: Global Communication and International Problem Solving; which i've been able to look at one of the syllabi and i cant wait!

grace & peace,
lish

summer school is officially done.

hopefully next week i'll start part time work at the day care.

thats all

peace,
lish

both sets of keys have been found, put your worrying hearts at ease!

...Find Alisha's Keys

how is it possible to lose 2 sets of keys in one day? lucky for me, ive found the least important of the two; still on the search for my house keys

i might possibly have a roommate up in greenville.
i'll keep yall updated.

i'm headed to houston this weekend; fun times await me. the wedding is for a girl i grew up in houston with...should be a pretty fun reunion. people there i havent seen in like 5 or 6 years...and then i get to hang out with mr. meads. thats all, i know its not a super exciting post, but i'm bored at work and so messing around on the internet is all i can do....

anyways,

peace in the middle,
lish

i just felt the need to share how incredibly HUGE my bandage is.....

comforting words from my dr. as he instructs the medical student on fixing my toe:

"a good surgeon would do it like this...I mean, not that I'm not a good surgeon, but well, i do it differently..."

needless to say, my toe is fine..i have the most ginormous bandage on it right now and a really hot, blue paper slipper...im pretty sure my foot isnt going to fit in a shoe.

peace out,
lish

best-
Function: adjective, superlative of GOOD
~excelling all others

is best something you can measure?
what makes someone your best friend? i mean cause a lot of people have more than one best friend...and what distinguishes them above your "really good friends"?
Will is the 2nd best man in a wedding; because he's #2 does that lessen his best"ness"?
Philip, my Russian 4 yr old, told me and Ms. Rice we were the best teachers in the entire world; but am I as equally good as Ms. Rice?
what is "our best"?

being the best at something requires more, it isnt just average or satisfactory, people expect more because being the best makes you stand out above the rest, theres almost a sense of responsibility.

just random thoughts while i'm bored here at work.

grace & peace,
lish

let it be known that libby d. leatherman is one cool gal.

i was able to spend the weekend with this incredible chick; dallas weddings are great ops for trips to the metroplex. while the weddings arent my actual favorite, im glad they allow for time with the bff.

greace & peace,
lish

After working a week in summer school, I've come to a realization that (and this is a ginormous generalization) teachers never really outgrow high school and catty-ness. My first week has been literally exhausted my mind. The conversations I've listened to have been such an eye opener to the true meanness and pride that consumes our lives because of the overflow of our hearts through our mouths, if that makes sense. Minus a few conversations centered around health and growing up in College Station, all these church-going, Christ-beliving, nice, loving women talk about are other people and their dislike or annoyance of them. Simply put, they dont talk about anything, they gossip about everything, circling rumors, throwing flames from their tongues. I guess my test comes in at being the youngest, a rookie and not knowing how to combat it, but wanting the Lord glorified through our speech, and just glorify Christ in all I say and do. Authority and maturity and sin are pretty difficult to deal with and the devil does an amazing job at weaving these things together to creat confusion and a dilema in reflecting Christ's love and gospel cause its pretty near impossible to set the example at the bottom of pole, as I'm sitting in a group of women that are over me in my job and a lot older than me and are sister's in Christ. I'm not saying I can't do it, because I know in Christ, I have the power to move mountains, and through prayer I know these hearts can be changed. My hope and prayer for my group of teachers and myself this summer is that they would come to an understanding as it says in James 3 "Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is a fire, a world of evel among all parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire......but the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness".
Its good for me to be conscious of the importance of filtering my speech, learning self-control but also knowing when to say something that needs to be said inspite of what others may say about me later when Im gone..and i think thats the hardest, most scariest part for me: praying for boldness of speech because I know the Lord will give it to me and then I'll have to be obedient to what He calls me to say.

the mouth is a powerful thing. let us be mindful of our words on a daily basis. speak the truth with grace because it perserves love, and we are called to love one another.

grace & peace,
lish

so much going on to post about..not really, but on top of working summer school, i'll be working part time at the psychology lab, tutoring and will have 2 lovely roommates for the summer: Tracy and Didi..i move into the Foster St pad this weekend!

one day of summer school down
lesson #1
asian kids are a lot different than hispanic ones

our first softball game of the season is tonight..i'm quite excited its been way too long since i've played!

grace & peace,
lish

so, many doors have been opening for me and now its the lesson of really trusting and hearing from the Lord. With acceptance to grad school, the Lord has really pressed upon me the need to yet again to wait i'm so eager to go overseas, but He yet again is saying hold on. Going through the process of my application I learned so much, but He's opening other doors for me. Most of my grad school studies will give me ample training, education and experience for being overseas and basically for lack of a better term, "raise me up" to work in a field overseas..and i say overseas to mean in Spain or South American country.

with all that being said, i will NOT be going to conference. My application with Greater Europe Mission has been put on hold, until i get back in touch with them; if the Lord calls me back to them when I'm done with my Master's.

in other news, please be praying for my mom's family..my grandpa and aunt's health are very poor; my mom is under a lot of stress in having to manage them.

grace & peace,
lish

monday was the last day of school for our kids.
i was sad to see them go and even a little bit sad i dont get to be their assistant anymore, or the assistant in the fall...cause my favorite Oscar was a repeat (He isnt old enough to go to kindergarten so he gets to repeat head start).
tomorra is my last day as a substitute, and then the 31st i start as an official assistant for the prek ESL summer school class...and how fun is this?: i get to ride my bike to school, yeah, summer school is held at southwood valley elementary right by my house.

i register for classes next week..over the weekend i have to figure out my concentration-the electives that best help me persue my "career goals"..yeah have to figure those out too. its still pretty crazy to me that in 2 months im going to be moving across the country, going back to school.


i feel preparations for something big in my life coming, something that you could almost call radical. slowly, the Lord has been changing my perspecitve on a whole lot of things...as a book i am reading refers to as a reformission. and even now, with my acceptacne to grad school that these "perspective" changes fall perfectly in with the changes that will come with being in north carolina...kinda giving me an arena to put my thoughts into a reality..not that i cant do that here in college station, tx, but like a im still being molded and taught, again, its all in His timing. There are still issues that i have to deal with in the here and now before i can fully be ready for the future of what He's calling me to, if that makes any sense at all.

[sidenote for valerie: thanks for the encouraging words tonight-especially the past about being friends..right back at ya..and im not saying back because you said it, but i feel the same way friend. you broke my phone record by the way and i cant wait to see you tomorra. be safe driving.]

so, tony comes in to town tonight for our baby sister's graduation on friday...its nuts, i feel really old..and im really excited about graduation for a special reason, but i have to keep it a secret until friday, but ill have pictures posted, no worries :)

thats all i got, nothing too terribly exciting.
24 season finale was quite the cliffhanger...i dont know if ill make it til january ;o) something tells me that jacks gonna survive..i mean didnt he sign on for another 3 seasons?

grace & peace,
lish

the waiting is a little bit over!!!



ive been accepted to the MAIS (Master of Arts in International Studies) program at ECU in greenville, north carolina!

thanks friends for the prayers and encouragement during this waiting/transition time! i'll be sure to keep yall updated.

grace & peace,
lish

the pictures.
we made good time.
we had fun.

1. charlie hall & flying into daybreak
2. chef cao's
3. caleb carruth & darkness falls
4. a clean room and clean clothes
5. jj's sno cones
6. ice skating with 4 yr olds
7. hairbands that stay

so i ran the 2nd annual Maggies/AMC GLOW 5K...so much fun! pics will be posted in the days to come..once i get them.

pandora.com

and no i did not stumble upon this myself..i wish i were that cool.

its been a couple days since my last post. and i cant remember what i said, but again, im gonna talk about my kiddos. being in head start has been wonderful. my class is really great. we did assessments this last week, which was stressful for me cause i was the "teacher" all week (sidenote: i'm so glad that im not a teacher..i know without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord is not calling me to teach at the "secondary" level: elementary to highschool). it amazes me the gifts and skills the Lord creates in us. All our kids come from homes where Spanish is their first language, and a handful of them do speak some english in the home, but for the most..its all espanol; so then we test them and half of them test fluent in both english and spanish. you have to understand this is abnormal, to be fluent in both languages at 4, not having "formal" education...yes we do have an academic side to head start, but theres more to it than preparing them for kindergarten.

anyways, their minds are beautiful and daily im blessed to be in the presence of the molding of hearts; through these precious, little humans, created in the image of our God, I hear the Lord saying "this is the faith i'm calling you to have, there is no fear in love Alisha, listen to me because i am in control and I know whats best" so many times im convicted and burdened by the things i teach and tell my kids in class, because those same things have a spiritual application to my life-like the Lord is telling me..listen to yourself...hear me-this "advice and wisdom" youre imparting to them is what i want you to trust and listen to from me.

i wish i could really put to life how much of a joy the South Knoll Bilingual Head Start class has been in my life. i wish you could come see me at work-cause thats the fun of it...its not "work": i get to do what i do best everyday-so that helps me battle all the insecurity and doubt & confusion i've been going through lately; my job affirms the Lord's hand in my life. granted my kids do get on my nerves, they arent these "precious little angels" all the time, but thats where the reality of our flawed world comes in-that we are dirty at the core of it-even at 4.

switching gears, last night was our final night of logos and the Lord truly blessed our time together with wonderful food, fellowship and laughter. for a couple weeks i was MIA here and there, but it was allowed cause Ben was always gone too and he was the leader. anyways, our group was a really random conglomeration of people & i love thats how the Lord works because I would have never had conversations with some of them because they would have never crossed my path. it made me sad that the semester was ending cause i still want to meet every week with them. luckily, lisa will still be here through the summer & beyond since she's taking over lacy's job, so i'm hoping to get some quality time with her.

anyway, today i took a much needed day off from work, and traveled up to btown to see Marissa and get some wisdom from Marcus; and its the first time ive been back since i left. its really affirming to see that my "decision" to step down was the "right" one. Debbie is doing an amazing job with the children's ministry and just the progress and attitude of everything was affirming to see in Marcus's and Chris's lives; so much so that i know i can be a bigger part of their lives than i have been. i kept my distance for awhile-just felt like that is what was needed, but after being here today, i know i can be a present instead of a past..that sounds so cliche & lame, but oh well- i know i am loved and have family here and am in the place to finally receive it again...too much i think im driven by fear-but priase the Lord we are empowered by the Holy Spirit..hope and power are to promises im holding to these days.

grace & peace,
lish

here are my kiddos...such blessing, reminding me daily of eternal perpesctive and childlike faith


yes, that is valerie in her girl scout uniform with a gameboy and talkboy & thats me being an awesome passenger.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of accompanying, one of my favorite people in the entire universe, Valerie Blakey, home to Brandon, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, the captial.

We left CS around 430 Thursday afternoon and made it into our beds in MS around 200am and slept gloriously until 845 when Lady Grace, the dog woke me up and then i subsequently after an awkward conversation with Val's mom, woke Valerie up. Friday was spent recovering from the drive and relaxing, since it was vacation. Friday night we hung out with on of Val's really good friends and ate a Greek place..it was very yummy, and then she showed me around downtown Jackson..a very cool place. Saturday we slept in, grabbed lunch with some more of Val's friends who were in town for Easter too. After lunch, it was more hang out time at Val's homes away from home, and then to the Mississippi Brave's game...yes, the MS Braves..they are a farm team. The game was a lot of fun. Saturday we stayed up late watching one of our favorite movies Elizabethtown and then talked and determined Sunday morning when we were at the 8ooam service that it was too late. After church, we went out for breakfast with Val's mom, toured some more of Jackson & then headed back to the house. There we napped and packed, the headed out of town about 145 and made it back to College Station at 1230.

a couple revelations about the trip:
1. a crappy cd player will not play even the most perfect of cds
2. people in mississippi are more literate than we give them credit for
3. I will never like cats.
4. stapling your ear to lose weight is one of the dumbest ideas ive ever heard.
5. the residents in Baton Rouge, LA dont eat out
6. its all about who you know


on a different note, my orientation packet for going overseas with Greater Europe Mission came in and Im officially waiting for my graduate acceptance/rejection letter to East Carolina University. Still in the bilingual Head Start at south knoll elementary and loving it.

grace & peace,
lish

well..since nothing in my life is very exciting..the closet most exciting news is that my sister has a date on Friday :o)

maybe i'll be able to update more this week.

grace & peace,
lish

last monday i decided no matter what was going on, i was taking a trip up to arlington to see my BFF..the only thing stopping me, was extreme plans like going out of town, funeral, wedding, etc..

Libby time was wonderful-free concert, fun bsm kids, sleeping til noon, a haircut, a bbq & ranger game, icecream and church @ 121. time with Libby is always special, full of laughter and great fun. i got to see first hand why she loves uta so much. its a family there..man, at no time did i feel like the random friend from out of town...it was good times! It was such an encouragement to hear about her work there and the hearts that are changing, and internationals coming to Christ. It really was a blessing to see the Body at work.

anyways..libby thanks for a great weekend!

grace & peace,
lish

so apparently i'm a better wrestler than i thought i was... ;o)

Lombardi 2
Blakey nada


This week passed by really quickly, much faster than i thought it would. The beginning was pretty crummy, yet our gracious Father blessed me with an incredible friend who ministered to my heart all week. Friendships are interesting things; doing them right is pretty difficult too.

The Lord's sovereginity has encouraged me a lot this week. Seeing processes and purposes for things in my past unfold opens the door for refinement and wisdom, and also makes me eager for His divine future to become a present in my life..but knowing that i have to deal with a lot of stuff/sin before I can get there is a great challenge for me, and I'm ready.

I'm so very excited about this weekend :o)
grace & peace,
lish

Wrestling TKOs

Lombardi 1
Blakey 0

booyah.

man, i have had an intense couple of days-mentally/spiritually speaking.
The Spirits role in my life to convict and bless has been incredible-to see activeness and the needing to committ specific things to prayer that require immediate action and trust. Time and time again im blown away by this blessed hope and assurance we are guaranteed through Christ Jesus-i'm mean, i dont deserve this and screw up yet, He's always there, it might not always be smiles but to see Him tangibly at work in my life in the midst of a lot of vagueness and unclarity is a ginormous encouragement to me.

Purposefullness is the prayer of me heart these days. To be in pursuit of the glory and the will of the Lord with genuine motivation is the yearning in my soul.

goodnight friends

grace & peace,
lish

[author's note: this post is dedicated to Valerie M. Blakey aka the coolest junior I know, former roommate & currently shares my brain at times...]

Once upon a time, (actually March 7th, 2006) I was introduced to Valerie Blakey (pictured left). At the time, all i knew about this girl was that she was in the Corps of Cadets and did video stuff for Freedom at one time. Little did I know, that in less than a week, I would find out that we were possibly friends/twins in a former life.

Our story begins during Spring Break, on a mission trip to Grove City, PA. Early in the trip it is very obvious that Valerie is super cool and i immediately want to be her friend..so we become roommates for the duration of our stay in the Metroplex of SR, GC and Harrisville, and by roommates, I mean inseparable for the remainder of the trip, experimenting in the realms of telepathy(-not really).
Background: Valerie Marie (yup, we share a middle name) B. was born on June 12th, in some year after 1982.. Shes from Mississppi and enjoys playing outside, especially rock climbing. As I mentioned before, Valerie is in the Corps, so she is mostly familiar with things boy due to the fact the Corps is mostly guys. Which is fine, because like all of you know, I'm not a girly-girl [thus we get along fabulously....but it is quite funny that compared to Valerie...i'm pretty girly].

So we continue...
during our stay in PA, it was my job to prepare all the meals and its on Sunday that Valerie takes her first steps at learning girlness...She watched me make banana bread..and even helped a bit: melting the butter! But while she was becoming woman...i was learning boy-i wrestled for the first time in my life-and got my butt kicked. You should also take note that at this time, I had just recently learned how to knit and had my knitting needles going lickidy-split. [And secretly Val was watching every moved and stitch I made ;)] Another important step into womanhood, was the opening the canned food for me on Thursday when I made Taco Soup-she even helped give out the recipe to a lady when I was busy!

It was a the end of the week that Valerie finally bloomed...she made banana bread and even learned how to knit..contributing quite a bit to my scarf-that i will probably have done by next winter. Her training in womanhood has not come to an end, this is only the beginning! Hopefully by the end of the summer we will have mastered the arts of cooking/baking, frolicking, slumber parties and basketweaving....:o)

Valerie, I love you tons and cant believe we hadnt met and been friends before now. You are a delight and i love "taking care of ya"! I'm looking forward to camping and rock climbing and more wrestling..bring it on sista!

You can check out Valerie for yourself at http://vblakey.blogspot.com.

The dynamic duo
grace & peace, lish

Wednesday morning
Start Time: 7:15am
Temperature: really, really, ridiculously cold
Task: a morning run
Finish Time: 7:40am

Yes, we are Team X-treme. While the rest of our team, was snuggled up warmly in bed, under quilts, me, Betsy and Valerie were stretching for our run. [sidenote: my fellow runners (Valerie & Betsy were more extreme than me running in shorts, but I was the most warm!]


Its 930pm and i've just gotten home from eatting with the Grove City team at the coco loco, and wanted to share just a bit with yall from the trip. I admit, i didnt take very many pictures so once everyones' pics have been added to the site, I'll pull some more & tell some other great stories.

Spring Break turned out to be very restful and relaxing; I love how the Lord works, especially through the little things.

good night and sleep tight.
grace & peace,
lish

so, i love random trips.
like for instance, i decide the week of to go on the Grove City, PA trip, and little did i know i would be meeting the coolest, most incredible gal ever, the one and only Valerie M. Blakey (and yes we share a middle name), aka- my partner in crime, Capt. Crabby. I would post a picture of this dynamic duo, but alas i forgot my usb cable to the camera. so to my faithful readers, pictures will be posted in the next week (hopefully).

grace & peace,
lish
[aka sgt. sensitive]

is it borderline stalker-ish that my storage unit "landlord" sent me a Chilis giftcard?

i'm a little weirded out...but glad for a free meal ;)

things are still trucking along..i'm sure my readers arent too disappointed with the lack of posts..dont worry andrew, i'll get a good one out shortly.

grace & peace,
lish

yea for answered prayers...i'm the South Knoll Head Start Bilingual teaching assistant until March 10th!
for real..its the perfect job for me..the Lord is so good!

grace & peace,
lish

my posting hasnt been as much as i wouldve liked the past couple weeks...but i have some free time so its a good opp..
anyways, i've started subbing for College Station ISD and the Lord has really blessed it! i've landed a quasi-regular job in the head start bilingual class at south knoll elementary; which equals 19 little 4-5yr old hispanic kids running around and telling me i dont speak very good spanish..which is true because i'm a whole lot rusty. but its completely up my ally: kids and spanish all in one job!
half marathon training is going okay...ive gotten shin splints so its a couple days off for me, which the timing is kinda good with my allergies..with the cold weather and tree pollen at its hype, my head feels like its gonna explode, so i really dont feel like running. hopefully this weekend i'll get the big 10 mile in.
PTL-the Lord has provided a leaser for my apt in brenham starting march 1st...whoohoo! such a confirmation that i did make the "right" decision. i dont have to pay any extra rent!

i'm comtemplating plans for spring break...any suggestions? for real..i have a full week of nothing to do and i dont wanna be in CS for all of it....some sort of a road trip is an option

being back in cs is definitely different...i'm like the new kid in a place thats been my home for the past 10 yrs...i've joined a logos group that i'm really enjoying. getting into a routine and forming my "social network" has been harded than i thought it would be..plus the whole single-not in college-but dont wanna join the singles group.

thats about it on the homefront.
grace & peace,
lish

so what i was going to write in this post didnt happen, maybe the Spirit's conviction about my attitude; refining is such a good part of my life...cause without it, i'd be out of control...anyways; heres what i got..PTL that we are saved by grace through faith, and its not of ourselves, but a gift of God..

currently I am:
glad its friday in 45 minutes
really excited i'm going to DFW this weekend
letting the Lord really teach me and show me why i'm back at home
exhausted from my swim tonight
sad that the co-ed softball team didnt form
thankful that in the midst of lameness, i have purpose
learning how to walk with the Lord in ALL my steps, not just the big ones, but the ones that seem insignificant

grace & peace,
lish

well...

i'm officially residing at my house in CS

thinking about ecclesiastes 3

by grace,
lish

so to help Muffin, thats what we call my grandma...[Caley's pick] me, Caley & my mom met in Sealy to accompany her to BINGO in Wallis, TX (its 15 miles west of sealy on hwy 36). let me tell you quite the experience...i'll give you a full run down.
1. Mom calls Monday and tells me i'm to meet them in Sealy at 5:00pm
2. I arrive in Sealy at 5:04pm greeted by a "i thought your mom said 5 o'clock, where is she?"
3. 5:09 Mom and Caley arrive greeted by "i thought the plan was to meet at 5pm?"
4. We leave to go to Wal-mart & Subway; we have to be on the road headed to Wallis no later than 5:30pm
5. Due to poor management at Subway, there is no wheat bread so the Lombardi girls decide to go without, while we have to make a stop at the KFC/Taco Bell to get grandma mashed potatoes
6. 5:36pm we leave Sealy late & hungry..but we're big girls we can wait an hour or so, right?
7. so this whole time you're thinking Bingo starts at 6:00, get there a little early, find a seat, etc..oh no..we find out that Bingo doesnt start until 7:30..thats right 7:30!
8. Caley and I making faces in back seat about how hungry we are
9. 6:06 we find out Bingo lasts 2 hrs!
10. More disgruntled faces
11.Arrive at Wallis community center at 6:10, find seats, begin to pick out Bingo boards

From there the night continues with a lot of "you had to be there humor" that i could write about but just wouldnt be the same...i will mention the fun waiting game that Caley and I made "Find the old person that you think Mom & Dad will look like" . It was quite hilarious, and i was deemed the winner by Mom with my "classic sophisticated" choice of old lady.

Most exciting time of the night:
WHEN I BINGO-ED! yup, i won $50 bucks (47.50 when taxes were taken out), it was quite an amazing moment, full of anticipation & acheivement :)

Quote of the night:
Caley: "Check out that lady..she has a diaper on.."
Me: "How do you know?"
Caley: "All her junk in her trunk."

anyways,
bingo was fun, Muffin had fun, & i won some mulah
overall a good evening

ps-i'm done with my job in 2 days-whoop!
grace & peace,
lish

well..the prayers have been answered: I'm moving out of Brenham. The Lord provided an opportunity to leave, i prayed over it and am embarking on a huge journey of uncertainity that immediately includes finding a new job and moving back home to CS..all the way in the house, cause the garage apt is full.

Still pursuing the mission field, that process is still going; the Lord continues to open doors and bring great resources to me.

its really unbelievable to me how "well" i'm handling all this. i mean, i think i'm pretty freaked out on the insides, but i'm totally at peace and assured that this is what i'm suppose to be doing no matter how lame it is moving home to substitue or the lack of direction i have with my future.

so with all the insaneness of this, its only reasonable that i tell you my future plans look like they are going to include grad school. yup thats right, me who cared nothing about career and "higher education" wants to go back to school. you can be praying that, again, the Lord directs my steps and decisions as most of the programs that i'm looking into are out of state [which is totally ironic to me that Texas schools dont have strong Hispanic studies grad programs, you would think that Tx would have an abundant, but theres only a few that really dont suit me].

caley injured her leg in her tournament this weekend,
i chopped my hair off
thats about it

grace & peace,
lish

what to do with myself? sometimes, or most of the time, I feel like a fish living in a birdhouse. I hate making decisions, and not just a "i'm indecisive" but I flee from the slightest sight of confrontation. and yet, I constantly am seeking change-not in a running after it way, but the way in once making the decision, wondering if its the right decision i've made-which to change things means to ultimately make concise decisions.

This past Friday I was presented with a huge choice and I can say with cetainity that the decision I make will have huge consequences for the next year of my life; and i dont say that as a cliche, to be vauge and make it sound grand, but its completely freaked me out. The changes that will occur with whatever I choose will glofiry the Lord..but I've come to realize that the Lord is using this time in my life to really stretch my ears to His voice. Can I hear him over my fears, can I hear over my parents, can I hear Him in the midst of my financial responsibilities? Can I stop and listen? Can I hear the small, still voice saying "Be still and know that I am God, I am exalted over all the earth; I will never leave you or forsake you". I cried out to Him this weekend so much that my cheeks were rubbed raw from my sleeves-surrendering fears, confusion, pride, asking to clearly hear His voice, pouring out my motivation and desires and still I had no inkling of which choice was the best; and what scares me the most is that I might not know until I've made the decision-its the leap of faith you always have been told about...its not a fork in the road, a right or wrong choice (sometimes it is) but its Abraham on the mountain, with a knife, trusting the Lord's provision and plan, binding his only son to an altar, bringing the knife down and the Lord providing a ram, calling out "Abraham, Abraham!".

With either choice I make, the beautiful and wonderful love and provision of our Lord is shown, my faith and trust are put to extremes. What I do know, is that I dont want my choices to be made because its the responsible thing or be made out of duty or determiination, I dont want them to define who I am. I know who I am: i am a child of God, not alone, a light in the darkness. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. There is a perfect plan for my life and when I do make a "wrong" decision, the Lord will be there with me, picking me up, disciplining me and drawing me closer to Himself-cause you know, He's the Perfect Father. Decisions arent easy and we all fear mistakes, nobody wants to fail, or quit but we will fail, we will choose poorly, make mistakes but thats the beauty and power of grace.

So what am I going to do? I think I know, but ask me in a week.
Please keep me in your prayers.

grace & peace,
lish

I'm back in Brenham after a wonderful 4 day vacation with the family in the thriving metropolis of Bryan/College Station. Much of the vacation was spent relaxing and doing all the Lombardi family traditions that take place over the Christmas weekend. Going to the movies, last minute gifts, Christmas Eve service, wrapping presents, cooking and baking, sleeping in; two new additions this year were going to the nursing home to visit mom and dad's friends and laundry.
Christmas morning we all piled in Mom and Dad's bed [something that has never stopped since we were little, but i have to admit..it was kinda good Tony wasn't there cause I dont think we all wouldve fit!], then we made our way to the living room to read the Christmas story [we read Luke], next comes presents. After presents, we had lunch and then headed to Grandma's in Sealy. Grandma's was fun..we ended up staying a lot longer than expected and we had a lot of laughs with my Grandpa and aunts...one of the nicer Christmass' in a long time.

Monday I ran some errands with mom in the morning and then we met up with dad to pick out furniture. PTL we've decided on a couch and ottoman & the fabrics & pillows! Hopefully in the next week or so they will order it so they will have it by the big 2-5 anniversary. After furniture shopping, I chilled on the couch watching tv & reading, while mom and dad went TV shopping...i had no desire to participate!

Being at home for so long was such a blessing and it always makes me sad I have to come back here, I almost dread it. I'm always looking for a reason to go back to CS, ways to rearrange my schedule for more time at home.

I'm looking forward to this weekend..another fun weekend filled with fellowship & friends in Austin!

grace & peace,
lish

well..the Bethlehem Stroll has come and gone & my children's choir managed some pretty cute performances despite having half of them catch the nasty stomach bug going around..so 1/3 of my choir was missing or late tonight..but who says more is better? less is definitely more manageable! they were precious in the little shepherd costumes & singing Away in a Manger; it was great fun playing with them too..but i think i'm a little too easy on them sometimes, but I do remember how tough it is being a kid, and sometimes, you just can't keep your hands to yourself.

PTL-Im going home for Christmas! thats right, my first (and probably only) Sunday off! 4 complete days spent in College Station not even having to think about Mission Brenham..I can't wait..it is a much needed break and will hopefully provide some time to get my motivation going for the spring...my last leg-the home stretch! The Lord is faithful to answer my prayer..[thanks for all the prayers family!]

The time with my brother was good. We had some quality time together as siblings last friday night..we went and saw Narnia..I think it was maybe the first time the 3 of us saw a movie together...i enjoyed it tons. last night the fam came to Btown for the Stroll and to celebrate a mini Christmas with Tony...it was Lombardi Family History...breaking the deep rooted tradition of not opening any presents (except ones mailed) until Christmas morning. We had good laughs, yummy treats, & took many pictures. He will be missed; hopefully i'll be able to see him before he leaves again in May.

my favorite roomie Tracy came to see me tonight & was a huge blessing: helping out with the kids during the stroll. you see, tracy has an amazing gift..she works wonderfully with kids..they love her (and i do too!). it was great seeing her and hanging out with her for the time she was here in brenham...and i'm super glad she's in CS so i can hopefully see her more this spring!

thats all for now.

merry Christmas
grace & peace,
lish

so, its pretty lonely here in B-town most of the time..but I've got the best pet in the world: Alexander the Red Beta. He's good company, well behaved & doesn't make messes :)


the real world continues on here, getting ready for Christmas & really wanting the month long break that comes with being in school, but i've fallen into a routine thats nice, keeps me occupied.

making more progress about going overseas...I know the Lord's hand is on the situation and He's been faithful to provide me confirmation, but its still utterly scary and exciting all at the same time. Lots of unanswered questions and concerns that I need to surrender to him, but who knows maybe in 6 months i will actually be in Spain?? we'll see :o)

If I've learned anything from being in Brenham, its that the Lord doesn't forget or forsake-His plans are specific, His timing is perfect; a hard situation is supposed to bring forth stronger faith, more dependence. In a world thats so full of violence, hate, and bitterness my life has to stand out, especially when I want to throw in the towel.

I get to see Tony this weekend...the last time I saw him was in March. He's changed a lot from what i hear from the family..not for the better unfortunately, but I pray and hope for his spiritual light blub to go off. Its a pretty jam packed weekend with William, Ashley & Micah coming in for PJ Party 2005 at Eric's (WHOOP!), family portraits, doing fun familal things & then back to Brenham for church, Bethlehem Stroll practice and performances Monday & Tuesday AND the family is coming Monday to celebrate Christmas with Tony since he'll still be in town until Tuesday.

the Christmas party was fun...pictures around the tree, opening presents & dinner and desserts. in the "sitting down" group pic from left to right its april, jane, me & marissa. April and Jane go to blinn & Marissa is the BSM director at Blinn.

so i just had the most amazing night...marissa, my one close friend in Brenham, who lives 2 apts down from me, invited me to share in their Roommate Christmas. I was very honored and it turned out to be wonderful...they even got me presents! We took many pictures, had a lot of laughs, ate some delicious spaghetti & scrumptous holiday treats. I like having fun neighbors..pictures will be posted shortly..(ie-tomorra after lunch when i get the usb stick)

just thought i'd share-its been a long time since i've had a genuine fun time in Brenham :)

happy holidays,
lish

the reality of death is so apparent around the holidays, not to be depressing or glum, but its true. The past couple of days I've been thinking a lot about my grandmas. My Grandma Thorne(Dad's mom) who lived in Florida passed away on Valentine's Day and my great-grandma "Kirk Grandma" passed away in June. Grieving is an interesting thing. I really havent figured it out; I know that i miss them..especially the small things that are so apparent during Christmas: Grandma Thorne's package of Christmas goodies. About 2 weeks before Christmas we'd get a UPS package in the mailed-we didnt even have to open it to know it was from Grandma because of the aromas coming from the box-snickerdoodles for Dad, chocolate covered peanuts for Mom and rice crispy treats for us kids-and this year, there will be no box from Florida. [My dad's getting his cookies though...i'm putting them in the mail tomorra :)]
the other day I was talking with Mom about Grandma Thorne, her birthday would've been the 2nd of December, and she said i think the most important thing about death..and its probably been said before & pretty obvious when it comes to grieving, but she said "dont ever act like it didnt happen". So as sort of a reminder and memory of Grandma Thorne, I set up her old Christmas tree with her ornaments & a navity scene she had..its good for me because i think i'm a whole lot like her & it makes being alone in Btown during the holiday season special.

grace & peace,
lish

well, the past couple of weeks have gone by in a whirlwind; they were jam packed with adventures including a couple random drives into my favorite town of College Station, a holiday party in Houston with Mr. Micah J. Meads, where I was able to get all fancied up for the night, and a Saturday road trip to Waco to see the comical duo of Libby Leatherman and William Meier. Fun times were had all around. Laughter is good for the soul :)

Work has been pretty slow the past couple of days, i've kinda saved my work this week to do now so the end of my week wouldnt be incredibly boring cause Marcus was out of the office Monday & Tuesday. Still leading worship..yeah i know.."a couple more weeks" has turned into all semester...surprise surprise.
The children's choir is coming along quite nicely. We've decided to sing the first 2 verses of Away in a Manger and the the first verse of Silent Night, acapella; I'm really nervous but im sure in the end it will be a hit..nothing like the production Central's children's choir did Sunday :)!

Tony is in Texas...he'll be in College Station the 16th-20th, so we'll be celebrating Christmas then with him. I get to hang out with my wonderful mom and fantastic sister tonight-we're going to Katy Mills Mall to do some Christmas shopping. And then I'll be back in College Station Friday until Saturday afternoon to get some laundry done and pick up a bunch of Christmas decorations & receipes from mi casa.
I'm glad the cold weather is finally here..i got to wear my black pea coat last night as i ran an errand to Walmart last night! bundling up in a scarf, coat, mittens & a hat is a favorite of mine during the winter; not to mention the fun Christmas socks I wear throughout the month of December! i heard on the radio the possiblity of snow tonight..i'm not getting my hopes up.

Be looking for a new addtion/change to the blog page..at the request of Marcela, who I found regularly checks out my blog!

grace & peace,
lish

a real update coming soon....stay tuned!

Thanksgiving was amazing.
I love my family...& their strange quirks :)

We purchased our Christmas tree...from the cute "Christmas tree boy" at the Christmas tree lot by Pei Wei's. We found 2 Christmas puzzle which is exciting yet sad for me at the same time because I wont be home to put them together (but knowing my fam..they will leave some for me..or just get too frustrated putting it together so i'll get to finish!)

I worked the consesssion stand at the A&M/Texas game...oh the memories, its crazy to think i've done it for almost 8 yrs! of course now, the games that i work are few and far between, but i get at least one in every season!

Saw Harry Potter with Caley Thursday night! you just have to read the book, it was great to see it come to life, but there was so much that was left out. Definitely by far the darkest Harry Potter movie yet & a much needed PG-13 rating. Its funny to me that i've become a Harry Potter fanatic...what can i say? its good stuff & J.K. Rowling is an incredibly talented author.

Brenham is Brenham; i'm directing the children's choir for our 3rd annual Christmas Stroll. do i know what i'm doing? Nope. the whole production should be pretty interesting. I enjoy teaching sunday school...preparing the lessons & activities is great & my kids are fun to teach.

thats about it. there will be morer updates to come
grace & peace,
lish

My heart is restless in me
My wings are all worn out
I'm walking in the wilderness
And I cannot get out
I need You, oh, I need You
Blessed Savior come
I need You, oh, I need You
Fill the every longing of my soul
Oh, how I need You, Lord
I need Your perfect word
With tearful eyes to see
The sin that I afford
I need to weep and pray
For all the thousand ways
That I have failed You just today
My bed is soaked with sadness
My sadness has no end
A downward spiral of despair
That I keep falling in
I need You, oh, I need You
To You my soul shall fly
I need You, oh, I need You
Yaweh, how I love you more than life
Your silence is like death to me
So won't You hear my desperate plea
Today my soul is soaring
Way over mountains high
Though I can see the valleys
They're all just passing by
It's not that I am stronger
Look at my feeble wings
But I've been lifted higher
Yaweh's lifted me in His own strength
Oh, how I love You, Lord
I love Your perfect Word
With tearful eyes to see
The God who always will endure
Now I will celebrate
For all the thousand ways
That You have shown me grace
And made my heart in grace to stay
You've made my heart in grace to stay
Lord, make my heart in grace to stay
I need You, oh, I need You

-The Swift

i've been wanting to post for a couple of days now, but have had no idea what i should write about. life has been pretty uneventful the last couple of weeks-minus the whole truck fiasco.

yeah, Tyron's transmission went out 2 weeks ago. he got towed to College Station & has been at Olympic Auotmotive since. I've made 4 attempts to go and get him and all have been failures...so i will not pick him up until Thanksgiving because I'm going to Indianapolis this week & not getting back til Sunday night, and then I'll be home on Wednesday..so-Indianapolis this week for an "urban leaders conference" is what Marcus is calling it. its should be really interesting and informative. not looking forward to being the only female in our group of 4, plus 5 straight days with Marcus & Chris is gonna be weird.

I'll definitely write on that next week.
I'm sure glad the cold weather finally showed up-i love my winter clothes, hats, scarfs, gloves!
Plus there are supposed to be snow flurries in Indianapolis this week while we're there, wouldnt that be fun?

well-gotta get back to packing & cleaning

much love to all
lish

okay this is not to brag about anything or to boost my abilities, but tonight i made history. i just got back from the gym where i RAN for 30 minutes straight.

now, i know for some of you, that is nothing, but me, its huge. its tangible evidence and proof that with correct motivation and self-discipline from the Lord, ya know, faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains, or run for 30 minutes. there were definitely moments of temptation to just press the speed button slower, but i refused, determined to reach my goal.

so now, i'm gonna get a light snack and hit the sack.
its gonna be an insane day tomorra-if you can, say a little pray for me

grace & peace, lish

i had a great weekend-wish i lived in the metroplex.

community and fellowship are very vital to the soul.

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art...It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. ~ C.S. Lewis

dont forget to vote.

so marcus casually mentioned today they are still waiting on the grant to come in for my salary starting in the Spring...

yeah.

uh-huh...thats right.

grace & peace,
lish

[note: i dont fear that the money wont come in, nor am i frustrated at the situation; its almost like an assessment of my "trusting" scale-kinda my idea of my relationship with Christ hits the reality of my relationship with Christ-if that makes any sense at all]

so i unfortunately landed myself as a Longhorn fan this season....my precious pee-wee hockey team was the Longhorns...

sadly, the season is over; we were 6-2-1, were league champions, and came in 2nd overall in the tournament. our star forward was named MVP in the league!

and i was the offical assistant coach..i even got to sign the certificates!
but no worries, another season starts in January..so yall will get to hear all about it!

let me tell ya..it was intense tonight..we ended up having 2 shoot outs! it was like it was the Stanley Cup or something.

gig'em longhorns :)

grace & peace,
lish

[preface: i've been post-happy lately..meaning i've been posting a lot, for no apparent reason.]

okay so, its the first weekend in a while that i actually dont have any plans of any sorts..

i dont think i'll be able to stay in brenham ALL weekend, so a trip into CS will probably happen Saturday.

its Friday..Fridays are my favorite
on the agenda:
put up clothes
wal-mart
chores
Goblet of Fire
maybe a movie tonight
& i'll probably end up having to drive Chris to Houston-because i'm that great of an assistant ;)

have a great friday friends->its the end of the week!

blessings to all,
lish

so i've started reading goblet of fire again.

i definitely want my own wand to put up clothes with. harry potter & laundry are a good mix. magic would make chores a whole lot easier :)

i'm just sayin'

i'm dedicating this post to Jeff Hildebrand: the most amazing guy i know.

enjoy the fabulous fall weather.
The Lord is our hope and salvation.

grace & peace,
lish

wow.
they are amazing.
an awesome balance of entertainment and worship. it was so apparent that they wanted us to have a great time at the concert, and at the same time really get to meet with the Lord.

I was able to see my favorite JAM staffer...Michelle! and since i kinda went with the BSM kids from blinn I got to know them better..still havent really connected with anyone.

overall, it was a good night, minus the getting in really really late. i'm not really a concert type person, but i'd go see Crowder & band any night of the week. they blew me away!

if we all had theme songs..i think this would be mine right now.

I crumble at Your kiss and grace
I'm a weakling in the dust
Teach me how to cling to You
With all my life and all my love

Father come to me, hold me up
'cause I can barely stand
My strength is gone and my breath is short,
I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing

And on the road to beautiful
My seasons always change
But my life is spent on loving
know You in Your power and pain

Father come to me, hold me up
'cause I can barely
strength is gone and my breath is short,
I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing

You're my portion in this life
You're my strength now in my fight
And to You I pledge my heart
In the pain and in the dark
I'll love You


in this new season for me, a more eternal perspective is needed for my day to day responsibilities..i think thats the hardest thing to walk in-finding eternal perspective in a day by day, moment by moment faith.
i'm also thankful that self-control is a Fruit of the Spirit, not Fruit of Alisha.

feeling philosophical:
Say for instance you have one of those math problems where train A is going 60mph and train B is going 45 mph they are headed towards each other and you have to figure out where they have to meet, it doesnt matter how fast they are going with Jesus, they will meet when HE wants them to-sure with math & physics or whatever you can prove that at such and such time they will intersesct, but its all the cities they pass and people aboard the train that matter; our God is a relational god, personal, alive, active, constant and in control of all circumstances.

i dunno if this makes any sense, but lately i feel so caught up into where i'm suppose to go next, i'm forgetting to look out the window.

grace & peace,
lish

exert from my daddy's bday celebration tonight...

so the past couple of weeks have been significantly better, i can even venture to say that B-town is kinda growing on me...dont take that as "i'm lovin' it here" but its one of those things that could be worse.
work has been work, i had my first sunday school lesson, that minus the cd player not working, went really well..it was harder than i thought it would be because the group of kids is very diverse, and i thought they would border more on the older than the younger and that wasnt the case. worship was jacked up, thats all i can say to describe it; but thankfully the Lord answered my prayers and today in staff meeting i was able to share my heart and marcus and chris were very understanding..so i'll keep doing it for a couple more weeks and then my worship duties will end.
for those of you that are wondering, my coaching debut was a success! a tie (8-8) and a win (7-3)-not too shabby, eh? the second game was pretty intense for 5-8 year old peewee roller hockey, but we managed it.

i might have touched on this before, but a lot of the "brenham getting better" has to do with me consiously decided not to attend personal pity parties. its hard because me and my selfish nature want to say "look at me, see all i do? feel sorry for me..", nor do i see the fruits of my labor...but it doesnt work like that. i'm to be the salt and light in every situation no matter what my feelings say...and thats what so great about Jesus, He doesnt work off of feelings-He's constant & always in control, unconditional and sovereign.

this is definitely going to be a good week. micah is coming on Thursday! and then.....drum roll please....my LIBBY will be in CS this weekend..i dont know if i'll be able to keep my excitement contained until then, i might just burst! ya know those cheesy best friend necklace you get in like 2nd grade..well this amazing girl has the other half of mine..yup thats right, Libby and I will be reunited for the weekend & i cannot wait. i have missed this girl so much..phone calls & emails definitely do not make up for face time! and i also get to go to a women's conference with my mom, my other best friend, i'm looking forward to it, it will be a good refreshing weekend of renewal & fun!

some more thoughts passing through my brain:
i really want to be overseas at this moment
how to get my spanish fluency back up to par
what the rest of my work week will look like with the boss gone
new neighbors in the complex who are kinda friends
how to be friends with someone who you really dont immeadiately click with, especially when they really want to be your friend
whether or not i should eat a bowl of bluebell
who my first bf will be
looking forward to caley moving here


anyways, i miss my "crew"
you guys have a great week
grace & peace,
lish

i want to dedicate this post to mi familia...i luv'em!
My Daddy..the Vince Lombardi :) who records my favorite tv shows every week on VHS for me because my budget is so tight i cant afford cable :)
My Momma-i dont have enough space to explain how great she is..if you know her, you know!
My Little Sis...the coolest chica in the world..& i'm so lucky and blessed to have her AND shes gonna get to be my roomie!
My Brother-who i'm very proud of whos far far away in Washington & i miss him bunches, but thankfully he's coming at Christmas
Boots..poodle extraordinaire..the sweetest, most spoiled dog ever

I think this will be the first weekend in about 2 months that i'm not going to College Station to see them...yup..i've got other plans! Saturday is Helena Reunion so Friday night i'm gonna grab some BBQ at Dimebox's casa, then head over to do some pre-reunion preparations [insert mischevious grin here], then Saturday i'll be seeing my fam for a little bit, meeting up with random folks, then the Reunion will start & fun times will be had!

i gotta head to worship practice, then the washer & dryer at 305 Academy has my name on it for the night...most likely a movie will be put in & more alisha/courtney bonding will take place.

so when i started writing this is was about 6 0'clock..now it is going on 2am and i just finished working out at the gym. the night was insane..we had practice, then i had to help with youth girls, i got done with that, then headed over to courtney's to start laundry, went back to the SHAPe for more practice and finally at 11 we back to Courtney's to finish...folded my last piece of clothing at 12:30-came home changed and hit the gym..i'm now super exhausted & really not wanting to put the clean sheets on my bed because i dont wanna have to take a shower in order not to get them dirty...i think its a couch night..
tomorra is a crazy day..i already know it.

who wouldve ever guessed that i'd be up this late because i was acutally busy?!?

anywho, much love,
lish

Sister Homecoming was fabulous...a new fish, tennis, junk food & movies...not to mention some amazing company. Caley is THE coolest sister ever & a great bestfriend.

aren't we cute? hopefully the new pics will attract more readers.

thats all for now..i'm gonna go make some breakfast-for-dinner (thanks for the great idea william)
hope yall have a wonderful week.

grace & peace, lish

so i can not believe that i forgot to update about this..
i guess this shows how ingrossed in work i can become once my weekend is over...

last Friday....went home to see the familia-i had a rough week and was craving some familial lovin'..so mom cooked spaghetti & had banana pudding icecream with bananas on hand (my favorites)..it was glorious...so i come in Friday afternoon and couldnt find anyone to have lunch with me-which just put me down on my luck..because i come into CS tryign to feel loved & just get rejected by like million people..okay, only 4, but still...Friday afternoon was great. I hung out with Meghan & Trisha, caught up on their lives..i cant believe my "kids" are jrs! next i went to my favorite roomie's new casa...quite loverly, me & Tracy gabbed for an hour or so..good times-its times like those i really miss living with girls :) anyways..went back to the house for dinner & then heres the "exciting" part

...after dinner Caley goes to work and Mom, Dad and i are left with the evening to ourselves & thus begins the Dianna/Vince battle over the tv and plans for the evening...mom wants to walk, dad wants to clean & watch tv..mom wants to do anything BUT watch tv..and so forth they go on and on, while i'm in the pink chair cracking up-a typical married couple & me on the sidelines-cause while its funny to me, its their normal behaviour :) so Dad gets tired of Mom and goes to the bedroom and Mom and i are left alone in the living room...30 minutes later Dad comes out and then Mom leaves...so then its me and Dad and he thus proposes "hey, you wanna go to the nursing home & meet our friends?"
you see, Mom and Dad have started this "ministry": every Wednesday they go to a nursing home by our house and spend time with elderly people who dont get visitors. well..more recently theyve started playing dominoes & have worked up quite a social network at the home...so, with nothing else to do i say "sure, why not? what else are we going to do?"
we go to the nursing home where i meet 1. Mrs. Barbers, who has alziheimers..kinda in short term memory loss form..while its sad that shes in that condtion..she keeps great spirits & even manages a joke here and there about herself..plus you just have to laugh when she comments "its a wonder i can find my butt every day to wipe.." or "how do i know you? who are you again? when did you get here?--over and over again. Mom and Dad have been going every week for like the past 2 months & she never remembers them. #2 Mrs. Nobels, she was cranky, from what Mom said, something has been bothering her so she hasnt been herself..but she was pleasant enough and good at the game and then there was #3 Johnny..he was quite an amazing dominoe player...he could've fit right in with the men here in the projects that play all the time..and i think a time or two he was wanting to slam them down to get his points (which is apparently what youre suppose to do)..but he refused unfortunately. Dominoes was great fun, i seemed to get really good hands & felt bad for schooling them when none of the peeps i was playing with were in their right mind, but everyone got a chance to go first & somehow we always tied;)
After game night, mom and i picked up a movie while Dad cleaned (Fever Pitch..it was good, clean, pretty funny)-when everyone was accounted for again at the house we popped it in & settled in for the night. not really what i envisioned my Friday night to look like, but it was fun nonetheless.

its interesting how something so trivial (the visit to the nursing home) could mean so much...i mean Mom was telling me how the nurses tell them that Thursdays & Fridays are great days for the people they visit at the home because they just go on and on about their visitors..and all i did was play dominoes for and hour and a half-which is something i enjoy doing.

i love my weekends at home...they tend to be more random and spontaneous, which is good since i dont live there anymore...Saturday I had the house to myself, had lunch with Anna (i always try to get in a Cheddar's meal when i'm in town), then Saturday night Caley and i hung out..we went to DQ so i could get the 4-1-1 on her trip to Seattle & life...nothing better than your sister & a rootbeer float....we went by sweet's but it was crowded & we just felt awkward..weird how 4 months will "grow you up"

so that was my weekend..its weekends like those that make being a Lombardi so great...i love my parents, my sister & brother..and even Boots too :) they are wonderful people..not cause their my family and i gotta love them..but deep down they want the love of Christ to pour from their lives at all times. Home will always be "where my mom lives" :)

grace & peace,
lish

Henry died today. its bittersweet in a way.

I was cleaning his bowl this afternoon and after returning him to his home i noticed his labored breathing and how he was laying on his side, all dead like. and for some of you that know Henry, this isnt too abnormal..(his famous trick being "playing dead"). but knowing my fish's behavior..i knew this wasnt normal. so, thus began the attempt to save Henry.
first i changed his water again, then i made sure his gills were functioning right..they looked a little abnormal. then i went to the one pet store in town and bought aquarium salt and put him in a salt bath for a little while. but all my attempts failed. Henry was just plain old.

In my search for healing remedies this afternoon i ran across the life expectancy of a male betta fish, and the average fish only lives 2 yrs. Henry was about 5-i think he set some sort of record. He was old and tired, he was losing his color and i think he might've developed a fungus that catalyzed his death. So my faithful fish companion is no more, but i feel like I did a pretty good job taking care of him, seeing as he lived more than twice his expectancy...which those of you that know me, know me & Henry's history...he definitely made it into the garbage disposal a total of 4 times, survived a summer without me (I was so worried Caley would kill him while i was in Costa Rica), [Meghan claims I raised him from the dead my junior year..but i refer back to Henry's tricks ), made it through 3 moves (2 were across town, the other to another city...) and not to mention the countless times i probably forgot to feed him. he was a survivor-one tough cookie.

While some think it strange...Henry and I had something special-i mean he went through college with me..cause 75% of college i lived alone; he was with me through thick and thin..and yes i talked with him-not to get answers, but to kinda vent...you know...anyways, im gonna miss my little swimming pal. i flushed him..he was dead so i didnt think it too inhumane..supposedly the pressure from the flush blows the fishy into smithereens...

so tomorra, i'm headed off to the pet store to get another fish.
i love fish...you should get one; theyre great to have-they are like youre most low-maintience pet ever
& i've already picked out a name Alexander..and no, i will not call him alex.

thats all..Lombardi Homecoming commences in t minus 20 hours!
grace & peace,
lish

my great day included:
1. membership at Sam's Club
2. lunch at Mi Cocina with the one and only Evan Stewart
3. the purchase of The Big Book of Bible Games
4. a relaxing night at home with a good book
5. working out at the gym

i gotta keep truckin' on. productivity is a good way to keep perspective. I have a meeting with the FBC Children's minister tomorra that i'm real excited about..i think he is going to be a good source of wisdom and opportunity; plus from our phone conversations he sounds like youre typical children's minister :)

grace & peace,
lish

oh & get excited about Lombardi Homecoming Saturday night...my wonderful sister is coming to spend the night with me..whoo hoo!

so i joined a gym. i went for the first time tonight..for the following reasons.
1. to avoid awkwardness...my thinking, its a small gym, not very many people in Brenham should be there...
2. to avoid males..again, my thinking, its 9:30, the gym shouldnt be crowded & if by chance there are people there, they will leave me alone..we're there to work out, not carry on conversations
3. working out late makes me sleep incredibly well....
conclusions: going to the gym at 9:30 does not prevent
1. awkward situations from happening
2. creepy Christian boys trying to subtly figure out how they can get your number without actually having to get it
but it does
allow for a good nights rest
apparently my gym is a hang out for a couple of the BSM kids because one of the guys works there. one good thing that happened was that i was invited to a Bible study on Friday & a prayer meeting on Sunday, not to mention how incredibly sore i'm going to be tomorra morning-but thats a good thing right?

lifes been very convicting lately. Taking my head out of the self-pity i've been absored in, things look clearer, not better or improved, but liveable i guess. its all about "feeding His sheep". I love Him and aim to keep His commands, its as simple as that for me right now, and does it ever really have to get more complicated than that? the more i examine my walk with the Lord, I realize I have such a simple faith, and its that simple faith that i feel is put into question by my fellow brothers and sisters here, and it frustrates me...so pray for that-my pride takes that and runs to Satan with it and its bad news all around when that happens.

going to bed.
sending lots of love out across cyberspace.
grace & peace,
lish