The New Year Is Upon Us...

Can you believe another New Year is upon us? I feel like each year goes by a little faster than the previous one. It's absolutely insane!!!! Sometimes I wish I could be young for just a day... where time seemed to drag on in a good way and I had no responsibilities to worry about. Life was so much simpler. Yet, as I look towards the future, the year 2010 holds many exciting opportunities. First of all, 2010 is the year that my best friend & roommate Renee gets married!!! :) Second, it will be the start of my senior year of college! Holy goodness! It also means that 2011 is around the corner which is when I will GRADUATE!!!!!!! :) Whoa.... how did I get to be so OLD?!?!? I often have mixed feelings as I watch the ball drop. It is sad to see a year of good memories go but it is also exciting to know that a fresh start is around the corner!!!! So to all of you out there, Happy New Year! :) See you in 2010!

Horrible, No Good. Very Bad Day...

That was my day yesterday. Everything, literally EVERYTHING was going wrong!!!! But God was with me every step of the way & He helped me to get through it. God is GOOD!

I love the Smell of Fall...

Basically, I just love fall!!! :) Being home this weekend has rejuvenated my spirits a bit. It's always good for the soul to be home. =) I was also able to enjoy some Edward's Apple Orchard donuts & cider! Yummm! I wait all year to get some of their food! And today is absolutely GORGEOUS! I wish I could just stay home & enjoy this beautiful weather but alas, I must return to school. Well, see ya next blog! :)

Oh, Technology...

... how you are addicting! :) So for my birthday I got an ITouch! I am usually not a touch screen person but Apple has gotten me hooked on it now haha! I LOVE IT! It's awesome that it has wi-fi access AND I can play bejeweled 2 on it... PLUS music, video, and all that other stuff! What more could a girl want? :)

4 Year Anniversary

So yesterday was my 4 year anniversary with Ben. The time has absolutely FLOWN by yet looking back it's been such an incredible journey! I am so thankful for him & all that he does for me! For our 4 year, he didn't tell me what we were doing. Nothing. Which would usually frustrate me but instead it just made it more exciting! When I returned from my 8:30 class, there was a HUGE vase of flowers on the table! I was SO EXCITED & so were my roomies! LoL! Later that afternoon he picked me up at 4:30 & we headed to Chicago. He chose a Greek restaurant called Santorini for us to dine at & let me tell you... it was both beautiful AND delicious! =) After eating, we found a place to park our car & then passed some carriages. I have ALWAYS wanted to go on a carriage ride but have never told Ben as far as I can remember. Anyways, I made a comment about the beautiful horses & how I had always wanted to go on a carriage ride. He said, "Yeah but wouldn't it be king of uncomfortable? And its cold outside." I agreed, disappointed. We crossed the street, walked past the horses, and walked about a half a block before Ben stopped and turned me around. "I think I made a wrong turn," he said. He then walked right up to the lady at the carriage & said, I have a reservation for 7:30." I WAS ECSTATIC! So we took an hour & a half ride carriage ride around Grant Park, Michigan Avenue, & other places in Chicago. It was SO relaxing & the city was BEAUTIFUL with all of the lights! It was nice to be able to enjoy the scenery & not worry about traffic. All in all, it was a romantic, relaxing evening that I will NEVER forget. I love Ben SO much & I look forward to all of the memories ahead!

Disappointment Turns to Peace

Sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to... but I know it is all in God's plan, so I am okay with that. :)

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

School & Friends

Well, I have officially started my junior year of college a week & three days ago (if you count when I moved in!) =) I can't believe that I am already a JUNIOR! I student teach THREE SEMESTERS from now! It's so crazy to think that I will be teaching in my own classroom in the real world in less than TWO YEARS! CRAZY!!!! Many people have told me to enjoy this time in my life because, although the "real world" has its blessings, college is definitely more fun. I definitely plan on enjoying these last two years of my life being a college student. I am very blessed to be rooming with the same wonderful girls as I did my sophomore year of college. :) They are wonderful, Christ-like, upstanding, funny, beautiful women & have changed me for the better in so many ways! I will be sad when Renee, Rachel, & Caitlin graduate this year but I am just so thankful for my roommates & the past two years that I have been able to spend with them! As for actual school, it has been really hectic the past week & a half. I am taking 17 credit hours which is nothing unusual for me but it appears that this semester I picked all of the tough classes or the ones who give out a LOT of assignments. Blaah lol But I know that I will get through it perfectly fine! It will just take even more effort on my part! Well, I have to get ready for my 8:30 class! See you next blog! :)

Family

So... I just returned from a vacation in the Simi Valley/San Fernando Valley area of southern California visiting with family from both California & Florida. I had many amazing experiences there & made a ton of memories with my family. We did many fun activities there... I got to see Michael Jackson's childhood home where his family & children currently reside, I got to see the set of The Office & narrowly missed seeing Steve Carell, I walked on the Hollywood stars, as well as visiting many places that are significant to my family. We also went on some amazing hikes... one of which was probably the toughest hike that I have ever encountered. It was called "Hummingbird Trail." Don't let its name deceive you. Over 5 miles roundtrip & with an elevation of 1000 ft., this trail was no piece of cake. It was straight uphill all the way to the top which really challenged me to channel my inner volleyball athlete. The trail was actually located on the Biggest Loser Ranch's land which was pretty cool. I also spent 3 days in the mountains of California. I was completely cut off from any sort of electronic while there & it was very refreshing to reflect on God's creation & just relax with my family. While there I finished reading through the entire Bible for the first time in my life which felt AMAZING. I cannot tell you how much I have grown through reading the entire Bible in less than a year & I will continue to read through it again & again for the rest of my life. But despite all of the fun & awesome activities on my vacation, I learned one important thing. From this trip, I was reminded of just how blessed I am to have the family that I do. To have a family of over 20 people who are all strong Christians including an aunt who has survived breast cancer & remains stronger than ever in her faith is such an inspiration. They inspire me to continue to grow in my faith & they make me a better person. Leaving them has been SO hard to do. I have cried at least twice a day thinking about them. I miss them so much & I hope to see them again sometime sooner than 3 1/2 years like last time! =P But until then, I will continue to thank God for my family. =)

The Beginning

It seems like in the first post of a blog, the reader is obligated to either: 1. Acknowledge the start or "first post" of the blog or 2. Explain their reason for starting one. I guess I will do both! So... as you can tell, this is the first post in my blog. There. Nothing more to be said. I guess my reason for starting one is that I used to have one when it was popular back at the beginning of my junior high & high school days (those seem long gone now!) I have been wanting to create one again for awhile now but just have not had the time. It was really hard for me to come up with the name of this blog. I didn't want it to be cliche like "The Thoughts of Jaymie Anderson" so I thought about it for awhile & finally came up with the title "Reflections of a Peacemaker." This title mainly stems from the fact that I hate making waves & am the kind of person who just wants everyone to get along rather than argue over little things that can and often should be overlooked. So there ya go! The funny part about the coffee mug is that I don't even LIKE coffee! I know! Crazy! I guess I just like the idea (and smell) of coffee. Very often a nice cup of coffee causes people to stop and ponder their day or life. And that is what I want to do in this blog. Reflect on my daily life & hopefully share some things I have learned along the way! So until the next blog, dear reader, I hope you have a wonderful day & week!

xo Jaymie