Dorm Life: Round 2

We're here! We landed in Amsterdam around 7:30 on Monday morning then took a bus to Maastricht, arriving about 12:30. We got checked into our rooms where T and I unpacked our 1...2...3 huge suitcases, and crashed. I literally could've slept through the night from 3:45 on, but we woke up at 5 for dinner. Good news, even this picky eater isn't going to starve! We had lasagna, broccoli, and pork- good, safe choices. No strange sausages or animal parts. Sic 'em.

I'm already abundantly thankful to have my faithful roomie along with me. Our dorm room seems bigger than our "real" dorm room was freshman year, probably because we have so much less stuff in this one.

It's not nearly as cute as our award-winning Baylor dorm:

But the beds are comfy, so we're happy. We each have a closet, desk, bed, and bookshelf, along with a bathroom sink and kitchen sink, stove, and microfridge. The next bit of good news is there's no microwave so my chances of setting anything on fire go down exponentially. There will be no EasyMac repeat, much to my always-patient roommate's relief.

Tonight and tomorrow we'll be exploring Maastricht before heading out on our group trip on Wednesday. Pictures of this precious town to come!

So Long, Farewell

Last week dragged on, and this week was a complete blur. 

Each day this week held a visit with a different friend from home. Annee and Riley, my dear POP friends, on Monday and Tuesday; my godmother, Val, and my "godsister", Julie, on Wednesday; my Bible Study leader, Sarah, and her precious kiddos on Thursday; a trip to the Perot Museum with my mom and Ty on Friday; the best of the high school gang on Friday and Saturday; and, of course, my family sprinkled throughout. 

I haven't had time to get nervous or anxious about this trip because I've been so distracted by the excitement of it all. This week was the perfect amount of time to prepare and still get to see people that I hadn't seen all semester and won't see for the next 3 months. I wish I could take them all with me and experience this incredible trip with each of them. But instead we each get to have our own exciting summer, and meet back in August to tell about it before we move onto the next thing. Pretty cool. 

Here's the last week in (iPhone) pictures:

I leave for Houston in roughly 5 hours and from there will be off to Amsterdam! So I leave you with this picture of my struggle for the next couple days: 

Come at me, luggage weight limit. 

"I See God"

**Disclaimer: In the past 38 hours, I have slept for a cumulative 3 hours.

To say the last 3 days have been a whirlwind is a massive understatement; so much so that I hadn't even stopped to think about everything that has happened until I was on the road home tonight. So here's my somewhat random thoughts strewn together about my last few days in the Wack...

When I was younger I remember hearing my godmother always say "I see God!" when the sky was colored with a beautiful sunset. Since then, I often hear her saying that in my head whenever I see a sunset. So tonight on my way home from Waco I snapped this picture and thought, "I see God."

I started thinking about all the ways I have seen God this week. It's true, hindsight is 20/20, and I have been blown away by the incredible people He's placed in my life to show me His love when I most need it. 

On Thursday morning I got a call telling me that my beautiful grandbig was getting ENGAGED, so we spent that evening celebrating her. This lady has taught me so much this year, and I am so grateful for the friendship God so wisely put in place here. I can't wait to watch you start this new adventure, Whit!

7 hours of cleaning out the closet in the chapter room was an unexpected event, but it was great bonding time with the lovely Arden McCormack. 23859238489 boxes, 40+ nasty-smelling costumes ("Women don't sweat, they glisten" = LIE.), 75 pairs of character shoes, and one large clothing-rack-inflicted lump on my head later, the closet is clean and the storage units are full. We have a busy summer and semester to come, and I'm so excited to work with such a fun-loving and hilarious sister. Sic 'em references. Even when sometimes our job looks like this:

I have friends who talk about how they have the "best roommate ever" but I'm here to tell you it's a lie. Mine takes the cake, hands down. Wednesday night when Finance and an overwhelming amount of packing looming over me sent me into hysterics she literally sat with me for an hour until I fell asleep. During our all night packing spree she kept me from freaking out, and put up with my stressed out self, which I can assure you is not pretty. Suffice to say I would have literally gone insane this week without her. You're the best, T. Thank the Lord there are no pictures of either of us from this week, but this accurately sums up how the last 5 days felt: 

In the midst of all of this were encouraging texts from my godmother, a call from my uncle, lunch with my grandparents who drove all the way from Georgetown, a long conversation with my sweet, long-distance big, an entire day of moving way too many boxes (and a piano) with help from my tireless parents, and so many other little blessings. 

So as I watched Pat Neff and the Alico Building in the mirror tonight, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the beautiful community with which the Lord has surrounded me at Baylor. I have an exciting three months ahead, but come August I will be equally excited to get back to the Wack. 

When I read this again in 8 hours none if it will be coherent, I'm sure, but to summarize, I love Baylor and all of the ridiculously wonderful people I've gotten to share life with because of it. 

Sic 'em and goodnight.  

The Final Countdown

Here's some of the blessings I'm celebrating during my last 2 weeks in the States: 

• A trip to Austin yesterday with these sweet DDD sisters to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and the great state of Texas

• Worshipping this morning between two of my favorite high school friends- I love being able to cross paths with these two in Waco, and loved even more hearing their singing voices around me for the first time in a long time this morning. 
• My crazy 7th grade K-Lifers whose comments never fail to make me laugh
• McAlister's sweet tea
• TV dates that turn into life chats with my wonderful Grandbig
• Cookie dough, brownies, ice cream, etc. It's finals week, y'all
• Snapchats
• Movie nights with the world's greatest roommate
• Cheezits.

Which brings us to my blog title and the reason we're all (all 2 of you reading this- hi, Mom) here. In 2 weeks I'll set off for three months of traveling Europe. And going to class, but I tend to gloss over that part. Irrelevant. The important part is that I get to travel to as many countries as my little college-student heart desires (or maybe more "budget allows") and I get to do so with my best friend. It doesn't get much better than that, folks. In fact, these exciting adventures to come overshadow the fact that for the first time in probably my life I will have to live without a box of Cheezits in my pantry. I'm preparing myself for the trauma.