July 4th weekend & a family vacation

So I finished up the dance internship on July 3rd, then headed to visit a church & my friends in my new college town! I got to hang out with Joanna that afternoon after church. This church (Awaken City Church) I visited was awesome! It was a blast seeing everyone there, & I met a lot of new people too! The 4th of July party that I went to was fun - we played frisbee & volleyball, then had some awesome fireworks. On the 5th, I checked out the apartment (my friend Joanna came with me), and then we went out for some mexican afterwards! I headed onto VA Beach after I dropped Joanna off to see a friend. It took about 4 1/2 hours to get to the beach, but it was such a wonderful feeling to walk in that door and see all of my family.

The vacation was, in many ways, tough. The whole family was altogether in one huge home, which was wonderful, but also means that some toes will be stepped on & feelings will get hurt. Then, you have to work through forgiving each other & living in harmony with each other. It takes work to have good relationships! Overall, everyone did get along and love each other. We ate really amazing food pretty much every night too. :)

Some of the highlights from our reunion included:

- Reading a dedication to my grandparents that I had written (see "Timeless Strength")

- Catching up with my cousins who live on the West Coast.

- Boogie boarding with some ridiculously good waves (I rode 10-15 in within about an hour or less)...

- Late night conversations & prayer with my lovely cousins.

- Worrying about the "Sand Crab Mafia" coming after me, since they had been provoked by my sister,    

  Casiphia,  & cousin, Amanda...

Those are just a few things that stick out in my mind, but the reunion sure was a blast! God is continuing to speak to me and make me more like Him, which is the ultimate goal of my life - to be like Jesus. It isn't always "fun" when we're in the midst of the shaping & molding, but God is faithful to provide all that we need in His perfect timing. Thank you God for your faithfulness!