Announcement!

It is my priviledge to announce that.... wow that sounds conceided.

ready?

I, as of Friday, May 7th, 2010 at 10:30 a.m., have finished all the requirements of this semester and in doing so, have completed my Junior year. I am a SENIOR, people! It hardly seems possible that I've been in college for 3 years already. This past school year has been amazing- I have learned so, so much. It's been great!

On another note, I recently discovered the Green Ice Tea Lemonade from Starbucks! Let me tell you, it is delicious!! I may need to pick up a second job to pay for my new found love..

Friday was also a special day as it marked the 15th anniversary of beginning my life as an older sister to a brother. How can my baby brother be 15??? The pipsqueek is at least 4 inches taller than me, but still, he should only be maaybe 12. Hard to believe.

I recieved a gift card to Victoria's Secret for my brithday and used it to buy this beautiful dress in white! (Don't have pictures of me in it yet..)

Now off to enjoy my short three weeks of vacation/break until summer school starts! 9 hours this summer + 15 in the fall + 9 in the spring = May Graduation!!!

At 15

At 15, life has barely begun.
At 15, he was just beginning to "find" himself.
At 15, he wanted to be a Youth Pastor.
At 15, he had a mom, dad, an older brother and older sister.
At 15, he was homeschooled, went to church, had friends.
At 15, he believed a lie.
At 15, his life ended.


At 15, my younger brother's friend, Noah, believed a lie and ended his life. I can't even imagine what in the world would make a child of 15 believe there was nothing left to live for. His facebook page is filled with notes from family, friends and acquaintances sharing their love and last good-byes. No one could believe what he had done, it was unexpected.

At 15, his life ended.
At 15, he never "found" himself.
At 15, he never became a Youth Pastor.
At 15, his mom, dad, brother and sister are mourning.
At 15, he never graduated or went to college.
At 15, he never said good-bye to his friends.
At 15, he believed a lie.
At 15, his life ended.

15 is too young to die. Pray for his devastated family.

School- What Else?

As any other college student, I sat down to begin truly focusing on writing my papers. Unlike those other college students, I am lame- working on them during Spring Break, weeks before they're due.

I open my saved articles, the quotes I want to use and what I have so far (about 1/5th of a page of lousy ideas). As well as two of the most useful websites ever made:

www.citationmachine.net

wwww.dictionary.com

You might (correctly) guess that I am in the process of writing 3 research papers, a series of 4 developmental newsletters, an assessment summary/reflection, a summary/reflection on my field study and a portfolio. Oh, and a thank you letter. (recieved the letter in the mail today saying I got another scholarships!!!!)

I love school this semester (- one class). I've been telling myself that if I could only make it to Spring Break, I could finish the semester. Well, it's here. And I'm still alive, so I guess I'll have to finish this semester... :)

Gah, I'm such a boring person! School is the only thing I find myself talking about and I know people must get bored of it. Oh well, I'll be graduated in 13 1/2 months and then I won't have to talk about it anymore. :-D 13 1/2 months??!? I, Rachel Nilson, will have a Bachelors in Child Development! how crazy... tear, tear, I'm growing up so fast!

Hebrews 11:7

-[Prompted] by faith Noah, being forewarned by God concerning events of which as yet there was no visible sign, took heed and diligently and reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of his own family. By this [his faith which relied on God] he passed judgment and sentence on the world's unbelief and became an heir and possessor of righteousness (that relation of being right into which God puts the person who has faith).

-By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

-By faith Noah, being warned by God of things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.


I believe God has forewarned me concerning events of which there is no visible sign. He has given me a love for children who are unloved. I believe God has placed me where I am to prepare me for my invisible future. As much as I want to move on with the next phase of my life, I must focus on this semester. I don't know where or what He will have me to, but I do believe He has a grand plan for my life involving the orphans within the foster care system. I have a burning desire to make a difference in the life of these children. I can hardly wait to see this new, beautiful, exciting future! The flood will certainly come and it will definitely be challanging, but to see the rainbow in the eyes of even one child will be worth the trials.

God is amazing! He will help me through whatever hardships my future may hold. All He asks is for my complete faith and obedience.

babies

Isn't this the cutest? makes me want a baby... one of my professors should it to us in class last week and i thinks its adorable!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

^this little guy is hilarious!^




just 9.5 inches and under 10 ounces

now i really do have a valid reason for thinking about babies.. honestly! with babies pretty much everything in school, and school being my life.. i really don't have a choice not to think about them. :) sigh, i love babies! you would be proud to know that i have graduated from virtual children to real children. now i get to play and hang out with living, breathing kids!!

I..

-got to hold Baby Shiloh!!
-have yet to find a field study location.
-am very soon to be overwhelmed with school.
-finally bought a laptop case.
-love said laptop.
-have to get to school by 8:30 to get a parking spot. classes don't start til 10 or 12.
-am excited for one friend who is recently engaged and another who will be soon!
-love my mom.
-kinda wish my jeans didn't have holes.
-should be working on school.
-don't believe in school after 9 p.m.
-have a class which ends at 10:15... p.m.
-got many beautiful earings for Christmas. (love earings!)
-get to see someone tomorrow!
-should be in bed.

December

-School: After accepting the fact that I may get a B or two, I was surprised to get get back to my normal all A semester!! next semester starts on January 11th and I am so close to being excited about it! I'm taking five classes (Infancy field study, Developmental Assessment, Teaching Individuals with Disabilities, Language Development and Emergent Lit, and Current Issues within the Family) plus band for a total of 16 hours. This will be a challange as last semester was my busiest to date with only 14 hours.

-Uncool: After much debate and research, I decided to pay my speeding ticket. I may have won had I gone to court, but... it's done and I'd rather not think about it. :)

-Shopping: becomes boring after working in a mall.

-New Job: So I have worked at the Picture People for about 4 weeks now. Everyone says I'm their favorite new person and would like me to stay on after the holiday season. For the most part I sign people in, edit pictures, sell to the customer, take their money, and print the pictures. However the other night I got to take the pictures!!! for training purposes, we give a free sheet to anyone who will let us practice on them. So this lady not only got her free sheet, but she also bought 3 extra sheets! :-)

-Birthday: 3 months and 3 days until I turn 21! :-D

-New Laptop: finally arrived the day after my last final. At least once a day I will go into my room to find someone on _my_ bed, using _my_ laptop. oh well.. I guess I can live with that for a while.

-Holiday Break: makes me miss people! for whatever reason, I hardly ever see anyone- from church and school- during any type of break. this makes me incredibly sad.

-Going North?: stupid us, right? my cousin is getting married January 1st in Nebraska so we're going up there for a few days in the dead of winter. Weather.com says the high is supposed to be 18 all weekend. :-/

-Someone: I miss someone incredibly much. it's been too long since seeing this person and it will be even longer yet as we're leaving Thursday morning. sigh..

-Posts: maybe one day soon i'll actually have something important to say!