uccu

ever since i set up my bank account at uccu years ago i have always avoided going on line and checking my balance. i don't know why but there's something cursed to me about checking how much money you REALLLY have in your account. this morning i cracked and finally checked it after my attitude of non-inhibited-spending in jerusalem and was reminded why i hate it when i saw a mere $225.21 left to my name...what gives??

finale

well, with 2 days left i look back and hardly believe the semester is over. i'm sure when i get home and fast internet that actually uploads pictures is available i will do more posts. as for now i must bid this wonderful land farewell for a time and thank it for changing my life.

Samuel Ellertson

My brother Bryan and his wife Suzanne were blessed with a new baby boy, Samuel Ellertson. He was born 11/17/09 and was signed over for their adoption a few days ago. I couldn't be happier for these very deserving parents. they have been so patient through the ups and downs of adoption and are finally blessed with a new addition to their amazing family....i can't wait to meet little sammy!

i'm alive

don't worry i'm alive. i just spent 11 wonderful days in the galilee and can say that i am a new person. however, i am so happy to be home. :) (in jerusalem) p.s. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Josephine Marolyn Mills

My amazing sister Lara had her baby on friday and will now be a mother of 3 under 3. what a rockstar! Josephine Marilyn Mills was born on November 6, 2009, 3:10 p.m. 7 lbs. 5 oz. 20 inches. I love her already and I haven't even met her yet!



p.s. she did the whole thing with out any pain meds...like i said rockstar.

cat (ding) i'm a kitty cat

one thing that i didn't know when i came here was the fact that jeru is infested with cats. including the center. usually stray dogs can be found in bigger cities but not here. it's so bad that we have named some of the regulars including: diseasy, trachy, dr. seus)...and... all of the females have utters. like i said i love everything about this place.

so little time...

This is my view everyday. A few days ago as we drove back from our field trip in Jordan, we drove over the mount of olives and descended into jerusalem below us. the sun was setting and lit everything up so beautifully and i couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion for this place. it feels like home. i love the huuuge variety of people, the sudden change in weather from dripping sweat to needing a rain jacket, the view from which the center looks out upon perched on the mount of olives, my peers here at the center (who are some of the most christ like people i've ever been around), i love sabbaths here, i love being able to tell exactly which quarter of the old city you are in based on it's cleanliness, i love falafel and gelato, i love how i feel like this place is the center of the world and you can never run out of things to do, i love walking everywhere, i love ben yahuda street, i love the oasis food and eggnog desserts, i love doing the same run everyday, i love how old everything is and makes american history seem like a new born baby, i love my professors and forum speakers, i love brother brown and his scarcely seen smiles,i loooooove the call to prayer and most of all i love the color that has been added to the black and white stories of the scriptures through being here. i never want to leave. (except to see my family) :)