Summer 2012 Top 10.

This summer has been a whirlwind of new adventures and I am definitely NOT ready to let it end. The past week, I have been doing a lot of thinking about this summer as a whole. There have been so many new experiences and new lessons that I have learned. This is my first time living away from home [have I mentioned that I live with my best friend....I mean this is like straight off of a TV sitcom!], my first time paying rent [and living on a pay check-a-month] and my first time making a long-distance relationship work [it is so worth it]. Anywho, I've learned a ton and thought that I would make a short list of some of the Life Lessons of Summer 2012....in no particular order.

1.) Kool-Aid can dye your hair....toothpaste can help take the color off of your hands: Naomi and I decided that since neither of us can really have permanently colored hair because of work/school, we would color our hair with Kool-Aid. [thank you Pinterest]. It was a blast and I smelled like grapes for a week!    

Naomi and I after dying my hair. Notice the color of her hands....

 2.) There are too many great restaurants out there to keep going to the same places over and over. Thanks to Naomi, I have now eaten at Don Rafael's-AMAZING Mexican food, Johnny's-an adorable family diner in Huntington, Panda Express, Baskin Robins and Chick-Fil-A for the first time. I have loved each and every one of these places and definitely think twice about eating at a typical fast-food place now. We have also done our fair share of cooking-I am attempting to learn anyway. :)

3.) Every person deserves to be listened to. A few weeks ago, we went to hear one of my girls speak on her recent trip to Kenya. Afterwards, I was stopped by this boy who had some form of mental disability (I think autism). He was super sweet but kept talking for nearly three hours about everything under the sun. [his favorite YouTube videos, his running-this kid is like THE REAL Forest Gump, his family, his aspirations...everything....three hours.] After about ten minutes of listening, I found it hard to focus and follow what he was saying. I was then convicted of not actually listening...not actually loving Caleb....I was just pretending. 


4.) Being away from someone gives you new appreciation for that someone and makes you realize how much you love them. I have never been away from home for a summer before, I have never missed Jake getting ready for the fair or hanging out with my babysitting kids. I have always been there. Yet this summer, I have realized how much family and my friends back home mean to me.  I have missed them like crazy. 

Naomi, Jake and I on his 11th Birthday. Man, I miss this kid.

5.) It is important to show your appreciation for people while they are alive. God has led me to really show people how much they mean to me. It is crazy to think about how people impact your life, even the people who didn't have huge roles for very long. Too often, we wait until the person dies to really realize how much they have done for us....that just seems wrong to me.


6.) All of those years in youth group really were filled with relevant lessons. There were so many times when I thought Pastor Mearl was teaching information that I would never need or use, but this summer I have used so much of it and his lessons have stuck with me. There are certain things that I will never forget. My stance on issues surrounding relationships, drinking, tattoos, shady behavior, personal devotionals.....things that I never thought I would actually used, I have.

Pastor Mearl and Angie.....have taught me more than I have ever realized

7.) Loving others requires you to know how they feel love. Love languages are a phrase that is frequently tossed around, however through different relationships, I have realized how true it is that we each feel love in different ways. In order to truly love someone, we need to love them in the way that they feel it, not in our own way. Naomi is a quality time person. I am a listening person/a show how well you know me person. Andrew is very much a quality time person, while I am more independent. Love requires sacrifice. 

8.) Living requires humility. There have been so many times this summer when I have had to ask for help, whether it's a little thing on the computers at work, or in how to cook something at home. God has reminded me that there is a God and it is not me, I am NOT capable of everything without help.  I have had to truly walk by faith and realize that I can't do it all on my own. I am so small compared to the grand scheme of things. 


9.) Geocaching is harder than one would think. Naomi and I have found 13 geocaches this summer....a great activity to fill in some of our down-time. They are EVERYWHERE! It just seems like they should be so much easier to find than what we have come to find out. For example, there is one at the Ghost Tracks that we have looked for for at least 4 hours with no find. We have also learned to geocache in the light because it gets rather shady if you keep on going at night...

Abrielle came to visit and we went Geocaching. Fail at this phone booth.

10.) I have the best friends a girl could ever dream of. I am blessed, this I have always known but this summer has reiteration how amazing my friends are. I literally could not imagine a better roommate than Naomi or better friends than mine. They are always there to pray for me, to chat, to hang out and just live life together and are so supportive of me. I truly am blessed.

 I know that there are plenty of other life lessons I have learned this summer, but these are the ones that really stick out. I can't wait to begin my Senior year but am totally NOT ready to move out of here, to have Naomi return to Colorado, to stop working in a great office and to end this great adventure. 

much love & prayer-Danni