whirlwind tour

Hannah and I took a whirlwind tour of Virginia last weekend, and these are some of the things we did:

First stop: Richmond. Stop at Starbucks, drink coffee, meet up with Leah! Next joined by Catherine. Quality catch-up time ensues. Drive to Carrytown (sp?). Eat lunch in an awesome sandwich place. Stop in one of those tiny photo-booths and attempt to take pictures with flat Kate (fancy flat Kate in little black dress). Realize we inserted money prematurely, receive pictures of our hips even though everyone attempted to smile at camera (the camera was at waist level-oops). Finally snap some good ones (see below). Next stop- goodwill- aka fancy Richmond goodwill with a snazzy name but still very much second hand clothes. Attempt to convince any housemate to buy a particularly stunning wedding gown found in store: attempt failed. Catherine leaves, Leah, Sarah and Hannah find 2 more coffee shops and spend hours in them. Find a nice friend in the last coffee shop, attempt to follow in car: attempt failed. Leah goes home.

Next Stop: Harrisonburg. Dave's, Funkhouse, Greenberries, various JMU locations. Odd to be back and see people we actually know all over town. After dinner at Clementine's, leave to go back home to NOVA.

Mission: successful.

huh?

What the heck is this??

They stole our name and made it into something... indescribably odd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTCulYog5fw

Oh No, Oh My!

So guess what. Mr. Knightley has been sneezing like crazy lately! I think he might be sick :( So it reminded me of that time when we thought he was sick and saw that he might have "THE BLACK PLAGUE" (Dun Dun DUNNNNNNnnnnnn). Haha, well anyways so he has been sneezing. My mom told me that I should look up what he could have and this is what I found out. It could be one of three things. 1) a bad cold. 2) herpes...seriously??? 3) feline leukemia (NOOOOOOOO!!!!!). I'm soooo worried that its #3! I'm gonna bring him to a kitty appointment this week...I hope our little guy just likes to sneeze!

Anyways... Those of you who are joining fellow Duuuuuuuukes for Homecoming- I wish you tons of fun! I'll be taking pictures on Saturday and wishing I was there! :(

Also... a year ago last weekend was when Sarah, Hannah, and I were running a mad dash at 6am. Nope, not running a race...just racing to try to take some warm hot chocolate to some cold Marines. hahaha..we were indeed "Those girls" Oh well! It was fun though and the mental picture of Sarah with Hot Chocolate EVERYWHERE (hair, eyelash, jacket, hood, mittens, zipper, pants, cheek, and shoes) and yet she kept saying... " Girls...keep going, we gotta mission!" Oh wow, anyways I just remembered that and it cracks me up! I was thinking of going to Annapolis sometime soon! Any takers? :)

• Hannah I need to see your new appartment soon! Miss you ALL so much! So when is our next WHOLE reunion at Hannah's place???

• Catherine I hope you found a great costume for tonight...I'm praying for you, girl!

• Leah, how has it been with your parents? Fun? :) Did you ever hear back from that hospital in Richmond???

Sarah, it was great talking to you the other night... I hope you stick it to the man at work! And I loved...no, LOVED Catherine's post on your wall in response to ***** *****'s post! ;)

K, thats all for now! This girl is OUT!

Kate

Halloween.

Dear Dollhouse,
In honor of Halloween. These are just some of the reasons I miss you.
~S

Please Don't Kill me!

Ok ladies...October 31st is coming soon. Yes, Halloween. Do you remember what we were 2 years ago? Well as I was watching Regis and Kelly this morning I saw that they have a "Creative Costume Contest." ALL you have to do is submit a photo and if they like it they will air it on TV. I figured that ours had MAJOR potential soooooo *sigh* I submited our Mt. Rushmore photo! Ahhh...Sorry to those who may be embarrassed but I say, HEY this is our one opportunity to apprear on Regis and Kelly and now, if it does get aired, you can tell people durring that game - 2 truths and a lie- "Yea, I was on Regis and Kelly once!" So anyways, that is that! :) Love you and miss you all!

~Kate

P.S. maybe watch R&K next week to see if we are on! :)

New Homes, Blue Lights and Me Gusta Bailar.

Hey all! Sarah here writing here after officilly moving into my new Harrisonburg house... the Funkhouse. I thought I had prepped myself for like there without the Dollhouse... but the first night there showed me I wasn't quite as prepared as I had thought. The new girls I live with are great, in fact, the best I would want to live with if I can't be with the 5. I drove to the Burg and went straight to my new job training and couldn't wait to get home afterwards, so I proceeded to drive to the Dollhouse and realized, oops. Wrong house. So I drove to the new house and started getting used to this new life!
Rocket (aka Sara Blankenship) got to train me for my job since I'm taking hers and it is the ideal job for a college student. Check it: 10 hours a week, $10 an hour, 3-5 five days a week of the easiest job known to man (running paperwork to the courthouse, which means driving), the company footing the bill for gas and I get to tell people I work in an attorney's office. Sweet. So after two days of job training, I started my first day on my own on Friday. A little nervous. A little anxious. It's one of those things that is so easy, it could potentially make you look like a huge idiot if you mess up. Plus most of the work is handling larer ammounts of money than I will be making at this job all semester, so it could be disasterous should something bad happen. Anyway, first day was going well, I was driving to the courthouse when the skies opened u and it rained like it was the end of the world. Awesome. So I had to get to the courthouse by 4 when it closed, and I was doing well on time since it was 3:40. Suddenly, the dreaded blue lights came on behind me. "But I'm not speeding!" I thought. I pulled over, praying the police would go around me and just be on their way. But no. He pulled up behind me, got out (in the rain!) and asked me for my liscence and registration. Nooooooo! I was pretty frantic at this point, the time being 3:45 and I'm thinking, "why on my first day?!?!." I asked him with rising panic how long he thought it would take, and then started explaining that it was my first day and the courthouse was closing soon, very soon. I'm not sure I actually explained myself very coherently, but I think my voice was getting higher and higher and he noticed I was on the verge of tears and he got that look on his face that men do when a woman is about to start crying: the one where their eyebrows go up and they back up a step and there eyes get big and they start putting their hands up in a "stop" position. Panic. So he explained that my inspection date had expired but he would just give me a warning if I promised to get it checked. Whew. Crisis averted. I even managed to make him laugh, though not intentionally, when I in my panic handed him my USAA info instead of my car registration, to which he replied "uuuuh, close enough." Thanks po-po! Needless to say I didn't tell my new bosses about the incident.
In other news, Thursday night was salsa night at the rtful Dodger. Words cannot capture the sketchy and odd things that go down thursday nights at the Dodger, but let me say that these nights are simultaneously shocking, hilarious and very fun. At one point one of the Latino men cornered me and felt it was his job to teach me Spanish. I learned to say "I like to dance" and thought that would be enough to satisfy him, but he thought we should probably, you know, exchange numbers so we could... um, continue my education in Spanish. I managed to convince him that in our American culture that the woman calls the man, which baffled him and he kept saying "oh, no in mine, not like this." I insisted that yes, he should give me his number instead of me giving him mine, and in the end he acquiesced. Victory. Me gusta bailar!
Dollhouse, I miss you terribly.

It's a Boy!!!!

He has finally arrived! A little bit later than Courtney had hoped, of course, but I'm pretty sure that was all forgotten once she got to see this precious boy! My mom talked to Courtney on the phone this morning, and said Courtney was telling her she was laughing as she pushed him out!! She was just so relieved to have that moment there, but the doctor was a little shocked. 

Anyways...his name is Sawyer Patrick Cassada. He was born at 9:54 am, weighed 8 lbs 1.5 ounces, 20.5 inches long, and is as calm as can be (for now). The whole time we were in the room with him he was awake but so quiet.  He is precious. 

When Pat came out once he was delivered, as he always does, to announce if it's a boy or a girl, the weight and all that, he always has a little trick but in the exciting moment I guess we always forget. As soon as he walked out (which we had been watching the door for SO long it seemed) Joshua ran up to him so Pat picked him up and we were all gathered around him, and he says, "Well Joshua...it's just you and me.....looong pause............................and your brother!" All our minds were like, "aw, it's a girl, ok..." and trying to process that..STILL exciting, but THEN we all just burst into whatever, realizing it was a boy. Haha, it was great. Especially the grandma's reactions. AND the kids. They are all so cute about it. Bailey just keeps saying, "the baby is out!" Rebekah is always writing his name out, asking how to spell it, and this morning she said, "I was thinking about baby Sawyer last night." It's precious. Hearing Joshua and Bailey try to say his name is pretty cute too. And oh yes, in case you haven't gathered, the kids are staying at our house for a couple of days. Which is such fun but the energy level around here is pretty intense! Haha, it's just a constant party...you know how those grandparents just love to spoil the grandkids. It's fun to spend so much time with them. 

Courtney looked amazing when we saw her right after, I mean...she did not look like she had just given birth. She looked as beautiful as any other day. She's definitely feeling a little worse today (the epidural has of course worn off) but is loving having some relaxing time with her new son.

 

It may take some time to get used to being a family of 6 now!!  When we were in her labor room afterwards she said, "Yea, we got a picture of all 5 of us already.......I mean 6!" She has done a few posts on her blog cause Pat brought his laptop to the hospital, so if you want to read more about it all AND see more precious pictures, just click here for her blog. Ok, love you all and will talk to you soon! 

P.S. Yesterday was a big day for babies. Phill and Christy had their ultrasound yesterday to find out if they are having a boy or girl, and....they're having a boy too! They are ecstatic. Phill is thrilled to get to have a son, and Christy was literally screaming! She's excited to get to have a boy, too:) His name will be Ayden Phillip. Cuuuuute:) 

 

This Road...

 It's been awhile!! Quite awhile. and I thought it was about time to fill my favorite people in on what's going on in my life:) Well, to be quite honest it's been kind of hard recently. I feel ridiculous saying that, because nothing is WRONG...nothing horrible is happening, I'm completely healthy, I'm just at a really hard place right now. I feel totally lost and am so clueless about where God is leading me and what I am supposed to do with my life. (kind of a big thing to wonder about, huh?) I feel like we've wondered that our whole lives, but then once we graduated college we were going to know and everything was just going to start happening. Hmm, guess not. 

 Anyways, just practically talking about jobs, plans, and all that...I've been saying for awhile that I just need to pass my test (did that), then I just needed to take this psycho Advanced Cardiac Life Support class that some units ask for which I thought there was no way I was going to pass (but thanks to another couple weeks of more studying and being put in a great group, I got through it)- which actually got me thinking a little bit about possibly applying to some ER jobs (who knew?). So, those things are done...now it's just back to focusing on trying to get a job. And trying to really figure out where God wants me- as far as I know we're talking about San Diego or Virginia/D.C. here. I was thinking yesterday...all I want to know is 1. Where I CAN be (who is going to give me a job and where I'm going to find an optimal living situation), 2. Where I really WANT to be (what job I am actually going to end up enjoying and where I am going to enjoy living), and 3. Where SHOULD I be?! (where does God want me to be- where I will be able to serve Him best as well as where I will be able to grow and learn more about Him personally). That's ALL I want to know- haha...just a small thing. But, that's why the title of this entry is what it is, Ginny Owens' song, "This Road" definitely hits home for me right now. One day I will look back and see "why this road," but it seems impossible and silly right now! Like I said, I feel crazy complaining about stuff when there is really nothing WRONG- sure there have been some major disappointments so far- it just doesn't seem like there has been anything positive going on. and that's just frustrating. I'm now stuck at home, left simply to focus on trying to get a job now (no other little tasks to complete first), and I love my mom...but let's be honest- it's not helping the frustration. I'm not someone who enjoys sitting around over-analyzing every little part of every little thing (at least not talking about it out loud with someone). Unless it's you guys of course;) And she's not getting that. 

 Of course, if God just smacked me upside the head and told me what I should do, I would have no problem doing that...but I am definitely having a hard time patiently seeking Him and trying to decipher what He wants for me. And bottom line, I just can't live here for much longer. I at least need an end in sight to know I for sure have a plan of where I am going and when. But for that to happen I need a job. And that doesn't seem so simple. Anyways, I think I'm going in circles now. So I'll bring this to an end. 

 I have a list of potential jobs to apply to, and I just applied to my top choices and am going to see what I hear back from them. I'm pretty pessimistic. At least about San Diego jobs. But we'll see. I'm clueless, but I'm trying to be trusting. God is good, and He loves me, and He knows what's best for me. I love you all. and I'm praying for you all. and I miss you all. Seriously, I miss you all!!!! So much. We're going to need to talk some more about this coordinated trip to Norfolk soon! K, adios.

-Hannah

p.s. My sister is due THIS week with her baby! Seriously, any minute now she will be having this precious baby! She definitely cannot wait (she's pretty miserable) and we can hardly stand it either! I'll send out a note to let y'all know when she has it and whether it is a boy or a girl!! 

Hey guys!  I have my own blog now for Kenya...not much is on it, but just thought I'd pass it on!  I'm sorry that i have been so MIA recently...the only excuse I have is work early in the mornings, teaching swim lessons, then getting off late at night!  But things will hopefully change as I just got hired today as a Waitress at Rio Grande!  I'm looking forward to not being in the sun so much and hopefully having more energy for other things in life!  Miss you guys a whole heck of a lot!

-The one going to Africa

M.I.A. because of A.I.M.

Hello all ye Beautiful Dollhousers!

I just got back from New York just a few hours ago!  I was up there for my Candidate's week retreat for Africa Inland Mission!  Whoo Hooo!!!!! I'm super pumped about Africa now!  Haaa...there was a little mistake about my acceptance... Although I had thought I had been accepted a month ago, that was actually just an acceptance to Candidate's week!   Oooops, but I was officially offered the position yesterday and before they could finish their sentence, I said "YES!!!"

It was quite the week....very intense!  It began with an hour and a half of me (JUST me) sitting in a room with a psychiatrist (= AWKWARD!)  I'm sure you would have loved it, Catherine!  It was really quite humorous cause I felt like I had to say the right things in order for my time to go by quicker...it didn't.  He would ask me questions like (no joke) "So how did that experience make you feel?  Bad?  What KIND of Bad?"  Haha...I had to keep from laughing a few times cause it felt like I was on Candid Camera because my psychiatrist was so stereotypical.

From that meeting, I had to meet with my Headquarters director where we had to discuss logistics (What I would be doing, where I would be living, how long I will be serving, what kind of ministry, and so on) And here is something I'm surprisingly excited to report:  I'm not leaving till JANUARY '09!  I went into the week thinking that if I don't get accepted to leave by October, then I will be a failure and disappointed.   Turns out, that I would actually be leaving the end of September, and would have to have all my support in by  August...yeah, wasn't gonna happen!  So although January seems like a long time away, I have TONS to do including 2 weeks of stateside language school.

I think the most difficult part of the week was having to swallow the "Risk Assessment" Lecture.  I always knew that there was some sort of risk involved when going to a foreign country, but AIM didn't sugar coat their lecture one bit!  In fact, before the lecture began, one of the missionary wives passed around Kleenexes...lets just say I should have taken one or two....or three or four!  I realize now the naivety I carried with me when thinking about dangers in missions.  I also don't want to come across as sounding that I am proud or prideful for going into a dangerous part of the world... I am not saying that at all, but I am sharing this because Danger and safety are some concerns of mine that I would ask for you to lift up in Prayer!  I also realize that I am at the hands and Mercy of our Lord.  Tonight at dinner I was debriefing my parents on the week, and when they asked me about the risks involved in going to Kenya, I shared with them few and shallow stories of what I had actually heard.  They asked me, half joking, if I wanted to purchase a body guard over there...I realized that us as believers have something even better than a body guard and He goes with us EVERYWHERE and his name is not Jack Bauer.....his name is Jesus Christ!  This name is not one to be taken lightly.  Joshua 1:9 was an incredible verse brought to my attention this week, " Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."  And that verse isn't just for me in Kenya, its for you-Catherine in Richmond, you-Hannah in San Diego, you-Sarah in Harrisonburg, you-Leah in Norfolk!  

One of the missionaries told me a story one night that put things into perspective for me... He shared with me that he had been mugged,beaten and robbed, multiple times, bitten by a cobra and pronounced dead, and dragged out of his car at gun point while Rebel Soldiers tied him up and pointed a gun at the back of his head and played Russian Roulette for four straight hours....he went through ALL of that and is still alive to tell me of these experiences all to say, "If you are in the Hand and will of our God, you are invisible until He calls you home."  Kinda gave me chills when I heard it, but its so right!  We have nothing to fear, because truly if its not our time to go...we aren't going anywhere!  And if it is...then all the better, that God wants us to be with Him!

I don't mean to sound crazy or anything, but I heard so much this week and am excited to share it with you all! :)

On a more logistical note... I found out some details about what I'll be doing in Kenya!  I'll be living in Nairobi and will indeed have to learn Swahili (or at least be able to say phrases like, "Please don't point that gun at me" or "Can I please buy your goat" or "I am from Canada" ...haha JUST KIDDING ;) ).  I will be in my own office and will be working on Graphic Design, Journalism, videography, and photography!  I will be working out of this office 3 weeks in a month and one week a month will be spent out on assignment!  Assignments are usually a week long where we will be working on video recording, journalism, and photography.  We will either be traveling via Landrover, small jet, or commercial airline.  We will be staying in Hostels, Missionary houses, tents, mud huts, under the stars, in our small jet, or in the Landrover.  And our showers???  Rain.    It will be quite the stretching experience for me...but Heck, I'm a Dollhouse girl... Adventure is our middle name, right?

Anyways, I'm exhausted and have to get shots in the morning :(  Blahhhh.  

Love you all and miss you lots!

It takes a bit to load, but it's 5 minutes of pure bliss :) (when it loaded, the sound is off now about a second, sorry!)

A Sweet, sweet ending

It's about time that I actually wrote a blog... So here it is.  In order to end out our 4 years on a happy note, the Dollhouse and the Turton Family took a trip down to Edisto Island, SC.  Its a pristine, barrier island about an hour from Charleston.  Absolutely relaxing! A view of the marsh and ocean from the front porch hammock and porch swing was complimented with a great dock in the backyard overlooking the marsh.  The beach is littered with shells of ALL varieties creating such beauty and also providing a challenge to walk barefoot and layout. 

In true Dollhouse fashion, we started the days with some needed exercise to balance out all the sun bathing.  Whether it was running, walking, or doing lunges until my butt muscles fell off, I truly loved every minute of an aspect that is highly valued in our house.  My parents made great breakfasts for us as well.  The famous Turton cheese pancakes were made. Cheese? Yes. Cheddar Cheese. Absolutely Fan-friggen-tastic on pancakes.  We made it to the beaches around lunch time, soaked up the sun for a few hours and came back to crab on the back porch.  

Crabbing deserves its own paragraph.  If you have never had the pleasure to crab, you must do it before you die.  Our technique consisted of 2-3 "spotters" on the top deck who would yell down the location of the crab. Another person held the net and the other had the line with bait.  The first day brought most success with 5 crabs.  And yes, we steamed them, picked their bodies filled with green poop for meat, and made crab dip.  So great.  It was a highlight of the week.  And it dominated our time at the beach.

Another highlight included the epic marsh trek prompted by Hannah's desire to walk in the marsh.  She and Kate, with crocs on foot, walked into the creek by the marsh off the dock.  All was fine at first... But... I couldn't help but dare them to walk up the side creek.  I had a sneaking suspicion of what would happen because Hannah had sunk into the bank a few minutes prior, but who wouldn't want such guaranteed entertainment?  So they accepted the dare... Minutes later Hannah is screaming and sinking up to her knees in MUD.  Crocs are getting sucked into the mud, snails are sucking onto their toes, construction workers next store are staring and laughing, I am bent over laughing, and Tudors is peeing her pants.  Hannah and Kate manage to make it back to the dock, crocs and all.  HILARIOUS.

Each day would end in a great dinner courtesy of my parents.  We'd then hang out, take a walk, watch a movie (never watch Spanglish with your rents...awk.) or play speed scrabble.  The week was completed with a trip to one of my favorite cities, Charleston.  LOVE it.  We walked all over the town.  We first went down to waterfront park and then the famous market to do a little shopping.  It has all you could ever want: jewelry, food, t-shirts, sunglasses, etc.  Afterwards, we walked around town looking at the historical houses... one of which I will live in one day.  We then walked down to the Battery overlooking the river and Ft. Sumter.  We had some dinner at a Tapas restaurant.  Very different in that the entire menu is appetizers, all of which come out at different times.  It was very yummy and a different atmosphere.  But one of the drawbacks to sitting outside came when Tudors received a little present of POO on her head from a local bird.  Yet another HILARIOUS moment, which led to Sarah admitting she also was pooped on  earlier in supper.  Dinner went on without any further poop events, and then we caught dessert at various locales...gelato, pie, etc... Went home barely making it come with our lives as some PSYCHO yelled at us out the car window at a perfectly warranted driving move on my part :)

I think that I speak for us all when I say this was the perfect way to end out our time together as a house.  It brought relaxation after exams and graduation and quality time to share in the final moments.  No this is not the end of the Dollhouse... but we know a lot is about to change.  My prayer is that each of us remains true to the person we grew to be together but also develop more into the woman God wants us to be in the future. Love you all--- 

Knightley's Day Out

 "Stop worrying, you have to let him go sometime!"  said F-14 fighter pilot, Tom Joyce.  Our Beloved pet, Mr. Knightley has been pretty anxious lately to go outside, however, I have been even more anxious about letting the little guy go.  I just feel like he won't know how to survive...AT ALL!  And tonight proved it for me!   After my dad kept telling me to just let him out, I put his collar on (left the bell on so I could follow him), opened the door and watched him explore!  I'll post the pictures of his Burke exploration however, as you will see....he didn't get very far.  

First Stop:  Quick Visit to touchdown who was also outside

Second Stop:  Neighbor's flower garden 

Third Stop:  Tree

Fourth Stop:  Kate's arms (I had to climb that tree just to get Knightley out cause he was stuck and squirming)...I didn't have a picture of this one of course

For now, he is back safe and sound in the Home of Tom&Deshua. 

P.S.  I got my new camera!

A Tribute to Sarah Lynne Moore on her 22nd!

Well, that's right...it's Sarah's big day today! She is officially 22, that age we're all dying to be when you don't sound quite so immature anymore (like at 21) ;) 

I just wanted to give a little tribute to Sarah for all those in Dollhouse who love her so, those not in the Dollhouse who love her, and those who haven't been so fortunate to know her well enough to love her!

Sarah is one multi-faceted girl. She is incredibly intelligent (I am even nervous to write this for fear she will cringe at misspelled words, misused words, or just bad writing- haha), hilarious, beautiful, creative, thoughtful, and unique (to name some of her traits).

If you know Sarah, you know she is someone who...

-will stay up all night reading a book, the whole way through (for fun)

-admits things starting with, "okay fine!..." when no one has pushed her to do so

-uses words in sentences that we all must exchange glances to make sure it's a word we're probably not expected to know the meaning of, then have to ask her to explain it

-sits on the couch, with her legs in crazy positions, sipping her Lipton Green Tea

-constantly thinks at a deeper level than a lot of people are used to, but challenges you to think deeper as well

-is truly in love with her God, and lives that out, and shows you more of who He is through who He has made her

-takes a nap at 10pm so she can then pull an all-nighter to write a 10 page paper due the next day

-yell out statements, with arms open wide, in NYC referring to the Empire State building being...

-even has some mean dance moves (including the Hula-Hoop, the snap, and so on)

well, those are just a few things that make Sarah Moore the special person she is...but I hope you know how much we love you, Sarah and thanks for what you are to all of us! 

Happy stinkin' Birthday, Sarah! We love you a lot. 

"Gratulation"

We made it! As Chipper said one night, "We gradulated!" So he got the action and the congratulations all over with in one word. Very thrifty with his words, that one. We all got our purple (barney) robes (costumes) on and walked with the Turtons and the Dude Ranch girls all the way to the stadium. Walking into the stadium with all of the parents/family/friends in the stands was pretty overwhelming. Somehow Hannah and Kate were able to pick out their families. We were all five "ISAT" majors that day so that we could sit together, so we got plenty of pictures. The next couple of hours could have been REAL boring, except that we entertained ourselves with hangman on cellphone, trying to start a wave in the crowd, taking pictures, watching Catherine flirt it up with the guy next to her (just kidding Catherine), etc. Sarah Roq was our tudents speaker and was great... she put a different twist on "Ambition," emphasizing humility and "quiet acts" instead of the in-your-face stuff we think of most. We finally got through it all, though, and went off to our different spots for our majors. I went to the Hillside graduation for English, philiosophy, history, anthropology, religion and language majors. The weather was great and it was fun seeing everyone go up to get their diplomas (mine wasn't as exciting as Chipper's though, where someone was proposed to right up their on the graduation platform.)
After the chaos that was graduation, we all went home for a nice relaxing time with our family at the Dollhouse. JUST KIDDING! It was craziness packing everyone into our tiny yard, getting tents up, chairs out and food ready. We did though, and had plenty of family (Hannah wins for biggest fan club). It was pretty chaotic, but fun to see all of the families together. The five of us were big time celebs, had about a millions pictures taken of us and smiles that were about to fall off at the end of the day. I don't remember that night at all. Honestly, it was that insane that day, maybe we all went to bed right after the herd left? I'm not sure. But it was our last night together at the Dollhouse. The next day (or the day after?) we were all wisked away for a week with the Turtons at the beach in South Carolina. We'll update on our time there soon, it was good times as always :)

What a man, what a man!

Soooo yes, lets just admit it...We are ALMOST done, done, done!  The stress of exams usually clouds over the last couple of moments here at school but we are fighting it as best we can.  We need to savor EVERY moment!  On Monday night, we got a knock at the door and when we answered it, there was just a case of root-beer bottles, 5 cigars, and the cutest Note ever!  (See attached pictures).

The Note said:  

"Congratulations!  You Did It!

Just wanted to thank you girls for making me feel welcome at your home this year.  I hope you enjoy the gift!  But I feel that it would be hard not to with a group like you. (Sorry I could not buy the real thing.)   I know you all like trying new things so how about lighting up a round of cigars together and celebrating! (Kate-make sure mom and dad don't see this or I am dead.)  Make sure you girls stay connected to each other after graduation!  GOD BLESS!

- Justin

(oh...hi Knightly.)"

Yeah, Justin is quite the man and we have more than enjoyed your visits over the year!  We will miss you next year!  

"My thoughts On Crying" - by Kate Joyce

Ohhhh Gosh...
So, I'm sitting here in the Duke Computer Lab waiting for my group...They are LATE and lame for being late so I'm just gonna let loose on the blog...no one has written in a while :(

Who is stressed out, raise your hand! Thats what I hate about senior year! I remember last summer thinking about senior year and thinking how great it was gonna be. The misty day dreams included lots of time hanging out with friends, long walks in the country, runs through the burg, going out with the house, relaxing and soaking up the memories we have shared over the past few years. Those day dreams came to a skreeeeeeeeetching hault once senior year began. The image that comes to mind to describe senior year now is like our psycho cat- Mr. Knightley! Always running from one thing to the next, a nap here and there, falling off counters, getting into trouble, hoping for someone to spend time with if they were not so busy too.

The only difference being, Knightley doesn't cry. He meows, but tears don't stream out of his eyes and down his face. I feel like crying is becoming a common theme with my senior year...and I know you all know that oh too well. I don't quite know what it is about crying that makes you feel better even when you feel miserable at the moment. I can cry cause I'm happy or excited about something (like the birthday all you wonderful house mates put on for me), I can cry when I'm sad, I can cry when I'm confused, frustrated, anxious, lost...But the most frustrating cry is when you don't know what you are crying about! And that kind of cry seems to come oh too often. Today I was sitting at my desk, and it just happened, tears started streaming down my face...Ok, I know that today there are a lot of factors that are playing into that, but it just felt good to cry!

I am getting sad as the year is fading out...I don't want this time to end. Although I am psyched out of my mind about Kenya, that too brings fears with it. And I think these fears stem from the fear of being alone. You all have been so great over the years to be there for me in the good times, the hard times, the ugly times and the times I need to cry. I'm afraid of that not being right in front of me. Sure, you all will be a phone call away and for some of you just a short car ride, but its going to be different.

Annnnnnd now I'm crying in the computer lab :( ...still waiting for my group. I just hate change... with a passion! These next few months are going to bring lots and lots of change into our lives starting with graduation...we are no longer going to be college students. Then there is the transition back into the parents house without the Doll house light at the end of the tunnel. Then once summer ends, there is no more going back to JMU---seriously??? And then a few months after that there is Africa! Wow, like I said, lots and lots of change!


Ok...so now that I am a Debbie downer, I should probably say something good!
Regardless of how hard change is on me, I know it is gonna be good! Think about it, we are all going to be doing this we LOVE to do...sure, we won't all be together, but it will give us something to talk about! Leah, in the next week, you are gonna find out where you are gonna be next year and you know it is going to be where God is going to grow you so so so much! Catherine, you have two options, of two great churches to work with youth...and you are gonna rock at it! Sarah, although you are gonna be in Harrisonburg, you are going to be trained to do something you love! Today when you were telling me about that girl in your class who loves Africa, I can see how great of a teacher you are gonna be. You aren't gonna settle for allowing your kids to reach the minimum, you are gonna have them aim high beyond their dreams of their potentials. And Hannah, you are going to be in California doing your first year of nursing! How great is that! Every day you get off of your shift, you can go to the beach and relax!

Guys, I don't think "Go Big or Go Home" should be just a Senior year slogan...I think it should pretty much be tattooed on our lives. Because, as the song goes...This is the end of the beginning! Get excited about the unknowns in life...those unknowns are not unknown to God. God has each of our paths planned out for us. I am so thankful that God had our paths cross for four years! He gave me eight wonderful shoulders to cry on and four beautiful friends to grow with!

I love you all!

~Kate

Ok, so there haven't been many updates for a few days...so I'll post this! ;)

Hahaha.....oh Will!

Weekend, Great Weather "It Smells Fressssshhh" ~Leah

Hello four corners of the world... everywhere where the Dollhouse is. Leah and I have spent a weekend here by ourselves, while Kate is visiting Kiki in PA and Hannah is working in NOVA and Catherine is running her Shamrock half-marathon. We miss you all! Congrats Catherine for your best race time yet! Catherine just ran a half marathon, running with a less than 9 minute per mile time with almost NO training (and oh yeah, she was sick). Good job you!
Leah and I have been keeping ourselves pretty busy. Friday night was P.S I Love You at Grafton... it was surprisingly good. It was a chick-flick, but one with substantially deeper themes than most. I (and all of the other girls who were cheering and ooh-ing and aw-ing in Grafton) highly recommend it! Saturday Leah and I went on a country walk, encountered some really sketchy Harrisonburg-ers, came home and saw Lisa Puckett's band Dear Dear play at Wilson, opening for Mae. It was so good! I've seen Mae play before, and this was the best time I've had at one of their shows! Good friends, good music = good time. I'd write about the school work Leah and I are stuck with doing now, but who wants to read and remember that? Not I. Bye guys! (and good luck tomorrow Kate:)

This is how we do

This week we celebrated Catherine's 22nd 'Birfday!' We drove her to class on the "birthday bus" (Durango) and later that day invited her to the "Tudor Pizzeria" where there was authentic Italian music, Bruchetta salad, and Martin's pizza! She had small group that evening so we arranged for her co-leader (The one and only ROCKET!) to drop her off for the last event of the day...Clementine Cafe! It was this point in the festivities that made me realize how we don't know how to do the bar scene at all. Haha, just thinking about that night makes me laugh-let me explain. Don't get me wrong, I don't think its a bad thing that we don't have that skill...its just hilarious!

1.
Situation: Some guy tries to flirt and ask if we took his beer away.
Our response: We all just pointed at his beer that was moved down the bar
Outcome: He left

2.
Situation: Bartender asks us for our IDs
Our Response: 2 of us didn't even have them with us (won't mention names)
Outcome: 2 of us were left at the bar while Catherine and Sarah drove home to get 'something'

3.
Situation: Guy comes up out of nowhere t see if we want to play trivia for the night
Our Response: Sarah looks at him and blurts out loud "WHOA." as he startled her.
Outcome: After we couldn't stop laughing, he left

4.
Situation: Bartender asks Catherine what other exciting things she is gonna do that night
Our Response: Catherine says "Probably gonna go home and eat some more food"
Outcome: We all realized how funny that was and how serious she said it, that we couldn't stop laughing and the bartender had no idea what was going on...oh well!

There were probably more situations that evening, but these were by far my favorite. We rarely go out...can you tell? Haha, oh well....this is how we do!

P.S. WE MISSED HANNAH :(