Jesus SAVES!!! ;-)

I made it.

After an absolutely insanely busy week, an all-nighter last night (well, ok, fine - I got 2 hours of sleep..), and a 7 hour drive today to Cincinnati today (without a radio!), I am happy -- nay, delighted -- to report that I have made it. I have had to consume more sugar in the last 48 hours than I probably have over the course of the whole semester in order to make it, but it is finished. At least for the next 5 weeks.

Anyway, I am heading to BED now, as it is a little after midnight already and I am running on 2 hours of sleep in the last 2 days, but I wanted to let everyone know that Lynnette and I made it safely to Cincinnati -- PRAISE THE LORD! -- and that I appreciate all your prayers so much. We will be staying here till Sunday with our aunt and uncle and cousins, and then heading the rest of the way down to Kentucky, where we'll be for the remainder of break -- till January 18th. I will be sure to keep you updated as things happen.

With love,
Aaron

slow motion?

Oh my goodness.... it is the last week of the school semester.... the home stretch....... This should be the part where all the runners pick up the pace and give it all they've got till the end, but I feel more like someone has gotten a hold of the remote and put life everything in slow motion... A lot of it has to do with the fact that it is the week of finals and yet I have only one final -- on Wednesday morning. However, I still have several big projects to finish up, so all day today (and most of the day tomorrow) I have been (and will be) sitting in my apartment working on papers, desperately attempting to find the balance between cat naps, work, and distractions to help me avoid cat naps, which if combined correctly, equals optimal focus and efficiency. At least for me...

I'm sure there's some sort of math equation to figure out the averages or the tangent or the square root quotient or whatever so that I know the perfect combination, but I don't like math, so I just follow my heart. And Jesus. (Sometimes He convicts me when I nap too long.) So anyway, that will be my life for the next 3 days or so. That, and also cleaning my apartment spotless for check out and packing everything I own for a month out of town (Although you must understand that everything I own this side of the Atlantic fits into precisely 2 suitcases and 2 medium boxes; I'm a missionary kid -- "packing" is my middle name. Well, basically. Ha.).

Anyway, then Lynnette and I head down to Cincinnati on Friday to stay with our aunt and uncle and cousins for a few days before going the rest of the way down to Lexington, Kentucky on Sunday or Monday to stay with grandmother and grandfather until mom and dad and fam come on the 23rd. I am SO excited to see them again -- it'll have been over a year... :-) Just pray that our car makes it down there in one piece -- it's been giving us some problems recently... I think we'll be ok, though, and once we make it down, dad can help me look at it. Dad knows how to fix everything. :-)

Well, I thought I'd include a picture of the family from last December in Madrid, for those of you who haven't seen us all before. Awww... :-) I'll keep you posted as my week goes on! Peace!

oh, snow...

It is the 1st of December today and there is snow... Everywhere. Last night the weather forecast said that there could be up to 10 inches by morning; we probably got around 6 or 7. And that is about 6 or 7 too much for my liking, ha.

P.S. - My dear friend Brittany always puts up sweet pictures on her blog, so I decided I would too, just so I can be cool too. And it's a picture of snow. Coincidence?? I think not! ;-)

Even though I have lived in Michigan for two years now, sadly, I am still not a huge fan of snow. Actually, that is not entirely true -- I think that snow is ABSOLUTELY beautiful when it falls gently from the sky and fills the air, and if that is all that snow ever did, then I would have no problems with snow, and I would rejoice to see it and throw feasts and sing and dance at its first appearance, but as it is, I am left with mixed feelings... See, snow is nice and beautiful when it is in the air, but as soon as it lands and makes puddles and slosh and mud and makes it so that you can't go anywhere without getting your pant legs soaked up to the knees and makes driving a nightmare and walking a balance act and pant salt stains a curse and outdoor sports an impossibility and campus shortcuts to class inaccessible and every moment of peace into a moment of paranoia at being attacked by one of your "friends," well.....then snow just becomes somewhat of a bother... So I do not thoroughly hate the snow, but......I would also be perfectly content if I never had to walk through more than a slight dusting of it ever again. Unless of course you want to PLAY in the snow, and then you can go to the mountains and enjoy all the snow you want, and then when you get sick of it, you can leave. It really is a perfect system. ;-)

And having said that, although I realize that I am still an amateur when it comes to dealing with snow, I have made another observation: when walking through snow while it's falling, no matter how you try to shield your face with your body or turn from the wind, the snow ALWAYS manages to fly inside your eyes and in your coat collar and down your neck. It is very aggressive that way. Another reason why it is a bother.

Anyway, those are my observations about snow. It seems as if it has decided to set in for the rest of the school year now, so I should probably get used to it, ha. Heck, maybe I'll even try and make the most of it one of these days. ;-)