Sunny with a high of 75 ;-)

I have so much to catch you up on anddddd lots of new pictures. After many hours, I have finally freed up the much needed memory space on my laptop. Last Friday we reached 75 degrees, but if you had gone out in the streets and not known the temperature you would have thought it was still winter. Upon seeing me in shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals you would have thought I was nuts. I enjoyed giggling as people gave me funny looks or when I looked at how warm they were dressed sooo denying this warm weather. Here I am with my bear friends while I was in the mountains. Apparently, my friends and I have a knack for going into the no trespassing zones in which this is the 2nd incident. For the record, we had no idea until we were kicked out so I shouldn't have been able to get this close ;-)




Clearly our non marked secret path we took caused us to miss this sign. Whoops!









So this is my best picture from the mountains which were huge! It was pretty chilly up here. My friend J and I started a snowball fight which the Spaniards thought was immature or totally crazy. We just laughed saying, "We're from Iowa, this is how we roll."








Seriously how can you top this? This was from Carnival weekend and the great parade that I watched with B. Oh my goodness they go all out here. This was one of the coolest costuming jobs.







Here are the coolest kids I know in Spain. Last weekend my host parents and I went to a small town where we had a 40th surprise party for their oldest, Miguel. I had a blast playing with the kids all day. Afterwards I was worn out. So from left to right we have Roberto (8), Marina(2), Jose(3), Miguel(5), and David(4). Normally, I see Miguel, Marina, and Jose quite often. Oh and Jose just gets so excited when he sees me too!

So big prayer request for me is that I would continue to run hard and forget what is behind me. (Phil 3:13-14) I am halfway done and also need prayers for continuing to trust God's will for my life here. I had a very difficult day yesterday in which I felt weak and weary, but God has brought peace and a new hope to my soul. This week we should be hitting the 70s and I went running this morning!!!!! Ah yes, love those endorphins ;-)

Hasta Luego...

March Madness!!!!! The Tar Heels and Panthers are saying, "Let's Dance."

Here's my boyz! So sorry I haven't posted in over a week. I haven't gotten a camera cord/card reader yet. I am so thrilled it's March!!!!! For those of you who don't know[which is not possible] I was born a Tar Heel and this month is one of my favorites for several reasons, March Madness, J's birthday, A's birthday, spring time, just to name a few. However, since it's pretty much been spring time since I arrived, I won't be experiencing a major change in season maybe some higher temps I'm sure. So how is Spain you may ask? Swimming in another language is exercise for sure. My comprehension is getting better with each day even though I feel it's a bit slow. I love hearing, reading, listening to, and speaking Spanish so much. These are the 4 basic elements that my translation professor keeps reminding us to do. What I get out of this experience is what I put into it.

Here is what the scene has looked like for you since I've been here. However, my scene has not been like this so I'm not sure if I'll get as stir crazy about spring as the rest of you. Actually, I would say I've just been ahead of the game for a few months. Oh I almost forgot, I need to post some pictures of my 80s weekend.






So here are T, B, and me. B lived next door to me last year. Why don't we dress like this anymore? Seriously, I'm bringing back the 80s, colors galore. This weekend was fun but very challenging for me. I was called to serve in a way that was trying on my spirit for sure. I took care of friend who couldn't take care of herself. I experienced my 1 night of partying and decided that is enough for me. I thank God that He is providing me with other areas in which I can grow in relationships. I had fun busting some moves to some of my favorite tunes.



Here's another cool group picture from Barcelona while the 10 of us were on our Fat Tire Bike Tour. I will be going on another in Paris at the end of this month. Wow, I can't believe I'm going to Paris so soon! Today was beautiful and sunny, and after what seems like a long time I got to look at the mountains behind my apartment. Even though it's been super sunny, it's been misty so I couldn't really look at these mountains. Albi has been joining for meals lately, and I am enjoying visiting with her more. She made apple/lemon sorbet the other night which was fantastic. Oh and sometime she is going to teach me how to make Spanish tortillas! I will be making these once I'm back for sure. Something, I realized walking home today is that I need prayer coverage for my initial shock when I arrive back in the States. I'm not sure what this will entail, but am glad that God will understand.


This week is pretty laid back, I took yet another test and got an A! Albi says I'm a responsible student ;-) Well I need to be getting to bed since P and I are running in the morning. Also, I could use prayers for my upcoming travels because once I start traveling at the end of this month, I'm hitting the ground running. Here's one more cool picture of Paris! I hope I have some gorgeous days for this if not this time, maybe in May. That's right I'm going twice ;-)

Oh how could I forget...So the reason I'm going to Paris a second time is because A, my boyfriend, is coming to see me so we are flying home together! I thought since he's coming all this way, we may as well go to Paris since I know he wants to go and he took some French in high school. I'm so glad to have A traveling back with me. So many things to plan for before he gets here though. I know there are some things in Oviedo that I haven't done yet that we can do together. God is good.

Here is the first verse I ever read in Spanish.

Marcos 1:35 Muy de madrugada, cuando todavía estaba oscuro, Jesús se levantó, salió de la casa y se fue a un lugar solitario, donde se puse a orar.
Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Hasta Luego...;-)