'Twas the week of Wedding Bliss...

It's hard to believe that school is done....for good! At least for a little while.....that is if I ever decide to go back. My graduation will be in June but I'm done school....wowzers....seems like I just started...and now it's time to become an adult and get a real job. I've never been so scared in my life! It's true that a lot can happen in two years though....I've made some amazing friends. After our last exam a bunch of us went out to celebrate....here's a few pics...




This week is absolutely a crazy one! Erin and Jesse's wedding is on Saturday and my Mom and I are emceeing the wedding so we are busy getting ready for that. Jessica and I are leaving for Christian Horizons next Monday. I worked there last summer for 3 months as a support worker (see previous summer blogs) but this summer I'm returning as the program coordinator and Jess will be my assistant so if you remember please pray for us! I'm really excited for the summer and for getting a chance to work with Jess. I'm trusting that the Lord will help us make this summer great and that He will have some great things in store for us too! I'll try and keep my blog updated as to how the summer is going and I'll for sure have some lovely pics up on facebook!

I've been working on a music playlist for the reception this evening.... and I must say that all this love song business is putting me in the mood for a wedding. There's nothing like Tony Bennett's 'The Way You Look Tonight' to make you want to grab the one you love and stroll the dance floor.....although there won't be a dance at this wedding, I can certainly use my imagination!

Sweet Dreams....especially to all you lovers out there (do I sound like a DJ?) :),
The Kindred Spirit

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM...

So my good friend Stacey and I have been working for the last couple of weeks on an assistive device for our Technology for Special Needs Class and with the help of my Dad we adapted an old sled and created the ZOOM sled, also known as the Red Lady. There are a few pics below of the sled before and after and our presentation board. We're hoping to find a family who could put the sled to good use so if you know anyone let me know. We also made a pretty sweet commercial with the Zoom Zoom song remixed to all different types of music....it's pretty great. I also loved getting to spend so much time with Stac....that was definitely a highlight.....hopefully our mark will be high!





My Dad's pretty pro when it comes to woodworking.....we couldn't have done the project without him. I'm a pretty luck girl to have such great parents! :)

Hope y'all have a good night (y'all is my new word...lol).
~Darc

Check out this video on YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raQNEw6m_GM

Sweet Dreams,
The Kindred Spirit

Lovely Easter Times...

This morning was the Easter sunrise service.....many from my church met at 6:45 to watch the sun come up and celebrate the resurrection. Every year someone says 'the Lord is risen' and we all reply by saying 'the Lord is risen indeed, Hallelujah'. We sang and heard some testimonies from people about what the hope of Easter means to them.....it was lovely being all bundled up and watching the sun come up.




My wonderful friend Stacey, from school came to spend Easter with the family. It was great having her....this was her second year spending Easter with us....we are starting a yearly tradition :)


My Grandma has also been here for the last couple days, which has been great. This is the first Easter without Grandpa so it's very special that Grandma can be here with us. I do hope she comes to visit more often. This pic is Grandma setting the table and telling me that in all these years Dad still can't figure out which side the forks go on....I found that very amusing....lol!


It's been a great Easter....hopefully lovely spring weather will follow soon!

Hope your Easter was as great as mine :)

Yours Truly,
The Kindred Spirit

You Get The Best of Both Worlds :)

So today was a windy but beautiful sunny day. My great friend Leanne and my brother Greg and I went to see the new Hannah Montana movie. I know it's probably pathetic that I'm 21 and I'm a huge Miley Cyrus fan....but I loved the movie and would definitely recommend it. I must say it was pretty cute seeing all the little kids in the theatre. Here's a few pics from the outing...





It was pretty funny when Greg went up to get his ticket....he muttered "one for Hannah Montanna"....the girl laughed at him and asked him if he was paying for a nap....I was laughing my head off! We also ended our trip with a short walk at the peer but it was still a little too chilly to walk for long!

Tomorrow morning is our annual sunrise service....our church meets at 6:45 to celebrate the resurrection....it's always a highlight! I am not a morning person in the least but it's always worth dragging my butt out of bed early Easter Sunday!

Hopefully I can get in a nap sometime tomorrow too....lol!

Sweet Dreams,
Darc

If you haven't had a chance to purchase Rascal Flatts new cd entitled 'Unstoppable' I would highly recommend it! I think my favourite song on the album right now is the title of the album 'unstoppable' but I really like 'Close' too and 'Things That Matter'....lol!

Oh and Happy Easter everyone.

Do you know why they call this Good Friday.....it was good for us and bad for Jesus. I'm so thankful that this day so many years ago brought me freedom, grace and a chance to really LIVE!!!!

~Darc

More Balloons, Please...

One of my favourite books is SexGod by Rob Bell. In the end of the book he writes a story....I just read it again today and thought I'd share it....

"Several years ago, I conducted a wedding ceremony on a Saturday afternoon in June. The bride wore a white summer dress, the groom a white linen shirt. They insisted on the simplest ceremony possible. It was held in a park in a grove of trees. Their family and friends stood in a circle, with the three of us in the middle. I began with a welcome, they exchanged vows and rings, I pronounced them husband and wife, they kissed, everybody clapped. The ceremony took seven minutes.

They were then each handed a cluster of helium balloons on strings. The balloons, I told everybody, were symbols of their past marriages, pregnancies they had chosen to terminate, people they had had affairs with when they were previously married, relationships that had not lasted. As a picture of starting over, together, they wanted their first act as a married couple to be letting the balloons go.

They walked out of the grove of trees into an adjoining field. Just the two of them, holding hands, standing in knee-high grass, exchanging words that only they could hear. Then they raised the balloons above their heads and let them go. We all stood there, watching those balloons float away until they drifted from sight.

There are moment you wonder if you'll ever forget. Events that sear themselves on your conscience. That moment was one of those for me.

A few years later their marriage imploded. She moved an hour away. He relocated to another part of the country. They divorced.

I finish with this story because life is messy. Gut wrenching. Risky. Things don't always turn out well. Sometimes they don't turn out at all. Sometimes everything falls apart and we wonder if there's any point to any of it. We're tempted to shut ourselves off, fortify the walls around our hearts, and forge ahead, promising ourselves that we will never open ourselves up like that again.

But I have to believe that we can recover from anything. I have to believe that God can put anything - anyone - back together. I have to believe that the God Jesus invites us to trust is as good as he says he is.

Loving,

Forgiving.

Merciful.

Full of grace.

And I have to believe that God does not run out of balloons."

I love this story....I think it can speak to us no matter what point we're at. This year's been a bit rough for me and I too have to believe that God does not run out of balloons.

I'm sure glad too!

Yours Truly,
The Kindred Spirit

"Therefore, my dear brothers (and sisters), stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

Vain = Useless.
Vain = Having no meaning or likelihood of fulfillment.
In Vain = Without success or result.

We are not in vain.

:) Darc

Mmmmm....GOOD!!!!

If you have never ever tried a peppermint white mocha frap from Starbucks....you really MUST! I enjoyed one today and I must say it took my day from good to GREAT!!!!

Love my Starbucks :)
~Darc

The State of the Human Condition...

So today I forgot my cell phone at home and only realized it when I was halfway to school. I started to mentally panic because I didn't have time to turn around and get it. I was thinking....oh man what if I get stranded or something! Then I remembered a time not so long ago when I didn't have a cell phone and I drove around everywhere without one. A time where if you got stranded then you would just walk to someone's house and beg for some help or at least a phone call. So I pressed on to school without my cell phone and I did not get stranded. Boy things change fast!

Along the same lines as things changing fast....I just joined twitter. My Dad kept talking about joining so I joined and he still hasn't....I'll just keep nagging him until he does. So I like to tweet....hahaha! I am a facebook feen but I'm pretty clueless when it comes to Twitter...hopefully I can learn. All I know is I actually feel connected to famous people who I have never met before...it's really quite odd and maybe a little stalkerish, but isn't that why all these internet wonders like facebook and twitter are so popular....because people long and love to be connected with each other! I think it's fun.....and I think you should join twitter if you haven't because I really don't know a lot of people on there personally and it would be nice to have some actual twitter friends!

Happy tweeting to me and you (maybe)!

:) Darc