Merry Christmas!!

Love came down on Christmas day to save the world!

Hope your Christmas is filled with love and joy today and this year as you remember Christ's gift to you.

Merry Christmas!

~Alaina

December DIY projects

The last two months have been jammed packed with work, friends and family. I've managed to make a few Christmas presents and make some things for myself. Here are just a couple.

Earring holder.  99 cent picture frame, chicken wire and scrapbook paper.

This pic is a little old, but this now holds all necklaces (no more earrings on it). peg board, old frame, hooks, spray paint.

Tea wreath for gifts =) 

Guest Post: Cancer Surviver

Here is a great post from my little sister about what's been happening in the lives of our family

http://danyalehart.blogspot.com/2011/10/cancer-survivor.html


Love the obstacles that have been put in our way and continually force us into the arms of Jesus.

10 things update

This past week has been a whirlwind. Monday was labor day which meant a day off on my day off and fulfillment of #1 on the bucket list (Sea World). A couple friends of mine and I spent the whole day attempting to pet sea creatures, laugh at corny shows and have fun being a kid again.

The work week was only 3 days long and man did it feel like 3 weeks long. We are launching HSM life groups and have a lot of volunteers to process and train before they head out to the battle field of leading high schoolers.

Friday was another day off!! One of my college friends recently moved to my second home, San Diego, so I decided to take up the opportunity it visit her. Which means #5 on the list is now checked off as well. We enjoyed a day of walking along the beach in Coronado, exploring Balboa Park, and dining at a hole-in-the wall pizza parlor in little Italy. It was such a great and refreshing day that was much needed.

Side note:
I have officially decided that I need to have more adventures on my days off! Most of the time I spend my Monday's off running errands, cleaning my house, or doing laundry which results in me feeling tired by Friday with 2 work days to go still. Well that's going to change. I'm going to volunteer more, join a running group, go places and see new things. So I have 3 more "things" to do within a week to finish the current bucket list :) Who wants to join?

For my L.G. girls

Life today is so complicated. Its filled with pressures to be someone you aren't. To date boys that your parents would never approve of. Do things that in your gut you know you shouldn't do. And follow people like Lady Gaga instead of Jesus.
When I was in high school I was definitely more concentrated on sports, school, work and church than boys but I can honestly say I made my fair share of mistakes. Just a glimpse: Senior year dated a boy that my parents, sister and friends didn't approve of. He was a "bad" boy. Not a Jesus follower, younger than I was, pulled me away from my faith a little, challenged me to do things I didn't want to do and influenced me away from being the person that I really was. Looking back it was dumb! I was dumb!
I ran across this song a while back and thought the words were perfect for that teenage girl wrapped up in the world and the views of dating. The "video" part is awful but the lyrics are great!

Don't be that typical girl that changes everything for a boy. A boy that expects you to change is not worth your time. Focus on school, hobbies, your friends, your family and your relationship with God and eventually (in God's perfect timing) you'll get a boyfriend. When your focus is off of boys and on God's path life will be so much easier and someone will fall in love with who you are and not who you are trying to be.

Love you girls!!

Back to my Roots

Mondays are one of my favorite days of the week. Not just because I have the day off. It has become my day of fun adventures, laziness around my house and sometimes pure productivity. This morning I got to start my day off with going back to my working roots, Partyopolis. I worked at Partyopolis for 4ish years as a party host, manager, and in the end I ran the place. If you don't know what Partyopolis is look it up on YouTube.

Partyopolis was such a learning experience for me that I thought while I sit here and work I would blog about it. I've had several part-time jobs over the past 9 or so years but I have never learned as much as I did working here. I learned how to manage people both younger and older than myself. How to give advice and mentor coworkers through crazy customer things and through life experiences. Partyopolis taught me how to run a business in the simplest of terms. How to order supplies, nicely complain to suppliers when they don't deliver, and get things done in a timely manner. Weekly I faced with an upset parent or grandparent and had to quickly learn the right words to say and the right things to do to satisfy them. I learned all about doing paperwork and data entry (which I have come to love). I gained mentors (my bosses) and best friends (Cami). It was an experience and job that will always be near and dear to my heart. It was easy most of the time and I loved having the chance to befriend younger employees and help them through high school.

As I work in my current job at Saddleback I realize more and more that God used Partyopolis to prepare me for church work. Although they are totally different they have a lot of similarities. I work with high schoolers now and I never would have understood how to communicate with them if I didn't have to manage them at Pop. More than half of my current job is organizing, responding to emails and phone calls and doing paperwork (thanks for all those quickbook and email hours pop). Its crazy to look back and see the path God has made. I will always come back to Partyopolis for parties, some extra money for travel, and just to help some friends out =)

Thanks for the learning experience and great job Partyopolis!! I love being "Back to my Roots"

Summer Bucket List

Four Bucket List items COMPLETE....Six more to do by the middle of September.

2) Attend an Angels game:  Saturday I spent the evening at the Angels game with my sister and college friend Kayla. It was a great game and ended with a free MercyMe concert!!

6). Del Mar Horse Races with Big Hats: On Sunday afternoon my family and I headed the Del Mar horse races for a day of large hats, good food, and some yelling. We also got to sit right in front of the New Orleans Saints...we were the quiet and just smile fans so no pictures.

10). Finish "The Book Theif" and "Girl with the Dragon Tatoo": On Monday I finished reading "The Book Theif" and LOVED it!! I haven't started the other book, but figured I would celebrate the end of one.

9). Huntington Beach Street Fair: Tonight I went to the Huntington Beach Street Fair with my mom. It really is becoming one of my favorite places to go hang out. I walked away with some great veggies and fruit as well as a great night out with my mom.

One of the fruit vendors made me this character out of apples...not sure what it's suppose to be

Adios Costa Rica

A week ago I was serving the Lord in Costa Rica, today I'm serving the Lord in Orange County. Although the location is different there are a lot of things similar between the two places. There are malls, grocery stores, fast food restaurants, beaches, poor-rich-& middle class. There are people who love the Lord and people who hate him. People with families and people who have been abandoned. Kids have attitudes towards parents, peers, teachers, and strangers no matter where you go. Skin color, clothing style, style of living, income, economy and politics might be different but in the eyes of God we are all the same. 
This trip was a humbling and reassuring experience for me. I've been doing mission work for over 8 years and have seen a lot. I've had my bible thrown at me, people yell in my face, sat on the filthy dirt covered floor of someones home. My eyes of seen poverty at its worst at yet joy in fullest. This trip was different though. I didn't see poverty like I have so many times in other places. I wasn't faced with having to really stand up for my faith and prove Jesus. My eyes saw things that I see in the United States. My heart reached out towards students in schools that I can find in Santa Ana. However God used those things and so much more to reassure my calling to "filthy" mission work. It was incredible to fly in and out of Guatemala city and still have that heartbreaking feeling and longing for those people. I was shown how much God wants me to work in the streets and dumps to save lives (more on that later). I'm still chewing and swallowing on what I've learned so more to come later.

HSM trip #2 team =)

Costa Rica from the eyes of students!

 Costa Rica 2011 by Jon Bixby

Hello!

I have had an unbelieveable experience here in Costa Rica! Costa Rica is very different from the U.S., the drivers here in Costa Rica are absolutly nuts! I though LA drivers were bad, but not anymore. Alright, lets do this.

For me personally, this is my first mission trip, and it has been a very, triesome, thrilling, and unbelieveable experience to say the least. Ever since we left Ministry Office 2 at Saddleback Church Sunday night, it has been one wild ride. The whole LAX experience is something I will not forget for a long time.

On Wednesday, (Van 7 with AC) we visited Pastor Aruther´s chruch, and after meeting him, he took us to the school that the church is supporting. We prepped the school for painting but we not able to actually paint that day due to lose of time, and planted some tree´s around the school.

On Thursday, we went back to the same school, and then started painting and planted some more plant´s and tree´s. In the process of planting however, we stumbled upon an ant hill. These were no ordinary ants, these ants would bite you, and then that bite would leave a nice little bump that would soon later start to itch. They were lovely little creatures (lol). Matt took one for the team and got right on in there with the ants to place the plant in the hole in the ground and pat it down. His leg´s did not look pretty, and was covered in red bumps. After painting the school, and planting, we all came back to the hotel to play some games (Monopoly Deal is everyone´s favorite), relax, and just talk to each other. Around 11pm that night, we all piled into our van´s, and drove to Pastor Giovanni's church where all the HSM Student´s and Pastor Giovanni's church staff went out to the streets and served the homeless, ill, and sick. It was an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life. On the van ride back home, and into early early Friday morning (2-3am), student´s talked about what they witnessed and the whole the experinence in general.

Friday (same day) was a very emotional day for the students. Actually, both Thursday and Friday were emotional days for all of us. Ever since the experience with feeding the homeless late Thursday night, I could feel God starting to change and mold my heart. In the morning we visited a Senior Center where we talked, and danced with them. We had a great time! After the Senior Center, we went out to lunch, and then drove a orphange for disabled children where we just loved on them, held them, fed them, and prayed over the children. Many tears were shed while at the orphanage, it was an emotional experience. In the evening we all went to Pastor Aruthers church where all our students, and Pastor Aurther´s staff all came together and had fellowship together. We played games, ate, chatted, laughed, and just had an awesome time being together!

On Saturday, we went to "JHoly" which is a theater runned completey by students. In addition to it being runned completely by studens, all their plays are linked to Jesus Christ. It was an awesome experience. After JHoly in the morning, we drove to go help feed the homeless but it started to down pour, and I mean it poured hard! So since we couldn´t feed the homeless, we drove back to JHoly to play games, and ate. After lunch, we went to Pastor Rudy´s church where they were hosting a " Wild Wild West" Mother´s Day celebration for all the mothers where everyone was dressed up in Wild West outfits. After the event was over, we helped clean up and set-up for their church service. In the evening we went back to JHoly to watch one of their play´s, this play in perticulalr involved no words (which can a good thing when you can´t understand what they are saying when speaking in their own language).

(Sorry for the long post, almost done :))

Sunday (Yesterday) Morning, two van groups went to drove to Pastor Giovanni's church, and one went to Pastor Rudy. The two groups that went to Pastor Giovanni's church taught a lesson on respecting and honoring your mother to Junior High, and High School Student´s. Each of the van groups shared something different about repsecting your mother, and honoring her. After the first group went up and spoke, our van (Van 7), started off by singing the song "Jesus Loves Me" first in English, then in Spanish with hand motions.

...to be continued later

CR from the eyes of students continued =)

From Katie Purcell¨

Yesterday was intresting... We all woke up and went to church to taeach our lessons to kids.  My group and Danielles group spoke to high school students.  Some people told stories out of the Bible and others told a story from their life.  I told part of my testimony... Its was probably the hardest thing Ive ever done.  First, because I HATE speaking infront of people I think its the worst thing known to man, also because Ive never shared any part of my story before.  AC said I should because my story could help other people and also help me a lot too...  Then after all of that we came back to the hostel for lunch and just hung out, because we had to go back to church at 5.  The service was the longest service Ive ever had to sit through!  It was 3 hours long and there was no lesson... They just played games and sang songs that were like 15 minutes long each!  It was cool to see how they worship because they sing the same songs just in Spanish.  Then after church we went to this BEAUTIFUL restraunt to eat.  It was at the to of the hill and we could see the city plus... And the food was good... Well Ive all been eating the same thing everyday, some form of beans and rice.  So it all tastes the same.  I cant wait to get home and eat anything but beans and rice!  Well today were heading off to Jaco so this will be a new adventure!

Costa Rica Day 1

The past 48 hours have been a world wind! I´ve slept on a plane for 2 hours only to be woken up by the captain announcing we had not taken off yet and we would be departing the plane. I´ve shutted 21 students to and from an airport 3 times. Watching students fall asleep in a hotel lobby. Played lots of card games while waiting to hear about when our flight would get rescheduled. Learned a dance routine in a hotel lobby. Boarded another plane Tuesday morning and finally landed in Costa Rica Tuesday afternoon. Its been crazy and tiring but fun at the same time.
Today our groups were split up and we finally started some ministry. My group went to a city called Hereda where Pastor Rudy does ministry. Rudy is incredible!! His passions and dreams for ministry tugged at my heart so much today. His church does ministry to the homeless, the crippled, the church outcast and so many others. Rudy has a passion for those that others don´t except, he sees the potential in people that is sometimes hard to see from the outside. He took us on a prayer walk through a 300 acre, tall grass land where his church will one day have a building and beautiful campus. Currently his congregation is making huge sacrifices to work on gaining ownership of the land. A couple of stepped in HUGE ant hills...and fought off some knarly bugs but it was great! We then had an incredible lunch of pollo, arroz, and frijoles (chicken, rice and beans). I´m pretty sure I could eat this kind of food for the rest of my life!! The rest of the day was spent at a private school. My students taught a lesson based on the Parable of the Seeds (we simplified everything for students) and rocked it. Kris and Emily H shared their testimonies and did a great job at showng how God can work through the people you surround yourself with. It was a great day of simple ministry and we can not wait to go back tomorrow and work with Rudy.

I´m loving being here and loving being with students. They are already making huge sacrificies and breaking out of their comfort zones tons! Its awesome to see the work God is already doing in and through each of them.
Its also great to have my little sister. We´ve never had a chance to really do ministry together as adults so this is incredible. She is such a good leader and was a huge help to me as we figured out airport cancellations and whatnot. I´m so proud of her and how God has changed and shaped her. Love watching students fall in love with her...she incredible!!

More to come....sorry for the aweful grammer and spelling (this keyboard is super stiff)

Long Day!!!

Well I have been in and out of the LAX airport now 3 times since I was suppose to leave last night for Costa Rica. I have 22 exhausted but excited students resting on a hotel lobby floor and 4 tired but invested and joyful leaders. After sitting on a plane for almost 2 hours last night our flight got cancelled. We then had to wait only 2 hours for a shuttle to take us to a really nice hotel where we would proceed to sleep for 5 hours. Its now 5pm and we are still in California. Despite the long day and tired draining emotional beings, its been fun to find some joy and laughter in our students. God is really blessing us with some more bonding time as Satan is testing our patience, endurance and self-control. We have laughed a lot as delierous students say the funniest things at 5:00am. Here are some pictures from our Costa Rica adventures so far =) Please continue to pray for our trip as we now plan to leave at 2:00am on 8/9

 finally on a bus to the hotel at 5:00am

Nothing like a little game of MOW to pass the time in the hotel

Costa Rica or Bust!!

After months of planning, data entry and training I am off to Costa Rica for 10 days. Part of my job is partnering with our event coordinator, Phil, to lead and plan mission trips for our high school students. Tonight I get to start seeing all that work come to life when I take off on a plane with 23 students and 3 other leaders. I'm excited to introduce students to my heart for the people of Latin America and to show them what it means to live out Matthew 28:19-20
Expect some updates soon and check out the HSM trip blog for updates from our students:
http://hsmcostarica2011.blogspot.com/

most of our time will be spent in the city of San Jose and Jaco

Leave a Legacy

This past Friday I attended and participated in the 2K4Kids annual dinner and auction fundraiser. We spent countless hours the week before preparing baskets and boards for the 100 plus auction items that came in. The night was then filled with loving friends and family who either knew my cousin Kari or have been impacted by her legacy. For me it was a kind of a wake of call.
2K4Kids is a foundation set up in honor of my cousin/mentor/friend Kari and her daughter Keira who passed away in a tragic car accident four years ago. It gives 10-12 college scholarship a year to students in the local Murrieta Valley. We also this year gave away hundreds of backpacks filled with school supplies, created a club that doesn't community outreach, and supported the building of upgraded playground equipment. Anyways as a current youth leader I was filled with joy as this years scholarship recipients took the stage. As the tears streamed down my face I realized just how incredible my cousin was. Four years later she is still impacting the lives of high school students. And then it hit me...she is still impacting my life!! As a high school student she pushed me to be better at school and strive towards success so I could get into college. She helped me with all my college essays (I was horrible at it and needed major help!). I went to college at her Alma Mater and on move in day she helped me meet one of my great friends Ashlee Barret. Kari was faithful at sending me packages of candy and random goodies to lift me up during finals. She is one of the reasons that I understand how important it is to pour into students when they are in high school. Kari helped mold me early on into the youth leader and friend I am today. I am so thankful for her leadership, love, trust and encouragement!!

The fundraiser was tons of fun. Here is a glimpse of the excitement.

 just a little sister love

the sign says kindness....this is pure kindness right here =)

DIY project

Recently I completed a little DIY project for my room to spice it up a bit and add a place to hang all my jewelry =)

 Before: pegboard, a cheap mirror

Finished! just a taste of my jewelry collection

Next project will be decorative pillows for my living room and bedroom. 

10 Things

Summer is flying by way too fast for my liking so I've decided to slow it up by dedicating myself to completing 10 things before Fall starts. 10 things that may seem simple to some but with my crazy schedule and already planned trips its going to be a little hard to squeeze them in but I'm determined to it.

1). Go to Sea World to see their summer nights spectacular

2). Go to Angels game (or Padres game)

3). A day trip to LA for some good food and shopping

4). Day at the Montage Beach (my fav)

5). Spend a day in San Diego relaxing and enjoying Balboa Park

6). Go to the Del Mar Races (basically so I can wear a big/fun hat)

7). Train & Run the Wild Rivers "Wet & Wild 5K"

8). Get a massage

9). Spend a Tuesday evening at the Huntington Beach Street Fair. Eating food from carts and drinking coffee while listening to local bands entertain

10). Finish reading "The Book Thief" & "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

I have exactly 2 months to complete these 10 things (since fall starts on Sept 22) ! I think my first task will be to finish my books =)

Time and Blessings

There are exactly 86,400 seconds in a day. 7 days in a week. 30/31 days in a month. 365 days in a year. On average you will take 1200 breaths an hour which means in the course of your life you will take approximately 893,520,000 breaths. WOW that's a lot! And to think that we are so quick to take advantage of the time and the breaths we have instead of cherishing them.
This past week I have been reminded to cherish the breaths in life and to number my days. I started out the week on an incredible trip to Palm Springs with the Saddleback Student Ministry team. To sum up the trip...it was glorious and refreshing filled with new friends. Monday was my little sister's 22nd birthday. Tuesday was the 4th anniversary of my cousin and goddaughters passing. Thursday my dad had major surgery to remove cancer from his prostate (all went well and he is home recovering now). At work we have exactly 9 days until camp. Which means a lot of long hours putting together cabins, games, chapel programs and much more.
Its Friday night now and I'm finding myself counting the breaths I take and thanking Jesus for the breaths I will take over the course of the next 23725+ days. Its been a roller coaster of emotions type of week but right now I couldn't be happier to be at home with my family as my dad recovers. As a family we have spent the last 1825 days dealing with tragedy. It seems that for the Harts tragedy is lurking around each corner and more times than not gets the best of us for a couple days or weeks. However through the last 1825 days we have learned and grown a lot. We now love each other more deeply. Fall into the arms of our Savior more frequently. Humbly confess we don't have it all put together. Open our hearts to learning, listening and sharing our journey to others. And know how to have fun when we get a brief moment of down time. Tragedy and the unexpected have not defeated us! God conquered the grave for us and has conquered our heartaches again and again too.  This week God kicked my dad's cancer in the butt and once again we are praising HIM!

my dad at the lake w/little sis Erin

So remember stop and cherish the breaths and days that you have ahead of you so that in times of tragedy and unexpected events you can uses those to lift you up and bring you hope

Favorite Day of the Week

Most people dislike "hump day" or as the calendar on my wall calls it Wednesday. However I LOVE Wednesdays, it is by far by favorite day of the week. Yes it is the day of the week that I find hard to be motivate to do work. I find myself going to Starbucks for an afternoon pick me up every week. And I hate getting up on hump day mornings. I'm not sure my three hour counseling class gets 100% of my attention because I'm either too tired from my already busy week or because I'm thinking of all the other things that still need to get done. Staff meetings are great but honestly sometimes they serve a disservice to my OCD, organized, tightly scheduled work day. Despite all that I still love it. 
Why? Well I'm so glad you asked =)
Wednesdays are my favorite day of the week because I get to spend two whole hours with my HSM Life Group girls!!

These 12 high school sophomores are incredible young women who are learning to love the Lord with everything.  I have watched them grow up in so many ways the past two years that I am encouraged by them. If you were a fly on the wall I'm sure you would think we are crazy as we talk about boys, parents, friends, random things we see while driving and of course how God is changing our lives. You'd also see diversity in every sense. We are a hodge podge of personalities which makes this group outrageously fantastic. To the world these girls might just be ordinary high school girls. To me these girls are part of my core. They are my friends, my little sisters, my inspiration. I am their mentor, bible study leader, friend. These girls flood my parents living room every week with so much joy, laughter and genuine humbleness. My favorite is watching the grins on their faces become huge cheshire cat smiles as relationships are built! 


Tonight I realized just how much God orchestrated putting this group of girls together under my "supervision." I'm a pretty mellow person but love to have fun!! Growing up my sister and I were always coming up with creative ways to play but normally our play time ended with wrestling. Tonight that is exactly how my Life Group ended the year!! I know a little off the hook and unexpected from a girls life group but that's what we did. Celebrating the end of the year at Partyopolis is always super fun, so we spent the night hanging out there playing games. With only five minutes left, a wrestling matched emerged and we all went for it, athletic or not you were in the game. And in the midst of being hit in the head with foam blocks, I saw the beauty displayed in my group. I saw the unique personalities of each girl and got a glimpse of just how perfect we are as a team. The group is called Ninja Turtles 4 Christ and tonight I saw the "brotherhood" of the ninja turtles and just how great these girls are going to be as united Jesus followers!
Gosh I love them!!!!


Here is a video clip of our craziness at Partyopolis:

Thanks Girls for an incredible journey this year!!

Good Friday

I ran across this article this morning. Its a great reminder of what Jesus went through on Good Friday.

Holy Week: What Happened on Good Friday?

Saddleback Mountain

A week ago today I set out on an adventure to hike Saddleback Mountain with three great friends. Our goal was to hike the 8 miles up to the top where we would enjoy an incredible view and some lunch. Here is the adventure in a nutshell:
1). The drive into the canyon is bumpy and a fun off road trail...I don't recommend taking a small vehicle
2). Be ready to hike about 1-2 miles into the canyon before you get to the actual trail head
3). The stream/river that runs through Holy Jim's canyon is beautiful and refreshing. I love the sound of water so this was one of my favorite parts.
4). The journey up is long and sometimes steep without shade but its so worth it. You are completely surrounded by God's creation and the normal OC buildings and materialism are out of sight.
5). Shoes!!! good shoes are so important. I thought I wore good shoes but about 4 miles in my heels were turning into a blistered mess. I now have "battle" wounds on both heels.....
6). Go with friends! Hiking is a great time for good conversations, laughs, freak out moments and bonding.

The hike was great! I didn't make it all the way because of my gnarly blisters but I enjoyed every moment of it. Definitely looking forward to more hiking adventures in the future =)

me and my sister Danyale at our stopping point

this is what bugs and pain do to you while eating lunch

I AM

A reminder that God is EVERYTHING!

Check it out:

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

Confession

I have a confession to make: I am a blog stocker!!! I absolutely love reading peoples blogs! Most of the time I have no connection to the blogger except for seeing their blog on someone else's blog or facebook. However I love reading about party planning ideas, new recipes, life journeys, and great ramblings. I love that blogs make me laugh, smile and sometimes cry....yes cry. Its like a good book, but for those of us that don't whole-heartily love reading, blogs satisfy those book reading emotions. 

What I've been doing the last month....

Turned 25 and moved out of my parents house into this fun little place:

When we returned from Winter Camp we were welcomed by a great sign made my 2 little sisters

My new bedroom. My bed was grandma's when she was a teen, and then passed to my cousin, now mine =)

I've also been busy with work and planning my best friend, Brooke's, bridal shower. Here are some pictures from the shower. The theme was pink, orange and yellow with an afternoon tea twist. Decorations were all craft projects I've been working on for months. 

My best friends!! Brooke (in yellow, the bride), Carolyn (sadly she is in texas), & Jessica

So as you can see life has been busy. Updates to come soon, with more pictures of what has been going on. Hopefully the next month will include some travel plans with friends, doing some hiking locally and exciting work updates.

MUSIC

I have been singing since I can remember. I sing in the shower, in my car, my room, around the house, I LOVE singing. In high school I led our youth ministry worship band. At school I did competition choir which filled my life with singing and dancing for the community. With that said music plays a huge role in my life. If you look at my iPod (although it recently was pronounced dead by the Apple Pros) you will find anything from rap to classical and everything in between.

Today I would like to share with you one of my all time favorite songs by David Crowder Band. David Crowder is incredible! His songs are insightful and filled with the good news of Jesus. So sit back, hit play and enjoy worshiping with David Crowder =)

2010 Through the Alphabet!

2010 has come and gone. It's been a roller coaster filled with loops, turns, and corkscrews but I wouldn't change any of it. Here is the year in review =)

A- Alaina turned 24!

B- lots of Boat runs to Havasu for wake boarding and family time

C- Called into ministry at Saddleback Church 

D- Dresses gallor were needed for the many weddings and large events attended in 2010

E- Exciting year of new friends and a new job

F- Focus...my goal this year was to truly focus on friendships, family time and where I was going in life

G- Gatherings of family and friends was a huge theme (there were lots of them)

H- HSM is where I spend most of my time now...high school ministry...not just a job but a serving opportunity

I- Integrity is the new word of 2011. Live a life of Integrity!

J- Juggling. I juggled four jobs this year...and it was crazy

K- Kids, I managed to fit in those ever so great babysitting jobs that fill my life with funny things kids say

L- Love filled my life through some transitions and new directions

M- Monet's Garden in the countryside of Paris was a sight to see, filled with beauty and solitude. 

N- Neat, doesn't begin to describe how I felt about my trip to Paris this year. I went with "neat" people, saw "neat" sights, and learned just how "neat" the work of Jesus is in other countries

O- I took every Opportunity to travel, learn, explore, and grow

P- I learned to work hard but Play harder

Q- Quiet time was hard to come by but accomplished during the much needed days off during summer

R- Risk taker I am not but this year I took a few steps out of my comfort zone and ended up with an amazing job =)

S- Soccer is still a big part of my life as I continue to play two days a week and coach occasionally

T- Travel became a huge part of this year...Paris for 3 weeks, several Havasu trips, Palm Springs & Northern California
U- Understand teenagers...still working on this one =)
V- Variety was a goal this year....I wanted to add variety to my life through new experiences and I certainly met that goal.
W- Wishing that 2011 is as fun and eventful as this past year has been
X- "x"tra special little sister graduated college!!!
Y- the inner Youth worker in me is coming out and I'm loving it
Z- zip-ling!!! I'm ending this alphabet with a goal for 2011...I want to go zip ling through a jungle!

2011 should be a good one! I'm looking forward to some travel, adding some more outdoor adventures to my life and expanding my desire for learning =)