12 Highlights of 2012

1.  For my 23rd birthday in January, Alise took me to the Trailblazers vs. Lakers NBA game in Portland.  I love basketball, I love spending time with my best friend, and I love that she got me PRINTED TICKETS so that I could save them forever.  She knows me really, really well.

2.  On Super Bowl Sunday, I went to a party hosted by a family from my church.  I wound up spending the whole time talking to a girl named Rochelle whom I had met briefly in Sunday School a few weeks prior, and a precious friendship was born.  Rochelle has literally been an answer to prayer in my life, and God has used her in so many ways to challenge me to love Him more.  I am excited for many more crazy adventures and years of friendship with her!

3.  In February, I traveled to sunny Southern California for a long weekend with Alise.  I was her "date" to the Army ROTC military ball, and we explored all the cool touristy sites around LA.  Love her.

4.  Twas the year of weddings for me, and I spent a large majority of my summer weekends traveling up and down I-5 celebrating with friends.  What can I say?  I love love!

5.  In July, I had the honor of spending a week at Kids Camp as the adult advisor for a cabin of 6th grade girls, and at the end of the week, I got to watch my (not-so) baby niece participate in her 6th grade graduation ceremony and move into the youth group.  There may or may not have been a tear or two shed.

6.  A few weeks later, I got to go back to Youth Camp as a counselor for the first time in three years!  It was a great week with a very energetic cabin of young ladies, and we had a blast.  Go purple team!

7.  In August, a few friends and I embarked on an epic camping/roadtrip that wound up taking us around the entire Olympic Penninsula, sleeping on random public beaches and at sketchy campgrounds.  It was a weekend of memories for sure!

8.  In September, I began leading a small group of 20-something young women.  These ladies have been such a blessing in my life, and I absolutely love having the opportunity to spend time with them, learning to love Jesus and laughing a LOT.

9.  It was a football-filled fall, and I made a few trips up to the beautiful Century Link Stadium in Seattle (home of my Seahawks!) to watch some UW Huskies games with my dear friend Jill.  Disclaimer:  I am still a die-hard Oregon Ducks fan, but Jill has season tickets to the Huskies, I love Jill, I love football, and I love The Clink, so it was a logical outing.

10.  In December, I made personal history by running my first 5K race.  Christina and Rochelle braved the cold with me and I finished in 33:28.  Not exactly the speed of light, I know, but you've gotta start somewhere!

11.  As a former ballerina, watching a well-done ballet performance thrills me to my core.  Just before Christmas, Rochelle and I got tickets to see the Oregon Ballet Theater's production of The Nutcracker, and it was absolutely incredible.  I think I sat there with an ecstatic smile on my face during the entire show.

12.  Also in December, I made a trip out to Cannon Beach to celebrate the marriage of my dear friends Danielle and Gabe.  Now, I have attended a lot of weddings, (it's sort of my hobby, remember?) but this was one of the most beautiful, intimate, God-honoring ceremonies I had ever witnessed.  I cannot wait to see how God is going to continue to use Dani and Gabe as they seek Him and follow Him with their whole hearts.

And there you have it - twelve of my top highlights of 2012.  This year certainly had it's highs and lows, but I am content to remember the good times and let the bad ones slip away when the clock strikes midnight. Here's to 2013!

Meet Carrie

1.  First and foremost, you need to know that I love Jesus with all my heart.  It is my hope and prayer that as I share my heart with you through my writing, His incredible love and grace will be found in my words.  Almost twenty years ago, I surrendered everything I knew about myself to everything I knew about Jesus, and that one decision radically altered the course of the rest of my life.  He is the One who calls the shots in my life, and He has proven again and again that He is worthy to have that control.  

2.  Ask anyone who knows me, and they'll probably tell you that I am a touch OCD.  I make lists to keep track of my lists, my calendar is color-coded, and my sheet music is arranged alphabetically.  What can I say?  I like to be organized!

3.  I'm an extravert, a people person, gregarious, outgoing, a social butterfly . . . however you describe it, the bottom line is that I love being with people!  I consider it an honor to listen to people tell their stories and hear how God has worked and is working in their lives.  I firmly believe that a whole lot of misunderstandings in the world would be avoided if we took the time to learn about other people's stories and understand how they have been shaped by their past experiences.  I love coffee dates in the winter and walks around the lake in the summer or just about anything else that gives me an opportunity to hang out with and talk to interesting people.

4.  NERD ALERT.  I love school.  I love to read.  I love to journal, blog, and even write papers.  If I could be a professional student for the rest of my life, I absolutely would.

5.  Do you want to make me feel loved?  My love language is words of affirmation (especially in written form) and a little note to tell me something you appreciate about me or just to tell me that you're thinking of me or praying for me would make my day.  I have a shoebox full of all the encouragement cards people wrote to me in college, and whenever I'm having a bad day I'll sit down and read a few of the notes in that box.  It never fails to remind me how blessed and loved I am.

6.  I'm a football girl.  The Seattle Seahawks are my all-time favorite NFL team, and I have been a faithful fan even during the "building" years.  I'm part of the 12th man forever!  I also love basketball (Portland Trailblazers) and baseball (Seattle Mariners), and attending sporting events is one of my most favorite things to do.  [Side note:  when it comes to actually playing sports though, the best phrase to describe me is "athletically challenged."  I can't shoot a hoop or hit a ball to save my life.  I can, however, play a mean game of Ultimate Frisbee.]

7.  On the flip side of my sports addiction you'll find the side of me that loves the arts.  Beautiful music, art, and dance speak to my soul in a way I can't explain.  If I had the time and money, I think I'd spend every other weekend attending an orchestra concert or a ballet.

8.  I can lick my elbow.  No joke.  Ask me to show you sometime.

9.  In my family, I'm the baby of my siblings.  My sister and brother were fifteen and seventeen years old when I was born, so it's kind of like having three sets of parents.  The upside to being the baby though, is that at only 24 years old, I am an aunt to seven incredible kids.  My nieces and nephews rock my world.

10.  Traveling is my outlet for adventure.  Whether it's by plane, on a road trip, or hiking through the wilderness, I love to see new places and experience some of the beauty in this world where we live.