Ms. Elderhaus Goes to Prom

The Elderhaus play was Friday night and it went GREAT! Two of my co-workers wrote the bulk of the play, the participants made their input, and I took over one co-worker's spot and was a director and an actress in the play. I got to play a maid, an exercise instructor/maid, and I was part of the prom scene. The play was about an older woman who had never been to a dance and her boyfriend of 50 years goes to a day program that was holding a prom and she got invited. (Elderhaus has a "Senior Prom" every year and that's what the play was inspired from). She had 3 sisters who each wanted to go, but the most important thing to her was that she found her red dancing shoes. Throughout the play, the main character is trying to find red shoes and she never finds them, but her boyfriend surprises her at the dance with her perfect shoes! :) It's hard to explain if you don't know exactly what I do and the program I work for, but it was amazing! Tim went and sat with the ladies I invited from the Winslow (my internship site-an independent living center for older adults). Him and the gals talked and had a great time. The best part of the night...well, one of many...was the last scene was the actual prom scene and I was a maid/wallflower at the dance and so I grabbed Tim from the audience (he WAS warned beforehand) and we shared our first dance together. :) But another high point in the night was when one of the participants wanted to give Tim a hug and he did so. She was crying tears of joy after the show and she gives the best hugs in the world! Tim said his cheeks hurt so bad by the end of the night because he was smiling so much! The ladies from the Winslow really loved it and want to come again next year. :) The whole show was a success and the participants were having SO much fun. I wish everyone could have seen how happy they were! I cried on my way home because I was so proud of them and their hard work. And I was so happy because Tim really connected with the ladies and the participants. :) The picture is of us after the play. (I can't post pics of the actual play because I'm not sure if the participant's families would like that...I'd rather be safe than sorry).

Other than that, life is going GREAT! I'm super busy...as usual...but things are going well. The weeks are going by SO fast, it's ridiculous! School is going well. My sign language class is AMAZING! I'm learning so much. My internship is going pretty well also. I sang Sunday morning again and had a blast. I haven't worked with the kidos in two weeks so I miss them a lot. One of the girls turned 4 this week so she's moving to the 4-year-old class. :( She will be missed, but we're very excited for her and she is stoked to move up to the big(ger) kid's class.

The Fall has Finally Arrived

I love the fall! With temperatures being in the 60's and early 70's. Mmm, it's beautiful! :) I've been really busy lately with school, work, internship, church, Tim, physical therapy...the list goes on. But I'm doing well. :) My internship is going really well. I love it! The Elderhaus play is tomorrow and I can't believe it! The participants are so excited and I've got a few residents from the Winslow coming too. They are very enthusiastic to come and support Elderhaus. I'm very appreciative of that because not many in our community know much about Elderhaus or they just don't want to take the time to find out. But I'm stoked to see our turn-out. Umm...I sang last Sunday for all 3 services, 2 different sets. That was fun! I get to sing this Sunday again for the 2 services in the morning. I love singing on the worship team! It's been such a blessing. And I've been talking to the main worship leader and he's holding a 'Worship Leader Class 101' this fall and he wants me to be a part of it. I've been telling him about practicing my guitar and wanting to play on stage so he's setting up a class and I'm SUPER excited to be a part of that! I really feel God is calling me to lead worship and I'm hoping I get the opportunity to do so at the Vineyard.

I've been spending a bit of time with Tim...because he's amazing! We went on a picnic Saturday and played frisbee. Then we went put-put golfing. We had a really good time. I have a list of things that I've always wanted to do on a date and he got one a while back when we went paddle boating, but he hit two in one day on Saturday! He's a keeper. :) I was thinking the other day back to when Cory and Kendi were newly engaged. Cory was away training and Kendi and I went to Texas on our amazing roadtrip. Kendi missed Cory like crazy and was counting the days until she got to see him again. I thought she was bonkers at the time, but I finally get it. I get how you can be so in love with someone that everytime you see them, you're on top of the world and as soon as you part, you want to turn around or call them. It's like that with Tim. I've never been so happy and so relaxed in a relationship before. It's just pure joy that he brings to my life and I can't wait for my entire family to really get to know him! I'm posting some pics from our day of fun. :) We couldn't stop laughing in a couple of them! :)

New Hair Cut

So, I cut off about 4 1/2-5 inches of my hair yesterday...I'm not used to it yet and am missing my long hair, but it'll grow out. These are my before and after pictures. Tim really likes my hair short, so that's good. :) I just needed a change, so I went for it. I'm posting these pics for Kendi. I think once it grows out a little more I'll like it a little better. It's just hair; it'll grow back. :)

School thus far

Well...I noticed that because I'm a senior, I carry myself differently on campus now. Not in a cocky way, but because I'm confident as a college student and in who I've become in the past few years. I used to be very self conscious about how I looked, what I was wearing, if I looked dumb tripping or falling off my bike...which I still do trip and fall often...but I don't care about what anyone thinks. That makes me happy and proud because I've learned to be confident as a woman of God. I surprisingly received straight A's and a $1000 scholarship last semester and God showed me that I AM a good college student and that I CAN be successful.

I am into my second week of school and I'm so excited! I am enjoying my sign language class more and more every day. It's so interesting and fun. I love it! My internship is going well also. I am at the Winslow, which is an independent living facility for older adults. I hung out with a 94 year old woman this week and she's phenomenal! She broke her hip a year ago and is walking now hardly using a cane. She healed so quickly and she's just a blast to be around. I play Skipbo with her and a gentleman as often as possible.

Other than that, I'm enjoying spending time with Tim. He's so good to me and we are just happy being together. There's no stress and no awkwardness. I've never been this happy before in my life! :)

Senior Year

Summer has come to an end and I have begun my last year of college. :) It is pretty exciting. My semester is going to be SERIOUSLY BUSY, but I love when I'm busy. I have a feeling that God is going to truly bless me this semester. I'm looking forward to see what He has in store. I'm taking a sign language class and my professor is deaf. He's hilarious! It's the quietest class I've ever been in and I love it! :) I also started my internship today. I have to complete 14 hours of volunteer work a week, but I'm stoked. Today, I got to participate in their social hour where they (the residents) are served wine and cookies. It's an independent living center with a 5 star chef. As an intern, I have to treat it as a job. I'm praying that I will get a job offer like previous interns in the last couple years. I just know it's going to be an amazing experience! :) Other than school, work, interning, spending time with Tim, volunteering every weekend at church, singing in the worship band, leading worship for my new Bible study, letting my fractured toes and my fractured wrist from 2 years ago that's acting up heal, and trying to get a doctor's appointment for my back...I'm not really up to a whole lot. :) Ha ha!! Yeah right! (Hence the reason why I am not playing softball this fall). OH! And I got a hold of a football ticket for the CU/CSU football game (biggest rival) this Sunday! I don't even have to pay for the ticket!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!

He Loves me!!

Tim told me he loves me Monday night! :) It was cute. He said something along the lines of he didn't know what he did to deserve me, but he doesn't want to question God on it. Then I tell him that I wish he wouldn't say that kind of stuff and he says, "I'm just saying that I love you, Erin." :) I said it back. I actually wanted to say it a while ago, but I wanted him to say it first. He told me when we first started dating that when he tells someone he loves them, it isn't an every 5 minute thing. It's well thought out and meaningful, so I know he means it when he says it. I could tell by his eyes too that he really meant it. Earlier that night, he asks me if he could be completely honest. He told me that he feels God has put us together to be more than just boyfriend and girlfriend in the future. I agreed and neither one of us was weirded out by that. All in all, he's amazing! :) People think it's crazy how fast we fell for each other, but sometimes that's just how things happen.

Last night, a group of friends of mine all went out to Sundance. It's a country line dancing club and I used to go with Kendi and Cory and all their friends all the time. Well, my roommate got drunk, we left an hour and a half from what we planned, and I ended up crying on Tim's shoulder because I was so frustrated. Long story short, my roommate turns to alcohol and smoking when stressed and she's been really stressed lately...REALLY stressed...My other roomie and I don't drink much if at all and we're really getting tired of her getting drunk often. She gets really rude and completely inappropriate. That experience made me miss Cory and Kendi more so that I already do. :( But she has some issues to sort out. I got frustrated more just because she feels she doesn't deserve to ever be happy and if those around her are happy, she gets jealous. I'm not letting that influence my relationship with Tim and how we act around her (we could be sitting on the couch watching TV and she would glare at us) what-so-ever, but I just wish she would wake up and realize that there are good guys in the world (unlike her ex) that would treat her better. I told her last night that there is a guy out there that will give her everything she deserves. She just doesn't believe that and she wants attention from everyone else. I just have to continue praying for her and for her heart to heal. She needs God and she's turning to alcohol. I think she may need more help than she's willing to admit.

I'm loving life!!

So, work was a little crazy this week. Two of the big bosses had a meeting with a couple gals from United Way (they give us grant money) and both ended up crying by the end of the meeting. The staff still doesn't really know what's going on, but pray that things turn out fine. I got a call from a co-worker telling me about this and I was at Tim's house. I started crying because at that point, we thought the gals were from state and weren't sure if our program would still be running in a week or two. Tim and I just sat there. He held me while I cried and told me that it's in God's hands, which is SO true. It's just so comforting to hear it too.

Other than that, Tim has been spoiling me lately. :) He lit candles for me the other night. We were talking and he said, 'Your best feature is when you smile, your eyes light up." I smiled and made the joke, "It's probably just the candle light." Then he said, "Erin, it could be pitch black and you would light up any room." I melted of course. :) It's cheesy, but I love it. He tells me I'm beautiful all the time and what's great is I actually believe him. He looks me in the eye and I can tell he really means it. :) Being a girl who has struggled with confidence my entire life, it's nice to finally feel worth something and wanted. We spend a lot of time together now. He told me the other night that he wished we would've started dating sooner so we had more time. With school starting, we may or may not spend much time together, but we both feel and know that God had this timing just right and we have no doubts about that. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us. I've never been this happy before in my life!! :) :)