Day 82: HERO

HERO began today. It's out in this barn at the Taylor County Expo Center. This semester I will be working with a three-year-old little girl. This was her very first time to do HERO and she did not like it. She screamed the entire time that she was on the horse. Poor girl was scared, and I hope she soon overcomes her fear of horses.

My horse is a palomino paint and today was his first day to do HERO as well. He is a six-year old gelding who was purchased when he was three for the express purpose hippotherapy.

Day 81: Let the Little Children Come...

Check out the drawing in the middle that's in blue. At the top is Jesus. He's the real tall, smiling guy. On either side of him are his disciples. They are telling the children that they can't come see Jesus. The frowny people at the bottom are the kids, who are sad that they are being told to go away. This was our Bible story this evening and this was one of our four-year-old's illustrations of the story. I think it's cute.

Day 80: Taking a Tumble

How does a senior in college get grass stains on her pants when she spent her day behind a desk, you might ask. Or probably you won't ask that because, really, why would you? Regardless, the answer is as follows: while briskly walking home in the dark after class she slips on the treacherous wet grass. And falls completely down onto the wet, muddy ground.

I probably shouldn't admit that I was wearing my trusty hiking trail shoes when this fall occurred. However, since I'm blaming my tumble on the fact that the tread is wearing off the soles of the shoes, then I suppose I'll admit to wearing them this evening. No one saw, which is fortunate for me. Given the humor that I have always found in witnessing people fall (without injury, of course) I am slightly saddened that my mishap did not bring anyone joy.

Day 79: Undergraduate Research Festival

Today I made my big presentation of the semester at the Undergraduate Research Festival. I, of course, did not want to do it, but I think I did fine.

Actually, I'm pretty sure I did fine because my roommate told me I won an award. I'm not sure what kind, and it may be within my department. Since I may have been the only Bible presenter, I guess that's not saying much if that's the case. But I can put it on my resumé. And I've heard that there may be a cash prize involved as well.

Day 78: Rainbow Trout

Today's lunch was fresh rainbow trout. Dad caught it and Joel grilled it. And I ate it. Yumm! I like my job in all of this. Seriously, it was more appetizing than it probably looks in this picture.

Day 77: Imaginiff...

Imaginiff Rebekah were an animal. Which would she be?
1. Cat
2. Platypus
3. Moose
4. Tiger
5. Dingo
6. Horse

I hope you chose the same one that I did!

I took time out of my busy schedule (aka studying) tonight to celebrate a friend's birthday. We ate at Olive Garden and then came back for a game of Imaginiff. See that purple piece that's way ahead? Yeah, that's mine. I don't normally win at games like this, but I love playing them. And it was nice to win for once.

Day 76: My Radio Debut

Today was my big radio debut. Dad and I were on a show called "The Professors." We talked about some of our experiences in Egypt on the air. I must admit that it was less difficult than I thought it would be. I am glad it's out of the way though.

Day 75: Middle Earth

I wish I was in Middle Earth right now. Not literally, but I often escape to other realms when I'm reading. And I wish was reading one of these masterpieces. It certainly sounds much more enjoyable than preparing for a presentation. Have I mentioned how much I dislike presentations?

Day 74: May 2011

Today I picked up my cap and gown.

I graduate in less than two months.

I'm overwhelmed.

That's all.

Day 73: Class in the Sun

Today one of my classes met outside in the amphitheater. It was quite lovely at first, as the Tower of Light cast a wonderful strip of shade across our seats. However, it was ninety degrees out and as the sun moved, so did the shade. After an hour and a half, it was quite hot. I spend most of my day indoors, though, so it was a nice change.

Day 72: Coconut Cream

So this picture isn't so good, but the pie was. I ran home tonight for delicious fried fish and coconut cream pie. It's so nice to live close my parents and my mom's wonderful cooking. I don't know what I'm going to do when I have to move away!

Day 71: Lifeteam

Today my Lifeteam (our mission group) met for lunch at a house on the edge of Abilene. We'll head to Massachusetts and New York for a mission trip later this year. We always have wonderful food when we get together, so it's always a highlight of my week when we have meetings.

This picture is proof that Abilene is not nearly as flat as it could be. In fact, that's a pretty good-sized hill there in the background.

Day 70: The Girls

A storm blew through last night and temperatures dropped over twenty degrees today. It was a lovely day and I spent some time with the girls outside. My girl is the Beagle and my brother's girl is the Aussie mix. But I love them both, and they love me.

Day 69: Watchdog

Gladwyn sits at our back door and guards it. Well, she used to guard it, but now she's old and tired. Mostly she just lies there and sleeps. She always wakes up to see me, though! And isn't she cute?

Day 68: Nosy Horsey

We went out riding in today's heat. It's not supposed to be 90 in March, but it was today. Because it was so hot and the horses have not completely shed their winter coats, we just walked around today. This boy was nosy, rubbing slobber all over and sticking his nose out to be scratched.

Day 67: Girl's Shopping Trip

Our shopping trip this evening actually only consisted of one stop: Kohl's. I did find a very cute dress that was not as on-sale as I would have liked. But I bought it anyway. Isn't that what you're supposed to do on a girly shopping trip?

I made sure the brightly shining sun was in the picture as well, because I seem to have developed a slight obsession with the sun.

Day 66: And the Flowers Fell

Just last week this tree was a blooming example of Spring, which has overtaken Abilene. Many of the lovely white flowers have now fallen, presumably a result of the ferocious winds that blew through over the weekend.  I have been wanting to take a picture, but it seems I was a little too late to capture the beauty of the tree in full bloom.

Day 65: Family Dinner

Every Monday night my family has dinner with my grandparents. Since I've gone off to college, I often have not been able to participate in this weekly family dinner. Because this week is Spring Break, I was able to go out to my grandparent's for dinner tonight. I have missed being with them!

Day 63: Off the Fairway

JoAnna and I played disc golf today. We had a lot of fun, but neither of us did very well. If you have a good eye, you can spot Jo in the picture. The fairway is somewhere between us, and we kept getting further and further away from each other with each throw.

Day 60: Broken Brushes

This is the brush that I took with me on my trip to Egypt. None of the bristles were missing or broken before. They came off in my hair, which was tangled by the sweeping desert winds.

Day 59: Jane Goodall

For my class this evening we went and listened to Jane Goodall. She was a wonderful speaker and I was  very happy to get the opportunity to see her.

Day 57: Flying Home

Even though there were not many people in the hotel, we somehow ended up with the room furthest from the elevators. My camera flash does not even illuminate the entire hallway.

We woke up 1:45 in the morning to check out and catch the bus to the airport for our 4 AM flight.

Day 56: Cairo Shopping

Today we walked around Cairo shopping for souvenirs and gifts. We had a difficult time finding open shops, but I nevertheless was able to try my hand at a little dickering.

Day 55: The Bell Tower

We spent the morning at the monastery before heading back to Cairo. One of the monastery's famous icons is one of the oldest in the world.

Day 54: The Old Monastery

St. Catherine's is the oldest continuously working monastery in the world. We worked in this old and beautiful monastery for several days. On Thursday we also hiked to the cave of St. John Climacus.

Day 53: Mount Sinai

On Wednesday we climbed Mount Sinai. Dad and I chose to ascend by the Steps of Repentance and we had to stop and rest fairly frequently as we made our way up the 3,750 steps.

Day 52: Ancient Manuscripts

The purpose of our visit was research. Dad read ancient Syriac manuscripts and I interviewed monks. Here I'm looking over his shoulder at manuscript fragments.