blog adultery

so it has come to my attention that people do actually read this. wow. i stopped blogging for a bit because some friends of mine decided to start a little community blog together. so i've been posting on that. after checking on it everyday for the last few weeks though, i've realized that kate and i are the only ones writing anything, and also, it's apparently supposed to be private. so here i am again. i want to post something i put on there because it's pretty funny and provides some lovely insight into the inner workings of the savens family.

i call this one thanksgiving savens style.

thanksgiving with the savens this year was tradition at its finest. our thanksgiving routine has changed a bit in the last few years due to house sizes and sibling arguments, but this year was great. the final count this year was 30…we must be crazy i guess. all 30 of us were packed in my grandparents’ house…and when i say packed, i really mean it. some of you have been to my grandparents house, and it is not that big…and definitely not 30 people big. but like i said, it was great. we had a few family members drive in from st. louis, which was great because it had been about eight years since we had seen them. everyone arrived around 4 or so, at which time the champagne was popped and the appetizers were rolled out. this year we had chips and salsa (it is texas after all), a ginormous cheese ball with an assortment of crackers, and deviled eggs (a traditional dish for us that i have yet to partake from . everyone hangs out for a few hours, chatting and watching football, eating appetizers, and drinking…a lot. that’s one thing that the savens do quite well. as everyone is catching up, making jokes, teasing everyone (especially leah and i…the only aggies of the family), and having a good time, my grandma and my aunt are in the kitchen putting the last minute finishing touches on all the food. we have a lot of food. i mean, it’s a bit ridiculous. this year we had 2 fifteen pound turkeys and a turduckin (this was a first for us). we had a honey ham, 3 crockpots full of mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes covered in pecans, broccoli and cauliflower casserole, homemade gravy (my personal favorite), collared greens, broccoli and cauliflower “sunny” salad (bryan’s favorite), and a couple more casseroles that i was too full to eat. and of course, the dessert, we had our famous pumpkin gooey butter cake, two pumpkin pies, and two cheese pies. needless to say, we had far too much food. before we all sat down to eat, all 30 of us gathered in the living room and stood in a circle holding hands. we do this circle prayer every time we get together, especially at thanksgiving. we go around the circle, starting with my grandma and say a prayer or what we are thankful for. this time is typically filled with jokes and tears, sincerity and silliness, and it’s wonderful. we end with my grandpa, who blesses the food…then it’s time to eat! we started eating around 7, which of course, was kickoff for the a&m-texas game, so some people sat at the tables we had set up, but we all migrated to the living room soon enough. the rest of the night consisted mostly of watching football and rubbing every a&m touchdown in everyone’s faces. we had a lovely time. thanksgiving with the savens is always an event. this year was one of the first times in about ten years that we had little ones running around again. bryan used to be the youngest, but we had new little ones this year, and i couldn’t have been happier. there is definitely something different about the atmosphere when babies are there i guess that is really it for the savens thanksgiving. it was a great time and now we just have to wait for christmas eve…believe it or not, we do it up bigger and better then! i hope everyone had a lovely time with family and i wish you all a happy thanksgiving!

so obviously that was a bit late, but i wanted to share it with you anyway. i hope you are all doing positively fabulous. and now i need to get back to the last bits of my school work for the semester. aww...procrastination.

buona notte...e ora, devo studiare!

looking back a bit

since this is no longer primarily a blog about italy, i've decided to remove my support goals from the layout of this page. however, i think seeing the progression of how they were achieved is an amazing picture of the faithfulness and provision of our God...so i'll put them in this post!

Goal #1: $200 by February 19, 2008
Achieved February 7, 2008!

Goal #2: $1000 by March 23, 2008
(Total $1200)
Achieved March 22, 2008!

Goal #3: $1000 by April 11, 2008
(Total $2200)
Achieved March 31, 2008!

Goal #4: $1000 by May 1, 2008
(Total $3200)
Achieved April 11, 2008!

Goal #5: $2970 by May 18, 2008
(Total $617o)
Achieved May 17, 2008

isn't that amazing? it's just so great to see how perfectly God provided for me in a situation that required so much provision! sorry for a short post, but i'm sleepy! i have another big week ahead of me. prayer is much appreciated!

buona notte!

a different place

today is november 14th. it has been almost a year and a half since i last posted anything on this blog. i thought when i came home from italy, i would continue my blog, but as it always does, life happened. i decided though, that i would like to start blogging again. i think it will be therapeutic for me to get my thoughts out there. i don't know if anyone will be reading anything that i write, but that's okay. this isn't for you anyway. :) just in case i do have some faithful followers, i guess i should bring everyone up to speed on where i am in life now. so many things have happened in the last year and a half that i don't really know where to begin or what is even important to share.

i guess the most overwhelming part of my life right now would have to be school. i am currently in my second year of graduate school, studying school psychology. right now i have three classes, i work at a middle school three days a week for practicum, and i work in the autism clinic that we have at school as part of my graduate assistant duties. and that's just the school part. it has definitely been challenging trying to juggle everything on my plate...especially when the plate is completely filled up by school...where does the rest of my life fit in? this has been something i have really struggled with in the last couple of months. don't get me wrong, i absolutely love my program and everything i get to do with it. i feel so honored that i get to make a real difference in the lives of children with disabilities. it makes me feel alive when i work with those kids. if i had my choice, i would probably be with kids in some capacity 24/7...who needs adult interaction anyway? well i guess that might be important.

as far as adult interaction goes, i'm happy to share that i have finally found a church home and an amazing community within it. i am a proud partner at the austin stone. i began attending this church in may of this year and joined as a partner at the end of the summer. i cannot tell you how blessed i feel to be a part of this body of believers. there are some really great things happening in the church right now and i'm so excited to be a part of it. i am blessed to get to hear the teachings of some wise and gifted men of God every week, and always feel so challenged and loved when i leave service. i've also been so blessed to be able to take a theology class through the stone. this semester we studied the truth of scripture, attributes of God, the trinity, the person of Jesus Christ and the work of Jesus Christ...we studied these in a way i never have before, and my eyes have been opened to just how much i don't know about my God. this is comforting in a way because i know he is so much bigger than i could ever imagine. i could (and will) search my entire life to know more about him...his love, his grace, his power, his wisdom, his perfection, his nature, his will, his provision...and i will never cease to learn something new about him. i'm so thankful that i serve the one true God...the God of creation, of the universe...the Savior of my heart and lover of my soul. how truly blessed i am! i've been able to see glimpses of the attributes that God has allowed his people to share with him through my new community group at the stone. i am involved in a group of about 15 or so single coeds that desire to live in community and on mission for God. i have just been amazed at how beautifully God orchestrated the group. i have been looking for this kind of genuine community for quite some time and think i have finally found it. praise God. i will keep you posted about our weekly gatherings, as i'm sure there will be much to share. i'll say this though, every week renews me. thank goodness.

i guess this post is long enough already, so i'll cut it off now. look for more posts, as i'm hoping to be pretty regular about this. now i'm off to clean my apartment and write some reports! a lovely saturday indeed. talk to you all soon.

ciao amici...yes, i will be continuing the use of my italian in this blog...i just love it too much :)

vi voglio bene.