words from pop

I am finally home and it has officially been a week since I graduated college. This week has been a whirlwind and i find myself surprised at how fast it has gone by. Little update on my life-
i am officially "graduated-out." That means that i have been to enough ceremonies to hold me for quite some time. Daniel graduated this weekend. Because VCU is so huge (or at least i think that's why) they have to have tons of different individual department graduation times. So that meant that Daniel graduated in his individual engineer ceremony of Friday night then in the official one Saturday morning. It was really crazy to see him walk and get his diploma..i cant even explain how hard he has worked for that piece of paper..how many nights i heard him recite equations and words i did not understand..how many 3 am text he sent to let me know he was still studying..how many times i told him he was not going to die and would pass the class/test/quiz/project/senior design. All i have to say is. " adieu, adios, arrivederci, auf wiedersehen, au revoir, bye, bye-bye, cheerio, good-bye, goodbye, good day, sayonara, later, peace, SO LONG 

yes. we were both happy. lol. I am proud of Daniel, and i love him because he sets his eyes on a goal and works hard when the rest of us would give up to see it accomplished. i think i can learn from that. 
He pushes me to do things i dont feel capable and gives me no option but to set my goals as high as his. 


My dad stood proudly outside after Daniel's graduation and told me 
   "You and Daniel have the world in your hands. There is nothing that can stop you from doing great things. You can never understand how blessed you are because of that."


Words that hit me in reflection. There is only one thing that can stop us from doing great things-and that is doing them in our own power. We are only as much as we are at His feet. PTL.


Psalm 27:4


"One thing I have desired of the LORD,
         That will I seek:
         That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
         All the days of my life,
         To behold the beauty of the LORD,
         And to inquire in His temple."

Final Day-GRADUATION

Well, obviously this is a day late, and because the day was so insane, i am almost 2 days late. The day had finally arrived..
GRADUATION! The morning came sooner than i wanted..maybe that is because i had to wake up at 5:45 am..geesh. Even though it was wicked early i wasn't tired because i knew it was about to be a great day. I got ready and made sure i timed the morning perfectly...i knew exactly what time Linny's (spellcheck is trying to tell me Linny's name should be Ninny..which is making me giggle.)  alarm was going off so i made sure to sit at my computer and be ready. You see for the past three years i have shared a room with her. And our beds have always been beside each others. And although it will be surprising, her hair is well...beautiful in the mornings. So i would frequently play "Good Morning Beautiful" really loud as she was waking up. This year has been so crazy so i haven't gotten many chances to play it but i knew this was our last morning as roommates and i had to make it count. So as she started waking...GOOD MORNING BEAUTIFUL, HOW WAS YOUR NIGHT, MINE WAS WONDERFUL WITH YOU BY MY SIDE!!!!!!!! ( i was yelling. and i also got it on video,lol) Linny LOVED it. she will miss me. lol. I also had all the girls give me a segment for my video that i am putting together.
We had to be on the field at 7:30 am (so we could wait to go to the football field at 8:45) But actually it wasn't terrible because we were able to take lots of pics with friends. We finally got on the football field, but im not even kidding by that point i was already sweating. It was like a 100 degrees in that black gown and we were packed like sardines on the field. The ceremony was really nice and it was hard not to get emotional about how much i have been blessed by the last four years of college.

After the ceremony the girls and I had all our families in town so we rented the church pavilion and cooked out the rest of the afternoon. It was a really nice time to just hang out with our families and celebrate the fabulous day. We had a few corn-hole tournaments and Daniel and I whopped Lindsay and Matthew (well..almost.lol). It was really nice to be able to combine my two world (my home with Daniel and my parents) and my school life with the girls. We had such a great time and i was literally wiped by the end of the day. Daniel and i drove home and talked about our future and the excitement of things to come. As sad as it is to leave the girls (and trust me, it's a much harder thing than i can even express) im so thankful that the Lord is bringing about new and exciting things for me. I look forward to those new times with the girls. new and old combine!

 I think that so many people get a degree, make some friends, and have fun, and that is the extent of their time. my college time has been one of the richest times in my life. i didn't just get an education, i learned that fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. I didn't just make friends, i met my best friends who have loved and encouraged me at every step. I didn't just have fun, i grew in character and as a person. And it's ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS. I believe in the work Dr. Falwell started and couldn't have had a better college experience. I am not left without a deep sense of gratitude for what the Lord has done in my life during my college years. Linny, Lib, Pookie, Sarah. You've made all the difference. next time..my wedding! Miss you girls already!

Leslie

Day SEVEN-Baccalaureate and Good Taste.

Today was a packed full day. We got up this morning and headed over to the school to pick up our name cards and the final information for graduation. For once Liberty was actually extremely organized and Lib and i got our stuff in like 5 minutes which was greaaaat. They gave us a pen to put on our gown that says Jesus First, which normally i think people would think it kinda cheesy except we know Dr. Falwell wore one and honestly I want Jesus First in my life so i am so wearing it with pride. 
When i got back me and Jen and Linny decided to go to the pool one last time. Today was so stinkin' hot and i actually got some sun in the hour or so we were there. We only stayed a bit then came back to the apartment just in time for the girls parents to get here. We all got cleaned up and i must say we were lookin' pretty sharp for the Baccalaureate service. It was really sunny so our pic didn't really turn out good...squinty eyes!! (Jacob, Lib, Jen, Linny, Me, Sarah)

Baccalaureate was really good and i was reminded of the great education that the Lord himself has provided for me. I am so challenged to be a champion for Christ. I really do desire to live my life for Christ first. I think that coming to Liberty has challenged my life in so many ways, but the greatest is the desire to live a life worthy of my calling. You have to not have a pulse to come here and not be motivated to change our world for Christ.
After the service Sarah and i had a date at Good Taste. Good Taste is this little hole in the wall Chinese place, that no joke is so legit. Really only Sarah and i can appreciate it. Other than the really good food. the reason Sarah and i eat there is because they have this little gum ball machine with rings in it and every time we eat there we make sure to get one. Sarah and i placed our order in and then of course went straight for the machine..only this time it ate not one but two of our quarters and did not give us any ring. RUDE. then we told the guy who works there and he said & quote, "not my fault." and that was it. he walked away DOUBLE RUDE. So, we huffed then ate our fabulous dinner and sat forever talking. I will certainly miss Sarah next year. We all will. We needed to get some stuff for our picnic tomorrow so Sarah and i decided to make a Kroger trip. Luckily they had a machine and we got ourselves a nice little treasure of a ring there. Sarah and i also went kinda crazy and she bought some cotton candy and i bought a piece of gum that was an entire foot long. i mean it was a dollar. so who could pass that up!

oh also we tried on our caps tonight and realized how ridiculous we looked in them and got a really good laugh.

The week has flown by and i am literally amazed at how quickly the past four years have gone. Tomorrow is such a big day and it wouldn't be the same without my best friends beside me. I am beyond thankful for them and the depth of our friendship. Tomorrow will both be an exciting and sad day, but i look forward to spending my final moments with my four best friends. Until then..

-Leslie

"So i offer up this life. It's all that i have to give." 

Day SIX- cleaning and pedicures!

Today was a the day i have been dreading. We decided that this morning we would wake up and get a move on and clean the apartment. So we got up this morning and starting the packing process. i HATE and i mean really really hate packing. almost as much as i hate unpacking. I am truly amazed at how much stuff we can accumulate in a year. I think i threw away half my belongings. i will probably need some of those things but i get in a throw everything away mode and cant stop myself. I think i have anxieties about becoming a hoarder because of those TV shows and so in effort to keep myself from keeping junk i throw away everything. Anyway, we spent the morning and early afternoon cleaning the apartment, packing boxes, dusting, cleaning toilets, scrubbing, and taking down pictures. Our walls are completely bare. sigh. There is nothing more permanent than bare walls. The girls did a great job however, and we work so well as a team. Everyone tackled a different part of the house and we got a ton done. Our apartment currently smells new, which is kinda a gross smell to me. i prefer a homey smell.

After we got most things packed up and cleaned we got ourselves cleaned just in time to use the gift certificates Sarah got us sophomore year. Gift certificates for what you ask? PEDICURES of course! Sarah called Tony and Diane (the nail place) to make sure they could take all 5 of us and also to check if our gift certificates were still good. Diane yelled on the phone: WOAH! DE OLD! WE STILL HONOR, YOU COME IN. ALL 5- OKAY OKAY. 2 PM. BYE. (thank you Diane) So at 2 pm we all drove over to the place and treated ourselves to Sarah's sophomore treat. You may be wondering why we have waited so long to use these, which would seem like a good question. We decided this is the perfect time to treat ourselves to some TLC (and also maybe we just kept forgetting to use it).
There is something very very exciting about getting your toes painted. Typical girl things just make me smile, especially when they are done with friends. We got some great pics and cant wait to show our great colorful toes off this weekend. The time is coming up so close. Lindsay and i talked about our cap and gowns hanging in our bare closets. such a weird feeling..it's a gettin closer!
Oh and also, Daniel and i have been dating 66 months as i type..which means as of the 14th we have only 6 months left until we get married..which also means we have been engaged for 6 months..that is a lot of sixes! and another reminder that time is flying by!
almost there..
-Leslie

Day FIVE: KBC and Ice Lollies

Today was a much more eventful day. (dont worry Mr. Washabaugh, I'm glad you read too, i am excited to see you both this weekend!)
Tonight was our last time at Keystone working with the youth group. This summer while i was working M-Fuge in Charleston, SC i was assigned a church group. I promised that i would visit this church that happened to be located in Lynchburg. It amazes me how the Lord goes before us and is working in our lives even when we dont know it. I had no idea that when i went to visit this church with my roommates we would end up spending a year serving the youth and being connected with a church. It has been such a good and rich experience that i am so thankful for. Being at Keystone this semester has reminded me how our Lord is planning and working on our behalf. I really will miss being apart of Keystone. We got some pics before we left. Me, Lib, Jen, Matthew, Dixie and the youth group.

Our group activity tonight included a long time tradition of getting ICE LOLLIES! (we call them that but really they are just snow cones). Our freshman year we discovered this little snow shack that sells the best snow cones for only a dollar 50..which in college is a great cheap thing to do! They have like a million flavors so it always takes forever to choose what kind you want..except for me because every single time i chose the exact same flavor (Rock 'N Roll also called Batman) which is grape and blueberry..and it is sooo good! Jen went with icecream, Sarah wedding cake flavor, Linny got Jimmy Buffet (pineapple and blue coconut) and Libby went with Kiwi Strawberry. As we sat at the picnic table facing the Hollywood Movies i couldn't help but be reminded of all the good times we have shared eating ice lollies. Linny and i laughed about the time freshman year we took that pic where our lips were blue and we looked like we were freezing. It was such a good night, just enjoying laughs and each others company. I love the traditions that we developed in just four years. I love how individual each of our laughs is, but how they combine to make this loud racket that bothers anyone outside of our little world. Im so thankful for rich times like these...

            

-Leslie

Day Four-Friendship bracelets.

So today was largely uneventful but because i said i would blog and i dont want to let my readers down
 (Hi, Mrs Washabaugh! Lindsay tells me you follow so i wanted to make sure to show my appreciation!) so i am blogging today.
As we were brainstorming about what we could do during this fabulous week of endings, Jen came up with the great idea to do friendship bracelets. 'Cept only i did a bracelet and everyone else did an anklet, too bad for me i didn't realize until mine was done, and plus i like bracelets better anyway. Jen bought some great colors and by the time we were finished Sarah was still contemplating which colors she should chose. She went with browns which i thought was a good choice. i was wondering what colors i should do when i realized we had black and yellow, which of course is VCU colors and i knew Daniel would be proud, so i went with those. VCU, GO RAMS GO! (i learned that cheer from all the games Daniel takes me to.) Anyway we concluded the night with a picture and a movie. I have a final tomorrow so i need to get on that and study.

Tomorrow will be much more eventful considering it is the last time at Keystone Baptist Church working with the youth.
until then!
Leslie

Monday movies

So here in the burg the dollar theater (now the dollar 50 theater) has monday movies for 75 cents. So, we decided we should def see one last movie together. Jen looked up movies and most we had already seen because well, the dollar theater is like THE THING to do, and its cheap..BUT lucky for us they had just started playing the movie :"Letters To God" So we thought that sounded pretty good and we took our 75 cents for a good time. Sarah wasnt able to come which was a bummer but she was there in spirit. Now, i dont know if any of you are planning on seeing this..so i wont spoil the movie for you..BUT i cant remember EVER crying that much in a movie. The plot of the movie is about a little boy with cancer who write letters to God and changes lives through the ministry of his own life. talk about a tear jerker. The girl behind us was crying so bad she had the loud sobs (you know you hate those cause once they start you cant seem to stop them) On the upside i thought to myself, "Self, if you do lose it no one will hear you in this theater." Im not sure if the movie was that touching or that fact that any movie where the Lord changes lives just gets me, or maybe even the fact that it was the last time i would be sitting with my roommates in the theater before we graduate..but man i had a hard time composing myself. We decided to nix the pic since our eyes were all red and everyone was kinda sad anyway.
The message of the movie was good and it had me thinking about things. One of the exciting (and scary) parts about graduating is the "all in his hands" mentality that comes with moving on and waiting upon the Lord for WHATEVER his will is. Recently the discussion among the five of us has been the uncertainty of the upcoming year. And lets face it, it's more than just the upcoming year, it's knowing we have to go it without four girls standing beside you. I was moved by the verse at the end of the movie. No matter what lies ahead knowing that we are literally a letter from Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, gives us courage to have faith that moves mountains. I am so thankful for something better than ink in my life. In time of change, what could be more comforting than the permanence of God. (indelible: that which cannot be removed. )

2 Cor. 3:3
"You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."

Day TWO-All Fired Up Pottery Painting

   As part of our fabulous week of endings..we decided to finally use the gift certificates that Lib gave us for Christmas and go paint pottery together. All Fired Up is a pottery painting place that has tons of plates, cups, bowls, figurines, frames, vases, etc. that you can pick out to paint. Once you've picked out what you want to paint you go over to the paint station and pick your colors. There are SO many colors so sometimes it can take forever to pick out what you want. I went with specked red and black because i wanted to do a tree on my plate. It's a really neat atmosphere where you just sit and paint and listen to music. Even if you aren't that creative there is something wonderful about being able to just paint and enjoy quiet time listening to music. One of the great things about being such close friends is that we dont always have to entertain each other as much as it really is just nice to be in each others company.
 It always takes a good amount of time painting the pottery because you want to wait for each coat to dry. Periodically one of us will stop and ask what the others think we should do next, paint next, which color to choose, etc. By the end we actually ending up spending a good part of the day there. The worst part is you have to wait like 2 weeks before you can get it because they have to put it in the kiln and then it gets a great glossy look. oh, and your colors totally change, which is very exciting. Overall a successful and very fun day. i cant wait to see how it turns out! Enjoy the photos below!

until tomorrow.
Leslie

      

DAY ONE-Falwell Farm Senior Picnic

As promised i am beginning my blog documenting the entire last week of my college life with my roommates. Today one of the biggest events of the year happens. For seniors, and seniors only, Jerry Jr. and Becky Falwell (our chancelor and his wife for those of you who do not know) have all seniors over at their farm. Now, let me first start by saying that this is not some po-dunk farm...in fact, this was the most beautiful place ever.
We made sure to get their extra early because the first 500 seniors got free, yes FREE t-shirts (which by the way were fabulous and we were soo excited). We signed up to do horseback riding. This was surely eventful because thus far i had gone through my life never riding a horse (mainly because i think they are stinky animals that are hard to control) which really, they are stinky animals and "whisky" my horse desired to eat grass and disobey every command i gave him (maybe he sensed i thought he was stinky and dumb). To be honest, i think i can go the rest of my life never riding a horse again. but hey, it was def something cool to do.

   

Then we ate free food and got a picture with the man. the man is jerry jr. and so that was really cool.

Becky told us before we leave we should def go check out the house, which i mean Lindsay and i are all about checking out homes so we jumped right on that. all i have to say is wow. HGTV has nothing on this massive and amazingly beautiful house. One of the rooms had these HUGE, i mean HUGE beanbag like chairs, that literally i want more than anything else in my house. below is a picture of this

What a great way to cap off the beginning of the end...more tomorrow..

-Leslie

this week.

The most surreal week of my life is about to begin. I graduate college in exactly a week from today. May 15th. i have been staying up late, my mind swirling with thoughts about the ending of my college career coming near. Moving out with my four best friends who i have lived with since freshman year..is well, sad. No one can understand the depth of the friendship i share with these girls. For 3 of those years i have shared a bed next to Lindsay. In one week we move across the country..possibly the world from each other. A new phase i am both excited and nervous about. I am so thankful for the sweetness of these last moments together. i am fully prepared for a week of hugs, tears, and the butterflies i get in the pit of my stomach when something new and unknown is about to happen. They way i felt four years ago when i walked on the hall of 33-3 and had no idea the Lord was about to bless with me not one lifelong friend..but 4. As a tribute to this week i am going to blog every, yes every, day. enjoy what my words will not adequately describe....

(top to bottom: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior)

        

“Much of the vitality in a friendship lies in the honoring of differences, not simply in the enjoyment of similarities.”