Jesus, Hold Me Now

Back On Track

WOAH!  I sure have been lacking here in blogland!  I was out to dinner tonight with a friend who mentioned my blog and asked how often I update it.  I was sure that I had just posted a blog not too long ago, but now I see that I was completely wrong about that.  So here I sit on my comfy bed all wrapped up in my blankets and with a little drinky (I love a good glass of Bethenny Frankel’s skinny girl margarita!).    

Life has been pretty hectic the last few weeks.  I was just moved to a new department at work.  I am now an appliances sales associate!  I had been working in operations for over a year and a half.  I have the type of personality that likes to keep on learning new things.  I felt like I had learned everything that I could in ops so I was excited to be moving on to something new.  This is my third week in appliances.  My first week consisted of training.  I was scheduled with another associate the whole week.  The past two weeks I have been flying solo for the most part.  I get a bit stressed every once in a while when I can't figure something out.  My favorite part of working in this new department is the customer interaction.  I encountered some pretty awesome people while I was a cashier, but actually having the time to talk to the customers and get to know them is so awesome.  The one downfall of this job is that I now know all the top of the line benefits in appliances and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to buy cheap things. 

With this new department has come new hours.  I have been working about 30 hours a week plus going to school, doing all of my church stuff, and trying to squeeze in a social life.  Even though life is hectic right now, I am so happy.  I haven’t felt like this in quite some time.  It’s so nice to finally feel like my life is back on track again. 

Oh, Valentine's Day

Valentine’s day can be oh so very anticlimactic when you don’t have that special someone to share it with.  As this day was approaching I started to dread it more and more.  Not only was it Valentine’s, it was a Monday, and I had school and work.  I was thankful that I at least would be busy and not have to worry about sitting at home feeling sorry for myself.

The day turned out much better than I had anticipated.  School was school, but I enjoyed spending time with the wonderful people in my class (some aren’t so wonderful, but I love all my dearies that constantly make me laugh).  After school I headed home to relax before work.  On my bed was a pretty wrapped present and card from my parents.  I got a cute little frame and a wonderful card reading:

“A parent’s heart is always filled with wishes for a daughter, and I keep many special hopes within my heart for you.  I want you to be happy with the woman you’ve become—your gentleness, compassion, and warmth set you apart.  I want you to be just as proud as I am of your talents—the world today can really use your wisdom and your gifts.  And I want you to be true both to yourself and to your dreams and to feel fulfilled in any work or role that you might choose.  But more than anything in life, I want you to feel loved. 

Yes, every parent’s heart is filled with wishes for a daughter, especially when that daughter is as wonderful as you.”

As sappy as that may sound, it sure made my day a whole lot better.  After relaxing at home with my puppy, I was off to work.  To the surprise of all the girls at work, one of the guys went and bought a red rose for all the girls in our store.  We also all got a valentine and candy.  After work I went home and watched The Bachelor (THANK GOODNESS MICHELLE IS FINALLY GONE!!!) 

I have been in a bit of a funk lately, but am so glad that I have such wonderful people in my life.

I'm Baaaack

Is there anyone still there?  I can’t believe that I haven’t written anything since September!!  So much has happened in the last 4ish months.  I started Court Reporting school, still working at Best Buy, successfully surprised my dad with a visit from my brother, made a visit down to Providence, my Aunt Kristina and adorable cousins visited from South Carolina, and celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Don’t worry, I don’t plan to go into detail about each of these events...I will further explain a few things though.

First off, I know most of you probably know what a court reporter (CR) does, but your knowledge doesn’t go much further than, they write down everything in court.  Yes, you are correct, they do write everything that is said in court, but it goes on much further than that.  Most people think that a CR types on a regular qwerty keyboard.  It would be pretty impossible to produce a verbatim transcript by using a qwerty.  A CR uses a Steno machine made especially for shorthand writers.  An example of a Steno writer looks like this…

I know it looks rather confusing, and it was at first, but not anymore!  The average speed that a person talks is 180 words per minute, I have to be able to write at over 200 words to graduate.  We learn to type in combinations…this is what allows us to type so quickly.  Most of the time I am hitting multiple keys to create words and phrases.  Learning shorthand is like learning a different language.  Along with learning shorthand and trying to build up my speed, I also have other requirement classes I have to take.  I am currently in legal terminology.  I was really worried that I would hate this class.  Come to find out, I really like it.  My teacher is awesome and really down to earth.  Learning about the ins and outs of the legal system is so interesting.  Love the class, but I am still really worried about my midterm next week.

Well, that’s all for now…I promise I won’t wait four months before I write again.

A Magical Love Story

Lately I have been working on some fall cleaning to get rid of old junk.  Throughout junk cleaning, I came across some fun memories.  Today when I was going through files on my computer I came across a story.  This story was written [By Lorah, Rachel, Josh, and I] for our friends Brian and Megan.  Rachel read the story at their wedding reception.

Once upon a time, in the land of surfer dudes and movie stars, mountains and beaches, national parks and happening cities, there lived a young man named Brian.  He was not exactly a surfer dude, and he was decidedly not a big name in Hollywood. He was, in fact, a Dutch Reformed guy who grew up on a dairy. All his life, he dreamed of being a millionaire businessman, and when he graduated from Ontario Christian High school he enrolled at Providence Christian College to fulfill those aspirations.

Meanwhile, far North in the corner rainy state of Washington, in the town of Lynden a lovely girl by the name of Megan Hemnes had grown up. She was a country girl to the core, with a great love for horses, an affinity to pink and green, and an increasing love for coffee. She was also, coincidentally, one of the chosen people: Dutch and reformed! Megan had never had a consuming passion to become a master surgeon, a politician, or a university professor. But, like most of her fellow high-school graduates, she applied to college, not sure about what she would major in.  Little did she know, God had some plans for her time at college that went beyond preparing for a future career.  As it turned out, she (with some trepidation) ended up deciding on the tiny school of Providence Christian College in Ontario, California as well.

Megan’s first Sunday in the magical land of California, she and her parents headed to a near-by church, named First Chino URC. It was here that Megan and Brian met for the first time. Little did they know, they were meeting the person who would later become the love of their lives.

Over the next couple of months, their attraction grew, as the small campus allowed them to get to know each other.  Sparks couldn’t help but fly – every time their eyes met, it was magnetic.  It couldn’t be denied and finally one beautiful night in the month of October, while strolling on the picturesque Laguna Beach, the manly dairy farmer turned to the red headed horse-lover and asked if she would be his girlfriend. Oh Cows!  Need you even ask?  It was the beginning of a wonderful romance.

Slowly, Brian began shedding his HUGE tough boy persona, wooing the girl of his dreams.  How could the dairy farmer secure the red-haired girl from Washington?  Much to the surprise of their friends, stealing her phone, keys, or pillow and racing around campus seemed to do the trick.  Just to be sure, though, sometimes Brian would call up his sweetheart randomly, tell her to meet him outside at his car and hand her pink and green flowers…just because it was Wednesday. Moments like this put the twinkle in their eyes.

The next months were filled with strolls to Starbucks, in which Megan consumed unearthly amounts of caffeine, yet could not manage to stay awake, day trips to San Diego, where, following the traditions of their ancestors, they biked around town, and a rigorous routine of jogging as a couple…*SARCASM SIGN*

By this time, they were desperately in love, but faced some tough realities, like being separated by thousands of miles, when Meg moved back to Washington, and only being able to communicate over that blessed gadget known as a cell phone.  They faced an even tougher reality when they got their cell phone bills.  But to keep his mind off of his distant red-headed sweetheart, he milked many a cow and cried bitter tears into the piles of…manure.  Meanwhile, far up north, Megan spent her lonesome days consoled by the presence of her darling niece Sydni and working long hours surrounded by the (other) subject of her dreams: coffee.

The long days passed slowly, but they did pass, and joyful reunions came and went.  Finally, it was November – that cold month of Thanksgiving.  And for Megan and Brian, it was sure to be a month of Thanksgiving.  Tuesday night, Brian boarded a plane, full of confidence and anticipation, knowing the next day would be a complete surprise to Miss Megan Hemnes.  Early Wednesday morning, Megan and Brian headed to one of their favorite places – Deception Pass, a beautiful and romantic setting.  After enjoying the scenery, and taking memorable pictures, Brian began OPERATION PROPOSAL.

Before Megan knew it, the song My Best Friend, by Tim McGraw, was playing on Brian’s phone and he was down on one knee, asking the question a girl waits her entire life to hear: Will you spend the rest of your life with me?  Gently, the very carefully chosen ring was slid onto Meg’s left hand and they were betrothed.

Throughout the next nine months, the wedding day Megan had dreamed of since the age of seven was planned and organized.  In the midst of the wedding flurries, they were reminded that the real reason the momentous day of August 14, 2009 would forever be ingrained into their memories was because they would be joined in love to each other for the rest of their coffee-drinking, businesses dealing days.  And so it has come to pass.  They have met, they have loved, they have been betrothed, and now they are married.  Forever and ever.  Happily ever after.

 

The End.

Brian and Megan Vanden Heuvel have been married for a little over a year now and currently live in Vancouver, WA.  

Wedding pictures taken by The Snap Sisters.  Check them out...they're amazing!

Also check out Meg's Blog!

Color The Skies

This year I attended the 5^th Annual Color The Skies event in Ripon.  Color the Skies is a hot air balloon festival that raises money for Children’s Hospital of Central California.  It's held on Labor Day every year.  Last year I actually worked at the festival. [Best Buy is one of the sponsors]  It was the first time that I had the opportunity to go.  Every other year, I was either busy or away at school.  Since I didn’t have to work this year, my dad and I decided to go.  

All of the day’s festivities started at 6am with a pancake breakfast sponsored by Savemart.  I am a big fan of a yummo pancake breakfast.  However, due to the lack of taste in this food and the price, my dad and I decided to pass.  That morning my dad and I set forth on our early morning trek towards Mistlin Sports Park.  We stopped a few of the booths, including the Best Buy booth with a bunch of my coworkers.  After that we headed over to watch the balloons lift off.  It was a wonderful time to take out my camera and experiment with the different settings.

"Hear You Me"

Lately there have been days that I wake up just wishing that things were different. It is so easy to be negative and think about all the things in life that could have, should have, and would have. I was lying in bed the other night watching an old TV show and Jimmy Eat World was on the episode. I am not a diehard fan of theirs, but I enjoy their music. Towards the end of the episode, they start to sing “Hear You Me” (in my opinion, one of their best songs). Although I love this song, every time I hear it, I tear up and think of Danielle


Danielle was a friend that passed away right before my junior year of high school. I met her at the wonderfully amazing Redwood Christian Park aka RCP. I went to RCP for seven summers in a row and loved every minute of it. RCP was always the highlight of every summer. The summer before my sophomore year, I was in wonderful cabin with eight wonderful girls. Danielle was one of them. Most of the girls in our cabin knew each other from past summers at camp, but Danielle was there for her first time. I still remember that when there would be a counselor meeting at night Danielle would call her mom in our cabin just to let her know that she was doing okay. Over that week I became good friends with Danielle and Brianna (Danielle’s friend, who also was in our cabin).

Danielle is the girl sitting next to me!  Sorry for the poor picture quality...this was back in the day of disposable cameras!

This is the infamous Eskimo Jesus at RCP.

As usual after a wonderful week at camp, I went back home and started back up with my routine. My sophomore year flew by and I really enjoyed keeping in touch with all of my camp friends throughout the year. That summer rolled around and on June 18, 2005, 16 year old Danielle was driving her 1994 Volvo through an intersection when a mini van collided with the Volvo. Danielle died on the scene of the crash. I can remember the events of that day like it was yesterday. The funeral for Danielle was held on June 23, 2005, my 16th birthday. I couldn’t believe how packed that church was. Not only were all the seats taken, but the side aisles were filled with people standing and people surrounded the outside of the church to pay their respects. At the end of the funeral, they played the song “Hear You Me.” I have included a video with the lyrics of this song. It’s beautiful. Danielle will always hold a special place in my heart. I cannot wait for the day that we are both in the presence of our Savior.