2010 has come to an end

And I rejoice in that. On to bigger and better things in 2011!!!

Looking out for me

I hung out with my bff tonight. She's the best. She knows the desires of my heart so well and has taken them on herself as her own desires as well. I rejoice in having a best friend who really is always looking out for me.

Love Tank

I had lunch with some of my old coworkers, who are also great friends, today. It was a super fun time of catching up, laughing, and eating. I rejoice in spur of the moment plans to get together with people you love dearly, but don't get to see very often anymore. I left the restaurant feeling like my love tank was very full :)

Baby Sitter

I hung out with my lil girl Ava today. Man my best friend is blessed. She is seriously so adorable. I rejoice in the fact that I have such a cute kid in my life and that I get the chance to spend time with her so much. She definitely gives me my baby fix :)

Uncles

Both my uncles on my mom's side, her brothers, are here visiting from out of town. Today was a fun day hanging out with them and mom, dad, gram, and sisters. We went to the beach and arrived just in time to see the sunset. We ate dinner at Five Guys, a place I've been wanting to try for awhile. We played an array of board games. And most importantly, we laughed a lot:) I rejoice in having extended family members who I enjoy spending time with.

A Savior Was Born

And today we celebrated that. What better thing could I rejoice in???

Traditions

My fam spent the evening at my Aunt's house. Something we've done every year I can remember. I love seeing my cousin's kids. Such cuties. We ended the night at home by doing "Christmas Twirl". I rejoice in being part of a family that has lots of amazing traditions.

High School Volunteers Christmas Party!

Tonight all the high school volunteers from church were blessed with a yummy meal, a nice gift, some amazing bon bons, and great fellowship. I rejoice in the opportunity to serve with great people AND the blessing of being fed, given gifts, and shown appreciation for something I love doing!

Missionary Friend

I had lunch with my friend Nancy, who is a missionary in Guatemala, today. So good to hang out and catch up and hear about how God is working in her life and also share the same for myself. I rejoice in the chance to spend time with someone who we both are able to be real and honest with each other, even about the hard things.

Baby sis...no longer a baby

Tonight we celebrated my baby sister's  21st birthday (even though it was a couple days ago) with a few good friends. I rejoice in having a sister who is one of my best friends. I rejoice in the way God is working in her life. I rejoice in the way she makes me and all those around her laugh on a regular basis. I rejoice in the fact that the 8 year difference between us is almost never noticeable, especially now that she is officially an adult:)

A Good Tired

I'm exhausted. And it's because I've worked full shifts the last 2 days at work. Something I have gotten out of being used to. So tonight I rejoice in work hours and the income that goes along with them.

Living Nativity Guests

Three of my friends came to the Living Nativity performance tonight. One of them I've been inviting for years. I rejoice in persistancy and patience. And the Lord working...

The Show Must Go On

It's Living Nativity weekend at my church. What is Living Nativity you may ask? Well it's only one of the coolest presentations of the Christmas story that I've ever seen. But, it's supposed to be outside. And it's been pouring down rain for the past two days. So, we've moved inside. Not quite as cool, but still an awesome and humbling show. Tonight I rejoice in the fact that I am blessed to be a part of a church that is flexible...and willing to do what it takes to make things happen...and who comes together in order that we can be a blessing to our community.

Last Night

Tonight I rejoice in the completion of yet another class. I'm getting so close to the end...

Free Books

So my new roomie told me about this cool new website and last night I signed up for it. Today I've had 4 of the books I posted on it already requested. I rejoice in the fact that I'm going to get 4 new books to read. For free!

"Hi Robyn!"

Just watch the first few seconds of this video and you'll know what was the best part of my day. And I'm sure you can guess what I rejoice in and why:)

Burnt Mole

My friends oliver and laura are great. I am so thankful for them and their amazing friendship. Tonight I rejoice in last minute dinner plans and the chance to laugh at the silliest of things. And for them always welcoming me into their home and feeding me yummy food. I especially enjoyed Oliver's egg nog creation topped with "burnt moles" aka torched marshmallows. He comes up with the greatest stuff...

Christmasy Things

I didn't blog yesterday:( But, it was a good day with lots of things worth rejoicing in. Like going to a friend's fun work Christmas party. And seeing good friends from my old job.

This morning was a great day of learning, serving, and worship, including the singing of this song, that literally moved me to tears. I rejoice in the chance for community and corporate worship.

After church I had a fun Christmas celebration lunch with my young adults small group peeps at this yummy restaurant.  I rejoice in good food and great people.

I ended the day with an amazing Christmas concert put on by all the Cal Baptist choirs, featuring my personal favorite, my Rach. I rejoice in good music and the chance to reflect on my Savior's birth.

Today was a good day...

Pajama Bama Rama

Yes, that is a real name. Ha ha:) It was an event we had at church tonight, where the parents could drop off their kids for 5 whole hours and get some Christmas shopping done or whatever else. And the best part??? Everyone got to wear their pj's!!! I rejoice in a fun night with cute kiddos!

Easy

All my homework that was due in class and the quiz I took tonight were all really easy. I rejoice in a super easy day school wise.

Ugly Sweaters

Tonight was the youth group Christmas party. It was so much fun. I rejoice in the joy that comes from being together, ugly sweaters that makes us laugh, yummy treats, talented students, and most of all, the reason for the season.

 Our yummy spread, made mostly by the youth girls, which you can read about here

 A cute little cookie couple :)

 Amazing decor

 I have a weird look 'cause I was scared of the balloon that had just popped

Christmas Decor

Tonight I rejoice in the happiness that Christmas decorations bring me and the fact that I finally finished decorating my house today. Here's a sneak peek into some of my favorite parts...

The tree in the bright light

 and with it's lights(it's kind of blurry but I think it looks cool)

 I rejoice in and cherish this ugly ornament because I think it is one of the last things my grandma gave me when she was still healthy-minded

 I rejoice in that pretty garland because, I made it. That's not really normally my forte so, I'm pretty proud:)

 And, I rejoice in those super cute pillows. The two on the outside were made by Ashley . She made them for the boutique we had a church a couple weeks ago and I totally loved them. My mom bought them for me and surprised me with them :)

Veggie Chili

I really like my new roomie:) I rejoice in the fact that God brought her along at just the right time. And, bonus, I think she's a good cook...at least it appears that way from the taste of the veggie chili she mad today...

Baking

Today the youth girls had a baking day. We made lots of yummy goodies for our youth group Christmas party on Wednesday. And, more importantly, we had a great time! I rejoice in the bonding and fun to be had over a bit of sugar, flour, and butter (among other things).

Operation Christmas Child

 This was by far the best part of my day...

 There's just something about the joy that comes from serving other people. Operation Christmas Child is an amazing ministry that sends shoebox Christmas gifts to kids all over the world and shares the gospel message with them at the same time. Today I had the privilege of helping out in their processing center. I rejoice in the kind of tiredness that comes from a job well done. Because I am definitely that tired tonight:)

Cookies!

I love Thursdays every other week when I get to help out with t.o.t.s. at church. All those kiddos are so darn cute! Today we decorated Christmas cookies and it was really fun. I rejoice in the chance to spend fun time with such adorable kids.

Youth Group Fun

I love fun nights with the high school students at church. Tonight was one of those nights. I rejoice in a great night of youth group. And in a great post youth group leader meeting. So blessed to serve with an amazing group of people.

Veggies

Side note: I realized that at some point I began starting my blogs with "Tonight I rejoice in", but, I don't really like that. So, I'm going back to random beginnings:)

Today, my mommy took me grocery shopping. A little birdy  told her I didn't have much food, which I guess was true, so she decided to remedy that. I rejoice in all the yummy food filling my cupboard and fridge, but most especially I rejoice in the two drawers full of veggies. I love me some "rabbit food"! I also rejoice in having a mom who, even at 29, looks out for my needs.

Hot Tea

Tonight I rejoice in the existence of hot tea. So helpful when you have yet another cold...

Christmas Begins

Tonight I rejoice in a great morning at church, bringing in the Christmas Season. The church was decorated beautifully, we sang our first Christmas carols, heard wonderful music from some very talented and hardworking musicians, and heard a great sermon on trusting God in the midst of hard to understand circumstances. Good stuff.

Mom's Couch

Tonight I rejoice in my mommy's couch...it's where I spent the day, sick with a yucky cold. I also rejoice that the day is over.

Black Friday

Tonight I rejoice in the fact that I survived my 9 hour black Friday shift at Banana Republic, after having woken up at 3am to go shopping with my sisters (though I did get a 3 hour nap). And now, I'm going to sleep...

Thankful 2010

Tonight I rejoice in the fact that I'm blessed to be a part of this amazing group of people

 And that these people are a part of my life

And that I have all this to be thankful for...

1.     Salvation and a relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

2.     The freedom to worship

3.     The privilege of living in America

4.     God revealing himself to us through His word

5.     The amazing opportunity to attend school and finish my degree at Biola

6.     A great church to attend and serve at

7.     The opportunity to serve with high school students

8.     That God continues to provide for me in supernatural ways

9.     My amazing family. Including…

10. Dad

11. Mom

12. Rebecca

13. Ronnie

14. Rachel

15. Randall

16. Ryan

17. Grandma

18. Jessica

19. Michael

20. Tons of great friends in my life, like…

21. Kristi and Chris

22. Oliver and Laura

23. Sara

24. Ann and Kurt

25. Shannon and Nathan

26. Lissette and Ruben

27. The Gallina Family

28. The Ramirez Family

29. Jackie

30. Monet

31. Vernadette

32. Randi

33. Alissa

34. Monique

35. Jessica

36. Jared and Tiffany

37. Matt and Jenna

38. Amanda

39. Rachel

40. Joan

41. Jessica

42. Tina

43. Lots of cute kiddos in my life such as…

44. Ava C.

45. Josiah

46. Luke

47. Zac

48. Ava L.

49. Myles

50. Jonas

51. A great small group to be a part of with people like…

52. Temitayo

53. Jennifer

54. David

55. Eric

56. My car

57. My house and the fact that I’ve been able to stay here, even while not really working

58. Never going hungry

59. Cute clothes and jewelry to wear

60. A job at Banana Republic and selling Premier jewelry

61. Music

62. Books to read and the ability to read them

63. Facebook, as a way to stay in touch with people near and far

 The Lord has definitely blessed me beyond what I could even ever begin to deserve

No set schedule

Tonight I rejoice in the opportunity to hang out and spend time with people I love and care about, without really having to worry about "being somewhere" or "going there" or "doing that". I'm thankful for holiday time and a more open schedule. It means you have time to sit on the 91 freeway for almost two hours one way, while on the way to pick up your sister's roommate so she can hang with your family for Thanksgiving. I also rejoice in having a family willing to include those who need somewhere to go. Today was a day of not really "doing" anything, but sometimes those are the best :)

Good Morning Sisters!

Tonight I rejoice in waking up to both my sisters at my house. We had a super fun night last night of them sleeping over and it was a fun end to a fun night to have them there during morning routines today. Lots of fun catching up on lots of things in each other's lives :)

Training Show

Tonight I rejoice in a great time had by all at my training show for Premier Designs. I am now officially a jeweler and can start having my own shows. I'm so excited to get this business going!

Church Family

Tonight I rejoice in the great church family that I am blessed to be a part of. Today was a great day, both morning and evening, celebrating thanksgiving and reflecting on everything we have to be thankful for. It was also a wonderful time of friendship and fellowship. Thank you Jesus!

Sister Red Cups

Tonight I rejoice in the fun mom and sister time I had today, as evidenced here...

 

I also rejoice in the great time I had hanging out at the Green Hills Joy to the World boutique.  Both my sister (and her bff) and my sis-in-law (and her sister's) had booths with lots of great stuff. Come check it out tomorrow if you get the chance.

Thankful Young and Old

Tonight I rejoice in the chance to have a pre-thanksgiving celebration with the tots preschool ministry and the senior adults from church. Lots of yummy food, fun crafts, and cute hangout time. So thankful to have the time in my life right now to be a part of stuff like that.

Feel the burn

Tonight I rejoice in a good visit to the gym today. Not only did I get those endorphins flowing and get a good workout in, but I also read a ton of my textbook while on the treadmill. Talk about killing two birds with one stone :)

Baby Chat

Tonight I rejoice in this...

By far the best part of my day :)

Last Minute Plans

Tonight I rejoice in the chance to hang out with a new friend on short notice today. A yummy lunch and a dollar movie with someone who's becoming a good friend is a great way to make for a great day :)

Off Early

Tonight I rejoice in the fact that I got off of work early enough to go to church. I had training this morning and was supposed to be there most of the morning, so I thought I was going to miss church completely. Thankfully though I got off earlier than expected and ended up only having to miss high school group, not service. So glad. Worship and fellowship with other believers is such a great way to start off the week. I rejoice in having a great body of believers to be connected with.

Patience...do I really want to hear this?

Tonight I rejoice in hearing a great sermon on patience. The topic of patience is one of those things that I feel like no one really wants to talk about because they know it means their patience is going to be tested if they pray for patience. But, I'm learning more and more how little we as believers can do on our own. We need the power of the Holy Spirit working in us in order for anything good to be true of us. And the same is true of patience, just like anything else. So, as James 1:2-4 says, I am going to "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." 

Hockey!

Tonight I rejoice in the great time I had at the Anaheim Ducks hockey game with my high school students from church. The game was great and I love all those kids so much. Fun times!

Surviving

Tonight I rejoice in surviving my first night of physiological psych. This class is gonna be a toughie! But, thankfully, I have had this teacher before and she is a great teacher. I rejoice in having good teachers to learn from. I also rejoice in having good friends to sit in class with.

Something To Do

Tonight I rejoice in the fact that being involved in a church means I know I'll have somewhere to go and something to do at least a couple times a week, such as youth group tonight. If it wasn't for that I would spend much more time sitting at home alone with nothing to do than I already do. I also rejoice in having a church family to be loved and supported by.

4 1/2 Miles

Tonight I rejoice in the fact that because of where I'm at in life, I had the time today to go on a 4 1/2 mile walk. I also rejoice that I was walking to the amazing Christian university that I have the privilege to attend. I rejoice in the gorgeous day it was today and the opportunity to notice and enjoy a ton of God's beautiful creation, including these trees...

I rejoice in the fact that I didn't actually step on the dead mouse I happened upon while walking. I rejoice in all the crunchy leaves I got to step on (my favorite!). I rejoice in the horn honking along the way??? Must mean I'm not completely repulsive. Though I do have to say, what exactly is the point of honking or whistling? I rejoice in the fact that I got some good exercise in. Overall, I rejoice in a great afternoon.

Christmas Store!

Tonight I rejoice in amazingly fun time I had at "the christmas store" helping pick out christmas decorations for church. I also rejoice in the good lunch I had beforehand and the great fellowship. Our church is gonna look so pretty this christmas season and I am super excited about the coming season of celebrating my savior's birth. Funny how decorations can be so exciting but, they just help so much in setting "the mood" :)

Life Groups

Tonight I rejoice in a great day of Life Groups, both high school girls and young adult. Learning and growing and living life together with other people who love Jesus and want to be like him is such a blessing. I'm humbled by the opportunity to serve the high school girls in this way and blessed and encouraged every time I have the opportunity to spend time with the peeps from my young adult's group. Thank you Jesus for two very special groups to be a part of!

OCC Shoeboxes and Honorary "Tia"

Tonight I rejoice in the exciting privilege of filling a shoebox gift for Operation Christmas Child. I seriously can't contain myself when I'm picking out all the fun things to fill the box. And tonight it was especially fun because there were at least 3 other people/families at Dollar Tree filling up their boxes as well. I'm pretty sure none of us were from the same church, yet we were all taking part in sharing the love of Jesus all over the world. Such a perfect, tangible picture of His church coming together to be the church He's called us to be.

I also rejoice in spending time hanging out in "the front house" at my place, spending time with a very special family. I especially love being able to "love on" their kiddos and the fact that I was labeled "Tia Robyn" twice in the last 2 days, by different parts of that very special family. So fun :)

Radio Joy and "Spontaneous" Hangouts

Tonight I rejoice in good music being played on The Fish. Now, this is not always the case, at least in my opinion, as I am a fairly picky fish listener. However, this morning on my drive to Yorba Linda, which is is decent drive, it was like the play list was picked out just for me. I didn't change the radio station once because they just kept playing good song after good song AND there weren't any commercials. As I was arriving at my destination, I thanked the Lord for some extra special, seemingly personal, time with him on my drive. It was really cool.

I also rejoice in semi-spontaneous hangout nights at my house and having friends who are fun to be around. Tonight was a good night of laughter, fun games, and good movies. So thankful I have good people in my life to spend time with.

Marriage and Family

Tonight I rejoice in the end of probably my least favorite class in the Bold program so far. Although the content doesn't necessarily pertain to me in my current time of life per se, I was excited about learning more about it. The class ended up not nearly living up to my expectations. So, I can of course do nothing but rejoice in the fact that it has finally finished. I also rejoice in having great friends/classmates without whom I would not have survived!

High School Group

Working with high school students makes me happy. Therefore, Wednesday night youth group is one of the highlights of my week. Tonight I rejoice in the privilege of serving the Lord in the high school group.

Dinner at Mommy's

Tonight I rejoice in the fact that my new job, (which I started today, except not really cause all we did was watch training videos and fill out paperwork) is so close to my parent's house. It makes "stopping by" for dinner that much easier. And who wouldn't rejoice in free food, especially when you haven't had a job for months??? :)

Phone Chats

Tonight I rejoice in phone chats with my "college" sis. Glad we have that to help keep in touch 'cause, gosh I miss her!

Giggles

I didn't blog last night. Oops. I slept over at a friend's and completely forgot. Oh well. Life goes on :) I rejoice in the forgiveness of mistakes. hehe.

Tonight I rejoice in family giggles. Today during Sunday afternoon nap time something happened that caused five of us to be woken up. But, thankfully, we were able to view the situation for the hilarity that it was. Even though disturbing nap time could potentially be quite upsetting, we were able to see the funny side of it. I don't think I've laughed that much in awhile. I also rejoice in the fact that that is how my family chooses to deal with the hard things, with laughter. Laughter makes hard things easier.

YouTube Oscar's Party

Tonight I rejoice in the fun time I had at a friend's sister's party. I especially rejoice in the existence of laughter. Makes life that much more enjoyable. And now, enjoy a few pics from the night...

 So cool!

 The Set Up

  Family

and a good friend

Pumpkin Party and Pot Luck

Tonight I rejoice in the super fun morning I had, both at the tots pumpkin party and then being included in the senior adults pot luck. For those who don't know, tots is our church's mom's/preschoolers group that meets every other Thursday. I went today to help a friend out, but of course ended up having a great time.

I rejoice in this adorable baby I got to hang out with

I rejoice in the chance to see and hang out with these cute girls 

I rejoice in the utter adorableness of this kiddo

And I rejoice in having this girl for a friend

Oops...better late than never

So I forgot to blog last night...but if I would have this is what it would have looked like...

Tonight I rejoice in the fact that I got a job at Banana Republic. Even more than having a job, I rejoice in the fact that I am fairly certain this one will last longer than my 2 day nanny job. Excited to start on Tuesday! And to be in a place financially where I can enjoy my 50% discount :)

Slobbery Kisses and Baby Dances

Tonight I rejoice in wet. slobbery kisses from Ava girl and watching her dance a silly little dance. I was also treated to a yummy dinner by her mommy who also let me interview her for class. It was a great evening and definitely the best part of my day!

Chik-fil-a Generosity

Tonight I rejoice in the generosity of the local Chik-fil-a and the fact that I can get dinner for a mere $2 any time it rains. So yummy.

Good entertainment

Finally saw this movie today...

Tonight I rejoice in the existence of entertaining, mind blowing movies. I also rejoice in the great company who joined me to see the movie. Good company makes a great movie even better.

Mr. and Mrs. Matt Taylor

Tonight I rejoice in the beautiful wedding of my friends Jenna and Matt. It was such a wonderful afternoon and evening and a privilege and honor to share in their special day.

"Hi Miss Robyn!"

So today I went to the old site that I used to supervise so I could visit. It was seriously so good to see all my old kiddos and one of my old staff. The excitement on their faces when they saw me was so encouraging. Tonight I rejoice in the unconditional expressions of love I received over and over throughout the afternoon from all those cute lil ones. So good!

Alarm Free Living

Today was one of those days that, although in most ways I'd give anything to have a reason to set my alarm at night, this morning I rejoiced that these days I don't have to. I can just sleep in my cozy bed until I wake up. Which, those of you who know me well know, is a very long time...

An Observant Friend

Tonight I rejoice in the blessing of a great friend, who is also very observant. The giving of a gift, along with a short but sweet convo was definitely the highlight of my day. So this gift that was given was a combination of "thanks for house sitting" and "happy birthday". Here are the reasons why I say my friend is observant.

So first off, the "thanks for house sitting"

Now this great friend of mine noticed when I showed up to house sit that I had my stuff in grocery bags. She was correct in assuming that this is because I didn't really have a good "overnight bag". So she fixed that problem by giving me this adorable bag!

Next is the "happy birthday"

These pictures don't really do it justice but, this friend also knows how much I love cute jewelry and therefore also need cute things to put jewelry in on the go. Both things only an observant friend would notice. 

Lastly, this friend, who is my "chick flick buddy" knows it's been awhile since we've had a chick flick date and plans to fix that problem, by giving me movie tickets. Can't wait to go see some cute movie with her! And then cry with her after as she lets me share my heart with her:)

These gifts have been "at home" and "in the car" for quite some time, with my friend, and her "not quite on top of things" husband both frequently mentioning that they need to give it to me. But God knew exactly when I would need them as a little "boost" in my life. And today was definitely the day!

Sister Movie Date

Tonight I rejoice in the spur of the moment movie date I had with my sister. A good time was had by all :)

She finally loves me

Tonight I rejoice in the fact that Ava Jean Cox finally doesn't get mad, but instead is happy to see me, when I show up to babysit. Today when I got to her house to hang out with her she didn't scream or give me a yucky face, but instead actually seemed happy to see me. I think it's because I've spent enough time lately hanging out with her AND her momma at the same time:) That was most definitely the best part of my day.

Rascal Flatts

Tonight I rejoice in the AMAZING time I had at the Rascal Flatts concert! Tomorrow you will hear more and see pics :)

If you want to see pics from the night you can click here

Fall Fun Extravaganza

Today at church we had the Fall Fun Extravaganza. Tonight I rejoice in the chance to have fun and serve Jesus with good friends from church. Here's a few pics from the day...

Like Magic

Tonight I rejoice in the invention of this...

Not only is it going to help me sleep, but hopefully it will help me wake up feeling much better tomorrow.

Music

Tonight I rejoice in the existence of music, especially as a way to worship our Savior. Life would be so boring without music and I would have to say that the best part of my day today was praise and worship time at high school group tonight. I have also just been extra thankful for music in and of itself recently.

Clean house and cute decor

Tonight I rejoice in my wonderful mommy! She came over and helped me give my house a good, deep cleaning. And, even more fun she helped me put up my cute fall decor, most of which was from her for my birthday last year. Here's a few pics of my favorite decor...

Any of you are welcome at my house anytime. I love having people over and rejoice in the blessing of having my own place to even decorate, and especially in the fact that I have been able to stay here so long while not having a job. God is good!