Summer is almost over!!!!

Hey All!
So I realize that most of you have failed miserably at posting, which means, that you probably have failed even more miserably at reading these posts, but here goes my last post, but better late than never:  I am so shocked at how fast this summer has flown by, I am still working at the daycare until this Wednesday, so as not to miss a second of the fun! :) I just finished reading the book Sisterhood Everlasting (the 10 years later novel of the "traveling pants" series).  It was great and the friendships described in the book reminded me of many of my own.  One of the hardest things I have had to do this summer was say goodbye to my former housemates and forever best friends Brittaney and Madicella.  Brittaney is on her way to Milwaukee for a year, but we had a great time last weekend full of many memories and laughs that we can look back on over many phone calls throughout this year. I am NOT one for goodbyes. Madicella, my roommate, homegirl-extrordinaire is set to move out at the beginning of September...so I will be with you all by the time that tear-fest comes along. :)  She won't be going too far, so I think I can handle it.  I can't wait to see you all soon! Love and miss everyone!
BW5daysleftL,
Emily :)

Hello my Wesho's!!!!
        I hope you are all having fabulous summers!  Mine is flying by.  I am working at the daycare at my church again this summer, but I have more hours this go around, which equals a little bit more moola, praise the Lord!  :) I got to work with the adorable, most wonderful cute 2 year old's class in May, but now I'm in the not so adorable, most annoying, smart-mouthed school aged (K-5) class for the rest of the summer.  It is still cool, since I get to go on field trips with the older kids.  You are sure to hear many many many references to all these kids throughout the next year, sorry in advance.
       In other news, I was asked by my friend Haley to be her maid of honor in her wedding coming up soon on November 24th!!! It is exciting and fun, but also pretty stressful. After spending 4 hours at David's Bridal yesterday, all I dreamed about last night was dresses!  But she found THE perfect dress for her.  I'm super excited because her wedding is going to be in a castle! :) So you are probably thinking "Emily, please stop rambling about childrens and weddings!" But I'm not, because my cousin, Lindsey is getting married in 3 weeks! Ok, now I'm done.
     I've spent time with my family, visited Chapel Hill once, and can't wait to get back.  I've been camping once, am planning to go to the lake with my family next week, and then one day beach trip with my small groups.  (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I am helping lead a small group for middle school girls again this summer with my best friend Reed.  It started last week, and I think it is gonna be a lot of fun.)  I can't wait to see you all in the fall (and skype you Molly)!  I love you all tons! Hope you have a super cool summer!
    BWahomemadeicecreammixershouldbeonourweshoneedslistsjustsayinL
Emily :)

Karen's summer updates!

Karen was having trouble posting to the blog, so I'm uploading this for her!

"Hello everyone!

I'm done with summer school! I took an Econ class for the first session and I'm not taking any classes next session. I haven't quite figured out how I am going to spend my time yet. I am probably going to volunteer somewhere. Wesley House has been pretty quiet but it's much better than last summer! I've played badminton and baked some. I also found out that there are more Malaysians studying at Duke so we got together sometime last month to cook Malaysian food. We ate nasi lemak (literally 'fat rice'), mee goreng (fried noodles), ais kacang (a dessert made of ice shavings), and bubur labu (pumpkin dessert). It was really good! That said, I would love to cook some Malaysian food for you next semester! I hope you all are having an awesome summer and I'm excited for next year:) 

Here are some pictures of the food we cooked:

1) Nasi Lemak 

2) Mee Goreng

3) Ais Kacang

4) Bubur Labu

BWL,

Karen"

summer, summer, summer

Hey WesHos!
     My summer has been off to a pretty good start. The first weekend of the month was the third annual Apex Latino Arts Festival. Friday night was the Culinary Fest, and volunteers from various Latin American countries cook traditional foods. I invited Brett since he's a Spanish minor and interested in Hispanic cultures. Because of rain that afternoon, they had to hold the festival inside, so it was kind of crowded, but it was still really well done. I love being able to try food from all over Latin America, especially El Salvador! And it's only $2.
     I've been playing softball with my church team, and it's been pretty fun despite us losing every single game. We played the number one team twice last Wednesday (due to a make-up game), and we only lost by a couple of runs, though; we were even ahead of them at one point in the game. Unfortunately, we had to forfeit our first tournament game tonight because we didn't have enough women, and I won't be able to play on Monday because I'll be going on ASP with my church. Still, I had a great time playing the games I went to and getting to know some of the team members I hadn't met at church before.
     Speaking of ASP, my church will be in Avery County, North Carolina next week. I'm pretty excited because, although I've only been on ASP twice, I really love it, and I'm so glad I have the opportunity to go again (this time as a chaperone!) I even convinced my mom to go as a chaperone as well :) This is also ASP's first year in North Carolina, and I think it's really neat that we get to serve in our home state.
     In other news, I've been trying to get a young adult ministry started at my home church for a while now, and I'll be starting a young adults Sunday School class on June 24th! I"m happy it's finally happening, and I hope at least a few people come. We'll be watching and discussing the NOOMA videos. This past Sunday was my pastor's last day at my church. It was sad saying goodbye, but he had been with us for five years. Originally, he was going to be with Tyler in Rocky Mount, but it looks like he's going to be at Zebulon UMC instead; I think so that he can be closer to his wife and kids because they're staying in the area so their daughters can finish up high school here.
     Other than that, my summer has been pretty chill. I don't mind going with the flow, although sometimes I get an itch for an adventure because, honestly, Apex can be kind of boring, haha. Anyway, I hope your summers are all going well, and I can't wait to hear from you all!
BWL!

Hello everyone! Happy Memorial Day/Pentecost/Summer! Things were pretty crazy at my house the last few weeks because Sunday we hosted a family reunion/70th birthday party for my grandfather, and about 100 people came! It was fun meeting a lot of extended family and seeing my grandparents enjoying reconnecting with everyone. My grandfather has been working on family history research, which is a cute old man project, but also neat for the rest of us, and I was able to put faces to names at the party. I thought I'd share a thought from my pastor's sermon on Sunday: We live in a tale of two cities, one earthly and one spiritual. Days like Memorial Day and Pentecost remind us just how close that spiritual city is. The Holy Spirit reminds us that God is not isolated and remote but a real presence among us! I hope everyone is doing well, and I can't wait to hear updates from you!

Well, I guess I’ll start from May 31^st. I went back to the Glennox Baker MRI center this day to have my MRI taken. I was expecting it to be pretty lengthy (but it was super short J) because the one I had in August there was really lengthy. Last summer, they had had to take extra special scans of the cerebrospinal fluid flow around the cyst. But, I later found out (in September) that there wasn’t any CSF flow around it/my brain wasn’t very happy/this thing was really big, so that’s why I really needed the surgery. I’ve been giving this whole year a lot of thought. I usually do that around my birthday. It’s been a crazy, crazy year. I knew that it would be about one year ago. I can just remember being very anxious and not really knowing WHAT to expect. I never could have imagined that it would have ended up like this. But I’ve grown an awful, awful lot this year. I can’t get over how much stuff I’ve done and been able to do despite all of my health junk. It’s been unbelievable!!

 

Well, that day I also saw my neurosurgeon and PA. Peggy, (the PA) is super nice and did the basic neuro exam and then talked to me about how I’ve been doing. But the first thing she said to me when she walked into the room was “the scans look good”! That was pretty cool to hear. She is the first P.A. I ever met and is one of the main reasons I want to be one. I also know a bunch of other P.A.’s at Duke (this really funny Indian guy). Right before my op last year, he and I were joking about UNC/Duke basketball. That was kind of cool/crazy. Dr. Fuchs came in after Peggy and the first thing he said to me was “You were one of eleven to finish your C.N.A. class?” (I had told that to Peggy) and I think he was pretty amazed considering what I’ve been through.

 

He also showed me my MRI scans and I was just amazed. The cyst is all gone (there is only a very small little something from it’s remains. It was apparently filled with blood this time which is why the operation was such a big mess and so dangerous! My surgeon told my family that he was glad that he did it though (the night of the 21^st) because if he hadn’t done it, I could have just had a random stroke one day ……and that would have been a nightmare! Overall, I’m just amazed that I’m doing so well considering what shape I was in last winter. For awhile, I had really bad flashbacks from ICU and stuff (like last winter) but those went away (thank goodness) a few months ago. God is so, so good. He just keeps saving my life….

 

Yeah, because I was also in a really bad car accident in June!!! I was coming back from summer school and had to pull over, but then I didn’t realize that the ground had a slight slope. So I went right into the woods and my car was pretty much destroyed!! The windows were all smashed and my engine was smoking. My car was sideways and a bunch of tree braches smashed my rear window. That was good though because that was where I got out/escaped. I couldn’t open any of my doors. Well, I didn’t try at least! But guess what? I was so, so chill about it! I simply got all of the stuff out of my car, got out of the woods and went to the side of the highway. A really nice older man drove me to Exxon. I usually would be so careful before getting into a stranger’s car, but I trusted this person because he said he’s seen an awful lot of crashes in that same exact spot. Weird?(He lives in that area.) Well, he took me to the gas station and I called up my mom. She was surprised and called up towing company to get the thing out of the woods. Well, after calling her I called the police and told them what happened. They didn’t give me a ticket or anything (thank goodness) because I think I just had some bad, bad luck! Well, my mom eventually showed up to the scene of the crash and we just talked to all of the officials. After that we went home!

 

Since then, my Dad and brother have been looking at cars. They found a 2002 BMW!! Insurance gave us a decent bit of money because my PT cruiser was in really good shape and had low mileage! That was good! My brother will be driving the new car most of the time, but I’ll probably get to drive it when I’m at home/maybe bring it to Chapel Hill for parts of next year!

 

Summer school was a bust!!! My academic accommodations were not set up right. My verbal recall is really bad because of my brain injury and the school was supposed to provide me with lecture notes! (from the professor or another student.) Well that NEVER HAPPENED. The disability office gave me a lecture recording pen and special notebook, but I still missed a lot of the lecture material. Also, I didn’t even have this device before my first exam…so I missed even more of the lecture material. Over all, I was extremely disappointed with the school L. I had to withdraw…which was icky. I immediately went to the advisors/talked to the pre-health advisors and told him what was up. He said he’d look into PA schools and what to do in my unusual circumstances! Well,  I’m not too worried, because I’ll be able to explain my crazy academic stuff in my essay. I really hope that the school gets my academic accommodations set right, because I just don’t want another crazy semester.

 

My professor from the class was really great though! I liked her and she was empathetic and supportive! That was nice.

 

I changed my schedule around a bit for next semester after all of this happened and I think it looks pretty good! I just pray that things work out this semester!!!! I think it will be better ….because I like the classes I’m taking/they’re not too crazy hard (well kind of) but I’m familiar with a lot of the material. One class is one I was taking last year and actually dropped, so I already know much of the curriculum!! I also signed up for the class I was taking this summer. So I’ll have a head start on a lot of my classes.

 

On to the GOOD STUFF!!! I went on two vacations this summer! (Yes, in between work and school!!! :D :D) They were TONS AND TONS OF FUN!!!! I got to see  my dad’s side of the family at a really cool summer resort in the mountains of Virginia. We went ziplining and just hung out. It was so good to see them. I love my cousins so, so much. (We are all about the same age, so it’s always a good time!) My grandmother also came along and brought her new puppy, which was fun. My cousin, Jacob, also came to visit us (he’s from Denmark!!) and that was great fun. He just cracks me up SO MUCH.

 

I also went to Chicago with my mom a couple weekends ago! Her parents moved into a really nice retirement community. They have a great new house. Even though it’s smaller than the old one, I think it’s a lot nicer/more modern!! They also have a new dog, (he is really funny.) I also got to see my aunt and that was fun. She is hilarious!! My mom and I also went to see one of her old high school friends in the area and that was a blast. Her friend, Debbie, is like the fifty-year old version of me!! She is a red-head (well her hair is kind of sandy now, haha) and we just had a really good time. My family and I also got to go into the city one day and I just really loved that! We saw a really good musical and also went to Millenium Park!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THAT PARK! We saw the bean and also watched a free symphony orchestra concert (which was fantastic :D :D :D :D)

 

Other than all of that, I’ve been working at Food Lion. But I don’t want to work there after this summer (I already know that I’ll be in Chapel Hill next summer though! I’ll be working at UNC Hospital!!!) But it hasn’t been all bad!!!!! I love my coworkers so much. They are great fun and I’m really going to miss them. Two of them go to State and a lot of the people went to Cary High and had my mom as a teacher! (Which is cool.)

 

August will be nice. I’ll see my neuropsychologist and she’ll help me with my academic stuff (she works at UNC hospital). I hope we get my school stuff all fixed up and ready to go!!! I’ll also turn 20 on the 8^th!!! YAY. I get my wisdom teeth out around that time too!!!!! :D haha…this should be a piece of BIRTHDAY CAKE (get it?) compared to my last surgery….. :D.

 

This was long, but now you all know what I’ve been up to!! I’ll see you all soon!! I’m almost done with our summer reading, btw!

 

BWL,

Courtney

Hey Guys!!!

Can you believe that we will all be together again in about 3 weeks? Words cannot even express how excited I am. I keep trying to talk my parents into letting me move in earlier and earlier lol.

The rest of my summer has been pretty good. I had a wonderful time with my mom in New York. We got to see so much of the city like the Plaza, Central Park, China Town, and we even got to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. I know that both my mom and I will cherish those memories we made together forever. I also went to Ocean Isle Beach with my family and lots of family friends last week. We go there every year so each time I am there with all of those great people it just feels like I’m at a second home (Well third if you count UNC). My friend Morgan went with me and I think the most fun thing we did was go kayaking in the intercoastal waterway. We didn’t really know what we were doing and kept going in a zig zag instead of a straight line and when we came back in after two and a half hours we were so tired but we had so much fun.

I’ve still been working a lot at the hardware store, which has been really great because I just really enjoy working there. Unfortunately there are some legal and monetary issues that the store is experiencing right now. It’s actually a really big mess that I’m not even really supposed to talk about but I would greatly appreciate prayers from you guys for my boss and the store owners.

I also wanted to tell you guys that there is a good chance I will be having some major oral surgery on the 12^th right before we all move in. It’s a surgery that I have been waiting on for years now so I am excited about it. Hopefully I will be all healed up before I move in but if not you guys can totally laugh at me if I look and/or talk funny haha.

I am SO excited about the Summer Birthday Bash tomorrow, and if you are coming I can’t wait to see you there!

Hope you all enjoy the last bit of the summer!

BWisittimetomoveinyetL,

Nicole