KAMP!

Hey friends. Just thought I would ask ya'll to be praying for me this summer as I head to Kamp. Please pray that I will find my confidence in the Lord, have energy throughout the three months, and not get in the way of the Lord's work. Pray that these kids' hearts would be prepared to receive the gospel and that the counselors would be willing vessels for delivering it. And if you would like to provide encouragement to me, all you got to do is write me a letter! Getting mail is my favorite! Below is my address...

J*Money
967 Lakeshore Drive
Branson, MO 65616

In the words of every great yearbook signing... HAGS (Have A Great Summer)!

Pirates of the Colorado Springs!

Ahoy there, Mateys! Can I just tell you that Pirates bring me great joy!?! I don't' know why, but I love em. Could it be that they have their own fashion sense, or because I, too, had to wear patches over both my eyes as a result of injury at one time in my life, or maybe it's their sense of adventure, or because secretly I would love to pirate all my music if I could without being stoned by my friends, or could it be their dark tans and manly accents and vernacular speech??? What can I say... really... Julie Penuel + Pirates makes perfect sense. I dream of one day abandoning the ship of singleness and saying ahoy to that one special buccaneer. Can you blame me for holding out all this time for my pirate? I didn't think so. Well, anyways... here are some fun Pirate pictures to amuse you this evening...

Here is what looks like maybe a Greek Pirate, teaching his son the trade.

I don't know these guys either but doesn't it look like they're having a ship-full of fun!

"Pirate attire" was all the rage on the Paris and London runways this spring.

Just a fun Pirate Comic Strip I found online when surfing the web for Pirate "Booty." Finding this felt like finding buried treasure... ARRRRRRRR!

Don't you think that this REI model would have a more rewarding career as a pirate?

Back to Reality.

As some of you know, I am now back from Colorado. And it was the most wonderful semester of all! I still cannot believe how much fun we packed into those three months. I really would like to let ya'll in on everything I learned during my journey there, but it seems a little overwelming to do in a blog. If you really do want to hear a "play by play," just call! I love talking about all the books I read, the friends I made, the things I was taught in class, the boys I dated, and the fun/crazy things we did. I actually can't stop talking about it. Anyways, I just thought I would highlight some of the events of this semester below... PS If you want information about attending the Focus On the Family Institute, let me know. I'm a "campus rep."

I Wore Crazy Outfits...

I Went Sledding...

I Learned How to Be "Domestic!"

I Danced a Whole Lot...

I Tried to Find Narnia!

I Got Proposed To...

I Joined the Worship Team... (But not playing piano... I shook the egg!)

I Climbed Indoors and Outdoors...

I Belayed a Whole Stinkin' Lot!

Focus on the Fun!

I know, I know... I've dropped the ball on blogging. Life's been crazy as usual! Lots has happened in the last month. Let's see... I packed up and moved from Texas to Colorado, made 88 new friends, started hiking as a hobby, ski/snowboard on the weekends, and have become a part of my first worship team. It was only a matter of time before my egg-shaking talent was out of the bag! Below are a few pictures to kind of catch you up on my life. ENJOY!

Above are the lovely ladies of 1021 (Patti, Amber, Me, and Becky). Can you believe that we got four sets of those teeth for 88 cents total!?!?! Unbelievable! Quite possibly the best buy of my life.

Here we are on our way to Base Camp (our "get to know you" retreat) at Horn Creek. It was a blast. We tubed down a huge snow-covered hill (David Hilde, I thought I was going to die), rockclimbed in the rec center, did "team-building" challenges, ate really good food, read "Chronicles of Narnia" aloud in a flashlight-lit tent (nice roar, Daniel), laughed a ton playing scattegories, and worshipped the Lord in the most beautiful surroundings.

Here I am in class attire with my very official name placard. We have decided that those pictures really exaggerate your most favorite features... jk... not at all.

Here is what I spend almost all of my spare time doing... READING. Every night we read about 150 pages and write about a paper a week. Goodtimes, goodtimes. I am excited that I have about 22 new books to add to my library!

Cassie and I thought it would be smart to stretch before our first hike of the spring at Glen Erie. What a beautiful hike. The waterfall and punch bowls were totally frozen over!

We tried on all of our ski clothes the night before our first ski trip just to make sure we would be warm enough on the slopes. The result: I was sweating and unrecognizable! That's me on the left!

Oh my goodness! I am so glad that I didn't sleep in and miss out on this incredible hike through the Garden of the Gods. We had so much fun climbing these huge rock formations!

Picture Re-Cap of Recent Occurrences

Crazy Reasons. What a fun group! I am gonna miss you guys while I'm in CO. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

The Fruits of the Spirit Partaaay! The Reasons throw a heck of a party. I couldn't pull myself away from the table with the chocolate fountain. That's me in the front left. I am pretty sure I didn't turn around and smile for the picture because my mouth was full and my chin was covered in heavenly chocolate.

At Christophers in good old College Station to celebrate Page's graduation.

Anne, Me, Natalie, and Tory in McDade, TX (pop 350) at the annual elementary Christmas Pageant. About 300 members of the community showed up and greeted us with stares and whispers. Goodtimes... But really they were sooo friendly and the kids were so cute!

Us in front of the huge construction paper Christmas tree. Unfortunately you can't see the star atop the tree that Tory made.

Who has the cutest grandparents ever??? Oh wait... That's me! These were my favorite gifts to give. They are 1/2 coffee mugs that I found in NYC. My g'rents always order "half a cup of coffee."

This was (NO LIE) how many vitamins my grandparents tried to get all of their house guests to swallow every morning with their 5 course breakfast spreads.

Britney, Me, and Kimberly at Matt's El Rancho. Oh what a night... Dinner, then we went out with some random guys we didn't really know (I don't recommend it... ha), and then poor LeeBoy the Lancer got towed and held for a $140 ransom.

My last day working at BR. Below is my work BFF, Catherine (on the left) and one of my managers, sweet LaSara. What a fun place to work... AND SHOP!

Jill (Jill Drop), Me (J Strike), and Meredith (M Hottie) at my "BR Going-Away Bowling Bash." Not pictured are Philip (my bowling coach), Sidro (with the inappropriate bowling alias), Jonathon (who gave up doing push-ups to come), Nic (a member of the bowling league), and Jason (long-time friend on the facebook).