Soul stuff, missionary stuff, mod podge is so cool.

Kassidy's big day arrived! 

We had  a little get together for anyone who wanted to come watch Kassidy open it. I guess that is a new tradition and that is what she wanted to do so we did!

This girl is such a crier. She was crying before she even started opening it. :)Sweet tender hearted girlie.

My prayer for Kassidy was that she would go where she could have the most growth.

She is going to Cincinnati, Ohio!!!!!!!!

With parts of Illinois, Tennessee and a very small part of Michigan. It is a new mission. Just opened up last year.

I am over the top excited for her! For reals. I think it is the best thing ever. She has a lot to offer the world and I cannot wait to see her out there.

Lots of hugs to the crying girlie. 

First hug was her dad!

This is her boss from the movie theater. He let us have our gathering at the theater. He and his wife are two of my most favorite people ever. Maybe this is suppose to be a secret... but they donated a significant amount of money to help fund her mission. They are sweeties. If you are local, please support their business. 

 Kassidy's teacher!!!!

Kassidy calls this gal her second mom!

Uncle Dan and Corey 

I loved this picture of Kassidy and her Aunt Sherri

Corey, Dale, Sherri, Dan, Kas, Carolyn

Grandma and Grandpa Chamberlain

  

So that is the gist of her big mission reveal. I missed getting so many pictures! Bummer. Thanks, friends, for coming!

Today we drove up to the college so Justine could see the apartment she wants to live in. She was beaming. She played it cool, but I could see it. The excitement of living in an apartment with friends!!!!! Too exciting. 

And I think it is really a special thing for me that i get to be up there and have lunch with them occasionally. I love those girls. 

Tomorrow is my last test and I survived this semester. If I can get a 73 on the test I will have a B in Biology. I will fee like I got my doctorate or something I will be so proud. But I must admit I haven't studied much. I just turned in a paper and studying will have to be tomorrow.

So one of the interesting thing that has been happening to me though therapy is this...

The girl in my head is getting nicer. 

I read a book that talks about how you have to be kind to yourself. You have to

nurture yourself. You have to say sweet things to yourself.

 And I read a differnt book about a woman whose therapist's dialogue started being her inner dialogue until it wasn't just her therapist words but hers too.

An example of this is... the other day I mailed a package at the boot store. It was supposed to be mailed 3 day and I didn't notice and mailed it ground. I was ready to be mean to myself about it.

But then I pictured the times when I have told Kristopher when I have screwed up and how he would teach me such "grace" in being kind and saying that mistakes happen and that is how we learn and that it was okay. I was able to let it go. 

And I am learning to talk to myself like that and to feel kinder to myself.

This "Soul" class I am taking has you make these cards. The lady says they are your "truths". She gives you hundreds of examples that you can print and mod podge (LOVE LOVE LOVE) them onto these little cards that you can review and use to speak nice to yourself. They have been so so much fun to make.

Here is a link to her sight if you ever want to take the class. 

http://bravegirlsclub.com/

Here are some pictures of my "I love scrapbook paper" glory.

Bummer, I didn't take any pictures of my actual cards. I'll have to do it later. But some of the quotes are things like, "You did the best you could", or "You are doing a great job, dear girl...keep it up". And you always put your name on the card. So "dear susan..."

And there are literally hundreds of quotes to choose from. It is all just a matter of being kind to and nurturing your own soul.

It has helped. I showed Kristopher my cards and he thought they were genius. I love that he is such a girl sometimes and can totally appreciate girl stuff like crafts. Or at least he fakes it well. But I don't think so. I think he really thought they were great. And I think he thought they were a genius plan. One of the first things he taught me was to have better self talk.

One of the other things this class had us do was identify the person whom you know would tell you the truth about yourself. Which for the average person would be God. 

She says that when you were a little girl, you didn't have these negative feelings about yourself. But the world comes in and different things happen and you learn different "lies" about yourself. 

And you need to listen to God for the truths about yourself, which is that, you are good and worth it and loved,etc, etc.

So this is the page where I did what she said and identified what God (the one who tells me the truth about myself and not these destructive lies that I am not good enough)is to me...

It's a little wild. But each of the little papers say things that I wanted to be true about my God. 

Like, He...

is gentle, listens to me, want me to talk to him, wont say hurtful things to me...

If you have a hard time picturing what God might be like as sometimes I do, I pictured the qualities of a really honorable man I know. And how he would treat someone. And  I used those qualities to come up with the ones I believe God has.

Anyway, it is a really good online class. I am enjoying it.