Just call me Northerner

I'm not used to so much snow!

It's great! I love it. We had snow just about every day for the week or two before I left to come home.

One of the reasons I was so excited to come to the city was because I love all the lights at night. The city lights are great, but the Christmas lights are breathtaking.

 (I tried to take pictures of all the other lights but they didn't turn out very good)

Once again I am so thankful for my Nitro. It handles the icy roads fabulously... and looks good too :)

Just call me Thankful

Bet you couldn't have guessed that title!

I had an amazing time at home with my family for one of my favorite holidays, THANKSGIVING!

Of course I knew exactly what we were doing because my family ALWAYS does EXACTLY the same thing EVERY year... but I love it!  And I really do have the greatest family in the world. No Contest!

One of my friend's posts on facebook the day after Thanksgiving really challenged me she said:
What if you woke up today and you only had what you thanked God for yesterday?

... something to chew on!

I hope you all had the best Thanksgiving ever!

Just call me Creeped Out!

Kami found this HUGE (plastic) rat in one of our cabinets. She thought I had put it there to scare her so she put it in the fridge and scared me!!

We don't know who did it... but they're gonna get it! ... And so is someone else because now we have this awesomely nasty rat! We can't let it go to waste!

Just call me Granddaughter

One week ago today I lost my grandpa, Henry D. Reimer, to heaven.

He was such a wise man. He did not say a whole lot, but when he did, you had better listen. I can remember before I went to senior prom I stopped by the nursing home so he could see me in my dress. He just looked at me smiling except to say, "Remember that just because everyone else is doing something doesn't mean you have to join in."

He was also witty. He would often pipe in with an ornery comment that would make us all laugh.

The last time I visited, he held my hand the whole time and wouldn't let go. I'm so glad I had that opportunity. It was so evident that he cared deeply about every member of our family. Even though he is not here anymore, we will still carry on the traditions he started long ago.

While I will do him, I'm so happy that he can finally be in a place with no more pain, confusion, or loneliness. He gets to be with Jesus.

I Love You Grandpa,
<3 Brit

Just call me twin

This week at school was spirit week. The only day I actually had clothes for was twin day.

I bet you don't even know who is who.

Just call me blessed

I have the most amazing family, friends, home, and college a person could ask for!

I got to go home last weekend! Here's a snapshot...

As a fund-raiser for their Ecuador missions trip, my family is raffling off a moped. (you should all buy tickets!)

"Some assembly required" turned into "A lot of assembly required"

Family Bike Ride

Looking at our tiny wheat sprouts

Dedicating our wheat to God

There's always work at home and college kids are always grateful for money (*hint hint* to all you blog readers - care packages are also welcome)

 

 Some of my friends back home stole me away from my family for one night to take me on a "date."

They told us supper was a surprise and it turned out to be a candle light dinner completely fixed by the boys. It was beyond cute.

 Later they took us to Dodge and our families met us to go ice skating.

 

 So what's going on at school? Well, for the last week I have been woken up at 7AM by a jackhammer because they are redoing the teacher parking lot. I'd rather have a rooster.

Studies are still overwhelming, but we have discovered that Red Mango is the best place for study groups! Actually, it's the best place for everything!

Just call me Homeward Bound!!!!!!... Almost....

Fall break is almost here!

I finished school on Thurdsay and since then life has been awesome!

1st off: Bible Conference and Fall break next week = NO HOMEWORK!

2nd off: I spend Friday at Shawn and Anna's house.

3rd off: Phil and Kathy came to town.

4th off: Bryce, Michael, Brock, and Tyler came to town.

5th off: My flag football team won their game today.

6th off: I AM GOING HOME WEDNESDAY!

I miss...

mom's salsa… and obviously all of her other food.

dad's hugs

Brooke's hair in the morning

Blake’s random movie quotes

my insanely ADHD puppy

the relaxing blue walls of my bedroom

wild Kansas friends

Kansas heat

having money

not having to do homework on the weekends

adequate amounts of sleep

... sorry for no pictures. I need to be a little more camera happy.

Just call me Slow Poke

Hey all!

Sorry it has taken me so long to put up a new post and here's why...

You know that post I uh... posted.... at the beginning of college about being disappointed in not getting a job... Well! I decided that with the time that I would have originally put into a job making money I would instead put into different ministry opportunities. Boy have I done a good job of getting rid of all my free-time! Haha!

Here's a snapshot of my week...

My weekday mornings and afternoons are full of classes, homework, and workouts. 

Monday - usually a free evening but I often fill it up with homework.

Tuesday - Journey group in the evening (This is a small group connected with the church I go to and I am actually helping to lead a group of college kids. As a freshman this is kind of scary)

Wednesday - I am a 5th grade AWANA leader at CBC. 

Rocking our AWANA shirts

Thursday - 8:08 (This is a college group of about 175 kids that get together and sing and listen to a speaker at guess what time... 8:08... you would be surprised how many people don't catch on to that)

Friday - Finally a free evening and I love it! I usually spend it downtown with a friend or just hanging out on campus.

One free evening we went to a Creighton volleyball game.

Saturday - In the mornings I go downtown with a group of kids and we do street evangelism. It's way out of my comfort zone, but I know how important it is and it will be very rewarding. I have the rest of the day off but I usually spend it doing homework that is due the following week. I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of homework most of the time.

Sunday - I go to Christ Community Church and usually get to sit with Andrea and DJ! In the afternoons we have inter-murals. Right now we are playing flag football and I am on a really fun team. Sunday evenings I have a group called Huddle that I attend. It's a meeting for all the leaders of Journey groups.

There is also usually some kind of student body activity on Saturday or Sunday night.

As you can see I really have no time to add in a job this semester, but I guess that is kind of what I wanted. It gives me a chance to trust that God will provide for me.

Just call me Sly Fox

I snuck all the way home this weekend!

Thursday after class I left my wonderful school to go see my wonderful family and friends. The only people that were supposed to know were my parents and siblings, but somehow the cat got out of the bag to a couple of my uncles and my grandma.

But the surprise was still good for important one... my best friend. This weekend was homecoming at my high school and Taylor was a candidate, so I wanted to come see her on the big day. When she saw me she started crying :)

I mostly stayed at home hanging out and doing homework. Homework seems to take up most of my life these days. Saturday evening I went to see Grandpa Reimer in the nursing home, my Grandma Wiens came over for supper, and then the family went out on a 4-wheeler ride!

On our journey dad found a giant "mechanical bull" that he decided to ride. Life has no dull moments with that man.

Sunday morning we went to church. I got to go to my parent's college/young adult sunday school class... weird. The class wasn't weird, it's weird to be a "grown up." It was baptism Sunday so I got to see some of my friends go through that. Amazing testimonies. After sunday lunch I drove all the way back to my loving roommate.

I loved seeing everyone again! It was a great weekend!

Just call me 8 Year Old.

Ten years ago today I was sitting in Mrs. Garver's 3rd grade class.

My Principal, Mr. Harshberger, came over the intercom and announced that the twin towers had been attacked by terrorists. I had no idea what the twin towers were, or even what a terrorist was, but I could tell by the look on my teachers face that this was bad news. My class was then taken to the auditorium where they had brought a big TV with the news coverage. Several minutes later, that auditorium full of 8 and 9 year olds watched the towers fall to the ground in heaps of rubble.

I can also remember going home after school and having my mom explain exactly what had happened. I still remember thinking that I was living through a day that would be remembered for decades to come.

So here we are... ten years later. I can't help but think how appropriate it is for the 10 year reunion to fall on a Sunday. The day of the LORD! It was a horrible tragedy, but through it all, God has made his hand known.

I found this webpage that was truly inspiring and a very good reminder of what an awesome God we serve. Check it out if you have 2 extra minutes.

http://www.swapmeetdave.com/United/Where.htm

We all have a story. I told you mine. Feel free to share yours.

Just call me Adventurous

I ran a 5k! At Midnight! It was awesome!

The first e-mail I received in my college e-mail was from the Omaha Midnight Run. I signed up not knowing of anyone else that was going, but I wanted to challenge myself, so i did it anyway. It sounded kind of sketchy (sketch is the favorite word of all Nebraskans, Kansas people don't use it) but when I showed up, it was in a really nice part of town and I found about 10 people that I knew either from school or 8:08.

I also signed up thinking that I would probably come in dead last, but when I got there I realized I could beat a vast majority of the people there. I'll just say there were people of all shapes and sizes. There were over 1200 participants.

My goal: I wanted to finish in under 30 minutes. (I have never, EVER, run a distance race in my life so I had no idea what to expect of myself or aim for but I knew that a 10 minute mile was a pretty good pace)

My strategy: I found 2 ladies in their late 20s early 30s that looked like they would push me, but that I could keep up with. I followed them, probably kinda creeped them out. Oh well.

My journey:  I only stopped once to tie my shoe. Right before the finish line there was a monster hill so most people walked it. Being the competitive person that I am, this made me want to run faster because I saw the opportunity to pass all these people. It was a 2 lap race and I lapped some people, kind of sad.

My finish: I crossed the finish line at 27:something. I forgot to look at the clock. How dumb is that! I think it was around 28 seconds. they didn't give us any official place but I would say I finished in the top 200 - 300. I believe the winner ran a 15:31.

I had a blast and I hope to run some similar races soon!

View from my room!

Just call me Spoiled

For labor day weekend Shawn and Anna took me with them to Atkinson to Phil and Kathy's house.

(FYI this post includes a lot of details to jog the memories of those who have had the pleasure of spending time at Phil & Kathy's. They may be uninteresting to everyone else. sorry.)

It was awesome! I loved just being able to sit around and relax, even though I did homework most of the time.

It's kind of hard to see, but there were several times when we would look around and see that all 5 of us were on our laptops.

Friday we arrived just in time for supper and then made a quick run to watch some West Holt football and a little bit of Phil's band playing.

Saturday we slept in, had a late breakfast, and then had "heavy hors d'oeuvres" (as Shawn preferred to call them) during the Huskers game. I think we forgot that there were only 5 people to eat all the food we made. We are so used to feeding the whole Reimer army.

I should probably add that this picture was taken after everyone had already my several trips through the line.

Of course we had to get "cheap pop" several times during the weekend.

Sunday we went to church in O'Neill and ate lunch at Tia Zia's mexican restaurant. Yumm! We had a double feature movie night. Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black (good movie), and Turbulent Skies which made us all so mad that we couldn't pull ourselves away. Of course we had to have an intermission snack of chicken tenders and MOCHA PUNCH. Quite possibly the best drink ever concocted.

This little guy and I became best buds. We even taught him to put his hands up whenever we say TOUCHDOWN!

Monday afternoon we headed back to the big city. When I got to school I went STRAIGHT to the gym... I ate WAY too much.

Just call me Willing

College life is going great for me! I am making more friends everyday and starting to find my fit here. I have even started to figure out how my whole schedule is going to work. Most of my time is spent doing homework, working out, and hanging out with Kami.

The one part of my schedule that I haven't quite figured out yet though is my afternoons/job. When I got here I applied at a Prairie Life Fitness Center and was lead to believe that they were really looking for someone to fill the position I was applying for. Due to an unusual series of events, I really felt that God had led me to this place and that it was where He wanted me.

I talked to the guy in charge today over the phone and he told me that he didn't need anymore help. Obviously God shut that door on my face. I was pretty discouraged, but I had been noticing throughout the past week that the main reason I wanted the job was for finances, not because I thought that's where God wanted me. I had been ignoring those thoughts obviously.

All of the messages I've heard since I got here have been about putting God first NOW. Well that didn't all really sink in until today when I was talking to my mom and she reminded me that my life verse was Matthew 6:33. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and he will supply all your needs." That was like God slapping me in the face. When had my life verse become a verse that i wasn't living by? Needless to say, I got the picture. I know that Prairie Life Fitness is not the place that I am called to be right now. I am being called to serve God. Where? I don't know, but please pray that I will be listening for His answer. Also, If you have any ideas of places or ministries that could use someone like me to work, I'm not even looking to be paid, let me know. I am 100% willing to go wherever He leads.

Just call me City Girl

Changes, Changes, Changes. My goodness! Life is so different!

From Kansas to Nebraska
From the Country to the City
From Summer to School Year
From a house to a dorm
From a room to my self to a roommate
From a million friends to like 6
From Public School to a Bible College

These are just a few of the differences, and while not all of them were easy transitions, I am getting used to it.

My parents brought me to college on Friday afternoon and left on Sunday afternoon. I was very apprehensive about the move but the longer I was here, the more the thought sunk in and I accepted it. Don't get me wrong, saying goodbye to them was not fun. I do love that the city has so much to offer. I have applied for a job but haven't heard back from them yet.

Kami (my roommate) and I started class on Wednesday and it was a little overwhelming. I do not like that they do everything on the internet. I like holding my assignments and checking off lists, but I will get used to it I suppose.

The only complaint I have about college is that I get bored very quickly. At home I always had a million things to do and parties almost every night. The people on my hall don't really have a lot in common with me, so I have had a hard time finding good friends, and when you don't have friends, you don't really get out and do much. That being said, you can pray that I find some more friends. Kami & I spend most of our time in our room talking. I don't know what I would do without her. We have so much in common and I couldn't have asked for anyone better.

Just call me Dorthy

That girl had it right when she said, "There's no place like home," but if she would have just stayed at home in Kansas, she never would have taught others courage, knowledge, and love. Through the last several weeks one thing has stood out: People from Southwest Kansas are unlike any others in the world. We don't have the luxuries of the big city so we think up our own fun, and I can promise you that no one else could come up with our crazy stupid ideas. I also am surrounded by a thick cloud of SOLID Christian Teenagers. I know there are other youth groups in the world, but come to TLC for one week and I guarantee you'll never want to go anywhere else. They're not just Christians once a week. They're Christians 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But like Dorthy, It's my time to move on. God is taking me to a land somewhere over the rainbow (there might actually be rainbows in Nebraska) so that I can teach people of the love, courage, and knowledge of Jesus Christ my Savior. I know that every day I will want to click my red heels together (one pair of shoes that I actually don't have) and come home, but I realize that God is expecting more from me, and I am ready to follow His lead. 

I'm not gonna be in Kansas anymore Ozzy.

Goodbye Kansas... Hello Omaha.

Just call me Busy Body

Sorry it has been so long!

The last 3 weeks have been INSANELY busy.

July 31 - August 5   I went to the LUC Boys ranch with TLC.
August 5 - 7   I was in York Nebraska at Tanya's wedding.
August 7 - 15   I attended AT LEAST one party a day.
The last couple of days I have spent with my family and packing.

From the beginning...

When some boys go to court they are given the choice of either going to jail or to the Lives Under Construction Boys Ranch. LUC is a Christian organization that works with these boys and tries to bring them to Christ in order to change their lives. They have an 85% success rate. We went there to help them with several building and painting projects. LUC is the most fun summer missions trip because we spend about half of our time on Tablerock Lake. (Any time those two words are mentioned I hear angels singing in my head)

Our group totaled 47. TLC record.

I worked on the crew that was finishing a basement. My job was to frame out walls and put up insulation.

I lead worship for the very last time. After 4 years of building up our music team it was pretty hard to let that go.

Cliff Jumping

Relaxing on Tablerock Lake (angels singing)

Friday (August 5) I said my goodbye to TLC for the very last time. It was not done without tears. TLC has helped me grow so much in my faith throughout my high school career. I KNOW I would not be the solid girl I am now without it. The fellowship with Christian teenagers is unlike any other atmosphere in the world. It is quite possibly the thing I will miss most in Omaha.

Anyway... My family and 3 other kids packed up early and headed out to York, NE for my cousin Tanya's wedding.

We ended up running into traveling troubles because we could not cross the Missouri river, so we had to back track about 40 miles to a 2 lane road that was JAM PACKED full of cars. Needless to say, we showed up to rehearsal about 15 minutes late... did I mention we had the maid of honor with us... oops!

I got to sing in the wedding

It was a beautiful wedding, and the ceremony only lasted about 20 minutes. Short and Sweet!

Tanya & Michael Davis

Super creepy swirly clouds greeted us after the reception.

Sunday (August 7) We decided to see our "Nebraska border cows" on the way home. It was a little out of the way but we felt that it was worth our time.

They are still enjoying the endless pastures of green grass

Since I have gotten home, my hours have been spent strengthening my friendships. I kid you not, most nights I have attended more than one party. I have always been taught that it doesn't matter what THINGS I accomplish in my life, but rather WHO I impact. I wanted to make sure I encouraged my friends to make the most of every opportunity they are given because as I am quickly learning, life moves at a faster pace than you realize.

For some reason they thought it was a good idea to all drive my car while sitting in the front seat. Yes, I'm behind that pile somewhere

My "city friend" Shie came over and we helped work some cattle

CBC bike ride

I spent one day helping these guys pack up all their stuff for P.T. School. They have taken the role of protective older brothers in my life and I will miss them terribly.

I got to eat at Pizza Hut with the Reimer family to say goodbye. Bittersweet moment. I will miss them greatly, but I also realize that I only got to eat with about half of the Reimers... because the other half is in OMAHA!!

My amazing family!

I am exhausted beyond words but I don't regret my "relationship building" decision at all. True friends are always worth my time.

I  have 37 hours left at home. AAAAAHHHHHHH! I am scared to make this step but I know that this is where God wants me to be so I am excited to follow wherever He leads me. However... I would greatly appreciate your prayers: I am very much a farm girl :D