Random Babble - Unfinished thoughts

So at Discovery class today, one of the pastors was questioned on his beliefs about evolution. I agreed with what he said. Basically, he doesn't believe the bible should be taken as a book of science nor does he believe the creation story was literally 7 days (24 hours each). After all the sun and stars were not created until the 4th Day...therefore God's "days" are obviously not our days since we base ours on the sun. Then someone asked if man possibly evolved from something else...what about Adam and Eve? Did they exist? After class, I mentioned that a class I had taken in anthropology stated that at some point in the development of mankind, God chose two people to establish his Covenant with and breathed life into them. It's an interesting theory, but of course, it's just speculation. I mentioned that in the long run it's really unimportant...and didn't really have a chance to qualify why I said it was unimportant. Of course it's important to know that God made the universe and man, but maybe it's not important to understand all of the details. I struggled with that through high school. Some Christians say that evolution is absolutely false and the Genesis story is literal, but as someone trained in biological science...it seems as if the evidence points toward evolution rather than against it (there are still a lot of flaws with the theory of evolution). Eventually I decided
1. I believe the bible to be God's word.
2. The creation in genesis was not meant to be taken as a scientific work - more poetic
3. my understanding of how exactly God created the world is in the end...unnecessary.

I don't have to understand it. With 100% certainty I can say that even if He told me it would be completely beyond my comprehension. HOWEVER, just because I believe in evolution does not minimize the fact that God created everything. I can believe both in evolution and God's creation and the two do not conflict. After I decided that in college/high school, I felt a lot more peace about it..and stopped worrying about it.

The facts I do know are really important and central to my faith:

1. God created the universe
2. God created man in His image and gave mankind freewill.
3. Man undervalued God, overestimated himself, and sinned against God.
4. God is entirely perfect in every way. Therefore imperfection (ie sinful man) cannot be in His presence and live. The penalty is death and eternal separation from God, and Satan stands ready to accuse.
5. Man is utterly incapable of saving himself.
6. God in His infinite mercy sends His perfect, holy Son to pay the penalty so man can be restored God's presence if he accepts Christ as Lord and Savior.
7. Jesus is fully God
8. Jesus is the only way to Heaven.
9. After accepting Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells within the believer.
10. God is present today and as powerful as He ever was. He still works on the Earth and within the hearts of those that dwell on it.

There are probably some things I'm leaving off that list, and I certainly don't have all the answers. ;) But that sums up what I think is "important."


*sigh* Goodnight! I got my thoughts out and now I'm ready for bed! Sorry for any typos.

Cha-cha-cha-cha-changes!

Here I am in parasitology...updating my blog before he starts lecturing...

Fall is definitely on the way. There's a crispness in the air and the wind has picked up. So the change of seasons is imminent. I'm ready for fall...but I wish it would just stay fall until spring again! I'm not ready to have scrape the windows every morning. Chase and I have a hard enough time getting out the door on time as it is.


Chase and I are both very busy. Some nights he doesn't even get home until nightfall. I generally have to study most evenings (although sometimes that means just wasting time while i work up the "energy" to study - like tonight).

We're taking the Discovery class at the Crossing. So far we both agree with everything ^_^

Cloudy days

Another Plumeria painting...




Today was the second dreary, cloudy day in a row....so naturally have the vet school and I woke up feeling pretty darn grumpy! Today felt like my mind was just as cloudy as the outside. However as the day progressed I exercised a bit and started feeling better. Now Chase and I are sitting down to watch Second Hand Lions... an excellent movie...the perfect way to end a cloudy day.

I painted something!

This past weekend, we celebrated my birthday with Pad Thai, Cake, Andies Frozen Custard, and movies and crafts. I painted with my new Twinkling H2Os. They are pretty fun! The twinkle doesn't scan, but the color of the paints was more vivid than I expected (a pleasant surprise).

This week is a mild week....so I need to be on top of things and prepare for the bad weeks coming! We'll see how well my self-discipline works...

Peace to all!

Pigs, critters, and gas

Random news: Chase and I decided to take the discovery class with The Crossing to see if we want to become members of the church. I'm looking forward to the class. I really like The Crossing.

Happy birthday to Anna, Will, and Sarah this month (although I'm late on 2 out of 3)!


So this week has been busy and stressful for both Chase and me. Firstly, it's already midterm time in the vet school so this week I had a quiz, a presentation, and 3 tests. Chase's lab work is picking up intensity as well. Even though I think it's bordering on unreasonable, he is expected to work in the lab 40 hours a week including one day of the weekend (every week). That's rough! Expectations are extremely high, but I'm sure he will excel!


At Smoker (a party VM2 students throw for the first year vet students) we ate a pig. It was tasty, but I don't generally like it when my food stares at me before I eat it. Very odd indeed...

And this, my friends, is a brown recluse. Perhaps the most useful thing I've learned this semester is how to identify a brown recluse. They are dainty little spiders formerly known as "fiddle backs" because of the fiddle shape on their backs. You might be able to see it if you click on the picture. I keep finding them in the apartment. Apparently wolf spiders eat them...so maybe i need some wolf spiders around (but they look scarier).

This is the finished product of our bedroom. It remains the neatest room in the apartment. Both of us were please with how well everything coordinated ^_^

Today, I took some out of studying to finally set up the bread dough (which involved going to wal-mart) outlined by the bread making book Aunt Kerry gave us. I love bread so I can't wait to actually try my hand at making a loaf. Haha, ever since we moved into the apartment..the empty case has been sitting in my refrigerator - begging to be used ^_^


Saturday is my birthday :)

Well that's all for today folks! God Bless and take care! Goodnight/morning

Video of the doggies!

I just posted a youtube video of Ruby, Gary, and Chase ^_^

Full Speed Ahead

Today completes the second week of school. The second week!!! Tests are back to being near constant events. Luckily my classes are the most interesting they have been yet: Virology, Bacteriology, Pathology, and Parasitology. In the beginning instructional periods my classes covered "normal" animal health...the last one of last school year still had a couple of "normal" and 2 "abnormal." This semester is all about when things go wrong - viruses, parasites, and bacteriology and the pathology they cause! I'm enjoying it, but the constant onslaught of tests will wear me out quickly!

However, marriage is still wonderful. Every morning I wake up, get dressed, take the dogs out, feed the dogs, eat breakfast, see if Chase is awake, make coffee, convince/push Ruby into her crate, and head out the door - portable coffee cups in hand. We tend to run late often so Chase drops me off at the top of the hill, and he goes and parks the car while my first class begins ^_^

Both of our dogs are "in training," but I'd say it's going well. Both of them know "Get in your bed," sit, down, and wait. I just wish I could train them to brush their teeth....


chewing louse

The puppies keeping me company as I study. Haha, they generally follow me around (because I'm the one who feeds and walks them).



Oh! The first round of thank you cards went out. I still have a bunch to go and I'm slowly working on them!

Random Pictures

Before....


After...it's looking much better!

Pets?

I <3 the couch.

Pictures of Married Life + 2 Dogs

Ruby is proudly displaying her spay scar. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it, and it looks like it's healing quite well. It's good to know she won't have any more puppies! It was difficult enough to find homes for the three she already had. We also got her microchipped so we can hopefully find her easily if she ever gets lost!

Gary is soaking up some loving and Ruby is jealous! It was pretty cute. She would have laid on top of Gary if he would have let her (he wouldn't). We'll have to try uploading the video of it soon!

On August 25, Chase and I celebrated our 1st month as a married couple. Chase cooked spaghetti from scratch, green beans, and bread. It was quite delicious!

I pulled out the new dishes, wine glasses, candle holders, platter, coasters for the occasion. Aunt Betty donated 2 chairs that actually fit under the table. Haha...we're still finding homes for all of the wedding gifts, and it's fun to start using them! Thanks everybody!

Blog update soon - promise

Meanwhile here is a picture of me, Ruby, and Chase ^_^

ATC catch up?

I have a lot of free time on my hands while Chase works on his thesis. I should probably reread my notes from VM1...but that doesn't sound like much fun. So today I finished cards for two swaps.


Whimsical Kitties

Tim Burton themed.



I think I've used up my creative juices for one day though. I think I'm ready to leave the lab, but Chase is still hard at work.

Flowers and Critters of the Smokys

These are some of my photos :)

Great Smoky Mountains

The first place we went was Clingman's Dome - the highest point in the Smokys. Of course it was foggy and we could barely see a thing.

Then we set of on some trails. Chase looked at birds, and I took pictures of the critters and flowers.

We drove the Cade's Cove loop and visited all of the historic buildings. It's a beautiful drive, even though we had to stop for traffic every time a rather tame deer was spotted (which was often)

Then we set up camp for our last night on the road. The next day we headed home.

August 1 - Congaree, King's Mountain, Cowpens

Congaree was probably my favorite National Park we visited during this trip. It's a beautiful swamp and the largest old-growth floodplain left on the continent. Did I mention it has 2.4 miles of boardwalk? I was rather happy that I didn't have to worry about stepping on a snake!



Is Chase deep in thought, lost in the beauty of the majestic trees? Or is he looking for a bird?

I loved the way the trees twisted and curl as they competed for the sunlight.

Our last two stops for the evening were King's Mountain, where the tides turned in favor of the American rebels during the Revolutionary War, and Cowpens, another battle site in the Revolutionary War. We spent a little too much time at King's Mountain...and arrived to Cowpens just in time to get the stamp before the park closed so I didn't learn as much at Cowpens...

After leaving Cowpens, we set off toward the Great Smoky Mountains. We stayed at a hotel in Cherokee, NC right outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Fort Moultrie and Charles Pinckney NHS

The evening of July 31 we went south to the Charleston area to Fort Moultrie and the Charles Pinckney NHS.

Fort Moultrie had a exhibit dedicated to the WAC. Nannie was stationed at Charleston during her service in the WAC. I was hoping to find a list of names, but no luck! Still...I can just picture her in a uniforn not too different from this one.

Fort Moultrie was basically a series of mound with tunnels and such through them. And some big guns...

We arrived at the Charles Pinckney NHS 10 minutes before it closed so we didn't get to spend as much time as we would have liked here. Here is what the website says about the site

"Charles Pinckney was a principal author and a signer of the United States Constitution. This remnant of his coastal plantation is preserved to tell the story of a "forgotten founder," his life of public service, the lives of enslaved African Americans on South Carolina Lowcountry plantations and their influences on Charles Pinckney."

After those two parks we head north west and stayed in a hotel very close to Congaree, the next national park we wanted to visit.

Huntington Beach - South Carolina

Huntington Beach was one of our favorite stops in South Carolina. It had lots of critters and birds. We discovered it one evening, and then returned for half a day the next day before carrying on our journey westward toward the Smoky Mountains.