Malori Monday

Happy 30th Birthday to my beautiful and hilarious best friend, Malori Riah!

"Best friends. Besties. BFFs. Peas in a pod. Sisters who would share traveling pants!" 

That's Amy Farrah Fowler's answer when Sheldon asks if she and Penny are friends.  But I think it's cute and fun, so it applies here too. :)  (Sidenote:  I really want to know Penny's last name, but I'm guessing they'll never reveal it.)

Malori, for so many reasons, I am thankful God brought us into each other's lives!  I hope you enjoy your day off, and I'm excited to get to celebrate with you tonight! =)

Thankful Thursday!! (60)

"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God."  ~Philippians 1:3

Today I'm thankful for the thousand ways God has used LifeGroups to connect me to people who have shaped and transformed my life!!

1. Rachel's Group ~ Women's group in Midwest City where I met Eva (pictured left below) and Gwen (right)... Eva had an obvious deep and real walk with God.  Just listening to her talk made me want to be closer to Him!  Gwen was the first to reach out one on one and mentor me (she was 31, I was 21).    She was a huge Joyce Meyer fan and loaned me her Beside the Still Waters tapes - so fantastic!  (I'd seen Joyce at a conference with Josh but hadn't heard much of her since then.)  For the next few months, I got a new Joyce tape or CD set every week from Gwen, and soon started buying some of my own.   
   
2. Chad and Angie's Group ~ Randomly found them online and joined when I moved to Tulsa in 2007.  This is where I met Kristin and Cassie.  Kristin and I are still close today - I was in her wedding last year - she's been a huge encouragement to me spiritually.  And in 2008, she introduced me to Laura Allison, who is one of my very best friends!  Cassie invited me to the CLS (Christian Legal Society) parties, and since I was desperate for friends after the letter, I went.  The first event I went to was in September at a creepy house where she was house-sitting for her boss.  I was half ready to leave, but decided to stay since I heard there was a 'surprise party.'  The party was for the CLS president, Malori Riah.  Cassie decided to hang out outside, and thanks to the biggest spiderweb I've ever seen, I chose not to join her.  So I stayed back and listened to Malori telling stories that made everyone laugh, thinking to myself that she was obviously the coolest person there.  (This was September 2007 - it was a belated surprise birthday party for Malori because her brother died only a few days before her birthday that year.  I was there because all my friends had abandoned me and I needed to branch out and try to connect with new people.  And God knew what He was doing the whole time.  I love that!!)  I could go on for pages about how Malori and Laura have changed my life - I love them both and thank God for them!
   
3. Ruth's Group ~ I heard they were doing Beth Moore's Daniel study and decided to join!  (Mom had done it earlier that year and loved it.)  The first night I'd planned to go was June 12, 2007 - the exact day I got the letter from JMM.  Mmmm, God's timing!  This was a group of one mother, three grandmothers, and me.  But it wasn't ever awkward and they never made me feel out of place.  No, they listened to me and prayed for me and encouraged me through all the confusion, pain, and drama of that year.  The fact that they were older and had some perspective on the fact that life goes on after broken relationships was really helpful.  Ruth and Charlotte are both awesome and fun and encouraging, women I'm truly thankful for!
   
4. Diving Deeper Group ~ Kristin, Bobbi, and I co-founded and co-lead this group in the beginning.  This is where I met Chet Lee, my healthiest male friendship to date.  And through this group, I met Jeff, Liz, Nathan, Jennie, Sarah Heiskell, Mindi, Caleb, Karli, Steve, etc.  This has been my core social group for most of my life in Tulsa!  Leading the group through John Eldredge studies and planning Eugene Field parties and micromissions forced me to step up and be more confident.
   
5. BattleCreek Community Group ~ Through this group, I met Brittany Bolt, an awesomely confident and Christlike woman who became my friend and eventually my roommate.  Through knowing her, I learned that her sister's home was destroyed in the Joplin tornado, and got a joint LC/BC group together to go and help.
   
6. Diving Deeper Women's Group ~ This group is where I met Talhia Hodges, Lindsay Johnson, and Kelly Hall!  Talhia is my 5k running buddy and has quickly become my closest married friend. :)  Lindsay started a mentoring group where we meet with her mom a couple times a month to ask questions and learn from her.  And Kelly has been kind and genuine and encouraging from the beginning.  I'm also thankful for the opportunity to share my testimony with this group (click my picture to the right for a recap).
   
7. Cameron's Women's Group ~  I only went to this group one time.  It was December 2011, as Mom was still recovering from their major car wreck.  I needed some encouragement and heard they were studying Captivating - and no one loves John Eldredge more than I do! :)  During prayer requests, one of the girls mentioned looking for a new job.  So I said I wasn't very happy with my job either, and had thought of going back to school for Psychology/Counseling.  Cameron's mother (pictured with her below) just so happened to be a psychologist who had graduated from SNU, so she told me all about their awesome one-night-a-week program.  Less than a month later, I was enrolled and preparing to start school!!
   

It's amazing the life-changing connections that can come from stepping out and trying a LifeGroup!  You never know where it will lead.  Every friend in my life right now I met through a LifeGroup or LG connection.  I'm so thankful for the way God has worked through His people in my life!!

Graduation Week! =)

It's been a fantastic week, thanks to my friends and family! =)

Here are a few pictures to prove it:

Surprise Graduation Party, courtesy of Lauralai Allison!  Compete with a cap and gown, diploma, ceremonial hooding, speech by Laura, Pomp and Circumstance played on the kazoo, tasty cupcakes, "Dr. Muecke" drink, trivia games, and prizes! =)  So creative and fun!  (You can tell it was a surprise for me because I'm still in workout clothes and tennis shoes... not my favorite choice with the cap and gown. lol)

 Card from Laura, Kristin, and Sarah + Card from Malori =)

The first text message I've ever received from Laura - in fine poetic form, of course! lol

More fun pics from the Graduation Party, Merritt's Tuxedo cake from Malori (yum!), and a pocket coin and class yearbook from SNU! :)

My very frame-worthy diploma, calligraphed by Laura Allison!

 Shifting gears, here's a rare and priceless pic of me building a shelf!! lol  

Mom came over to wait for Mathis Brothers to deliver shelves as I was at work... then she found some cheaper and more functional shelves at Target and assured me we could put them together ourselves!  So we cancelled the MB order and spent the next 6 hours wearing ourselves out putting these together... I finally organized the books today, and I really love these shelves (and the new valance Mom got me)!  Pretty sure I'll refer to this room as my 'library' or my 'study' now!  How fun is that!?

 One of the signs for Charli's wedding - it was fun seeing them on our way to the Golf Club!

Trying to stay cool in the 93-degree weather!  They put their programs on fans, which was a great idea... and Laura packed her own fancy fan! lol

 Me and 3 of my favorite people!  I seem to call all my favorite people by their first and middle names - just makes me happy!

Malori Riah and Chet Lee dancing during the "money dance!"  Shortly after that, a June bug tried to attack me, so we made an early exit.

So there's the short version in pictures!  I also got a nice card and Cheesecake Factory gift card from Kristen Harriss, so all around, I'm feeling loved and celebrated and very thankful!  Also, randomly, I bought a great new pillow at Bed, Bath, & Beyond (it's so hard to find the right firmness and all that, but I had good luck this time)!  

So yay for a great "graduation week" - including time to relax and watch movies, line dancing at a great friend's wedding (CONGRATS to Chet and Karli!), Starbucks with Tahlia, redecorating my library room with Mom, an unexpected graduation party from Laura, sooo much cake, and getting to hang out with Malori in Tulsa!  Hopefully the real graduation week in December will be fun too! :)  For tomorrow, it's back to working hard on pleas, beginning 5k training with Talhia, and starting the 30-day cleanse diet from Emily.  Wish me luck!

DONE!!

I now have my Bachelor of Science Degree in Family Studies & Gerontology from SNU-Tulsa... with perfect attendance and all A's. lol  Yay, me!! :)  I'm so happy and relieved to be done - and very ready for a break!

After we all gave our last presentation over our practicum (the teacher cut our time limit in half at the last minute, but it went well anyway), we signed each others yearbooks, ate cupcakes, then got in a circle and prayed together one last time.  I love that!  Rather than write something new for the blog, I'm just gonna copy and paste a bit of the FSG section of my "Reflections" paper...

          The Family Studies and Gerontology (FSG) program at Southern Nazarene University (SNU) coincides perfectly with my beliefs, values, and goals.  I am very thankful for my experience at SNU over the past 16 months.  I appreciate that we take time to pray for each other, both in and out of class.  The small class size and relaxed atmosphere has been perfect for creating real connections that allow students to learn from each other as well as our instructors.  I have learned a lot from each of my classmates, courses, and professors at SNU.

            My 11 FSG classmates have become friends who challenge and encourage me, both directly and indirectly.  Joan Brown, Beverly Litterell, and Jessica Kelly have each gone out of their way to encourage and support me, and I am so grateful for that.  As a phlegmatic introvert, I love to quietly listen and observe, and I have learned so much from the personal stories shared by each of my SNU friends.  It strengthens my faith in God to see the authenticity and heart of compassion in classmates who have endured great personal crises, including cancer, assault, and the death of beloved family members. I will remember the quiet honesty and sarcastic humor of Megan McCall, the bubbly optimism and friendliness of Annora Gilliss, the compassion and wisdom of Joan Brown, the kindness and determination of Megan Lawrence, the confident eloquence and awesome sense of humor of Jessica Kelly, the personal strength and selfless courage of Amber Brafford, the overflowing vibrant joy and beautiful singing voice of Kelly Holliday, the heart for service and the subtle humor of Mike Hall, the lighthearted feistiness and personal growth of Gary Hubbell, the loving warmth and powerful faith of Beverly Litterell, and the soft heart and sarcastic humor of Michael Jackson.  I am thankful for each of my classmates, and I believe the timing of my decision to return to school was orchestrated by God so that I would be with this specific group of students.

Truth be told, I don't really have a clue what all the future will hold, but I'm not stressing about it at this point!  For now, I'm excited about going for the Doctorate (a recent decision that I haven't announced on the blog yet, so there it is)!  And I'm celebrating that I have my Bachelor's Degree!!  

Goodbye, TF-34.  It went by faster than I ever expected!

I'm back! :)

Classic Lauralai Allison message:

"I sense a disturbance in the Force. You haven't blogged in forever. But you also haven't announced that you're not blogging. I do not know what to make of any of this. Please alert me if I should be concerned or bring you a casserole."

=)

All is well - I'm just busy with trying to finish up school, and haven't felt compelled to write or like I have much interesting to say lately... it'll pass, I'm quite certain. lol

For now, here's a few fun pictures - mostly of my adorable nephews:

Love this one of Jace playing a game with Mom and Rach!!  Such a good smile! :)

 He loves his Blue Bell ice cream... and his Grandad!

 Haha, love this!!  He was worried about getting in trouble for biting it.

He loved playing in these big blue flower pots in Mom and Dad's backyard!  So cute!

Summer fun - Parrish Fam swimming at JB's pool (I went to a class thing at SNU, not realizing that "dinner" would be served at 4:30 and everyone would leave JB's by 6:00 - sad - fortunately, Mom has a nice camera now too and got several good pics)! :)

Rach will regret wearing the big earrings someday soon when he reeeally grabs hold. lol  I do love her colorful headband in this pic (made from the fabric in Kyndal's nursery room)!

 T-man and Carter hangin out by the hot tub... no watermelon this time, but still a great pic!  And Emily and Jace playing in the background. :)

The name sign we made for Kyndal's nursery... I wrote and "swirled" it, then Rach spent the rest of the day gluing tiny little Swarovski crystals one by one to cover every flower on the board!  And apparently, because she's crazy insane - lol, she's now gluing two rows for a border and going over every letter and swirl - so it'll be completely covered in them... gracious!  That should keep her busy till Kyndal's born! lol

Me making signs for Chet and Karli's wedding (Mom came down to Tulsa to help, and was smart enough to bring gloves so I could avoid splinters)! lol  

The wood was rough and made the project much harder than expected, but they all turned out pretty cute!

And now, it's time for bed.   I can't even handle the cute fluffiness of this Boo photo. :)

I was up till 4am writing my Practicum Paper Thursday... slept till noon on Friday, then stayed up till 3am making signs with Mom... then slept till 9 today.  All that to say, my sleep schedule is all thrown off and I'm worn out!  But a real break is coming soon, because my LAST CLASS is Monday night!!  Get excited! =D

P.S.  A very Happy Father's Day to my Dad, Grandad, and Josh tomorrow!!  
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