Growing in God

I decided it was time I make a more fun post, something just a little less serious. I have another serious post brewing in my mind, but I want to get that post down on paper and process all my thoughts before I make it official! So, in the meantime, here is a more fun subject! Are of any you an Aunt or an Uncle? Well, technically, I'm not. My older sister and her husband do not have kids, yet, and my younger brother is still in High School and smart enough to wait to have kids. But, I do have a cousin, who is more like a sister to me than a cousin, and she has 3 kids who all consider me to be their "Auntie Tori". And I love it! I also have another cousin, who is like a big brother to me, and him and his wife have a little boy that I kind of consider to be like a nephew, too. And let me tell you, even though I am not for real auntie, being an honorary one, is just as amazing! Kids, honestly, just bring so much joy and laughter. Yes, kids are not always bundles of fun, ...

So, lately I have been thinking back on my High School experience and things that I wish I did and advice I wish I knew before I even started High School. I also have just been thinking about if I really enjoyed High School or not and just what it was like for me. In all honesty, High School was actually a pretty good experience for me. I mean, it had its moments where I just wanted it to be over with, but over all it really was not so bad, but I did learn some things that I do wish people told me about before I was in High School. So, I am going to share those things with all of you, and this advice will be great for those who are in High School or are about to start High School. First and foremost, give your best effort 100% of the time, not just when you realize you are a junior and you need to get your grades up in order to get into a decent college. I will be honest, I did not give my best effort my freshman year. My grades were not that great and I do wish I had tried harder my...

Ok, this was a post that I just decided was needed to make. And basically, I am going to tell you all what most days are like for me, and all it is I do in a day. Yes, right now, I do not have a job, but I am trying really hard to find one! So, I usually spend some time job searching and filling out applications. Some days I babysit my niece and nephew in the afternoon or morning for a couple of hours. I get the groceries myself if it is a day my mom is not feeling good, but if my mom is feeling good we both go out together. On Wednesdays I have Kids Hope and go to mentor my student. I do pretty much all the cleaning around the house, my mom does like to help me a little bit if she can, but most of the time she can't. Me and my mom cook supper together right now, sometimes I even do all the cooking if my mom just is not feeling up to it. I take care of the dishes and the after supper clean up. Right now me and my mom do the laundry together. I gather it all up and bring it to the l...

In going through this cancer journey with my mom, most days are very tough and I just sit and think about how much I want this to be over with and how much I want everything to be ok and how much I want life to just be back to normal. But, then, there are days when I am reminded just how good God really is and that he has everything under control. The biggest way I have been show that, is just through all the love and support from friends, family, and even complete strangers. My family did a big fundraiser for my mom back in December where they raised money and for every $100 raised, someone in my family shaved their head. And when we reached the $1000 mark, my cousin, Heather shaved her head! It was so amazing to see all the love and support and we just turned it into a super fun night of shaving, laughing, smiling, and enjoying each others company. Over $1500 was raised for my mom to help with medical bills with that fundraiser! And it just reminded me that I am ...

Social media is a great thing. Heck, I am using it at this very moment to write this blog post. But if there is one thing I have learned about social media, always be careful about what you post on any sort of social media site. Because here is the reason: once you do it, its out there, and there is nothing you can do to keep it from spreading, even if you delete it. When I was like middle school aged through maybe my sophomore year of High School. I was not always so great about the things I posted. A majority of it was just random harmless stuff, but there was the occasional thing that would just be completely stupid. And it would always come back to bite me. Even if it is a video on youtube, it can come back to bite you. You might be wondering why I am even making this post, well there is a girl that I am friends with on facebook, who is my age, who posts every piece of drama that goes on her life on facebook and then has the audacity to get mad when people react and make comments ...

I just started reading a book that my mom got my for Christmas. Here is the title: Becoming Myself: Embracing God's Dream of You by: Stasi Eldredge. So far I have gotten through the first 2 chapters, and no I am not a slow reader. I am taking my time with this book, being sure to underline things I like and taking notes in one of my notebooks about what the book is trying to tell me, and what God is trying to tell me. So far, I have found a lot of really good lines that have really touched me. My favorite one being: "I may disappoint, but I am not a disappointment. I fail, but I am not a failure." This line just has reminded me that I may do things from time to time that I fail at or I disappoint someone, but so does everyone else around me. The main thing to remember is just because that happens, does not mean that it defines me. I am NOT a disappointment and I am NOT a failure. There have been many other words that have touched me as well, so far. But I will post ju...

When you find out someone you love has cancer, there are so many thoughts and emotions. When the doctor first came in the room, after removing my moms gall bladder, and told me and my aunt that she had cancer, I literally went numb. I felt as if a ton of brick dropped on top of me and I was just stuck underneath them. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and I lost it, crying, barely taking a breath in between sobs. The pain, is indescribable. You can't truly understand it, unless you are going through it. I could try to tell you all I want what it feels like, but you cannot truly understand it, unless you go through it yourself. I barely remember what happened after the doctor told us. I remember holding my aunt tight. I remember trying to call people, but being unable to, so my aunt made the calls. I remember walking up to my moms hospital room. But that is it. I then remember crying so much I gave myself a nasty headache and I remember try...

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all stayed safe and had a fun new year! Thinking back on 2014, and boy was it crazy. It started out amazing. I had a nanny job that I loved and I was able to support myself some and I was finally feeling more independent in life. I did Kids Hope and loved that, I was helping out at church and doing things at church from time to time. My mom started a new job. Life was good and was coming together and I really had no major complaints. Heck, we even survived one of the nastiest winters in Michigan, in my lifetime. Then spring rolled around. My nephew, Jackson, was welcomed into the world! I love that boy to pieces. I had a cousin who got diagnosed with potential Ovarian Cancer, but then we saw God work a miracle and it was found the tumor was benign and there was no cancer! How amazing!! But then, at the end of the school year, I was told I was no longer needed as a nanny for the kids I was watching. At that time it wasn't a super huge...