Close To You: A Birthday Post!

On the day that you were born,
the angels got together
and decided to create a dream come true . . .

Not too shabby, eh?!?   ;p

I decided that since my parents were pretty much the major part of this day being a thing, I'd call them up and ask them to share one of their first memories of the day of my birth. So without further adieu, the story of me:

From mom: 

You were born in the afternoon and you were two weeks early. I was so surprised when I realized I was going into labor that I just packed a bag real quick and jumped in the cab wearing my pajamas and my hair rollers. It was like a Carol Burnett moment! And I gave birth to you in my pajamas and hair rollers too! You weighed 6 pounds. And we gave you your name—we had it picked out and it's the one I really wanted to give you. I wanted a little girl so bad and I got what I wanted! I was very happy to have you. You had jaundice, so I had to keep taking you back to the hospital for check-ups. I told the doctors that I'd keep bringing you back, as long as I could bring you home! I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world.  You were very smart, very cute, very everything we ever wanted.

From dad: 

The day before you were born, I was out in Stuttgart, which is almost 2 and a half hours away from Nuremberg Hospital. I worked that morning on the 2nd and then I went home to get some sleep. When I finally got home, my sergeant called me and told me to call him back. When I did, he said, "Hey boy, somebody called and said your wife is going to have your baby! You need to come home right now!" I was half asleep, but I went home, got packed as fast as I could through the snow, and drove to Nuremburg. I was so tired, I stopped all along the way at three different Gast Hauses to get some espresso to make it to you! I finally got to the hospital and asked if the baby had already been born, and they said no, and I was so relieved! After you were born, I was so excited to see my baby girl! You had a tremendous amount of beautiful black hair. You were so beautiful, my Mandy Pandy.

They also shared some other milestones with me and some of their thoughts of who I was as I was growing up. It really made me appreciate the way they navigated through my shenanigans. I have truly lived a blessed life full of ups and downs and I am looking forward to another year of wonderful milestones and memories!

Today's wonderful birthday wouldn't have been as awesome without hearing their stories, and without the love I got from ALL of my friends! Here are some other great moments from my special day:

 A sweet note from one of our work volunteers, Gale

 A fruit tray that Gale got me—she knows I'm doing the game on diet, so she brought me fruit with Greek Yogurt! Then she and my boss sat down and told me all of their favorite things about me and what they appreciated about me. :) 


Then I went over to Alisa's house and she treated me to pizza from my favorite pizza joint, Pagliacci Pizza! She also baked me a cake and invited some people to come over and join us for a nice evening before my big trip—PERRRRFECT!

My friend Maggie brought over this creative snack tray for me!

 This is the AMAZING cake that Alisa baked for me! It was yellow cake with chocolate frosting—my fave!! I had told her daughter that I was turning 4, so they got me a 4 candle to blow out.  ;p

 All my cards and my birthday balloon from the evening!

And I finished the night, coming home to
this sweet birthday message from my housemates!

Today, I truly felt celebrated! I'm looking forward to many more years of celebrating!

Forever Young

portrait of a young artist

Yesterday was Vanessa's first day of Kindergarten! I still don't have any pictures of her from yesterday or today, but I got to listen to her on the phone last night go into great detail about her class, her new friends, what she wore, and how excited she was to have a princess backpack.

Her favorite thing to do in class is draw pictures. I asked her what she drew and she said, "The park and the sunshine and the grass and me and mommy and daddy and Annabelle. And the sky. . . and . . . other stuff I can't remember." I said I was proud of her and I encouraged her, "Listen babe, no matter what anyone says, you draw whatever is in your imagination, okay?" She excitedly replied, "Okay!" It's fun being an aunt and watching this little girl grow up knowing she can take on the world!

It's so crazy to grasp the fact that she's already in Kindergarten. I rest easier knowing she LOVES school and loves making friends. She told me about some of her classmates and why she likes them and how she is happy to have "more new" friends. It's comforting to know that just as much as she is into more solitude-centric arts, she is also a wild child with lots of love to share with others.

One exciting thing I'm working towards and saving up for is to pay for an airline ticket for one of my family members and Vanessa to fly up to Seattle to visit next summer! She's growing so much and I would love for her to experience the "world outside," even as a little girl. I live for the moments where I can share my world with her. One of my favorite things I share with her is a little phrase I taught her when she was younger. I would scoop her up in my arms, hold her close and say, "Look, I'm holding you like a baby!" And every time I see her and spend time with her, it warms my heart to see her smile and exclaim, "Aunt Manda, hold me like a baby!" And I do, and we share a close, warm moment together and time seems to stop altogether. I know it won't last long, but I hope she grows up knowing she can come to me at any point in her life and I will hold her "like a baby."

I can't wait to see what this little miss grows up to be!

Easter, 2010

Wonder

More updates from my trip back home!

Okay so here are more beach pictures and a fun story to go with them. :D

To begin, I must confess, I am known by my family as the aunt who spoils my niece, Vanessa, rotten. I do. Ever since she was a baby she had me wrapped around her little fingers. I bought her so much stuff and every time I babysat her, we went shopping together. We've made about 4 Build-A-Bear bears together. She says, "I want that." and I say, "Here, have TWO!" I am the bad aunt. I always give her fun toys and sweet treats . . . when you're 'love language' is gifts . . . it can be a scary battlefield to trot. I am slowly learning to draw lines in right places. I kind of picked up on my treacherous training when I was last at home. I went to go see her and she says, "Are you going to take me shopping and get me a lot of cool new toys? Are we going to get new clothes? Let's go!!"

Oy Vey—the monster I've created. So now I'm moving toward teaching her limits and choices when it comes to gifts. After she said that, I took her shopping, but I told her she could only get 2 things. She kept begging for like 8 different things, but I only let her have 2 and I told her she had to choose, that way when all was said and done, it was her choice. I, too, am learning.

So one of my favorite things is that she now knows that when I come home, I'm going to bring her books . . . and she LOVES to read! And that makes me way happy! In fact, I was on the phone the other day with my mom and she was telling me how much like me Vanessa is. She told me how Vanessa likes to read and draw and will just spend lots of time sitting by herself with a nose in a book, consumed. She loves stories and she loves being adventurous. And that also makes me happy :D Last time I visited, I bought her Where The Wild Things Are, which was one of my favorite books as a kid. My mom says that she requests to read that book the most! So this time I brought her home another one of my favorites, Knots On A Counting Rope. She was really excited to get new books :D

On Saturday night at the hotel, I had one of the best conversations with Vanessa. I talked with her about giving to others and about loving people no matter what they look/sound/act like. I also told her an important secret: "You don't always have to do what adults tell you to do." I explained to her that one day there will be something she will really love to do and there will be people who tell her she shouldn't do it, and I reiterated—"You don't always have to do what adults tell you to do." Most would think this is a terrible thing to tell a kid. But she's got a good head on her shoulders. She has a good heart and I am trusting and believing that as she grows, she will learn to test and set limits based on her own judgement and not define her life solely based on what others say or do. I never want her to lose sight of her dreams that she will want to chase as she grows into an amazing little lady.

Shortly after that, she and I had a FUN pillow fight and we were both jumping on the hotel beds and hitting each other with pillows and tackling one another. It was the BEST EVER!! :D I love spending time with her and I know that the things I teach her, she will pass on to her baby sister, who she and I absolutely adore! :D

With that, here are more fun pictures from the beach:

Vanessa was trying to wash the dirt off of the jellyfish
(dont' worry, we made sure she didn't touch the jellyfish)

The family all gathered around chillaxin' at the beach

A cute pic of my sister and my niece, Annabelle

My sister doing a jello shot . . . i don't think she has decided whether she likes it or not. This is going in my weird family face collection . . . the fact that I even have such a collection says something about my family ;) PS: most of the pics in that collection are of me. :O

Vanessa's cousin Sable after Vanessa & Major buried her in the sand

Vanessa & her cousin Major playing in the sand

Vanessa was so intrigued by the fish. She loves their bright colors and she kept pointing to the clownfish, automatically naming him Nemo. ;)

You I Wind Land And Sea

Proof that I still play with my food. :D

I'm so sorry I've been MIA for the past few days, but this vacation was truly jam packed! I was having WAY too much fun hanging out with my friends and family live and in person!! woo hoo! I didn't have much time for any tumblr or blogspot updates! So, to hold you over until my mega update/adventure post tomorrow, here are a couple of pictures I took (more will be added tomorrow and in the following days) and a video that I took from the reunion! Primarily, these are of the grandkids (not my grandkids, duh, just in general they are grandkids). I love capturing their fun interactions on camera. I hope they never outgrow it.

Sable, Major, & Vanessa creating castles and other fantastic things.

Annabelle playing with a fun learning toy

Sweet dreams for my two princesses—i love my nieces!

Every year for our family reunion, we make family t-shirts. My mom's side of the family is the Arroyo family. They asked me to make the design for the shirts this year with simple guidelines: it has to have the family name on it and it has to have the UT Longhorns logo on it. Since my family is heavily involved in sports, primarily baseball, I made our shirts resemble baseball shirts, with a complete "team roster" on the back of the shirt! The kelley green with white lettering shirts were for the adults/older grandkids and the white shirts with the green lettering were for the smaller grandkids who couldn't fit into the bigger sizes. They all liked them a lot! :D

And here is a video that will probably be shown to their respective boy/girlfriends when they get older, to show just "what cute kids" they were ;)

Major and Vanessa spaz dancing! :D

Beach Comber

Our family reunion has come and gone . . . it's a truly bittersweet moment. Over the course of the past 2 days, I've had tons of laughs, one really good cry, taken in some of the sweetest moments with the nieces, had great conversations with relatives and discovered even more things about myself and my family. We're heading back to Austin today, hopefully under the influence of some strong caffeine. I've really enjoyed the time I've gotten to spend with my mom's side of the family and I'm incredibly grateful to be blessed with such awesome relatives!

Some of the highlights of the trip to Houston have been:

- Meeting up with the fam for the first time in Columbus for lunch and getting to hug everyone :D

- Getting mooned by cousin John while driving into Galveston

- Beach time and laughs with the cousins

- Cracking cascarones on people's heads . . . and inside their pants as they bend over (SNEAK ATTACK!) :D

- Reuniting with my extended family at the community center for the reunion.

- Laughing at pretty much every other statement that came out of my cousin John's mouth . . . he's seriously so freakin' hilarious! No courtesy laughs necessary!

- Hanging in the hotel lobby with Gaylyn and Caitlin

- Game Night with the family and making up bogus answers while playing Last Word

- Grubbin' down on some family favorite foods . . . like:

Broccoli, Rice, and Cheese casserole!!!

It's weekends like this that make me wish I was able to fly home more often. Christmas is sooooo far away. But I guess that just means I will need to write more letters home :D

Blood Bank

Hello everyone!

I realize that the readers of this blog come from all different religious/non-religious backgrounds, but I am asking you to lift up some prayers/send good thoughts/send positive vibes/send non-sequential unmarked one dollar bills for my friends from Austin. They are 3 youth kids from my home church in Austin. Their names are Andrew, Micah, and Rachel Ansohn. They were in a head on collission today. This was an update from my friend Mariah:

Three of my friends were in a head on collision this afternoon and two were starflighted Brackenridge and the other is most likely going to have heart surgery.

I had the opportunity to be a mentor to Micah and Rachel personally, since they were in the youth ministry small group that I led. I know that the doctors that are treating them are competent and capable of fixing them, but there is also a lot of mental trauma and emotional trauma for them and their family that can come from accidents like these. They are so near and dear to my heart and I would appreciate any love you could send their way.

Thank you so much!

Love,

Amo.

some of my Flying Marshmallows small group members.
Rachel is the one in the pink shirt

An update about the accident:

Andrew's ankle was broken and Micah's wrist was broken. Rachel suffered the most injuries but is doing really well now!

thank you all so much for any well wishes or prayers or thoughts :D

Don't You (Forget About Me)

I'm back in blogtopia folks!!

This past week has been pretty "go—go—go" and I'm finally at a point where I can really unwind. :) I was able to meet our press deadlines for our two latest journals, which is a pretty big deal for me because I seriously had about 3 days to make one of them press-ready and it was kind of hectic. But I love to test my limits and push myself, and now I feel pretty accomplished. Tomorrow should prove to be a slower day, though, and that's also a really good thing! :)

In an attempt to unwind from today's adrenaline rush, I've been watching funny videos on YouTube :D I think I hit the jackpot when I found a collection of AMC commercials advertising Forrest Gump, in which they created movie trailers for it in different genres. They are still making me laugh!

In other news, I'm going to be home in one week! I still have so much to do. I told a friend of mine that I was already shopping for gifts to take home to my family and she thought it was silly that I would start planning for my trip 2 weeks out. But here's the thing, I'm a procrastinator when it comes to that sort of stuff. Seriously. Like, I generally don't even pack 'til the night before and even then, I'm really slow about it and I get distracted. So, come 1:30 a.m. the day OF my red-eye flight, I'd normally be saying to myself,

"Crap! I forgot to get that _______ for _________! Great.
Now they'll be the only one I didn't get a gift for. How awkward."

Trust me, it happens more often than you think. So I like to plan things out so that I don't leave anyone out. That's like, the worst feeling in the world to me.

Tomorrow I get off of work early and I'm going to get the rest of my family gifts, that way they're all in my room, ready to be packed! Next week will be another busy week, since I only have 3 days to get things ready for a big mail-out after I get back from my trip. Plus, I have a lot of stuff going on in the evenings as well.

PS: I can't wait to go to the beach!!!!!!!!! :D

Breakeven

I'm looking back on all the life that you gave me
And I've never felt more alive
No words explain all the ways that you changed me
The way you made wrong things right

There will be days that I'm barely hanging on
And then I'll think of you, and you and me
But when everything has turned shades of gray
You still color the world around me

-Color the World by Amanda Martinez

Last night was very eventful—and I'm not just talking about the football game. For the past few weeks, one of my co-worker's husband has been in critical condition in the ICU with some serious organ failure due to a bout with Hepatitis C. Yesterday at the end of the work day, we got the call that she was going to take him off of life support. A bunch of my co-workers were going to be going to the hospital to be with her in that moment. In the grand scheme of things, I'd never met her husband and she and I were not especially close—but I knew I needed to be there. No one should die alone, and no one should have to go through the death of a loved one alone. She needed people she could cry with, share memories with, and just BE with. I wanted her to know that I was there for her.

A bunch of us showed up and suited up (so that we wouldn't catch any diseases from her dying husband) and surrounded my co-worker with love and support. It was one of the most powerful displays of affection and family I'd seen in a while. My co-worker's husband's family was not very close and so very few of them showed up (even during the course of the hospitalization). Our entire staff was there, save for two people who had colds and therefore couldn't join us. We were their family—and it showed.

I got to watch an amazing woman express her love and honor to this wonderful man who had an uncanny way of making her come alive, and come out of hiding. I loved watching her love and care for him while we were there, caressing his pallid bony skin and bragging about how handsome he still is. I think one of the sweeter moments for me was when she turned directly to me and said,

"Amanda, I wish you two could have met. Ray would have loved you and loved spending time with you. He would've loved your big heart and your witty sense of humor and he would have loved hearing you sing your songs."

She didn't say it as an off-the-cuff nicety. She meant it and it caught my attention. It's not so much the accolades that caught my attention, but the fact that she, having known and loved this man, could speak for him with such certainty—she knew him that well. It moved my heart. So I wrote about it—I've included some of the first round lyrics (Color The World) at the top of the post. I'm still working on the song, but being in that room, witnessing that tender honest love inspired me that true love is, in fact, not lost. It is waiting, and I'll be ready when it shows it's lovely face. :)

Last Train To Clarksville

Alrighty folks!

It's time for me to officially hit the road! That's right, it's me, all this stuff, and a bunch of Cliff Bars and Yogurt Granola Bars heading to the ATX on the Greyhound over the next 3 days!! Whee!

Look at all the stuff I'm bringing with me to keep me occupied on the bus:



My first stop is in Billings, Montana. From there, I hop on over to Denver, Colorado. Then, I'll get to have a long layover in Dallas, Texas—Chad and Katie are meeting me there and we're gonna get to hang! The coffee and laughs will be flowing! And from there, I head on to Cedar Park/Round Rock where my dad will meet me at the station and I'll finally be HOME SWEET HOME!! I'm soooo looking forward to hugging all my friends & family! :D I miss them a lot!

I've seriously got to find a way to make 3 trips home per year, instead of 2 . . . but we'll see how that all pans out. One of the first things I'll probably do, aside from tackling my family with GIANT hugs, is to eat my weight in Chick-Fil-A! Just kidding, but that WILL be my first meal! :D Oh sweet sweet #1 with Large fries and a Sweet Tea and some honey mustard sauce, how I have missed you!

Between here and there, my tweeting and facebooking will be minimal because

1. there are no outlets on the busses and i they don't guarantee power stations to charge electronics.

2. i need to take some time to take a step back and disconnect for a bit. This trip home will be a great time for me to reflect on life and to dream new dreams :D

So I'll have my phone off while I'm on the bus, but I'll turn it on when I get to each station. If you NEED to get a hold of me, you can text me or Twitter DM me or email me and I'll get back to you faster :D

In the meantime, pray that it's a good, safe trip for me!! :D

Brick By Boring Brick

For the record, i disgust myself with the lack of bloggage (ew . . . what a terrible word).

Alas, I am here! I am still alive! Wheee! (and there was much rejoicing)

Things have been super busy lately . . . no lie!

It's officially 10 days until I embark on the 3 day journey back to Austin for Christmas!! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to see my family—they are COMPLETELY worth every single crazy encounter I might have on that bus!

A lot of people are a bit concerned that I'm riding greyhound, but I see it as an opportunity :D It's an opportunity for me to sleep (which i REALLY need) and to write (which i REALLY need to do)!

I've been really excited about some of the songs that I've written lately and the melodies that keep me company while I do. Here is a snippet of some lyrics I've written lately about a friend of mine who has been going through some stuff lately:

and I will do the unthinkable
oh I will feed this chameleon.
I'll be whatever you want me to be
but when I get lost don't come after me
you might lose yourself between the thorns
I'm gone
and I've never missed me more

I haven't recorded it in Garage Band yet, but the story is really teaching me a lot personally.

In other news, tomorrow I get to be part of an AMAZING movement! It's called Help-Portrait and we're going to be taking pictures of people at a housing project in Lake City and I'm SOOO excited! I'll be sure to post pics here tomorrow! :D

PS: I called my niece on her birthday a few days ago and she said the cutest thing:

"It's my birthday, but don't tell anyone, okay."

They were having a family only party and they're gonna have her main party in January as a double party with her sister, Annabelle. I guess she doesn't want anyone to know they weren't invited to the family party ;) too cute!

Back Again

Amanda Martinez is a fan of

Parachute

Create your Fan Badge

It's SOOOO true! I'm a fan!

I LOVE this band so much! So much so in fact, that I'm thinking of singing their song, Winterlove for my work's Holiday Party! I know it's gonna be this huge brave thing, but since moving here to Seattle, I've noticed that a lot of the things I do lately are huge brave things. So why not, y'know? The great thing about the people I work with is that they are not as judgmental as others, so I'm sure that even if I suck they'll at least pat me on the back. ;)

Here's the song (i would of course sing a girl version subbing the "her" for "him" and sounding slightly less manly ;) heheheh)


In other news, Kelley gets here on tomorrow and I'm SO excited to have her here!! She's been such an amazing friend and I really really really love spending time with her! :D And we get to have lots of fun together for the next 2 weeks!

Here's just some of what we got planned:

- Space Needle
- Experience Music Project
- (maybe) Ride the Ducks
- The Aquarium
- Exploring Neighborhoods
- Parachute/Kelly Clarkson Concert
- Justin Nozuka/Sam Bradley Concert
- Pie Night

and that's just the beginning! We're gonna be having sooooo much fun!

And then, in just a few more weeks, I'll be heading home to Austin for some much needed family time :D

I can't WAIT to hug all my friends and family! :D They make my heart happy!

Globes and Maps

Fall is here!

After spending the evening hanging out with Jodi, I got a call from my sister and we had a really great time on the phone planning my niece's party and talking about Chick-Fil-A. Now I'm sure you're aware of my undying love for Chick-Fil-A . . . but in case you're unaware, I've been craving it for the past 3 months . . . since I last had it in Austin. ;) It's seriously DELICIOUS!! :D

So I was talking to my sis last night, trying to convince her to move up here with the family and open their own C.F.A. It would be BOOMING with business!! If not from others, definitely from me! ;) hahahaha!

So then she asked if I was safe cause I was taking the bus and I told her I was because Ballard is a really safe neighborhood. And then i tried to explain Seattle neighborhoods and how they each have their own little local shops . . . bread shops, record shops, art shops, etc. And she goes, "Oh, so you're living in the 80s then?" HAHAHAHA! I laughed so hard out loud! it was awesome!

She also told me that I should write to the government and demand that they put up a Chick-Fil-A here. She said that by them not having one here it was racial profiling! HAHAHAHAHAHHAA! She was joking of course, but I get a kick out of it every time the conversation plays over in my head.

It's always so fun talking to my sister . . . and for the record, those of you who don't believe it's possible, my sister is just as funny as me, and a LOT louder! hahahaha.

I'm going to my first ever pumpkin patch tomorrow with Cindy and I'm also going to go buy my Halloween costume tomorrow! :D I'm gonna be a ladybug!

Legacy

So by now, my home church, GTaustin has announced that as of June 28th, Master's Commission of Austin will shut it's doors and will not be running anymore.

I must admit, I found out about it two Thursdays ago, and I'm still dealing with so many emotions. At first I was ardently angry. Then I was overwhelmingly sad—8 years of history was coming to a halt. I had to come to the realization that I would not be going to any more MCA Graduations, I would not be going to any more Alumni Retreats... I wouldn't be able to talk to students who were having a hard time going through A LONG DAY (see below), sharing stories and encouragement with them. Then I felt like I was misplaced. I felt confusion...why? really? could this really be happening? Then I felt shame...that I was taking this so hard... it's so hard letting go. And then after long talks with a few people, I was able to find some sense of balance and understanding. I still feel like crying sometimes. But it's not in my hands. It never was. Now I realize that from here on out, the connections I've made (and will try with everything I am to maintain) and the memories will help me keep things in perspective.
And though I'm sure there will be some growing apart... busy people...busy lives... I know that the memories and more importantly the lifestyle will always be a part of who I am.
For those of you who don't much about my history or about Master's Commission, it is a 9 month hands-on ministry training school...so think like bible school mixed in with an internship at a church. There's really a lot more that goes into it, but for now we'll leave it at that. So, I went to school at Master's Commission of Austin as a student for 3 years right after high school graduation (2000) and after my 3rd year, my original director transitioned out and moved to Louisiana to start MC Industries—another Master's Commission program in Broussard, Louisiana. While most of my fellow classmates chose to go to MC Industries as well, I felt in my heart that I needed to stay in Austin and serve the new director and help him and his wife in any capacity I could, in accordance to all the things I learned as a student. I then joined the support staff of Master's Commission of Austin under a new regime as the MCA Media Director. After my year on support staff, I joined the full time staff for 4 years and in the summer of 2008, I stepped out of my position and life there to pursue my dreams here in Seattle, WA. I got the call two weeks ago that there was going to be a transition—after Graduation this June, there will no longer be a Master's Commission of Austin. The director and his wife are moving back to Rockford, Illinois to step into a new passion (not that the old one is less than, it's just time for the transition). Having had to say goodbye to MCA before, I know it's gonna be tough on them, on each and every student, and on the home church that has relied so heavily on MCA in the past. The sad times will come, the confusing times will come, but more importantly, the building times will come. It's bittersweet, really it is. But I pray that they will continue to live in the resolution as well. :D

So to reflect on the good ol' times, I thought I might share a list of 10 of my favorite things/memories from my 8 years in Master's Commission of Austin. And yes, I know that it will make this post crazy long, but since this blog is about my life in my words, and MCA is such a HUGE part of it, I think it's worth it. ;)

1. DISCOVERING MY BEST EVER FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD

Sarah (Warner) Noble has been such a major part of my life since day one. The day I stepped into the big dorm and got settled, and met Sarah... my life changed. Here was one person who was able to show on the outside what I felt on the inside. Over the years, our friendship has only blossomed more and more. My first year for Christmas break, she invited me to come home with her and share in her family's holiday traditions...that Christmas I learned so much about TRUE FAMILY, true friendship and how to grow up in so many areas of my life. And ever since, her family has considered me a part of their family...always. :D She was with me through everything... travel trips, holidays, Coram Deos, credentialing, transitioning directors, transitioning to Seattle, and even last week when all this hit... i KNEW who to call. I knew that she would help me work through things. She is one of my biggest gifts ever in life. Had I never been a part of MCA... I would have never met her... and my life would not be full of as much LIFE as it is now. So many of my memories from MCA involve Sarah.

2. SRMC RETREATS

the SRMC is the South Regional Master's Commission programs of the US. Since my first year, I've been going to SRMC retreats (except for the 1st year after the director transition) and every year I have been so refreshed and revived. The biggest one for me was my 2nd year when Pastor Greg Phipps spoke on Initiating the Romance...life. changing. And every time I hear the song "THE BIGGEST PART OF ME" I remember the message he spoke and I'm humbled all over again. The retreats were also a time where I could reconnect with my friends along the way. I love that when I first became a part of MCA my director instilled in me the priority of building relationships outside of our little MCA bubble... I made some of the best friends with people from other programs and I still to this day stay in touch with them.

3. MY ORIGINAL CLASS (2000-2003)


These people are without a doubt the most amazing, real, and beautiful people I know. These people have helped to shape me so much through the years. We've had our ups and our downs and our everything else's. We've been through A LOT together... and we've been there FOR each other through it. Class hangouts were always so fun... and to any of my class members who are reading this... I just gotta say:
- Beer and pizza... all the way
- Escuda MC lives on
- Spanglios
- My head hurt dawg
- FireworkStands/FlowerStands... and of course. the cookouts at the Potts' house!

4. DISCOVERING MY PASSIONS

to teach, to work with junior high students, to rise up to the challenge to love 'the tough cases,' to be a listening ear, to be different (in a good way), to be a true friend, to help others along the way. Everything I do now, I learned from MCA. From the way I clean to the way I socialize with people.
MCA is the place where I first discovered my love for the people of Seattle.

5. MY FIRST EVER MEDIA TEAM


Dustin, Grace and Chad...times spent with these guys and gal in MCA will always be a large part of my memories in MCA. From late late late nights in the print room. From brainstorming sessions. From Tracks and from lots of interoffice drama... we've always been an amazing team. They've taught me a lot and they've pioneered a lot of the standards and grace that has developed in all the teams that followed. To you I say:
- She's...Catholic
- House of Fear...'nuff said
- Grace cutting GT20 flyers with Dustin's face on them
- Pen wars
- Track wars
- Thankyousomuchforallthatyou'vegivenandallthatyouare.

6. RICH WOLTER

He deserves his own bullet point. This guy is just hilarious. Anytime I've been around him, I've done nothing but laugh so hard. At first we didn't get along (story of my life), but through the time we've known each other, he has been a strong pillar for me. I remember the time he tried to do EVERYTHING imaginable to break a Nalgene bottle...ran over it with a car, beat it with a baseball bat, then finally taking a saw to it... and when he took it back to the store, they asked him what happened to it.. and his response was: "oh. it fell off the counter." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! He's the first one to introduce me to the hilarity that is Dane Cook and taught me that there is such a thing as "the magic touch"...i mean really...getting a laptop fixed for free after taking a baseball bat to it...really?? really?? ;)

7. FAMILY DAYS


During my time as a student, family days were a time to have fun without the 'daily grind' and a time to celebrate birthdays. They were always so fun and enjoyable! My favorite family day though, had to be during my first year on support staff... we did this dinner and a murder mystery thing and I was the murderer...and the guy that i was supposed to marry was the character played by my new director... and I felt COMPLETELY awkward...cause I didn't really know him very well...and all night he was like in character being all sly and romantical...and I kept having panic attacks and avoiding him every time he came near me...i must've seemed completely outta my mind! and the whole night he kept calling my character's name: REBECCA! and I kept running away! but at the end of the night, I still got away with murder. ;)

8. ROAD TRIPS


My favorite part of MCA was traveling... I've seen so much, been to so many awesome places thanks to MCA. My two favorite trips were the East Coast Tour with my first director and then the MCA Road Rules Trip my 1st year on Support Staff.
The East Coast Tour was so much fun and I got to meet some amazing new people, plus hang out with Three Nails Short (a band that toured with us), and got to meet up with my best friend and have some great times hitting up tourist spots along the way.
MCA Road Rules was another great time...trying to beat out 2 other teams for a prize..and earning points for going to different landmarks along the way from Austin, TX to Phoenix, AZ. Getting to (A) see the Grand Canyon and (B) convince everyone that we actually got a helicopter ride to the bottom of it...was amazing!
9. A LONG DAY

Well, seeing as how it no longer needs to be kept a secret, A LONG DAY is something that was initiated by the new director. It is based off of Navy Seals training, where they go through intense training. They have some weeks of training and then what they call A LONG DAY...because it's a day that spans over many days...but they don't get to sleep so it seems like one long day. It's meant to push limits and build team skills and camaraderie. Being on the staff side was different, but I still got a lot out of each year's A.L.D. as much as the students did. I loved being able to talk with students during A.L.D. because it gave me so many teachable moments with them and it challenged me to see life through different eyes. To every MCA student who has gone through A Long Day...it's over. ;)
10. BEING ON STAFF


Being on staff with MCA taught me so much. It taught me how to challenge myself. It taught me grace and wisdom and patience and so many other things. Staff hangouts were so much fun. I loved being part of such an amazing team! One funny memory from staff hangouts was when we were at Carrie Sealy's apartment and we were playing Rock Band and it in the middle of playing, I farted. really loud. And let me just tell you...I had tried SO HARD to keep in all of my farts from the staff...REALLY HARD. So the moment it happened, I partly hoped they would ignore it...but it was so loud...and Pastor Dan (the 2nd director) laughed so hard!! I was completely mortified...but now I can only look back and laugh :D

June 28th, 2009 will mark the end of the MCA Legacy as it's been known. But I know that the legacy will live on in each alumni (for good and bad). So what happens next, after the doors are shut? I dunno. But one things for sure, the memories won't die. In my life, the standards won't die. And to all the alumni—please make an effort to stay connected! This isn't the end of the world by any means, but it is a challenge to stay connected more than ever before. We need each other, whether we're willing to admit it or not. :D

There's really so much more I could say, but I'll leave it here for now. :D Feel free to comment (as always...no censorship)

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