Compromising positions

Today was a blast.  I had a wedding to go to today but skipped it because of events this week and went hiking and saw Prince Caspian and went to the bar and got a couple drinks with friends.  It was just what I needed after a long couple of days.  Now, I need to go to bed for work in the morning but thought I would share a few of my pictures from hiking today.  My roommate Sarah and I went up to Veedauwoo and did the Turtle Rock trail.  It is a beautiful trail, full of beautiful rock formations and random ponds and "waterfalls".

 

Note, in the left of the photo there is a beautiful "waterfall"!!!  LOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two above are a few of the amazing rock formations you can see on the Turtle Rock trail.

 

This is one of the ponds we saw, it was full of frog sounds, though we didn't see any.

 

 

 

 

 

When you make the picture bigger, note the gopher staring at us from the rock above us at the left. 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy the pictures.  It is so much more amazing in person but I am sure you can see how beautiful it is from the photos.  Also, I am excited to take my mountain bike up there!  Was it worth missing a wedding for?  I don't know.  I do know it helped me recoup from this week, which I am sure a wedding wouldn't have helped.

Not good enough

Sometimes, your best isn't good enough.  Sad to think about, isn't it?  But so true.  Though, after several times of my best not being good enough, I have learned that my best doesn't need to be good enough or else I would be perfect and that isn't possible unless I am the Lord... and I don't want that kind of responsibility!  It seems I am overwhelmed with the little responsibilities I already do have.

I find myself asking, "why is life so hard?"  Well, it isn't going to get easier, so I better get used to it and enjoy what I do have and the things that make my life fun and worthwhile.  Events this weekend have kind of sent me into a bout of depression.  Unfortunately it is work related and I can't talk about it on my blog but it was pretty serious, involving at least one arrest.

Hopefully tomorrow I will find comfort in a short hike and a movie.  I was supposed to go to a wedding but I don't think I am in the right mental state for that after this weeks events.  I will miss seeing it but I think it will be better for me to take some time out and relaxing and recouping.

Love is for everyone

As most of you know I work at Cathedral Home for Children, which is like a detention center slash rehabilitation center for kids.  I have been working there since September and have experienced a lot in that short time.  My second week there I almost had my car stolen, resulting in $700 of damage.  I learned to not trust these kids and always lock your keys up when you get to work.  This week though I learned something that I think has changed my whole perspective of my job.  Okay, so maybe learned isn't a good word, more like I realized something that I knew.

Today I realized that everyone needs love, whether it is the kid that has abusive parents or the kid who has a loving family, both need to be loved.  Part of my job is helping these kids in their treatment but today I realized that the most important role I have isn't helping them in their treatment but just loving them.  Not because these kids did anything that deserve my love more than others but because Jesus loves everyone and that is what he calls everyone to do...

"The first and greatest commandment is 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Mt 22:37-40

I work with four high school age boys, believe me I get irritated and there is one that does an amazing job of working my nerves but I still need to love him and in fact I probably need to love on him more because he is the one that calls attention and seems to need it more.  Isn't it funny how the hardest thing to do is the only thing that needs to be done?

Don't get me wrong, I have been a loving person all my life, as I am sure everyone I know has witnessed but today it meant something to me.  I realized why it was important to love.  It just seems giving my love to friends is something they expect because well, you love your friends.  These kids though, they are in treatment, I think often times, because they weren't loved enough; at least they didn't feel like they were, so they don't expect it but it doesn't mean they don't deserve it.  I hope, that no matter how these kids end up in life, that they know, I love them.

Hiking in the Nice Weather

The last few days have been gorgeous outside!  So I have taken advantage of it.  Monday I went on a 6 mile bike ride, it was fantastic!  Then Tuesday after my final that morning I went on a 3.5 mile hike, which was fun though it could have been a lot better!  The thing about Wyoming is there is still snow anywhere you would go hiking right now.  I went with my roommate Sarah and on the way out it was fine, a lot of snow drifts we walked over.  It wasn't until we were near the end that I kept falling through the snow drifts.  Now when you fall into ice up to your knees, it hurts! 

 

We reached the summit (above) and had some water and granola to let my legs warm up.  This trail is called the summit loop well, there was sooo much snow on the other half of the loop that it turned out being the summit get-to-the-high-point-and-turn-around loop.  There was so much snow on the second half of the loop that we were afraid we wouldn't be able to find the trail and that we would fall into a drift a bit further than a knee, in which case we would be in trouble because Olive isn't a husky and can't pull us out of a chasm.

 

Lucky for us (hint the sarcasm), on the way back the sun had warmed the snow we weren't falling through earlier and we just kept going through.  We got really good at getting out of it without losing our shoes!  All around it was a fun hike and we saw some good sights but it would be a lot more enjoyable minus 2 feet of snow!