Random Memories

This post probably should have come before my last one (which told you what I have been up to so far in 2010), but I only thought of doing this today... And I may update this post if I find the time or feel the need :)

I've just uploaded a few photos from various things I did in 2009... They will probably come across as quite random, but that's the whole point of this post ;)

February: CWCI 2009--Julia, Elyse, me and Kristy

CWCI was held in Victor Harbor, and between 10 and 12 of us girls and ladies stayed together at a beautiful, white, 2-story house with amazing views of the Harbor. The house was the highest on the hill--we were so blessed!

April: My 17th Birthday--Julia, Jarryd, Ryan, me and Amy

Goodness knows what I did for my 17th birthday (that was so long ago! :P), but I love this photo, which was taken on my birthday evening, just at home with the family and Julia (who is practically family anyway!)

April: @ TAFE

I finished studying Business Administration at TAFE at the end of 2009. TAFE was an awesome experience; and I miss the environment and the people... Not so sure I miss the work... But I loved my time there :)

June: Youth Group Camp @ Waikerie

My amazing Youth Group had a one-night stay at the river in Waikerie... In the middle of winter... In tents... And of course, it rained overnight!! (see photo below for proof) The camp was SO good. That evening / night, we played some games, ate amazing camp food (you never knew the words "amazing" and "camp food" could ever go in the same sentence, did you?! :P), did some quizzes, read the Bible, had the opportunity to ask questions, shared what was happening in our lives (all of the above was done around the campfire, of course!), and the next day went for a walk along the cliff trail

June: @ Waikerie--Kim's and my wet Bibles

The rain soaked up through our tent floor. And, since Kim and I are so spiritual, we had been reading our Bibles the night before... And had chucked--er, I mean, gently placed--our Bibles next to our beds...

Hello, Rain; Goodbye, Bibles!!

FYI, my Bible dried up alright and I still use it--Kim's, on the other hand... :S

July: My Sydney Trip--me and Annelise

I visited my dear friend, Annelise, at her home in Wollongong--about 1 hour from Sydney--and I flew there all by myself!!!! (with a little help from the plane, of course...)

I spent a week with her and her family, and it was such a lovely time! We have been "pen pals" since we were 7 years old, and other than a 1-night stay 5 years ago, this was the first time we have spend time with each other. It was great!

July: Our Family Holiday to the Snow--me, Dad, Mum, Naomi, Claire, Ryan, Amy and Jarryd

While I was in Sydney, my family travelled to Canberra and spent a week with my uncle. Then I took the bus from Wollongong to Canberra, and my whole family went to the snow. We stayed in this huge house (enough bedrooms for us all to have 1 each (and there were 9 of us!) about 20 minutes from the snow, and we went skiing every day for 3 or 4 days. If you've never been skiing--YOU NEED TO!!!!!!!!! It's hard to start with, I admit, but it is SO awesome once you get the hang of it!!!!!

July: CCS Prefect's Dinner 2009--Amanda, me, Julia and Elyse

The day that my family and I arrived home from our holiday was the same day that CCS had their Prefect's Dinner. Julia, Elyse and I got ready at my house and then went together.

I love this photo of us 4 girls!! It was Julia, Elyse and my 2nd time attending CCS's annual Prefect's Dinner, and I was so glad I could go again :) It was so much fun to get dressed up!!!!!

I had found my dress at a very special shop in Sydney ;)

Okay, so it looks like my 2009 ended in July... It really didn't, I promise!!!!! Other things did happen, but I just happen to not have photos with me right now!

So... What do you think of these photos?

And do you have any memories or thoughts from 2009 you'd like to share? Please comment and let me know! If you would like them published, just say so, and I will specially publish a post with your memory or thought in it :D

~Rachel

1 week

Hello again!

Well, it's almost one week since my last post... It's harder than I thought to get into this whole blogging thing... Might take a while!

Last weekend at CWCI was great! Mum and I drove down (the others left in the morning) to Victor Harbor at about 1pm. We went straight to the house we stayed in, and ohmygoodness!! It's better in real life than in the photos! It was one of the highest houses on the hill... In other words, right at the top of the hill, with total view of the harbor!!!!!!!! Us girls all decided we wanted to live in Victor Harbor :P
There was a service for the Convention that night at 7.45pm, but firstly Mum and I visited friends in Victor. We actually picked up my friend from work (at Moo Yoghurt... YUMMY!!! She gave me a cup of yoghurt, and then Mum and I both got this massive tub that we shared... What pigs!! But SO worth it!), and then went out to her place. They live on a farm outside of Victor, and my friend has a gorgeous Thoroughbred horse, which she shows, mainly jumping. My friend showed me what her and her horse, Bella, can do, and it was so great to just watch them work together! It's at times like those that I miss having my horse :'( And I really want to ride again!
Mum and I went straight to the night service after our visit at the farm, and the service was really good. All of them were good... Although there was one that didn't really apply to us girls--it was mainly about parenting, etc. Mmm, not quite there yet! Anyway, the part I loved about the services was the singing!! There was a few ladies that sang all the time, and their voices were just amazing! Their harmonies were just absolutely wonderful. I would LOVE to be able to sing like they do; and one of the ladies played keyboard, led (just announcing which song was next) and sang... I would love that to "be me" someday :).
Aside from the services, we hung around the house, the girls read, I tried to prepare for Girls of Grace (Girls Group), ate chocolate (more on that later), watched Fireproof (really good movie!), talked and went out for tea on Saturday night (yummy!).

Overall the weekend was really good, and I enjoyed spending time with everyone there :)

About the chocolate... Julia, Elyse and I have made a pact not to eat chocolate, lolies, ice cream or fizzy drink for one month. Julia and I were talking on Saturday night, after going out for tea and then coming home and eating chocolate/slice/junk etc, and we were saying how we were so full and felt a bit blahh :S. After talking about it for half an hour, we decided to make a pact not to eat any of the above for one month. We figured we could be accountable to each other, and it's way more healthy not to eat those things anyway! And we roped Elyse in as well (we had to twist her arm, though!), and Mrs. Packer is also doing it, to make it easier for Elyse :)

After that was decided, when I got home I realized that for the next 10 days, our church is doing a Daniel Fast. If you know the story of Daniel in the Bible, it will make a bit of sense to you. Basically, the idea is to eat only vegetables and drink water for 10 days. We've expanded it a bit, so we can eat vegetables, salad, fruit, brown rice, and of course, drink water. I started on Tuesday, so today is my third day. It's going well so far, but I AM missing meat! It's just vege's... a bit boring :(. But I guess it's a good experience!

I'd better go; my lunch break is finished. I hope everyone's week is going well :)

God bless.

~Rachel

CWCI

Good morning!

This time tomorrow I'm going to be in Victor Harbor for CWCI, a Women's Conference that is held down there every year. Mum and I have been invited by a group of fabulous ladies each year, but it has never worked. I'm so excited to finally be going! We're staying in the fabulous, cute little house (mm, if you call 3-story and 5 bedrooms little!) with amazing views of the harbour, a jacuzzi, and... well, I've got to say, the people there will be the best part of all!

Julia, Kristy, Mrs. Graham, Elyse, Mrs. Packer (and, of course, my Mum) will be there, as well as three other ladies.
We're looking forward to chatting, eating chocolate, spending time in the jacuzzi, lounging around, maybe walking on the beach... oh, and attending the conference, of course! I'm really interested in what that will be like, and in meeting other Christian girls and ladies. Apparently a fair few ladies from my church will be there, as well as a couple people from work, so it will be good to see them.

I also hope to spend time on planning for a Girls Group I'm planning to start in the middle of this year. It will be for girls aged around 12-14. I want to be able to mentor them in God's Word and just in daily life, and I'm already trying my best to do that, by hanging out with them at youth group and talking to them. I hope that I'll be able to get lots of hints, tips and ideas from the girls :)

I'm also going to be catching up with a friend who lives in Victor tonight--not sure how, when or where yet, but that will be great! She loves horses, and it will be awesome to have someone to talk "horse-talk" with :D

I joked to a friend that I'll be sick of girls by the end of the weekend... But I'm pretty sure I'll come back with a smile on my face, refreshed from the time away with the others.

Have a great weekend!
God Bless.

~Rachel