Thanksgiving Break

This post is answering the question:

How was your thanksgiving break? What kind of food did you eat? Do anything fun?

Here is my answer:

My thanksgiving break was pretty good even though it went by too fast! I'll share with you some of my highlights from the last 10 days.

• The day after I got home Brandon took me to the Stephen Curtis Chapman concert that was taking place at our church. Even though I didn't know much of the music, it was a really enjoyable concert. It was musically amazing and incredibly inspiring. The band Caleb opened for him and they were a pleasant surprise. Caleb Chapman is Stephen CurtisChapman's son and has inherited much of his father's musical talent. Brandon and I bought their CD and I've been enjoying listening to it.
• Getting to be at home for more than a weekend, and spending time with family and friends was really nice. I got to catch up with a lot of people I hadn't seen in quite a while. I hosted a party for all of my hometown friends to get together and catch up. Most of us hadn't seen each other since the summer so it was awesome to all be in the same room together again.
• I got to go either goose or deer hunting almost everyday of the week, which was awesome! Even though it wasn't the most successful hunting, I had some great bonding time with my dad and sister-in-law.
  
  
• On thanksgiving day, my Kelly cousins came over and we ate a deliciously traditional thanksgiving meal. Yumm. After dinner we turned on the game for a little bit. Then Tyler called us from Afghanistan and we were able to Skype with him for a good while. It was so great being able to see his face and hear his voice. He was in a very goofy mood (typical Tyler), and was cracking tons of jokes.

Overall, my break was really relaxing and enjoyable, but it's nice to be back to VT. Here goes the home stretch of Fall semester! Wish me luck. -Mackenzie

I'll miss this sunrise until I go home again.

"There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway,

Why there's not four of them, now I guess we know.

It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you,

It's what you leave behind you when you go."

Randy Travis, Three Wooden Crosses

Breathing in Fall Air

This week has been absolutely beautiful in Blacksburg! The weather has been sunny with temperatures as high as 71 degrees and wind at about 2 MPH. I have been able to breathe lots of fresh, crisp air which is helping me recover from I cold I've had.

I mentioned the wind speed because this is the only complaint I have had about the weather in the past week. Gran and Gramps came down for a lovely visit last weekend and Dad sent with them one of our kites. I have been dying to fly it one afternoon on the drillfield, especially because its sunny and mild right now. Maybe one day soon God will give me some decent wind so that I can fly my kite.

On Thursday of this week I went outside with my camera and my friends Caitlin and Jen to exercise my photography abilities. Here are a few of the shots I took:

Caitlin

Jen's beautiful feet!

I know Converse pictures are very cliche

but that's because they look awesome!

Caitlin standing under the rafters of one

of the natural resources buildings.

Jen relaxing in the leaves.

Caitlin crawled under a filthy bike rack for this picture!

Jen and Caitlin were awesome models :) Thanks Ladies!

These five pictures are just a sampling of the many I took. There are more posted on Facebook under my "Virginia Tech-Freshman" album. Check them out. I also took some really cool pictures to add to my "Textures" collection that I have been working on.

Peace and Blessings (in my best Glozell voice),

Mackenzie

"Don't listen to them when they say

You're just a fool

Just a fool

To believe you can change the world

Oh the smallest thing can make all the difference

Love is alive"

Carrie Underwood - Change

Only 18 school days left of my first Hokie semester

I can't believe it, my first semester at Virginia Tech is almost over! People always say "Time flies when you're having fun" but I say that time flies no matter what. It has been an amazing journey finding my place. The journey is far from complete; in fact, I don't think that it ever will be.

Here are a couple things about my semester:

• I began volunteering with Southern VA Special Olympics for my SERVE individual project. Once a week I would go to the aquatic center and coach the swimming. It was a very rewarding experience, and I can't wait to help out with it in the spring semester. Our last day meeting together we had a swim meet against ourselves. It made all of the endurance and patience required during the practices 100% worth it. I loved watching the athletes who usually express neutral emotions, jump up and down because they were so excited watching their friends retrieve rings from the bottom of the pool.

• School has been challenging but manageable so far. I know that it's going to get harder in these last few weeks but I am going to try my best to stay focused and give it my all.

Thanksgiving break starts November 19th, and I am looking forward to having a little break before the chaos of finals begins. Overall, this semester has probably been the most challenging semester so far in my life. I have pushed through and learned from every tough experience I've gone through.

-Mackenzie Adams

"Some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"

-Shakespeare

College at last!

Well Folks,

I finally made it to Virginia Tech. I have already been here for more than a month. It feels like it has gone so fast but so much has happened since I've been here. I have made some amazing friends here and I am so thankful for them! There is always something going on around campus and there's always something I can get into.

Here are a few of us about to go downtown standing outside of the dorm.

I am loving most of my classes and surprisingly (yeah right) the classes I don't like as much involve math. Eg. Math and Finance. I have also officially made it through my first round of tests and they all went pretty well.

As far as a favorite class, I am not sure yet because I like them all very much. I am taking Child Development, Personal/Family Finance, Math, English Composition, and a Leadership class for my theme housing.

For those of you who do not know, I am in the SERVE theme housing here at VT. SERVE stands for Students Engaging and Responding through Volunteer Experiences. It is a lengthy title but it really sums up what were all about. It is Tech's newest theme housing program so there aren't very many of us but it is an amazing program. It has given me the opportunity to see areas of the New River Valley in my first month here that I may not have ever seen in all of my time here. Also, because there are only a few of us in the program, we all are very close and look after one another.

This is a small portion of the view from Wind Rock.

I have also been enjoying trying out different clubs and organizations on campus. I have yet to decide which ones are my favorites but when I find that out I'll be sure to let you know.

There was a pep rally last Friday for the ECU football game and I was about one yard away from Frank Beamer and the rest of the VT football team! It was a very exciting day.

This is the football team and Coach Frank Beamer!

Some of my friends and I with the Hokie Bird.

Me and the Hokie Bird!!!

I do have some sad news: my mailbox has been empty for over a week. Hint hint. So, if you would like to send me anything call/text/message me and I'll give you my address. :)

Ut Prosim!

-Mackenzie

Senior Week

Hey yall!

As you may know, this past week was something commonly know as Senior Week. It's a time when graduated high school seniors head to the beach to wash away their stress.

I went to Rehoboth Beach with 15 of my friends and we had a blast. Senior Week is typically full of partying and rowdy behavior and I will admit that there were people who were wary about me going. However, I am proud to say that we had an amazing time while staying safe and honoring God. One of the highlights of the week was sitting on the beach late at night singing worship songs with the accompaniment of a guitar. A typical day on the beach included playing volleyball and other games. It was great being able to relax with my friends and simply enjoy each other's company.

Summer has officially begun for me and I am excited to see what I have ahead of me. I plan to keep you posted on the interesting and amusing events of my life.

Hasta Luego!

Adulthood At Last

This past Friday was my 18th birthday! I never thought the day would come as soon as it did but isn't that how everything in life is?

In the beginning of the day Mom and I decorated cupcakes. We baked all the cake part Thursday night so that on Friday we could concentrate on icing/decorating all of them.

This one is a cherry poke cupcake with vanilla icing.

Strawberry cake with vanilla icing

Lemon cake with vanilla icing. The butterfly wings are ginger snaps and the head is a Spree

Strawberry cake with Vanilla icing. Flower petals are sliced marshmallows and the center is a candy corn

Last but most certainly not least my personal favorite, chocolate cake with a double stuff Oreo baked inside :) Even though I'm not much of a chocolate person this one was delicious!

Once we finished decorating the cupcakes, we were off to linner (a combination of lunch and dinner) at Don Pablo's! It was Mom, Dad, Nana, Pop, Gran, Gramps, and myself. Pretty much the only reason I wanted to go there was because they have spectacular corn cakes! All of the food was delicious though.

At 7pm my girlfriends began to trickle in for a night of fun and memories. Mom had made a delicious array of appetizers and desserts. We chitchatted and played several games, including Cranium and Forks (Same game as spoons but as you might guess, played with forks instead).

One of the best parts of the party was when we got out a plain white pillow case for each of us and several handfuls of Sharpies. We all sat in the basement and decorated each others pillowcases with words of encouragement, doodles, and inside jokes. It was a great thing to do at this stage of life because we will all be traveling in different directions soon. It will be nice to be reminded that our high school friends are thinking of us and praying for us no matter where we are.

Finally, we settled into our make-shift beds and watched a movie.

The story's not over yet!!! Saturday night we had a family party and almost all of the in-town family was here! It was lots of fun and I'm really glad everyone was able to come.

This year I really did feel older. Turning 18 is different than any other birthday. The day you turn 18 you become an adult. With this comes freedom but you are also legally responsible for your actions. It is also time to start paying close attention to what is going on with global politics so that you can be an educated voter. Its also time to start thinking about what design and what tattoo shop your going to go to.

All in all I had an amazing birthday and wouldn't have changed a thing.

Day 30

Well, its finally here; the end of hats.

You may have noticed that I am writing this 31 days after I started and not 30. This is because Yesterday was quite hectic and I wanted to give this blog its justice being that it's the last one.

I had decided way in advance what my last hat was going to be. It was really quite easy because yesterday was Valentines Day and last winter I had made a red beret and I thought it was perfect for the occasion. I was wearing it for the first time and I received several compliments on it.

I went to church and then mi familia and I made a guest appearance at the SMBC, Deleware Chapter. We had a lovely time there as always and immediately after that I went to a Rapha House meeting.

The Rapha team and I are presenting our workshop to the students at fuel this coming week and then 4 times the next weekend at PCTC! Its really really exciting to see it all come together and I am praying (and maybe you will too) that our workshop will have an impact on the people who see it.

A question I was asked several times yesterday was, "What have you learned from the past 30 days?"

That really made me think. I've learned several things through this process and the first was to be confident. I realized that whatever goofy thing I stuck on my head it was most important that I was confident in it. Even if I didn't feel like it at first I would "fake it until you make it." If you act confident then you will appear confident; people will treat you that way and you will begin to feel confident.

The second is thing was one of my goals from the start was to be in constant prayer. I read this passage towards the beginning of my 30 day adventure.

1 Corinthians 11:3-16 says:

³Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. ⁴Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. ⁵And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. ⁶If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. ⁷A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. ⁸For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; ⁹neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. ¹⁰For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.
¹¹In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. ¹²For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. ¹³Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, ¹⁵but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. ¹⁶If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
That passage has a bit of meat in it but I knew exactly what I should take away from it. I needed to be in constant prayer every time there was a hat on my head. Now, I'm going to be honest; this sort of worked for a couple days and then after that I forgot about it and went on with my normal life.
Also, 30 days is a long time and a lot can happen. The snow put a damper on my plans for over a week and even then, looking back, Day 1 seems like so long ago and so many things have happened since then.
Something I am curious about is if this formed any habits. It is said to take 26-28 days to make a habit and I am wondering what habits I have formed. I am planning on letting you know when I find out. If you were wondering I am NOT wearing a hat today but I am blogging. Here is a picture of my hat free scalp:

30 Days of Hats has been an enjoyable experience and I would definitely recommend it to you! If you do decide to do it let me know; I might have some hats I could lend you. ;)
If you haven't looked up any of my other sign-offs please look up this one:
Obesa cantavit!
-Mackenzie

Day 29

Tomorrow will be my last hat!!!

Today I was pretty busy. I worked a birthday party and then Holly and Sarah came over and we played board games (again) and goofed off as usual. We played Dutch Blitz and Settlers of Catan. Sarah won Dutch Blitz but I won Settlers.

My hat today is sporting the logo of my brothers alma mater, JMU.

Ut incepit fidelis sic permanent,

Mackenzie

Day 28

Its beginning to dawn on me that there are only 2 days of hats left after today. I'm glad for it to be over but i still have so many hats I want to wear! But, just because my 30 days are over doesn't mean I can't wear hats anymore. In the mean time, I will spare you the rest of my reflections until Sunday.

I went to my first Eastern Outdoors Show today. I have heard so much about it and it was neat to be able to see it all first hand. One of my highlights from today was definitely meeting Glynn Scobey, maker of the best duck and goose calls. He is a pretty neat man and I'm glad I was able to meet the crafter of my call set.

Here is a picture of Dad and me with a taxidermy bear at one of the Outfitter booths:

In summary, I had a great time with the guys and made many memories.

Hat credit: This is actually Dads and it was given to him by Tyler but I steal it whenever I can.

Regnat populus!

-Mackenzie

Day 27

I apologize for the extremely short post last night. I procrastinated blogging til late and then my uncle and cousin came in to spend the night because of the snow.

Today: I was either outside in the snow or warming up in front of the fire. When life gives you a lack of hills on your land what do you do? Make your own! We (we meaning Dad) have built up a pile of snow that is 15 feet and growing. Brandon and I have been making paths down all sides of Mt. Everest with sleds and it is pretty awesome!!! I have gotten some major air going down that hill today.

After doing that we had to unearth our yew bushes. They looked extremely pitiful because not only had they been snowed on but the snow from our roof slides down directly onto them causing the yews to be flattened. Needless to say my brother and I threw out every possible pun involving "yew" that we could think of. For example: I'm helping yew, are yew okay, sorry that i'm standing on yew, are yew hurting? Things like that.

Then, Nana and Pop invited us down for a delicious dinner (as always) and dessert. I put a few pieces into their puzzle but then left for home to see my mom who I had not seen since Tuesday morning. She's been snowed in at work since then but she's very glad to be back home.

Ubi concordia, ibi victoria
-Mackenzie

P.S. My hat today was made by my mom for my dad and it is extremely warm. The theme for my pic today is "Mug Shot".

Day 26

Only 4 more days left! I can't believe it. The snow today here was ridiculous, its been snowing all day and the wind has been blowing furiously. There are a set of stairs that go into our basement from the outside and they are filled with snow! There are plenty of other drifts that are super high too. Well we have house guests for the night so I cannot write any longer.

Palmam qui meruit ferat,

Mackenzie

Day 25

I went into town today with Nana and Pop and met Nana's friend Mary Anne to help her with a project she is starting. It was REALLY nice to get out of the house and see civilization. We ate lunch at Panera, which was packed but cozy and warm.

After getting home from that the Bradley's came over and we went sledding. Well, sort of. We did the best we could do with what we had which was no hills. Dad improved the same snow mound that Brandon and I were playing on yesterday so that were were able to actually sled as opposed to just "slide".

The snow continues to fall outside and add the mounds of snow. Baltimore is hours away from breaking the all time record for snowfall. This is definitely an exceptional winter and who knows when we'll have another one like it again.

O diem praeclarum! Kenz

P.S. Thank you Sara for my hat!!!

Day 24

Tonight after Brandon got home from work, we went outside and "chilled" in the snow. There's a huge pile of snow outside the house and we carved paths down the side and slid down. It sounds pathetic but when you have tons of land and not one stinking sledding hill you have to make it your self.

I was soaked from sliding down by the time we came inside and we had definitely worked up quite the appetite. It was lots of fun and totally worth it!

Homo vitae commodatus non donatus est,

Keny

Day 23

Well, this morning Nana and Pop came up for a waffle breakfast and a homemade church service. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the snow and relaxing.

We watched the superbowl tonight and even though I was rooting for the Colts (I really didn't care who won) I was excited for Nawlins (A.K.A. New Orleans). It was really cool that the city has finally recovered to the point of making it to their first superbowl and winning! Having been to New Orleans just a year after Hurricane Katrina I can absolutely understand the city's excitement tonight.

I have NO school tomorrow so I am starting to kick into break mode meaning I have absolutely NO desire to do any homework even though I should. I'll have to buck up and get it done eventually.

Nihil agere delectat, Mackenzie

Day 22

My promises ring true and today I am blesses to tell you about SNOW! It snowed for exactly 23 hours straight and accumulated a lot (im not sure about the exact amount of inches). I walked around in the snow for a bit and took 57 pictures. Snow is like Fall: it transforms the way everything looks and makes you look at it in a new way.

After that I hopped in the truck with Dad and I plowed the church lot across the street. Apparently I have the knack for it so if I wanna make some money all I gotta do is buy a track and a plow and spend a whole lot of money to maintain the truck. In other words, don't call me when you need to be plowed out.

Est autem fides credere quod nondum vides; cuius fidei merces est videre quod credis

-Mackenzie

Day 21

So, I learned a new game tonight with my family called Quiddler. It's cards with letters on them and you have to make words instead or runs and sets with normal card games. It was a ton of fun and we ended up spelling some pretty interesting things.

I ended up going out with these two words: gay as in happy and bar as in candy bar. The two are totally unrelated unless candy bars make you happy, which may very well be the case.

So far I am very disappointed with the snowfall. It better snow heavy tomorrow because it's been pretty pathetic so far.

After the card game Brandon and I made a video of my mad skills:

Well goodnight everyone, I am hoping to be talking to you tomorrow about the amazing snow we've had; time will tell.

Illiud latine dici non potest,

Mackenzie

Day 20

Wow, only 10 days left!!! I can't believe it.

I worked all day today (my usual Thursday routine if you haven't figured that out by now). We're supposed to be getting a ton of snow this weekend which I am really excited about, despite most of my weekend plans being canceled already. So many Marylanders are being extremely negative about this upcoming snow (sorry if you are one of those people but I am a glass half full type of person) but I like to think that if it's going to be cold we might as well have some pretty snow to go along with it.

This picture is of me and Dad watching Project Runway. Can't you tell he's thrilled?!

Scribere est agere,

Mackenzie

Day 19

So, heres a recap of today,

• Wake Up: snow outside was beautiful and clinging to the tree branches
• Go to School: parking was easy-peasey because everyone was just getting there due to the snow delay
• Chat with Hank before Sociology
• Sit through 2 classes and 2 quizzes
• Find out that History was canceled: got to go home early and satisfy my hunger
• Did some homework
• Frank comes in the house and asks if I'm cold because I'm still wearing my hat: I answer "No"
• Make dinner
• Rick asks if my ears are cold "No"
• Go to a meeting at work
• Visit with Nana and Pop
• Write Blog
• Sleep

Adde parvum parvo magnus acervux erit, Kenz

Day 18

Brandon got home from work early today because the church was on lock-down due to a threat. Luckily everyone is fine! He made some awesome hot chocolate from scratch and topped it with a Hershey's Chocolate bar and Cool Whip. It looked amazing (I'm ashamed that I didn't get a picture of it before we started drinking it) and was some pretty epic hot chocolate but it made me loose my appetite for dinner. Oh well.

Fac me cocleario vomere,

Kenz

Day 17

Holly lent me the hat for today and it kept me quite warm! I cannot wait for summer when everything will be warm and sunny!

This semester is looking bright so far because many more of my friends are taking classes at the community college. I've been enjoying walking to classes and sharing notes with friends. This sounds horrible but I can't wait until people start dropping out of classes because it makes parking so much easier.

My hat with these sunglasses made me feel like Amelia Earhart!

Fugit Hora, Keny

Day 16

Today was a very fulfilling day; I went to church this morning and was back there this evening for a Mountain Bel Air rally. It was nice to see many of the people who are planning on going to the new church and get some more information about it.

The weekend went by very fast but i am ready to see what this week is going to bring.

Gloria in Excelsis Deo (you shouldn't have to look that one up)

-Kenz

Day 15

Maryland received several inches of lovely snow yesterday and most of us tried our best to stay home. However, I ventured out in the cold to go to a friends house. The drive was an adventure and i'm glad I went. Once there we had a fun time trying on some dresses to prepare ourselves for modeling in a charity fashion show in March. We are currently collecting dresses (so if you would like to donate one or several please let me know) which we will be selling at the fashion show to girls who need something glamorous to wear. All of the money made will be going to Rapha House, an organization that rescues girls from Human Trafficking in Cambodia!

This is only the 2nd day where everyone's wearing a hat. Thanks Hank and Holl for helping with that.

Melius frangi quam flecti, Mackenzie

Day 14

I designated today "Homework Friday" so can you guess what I did all day? You guessed it...Homework!!!! So that was pretty much the extent of my day.

A little piece of advice for those who are a bit squeamish: Do not watch the show "I Shouldn't Be Alive" on Animal Planet. Its really good but extremely graphic. They do dramatic reenactments of life threatening situations and it looks REALY real sometimes. Im watching one now and a young man was horrifically mulled by a bear in the mountains and should have died.

Qui pro innocente dicit, satis est eloquens, Kenz

Day 13

My schedule was pretty packed today. I worked until 4 and then went to dinner with the family at Nana and Pop's. Nana cooked us an amazing dinner of chicken, baked carrots, bread, spinach, salad, and rice. And for dessert we had....Peach cobbler with ice cream and whipped cream and cowboy coffee. "mmMmmm good" *Campbell's Soup tune* For some reason i found the whipped cream especially appetizing tonight so I had a few mouthfuls. After dinner we showed Nana and Pop our Arizona pictures, which they seemed to enjoy.

In medias res, Mackenzie

Day 12

Well, for the first time since I started this I am truly speechless. I'm sitting here racking my brain for something to write about and my only solution so far is to write about how I don't have anything to write. Okay I have and Idea... I'll tell you the history behind the hat.

I was probably about 12 and my mom and I had dropped my brothers off at a science class (this was a weekly event). Instead of driving half

an hour home just to turn around and go back we would go to the library or go shopping. We went into REI so my mom could do some christmas shopping for my brother and I was browsing around. Thats when it happened. I saw the hat and at that point in my life it was the coolest hat i'd ever seen. I knew I had to have it. I wasn't usually the beggar type (or at least that's what I think, Mom would probably beg to differ), but what else was a 12 year old to do? I wasn't carrying a purse or even a wallet and I didn't have an income to pay my mom back with so I begged. I started with the subtle approach, talking about how cool the hat was but when my mom didn't seem at all interested I outright begged.

She kept saying that I didn't need it and that it was too expensive (if I remember correctly it was about $20). Needless to say I left the store that day with a very bad attitude, a grudge against my mom, and no hat.

A month later I opened it in my christmas presents! I acted delighted to finally

have the hat of my dreams but in reality I felt guilty for making such a big deal about it.

The Storal of the Mory is: Stuff is stuff, even though I am still very glad I finally received the hat in my christmas presents.

Dixi, Mackenzie

Day 11

Tonight was pajama night for small group which I love! Some dressed the part more than others but thats okay. It was really quite convenient because I stayed home all day so I was reeeally comfortable. Thank you very much Hank for my hat today! Its really warm and cute...I love snowflakes on beanies.

Mom and I invented a cookie receipt today...we had no milk or butter so we ended up using substitutes for both. They were oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and we named them "Low Cow Cookies" because we didn't have any of the bovine products. They're pretty good though.

Remember, If you try to comment on this: Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure!

-Kenz

P.S. When I took off my hat just now I had the most horrible hat hair. Just thought I'd let you know.