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