5 days

 I only have five days left in the States with my family before I board the plane to Ecuador. Two weeks ago, if I even began to think about it, my eyes would tear up. Now, I feel more peace. I have been praying for God's peace about this trip, and I believe he has graciously listened to my prayers. I can now think about it in a calm manner, and have a conversation with someone about it without blinking back tears. Another thing I think has changed is my attitude towards my last couple of days in the States. I used to think of them as completely sad and dramatic (I tend to be a dramatic person). Happy moments instantly turned sad in my head when I thought of my trip to Ecuador. Let me explain: if my cutest-little-brother-ever-Giovanni came up to me and told me he loved me, out of nowhere, I would smile and think it was so cute, and instantly think "Oh, I am going to remember this moment in a couple of days and be so sad"... Understand? My mindset was ruining these last precious days with my whole family together. Then, I was reminded of the "A Time for Everything" chapter in Ecclesiastes - especially verse 4:


 "There is a time for everything.... a time to weep and a time to laugh...."


There it is! There is a time to WEEP and a time to LAUGH. I don't want to ruin my time to laugh with weeping (although I wouldn't mind ruining my time to weep with laughter! :). And then I thought of something else: my time in Ecuador is going to be SO amazing, and I am going to learn SO much and get SO attached to the kids there, that I will have to tell myself the same thing when it is time to leave. 


 So now, when my little brother comes and sits in my lap asking to play Angry Birds Rio on my computer, or my little sister wants me to watch her new movie with her, or my other brothers want me to play soccer with them - I will say YES and completely enjoy that moment. Because there will be many other happy moments in my future, and if I don't learn how to enjoy them now, I never will.


 Therefore, in the spirit of enjoying happy moments as much as I can, here are some pictures of some REALLY happy moments during these past months (which are right up there on the "best months of my life" list):

 remembering the day i got here 

hanging out with papa and garrett at the st. jude marathon

falling in a very unladylike way and skinning my knee and hands (ask garrett to describe the fall for you - or better yet, reenact it - it was not pretty) 

hanging out with my best friend 

hanging out with another best friend 

getting to watch the best wedding ever 

getting AWESOME new cousins!! 

 ...and still stuck with the old ones

taking millions of pictures of these two cute boys

playing "dirty santa" with my family

being a dork with this dork 

taking family pictures (maybe not so fun...) 

hanging out with auntie m

other moments not pictured here:

- CHRISTMAS!!

- our "big brother" jesse coming to stay with us

- getting my learners permit!

- getting my first debit card!

- talking with my friends on skype!
- getting surprise packages from faraway friends :)

- pulling in the driveway at night to see that my grandmothers reindeer have been rearranged into hilarious inappropriate positions (i actually do have pictures of this)
- getting really encouraging e-mails and phone calls from really great friends/family (jesse! aunt joyce! larry and margaret ann!)

- getting to see granna and grandaddy (pictures yet to come!!)

 thank you for reading my blog and once again please remember me in your prayers!!

 love, 

ansley

From: Ansley

To: Fabiana

i'm going to miss...

Getting on my iPad and seeing that my wallpaper has been mysteriously changed.

sinking in

    As I type this, I am sitting on a comfy chair in my grandma's room while Anderson (my seven year old brother) is laying on the floor watching the Disney Channel. My parents are out doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, my Papa, Aunt Melissa and new goober uncle, Gary, are at work, my Grandma is in her room, my other siblings are watching TV in the living room, my cousins are all hanging out in their house down the street and my other grandparents and friends/relatives will  be arriving in the next week or so for Christmas. In the last couple of weeks I have gotten to see many old friends, tour the college I will be attending next fall (ACU!!) and stuff my face with really, really good food. I have been SO blessed to have a couple months here in the States with my family and friends, and have been putting off posting on this blog - because that means that I am very close to actually getting on the plane and going to Ecuador. Don't get me wrong - I am VERY excited about Ecuador. Sometimes I catch myself wanting to get there already and see what God has in store for me. I've never spent more than a month away from my parents and I'm ready to see how much I am going to learn in the next five months. Yes, I am ready. Since all of this has started to sink in, however... I am also SO NERVOUS THAT I NEED TO TYPE IN CAPS FOR THE REST OF THIS SENTENCE. I have been trying to keep this (happy) face on for the past couple of weeks:

...but I am actually one sad song, or, in last night's case, good Christmas movie, away from a minor (or major) meltdown. Yes, I cried a lot watching this movie:

(if you have not seen it, by the way, YOU SHOULD. it is so sweet and funny. here is the link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tk-WZSqIGQ)

     Anyways, I would really appreciate your prayers. I have 13 days left in the States with my family, and then I am off. It is so weird how fast time flies. It started out being seven months away, then six, five, four, then a couple of months, then a couple of weeks, and now thirteen half nerve-wracking, half very exciting days. For now, I am hanging onto the verse that is on my little cards you have probably gotten in the mail:

  " I, the LORD, have called you for a good reason. I will grasp your hand and guard you..." Isaiah 42:6.

Thank you for reading this blog and for all of your support and prayers - it all means so much to me. 


Aaaaaand, I leave you with a cute video of Giovanni's newest dancing moves:

 You're welcome :)

Ecuador in January!

I cannot believe that I only have 2 months left of living in Brazil... After that it's straight to the US for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, and then on January 2nd I will be arriving in Ecuador! Amazing and terrifying at the same time. I am very nervous about my time in Ecuador but also VERY excited to learn new things and help in different ways. I can't wait to see how God is going to work in me while I am there! I will post a little during these 5 months I have left (August - December) about my life and how I am preparing for the trip, and then starting in January I will hopefully be able to blog everyday, even if its just a picture or a couple words, so that I can keep everyone posted on how my trip is going! Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please remember me in your prayers! Love, Ans