random thoughts that don't fit anywhere else

The majority of the time I think in the form of Facebook statuses. Lately I've been in a bit of a slump, resulting in the lack of a good status update for a bit. In the last 24 hours I've had a sudden influx of ideas, and now I can't decide if none of them are quite right, or if I'm actually supposed to share them all.

So here it is, a multi-layered status update.

Becki Kempton once again, God has taken my doubts and turned them into hope.

Becki Kempton has the best little brother in the world.

Becki Kempton is thankful to have a cat because now I have at least 4 friends in this town.

Becki Kempton is thankful for farmer's makerts, raw Wyoming honey, and our sweet avocado green refrigerator, because now I finally have a use for my Romanian honey jar.

Becki Kempton misses her Advent family.

Becki Kempton misses people who know her.

Becki Kempton is thankful to have the greatest mom in the world.

Becki Kempton has joined the world of Zumba followers. So much FUN!!!

Becki Kempton there's no way that watching Little House on the Prairie can't automatically turn your day AWESOME.

Becki Kempton my first month in KY I used to walk through Talbott and imagine living in one of those houses someday. I find myself doing the same thing in Laramie.

Becki Kempton I hate the feeling of being unsettled. Still trying to figure out why it is then that God keeps sending me to new places. Can I know the answer now?

Becki Kempton can't believe her little ducks are SENIORS!!?! This is not possible.

Becki Kempton I wish my head wasn't so big because I really want to get a cute short haircut right now.

Becki Kempton is scared. Lonely. Struggling. Confused. And ever more faithful in God, every moment that passes.

Nostalgia

I miss:
creemees
the kids
dirt roads
the ledges
our fields
the smell of cow manure
cows
the Riley Road
walking barefoot all day
real green grass
the Pinnacle
bonfires in the backyard
driving to school on the Browns Corner Road
Vaillancourt's orchard
the view from Towle Neighborhood Road
the smell of fresh hay in the summer
the lake
kayaking on the lake
tubing on the lake
cookouts at the lake
sitting by the lake and reading a book all day
smelling like campfire and lake water
laying on the dock at night looking at stars

I should go back to Vermont.

Perspective

Today (well, technically yesterday but I haven't gone to bed yet) I was at the mall in Cheyenne, on my way back to the Denver airport, when a tornado touched down a mile or so away. Shortly before it hit, Wes and I had been standing in front of the pet store watching the puppies in the window. There were two men standing there, seeming to immensely enjoy the entertainment. I gauged them to be the trucker or biker type, but I had no idea. Regardless, I was curious as to why they were spending their afternoon watching puppies in a pet store window. But who I am to judge?

So about 5 minutes later Wes and I found ourselves in a maintenance access hallway with mall employees and other shoppers, waiting out the storm. Shortly after we got there, the two men from the pet store walked in. The taller of the two seemed to be really friendly. He was chopping it up with the little boy across the aisle. Then his phone rang, and he began to talk to who I later gathered to be a trucker friend. He told the guy on the phone that he has been broken down in Cheyenne since Friday. He said "I had a free day with nothing to do, so I came to the mall to watch the puppies."

I love people.

you suck, becki!

Wow...5 months. To quote one of my favorite former clients...the above title.

So here we go, let's play catch-up.

December brought lots of little adventures. The first weekend of the month Riley and I went to see a Cole Porter musical in San Francisco starring Megan Cavanagh, best known as none other than MARLA HOOCH! A League of Their Own is still my all-time favorite movie, and it was a dream come true to meet one of its main characters. Plus she was so frickin' sweet!

The following weekend I took an incredible whirlwind trip to Chicago to visit my good friend Mattso. I was also able to visit with my college roommate Alie and high school friend Becca. It was my first time to Chicago, and I can definitely say it was an enjoyable and worthwhile 48(ish) hours.


Just before Christmas, someone at the main office emailed everyone about a weekend they had in a condo timeshare in Lake Tahoe that they weren't able to make it to, and offered the spot to anyone who wanted it. The timing was perfect with our schedule, so Ryan, Fernando and I headed up there for a night. It was a quick trip, but Tahoe is beautiful, and it was a great little escape.

Christmas came to Advent, and it was a beautiful time. I worked on Christmas day, and it was quite possibly one of the greatest blessings of my life. Being able to experience a significant holiday with these boys that I love so much was amazing. Many of them had never experienced a happy holiday, and I was so excited to be able to share one with them! One of my favorite moments came on Christmas Eve. I brought together two of my favorite Kempton Christmas traditions- Home Alone & letters to Santa. I put the movie in and set out hot chocolate and cookies, alongside paper and markers. When I told them what the paper and markers were for, most of the reactions were something like "Becki that's stupid, you know Santa's not real!" "Oh for real Becki? Don't they only do that in movies?" "Come on Becki, we're not babies anymore!" Before long it was a party- Macauley Culkin was doin' his thing and my boys were going AT those letters! I mean it- they were swapping markers, color coordinating their letters, drawing pictures, sharing notes, asking for spelling help. I kid you not, they worked the entire movie on those letters. The end results were beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking, and the memory was timeless.

Two days after Christmas I left for Arizona, where I got to spend a week of relaxation with my family. I was able to catch Wesley on the opposite end of his Christmas break. Despite the time crunch, we were able to prove that we can still have crazy awesome fun and cause a little trouble while we're at it. On New Year's Eve Dad and I joined Vermont friend Kent Henderson to watch his beloved Iowa State Cyclones play the U of Minnesota in the Insight Bowl.

Visiting Arizona meant finally meeting the much talked about Sophie, my parents' newest addition and my 'sister', as she is often referred to by Tammy Lee. She is just as adorable in person as her text photos claim her to be. Over all it was a great week; probably my most relaxing and stress-free trip to Arizona yet.

My return to the South Bay brought a trying and challenging time for me. My first week back to work I hit my lowest point yet, just feeling completely burned out and emotionally drained. It was a very difficult month, full of lots of prayer and complete surrender to God. As with most struggles, it resulted in a deeper and stronger faith in my Lord than ever before.

In the upswing of that period, I received a fateful phone call from my brother Wesley, proposing the idea of moving to Wyoming after my year commitment with Advent was up and living with him in Laramie until he marries Loryn. This idea completely shocked me, but despite the fact that prior visits to Laramie have created less than loving feelings for the area, I didn't feel my heart say no right away. So I vowed to stay open to it, and in March I took a weekend to go visit, trying to go with the heart and mindset that this might be my home in a few months.Riley surprised us at the last minute and came along, which was not only freaking awesome, but a blessing for me as it allowed me to view it as more of an enjoyable weekend than a stressful decision, which is what it had been in my mind previously. And, against my own desires, it was a trip which confirmed Wesley's suggestion. I wanted so badly for everything to go wrong, for complete confirmation that I am in fact NOT supposed to go to Wyoming...but it was quite the opposite. And things have been falling in to place in the meantime also. This has been hard for me, as I had no intention of leaving Advent after my year commitment was up, and I have grown and developed more than I could have imagined during my time in California. But I know God knows me better than I do, and I can only have hope and faith in His decision for my life. So it looks like in about 3 1/2 months I will be taking yet another little roadtrip!

I think that's probably good for now. That brings us to March, which wasn't too long ago (comparably). Hopefully I can get on my game and wait less than 5 months next time. Beyond the physical facts of my life, I have a lot to share about the spiritual and emotional aspects of all that God has been doing in my heart and mind. Get excited.

Much love, as always.

Thankful

Yesterday may have been one of the best Thanksgivings of my life. And certainly one of the most special. Some of the guys got to go home for the day or a couple days, but for those that don't get to leave our addictions counselor Leslie makes a HUGE feast for everyone at one of the houses. We spent most of the day yesterday just chilling, and then went over about 4:30. Between boys, staff, and a couple families, there were around 30 people, and I can honestly say I did not think there would be leftovers. But holy dang were there ever leftovers!!! There was so much food! It was just amazing. Turkey, ham, lasagna, a gigantic green bean casserole(which, if it had been at a Gates or Kempton Thanksgiving, I can pretty much guarantee would have been finished), sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, potato salad, macaroni salad...and then just as many desserts. Bree and I spent half of Tuesday baking (a highlight of my week for sure)...there were 2 apple pies, 2 pecan, 4 pumpkin, 3 cakes, and 6 batches of cookies. Let's just say our fridge is pretty full. I shouldn't really go on about the food though, because that wasn't even the best part. Just being there was one of the most amazing feelings. Whenever I told people I was going to be working the holidays this year the usual response was a sympathetic one, but I wasn't having it. I was excited. I have spent lots of holidays with my family. And they have all been great. But if you know me you know I am always up for new experiences. And this wasn't just an opportunity for a new experience. These boys, this staff, they are my family now. I feel so much love when I am at work. Love coming in from those around me, and also love going out; love that God is constantly pouring into my own heart so that I can share it with others. And that's what working the holidays is about for me this year. Some of these kids have never experienced a happy holiday. In the days and weeks leading up to yesterday I was slowly feeling myself filling up with excitement until I was almost ready to burst over the fact that I had the opportunity to show that to them. And I think we did. After we were done eating we all sat in a big circle in the living room and went around sharing things we were thankful for, and it was beautiful. Even now I am starting to become overcome with emotion. I can't believe I get paid to do this. God is so good.


In other news, I thought I would offer a little catch-up, since I've been AWOL for a minute or two. At the beginning of October Ryan, Bree and I went to LA for Bree's birthday. Hello, Disneyland!
As much as Ryan and Bree will try and disagree, it's definitely not as great as the World. I'm not hating, I'm just sayin' :) But it was tons of fun for sure. I also got to visit Azusa with them. It was awesome not only to see their campus, since I know it was a special place for each of them and it was cool to see this place that means to much to them, but it was also neat being back on a college campus again. It did make me miss Asbury though...


And God knew I would be feeling that way, because the next weekend Wes came to town!!!



He was in Monterey working at the Laguna Seca Raceway. However, our schedules made it so that the only time we both had free was from whenever he got done Saturday night until he had to be at the airport at 6am Sunday morning. Do you think that stopped us? :) Amazingly, the route from Monterey to San Fran took his van straight up the 101, which means he got dropped off less then a mile from my house, just before midnight. Poor Wes had been working like a dog all weekend, but he was able to muster up 3 more hours of energy, and boy did we make the most of i! We were able to cross 3 things off of his California list: In'N'Out, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino (which is apparently the Apple headquarters- who knew?), and the GGB! It was an amazing 3 hours, and I definitely didn't want to let him go.

Then the weekend after that, I ran another half-marathon! Thanks to the connections of a good friend, I was given the chance to run in someone's place in the Nike Women's Half-Marathon in San Fran. And it was awesome! Not my best time, but I don't care about that. Plus it was much hillier than Louisville, so I'll give myself that. But it was such a beautiful course! Unfortunately the fog didn't completely burn off until later in the day, but while we were running it was slowly lifting, and so we saw the sun rise over a half-covered Golden Gate Bridge. It was amazing. And to top it off, Mom and Dad came up! It was the first time they'd seen me run since high school, and definitely my first marathon. It was a great weekend.

Overall, God has just been abundantly blessing me lately. Every morning I find myself waking up just busting at the seams with joy, and God is just telling me "Ok Becki, now go share it." And that's what I get to do! Every single day! And I get paid for it?! Dang.

Oh, also, I have found a church. It is amazing. I have never been so excited so consistently about going to church. But this post is getting kind of long, so I will save that for next time.

Be a Light, and remember that you are loved. :)