::Shutterfly...spreadin' the Christmas Cheer::

My family is spread out all over the states which causes the holidays to be a little less joyful. I've wanted to find a way to connect them someway to all of the changes happening in my life and Shutterfly is offering just that! Shutterfly has some great designs for Christmas and I can't wait to wait send out some cards that show pictures of friends, family and accomplishments!

One design that I am oogling over is this....

I'm a sucker for black and white photos and I think this design would look great with them.

So spread some cheer yourself and check out Shutterfly!

And if you are a blogger and want to share some love with your friends and family you can receive 50 free cards just by blogging about it! Shutterfly loves bloggers!

::The Art of Being Thankful::

So often we are so focused in what we are doing we tend to forget to look at the bigger picture. I've heard it explained the best with the forest and tree analogy. You know, some people focus on the trees instead of the whole forest. The analogy takes me immediately to the smell of fresh pine trees, which in turn reminds me of Christmas and the holidays.

I think the tree analogy is great when thinking about thankfulness. I believe that God wants us to be thankful for the trees and the forest. What I mean by that is God wants us to be thankful for the small individual things He has blessed us with but also the larger view.

So here are just a few on my list:

Trees:

Each one of my friends

My Family

My Church

A roof over my head

Forest:

Forgiveness

The beauty of nature

Perseverance

:: The Coming of Home::

As a new grad it is only proper that I attend my first Homecoming as an alumni. This year Student Activities and the other various departments that contribute to Homecoming did a great job. I must confess it is odd to not be a student and take part like I use to. I saddens my heart a little that I couldn't be stressed out, running around, and surviving only on coffee last week, but I have to remember that God has moved me to a new part in life.

Some of the highlights of the wonderful 2010 Homecoming week:

• Seeing my bestie (and her partner) win the title of Mr. and Ms. Spirit MBU! (See the wonderful photo above taken by the wonderful Nicole)
• Watching the community come together at the Fall Family Carnival
• Watching the Lady Spartans dominate in Basketball
• Seeing our incredible students rock it out at The Perk : The Event!

It was a great week full of some awesome spirit.

Peace, Love, and Spartan Spirit!