Happy New Year (Merry CHRISTmas)

Well its official, I have nine days left until I leave for Poland. I am not packed and I am slightly stressed out about that. But I am not going to worry about it because it will get all done; I have nine days to do it in. Christmas was wonderful; I spent the day with my family opening gifts and enjoying their time. We had a nice relaxing day and had more food than I thought one could have. {We are still eating leftovers :) } We did something new this year, and it was great, we each gave Jesus a birthday present. It is after all His birthday we are celebrating. This gift could be anything we wanted it to be but it had to be something we were giving to Jesus. I loved this gift-giving time.
After Christmas life has been a little crazy, but enjoyable. I have spent several days with friends and those I “babysit”, I had a “farewell” party, and both sets of grandparents are at the house. We are going to have a wonderful time here for the next few days. There are seven adults and three dogs in a four bedroom house. We plan to use all the sleeping space and then some and have a blast doing it.
I greatly look forward to the next nine days spending it with friends and family. The trick will be getting packed, finishing my to-do-list, and spending the needed time with all those who love me.

Almost Done....

So we only have four more days of training left. There is one weekend left and my family will be here on Tuesday. It has all gone by so very fast and I am not ready to leave. I am so ready to get to the field and begin working but I am not ready to leave the relationships I have built here. They tell us we will see everyone again and we will stay in contact, but that is not the same and living with them. Its like summers in college, you don't talk for two months and then when you see each other again, it's like you never left each other. I have learned so much, but I feel as though there is so much more I need to know.
These last two weeks have been long and hard. We had a week of 8-5 classes with little breaks, and this week has been hard because it is the last full week. Last week we spent three days with our region talking about matters which just pertain to us. This was nice. I liked spending time with those I will be working with and finding out what will happen in Europe. One of the best times was the day the ladies went to the Cheesecake Factory. I have never eaten there before, and oh, it was WONDERFUL. I would recommend it to anyone. (But go at lunch because it is a lot cheaper then.) The rest of the week was spent being trained in how to handle the "Bad Guy". We had security training. It was a great three days and I learned a lot. We had a few laughs and several AHHH moments. But all in all it was a great training. I don't think they should send anyone to the field without this training.
As far as the rest of the week, we have one more day and then the weekend. On Saturday we are cooking in the dorm for dinner instead of eating in the Caff. I am so excited. We are having baked spaghetti, bread, salad, and Oreo Balls for desert. YUM.
Like I said my family will be here on Tuesday and then we are commissioned on Wednesday, and then we leave Thursday. Then it's Christmas, New Years, and then off to Poland. YEAH! I am so excited.