Christmas Letter 2008

Howdy friends!
What a year this has been! As I sit down to write my Christmas letter I am again amazed at what the Lord has done in my life this year and I am excited to share with ya’ll!

This Spring I took a full semester of classes at a nearby junior college. This was my first time to take more than two classes at a time, and my first experience with semester-long classes. I really enjoyed the nutrition class I took, and enjoyed using the full chemistry lab. (I never set anything on fire, but we did have a few exciting moments!)
I also spent a good portion of my time continuing to work in the ALERT Cadet office, alongside my mom and dad. I took over the office manager role for several months; answering the phones, letters, and e-mails, shipping out orders, and helping plan and prepare for summer conferences and camps. Emma, a friend from Pennsylvania, arrived in March to help us through the summer and fall. She took over most of the responsibilities I had; allowing me to focus on finishing my school semester.

In April, I discovered that I had been awarded a scholarship from Texas A&M and the opportunity to live in their freshman honors dorm! I found out who my roommate would be, and we started getting to know each other a little.

I officially graduated high school in May, and Brian graduated from college as well. We threw a joint ceremony/celebration and many of our friends came.

May, and June flew by quickly. As usual, my family helped out with three large homeschool conferences here in Big Sandy, Nashville, and Sacramento. This year, I had the opportunity to do something a little different during the conferences and work with the COMMIT program for young ladies age 12-15. In Big Sandy, I was asked to share with the entire group of girls, and in Nashville I led a team of 7 girls and again spoke to the whole group.

Towards the end of the summer I was again in summer school at junior college, this time taking the second half of chemistry, and online writing class, and working part time on campus. The two older ladies I worked under in the Student Services department made my first job a great experience. Even though my chemistry class was fast-paced and I spent 12 hours a week in the lab, I really enjoyed it. My lab partner and I had quite a few laughs and good conversations as we waited for experiments to run.

In June, I finally got my driver’s license!!! Dad spent most of the spring and early summer teaching me to drive, and I became very familiar with the quiet streets of the ALERT campus and then ventured out to some of the back country roads. It was a huge blessing to have my license this summer when I was driving back and forth to Tyler for school each day!

In June my family and I went down to Texas A&M University for my new student conference. I got to tour my dorm, register for classes, buy a meal plan, and purchase football tickets. While we were there, my older brother Brian was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the Army Vet Corps, so that was an exciting event!

On August 17th, my parents dropped me off at A&M for a week of orientation and activities before school started on the 25th. The Honors department had been working with the 14 sophomores who also live in the dorm to plan tons of activities for the incoming class of 2012. All of the freshmen are assigned to a sophomore, and during that week before school we did many “family” events. I live directly across the hall from two of the 3rd floor sophomore girls, and they have been wonderful! I have often wandered into their room to get help with homework or simply chat.

This semester I took biology 1, intro to psychology, calculus 1, physical fitness assessment, and foundations of kinesiology. Some of my classes were relatively easy, but I found myself at the student rec center quite often and I worked to get, and stay, in shape for my physical fitness class! Even though

that class was a killer, I enjoyed the opportunity to use the lap pool, the track, and the weight room. I am pursuing a kinesiology degree, leading to physical therapy, so many of my classes provide a very hands-on, first-hand approach to learning!

I attended my first A&M football game as an official member of the “Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 2012,” and loved every moment of our less than spectacular football season. I went to most of the games with a large group from my dorm, and got quite the farmer’s tan from sitting on the 3rd deck of the stadium! I also joined in the tradition of “camping out” for tickets to save the dorm’s spot in line to pull tickets, making sure that Lechner Hall always sits on the North 40 yard line in the first 5 rows. What fun it was to stand the entire game and scream until I was hoarse!

This semester I joined a Christian dance company called Chara, which means “joy” in Greek. This small student organization strives to use dance as a form of worship and ministry both on campus and in the local community. This year there are 15 girls in the company, and we have all become very close! At the beginning of the semester we had a retreat at one girl’s home and we had the opportunity to share openly with each other and then have a close-knit group keep us accountable. We have two rehearsals a week, a short Bible study before the Wednesday rehearsal, and weekly meetings one-on-one with an assigned prayer partner. I have come to eagerly anticipate my Tuesday afternoon times with Emily, as we share from our hearts over a meal on campus or a cup of coffee at Sweet Eugene’s, an off campus study spot.

I have grown quite a bit in my dance technique this semester. I had only taken ballet lessons, so learning lyrical and modern dance, as well as a bit of hip-hop, was certainly new! The first part of the semester we concentrated on learning one full company piece, and 4 half company pieces, then the second part of the semester we had quite a few opportunities to perform. We danced for a talent show hosted by the A&M Filipino Student Association, a high school recruitment night, a sorority worship night, an A&M mother’s retreat, and as a filler act during a large sorority/fraternity musical production. Each time we dance though, it’s not about performing for an audience, but about using dance to worship the Lord.

A&M is a fairly conservative public university, and for that I am grateful! Each Tuesday night almost 6,000 students gather at a worship service held in the basketball arena. Breakaway is an encouraging time of worship, fellowship, and applicable teaching. Most weeks I will walk over with a group of friends from my dorm or Bible study, and afterwards we will grab “midnight breakfast” at Rumors, one of the campus’ many places to eat!

I have also gotten plugged into a small group girls’ Bible study through an organization called the Navigators. I usually host the group in my dorm room and I have come to love my two leaders and the core group of 5 or 6 girls who come each week. Most weeks we get hopelessly off topic, but we still have some great conversations!

Both of my older brothers also attend A&M—Peter is a senior architecture major who is a Resident Assistant for a nearby dorm, Brian is a first year veterinary student who lives a few minutes away from campus—and I am blessed to have them around. I attend church each week with Brian, and I see Peter around campus almost every day. The three of us will often get lunch together on Sunday and spend some time catching up. When Mom and Dad come to visit it can be a little tricky to coordinate three student’s schedules!

This semester I have learned and grown a lot. It has been quite a change to go from a school of one to being one of 48,000 students, but I have started to find my own niche in college life. I have met a lot of wonderful students in my dorm, and a handful of like-minded girls through Chara and the Navigators. I have enjoyed my classes this semester, but I look forward to next semester when I will be in classes that are more major-specific. I also plan to apply for a sophomore position in my dorm and be able to give to the class of 2013 the amazing dorm experience that I have had so far!

As I sit here at home during Thanksgiving break and think about who I will be sending this letter to, I am amazed at how many new friends I have, as well as my old friends who have been there for me this year. Thanks to all of you who have listened to me, laughed with me, cried with me, late-night IMed me, prayed for me, and helped me in so many ways! I know that God put ya’ll along my path this year and I am so grateful for each one of you!

2008 has been a wonderful year for me; a year full of new experiences, hard lessons, new friends, tough classes, and fun college activities. I wish that I had been able to keep in touch better with many of you, but I would love to hear what ya’ll have been doing this year!

Hugs!
Katie