my journey contines

crazy busy time of year, end of semester, little time left. i will post more soon!!!

thanks
shannon

so the 2 july “babies” went out to celebrate the birthdays last night. we went to a place called “The Continental”, kinda swanky. i felt like i was in hollywood. don’t laugh, it’s true. hehe… it was fun though! and then we went to Cuba Libre (Surprise surprise. guess who picked that?)

Thanks to those of you that came, it was fun. And to those that couldn’t, no worries. Faith sorry I changed the date on you. We missed you!

Roomies

Chantelle - Salsa Queen

Rebecca & Me

Rebecca & Me

Group Shot

Chris, Janell, Chantelle, Rebecca

Chantelle & Me

Dawn, Chantelle, Me

Melissa & Me

… is funny how it works. sunshine every day and then it rains on your wedding date. always have change in your pocket but short 50 cents at the toll booth. and live with people for 8 months and then realizing how awesome they are (not that i didn’t know before), but realizing most and having some of the funniest/most fun, etc. conversations ever right near the end. better late than never.

it’s just funny.

it will be awesome to have a network of people all over the world. i think i’ll up and go to…… haha. but it’s been good guys. good times. you will be missed. a lot.

today i booked my flight home to toronto. one more month pretty much and philly will be done. hard to believe… again, although i’ve said it before, it’s so hard to believe how much a person can change in 7-8 months. i really feel like i’ve changed so much, grown up i guess. but also that i have a much deeper understanding of who am i, where i come from, and some more direction to where i’m going.

august 18th i’m going home. toronto, for a few weeks before moving to nicaragua.

september 4th, probably, is when i take off for nicaragua. i “met” via e-mail the 2 other interns, both from Canada (one from west coast, one from central) and they really seem awesome. easy going, friendly, they know spanish (yay) and Kiki (Catherine) told me that she’s a master spider killer! hahaha… awesome. i’m getting really excited.

between now and then i have a lot of work to do though… :S

it was so nice to be home!! spent some quality time with my grandparents and family, made them look through all my Philly pics/videos (hehe) and just relaxed. now that my brother lives in my old room, i got the daybed in the office which is suprisingly comfortable! so it really wasn’t bad! and mom’s homecooked meals mmmm delicious!!!

anyways it was great to be home. thanks to those of you who shared my special day with me and thanks mom and dad for pulling something together on last minute.

me & my grandpa

hard to believe how fast time flies. it’s not like i feel old or anything, i just can’t believe that i turned 19 five years ago… where did that time go? anyways it’s been a good year.

things that have happened to me during my 23rd year.

• graduated and got my BA
• got my first new car
• moved from our house to new apartment
• moved to Philadelphia
• started my MA
• got an internship to work in Nicaragua

wonder what things lie ahead… we shall see.

thanks for reading
Shannon

today i got to spend some quality time with my grandparents and it was a real blessing! i truly have been fortunate to have been able to get to know my grandparents on both my mom and dad’s side, and when i was little i even got to meet my great grandmother!!

anyways i really feel blessed. my grandpa on my dad’s side and my grandma on my mom’s side have been particularly influential to me in my life. my grandpa died when i was 14, but to this day i still can think of ways he’s impacted me. he was a truly amazing, God-honoring man. i wish you could all meet him. my grandma is another one of the most Christ-like, amazing women i have ever met in my life. she exhibits real faith, deep faith, patience, kindness, love, discipline, i could go on and on. it’s been wonderful as i’ve gotten a little older to get to know her better.

okay, really every time i see the Canadian flag as I drive across the border I think I get that butterflies feeling, well no not quite. how do you describe it? it’s just nice to be home!!

so chris was coming back, i caught a ride with him. got home yesterday afternoon. may or may not have fallen asleep for a chunk of the drive (oops)… i hadn’t been planning on coming home, but i figured with taking off to Nicaragua in about a month and a half that i should come back and take care of doctor, dentist, etc. appointments. got pretty much everything taken care of. plus, as a bonus, it’s my bday on Saturday and i’ll be able to spend it with my family! which is nice… before moving away for at least 7 months.

anyways. home sweet home. i need to buy a Canada shirt - red and white.

thanks for reading
shannon