And Who Said, "Redheads Can't Wear Pink"?

I broke the mold and defiantly wore a hot pink shirt this past Memorial Day. The voices from my past said, "Redheads can't wear pink." But, I did not care. I had decided a few years back to make my own call on the matter when I wore my first pink shirt; light pink. And, well, Memorial Day brought out an even bolder side of me. One that I had not seen in a while.

Somewhere between my high school and college graduations, I became very ambitious. Oh, I'm still goal-driven, I love purpose and I can be a person of high intensity/passion when I'm working. I definitely like to push myself and others, which I did all year long. You probably remember my focus for this last year was a "Life Above Reproach"; I instilled this in the girls over and over. However, I've lost a little piece of the intensity I had right out of college. Of course there are always pros and cons to anything. One benefit I have recently recognized and have been grateful for, inregards to the previously mentioned change, is my new sense of awareness for balance. Boldness is good, but better with balance.


I often think back to my first year as an Resident Director. I was so caught up in my desire to uphold the precedence that was introduced to me, that I lacked part of the balance I have now begun to learn. I did not say "learned" because I believe I will always be refining my leadership style. The turning point for me began during a struggle when leading differently than my co-workers. (I loved my co-workers. We were definitely unified in purpose and vision; I was just young in learning how to lead.) I remember approaching my boss, the VP of Student Life at the time, and expressed my frustrations in not knowing how to handle a specific instance. His response was, "Kelly, your first responsibility is to make sure you are on the same page as the team." I was humbled, knowing I had gone to my boss thinking I was in the right. For me this meant I had to let go of being so focused on upholding the precedence and understand that certain circumstances allowed for grace or flexibility. When I soaked in the truth of my bosses words and took them to heart, I began to learn an amazing new balance from my co-workers. I learned lessons I could not have taught myself. I have definitely been too confident at times since, but it is amazing the new-found since of maturity I can see since I allowed the Lord to humble me. This past year, I feel I relearned this lesson through different circumstances. I guess I did not fully take it to heart the first time!

I needed direction and I still do. While I have lost glimpses of a certain past boldness, or was it ignorant confidence, I will always be a person willing to wear hot pink. I never want to grow void of passion and purpose; they are vital for any person or ministry. And I never want to be too timid to take a risk, even if it means being humbled for a time. The refining period is well worth the pain.

Afternoon at the Zoo

Our good friend JJ Veale invited me to go to the zoo with her and her girls, Mia and Maggie. I had gotten pretty discouraged Monday morning when I woke up and realized my phone had not registered my messages. I thought I had missed the girls' afternoon out at the world famous Tulsa Zoo. Before I continue, it needs to be noted that I have been getting giddy over a number of things lately. One of which, was getting such a great adrenaline rush playing hide-and-seek with the pup that I literaly screamed when she came prancing around the corner. Another was the invitation JJ extended for me to go to the zoo and the thought of missing out was too much!


Thankfully, the messages registered in time and we loaded up last Monday afternoon. We drove to Tulsa with the two little ones and had a blast. This was my first time to push a stroller all around a zoo, that is until Mia told me I was pushing her stroller and that she wanted to push. I also had the strange experience of a zoo worker stopping his ride to tell me I was getting sunburnt. Funny thing was, I had been fully aware. My sunburn had been from a Sunday spent outdoors and so I lathered up with sunscreen. I tried to tell the worker I was good and greased, though he still had a tough time leaving with me staying out in the sun. Hopefully he has long gone forgotten by now!

Our Backyard and Lexi's Playspace

Well, at least it has been our backyard for the last three years, and Lexi has loved her first summer running around outdoors. We are living up our time here as it comes to a close; taking every chance possible to play with the pup out back, take walks, grill out (with our $10 Walmart grill that requires a candlestick as its missing leg to stand), fish, and hang out with friends.

I have to admit I was skeptical of moving to Bartlesville three years ago after seeing what a small town it was. Ironically, I have grown to love the area. It feels like home and how can you not love home? It is what's familiar, comfortable and always consistent. I've been getting a little choked up about starting over as I reminisce about memories around campus and times with the students. Though, I must say, we are also very excited for a new adventure.

Olympics in Doggie World

Winner of Doggie Olympics - No Bias Attached

This was our leisurely Saturday afternoon by the campus pond. We caught Lexi in action, and man was it a challenge. We were pretty excited about her athletic shots; what a stud. I figure if there are Extreme Sports in Doggie World, we saw them in full swing today!

WATER OLYMPICS


DOG HIGH JUMP

Random Happenings

Brenton planted these flowers in our little garden last summer; they were a random choice from Lowe's. We wanted something to add a little life to our place and these guys sure followed through. The flowers continued to bloom into the fall and the leaves stayed green through the number of snow storms this past winter. We were amazed.

We were more amazed this spring when we remember back to how each of the little sprouts started out the same size. Ironically, they continued to grow in sequence from smallest to largest. Though I am sure it is due to the amount of sunlight certain patches receive, we thought this truly random.

Beads A Bouncin'

An adventure worth sharing... Brenton and I went to celebrate a birthday lunch for one of our fellow Student Development workers this past week. We chatted away in Eggbert's entry way as we waited for the rest of the staff to arrive. During our lively conversations, I started to fiddle with my turquoise beaded necklace that I purchased from a Dollar Jewelry Gallery in Branson. Now I knew my necklace was "affordable", as some would say, but I had not realized how inexpensively it was put together. I barely pulled down on the beads and the wire popped. Beads went bouncing all over the tile entrance of Eggbert's. Our co-workers dispersed in all different directions trying to recover the bouncing beads. Some were trying to save them to recover the necklace and others were just trying to clear the floor. I could do nothing but stand in awe. As I continued to observe, Brenton and one of the other guys started to bounce a bead. It was an entertaining game as we waited. Then turquoise bead took on a mind of its own, jumped over the divider and onto the table of a couple trying to enjoying their lunch. We were all stunned for a second before the chuckles started. Before the couple had a chance to say anything, we rushed off to our table in the other room.

I had assumed that was the end of the turquoise necklace until our waitress brought the lone bead from the earlier rendevous. She mentioned that it had somehow made its way onto the plate of one of their customers. The guys all looked at her innocently and said, "Really" as if they had no clue. Their innocent looks were enough to give us all another good laugh.

School is OUT

I confess that I shed tears as I said "Bye", to a number of the girls this past weekend. While there are a few students here, most are gone. Campus is quiet and, as exciting as it is to think of summer, I already miss the students.

These pictures are of our last Girls' Night: 80's Karaoke. The students have weekly Bible Studies with their floors, however the last Bible Study of every month is Girl's Night/Man Night, a combination of all on-campus girls/men (separate of course). Karaoke night was a little lower in attendance due to terrible weather, though we were amazed all year with the number of girls who would choose to show.

Our student leader this last year was amazingly creative. She had the girls dress up every month and the girls loved it every time. The ladies were fearless and amazingly humorous, as you can tell. I'm going to miss these crazy ladies!