From the Hollands

Merry Christmas, 360!

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."


And for your viewing pleasure, I give you a Christmas picture of my two oldest this morning while they were playing with their new toys. (Don't worry, thankfully William's mask has a clear plastic shield over the eyes.)

It's a girl!

Just wanted to let everyone (including the eavesdroppers) that Mary Sophia Vaught (Sophie) was born yesterday morning. She weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20.5" long. Megan is doing really well and so is Sophie.

Here are some pics. The family (sorry Megan for the no makeup pic...you looked great!). Aunt Courtney and Sophie; and Matt holding his newest little girl.

baby delay

hello girls! sorry for no post for so long. needless to say, i thought i'd be going in tomorrow morning for a c-section, but because i have a big infection on my middle finger (the nail was pulled off on friday), they pushed us back 'til Friday. we were bummed to have to wait two more days, but at least i can get my Christmas decorations up!
love you gals...hope you all have a blessed christmas! will keep you posted.

ANDREA CAROTHERS!

This is a formal demand for Andrea to stop evesdropping on this blog and make a post about life in NC. Your parting comments to me regarding the wedding night were far too funny to leave a girl hanging this long for an update. love love love, nik

My little men

So after endless hours of unsuccessfully trying to get my boys posed for a Christmas picture, I finally snapped a cute one of all three today just randomly. Granted, they weren't wearing coordinating outfits (we do live in the deep South, y'all, where standard dress for young boys is a smocked john-john, knee high socks, and white leather shoes) or even nice clothes, but they are all looking at the camera and smilling! I call that a success!!!

The Meathead Chihuahua

So in an attempt to perpetuate meaningless, yet comical blog entries, here's my next effort.

So for all you married folk out there be glad you are not in the dating scene because it's tough out here in my world. Somehow I've become a favorite target for setting up which I don't really mind because, hey, a girl's gotta eat, right? :) Well, some of you know that my doubles partner was trying to set me up with her trainer. The day I'm supposed to go out with him she tells me to go have a good meal because I probably won't be seeing him again...he's 38. She thought he was in his early 30's. So I go meet him for a late lunch despite her warnings. I had previously asked her if he was good looking (being the shallow person that I am), and she kept saying he was a good looking guy...kind of suspiciously. Well, let me describe him to you, and now I really will be shallow. He has a huge upper body where his arms can't lay flat on his side because he's a trainer. His hair is high and tight like a marine and there are a few scars on his head. I think he was missing part of his ear, but I didn't really want to stare to confirm that fact. He had some other scarring on his face as well. I will say he had gorgeous eyes, so that was a plus. On the phone he had had a ton of energy, so I thought that it would be easy to talk over the meal instead of the cursory awkward silence. Well, it would have been easy if I could have finished a thought or he stopped barking (more like yipping) questions at me. I quickly realize this is going nowhere despite the fact that he told me he was "like the freaking mayor of Georgetown" and I had to go out with him there because he knew the best places...blah, blah, blah. I've affectionately dubbed him the title of this blog and will forever remember him that way. I do a great impression of a Chihuahua by the way. Please don't let him call me! I haven't seen my doubles partner yet to "thank" her for this opportunity, but I will give this as a word of advice to friends setting up friends.... Pretend you actually know your friends and set them up with people they might actually like!!! :) My next set up is from the guy's mother. Guess that's a vote of confidence for you and could bypass the whole meeting his family awkwardness. I'll keep you posted.

NEW MATERIAL AHEAD...KEEP READING!
I have a meathead Chihuahua update.... apparently he told Peggy (doubles partner) that he thinks he's too wild for me. I think that was in response to me pulling the "I'm a high school girls Bible study leader" card. It works every time!!! :)

GO HOOS GO!

Brian and I just returned from the UVA v. Arizona basketball game. It was one of the most exciting games to which I have been. We were down by 19 at one point in the first half, down by 13 at the half and came back to win 93-90. How exciting. Let's hope this is a forecast for things to come. GO WAHOOS!

I'm a dork I know!

So most of you post pictures of your kids or husbands/significant others... well, I don't have any of those, but I do have this... It's my new house. I know I really am a dork, but I'm just so excited! And on a side note, everyone is invited on the Saturday night after Thanksgiving for a 360 hangout/housewarming/Megan pamper for baby party!

Confessions

I confess! I've been blog eavesdropping since August and I haven't contributed. Its been great hearing about each of you and how you all are doing (even the ones I've never met.) The interesting thing is I found out about this blog from Megan who I met while serving on summer staff at Rockbridge while her husband was leading program. She and I had never met before and it turns out we not only lived in the same house while at UVA but lived in the same room! Crazy. Anyway Scott and I are living in Miami Florida and anytime you want to visit we would love to have you. I'm not sure what else to update you on so if you want to find out more visit our blog http://teamlong.blogspot.com for the full experience. Love to you all!

God Bless,
Kristin Long '97-'98

Calling the lurkers

Okay, girls. As one of the administrators on this blog, I am hereby wielding my great and magnificent powers to try to coerce those of you who have not yet posted into posting. We can see your names listed in the sidebar and so you cannot plead blog ignorance because we know that you are reading the blog at least sporadically. So, I'm going to put this out there that whomever posts first gets to “tag” someone to post next. So, Julia, Kristin, or Christin, one of you start!! And Jori, Krystal, Catherine, JC, Laurie, Shellie, and Jamie, we're still waiting to hear from you!

Boogie boarding with the North Koreans on New Year's Eve!

What a day!

my sweet girl

hope you all are doing great! here are a few of the latest from us. love you gals!

This is what Charlottesville looks like right now - so come to the reunion this weekend!

Here is my understanding of this weekend -although Hallie probably has a better plan.
I believe some girls are coming Fri evening and others on Saturday. Saturday I plan to have bagels, juice and coffee at my place in the morning. Anyone who wants to join me on ~ a 5 mile run is also welcome. Then we will hang out in some form during the day with Carter's Mtn, watching the football game, visiting a winery as some possibilities. Then we'll head out for dinner Sat evening. People are more than welcome to stay at my place. I have officially kicked my husband out for the weekend, and it's not a big place (read: we have only one bathroom) but there is plenty of room on the floor (or air mattresses if people have them). I would like to go to church at Trinity if anyone else would like to as well.

Please let me or Hallie know what parts you will be attending. I will send directions to my place out over email - I am not sure I want that posted on the web. Please let me know if you'll be here for Sat breakfast so I can provide accordingly. It should be fun!

the plan?

hiya girls,
what's the plan for this weekend? i will not be able to make it down until Saturday afternoon as I have to work until 12. what is everyone else planning?

Your taxpayer dollars at work... or not.

hola chiquitas. So i'm home sick for the 3rd day in a row, and seeing as i do "bedrest" oh-so-well, i'm bored silly. thus the web-surfing and remembering this fabulous blog - kudos again to whoever started it (Megan W?) - and it occurs to me that while your taxpayer dollars are funding my salary, today you're paying me to stay in bed, cover up my head, and get better. so thank you. briefly, the source of being stuck in bed is apparently bronchitis and a double ear infection on top of a sinus infection. hearing that diagnosis on tuesday made me feel a little less like a wimp and slight more justified in saying that i feel like dirt... :)

Given that I got sick while traveling for work (your taxpayer dollars truly at work), and that travel sent me to Paris, France, I shouldn't really complain too much. But before you get jealous, I was gone for 3 days, worked more than 18 hours of each of those days, slept poorly thanks to jet lag and crazy work, and did not get to play tourist. [I did briefly walk around the last morning, but if you want to call getting up at the crack of dawn to take pictures before my flight being a tourist, we can argue another time. :) ]

So... I would like to pose a theological question... largely because it's one that keeps tying me up in knots in my head and because it's probably one that we asked a million times over during our 360 years... oddly, I'm still looking for the answer... or for more clarity. How do you know God's will for your life? How do you differentiate between God's provisions (of a job, of a place to live, etc.) and His will? I've been asking this question a lot lately - largely as it relates to a million questions/variables in my own life, but I've found such a range of answers and opinions, that it's intriguing. Especially if you get into the distinctions between God's permissive will and His perfect will... but I'll spare you that question. :)

For instance, does the provision of a particular job mean that it's God's will? What if there are multiple opportunities (or even just two), then how do you know which is His will? I realize that one answer here is "Katye, you think too much", but really, I don't! I just really want to live each day to the fullest - to get out of bed each morning (when this bedrest is over) with a sense that I'm participating fully in the Lord's work where's He's called me, and to go to bed each night able to say I faithfully worked where I was called. I imagine this is the heart of all of us, but I keep getting hung up on the first part - where am I called to be?

Thoughts are appreciated... as long as you don't think I'm crazy.

so we all know how i used to dress like a boy...

I met up with Liz, Megan V., Katye and Courtney last night and shared a bazillion laughs over a dessert called the magic 8 (I mean magic 7...or was it 15) and as I sat there I was taken back to my 2nd year. That year me and the other 360 babies (Chelse and Andrea) were never quite sure what our scandelous 4th year roommates were up to or laughing about and we were always just enough out of the loop that we were never able to actually acuse them of anything...even though we KNEW they were up to something...the real story however was that we were always just a little bit jealous that we couldn't be scandelous with them and when you came right down to it we just really wanted to be LIKE them. They had so much freedom, they cuddled, they cused, they loved Jesus and drove people towards him, they wore adorble clothes and tall girl shoes. I think when I came into college I had a very narrow, maybe even close minded, view of what a Christian woman was, and the view that I had didn't jive very well into the person I knew I was becoming. As I watched those girls I remember taking note how they embraced who they were, who God had made them as an individual, and used that to draw other people to Him. It was such an encouragement to me, the more time I spent with them the more I realized that I was not the baggy pants and old tee shirt wearing, boring hair girl I came into 360 as. That may sound incredibly superficial, like the only thing 360 did for me was give me fashion sense, but that outward aspect I think was a reflection of who I thought I was supposed to be on the inside. The time I spent in 360 my 2nd year peeled away the old layers of my personality, it helped me see my relationship with the Lord in an entirely different light to see the freedom in it and helped me to finally expose the dynamic, passionate and confident person the Lord intended me to be (and realize that it was possible to love the Lord AND be able hold your liquor). Watching the 4th year girls that year I learned what it was to use all of who God made you to show the world all of who He is. My 2nd year in 360 may have been the most changing year of my life, inside and out. As support for my claims I would like to offer into evidence the above picture from my wedding, lounging in a big poofy chair, in big poofy dress, slippers, cute hair and a beer - a 360 girl through and through.

From Meghann Peer

Hello ladies -

At first glance, I have to comment that I think I
might be nearly the only one on this email list who
has not yet changed her last name - aka - gotten
hitched.  Congrats to all of you...

I so much appreciate the email and would have loved to
be there - but I am living out here on the Left Coast
- specifically San Diego and due to several trips back
for weddings this fall - I'm not going to be able to
add another. 

I've actually spent the past five years bouncing all
over the place...living in D.C., Baltimore, back to
D.C., North Carolina and now San Diego.  I am working
in sales during the day, taking classes at night to
satisfy my prerequisites and will be seeking my
masters in nutritional sciences and exercise
physiology in the fall of 2007.  I will graduate in
just under two years and become certified as a
nutritionist with plans to work with women with eating
disorders.  So, no hubby and no kids yet - but I'm
terrifyingly close to getting myself in order...:)

I hope that all is well with you and yours.  Have a
fantastic weekend at good ole UVA and take care of
yourselves.

Much love!
Meg

Howdy ye Easterners!

So, in typical Elizabeth fashion...I'm getting around to posting an entry in my own time. LATE IN THE GAME. I do want you all to know that I have read every word on this thing that you ladies have written, so though I may be distant I am not removed or disinterested.
Let's get to the down and dirty: Graduated UVA 2001; Young Life Staff in Va. Beach for 2 years (think 360 life extended for another 2 years with Court and MgGovern but with an income and more purpose...sort of); then moved to Montana for Young Life Staff for another two years in Bigfork,MT; met a boy, fell in love, got married July 2005; quit YL when I got married and started working at Rocky Mountain Outfitter which I have been doing for a year and change. It's a small, backcountry ski/climb/paddle/hike/etc. shop. I am the softgoods buyer, so I do the buying for all the clothes.
Filling in the gaps: YL in the beach was incredibly formative for me. I got ripped down the first year and then rebuilt the second in beautiful ways. Themes being intimacy with Jesus in a super powerful way, softening of the harder portions of my persona, and just fabulous fruit of the spirit in kids and myself. I was flying high and mighty by the end of it. Then I got the hair brained (I mean God ordained) idea to move to Montana to do ministry in a place more condusive to outdoor experiential learning like I was introduced to at Beyind Malibu. Well, God paved the way out there, overcoming obstacles left and right, and then let me walk into the bed of lions which is Bigfork, MT (in my book deemed "Bigfuck." Pardon me.) So I got ripped apart spiritually, physically, and emotionally for the next 2 years. Montana is a wild and untamed place on many levels, and Bigfork felt about like a cesspool of demons to me at the time. God is certainly on the move there, but there is a lot of spiritual opposition that I didn't really know how to handle. That was hard. A big light in all of it was that I met this really great redhead named Ben, and he embodied Joy more than any Christian I'd ever met in my life. Funny thing is, he wasn't a Christian. We met in a bar on Halloween, yeah, that's right "Satan's holiday." Well, I like to laugh in the face of that because God clearly isn't hindered one bit by any of those humanly foolish ideas. Ben was my own personal unsaved embodiment of joy and life in a way that challenged my spiritual understanding. He was also my future husband. We became friends and he became a Christian somewhere along the way and also a volunteer with Young Life on my team. It was pretty amazing to sit back and watch God do all the work in that, and to see the speed with which God began growing him up spiritually. Anyhow, we eventually got engaged and then married 2 years after we met. I left staff the month I got married. You could say that God very clearly led me out of what had sufficiently battered me to the point of bitterness and uselessness. I was pretty unfit for fruitful ministry by the time I left staff and God told me He was leading me into a time of rest, healing, and rebuilding again. Also of learning how to be a wife- no easy matter. I will say that in those 2 years God DID accomplish amazing things in my heart as well as in Bigfork. He is undoubtedly vitorious there, lest there be any doubt from my negativity. In the past year I have been trying to get the hang of this whole "married" gig. In all honesty I have to say that the first 5 months were "hard." For anyone who is not married at this point, let me clear the record. People told me the first year of marraige was "hard," but also good. I was prepared for hard. I was not however, prepared for complete and utter meltdown at times. That was a shock. Moments of thinking "God, what have I DONE?! I'm trapped! I picked the wrong one!" Yeah, I didn't know that would happen, and it was terrifying. Maybe the rest of you women were better at this thing than I am, but in those first 5 months I experienced a lot of what felt like dying. And it is...dying to self. I know intimately what that feels like in this area. In particular one of my favorite parts of myself has been getting murdered by God: my independence, which you all know is rather fierce. It hurts! Dying is no fun. I am sure you ALL are aquainted with the feeling in different areas of your life. Mothers, your sense of self gets killed every day. Losing loved ones, that murders your dreams and hopes for a start. Well, marraige first off started hacking away at my independence (MY goals, MY dreams, MY desires). However, God showed up. He had never actually left. Ben and I started getting the hang of things after about 5 months, and since then it has been up and up all the time. I highly reccommend marraige! It's good holy fun, and the pain has a purpose. My theme in the past year has been rest and healing, hence the brainless job at Rocky Mtn. Outfitter (RMO). When I leave work, I don't think about it anymore. THAT IS WONDERFUL!!!! Ben and I both worked there together, and this year he got his first job teaching junior high at a rural school (think little house on the prairie). We bought a house. We have 2 perfect kitties. We play a lot. We're enjoying our resting time. God's agenda with me this past year has also been freedom. Yeah, the east isn't so good at instilling freedom into people. God has surrounded me with some very free believers here, my husband being one of them. It is an interesting and revealing raod to walk when married to someone who has not grown up in the church. I can honestly say that Ben experiences Christlike freedom in ways that will take me years to get to because God is trying to undo in me a lot of what the church has instilled. I am not a heretic, I promise, but more on that another day.
So anyhooo, believe it or not, that's the short version. I am actully in VIRGINIA right now Friday the 15th, until the 24th. I am going to Charlottesville today through Sunday. Anyone have Martha's email address? Or Lashelle's? I'd LOVE to at least bring somebody a coffee and a hug. As for the rest of you NOVA'ers I want to find you, so perhaps a mass event like drinks or coffee in a central location could happen. CJ. you are good at this sort of organizing. Any ideas on where would be a good spot for an open-housey kind of check in point? My info is lizmwhite@yahoo.com or 540-347-7940. hope to find some of you guys this week!

Stephen Hawking's Universe

Just thought i'd share how much i appreciate this blog...i've taught every period today (in cute shoes i might add) but my 7th period is (thankfully) watching a movie called stephen hawking's Universe which from the title alone you can just fathom how exciting it is and this would be the 8th time i've seen it all the way through, i don't think i've seen some my favorite movies 8 times all the way through! But instead of having to listen to the development of the Big Bang Theory in the 20th century for the 8th time i can sit here and read all about some of my favorite girls that i never get to see! So fun! PS - Shelley Reese is MARRIED?

Plans for the Reunion

360 Reunion

October 27th-29th

I want everyone to know about it and as many who can to come. Naturally, I'd especially love it if people that I know where there. :) It seems like this blog so far is mainly those that lived there 1999-2001ish.
A number of girls haven't posted, but I want them to be invited.

From 1998-1999
Krystal Boxeth
Abby Butts
Mary Breed
Catherine Tankovich Breed

From 1999-2000
Liz White Parsons
Meghann Peer
Erin McDaniel
Julia Leibson
Katie Weber
Shelley Reese (can't remember her married name)

I emailed Krystal and Liz. Martha, will you get in touch with Shelley, Mary, and Abby? Leah, will you tell Catherine? That leaves Meghann, Julia, Erin, and Katie. Will someone who has their emails or knows their phone numbers let me know that they'll get in touch with them?

For 2000-2001, I don't know everyone that lived there. Someone who lived there that year, post a reply with who isn't on the blog yet and assign people to split up to get in touch with them.

Also, would everyone email me at hallieholland@alumni.virginia.edu with your email address? I want to get a master 360 email list going by year. So, include in your email what years you lived there. I know I should remember, but I'm running on little sleep, so give me some grace!!

Also, Megan, I have done a little with html coding and so if you would want to make me an administrator on the blog, I could put up a side box with the email link list. Or I could email it to you and you could do it. Let me know what you think.

Be thinking about what you want to do that weekend! Yay! I'm already excited!

Joe

Pray for us, please. We got home last night after Joe being in the hospital with a severe headache, chills, fever, and body aches. The doctor's don't know what it is, but let us come home with some good pain medicine. He had a rough night, but I am so thankful to be at home where I can let him rest (hospitals are so UNrestful) and where we can be together as a family. I'll update you as we know more.

Reunion Part Deux

So I think if we never set a date, we'll never get any kind of reunion together. Am I right? I think I'm right. How about Oct. 14 or Oct. 28? I can be game for either of those. It might be fun to go to the game, but I could go for not going too....and I just checked the website and they don't have any available for either of those dates, so we'd have to scalp them. Just a thought. Let's do this thing people!

Still at School at 6:00pm

So i'm still sitting in my classroom at 6:10 at night and school hasn't even started yet! This is not a good sign! I shouldn't be surprised though seeing as i spent a 4 hour lunch break buying cute sparkly white sunglasses at Macy's/Hecht's in Tysons and then the last hour reading all the posts i missed having been out of touch with the modern world in my no internet/phone/cable play house in the backyard all summer. Whatever though it's teacher work week who ACTually does work during teacher work week? My kids make fun of me that i have to go to school on teacher work days and they get a day off but i swear to you those are the best days ever you get 8 solid hours to be productive (or go shopping and read blogs, but whatever) and not be distracted by annoying things like students and teaching. Actually i have to say, sort of in response to Megan's comment about not wanting to have to direct kids around piles of vomit for the rest of her life. I LOVE my job. Some parts of it stink and it can be super stressful (last year teaching AP Environmental for the first time, i'd get half way through a lesson and realize i didn't even understand what i was trying to teach - THAT is a horrible feeling, especially when it's only 1st period and you've got 3 more classes to go!) seriously though the kids are my favority part. High school juniors and seniors, they are almost old enough to start caring about and talking about real things and they see a world beyond the four (rather crumbling) walls of Woodson high school (we're being renovated this year you should SEE the trailor park we've got going!) There are hugely frustrating days but then you get an email from your favorite kid who graduated last year and is all off at college and he's telling you how he's taking this geology class but it's soooo boring b/c he already learned everything with me the year before. Or the kid who would try so many pick up lines on me in a given day i had to limit him to one a day until he finished all his work - this would be the same kid that proceeded to write my evaluation at the end of the year in the form of a poem expressing is undying love for me. They really are hilarious and funny...most of the time. Watch, this time next week when i have to be mean and hard on them to get them whipped into shape at the beginning of the year and they're fighting me tooth and nail i'll be revising this post to say how miserable my job is. I'll just have to keep my lastest graduated student email at the top of my inbox ("well i was just checking in on ya. make sure you work those kids to death this year. do you have to be put into a trailor? because they can't do that to mrs.carroll or else i'll have to come back there and teach them a little lesson. :)") to remind myself how fun it can be. Time to go pick up my husband and head off to dance lessons (triple swing tonight i think!). Love you girls.

It could only happen to me!

So some of you may remember the morning of graduation in 2000 when I awoke and found a bug in my ear. Well, I've just arrived back from Puerto Rico (which was pretty cool by the way) and wanted to post a new little friend that I made that totally tops my bug in the ear story. It was 3:30am when I was awoken from a dead sleep by a big pinch on my arm. Imagine my surprise when I turn on the light and see this thing slithering across the floor under the dresser. I then proceed to FR-REAK out! I go and get my shoe from the front door and curl up sitting up on the other bed in my room. I finally say," this is ridiculous," and move to my original bed to start my research on what the heck had just bitten me. Fortunately my Palm actually was connecting to the internet for the first time in days, so I start my googling. I start with millipedes, but it doesn't quite look like my attacker. So I move on to centipedes and sure enough, there's a picture of my not so little nemesis. As I'm doing this, the thing slithers across the room from the bed I had just been curled up on! So I throw my shoe at it and stun it. I then throw it again and see some bug juice come out. It makes an awful crunching sound when crushed by the way. At this point I don't really know if that was the original culprit because the one that bit me had gone under a dresser originally...so I'm still freaking out that there could be more than one. I decide to continue my research about my little friend to see just how freaked I should be and if I needed to go wake my friends up and find a doctor. After all my research the answer was that if I was prone to anaphylatic (spelling?) shock, then I would be dead. Fortunately for me, I'm not, so it just mimicked a really really bad bee sting which sent radiating pain shooting up my arm for a few hours. It still wasn't that comforting to read the words "very small, extremely venomous front pinchers" as I was researching. Apparently this monstrosity can eat birds and mice and stuff! About 5am my friend's husband wakes up to go to the bathroom and sees my door wide open and my lights on. He goes to the bathroom (fortunately he had had the presence of mind to put some clothes on) and comes out to see why the heck I'm still awake. So I tell him my story as I'm sweating in bed covered by a sheet head to toe for protection. He goes to pick it up and put it in the toilet, but I sternly tell him to leave it there as a symbol to any other creatures that could be lurking that I am a force to be reckoned with! Yeah real scary I was as I lay in bed not wanting to move and definitely sleeping with the lights on. So I finally decide that I've got to get some sleep, so I start praying for no more centipedes to bite me that night. The next morning I of course have to recount the whole debacle to my friend Cheryl and then proceed to show her the thing. It was about 7" long and when we went to see it, it was still moving. Fortunately I had crushed it's back end, so it hadn't moved positions, but the front had definitely replumped and it was trying to move slowly. It was at that point we decided it was okay to flush it so we wouldn't have to freak out if we came back from snorkeling and it was gone. Unfortunately we didn't have the presence of mind to preserve the image for posterity, so I have done some research and found one myself. This one isn't nearly as big as my assailant, but you'll get the picture. Needless to say, I slept with the lights on the next night and had Seth check under all furniture and crevices before I even thought about sleeping. Again... it could only happen to me.

It's A Boy....Or So They Say

Well Seth and I got to watch the baby in action yesterday. It kept trying to kick and punch the ultrasound wand. The doc thought that was real funny. And (unless they were confused) it looks like its going to be a boy. How in the hell am I ever going to be able to raise a boy. All is know about is sisters and girls and mom time. But Seth did show his first real moment of excitement when he heard it was a boy. He blushed and just kept smiling.

Reunion Anyone?

With all of the people who have responded that they plan to visit Charlottesville - a lot of you have said this fall - and the vast number of you in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast - is anyone up for planning an informal reunion? The fall seems a bit soon to do anything that will be well-coordinated, but that doesn't have to stop us. Any takers for trying to choose a Fall weekend and planning to see who can make it for that time?

Picture...

From Katye.

Um, so hi. :) I'm finally figuring out how to post, not just "blog eavesdrop" as Megan put it. I figure if I don't get something out there, Courtney will keep asking me every time I see her - which is often, relatively, anyway, so there's only so much grace time with my "the government blocks blogs" excuse... Cause you and I both (all) know that she'll come over to my apt, fire up my computer and show me how to do it.

So - really, the litany of where I've lived and what jobs I've had is kind of long - but here's the easy version - I graduated in 2001, moved to Northern Virginia, got a job at the White House and worked as a Writer for President Bush for a year. In Oct 2002, I started working for Homeland Security - BEFORE there was a Department of Homeland Security - four months later, a lot of late nights and an Act of Congress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was birthed and from January 2003 until February 2005 I worked for DHS. In Feb of 2005, I thought I'd leave the govt and try the private sector - bad idea, it lasted 3 months, so short that it's not worth talking about. So I went back to the White House for a year and in May was asked to come to the State Department, where I am now, to work for Karen Hughes. Basically, I do communcations for foreign policy. If you want more info: www.state.gov/r One of my jobs is to draft her speeches. If you want to know more about Karen, she's got a book, Ten Minutes from Normal... She was the President's Communications Director. And it's really quite humbling (read: DAUNTING) to work for one of the best communicators out there... I mean, let's all remember that my thesis 4th year didn't quite meet my advisor's expectations. That said, God is SO using this job to affirm His call on my life to write... I know that's what I'm called to, but I've been learning (lately) how crippled I've been by insecurity and lack of confidence in this area. In nearly 3 months, I've written or re-written several major speeches, and each time it's been so incredible to see Him build me up even as I'm humbled and know it's not b/c I'm so great - it's Him in me.

All that said - that's just work. It's like maybe 1/2 of me... if that. I'm also still SO stinkin' passionate about women's ministry. The Lord really re-established this in my heart after I lost Richard. (Side note on this coming...) Currently I'm on the team of women planning/running a young women's conference, After Eve - I'm the promotions director, so here's my shameless plug: www.aftereve.org Just click the link and check it out. And pray for me b/c someone thinks it's a good idea for me to teach a breakout seminar... Seriously, I can't talk them out of it, they even feel like it's a God thing. Sheesh. :) The seminar is called "I didn't sign up for this." The basic synopsis: "Break ups, Cancer, job loss, financial strain, losing someone you love. Sometimes our world turns upside down and sometimes we find ourselves disappointed with a turn of events… what then? Where is faith when you face disappointment, crisis, or suffering? How do you follow Christ when you feel like you have nothing to give?"

Which brings me to the short side note - today is August 21, 2006. Two years ago today I would have been married to the most incredible man, Richard Keplinger. Those of you who didn't meet him would have loved him - he was so 360... On June 17, 2004, he was killed in a freak accident cutting down a tree. The short version, b/c I think you all know this, is that God is incredibly faithful. I can't say it's been fun, or easy, or anything except hard. But a little over two years later, and on what would have been my 2nd anniversary, I can confidently tell you that I know Whom I have believed and He is able to guard what I have entrusted to him... I'll let one of the pastors wives remind me the reference there... 1 or 2 Timothy, I think, but I don't have my bible. Anyway, God is a big God. If you want more, I'll send the transcript of my breakout seminar... or just come to After Eve... :)

So, yeah, that's me. Single, sort of, living in DC/VA, working for the government (Leah, I've heard Seth has a theory on this?) and trusting God to show me what each day holds - I still have bad days (today isn't great) but I'm hopeful, and confident, and I'm not afraid to say that I pray big prayers - I want to see great harvest out of this great loss - not just in my life but in the lives around me and in the lives around those people. I don't know why a tree falls, but God does, and He's sovereign, and I'm content to trust that.

I've posted a pic of me and Richard below - I hope it's not too sad for y'all, but it just seems like my 360 girls should all have known him.

Much love and more prayers - kdb

take two

sorry, don't know why this didn't post last time.

okay okay

so i've been a blog eavesdropper for far too long now and just have to put in a few cents' worth.
i will start with the basics: graduated UVA 2001 (but all of 5th year spent in loudoun, doing student teaching and finishing up the MT program...remind me later and i'll post about how i spent my first day of student teaching directing traffic around a pile of vomit in the middle of the hallway at Loudoun Valley High School). never went into teaching...i guess i just decided back then that there was no amount of money that you could pay me to be someone else's parent. again, another blog thread for another time, as i'm sure that you teachers out there will have some insight to share on that one as well. got maried september 2002, after matt graduated, when we moved to warrenton and went on young life staff. intern program in warrenton was amazing, it was such a blessing to be in a tight-knit community like that during our first years of marriage and ministry. i still fight being bitter about not being there anymore (we moved to Winchester in august 05 when matt was given an area director job), especially after chris dove's death...i wanted to minister with and be ministered to those folks with whom i shared so much of my life. so now we're in winchester, ella is 2 1/2 (g0ing on 13, i feel sometimes), and we're pregnant with baby girl #2, due in december.
hmm...what else? i quit my job (doing marketing/admin stuff with a commercial real estate firm in DC--really good money-before ella was born, and then took a part time job as a bank teller when she was 18 months old. that said, i would agree wiht the other ladies that it is important to pour yourself into your kids--their well-being, spiritual and otherwise--but it came to a point with me that i needed to find something where i could pour into other folks as well. to be honest, i don't have the emotional energy i used to have to be able to deal wiht high school girls (so i have very little part with matt's "up front" ministry, just support in the background and admin help), so i felt that i needed to get out and try to do the work thing again. it probably sounds lame that i chose to go back to work in order to "take care of myself" and regain some sense of my adult identity, but circumstances, financial and otherwise, made that an easier decision.
so anyway...as far as what the lord has taught me through 4 years of marriage and 3 of motherhood is that i am too selfish to be a young life staff wife and way too selfish to be a mom. thankfully, though, his grace is new every day (as are matt's and ella's, for the most part).
okay sorry that was such a long post...p.s. sorry for the nudie of my daughthter, but that's pretty much par for the course in our house...

More from Hallie

If you haven’t read the comments section under the picture of Vern’s precious girls, the following won’t make much sense.
I've been thinking and writing more about motherhood. I'm gonna be posting some thoughts over the next few days over at my blog. I didn't put it here because it is more personal and not as much general 360 (also, I didn't want to bore you if you're not interested). But if you are, come join the conversation!

Try again

My Pic

Just one more little update. I started a new job yesterday and will be much less stressed. The Lord was amazing in how He provided this job. I really had no idea how I would last at my olf job du eto contractual obligations but someone from the hospital next door recruited me so I am now working with patients with spinal cord injury. Funniest part of the whole deal was 1: yesterday Healthsouth (my 50% company with UVA) announced that they are selling the outpatient division - my old division and 2: I was featured as an "excellent employee" for the outpatient division in the national newsletter yesterday. He he he...if they had only known. Here's a pic of me and Brian at Brad Pantuck's wedding this summer. Keep posting people!

3 birds with 1 stone

For you Hallie... This will give a year old picture of me, Megan and Megan. It was last summer at Elizabeth's wedding. Yes, that's really where her reception was!

uhhh...what the heck am I doing?

Okay, so my heart is just about beating out of my chest, bc I have no idea how to do this whole thingey - I mean, I JUST started to use Google for recipes last month and JUST started to use the phone book program on my cell a couple months ago, so blogging is HUGE- but I am SO excited after reading everyone's that I have to give it a try!!!!! If it doesn't work, I will cry (well not really-some of you know me better than that) and probably never try another blog again.
I get the idea there was a memo I didn't get on some questions we are supposed to answer, but I am going to try. Year graduated: 2000-ish (I actually finished Dec 99.) Course I wish I had taken: oh man, thousands of them, I actually can't wait to go back to school, but I think mostly all the econ classes I could have loaded up on to help in managing a household budget. Favorite 360 Memory: It feels wrong to single one out, but I will say two anyway-road trip to Florida/Tybee Island, and the EVER overflowing downstairs kitchen trashcan that I think I only ONCE emptied(very remorseful here now that I have to empty my own and I know how obnoxious it is to be the only one to do it.) How did anyone live with me at that time?! Places I have lived since graduation: Wake Forest, NC and Durham, NC (three places in Durham). Jobs I have had: high school teacher, family administrator, for which I get a clothing budget, personal budget, and food budget for "payment." But I, like Hallie, don't really count that, I count the number of times one of the girls RUNS to me when they see me unexpectedly as payment and proof of a job well-done:)
We just moved last weekend into the house I call my "die in house." If I have anything to say about it, this is my house FOREVER. I SUCK at organization, am mediocre at design, and moving requires a LOT of that with kids and everything and I HATE it. But it is GORGEOUS!! I can't believe it is mine. Of course, my two little bastards (seen above-Kharis (means grace in greek) on top and Alethia (pronounced a-lay-thia, means truth in greek) on the right, both about 8 months ago, now 3 and 1) will quickly demolish all the beautiful hardwood floors (Kharis already thinks her big-wheel is best ridden around the downstairs circle) and shiny black banisters and new paint and carpet I am sure...you know what they say, "You just can't have nice things with kids." It's God's way of ensuring I don't get too materialistic, and I appreciate it:) It is perfect for a die-in house -the master is already on the first floor, so when I am too old for steps it is all good!
Before I go, our church is phenomenal-beyond description for me. When I knew I wanted to be in ministry I never pictured this, but it is overwhelming in all the good (and bad) ways you can probably imagine on your own. JD is the best preacher I have ever heard in person, and that is saying something since I know all of his junk. *If you think about when you read this, pray for him bc he is in a foreign country for 2 weeks. He had tried to increase his life insurance before he left for other reasons, and NOONE would cover him bc of this trip! Which makes me feel super about it.
Okay, love to all of you girls, some of who I know I knew better than others, but all the same, once a 360 girl, always a 360 girl, and we love you all!
~Veronica (McPeters)

Posting pictures

Since I really want to see what you all look like now, I decided to figure out how to post pictures. Turns out, it is quite easy.

When you are writing a new post, there is a button to push on the toolbar in the post editor window that looks like a very small picture of some trees and the sky. When you push it, you will choose whether to upload a picture from your computer or from the web. Simply click browse and find the photo on your computer and it will post it for you in the new post.

As a courtesy for those of us that live in the country and only have dial-up because DSL lines don’t run this far out of town, try to post only a few pictures per new post.

Blogger also has very easy to follow directions (with pictures!), if mine don’t make sense.

And as it is only fair, I will post the first pic. This on is of me and my hubby on our 6^th anniversary just over a month ago. (Hmm….where was my trip to Europe, I wonder???) J

BTW, you can click on it to see us up close and personal.

Still in the 'Ville

Hope this works as I do not blog either. This will be short because we just flew in from England early this morning (to celebrate our 5th anniversary) and I just got home from a 10 hr workday - somehow that didn't seem like such a stupid idea when I booked the flight.

Anyhoo,

Year graduated: 2001

Places lived: Gainesville, FL and Charlottesville, VA since Spring 2005

Jobs since 360: substitute teacher, senior clerk and clerical supervisor (of which I am most proud) and research assistant at the dept of Physical Therapy at the University of Florida, and, finally, Staff Physical Therapist at UVA-Healthsouth

Course I wish I had taken: Spanish - because I could not communicate for the life of me with a patient today

360 Memories: Walking to 7-eleven and back with Big Gulps, always having someone to chat with (Meg W was always good at that), Shelley filling the dishwasher with dish-soap and watching it bubble into the kitchen, trying to keep up with Elizabeth driving to Ft. Lauderdale (the list could go on)

***side note: can we invite Shelley? I don't know how - but her email is ssr2m@virginia.edu***

Brian and I are so happy to be out of FL and back near fun people and places. Please let me know if you'll be in C-ville - we finally have another bedroom for the first time in 5 years. We bought a condo and love to have guests. Brian is getting his PhD as I stave off the family urges by putting in long hrs at work. I miss you all and wish I wasn't so bad at keeping in touch with people who were such a big part of my life. Can I redeem myself?

Martha

Ta DAAAAAA! Here I am! I know everyone was just waiting with baited breath for me to get my act together and post! Actually I live in the dark ages during the summertime (no computer or internet!) but as soon as school starts again I'll be chiming in with everyone complaining people don't post enough b/c reading notes from my favorite girls is way more fun than repeating directions on how to locate earthquake epicenters in africa for the 40th time in a given day. :) Anyways details details:

Year I graduated: 2003 ish (did the 5 year BA/MT program in 4 1/2 years and finished the last semester at home so i think the offical date was January 2004)

Places I've lived since graduation: My parents house in Oakton, Va and then in an apartment in Herndon, Va the 360 ex-boyfriend/husband everyone loved to hate and I finally got hitched (January 2005). The apartment though is really SO much more than an apartment though. Hally or Megan do either of you have one of those little playhouse in the backyard for your babies? Well i essentially live in a glorified one of those. This little old lady in Franklin Farms had a little guest house built in her 2 acre backyard and we rent it from her. It's great because it's an apartment but we get to live in a real person neighborhood with kids riding their bikes down the street and a mailbox and all that, plus the yard is huge so we've got this big old vegetable and flower garden which can however be a mixed blessing when it comes to weeding and planting but there are worse things in the world. But yeah our little house (think about 100 square feet larget than our two car carport!) is fantastic. And in case anyone ever gave that 360 a total fashoin fantasy poster/sign another thought, Liz Domalski/Tyree rescured it from disoposal at 360 the year after i graduated and it now resides in a proud position in the middle of my living room (which also doubles as the diningroom and part of the kitchen). :)

Jobs I've had since 360: I went straight into teaching after graduating. My first year I taught five sections Geosystems (like Earth Science w/ computers) to 11th and 12th graders, last year i taught 3 sections of AP Environmental Science and 2 Geosystems and next year will be four and one sections respectively. I love the kids, i love the topic and i love the fact that i haven't worked a day since June 26th but the paychecks still show up every month. :)

Course I wish I'd taken at UVA: Global Information Systems (really the only reason i say that is because i am presently on a lunch break from a summer training program i'm doing with GIS and i'd much rather have taken the class in college, know this stuff now and be at the pool instead.

360 memories: 1) Wearing prom dresses to the grocery store and downtown mall with Liz Domalski 2) When we almost lost 360 to fratty boys but Andrea's dad called and used his big lawyer voice to saved it! 3) Taking shots of Jack Daniels with Kelly before doing prayer partners. 4) Always having someone to cuddle with!

Other big things - i just bought my first new car yesterday! :) Actually Andrew bought it but i get to drive it. We went looking together on Saturday and he wouldn't let me go back with him to negotiate on Sunday b/c i got WAY to excited and he'd never be able to negotiate a deal. I'm not sure whether or not i should be offended by that but i got a pretty 2006 blue mazda 3 out of the deal so who am i to complain.

I love love LOVE you guys and i'm so excited we got this blog going! :)

technical support

another gorgeous summer day in seattle... sunny and hot and not humid. :) i went for a spontaneous swim with some friends in lake washington last night at 10pm + while swimming, a magnificent shooting star traversed the night sky. an amazing sight to see.

chelse, i know you were job-hunting in seattle... what's the scoop??? are you going to come play with me?????? we're desperately short on our night staff if you want to give up the travel gig and become permanent staff here! i could get you a job stat!!

i'll be away on vacation 8/9-8/19 w/ my family at a little cabin in idaho for several days and then in montana... can't wait to spend time with them :) elizabeth, i desperately hope it will work out to see you!! i'll call soon to see what your plans are while i'm in big sky country!

if anyone has questions about how to post, i'll do my best to help, but this is my first time blogging, so i am by no means a blogging genius! ;) but since i gave birth to it, i guess that makes me the '360 blog mom' in a way...

xo,
megs

Bitter Bus

Getting bitter that only 3 people have blogged. So I may be the only one that has the time to check this dang thing everyday... but still!

360 Lives!!

I just want to make the comment that I get a lot of flack whenever I start talking about 360 and what a great time we had. People say, "What the heck is 360 and why are you so excited about it?" I calmly and cooly respond that it was the single-handed coolest collection of girls ever assembled at UVA...well, let's be honest, for most years :).
Year I graduated: 2001
Years at 360: 1998-2001
Places I've lived: VA Beach, Northern Virginia (I really had NOVA in here, but it looked so stupid)
Jobs I've had since then: Ann Taylor Loft, VA Beach Substitute teacher and SOL tutor, marketing coordinator, managment consultant, and now....Realtor! (can you say I've had some issues figuring out what to do with my life?)
Great 360 memories: Meghan Peer's birthday and Veronica as white trash Megan...Hi-larious! Andrea cooking chicken in the microwave with the plastic wrap still on, 360 date functions.

So, as said above, I live in Northern Virginia with my parents. Who's the almost 27-year-old not afraid to admit that? Oh wait, that's me. But really, I'm actually moving out this November into my very first home in South Riding, VA. After all of those years of enduring Megan, Matt and Andrew sing freaking Loudoun County's praises, I finally will become one of them... a loudounite! Being a Realtor I figured it gives me more credibility with clients if I say I actually own something rather than saying that I mooch off my parents. What do you think? Yeah, that's what I thought. I've been super busy this year (okay total sidetrack here, but as I was typing that last line, I accidently had typed "busty" instead of busy. Most of you will appreciate that that is the last thing I will ever be :) ). On that note, I will end my first blog. This is going to be great!

Courtney

Love it

Megan,
I love it--what a fabulous idea. I have really missed everyone (so much so that 360 is a recurring setting when I dream) and would love to get more updates too. I am also responsible for a few miles between us as the fam and I have settled in the Deep South of Mississippi. To continue with Megan's stats:
year graduated from uva: 2000
years lived at 360: 1998-2000
where i've lived since 360: charlotte, nc, jackson, ms and kosciusko, ms
employment since graduation: public school teacher, christian school teacher, and full time mama (well, I get paid in kisses not $, but it is definitely working)
course i wish i'd taken at uva: raising boys 101--because I only had sisters and boys are just different!!!
a 360 memory that makes you smile: too many to pick just one....Martha "swimming" on the floor, the murder mystery cruise date night, "Christmas" at 360, and the lovely cleanliness of the bathrooms :)

Can't wait to hear from everyone!
Hallie

PS--If you want to see pics of us:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollandfamily

360 gals reunite!

hello friends!
congratulations on finding the official 360 blogspot! life's busy and there are too many miles between us. unfortunately i'm single handedly responsible for a LOT of those miles... i need to hear what's been going on in your life and see photos!! + maybe even meet 360 girls i have not yet had the opportunity to meet.

i'll get this party started...

year graduated from uva: 2001
years lived at 360: 2000-2001
where i've lived since 360: seattle, wa
employment since graduation: staff rn, pediatric oncology/bone marrow transplant unit at childrens' hospital
course i wish i'd taken at uva: mortgages 101, oh, wait there wasn't one.
a 360 memory that makes you smile: remember when rent was $199/month if you shared a room?

if you'd told me at college graduation i'd end up living in seattle for 5 years i would not have believed you. it began as a spirit-led adventure and has continued as one. it's a very cool city + i love the pacific northwest. i love my job. i work with amazing people and caring for children and families who are in the midst of a battle has taught me much about what is important in life. they are brave and candid. it's frequently emotionally draining and stressful, but God is faithful in refilling what has been poured out. this fall, i'm chasing part of the dream that brought me out here- graduate school at UW, working towards a masters in family and child health. i'll still be working, of course. i bought a condo in january just a couple of miles from work/school. a couple of my coworkers/good friends live in the building, which is very fun. at times it's a teeny bit reminiscent of living in the dorms (the random noise from neighbors, wandering several doors down in your pajamas to share a pizza that's just been delivered...). before i lived here, i lived in various parts of the city with and without roomates. and i must say, while i was skeptical about living with 13 girls at 360 initially, you were the best 12 roomates i've EVER had!

i'll stop here for now... your turn to write!! if you have any digital photos, email me and i'll try to get them on the site. nursewoodruff@gmail.com

xo,
megan (w)