The Long Awaited Return

Hello again everyone!

I know it has been ages since I have attempted to post anything on this site, but now, once again, I am in a land far far away and a lot is happening in and through me. So….. Welcome Back!

I wanna start with a quick recap of my trip back to CO. to put it simply…. I LOVED BEING HOME. it was phenomenal to see all you family and friends again and to spend time with you. Thank you to those of you I was able to see and i apologize to those that I was unable to meet with. SO. The highlights….

1. SUNDAYS: I was determined to take full advantage of Sundays in the US. Sundays for me meant FOOTBALL. I woke up around….. 10:54am sunday mornings and turned on the 11:00 games. I would watch til half time then move downstairs and turn them on in the living room whilst consuming a lot of junk food. I continued this pattern until the afternoon games concluded….. Then continued some more until the sunday night games began and usually I ended up showering and beginning my day at around 9:30 pm… when I would proceed to hang out with Thomas, Jay, Carls, or Terry. Saturday night Church opened up Sunday to be a very productive day each week

2. IGNITE: I love the fact that my passion for my youth ministry back home and the kids that are there has not diminished at all. It is still so much a part of my heart, and my vision that I already miss the ignite family a TON. From the Cool Yule Christmas party, to The hours of driving to scope out Winter Camp (which is gonna be Sick BTW) to The Hillsong United event, To our giant night of worship…I saw a youth ministry Desperately seeking God, and truly learning what it means to love one another. I am expecting great things to happen this year while I am gone, and I am full of anticipation for what will happen for us when I come back.

3. OLD CHICAGO: Still…. after a year away…. I still love everything that Old C’s has to offer. I started my tour, ate a bunch of pizza and wings, and got to spend some awesome days and nights with Thomas, Carly, Terry, Dan, Megan, and Cole. and of course with the ignite crew Wednesday nights.

4. WINTER IN COLORADO: I have never been a winter person, but when you go for 11+ months without seeing a single snowflake, you begin to appreciate it…. and generally LOVE it!!!! I am totally a permanent fan of winter and the Beautiful snow of Colorado. that could probably be a category of its own… Colorado. Easily my favorite place on the planet. To me there is nothing more beautiful than the Never Summer Range or the Indian Peaks Range covered in snow in the morning, or the astounding silhouette of the Rockies in the last minutes before the sun is completely down. What a beautiful and diverse place… AH love it! I definitely am diggin Australia, but I couldn’t stay away from CO and all that it has to offer, from people to landscape, to weather patterns. It is still home

5. FAMILY: Where do I even begin with my family? 6.5 weeks home with them was the best part of the year. I went flying with my dad (and landed the plane!!!!) hung out with my mom and had numerous lunch excursions with her. Went Rock Climbing and explored downtown Denver with my brother Mike (He ‘lost’ his keys in the heart of downtown…. but the gnome in his pocket gave them back) Spent HOURS hangin with Dan and Megan, playing PS3, Scrabble, watchin movies, sitting at Old C’s while they worked…. making our own sledding route with a picnic table….. Trip to the mountains with those listed above. 3 Days of no worries, just food, wedding wine tasting, snow, fire, and card games. Can’t beat that… Then there were the awesome extended family gatherings. Can’t beat a Melaragno Christmas….. going plate for plate with my cousin Kyle (we would disgust most people with how much we are capable of eating when we compete (: ) trying to fit all 22 cousins into one picture….. startin to get tougher haha. onc on one chats with Grandma. Dinner at the Sugar beat with the Clarkson side, as well as a quite new years eve with apples to apples. Needless to say, my family made the trip what it was. I loved it and Love you guys.

SOOOOOOO

Now I am back in Oz. I am runnin a little short on time at the moment, so i’ll sum it up rather quickly. It has been a little tough trying to adjust to my new location. learning bus routes, bile routes etc, but things will settle. I have been working my butt off. 5 out of the first 7 days home…. with 3 more this weekend to make it 8 out of 10 days, but then school starts so it will calm down. I have spent a lot of time by myself this week which has been kinda nice, kinda not nice. but It really let me refocus on the reason I am here, which is ever growing and changing as I am. But I am looking forward to everyone coming back from break and starting up college again. I am so stoked for what this year is going to hold!

That’ll be it for now, but I hope to talk to you all soon. I’ll do my best to keep this thing updated this time around. I like writing it and I’ll be home in July for Dan and Megan’s Wedding!!!! Until next time. Much Luv.