Birthday.

Today I am turning 18. So in honor of my 18th year of life I would like to put 18 random facts about myself up because it seems that this is a popular thing to do.

- God is top priority in my life and my drive is given a lot by the force of my faith. I love God with all of my heart and I can't see it any other way. My faith has gotten a lot stronger over the past few years and I have gotten so I can't stand missing church.

- In most of my childhood photos I am dressed up as something either dressing to look like a certain era, or just dressed up and being a ham. I have lots of photos from when I am younger and in all of them I am doing something abnormal. I kind of wonder if I have any that I just smile normal in.

- I absolutely hate starting a new doctor. I hate going there and I hate having them not know anything about me. It stresses me out because I always feel like I am forgetting something.

- Turing 18 is the first age I have felt stressed about turning. I don't want to be 18 for a number of reasons but one being that I won't be a real kid anymore and the bank already sent me a letter saying I was eligible for a new type of bank account.

- I used to be obsessed with keeping my room clean now, I lack motivation to clean my room...

- Painting is my biggest relaxation technique and it calms me down. I haven't found anything else I enjoy doing more- however writing is a close second.

- I absolutely hate crumbs in my bed and will do anything to avoid them even if it means demanding foot washing or changing my sheets at midnight. I need things to be in order.

- Traveling is an awesome thing to do, as long as you're not going to doctors appointments. I hate doctors appointment traveling however I have been out of the country twice to Taiwan and Ireland and I loved it. I hope to go back to Europe again some day. It was beautiful. Taiwan however, not so much but who knows what the future holds.

- I like order and schedule. I would rather have mapped out days and such than a bunch of chaos. I like to know what I am doing in a week advance if it's possible, although many plans don't stick or they fall through last minute.

- Watching the snow fall is one of my favorite activities and I would do it all day if I could, color and watch the snow fall. It's a silent act that's really mesmerizing, thus why I am worried about driving in winter weather.

- When I was younger I used to tell everyone I was going to be a baby doctor. I loved babies and I still do. I find small children to be an amazing thing since we all start as a single cell. The complexity of our minds and everything baffles me. Now at least 14 years later, I am still considering the medical field and I love people.

- Now I see the brain as one of the most interesting things in the body. I can't see it as anything other than something I wonder if we will ever fully understand.

- One of my biggest motivators is my grandmother she was a wonderful woman and I can't imagine what life would be like if I had never met her. She always made me think I could do anything I put my mind to and put a lot of faith in me. She even used to let me cook and peel potatoes and do anything I could to help in the kitchen even if it meant taking a little longer to teach me and watching me cut my finger and learn things the hard way. She never was too busy. I hope if anything I can take the compassion and her love for God, and people and her pace back to my own life.

- I live for the moments I can step out of my comfort zone and overcome something or make myself a better person from an experience. Even just speaking up when I am nervous. However, I think there is a limit that should be put to these moments or else it becomes even more stressful.

- I really am amazed by God and the way he works in people. I think that is awesome and I always am interested to see what his plan is next. I don't agree with his plan 100% of the time and if I was God sometimes I think I would never want anyone to die... However I feel that some of my biggest spiritual growth was when I was hanging on by a thread. Plain and simple God to me is the best thing that ever happened to me and I am in love with him.

- My favorite years of my life were the years spent in elementary school. I loved the wonder I had then and I try to tune back in with that wonder from time to time. I love simple things and I can sit for hours enjoying little things rather than big complex things.

- I am really reliant on my computer and all of the data it stores. I am concerned about how much I use my computer and I kind of hope that I can start to work away from that by the time I turn 19. Hopefully this will be something I fixed over the course of a year. I don't want to adjust to my reliance of the computer though.

- I dislike people who find it their job to be negative. I am all about cheering people up, however I also believe that you have a time that you can be negative but I don't like it if you think it's okay to stay that way for a long time. It really bothers me and I will do anything in my power to let you know I still care about you. I really do love people and I will do my best to give you my undivided attention. If you don't feel like I am giving it to you, you can call me- if I am distracted then, then you know something is wrong with me. I don't usually pick my phone up unless I am ready to talk.

Bonus- One year as a birthday gift.. My twin cousins were born on my birthday. Although at the time I wasn't sure if I was completely thrilled about sharing the date, I absolutely love sharing my birthday with them now. These two little girls are splendid and I love their zest for life and their sweet personalities. Below is a photo of them and their older sister and I the day of my testimony.

Today is my 18th year of life. I am thankful for this year and I am so thankful for the 17th year where I learned a lot about myself. I feel like every year I grow older I am a little more in tune with myself. I am so glad that I have been able to get into my skin and wear out my body a little more this year and I am thankful for everyone in my life. As a birthday present to me- lurkers de-lurk. If you are a reader who has come for awhile and you don't comment, comment. I would love to hear from you! Dad, this means you. :) So to all of the February 4th birthday's Happy Birthday!

Now just for fun because I thought it would be here is my year in review in words- Things that only happen once and happened while I was 17.

Sister moved out and then moved to her own apartment- First steady boyfriend- First surf competition- First time I swam from our cottage to elephant rock, not only facing my fears of seaweed and dark water but also swimming a great amount still being sick and never doing it before- First kiss- First annual Lyme Walk was started by Sarah and I- First time I ever had a problem with chloraprep- First surgery- First time going to camp since I got sick- First small group setting this summer, loved it so much I have a deep passion for making it to my small group at church because I love the setting and the people we have in it.- First time sharing my testimony to others and finding out how much others could care about me. It was an awesome experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world.- First youth pastor I really connected with moved away- Got accepted to my first college- Tackled my fear of public speaking and never looked back.- Found that with God, anything is possible and have learned to pray about everything, still working on the worry about nothing part.- Met one of my cousins who is 30 something for the first time and learned a lot about fishing. I think it's in our blood- Submitted my art and writing to the first contests ever and earned honorable mention on my art, still haven't heard anything about my writing.- Went to my first and maybe only prom I will ever go to- Met my first band in person.- Found my true passion for people and started a lot of things like a Lyme Christmas program and now we're starting a local 501(c)3 program that will be non-profit and can raise money for local activities.

That is my year of firsts and only moments. I am sure there are many more. Celebrate with me, I would love to share cake with you and your family. Go ahead make a cake in honor of the day I turn 18 and share some sugary delight with me! Festivities begin this weekend with a little party this weekend, nothing big just something. (note- if you share cake make sure you let me know so I can see a picture!)

Lyme Walk Success!

Well first of all the walk was a huge success with over 300 walkers! We raised close to $9,000 in total for the Lyme disease association and had a huge response with everything. We were extremely excited about the large response we got with the people who cared enough to come out for the weekend despite the heat of the day!

So thank you all for the contributions you made and for making the day an over all success and we look forward to seeing you all back next year.

If you attended the walk and would like to say something about your experience at the walk I give you the opportunity to make a comment on what you learned or how it impacted you!

Thanks to all of the support we recieved and continue to recieve as the days continue on.

Victoria

Amazed.

Sarah and I at the prom.

Well just a few days until the walk! What an exciting thing to be a part of!

I was thinking for a short while this morning about how lucky we are to be able to at least advocate and create awareness for things that are not known relatively well across the country. So even though it has taken a lot of work and determination and standing up for what we want to do Sarah and I are both excited to bring you the inaugural Lyme Walk- for those who can't.

It seems like it was just a few days ago when we were at the Relay for Life joking about a Lyme Walk. We were all trying to come up with what you would call a Lyme Walk funny how simple our title became and how everything worked out. A joke became a little more serious with the creation of the Lyme Walk website (http://www.lymewalk.org/) and then later the purchase of the domain name. We realized that this joke was a reality and we were actually going to pull something off! Throughout the summer months we started getting things ready and ultimately got our first newspaper article published about us in September. We were excited to see where the walk could be headed and thrilled to have a large committee of people on our side. Now through the support of our local schools, and peers we're bringing a dream to reality. What seemed impossible has been possible!

I cannot promise any posting for the next few days because of the Lyme Walk and friends and family coming in from out of town for the walk! So hopefully the weather will cooperate and the day will be full of learning and fun!

Hope to see you out at the walk Saturday!

Spot-light:

Sarah:
Well Sarah is another one of the people I am very blessed to have on my side. She has been working diligently to make this day possible. She has helped with everything from Volunteers to each meeting we have had. She helps with so much and has really been amazing and working hard for the walk. I am so thankful to have her working with me. She was not only there to encourage me throughout hospital stays this winter but she was there to send out e-mail's to inform others, update my blog, and do all of the behind the scenes work that it took while I was away. Expecting no thanks but only hoping she would have a healthy friend through all of this work. I want to make sure her position is not a thankless position and I am so glad that I have some very awesome friends that have been to more than just a few meetings and have come to support us- as we pull this walk together. It has been absolutely insane to see come together and this Saturday will most definitely be the biggest gift of all. So thank you Sarah!