dear santa.

A two-thousand and nine Christmas list by Heather Bird.

(In no particular order) - you can click on most images for more info! I'm so tech savvy!

1.) Home

2.

3.

4. Boots. Such as this one and/or this one. Size 9.

5. Foolproof Heather gift

(Target & Walmart & Forever 21 are preferred - because they have them in OK too...)

6. Smelly goodies. Some favorite scents include Christmas, non-floral, and Clinique.

7. Scarves

8. Earrings - click here for examples!

9. Movies: Away We Go, Amelie, Dead Poet's Society, Up, and of coarse this:

and this...

10. Anything that is unique and/or lovely that I would like : )

11. *Bonus! 600 Polaroid Film (if you can get your hands on some - you would be my favorite!)

12. Oh, and of coarse,

Well, there's some ideas... not saying you have to get me a gift. But for those who inquire, I now have somewhere to direct you : )

Sometime I'll use this thing for something that matters and tell you about life. But for now, I'll just leave you with some words from Bruce Springsteen. “We're a long, long way from home. Home's a long, long way from us.”

break.

Well, I have a lot I would like to say but am not in the blogging type of mood.


I just wanted to share one quick thought with you.


Today is Sunday.


On Thursday I get to go to California for a wedding and see him.





...and that makes me happy.

internship

June 5, 2009

Friends, Family, Countrymen, anyone reading this!

I would like to invite you to be a part of my life as of right now. Here’s what has happened - I have just finished my fourth year of college at Cascade College. If you are not familiar with it, I must regretfully inform you that it closed its doors this year. This was a big deal and I could talk about it for days but that’s not the point of this letter. Being that I am on the “five-year plan” for my higher education I have to transfer to another school and that school is none other than Cascade’s sister school of Oklahoma Christian University – all the way across the country. While it scares me that I could possibly get taken up in a tornado I am remaining optimistic about the whole situation. My plans that I’ve made thus far in life haven’t really gone my way and things have turned out for the better. I am telling myself this is just another one of those things. God works in crazy ways so I have faith that this is just another journey I must go on and I am okay with that. I am finding out I am a rambler. – forgive me for the tangents.

I am writing to share with you a fantastic opportunity that God has placed before me, and to ask you to join me with this great work. I have been invited to come back as an intern this summer with the PUMP (Portland Urban Ministry Project) Church of Christ. PUMP is a church and a non-profit whose mission is to minister to the children and families of Northeast Portland, Oregon. I will be primarily working with the PUMP summer program (PSP). What is PSP you ask? Please let me share – it is a six-week program for community children, focusing on strengthening children’s minds, as well as their spiritual life with a daily reading program and Bible-based mentoring and education.

If you are thinking, “didn’t she do this last summer?” you would be correct. The PUMP internship was not supposed to be on the agenda last summer but previous summer plans ended to say the least (this is where another long tangent could be made). PUMP was a blessing from God and I have no doubt that everything that happened last summer was for a reason. PSP and PUMP have become dear to my heart. I have learned that you do not have to have some degree or lots of money to be Jesus to someone; you just have to love people. There were a few children that were extra dear to my heart. One was Brandyn, he was such a ball of energy and you could tell he needed one-on-one care. This is why I loved reading groups; I was able to just read with him and be a part of his life and give him the attention he craved. He was just one face in the sea of smiles that awaits you everyday of the summer program. PSP is a great outlet for me to use my spiritual gifts and I look forward to this summer and how it will be enriching to me and everyone involved.

In order to minister at PUMP this summer, I am encouraged to raise $3000 by July 1st. These funds will be used to cover any expense incurred this summer such as housing, meals, and travel. I am also trying to save whatever I can as I will be graduating next spring. I hate nothing more than asking money from people, but donating to my internship is a chance to be a part of a great ministry that many do not have a chance to participate in. If you so choose to, please make all tax-deducible checks payable to PUMP Church of Christ and mail them to:

PUMP Church of Christ
c\o Heather Bird Internship
PO Box 11510
Portland, OR 97211

I ask that you pray for the PUMP church and the children who will be touched PUMP this summer. Pray that God will work through the hearts of the staff and interns and change these children’s lives in His name. If you have any questions or want more information, please do not hesitate to contact the PUMP staff or me personally! Please send your email address with your check if you would like to receive email updates about my internship. Thank you so much for your financial and prayer support. May God bless you as you serve Him today.

awkward.

Family photos.

We've all had them, we've all hated them and laugh at them later but THIS tops it off.

Just go here: http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com

praise.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom




Have you ever just re-fallen in love with a song? I have so much to catch up on...and a spring break blog will come...eventually. Until then, go listen to your favorite worship album. Don't have one? Might I suggest OC Supertones Fatih of a Child? It's just... my favorite.

pictorals.

One Friend,

Two Friend,

Red Friend,

Blue Friend.

Here are some photos to entertain you for like 15 seconds. You're welcome.

this is when sarah and i were really bored during christmas break- we dressed up as hookers. awesome.

these are my lovely asian officers. you don't need to know anymore than that ;)

spencer and i at broomball.

this is super old school. i found it in yearbook archives. little freshmen friends eating before service from the start. (jack, alleson, me, justin, spencer, billie jo, hutch) so funny, haha.

isuck.

So, my only resolution was to blog more and therefore I felt the need to blog even if I have a test tomorrow morning, a harder test later in the week and a philosophy paper due as well. Sounds like the perfect time to blog! It is, however, my birthday tomorrow so that's fun. Except I feel like it might be stressfull because nothing will be planned and nothing will be agreed upon with people I would spend time with...well see I guess. Hmm, what has been happening lately?


Well, the most recent thing that happened was Winter Formal. Cascade's version of prom but we don't dance because it makes babies. Duh. The theme was A Red Carpet Affair, which was suppose to be like an awards show...I think it came out alright...I mean I did rent a red carpet. Can I just say woohoo it's over! I like it and all but I could pass on the whole having to help plan it. Here are some pictures from the night, it's mostly me and Spencer. I have become horrible at taking photos with people, I think about it before I go somewhere and then I forget when the moment presents itself. Also, the only thing I really want is a good photo of us but that has not happened yet...sigh. It's really the story of my life. Anyway, here you go...

savannah and me

these gals make up part of our 2005 pledge class

senior deltas, that's hott stuff right there.

lovely officers

the whole delta gang.

who knows...

this was my favorite of the night.

almost normal. well, this is normal for us i suppose.

i have no idea but my face is quite amusing.



bathroom photo with the gals.

the place.

there is this place,
where things that are lost go.

they vanish right under your face,
wherever it is we will never know.

they are things we miss and need,
if only we could find a lead -

to guide us to our possessions that have left without a trace,
and gone to this mysterious place.

(Okay, so poems aren't my forte. Whatever)


Really though, have you ever lost something and you don't know where it went? Of coarse you have lost the socks in the dryer - that is a given. But it goes so far beyond that. Jack and myself made a list of things gone missing just in the past four years. It's not right. Where is this place? I want my stuff back!

Missing:

- Heather's American flag tank top
- Heather's black jeans
- Two pairs of Jack's glasses
- Heather's laptop (yeah - a freaking computer!!)
- Jack's tye-dye Lambda shirt
- Heather's cute Levi's bag (probably with the laptop)
- Jack's A White Christmas
- Heather's Season Four of F*R*I*E*N*D*S
- Jack's Huckleberry Finn
- Jack's Belle & Sebastian CD
- Countless unmentionables
- Jack's original Arizona library card
- Heather's corduroy coat
- Heather's NYPD sweatshirt
- Heather's fairy wings
- Heather's Victoria, BC jacket
- Jack's book She's Come Undone
- Jack's grandma's pug
- Spoons.



Have any of your belongings gone to this stupid place?

s u r v e y .

Ten thing​s you wish you could​ say to ten different peopl​e right​ now (​don'​t list names​)​

1. I want you to go away. Just go.

2. I wish you had your heart set on more Godly things rather than things that won't matter in the end. But I still love you a whole bunch.

3. You make me feel better about myself.

4. I think you need to grow up and search really hard for what you think is good for you and then just freaking do it and don't hold back.

5. I . L O V E . Y O U . so much you could never really know how much.

6. I wish you weren't so.... you.

7. I wish you would grow up. I think then you would be fantastic.

8. I feel sick inside when I think about what my life would be like if you weren't in it.

9. Thank you. For everything. I love you even though I don't act like it.

10. I don't want you to come to my wedding.


Nine thing​s about​ yours​elf.
​
1. I don't get a lot people.

2. I like potatoes. A lot.

3. All that I've wanted I now have (for the most part...)

4. I love to sing but the thought of doing it in front of others make me want to pee my pants.

5. I just really want braces.

6. I hold really good grudges...

7. I'm less afraid of the future then I was a month ago.

8. I LOVE the rain.

9. I can make a clover with my tongue.


Eight​ ways to win your heart​.

1. Bear hug me.

2. Say I am beautiful when I look like a mess.

3. Give me a red gerbera daisy :)

4. Let me just be with you and not have to say anything.

5. Send me letters.

6. Sing in my ear.

7. Encourage and help me to be a better person.

8. Pray. With me. For me.


Seven​ thing​s that cross​ your mind a lot.

1. Love

2. School

3. Oklahoma

4. Death

5. Money

6. Deltas.

7. Future.


Six thing​s you wish you never​ did.

1. Not study for the SAT until the night before.

2. Waited until college to do stuff on my own.

3. Quit the violin.

4. Spent so much money on nothing.

5. Stayed up that extra hour.

6. Ate all those 2,473,075,305,974,572 donuts in seventh grade.


Five turn offs.

1. Drinking

2. Smoking

3. Those who lack respect.

4. Wretched smelling folk, even when freshly showered...

5. Guys who are just.... stupid.


Four turn-ons.

1. Humorous.

2. Loves children and a bonus if he's good with them.

3. A great smile and laugh.

4. Smells amazing...mmm, man.


Three​ smileys that descr​ibe your life.

1. ; )

2. :)

3. : P


Two thing​s you want to do befor​e you die.

1. Have children and a family of my own.

2. Travel. Like, with a passport. Destination: World.


One confe​ssion​.

1. I knew what I wanted and needed a long time ago...I just had to be patient and then one day God blessed me with it.

snow.

This is Sean trying to free Ben's van after Ben's cheap Walmart chains broke and thus made the van stuck. We borrowed a shovel from the neighbor.

This used to be the Delta fountain...now it's just a snow/ice blob.

Merry Christmas, Cascade.

This is my postcard picture : )

The poor tree that fell down...

Someone thought themselves to be clever and put a "for sale" sign by the Cascade sign.

There was far too much snow this Christmas. A white Christmas sounds all lovely and such until it turns into the ARCTIC BLAST 08. Well, Christmas break consisted of me staying on campus in my warm dorm room and well, surfing the internet. Spencer downloaded something on the computer called Stumble which is pretty nifty and kept me entertained far more than it should have. Only download if you dare... the program/site/whatever it is lets you mark off areas of interest and then when you click the "stumble" button on your browser, you are taken to a random website that is related to one of your interests. It's pretty cool but far too addicting.

Basically, I decided to stay here for break so I could have Christmas with my family since I was in Manteca with Spencer's for Thanksgiving. However, Christmas was just one day out of this break that seems to have no end... so was it worth it? I'm still trying to figure that out. Sean stayed in Portland over break as well so he came with me to my aunt's for Christmas and met some of the family. Pretty much everyone thought he was my boyfriend so that was awkward. I didn't really get presents but my mom took me shopping a couple weeks prior and we sort of count that as her presents to me - that's what we've done the last few years.

My mom beating Sean at cards.

Me and the cousin. Hooray product placement.

As far as my dorm room, we we're prepared for Christmas as soon as I came back from Thanksgiving break. We pretty much just had a....eclectic tree and some stockings. But it was fun nonetheless. One night Jack and I watched (don't quote me on the order) Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Elf...I think that's all. It was a Christmas movie bonanza! Good times indeed. Speaking of movies, I tried to make an effort to watch only movies I own (or at least have been in my suite all semester) that I have yet to see. The list included A Wonderful Life (I know, I suck at life...), Finding Neverland, Wicker Park (Josh Hartnett is a S C U M bag. I wanted to punch the movie if that's even possible) and I think there was another one...or two. Oh well. Oh! Toys and Benny and Joon. Whew. That's was a close one.

This is when Ben & Kristina were hanging around trying to get a flight out of here after many many change of flight plans... but look at our stockings and tree! It has a top hat and sunglasses!

This is my homemade snowman aka an ikea lamp : )

Also, Sarah taught me how to crochet. I pretty much sucked at first and after two...strands? (I don't know crochet terminology) I decided it was better if the wannabe scarf ended...so I started completely over. I'm about a third done and it's not looking too shabby so yay me.

There's some more adventures in there I know but we'll leave it at that for now. Enjoy all the pictorals, eh?

flyleaf.

Okay, so I am really bad at finding good bands but while on Thanksgiving break at Spencer's we were watching music videos and this song came on. It's a song from Flyleaf entitled "I'm alive". I really liked it. The video was mesmorizing. Then, today Sarah showed me some cool feature on itunes that allows you to create a play list off of one song. Well, I did and this was on the play list and I was just reminded how much I liked it. So I thought I would share. Enjoy now.

My hands are searching for you

My arms are outstretched towards you

I feel you on my fingertips

My tongue dances behind my lips for you

-

This fire rising through my being

Burning I'm not used to seeing you

-

I'm alive

I'm alive

-

I can feel you all around me

Thickening the air I'm breathing

Holding on to what I'm feeling

Savoring this heart that's healing

-

My hands float up above me

And you whisper you love me

And I begin to fade

Into our secret place

-

The music makes me sway

The angels singing say we are alone with you

I am alone and they are too with you

-

I'm alive

I'm alive

-

I can feel you all around me

Thickening the air I'm breathing

Holding on to what I'm feeling

Savoring this heart that's healing

-

And so I cry

The light is white

And I see you

-

I'm alive

I'm alive

I'm alive

-

I can feel you all around me

Thickening the air I'm breathing

Holding on to what I'm feeling

Savoring this heart that's healing

-

Take my hand I give it to you

Now you own me, all I am

You said you would never leave me

I believe you, I believe

-

I can feel you all around me

Thickening the air I'm breathing

Holding on to what I'm feeling

Savoring this heart that's healed

2009.

Dang, this is my third blog this year and it's only the second day! Well, this post is really just to say what I just said...so with that being said, my (realistic) New Year's Resolution is to blog more.

Period.

The End.

On the sidewalk near Hawthorne...or Belmont...I think.

boyfriend.

In case any of you were curious...

Name: Spencer Valadez
Age: 21
Hometown: Manteca, CA
Previous relationship to Heather: best friend
Dating since: Nov.2 (this is a good way for them both to remember)
Reason for dating now as opposed to 4 years ago: inquire with Spencer. Heather isn't sure.
Cute couple photo: This is the best I got, sorry it's blurry




any other questions? bring it.

r a n d o m .

I apologize for the fact this post is completely random but I felt compelled to share some photos along with some stories with you. Actually, they are in fact, NOT random in that they all have to do with my life. So there. A common thread for those who need it.

We start at the beginning-ish of Witness tour. This is me standing on a rock. This is a very funny and ironic photo as there was a song I sang entitled "Stand on the Rock". Get it?

This is a photo of my third grade group I had for the duration of PSP. Although they were a bit rambunctious at times and the largest group, I loved having them. They're cute, loud and rarely well behaved - but you gotta love 'em.

Here is a video that comes from our Finale program - where parents are invited to see what they're children have been doing and what they have learned during their time at PSP. This was a fan - kid - youth group - intern - favorite, especially when led by intern Jessie. No one pulls off that good ol' southern pastor voice like she does...

I'm sorry, I really don't have any nice transitions... this particular blog is for those with A.D.H.D.

Fast forward to school... last year, a great project called the Wishing Well Project was brought to Cascade. Basically you make art, sell it, use the money to build wells in Africa so they can have clean water. You can click here for more information about Wishing Well. These are a few things I have made for the project.

Now for some of the things I have done this semester...

Race for the Cure with my Delta sisters

I taught Amanda how to play Chess on the most epic board ever. This took place during East County's Retreat that was mentioned in a blog a little while back...

Next: Halloween-ish time

Kingsmen/Delta ***** party

[note: we don't ***** because it makes babies]

This is Kyle, he was Jack Bauer and I was, well, America.

Here I am with a cave woman, Rosie and the Brooke-doll*, who I dressed up as a flower.

*Brooke-doll: a substitute given to the ladies of Delta Sigma Rho while the real Brooke Aus was away in Vienna for study abroad.

Here Kyle is doing the chicken dance because well, Spencer was a chicken. I have no other words for this. Who knew in like less than a week from this picture, I would be dating this chicken...

For the Halloween party at school, Jack and I went as Wayne and Garth. We also towed around GH guitars. We were pretty much awesome.

I think it's time we ended this crazy-make-no-sense-post. But this is what I've been doing this semester..hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into the world of Heather.