MUCH has happened since I last posted. I finished my last semester of classes (and only had a little tinge of sadness when I realized I was experiencing my very last finals week of my life!) and headed into a wonderful Christmas break.

I spent the beginning of my Christmas break in Kansas and the last two weeks in Australia. And…I got engaged!

My fiance, Garrett, and I planned the trip to Australia back in October, which meant that we had to save all of his vacation days and forgo seeing each other except for one visit in October and one for Thanksgiving break. But it was well worth it, as we got to spend two and a half weeks together, most of which was in Australia with my family. And that is where we ended up getting engaged!

Okay, okay, so I know the first question everyone has is “How did he propose?!” (or maybe I just like telling the story and wouldn’t mind hearing it again myself!).

It was the second day we had been in Australia, and we were both very jetlagged with the 16 hour time difference and also a bit thrown off by the driving on the left side of the road (I have done it myself quite a bit when I’ve been in Australia, but it always takes some getting used to!). So, Garrett and my dad sneakily put together a plan to get me and Garrett to the beach near our house for a romantic moment without having to send us in a car that we might potentially having trouble driving. So my Dad took my whole family out to dinner at a restraunt that overlooks the beach. On the way there, my mom had handed me her phone and said that Garrett and I could keep it so we could walk on the beach after dinner. That gave me a tiny tinge of suspicion in my heart, but I surpressed it because I didn’t want to ruin the moment by building up expectations for an engagement.

My family left us, and Garrett and I walked hand and hand along the beach. I had told him about the sunset over the bay that I had seen many times when I lived in Australia and had always wanted to show him. Just as the sun was setting behind the clouds, Garrett took both of my hands in his, told me he loved me, and asked me to marry him. I gave him an enthusiastic yes and then an, “Are you sure?” and we stood there ecstatically happy and completely oblivious to the rest of the world.

What we thought was only a few minutes, but turned out to be a few hours, later, Garrett kept distractedly looking over his shoulder at something. When I asked him what he was looking at he said, “There’s a guy walking over there…and he’s waving. I think we know him…. I think it’s your dad!” Sure enough, my dad had tried calling about four times, but we had conveniently decided not to answer the phone. Since it was getting pretty late, he finally decided to come looking for us! We all just laughed about it, and I happily told my dad, “Garrett wants to MARRY me!” to which he replied with a smile, “I know! I think it’s a great idea!”

So I’m getting married! But first I have a whole semester ahead of me, including student teaching, that I really need to work diligently at. I was reminded this morning of the reason that I need to pour my heart into the things the Lord has for me here in Indiana before I move to Kansas to marry my best friend:

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

I was dutifully working on my creative writing assignment on Saturday afternoon when I got a phone call from my second oldest brother, Zachary. I missed his call the first time and decided to go outside to call him back. It was a lovely sunny day, and I smiled at the bright autumn leaves as I walked through the parking lot, waiting Zachary to answer. “Are you around anyone?” he asked, and I walked further away from my apartment, assuring him no one else was around. My suspicions were correct – he was calling about the baby! “You’re an aunt!” he exclaimed, and I had to stifle my squeal, as I heard the weary-sounding voice of my sister-in-law, Flo, in the background, “Hi, Charity!”
 
“Is this for real?!” I asked, followed by about ten more questions about what where when and how. “Tell me details!” Zachary shhhh-ed me and quietly–as if he was afraid people on my end of the phone would hear–told me “You have a niece. Her name is Felicity.” I smiled and (somewhat) silently squealed a bit more, asking about how the labor was, what time Felicity was born, and how Flo was doing. Then, the most important question: “When can I come see you all?” Flo kindly told me, “Come anytime. You can come right now if you want!” But Zachary adamantly reminded me, “You can’t tell anyone yet! You are the first sibling we called, and we have to call the rest of the siblings. So don’t tell your roommates - don’t tell anyone!” After a few more minutes of talking, telling them how special I felt to be the first sibling phone call (considering I am one of six siblings, and Flo is one of eight, AND I was the last of the family to know about the baby being in the womb in the first place!), and telling them how thrilled I was and that I would try to come as soon as possible, we hung up. I couldn’t stop smiling and was about to BURST with happiness and excitement but had no one to share it with!
 
Then I had to go through the process of trying to decide what to do with my dilemma. Should I just up and leave, drive off without telling my roommates? What about the plans we had made for the evening? Surely they would understand, but I didn’t feel right just leaving without first talking with them about it. I felt like I couldn’t even go back inside my apartment because I would surely act suspicious and in some way give away the secret. But after some debating with myself and encouragement from my dad and boyfriend (the only ones I was allowed to talk to about the news), I decided to stop thinking about it and just go. I quietly went inside, trying to avoid all three of my roommates, grabbed my backpack, stuffed an apple and a sandwhich in it, and snuck out to my car. I felt very…well…sneaky as I climbed in the seat of my mini-van and started to turn the key. I am not a very spur-of-the-moment kind of person most of the time. But I kept telling myself that these were exceptional circumstances which called for drastic measures. And, besides, my roommates would understand. Wouldn’t they?
 
I got about two miles down the road when I got a text message from my brother, informing me that they had finally finished calling the siblings and my roommate, Kathryn, who is very close to both Zachary and Flo. “She wants to go too,” the message read. So I turned around, drove back to the apartment, shared a few excited squeals with my roommates, apologized for leaving without telling them anything (and I was right – they completely understood!), and got back into the van with Kathryn in the passenger seat.
 
We talked excitedly the whole way, driving between the cornfields, enjoying the sunshiney warmth of the late afternoon, the breathtaking colors of the leaves all around us, and the chance to talk about deep and meaningful things. When we were nearly to the hospital, I decided to call Zachary and see if there was anything we could bring Flo. He suggested a few things, and Kathryn and I made a list and very determinedly waltzed through PayLess, grabbing candy here, ice cream there, a huge pink “It’s a Girl!” balloon, and a few other snacky items. We laughed at ourselves as we went through the self-check-out line, excusing our slightly excessive spending with the fact that this was a rare celebration.
 
We finally made it to the hospital, our arms loaded down with shopping bags, a baby blanket, and various other gifts, weaved our way through the hospital hallways, and made it to the door of Zachary and Flo’s room. I snuck a look through the open door and had to contain another squeal when I saw my little niece for the first time. Zachary was quietly talking to her, “Oh, sorry, Felicity. I forgot your hat!” as he gently laid her in the wheeled crib and started pushing her out the door towards us. The fact that my brother was a father suddenly sunk in as I saw him with this perfect, petite baby.  Her dark hair was sticking up through the front of the pink hat that seemed too small, even for her tiny head, and she was looking up at me with big blue, attentive eyes, as if to take in this new world all at once. I touched Felicity’s tiny pink face and looked down at her small, wrinkled hands. Without the question of family bias, she was in all respects beautiful.
 
When we got to the new room for Zachary and Flo, I got to reach into the crib and pick up Felicity, holding the tiny bundle and marveling at the fact that she was real and really, truly my niece! I was also struck by the realization that I was the only other Blackwood sibling to see her in person, as all of the other siblings are scattered abroad in China and Australia. And more than that, I marveled at the fact that our family now has three generations, testifying to God’s great grace to us.
 
I hope and pray that Felicity will be able to one day claim the faith of her parents and grandparents and truly praise God saying, “You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name” (Psalm 61:5).
 
Welcome to the world, dear Felicity!

Lots of things have been happening, and very quickly, it seems. It’s already week 10 of the semester (I had to double check my planner to make sure that was actually true!), and the next four weeks until Thanksgiving are sure to go by just as quickly. I had a very lovely Fall Break in Kansas, visiting my boyfriend. I loved seeing beautiful golden and red Kansas prairie and the very lovely Kansas sky that he is always trying to describe to me.

I also found out at the end of Fall Break where I will be student teaching next semester. I will in an in 8th grade English classroom here in Lafayette. I am so thankful to have it finalized, and I am excited that I will get to experience more fully what it would actually be like to teach Junior High English. Eighth grade is when I started to really love English, so I hope that there will be at least a couple of students who are starting to develop the same passion for reading and writing. I honestly still feel very inequipped for being a “real teacher,” but I know that that is kind of the whole point of doing student teaching.

I think I am really going to miss being on campus next semester. I will miss my 20 minute walk to and from campus through all kinds of weather. I will miss hearing the bell tower chime and the band practicing. I will miss the familiarity of the brick buildings, the fountains, the crowded walkways. I’m starting to get a bit nostalgic, thinking back to my freshman year and how big and unknown and intimidating everything seemed. The other night, I couldn’t sleep and decided to read through some old journal entries. I read about how I wrestled through the decision about whether to stay in Australia or come back to America for college (or “uni” as we call it in Australia). Here is a fuller description of some of the things God taught me in that whole decision-making process. I also read about my first experience of actually being on Purdue’s campus–just a week before classes started–touring it with my sister, Maria, trying to figure out where things were on such an enormous campus, thinking that I was going to be in big trouble when I no longer had both my campus map AND my directionally-gifted sister to tell me where to go. I read about the ups and downs of transitioning to life away from home, living with people who were not my family members, fighting homesickness. And I read about the things God taught me about loving people around me, learning how to manage my time, and being content in the place and circumstances in which God put me.

[I was told to always look for the bell tower if I was lost!]

In one journal entry, I talked about getting to spend most of one day with different friends – taking walks and talking and doing Bible study and homework together – and I said, “This is one of those times when I am realizing that being a college student is so much fun.” While I haven’t necessarily shared that same sentiment every single day of my college career, I really am thankful for the things I’ve been able to enjoy as college student. Maybe I will make a list sometime before I graduate.

It’s good to remember things. It’s good to look back and see how God has helped me to grow in wisdom and in my love for Him and for people, especially when I realize that I still have so much to learn. It’s good to put the struggles of today in perspective of God’s faithfulness to me over the past months and years.

“I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds…Who is so great a God as our God?” [Psalm 77:11-13]

It’s days like these that I need to be reminded of why people love Fall so much… Those were my thoughts as I walked through Purdue’s campus on that rainy, autumn day. It seems like everyone I talk to in Indiana loves Fall. But why?

There were signs of Fall everywhere I looked. The soft wind and gentle, steady rain had knocked leaves off the trees, leaving them in wet, brown piles on the ground. Everyone around me was dressed for the chilly weather in layers of hooded sweatshirts and zipped-up jackets. Everyone, that is, except for those people who are determined to stretch out summer and fight off the coming season for as long as possible, as they sport their shorts and flip flops. I would hate to imagine the state of their toes right now. I shivered at the thought.

I dug my hands deeper into the pockets of my blue Nike jacket and continued walking, looking down at the wet spots forming on the top of my worn Aesics running shoes. My umbrella was in my backpack, but it didn’t seem worth the effort to get it out right then. I knew I might regret it later when I removed the soggy contents of my backpack.

I walked past the bell tower and looked up at the tree whose leaves were quickly changing from a dark green to a vibrant orange. I remembered that tree from last year, how I noticed it was one of the first to change and one of the most beautiful on campus. I had even stopped one day on my way to class, pulled out my little blue digital camera, and captured the beauty of the changing leaves.

That made me remember many more reasons why Fall is such a beloved, anticipated season – the golden sunrises on cool, crisp mornings; the comforting warmth of hot apple cider; the familiar smell of baked pumpkin desserts; and the breathtaking colors of the dying leaves.   

They’re dying. I was once again struck by the significance of that realization, as I looked down at the wet leaves and back up at the trees from which they had fallen. God is making death into something breathtakingly beautiful. For our enjoyment. And for His glory.

Maybe that is why people love Fall so much. Maybe they don’t really realize it. Maybe I should tell them.

And maybe I should tell myself, too.

I have had ten different roommates and four different living situations during my time at Purdue. Instead of living on campus, I have lived with different girls from my church in a house or an apartment near campus. The roommate that I have kept the longest is my friend, Kathryn, who I have lived with since my sophomore year. For the first two years of my college career, I was always the youngest person in my given living situation. My roommates and I were talking one day about how different we all were and the things we tended towards in our house. We decided to assign family roles, with Kathryn being designated as the “Dad”, always fixing things and making sure we were getting out the door for events, and my other two roommates fulfilling the role of mother and older sister. I was left as the child, which was not particularly flattering. “We need the kid, though!” one of my roommates assured me. “It’s not as fun without the kid!”

Since then, I have tried to work my way up in the system, and the last two years have had roommates younger than I am. I was pretty sure that by this time, I should be able to be the mother. Kathryn was less sure about the idea, but she has finally agreed to let me fill that role.  

I have taken extra care to stand as the acting mother for my newest roommate, Cera. Some of my parental responsibilities have included the following:

• Taking her on a shopping adventure at Goodwill and advising her as to what to try on and buy
• Being introduced as her pseudo-mother at a “Family Day” coffee/donut function with her learning community
• Asking her every time she goes out the door where she is going and when she expects to return
• Telling the boys she hangs out with not to have her home too late
• Finding her still up at midnight working on homework and telling her to go to bed
• Telling her “math tutor” (a guy from our church) that I wanted a detailed log of their tutoring session, so as to make sure that they were actually being productive

Most of the things I say are, of course, only said as a joke, but Tim just sent me the “log” of his and Cera’s time together, making me laugh out loud in the computer lab. Here is part of the log:

1. We went to humanitarian Library
   1. It was full
2. We decided to go to the Civil engineering Building
3. We turned on our computers
   1. Cera pulled up math
   2. Tim changed his background to the Cobra Kai© symbol
4. Cera started doing math
   1. Tim looked up Covfamikoi on internet

                                                               i.      Cera tried to look, but Tim would not let her

1. Cera asked Tim question on perpendicular bisectors
   1. Tim wisely answered

                                                               i.      Cera said that Tim could not use slope

1. Tim complained about it
2. Tim gave up

It’s fun being the “mother” of the apartment, finally feeling like I’m moving up in the world! Though, I realize that my “daughters” are often much wiser and more responsible than I am, which is why my most recent conversation with Cera went something like this:

Me: Cera, as your mother, I would like to suggest that you go to bed early tonight.
Cera: Charity, as your daughter, I would like to suggest that you get some sleep tonight for once!

So maybe Cera and I should switch roles for a while…

I know you’ve all been singing that song in your head since the first time you had to write today’s date. Happy September! In my mind, this means that summer is really gone. It makes me rather sad, but I am resolved to live in the reality and to remember the reasons that I love fall. Maybe I’ll do another post about it sometime.

Well, I survived week one of the semester, by God’s grace! Last week was a hard adjustment for several reasons, and I was pretty discouraged on some of the days. I was texting my pastor’s wife today and telling her some things I was excited about, and she told me how thankful she was that I was doing so much better this week. “A week ago, I wasn’t so sure about you!” she said. I told her, “I wasn’t so sure about me last week, either…and I am still not sure about me, but God is teaching me to be sure about Him!” And it is really true. I am so thankful for roommates and friends and family who help me to remember what is true and encourage my heart. My roommate pointed me to Psalm 94:19 a few days ago: “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.”  I really needed that reminder and comfort this week because I already had two exams and one presentation! But, again, God was gracious, and I think they all went really well!

My presentation today was for my Literature of Black America class. We were all required to sign up for one presentation, and I was a little ambitious and volunteered for the first one. I then wished that I would have waited for all of the details before I was so quick to sign up because I found out that I got the special privilege of presenting for two and a half days instead of just one class period! I kind of blankly looked at the professor and said, “Um…excuse me?” She then clarified that there was so much to cover on the first topic that she wanted to dedicate two and a half whole class periods to the discussion. I met with her in her office later, and she assured me that I would be fine as long as I wrote a good outline. She also told me that she would be sitting right beside me the whole time and really wanted it to be more like a class conversation than a presentation.

I got to present for the first time today, and it was unlike any other presentation I’ve ever done in college. I myself only said a few sentences, and the rest of the class time was spent with either the professor following up with more points or the class participating in discussion about each point. My relief was mixed with disappointment because I had prepared some questions and discussion points which I really wanted to address. The main thing I was concerned with addressing was the fact that the origin of racial tension and conflict does not begin with racist stories being passed down for generations but rather with people’s hearts and sinful human nature. We are prone to unkindness and hatred towards each other, which leads to all kinds of conflict in society. So the answer then is not tollerance or logical thinking; rather, the answer has to lie in a way to make people’s hearts change. You’ve got to treat the disease, not the symptoms. And the only way to do that is for Jesus to save people from their sinfulness and give them new hearts that will love Him and love others.

I got to discuss some of this after class with one of my classmates. I wish that I could have had more control over the direction of the class discussion, but I don’t know if that would have helped me really draw out my specific points. It is much easier to address these kinds of issues one-on-one, I think. But I still have one and a half days to present the rest of my prepared material, so we will see how those class sessions go!

And now it’s nearly the weekend! You have to love fall semester – a long weekend only two weeks into school starting up again!

One more fun thing from the week: I had been texting with a friend who at one point had told me to have a great day. Later, I helped him out with something, and he expressed his gratitude and told me, ”Have a greater day than I previously stated!”

Made me smile.

I participated in the Purdue Fashion Show on April 2nd. Yes, I agreed to be a model. Sounds very strange, I know, but I only did it because my dear friend Hannah asked me several months ago, as she wanted to make a dress for it for one of her class requirements. I got to do it with her little six-year-old brother, Joseph, who made the whole thing both hilarious and adorable.

I had to arrive on campus at 6:45 a.m. to get my hair and makeup done. I had originally planned to take the bus, but apparently it does not come at such an early hour on a Saturday morning! So, I drove over, and let me just tell you, there were pleanty of choices for parking. Turns out, no one is really interested in being on campus at the crack of dawn on the weekend! When my hair and makeup was finished, I had several hours of down time until the first show at 1 p.m. I ended up calling my mom and then brother and talking to them for about the first hour and a half. Then I worked on some letter-writing and reading that I brought with me. I made friends with a couple of the girls there, and we kept finding each other throughout the day.

Joseph and Hannah arrived a bit later, and after we ate the pizza they provided for lunch (I was so afraid it was going to be some sort of “model food” like cellery or something!), we went to get dressed. Joseph had a suit vest and pants, and his tie matched my blue satin dress. Everyone who we walked past said, “Awww, look at him!” or something to that affect. I started feeling pretty bad for the little guy because apparently college girls think that six-year-olds have not yet developed the capacity to hear. He didn’t seem to mind too much, though. He and I practiced walking on the runway a couple times before the show, making sure he knew to walk beside me and pose at all of the right places. There was duct-tape on the floor at each spot we were supposed to pose, and I made sure to point all of them out to Joseph.

As we lined up for the show, I started to get pretty nervous. Some of my friends were going to be there, and I was a bit afraid that either I or Joseph would do something terribly wrong. When it was finally our turn, we walked up to the top of the runway, and I reminded Joseph to stay beside me. I am absolutely sure that no one was paying any attention to me because they were so focused on the cuteness of the little boy beside me. There were audible “Awwwws” from the audience as we walked along. We were nearly to the end, and I was about to breathe a sign of relief that it was over, when I suddenly realized Joseph wasn’t beside me anymore! I looked back, and there he was. Standing and posing in the place where I had forgotten stop! He had his hands on his hips, giving me this look that said, “What are YOU doing?!” I said, “Oh! You’re right!” and quickly went back and posed beside him, red-faced but laughing. Everyone in the audience started chuckling and then clapping for Joseph. When we got off the runway, Joseph said, “Good thing you had ME with you, huh?” I laughed and just said, “Good thing!”

I had to stay until the end of the two hour show so that Hannah, Joseph, and I could get some pictures on the runway. Then we had a couple hours of down time before the second show, so I went back to my apartment briefly. My roommate Rachel attempted to re-do some of my hair which had started falling out when I stepped out into the warm, windy weather. Before I knew it, it was time to turn around and go back to campus. But this time, I was allowed to leave as soon as I stepped off the runway. Joseph and I stood in line again, waiting for our turn. When we were about to step out, I said, “Are you ready for our last time on the runway?” and he said, “Kind of. I’m kind of nervous.” I told him not to be nervous and that we were just going to have fun. “Yeah,” he said, “‘Cause we’re in this together. Side by side.”

The second time down the runway was much smoother, and I even remembered to pose at the last spot! I saw a couple other people I knew in the crowd, which was fun. Overall, it was a fun experience, and I’m glad I could do it for my friend, Hannah. I’m VERY glad I had Joseph with me for comic relief! But the whole “Fashion Show” atmosphere was definitely not my favorite environment. It just reminded me again of the truth that it’s not the outward apprearance that matters, though we pay so much attention to it. God says, “And do not let your adornment be merely outward…rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” [1 Peter 3:3-4]