It's finally here! The Bucket List

 The Bucket List was nothing more than a list of things to accomplish before Nanna left America. We were sitting in my car and we decided to write it and wah lah! All I had was an envelope, but we made it work, adding things to it slowly but surely. Practically all things we wrote were accomplished. A couple things weren't due to weather. Here goes!

BEFORE Nanna LEAVES 

THIS IS WHAT WE

DO:

Camping w/ a camera

Explore the Oklahoma countryside

Buy TOMS (red)

RANDOM PICTURE SHOOT

Accomplish prom without death

See Holly's house/sleepover

Get white v-necks

Go to Six Flags/ Frontier City

Play tennis

Road trip

Start Blog

Tag Colby's truck

roof

Try as many slush combo flavors as possible

tag Racheal's car

Everyday June

(the last one is for Nanna and I's eyes ;)

Starting off with the very first one, we weren't able to accomplish it because weather prevented it from being so. I wish we would have been able to. It would've been a super great day!

Exploring the Oklahoma countryside sounds like the worst possible thing to do. What is in Oklahoma? Nothing really but I've learned to make beauty out of ashes. We didn't document this much but for all the driving around and "exploring" we did, I'd say it was accomplished. We came upon a place that we classified as our "Sunshine Place". That was a place that Selina, a foreign exchange student from Germany, had.
 

Buy TOMS. Toms are the fad of this summer. I bought a pair a while ago and have completely worn them to their death. They've got holes but I still love them dearly. I knew Nanna had to have a pair before she left. We planned a special trip to Oklahoma City and successfully she got her red TOMS.

Random picture shoots never cease to fascinate me. We've had a couple of these. One we played props in Kansas City, Missouri when we went to International House of Prayer. Props is a game where you set the camera on self timer and grab a prop, jump into the lens range, and take a picture with it. Sounds ridiculous but you'd be surprised at how entertaining and how much time you are able to kill with it. The random photo shoot we did have though, we went for a walk and Nanna had to use the restroom so, we went into the church to do so and I decided to take her around a little since I wasn't sure she had seen all parts of the church. And we ended up taking pictures. There are more on a previous blog. Click here to see em.

Accomplishing prom without death was our next task. And task is the perfect word for it. I was Junior Class President which meant I had a lot to do with prom. Nanna, well, it was her first prom and she had to get all dolled up and beautiful, AND wear heels. Mostly she was scared of falling, or her dress not working out, or there were a multitude of things that could of happened. To say the least, she came looking gorgeous and the banquet, and prom went smoothly. Wonderfully honestly. I hope Nanna enjoyed her experience of prom. I know I did.

Here's a picture or two of our lovely time :) 

Seeing my house and sleeping over became a very continuous thing the last few weeks Nanna was here. She spent the night consecutive nights, and it became natural for her to stay. We could live together definitely without problem. Our living styles are quite parallel.

 

The next one I came up with for Nanna. The white v-neck is the shirt you go to when you have no idea what to wear. It's completely versatile to dress up, dress down, work it, sleep in, everything! Racheal and I came up with White V-Neck Friday and that's mostly why I wanted her to partake in our little invention. 

Going to Six Flags or Frontier City slowly slipped our fingers when the temperature in Dallas, Texas exceeded 100 degrees. Instead, we went to the Dallas Aquarium.

Next, we decided to play tennis...that was probably one of the funniest experiences ever. I've never really played it before but, it always looks so simple, right? WRONG! I was terrible whereas Nanna was good. It was an extremely spontaneous endeavor that resulted in fun at least.

Our "road trip" turned out to be our drive to Oklahoma City for Nanna to get TOMS. We also ate and had a jolly good time!

Obviously, we decided to blog together and here's what we have so far.....

Tagging Colby's truck. More so, it was a revenge type of task. He had gotten my car a few weeks prior and I needed some help getting him back. (Revenge really is not the answer) But, we went to buy our weaponry and colored in his windows successfully well. We also got a small amount of paint on ourselves...Red and black were our colors of choice.

The next thing on our list is for Nanna and I. Secrets, secrets are no fun. Yet secrets aren't for everyone.

Now, trying as many slush combos as possible was a truly hilarious thing to do. People don't realize how weird it is to say more than two flavors. We mixed some odd stuff. Most of which we liked. Here's what we concocted:

Holly                                                                                               Nanna                                      

1. lime, pineapple, coconut                                                                          1. vanilla, strawberry, pineapple

2. lemon, lime, watermelon                                                                          2. lemon, lime, pineapple

3. cranberry vanilla                                                                                      3. grape vanilla

4. grape, pineapple, coconut                                                                        4. strawberry, vanilla, cranberry

5. peach vanilla                                                                                           5. strawberry chocolate

6. peach pineapple                                                                                      6. peach lime

Next came the tagging of Racheal's car. She was also in the time my car was attacked by Colby. We got her back also...not as bad as Colby though.

EVERYDAY JUNE...self explanatory here and here.

That's how we concluded Nanna's stay in America. It was a fun little thing to do and when you make a list, it sets a goal of things to accomplish. It wasn't just a list, it was our goal to make the last few weeks something more. We made them memorable.

My year in a newsletter

I was asked to write something for the church's newsletter. There were two reasons I said yes. First, I do not have the ability to say no. Second, I thought it would be fun to try to write it.
Since Holly mentioned it in an earlier post I thought I might as well put it on here.

"I came to America with, literally, no expectations at all. If I could have gotten away with it, I would have stayed in Denmark.

My first American experience was YEC, a Baptist conference in Oklahoma City. One of my first impressions, during the sessions, was that it amazed me how these teenagers just devoted their lives to something they couldn’t see or feel. After this first weekend in Oklahoma City, I preceded my non-Christian lifestyle in Tonkawa. Every Sunday I would see my family get up to go to church and I wouldn’t understand their willingness at all. I mean, how could you give up your Sunday morning to go listen to some preacher?

I started to attend school at Tonkawa High School and I must admit that I was scared to death the first day. In Denmark the school day looks entirely different. First of all you stay in the same classroom for most classes which means the teachers go from classroom to classroom, not the students. Second of all, Danish schools don’t use lockers. These differences made my first day extremely confusing. Somehow I managed to get through the day without it being too embarrassing, though.

I soon learned that Physics was my favorite class, not because of my talents in the subject, but because of Josh Reese and Jake Love’s capabilities to make everything a joke. A mix between this class and the Terra Nova flyers in the hallway (Yes, they do actually work) made me aware of the youth group. I went a few times, in the beginning mostly because of the music. Little did I know it was worship – I didn’t even know what worship was at the time!

Life went on outside of church. I attempted to participate in Cross Country, but had to sit out due to shin splints. I made a lot of friends, faster than I thought possible, one of them being Holly Scheirman. Thanks to her, Josh, and Racheal Hernandez, I somehow ended up going to “the Bridge” in Blackwell. Speaking was a former drug dealer. I found it amazing how he had found a way to love God after all he had been through. It impacted me, as I thought about the trials I had been through in my life, but I still wasn’t convinced that there was a divine power who had created me and the Earth I live on.

September 9, 2010, I was saved, thanks to Pastor Derrick and Raphael Khabo, that night’s speaker at Terra Nova. I remember Raphael talking about Jesus in a way that completely blew me away. He said something along these lines: “You’ve probably tried it yourself. There’s this seemingly good movie that all your friends are talking about. They tell you all about how great it is. At some point you’re standing there thinking “I just want to see this movie for myself”, and it’s the same thing with Jesus. You hear all these people talking about him, but at some point you just want to experience what everyone else is talking about”. Later that night he came to pray for me as I was sitting in my chair by myself. He left with the words “all you have to do is say yes”. Obviously I said yes. After this night my perspective on everything changed. It made me a happier person.

Now, football is not a sport Danish sport teams try to be good at. We are a soccer nation. Therefore, I was blown away by the spirit everyone here, had for Tonkawa’s football team. I was overwhelmed by the time Homecoming came around. I’m from a country in which the schools don’t have sports teams, sports are something you do outside of the school hours if you’re willing to pay for a membership, so when the entire school basically spent a week preparing for this one football game, I think my reaction made sense. It was the experience of a lifetime.

In October I became a part of the praise and worship team on the East side. Besides being saved and baptized, it was probably the best decision I made while in America. As a new Christian, it meant the world to me to be surrounded by Christian people who constantly taught me about Jesus in ways I didn’t think possible. Not only did I grow in Christ, I also improved my musical skills a lot. To be honest, I don’t quite understand how it was possible for me to play on the level the worship team does, when I first started. I did, nonetheless, and now have some of the best memories with that group.

Christmas came around, and I started to miss my Danish heritage for the first time. It didn’t surprise me at all because, even though Christmas is a worldwide tradition, the American way of celebrating Christmas was way different from the Danish way. Just taking that we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve and not Christmas Day makes a huge difference. I remember making my first gingerbread house on Christmas Eve, and it didn’t quite meet my expectations of my entire Danish family eating together, singing Christmas carols, and unwrapping presents. We went from Christmas to New Years Eve and once again I was shocked by the big differences. I’ve been used to a 4th of July kind of New Years, so it was definitely different.

In February I skipped a week of school to go to a worship conference at Christ for the Nations in Dallas, Texas. It was truly an amazing week. If you’ve never been to Christ for the Nations you’re missing out. The place is filled with God’s presence even when nothing special is going on. I learned so much about worshipping God that week and it completely changed my ways of doing worship in the church. I also learned that it’s not enough to believe in God, you have to teach others about Him. Soon after the worship conference I was baptized, again, one of the best decisions I’ve made this past year.

The next highlight of the year was prom. I really wasn’t all that excited about it, I’m not the kind of girl who likes to dress up and be in the spotlight. Honestly the idea of prom scared me a little. There aren’t proms in Denmark. The closest thing we have to prom would probably be equivalent to a Mid-High dance. We still get to dress up, but not nearly as much as prom allows it. Though prom scared me, I had a great night and I would love for every girl to try it at least once. There’s just something special about it.

Somehow my mom and Lori Ross worked out a way for me to get an extra month in Tonkawa. This resulted in me going to YFN for which I was grateful! I honestly didn’t know what to expect of it. I hadn’t heard anything negative about the camp; I’d only heard quite the opposite. I was blown away the first night of camp, but God didn’t really reveal himself to until the third night. For the first time I didn’t feel fatherless anymore, I was overwhelmed with peace and reassurance. That was the night I knew that He had prepared me to leave America.

I can honestly say that I’ve had the year of my life and I would never give it away for anything. The church has been a big part of my year and I can now go back a different person thanks to all the people I’ve met through the church. All I have left to is: Thank you for an amazing year, it wouldn’t have been the same without you! This is not a goodbye it a “see you later”."

So yeah, in short terms that was my year in America. It was great and I miss Tonkawa so much it's ridiculous.

I tried, I really did.

Just as Holly, I tried to take a picture every day in June. I have a really bad memory, (at least when it comes to remember to do certain things...) so I didn't really take a picture EVERY day, but I tried really hard to make up for it. No matter what, I have 30 pictures to put up.

Day 1

I went to the river with the Baptist youth group. This is Bailey's Dorito hotdog. I don't know if she patented it.

Day 2

Holly, Nehemiah, and I went to Ponca to eat. We met Westen an Kaitlyn at the snow cone place.

Day 3

I was home after curfew and I panicked and was sure my life was gonna end. It didn't, obviously. Volleyball was great! And painful, but that's probably just my luck.

Day 4

I truly have gotten a second family from living in Tonkawa the past 11 months. Once again I went to the river.

Day 5

Now this, is my favorite Pastor! He really is, I'm not just saying that.

Day 6

Now known as "Hollyized Ice Cream". Ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate syrup. It's better than it looks. But don't eat it while Josh is immitating an Austin Powers movie. Then it's really just gross.

Day 7

I have small feet. Or Holly has big feet. Nonetheless, her shoes are too big for my feet.

Day 8

If you read this blog regularly, you'll recognize this picture. Anyways, I had one of my "oh-no-I-have-to-leave-Tonkawa-and-I-really-don't-want-to" days.

Day 9

Packing is not my thing at all, so packing up my year in America was a challenge in two ways. First of all I don't have any talent whatsoever when it comes to fitting clothes in a suitcase. Secondly it wasn't very motivating to fit everything in a suitcase when I had no desire to leave.

Day 10

I managed to spend yet another night at the river. I didn't swim, though. I was sitting on this thing, and suddenly the most beautiful sunset appeared.

Day 11

As I mentioned earlier I'm not the best packer in the world. I'm really indecisive too, so when Colby asked if Holly and I wanted to help him pack for YFN I don't think I was much help at all. When I was done making a huge impact on what he decided to bring (hint the sarcasm), we spent the night doing things that didn't require many decisions on my part. Like going to Walmart and pick out a notebook.

Day 12

Driving down the highway in America you can't help but be disgusted by the amount of road kills that are laying around, so I was stoked when I saw this armadillo - ALIVE!

Day 13

The camera in my phone sucks most of the time, so this picture does in no way do this sunrise justice but I can assure you it was beautiful to wake up to.

Day 14

YFN was awesome, and so was this guy. (You know the person you can barely see between the heads)

Day 15

Have you ever preached about hand sanitizer, an iPhone 4, or keys? I can tell you it's harder than it sounds. At least that's what I heard.

Day 16

Chris semi tackled me so I ended up on the ground and I stayed there for a while. I decided to take this picture, and no it's probably not a serious discussion going on.

Day 17

Dallas Aquarium or Six Flags? I don't see the big difference except the aquarium probably was a little cooler than Six Flags. We had fun either way. This hot van made everyone want to sleep, though.

Day 18

I took this picture on accident but ended up keeping it. Mostly because I realized I won't be able to see this room for a very long time (It's Holly's) and then I got to thinking about how I have no idea idea when I'll se everyone but her again.
Day 20

This picture is so cliché it's ridiculous. Maybe that's why I think it's so bad. Well, it's me in case you didn't know.

Day 21

This is is not from this day, but it might as well have been. It's one of Josh's incredibly funny moments that I already miss.

Day 22

I just cheated 'cause I didn't take this picture. This is Holly, me, and the two thingys from Eskimo Joe's.

Day 23

I've never been to New York and I miss the worship band so incredibly much!

Day 24

Last picture and day last in Tonkawa. It had been a great night that ended in tears. At least it did for me. It was the day I suddenly realized that my time in Tonkawa had come to an end.

Day 25

Here's my proof. I really did leave America. And it sucked.

Day 26

Hello Danish highways. This was when I realised that Denmark looks exactly the same it did 11 months ago. I've come to the conclusion that it's rather depressing. You would expect at least something to change.

Day 27

Danish food! It probably looks incredibly gross unless you're Danish or you know what it is.

Day 29

I came home and learned that the neighbor's cat acts like it lives with us. It's a really interesting cat. At least that's what my mom told me when I saw it the first time.

Day 30

This was my last day of June. Already writing everyone letters. I'm missing everyone so much it's ridiculous.

Holly, thank you for making my June the best yet! It definitely wouldn't have been the same without you. Don't ever forget about me!

It's what I've waited to make for a whole month!

Happy Everyday June!
Shall I explain? Well, even though that was a rhetorical question, I'm going to answer it for you. Yes, I'll explain. Nanna and myself constructed a "Bucket List"  which we will have a post about later. Just depends on who actually wants to do it. Anyway, on our bucket list was "Everyday June"; that meaning we take a picture everyday the whole month of June. I succeeded so here is my blog about my month of June.

June 1: This accidentally happened when I was headed back from Fayetteville Arkansas with a super cute puppy. I couldn't pass up a little shimmer of love created, right?









June 2: Nanna was at my house and she asked if she could write on my white board, of course I said yes...especially if it was in Danish. Here's the translation.
"Dear Holly,
Right now we're sitting in your room, and I'm writing on your white board. I'm a genius. You're the best friend I could ask for, you're amazing, yes you are! I'm looking forward to you coming to Denmark. We're gonna have the best time together, haha. I think you tried to kiss Nehemiah without me knowing about it, maybe not... No matter what, I love you, you're the best!
Love,
   Nanna Ellegaard Poulsen
p.s. I'm gonna miss you.
          -A lot."
 
(No I didn't try to kiss him. That'd be tacky!)

 June 3: I had my quiet time in Colossians and it really opened my eyes to seeing how God's purpose for my life will never grow slack. It's tightly tied to my future in heaven. (The Message 1:5) My day started in Him and in Him I live.



 

June 4: A normal Saturday of cleaning and band practice without Racheal Hernandez, our lead guitarist. On this day though, besides having a good hair day, Nanna saw her first fireflies. Her amazement of them, amazed me. God made those for us in that moment. Yeah, a selfish statement but really it struck such a chord in me that I'll never forget that moment, or the look on her face.

Sorry about the terrible quality

June 5: Phee Shorb who is the ex drummer from Fireflight, came to Terra Nova to expound on his talents and to bring a message summing up to, "Your decisions affect your future." He also gave us some illustrations of things that happened to him...I'll not go into detail for the sake of you keeping your food in your stomach.

June 6: Nehemiah and I went to eat lunch together and explore some of the Oklahoma country. Each time, there is a new beauty to be discovered. Really, as much as I don't want to live in Oklahoma when I'm older, I find beauty in the smallest places. See things in a positive beautiful manor, and everything is much more pleasurable.

 June 7: I sat outside to enjoy the weather. My cat, Batman joined me in a dog bed. He's a little fickle as to his actual species.















June 8: Mandy who is working at Disney World, came back to visit for a while. Bailey Hughes and I went to meet her at the lake in Ponca City. We had a wonderful time truly. I'm so glad I got to see her and I'll be happy when she is back.



 

 June 9: I had the most productive day ever. I cut a pineapple for myself! (That makes me sound like I never do anything.) I did other stuff that would just make me sound like such a woman but, Nanna and I completed another thing on our list this day. Also, she spent the night! We were out past her curfew of midnight too....Rebellion is a root of witchcraft. (It wasn't rebellion. Relax.)

June 10: Nanna spent the night and we killed it playing Halo. Really, for never playing before, she was ridiculously good!














June 11: I finished Footprints of the Godly Woman. And, it was probably the best book I've ever read. It had so much insight on how to live a life of God while also being the woman of the household. I definitely recommend it to and woman. It's powerful and spirit filled. It's by Joyce Thompson who I've actually had pray for me. She is such a mighty woman of God and her life story is one in a million but yet, I aspire to one day be like her.





June 12: Helping Colby pack for Youth for the Nations camp was entertaining nonetheless. We were outside his dad's house, and there were June bugs. Nanna couldn't understand how I was able to hold one on my finger. That night, we proceeded to watch a movie, Colby fall asleep, and attempted to wake him. It isn't as easy as you'd think. We proceeded to stay up all night ready to hit up Dallas!

 

June 13: Dallas, Texas I'm here again! Eating this meal from Tons was ridiculously refreshing. I felt as if I hadn't eaten in weeks. Just because Nanna and I hadn't. No I'm kidding. I really love these kind of buffets. Pick your mixture and they cook it right in front of you. I sat eating ready to get our rooms at YFN. I'd already seen Racheal and I was ready for what God had in store for the week.











June 14: The only color missing except purple It was the gummy bear rainbow I decided to make as we discussed the first day's service. We heard Chris Estrada and Adam McCain in the leader workshops. We worshiped with Youth America and after service, Nanna

June 15: Without these babies, I'd of been dead. The hours of sleep or lack there of were amazingly not enough. Really, yet I had an energy to still get into the things of God even though my body was rejecting. We heard Jabin Chavez and Adam McCain once again. He gave the coolest message ever. Starting out with a box, he described it as having the most dangerous thing inside it. He also said it started wars and caused many problems. I sitting there thinking, "It's empty! It's something figurative!" No, he pulled out a massive cow tongue. Life and death really are in the power of the tongue. It really is convicting to capture ever statement and make it speak life instead of death. Rather now, I catch every ungodly thought and turn it to God. I also was able to love again.





June 16: Two things happened with this picture. First, Nanna discovered she actually can receive pictures so I sent it to her. Two, this is food from Golden Chick. Truly, I love this chicken. I'm so glad we have one in Enid except for the fact that I hardly ever go to Enid. But, Nanna and I ate dinner here two nights in a row because our patience was wearing thin for waiting in lines for food. 


 


June 17: The last day of YFN. Obviously you can tell by the picture it was a long week. Nanna and I wanted to complete the most inevitable thing on our list which was going to Six Flags. Due to ridiculous heat and expense, we didn't succeed in accomplishing that. Instead, we went to the Dallas Aquarium. She picked a group to ride home in a different van, and goodness that was terrible. Instead of blowing air conditioning, it blew air as hot as outside. So by the time we arrived in Oklahoma, we were more than ready to shower! It was a fun extravaganza though.




 
June 18: So blessed to be home! I was redoing my nails, and also drinking Fiji water. Ironically, there was also a chocolate syrup bottle making a perfect "Raising the Bar" picture. Interesting enough in itself I'd say.



 










 June 19: Nanna, Nehemiah, and myself went out to drive the countryside for a while more. The sun shone perfectly enough! If I do recall correctly, Terra Nova was ridiculously short.

 

 June 20: My name is Holly.







June 21: I made a delicacy for breakfast! Probably one of the best omelets I've ever created.
Eye ball all ingredients.
Taco meat.
Corn.
Peas. 
Cheese. 
Tomatoes.
Three eggs.



 




 June 22: I found the bracelet I'd thought I'd lost in the river.
Nanna, Colby, and myself went to Oklahoma City.
We ate and went to the mall.



 





 
June 23: The days are getting harder. The small things Nanna and I have done are coming back to me. When we ate Allewi together before I went to DC/ NY. I got the same sandwich. 
                            

June 24: The last full day Nanna and I had together. We pulled another all nighter. And once again, had Holly-ized ice cream. We stayed up until we had to go to Pastor Derrick's house to leave for Tulsa. On our way, it was sober and quiet. I fell asleep until we arrived in Tulsa. Once we got there, we made it to the airport. I secretly began tearing up but killed them so checking in her bags wouldn't be terrible. Successfully got that done, then we had a ton of time to kill so we went to McDonald's to have one last breakfast together. I remember Pastor Derrick explained to Nanna who OJ Simpson was. Also, there was a man in the restaurant that was conversing with the tv. 

June 25: The hardest day in my life. After breakfast, we went back to the airport. Pastor Derrick said his goodbye and Chris and I took Nanna up to security. She gave Chris a hug. Then me. She was crying by now. I wasn't yet. My emotional wall had worked. Then she got into line for security. And, I stood in the same place. I stared at her. And started crying. I couldn't move. Then, we hugged again and I turned and said, "So I'll see you later." Then, I departed onto the escalator. I cried until I fell asleep silently in the backseat. God awoke me with a smack in the face of a beautiful sunrise and Nanna could also see it. Even though we're apart, the stars we see are one in the same.

June 26: I awoke to my phone ringing and low and behold, Nanna called me! She had made it to Denmark safe and sound and I was so ecstatic to hear her voice. No doubt that made my day being perfectly! So in her honor, I played without shoes for our worship set. To say the least, it was odd not having her on stage with us.



 









 June 27: On my way to hang out with Racheal, the sun seemed to give such a peace of mind to me. Thanks God for that. It really was a beautiful reminder of the spirit of rest. So serene, and calming.

June 28: Originally this was upside down. I was laying outside enjoying the weather. Also getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Demonic bloodsuckers.




June 29: The girl's had our first Bible study at the Reese's house. It was over the book of James in the first chapter. It really applied to my current situation. Nanna leaving has been a trial no doubt but it's strengthening my faith.

"Consider it pure joy when tests and trials dome at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith life is forced out into the open. Don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed." James 1:2-4

 


June 30: Nehemiah and I ended the month of June spending a ten hour day in the 107  degree Oklahoma heat cleaning my yard. He weeded and I mowed. We hacked up limbs, cut down bushes, and got a pink tint to our skin. It was a mess but I am forever grateful. Thank you Nehemiah Reese for enduring such a horrible, hot, yucky day!
















This blog was to give a view into the life of a small town girl from Oklahoma and the things I do on a daily basis. No I don't usually end up in Dallas, Texas, or play with June bugs often, but this was my month of June. Nanna, thanks for being a part of my adventure of June.