i have 6

so here at covenant we have a place called the great hall. i like to call it a cafeteria since it is where we eat. but its the "great hall." im not really sure where the name came from or if there is even history to it, but i have always been amused by the name. many people say it makes them feel as though they are in one of the harry potter movies due to the architecture, but i guess im used to it now. what i do know is that the food could use a little magic. anyway, this being the first week in the semester, i really expected to find some food in the hall of greatness that would actually fill my appetite. i was wrong. history would tell me that the food generally gets worse as the semester wears on - i hope we are radical this semester but im not going to the bank with anything.

anyway, i really have no point in telling you any of that apart from the hidden gratitude expressed towards my mom for her home cooking. i can make it clearer: thank you mom for your hard work in the kitchen throughout the past 21 (almost 22) years of my life; it has spoiled my taste buds leaving me despaired whenever i walk through the doors of the "great hall." okay so im not that good with compliments but i hope you see my point.
food at home = good.
food at the "great hall" = despairing.

on and on i could go but ive spent enough time on it already. only divine intervention will save the great hall and my stomach.

there are not many things at all i dislike about being away at college. food is obviously a down point but everything else really isnt that bad. i love the guys i hang out with, the girls i hang out with, i even love most of my professors... although there are a couple... but for the most part, i prefer to be here than anywhere. its beautiful, im on a mountain, on a river, in a city, away from a city, surrounded by christians, and blessed in so many other ways. but there are times when i wish i was somewhere else. and not just when there is a big test or paper due---> that would mean i never want to be here bc there is ALWAYS something due --- but rather when i start thinking about all my guys at home. like my brothers. not really my friends at home bc honestly my best friends at home are my brothers. its weird to have grown up with so many and to now have so little. obviously i still have them but they arent here in my room.

no longer do we live under the same roof. we dont all wake up before school mumbling under our breath about the upcoming sermon we will all hear during breakfast. (love you dad --> our brains ..ha i guess hearts.. just werent up to par during that hour. but see i said heart so i was listening just not participating) we dont fight over cereal boxes any more. i no longer fall asleep in the shower only to be awakened by my someone beating on the door. i dont come home after school to hear seth rocking out in the basement. i dont see griff and tanner laughing like little hyenas bc someone farted or said something associated with farting. i dont see cobi with all of his gadgets and menus and crazy ideas that are beyond me (hes like addison and is far too intelligent for me). yates is no longer resting on the couch when i come back from class. addison isnt walking in the door with me pondering the problems of the national and world economy all the while keeping his conclusions to himself. and i dont even get to see mom in the kitchen drinking several bottles of wine, fumbling around trying to find us all a snack. haha okay so an extreme exaggeration there but i cant help it bc i love my mom!

shes an angel and im convinced of it more and more everyday bc more and more everyday i realize what she puts up with.

sadly, im not even able to be at home reading, doing homework, and all other things intellectual when my dad walks through the door from work. ha so i didnt do much of that during high school but ya know, it sounded kinda cool. anyway, things like this i never really give much thought until i spend an extended amount of time at home only to once again leave. i see what ive missed and i miss what ive seen. i mean sheesh. yates is my height now and cobi is well on his way. addison has of course passed me years ago. in the words of papa.."dane, you might be the runt of them all!!!" and yes he shouted that.
and speaking of the whole height thing, im always asking God why in the heck im dang short. am i not the basketball player? dont i need the height? like i can save the world and only be 5'5" but i cant say the same for ball. you kinda need some height to be competitive today. and as i think about it, maybe you would need a little height to save the world. i think it might be hard to gain everyones respect as a short person. so i guess its alright that all my brothers will probably be taller than me- i think they'd do a better job leading than me. besides tanner... he is just short. haha! jk... i like you tanner. you might just be the funniest of us all - the rest of us are depressingly incapable of taking jokes...
even tanner and griff are growing and changing in so many ways. they are like different people almost every time i come home. and by different i mean better. they are so stinkin funny - especially together - and i love seeing how they interact with everyone.
tanner is so chill and just loves to sit back and listen to us older guys talk with and make fun of one another. he just laughs and laughs. not that he wont participate... i dare you to mess with him bc you will probably receive one of the funniest comments of your life!
griff on the other hand is involved from the first syllable of the first word anybody mentions. he loves to listen bc he has figured out its a great way to learn - which right now is about his favorite thing to do >>> learn new things and tell you all about them.
yates, along side getting taller, is also maturing. from my last post i hope you gathered that and i just want to reiterate here that his maturity level is growing. fast. he is also getting a little witty, which is something i never thought would happen. but since he is, it is much easier to have him around the "kings of wit" - addison and myself. (dad tries to participate but he gets burned!) seth is even maturing. he is much more involved in his communication these days and he no longer gives one word answers. and i know thats hard for him bc i know he knows what he wants to say, he just cant quite get it to us as clearly as he would prefer. its got to be frustrating for him but somehow i trust and believe the Spirit has worked in seths life over time and given him the courage and motivation to be where he is today. its really amazing to see. he has always been the greatest blessing to our family in my eyes and as he gets older the blessing only grows stronger.
cobi is just smart. he works all the time on his own personal projects - some of which we find quite trivial - all the while ignoring our insensitive comments and gestures. and ya know? i really like that - i love the passion he exudes for things of his own personal interest even when his older brothers give him a hard time. there is no telling what he will do... hes a thinker with an imagination of which im sinfully jealous.
addison is just addison. hes always been addison to me. nothing more nothing less. he has been with me for as long as i can remember and there is not another man on the planet i would have rather had at my side. there is no category for him. he succeeds wherever he is at in whatever he does. doesnt really matter whats going on. and the coolest part to me of it all is that he does it all with his own style. i mean, its not like there havent been other guys similar to him, its just that there is no one out there just like him. hes borderline nonchalant, but all the while responsible. all the time casual, all the time about his business. never says too much, never says too little. he just has things figured out. i really like him. im jealous of him too. and talk about funny... im always on edge waiting to hear what might come out of his mouth next.

okay so im bouncing around like some ADD maniac that i might be, but all i really want you to know is that i miss my family. i miss my brothers. yeah i have friends here but they just dont compare. its just not the same. i think sometimes i get emotional. not much, but maybe sometimes. like with my family i think its okay but the rest of the time im a rough and tough guy who is strong and not weak or vulnerable and dont you forget it! but seriously, i have times here when i get a little down about missing out on seeing all of my bros grow up. in these times i might share some stories with friends about my childhood, grab a coffee with that lucky girl (definitely a joke), or just relax in my bed looking out the opened windows of my room across the beautiful mountains as the sun sets in the distance painting the sky in the most extreme fashion. (definitely not a joke --- we cut off the branches of the tree that was previously blocking our view. true story. one im rather proud of too.)
but lately ive been blessed through the reminder that we have a God who is always with us and who always provides for us. even when we move or go somewhere else. so now its more exciting than saddening to think about my family and my brothers. its not easy but im everyday learning more and more to lean on Him – to rest on Him alone – to spread His love through my words and actions – and to even share with those around me the glory God is given through our engagement with His creation alongside the family through which He so richly and gracefully blesses us. its been really cool to think about and to even begin to believe. its hard to believe. really hard. thank goodness His Spirit lives with us. (and knocks the door down after we've fallen asleep in the shower)