lately & celebrating life

I’m just going to go ahead and jump right into this…

Friday night. Such a sweet and fun night! It was rather chilly so I went grocery shopping with a couple of friends and we got ingredients to make homemade pizza. Yum! We made pizza while talking about anything and everything. Jesus, teaching, gratitude and 1,000 gifts, families, and so much more. We had the best time and ended the night playing a card game that got pretty intense. I love laidback nights spent talking and laughing with my girls. Be intentional in your friendships!

One of my favorite old photos.

Monday night. My grandpa passed away. He left his earthly body that was failing him and traded it in for a NEW and GLORIOUS body in heaven. It seriously overwhelms me when I think about the fact that he’s now fully healed and with Jesus right now. There’s such beauty and joy in that. I’m so thankful for my roomie because she sat with me after I got the news and let me share memory after memory. Also, one of the last coherent conversations I had with him, he told me how proud he was and that he loved me. Y’all I’ll always be grateful for that.

Tuesday morning. A reminder that His pursuit is relentless and I don’t want to become numb to that. It was also such a sweet reminder that my grandpa is experiencing the fullness of Christ’s love in an unimaginable way.

Tuesday afternoon. It started snowing! It was magical and everybody on campus seemed to be extra energized. It was gorgeous to see campus blanketed in white and students out enjoying it.

Wednesday morning. I work at the early learning center on campus and I usually would get there at 7:15am. BUT there was a two hour delay and then I had a snowy view from my classroom. So cold but so beautiful. Once I left work, I checked my email to see that all of my afternoon classes had been cancelled. Hooray! I was perfectly content with a cozy afternoon free of classes.

I’m so thankful for everyday moments. There really is beauty in the ordinary and I’m embracing the here and now.

Puppy Love

Meet my family’s cutest new addition, Dolly.

She is a full blooded boxer and is the absolute sweetest puppy.

That’s all I have to share this Monday morning…

Roadtrippin’ {Biltmore}

Merry Christmas Eve, sweet girls! Last week my mom and I went to Waynesville and Asheville, North Carolina on a girls trip. My dad was out of town so we figured we should take a short trip to get away too! Since my grandparents live in Waynesville we went there first before going to Biltmore in Asheville the following day.

Back roads on the way there.

When we got to my grandparents we decided to spend the evening in downtown Waynesville. The downtown district was decorated for Christmas with lights and garland on every streetlight and there were Christmas trees in every store. I just love the quaintness of small towns.

My mom chatting it up with the owner of one of the stores…how cute is she?

My grandma was taking an extra long time in one store so we took pictures…

We woke up slowly the next morning…cozy mornings in the mountains are the best.

I so wish I had taken pictures as we were driving into Biltmore…after you enter the gates you drive 2-3 miles before getting to the estate. The land was just gorgeous.

My dad called right before we got out of the car and had lots to talk about so I took pictures (of course) to pass time…

Finally we were off to tour the house! And oh my goodness was it GRAND. I hadn’t been to Biltmore since I was in second grade and there were many many details I had forgotten. The house was decked to the halls (is that even an expression?) with Christmas decorations. I felt like I was in an episode of Downton Abbey as we explored. As we walked, I kept trying to imagine what it must have been like to live there in the early 1900s.

Unfortunately, they don’t allow you to take pictures inside the house so the few pictures I do have are from outside.

The pictures don’t do these mountains justice. You see them through almost every window in the house. Gloriousness.

I so so wish I could have taken pictures in the house, but you’ll just have to trust me that it was majestic. I love days like these and I’m so thankful I get to go on adventures with my mom. We headed back to Waynesville that evening and crashed after walking all day. Despite the graininess, now you know what I look like sans make up and such. :)

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We drove back home the next day in the pouring rain and then my dad came home after the rain stopped but cold temperatures ushered in…we made him a welcome home sign.

Wishing you all the merriest of Christmases!

Life Lately {Fall Break}

As I sit here and reflect back over the past four days I am just so full. I had the sweetest fall break spent at home. Although classes were cancelled last Thursday and Friday, I had to hang around to work Thursday afternoon. As soon as I got off work, I met up with Kelsie to head home. The short drive home was just what I needed….windows rolled down, radio turned up, and an explosion of fall colors. We spent Thursday night relaxing.

We slept in Friday morning and woke up rested before spending the afternoon in town. Kelsie and I went to Blue Ridge, Georgia to explore a few local thrift stores. We each scored some awesome pieces and the best part is I don’t think I spent more than $12! It was a gorgeous fall afternoon and we drove the back roads to get home. We rolled the windows down and sang loudly to this and this. When we got back home we went on a walk in my neighborhood to admire all the fall leaves. I wish I could accurately describe to you the amount of joy I felt that afternoon.

Friday night was wonderful as well. My dad started a fire so we roasted marshmallows and made s’mores (so yummy!). Later we sat in the rocking chairs on the front porch and talked for nearly two hours. The night air was chilly and we each bundled up underneath a blanket. I’m so thankful for my friendship with Kelsie because she continually points me back to Christ. Our friendship truly is rooted in Him.

I spent all of Saturday hanging out with my parents and my grandfather came up that night. It was so refreshing to just spend time with all of them. On Sunday, more extended family came over for the afternoon. The second photo below is of my mom and her sister…the last photo is of my parents and I.

Although I didn’t want to leave on Sunday afternoon, I came back to school refreshed. This break came at the exact time I needed it and I’m grateful for every second of it. It was just so so good. Now, I’m ready to finish the remainder of the semester strong.

20 Years.

{On their honeymoon}

Twenty years ago today my parents committed their lives to each other. In front of friends and family, they vowed to stand by each other and live life together. They vowed to be partners as their lives intertwined in a way that only a husband and wife can.

I’ve heard the story of how they met over and over, but I won’t ever grow tired of hearing it. Their story is simple yet so full of sweetness. They met in January and were married in October…it certainly was a whirlwind romance. My mom had been single for a year when she finally came to a place where she released her grip on her love story and surrendered every aspect to the Lord. She submitted her desires and plans to Him. The very next day she met my dad.

At the time, my mom was teaching first grade and went to school like she had every other day. But, this day would be different. My dad was working for the same school district as an electrician. On this particular day he had a work order at my mom’s school. She was up front teaching when he walked into her classroom. Immediately, he noticed the beautiful teacher with dark eyes and hair. He ended up asking the ladies in the front office about this young teacher that had caught his eye…he found out that she was single.

Before he left school, he made his way back down to her classroom and asked her out on a date. After their first date, they were inseparable. People started to ask when they were going to get married...so they decided that they would! My dad sold his motorcycle at the time to buy an engagement ring. They were married on October 10, 1992 and I was born July 8, 1993 (nine months later…).

The past twenty years have been so full of sweet moments and laughter. I’ve seen my parents work through disagreements. I’ve seen them forgive and then continue to move forward. I’ve seen them as partners in life. I love that I still see the twinkle in my dad’s eyes when he looks at my mom. I’m so thankful I’ve grown up in a home with both of my parents fully present. Never once have I doubted their love for each other or their love for me.

So today as they venture out on a day date, I want to wish them a sweet sweet anniversary. Here’s to twenty years of doing life together!

Mothers and Daughters

Without a doubt I’m my mother’s daughter. The older I get the more I realize I’m becoming like my mom. It seems like anytime we’re out in public together we have at least one person say “there’s no mistaking that you two are mother and daughter,” or something along those lines. When I went home for summer last May I was able to spend a few school days in my mom’s classroom and nearly every single one of her students told me how much I looked like her. I even got mistaken for her a couple of times!

I’m becoming like my mom in more ways than just my looks though. Not only am I following in her footsteps to become a teacher, but I’ve inherited many of her characteristics. To name a few…

I’m quiet, but I’m not a pushover.

I’m a total homebody.

I laugh at myself all the time.

I handle stress really well.

I have a mama heart.

Those are just the traits that I thought of first. I’m sure I’ll be able to look back in the future and see even more characteristics of mine that resemble her.

Which of your parents do you look the most like? Have you found yourself becoming more like your mother?

“I am a product of…”

My real life friend, Joy, wrote a post recently about what she was a product of that inspired me to think about my own roots.

Joy snagged the idea from her friend who had her middle school students write what they were a product of. The idea came from a quote from C.S. Lewis…

““I am a product of long corridors, empty sunlit rooms, upstairs indoor silences, attics explored in solitude, distant noises of gurgling cisterns and pipes, and the noise of wind under the tiles. Also, of endless books.”

Here is mine:

“I am a product of canopy roads, elementary classrooms, goodnight hugs and kisses, summer days at home, walks at dusk with my dad, vacations in the Smokey Mountains, coffee dates, and intimacy with Jesus. “

Now, for a few old photos I had saved on my computer. I hope these create a better visual to show you more of roots…

{One of our Smokey Mountain vacations}

What are you a product of?