Going back to childhood...

Back in the good 'ole days, I was free and the days were long, so so long. My sister and I would spend hours playing "house" and making mud pies. Now we spend our time laying out and driving around. I wish we could go back to the simpler days, and I have wished that ever since I left the simpler days. This week, we have been able to go back in time. Back to when we had an incubator in our garage hatching little ducks. Back to when we would sit around a box of baby ducks and watch them, play with them, feed them, and play with them some more. These were the days that were long and free. These are the days that have been brought back to me, through these little guys:

These cuties some how ended up in the drive-thu at my mom's bank. They were making their way towards Bowman Road... My mom and some others rushed to their rescue and scooped them up into this box. And now, they are living in my garage. Just like the good 'ole days!

So it has been a very fun week. Filled with much more adventure than usual. Well, if I say that, then you guys will be disappointed when you see that much more adventure for me isn't much adventure at all.
On Friday night, we had our last Large group meeting for InterVarsity campus ministry. All of the small group leaders received some quality prayer- and I am lucky to be one of them! Yup... it's true, I gave in. And my feelings are a combination of terrified, excited, nervous, and so many more. Seems to me that my thoughts are a little more nervous than excited. Which is okay...
Saturday was a pretty eventful day. After spending the night out on Friday night, I walked around downtown a bit and then headed off to be a hipster. I don't just classify hipsters as individuals who dress cool and act cool, but they also like to be artsy! (In my version of a hipster at least). So my friends and I decided to be artsy, so therefore, we decided to be hipsters.
We went to my dad's shop and got lots of random pieces of wood scraps, then to Walmart to buy some spray paint, and then we got to hipstering. This is what resulted:

You might not be able to see it or what it says, but it is representational of the verse: "He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ashes; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor."

Then that night, we ate and ate some more and then went to bed. Oh, and I can't forget to mention that we took some Christmas family photos...

 On Sunday morning we woke up and went to three church services to make announcements about our hopeful trip to Africa in June. This went well and I didn't think the day could get any better. UNTIL we went out to Rockville for a picnic at Grace Chapel. It was absolutely beautiful!

From there we headed back to school and then went to a nice dinner at Vickery's on Shem Creek. It was beautiful, but unfortunately we left the camera in the car and didn't take any pictures. 

Monday came along pretty quickly and we went to Caroline's house where her parents cooked a lovely dinner for us! Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna... SO GOOD! And also what appeared to be the best cake I would have ever tasted.... but I didn't get to have any due to my fast. One of the toughest moments of my fast so far. 

Tuesday was our last Buddy Time small group EVER! What a sad day! To grow in Christ with other believers every week has been such a blessing. The relationships that were built on the foundation of Christ are so strong. I am thankful to have been so welcomed in this group! 

From there, I went to the Pride and Prejudice play, performed by the College of Charleston. After reading the play and seeing the film production, and loving both of them, I didn't think it was possible to be any more blown away. I sure was wrong! The accents, the wit, the looks, the outfits, the language. Everything was amazing! 

So far, the past week has been a great one, and I am so grateful to have been a part of it! 

The Semester is Ending

Well, it is coming to the end. The semester is almost over. It has gone by so fast. I can't tell if I am ready yet. Moving on to being a sophomore. whattttt. Living in an apartment, grocery shopping for myself, getting a job, and one thing I am scared about- cooking for myself. I have never been the best cook... let's just say the microwave is going to be a great friend to me next year!
This semester has been such a great one- this year as a whole has been great. It had its ups and its down, but in the end I know it was all in God's will- all the challenges and all the good times. All of it.

Here is my year in a nutshell:

I played volleyball at Erskine College and found the most amazing family there...

Made some amazing friends and built relationships that will last forever. 

Managed to fall asleep at every possible moment I had the chance. 

Had the privilege of watching my sister win the state volleyball championship and win Player of the Year. I am so proud of my baby. 

Managed to keep myself sane during first semester exam week b acting absolutely insane...

Went to a Justin Bieber concert and cried like a 13 year old. 

Enjoyed many beautiful afternoons at the Battery with friends. 

Managed to embarrass myself on Valentine's day. 

Climbed to the top of seven different mountains. 

Witnessed the first human being to ever crawl through a tree trunk. 

Managed to dress and act like a hipster for a night.  

Managed to receive three injuries while slip n sliding on a very large slip n slide.

Found the ugliest prom dress in the world and secretly loved it in the end.

Managed to embarrass myself once again at the Freshman dance at Erskine...

Managed to embarrass myself YET AGAIN at a birthday party. 

           So basically, I had a marvelous year, filled with very exciting things. Two different colleges, two very different towns, and many different friends. I managed to embarrass myself in more ways than I can count. I cried a lot, smiled a lot, and laughed so hard it hurt. I have learned so much, about life, growing up, responsibility, and how I was created to do all the embarrassing, funny, sad, and hard things for the glory of my Lord and Savior. Thanks goes to Jesus for making me who I am, and providing me with all I need and all I have. Without him, I am nothing.

Biggest Nerd Alive

yes. the title is referring to me. i realized last night that i am one of the worlds biggest losers. it is ridiculous how many things made me a loser. sorry to those of you that i have kept this a secret from, because you are about to learn some things about me that might change the way you think of me...

1. I have asthma. Terrible asthma. So bad that if I just get too excited I will lose my breath. Thankfully, I have relief:

2. I have a retainer. A HUGE retainer. Three actually. And yes, they make me have a lisp. A TERRIBLE lisp.

told you! it's huge....

3. I can't dance. You might think you can't dance, but the moment you hit the dance floor with me, you won't feel like that anymore.

There's too many videos of me dancing to upload.. so I won't. For your sake, and mine.

4. I take pictures of myself on people's cameras and computers like I'm a 13 year old with a Myspace. And then they end up on the internet. (that sounds dirty, but it definitely isn't- take a look for yourself).

You know it is bad when four different people have Facebook albums designated just for pictures of me. That's sad. I also realized that I am wearing a white v-neck in all of these pictures... and they were on different days. so...

5. I have a wardrobe that consists of 12 plain white v-neck t-shirts. What Not To Wear- here I come!

6. Even worse than the self-pics of myself are the pictures that are taken of me without my knowledge (and occasionally with my knowledge). Like these:

7. I think it's okay to dress up in ridiculous outfits. And sometimes go out in public wearing them! Yikes.

8. Then I do some things that are just flat out strange...

like get cornrows...

or put a chip clip on my eyelash?

or let my friends dye my hair blue...

no words for this one. 

So, that's all I got for now.