The Calm Before the Storm

The short, but sweet, 4-day Thanksgiving break was the perfect way to end the calm before the storm. Thursday, we spent a few hours in Bryant with my dad's side of the fam. They haven't done a full Thanksgiving in a few years so it was great to hang out and enjoy LOTS of great food! (esp my aunt's ridiculously amazing chocolate pie) Once we'd stuffed ourselves and spent some great fellowship time together, Chan and I headed down to Hot Springs to spend the rest of the break. There is something about my grandparents' house that is extremely relaxing. Seriously, I can stay up until midnight by myself at my apt easily...but at their place, I'm struggling to stay up past 10. I'm not complaining at all! I'm just saying it's a weird phenomenon. Thursday night and Friday  morning, it was just my gparents, mom, Chan & me. Cam and Andi did Thanksgiving with her mom and then did Black Friday [side note: I refuse to participate in the stressful, crazy, extreme, exhausting, ridiculous event that is Black Friday]. We won't mention how Friday afternoon was spent (Let's just say my fam wasn't a fan of my screams of joy in the first 1.5 quarters, they didn't protest the nap I took in the 4th quarter, and I woke up disappointed). I still love my Hogs and I'm so proud of the #3 ranking we had for 5 days! Saturday, we lounged and Nana and I cooked for our wonderful Thanksgiving feast that we had Saturday night.

I love my family. We laugh. We joke. We love the Lord. We eat. We love. We care for each other.

Monday morning I woke up 2 minutes before my alarm with my brain going 90-to-nothing. Last night, I couldn't fall asleep before 12, woke up from 2-3:30, and up again at 6:30. It's officially the season of to-do lists, work events, non-stop brain, no sleep, and lots of fun! I say "bring it on!"Even though I will have lots of 14-18 hour work days in the next month, I am extremely grateful for my job and I wouldn't trade what I do for anything!

Grateful

This Thanksgiving season, I am grateful for:

1 -Family: I am so grateful for my family! The time I get to spend with them at church on Sundays, random weekend trips, and during the Holidays is a huge blessing.

2 - Supporters: My encouraging prayer and financial supporters make my work possible. I am so  blessed by all of them and grateful for the role they play in my life!!

3 - New friends & great community: I'm so thankful for godly friends in the same phase of life to hang out with and learn from!! 

4 - Old friends: I love hanging out with, skyping, calling, or texting friends that I've known for a while and picking up right where we left off. There is just something about people that know you so well that is refreshing and energizing. I'm grateful for my long-term friends!!

5 - Conference: Over 1,000 students are signed up for the Conference! I'm grateful for the favor God is giving us on each campus to increase this number! I'm grateful that I get to play a role in putting on this conference for our students!

6 - Work: I am so blessed by my job and my co-workers. I'm extremely thankful that God chose me to be on this staff team.

7 - Bible Study: My Sigma Phi Lambda girls learned a lot from our study. I'm grateful for the bonding and growth that took place this semester in that study!

8 - Personal Growth: I'm grateful that God pursues me, loves me, and teaches me all the time!

9 - Support: God has continued to provide prayer and financial support throughout this semester! I am so so grateful for each person that has ever lifted me and/or my job up in prayer, given gifts towards my support, or offered a word of encouragement to me in a stressful time.

10 - Salvation: I am most grateful for the gift of salvation that God freely gave us!! He chose to send His Son to this earth to die on the cross for our sins. Then, when He rose from the dead 3 days later, our sins were forgiven and our slate was wiped clean. As a result, we are seen as righteous in God's eyes! Wow! The gift of salvation is one I don't deserve but I'm extremely grateful for!! I pray that you and your loved ones have received this gift and are able to thank God this holiday season for this gift.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

More Camping Pics & Discipleship

Promise...last post of the day! I just wanted to post some more camping pics :)

Jessica and me - LOVE her!!!!!

We love hiking :)

Pic opps

Fall in Arkansas is Heavenly

PS:

#discipleship at its finest - Kels got her nose pierced!!!

Bonfire Round 2

I think I've been around more firepits/campfires/bonfires this fall that my whole life combined. It's been wonderful!! After camping Friday night, I came home, showered, napped, and headed to LR for a bonfire with my 501 small group. I grabbed dinner with some friends while watching the Razorback game, then headed out to the country for the fire. It was such a fun night with friends, smores, fire, and laughter.

Kate, Mike, Christy, Landon, and Me. Such great friends!!

Love this girl!!! (sorry for the weird lighting)

I've been so blessed by the friends I've made at 501!! Even after just a few months, I feel such a connection with quite a few of the girls and it's so great!

On a fashion note, the striped tank in these pics is new! It's one of the [many] purchases I made in Branson!

Today was a picture-heavy, post-heavy day. Thanks for staying tuned! :)

Camping - the TENT kind

Growing up, I stayed at campsites plenty of times....in the comfort and convenience of an RV. I went to the woods and went hiking plenty of weekends...staying in comfortable heated/cooled cabins. Never before had I camped in a tent, under the stars, in the weather, with friends...until last weekend! It was SO fun! I seriously loved it! It def had to do with how well the guys set it up and prepared, the cool temperature, no rain, and the great friends! 

Chris, Jessica, Jesse, Kate, Me - After Dinner

Sitting around the campfire staying warm :)

Plenty of blankets!! Getting snuggled into the tent. Liza, Jessica, Me, Kate. Love these girls!!

Waiting for breakfast!

The start of the hike to the waterfall.

Liza, Kate, and me behind the waterfall

The whole gang!!

  

They're serious about this....

fave pic of the day! 

 Camping was a huge success! I loved it! And I would do it again!!

Diva Moment

This morning, I had a Diva Moment. You see, I've been hanging out with friends so much lately and truly living out one of my "Goals for 24" that I'm always coming up with new outfits, so as not to wear the same thing for the 2nd time, too close to the 1st time. This week, I've had 2 glorious nights at my apt, with tonight being night #3. These nights of laundry, cleaning, relaxation, movies, nail painting, and early bedtimes are def welcomed after the last month of exhaustion and before the upcoming 1.5 months of exhaustion. When I have nights at home, I don't care as much  if my outfits are super duper cute (I'm just going to work!) because I'll be in pjs as soon as I walk through my apt door. So, this morning, I had an outfit in mind. I pulled it down from the closet rod, decided which tank to wear under it, and got ready for the day. When it was time to get dressed, I surveyed myself and decided the *new* shirt was too cute and too flattering to only wear to work. It needed to be saved for a day that I'm hanging out with people that night. I will now be answering to the name DIVA. Seriously, when did I become such a diva?! :) I'm def okay with it...it just caught me off guard!

Here's to hoping other people think the outfit is as cute as I do when I wear it!
Happy Wednesday!

PS -  posts to come about camping. other weekend events, and new purchases.

Halloween & California

My 501 crew had a Halloween Party this year and it was tons of fun! I wore my cheerleading uniform from high school (unique, I know). But, I was out of town and had to show up late to the party so that was the easiest thing to do! My coworkers and I were at a conference in Memphis Friday night and Saturday. We got back from Memphis, arrived at the party, I changed in the car, and we walked in fashionably late :)

501 friends!!!!

 Abby and I decided to both wear our old HS uniforms! In HS, we were rivals but we're too old for that now!

PA vs. Warriors

I got back last night from California. I didn't take any pictures because I was just in meetings all day. But, I learned some good tips for work and met some new suppliers to help in my research of new cities! I landed last night as the 501 potluck was starting....but, I made it to 501 less than an hour after I landed. I'm committed ;)

Now, I'm getting ready to go camping! This will be my first time camping....I'm relying on the guys to set up my tent, cook, make the fire, protect me from wildlife, etc. My bros would be embarrassed by how much I packed for an overnight camping trip, but I don't want to get cold! I'll let you know how this adventure pans out. Hopefully I'll come back with some good stories!

The fam went to Branson last weekend - soon I'll post some fashion pics of my purchases at the outlet malls.

After being gone for a week, I missed my 501 friends! I'm excited for a weekend of fun with them. I'm already sad about the month away from them in December (DST, India, Christmas, Conference). It's ok....we'll all get through it. #blessed

Have a great weekend!