So this week has been crazy, but great! I have a few highlights for you.

.

1. Probably the biggest news for this week: Canaan and I have the pleasure of going to HAWAII this weekend. [go ahead, let your squeals out]. We are so excited! Canaan was asked to perform his very first wedding. It is for our good friendsmegan mallette [Tennessee shout out] and aaron mohle. And since we are good friends, they are letting me tag along too! We will be there from tomorrow until Tuesday morning. So we will be with the couple and their families until Saturday evening, & then Canaan and I get to explore on our own until monday evening! For those of you who know about our honeymoon drama, this will be like a REAL second honeymoon for us. Aloha! Ready for some sun & sand. It’s been a while.

2.

   got this new nail polish: lucky lucky lavender. And I am loving it! It’s like a little happy on my nails everytime I look down. And gets me so excited for spring!

3. have ya’ll happened to buy any navel oranges lately? If not, you should. They are amazinggg. I can’t get enough, and I am not usually a huge orange person. Go getchasome!

4. i like the thought of buying some shamrocks for the spring. What a cool concept for st. patricks day? I will probably go get some after we get back from Hawaii. Let’s see if I can keep them alive! 

5. i have been doing a beth moore bible study with some of the church ladies at good ‘ol pwood, and have beenenthralled by it. It has been such a time of growth, retrospect, yearning for the Lord’s face/Word, and repentance. We are going through the book of Daniel. It is all about rising above the world of excess we live in. it talks about the Babylonian culture we live in today, where the theme of the great schemer is making life all about “me”. The book of Daniel shows us a life that was lived with integrity and ears that listened only to the Lord’s commands, nothing else. How I pray for ears like that. earsthat learn to listen. I think the Lord made us very specifically that when we are talking, we cannot listen at the same time. And when we are truly listening, we don’t even think about interrupting to speak. I pray to remember that. that the Lord gives us everything we need, and the rest is fluff. By me saying what I have is not enough is saying HE is not enough.

6.

6. this week is spring break for most people we know. My table group has been super light, so although I know the students are having a much-needed rest, I can’t wait for everyone to come back! Last week was mini-mester for some of the kids who go to PCA [Prestonwood Christian academy]. The stories brought back from cuba, the amazon,Africa, east dallas, and internships were amazing! It feels my heart so much to see these junior and senior high students breaking boundaries to share the name of Christ. I want them to remember this feeling of serving, how it is the most joy they will ever know, and hold fast to it, so they can bring it back to use in plano. It is much needed here as well. We are the opposite of some of the places these students visited. The people they saw clung to the hope of Christ because it is all they have. The people here have everything they could ever want and see no need to be saved. But both spectrums are desperately crying out for the only void-filler.

7. Speaking of international travel, my bestie angela is in Nicaragua this week with her youth group serving the people there. The Lord always does tiny, yet huge things for us sometimes. For example, angela has phone service there, and we have gotten to see how those people live andhow beautiful the scenery is with dirt homes in the foreground. I am thankful for a friend who has such faithfulness in her Savior. Praying heavily for her trip!

Ok- that’s it. Gotta save something for next week!

the best is yet to come.

well, good news folks. this girl is officially employed! hallelujah, praise the Lord.

i will start my new job a week from tomorrow as the administrative and executive assistant for H.I.S. bridge builders. so excited!! the Lord is moving in dallas in more ways than one. to be cheesy and quote high school musical, this is the start of something new. the Lord has given me the verses in jeremiah 17:7-8...

          “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
           whose trust is the Lord.
           He is like a tree planted by water,
           that sends out its roots by the stream,
           and does not fear when heat comes,
           for its leaves remain green,
           and is not anxious in the year of drought,
           for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

also, this has been a season of learning so so much! this week commenced the new devotionals for table groups. this week focused on evangelism. the Lord always has a way of taking the confident proud me [thinking i know everything there is to know already about evangelism] and completely rocking my world! 
first of all, evangelism doesn't start on the street. it begins with believing what you will evangelize. we have to believe in what we are taking to the lost. we have to love and invest in the One we say we put our faith in. if we don't believe in the Father we worship, anyone we try to talk to will see that and not want what we say we are "all about". loving and investing looks like service to the church, discipleship, monetary offerings, a DAILY time with the Lord, worship, etc. 

"And the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go over and join this chariot.^' So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him."
acts 8:29-31

i encourage everyone to go back and read this whole story about philip. the story of such obedience and trust in the Lord. you see in the passages how keenly the relationship between philip and the Lord must have been for philip to hear the things the Spirit told him to do. oh Lord, i pray for such heartful obedience and such an apt sense of what your will is in my life and DO IT.

on that note, this was an exercise i did with my freshman girls this morning. i love this and encourage everyone in some quiet time this week to do this as well. in perspectives this week, we wrote down one word we want our year to be summarized as. my word this year will be eager. 
eager to be at the Lord's feet.
eager to listen.
eager to be a good steward with canaan and i's money & give generously.
eager to spend quality time with high school girls.
eager to work hard for the Lord's kingdom.
eager to stay in touch with friends.
eager to be a good friend.
eager to make new memories. 
eager to treat my body respectfully [eat healthier and exercise 3-4x a week].
eager to love. 

^"Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."  
hebrews 9:25-28 

 

what will your word be? 

 




ps- check this out. so proud of my hometown! 

 

a holly, jolly christmas.

christmas was so so grand. 

it was a christmas of firsts and lasts. it was canaan and i's first christmas together and the anniversary of us getting engaged. we got to be in the very place where we got engaged, which was so special. 

and it was a last in my home of 13 years. the years that i remember the most. the years where i was shaped and molded into who i was to become. the years i spent last with my dad. t was the last christmas as my mom being a "driver". an emotional, yet really wonderful christmas. knowing some things are going to change makes you appreciate what you have presently. now on to new memories!

after christmas eve services, canaan's boss & his family opened up their home to us. love the young family and their hospitality! then we got up early on christmas day and jetted to tennessee, first class style!

it was such a whirlwind of three days of being at home, and not nearly enough time for me, but the time we had there was so great.that morning we got to spend with the chapman's and see the holiday excitement of the jollys [cane's asian sisters] opening up their gifts and giggling and moving from lap to lap to take in all that was happening. that evening, we headed to the boro and did gifts and games with my family. canaan had to leave thursday morning, so we spent all wednesday with his family and then i spent the next day with my family. 
it was so so good to be with my mom, grams, & aunt shannon. we go way back together, so it was good to have some time with just them. thursday, we went to SATCO [aka heaven]. and then headed to opryland hotel to look at the lights!

                          onesie time!!

i was even blessed to see my besties for a sec! i was going to see my bestie, katie, but she had surgery that day and was zonked. but got to hang with ang and hillary! love love love what those girls mean to me and what joy they bring to my life. encouragement, life talks, Jesus moments, and not without a ton of laughing and a little dancing. =]

 alright, leaving a verse to end this post that i hope will bless you for the new year. 1 thessalonians 5:23-24. this fills up my heart SO much. our God who calls us to Him is faithful! HE will surely do it!

christmas cheers.

ok. so i am going to majorly update everyone on life is TEXAS.

- me and canaan have been married for 2.5 months now! it's gone by so so fast and has been a blast the entire time! [accidental rhyming there...] being married is fun fun fun. 
- working with the youth at prestonwood has been my favorite thing about dallas so far. love these kids and their hearts. some of the most amazing boys and girls living their lives out for the Lord! love seeing Him work like this and beyond thankful to get to witness it!
- ya'll, if you ever want to move somewhere, dallas is great. i haven't met one unfriendly person yet. it was such a blessing from the Lord to provide us with so many families that have taken canaan & i in. 
- it's 3 days until christmas and i canNOT wait to be home for the holidays! because canaan is working the christmas eve services, we are going to leave early on christmas day and fly in. this is a bittersweet christmas for me because it will be the last one in my house that i grew up in. mom is getting married to mike in february [woot woot!], so this will be the last memory of christmas in the house that has all of our family memories. the last holiday in the house where my dad was. but change is good and is of the Lord! thank goodness for new days and new mercies. it just means i will soak up all i can this time and truly enjoy it. 
- i am currently in the process of starting a new job! it's an assistant position for the president of a ministry called bridge builders. yall should check it out here! i am truly excited about this, for multiple reasons. 1) i need routine and am not the type that doesnt work. at least not yet. so a job will be really good for me! i need to feel like i contribute in that way. i will miss the impromptu visits to see canaan or have coffee with highschool girls, though! 2) this ministry is so amazing. it is about working with urban communities and turning them around for the Lord. just being there for an interview and we prayed 3 different times while touring the warehouse. so incredible! needless to say, i am super excited about being considered to join their team. 

well, that's all i can think to share this time! super general things, but wanted to catch up to now! 
merry christmas everyone!!  

some of my favorite things.

so i officially moved to texas this weekend, ya'll. i think it's gonna be a lot of fun there. me and cane are gonna have us a big 'ol adventure when i get down there. i think i'm going to wear a ten gallon hat the first week i am down there and start all my sentences with "howdy". what do ya'll think? too much?

well, moving to texas has made everything feel so real. saturday we got the uhaul and car not that full entirely full unpacked in seriously 30 minutes. big shout out to all the people who helped us to make the move not painful at all. the apartment is looking more like a home and less like the bachelor pad that it was, with black sheets and navy curtains. haha it's so neat to see how canaan and i's lives are slowly merging into one. we are both definitely nervous- nervous to not disappoint and be the best we can be for one another. which i take as a good sign because if we both are nervous about that, then we are both trying our best to be the best for one another. i am also hoping to get a job really soon. being off work for a while to get ready for the move and the wedding has showed me that i am really not one for being at home all of the time. i like my days being full and busy. i'm definitely not a workaholic, but i would like to contribute somewhere. i didn't take any pics of the apartment yet, because it's not completely settled in, but we will as soon as i get there!

ok, so on to something else i'm excited about. FALL. it is finally fall in tennessee. so stinking excited. driving back yesterday, we saw the trees slowly starting to change here. loving it. i miss the drives to knoxville only for the reason of seeing the leaves change. i love getting warm drinks at starbucks now. i love being able to wear my moccasins, scarves, jackets, flannel, plaid, and boots. i love friday night football games and having the smell of pumpkin in the house. i can't wait to decorate my new home in fall attire. pumpkins and mums are a must. tell me your favorite thing about fall! chances are , i'll agree with you. 

last thing: i got a twitter. follow me!

 

i'm backkkk.

hey ya'll! so it has officially been FOREVER since i've last blogged. but, as most of you who will be reading this will know, i am getting MARRIED and moving to good 'ol texas in a mere 2.5 weeks. yes, not months. weeks.

this has been an amazing season. i can't believe it's about to happen. not only am i getting married and becoming a WIFE, but i am moving to an entirely new city in an entirely new state. and getting a new job when i get down there. i am not sure what that job is quite yet, but the Lord is good and we will figure that out when the time comes. what i am thankful for is that my soon-to-be fiance husband [goodness, that's weird] is already down there and has been tremendously blessed with people embracing him in their loving homes. we are also blessed to have people down there we already know, which makes it feel like such a small world. so i'm so glad that becoming a new married couple isn't joined with jumping into the vast unknown together as well. canaan is established there and can therefore help me adjust. 

i'm really looking forward to:
-getting to go on a grown up trip on a plane and everything with just my man and me and have a vacation. no family. just me and my husband. what a strange feeling! am i really this old already? can i handle this? [a week in maui, i think i can manage]. 
-being able to live life with cane and experience things together. it has been so long since i have just been able to do simple things with him. it's going to be an absolute blast. 
-i can't wait to decorate our home and "nest". it's one of my all-time favorite things to do. canaan is so good about telling me to "do my thing". haha he's the absolute best. i let him handle the tech-y stuff with complete trust. and he trusts me with the decorating and arranging of the bedroom, kitchen, etc.
-getting to know my youth girls down in plano. i got to go on a mission trip back in july with canaan's youth group and get to know an AMAZING group of soon-to-be freshmen girls. i will have the honor of doing life with them when i get down there, and cannot wait. God has already blessed me more than i deserve by connecting with them. they already amaze me with their hearts. 
-texas football games. this is the only other state that takes football as seriously as i do. 
-becoming an aunt again!! one of my good good friends from college and her husband are adopting a teenage boy form belize! so unbelievably excites for this season for them. please be praying for them as they embark such a unique time of parenthood. they are also making clocks to sell to raise money for the adoption, so please help them by buying one! they make them custom, so read here to learn how to get one! yayay!

so it's coming down to the wire. pray that i can finish out the next two weeks as stress-less as the other 9.5 months were. we do not want to worry about anything. what the important thing is is that at the end of the day on october 6th, cane and i will be married. everything else won't matter. 
please pray that moving to texas this weekend will be without much hassle and go well. we are so thankful to have good, strong friends who are going to help us move on both ends- tennessee and texas. couldn't do it without them!
scripture for this season:
^"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."
1 john 4:7-12

the land of 10 gallon hats and tumbleweeds.

ok. so i saw neither while in texas. but i did see lots of boots! 
most of you know i just went to dallas for the weekend to see canaan. & boy, what a grand ol time we had! we went to the JFK museum, strolled around ikea, spent some sweet time with prestonwood youth group, ate at in n out, and toured all around dallas. so so fun! i even had an interview at prestonwood thursday. please pray for the Lord's will to be done, whatever that might be! i would love to give the details about the interview, but i want to see if something happens first. please be praying!
but prestonwood was amazing. folks, its huge. but it was so comfortable to be there. i felt instantly at home and welcomed by everyone. it was so neat to sit back and see what canaan does. to finally see where he is everyday and what his life is like there. it was great to see the Lord utilizing him and him be so passionate about it! he loves those kids, and he lets that shine from him. love it. =] saturday night, there was a youth service, and i got to help a little with the kids that came to the youth group that night. the girls i met were precious and made me miss my girls form knoxville so much! after, me and canaan went to big service after. what a good word! sunday, i got to go to the regular service and then hang out with the youth again during their sunday school time. so many kids! it was a blessing to see all of them there. please lift a prayer for their lives, that they will be changed and living for Him!
sunday morning, i got to spend some time at the church on my own, and had some awesome time with Him and in the Word. i was reflecting on the teachings i had heard that weekend. saturday night in the youth service, the youth minister chris talked about acts 3. he spoke about the crippled man and how he had begged all his life. he knew no other way. day in & day out, he begged people walking to and from the temple for money with his head held low. thats all he knew to ask for. then peter offered him something greater than gold or silver. he offered the man something in Christ he thought unimaginable- the ability to walk. he then held his head high praising the name of the Great Healer. this is so parallel to our lives. we ask the Lord for what we think is the best we can get. but then the Lord offers us the unimaginable. life. we then live our changed lives with our heads held to the sky, constantly praising our Savior. 

cant wait to go back! now, here are the pics. =]

 

me & cane at the JFK museum in dallas.

 

where JFK was shot.

 

downtown dallas.

 

wonderfullll way to start the evening.

 

 

just call me crafty cathy.

i know my name's ami. but it didnt sound as good as "crafty cathy". that rolls off the tongue easier than "crafty ami". you see my point?

anyways, ever since pinterest has taken over my life [see last post], ive done some crafts myself. & im going to share them with you today! arent you so so excited?! i know i am. =] ok- here are some fun things. one craft i did will be coming soon. cant post it quite yet. ok here we go.

 

craft 1: coffee filter wreath.

thats right folks. all you need is one of those green styrofoam circles from a craft shop, about a million brown coffee filters [id recommend 2 packs], and lots of pushpins. the thing i like most about this is that it looks so much more difficult than it really is. it was a fun project, thanks to the help of hillary osborne. =]

 

craft 2: baby jar bobby

pin holder.

ok ok. i know this isnt exactly a craft. but i thought it was a novel idea. i found it in my kitchen, and my mom had had it for ages and never used it. it keeps them all in one place and is kinda cute.

 

craft 3: glass shampoo/conditioner bottles

this is an old craft of mine, but i thought id include it. this gives everything a much nicer look in the bathroom. plus i love clear jars and schtuff like that. so i threw out the tresemme bottles after i filled up these glass containers. and these hold a big bottle of tresemme, so you dont even have to keep putting more in until you have to buy new shampoo altogether. genius, i say!

 

craft 4: button heart

isnt this the most amazing thing youve ever seen?? ok- i cant take credit for this one.... yet. i think its neat to take anything youve collected and frame it in a heart shape. i have currency from all over the world, so that what im gonna use. that way its not just under my bed collecting dust, but i can actually look at it and see it. 

thats it for my crafty side. i also have other big news. some of my closest friends are venturing to china today. they will be on a mission trip with my home church, belle aire, and will be gone for about 2 weeks. i dont know what im going to do without them! but im so so excited for them. what an amazing blessing and journey this will be. as children of the God of the universe, we get to share His story and love and Gospel with the world. what a gift! and what peace we have in Him. i pray that this changes them forever and they go share with a people immensely less fortunate than us. they serve a dead god and are held in bondage under this false religion. may our friends and siblings in Christ share the amazing freedom and JOY we have in our Father! it makes me want to dance around just thinking about it! so please be in diligent prayer for them as they are there. to be fed enough to feed, energized, and filled with the Spirit to make His name & glory known. 

psalm 105:12-15

 

 

 

pinterest.

so i have a new favorite thing. my friend lindsey jo told me about this website called "pinterest". its a website that lets you "pin" anything you like from the internet onto your own personal "pinboard". at first i was skeptical.

but now, im not hooked at all completely hooked. this website is amazing. you can pin different recipes you find, places you want to visit, things youd like to do in the future, DIY projects, clothes you love but cant afford, dream homes, funny sayings, etc. 

its so so fun! you are even in a network of people and can "repin" /like anyones pins that they post if its something that interests you. my favorite thing that i pin is things to out in my house one day. so fun to think about & daydream about. loving the place that im in now, but its fun to dream a little. =] i encourage you all to get one now. so so fun & its an organized way to keep all of your ideas in one place, no matter what you want to keep track of. g getcha one, people!

 

UPDATE TIME!

ok. i know i have been the worst blogger ever. but much has happened! and here i am to tell you about it!
- in june, i got to shoot a wedding. it was a beautiful wedding & i was honored to be asked to do it. heres a little sneak peek of some of the pictures..... 

 

needless to say, theyre an amazing couple!

- i am now a sales associate at kay jewelers! so tell your fellas to come see me to get you girls something pretty & shiny. youre welcome.  ;]

- student life camp was last week. i got to be with my small group girls from belle aire. david platt was the speaker and it was an amazing amazing week. the Lord definitely moved and was really present there. we had fun on the beach and an amazing Word all week. i love when the Lord moves and causes people to be active in their faith and for Christ! let us no longer have a casual or cultural faith. if we truly know Christ in our hearts, theres no way we could

be casual.

 

- i got to have lunch/spend the day with lindsey jo. it was so great. we had italian, sweet ceces, & shopped a little. we talked a bunch and laughed even more. so so great. and i got to feel the baby kicking! sweet, rambunctious hank!

- canaan officially leaves for texas in 2 weeks. please be praying for him and this exciting new journey. im so pumped for him and know the Lord has an amazing plan for him!

well, thats my catch up. i promise to blog more frequently in the future. peaceandblessings.

kairos.

so i went to this service tonight called kairos. its at brentwood baptist on tuesday nights, & it was fabulous. great worship, great teaching. the guy that has the website "stuff christians like" spoke. hes hilarious. and an awesome speaker. he knows how to be funny, but deep and relevant too. praise God for people who allow Him to use them for what they were intended to do. 

the series is about "plan b: when things on your life dont turn out how you thought". there were some really great truths and some things the Lord taught me tonight. 
my favorite point tonight was that we as humans and sinners have always had this innate ability to hide when in trouble. we got this from our oldest ancestors- good 'ol adam and eve. what role models, huh? from early years until now, we hide from our mistakes. though as we grow older, the way in which we hide changes, its still hoping that what weve done can be overlooked. in life, we can hide sometimes from the people around us. we can hide a fib, something in our past, etc. we can make it look as though it had never happened. the problem is that we take this nasty habit with us into our relationship with Christ, thinking we can pull the wool over His eyes as well. i take this same action of hiding under the bed from my dad when i was little and in trouble, and take it into situations with my Father. i "hide" from admitting to something or changing something or omitting something necessary from my life that would in turn make my walk with Him stronger because its one less obstacle. one less barrier between me and Him. to give up things in my life that WILL feel sacrificial, but knowing its a must for the betterment of my heart. to be able to glorify Him fully. 

but we cant just look at it as difficult. as the speaker so aptly reminded me tonight- we're putting the Lord in a box by thinking that the only way He can teach us or mold us is in failure or hard times. dont just mourn with Him- He wants you to dance with Him. let Him delight in you. like in zephaniah 3:17, it says He is "mighty to save". not "mighty enough in case something doesnt work out the way you wanted it". this means He might will have to save you. get ready for the plan b. get ready for things to change or work on His timing and not yours. but He wants to save you. thats His job. and it continues to say He "quiets you with love". not screaming or harshness. with l-o-v-e. allow Him that. allow the God of the universe to be with you in your secret place with Him and be quieted by Him. 

remember this- our instinct is to hide because the world sees things we do as shameful. the world tells us when we look silly or foolish. so we tuck away thinking that He will feel the same. instead, He looks at us and says "where did you hear such things? i didnt tell you that.  youre not silly to me. thats not what defines you- I define you. stop hiding".

the old is gone. the new is to come.

this has been a whirlwind of a weekend. first of all, i would like to say that im back in the good 'ol ruth co [thats rutherford county for all you non-hip folk]. i graduated COLLEGE this past weekend. i cant believe it. i feel so old. i might as well go ahead and retire now. sheesh! after i graduated, i hurried on down to chattanooga for kristen teeters bachelorette party. what a fun fun time! we did facials, ate amazing food, had great conversations, and danced a little. yay for her getting married this weekend! what a beautiful time. now im back, sitting in fido with the one & only katie suggs, writing and trying to figure out the next step.

there are a lot of things rolling around right now in terms of plans for the next season of my life. things i cant go into detail here about, but just needing prayer for those of you that dont quite know. and prayers from those of you that do! i love how the Lord makes Himself known in certain situations. theres no way you cant tell its Him. like an artist leaving their signature on their work, so does the Lord leave His fingerprint on all that happens in our lives. in the past few months, the Lord has chosen His own timing for things in my life, and i have no choice but to strap in and learn to have faith in what Hes doing. i wouldnt change it for anything and love seeing the Lord active in my life. but its still not scary at all scary, nonetheless, and i wont lie about that. no matter how faithful we are, we are still afraid of things larger than us. because in the end we are still human and cant see past a day. but thats why Hes here, holding us. because He can. i had a heartfelt conversation with canaan the other day, talking about situations bigger than what we can grasp at the moment. i told him that all truly good things come at a price, and are hard to fully accept because with them comes sacrifice of self. think about abraham and moses and paul and noah and peter. they had to let go of nothing everything. their families, the city theyd known, a comfortable life, what mattered in society. everything. to be considered followers of Christ and bring him glory. what came of it? huge lineages in history. being the only one that survived. being one after Gods own heart. finding the Lords land. amazing things come from not grasping to our measly opinions of what we think will be a decent life. let us run after Him and His plans with fervor. let our hearts beat wild with love for Him and even in the midst of our fears, continue on because we know the One we serve. and with that knowledge, there is confidence and hope and a loss of fear. 

 

theres me. getting my diploma. somewhere on stage. 

 

the soon-to-be mrs. yeargan!

 

 

thoughts.

- i love "the office". it will never get old, become unfunny, or be the same without steve.

- nothing beats cookies & milk in the evening. 

- i cleaned the downstairs today. it felt really good to have it vacuumed and dusted. 

- i got my hurrrr did today. somehow i get blonder and blonder each time i go. if i go at this rate, itll be white soon enough. better calm it down. but for now, the blonde looks good. 

- if you need a good cry, the notebook will sometimes always help you out. 

- pancake night was last night at the bcm. and i had a dinner with my favorite study group at school at downtown grille as a farewell dinner. it was weird because that will be the last time i see some of those people. reminds me yet again of how quickly this season has come and gone. blowing my mind if whats to come. 

- going home this weekend. last shindiggity doo? check. katies graduation party? check. graduations? check. family time? check. soccer games with my favorite people? check. cant wait!

- only one final holding me back from graduation. cap & gown, here i come. 

- one 2 more weeks of awful knoxville traffic. thank heavens! i think its the worst in the country. fix the dang roads already!

- i want a hammock. maybe a trek perhaps? donations can be made if you feel called to do so. =]

- i may have a bike! thanks to the one & only canaan james. night cruising anyone? 

- i love my red nail polish. its called "lollipop" and its the best red ever. 

- graduation makes me wanna travel. i hope i can go somewhere soon that ive never been before.

- favorite passage of this season.... luke 12: 22-34

²² Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

   ²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

   ³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

i like him. ^ 

 

tacos, easter eggs, & tornadoes.

well, lots of stuff has been going on here since i last posted. first, we had one last big hoo-rah before everyones finals a couple of weeks ago. it not only was our traditional taco party, but we added a fun twist- a mexican fiesta with "bigotes!"- thats mustaches, for all you english-speakin folk. it ended up being a HUGE success. so much fun- pinata included! 

 

my group for everything this semester. such good folks. =]

and not only was the night so fun with my knoxville folk, but my boyfriend and biff, ang, surprised me by coming up just for the party! theyre the best. =] 

 

they make me happyyyyy.

then, last weekend, i had the honor of taking some engagement pictures for friends. they were a beautiful couple. its always an honor to shoot engagement pictures because its such a special time in their lives and it represents a beautiful season in their lives. 

 

cory & kelsey. 

easter was such a good weekend. i got to go home and spend it and see people i care about the most. me and canaan got to go see water for elephants friday. one of my new faves for sure. the cinematography alone was amazing, not to mention the storyline. a recommended must-see! saturday was spent helping canaan move the rest of his stuff back home and then meeting up with mom and the arnold crew for some frisbee and corn hole, followed by easter dinner, easter baskets, and harry potter. 

this week finally just got done with all of my big projects, papers, and presentations. hallelujerrrr praise the Lawd! but my last class of the day ended with my professor leaving us with words of wisdom. i found this sign & thought it was appropriate for this time in my life as well as others. it blows me away that this season in my life is almost over. but how exciting at the same time. 

 

true that.