smokey eyes

friday night i spent the evening at the fish camp in fort deposit with the kimbrough's and my family. it has become an annual tradition but this year we had shay and katy mae with us. we enjoyed lost of laughter and good food (as always). hannah surprised us by being there. she is actually in flight as we speak to the far east (i cannot say where). she is doing missions there for a whole year. i am going to miss her.

but here are some photo's of this weekend. i took a whole bunch, however only some seemed blog worthy...

three amazing things out together...

so good...

nat and hannah and i went on a ride and found some cool stuff...

the beauty of creation displayed in such small means... gets me every time

precious cousins emma and brooke

all in all it was a marvelous day and half spent with family. i am so glad we did it.

mission: date to formal

it is spring semester and with that comes adpi's spring formal. and in light of the fact that females rarely have the opportunity to initiate something with a male, our sex tends to go all out in the act of asking. oh it is fun to sit around thinking of cleaver little ways of going about it. scavenger hunts, cards, poems, balloon popping, you name it; we've thought about it.


this year, i did not go as extreme as last year. but i must say my skills were used. cupcakes are a perfect way to ask someone to formal. why? they serve two practical purposes; 1. they look good and are easy to write on, 2. you can eat them. i think the latter of the two is the best.



this was my idea. mk came up with another well thought out way to ask her date to formal. using the letters of his fraternity and make an acrostic. great plan.



we had a marvelous adventure and we both have fantastic dates! whooh formal.

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today i was a little bored and i copied kimmy and looked up what is exciting about my birthday. it is best friends day. so you really have no excuse to not celebrate my birthday with me. especially if you call me your best friend ...

letters

so last night i made cupcakes and decorated them with letters in blue icing. i love baking so this was really fun for me and made my afternoon. honestly, there is nothing like baking or cooking to put me into a good mood.

so sara and i had this little game going and we saw who could come up with the most words. and as the day went on our list grew and grew. here are some beautiful pictures of my baking skills.

team usa

yay olympics

today i am sitting in my HDFS class and pretty bored. not going to lie today would have been a marvelous day to sleep in. mev and kristi are stalking people on facebook who have had plastic surgery and i am blog searching.

i love the olympics. i mean i haven't watched all the events or anything but i just love it when i do. i would be a figure skater if i could. it would be beautiful.

but i found this amazing website called cardboardlove and this was the entry for today... enjoy

thoughts...

the other day i was reading brian johnson's blog called cleanstraightlines. brian is our lead worshiper at cornerstone and he is very blessed in doing so. congregational worship can be hard, and he has been truly blessed with ease and comfort through it. but anyways,he showed a little video he had made about uganda and our partnership with them. i literally cried as i watched the images passing over my computer screen. i saw my children. my brothers and sisters, my family. images i will never forget from last summer came back like it was yesterday. this did not help with my desire to be back there.


i love africa. and i need africa more than it needs me. i miss the people there and i desire to be rejoined with them soon. i know that it is in the Father's hands, but i hope that He sends me soon. i am ready, willing, and eager. so if you think about africa, pray for me. pray for the people.

today was the beginning of lent, ask wednesday. so i gave up some things and am adding new things in. i will post about those things later on.

but honestly, this week has been fantastic. God is showing me things and giving me things beyond my understanding and comprehension. i knew the Lord would bless me, for he promises he will, however. i did not even imagine his blessings would be as marvelous as they are. He does give us a peace that surpasses all understanding. and when you tell him the desires of your heart, he gives. what a powerful thing. i could go on for days.

well i need sleep. lots. of sleep.


read 1 peter tonight. it is precious goodness from Christ.

should be...

i should be studying right now. i hate a lovely load this week consisting of three tests. they will be so fun. i am overjoyed to be taking them. however, i am not complaining. i am blessed to be able to be at auburn and taking these classes and having the ability to even take a test... those are great things. so don't get me wrong my dear 7 followers.

i wish i had a super power that enabled me to absorb information without really studying it. without reading things over and over again. just read it and ZAP. i know it. what a wonderful super power to have. grad school would be an easy task. who knows what you could do with that power...

i am really excited about the spring coming. i cannot wait to get outside all day and take pictures with my camera.

lastly, i am so blessed. honestly, i could talk about it for hours. the Lord has blessed me so immensely that words cannot even begin to describe my joy. everything in my life is a blessing. even the things that did not seem so great in the beginning and the things that hurt me. they are all blessings. God is FAITHFUL.

always....

and it happened

SNOW DAY IN AUBURN. get outta town. thought it wouldn't snow and it did. i stand corrected. gladly corrected.

gosh i was so excited when i woke up yesterday morning to white outside. it was snowing hard for the whole entire day.

i started off playing in the snow in the area shown on the picture to your right. and then we piled in sean's car and headed out to samford lawn. along with all the other students in auburn. we had a good time taking pictures and throwing snow//ice balls at eachother. some were thrown harder than others.

curry brought a sled (which was actually a hamper) and we decided it would be best to sled down the hill in the quad. mk lost her phone, but no worried, it was recovered. sean and i threw snow into an open window in the quad. poor people who left their window open in the middle of a blizzard. stupid.

after more pictures and one violent snow shot to the face which damaged my retina, we decided to throw snow at helpless and unexpectant people. it began with chunking snow balls at people on samford lawn. this slowly progressed to filling the hamper//sled with snow and dumping it on people. this, in turn, led to standing above the downtown moe's, and dumping snow at people walking below. perfect.

as we were walking back to the truck, there was much untouched snow on cars. seeing a great opportunity we decided it would be the best idea not to allow this perfectly beautiful snow go to waste. we packed it into the hamper, and curry, lindsay, slay and i sat in the back of sean's truck; ready for action.

auburn did not see it coming. we were assassins on a mission to hit any and every person minding their own business while walking downtown. some playful individuals enjoyed it so much, they retaliated and war broke out. although our hands were frozen and we could not feel out toes, it was the best part of the snow day.

honestly, those few hours will go down as some of the best of spring semester. thank you for snow. thank you for friends. thank you for laughter.

snow? maybe yes. . maybe no

congratulations. auburn gets a day off tomorrow. there is a slight possibility that we will receive snow tomorrow, and because of that slight risk.... snow day baby.

i should be asleep. i am very tired, but i for some reason am feeling restless. so to channel this uninvited energy, i am now writing. yay for writing.

today was hard. i went home last night in order to go to harry lyles memorial service. it was a sweet celebration of his life and i was blessed to have the opportunity to be there for emily. she needed me so i needed to be there. still, the lyles are in the forefront of my mind.

the jackson's are also. it is so hard to loose someone. no matter what the age, circumstance, whatever, it is hard. oh but imagine not having the faith and assurance of our father. of eternal life with him. how different this process of mourning and grief would be. i honestly cannot imagine not having the peace of christ's promises.

but after class, dinner and a workout, two well played basketball games and some quality time with my future and current roommates, the day improved immensely. some dark chocolate covered raisins helped too. they are a new little favorite of mine:)

well... it is late. and there is a winter weather warning for tomorrow. what a wonderful way to start a weekend. who would not want to wake up to white? well we will wait and watch. wow. alliteration? yes. you are welcome.

yellow.

i am getting a little better about blogging. it's becoming a lot more fun for me to write now that there are other people than my mother reading this. ha.

could not sleep last night. which is normally not a problem for me. i always fall asleep quickly and more often than not, in places or at times that are unplanned. but last night was different. everything that has been weighing on my mind was yelling at me whilst attempting to fall asleep. they were screaming for me to pay them each equal attention. which, was not easy. my heart is heavy and my days have been long. i've been thinking too much...

i am probably heading back home tonight after chapter. tomorrow is the memorial service for harry lyles. i feel like i should be there for that. i would also like to see my siblings, since i haven't since i came back in january.

i lit a candle monday in our dorm... which is against the rules. shhhh don't tell. it did make the whole place smell so much better. and not to mention it truly added to the v-day celebration going on in our room. fran's wonderful mother has sent printed heart styrofoam cups, heart shaped cinnamon candies, a dancing dog that sings the temptations. oh and i better not leave out the amazing little red velvet cupcakes she baked for us. oh my gosh so good. we ate so many.

oh valentines.

BIG EVENT was a successful day for me. i froze, but painted ms. delamar's house and enjoyed her two little girl's company. princess bridget was absolutely precious. i had frost bite and had to run around the cars to warm my body. but it was well worth the cold. i love that auburn does that. just another reason why auburn truly is the loveliest village. ever.

yesterday, studying consumed the majority of my time. slay and i spent many hours going over biology. we feel that we did alright and are trying not to be over confident. but we will see how our hard work paid off tomorrow. and although the weather and me thoughts were trying to bring me down, his yellow shirt saved the day!

this time

today i was reading this little devotional that my roommate has in her room. here is what yesterday's devotion was a message from God saying. . .

I am renewing your mind. When your thoughts flow freely, they tend to move toward problems. Your focus gets snagged on a given problem, circling round and round it in attempts to gain mastery. Your energy is drained away from other matters through this negative focus. Worst of all, you lose sight of Me.

A renewed mind is Presence-focused. Train your mind to seek Me in every moment, every situation. Sometimes you can find Me in your surroundings. At other times you must draw inward to find Me. I am always present in your spirit.

Seek My Face. Speak to me. I will light up your mind.

i really needed to hear that yesterday. and then the Lord surprised me with another wonderful insight today. . .

i am with you and for you. you face nothing alone- nothing.

When you feel anxious, know that you are focusing on the visible world and leaving Me out.

The remedy is simple: fix your eyes not on what is seen, but unseen.

Verbalize your trust in Me, the Living One who sees you always.

I will get you safely through this day and all your days. But you can find Me only in the present.

Each day is a precious gift from My Father. How ridiculous to grasp for future gifts when today's is set before you! Receive today's gift gratefully, unwrapping it tenderly and delving into its depths.

As you savor this gift, you find Me.

i am so thankful for his faithfulness to remind me through simple things that he is listening to my prayers and hearing my heart. although we know he does hear us, it is nice to be given a sign. a little squeeze of the hand, reassuring us that we are doing right by Him. that He is holding tight.

half of my heart

tonight we went to tcby after a very intense workout at the gym. kimmy had called and asked us to join her, and who can turn down ice cream? not my friends. i couldn't bring myself to enjoy any because of my run. i would certainly seen the ice cream again if i did try to consume it. if you know what i mean. . .

i l o v e tcby. really i do. but tonight, our really amazing friend behind the counter just made me want to think twice before i go back. normally when someone asks you how you're doing, you answer cliche answers like "oh i am doing fine thank you" or "i'm well". but this sweet child decided to detail her last our for us. on and on and on. i mean there were people in line. waiting. but our dear friend behind the counter was very intent on explaining to us her life. l i t e r a l l y .

we were glad when we realized it was not a joke, for we were beginning to fear that it was some kind of prank tv show or something. as we were sitting at the table and other customers began to come in, we almost felt the responsibility to cry out to them begging them to turn back. or at least not ask our lovely friend how she was. however, we did not, and enjoyed hearing the story of her life being explained over again to these unknowing people. so watch out for this chick. she is captivating, yet not in a positive way. cannot wait for tcby again.

seeing that february has commenced today, i feel that this post will be a little longer than normal. i apologize and if you feel that you are not in need of a deeper, non comical subject, beware. you are entering uncharted areas of conversation. . .

something terrible happened this past week. something i am currently still processing and taking into understanding. my heart broke on thursday night when i was informed that one of my dear friend's father passed away in a car accident. the twelve o'clock phone call was unexpected and not welcome with open arms. no doubt my heart turned inside my chest as i heard those words. as one of my friends said it was some of the worst news i have heard in a long time. but i am reminded of Christ's love for us even in this tragedy. why? because there is peace even in the worst storms. God's peace is covering sweet Olivia and her siblings and mother. how fantastic and large and unreal is his love. we cannot escape it. i am praying for her family and if you read this, i am asking that you will too. Olivia is beautiful. her love for the Lord is shining through this seemingly trying time. blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

some things i have been thinking about. yay for thoughts.

1. it's okay to fall [for someone or something]. no need to be afraid. 2. being broken is okay, God is a professional "fixer uper". 3. rejoicing in all circumstances makes you a happier person. 4. be spontaneous when you want to. and not when you don't. 5. eat ice cream. 6. listen to your heart, because He who owns it will direct it. 7. be honest. 8. love never ever fails. 9. get me to haiti for spring break please. 10. i have the best best friends. period.

til tomorrow. .