jammin'.

ella and i took some one year pictures the other day, and i was uploading them and thought about how much fun we had friday morning.

we jammed during breakfast. i had brought my computer to study for a test, and decided to play some music for miss Ella while she ate b'fast. the sweet child is a lot like me, she enjoys her good music. for example, we started with a little Allman Bros, which she enjoyed. i could tell by the kicking and clapping from her high chair.

we listened to a variety including Van Morrison, a little DMB, some Earth, Wind, and Fire (classic for dancing), and whatever else she was feeling.

it was fun. i felt like exposing her to quality before she gets too old and is blinded by pop culture "good" music [justin bieber anyone??]



she really loves her new toys she got for her birthday. this one makes ALL sorts of pleasant noises... :)



speaking of music...
my two wings had a show friday night. we did it really bluegrass-ey without drums. it was probably one of the better shows we've done. mainly because you could hear everything really well and tyler, jon, and i sang some sweet harmony.

here is a little bit of what we look like ....






good friends i have not seen in a long time visited and came to hear us. it made for a memorable night.

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already conquered one test and one blog assignment this week. another massive test today. and i have a few things on the plate i need to finish this week, in preparation for the fun of next week....

but spring break is just around the corner.... this year for spring break 2011 i am SNOW bound to Vermont. more on that later....

mornings.

good morning! as of right now, 6:20 a.m., i've been awake for an hour. every morning i wake up at either 5:20 or 5:40, depending on the day, and begin. i like to go to the workout room and do the machines. but i rarely find an opportunity to do so during the afternoon. so morning has become my friend.

i enjoy this time, it's separate from anyone else. believe me, it is hard to fine another college student in Auburn who is exciting about getting up this early every morning.

but i find when i begin my day with ease and with quite, the rest of my day follows. i have time to make breakfast, eat it, shower, workout, get my stuff together, blog occasionally [ha, first time] and begin my morning with the Lord. [obviously not in that order]

but i love it. i am turning into a mom though. i was in bed at 8:45 p.m and was asleep by 10 o'clock, only after reading and doing some homework. whatever. i am happy and am finding so much from these early mornings.



this is one of my favorite mornings. it was one of our last days in africa. we were in jinja and i have never seen such beauty like this. i have been to canyons and mountains and i have seen beautiful mornings, sure. but something about this african morning always brings joy to my heart. but also sadness. i miss africa greatly. i am praying the Lord will make a way for me to get back over there.

but these early mornings remind me of africa. i always woke up first. the cool air still floating through the windows, and the tropical birds chirping softly were always the best alarm. the cold tile on the bottom of my feet felt rejuvenating. the cold shower was nice, because it was steamy all day in the sun. i miss those mornings.

but now i am off to breakfast in my little kitchen. also, please pray for Kimmy, she went back to the doctor and they put her on an IV last night. pray that her strength will be restored and that her body will fight back against the pneumonia.

the Lord is the healer, the only good doctor, so i confidently remind you to pray for her. thank you.

good morning blog world, hope your day if filled with grace.

slowin' down.

tonight i decided to take a couple minutes to chill. just sit down and be still. since last saturday i have been a busy chick running around and being productive.

after a sunday of singing praises at cornerstone, which, by the way, was the absolute greatest sunday i have had in a long time, my week began.

from three projects, a test, dgroup, nannying, reading, a paper, and the schedule i like to keep, i was one busy girl. Not to mention farmhouse formal was this weekend, meaning preparations for that had to be done as well. which were not much, but involved laundry and packing, which for girls, can be quite a job.

formal was great and i have some fun pictures to share!







we had lots of fun on the riverboat...General Jackson or something like that. i really liked, no LOVED nashville. i would love to get to visit again sometime very soon! it wasn't a bad drive. and my roommates were there, which made it all the more better.
sweet kimmy has been sick with progressive pneumonia...which is terrible. we have been trying to keep her medicated and taken care of as much as possible. we don't want to see her end up in the hospital like she did when she was in high school. so if you think about miss kimmy, pray for her healing.

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for winter retreat this year, sara and i decided it would be a great idea to buy a lot of candy for our family groups, however, the left-overs are ridiculous. we have a massive bowl that sits nicely on the kitchen table and entertains all who enter our door. one, because there are laffy taffty jokes...and we all know how i feel about those... remember that post? find it HERE!
but now the apartment is full of NERDs and SMARTIES! why? because that is exactly what we are....



and...



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also, when my sister went to NYC on a dance trip, look what she got me!




she is the best sister in the whole world. seriously. the WHOLE world. i am so thankful she will be here in a few months...it's crazy to think about.

well friends. until next time.

playing ketchup.

[[not actual ketchup mind you]]


well i cannot believe i have neglected you readers of my life for this long...

that is sad and ridiculous. but here i am, so i am sorry for the long season of silence. i know you've missed me.

this weekend i had the joy of created Ella's birthday cupcake-cake. i went home to hang out with the family and do somethings and made the cupcakes saturday morning.
Ella's mom asked me to make them and obviously, if you know about my baking obsession, you know i jumped at the opportunity.



Ella LOVED them. I have never seen a child literally suck a cupcake down as quickly as she did. she had a two hand grab on the cake and shoved it down her tiny throat.




it was such a sweet time as Ella is turning 1! Her parent's love for her is so evident. I only hope i can one day be like that...

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among other things, this week is going to be CRAZY. lots of school, lots of sunshine, and lots of fun mixed all together. sometimes i wish there were about 4 more hours of sunlight during the day. i wake up early [as in 5:20] and then i work, then class, then whatever else the day brings. but i love this routine i am in.

i really love being this busy. I have things to work on and for.



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i got to hang out with my amazing Dgroup girls this past weekend at Shocco Springs in 'Dega. It was AUMC Winter Retreat. I had the pleasure of leading a small group with some of the COOLEST kids in Auburn.
My 9 kids were from different grades at Auburn jr. high and high school and i was so impressed by their hearts for the Lord and everything they want to do with the blessings Christ has given them.

I learned more that weekend then I have in a long time. It was a great time with the Lord and pouring into kids of my community.

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Kelsey came and visited me in Au a few weekend ago. It was so much fun and she is the best bama student i know. she came with me to the BCS Celebration, and endured the cold and "WAR EAGLE"s that were shouted in her ears. she was a trooper and i love her more than she ever will know. she is my sister.
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oh yeah. and we ARE the CHAMPIONS.

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I think i have not blogged in so long because i have been lacking in creativity. i have not been taking pictures. i have not been writing in journals of various subjects....all because of PR.

I have been blogging, interviewing, coming up with leads, shooting pictures, and traveling for my stories so much lately i have wasted all my creative energy on school.

but i guess that is not truly wasting.

but thanks to a wonderful random run-in with a friend [wink wink] i remembered there is a reason i blog.

i am thinking about posting a favorite things coming up soon. or baking something fun! we will see.

well i have to go write.

washable.

i love markers.
growing up, we were a very arts and crafts family. i was home schooled (yes, i know that explains a lot) for kindergarten through 2nd grade. my mom is an excellent teacher, and i give her credit for my academic success so far. even the great spelling...

being home schooled has it's perks. you get to do school in your pj's (occasionally), you can play with your own toys at recess, you get to eat REAL food [opposed to weird, unidentified lunch meats in a cafeteria] and to top it all off, you get your mom as your teacher.

in order to maintain some form of sanity with three small children, mom always came up with great ways to keep the slightly-un-diagnosed-add kid busy. one was markers.

to this day i still love markers. crayola is my hero. there are all sorts of markers, the thin tips, extra wide, standard... you want i special kind? well crayola has ever color. literally.

today i was in need of a writing utensil during a meeting and the only thing i could find was a ultra thin brown crayola magic marker.

i was pleased with the little treasure. and took it home with me [which i am not sure if i was allowed to, but i did it anyways]

as i am sitting here, studying for my devotionals to do tomorrow, i looked down at my marker and read "WASHABLE."

well, isn't that nice. your children and mark on clothes and other special things that need no extra marking, and guess what? you can wash them off.

imagine that!? what a great invention. washable markers. but then it hit me.

as Christians, we are like little kids. we get to play with markers and we get to create things and doodle things. we have supervision. but sometimes, we may color off the page onto the tablecloth. or we may go nuts and color our own sweatshirt.

but we have this really cool thing called redemption and salvation and grace that mix together in the form of Christ's blood and wash those markers out.

our sins are washable.

sure that sounds a little too easy. but you know how you do something as a kid and your mom says to you "now you now what happens when you..." fill in the blank. well that is how it works for us. God gives us markers. we sometimes mess up big time, but he is there to help us wash those mistakes out. although there might be a little trace, he has forgotten about it and moved on. he washed us all white as snow.

once you color on the tablecloth, remember that you can go to the Father, and ask Him to wash you. and He will. because that is how he made you.

washable.

rewinding.

it is a week into the new year, and i decided it might be appropriate to recap on some large things that happened this past year. just for nostalgia.

2010 was busy for me, including a lot of firsts. first dates, first trips, first bethea baby [not mine obviously] and first summer away from home.

there are highlights, really low-lights, and dry seasons. but overall, 2010 was another year. another year of memories. laughter. tears... and learning.

the first thing i did in the year 2010 was visit my lovely roomie's family in TAMPA!

kimbo [as i so affectionately call her] has a beautiful family. we went to Tampa to cheer on our Auburn tigers in the outback bowl. several of our friends made the long journey to t-town [not tuscaloosa] and enjoyed time together and an big Blue victory.

the other sweet roomie sara and i had the opportunity to lead worship for a girls retreat at the 4H center in clanton. it was amazing and humbling. i hope to get to lead with this girl again. it was a very special time for me and sara to spend together; leading, learning, and leaning on each other.

i LOVE my roomies.

i also went to O-town (orlando) with these good-looking boys. my date [furthest to the right] and i had a blast. FH formal never disappoints and i enjoyed being there with all my friends. although the bus ride was a little long... there was loads of laughter and hilarious memories.

we welcomed the first baby-bethea into the family in may. sweet eloise. we watch her like tv and to say the least, she is spoiled. but not in a bad way....

she is an angle, and i know have a small look into the world in which i came into when i was born. i was the first girl born into the bethea family in two generations. so they were pretty excited. same for little monkey up there. but we have LOVED having a new baby. her sweet mom can be found here and she is AMAZING.

Kim Box Photography

my positively amazing cousin mark married his jr.high school sweetheart (they dated since junior high to post-college) and i got to sing with Laura (eloise from above's mommy) during the ceremony. it was the most beautiful wedding of the two most beautiful people. both inwardly and outwardly.

i spent a week here at lake barton with the cantrell clan...

went to fran and brooke and mary ev's deb ball...

and turned the big 20...

in october we traveled to connecticut to the coast guard academy to visit kimbo's best friend from high school- eric. it was a trip for the books. beautiful place and sweet people. very different and pretty cold. but the bears were fun to watch play- eric even scored two touch downs!

i also saw these amazing people play twice. this is drew and ellie holcomb [drew holcomb and the neighbors]. i have talked about them and how much i ADORE their music and just who they are. i saw them play with ben rector in auburn and with dave barens [also love] in decemeber for a christmas concert. it was amazing. and i cannot wait to see them again.

i also shot my first engagement. not engagement pictures but actual engagement. these two are fellow students in auburn and i got to play paparazii!! it was so fun and i hope to get to do this again.... any guys out in blog world... you know where to find me!

i also ran in the Atlanta Half Marathon.... however those pics will not be posted haha....

i had my first month off of school in a year. it was amazing.

and now i am heading back to auburn today.

i hope you have enjoyed the recap of 2010! to many more memories...

new year. new places.

new years eve was interesting for me. i did not do anything too exciting. just drove to ozark alabama and back. then toasted the new year in over glasses of white grape juice and white trash with my sister.

different, yet fun.

new years day was fantastic for me. i traveled with my high school crew to fairhope, alabama for a wedding. we put 7 girls into my mom's suburban and headed down to the bay. we got to fairhope, checked into the Grand Hotel (which btw is AMAZING), dressed and made our way to the reception.

we enjoyed every single moment of being together. from laughing about dumb stories from high school, or teaching the electric slide, or even sleeping on cushions after eating french toast at iHOP.

brook was a beautiful bride. zach, dashing. and the random friends from high school... we were looked g-o-o-d.

this cake was amazing. i should have gotten a second piece:)

but what i fell in love with the most was fairhope.

let's just say i would not mind moving there sometime.

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i am moving back to auburn on friday. I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things-- back into a routine.

i am excited for new classes this semester. i am excited to make new friendships and work on old ones.

i'm excited about the things God is doing in my life, and the lives of those around me.

many things to look forward to in 2011.