home is where the heart is.....

This is where I grew up. 
(I can only find a winter picture)
My sister sent me a an updated one but it was too small to post =(

This is the place my parents built together with
 unconditional love.

On days like today I would do anything to be sitting on this very front porch.

Since I choose to leave home and adventure off to Charlotte...

... I have become very aware of the things i miss most about my home.

The quite spring.summer. & Fall nights.....

That we just spare of the moment decided to go frog gigging [like in this picture.]

It amazes me how peaceful life is at home. 
It is something that I now know I took for granted. 
My nights now consists of trains and the sound of drunken people walking to their cars, dogs barking throughout the night, and car alarms going off into the weee hours in the morning.

I miss the smell of a freshly plowed field.

google images

 

I get NONE of this in Charlotte. The closest I get to that is watching them put up another building.

I miss sitting on the back porch  watching the lightening bugs.

google images

They remind me of my grandpa. =)

I miss driving on the curvy roads.

There is just something about speed and curvy roads....
It just makes me feel like I'm home. 

I miss being in walking distance of our pond.

I miss driving through the country roads and seeing hay bails in the fields....

who wouldn't love this?? and who wouldn't miss this?

I am so excited that this will be my view tomorrow!!

But most of all I miss these four.

I am so thankful that these four are mine.

My mom and dad have truly shown us how to love unconditionally,

how to be better people,

 and so much more.

I am so thankful that they are my parents and that I have a brother and a sister who are both simply amazing!

Yes of course there are days when we could wring each others necks.

But I wouldn't want to wring anyone elses but theirs!

 

4 billion pictures. 3 days. 2 visitors. 1 city

Last week my mom & sister came down for a visit.

which you know if you follow this blog.

I was so excited because it was the first time my sister and my mother came for an extended period of time

where I actually got to show them around my town.

So I am going to break it down into days.....

Day 1.

These 2 arrived.

&

 then we and purchased 2 of these.

Oh how I love thee.

I am so excited to figure out and learn all of the settings on my new camera!

Ahhhh I am so thankful I have great parents who encourage my sister and I to explore our artistic side!

&& who purchased this for my graduation gift! =) It was so worth the wait!

We had an early dinner at

Oh I love this place... it was Courts first experience here and I do believe she will be heading back!

We then mad a quick stop by hobby lobby to pick up some fabric for our craft we had planned for the evening.

We also made our own camera straps =)

This is how mine turned out... (I will be posting a more about that later)

I was very pleased with the result considering this was the first thing I had ever sewn myself without the help of my mema threading the bobbin! haha

Day 2

was a rainy rainy rainy day.

much like day 1.

But we were off to make the best of it!

we went to Ikea and looked around since my parents are planning on redoing the kitchen to get some ideas!

I love Ikea such great price for such great stuff!

after we left ikea I took them to Berkdale Village.

Now I love Berkdale.  I love the area. I love the shops. I love the little town feel it has.

It is near the lake so it is just a great place & I would LOVE to move over that way!

On our way we found this super cute antique shop && being with my sister we HAD to stop in.

There was a lot of really cool things and the store just kept going and going and going.

Berkdale Village

On our way home we saw this rainbow & if you look closely you can see it ends right in the middle of the road! It was soo awesome!

We ended this day by just hanging out and

Day 3

We went downtown Charlotte and took a 4 billion pictures.

we had a great time and I am so glad that my sister chose to spend her spring break with mom and I in Charlotte instead of going somewhere else!

Thanks for a great 3 days!

& my wonderful new camera that I am working hard to figure out!

Introducing the cast & crew...

Today I am going to introduce my cast & crew.....

Starting with Me....

I just graduated with a B.S. in Psychology.

Yeah so what if i B.S.ed my way through Psych.

haha just kidding. Like dad says...

If it were easy everyone could do it!

now lets go on to my wonderful parents lets call them.....

well...mom and dad.

these two are amazing and have hearts a 1,000 times too big.

They always put us first and never think twice about it!

They have set a great example for all 3 of us and love us unconditionally no matter what!

p.s.  Thanks for my education!

Then lets meet the siblings...

Shaye and D

Here is a view we get quite often from D. just with clothes on. ha

He is the youngest.

A lover not a hater.

the funniest & craziest person i know.

and always has a way to warm your heart.

and loves his sister's more than words could ever explain, which is why he doesn't say it.

Here is my beautiful sister again....

you read about her in my previous post. 

She is beautiful, Smart, Crafty and sooo talented in so many different things.

She loves music and knows just about every artist and song known to mankind. its actually Kinda sickening. 

she sometimes just draws organic compounds on paper just because. (Nerd)

but i love her anyway.

I know she will exceed all of her expectations in life!

 In this picture She is with her boyfriend who she likes to call 'sam'

Sam has been around for a while.

He is smart and funny and laid back.

and he is wonderful for my sister.

Then lets move on the the grandparents.

This is my papaw and mammaw!

(These 2 are the wonderful parents of my amazing mother)

This is my Mema and Papa.

(These two are the wonderful parents to my wonderful daddy)

I love all of my grandparents and I am so thankful that I have been blessed enough to have the all be apart of my life.  They all are so important to me and I could not imagine my childhood and even now without them.  They support us in so many ways and for that I am forever grateful!

This is KC.

She is my person.

I met her my sophomore year in college all the way in Charlotte even though she lives 12 minutes (according to her)  from my house at home! 

She is sooo funny and crazy i don't know how I would have survived my sophomore and junior years without her!  We spent many a nights quizzing each other and studying and many a days laying in the bed watching ANTM and gossiping about everything under the sun. She has just recently gotten married and I couldn't be happier for her!  Z is a luckkyyyy man!

She is such a great person inside and out! I know she would do anything I needed her to! =)

I miss her.

This is Darla.  we spent many a hours in bed watching ANTM, Greys && Sex and the City.  We spent many a hours in the library and she was always so encouraging to my sturggles! We all (KC, her & I) lived together for 2 years and those 2 years were the BEST!  I dont know what i would have done without her.  She is so funny and we have some amazing amazing memories.  I am sooo excited that she has moved back to char-town and i cannot wait to get back into the swing of things like we were before she left! =)  Darla would do anything for me and is an amazing woman one who i would love to be my nurse ! =-)

   Steph.       Ms. S.        B.     ME.      Ms. Bizz.

.Charlotte Girls.

Four of us have been together since Freshman year.

B. she was suppose to be my suite mate freshman year. Well. she met one of the roomies and bailed and you better believe i didn't let her get to far without me tracking her down because not only did I have one weird one. I had TWO!

She is my roomie now and you will be hearing a lot more about her!  She just graduated too and is on her way to becoming a wonderful wonderful Nurse.  (she is starting a blog soon too).

B is super sweet and does wayyyy too much for me at times!!!  She is maybe a bit of a food horder but thats ok because i know we will still be alive while you are starving! ;-) and NO you may not have any.   I am soooo grateful that after living with me for 2 years she can still stand the thought of being my friend! ha. 

But 2 good things about her ditching the crazy room and rooming with normal humans were....

Ms. Bizz. 

and

Steph.

Ms. Bizz. would give you the shirt off of her back without even a question.  she is such a great Godly woman and anyone is lucky to be in her presence.  The Bizz loves to let go and have fun and when she does its a party! She is soooo funny and is just a happy happy person! Beautiful inside and out.

Even though Steph came into their room later (which was when i really got to know her) we all were in the same classes and just clicked from day one.  Steph is a true southern lady, sweet as cherry pie.  She too would give the shirt off her back and is just so full of life! you never see anything but a smile on this girls face!! EVER.

Isn't it just funny how things work out???

I didn't meet Ms. S. for 2 more years when she moved into the apartments with B and Ms. Bizz.

Ms. S.  is Hilarius, smart and sweet too! She can always have a good time and finds the good in any situation.  the ugly sweater party.  She is so positive and for that I look up to her.  

There is never a dull moment with this one in the house!!! =)  
Peel banana peel peel banana

She fit right on in with the club!!!

There is one person missing from this picture and her name is J. 

 J has a big girl job as a gemologist and couldn't make it to graduation day.  But J is pretty awesome and values her friendships!  She is sweet as pie but about as blunt as they come.  which is why I loveeee her even more! 

I also like to refer to her as my 'art buddy'

we love to do artsy things together =)

All of these ladies are awesome and have made my college experience nothing short of amazing!  I love each and everyone of them for different reasons!

They are just awesome!

Then we have my childhood best friend. lk.

We have been friends all the way from elementary school to now.

She is someone we can not talk for a while and when we do we can pick up right where we left off!

she is sooo crazy and has so many great talents!

you cant help but to love her!

Then...

we have my cuz.  BL.  She is like shaye, D and I's little sister. 

Our handful of a little sister ;)

We love her to death!

And last but certainly not least. 

C.

C. is the daughter of one of my very best friends Sam.

Sam and I have been friends well... we have pictures of us in our car seats together.

So for a very very long time! =) She such a great friend and is just an all around awesome person not only as a friend but as a mother too! =)  Sam has my back and I have hers. 

and C. is very lucky to have her as her mom! 

C. and I share a few of the same things. 

A name. the love of coloring/painting. loudness. & . the love of talking.

How about one more picture...

This is my family at my college graduation!

These are the crazy people I like to call the cast & crew in my crazy life.