lets play catch up....

Well hello again. I know I know. I am a TERRIBLE blogger.

hands down probably the worst ever.....But Oh well its a new year full of new beginnings so lets try this one more time....

Now First... lets play catch up.

I have a new job and I am learning something new every single day!

Not 1 but 2 of my friends have given birth to sweet, screaming miracles.

and oh how i love me some babies....

Are they not just too cute for words??? ahhh!

I have killed yet another fish....

which i choose not to name for the sole fact that my track record isn't that great.....

We have been through 3 holidays all of them being amazing this year.

It was the first year in a long time that I was able to sit back and enjoy the holiday's rather than rush around from place to place. I loved it.

(yes i am aware that everyone doesn't include Halloween but i love Halloween so i have to include it)

I have realized what amazing friends I have in my life...

I have ran in 2 different 5k's

The Run for Victory at Victory Junction Gang Camp

and

Susan G. Komen's Race for the Cure.

I finished an online class and have started studying for the GRE.

My brother kicked butt in football and is currently ballin it up on the basketball courts!

& I am one proud sister.

My sister is now a certified EMT and just celebrated her 21st birthday!

 

There has been a lot more and these are just a few that i remember off the top of my head.....just so you can be somewhat up to date! ha

Thank you 2011 for being a year of change, growth and humbling experiences.....

Now with my 24th Birthday being just around the corner I am even more excited for what 2012 has in store from me!

Happy Wednesday!

and why not while im at it here is a song...... dont forget to pause the music on the side.

feel your heart race...

A few weeks ago I made a trip to Randleman.

This is a trip I always LOVE taking.

My dad first introduce our family to this camp years ago,

because he helped build this place.

(and he did a dang good job at it too!)



Since the my dad made a bid on this camp it has held a special place in his heart,

and with that it has also found its way into the hearts of Courtney, Ryan, Mom & I.

This camp is wonderful and I love everything about it.

I love the opportunities it gives to the children and the sheer amount of love and happiness it give to every single camper, even though they might be facing the hardest battle of their life.

Because my dad has a heart that is bigger than anyone else I know, I know his heart feels warm knowing that his children love being able to help and give in the way he does.

We have not yet been able to be a volunteer while the campers are in session but I know this is something that I will be doing and I believe my sister feels the same way.

So a few weeks ago I went and painted this fire hydrant.

And with a little help from one of my helpers we ended up with something that looked a little bit like this =)

I loved the finished product! LOVED IT!

It turned out so much better than I had imagined it!

Now Court and I will be making another trip to Randleman for this....

Now we are only doing the 5K this go round but we are SOOO excited about it!

and after we finish our race we will be painting up some more of the fire hydrants making them look fun and cool for the kids to enjoy!

Have a Happy Saturday!

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!