What I’ve Been Up To…
This summer has been jammed packed with amazing people and
fun adventures. I often get overwhelmed thinking about how beautifully blessed
I am…as corny as that may sound. It really is so humbling to have so many
incredible people in my life, who generously pour into me and allow me to laugh,
cry, and learn alongside of them. When you mix awesome people doing awesome
things you are guaranteed to have an awesome time. Great logic, right? Ha! I
have had so many fun YOLO-esque adventures this summer that have totally been
made by the people I’ve experienced them with.
Cedar Point
Each summer a group from our college-aged ministry takes a
two-day trip to Cedar Point in which we travel and hang out one day and play at
the park from opening to closing the second day. I look forward to this trip
every year, especially this year seeing as it was my “prize” after finishing my
week at camp. Although I was ridiculously exhausted, (since I left the day after I
got home from camp) it was SO nice to laugh and hang out with precious friends
while riding crazy awesome roller coasters. On Sunday (day 1), we lucked out
with the weather and were able to go to a local park and play some beach
volleyball and ultimate frisbee. Oh my goodness gracious, I was laughing so
hard it hurt. It’s quite impressive how incredibly bad we all were at
volleyball and how hilarious of sounds we made as we lurched for the ball…and
inevitably missed it. We are currently waiting for the USA Volleyball Coach to
give us a call. It’s been a few weeks and we haven’t heard anything…they must
just be intimidated by our mad skills. After playing at the park, we got some
icecream, did a devotional, and went back to our rooms. Unfortunately, due to
my extreme exhaustion, I was hit with some intense second, third, and fourth
winds. By the time we got back to our room, I was bouncing off the walls and
enjoyed having a dance party with my roomies. After dancing, laughing, and
talking for a while, we went to bed and enjoyed a very short night of sleep.
The next morning we woke up super early, I got my McDonald’s sweet tea (of
course) and we drove for about an hour to the park. We could not have been more
blessed by the weather we had. It was crazy hot, but super sunny and beautiful
blue skies, which was awesome! There is just something to be said about being
strapped in and being jerked around hills, turns, flips, and corkscrews while
laughing and screaming your head off. There is also something wonderful about
spending hours of time waiting in line with awesome people. As fun as the
roller coasters are, I LOVED just spending time with the people I love the most
laughing and talking…and sweating. Ha! We were able to ride all of the roller
coasters we wanted to ride…including two water rides towards the end of the
night. I was one of the few suckers who opted to ride the water rides and came
out drenched from head to toe. Touché water rides, touché. I laughed so much,
was able to process camp (sorry for everyone who heard repeated stories), and loved spending time with crazy awesome people. Cedar Point was awesome and
was the perfect ending to a pretty tough week!
Roomie Love
Riding Buddies on Top Thrill 3 Years In A Row
Tradition Picture
It’s a Boy
Despite what conclusion you may have drawn from this title,
I am excited to say that I have gained a brother-in-law! My sweet sister,
Rachel is engaged. After years of talking and praying about the man God had in
store for her, Jeremy Eaton walked into her life and has decided to stay for a
lifetime. For nearly 21 years, Rachel has patiently waited to date, trusting
that when the time was right, the Lord would put someone in her life that would
be able to lead and love her the way God intended. After exactly a year of
being friends, Jeremy and Rachel’s hearts were aligned and both felt that they
were being led to date with the intention of marrying each other. Their story
is truly a testament to how much God loves writing love stories. They have
decided to get married on May 18, 2013 and serve and love people and ultimately
glorify God together. The wedding planning has already begun (which is still
super surreal to me) and it is so exciting to watch Rachel’s dreams become a
reality. I couldn’t be happier for them and am so excited to see how the Lord
uses and blesses them in the future!
Canoe Day
Like Cedar Point, Canoe Day is another “1829” event that I
look forward to each summer. This is always a super chill and awesome day where
we do more floating than canoeing. Ha! We totally lucked out on glorious
weather (super hot but sunny) and even had more water in the river than we had expected. My
precious friend, Hannah was my canoe partner and we had such fun “party
barging” (clinging to another canoe and letting them do the work, Ha!) and laughing and talking as we floated down the river. About half way through our
adventure, Hannah and I got in a bit of an accident in which we flipped over,
somehow were pushed into a tree, and were tangled between several other canoes.
I’m not exactly sure what happened but Hannah and I were both quite shaken up
and had a (not so) refreshing drink of (not so) delicious river water. Blah.
After our little incident, we were happy to walk alongside our canoe for about
half a mile before we worked up the courage to get back in and try again. Ha!
All this many sound overly dramatic, and it totally was, but in the moment it
was awfully scary. Apart from our “Titanic-esque” episode, the day was tons of
fun with a whole lot of laughter, talking, eating (loads of delicious junk
food,) floating, swimming, and rope swinging. Good times, good times.
Hey Batter, Batter
Seeing as I have been up for pretty much any adventure this
summer, Dad and I signed up for our church’s softball league. If you know
either of us, you know that this is hilarious. Haha. While I have been doing
sports for most of my life, let’s be honest, flipping and hitting a softball
are two very different things. What’s awesome about the league is that all of
the teams we play are also from church, so more times than not, you are playing
against your friends…which makes embarrassing yourself a whole lot more enjoyable.
Ha! Luckily our team is very chill and average so Dad and I don’t stick out
like two sore thumbs. We have had such fun playing each Sunday evening and are
proud to say that we have a 0-4 losing record those far. Ha! Thankfully my
competitiveness has not taken the joy out of the game and I have just been able
to giggle and run as fast as my short legs can carry me when I actually hit the
ball. To those of you who may be wondering…I was warned strictly (by my mom)
not to pick flowers while playing outfield, so I have refrained. It’s awesome
to experience this with Dad and have something to look forward to each Sunday. I
seriously laugh more at these games than I focus. The lack of skill is
fantastic and everyone’s total laid-back attitude totally makes the experience.
Ha! Hopefully by the next time I post, I can report a win. Don’t hold your
breath…
Color Me Rad
Add awesome people, 3 miles of walking/running, and dyed
corn starch and you have a Color Me Rad race. After hearing about the race and
seeing hilariously awesome pictures, a group of us decided to participate in
our local Color Me Rad race several weekends ago. We mostly walked and
sometimes ran the course and were pelted with dye about every ½ mile. By the
time we were finished with the race, we all looked like we were walking Gobstoppers.
No joke. We were all sufficiently colored from head to toe and enjoyed the
fellowship and laughter we shared. More memories to add to the Summer 2012 book.
...and After
Joining the Circus
Well, you all are being warned- if teaching doesn’t work out
for me, I will be joining the circus as a trapeze artist. After talking and
laughing about doing it for months, my cousin Kellie and I drove up to
Cincinnati and took trapeze lessons. Yeah, that was hilarious. We had a
two-hour lesson, which consisted of basic safety instructions (yawn), swinging
straight, swinging with our knees-up, and doing a backflip off of the trapeze
bar. Kellie and I had a blast conquering our fear and swinging like the best of
them. Ha! It was awesome to learn something completely new and get to share it
with my cousin. Trapezing was also an awesome illustration for life. Warning-
I’m about to over-spiritualize taking trapeze lessons but bear with me, okay.
As I was hanging off the ledge of the platform getting ready to jump with my
life fully dependent on the few cables that strapped me in and the net that
seemed miles away, I got cold chills thinking about life and God. While we feel
like we are barely hanging on, God reminds us that He has us firmly placed in
His righteous and fully capable hands. And sometimes when we feel like our
“safety line” has been cut and we are spiraling out of control, He catches us
and cradles us in His loving embrace. Now, I know that is a lot to think about
while dangling from a platform, but due to the fact that I was literally
placing my life in the hands of some cables, I took a minute to think about
Whose hands I place my life in and was comforted in knowing that I am loved and
cared for by a great Big God. SO, not only did I get to get a taste of circus
life, God used that time as a learning (and reminding) opportunity. Goodness,
He is good.
Relay Race Day...with (New) Panties
Sweet Southern Charm
This past weekend, we had the opportunity to travel down to
Mississippi to visit with some precious friends of ours while hanging out on
Lake Pickwick. Oh my goodness, we had the best time swimming, pontoon-ing,
water skiing, laughing, talking, sweet tea drinking, and Olympics watching. It
was so wonderful to be reunited with friends who are family and fall back into
our Southern roots. How I love the south…sweet tea, hospitality, accents, fried
food, and white picket fences. Love it.
The Gang
Sweet Soph and I Jet Skiing
All I Do Is Read Read Read No Matter What…
Due to the fact that I am spoiled to have a job where I get
paid to sit, talk to people, and read, I have been a reading machine this
summer. I have currently read over 3,000 pages and am on my 11th
book…clearly I’m working really hard. Ha! It has been SO nice to have time to
read for enjoyment instead of drudging through a textbook or a lame book I have
to write a paper on. I have thoroughly enjoyed the books I have read and have
starred the books I highly recommend (although all of them have been great
reads!)
Hunger Games Trilogy
Suzanne Collins
At First Sight
Nicholas Sparks
*Not A Fan Kyle
Idleman
*Love Does Bob
Goff
The Unforgiving Minute
Craig M. Mullaney
*Kisses From Katie
Katie Davis
*Redeeming Love
Francine Rivers
Blue Like Jazz
Donald Miller
Not A Fan, Love Does, and Kisses From Katie are absolutely
worthwhile reads! Each convicted me and taught me more about myself and
ultimately more about what it looks like to love people and serve God in a more
intentional way. If you read (or have read) any of these books, let me know
what you think!
Miscellaneous Summer Memories...
4th of July
Lazy Pool Days with My Sweet Sister
Ayda Girl and Aunty Em
Lauren's Going Away Party
Rachel's 22nd Birthday
A New Adventure…
Tomorrow I move into my new HOUSE. I definitely have mixed
feelings about moving down to Lexington, as it’s beginning to sink in that
summer is actually over. At this point, however I am blissfully living in
denial and will begin processing my new adventure at a later date. Ha!
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