Sunshiny Days

Preface: This is an excessively long post comprised of about 4 months of memories. This is my journal of the summer...an incredibly long and drawn out journal. There are a about a thousand and one words and a thousand and one pictures...which are each worth a thousand words. SO, bless you if you take the time to read this. Ha!

Well, I suppose it’s time to start processing and reflecting on summer and begin the slow and painful transition back into the real world. I don’t want to do it. Ha! It seemed like it took me an especially long time to fully embrace summer mode this year. I’m not sure if that as due to the emending wedding or moving home but I certainly struggled to fully embrace the joys of sweet summertime. But all of that is to say…I have managed to successfully transition now and don’t necessarily feel the need to transition out of summertime bliss. Oh I love summer. I love sleeping in, family time, traveling, lunch with friends, beautiful sunshine, watermelon, ice cold sweet tea, lazy pool days, and late evening sunsets. I just love summer. I love the freedom from the demands of school and the ability to sit back and relax. This summer has been crazy…which always seems to be the norm. It has gone by in a whirlwind and I am struggling to process the fact that I start school in less than a week. Bummer. SO, in an effort to relive as much of these sweet summer days as I can, I thought I would hit some highlights.

Rachel Graduated…

My sweet sis graduated from the University of Kentucky in May with summa cum laude. No big deal. Ha! Rachel worked so hard all four years of college and her work certainly paid off. We were so proud of Rachel and were excited to celebrate her great accomplishment AND celebrate the end of one chapter as we prepared for the next. Speaking of which…

Rachel and Jeremy’s Wedding…

Obviously this was a major highlight. I devoted an entire blog post to this momentous occasion but definitely thought it was worth mentioning again. The wedding was so beautiful and so special. I still kind of struggle to fully believe that my sister is a married woman. Ha! Rachel and Jeremy are blissfully in love and are totally enjoying their days as a married couple. And I am so happy for them!

Weddings on Weddings on Weddings…
I am officially the age where couples get engaged nearly on a weekly basis and wedding invitations flood the mailbox. That might be a bit dramatic but seriously, I feel like I have gone to so many weddings this summer…probably doesn’t help that my sweet love is a preacher boy. But I love it! I LOVE weddings. I always have. I love the colors, the bridesmaid dresses, the wedding dresses, and tuxes, the flowers, the tears of joy, the music, the unique details, and the overwhelming sense of joy and love. I almost always tear up when the church doors are swung open and a collective gasp is heard as the bride is revealed. So amazing. I just love weddings. So I certainly am not complaining that I have had the joy of celebrating several happy couples this summer. Congratulations to all of the precious couples who have said “I Do” this summer! 

I’m Going to Disney World…

Oh how I LOVE Disney. Ever since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of being a Disney Princess. I love the timeless magic of Disney and the prestine perfection and unique charm that each park has. At the end of May and beginning of June, mom, dad, Darin and I flew to Orlando, Florida and enjoyed an amazingly fun week in Disney World. Gosh, it was such a blast. We got the Park Hopper passes so we stayed busy going from park to park throughout each day and truly maximized our days…to the point that we would fall into bed each night thankful to finally stop. Ha! I don’t know how kids do it…must be the magic of Disney…or exhausted and stressed out parents. I think it’s the latter ;) We did and saw everything there was to do and see, including riding the rides, meeting the characters, walking around the parks, shopping, and my personal favorite, having lunch at Cinderella’s Castle with all the Disney princesses. Seriously, it was pretty much constant chaos but so completely fun. I just loved having that family time (especially after such craziness with the wedding) and loved experiencing something so memorable and magical with the people I love so dearly.

Magic Kingdom...
Oh Magic Kingdom really is the most magical place on earth. Sounds silly and in some ways it is, BUT regardless of your age, you want to (and sometimes do) believe in the magic of Disney. Magic Kingdom has always been my favorite park...perhaps because I have always not so secretly dreamed of being a Disney Princess. While at the Magic Kingdom, we walked around and saw all there was to see...including each character, Cinderella's Castle, lunch in Cinderella's Castle with the Princesses (definite highlight/favorite), the parades, and the firework/laser show at the end of the night. I'm not going to lie, I got teary eyed as I watched the fireworks go off behind the castle as my Prince Charming hugged me. Talk about a dream come true for a little girl...and a big girl too. Ha! It was just really special to have that time away from the rest of the world and create those precious memories with Darin and my parents. I love the magic of Disney...and always will.

Animal Kingdom...
We LOVED Animal Kingdom this time around. We were so impressed by the animals we got to see and the whole vibe of the park. We were also probably most impressed with the amazing shows at this park including our favorite, Lion King Broadway show. Seriously, it was so spectacular, we watched it twice. Ha! We also loved the safari we got to go on and the roller coaster, Expedition Everest. Animal Kingdom is totally where it's at. Ha!

Downtown Disney...
I loved Downtown Disney this year! In the past, it has kind of been a place to eat and go on a rainy day and that's about it, but this year we discovered Pleasure Island and really enjoyed walking around and exploring the different shops and restaurants. Darin and I had a "date night" in Downtown Disney on our last night in Disney and loved spending time away from the total chaos of the parks and so enjoyed walking around and people watching. We also got our first Christmas Ornament in Downtown Disney, which was pretty hilarious and awesome. Being the picture taker that I am, I asked the girl behind the counter (Courtney) to please take our picture with the ornament. After I received a strange look from her, I asked her if this was uncommon. Ha! She said it was and said we held the ornament like a newborn baby. Needless to say, it was awkwardly awesome and quite hilarious.

Hollywood Studios...
We spent the least amount of time at Hollywood Studious but really enjoyed our time there and loved seeing the shows (street shows, Stunt Show (amazing), and Beauty and Beast) throughout the park. We also loved the rides at the park...especially Tower of Terror and Rock'n Roller Coaster. My favorite part of the whole park though was watching the Beauty and the Beast performance...every time I have been to Disney we have watched this show, so it brought back some sweet memories.

Epcot...
Epcot was less than stellar in our eyes. We enjoyed riding a few of the rides but found that Epcot was the most outdated of the parks. We were still happy to walk around the park, we just didn't feel the Disney Magic there like we did at the other parks.

Cocoa Beach or Cocoa Bust...
The second part of our trip, we adventured to Jacksonville to visit with our friends the Weatherheads. Yeah, that was super awesome! We have known them...well, forever I think, so it was so fun to go down memory lane with them and laugh to the point of tears. We love our friendship with them and are always so happy to visit with them. After a night with them, we drove over to Cocoa Beach...where it rained most the day. Ha! Hence the Cocoa Bust. After realizing that there wasn't much to do in the town surrounding Cocoa Beach and the hope of the weather clearing were slim to none, we found a local mall and saw Fast and Furious 5. Well wouldn't you know it, by the time the movie was over, the rain had cleared and it was a beautiful sunshiny evening. We got to go down to the beach after all and had one of our favorite meals of the week at a restaurant that sat right on the beach. Our mini beach trip worked out after all.

Darin and I are both list makers so on the flight back home, we made a list of our Top 10 Disney Moments and then compared them...nerd alert I know. These lists only focus on our favorite park moments and not necessarily our favorite memory moments.

Mine:
1. Cinderella's Royal Castle Luncheon
2. Magic Kingdom Firework and Laser Show
3. Animal Kingdom Safari
4. Beauty and the Beast Show at Hollywood Studious
5. Lion King Show at Animal Kingdom
6. Seeing/Meeting the Disney Characters
7. Expedition Everest Roller Coaster at Animal Kingdom
8. Philhar Magic 3-D Show at Magic Kingdom
9. Stunt Show at Hollywood Studios
10. Small World at Magic Kingdom

His:
1. Cinderella Lunch (you saw this correctly)
2. Lion King Show
3. Beauty and the Beast Show
4. Stunt Show
5. Animal Kingdom Safari
6. Expedition Everest
7. Philhar Magic Show
8. Tower of Terror
9. Rock'n Roller Coaster
10. SOARIN

Union Campus Pastor…

Well, I am excited and proud to announce that my sweet love has taken the position to be the Union Campus Pastor at our First Church location. This is a total job change for Darin and is an exciting and new challenge for him as he and his team seek to reach people in the Union/Walton areas. We were both really excited about this opportunity and prayed heavily over the decision and both felt led to this ministry and all of the opportunities that will come with it. We have been there for several weeks now and are loving the people, loving the mission of the church, and are loving getting more and more connected to the community. God has great things in store for this campus and we are really excited to be a part of it.

Cedar Point…

Like the past several years in the past, I went with the 1829 group to Cedar Point. Umm…yeah, I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. Some of my very favorite people came on the trip which resulted in complete ridiculousness, laughter, hilarious car games, stories, staying up late, and of course a whole lot of yelling/giggling on all of the roller coasters. We roller coastered and then roller coastered some more…to the point that I was so done by the end of the day. Turns out your body isn’t really made to be jerked and yanked around for hours on end. Who knew? Ha! It was a super fun day with sweet friends and crazy coasters.

Family Road-Trip and Reunion…

In June, Darin and I embarked on quite the adventure to Pennsylvania with his sister, brother in law, and their two sweet babies. Oh goodness, it was such a fun and crazy adventure. Kevin and I had never been to Pennsylvania so we were both pretty psyched to explore a new city and state. The drive alone lasted about 10 hours (with the frequent stops required with two little ones) so that was a hilarious adventure in and of itself. On the way, we even got to stop in Cleveland for a quick break, which added to the fun. So many conversations, stories, tears (from the babies only), and many bathroom stops. Ha! I loved that time with Darin, Page, and Kevin and loved getting to watch Zoe and Selah from the backseat. I just love them…so much cuteness going on. Once we arrived in Pennsylvania, we added even more adventure to our weekend by staying at a less than fancy motel. We laughed SO hard about our experience at the Just Sleep Motel. As the name infers, all we wanted to do at the hotel was just sleep. Ha! So funny but so fun to make hilarious memories with family. After getting settled in, we headed over to Nana Belle’s Farm (Linda’s mom) and began the Page Family Reunion. So many new faces to match with familiar names, so many funny moments, and so much family time. It was awesome!

A couple of my highlights from the weekend were:

Laughing late into the night with Linda and Darin.

Loving on those sweet babies.

Climbing the infamous tree at Nana Belle’s Farm and swinging on the rope swing.

Meeting all 70+ family members.

Roasting my first hotdog over the campfire.

Feeding ducks and fish with loaves of bread…that was a new one.

Watching the family interact.

The car ride in general.

The Page Family Carnival Linda did for the kids.

Playing Minute to Win It.

Getting a tour of Linda’s hometown.

Successfully avoiding using the Porta-Potty.

And of course…spending time with family.

My first reunion with the Page/Mirante family was a success!

Sweet Madelina and Fourth of July Celebrations

Oh I love my sweet friend, Madelina. This girl is one of my most faithful prayer warriors and friends and is a friend who speaks truth and Godly wisdom into my life regularly. After meeting at UK our freshmen year, we have kept in close contact and have walked through and prayed through life together ever since. I love her and I loooove when she comes and visits me! At the end of June, sweet Madelina came to the NKY and spent the weekend with me. It was so awesome. During her trip, Madelina was exposed to some hilarious and abnormal NKY adventures…including visiting an alpaca farm, being a part of our Union Celebrates America parade, and seeing a llama being walked on the side of the street. Yup, real life everybody. It was so amazing to have that time with Madelina as we got caught up on what God was doing in our hearts and how He was shaping us.

Happy Birthday, America...
In the same week, we celebrated the Fourth of July with Rachel and Jeremy and enjoyed our very expensive and quality (ha!) sparkers. Okay, so maybe we didn’t have the best presentation but we definitely had a good time! It seems that every year I have a great sense of patriotism and pride for our country and greater appreciation for the men and women who serve to protect and preserve our country. As I get older, I also grieve the sin, hatred, and brokenness of our country. So on July 4^th and every other day, I pray boldly for God to bless the USA and guide our leaders to make moral and wise decisions for the sake of our country and for the sake of blessing countries around the world. I pray that as Christians, we would take a stand and love boldly. I pray that we would have a greater sense of urgency than ever before to proclaim the truth. I pray for opportunities for American Christians to have a radical faith. To boldly and passionately love and serve others for the sake of furthering the Kingdom. I pray for our country. I pray for the world. I pray for opportunities to love and serve both in the name of Jesus.

The Life of a Nanny…

This summer, I had the opportunity to nanny for a sweet family 2-3 times a week. I had two little ones entrusted in my care, Warner (5) and Maren (3). These two kiddos kept me busy and taught me so much. I’m not going to lie, after the first day of watching them, I came home and told Darin that I was clearly not fit to be a mother. Ha! Once the newness and intimidation wore off, I so enjoyed getting to spend my days with Warner and Maren. They have such funny and spunky personalities and kept me on my toes. After a summer with them, I definitely feel more qualified and fit to be a mom (someday of course). Throughout the summer, I learned to juggle watching kids and keeping up with the responsibilities of cleaning/cooking/etc. I learned how to successfully do a little girl’s ponytail. I learned discipline techniques. I learned to be creative as I played with the kids. I learned to be more patient. I learned to show more grace. I learned to lead little ones. I learned to have greater empathy for moms whose kids are unruly in public. I learned how to finagle car seats. I learned how to keep kids quiet and under control while out in public (Ha!). I learned to appreciate stay at home moms and moms in general who faithfully and sacrificially love and serve their kids. I had such hilarious moments with the kiddos this summer…from crafting successes and failures, pool days, library afternoons, park adventures, zoo shenanigans, a daily dose of Garfield, fashion faux pas, lunch adventures, etc. I loved my silly and fun adventures with my little kiddos and am thankful for all that they taught me. I am so excited to be a mom someday but am definitely thankful for this stage of life where I can love and leave other people’s kids. Ha!

Oh Canada…

At the end of July, I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Canada with a group from First Church. Canada was my first official mission trip, along with about half of the rest of the team (including Rachel and mom). The trip was a lot different than I had expected but it was so worthwhile and amazing. We were the first team from First Church to go, so it was really neat to meet and see the faces of the people we have been supporting and praying over for years. The week was definitely exhausting, as we helped facilitate day camp each day (glorified babysitting). But, despite the exhaustion, it was so worthwhile and we learned so much about Canada and how desperately in need of Jesus they are. While we were there, we learned that Canada is the most diverse city in all of North America, including NYC and LA. Craziness. As we looked around our classrooms though, it was pretty evident that this was true. We had kids that were every shade of brown…seriously. They were so beautiful. We also learned that Canada, contrary to popular beliefs, is a third world country in regards to Christianity. The country that we share a border with is a Third. World. Country. Spiritually. If that doesn’t give us a sense of urgency, I don’t know what will. While in Canada, we were exposed to some of the vast cultures and had the opportunity to visit a Hindu Temple and a Buddhist Temple and got to try Pilipino and Vietnamese food. The trip was such a culturally enhancing experience. The Lord moved powerfully through our hearts as we worked with His precious children and blessed us immeasurably as we came back to the states was invaluable insight on how desperately Canada needs Jesus.

While we were there, we also got to do some of the fun touristy things of Canada. We got to go up the CN Tower in downtown Toronto and explore the sights and sounds of the city. It was super fascinating and exciting. We also got to visit Niagara Falls. Wow…that was amazing. We rode the Maid of the Mist, which is a small ferryboat that basically takes you as close to the falls as possible. Yup, we got so soaked but had so much fun. Canada certainly left a mark on my heart and I continue to pray for our brothers and sisters there as they seek to spread the name of Jesus Christ to a desperate nation. It was a great trip, eh?

A couple lessons learned from the trip:

Canada is only about 9 hours away.

Road trips are always a fun adventure.

Do not mess with border patrol officers…or should I say, “customs and immigration.”

It is not picture taking time at customs and immigration stations.

Sleeping on an air mattress for a week isn’t the most amazing thing.

Kids are kids regardless of where you go.

Egyptian, Trinidadian, and European mixed kids are gorgeously beautiful.

The CN Tower is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Niagara Falls is spectacular.

Vietnamese Food is…interesting.

Mission trips are exhausting.

My sweet love is an amazing preacher, regardless of what country he’s in.

Canadians say eh? and right? a lot.

Everyone can achieve Buddhahood.

Buddhist are born like cabbage patch kids when they reach enlightenment.

When in Rome, do as the Mexican’s do.

Canadian paper towel dispensers show your true level of patience.

Brown Squirrel can be sung and danced to in an inspiring way.

Milk comes in a bag in Canada.

Canada has amazing summer weather.
Ponchos are smoking hot...literally and figuratively. 

Everything is expensive in Canada with 13% tax.

If you’re a (dumb) American, converting prices and speed limits into the metric system is a serious challenge.
You can't climb on top of the CN Tower...shocking.

In Canada, ice is a commodity.

In Canada, Smarties are chocolate and Smarties are called Rockets.

Everyone, everywhere needs Jesus.

First 1^st Anniversary…

Well, I already wrote a full blog post about this special occasion, but it was certainly one of my favorite days of the summer. I loved getting to celebrate with my sweet love. What a happy day!

Southern Charm and Sweet Sunshine…

How I love the South. I love the sweet southern draw, the sweet tea, fried chicken, sunshine, hospitality, and the way y’all rolls right off the tongue. I just love it. I also love lazy days on a beautiful lake with precious friends. We got to go down to Lake Pickwick with our sweet friends, the Kay’s for a couple days and my goodness, they were great days of relaxing, laughing, sun-soaking, water skiing, water boarding, tubing, jet skiing, pontooning, swimming, and eating. Oh my goodness, it was amazing. We LOVE spending time with the Kay’s and are always sad that our time with them is so short. What precious friends they are! It was so amazing to escape the demands of life and just laugh, play, and relax and enjoy the simplicity of life on a lake. Darin in particular loved tubing, so it was super fun and hilarious to watch him transform into a little boy as he played on the lake. So precious. So hilarious. AND especially fun when I got to throw him off the tube ;) Yeah, that was a good time. Ha! We had the best time with them and are already counting down the days when we can return to the simplicity and euphoria of Lake Pickwick. 

This describes us well...him tubing, me relaxing 

and enjoying watching him have a blast.

Hey Batter Batter…

Well, just like last summer, I joined the church co-ed softball team in an effort to spend quality time with Dad and Darin. And just like last year, we have continued our streak of the losingest team in the history of ever. Seriously, we have lost every single game for the last two summers. Pathetic, right? Thankfully our team wasn't super competitive so we still found a way to have a great time in the midst of being less than professional. Ha!

Sweet Friends…

I have some really precious and amazing friends. This summer, as I transitioned out of Lexington and back into Northern Kentucky, I had a few meltdowns as I worried that I was friendless and would be forever lonely. Yup…I was just a wee bit emotional and over dramatic. I’m a girl, that’s in job description, right? Well, as I prayed over friendships and really placed my dependency in the Lord’s provision, I was reminded of some really precious friendships I already had. For some reason, I had convinced myself that I needed to have a million friends to always be talking to and hanging out with…clearly that was my high school extroversion speaking and not my current introverted self speaking. Ha! I was and continue to be so convicted and thankful for the sweet friendships I already have. I have “less” friends than I ever have but my goodness, I have the most fruitful and intentional friendships than I ever have…I’d say the latter is a much healthier and better place to be in. I got to have some really amazing times with my sweet friends this summer and am so thankful for their Godly wisdom and love, laughter, sweet spirits, and amazing friendship. Thank you, Lord for showing me that quality is so much greater than quantity.

Sweet One…

I love being in love with my sweet one. We had so many sweet adventures together this summer and made so many memories. I loved having so much time to grow with him and become more in more in sync as we shared more time and memories together. Love is an amazing thing. I love reflecting on our journey together and seeing how much our love has changed and matured as time has passed. I get more and more giddy to see him and just love spending time with him. Period.  I love learning how to better love and serve him and how we can better love and serve God and people together. I love love. And I love Darin Mirante. Betchya didn’t know that already, did you? ;)

I am so thankful to have had an amazing summer full of a lot of family time, travelling, relaxing, adventuring, and spending time with sweet friends. This was a summer like none other, full of a lot of lessons and times of growth. I am definitely sad to see my sweet summertime come to a close but am expectantly excited for what God has in store for me in the near future.