So Long Christmas Break

Goodness, I'm sad to say that Christmas Break is officially over. Where did the time go? Goodness! When I think about on all that I've done it makes sense that these weeks have flown by...BUT, I don't exactly feel ready to go back to the business and stress of school. It has been an absolutely amazing break full of lots of family, friends, adventures, laughter, and memory making. Unlike most breaks where I totally burn the candle at both ends, this break was definitely more balanced with lots of relaxation and movie days intermixed. Which was awesome!

Here is a quick (okay, maybe not so quick) summary of these last few wonderful weeks...

Well, the time has come that my peers are starting to get married. In fact, so many friends of mine have gotten engaged I can hardly keep count. BUT, that is besides the point. Keith and Leah Slayden (so weird!) are the first of my peers to get married. It was pretty crazy to watch two of my friends get married and so special to watch them start the life together. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous and so much fun! It was awesome to have so many CSF friends to dance and laugh with. Mrs. Leah Slayden looked absolutely stunning as did all of her bridesmaids and Keith and his groomsman looked quite handsome. It was such a God honoring and glorifying service and the start to a beautiful marriage! Congratulations Keith and Leah!

Another fun highlight was going to our Candlelight Christmas Service at church. I always look forward to going to Candlelight and seeing the church decorated beautifully, the people dressed up, and enjoying the amazing service! The songs and reading of Jesus' birth always put me in the Christmas spirit and super excited for all the festivities to come! 

During the break, Rachel and Jeremy and Darin and I went on a double date to the Festival of Lights which was super fun! The lights were absolutely beautiful and it was so fun to walk through the zoo at night together and see some of the animals and the thousands upon thousands of lights. Despite the cold, we had an absolute blast and enjoyed warming up in the car afterwards. Ha!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were of course highlights as well. It's always SO wonderful to have the family all together celebrating and catching up. I always love getting to spend time with family, especially during Christmas time. I definitely missed Pappy this Christmas and my heart longed to squeeze that belly of his, but smiled knowing that he was throwing a birthday party for Jesus in Heaven. Lucky duck! I am so thankful and humbled to be apart of such a loving, God-honoring, and close-knit family. I wish I could see them more often but am always thankful for the time I do get to share with them and cherish each moment of it. I loved getting to spend time with both sides of the family and so enjoyed the great conversations, laughter, and of course delicious food we all got to share together! I love them the most. Fraid so dearies.

After celebrating Christmas with my family, I got to go to Wabash to celebrate with Darin's family. How fun! I had such a wonderful time visiting and celebrating with his family and meeting their sweet friends. Several times I found myself completely overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and humility that I have the opportunity to love this family. They are so amazing. We celebrated Christmas and New Years Eve on the same day and had ourselves so convinced that each were the actual days that I kept thinking of all the people I wanted to text and call and wish a Merry Christmas or Happy New Year. Ha! In between the two "holidays," we geared up and went sledding for a couple hours. It was super fun...I still have the bruises to prove it. Ha! I absolutely LOVED meeting the friends that I have heard about for so long and so enjoyed "bringing in the new year" talking and laughing all together. I also got to go to Darin's home church on Sunday morning, which was awesome! It was pretty funny how many people introduced themselves by saying, "Hi Emilee (before I said my name), I'm ____." Again, I was so humbled to hear how loved and respected Darin is and moved by how genuinely excited people were to meet "Darin's Emilee." I had such a wonderful time celebrating with the Mirante's and was quite sad to leave Wabash. Ha! Guess that just means we'll have to visit again soon! 

This break was full of lazy and relaxing days...which was SO nice! I can't even tell you how many movies we watched over the break. It was kind of ridiculous actually. Ha! I absolutely LOVED having time to just relax with my precious family and so enjoyed reading, puzzling (I mainly watched my family puzzle...but put together a piece or two. Ha!), playing in the snow, watching movies, baking, and sleeping. Oh I am definitely going to miss those lazy days once school starts back up. I love my family and always love spending time together. Such sweet times!

Last but not least, I had the opportunity to go to Passion again this year. It was absolutely amazing to be surrounded by 60,000 students worshipping, praying, and learning together. It was so wonderful to start the new year by coming together and worshipping God with 60,000 of my closest friends. I often got distracted looking around the Georgia Dome and being absolutely amazed by how God was moving in the hearts of so many people while at the same time listening to our worship and our cries to Him. How amazing is that? One of my favorite sounds of all is when just the voices of 60,000 people are singing together to our God with no instruments or worship leaders. So powerful. The week reminded me of how many broken and lost people there are in this world and how desperately they need us to fight for them, whether it be actively or just in prayer. Prayer is so powerful, people! My heart often aches as I fall asleep at night thinking of all the children around the world hungry, hurting, orphaned, sick, lonely, scared, abused, neglected, abandoned...it's often too much for my heart to handle and I just have to pray that God would lead me into opportunities to love the broken and be apart of leading them to Jesus. Oh how I long to love those sweet kids, wherever they may be. The week was extremely humbling, moving, and amazing and one that I am still trying to recover from and process. Ha! 

Well, that's my break in a nutshell. Definitely not all inclusive BUT if it were, I would bore anyone who ventures to read this blog to tears. Ha! I am absolutely overwhelmed by the beautifully blessings the Lord pours over me and am so underserving but so thankful. I had such a wonderful break full of really special moments, great conversations, and sweet memories. Oh man, I'm sad to see it come to an end. 

Now it's time for school to start again...oy vey. After spending so much time with family and Darin, it is definitely tough to transition back into school mode. But, I am praying for continued peace and gratitude for the opportunity to be here. I am trusting that the Lord has me here for a reason and am excited to see where He leads me and who He leads me to. I am excited to see how He continues to refine, teach, and challenge me and how He will lead me closer to Him. I am definitely not looking forward to waking up early, studying late, and running around like a crazy person. But, I know that this is going to be a better semester than last. I am just sure of it. I am going to start the semester expecting it to be positive and exciting and will pray that my introverted self will learn to be a bit more extroverted and a bit more flexible. A bit more generous with my time and a little less reliant on my calendar. I am praying that the Lord reveals some awesome friendships this semester and that I am able to grow closer to Him as I seek to know Him more and please Him in all that I do. I am also hoping that with a little less of a demanding schedule, I will be able to enjoy some down time and start exercising and journaling more regularly. Phew, I have the pre-first day of school butterflies as I think of this upcoming semester but will be praying it away as I fall asleep tonight and will wake up tomorrow ready to start this new semester! Second semester, here I come...

Halfway Through Sophomore Year

Well, I have officially completed another semester of college! It’s pretty crazy when I stop and think about all that has happened this semester. By far this was the most emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting and trying semester. I have learned a lot from it but would be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m glad this semester is in the books.

I have seriously neglected blogging since school has demanded so much of my time but I don’t want to let this semester slip by before I talk about the highlights. I’m just going to attempt to summarize my semester with pictures...we'll see how that goes.

David Crowder came to the Boone County Fairgrounds to perform after a day full of local speakers and worship leaders...including Darin, Felicity, and the Revolution Band! So proud to be among such famous people. ;) It was SO fun to spend the day hanging out, cheering on, and worshipping with sweet friends...and eating some delicious funnel cake. Yum!

We had some of the most glorious weather this fall. I absolutely LOVED getting to enjoy such sweet sunshine and warm weather so far into the fall. My sweet boy came to visit on one of those glorious days and we had a picnic and walked around the arboretum while enjoying each other's company and the gorgeous fall leaves. It was such a wonderful day!

Happy Holla-Ween! This Halloween, my sweet housemates and I decided to dress up as superheroes but "girlify" them with tutus and makeup. We made our shirts, made our tutus (the day of I might add), and embraced our inner superheroes. UK was a safer place thanks to these superheroes...

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Super(wo)man!

Well, the first kid of the Fab Four Family's is officially married. So weird! It was so fun to celebrate Jessie and Nate's wedding and spend time with precious friends. Everyone looked absolutely beautiful (especially Mrs. Jessie Bargen). I must admit that I have never danced (or sweat) so much at a wedding before. Ha! Once dinner, toasts, the first dance and the Father-Daughter dance were done, the dance floor was open and we busted all kinds of moves for hours. Goodness, we were all in rare form and danced the night away. Oh we had so much fun! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Bargen!

For my birthday, my sweet boy got season tickets for the Contemporary Dance Theater. We have only been to one show so far and it was...different for sure. Ha! Neither of us are very "artsy" so I think we probably missed some of the message the dancers were trying to portray BUT we were entertained and enjoyed getting to experience something totally new together.

Oh how I love Jesus Prom. Each year, Southland puts on a prom for the mentally and physically disabled where each "promer"is assigned to a date and is able to play games, get their hair and makeup done, and dance the night away. Jesus Prom by far is one of the most amazing and humbling nights. It brings me SO much joy to watch these men and women laugh, play, and dance. This year I had a pretty difficult night. I was assigned to a 10 year old girl with Aspergers. Rather than wanting to dance, get her hair and makeup done, or walk around, Destiny wanted only to play games and run...around the entire church. Ha! Phew, it was so exhausting. Little Miss wanted nothing to do with anyone but me and had very little interest in doing anything prom related. Most of the night we spent in a corner talking about animals...her favorite subject. While I was exhausted, that night was a night that I truly had to humble myself and pray that the Lord would give me patience and grace. While last year was so much fun, this year gave me such an appreciation and high respect for parents of children with disabilities and reminded me that while serving others, we are to humble ourselves and put other's desires and needs above our own. All in all, the night was absolutely worthwhile and humbling to spend time with Destiny, talk to her parents, serve with sweet friends, and watch the promers dance with total abandon. Such a beautiful visual.

For our first Christmas gift, Mom and Dad surprised us with tickets to The Story Tour at Southeast Christian Church. The tour is based off of the book The Story (which is the Bible told in a story format) and has songs from the perspective of significant people in the Bible. The CD is one of my favorites as it's amazing to hear the stories I have grown up hearing from the person's perspective and hear the emotion and struggles that each must have experienced. The concert was absolutely beautiful with amazing singers and musicians and incredible lyrics. It was so fun to start off the Christmas season with family (including my aunts Anna and Con-Con) and experience the Bible together in a brand new way.

It's Ugly Christmas Sweater Time. Remember that jealousy is a sin...

There are a few highlights that I don't have pictures of to document but are definitely worth mentioning.

Woodhill this semester has been absolutely amazing! It has been incredible to see how God has moved in that neighborhood and what doors He has opened for us. Goodness it has been so great! Monday's have been one of my favorite days of the entire week. The relationships that we had from last year continue to grow closer and friendships from this semester have been so special. I have fallen in love with one family in particular. The relationship I have with this family is more God ordained than all the others and it has been so incredible to watch how the Lord has loved on this family through us. What an honor. I absolutely love getting to love on, encourage, pray over, and talk to this sweet family each week. My heart aches for all they have had to experience but am so encouraged that through this time, rather than distancing themselves from us, they have drawn closer to us, count on us being there each week, and have an interest and desire to come to church. How good is our God?! On the last night of the semester, while visiting with them, Mary (the wife) said that her psychiatrist has seen a change in her since we've started visiting her and that "she doesn't know what she would do without having us to look forward to each week." That made me tear up. GOD IS SO GOOD!  I am so honored and humbled to get to love on these precious people and am so excited for the conversations and friendships to come! It makes me smile just thinking about Woodhill...that neighborhood holds a special place in my heart.

In addition to Woodhill, Southland Christian Church is opening up a campus on Richmond Road...which is literally across the street form Woodhill. I am seriously SO excited for this campus to open up and to get our families into church. It's been difficult to get our families that want to go to church to church because most of them don't have cars and most of us go to 608 and not morning church. SO, this campus opening up is going to be such blessing for our families and our community. The outward focus that Southland has and their desire to love on ALL of God's people is absolutely amazing and makes me SO excited to be apart of the start of this new adventure. A few months back, Rachel, Jeremy, and I got to meet up with the campus pastor, Gary Black and hear his vision, hear about the ministry opportunities, and tell him about our love for Woodhill. We also got to visit the church while it was still under construction, which was awesome. One of the most amazing parts of the tour was having the opportunity to pray over the baptistry. As we stood praying over the baptistry, my heart flooded thinking of all the people we would welcome into our family and I prayed desperately that our friends at Woodhill would come to know our Jesus! If you can't tell, I am thrilled for this new campus to open and am even more thrilled to see how the Lord will be glorified and honored. All praise be to HIM!

Another fun part of the semester has been living in a house. It has been SO nice to have a room to myself, a bathroom that I only share with Miss Lydia, and precious housemates to do life with. We have enjoyed so much laughter, great conversations, and many dance and singing parties. This last semester kept me super busy and unfortunately caused me to spend a lot of time studying in my room BUT I certainly enjoyed the time I got to spend with the girls and am looking forward to a hopefully calmer next semester where I can spend even more quality time with them.

Wednesday nights were my very favorite days of the week during this semester. With such a busy and demanding schedule, by the time I got to Wednesday I almost always had lost all motivation and energy. WELL, to combat the mid-week blues, my precious friend Jen Larsen and I met up each Wednesday evening for some MUCH needed laughter, talking, and adventuring. My goodness, I cannot speak more highly of this precious sister and say enough how much of a God send she was this semester. The start of our friendship is quite a mystery...which only goes to show how God ordained it is. Jen and I have shared so much laughter and so many tears together as we processed and talked through life and what the Lord was doing in each of our hearts and lives. Gosh, my heart swells when I think of how thankful I am for her friendship and how honored I am to be apart of her life. She is such a beautiful, hilarious, joyful, intentional, special, and Godly woman and teaches me how to better love life and the people in it. She has influenced my life in more ways than she will ever know and has showed me what a true, Godly, and unconditional friendship looks like. I am so humbled to have her in my life and consider her as a bonus sister. I can't wait to see what God has in store for our friendship and know that we will be friends for a lifetime. Oh I love her so much!!

Well, I'm sure I am forgetting many things that have made this semester special but that's all I can think of for now. Here's to the end of this semester and here's to Christmas Break! Ha!

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I love having this day to spend intentional time reflecting on the amazing blessings the Lord has put in my life. When I actually stop to think about all of the things I am thankful for, I am completely overwhelmed and struggle to accurately express my gratitude. I am so humbled to have such sweet blessings in my life.

I am going to attempt to write a list of what I’m thankful for…a list that is very much not all-inclusive and in absolutely no order. And just a warning, some ridiculously random things popped into my head. Alright here we go, I am thankful for…

A loving, faithful, and forgiving God. The Hope of Heaven. An incredible Mom, Dad, Sister, and extended family. A precious boyfriend. Bonus Family. Sweet friends. The Power of Prayer. The University of Kentucky. CSF. Joy. Two Church Homes. Woodhill. Two wonderful housemates. Laughter. Music. The Ability to Love and Be Loved. Freedom. Faithful Servants. Sweet Tea. Shooting Stars. Amazing Role Models. Good Health. Electricity. Baptisms. America. Traveling. Bright Colors…especially Pink. Long Walks. Pets. Surprises. Comfy Beds. Jesus Prom. Soldiers. Gymnastics. Worship Music. Airplanes. Bookstores. Rain. Caramel Apple Cider. Journaling. Happy and Sad Tears. Hope. The Ability to Feel. Heat and Air Conditioning. A Beating Heart. Medicine. Sweet and Funny Text Messages. Wisdom. Rainbows. Candles. Flowers. Teeth. Cute Shoes. Missionaries. Doctors. Yummy Food. Front Porches. Hugs. Books. Vision, Hearing, Tasting, and Smelling. Clean and Running Water. Glitter. Blogs. Chalk and Dry Erase Boards. Warm Showers. Glasses and Contacts. iPhones. Random Acts of Kindness. Good Movies. Rocking Chairs. Paved Roads. An Able Body. Porch Swings. Dancing. Sour Gummy Worms. A Room to Myself. Baby Animals. Encouragement. Warm Blankets. Nail Polish. Education. Deodorant. Sunshine. Socks. Sleep. Kisses. Leadership. Cold Chills. Singing. Weekends. Cursive Handwriting. Every Breath I Take. Swimming Pools. Disney Princesses. Beautiful Blue Ocean Water. Kites. Rings. Fruit. Pretty jewelry. Hospitals. Sweet Memories. Unique Talents. Soft Grass. Snow. Icecream. Funny Youtube Videos. Flip-Flops. Makeup. Toothbrushes and Toothpaste. Passion Conference. Summertime. Silliness. Sandy Beaches. Babies. Grace. Underwear. Crystal Blue Skies. Umbrellas. Cameras. Toilet Paper. Sweatpants. Reasons to Celebrate Life and People.  Firemen and Policemen. Being Literate. Fluffy Clouds. Wildflowers. Exercise. Clocks. Post-It Notes. Telling Stories and Hearing Silly Stories. Toilets. White Picket Fences. Pretty Dresses. Disney World. Boldness. Corny Jokes. Bubbles. Hair Straighters. Simple Days. Handwritten Letters. Facebook. Hugs. Lip-Gloss. Motivation. Traditions. Chick Flicks. Giggle Fits. Oversized Sweatshirts. Waterfalls. Fans. Smiles. Cookies. Family Vacations. Sunsets. Crafts. Christmas Trees and Sparkly Lights. Creativity. Accents. Clumsy Moments. Kids Laughter. Colorful Leaves. Warm Coats. Fun and Spontaneous Adventures. Playing Outside. Good smells. Quiet Moments. Good Quotes. Twinkly Stars. Full Moons. Lazy Days. Awkwardly Awesome Moments. Pictures. Tutus. My VW Bug. Different Languages. Tumbling. Pinterest. Naps. Imagination. Driving with the Windows Down and Music Blaring. Valuable lessons. Nature. The Internet. Goodness, this list could go on and on and on…

Needless to say, the Lord has blessed me so richly. I am so undeserving of His immense blessings but am so thankful and pray that I would use the blessings He pours over me to glorify Him and serve others.

The Celebrations…

Today was a really special and wonderful day. Despite the obvious absence of my sweet Pappy, it was so nice to have the family together celebrating life and the precious blessings the Lord has so gracious given us. As we circled up to pray, I got tears in my eyes as I looked around and saw the people I so dearly love. We enjoyed so much delicious food, great conversations, lots of laughter, and glorious weather. God is so good and I am so thankful.

AND to end the night, I got to dance in a flash mob at Target with some sweet friends. Talk about a hilarious way to end Thanksgiving. We danced to “Ice Ice Baby” in Target’s parking lot in front of the (crazy) people standing in line. It was so random and hilarious and awesome. And was a total successful Bucket List Adventure!

Sweet Pappy-O

Goodness, I have been trying to write this post for weeks but it has proven to be incredibly difficult. My words and thoughts may be jumbled as I wrote whatever popped into my head, but I hope through reading this you are able to see how incredible of a man my Pappy was and how greatly loved he will always be….

Oh my heart is heavy as I begin to process the reality that my Pappy has been called home to be with Jesus. As I write that line, both tears of joy and of sorrow fall from my eyes…something I’m beginning to get used to. I suppose it’s a blessing to feel such sadness because it means that I had the opportunity to love and be loved by such an incredible man. How do you write about a man you loved more than words could ever express? As I stumble over my words, my mind is being absolutely flooded with sweet memories shared with my Pappy and invaluable lessons he has taught me as well as an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the opportunity to have shared such a special time on this earth with my special Pappy. Grady Garland “Pete” Upton lived a life full of sacrifice, generosity, laughter, and a whole lot of love. He has left a legacy of service, faith, and love and I am so honored to call him my grandpa.

My Pappy was such a faithful servant. He led our family as he sought the Lord and taught his family how to live selfless and purposeful lives and how to serve humbly and love unconditionally. Pappy bravely served his country in World War II, humbly served as a Kosair Shriner, a Mason, and as a member of the Louisville Scottish Rite, and most faithfully and lovingly served as a husband, a father to four, a grandfather to seven, and a great-grandfather to one. Finally and most importantly, He obediently and faithfully served his Heavenly Father. I always loved Pappy’s quiet and humble spirit and servant’s heart and am so honored to have had the opportunity to learn from him and to be his granddaughter.

One of the things I have always admired most about Pappy is his ability to love…and love well. For over 63 years my Pappy faithfully served and loved his bride. What an honor it has been to watch my Nanny and Pappy humbly serve and love each other while serving, loving, and leading our family. My grandparents have always epitomized what a Godly and loving marriage looks like and have established a firm foundation of love, grace, and servitude in our family. Pappy was always so generous with his time, resources, and love and always made time to celebrate life with family. We always had “arguments” over who loved who the most saying, “I love you the most” “Fraid not deary” “Fraid so deary.” What an amazing argument to have…

Pappy always found a way to make me giggle. Whether he was telling some wild tale or testing out his latest riddles, Pappy was always quick to smile and always had a twinkle of love and hint mischievousness in his eyes. He found such delight in bringing his family joy and laughter. He had such a great sense of humor…dry as a desert but sharp as a knife. My favorite riddle of all that he would do was always, “here’s where the cat sits, here’s where the bell rings, eye winker, tom tinker, nose smeller, mouth eater, chin chopper, giggle giggle giggle.” Pappy also enjoyed “shucking the corn” where he would rub his knuckles against ours or do other silly tricks to us. When we were little, we always got the biggest kick out of Pappy singing Rock-A Bye Baby while tickling us and when a giggle would escape, he would say, “oh now be still.” He would also ask Rachel and I with a playful smile, “Does it hurt?” each time we would get our nails painted. Another sweet memory I have with Pappy is him teaching Rachel and I how to walk on the stilts he made. We spent hours on those stilts walking up and down the backyard and Pappy was always there to watch us and cheer us on. Pappy was also a great gardener. He had the most beautiful garden always overflowing with vegetables and beautiful flowers as well as raspberries that lined the fence in their backyard. Rachel and I absolutely loved picking and eating the raspberries straight off the vine. Yum, my mouth is watering as I remember how much sweeter those always tasted than the ones sold at the grocery store. If we could wait long enough to make it back inside, we would proudly show off the few raspberries we had gathered to Nanny who was always tickled by our excitement. Pappy also always had “samolians” for Rachel and I, which consisted of either a $2 bill or a coin he had collected. We have saved every bill and coin he has ever given us and have them in safekeeping. Rachel and I would go spend several days each summer (from the time I can remember) with Nanny and Pappy, during which we would play countless games of Go Fish while eating cheese and crackers (a family favorite), eat excessive amounts of cookies, pineapple, watermelon, and Moose Tracks ice cream, watch old time movies, and best of all, go on “Safari’s” that they would plan. On our daylong adventures, we would travel to the gems of Kentucky and enjoy talking in the car and experiencing new things together. We went to Upton, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace, Mammoth Cave, the Belle of Louisville, Churchill Downs, and other fun places. We always had the best time on those days and have such fun memories from them. More sweet memories come from every holiday being spent at their house. Countless hours of great conversations, laughter, story telling took place in their basement as we celebrated every birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas…and any other reason we could think of to get everyone together. Ha! So many memories are flooding back as I write…what a sweet blessing. Pappy was such an intentional and engaging grandpa who both showed and told us his love and I am so incredibly thankful for the memories that I will cherish forever.

Gosh, I’m going to miss hearing his voice and hugging that big belly of his. I’m going to miss telling him that I really do love him the most. I’m going to miss his laughter and his silly stories. I’m going to miss the quiet moments that we shared just holding hands and enjoying one another’s presence. I’m going to miss the twinkle in his eyes when he looked at Nanny. I’m going to miss his whistling and snapping. I’m going to miss seeing those wispy pieces of hair on his otherwise bald head. I’m going to miss watching he and Nanny dance. I’m going to miss going on “Safari’s” each summer and will miss enjoying his “special ingredient” eggs. I’m going to miss going to the grocery store to get “vittles” or his provisions for the week. I’m going to miss calling him on my way to class. I'm going to miss holding his rough hand. I'm going to miss him asking "how's your car running?" each time I would see him. I’m going to miss hearing him snoring half way through a family celebration and him waking up pretending like he hadn’t dosed off. I’m going to miss his big smile and his tight hugs. Oh I am going to miss my sweet Pappy-O so much.

As I grieve the fact that Pappy is no longer on this earth, I would be remiss to not say how thankful I am that he is spending eternity with Jesus. I love visualizing him singing and dancing and laughing with Jesus. I am also so thankful for the time that the Lord allowed us to share with Pappy. I am thankful that I got to enjoy his presence for 20 years of my life and share so many priceless moments with him. I am also so thankful to have shared some really sweet times with him over his last few months and weeks. I cannot express how thankful I am to have spent so many Sunday afternoons talking to Pappy and hearing stories from his childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. I am also thankful for the countless phone calls we shared and the way he made any day brighter just by ending the phone call by saying, “I love you the most.” I am thankful that I got to see him only days before he went to be with Jesus and that I could tell him how much I loved him. I am so thankful that he was able to meet and have a relationship with Darin. I am so thankful that Pappy lived such a long and joyful life and that he enjoyed perfect health for 88 out of his 89 years. I am so thankful that Pappy died without a single doubt of where he was going or how incredibly loved he was. What a blessing that is! I am so thankful that Pappy was surrounded by family and that he went from holding Nanny’s hand on earth to holding Jesus’ hand in heaven. Such a beautiful visual that still makes me tear up. I am so thankful for my Pappy and for the impact he had on so many lives. I will forever cherish the memories we shared, remember the lessons he taught me, and live a life that would make him proud.

I am also thankful for the love that was so evident at Pappy’s funeral. While funerals are emotional and exhausting, I have learned that they are one of the ways the Lord shows us His love in a very real and tangible way. The power of prayer was and continues to be so evident as we were able to celebrate Pappy’s life and celebrate the fact that he was with Jesus, rather than be overwhelmed by our grief and pain. I definitely felt grief and pain, don’t get me wrong. BUT, I also was able to experience a sense of peace that transcends all understanding and a sense of strength that only could have come from the Lord. God used the people that came to the visitation and funeral to love on us, hold us, cry with us, and laugh with us. Gosh, I am still so humbled that so many people would come to pay their respects and to love on my family. The letters, text messages, phone calls, hugs, and presence of sweet friends were so comforting and were such a precious reminder of how loved and blessed my family is. Unbelievable. In our weakness, the Lord is indeed made stronger and His love and faithfulness are unfailing.

Garland, Pete, Pistol Pete, Daddy, Granddaddy, Pappy, Mr. Upton, Brother Pete, and Brother Upton…he was a man of many names and was loved by so many people. I am honored to have been his granddaughter and am humbled to have had the opportunity to call him my grandpa.

I love you the most, Pappy. Fraid so deary.

Here are some of the awesome songs I've received great comfort from...

The Reason for the World: Matthew West

Not For A Moment: Meredith Andrews

Alive In Us: Hillsong

This Is Not the End: Gungor

Another Day Older and Officially Two Decades

Wow. If words could only describe how insanely and beautifully and undeservedly blessed I have felt today. I truly am having a hard time using mere Earthly words to say how special and how loved I felt today as I celebrated by 20^th Birthday. I love celebrating other people’s birthdays. I love obnoxiously singing Happy Birthday to them, I love writing them cards, I love letting everyone and their brother know when someone has a birthday and I love making them feel special. However, I have a really hard time accepting the love when it circles back around. I love to love people. Period. And while it’s amazing and such a blessing to receive so much love back, I have struggled all day to feel deserving of this love. And my conclusion is that I am not. No one deserves to be loved in such a beautiful way. But then I realized that this beautiful picture, is just a glimpse at how BIG God loves each of us. How crazy is it to think about that? God loves us more than we will ever be able to comprehend. This absolutely blows my mind when I stop to think about it. The greatest love we have ever felt doesn’t even come close to being the same love that the Father has for His children. I am so humbled and so thankful for the love and blessings my family and friends have absolutely lavished upon me today. What is even more of a blessing though, is that it doesn’t have to be my birthday to know that I am loved. I am blessed to have such affirming and loving people who celebrate and do life with me every single day. What an unbelievable blessing it is to go to sleep each night knowing without a doubt in my mind that I am loved by the amazing people in my life and that I am loved by my Heavenly Father more than I can fathom.

A few things that made this birthday (week) so special was getting to celebrate with my precious family, my sweet sister, and my amazing friend, Jen.

Incredible Family…

Saturday we went to Louisville to celebrate the “September Birthdays.” It was so fun to celebrate my cousin, uncle, and my birthday with our amazing family. I never take for granted the time I have with my family and always enjoy laughing, talking, and hugging on my wonderful family. And an added bonus was that my Nana and Aunt Kathy came to celebrate as well. Super wonderful to spend time with my family…that in and of itself was the best gift I could have received. After we got back from Louisville, Darin surprised me by taking me to my favorite movie Finding Nemo in 3D. Oh yes, I celebrated my 20^th birthday by watching a Disney Pixar movie…and I loved it. My birthday week continued on Sunday when my parents, Darin, and I went to PF Changs and enjoyed a very delicious lunch/dinner. So tasty!

My Sweet Sisterbear…

On Wednesday, Rach treated me to a smoothie, a pedicure, and dinner at McAlister’s. Oh it was SO wonderful to spend time with her and get caught up on life. Our time together has been super limited this semester since we are both so busy, so it was especially special to just talk and be pampered together. She is such an amazing blessing in my life and I am trying to soak up every moment I have with her these next two semesters. I know she will always be my sister, but I am also not naive in thinking that things will change when she graduates and gets married. SO, all that is to say that I am enjoying the sweet times we are able to enjoy together, just the two of us. Love my sweet sis.

Krispy Keme and Fountains…

Wednesday’s are one of my favorite days out of the week and that is because I get to spend time with my precious freshmen for Shift Group and get to see my amazing friend, Jen each week. Jen and I decided at the beginning of the year that we would get together every Wednesday for much needed talk/laugh/chill time. I absolutely love my sweet Jen-Bear. Our time together is what I look forward to all day on Wednesday and am filled up and ready for my longest day of the week, Thursday. It’s so great that I can’t even put it into words. This Wednesday we decided to have a spontaneous adventure and went to Krispy Kreme and proudly wore our hats the entire time and laughed so hard at everything. We were both in particularly silly moods and therefore were ridiculous together. After we enjoyed our sweet treats, we decided to continue the adventure and go to Triangle Park (a little park in the middle of downtown). So, we just walked around and took pictures and continued the hilariousness. It was so great to celebrate with her and just spend time with her.

And now I will tell you a story that I am not proud of but have a feeling it will bring some joy to those who read it…

House Scare…

Okay so after Jen and I went out, she dropped me off at home. I was home alone since my sweet housemates have their Core Groups on Wednesday night. SO, I went upstairs as usual and was getting some things done and decided that I was thirsty and would go downstairs to get a drink. When I got downstairs, I saw that our back door was ajar and unlocked. Okay, now I must preface this story by saying that I had watched Taken on Saturday (and had been super terrified) and watched Hawaii Five-O on Tuesday. SO, naturally my brain jumped directly to freak out mode. I scooted one of the carts in the kitchen in front of the door (since it wouldn’t lock) and bolted up the stairs and locked myself in my room. After securing the door, my brain jumped to assuming that I had just locked myself in with “the bad guy” that was of course prowling around in my room. So, I then checked my closet, under my bed, and patted my curtains to make sure he was not there. After I had surveyed my room, I called my housemates and asked them when they would be returning home. After about 15 minutes had gone by, Lydia finally got home and we checked the rest of the house…partially joking but partially not. Each time Lydia would open a door or the shower curtain, she would scream and I would squeal every single time. So ridiculous. After Katelynn returned home, we learned that she had been cooking that afternoon and had thought she had closed and locked the door but hadn’t quite closed it (the door is hard to close to begin with). SO, all of that is to say that my mind goes wild when left alone. Ha!

Two Decades…

Okay, now about my beautifully blessed day. I just want to take a minute to brag about the ridiculously amazing people in my life…hope you don’t mind. I have the most amazing, gracious, generous, beautiful, Godly people in my life. My family and friends went out of their way today to make me feel loved and special. And they succeeded. Big time. Here are 20 things that made turning 20 so special today…

1. My precious momma drove down to have breakfast with Rachel and I this morning. We went to this cute little restaurant called Josie’s early this morning and enjoyed a delicious breakfast and wonderful fellowship. I am so thankful to have been able to start the day off celebrating with mom and so appreciate her waking up super early to drive to Lexington just to spend a little bit of time together. She is just amazing. (Dad is amazing too...can't forget to mention him! ;) He was traveling the day of my birthday but celebrated before and after with us and made me feel so special.) I love my parents.

2. My first class of the day on Thursday’s is a two-hour biology lab…which I do not enjoy...at all. BUT, that’s not what made today special. Ha! Usually this class runs over because of excessively long lab reports, BUT today’s lab report was only four pages long and I got to leave 20 minutes early. So that made me super happy! It's the small things...

3-10. My sweet boyfriend, Darin (I’ll talk about our story soon, I just couldn’t let this day go by without mentioning him!) drove down to visit. Oh he is just the sweetest. I’m going to brag about my sweet boy for just a minute so bare with me...

He came and picked me up from class (3) this afternoon and brought me to a wonderfully delicious Italian restaurant (which is my favorite kind of food) (4)…where he had already been to surprise me with flowers on the table when we got there (5). After we ate (which was delicious), we went to the Arboretum (6) and walked around and enjoyed the glorious sunshine (7) (the forecast had said it was going to rain all day…instead God decided to smile down on us), beautiful flowers (8), and wonderful company (9). He also gave me the most precious and generous gifts (10). I am so undeserving of his generosity and love but I am so thankful for him and am loving getting to do life with him. He is so wonderful and made me feel so special on this special day...and every other day too!

11. I convinced my art teacher that he should let us leave early…1 hour and 20 minutes early. Oh yeah!

So here’s the story- At the beginning of class, Mr. Cox told us that we would have options for the day and would get to decide what we wanted to do for the evening. After he gave the options (none of which were too appealing), I told him that there should be another option of leaving early since it was my birthday. And he totally bought into it! After wishing me a happy birthday, he told us to turn our papers in, sign in, and have a great evening....after having 10 minutes of class. Oh. Yes. Happy Birthday to Me. Haha.

12. Since my art class was cancelled, I got to go home (which I hadn’t been to since 7:30 this morning), which was super nice and relaxing. It was so great to be able to just rest and relax with my sweet housemates and get ready for Synergy. Also, when I got back home, I was surprised with a very sweet surprise from my sweet sis, Jamie. AND, I walked upstairs to my room and saw a cute little sign from Miss Lydia. So blessed by such precious housemates.

13. During my time at home, my sweet Nanny and Pappy called which was a definite highlight of the day. My favorite line of my conversation with my Pappy was, “well, I could sit here and talk to you for another hour but I know you have other things you need to be doing.” What I loved so much about that statement was that I would have loved to have as well and was sad to hangup. I assured him that I would call him sometime soon and we will have our hour-long talk. I love my Nanny and Pappy. So much.

14-15. Synergy. It was so fun to have a birthday on the day that I go to Synergy! I absolutely loved and was so humbled by the love and birthday wishes I received from the moment I walked into the building to the time I left. I got so many hugs, high-fives, and sweet wishes that I am still smiling about it. AND, my sweet Core Group leader gave me the most perfectly princessey card (14). It was also so awesome to get to worship on my birthday. While I had been thanking the Lord all day for the incredible blessings He has showered over me, I loved getting to sing praises to my Father. I loved getting to sing loudly and in awe as I continued to try to wrap my mind around how great God’s love is (15).

16. After Synergy was over and after we stayed after to talk and enjoy great fellowship with great friends, we realized that the rain had finally come and that it was pouring outside. Being the innovative thinkers that we are, we decided to wear garbage bags as protective dresses/hats. Oh yes, we were styling and profiling and laughing all the way to the car.

Does this Garbage Bag Make Me Look Fat?

17. When we arrived home, I came back up to my room to put some things away and was bombarded by two of the sweetest housemates on the face of the Earth as they sang “Happy Birthday” while holding the most delicious completely homemade Italian Cheesecake with strawberries. Y.U.M.

18. After we had stuffed ourselves with cheesecake, we decided that it only made sense to interpretative dance to appropriately break in the new year. That was a sight for sore eyes. Fortunately for everyone else, we did not videotape that action…there are just some things you can’t unsee. 

19. Facebook, while incredibly distracting, sure makes someone feel so loved and special on their birthday. It was SO humbling to be wished a "Happy Birthday" by the people who mean the world to me. Every time I opened my email throughout the day, I was blown away by the love I had the honor of being the recipient of.

20. The last but certainly not the least thing that made this day so special was the phone calls, texts, and tweets I received. Goodness gracious, you all sure do know how to love someone.

I could go on and on but will stop there since 20 seems to be the theme of the day. Ha! Needless to say, today has been an absolutely amazing day and I am completely overwhelmed at how gracious the Lord is. I am looking forward to seeing what He has in store for this next decade and am so excited to see how He uses me, teaches me, and grows in me.