Visit from friends!

A few weeks ago, some dear friends got to come visit for two days while on their way to N.C. :)

This is a picture taken of *A* and myself with them in September, after Joel & Sarah's wedding!


They came in on a Sunday afternoon! Us kids went on a long walk all through the fields in front of our house. Then, inside for some yummy dinner and family reading and discussion time. On Monday we all took a morning walk *glorious*! We worked together to put some food together for a picnic lunch and headed up to Carter's mountain. It was so pleasant and relaxing to just talk and enjoy the beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains! God is so good to us!

We had such a blast with them. Here are some of us up on Carter's Mountain.
*an apple & peach orchard near our home*

Monday night we got to make granola!! Something we have wanted to do together forever!!! Yay! Then we had a bonfire and an awesome time of worship, plus stargazing! It was so sweet and wonderful. (Sadly, I didn't get pictures of either!)

God is the God of the impossible! We never thought they would ever be able to come see us because of distance, money, etc...


THANKS FOR COMING TO SEE US! WE LOVE YOU ALL! :)

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Why I Am Thankful Today

God's ways are so perfect and good. Rarely do I fully understand them--but I know they are good because HE is good. always.

Last night, Anna and I got to see our friends, The Josties! In my time of traveling with The Sky family, I have met the Josties twice. Because they have a wonderfully large family, and our crew was generally 10-13 people, there wasn't much....well....what I would call "quality time" with anyone.

When I found out that The Jost family was going to be near our area (and yes, two hours is close in comparison to what would take 38 hours of driving to get to their home!) I was ecstatic and...hesitant.  "What if they don't remember me?"  Seriously though, how awkward would it be to run into a concert and try to give them hugs when they didn't remember me? All sorts of "worst case scenarios" filled my head. Some were hilarious!!

Anyways, God made it clear that we were supposed to go! So awesome. A girl I met in that area last year FB messaged me and asked if I wanted to attend the concert and spend the night with them. Yes, please!

Overall, the Lord so blessed our less than 24 hour road trip adventure! We had such a sweet reunion with all the Josties and were thoroughly blessed and encouraged by their music. God used the encouragement or challenges before each song to minister to my heart, and He used conversations afterwards to REALLY encourage me to keep pressing on in Him!

I am so blessed. So thankful.

Our new found *yummy* beverage. 

Ah. There they are. My mind is still kinda in shock that we actually saw them. :)
*Sorry it's fuzzy*

A little less fuzzy!

Intense concert face on the Right. :) 

Look at all that plaid! 

I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but this made me want to drink more!

PROOF. BOOM. We finally got together.
Thanks so much for opening your home up to us!

Might I also mention that if I hadn't been home this Fall, this never would have happened!!!!? God knows just what we need, right when we need it. :)

Today: I am thankful to be home. I am thankful for divine appointments. I am thankful for friends.

What are you thankful for today?

First World Problems Anthem

Goodbye...

Today is the first day that I REALLY tried to run in about 2 weeks. That pneumonia really did it in for me during the end of September/beginning of October. Since my running/jogging buddy, Allie, is moving out of the country for about 5 months, today was our last run. *sad face*

I was only able to run a little over a mile. It was incredibly frustrating, but I know it's easier to get back into running after a break than it is to start from scratch. However, it was nice to just walk and talk for a while with her. I'm going to miss her SO much.

Meet "The running club!"
We took this picture a few weeks ago when we, unintentionally, wore the same colored shirt to run.
Haha. :)

Anybody want to be my new running buddy?

Pneumonia

Well folks, after 2.5 weeks of being sick (and incredibly stubborn about not going to the doctor) I officially have Pneumonia.  I gave in and went to the doctor yesterday. *siiiiigh*

It started off as a horrible cough and then turned into more cold-like symptoms--then a more raspy cough.

So--that's why I wasn't able to run very far every time I tried...and why I've been feeling so tired and a bit discouraged.

Our doctor said, " If you were wondering why you felt like you couldn't really get oxygen whenever you ran, it's because you weren't getting oxygen!" aha!

Haha! Thankfully now I don't have to feel guilty about my lack of running endurance, my constant desire for naps, or my general inability to be really motivated lately!

I'm going to take a nap now!

Wedding Preview!

Two of my closest friends got married last weekend...to each other! Craziness! Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

Sweet Emma doing my hair for me!

The lovely bride and bridesmaids.
(Most of my closest friends are in this picture!)

The goofiest Bridal party you will ever meet! You should've seen our hilarious antics.

So in love! It's been a long Summer.

The beautiful centerpieces!
(I just had to add this because...well...they're beauitful!)

The morning after the wedding we all had breakfast together.
It was so nice to relax, talk, laugh, and have true fellowship for a couple of hours with people I love!

I miss you all so much!


Over all, it was a wonderful weekend. God is so good. I am thankful beyond words. :)

What am I doing today...

Today I am:

• Still in my grunge comfy clothes.

• Feeling bad for not going running this morning, even thought it was a torrential downpour until about noon.

• Working on photo album and memory book stuff from last Fall. Finally! Yay!

• Baking with Char! (Yummy granola bars and chocolate chunk cookie bars!)

• Going to see my friend who is back from being in Peru all Summer. 

• Planning out how to finish rearranging my room.

• Writing lists of things to do before going to Connecticut next week. 

• Finding that days of "nothing" can often be more stressful for me because I don't have a million things to do. It is days like today that I have to rest in the Lord.

• Getting excited about Joel & Sarah's wedding on the 15th! (only 9 more days, y'all!)

• Thrilled that this upcoming wedding means seeing all my closest friends and favorite people!

• Looking forward to what plans God has stored up for me this Fall. **update coming soon**

• Meditating on God's constant goodness, even in the midst of horrible, or unsavory circumstances. :)

Update

Wow. I haven't posted in a while. To say the least, June was an insanely busy month for our family. We had something going on every weekend, including vacation, bridal showers, family visiting....and the list goes on.

Nags Head, NC OBX (Aimee took this from our hotel room)

Here we are with the bride-to-be at her brown & pink bridal shower!
(Her August wedding will be one of five weddings I am attending this year!)

We also got a darling little kitten that Char named Nala. She is mostly black with a white belly, and other white spottings!

Here she is!!!!

Isn't she the cutest little thing? She loves being held!

We also had a horrible storm that hit the east coast last week. Thousands of people were without power, water, AC in the midst of some really hot days. (105F with a heat index of 110F). Texas weather without the reality of being in Texas. We went about 4 days with our little generator running our fridge and then decided to head down to my grandparents lake house. I am so thankful that we had a place to go, as many could not leave their homes. Some of the stories are so sad of people being stranded, trying to stick it out... According to our neighbor, we got back electricity Wednesday night, but many in the area didn't get it back until Friday...and some didn't get water back until the day after. 

We have much to be thankful for.

Joel & Sarah

These are two of my favorite people....in the WORLD. And, once again, two of my favorite people are getting married. I am totally excited because I get to be in the wedding. (Joel's brother Gabe got married to Tai Sophia last year-- two more of my favorite people--and I was in their wedding too!)

Their love story is amazing. Sarah is hoping to write it down soon, and I want to post it here. *sigh* God is good.

Here are some pictures I took while the SKY family was in the area a few weeks ago. (I still need to get the others off Aimee's camera.

AREN'T THEY SO CUTE?