miracles.

well, i am going to africa.

crazy, i know. it all happened becasue i decided one day at work that i wanted to do something with my summer. i essentially have two more summers to do whatever.i.want.
i cant travel the world, i can be a kid, i can get a crazy summer job, i can not worry about the real world.

so, im going to africa to impact and be impacted through working with kids. i think God has placed missions on my heart. for a while i thought everyone wanted to travel the world, play with kids, help others, sleep in huts, hear the stories of others. then, i realized i was one of few. God made me that way. he made me willing and fearless. [although i still was very fearful of the shots needed]

all this being said, this process is not easy. its not easy to not care about where the money is going to come from. its not easy to just simply trust. as of right now i must purchase my plane ticket this weekend. as of right now i do not have enough money for it. but, im going to have to trust.

this is where the small miracles have been occuring. yesterday, someone found me a flight that was 300 dollars cheaper than what i was expecting. thats huge. while corresponding with the person, i told her she was part of a miracle.

here is another example. a year ago this week i ran in the knoxville marathon. i was very sick and around mile 20 i had a panic attack [could not breath, could not walk, embarassing i know]. that is when i met my good friend javier. he is an older gentleman who is a maniac marathoner, meaning he runs a whole lot of marathons each year. i have such respect for that man. through the last six miles, my friend stephanie and i shared stories with javier and he wanted to finish the race with us. ever since then, we have been friends. we have kept in contact through email and letters. javier called steph and i angels and he thanks God for placing us in his life. what a gem. javier just sent me money for africa. this man that i met for 6.2 miles a year ago this week wants to help me get to africa. miracle.

so here's to having to trust, struggle, and pray.
here's to africa.

woops. its been awhile.

Well, I am in Maryland.

I am now a "working girl".

I get to dress up for work.

I spend weekends with my stud of a boyfriend.

I go to DC, Georgetown, and Annapolis. on. the. reg.

My mind goes in overactive creative mode at work, where it is restricted to simply clicking. bumm-merr.

But I have designed these little guys recently:

bring it on.

long story short, i will be moving to maryland next semester and it slowly hitting me. hard.

it was such a long process of fear, nerves, and uncertainty, but throughout it all I simply prayed for peace [but not fully believing it will come]. silly me for doubting God, I am not sure when I will learn my lesson. 

all this being said. I am moving to maryland in january and not only am I at peace with it, I am thrilled. I am excited for adventure, for new experiences, and I plan to take this opportunity and do all that I can do with it. Yes, I will be leaving Clemson, but that is the only downfall.

how silly of me to be remotely upset or concerned. God has literally opened every door and shown me that this is truly what he wants me to do. even in maryland I will be surrounded by people i know and love, and i can not wait to take every adventure possible. 

let's just say I don't plan on having any boring weekends next semester. I have promised myself to do something new and exciting every weekend. 

and to top it all off, I get to spend the semester with my boyfriend, and boyfriend and I haven't been in a ten hour radius of each other for a very long time [a year and a half to be exact]. perfection. we get to go on adventures together. oh and might I add, my brother may be in maryland. andddd my best friend travels to DC all the time.

so needless to say, I don't know what i was worried about.

bring it on maryland. see you in january.

hello there fall

things i love about what is happening outside:

in Clemson right now, you can literally wear shorts, pants, scarfs, t shirts, tank tops, or jeans and be dressed perfectly for the weather. it really doesn't get any better than that.

i've literally experienced fall for the longest amount of time. i saw fall in roanoke at peak leaves, then asheville at peak, and now in clemson. beautiful.

anything festive, or fall is acceptable. i love me some pumpkin spice latte. 

anything can be themed. we are going on our second halloween themed younglife club. 

mornings in the hammock and a blanket are perfect. 

its not hot. its not cold. its lovely.

holidays are coming.

moral of the story: its beautiful outside where everything is painted with yellows, oranges, and reds.

it will make this weekend of adventures, football, and friends wonderful.

wake up.

here's a little psalm 90:14 coming atcha.

check, check and check.

fall break could not have been more of a success. 

friday night was spent making a dessert we found, and it turned out beyond perfect. who knew it could actually turn out looking like the picture?!

saturday morning was slow and peaceful. beautiful, i tell you. stephanie and i spent our morning with coffee and [the best] french toast i have ever had and a sweet little bakery in town. then we mountain biked through our afternoon and were surrounded by a beautiful backdrop of fall colored leaves. after, the lake looked so perfect and jump-in-able that we couldn't resist. in we went, clothes and all. all i can say is brrrrr.

we then got ready, and were off to greenville. there, we met up with a friend and went thrifting. not just any thrifting, but thrifting where you could get however many pounds [yes POUNDS] of clothing for a dollar a pound. that, my friends, is perfection. oh the treasures of thrifting. 

fall for greenville filled our evening with delightful food, bands, lights, and fun. on the side, i successfully turned a flannel in to a skirt. yes please.

it was back to our apartment where we built a fort, complete with lights, pillows, and blankets and watched tangled. all i have to say is, scoot on over cinderella and bell, repunzel is the real deal. gosh, what a great movie. well done disney, well done.

then it was time to welcome home our tigers. AT FOUR AM. 7-0 is lovely.

sunday was filled with church, naps, outdoors, and friends. such a needed day of rest. 

monday morning we woke up, and headed off to asheville. we explored, shopped, people watched, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. 

the tuesday morning we woke up, ate breakfast and took a drive down the blue ridge parkway where we hiked two mountains for a breath taking view of God's window. it was prime fall, prime leaves, and perfect weather. we had to refrain from stopping at everryyy singllleee "overlook", but my oh my it was beautiful. 

and finally, we met this sweet old man who told us of an apple orchid. after an hour of searching, we found this gem of a place. we picked baby apples, had a dog show us around, and drank homemade apple cider, and ate fried apple pies and fudge. 

hands down the perfect break filled with beauty, rest, adventure, and happiness.

needless to say, we checked off almost everything off our list. 

to do list.

This is Stephanie and I's to do list for fall break:

A whole lot of fall and a whole lot of break. 

Let the checking off begin.