we lost.

season is over.

and it sucks.

...bigtime.

life is good =)

im glad to be home! i have some funny stories. ask me and i will tell them to you. it was my BCN and cryetine? levels [kidney] that were extremely high. this meant extreme dehydration. they put five of those bags (5000 mL) of saliene/sugar water/ electrolytes.. all that good stuff.. in me. but dr. jerry told me if i could eat dinner and not get sick, then i could come home. so i did. it was good to be in my own bed =) God showed me patience through everything. i am glad to be well again! its a gorgeous day outside. i think i shall take a bike ride, maybe. ha.

Psalm 150:6
let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the LORD!

tim mcgraw and faith hill = amazing.

before we left..

on the way..

eating at fridays..

finally--

faith hill

..and tim mcgraw

what a fun night?! =)

my puppy;; dolly
she is 11 weeks old..
my baby =)

kaitlin got a puppy!
pictures later..

going to journalism camp in the morning
boooring..

remarks?!
call my cell;;
ill be bored =)

beach = amazing.
with your best friend = even better.

i had THE best time! here are a few pictures to sum it up =)

we had some fun on the way up there

yayyy!! almost there..

first night at a place called crabs

breakfast after church sunday morning

..again

shoppingggg! =)

before we left sunday night

we had fun shopping while we waited to be seated.. oh yes we did!

we love the beach. end of story.

didnt want to come home..

i can fit my fist in my mouth?

home after 9 hours of a FUN road trip =) ahh..

way to many good times.
couldnt name them all if i tried.
i had a magnificent time =)
...i love my ami driverrr!

i am packed and ready to go.
how 'bout we leave now..?

yayyy! im going to the beach!
i will miss yall.. see you wednesday =)

...im hooked

im totally in love with this dog.

///edit..
we had to give him back to his owner.
it was extremely sad,
but we get a boxer now =)

so my daddy went running at the VA last night.
he kinda brought home a present..
the dog followed him the entire time he was running and daddy said, "he just couldnt leave him there.." this is the SAME man that hasnt let us have a dog because we are gone all the time.
hes so ugly, hes cute.

i guess hes growing on me.
Lord help us all.

how about playing in the rain is the best.
especially when you are with your sisters.

playing monkey..

my loves.

God has such a sense of humor! who would have known that two people that you have never met in your life, could possibly become two of your closest friends? who would have known that two girls that live 3 hours away could make you laugh so hard? well.. these two girl, my friend, are amazing. and i love them very much =)

proverbs 18:24
there are friends who destroy, but a real friend sticks closer
than a brother.
john 15:13
and here is how to measure it-the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends

girl's night at miller's grocery...

mere and i on the way up there

amy and chels behind us acting like idiots

thats gross..

FINALLY! we are there after a train that took 45 min (not really..) to get across, some highschool musical, and a couple rounds of "chineese-firedrill"

the grandma in the bathroom that scared liv, so she covered her face up

just a little peek =)

cuuute!! mere and liv..

blury of amy and mere

the love of my life.. CHELSEA TURNER!!

the beautiful amy roeger..

blury of christine and i

desert is the best parttt!!

we went to miller's to see christian.. so, she got a break and got to come outside and eat with us for a while. this is a picture of abi and her =)

time to leave.. abi and i on the way home..

"its not who i am underneath, but what i do that defines me"  --batman =)

its not who i am underneath. to me this means its not whether or not we screw up and sin. it doesnt matter what we have done in our past. no one really cares that we have done this, or that, but what i do that defines me. its how i live my life. how i share my Jesus with everyone i come into contact with. the way that i shine His light through everything i do, this is what defines me.

philippians 2:5-8
your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God. He made Himself nothing; He took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. and in human form, he obediently humbled Himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross...

today our pool opened. =) while i was down there i was watching a dad with his son. the son kept saying "daddy! daddy! get in and let me jump to you!" the dad agreed and waded into the water. when he finally made it in, he told his son to jump to him. the son stood at the side of the pool dipping his feet in. he would squat down to jump and almost do it, but then he would say "no, no... i cant". his dad kept telling him "its alright, i will catch you". eventually, after about 10 attempts, the son jumped into his fathers arms. 

i think that we do this as christians. we say that we will share Christ and live a life for Him, but when it comes right down to it, some are scared. we hesitate because we remember who we think ultimately judges us-the world. we go to the side of the pool saying "out into the world i go, sharing Jesus with all who dont know Him". but when its time to make the jump, we stop and think. Christ tells us to jump. He will catch us, just like the father kept telling the son that he would catch him, not to worry. we need to set aside our fear and make the plunge. God will always be in the water to catch us. we shouldnt even hesitate...

this thought challenged me. i know that sometimes when i get a chance to witness to someone, i dont take advantage of the opportunity, because i think "what if i fall?".. does it matter? no, actually, it doesnt-because OUR father is standing there waiting to catch us.

Matthew 28:19
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in ther name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Philippians 4:6a
Dont worry about anything..

somewhere
oh, to be lying,
on a beach,
somewhere,
with sand in my toes,
and the wind,
in my hair.
and only the sound,
of the seagulls,
on high,
on a beach,
somewhere,
under a sunset orange sky.
the gentle caress,
of the waves,
on the shore,
and you close,
beside me,
could I ask for more? ...
-Linda Harnett

surrender-v. to relinquish possession or control of to another
pride-n. an excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit

pride has to be the worst problem among teenagers. we hate being shot down or corrected. i know that when someone corrects me, i will shoot back with an excuse. i find it so hard to listen to the correction i am being given and take it into consideration. i want to be right. i love to win, and by being corrected, my ego and pride are then crushed. i have to surrender. i have to understand that i dont know it all; at times i think that i do. but i totally dont! i have to surrender to Christ. i have to surrender to my parents. i have to surrender to the correction being given and understand that it is helpful, and that i will need it. Christ puts us in situations, win or lose, we will always prosper and grow. we cant let our pride get in the way of what God is trying to teach us. this is my challenge to yall- put your pride down. let God move in you and dont ignore His correction. because, HE is the ULTIMATE.

Proverbs 3:11-12
my child, dont ingnore it when the Lord disciplines you, and dont be discouraged when He corrects you. for the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights in. 

well, tonight.. we shaved carlton's legs.
its a tradition, i guess. i shaved caroline's for her.. and then carlton's tonight (obviously..)
she is officially a "big girl" =)

in the process of shaving

carlton modeling her silky-smooth legs

she is so proud.. haha

so we went to my grandparents this weekend.
it was a great trip. i got some great "picture-taking time" in =)
here are a few of them...

their pond

the barn

flowers are my favorite =)

a little flower shed..

a bell thats in their yard

my grandpa was a POW in the korean war

i dont know what it is.. its antique and i like it, though

haha.. their mailbox.. i thought it was cute

my grandma has alot of pretty flowers

the wagon..

this is a little portion of the land they own.. its beautiful!
some more pretty flowers..

the road

when we were sitting on the fence

the horses

thats my horsie.. dave =)

dolly and dixie.. i dont know where the other two are?

random picture from the field

before we went and rode

my daddy fixing the briddle

caroline on her horse, dolly

leaving..

i love that picture..

so i got this idea from other people: write 10 statements about your 10 closest friends. dont state their names, just memories that you have with these people.

1. you have been my best friend since the 7th grade. we have been through literally everything together. i love you so much. i wouldnt be the person i am today without you, that sounds so cleche, but its the truth. from the starburst sugar rushes at 4 in the morning to the long conversations that last all night to the thousands of hours in the summer laying out and being crazy!! you are amazing.

2. i have known you since the 2nd grade and we have been kind of close but havent gotten super close until this year. you absolutely BLOW MY MIND!! i love you so much more than you will ever know. i love our conversations while we are driving around murfreesboro.. red trucks?!

3. my red-headed best friend (that gave it away..) words cant even describe how much i love you.. gosh-we have had some fun times.. starbucks, coming home with the deer .. ahh!, fun sleepovers.. you are the greatest =)

4. oh baby.. we have had some good laughs and crys.. you are so sweet!! when you moved here, honestly, i didnt think i was going to like you (HA!), but now-you are one of my very best friends. you crack me up! i love how we are so open and "freeee" with each other--haha.. i love riding around, shopping, eating rolos, and not listening to music =) ahhah.. but now that you are 17.. we will have some MUSIC PARTIES in your car!

5. i have known you since the 5th grade. you are amazing. and thats all that i can say. i love you like my sister. we have had so much fun together. i am so glad that we have kept a strong relationship, even though we NEVER see each other during the day.. you are the best!

6. i definately met you this year, and feel like i have know you since i was in kindergarten! you crack me up. you are the only one that i can send texts too, and know that you will get the joke and laugh at them.. haha-everyone else would think i was crazy! but you, my love-you are right there with me laughing!! .. i think we laugh to much.. the grapes!! PLOP!!!

7. you are my "favorite junior".. see i cant really say that, because there are 1000 juniors. you can call me your favorite freshman because you only have like, 3 to pick from (haha).. but i do want you to know that you are one of my best guy friends.. thanks for always being there to encourage me. your words are so wise and mean so much!

8. you my friend.. you, you, you.. words cant describe how much you bless my life. every single picture that i make you every single day is true.. my heeeeero =) i love you very much!

9. well, we "met" each other a while back, became "friends" the summer before my 7th grade year.. we didnt get to know each other until january, though.. look where we are today.. i love every minuite of getting to know you more and more.. you are the greatest.

10. ahhhh.. you make me laugh! a little 5 year old in the candy shop.. i swear, i could be having the absolute WORST day, look at you, and bust out laughing. you are always smiling and making me laugh. i have loved getting to know you! you are great!!

this is a bitter-sweet thing. you get to tell all of the people you love, how much you love them. and its fun for them to guess which one they are.. but at the same time-its SO hard to narrow it down to 10 people. i had to sit and think about this. i love everyone.. mm-who knows? its a fun thing to do though!
john 15:13
greater love has no man than this, that he may lay down his life for his friends.
proverbs 18:24
there are "friends" who will destroy, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

worry:
philippians 4:6-7a
dont worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. if you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand

inner peace:
jeremiah 29:11
"for i know the plans i have for you," declares the Lord. "plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope"
psalm 121:5
"the Lord HIMSELF watches over you!"

soo.. today we had elections. i was all stressed out, but i have come to realize that i have no control over the situation. whatever happens, happens. God has much greater plans in store for me, i dont know them, but i know that HE knows what they are. thats all that matters. its hard to let go and be at peace with everything, but thats all that we can do. i have been caught up in my plans and what i am going to do, on my agenda.. how can i go through life consumed in myself? i would be living in vain. God so knows much more than all humans combine. why do i think i can take on such large tasks by myself? i love how Christ reveals Himself, over and over. in every single situation. my Jesus is in control, and thats all that i have to know. =)

edit...
everything happens for a reason. i did not win, but its ok. being president of the sophomore class does not define who i am as a person--i am fearfully and wonderfully made.. and thats the way the cookie crumbles.

i am in love with the rain..

ben moser took this...

mexico was absolutely amazing!! its awesome to think that there are going to be 4,383 more people that we get to dance on the golden streets with.. this picture reminds me that it will be...

all races from all places, around the cross we sing...

5 days...
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged. For the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
even in a complete different country