there's something about the first day of a semester that makes me feel like i'm in elementary school again.
it may be the "first day of school" picture my house took this morning.
or the tremendous orange i just bit into.
this is monday.
it's a gift.
pardon me while i go live it.

what do you say to taking chances?...

so....i haven't been here much recently...
and by recently i mean i haven't been here all break.
i kind of expected to venture here a lot, but that hasn't been the case.
with that in mind, and my tea (with honey) by my side, get ready for there is much to tell.

i have experienced so much love, joy and laughter in this break.
God is good, and he is caring for my heart so well.
the highlight of my break (which i expected) was the conference i just recently got back from.
after leaving my friends at LT this summer, I had this conference to look forward to, knowing that this would be when i could once again hug and cuddle with them.
silly tears of joy. you should've seen me when i saw my dearest karin, tricia, brett, ryan, eric, kristin and josh...there were skips and hops, and my heart was dancing like crazy.
my heart felt whole once again, this family that was given to me this summer was reunited.
these are people that remind me how terribly important it is to live life to the fullest.
so here's to you, my loves: for the escalator rides, spinning hugs, ice cream, giggles, beds shared, surprise trips and glimpses of what heaven is sure to be like.
my heart so badly wants everyone to experience community like this.
this is something that i am realizing more and more that i am most passionate about.
this is what life is supposed to look like, the life that Jesus speaks of us living to the fullest.
and i know that i more often than not fall short of this life, but know that i am trying...so please keep me accountable in this.

but hey, it's a new year.
so let's wake up together, mkay?

my heart's a-tappin' once again.

these past few days have been strange.
my heart has been kind of all over the place.
avoiding what it knows is truth.
but i have been reassured.
i think i know for sure what God is asking of me, where I am right now.
and i think i'm excited about it.
my heart's been giddy today, despite the less than beautiful weather.
this is good. i think this is what it feels like to truly let go of something.
i like this.

i have a crush.

there have been so many things in the past 48 hours that have made my heart beat quickly.
one of these things being watching my very favorite movie with some dear friends.
stranger than fiction....
it may be dry, and you may dislike it upon your first viewing...
but before you bash it, will you please watch it again and really listen to the dialogue.
give yourself a chance to soak in the visuals.
fall in love with the characters...
maybe we could watch it together?...
here's some snippets that make me smile...

• "you're never too old to go to space camp..."
• "harold, if you pause to think, you'd realize that that answer is inextricably contingent upon the type of life being led...and of course, the quality of the pancakes"
• "and so he did what countless punk-rock songs had told him to do so many times before: he lived his life..."

something you should know about me...
i have a crush on waking up to the sun shining through my window.

these past few days....

i've been thinking a lot about my LT family...
there have been a few days in the past week where my heart ached for them so much...
it's so hard for me to remember life before them.
my heart has been split between vt, colorado and bowling green.

i've been dreaming of thanksgiving break...
of giggling with my sister.
of serenading her with the songs that so often get on her nerves.
of drinking tea with my mom.
of being ridiculous with my brother.
of baking bread with my grandma.
of getting annoyed with my grandpa
these are things that make me feel at home.
i am in love with these people.

i've been joyful.
God has filled my heart with so much.
so much laughter.
so much friendship.
so much love.
he nearly overwhelms me...
but He is jealous for me.
and I find comfort in the fact that He doesn't need me, but He so badly wants me.
Thank God.

there's no such thing as time...

mmmmm...i have blueberry muffins in the oven..
can you smell them?
i'm officially inviting you right now to come over and enjoy them with me...
in roughly 15 minutes they will be out of the oven..so scurry on over.

today is another dreary tuesday, but my heart is light like it was a friday in spring.
i did not expect this day to look this way at all.
i have been so stressed about managing this formal meal in 220 that i (as usual) had convinced myself that it would be a tragic failure...
once again...God does what He does best and surprises me.
my group works together so well...i have a crush on them..

walked back home with the boyfriend, like a giddy schoolgirl when her boyfriend walks her to class..
and upon stepping up to my door, i looked in the mailbox and my pie cookbook had arrived!!!
oh my....i'm still flipping through it...
such a nerd.

people i love.

this weekend was full of so much greatness.

although i accomplished minimal school work...

i have a crush on this past weekend.

friday... i had a pancake dinner with two lovely friends.

baked a pie (for the first time) with liz and giggled over it with some beautiful people.

got to see layne teach herself some ukulele

saturday...baked blueberry muffins with layne for lunch.

added some color to the sidewalk with some chalk

ventured to hobby lobby and stumbled upon a few miraculous individuals.

baked some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

made ridiculous videos with two lovely friends.

listened to gregg's stories while laying around at freddie's

lazed around with the boyfriend, and decided it was a good idea to make some grilled cheeses at 2 in the morning.

sunday...coffee with friends before church.

lovely worship

life group at the mt cup.

um...the weather yesterday? tremendous...no jacket required.

family dinner at my place...so much love.

found a house for next year!!!! (greatest house ever....stick around next year and you'll completely agree)

put together a puzzle with the beautiful sarah brown.

laughed with bob.

and acted like i was interested in boys talking about sports..

all in all it was a weekend for the books.

i hope your's was full of smiles as well.