Christmas 2013

Christmas this year wasn't too crazy, but that's okay. Sometimes it's nice to have calm, small holidays. I enjoyed the time spent with my family, and I'm glad that two of my grandmas were there to celebrate with us! What a blessing for them to have another Christmas.

Cuteness. 

We spend Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family. This is the newest member, sweet baby Hayes! How precious is he? (This is just before he peed on me. Real life.)

We ended Christmas with dinner at Waffle House!

The Sunday after Christmas a few of us went to Lights of the South, refusing to believe that Christmas really is over. 

Had no idea Addison was back there :)

Love this sweet friend!

New Year's Eve isn't supposed to be too crazy either, but I'm okay with that, too! And the birthday celebrations are about to begin!!!

2013 Year in Review

2013 was a fab year. In January, I wrote this, "21, you've been nothing short of fantastic so far! I cannot wait to see all the fun things that come with your year!"

This year was incredibly fun. I made and met some incredible new friends, God worked in magnificent ways, I fell in love with a beautiful place, and I continued on this journey that God has called me to. There are some things I wish had taken place during 2013, but they didn't, and I'm just going to have to be content in where he has me this year. So, without further ado, a look back on some of the highlights of 2013! 

January: I turned 21!

February: I led my senior girls in their last DNOW! 

March: Drew got married, and my BD and his wife got saved!

April: Kaila and I went to Atlanta, and I threw Hannah a bridal shower. 

May: I went to Hilton Head twice, and Hannah got MARRIED!

June: I went to camp!

July: I was still at camp!

August: I went back to camp for a weekend, and I went to Florida for Labor Day Weekend. 

September: I went to camp again (clearly I fell in love with camp this year).

October: I started my student teaching (and SURVIVED it).

November: I spent a lot of time with the Dukes at camp, and I hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner! 

December: I hosted the FIFTH Annual Tacky Sweater Christmas Party!

2013, you really were great. I made some awesome best friends, I slept outside two times too many, I stood by one of my best friends as she got married, I drove to Asheville and back too many times to count, I had two of my best semesters in college, I read as often as I could, I cooked a 20 pound turkey, I was a student teacher for five weeks, I made it a full summer at camp, I watched my birth dad and his wife get baptized, I became an even bigger fan of phone dates and spur-of-the-moment visits, I spent more money at Gap then I should have, I joined a new church, and I made as many fantastic memories as possible. 2014, I cannot wait to see all the joy and fun you bring! 

Fifth Annual Tacky Sweater Christmas Party

On Thursday night, we had our FIFTH annual tacky sweater Christmas party. I can barely believe that this was the fifth time we did this. How have we been doing this five years? I feel incredibly old. (You can read about Year 2, Year 3,  and Year 4.)This was the lowest turnout we've had, but it just shows how old we're getting. People had things to do with their husbands (okay that was only Hannah), and plenty of others were either out of town or just busy with life. To be completely honest, I'm not sure if we'll get to have one next year. So many of us will have graduated (not me) and we'll be well into adulthood. One of my friends just accepted a job in Texas, and I have other friends applying to grad school. IS THIS REAL LIFE? I feel so old. Okay, moving on....

Typical. 

Love these ladies!

Thanks, MB, for making us take a "fake" laughing picture :)

I have no words. 

I just want the world to know that my sweater is about the 12 Days of Christmas (best one I've ever had; shout out to my mom for getting this one for me!)

Love this sweet best friend of mine!

Hope you are enjoying the tackiest, merriest time of the year!

Post Finals

Finals week is over, and I feel like I finally have my life back. This semester was incredibly tough in that it was so time consuming, but it is OVER. I have officially read 8 books in the last 10 or so days, and I'm currently working on books 9 and 10. It's so nice to read for pleasure!!! When I'm not reading, I've been spending some time working and hanging out with friends. I plan to enjoy every single minute of this Christmas break and not think about school ONCE!

 We made Christmas trees out of ice cream cones and icing and lots of sprinkles. I love these boys, and I love spending time with them!

This picture CRACKS ME UP. It's from our Thanksgiving dinner, and I think it's hilarious at how Kaila and I are making basically the same face. 

AUBURN WON THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP.

We decided to roll a tree at my parents' house (making our own Toomer's Corner), and one of my parents' neighbors, whom we've never met, drove by, yelled War Eagle, and joined in rolling Toomer's with us. 

Can't wait for Pasadena! 

And it's official! I'm going back to camp next year!

Two Great Causes

Lately, I've been made aware of about five or six awesome organizations/people/causes that I want to give all of my paycheck and then some to support them. That's unrealistic, and I've had to pray and wrestle through whom to give to over the past couple of weeks. That being said, I want to make you aware of two of the organizations that I think you should support. Okay, I can't tell you who to support, but I can make you aware and then you can pray about supporting them, right? :)

This summer I got to witness kids who came to camp on scholarship. I got to talk to a few parents on the phone or in person about how thankful they were that we were able to provide the money for their child(ren) to come to camp. It was so cool to see how God worked in these kids' lives while at camp. Stories that only God could have written took place at camp because faithful people gave to camp's scholarship fund. 

The video below is camp's scholarship video. My favorite quote is from Kent, the camp director. He says, "I want to thank those who have contributed to our scholarship fund, because they have given campers a chance to meet Jesus." Please, watch this video and prayerfully consider giving to Camp Cedar Cliff. (Click here to give.)

The second "cause" is a family that I absolutely love. You've seen plenty of pictures of the Duke family. I first met Matt when I went to Camp Cedar Cliff on my senior retreat in the fall of 2009. Matt is from Augusta, I went to church with his brother, and we went to the same high school (although he graduated when I was still in elementary school). If you talk to Matt for just five minutes, you come away knowing that he absolutely loves the Lord, his wife, his kids, and the outdoors. And he loves using the outdoors to bring people to the Lord. 

It was so cool to get to be under Matt's leadership this summer at camp and learn so much about life and  the Lord from him. It was also such a blessing to watch and learn from his and Katie's example as they parent the way the Lord intends. At the end of this year, they are moving to Maggie Valley, NC to work for Outdoor Mission Camp. While CCC is sad to see them go, it has been so cool to see how Matt and Katie are stepping out in faith that the Lord will provide. The video below is of Matt explaining a little bit about what they are doing, and you can read more about it and even give here.

So, even if you don't give to either of these, will you please keep camp and the Dukes in prayers? 

In Case You Didn't Hear...

....AUBURN WON THE IRON BOWL ON SATURDAY.

The worst part? I had given up hope on my beloved tigers. Really, I had. It was 28-21 Alabama with about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, and I just couldn't handle it anymore. So, I headed to Old Navy to make some returns, and I glanced at the ESPN app on my phone to see that the game was tied. Still, I had little hope that the tigers were going to pull through. I called my mom to ask her a question, and pretty soon after I heard some incredibly loud screams from my parents.

Because of this.



The amount of texts I received after this saying "Congrats" and "War Eagle" was pretty hilarious. I decided to look up prices of SEC championship tickets, and Dad and I decided that we couldn't drop $600 for nosebleed seats (although it would be a trip of a lifetime).

Love this shirt from J&M!

Did I say War Eagle? War Eagle. Here's to beating Mizzou on Saturday and winning the SEC championship. I think it's their year! (And even if it isn't, we beat UGA & Alabama. I'll take it!) 

Week of Thanksgiving

I went to camp last weekend to work another retreat. I originally wasn't planning on going, but I knew I didn't have to work at home, and I knew I wouldn't be back at camp until January or maybe February so I decided to make the most of this opportunity. I headed up a little early to have lunch with some sweet women there, and then I headed off to spend time with the Dukes!

Matt (their dad) was out of town this weekend, so I took the kiddos some to give Katie (their mom) time with the newest Duke, baby Levi. It wasn't too cold on Friday, so we spent some time riding bikes, visiting those in the office, and walking around camp. 

On Saturday, we walked around camp some more, played on the playground, and then hopped on a hayride. These kiddos had so much fun, and I'm grateful for the time I got with these sweet babies. Camp will not be the same without them!

Beautiful in every season. 

On Tuesday, my Bible study group came over, and we had a Thanksgiving dinner. I, with the help of my friend Kaila, made this 20 pound turkey for all of us to eat. I feel like I can now do anything. #SUCCESS

Andddd the Christmas tree is up! I'm ready for the most wonderful time of the year (almost)!!

recent favs

weagle, weagle...

My dad went to Auburn for his undergrad and grad degrees, and it is no secret that we are an Auburn family! I've grown up saying, "War Eagle", and I love to go to the prettiest village on the plains whenever I have a chance. While I agree that the Iron Bowl, where Auburn and Alabama play each other, is an incredible rivalry, the Auburn-Georgia game is just as big to me. I think it has to do with the fact that I live in Georgia, and I'm surrounded by so many Georgia fans. So, when Auburn beat Georgia on Saturday in a "miracle catch", I was beyond thrilled. Didn't see it? Just check out some of the clips below...



This radio call might just be my favorite...


Way to go, Gus Malzahn, on turning this team around. Here's to beating Bama next week!

beyond measure

It's no secret that I absolutely love camp. I adore every minute that I get to spend in those beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. I have just fallen in love with that beautiful place. However, as beautiful as camp is, that is not the reason why I love camp so much. I love camp so much because of the extraordinary way God works there through the ordinary people He has in place there.

I've honestly been looking forward to being at camp for the past two or so weeks. Even though I've seen and talked to some of my favorite people from camp, I just wanted to be there with them. Even if it meant working one looooooooooong retreat. I drove to Greenville on Friday and met up with my friend Emma Kate. We then headed to camp, where it was freezing, and I got to see lots of wonderful staff from this summer! And on Saturday morning, it just got so much better...

...I got to meet the newest member of the Duke family, sweet Levi Jude! I love the Dukes, and they are in their last couple months at camp. I'm going to miss them lots as they head off to Maggie Valley, so I'm extra grateful for this time I got to spend with them!

How SWEET is this picture of big brother Elliott with Levi?!

Of course, no visit is complete without time making this girl smile and laugh. 

Favorite quotes of the weekend from Anna: "Mom, can Ashton and Emma Kate come pick me up for dinner?" and after dinner, she's chewing something, so when I ask her what she's eating, she says, "I found a little piece of chicken stuck in my mouth so I had to finish it!"

Gosh, I just LOVE her. 

Like I said, camp is an absolutely beautiful place. I've been there in the spring, summer, and winter, but this was my first fall experience at camp. Lots of the leaves had fallen, but there were still a few trees that were just screaming for their picture to be taken. Gorgeous!

It was Abby's birthday on Sunday, so we all got the chance to sing to her, eat some brownies with her, and celebrate sweet Abby! She was my supervisor and mentor this summer, and this woman is full of wisdom and grace! I so enjoyed getting to be with her. 

And to top off my wonderful weekend, I got to have dinner with this girl on my way home on Sunday (photo taken this summer). One of the staffers that was at camp this weekend had been in Clemson earlier last week and got to see Mary Leslie, so I decided to text her and see if we could meet up. It worked out well, and it was just such an encouragement to be with her. 

This past weekend, I felt so blessed. I kept thinking that if I'd stayed at camp two summers ago and hadn't broken my ankle, that I wouldn't have met some of the people who made this summer so special and who still bless me every single day. God has really blessed me beyond measure, and I'm so incredibly grateful for this season of my life. 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21