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!)