Tuesday, December 31, 2013

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!!!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

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! 


Friday, December 20, 2013

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!