College

With everyone going back to school, I've been thinking about college a lot. I only went to school for one year, but it sure was a wonderful year. A year full of fun, learning, growing, and meeting some really beautiful people.

I remember my first few days at college. All that Lee and I had during that time was each other- thank goodness for that! We hardly knew anyone and it was our first time so far away from home. All of the things that were familiar to us for so long were gone instantly. I remember it being a exciting feeling but a pretty depressing one too.

I think it was during that time that Lee became "my home", if you will. Ever heard of that quote that says something like 'home is wherever my husband is'. Yeah... that's how I felt. But back then it would have been 'home is wherever my boyfriend is' ;) But really, I don't know how I would have managed without him! 

Remember the first day/night in your dorm room? Essentially, you're in a extremely SMALL space with a stranger that you hardly know. Everything about this is so awkward! Ha. I remember my roommate and I would be talking at night with the lights off and we wouldn't know when to stop the conversation and go to bed! Ha it's so funny to think about it. I remember feeling like I was the most awkward person ever...maybe because I was.

Thankfully, the weirdness only lasted for a little while ;) My roomie and I ended up having so much fun together that year. She was so sweet :) I really LOVED living with a bunch of girls. It seemed like every night we would all stay up sooo late just talking. It was like a sleepover all the time! 

Lee ended up meeting his BEST MAN in just that short year of college. He became our best friend. It was such a blessing to meet him!

I really only have good things to say about our year at school. I learned SO much. That was a year full of growth for both of us. Growth in knowledge, growth in the Lord, and growth in our relationship and our relationships with others. 

I am so thankful for that beautiful year. A year I will never forget :) 

our little bitty, yet loved dorm room :)

the girls dorms actually got sinks in their rooms, the boys dorms did not! ha!

 the desk that I spent much time at 

Anddd my sweet roommate :) 

And of course... my best bud through it all :) 

Hope you all had a happy Wednesday!

The Weekend

Our weekend was filled with paninis, frozen yo.gurt, a stroll downtown, window.shopping, a walk on the beach, falling asleep to Tangled (LOVE btw!), a good sermon at church, cleaning our little apartment, and making mini cherry and apple pies at midnight last night

 ha... can you tell which one is this girls?

yeah... you were right ;) 

These pies were delish and so fun to make! Check out the recipe here

Hope you all have a good Monday! 

It's a dreary, gray Monday here so I plan on staying inside today.

 Painting, music and hot tea sound super lovely for this fine day :)

2 Chronicles 7:14

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

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Monday

Lee is starting classes today! He's going online. This is the first time he's ever done classes online. So we shall see how it goes! I'm sort of excited about it... maybe I'll learn something from listening ;) 

Everyone is talking about returning to school on their blogs. I can't believe summer is nearly over! It went crazy fast! 

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This might be a fun DIY

Have a happy Monday, friends! 

3 months on the road...

So I got to thinking... I don't think many of you know anything about our 3 months on the road. I blogged about it while it was happening, but that was before I had found all of you! ;) 

(actually you can go look at some of the posts if you go through my blog archive, it was months January, February, & March...) 

Lee and I spent 3 months living out of a big, white cargo van, traveling around the country. We would go days without showering... sometimes even a week. We would drive hours/days at one time. Home cooked meals were non-existent. We slept sitting straight up in the driver and passenger seats most nights. Sometimes, if it was warm enough, we would sleep in the back of the van on our air mattress, and all the other nights we would stay at a hotel (we had to have showers eventually!)

Now, before you think were crazy, strange people... we WERE getting paid! AND got to experience all of these things :)

 ha.. still think were crazy? thats ok ;) 

Basically, we were couriers, transporting LARGE skids of who knows what all over the country. 

(ok. I know what they were. They were skids of like General Electric parts and stuff like that... basically, big chunks of metal)

Living on the road is something I wouldn't trade for anything. We had SO much fun. So many memories and so many times together that we'll never forget. 

I think my favorite part of being '"homeless" was the joy we would experience when we would finally get to shower after days of being dirty and gross. Or the feeling of putting on clean clothes after being in the same clothes for WAY too long. Or when we would lay down, and get to stretch out, in a warm bed for the first time in several days. Or how exciting it was to get to our destination after 24+ hours of driving. 

The little things meant SO much to us. 

We learned that everything we are given is a precious gift. One to be so grateful for. 

Even now, were both reminded often how blessed we are to get a shower each morning, and to get a bed to lay on at night.

The Lord really humbled us in those months. We would walk into a mall/store/anywhere and get some unfriendly stares, (we weren't the cleanest looking people). It was uncomfortable, but we truly learned that the outward appearance doesn't matter to the Lord, it's our hearts.

It was a growing experience for both of us. We learned to be content with little. Something that I hope is always apart of us.  

So, thank you, 3 months on the road, for all the valuable life lessons you taught us, we really couldn't have learned these things nearly as well without you. 

      

       

School bus love

The first time Lee and I ever laid eyes on each other was on a school bus. We were both just about to start 8th grade in a few weeks and we were headed to an away game. He played soccer and I played volleyball (the two teams traveled together) 

I remember that day like it was yesterday.

Sometimes I just can't believe, that at one point, my little 13 year old eyes were staring at my future husband and I had no clue

How cool is that :) 

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PS

I'm posting over here today

PSS 

My Google Friend Connect seems to be randomly disappearing on me. If you want to Follow me, just use the Follow button that is at the top of my blog. Thanks guys! 

Have a good night!

A little bit of Painting

My weekend has been filled with lots of this.

In this stage of my life, I have a lot of time on my hands... sometimes I think a little too much, but I'm taking full advantage of all the time I get. I know it won't always be like this :) 

Anyways... I've decided to take up painting. Ha... we'll see how long this lasts. But I'm really liking it. I spent hours and hours painting this weekend. It's just so fun and relaxing! I've learned something about myself- I really love to create. There's something so incredible about being the artist and making something that is yours. 

Here's some random ones I've done: 

Can you tell what's on my mind? I'm craving cozy, chilly weather :) 

Obviously, I'm a newbie but I'm having fun learning! 

Today.... I'm thankful for the God-given ability to CREATE 

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend! 

Rainy days

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It feels like its been raining for a month straight in these parts. It's weird, because I guess I've just always assumed that Florida was constantly sunny... but we've had so much rain! 

We were talking to someone and they said this area has two seasons, dry and wet.

 I'm thinking that we must be in the wet season ;) 

Although I don't really like the rain all the time... it can be quite cozy. Rainy weather makes for a perfect time to snuggle inside, watch movies, drink warm drinks, and DIY crafts like this or this 

Happy day, friends!

If we could just peek behind heaven's curtain...

looking cute wouldn't matter so much... 

having a lot of money would mean nothing...

having a great job would be meaningless...

keeping a cute house wouldn't be on the top of our lists...

shopping would seem stupid...

driving a great car would be worthless...

what would matter? 

KNOWING God might actually be of importance to us...

having an actual relationship with God might come before everything else in our lives...

reading His word would never be left undone...

serving others might finally take priority over serving ourselves...

taking time to love the unlovely would matter more then ever...

eternity would finally be a perspective that we would actually live by...

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My man's Birthday!

Monday was Lee's 21st birthday! 

It was such a great day. We've both learned that when you don't have much money to spend, little things are just that more special and fun. I love it, really. 

Who needs money anyways?! ;)

We drove to Fort Myers and went to this pet shop someone had told Lee about. It wasn't just ANY pet shop. It had wild animals. Like, monkeys, lemurs, and other awesome animals that I don't know the names of... ha. Apparently its legal to have a pet monkey (and tons of cool wild animals) in the state of Florida which, I must say, is pretty cool. Lee was super excited to go check it out and it was not a disappointment! Like seriously, who doesn't love watching a monkey?! We could have stayed there all day watching. Were pretty easy to please, I guess ;) 

After going to the beach and out to dinner, we came home and just relaxed. 

I'm so grateful for Lee. And so happy he was born. I love this man more then I can explain, and I can't wait to see our love grow more and more in the coming years! 

So, to my best friend, happy birthday! (a few days late ;)

the birthday boy!

oh yeah.... I made Lee a cake. It was the first cake I've ever made (I'm sure you can tell). Anddd the second layer broke :( oh well... it still tasted just as good. 

Homemade peanut butter frosting and chocolate cake are always yummy :)