i'm back

hello there friends... time for round two. WARNING THIS WILL BE A LONG POST.  i hope you like the remodeling of the page, i thought a fresh start deserved a fresh look. as i begin this blogging journey once again i am overwhelmed at the least with where to start and how to catch you all up on the happenings of my life. the best way i can think about going about this is some short summaries accompanied with pictures ('cause what's a blog without pictures, right?). alrighty now... let's do this.

lets begin with may 25th when i was headed to the nashville airport. i was baja, mexico bound. i had felt called to go do a missions trip for a couple years and when i heard of this trip i knew it was time. nervous but ready i hopped on a plane and took off! my world was rocked. i used my hands to build  a shelter for men and used my words to pray for people in need. i was able to create a relationship with an amazing sixteen year old who barely spoke english and i prayed over her and listened to her and showed her love. my chains of timidity were broken. my faith was tested and strengthened. i finally stepped into the role that God had been calling me to... and that's only the beginning.

on june 9th i got in a car and head to bonnaroo. no showering, no air conditioning, no cold water... it was awesome! okay maybe not those parts but everything else was pretty killer.  i got to see the black keys, eminem, wiz, lil wayne, matt & kim, bassnectar, j cole, and some others. guilty pleasure time... i have been dying to see eminem and thought it to be an unrealistic dream until my eyes layed upon the bonnaroo 2011 lineup. i waited twelve hours to see eminem in front row and it was worth every second spent under that hot sun.

on june 26th i was blessed and surprised to take four beautiful junior girls to younglife's windy gap camp. i found out two weeks prior that i would be going on this trip and the only way to describe this venture was that it was a gift. purely a gift. i had so much fun with my girls and got to enjoy an amazing week at windy gap.

july 16th was my last big venture of the summer and was the most perfect ending to my summer. i headed to colorado to do a month of work at a young life camp called crooked creek. i got on the plane not knowing anyone i would be meeting but trusting and knowing that God had it all under control. i, again, was rocked. my relationship with the creator of this universe was completely defined for me over that month. he romanced me, which was something new to me. he talked to me, which was something i had been seeking. he used me, which was something i had prayed for. i learned so much about myself and about my creator and i saw him EVERYWHERE. i talked to him every second and absolutely depended on him for every aspect of my life. he was just as overjoyed as i was and it blew my mind. the people i met there became my second family and i miss them dearly. i was blessed, honored, and privileged to have been apart of all that God did in that month at crooked creek. 

when i look back on this summer i keep telling myself that it was the best summer of my life. then when i ask myself why, the only answer i can find is that it was God-filled.

lets talk about my celebrity crushes. lets first start with jimmy fallon. he cracks me up because he cracks himself up. he can't get through a joke without laughing at himself, it's great. his friday thank you notes on his show late night with jimmy fallon are the highlights of my friday! now to my boy justin timberlake. like every other girl i have been a huge fan since *nsync. he is so talented in many different ways and for that he earns a million respect points from me. man can dance, beatbox, act, sing, and make me laugh. he's great. when these two come together its magical:)

good ole tennessee times

oh how i have been dreaming of the summer heat. i cannot wait for summer to come around. i could really use a good tan right about now and would love to have all my friends in the same town again. i am in love with a good ole tennessee summer day. parks, sonic, rope swings, mcdonalds sweet tea, pools, and bonfires to end the night. here's a look at what i am craving...

hanging out in a creek... you know, the usual

me jaime and sarah :)

it took a while before i even stood up

me lo and the boys after a great day of fishing!

right before we got flipped out... not okay

love and miss all of these guys

drive in theater... toy story 3!

i cannot wait for the great times that are ahead for this summer!

rainy dayzzzzzz

frizzy hair and wet clothes no fun.

i love rainy days. especially when thunder and lightening are involved. they make me so sleepy and relaxed. now that i am in college these stormy days offer a new factor that i am not too fond of. walking around campus with frizzy hair and wet clothes is not cool. but hey, you know what, i am not gonna complain. i love stormy days and i will take the consequences.

baja bound

may 25, 2011 i will be headed to baja, mexico! i am so excited and took the first step in my baja process today....sending out support letters. took forever. i have never been on a missions trip before so i am so stoked. i knew for sure that i needed to get out and do missions work when i was sitting in church listening to people talking about their experiences with missions. my legs started to shake and i couldn't control them, it was like God was telling me to get up and run. get up and go spread his word. this happened a couple times and then finally my lazy butt took charge and signed up for the baja trip.
i am so thrilled to be going on this trip with rachel joseph who is practically my little sister. she spent the day with me stuffing envelopes and stuffing our mouths with five guys burgers....she bought...she's awesome.

this is us last summer decorating some shoes. we like to be crafty:)....or try to be.

roommates!

and this is how my night last night ended. pretty typically with me and my roommates. see we have an addiction to anything sweet. last night we were vibin' some oreos. being the broke college students that we are we proceeded to pay in all change. walmart lady did not like us. we then sat on our couch (of course i pulled out my peanut butter to accompany my oreos) and we watched the nanny, made weird noises, made weird faces, yelled things out our window, and then went to bed. this is about how every roommate night goes.

we also have an obsession with making videos. for your enjoyment here they are...

i need an excuse to wear my prom dress

i have been experiencing major prom withdrawals lately. not that i was one of those girls who gets really giddy over prom...but i was/am in love with my prom dress and i so want an excuse to wear it again. to try and soothe my withdrawals i decided to share with you my senior prom pictures.

this is lobaby. she means the world to me and i will someday devote and entire post to her because there is not enough space here to describe our relationship

 me, lo, and hailey. 

yeah we thought we were pretty hard core and would rep the "X" for class of 2010.

me and my date cory. he asked me to prom on top of a hill with a cake. he knows me. i can't turn down a man with a cake!

this picture just had to make it into this post just because of the dreads.

again...i'll explain us later

ryan pittman. he is the man and that is enough said. he is now a senior and i miss this great guy so much. he always made me smile no matter what kind of day i was having.

left the prom gross and sweaty... signs of a good night.