nice day, folks! : a lot of pictures

my, my, my! 

The past couple of days have been filled with so many exciting adventures.

On Thursday, my dad & I went on a ride in a hot air balloon. We watched the sunrise and it was pretty much the best thing I've ever done in my life. We also adventured downtown Belleville & strolled through many antique and thrift stores. (Thrifting is always a good idea.)

On Friday, my lady best, Hillary, and I left to go to Nashville. We spent the night & adventured downtown Nashville, made some friends, and went to the flea market the next day. 

For the first time, it truly felt like summer. I mean it really felt like summer, the goodness of summer.  Windows rolled down, arm out the window, sun shining bright, sunglasses on, good music blasting, laughing and dancing.

Summertime is liberating, and all is gravy in my heart. :)

Actually, gravy wouldn't be good in my heart.

But you get it.

:)

Don't waste your life : dance, dance, dance!

It's summer, it's summer! Which gives everyone a perfectly good excuse to dance. (Even though I believe it's perfectly acceptable to dance all the time, every single day. I encourage this, actually.)

I feel like I haven't stopped much since the spring semester ended! I moved back home, I started a new job, and started summer classes. Life is so busy!

I think it's really important within the busyness of life to take time to enjoy silly little things. As I enter adulthood (or am I already there?) I find it's more difficult for my fellow 20-somethings to just.. well, laugh and be silly and live.

I want to have dance parties. I want to have sing-alongs in the car to the top 40 of the early 2000's. I want to listen to 60's on 6. I want to wear overalls in public. I want to wear funky hats. I want to create silly little doodles on sidewalks with chalk. I want to spill my heart with no worries. I want to go on as many adventures as I possibly can. I want to write love notes! I want to smile and dance and laugh and giggle and enjoy life.

I want to be silly in the midst of this silly little thing called BUSYNESS. (I believe this could also be defined as "growing up.")

Soo, I'm very happy to say that in between all of this busyness, I've been able to spend time with people that I very much care about and love.

I've had dance parties and sing-alongs with my best gal pals. We've danced in my living room, the car, fields, driveways, and streets. We also like to go out to this field in the country and stargaze and have heart-to-hearts about life, love, and just everything. These past few weeks, I've consumed more ice cream than I have in a long, long time. Which is fine, right? I went to cowboy church with my best gal pals, too. It was the best ever! I met some real life cowboys and there was a fiddle and animals and everything! It was held in a livestock auction barn, which was really neat. I really like cowboy church. It's so real - like, relaxed and down to Earth. They whooped and hollered and were just generally excited for Jesus... which I love. I went on a picnic and then to a rootbeer saloon with my favorite fella! Root beer is my favorite drink of all time. We built a blanket fort and got fake tattoos of soft serve ice cream cones. I went hiking with my daddy-o and we drank coca-cola's together. I've been visiting my grandma and watching black and white movies with her. While at her house, I learned the Texas two step from her boyfriend! There isn't a day that I can go without smiling. Just knowing the existence of God, and the fact that He will never ever give up on me. And the fact that He gave us the ability to love.  I hope I can love really close to how He loves. I also hope there are dance parties in heaven. (I assume David is on the VIP list.)

It's a good life. Thank you, God. 

Also, I really want a ukulele.

my sweet momma : mother's day 2013

For Mother's Day, I got up extra early before church to fix my momma breakfast in bed. I ended up making strawberry & Nutella crepes topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar. My, my, my... it was delicious! This was my first time ever making crepes, but they turned out great! They're so easy and very delicious. I most definitely recommend them. :) It was such a sweet morning!

After church, my dad fixed a late lunch for all of us and the rest of my family. I love them all to pieces! Because my dad's birthday is tomorrow, we celebrated that, too! 

good times. 

crepes... yum.

<3

yum.

daddy-o makin' a wish! 

To my sweet momma:
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! You are such a beautiful lady - inside and out. I know many people would agree with me on that, too! You work so, so hard every single day - both at home and work! I don't think I've ever seen you sit still for more than 10 seconds straight. You always run away from laziness and are never idle because you always try to make the best use of your time. You inspire me in so many different ways. You are the best hostess ever, and I hope I can host nice little parties and get-togethers just like you some day. You've got a loving heart that has given me many memories that I'll always remember. Thank you for always loving me, instilling in my a heart and love for Christ,  and for always putting family first. You do so many things for me all of the time, and I really am thankful for you. I know I can be mean or a little grouchy, but thank you for always loving me despite my wrongdoings.
LOVE YOU, MAMACITA!
You're the best ever.

Happy Birthday, Wuwu!

May 6th, 2013... the day God decided to add another year to my sweet grandma's life! 

And my, my, my she is lookin' so good!

 I hope and pray that I look just like her and have the same sweet, kind, and loving heart as her someday. 

Louetta Mae King, my sweet Wuwu,  you are the most beautiful lady, both inside and out. You are always full of joy and kindness. You are so much fun to be around - always! You are my inspiration and my best friend. 

I hope that everyone in the world gets to meet Wuwu at least once in their life. She is all smiles at all times! Because she is joyful, you, too, will be filled with joy! 

She is always willing to go on adventures with me, and I love that about her. I love her stories. She gives the best advice on life, love, and relationships. Each time I'm with her, she reminds me what it's like to be a true lady, and I strive for that daily! 

She is so pretty at all times. I also love the fact that she wears a rain scarf. She is oh so, so glamorous! I love going on BBQ Barn dates with her. I love her pumpkin pie. I love, love, love her fried chicken. She always has the best food and is the best company at her house! 

*note: If you go to her house, ask her if she has any chocolate pie. She will bring out her candy jar with all sorts of chocolate. It would be wise if you chose a KitKat and/or Reece Cup. You can thank me later. *

"Always follow your heart, it will tell you what to do."

Wuwu is so easy to love, but she is so, so good at loving others. She continues to show unconditional love to me and the rest of my entire family no matter what. Now that I'm older, I am far more interested in Wuwu's love life, too. I always ask her about Papa and how she knew he was "the one." They fell in love in April 1948 and she always says she just knew in her heart that he was the one. I hope I can be the lover, wife, mother, grandmother, lover of Christ, and lady that she is. She is such a wonderful example of all of these things. 

I am so, so, so blessed to be able to call her my very own grandma. 

Happy birthday, Wuwu! You are such a PYT and I love you so much! 

P.S. If you're reading this, go call, text, email, write your grandma right now. If you're able, go visit her and give her a hug around the neck and kiss on the cheek and let her know how thankful you are for her and how much you love her. Grandma's are the absolute best, and I think that they deserve the world. 

beauty.

I really like life a whole lot, both the good parts and the bad. It's the end of the school year and even though it's a sad thing, I wanna think about all of the good things that I've experienced this year... which, I definitely think it's been a rather good year collectively. I love SIU, Carbondale, my classes, the people I've met, everything. 

I really think I've learned to appreciate and find the beauty in every single thing, good or bad, big or small. I find myself looking at everything around me and smiling so, so big because of the part it plays in this big, huge, world. My mind is oftentimes blown by the things that God has created purely for beauty and as I like to think, to make us smile. 

Of course I had to snap a photo of the pretty walk around campus lake with my gal pal.

It also made me think about other things that are beautiful to me...

afternoon walks with my best gal pal

always God's plan, never a coincidence

rainy days that allow me to wear rain boots

warm days that allow me to wear sundresses

sundays with nick. 

people who are really good at what they do, but still down to earth and humble

days and nights spent with family 

my grandma's boyfriend who is battling (and conquering) cancer and still continues to be his silly, goofy self

music

handwritten things

letters

memories
the library

a love for books

the farmers market 

my pretty conversation partner, Sun-ah

bluegrass and folk music

conversations with my roommate, jordan
people who are real with me

time spent with my two best gal pals, emma & hillary 

trees, flowers, the sky, grass, clouds

people's stories

people's testimonies
root beer
parties

my mom and dad

my sweet grandma who teaches me to be a lady each and every day 

records

my brother and his big brain

hugs

breakfast foods

family get-togethers

love notes

listening and dancing to oldies from the past

alone time with God

seeing elderly couples going on walks together, holding hands, and eating ice cream cones.

seeing my best friends in love

adventures!!
Carbondale

different cultures

reconnecting with old friends

engagements

milkshakes, or anything of the ice cream variety

old photos

late night conversations on life 

dairy queen

meeting new people and hearing all about their life stories 

mutual smiles

phone calls

the ability to love

the existence of God

and the fact that He will never give up on me

and He won't on you, either.

I thought I had it all figured out : trust

I've been thinking about a lot of things that have happened recently. Everything is changing and everything is really, really good. I think back to where I was a year and a half ago and everything that I had planned for myself. For some reason, at age 19, I made so many plans. I mapped out literally every single thing that I wanted (at the time.) I thought I knew who I would marry, where I would live, what I would do with my life, where I would work, etc. I think girls have a tendency to map out everything from time to time. I guess we just like to be on top of things, or so we think.

Fast forward to now, 2013:

Every single thing that I had planned for myself is completely different than what I thought it would be. It's kindof funny, I feel like I had planned my life all out and God just knocked it all down forcing me to trust Him and His will for my life. I thought I had the "perfect planned out life," but soon realized how silly that was of me. No matter how hard I tried to make my own plan work, I feel like God always had his way of saying "no." Honestly, a couple of months ago I knew I needed to quit attempting to figure it all out and have all the answers. Honestly, the past few months I've done a couple of things that I never ever thought I would ever do, but they have turned out to be so good.

But of course, recently I've been trying to plan it all out yet again! I always think about how a year from now I will no longer be a student. I will be graduating. I will be a real life teacher. Quite frankly, this scares me more than anything at the moment. And, I hope I'm not alone in this. I'm not doubting my ability to be a teacher, but my ability to be a functioning adult. Ha ha! However, I am constantly reminded to put my entire, whole heart and trust back into Him. Because He knows better than anyone else, especially me. 

No matter what I have planned for my life, God has a much better plan that I could ever imagine. 

I'm just so silly sometimes and like to doubt God (no bueno, Kellyn. One of my many weaknesses!) He has given me everything I need, and even things I didn't even know I needed. I realize that I'm scared and I like to take things into my own hands most of the time; however, I think about it, and not completely knowing what is going to happen is kindof exciting, right? I mean, anything could happen. Ah! That's exciting! I think I'll try to be more open-minded to this, and the fact that spontaneous and not necessarily knowing all is such a good thing, especially when it's not in my hands.

Giving and receiving trust has shown to be so completely rewarding and I can't wait for more. 

Attempting to put gratitude into words, oh my.

My, my, my! What a wonderful week! I'm 20!

My heart is so happy!

I started off the week by turning in one of the biggest projects of the semester, thank goodness! I was so, so relieved. I went on my weekly walk around campus lake with my best gal pal (who also ended up getting engaged tonight. AH!) On Wednesday, I got a summer job. (I have been wanting a job for the longest time! So, thank good Lord.) On Thursday after night class, my sweet elementary ed pals surprised me with a little birthday get-together. I'm so thankful for them! It means more to me then they will ever know. Without a doubt, this is the most meaningful, nice, thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. I met with my sweet conversation partner, Sun-ah, and she shared with me her love story. If you want your cheeks to hurt from smiling a lot, ask someone to tell you their love story. Every week I feel thankful for this girl and everything she teaches me! I spent my Friday night with my best ladies for my birthday. On this very night, I also got rejected for ownership of a goldfish. My heart broke into a million pieces because of this occurrence, but, I soon forgot about it and all was well once again. Saturday, my birthday, my momma woke me up with blueberry birthday scones and a glass of orange juice. Like always, my grandma called me and sang happy birthday to me. I then spent the day celebrating Record Store Day with one of the best human beings. Just so you all know, I had the best time.

THEN,
I went to my best friend's engagement party. Except, she didn't know it was her engagement party. She thought it was a birthday party for her boyfriend. She was completely surprised. It was the best. I love love. I love her. YAY.

I then spent the evening with my family. We had dinner, and it was the best. I love their company and the food they make.

I had the best birthday week.

My heart just feels so happy and full of joy. Literally, it's overflowing with joy.  I'm just feeling so, so thankful for every single person and opportunity God has placed in my life so far, new and old! I am just feeling really blessed.  I am completely undeserving of all of this, yet because God is such a nice fella and loves me, he has placed all of this in my life!

I like Him a lot.

Every single person I've come into contact with, I feel so happy and glad to know them. I think it's really hard to express how happy and thankful I feel for every single person.  It's always really nice to know that we aren't on Earth alone, but that we have each other. I wish that I could just send out one big, giant hug and kiss on the cheek to every single person... and say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Found this on our weekly walk around Campus Lake. 

Loved spending my Friday with my gal pals. 

Emma wrapped my present in Christmas wrapping paper, which was perfect because I love Christmas. 

They're engaged! 

Stories

Wow! I really stink at this whole "documenting my life" thing.
Update: IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH! HOO-RAY! I'm turning 20. I assume nothing special happens, but I'm still excited. It's a birthday! I love birthdays, parties, cake, and things of the like. : )

Anyways...
Lately, I've been doing a lot of reflection of life experiences as of late. I really enjoy school and everything in Carbondale. My brain feels like it is literally growing larger and larger each day because of the amount of information I take in; however, I still love it. I've met nice people, not so nice people, and weird people. I especially love the weird people. They make life so interesting and fun. Each weekend I come home to my parents and have so many stories to tell them. These stories include occurrences at school to my not-so-nice roommate and other relationship troubles, even silly events happening like forgetting to put fabric softener in the washer. (This is a big deal to me!)
I've realized that stories are an everyday occurrence. There are good stories and bad stories, but I really believe they can make you a better (or worse) person... depending on how you take them. You can grow from these stories, or let them act like chains and hold you down. The neat thing is... everyone has different stories, and we each take them in differently. Sometimes this stories come in expectedly, and sometimes unexpectedly, they can be sweet or a slap in the face!

But, it's how we take them and learn from them. 

I think know God gives us these stories for a purpose. 

So we can share them with others and maybe help them out, too. 

I think I'll start sharing my stories. In this way, maybe I can extend love no matter where I go and who I'm talking to. That'd be neat. I want to live a life of love no matter where I'm at or where God places me. 

SO, good stories as of late?

I made the most delicious cupcakes for Easter. Vanilla filled with blackberry mascarpone and vanilla buttercream! Delicious. I'll bake some for you, if you'd like. 

The little girl next door greeted me as soon as I pulled in the driveway today. As soon as I got out of my car, she gave me a huge hug around my legs and handed me a handful of dandelions. "HERE!!" she said, in her cute little 4-year old voice. Of course I replied with a, "Thank you! I love them!" Then, she ran off and continued to play. Isn't it so funny how the littlest things such as dandelion, a weed, can be a token of love? This whole event just makes me smile. This little girl showed so much love to me just by handing me a handful of weeds when I got home. Needless to say, this made my entire day. I want to show love like my little neighbor girl, in the simplest ways. It says so much. 

I've discovered my passion for teaching internationally. I'm not saying I want to go out of the country, I mean, I would love that, but I love everything about other countries, especially their people. Each week I spend at least 1 hour with a student from South Korea. This gal is the BEST. I've learned so much from her. This may sound silly, but she makes my heart so happy! I've found myself researching and watching videos all about education in other countries, and it is all so interesting to me. I believe this story is to be continued with continued thought and much prayer. : )

It's really neat how relationships form. I mean, in grade school we were all basically friends if we were in the same classroom. It's neat to look back and see what defined friendship throughout the years. I love my gal pals so much, and am so thankful for them. They are always there when I need to talk, laugh, cry, whine, etc. I've also learned a lot about love. It's really weird how the definition changed for me once I got out of high school. It's not just hanging out on the weekends or talking on the phone, but completely... well, I don't really think love should be confined to words. What do you think? I don't know, it kindof seems hard to see myself in this "love" that defines marriage. I feel like sometimes I'm hard to love and I would especially be hard to love in a "romantic" way. SO, this story is also to be continued. :)

SO, I have no idea what I'm doing with this whole "blog" thing, but it's kindof fun. 

PLUS, my father and I are furnishing my entire (or at least a majority) of my apartment for the fall by ourselves. My dad is the best and can build/do anything.. so I will be blogging about that in the summer. Yay! 

You're great. I really think that! Even my hard-to-love roommate. (I could probably tell you a couple of stories about her, too.)

hi, these are delicious.

sweet dandy-lions!

the sweetest girl you'll ever meet, Sun-ah!

my best gal pals.