Change

Change. I have never been one to jump at the idea of change. This season of my life has been a huge change and my life as I know it is continuing to change. 

I am not sure how I feel about this yet... I have my positive moments and my negative ones. Right now I am in the negative moments... I think mostly because I am nervous, not because I think these changes will not be good. I know in my heart that these changes are for the best. Growing up is part of life. I've had a pretty amazing life thus far, and I know it will only get better. 

However, I still can not keep myself from feeling anxious and extra cautious about these changes. 

Graduating

Marriage

Moving out of my parents house

Maybe moving into a whole new part of town

Graduate School

Becoming a wife

Being the "homemaker"

Unemployed?

Employed?

Anyways... I am going to focus on that quote up there by C.S. Lewis.

Oklahoma Strong

     I have taken a little hiatus from the blog every day in May challenge. It was not planned or expected, but it happened. Life happens. I am still just overwhelmed with the horrific events in Oklahoma. As I am writing right now we are in a third thunderstorm. There is currently flooding in central Oklahoma and this rain is halting and ruining the relief efforts in the tornado affected areas.

This morning driving to work, which it is my last day here and I am so sad, the north side of town was a beautiful sunrise and the south west side of town looked pure evil. The thunderstorm was rolling in and it was dark and full of lightning. It made the sky the weirdest shade of yellow.

I have continued to watch the 24/7 news coverage about the storms. I have donated and even drove down to Norman to lend a hand with the animals at the fair grounds. I can not imagine what those people are feeling, but I do know they are strong. They will rebuild. They will continue to find their animals and continue to show love and hope to everyone. I think the best thing that has come from all the media coverage is the stories of hope. There have been several instances during live interviews when people have uncovered their beloved pets from the rubble. It is truly a miracle. I am continuing to pray for everyone involved and going to give when I can. I encourage you to as well. There are many places accepting cash donations as well as online donations... really all you need to do is go to any local news or radio station's website. I know the Moore Animal shelter is also in need, as well as the Shawnee animal shelter.

The help is coming from all directions of the country right now. I know everyone is thankful for it, but Oklahoma will continue to need help for months.

Oklahoma

Yesterday, May 20th, Oklahoma was devastated. I watched the biggest and most dangerous tornado in history from just 20 miles north of where it hit.

horrific

unimaginable

panic

furry

fear

sadness

death

hope

love

resiliency

Among the devastating pictures and tragic stories there are stories of hope and love. We humans stick together to help each other out. There has been $120,00 donated already this morning to the relief efforts in Moore. There has been a makeshift triage and shelter set up in the Home Depot off 19th street. People from all over the state and country and passionately praying for people they will never even meet. People are donated their own things to the people in need. 

If you have the means to help you can text REDCROSS to 909-99, this will be a $10 donation through your phone bill. 

I miss...

Blog Every Day in May: "what do you miss?"

I miss: 

High school and hanging out with this girl every day!

Spending every minute of my days in the summer at the pool with this girl!

Hanging at the lake with these three crazy boys!

Seeing my gram and papa every weekend. 

The beach! 

Baseball... 

This little guy and I haven't even said bye to him yet!

10 Words or Less

Day 11 of the challenge is to "sell yourself in 10 words or less".


Loving
Happy
Fiance
Believer
Sister
Driven
Compassionate
Organizer
Texan
Loyal

Day 9

   The topic for Day 9 of blog every day in may is "most embarrassing moment(s)".

I am not a fan of embarrassment of any kind... but I do have some of my own embarrassing moments. I try to block most of those out of my memory :). Since we are supposed to spill the beans I will share my most recent embarrassing moment. 

Two or three weeks ago on a Tuesday I was sitting at Cam's baseball game. It was windy and not very warm out and I was by myself so I sat in my car. Their field is pretty cool and you can see the whole field from the parking lot, so it is pretty nifty for all the cold weather we have endured this year. Anyways... there was about 4 other cars by mine and the wind was blowing out... not to the right where our cars were. A foul ball was hit and while sitting in my car watching it in slow motion I was saying "please don't hit me, please don't hit me...". Guess what... it hit me. Smack dab on the hood of my car with a big thud! 

Luckily there was no damage and you could only tell where the ball hit because there was the indentions of the laces in the dust on my car. The most embarrassing part of this is that of course every one turns to see where the ball goes and I was in my car just watching it hit me! I obviously wasn't going to get out and catch it... 

Also, the radio announcer said "and that foul ball hit a car... and the girl was in it"! I stayed until the end of the inning and immediately went home! 

After the game Cam came home still laughing about the whole incident and said all the guys in the dug out had a good laugh too. 

Proud

    This man sure does make me proud. It will be weird not having a baseball game to go to.  It will be weird not seeing number 13 walk out on the field... I will miss it. He will miss it. I know it is not over. God has big things in store for this man. I just know it. My  heart is filled to the brim with love for this sweet man.

p.s. He is kinda cute too huh ;)

Day 8 & 9

    So, finals I guess caught up with me because I forgot to post yesterday! Don't worry I have a piece of advice for yall today! This piece of advice has been told for many many years... In this fast paced world it is often hard to just enjoy the moments. I really want to focus on enjoying all of the little and big moments. I want to slow down and just take in the view... even if it is not beautiful like a beach. It always seems to be easier to slow down when we are on vacation, but we need to remember to reflect daily!

Day 9: "a moment in my day"

This morning I spent my time studying for my very last final! I am now a UCO graduate... hello Bachelors of Arts in Psychology! I also watched my boys play baseball in Kansas City... if you can't be there you have to pretend. That is my philosophy at least :) I listened to live audio and watched stats all the up to my test. I was able to see Cam's hit right before I turned my phone off! Yay Cam! Still wish I could have been there.... they need to win tonight or we will be done with baseball... until he is a coach. Pretty darn depressing if you ask me. I guess we have to grow up sometime huh?

Fear

Day 7 of Blog Every Day In May: "the thing(s) I'm most afraid of". I read through several other ladies blog posts who have participated in this link up and found all the answers to be moving. Particularly Jen Russums... You need to go read it yall.

I am not going to be as deep as Jen... My brain is in finals mode. Also, it is just about to shut off... I stumbled upon this quote on Pinterest earlier this week and thought it was perfect for this topic.

"If you want to learn what someone fears losing, 

watch what the photograph."

So, naturally after reading this I went to my phone and looked through my pictures. I take tons of pictures of my dog... like every day. I have pictures of Little B, the boy I nanny. I have many pictures of Cam and him playing baseball. I have pictures of flowers. Quotes. Bible verses. Books.

I do not know if this quote holds true for everyone, but it does for me. I am afraid to lose my dog... my fiance... my job. Saying goodbye always sucks. There is never an easy goodbye. I am afraid of leaving my nanny job here in Oklahoma. I want Ben to always remember me, but I know he wont. I will be a distant memory and image. I also know it is my time to leave. This season that I have been in the past year, four years really, is ending. A new season will start. For that I am grateful. 

What I do

     Day 6 of blog ever day in May... "if you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question 'what do you do?'"


I watch baseball... specifically by husband-to-be.

I believe in a great, great God.

I love on my dog every day all day. 

I count down the days to graduation... even though I am not walking. 4 more days and I am D O N E yall! 

I clean daily... vacuum and wipe of the counters. 

I always make the bed. I can't sleep in it later that night if I know it has not been made all day long... yep I am a weirdo. 

I drink one Pepsi a day!... trying to not do this, but I just love my Pepsi. 

I day dream of the future... all the time :) 

Blog Friends...

   Day 5: Blogger friends... I like to think that I have a bunch of blogger friends. In reality, I have not actually said one word to any of them. I have a handful of blogs that I read on a daily basis. I love reading them and getting a glimpse into their every day life. Most of the blogs I follow I really feel like we would be real life friends. The blogger lady I am choosing to talk about today I do actually know in real life!

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   Kimber is a fellow Texan and I actually met her through mutual friends. She is one of the ladies who inspired me to start my own blog. She is a new mom and wife to a cute red headed man. She is a strong and encouraging lady. If I have a question about anything I know I can ask her! She is so kind and friendly. 

She blogs about the realities in ever day life... She is so truthful and honest in every post, also pretty funny. She is super creative and crafty. Girlfriend needs to pass along some of her skills to me! She truly is shining His light! She has a heart for the Lord and is using her blog in amazing ways. I encourage you to go check her out!... No, not that way! Ha! Go read her posts! 

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P.S. Kimber hope you don't think I am a total weirdo after this post! :)

Words

    Day 4: Favorite quote. I never really have just one favorite of anything... well scratch that, Pasados cheese dip will always be my most favorite. I have always loved quotes and sayings from every where. Sometimes the best sayings are written in graffiti on old trains. So, here are my favorite quotes and words to live by currently in this season of my life.


1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." NIV

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1 Peter 5:7 is one of the very first Bible verses that I memorized. I constantly have to remind myself of this and continue to tell myself that He cares and He is in control daily. 

The quote by John Lubbock I found on Pinterest... surprise, surprise. I find it very fitting for my life. I often have a negative perspective... Maybe because I am an avid news watcher and every single thing on the news is depressing, or maybe because I just have see way too many things... not sure. But I have been trying to remind myself to be more positive. Cam (my fiance) is a huge optimist... He always sees the good in everyone and everything. I am trying to see the good in every day life... In the people who are rude. In the people who make mistakes. In everyone. 

The next two quotes I also found on Pinterest. Ann Voskamp has a book called "One Thousand Gifts" and I can not wait to read it. I am not sure if this quote is from that book or not, but it rocks either way. I often struggle with anxiety and worry. This is just another way of reminding me that the Great I Am has all the control. 

Uncomfortable

      Day 3: "things that make you uncomfortable". I unfortunately have too many things that make me uncomfortable. I am a pretty awkward human being. I am an introvert... like on the farthest scale of introvert, not just a bit neurotic and shy... so like a normal list obsessed person would do I am going to make a bullet point list of things that truly make me uncomfortable.

• Crowds... put me in a group of people and I become a jumbled ball of nerves. 
• Shopping... unless I am shopping for Nike sweats, Christmas decorations, or kitchen things I could care less about walking into a store. I have never been a fan of shopping, mostly because I can NEVER find clothes that fit my body! To say that is annoying is an understatement. 
• Walking into a room full of people. For example, a classroom... I will never ever be late simply because I can not walk into a room full of people. 
• Public restrooms in general... If I can avoid using one I will. 
• Being embarrassed or seeing other people get embarrassed. 
• When parents yell or reprimand their children in public... there is a time and place for everything... I am not positive the middle of Walmart is the right place to tell your child you are going to whip them. 

And with that.. I think I am done listing things that make me uncomfortable because this post is getting there... 

May Goals

It is the second day in May but, it is actually just under 40 degrees and there has been rain and 30 mph winds... not so Spring like. at all! Let's just say walking to class today was a total bummer. On the bright side it was my very very last day to walk to class! I did not meet all of my April goals, but I have to give myself some credit on completing some!

APRIL GOALS COMPLETE

 Book Caterer and Dj.

 Finish all research papers.

 Go on a date night with Cam.  (it was fantastic)

 Start thinking about hostess gifts.

 Watch Cam play baseball. (Made it to conference tournament!)

 Enjoy these last few weeks of undergrad. (It is D O N E)

 Figure out gift for the P family. 

 Find gift for Nacoe. 

APRIL GOALS NOT COMPLETE

 Find and order invitations.

 Give Deuce a bath. (I missed this one the couple days of Spring we have had)

 Start thinking about hostess gifts.

 Continue doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. (totally sucked this one up... no excuses)

 Find shoes and jewelry for the wedding.

MAY GOALS

Order wedding invitations.

Bathe my dog!

Start couch to 5 k... there is 5k race called the Jalapeno Run in June!

Read for fun!

Find a job... a big girl job.

Enjoy the rest of wedding planning.

Take pretty bridal pictures!

What am I good at?

Ladies we have made it to day 2 of Blog Every Day in May... Now the topic of the day is what I am good at? I have been thinking about this question all morning while sitting in class.. Obviously I am not good at paying attention in class today. I came home to get lunch and finally decided what I am really actually good at...

Cleaning. Yall,  I can clean up some rooms. I actually really enjoy cleaning on a regular basis. I love the way a clean home smells. My dream would be able to walk into a clean house every day of my life... reality is that is not possible. But, I could just kick all my roommates out and my dog, oh and my fiance... eh, that probably won't work. Ok, back to my skills.

I am slighty completely obsessed with cleaning and organization products. Give me a basket of goods from the cleaning isle of Target and I will love you forever and ever! :)
I have a handful of my most favorite organization blogs and drool over them daily. Jen over at I Heart Organizing and Toni at A Bowl Full Of Lemons. Those girls speak my love language.

I think my love for cleaning and over all enjoying a clean house goes back to my gem of a mother. Being the oldest and having a six year age difference I was able to have a lot of alone time with my parents. My mom definitely passed on her cleaning genes to me. She says by the age of 2 I knew how to windex and sweep... pretty solid talents if you ask me.

Basically... I dream in sparkling floors, vacuum lines on the carpet, and the smell of bleach. :) These two blogs have some fantastic charts and cleaning plans as well as special cleaning supplies. You should check them out! I have not actually used any of these charts, but I am thinking they will work quite well when I do have a family of my own. I am hoping to pass on my cleaning genes to all my offspring! Ha!

Story Of My Life

  So, Jenni over at Story of My Life decided to host a pretty cool link up. She has come up with a topic to blog about for each day in May... As you can see I currently suck at blogging, but I thought I might give this a shot! If you want to join in go on over to her blog and copy the button into your post!

The topic for day 1 is the story of your life. Obviously retelling your life story is a bit difficult in one single post, let alone only 250 words. So, here goes nothing!

Born in July of 1991 in good o' Oklahoma. 

The oldest of two daughters. 

I have always loved dogs... any animal really.

Moved to Texas when I was six.

Also the year I got a little sister, Kennedy. 

The neighborhood we grew up in is the same one my parents are in today. 

It is small, we know all the neighbors, and I love it. 

I was a gymnast and cheerleader.

I met cam when I was 15 years old.

He was a stud football and baseball player. 

We started dating our sophomore year of high school. 

Graduated from high school in 2009 and went to separate colleges. 

I started studying Psychology at OSU and he continued playing baseball in Junior college. 

I met Jesus Christ through my college algebra teacher in a coffee shop. 

In June of 2012 he gave me the biggest surprise of my life. 

He asked me to marry him . 

I said YES! 

We started our senior year of college as an engaged couple. 

I will graduate this May and then begin graduate school for School Psychology in the Fall. 

We will get married in July 2013! 

I can not wait to see what God has in store for the rest of our lives.