Color Run!

Last weekend a couple of friends from home and I got to run a 5k together, but it wasn't a normal 5k! In this run at every kilometer you would get covered in color! So by the end you are a walking rainbow. Sounded like fun to us!

 

So you start off in white, and as you run you get color thrown on you! Yellow, pink, blue, orange, and green. And you come out looking like this...

My mom's first comment was that I didn't get very dirty. I tried! I think I had a lot of orange and yellow on me that just made me look tanner, and then wind blew most of the chalky color off of my shirt. But I promise you that I did try to get dirty! We even waited in line at some of the color stations to make sure we got colorful. And when I got home I pull off my socks to find that my toes were purple and blue!

I also got to catch up with some other sweet friends from home that ran the race too! It was lovely getting to see them and catch up over a little lunch before heading back to school.

One of my favorite things at the race was a "happy wall" and you got to write anything on there that made you happy. Up there was an assortment of things from the different colleges in the area to cupcakes to family. But I loved that idea of just writing out all the things that make me happy or that I am thankful for! Like getting dirty, laughing with friends, seeing people from home, hearing stories, pictures, running, colors, and joy!

*Joy of the day: Getting to hangout with my housemates, watching movies and baking cupcakes!

Not So Little Any More!

Off to school!

It's that time of the year again! School buses, homework, pumpkin everything and cooler weather. And this year my very own Cutie is joining the elementary school kids! She started kindergarden on Tuesday. I feel sappy saying I can't believe how quickly she grew up, but it's true. Just a testament to how precious every day is!

My cutie

Since I am also in classes I couldn't make it home Monday night to be there for the first day of school, so we all skyped. I left her a dress for her first day that she opened while we were skyping and was very excited to wear the next day, and I also got to surprise her that I was going to come home and pick her up from school! All smiles, we ended skype and I crammed in as much homework as possible to enjoy my short time at home.

Shannon and Sean

Tuesday came, and I anxiously awaited the e-mail from my dad full of the traditional "first day of school pictures." She was just too precious! And while the dress is a tad long, it looked adorable with her curly pig-tales. I prayed that God would speed up the clock so I could get home just in time, and through His faithfulness I made it with about 15 minutes to spare!

We walked over to the school and they had the kindergardeners in a corner so they wouldn't get lost or mixed up with the older kids, when Shannon saw us she dropped her backpack and jumped into my arms. It was such a precious moment!

Few more
years buddy!

To celebrate we went and got ice cream (a new first day of school tradition) and Shannon and I spent the rest of the afternoon together. We painted nails, colored, played some games, I braided her hair, and both worn out from a long and exciting day we went to bed early.

In the morning I got to walk her to school and the cutie held my hand the whole time. And when we got to school she gave me a big hug, told me she couldn't wait to come for the football game, and proudly marched into school. That's my goober!

2nd day!

While my trip home was short, it was completely worth it. Shannon and Sean mean everything to me, and to be there for my Cutie on her big day was so special! Their hugs and kisses are irreplaceable!

Ready for the football game!

*Joy of the day: Besides my time with my fam, I love the drive to and from school- it's absolutely beautiful. A true gift from God!

My Cozy Little Room

I finally feel all settled after two weeks of living here and a week of classes! There are still little things that I can't find, I don't know if it's because I didn't pack them or I just can't remember where I put them. But here is my new home sweet home!

My cozy bed and reading nook

The reading nook and dresser/pie cupboard

Across the way into my closet

My desk

Our pretty mailboxes

our entry way

our initials coming down the banister

Cozy table for 7

the big comfy couch

the downstairs kitchen

This week has been filled with lots of joys. Catching up with old friends, growing to friends from acquaintances and meeting new faces. This week God has shown me a little bit of what this semester will hold for me, and while it looks busy it is also full of love! Between five classes, a new part-time job at a preschool, small group, church and other ministries this semester is going to be a bustle of energy. But his promises are always true, that I will be "strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that [I] may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified [me]." Colossians 1:11-12

*Joy of the day: Taking a nap with my window open, falling asleep to the sound of rain hitting the roof.

The Adventures of Laura and Sarah

Dinner of champions!
(Don't worry mom- its
grilled cheese not
toast!)

First we painted the living room! Laura is an amazing painter and mainly due to her, it only took us about six hours. So we spent the other part of our day running errands and my dad was wonderful and attempted to set up cable which failed (our outside line had come down-oops!) so we had to set up a maintenance call. But overall we felt very productive.







Friday we spent about four hours dealing with cable, then went to Jimmy John's for a delicious lunch.

Can I have it?

Ran a bunch of errands, and then decided to reward all our grown up effort with some puppy love!

As soon as we walked in the door, our friend called to say she had just arrived and that we should come by. So we went and helped her unpacked a little bit then went to another friends place, and by the time we got home we had been up and busy for 15 hours! Needless to say we slept well that night.

The next morning Laura and I got to eat breakfast on our beautiful porch while we waited for my mommy to come! We cleaned up the kitchen and bathroom. When my mom arrived she brought some tools that we needed to do some fix-ups. So being proud home renters we trimmed some branches, and by trimmed I mean hacked! We also made some cute curtains for the main windows in our house for a little more privacy.

Moving into a house has been overwhelming and exciting. But I absolutely love it!

*Joy of the day: Watching "What Not to Wear" with my housemate!

Little Dresses For Africa

While I was in Haiti one of my favorite parts was the little girl's orphanage. I loved painting their nails, playing with bubbles, running around and most of all being able to give them a little something to let them know that they are loved. One special thing that we were able to leave with them was handmade dresses from a group of women at our church! It was really neat to see the way that they were showing these little girls God's love even though they were thousands of miles away! These women never even touched Haitian soil and yet they made a difference!

Now it's my turn! My big hearted friend Brittany is leaving for Africa in a little over a month. She'll be serving the Lord their for several months, and I must admit that I am jealous! I would much rather be serving the Lord and his beloved people in one of his beautiful countries than in a stuffy classroom. So I am going to serve in the same way that the women of my church served along side of us in Haiti!


I found this adorable website called "Little Dresses for Africa." It has the directions on how to make the cute and simple pillow case dresses (and then if you follow their directions you ship them to a woman who will get them to little girls in Africa who need them). But I'm sending mine a different way! Miss Brittany will take the cute little dresses and give them to the little girls she meets while she's over there.

While I believe that everyone is called to serve, service looks different at different times. Making dresses is just as important as taking them across the world. No matter what you are doing, it's big and it will make an impact on someone's life. If it's a bottle of nail polish or painting a little girls nails for the first time,  or making a little dress or giving a little girl a brand new dress that she can be proud of, all of this to show that she is a beautiful daughter of God and that she is fiercely loved!

*Joy of the day: Praying over each of these dresses and for the little girls that will wear them!

Lamp Make Over

I am getting ready to move down to my new house at school and of course I need to have things to decorate my room with. So I found an old lamp in the basement and decided to recover it and give it a new look! Here's how I attempted this:

1) I took the boring lamp shade and measure it, to cut the fabric the proper size (also iron your fabric first, wrinkles really show through the light)

2) I began at the bottom folding the fabric under so no rough edges were sticking out

3) I left about two inches of over lap at the end so once I was finished I could create a seam up the side

4) On the top I did the same fold over technique but there were gathers at times because the top is smaller than the bottom

5) Then I cut several one inch wide strips, and gathered them to add as ruffles around the top and bottom of the shade

6) I also wrapped a little ruffle around the chain

As simple as that! A little fabric goes a long way

*Joy of the day: Watching the Olympics!