i miss summer...

a fun weekend in sc with amy and her sweet boys. a festival and catch up time with marianne p. celebrating many special birthdays. a couple of days at the beach with melanie and family. celebrating my dad. talks about faith, walking, and peddle boating with ashley. babysitting holt gaston. sleepovers with lauren. servant-hearted parents helping me paint my house. church and brunch with steph every chance we got. sleepovers with lauren. celebrating our country with my brother and his wife, my sister. serving my community with my bible study. celebrating my 30th. beach days with my dear family and friends that are family. having amy and the boys here with me for a few days. a play date with my best friends and their little ones. an insightful night with jenny before she left for bolvia. exploring shreveport with emily. experiencing waco with marianne and the rest of the cox fam. several quality convos with shannon. catching up over dinner with lauren and jennifer. shopping and fellowship with lisa, wes, and ag. a beautiful road trip with my sister. precious time with my grandparents. experiencing rebecca m's workplace. fun hang out times with my bible study. talks with ellie about living life for Jesus. a day of girlie fun with amy and eve. celebrating the soon-to-be arrival of precious taylor heritage.....and spending time with my Savior....especially that. learning and re-learning the importance of fellowship. thank You for this summer. i surely miss it, but i am very thankful.


i have many pictures to document this summer. but this post is long overdue, and i ran out of time to collage all those pictures...so i decided to include some family pics from our photo shoot on the beach. i love my family:

the perfect surprise

the beach. excited anticipation. giggles and beauty all around. smiles. precious faces. some that i had not seen for too long. hugs. sweet hugs and kisses. wise planning. unbelievable planning. the perfect cake. and my style at that. thoughtful gifts. beautiful gifts. delicious treats. the perfect hostess. the perfect beach house. thirteen amazing friends (and three patient husbands). thirteen fantastic kids. awesome shock. overwhelming joy i had never experienced. a unique love i had never felt. the biggest surprise. the perfect surprise. the most generous surprise. the most generous love. all for me. to celebrate me. i am loved. and loved very well....such thankful praise.

the thirteen amazing friends...

six fun "big" kids...

seven sweet little ones...

...such thankful praise.

goodness

i went to two different places looking for a mother's days card for mom. i didn't end up getting her one. none said what i would have wanted to say. how i felt. honestly, it is so hard to put into words my feelings about my mom. how much i love her. all the reasons why. there is so much goodness inside of her. and she shares that goodness in the most humble, selfless way. she is the most fair person i know. she loves me as much or more than anyone else i know. she is funny but if you don't look and listen closely, you will miss it. i admire her faith. and i admire her constant, giving spirit. she is certainly my biggest role model and absolutely my biggest fan. my words do not do her goodness justice. but she is my kind and gentle mother. and i could not be more thankful.

Doesn't she look great in her monogrammed polo?

(aka mother's day present from me)

and we talked...

we hiked around the lake...

we played on the paddle boats...

we explored God's mountain creation...

and we talked...

more important than anything else we did during our third annual friends weekend, we talked. in that moment...that saturday night in our mountain condo, there was no other place i would have rather been. answering questions and listening. hearing what the Lord has done, what He is doing, and what we long for Him to do in us...it's what that weekend was all about. and it's what our friendships are all about...consistent encouragement and constant faithfulness. the One that sustains our friendship gave us a sweet moment to remind us just that. sitting down together without the miles of distance, the craziness of phone tag, and the busyness of life to remember. to catch up. to celebrate our joys. to encourage each other in our struggles. to give perspective. and especially to point each other to the One that gave us this friendship so many years ago.

we talked. i needed it. and He knew that.

my bff

A happy heart makes the face cheerful~Proverbs 15:13

since 6th grade, her happy heart and cheerful face has made me praise God she is my bff.

today is no exception. i love you, amy.

her spirit

Ashley and I were a part of the Bible Study I told you about a few weeks ago. She moved from Greenville to Raleigh two years ago this summer. Since then, she and I have been getting together almost weekly for accountability, bible study, and prayer. Oh, what a blessing this time together is to me. We talk about how special it is all the time. It's a time of safety, of realness, and of understanding. A time with a friend in my current town that knows about people and my life in my former town without me having to explain those people and that place. Even though we do miss our time with the other girls, we know that God placed each of us exactly where HE wants us to be. And how sweet it is of Him to place Ashley and me here together to grow this unique connection He had already formed. And in this really cool way, it's a connection with the other girls, too. One that is deepened with distance. I am in awe of His craftiness. And of His plan. And the way He continues to bless this beautiful, important bond He created years ago. My time with Ashley reminds me of this. And it's a reminder of His perfect plan for every aspect of my life.

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another..." Hebrews 10:24,25

Ashley is organized. She finds a way to keep everything in order yet she makes time for fun every single day. I love her energy and her passion. Her flexibility and her faith. Her patience and her productivity. And her spirit, especially her spirit. Her amazingly, happy spirit. Since I have known Ashley, but especially since she moved 15 minutes away from me almost two years ago, God has used her friendship, accountability, and her spirit to encourage me. I am so thankful for that weekly, consistent blessing in my life.

*This is a picture we took with Shannon's camera last week. Shannon came to visit us after flying into Raleigh from visiting Marianne in Texas. By the way, Shannon just started a blog herself. You should check it out and read her perspective of our friendships here.

75 Again

Just as my Grandpa turned 75 in February, my Grandma turned 75 today. We went Winston-Salem to celebrate with her. We all also wrote letters for her and put them together in a book, just as we did for Grandpa....

Dear Grandma,

Humor and Laughter. Honesty and Wisdom. Thoughtfulness and Hospitality. Faith and Strength. And Love. When I think of you, what I have learned from you, and what I love most about you, these are the words that flow through my mind. These are the things that make me so thankful. These are the things God has used in you to mold me and make my heart so full of praise.

Humor and Laughter. You make me laugh. And I love your laugh. I can hear it right now. I am smiling because I love the thought of you getting so tickled that you can hardly stop. Your laughter. It's a beautiful thing. God has used it to bless me. To make my spirit come alive. And fill my heart with joy. I am so thankful.

Honesty and Wisdom. You are a wise woman. And you are an honest woman. I think those two go hand in hand. Especially when it comes to you. I love that you are not afraid to show and say that you care. You say how you feel and you mean it. Your honest words are wise words. You say the things that need to be said, even the tough things. The wisdom that comes from that is so rare. I am so thankful.

Thoughtfulness and Hospitality. I love your thoughtfulness. Whether you are calling to check on me or sending me a card in the mail, when you remember me it makes me feel so special. And no one can make others feel more welcome in their home than you. Your house is one of my favorite places to be. I feel so peaceful there. It is very special that many of my closest friends have been there with me. I will never forget the love and hospitality you have shown to them. They love and adore you. I am so thankful.

Faith and Strength. I have seen your faith grow since you and Grandpa started going back to church quite a few years ago. I feel that your faith was strengthened through your church family. And when Grandpa got sick, your faith did not fade. I heard you praise God many times even in the hardest and most unclear of times. I saw your faith grow during that time. Not just because Grandpa got better, but mostly because you had to rely on God for your strength. Depending on God strengthens one's faith. It has strengthened your testimony and drawn you closer to Him. I admire you, Grandma, for the way you trusted Jesus. I am so thankful.

Love. I love the way you love me. And you do love me. And you are proud of me. You make it so clear. You make me feel important . And I never doubt that. You tell me and you show me. You always have. Through so many different ways. It makes my heart feel thankful to know that you love me. I am so thankful.

It is truly one of the biggest blessings in my life to be your granddaughter. You are my role model. You are my friend. And you are my Grandma. My beautiful Grandma. I love all of our talks. I love the way we our hearts connect. I love the love we share. And I love that you are my Grandma. I am so very thankful.... I love you.

*Remember a few weeks ago I told you about my friend, Lauren, and her pencil portraits. Well, take a look at this work of art below. It's of my grandparents. I told you she was good.