welcome to the club.

it has been a whirlwind of a weekend. on friday, my sister stephanie graduated from high school! i am so proud of her! stephanie is just an amazing person with such a bright personality. i know she is going to do big things with her life. congratulations stephanie, i am so very proud of you.











then on saturday, detoy and i had our tough mudder!!! i will say this much about it, it was one of the hardest things i have ever done in my life. but it was amazing, and i absolutely loved it. it was up at snow valley [aka big bear], and consisted of 10+ miles of going up and down the mountain, 28 obstacles, and quite a few cuts and bruises, and a really bad sunburn [and honestly, i am still recovering from it]. but it was such a good challenge, and i was so glad that i got to do it with my partner. if a tough mudder isn't true partner bonding, than i am not sure what is! i would not have been able to finish it with detoy [he helped get me over quite a few obstacles], and i am just so thankful i got to experience this with him!













and then on sunday, i got to go to my friend whitney's wedding! whitney and i have known each other since we were toddlers [we are talking 4 years old people], so it was so great to get to share this special day with her. i can remember us as kids talking about our weddings, and our future husbands...so it was so surreal to get to be there for the big day. congratulations lee and whitney! wishing you both all the happiness in the world!











and on a side note, detoy is going to MO to do relief work from the tornadoes...please keep him in your prayers. have a good week everyone!

graduation.

i made it to my 100th post. kind of crazy that i have had that much to write about over the last year. anyway, getting back on topic... i guess i have been putting off writing a post about graduation, because in my head, i have this post "built up." i think of my post concerning college graduation as one that will hold a lot of wisdom, a lot of memories, a lot of emotion, and a lot of truth. and honestly, the last two weeks, i don't know what i have been feeling [so that makes it especially hard to put my thoughts and feelings into words].
graduation, was, bittersweet. i expected to be filled with a lot more tears than i was [actually, i got the majority of my tears out at convocation friday morning]. the whole weekend was just a whirlwind, and a part of me is still in shock that it actually happened. six years. six years, and one trip across the stage, and that was it. it was over. my nursing cohort will probably all never be together again, which is just so weird. you spend two years [two of the hardest years of your life might i add] with these people, and one walk across the stage, and its over. one walk across the stage, and we were all thrown into this thing called life. we were all thrown into this thing that speeds by like a freight train, and there is no way to slow it down. we were all thrown into thing called life where the days, the weeks, and the months begin to blur together; and there is no longer separation of time by semesters, papers, and classes. we were all handed back our life that night, and given the freedom to do what we want, and that is scary. we no longer have school to rely on as an excuse for why something isn't done, we are now completely responsible for ourselves and how our life turns out. graduation day. it was one of the greatest days of my life, and also one of the scariest. it was really the first day when i had to officially enter the real world, and i responded by saying "it's been a long time coming, and it turns out, i am really scared to meet you..."

[a few moments from graduation weekend...]




























































i still can't believe i'm done. God has been faithful, and i know he will continue to be as i enter this new chapter of my life. i am excited to see where He takes me next. thank you to all my dear friends and family who helped get me to this point, i couldn't have done it without you. love you all more than you will ever know.

you were here.

i was pinned today. and i graduate from college tomorrow. God is good.

...that i may be a good steward...

[now a little preview]




1 day.

hump day.

lists.
i am a list maker. not just a casual, jot down a few notes so you don't forget...no. a hardcore, make lists of things you have already done so you can check something off and feel accomplished list maker. it is a little ridiculous, i know, but lists make me happy. they make me feel accomplished. they help motivate me to get things done. sometimes i am convinced that there is no joy like putting a check mark next to an object on your list. lists helped me get through the last 2 years. lists helped keep me sane. i have always been a list maker, and i think i always will.


[slurpee sunday with detoy]

happy wednesday everyone. 3 days.

f.r.e.e.

i never thought i would make it to this day. i never thought i would be able to say this...i. am. free. i know, i know, it may sound overdramatic [but you will all get over that], but that is how i felt when i walked out of my last final yesterday, freedom. i still don't think it has truly hit me, the fact that the tests, the homework, the case studies, the clinical hours...they are done. that concept, the concept of freedom, it is so foreign. i have felt that the last 6 years [especially the last 2] of my life were already planned out for me. that i didn't have a choice in my week to week activities. i felt like my life was not my own. but now, it is. i am excited to be able to sleep in on weekends, spend more time with my family, watch movies at night, go to church on a regular basis, etc. and i am excited. i am excited to see where this new chapter in my life takes me. what this new journey holds. where my career ends up. i am excited about the possibilities for the rest of my life. i am just so thankful for God blessing me with the opportunity to go through school [even though i complained the majority of the way]. i only hope that i am able to use this degree for his glory.

...that i may be a good steward...

4 days.