finally, an update!

Man, now that school is out I feel even busier! God has blessed me with lots of fun summer things to fill up my days, and it honestly couldn't be more thrilling. A couple of weeks ago I got a job at Carolina Yacht Club on Wrightsville Beach working in the club store! I'm so, so, so glad that I finally found a job, and at such a great place. From the "booth" where I sit I can see the ocean and the intercoastal waterway where the yachts and sailboats dock.

Apart from my new big girl job, I'm babysitting a lot too. My sweet, dear friends Jodi and Trace Adams have offered me a job watching their precious boys a day or two a week. Playing with Will and Tyler is so much fun, especially because they love to kill me in Wii Sports and take me to the neighborhood pool.

This weekend, though, was filled with less work and more play. Friday night Maegan, Matt, and me went to Walmart and had hoola hoop challenges and Bop It competitions. Saturday morning I spent some time at the beach, and then had some friends over to play Mexican train dominos (such a great game...if you don't know it, you should!). Then, Sunday I went to church, went to lunch with Tara and Maegan at Sticky Fingers, and then went to my friend Toni's wedding. The wedding and reception were both so much fun! I wish that I could seriously be a wedding crasher this summer because nothing is better than dancing and eating delicious food at weddings! Then, to end the wonderful weekend, today I spent the morning at the beach, then went to the beautiful, famous Airlie Gardens with my roommate Kelly and my friend Austin, and then we went to Emily and Graham's cookout. Practically all of my friends were there, and we played, or rather we attempted to play volleyball for hours. I love fun weekends in the summer!

Last but certainly not least I have a picture to post that has a crazy story behind it. My friend Austin got my roommate Sarah two baby chicks for her birthday. What? Chicks? Yes. That's right. Baby chicks. So for the last two weeks they've been living in our dining room inside of a box. They are super cute, but also super smelly and they poop in their water about every three minutes. Austin is taking them back to her farm in Greensboro on Thursday because we can't keep them at our rental house forever. It has been fun sort of raising them for a couple of weeks, but I think a couple of weeks is enough. But seriously, just look at how cute they are!

an abundance of blessings!

I am so, so, stinking, incredibly blessed. I wanted to just highlight some things from this past week that I've either learned something from or that has just been a huge blessing!

1. Reapplying sunscreen is a good idea, especially when it's 86 degrees at the beach and completely sunny and cloudless. I might have learned the hard way this time.

2. Couponing is my favorite thing. Actually, just saving money in any way is my favorite thing. This week was triple coupon week at Harris Teeter, and I got $50 of groceries all for under $10 thanks to some sweet coupon deals! And now I have more to eat than pb&j and fake-chicken flavored rice.

3. I have amazing friends. On Tuesday (the day given to us called Reading Day for "studying" in between the last day of classes and the start of exams), lots of friends came over to help do some yard work. The "before" yard was closely related to the overgrown Amazon jungle. The "after" yard looks like a yard. And now I can finally enjoy the hammock and the patio without being attacked by human-eating weeds and bugs.

4. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Enough said with that one.

5. Finding a job is hard! I've applied to 5 places, all of which seemed half-way promising, and haven't heard back from any of them. Hopefully, something will come up, or else I may really be eating pb&j and rice for the summer. Only kidding!

6. Free parking at the beach is amazing. My friend Tara lives at the beach, so I have the luxury of being able to park for free. She's moving in August so soon I'll have to suck it up and pay $2.00 per hour to park. Until then, the beach is my second home!


My "old" Young Life team. Brittany and Scott have both graduated, and B is getting married in July, and S is doing YL staff somewhere. They will both be missed so much, but I've been able to see the Lord through them and am so blessed to have been able to see the way they wholeheartedly love and serve high school kids.


Here's my new team! Katelyn and Matt are so great, and I'm so excited to continue my ministry alongside them. They have huge hearts, and are so enthusiastic to do what God has planned for them.



My dearest, best friend Maegan and I don't have very many pictures together. This is what happens when we try to capture the moment, though.


My bible study made up of mainly Young Life leaders and committee members, had Poker Night on Monday. We dressed up in costumes of our choice, and made virgin daquiris and ate way too much food!