A picture is worth MORE than a 1000 words...

‎"Most of our life is a series of images, they pass us by like towns on the highway. But sometimes a moment stuns us as it happens, and we know that this instant is more than a fleeting image. We know that this moment, every part of it, will live on forever."

Tonight I was looking through an old photo album my dad put together for me of pictures when I was little. Ironically enough, a lot of them involved Granny. As I was looking through these pictures I really see how special and close our relationship was. Below are some pictures :) (sorry that the pictures are very tiny. Ill try to do some resizing later)



I was always Granny's little helper. Anytime we would go visit her, I would help her cook or clean the dishes. I loved being wherever she was. Granny was my safety net. I knew that no matter what when I was with her, I was 100% safe.


Granny always helped me figure out how my toys worked. I knew she would always be there to help me learn.


Back to the safety net, I always felt safest in her arms. She had this warm presence about her. She would hold me in her arms and all my worries would just fade away.


We bonded most on that swing. She and I would go outside into her backyard and swing and talk. A lot of times I would tell her stories that I made up off the top of my head about the most random things. I was never able to tell the same story twice. Haha. But she would always listen and every now and then ask me questions about my crazy stories. I loved when she would tell me stories about daddy and his brothers (George and David) and sister (Alice).


Granny and I always loved being silly. One day she had some new wigs come in and we decided it would be fun to try them on! :) I believe this was one of my most favorite days with her! Everytime I see a wig, I think about this picture and that day.


Granny even played with me and my new toys I got for Christmas. How cool is that?!?!


Even in the family photo she is always by my side watching over me. She was and always will be my Guardian Angel.


Granny hands down made the BEST chocolate cake!! Whenever we would go visit her, she made all kinds of goodies. She had a caramel cake for my dad because that was his favorite. She made a chocolate cake, carrot cake, homemade chex mix, she always had a jar of antique candy, circus peanuts and cookies. I think that is where my "fat kid camp" syndrome came from ;) I think tomorrow I am going to look for more pictures!

Timeless Memories

"Sometimes people write the things they cannot say."

I have decided to write a few blog entries about my Granny. She was such a phenomenal woman and I think it will help the overall healing process by sharing some great stories about her. It has been 2 and a half years since she passed away but she was such a big part of my life (20 our of the 22 years I have been alive). And anyone that knows me knows that I have a hard time letting go. Losing her really changed my life. I am not the same person I was 2 and a half years ago. I know that even though she is not physically here, doesnt mean that she is gone because I have all the memories we created. But there are days where I could really use her here. She always knew exactly what to say to make it all better. Oh how I miss her so much! When I was younger the family would always go up to see her the day after Christmas and spend a few days with her. So below is the last picture she and I took together which happens to be the day after Christmas when daddy and I went to Alabama to visit her.

"I can honestly say you've been on mind since I woke up today. I look at your photograph all the time. These memories come back to life."

For the past two days I have been thinking a lot about everything. Today all of the upperclassman moved back to Erskine. It is so weird to not be moving back to college. I still cannot believe that 4 years flew by. College was such a wonderful learning experience. I learned so much about Education (since that was my field of study :) ), life, myself, and so much more. I made some of the greatest friends ever! Also throughout the 4 years I lost some people. Given the chance to repeat the last 4 years, I would change a few things but then again I do not think I would be where I am at today. I had not been to the lake in a long time to take pictures of the sunset so I decided to go yesterday. Taking pictures really helps me escape the worries of life. Below are some of my favorite pictures I took:






There is nothing like a gorgeous sunset to help you heal!!

More pictures!

Here are some more pictures of my classroom. The first day of school was AMAZING!!! I love the people I work with. They are beyond awesome!! I am excited about what the rest of the school year has waiting for me!!

NEW JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since I cannot sleep at the current moment, I figured I would update my blog. A few new things have happened over the past few weeks. As of last Monday, I am currently an employed teacher of the Lexington/Richland School District 5. I will be teaching 6th Grade Math this year. I am BEYOND excited about my job! I started school last Thursday and my kids come this Thursday. The past few days have been very overwhelming but I am really excited about this school year! Below are some pictures of my classroom before and after. I have not taken any recent pictures of my room but I will today and add them soon!!




When I first walked into my portable this is what it looked like. I had to get all of that other stuff out before I could set up my stuff.



Now here are some pictures of my room after I got in there.





I have been working in my room like crazy this week. I will update soon :)

Rambo

The day after I graduated I went and got a puppy. His name is Rambo and he is a black/tan dachshund. We have another dachshund that we got when I was in the 6th grade. His name is Rocky. :) I have always wanted another dachshund and my parents said that I could get one after I graduated from college. However, they did not realize I was going to be so literal and get on the day after graduation!! The past few months have been very trying on me mentally, physically, and emotionally. Rambo has been such a blessing and allows me to love him unconditionally! Below are some pictures of him!



He loves my brothers dog Boone a lot!! They are the best of friends. Anywhere Boone is, Rambo is sure to be there soon!

Change

"Change. We don't like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. And it hurts to grow; anybody who tells you it doesn't is lying. But heres the truth: The more things change, the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh sometimes, change is good. Sometimes, change is everything."

This quote pretty much describes the last four months. I began student teaching in February and that was a huge change within itself. I had to adjust to being at the middle school every day and not have the "college life" so to speak. I was used to being at Erskine all day every day with classes and such and then all of a sudden that stopped. But I eventually adjusted. Then May 15th I graduated and yet again that was a huge change for me. It is still weird to think that 4 years of college has come and gone. So now I enter the "real world" and for once in my life I do not already have a set in stone plan. When I graduated high school my next step was attend college. Now that I have graduated college, I plan on getting a teaching job but right now with the economy...jobs are not readily available. Plus I do want to go to graduate school to start earning my masters but my application is not due until July so I will have to wait to find out if I get in. So right now I patiently wait and see what the Lord has instore for me!!

As a side note: I am in Tennessee this week on vacation with my dad's side of the family!! My aunt and her husband rent a huge cabin for the week and the WHOLE family comes up and stays!!! I am so excited for this week! Everyone started arriving today. I will try to get better at updating my blog so my goal is to try and update each day of vacation :)

God's Beauty

I love to take pictures! When I have a camera in my hand I get picture happy and snap tons of pictures. My favorite thing to pictures of is the sky. I am obsessed 100% with the clouds and the shapes they make. Last year I was at the park and took a picture of a cloud that was shaped like a heart. This was by far the coolest thing I had ever seen. Below is the picture:

Yesterday, I went down to Lake Murray to take pictures of the sunset. The sunset last night was breathtaking! I had never seen such a beautiful sky as I did last night. I was mesmorized and captivated by the beauty God was showing me. I love the clouds in this picture! I think the clouds really add to this picture. They are dark but gorgeous.

This one is my favorite picture that I took!!

I did not notice the sailboat at first but I think that it added to the picture!

I wish I was on that sailboat so I could see the sunset closer up!