So, I'm back. Once again attempting to blog on a regular basis. Maybe my posts will not be all that interesting, because I'm not in France on a vineyard all summer. No, I am in Arkansas, living in the wonderful town of Paragould.
Up until now, my summer has consisted of early mornings, preparing my morning's soy latte with a double shot of espresso. Yea, no big deal. Then it's off the Paragould OBGYN office, getting ready for a day of grumpy pregnant women's phone calls, making numerous fee slips, and checking patients in and out. At five I would get off work, and rush over to Sonic (America's Drive-In).
The Sonic part of my day was the part I dreaded. You see, I could handle sitting in my nice comfortable chair in the office, resting in air-conditioning, snacking every couple of hours, and getting to talk to my Daddy a whole lot. Yet, at Sonic, the story is most definitely not the same. I came back to this job, after a year's absence in Kentucky, and was immediately thrown into the thick of things again. This means that I was elbow deep in strawberry sauce, splattered with whipped cream, bits of M&Ms, Snickers, Reese's Cups, and Oreos caught in my hair, stung by squeezed lime and lemon juice in the cuts of my hands, and just plain STICKY.
I do not recommend this to anyone, Sonic is the worst summer job in the world. People are sweaty, you are sweaty, customers are rude, and managers are antsy about their "ticket time". Gosh, what a horrible memory. So, after a long talk with my boyfriend Dylan, time spent in prayer, and deep consideration, I quit that job. It was actually a big blow out where my manager ended up yelling at me and telling me to not even bother coming back (because I couldn't finish up my last couple of shifts, due to the fact that I was going out of town. Also, Sonic was no longer a priority of mine...I mean come on).
Now that I no longer work at Sonic, and am not needed as much in my Dad's office, life has gotten considerably better! I am not completely exhausted by 16 hour work days, starting at 8 in the morning and going until 12:30 or 1 the following morning. Talk about serious sleep deprivation. ANDDDD I think that during that time I was slaving over two jobs and minimal amounts of sleep, I saved up enough money for school next year AS WELL AS Italy!!!
Oh yea, I leave for Italy in 2 weeks, and counting! I am really excited and praying for a safe journey as well as a fruitful stay. My best friend Kate is coming with me, and we are meeting up with my Italian love Anna and my best friend Sarah (the one on the vineyards in France for the summer).
But here are some picture recaps of my summer, just to give you an idea of all the fun I've had. No, it has not all been some crazy work experience, that was mostly the beginning of the summer. Thank the Lord that part is over!
This was me leaving Arkansas for a road trip up to Kentucky. Isn't Arkansas...um...pretty?
Ah, that's more like it. This is wonderful Kentucky. I really love it here.
Yet another road trip!
Ok, have you ever been to a drive-in theater? If not, you NEED to go. They are awesome! This one cost $5 a person, you can bring your own food and drinks, and they show two movies! I saw Pirates of the Caribbean 4, as well as X-Men. Both for $5. Talk about a good deal.
On the day of my friends Casey and John's wedding, I decided to take the morning to be by myself. I got some much needed coffee rom Starbucks, then headed to Panera for some Jesus/coffee/food time. I read 1 John while waiting for my friends Victoria, Jessie, and my new little soccer sister Samantha. 1 John is all about love, and I LOVE love. I am such a romantic when it comes to Jesus, which is why my favorite book of the Bible is Song of Solomon. It's just so in your face about how much Jesus loves you, and that He will always love you, love me.
Yes, 1 John contains the famous 3:16 verse, and it is a HUGE verse. How wonderful is our God to show us, the ones who put His son on a cross to be murdered when all He wanted to do was love us, what real love is. Real Love. Not the kind you see in a cheesy chick-flick at the movie theater, but the kind that was nailed to a tree, dripping with blood, and screaming in agony. That is real love. We are so unworthy of this love, yet Jesus gave it to us willingly! What an awesome God we have!
This is real love- not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
-1 John 5:10
Isn't it cool that love is mentioned 3 times in that verse? I like to think, even though I have absolutely NO authority over this, that there are 3 loves in this sentence to show the perfection the Trinity brings to love. Just a thought.
This was Jessie and me after we took care of some wardrobe malfunctions int he parking lot. She really is one spectacular girl, and I was so blessed to get to hang out with her for the majority of the day that Monday. On top of that, isn't she gorgeous??
Ah, the ceremony. It was so pretty. I loved the two cello players that played the opening song to Pride and Prejudice as the blushing bride Casey walked down the isle.
There's the groom John to the very last. He was sooo excited. The night before, at he rehearsal dinner, he kept smiling like a little child and saying, "It's like Christmas Eve!" These two were definitely made for each other, and what a privilege it was to watch as the two became one.
The Daddy's kiss goodbye. So precious.
That's right, I snagged this shortly after they were wed. They were actually supposed to be taking photos with the wedding photographer, but you know how I roll. Sneakin in and getting the awesome shot.
So, a couple of days before my Mom's birthday, my Dad surprised her with a moped! She was so shocked, the look on her face was priceless. I can not think of a woman who deserves this anymore than my very own super-Mom. She is awesome. How she does all she does really amazes me, and I am so proud to call her mine.
My Dad was so cute the days leading up to the big revealing. He was really nervous about it all going well, and when he gets nervous he likes to repeat things, a lottttt. I can't tell you how many times he repeated where my little brother Peter and I were supposed to go to pick up the moped, where to take it next, how to pay for it, to get her a helmet, and so on and so forth. If I wasn't to wrapped up in how cute of an excited husband he was, it would have gotten on my nerves. But it just didn't, he was too darn pumped about this.
His smile was as big as hers when she saw it. Ah, love.
This past week I was blessed with a relaxing trip to Kentucky Lake. My family always stays at this resort called The Moors in Gilbertsville, KY. I remember doing this ever since I was reallyyyyy little. Usually, my whole family goes, but this year it was just my immediate family and friends. My parents allow us to bring friends every time we come, to entertain us I guess? Well, my older brother Adam came for the first weekend with his best friend Adia from Columbia, Missouri. He's there for the summer working and taking some summer classes. Adia is so fun, and has come to visit our family before. We all love her a ton and enjoy having her around.
Peter and Bill, my younger twin brothers, brought their friend Connor. He turned out to be super funny, and had the absolute wildest stories I have ever heard. My boyfriend Dylan came on Sunday night, shortly after Adam and Adia left unfortunately.
The days were filled with tubing, water skiing, reading, eating, sleeping, movies, and just fun relaxation. I was so sad to leave, and felt like it went by way to fast. Don't you hate that? When you want something to go by slowly, it just zooms by! Oh well.
These are my outrageous brothers. Adam is on the left, he's the one who now lives in Missouri. Bill is to my left, and Peter is on his other side in the bright blue shirt. Yea, I know, they don't look like twins. They aren't identical, and everyone always thinks that Peter and I are the twins, or at least should be the twins.
I love these crazy guys so much, and wouldn't want anyone else for my brother(s). It's weird that we're all growing up now and moving away from each other. I want to be one of those families that stays in touch even after the children do not live together anymore. I don't know what I would do without them. Yea, they're completely bonkers, but who wants a normal family??
Well, that's is until next time. Hopefully "next time" will be sooner than the last time!
