moving.

dearest blogging friends.

i know its a pain to have to update your blogroll/bookmarks, but i have relocated my blog for the sake of more functionality / the hope of doing more than just blogging in the future. :)

my new blog is located at:

www.reflectionofgrace.wordpress.com

i would love it if you would all come visit me there & update your bookmarks / links accordingly. :) happy blogging!

my little soccer player.

my nephew kayson (who will be 4 in october) played his first soccer game! he is so precious & im sad that im not close enough to missouri anymore to come cheer him on. but. check out the pictures my sister sent of his first game & enjoy the cuteness. i am the luckiest aunt ever!

kicking the ball :) so cute

#8.

on the left running for the ball :)

sunday seven.

1. the speaker (who also happens to be my friend & former roomate) for the girls retreat arrives in 5 days. that means i have 4 days to finish everything that needs to be done. that means ill be working on monday which is supposed to be my day off. bummer.

2. my best friend whom i havent seen since january is in florida and because of the retreat i cant drive the 8 hours up to destin to see her. bummer.

3. i found "redeeming love" on clearance at a bookstore today for $2. this is both a bummer & freaking awesome. awesome because i already own it but for $2 have a really great gift to send to someone. bummer because it really is one of the best books ive ever read & its worth more than 2 bucks.

4. the buckeyes got killed tonight. major bummer.

5. 2 months from right now ill be spending a week in nashville. heck freaking yes. i cannot wait.

6. im realizing more & more lately how much i love my job. i am so blessed to get paid for what i do. i love these girls & am so thankful that God has allowed me to do this. (& to live on the BEACH while doing it!!)

7. lately i have been falling asleep with ESPN on the TV. partially because it reminds of being home & i miss my dad... but mostly because i have absolutely no interest in it and it puts me right to sleep. :)

retreating.

one week from today i will be getting ready to leave for the first annual GIRLS RETREAT. i am excited, nervous, overwhelmed with details, anxious, excited, excited & really excited. its going to be a girly weekend with lots of girly details & i absolutely love that i am able to be girly & get paid for it! to give you a little taste of the details & plans ive been working on... sitting here surrounding my desk in my office are lime green with white polka dots ribbon & clothes pins that have been painted purple & attached to little name cards with each girls name that will be clipped to the ribbon once we get there for them to write encouragement notes to each other. also my wonderful student ministry administrator & i made each girl a little rectangular scrapbook. a hand made scrapbook at that. seriously.. with chip board & fancy girly scrapbooking paper on 2 little rings. and everything that im printing for the retreat from notes pages & worship stations & daily devotionals & small group Q's and so on and so forth will fit right into their little scrapbook. AND we went shopping yesterday to buy all kinds of adorable decorations for the Luau Pool Party we'll be having Saturday night. Grass skirts & flower leis & tiki torches & flickering surfboard lights. & the precious lady that is doing food for me for the weekend is ready to do chocolate fondue for our "welcome party" on friday night. so many details, so much to work out... SO EXCITED & OVERWHELMED!!!

a little taste of what ive been working on ....

prayer cards that were sent out to some older ladies (older than me ladies) that i knew would commit to praying for 2 students for the month leading up to the retreat.

one of the pages that will be in their journal for them to take notes during each session.

sign that will be on the doors of the condos we're staying in.

ok. back to work. lots to do. thanks for letting me gush about girlyness.

grandpa.

although i havent talked much about it to anyone, losing my Grandpa back in April has been extremely hard on me. i woke up this morning thinking of him & wishing i could call & talk to him. and regretting all the times when he was alive that i could have called & talked to him or gone to see him & didnt. because i was too "busy" or too "tired" or some other bullcrap excuse i made up along the way. it's deifnitely not that i didn't love my grandparents dearly but i had a naive belief deep in my heart that they werent going anywhere. they'd always been around & even though my head knew better i dont think my heart ever believed that they wouldnt always be around. and so now that my Grandpa is gone i miss him every single day & my life truly feels different. i never realized while he was living the full extent of how much his love & support & just strong and steady presence impacted my life. but now that he's gone, there is a void that i couldnt have imagined would be this great until i experienced it for myself.

i am so thankful that my Grandpa was the kind of man that he was. i was reading an old blog post of mine the other day that was written 6 months before my Grandpa died. i was blogging about an upcoming trip to visit home while i was living in ohio & how i was anxious to see my Grandparents. and about my Grandpa i wrote :: "i wish it were hereditary to be the kind of person he is... heart of gold, genuine, lover of God above all else, strong, an incredible teacher & communicator, sacrificial, hard working, and truly caring about people no matter who they are or where they come from."

i never want to stop remembering who he was. i am so proud of him.