love...

jammin with bell to these songs while we do our school



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cO8CJZBUpA



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZmG5_ObaNo



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lhf9U5Wf3Q



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHF9itPLUo4&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhduQhDqtb4



ps- most of the time, i wish i didn't know what the singer looked like : )

20. getting presents for people and wrapping them up in cute and pretty pink!

21. new finds from the thrift store down the road

22. birthday flowers

23. magical backyard birthday decor

24. I'm done with school tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a fun night with sisters

tonight mary, bell, and i headed over to central library to grab some old timey movies mar had put on hold. the day was full of thunderstorms, but the sky ended up being simply gorgeous and everything felt fresh and vibrantly green. we laughed almost the whole time. bell snapped a gazillion pictures for me. bell- "vroooooooooom...boom!" bell repeatedly turning the radio back to obnoxious songs, for instance "forget you" and "raise your glass." while in the grocery store, them busting out laughing as i tried to get peanuts, while a shapely family neglected to hear my excuse me's or notice my efforts. they, thankfully and finally, left the aisle. watching about 15 police officers bust up something going on at the crazy bull restaurant. b-"i wasn't talking about ___. i was talking about mary." m-"oh, so you're saying i am a thumbtack?" then we all crack up. girls, i had a blast with you and wouldn't trade nights like these for the world.

And bell, all the pics you took cracked me up : )

13. cute, happy younger siblings

14. a funny goalie

15. cute little notes

16. these vines that almost form a wall

17. weeds

18. gorgeous sunsets

19. an early birthday present from amanda. such a sweet thoughtful gift, it was one day hers.

ninetenagainagain

9. enjoying some skinny dip with garrett on a pleasant spring evening

10. flower vases in the window- especially arranged by bell : )

11. school nights with nail painting, chick fil a, a fine frenzy, and random dollar bills thrown my way

12. another pretty little flower. flowers really brighten up my days in the simplest way.

life is full of things to be grateful for

7. when outside looks green and semi hazy, but in an extraordinarily cheerful way. it's quite lovely.

8. satisfying a tiny bit of my intense desire to visit the city by driving around the outside of norfolk. love old buildings like this one

i've seen a few different people recording things they are thankful for on blogs and facebook. so i think i'll give it a try. i want to remember the little, everyday things that make me smile. so i'm going to be posting a series of 500 things i am thankful for. these might be things, people, sights, smells, etc. some will come with pics, others, well not so much. i hope this will help me to remember to look for ways to be more grateful and to complain less.

okay so the first few

1. the lights in the tree over our back porch

2. returning safely home from school today, although there was heavy traffic.

3. friday afternoons, hanging with chels and jake

4. late night, unexpected, talks with jap while she's crashing our house to spend

5. time to read psalms and comforts from the cross

6. flipflop weather



on another note, i was recently assigned a school project called random acts of kindness. the idea is that you perform a random kindness to someone you do not know. for the project, a friend and i bought pale buttery yellow daisies and crisp white daisies and placed them in glass vases. we then headed up to BAL, a building at ODU, and handed them out to a few random people in various offices. the ladies were surprised but eager to receive the little gift to brighten their offices. the men were a little less eager, but still accepted. it got me thinking of other things i could do to bless strangers.
there are a few janitors that i see frequently in the halls of odu buildings. i wanted to find a small way to bless some of them. i try to say hello and thank them whenever i see them, and they often seem shocked i would acknowledge them, which is sad in my opinion. i bought a few ghirardelli chocolate bars to give them the next time i passed by. today i had an opportunity to do so.
i passed a black lady, probably in her fifties, today in BAL. i said hello and thanked her for what she did and said i had bought the candy bar for her. she oohed and ahhed at the "fancy kind" and the rasberry filling. after exchanging names i talked to her for while just asking her questions. i learned she works to support her 11 year old granddaughter, whom she has custody of. she told me about her church and then as we were about to part ways said thanks again. she began to laugh and said she was going to brag to her fellow workers that she'd been given a gift. haha, she was so sweet and smiley.
i was very grateful for the opportunity and will be keeping Justine in my prayers. i hope to see her again soon!