My happy list

Some things that make my heart happy today:

-Fresh flowers
-Seeing my niece grow in my sissy's belly
-Pumpkin coffee being sold at Fresh Market
-Catching the right bus to campus
-Wedding festivities for 2 of my very best friends
-Cycling classes
-A good book [Jodi Picoult's 'Nineteen Minutes' to be exact]
-A new UNC t-shirt [you can never have too many]
-Amazing, thoughtful, selfless roommates


Have you ever sat back and taken a moment to think about how blessed you are? I am striving to do this more often... to take the time to count my blessings and realize how great life really is. I truly feel that I am right where I need to be. There are so many exciting things on the horizon and I am welcoming change with open arms! It is emotionally exhausting to constantly be in a negative environment. It is amazing how different life is when you are surrounded by encouraging, loving people. And I know God placed my new roomies in my life for this exact reason. I am so very thankful for positivity, friendship, Fall weather quickly approaching, and the exciting weekend plans for this semester! Cheers to senior year!

Ella James update

I have been slacking on my baby updates. My niece's name is officially Ella James Page! We will call her Ella James. She is growing so big and I know she will be here before we know it! Keehln's belly looks like a basketball, it is so cute!

24 weeks



Dad's at it again!

A few of you might remember reading my post about my dad's bike ride from Greenville to Key West to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club. Well, he's at it again. This time from Greenville, NC to New Brunswick, Canada. He rode 230 miles yesterday... and will continue to do that until he completes this journey. Just the thought of that makes me tired. Please keep him in your prayers and follow his journey here: http://riding4areason.blogspot.com/

3 years: 3 lessons

In just a couple of weeks it will be mine and Garrett's 3 year anni! It feels like just yesterday we went on our first date and I had butterflies the whole time, then called my mom and told her he seemed too good to be true. Well, he is still as amazing as day 1. Me and my best friends were talking about relationships and we came to the conclusion that after 2 years of dating, things "get real". Up until that point you are still in the "honeymoon phase" where everything is new and exciting. Don't get me wrong, it's still great after 3 years, but things are more serious, your patience can get tested, and you learn each other's pet peeves and weaknesses. I have learned so much in the past 3 years, about myself and about life in general. The 3 main things I have learned in the past 3 years are:

1) His plans are greater than our plans. I am very Type-A and tend to think that the plan I have for my life is the best plan. Thankfully, God used our relationship to teach me otherwise. If you would have told G and I 3 years ago that he would not be playing professional baseball today, we would have both laughed in your face. My man is gifted at throwing a baseball. Like mid- to upper-90's gifted. He had plans of being a baseball player for a looong time. That's where the Lord stepped in and decided he didn't want me being lonely 8 months out of every year (thank you, Lord). 3 surgeries, elbow reconstruction, and many injuries later, professional baseball was not in his [our] future. I'm not gonna lie, he was heartbroken, I was heartbroken for him, and we both went through a semi-identity crisis. Baseball was his life for 22 years, then it was ripped from him without any warning. It sucked. Looking back, we couldn't be more thankful for this blessing in disguise. We had never known what it was like to spend the weekends together, we got a dog, and our lives did not revolve around baseball anymore. We see what a lot of our best friend couples go through that play pro ball and it is hard. I really feel for them and looking back, I do not think I could have lived like that. God knew this and was looking out for me :)

2) Distance makes the heart grow fonder. 3 years together, 3 summers long distance. 2 summers of G playing summer ball, and this summer he is living in Raleigh and I'm in Greenville. Distance sucks, but it does make us appreciate our time together more. The first summer we dated I only got to visit him once in Cape Cod. When he took me back to the airport, I bawled the whole way. And on both planes (I'm ridiculous). Now, when we are lucky enough to see each other every other weekend, we take advantage of our time and do not take our time together for granted.

3) Every young couple should get a dog. When we got Bella, we had no idea what we were in for. We knew it would be a lot of work, but we didn't really know how much she would change our lives. She taught us responsibility, time management, and team work. We could no longer leave for hours or for the weekend, we had to plan our lives around when she needed to eat and go out. But let's be honest, nothing is more adorable than seeing G and Bella cuddled up together ;)

Here's to many, many more! Xoxo

Bucket list

If you know me at all, you know that I am not exactly "spontaneous". I love a schedule and a routine. However, I find myself envious of people that decide at the last minute that they want to do something, and they just pack up and go without thinking. In 3 weeks I am moving in with 3 amazing girls for my last year of college (how is that possible??) and I am vowing to myself to make it the best year yet. Some of the things that are on my bucket list for the next year include:

• Go to Charleston, SC. I literally think that I am the only person in the world that has never been. (99% chance that Garrett and I are spending New Years there with our best friends Morgan and Greg, fingers crossed!)
• Spend a few many Chapel Hill afternoons on the porch at Bob's
• Become the best aunt ever (this will be happening on November 13 ;) )
• Go somewhere tropical with all the girls for my last Spring Break. It will be nearly impossible to top SB2k12, but I want to try.
• Spend a winter weekend in the mountains in a cute log cabin

I know I will be adding to this list, but this is what I have for now. Hopefully I will be able to check these off my list in the next 12 months!

busy week!

The past week has been a whirlwind! It has been so busy, but so great. Last friday I finally summoned enough courage to press "SEND" on my PA school application. I have been working on that bad boy for months. Every hour I have spent shadowing had to be written down and explained, all my extracurricular activities explained, volunteer experiences, "personal statement", reference letters, transcripts, coursework, grades, etc. etc. Needless to say, after Garrett convinced me that nothing could possibly be done to make it any more "perfect", we went to Mellow Mushroom for celebratory beers and pizza.

Then we headed to my favorite place on this earth: the beach. I can't quite put into words how much I love being there. I literally feel myself starting to relax as I drive over the AB bridge. The weekend was amazing, as always. We went to dinner at my favorite place on the water, Front Street Grill, with mom and my aunt, uncle, and cousin.

I woke up Sunday to this view:

(this is Heaven to me... coffee and the beach)

I came to the sad realization that the weekend was over and it was time for Garrett to head back to Raleigh and for me to start studying for my microbiology test. Micro was my last of 12 PA prerequisite classes, thank goodness. I needed a 58 or higher on my test Monday to make an A in the class and not have to take the final exam on Wednesday. I left my test confident that I made at least a 59 and headed straight back to the beach for my very short 48 hour break before second summer session started.

My best friend since 6th grade, Kate, and her momma, Kathy, met me there. Lucky for us, our moms are best friends too! The 4 of us had such a fun time, as we always do. [Side note: Kate's brother, Shain, is Cam Newton's personal assistant... how cool is that?! Go Panthers!]  Kate and I are complete opposites, but that's why we get along so well... she is my very best friend and always will be :)



After a full day of babysitting at the beach on Wednesday I headed back to Greenville to get ready for the first day of second session class, which started this morning at 8am (shoot me in the foot). Then the driving continued as I headed to Fremont to drop Bella off with Garrett's parents. They are going to keep her for a week to give me a break (yes she is only a dog, and yes you would need a break too. she is exhausting). It would be embarrassing if I told you how much I miss her...

Garrett's Nana lives right across the street from his family so I stopped in to say 'hey' and give her a hug and I left with a belly full of delicious food. Her amazing cooking is one of the many reasons we love her so much :) She is Garrett's favorite person on this earth, hands down. Every time he goes home she is the first and last person he sees. The other day I was joking with Garrett and asked if I was getting on his nerves, and he said "there is only one person in the world that doesn't ever get on my nerves". I clearly thought he meant me... but he said "my Nana". I am A-ok with being 2nd place to her... she is an amazing grandma and an amazing lady. If you have a grandparent half as great as Garrett's Nana, you are lucky.

The traveling continues tomorrow as I head back to the beach right after class. 9:30am can't come soon enough. Have a great weekend!



it's a GIRL!

As I'm sure you have seen by now, Keehln and Colt's baby is a GIRL!!!!!!! We planned a "gender reveal" party for them at my mom's house and it was a blast. Mom and I met with the cake lady earlier in the week and handed her the envelope with the gender inside. When she delivered the cake Thursday afternoon I was so anxious to look at the inside. (How cute is that cake?!?)

We decorated the house in blue and pink. It turned out so cute!

Voting for girl or boy with small pacies

On the invitation we told everyone to dress in pink or blue... whichever you thought the baby would be. Here are the results:

team blue... the LOSERS

team pink... the WINNERS!!!

Now it was time for them to cut the cake. They were sooo nervous! Keehln cheated... she made one cut then pulled the knife out and said, "I THINK IT'S PINK!" Then the cake fell onto the plate and she yelled "PINK!" and everyone starting screaming and the tears started flowing. As mom and I said, you could have knocked us over with a feather. I would have bet all my money (which isn't much) that it was a boy. I had prepared myself for baseballs and toy trucks and all things blue. But really, I was hoping for a little girl to spoil to death with bows and baby Uggs and dresses.



We were all completely, 100% shocked. My candid reaction (tears and all):

I honestly could not be more excited to have a niece in November. I am counting the days until I get to hold that sweet little girl!

sisters :)

proud parents! and you can't even tell she's preggo...



18 weeks!

Baby update!! Keehln will be 18 weeks tomorrow and she finally has a baby bump!

Today we went to her gender ultrasound appointment. It was so amazing to see the baby's face, spine, tiny feet, arms, legs, and fingers. They could clearly see the gender of the baby and were "99% confident about it", but we don't know it yet. We will find out Thursday at the gender reveal party we are having for Keehln and Colt. Me, mom, and Eliza have been planning this party for the past month or so. I absolutely cannot wait for them to cut that cake and see blue or pink icing, eeeeeek! I have a very strong feeling as to what the baby is, we will see if I'm right or wrong on Thursday ;)

Side view of my precious niece/nephew!

Happy parents

An arm and a leg

Keehln's weekly growing bump: