Semester Wrap Up

I can not believe that the semester is already over. I am basically 2/3rds done with this job. It is sad and exciting all at the same time!

In my first semester of travelling I:

-lived in Indy for a month
-went on 56 plane rides
-visited 16 chapters
-went to 12 states
-became an expert on all things travel
-witnessed two adoptions in airports
-missed everyone at home so much
-ate at a restaurant by myself for the first time
-worked on my independence and stress management
-practiced my confrontation skills
-facilitated a bunch of workshops on everything from recruitment to social media use
-had a blast!

I learned and experienced so many things that I will never forget! I am resting a lot and preparing for next semester, I am sure that it will go by even faster than this one did!

Slacker!

I admit, I have been HORRIBLE at keeping up with my blog lately. Call it a mixture of being busy, preoccupied with other things, and partially lazy! : )

Since I last wrote I:

-Went to Green Bay, Wisconsin. I loved seeing all of the green and yellow because my Daddy is a big Packers fan! I visited St. Norbert's College, which was a beautiful campus! The women there were so sweet and it was a great one day visit!

-Next, I visited Alpha Xi Delta's 2nd chapter, Beta, at Iowa Wesleyan College. This chapter is 110 years old which I think is pretty incredible!

-I was SO excited for my last visit... YAY for visiting Gamma Tau at Ohio Northern University for the 3rd time this semester. I have really grown to love this chapter and my Sisters at ONU. I feel that when I am there we accomplish a lot and have a blast while we are doing it! I planned a retreat for the new Executive Committee, which I really enjoyed!

And finally... I came home for Christmas! I was so happy to see my family and friends. I cried when I saw my brother and am still so excited that he is home!

I have so much more to say about everything I have learned this semester and what I will be doing in January, but I am spending the day with Kyle so that will have to wait for another day! : )

Thanksgiving Wrap Up

I have to say, we had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Lots of good food was eaten, I got to watch the Macy's parade (I want to go one day!), and we got to spend time with family. It was a great day to reflect on all of the blessings in my life and to thank the Lord for all that he has given me. KP was definitely missed but it made me all that more excited to see him soon!

My favorite holiday dishes include: sweet potato sufle', green bean casserole, and "green stuff." Green stuff is something my Grammie has made for a longggg time for family get togethers. I have no idea what is in it other than jello and whipped cream, all I know is that it is yummy and it is good.

On Friday, Mama and I went on our usual Black Friday shopping trip. We trekked up to the Mall of Georgia at 5:00 a.m., shopped a lot, made a bunch more stops and then crashed back at home. That is one my favorite days of the year because I always have so much fun hanging out with my Mama! I hope that we keep this tradition for years in the future!

Saturday was my favorite day... Ross, Kerri, Nick, and I went to Athens to watch the UGA/Tech game. It was a BLAST! We made Kerri, who was formally the enemy's fan, do all of the chants and cheers with us. YAY! : ) It was great to be in a huge sea of red and black with some of my best friends watching our Dawgs kill Tech.

On Monday morning I left Atlanta for Prescott, Arizona. It was a ROUGH travel day to say the least, I was so happy to finally arrive. Only three more stops until Christmas! I cant wait! : )

Oops...

I will admit that I have been a total slacker when it comes to blogging lately! I will use the excuse of being incredibly busy plus just getting over being sick!

So what have I been up to? Well, since I last blogged I:

-went HOME! : ) I was in a friend's wedding, loved on my family and puppies, spent some quality time with my sweet man, and saw some of my best friends! It was a FAST three days but I loved every minute of it!

One of my favorites of us!

Little sandwich!

-travelled to the state of Michigan for the first time! I visited Albion College and Alma College. They are both small schools with such sweet girls! At Albion I got to stay at the sweetest bed and breakfast! I was in HEAVEN!

-got sick! : ( It was not fun, all I wanted was for my Mama and Ross to take care of me!

-and finally... came home again for Thanksgiving! It has been a great trip so far! I have spent a little time with Ross, had a day with my littles, purchased a new outfit for Saturday, seen my grandparents, hung out with my parents, and visited Daddy's work for a Thanksgiving lunch.

I am SO ready for my brother to be home.

On the Move

My trip to Lincoln was nice but extremely uneventful. Next, I was off to South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. My travel day started at 4:45 in the morning, so I was pretty tired. Thankfully, I had two smooth plane rides and got there on time!

As soon as I got to the Epsilon Eta house, the Sisters gave me a tour. The house was just built and it is BEAUTIFUL! They did a great job designing it, the bathrooms and kitchen were incredible! Unfortunately, I was the first "guest" to stay there, which meant that I was the first to use the guest bathroom shower. We soon found out that it was built incorrectly and floods... the entire bathroom, across the hallway, and into the guest bedroom. Yikes!

I didnt know how Halloween would go on the road, but I actually had a great day! The chapter I was with held a Halloween Festival for the community. So many children came in the most adorable costumes! My favorites included a hotdog, bumblebee, and Snow White. Hands down the most popular costume? Ninjas!

After the festival, we all went to the chapter house where I gave a program on social media use! Woo! : ) Here are some of the inspirational quotes I used (thanks, Pinterest!):

So after South Dakota, it was time for me to go back to the University of Iowa to visit my Sisters at Sigma. It was a rough travel day but I love being with this chapter, so it has been a great trip so far! They always spoil me and take me to get Starbucks (11/30 to my Gold Card!), cupcakes, and tours of beautiful Iowa City!

Last night, three of us camped out in the basement and watched the election results. As sad and concerned as I know so many of us are, I am more determined than ever that we need to pray for our country and for our leaders. Our country needs Jesus more than ever.

Tomorrow, I get to go home. So excited for a fun-filled, busy weekend full of wedding fun, friends, and family! See you all soon! <3

Go Dawgs!

Honestly I had a pretty low-key weekend so the only reason I am blogging is to say GO DAWGS!

Yesterday UGA played Florida and after a very exciting game came up with a victory! An added bonus to winning is that it put my sweet man in a fabulous mood, which I always love! : )

For my birthday, my parents bought us tickets to the UGA/Tech game... SO EXCITED! Kerri and Nick are also going so it is sure to be a blast!

Glory, Glory!

Busy, Busy!

Three schools later and I feel like blogging again! : )

My trip to Ohio Northern was SO great. Those women repeatedly show me what Sisterhood is. They are so much fun to be around and I am looking forward to my return visit in December!

On Thursday night during my stay, we decided to make an impromptu road trip to Toledo. My chapter there, Theta Chi, was having their Fuzzie Funnel Cakes philanthropy event, and funnel cakes are just too yummy to pass up! Allie, Robyn, and I had a blast and surprising the women at Toledo was such a highlight of this trip!

The girls in green are from ONU and the ones in yellow are from UT!

 Gamma Tau had a very busy week while I was there. One of the highlights was Big Sis Discovery! As I sat there and watched all of the happy Big/Lil pairs, it made me think of how excited I was to get my Big, Brittany. I also started to think of my Littles, too. My life would definitely not be the same without those special women!

The chapter had a Halloween themed Sisterhood event. The Sisters dressed up in adorable group costumes and had a birthday cake for all of the October birthdays. It was so sweet of them to include me!

The biggest event of the week was the chapter's Fall Carnival which raised money for Autism Speaks. It was somewhat stressful making sure that it all came together but we had a blast and it was a great event! Some of the highlights were: pumpkin smashing, hay rides, corn hole, and lots of delicious food! Two of the Theta Chi girls came up to support the event, I was so happy to see them again!

Next, my travels took me to the Epsilon Xi chapter at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. It was a relatively short trip but I really enjoyed getting to know an entirely new chapter of women! They were so nice and accomodating. The first full day I was there was not the best day for me. A few minutes before I went to bed, the girls came in with a jewelry box they made me that was full of sweet notes inside. I was so touched and humbled!

The next two days were full of mall trips, midnight Walmart runs, crafting Halloween costumes, and going to see the St. Louis Arch! I was so excited to go see it! I had  no idea how HUGE it is! We went up to the top of it and it has a great view!

Yesterday I arrived at Rho Chapter at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This house is GORGEOUS! It is almost 100 years old and has so much history! I got a tour of campus and got to see all of the other fraternity and sorority houses. Today is their family day and a home game against Michigan. I guess I will be cheering for the Huskers as well as the Dawgs today! : )

Priorities

 

 

 Tomorrow I am facilitating a program about priorities. Not only will it fill a programming requirement for this chapter but I hope it will be beneficial. I started searching on Pinterest for quotes about priorities. I think quotes always spice up presentations! One of the quotes I found that really stuck out to me is "You know how you can tell that something is a priority? It is DONE." I liked this because it is true. We invest the most time and energy into the things that we are putting first. 

Thinking about this has led me to examine my own priorities. My Grandaddy has always taught our family the importance of the Lord, our country, and our family. My parents constantly show us that having priorities is so important.

I started looking for what the Bible says about priorities. I found so many verses that reminded me of where the Lord wants my time to go:

 

"But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness..." Matthew 6:33

 

"Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might." Deuteronomy 6:5

Hermione might not have had the best priorities.
(The women are going to LOVE my HP reference!) : )

Home.

I can not tell you how great it felt to be at home. I was a happy girl this weekend.

Wednesday I was so excited that I couldn't stand it. After a slightly stressful day of travelling in which I almost missed my flight from Chicago to Atlanta, I arrived in the Atlanta airport. American apparently has their own little baggage claim, so it took Ross and I a few minutes to find each other. I can not tell you how happy I was to finally see him. He looked rather handsome in his shirt and tie (he had come from work) AND he was carrying red roses. Tear. We drove home and Mama, Daddy, and Roxy were waiting for us with chicken and dumplings for dinner. I was so happy to see them all, but I definitely missed my brother not being there.

Thursday was my day with my Mama. We went to see Grammie, which made me so happy. Then we went to the Mall of Georgia to shop, shop, shop! I bought some warm clothes so that I wont freeze in the winter. After a yummy lunch and lots of catching up, we went and picked Grammie back up and went out to eat with her and Daddy. Daddy and I went to Verizon after dinner and I got an iPhone. Exciting, except for paying the bill myself. Time to grow up, I suppose! : )

Friday, Grandmother and I went to breakfast and went shopping. We went by Enterprise and saw Ross and took him to lunch. I went and visited with a few good friends that evening and then Ross and I headed to Carrollton. We went to a yummy anniversary/birthday dinner at Olive Garden and then went our separate ways to see friends.

Saturday (my birthday!) we went to breakfast and then to Zeta Omega's Fuzzie Football tournament which raises money for Autism Speaks. It was so good to see my friends, I have missed them so much. Ross and I took his little sister, Alli to lunch and then spend the rest of the afternoon shopping together. I have missed him SO much. It was so nice to be able to spend so much time with him this weekend. I know that I wore him out and he didnt get as much rest as he normally does on weekends, but I am thankful for our time together.

Saturday evening my parents cooked us a great birthday dinner. My best friend, Kelly, my Big, Brittany and her sister Blair, and one of my littles, Randi came over. I have missed them all so much and loved getting to spend some time catching up. I am blessed with some amazing friends!

Sunday we went to church and then to Grandmother and Grandaddy's for my birthday lunch. It was so nice getting to spend the afternoon with my family. We missed my brother so much, I was so excited when he Facetimed me later that evening. For dinner, my other little, Kerri and her boyfriend Nick came over. We have missed our friends and definitely enjoyed the evening together.

The worst part of the weekend, by far, was having to say goodbye. I am a big baby and always cry. I am thankful to know that I will only be gone for a month!

 

 

"If home is where the heart is, then my home is where you are."

Almost...

Tomorrow. I am going home tomorrow. Those words make me smile as I type them. I am looking forward to spending four days with my favorite people in the world. I know it will go by too fast but I am going to soak up every minute while I can.

Here is the tentative game plan:

-Wednesday: Ross is picking me up from the airport. I imagine it will be like a scene from a movie: we will slow run to each other... until I trip over my luggage and lay sprawled out in the middle of Hartsfield Jackson until he scoops me up. : ) Mama and Daddy will be waiting for us at home with chicken and dumplins on the stove! Heaven!

-Thursday: This is Mama and Daddy's Day. We are going to see Grammie in the morning and then going shopping. I HAVE to get warm clothes! We are also making a trip to Verizon at some point, I may be joining the iPhone world.

-Friday: Grandmother and I are spending the day together. SO excited about that! After Ross gets off work we are going to eat dinner to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday! We are heading to Carrollton to hang out with friends that evening.

-Saturday: Ross and I are spending the day together. Saturday evening my parents are grilling out steaks and we are having my birthday party!

-Sunday: BUSY last day! Church, family birthday lunch and then to Grandmother and Grandaddy's house to open presents and hang out. That evening, I get to see Two and Nick. The worst part of this day will definitely be saying goodbye to Ross that evening.

-Monday: Mama is dropping me off at the airport. It will be time to hit the road again!

I.Am.So.Excited.

5 Years

Today is my 5 year anniversary with Ross. Woah. I had no idea when I met him that 5 years later we would still be together, loving life and each other! We have been through so many things in the past 5 years...

We have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries...

 

 

holidays and accomplishments.

 

 

 

 

We have dressed up, gone out, and had a blast!

 

 

 

We have gone to formals and semi formals.

4 Homecomings.

 

 

 

2 concerts.

 

 

Many major sporting events.

 

 

 

 

Some of my favorite memories though, were the times we spent with friends, just hanging out.

 

 

We were busy with our Fraternity and Sorority.

 

 

 

We danced at weddings and formals.

 

 

And we have been so silly together!

 

 

When I look at all of these pictures, I cant help but smile as I think of the memories they represent. I am so lucky to have spent the past 5 years with such an amazing man and I am looking forward to many more! I love you, Ross!

"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay." 1 Ruth 1:16