A long, long time ago...

 

This is a photo of Mom, me, and Santa when I was almost 2.  I was quite scared of the big man in a weird red outfit and long white beard. He apparently found it humorous.

Happy Christmas Eve! I hope it is lovely. 

work sucks

I did nothing all day. I woke up at 11:30 and have been in sweats all day long. I haven’t put shoes on once. I did shower. But only because I have to go to work at 9 pm…PM…what? yeah. American Eagle sucks the life out of me. I’ll drive an hour to go work a stupid night shift that won’t end until at least 5 am…maybe later. It is money. I need money….This is what I keep telling myself so that I actually go. Because nothing in me wants to go. I want to stay home by this nice warm fire and pretty lit tree. Growing up isn’t always fun, but sadly, it is unavoidable.

Home Love

I am a homebody. I LOVE being home more than most people I know. I love walking up to my front door and smelling the wood fire burning inside. I love seeing my Mom standing there waiting for me as soon as I open the door to help me carry anything in. I love seeing the Christmas tree all lit with ornaments that my sister and I made when we were little. I love being bombarded by my giant black lab, Charlie.I love seeing pictures of my family all around the house. I love home. It means so much to me. I can't wait for the day when I can bring my kids here, to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I hope they love it just as much as I do.

Here are a couple photos that I snapped while at home. I will have many more throughout the break.

this one was being difficult and decided to not upload straight....

I made it.

I have yet another completed semester under my belt. I am blown away at how fast the last two years have passed. I love finishing tasks, and I consider the semester one BIG task. So YAY! Task complete. I Have only three more semesters of classes and then a semester of student teaching, which I am both incredibly excited for and super duper nervous at the same time. I feel like I have grown and changed A LOT in this semester alone. I went through some things that were very challenging but I made it out stronger. I started a new job on campus, one of the most challenging and time consuming jobs that there is. I loved (almost) every minute of it! It has really helped me learn how to manage my time which is such an important skill. I've also been stretched by it spiritually and socially. It has held me more accountable for the things that I do and say. I've also had to reach out of my little comfort zone and talk to people that I normally would have no interest in talking to. I am so thankful for this job. I also went through the loss of a best friend and boyfriend, all in one person. Break ups are never easy. But I think that I became much more independent through it. I realized that I do not need another human to be fulfilled. I am enough through Christ. That lesson alone was worth the pain. I've always been searching to be complete through earthly things and I finally understand that I was looking in all the wrong places. I got a tattoo as a reminder of this just last week. It is a small outline of a heart on my left ring finger.

I have three whole weeks off from class. I'm not sure what I will do with myself. I have lots of things in mind like...sewing, crafting, sleeping, baking, shopping, taking pictures and just enjoying this precious time. Hopefully I will be blogging more now that I have a little break from all the crazy stuff. 

Loves,

Shelby

How Is It So?

That...

Last I checked it was only August...hmph. Well, I suppose the coming of December brings a few good things.

The end of the semester.

Christmas break.

Christmas presents.

Time with family :)

Snow.

The coming home of a certain boy man currently in Afghanistan.

I am certainly most excited for the latter of these 6. And also. Eight days after December is over I will be 21, which is also worth being excited about. 

The Greatest

Over the weekend I watched a new movie called The Greatest. It was great. I didn't know anything about it when I started watching so I had no expectations. Those are always my favorite. I don't really want to give it away (for all of the 3 people that read my blog) but it is a beautiful love story. It made me cry, but it also warmed my heart in an odd way. It think that if I were in her situation, I would do the exact same thing.

So, go rent it from RedBox and fall in love with it like I did. 

Photo Love

Muh desk space

window view

girl time

cloudy day window view

Just missing Mel and Ash

Dress up with Grandma

the docks

B & D pic

Blessed to have this view 

Thanks for this one, Hal.

These are just a few photos from the last couple of months. I don't usually post many, but these were begging for some viewing.