life update

Life update!

Hello everyone! Since I have been a major slacker, here is an update from about the last 4 months!

May:

            After finals, I got to go to the beach with sus! We, of course, went to Isle of Palms, SC! We had a blast as usual! Its always so much fun to have a girls trip with my mom! Pretty much all we did was wake up early for the gorgeous sunrises, drink lots of coffee, read, eat delicious food, and soak up a little sun! Here are a few pictures from the trip!

lunch at SNOB!

Sunrise

            When the beach trip was over, it was back to reality…school. Yes, I took summer classes and it was as enjoyable as it sounds. You got it, awful. I took a climatology class and a math class. There were about 10 people in my math class and 6 people in my climatology class. I had math from 9 – 11:15 and climatology from 12:10 – 3 everyday. Math was unbearable but climatology wasn’t too bad! We got to do lots of activities and we had class outside a few times. Classes were hard but totally worth it.

            Memorial Day weekend was the most eventful and most exciting! Barrett graduated from west point!! My parents and I went up to west point for a long weekend to celebrate with allllll the LeHardys! We had the absolute best time! Like I have mentioned before, Barrett has a spectacular family! They are so welcoming and treat everyone like a part of the family! As I expected, my parents fit right it and had so much fun! There was a parade, awards ceremony, banquet dinner, and then the ceremony! Here are a few pictures!

Swearing in as a 2nd Lieutenant

so proud!

Graduation ceremony 

June:

          A week after Barrett’s graduation, we went to Kiawah, SC with his family for their annual beach trip! This was my second year going to Kiawah and it was even better than the first time. If yall have never been to Kiawah, I really encourage you to go! It is so cute and homey. One thing I especially love is that there aren’t a blue million people there! Memaw and Granddad (LeHardy grandparents) have a house in Kiawah that we stay in. It is right across the street from the ocean and it’s a perfect biking distance from almost everything on the island! At the beach, Barrett and I decided to make a short trip down to Savannah, GA for a couple days after we left the beach! I adore Savannah and it just so happens that Barrett has a lot of family history there! Here are a couple pictures from the beach!

Dinner

family pyramid

          My small group leader Emma got married! She is such a gentle, sweet girl and I love her to death! She and Caleb got married in Danville the first weekend in June. A bunch of small group girls came and stayed at my house the night before the split up their long drive back to norther va and pa! We had so much fun and Emma looked beautiful on her big day :) 

some sonflowers at my house!

me and emma!

emma and caleb!

July:

          Okay yall, those of you from Virginia will probably be very surprised to hear this…I went to Busch Gardens for the FIRST TIME. Oh my goodness. Sus and the gov have been holding out on me! It was so so so much fun! I went with my girl Jenny and we had a blast! She had a taekwondo tournament in Richmond that weekend and I wanted to go! Jenny has been to so many cheerleading competitions and she is always there to support me and I wanted to go and support her! It was my very first tkd tournament too! As you probably already guess, jenny is kind of a bada$$. And by kind of, I mean totally! She killed it at tournament! She came in 1^st in sparring and 2^nd in forms! She is so awesome and I am so proud of her!

yeah she is a black belt...nbd

August:

          I spent August trying to soak up every little bit of summer I had left before school started again. Jenny’s family just got a lake house at smith mountain lake and we took many trips down there! The lake is one of my favorite places because you have the water and the gorgeous country surroundings! After many, many failed attempts, I finally learned how to wakeboard! Jenny and Caroline are the most supportive coaches! Of course they are both pros and I looked like an idiot but its just another fun thing we can all share! We have a bunch of different futures we have planned out for ourselves and our latest one….be professional wakeboarders. Ill keep yall posted on that one :)

wakeboarding

          Something very exciting happened this August…Sus turned 50! We didn’t even have to drag her into the BIG 5-0 kicking and screaming! She danced all the way there! The Sunday before her birthday, Susan Lower and mom’s Sunday school class planned a surprise breakfast for her in Sunday school! She had no idea and it was so fun to celebrate with her Sunday school family! Susan Lower and AJ (aunt Janet, mom’s youngest sister) planned a big surprise party for her the day before her birthday! We were afraid something would slip up in conversation and she would find out, but luckily that didn’t happen! They rented a big shelter at the park, we decorated everything in pink and black, there was a ton of food, and so many more friends and family came to celebrate! It was such a great party! And for future reference, Susan Lower is the queen of party planning! The parties were great and mom was completely surprised both times! She can be a little clueless sometimes…bless her little heart :)

birthday diva at the park! 

Sunday school party

          As the summer wound down, there were several tear-filled goodbyes between the girls and me. Being a junior in college and having said bye to them bunches of times it somehow never gets easier. But I think that’s a good thing! Caroline and Jenny are without a doubt two of my best best friends in the whole world.

          The majority of my summer was spent hanging out with my fabulous mother! She is seriously the best mom/woman on earth. I know I’m a little bias, but she rocks! We would wake up every morning, drink coffee, and watch Live! With Kelly! Occasionally we would watch the Today Show hour with Kathy Lee and Hoda but mom usually had writing to do so I would watch them! We got to spend a lot of time together and I loved every minute of it. Saying goodbye to her was by far the hardest one. I always cry like a little baby when I have to leave home…while I was packing, she would come in my room as ask ‘why are you packing? You aren’t going anywhere!’ You could say that we were in total denial and that made it harder to say goodbye. She is such a woman of God and such a role model to me and all my girlfriends. I couldn’t ask for a better mom!

 this is an old picture, but I just love it :)

          This summer was filled with quality time with my friends and family and it was such a great one. I wouldn’t change it for the world! I’m already looking forward to next summer!

Love yall! 

finals

Tomorrow starts my finals. I am so jealous of everyone who is done already because as of right now, I haven't even taken 1 of my finals yet and its wednesday! Tomorrow needs to be a morning of prayer because I have math at 8am and econ at 10:30....whoever scheduled this obviously hates me. So I could reallllllly use your prayers from 8-12ish tomorrow! thank you all so much :)
I would give yall more of an update on my fascinating life but I'm a little preoccupied with studying at the moment..maybe tomorrow?

love yall :)

a dose of happiness

     I survived last week! I was a little questionable there for a while, but I made it! I haven't gotten my math or econ test grades back yet but I did get a B+ on my geography test! This was simply a miracle seeing as though I spent a whole 30 minutes studying for it....oops! sorry mom! :) This week will be a little less stressful but not totally stress-free. I have an econ quiz due wednesday, math project due thursday, and paper due friday. Not too bad but it could always be better!
     This past weekend was Easter! But unfortunately I did not get to go home and spend it with my awesome family. Instead, I went up to Pennsylvania and spent Easter weekend with Barrett's family! (my equally wonderful second family) Let me catch you up on the events from the weekend.
     I drove up Friday after spending the morning/afternoon at the children's science museum downtown. It was fun physics friday and we had a little workshop set up with a baking soda and vinegar activity. Needless to say, we were a huge hit! So after spending a crazy, hectic morning at the museum, I jumped in my car a headed north! About 3 hours later I was in Enola, Pa at Barrett's Aunt Anne's house. Friday night, we all had dinner at the house and had the traditional game night! No one wanted to play scrabble because I kicked butt last time I was there...I definitely get that from you, mom :)
     Saturday morning, we drove to West Point for Barrett's last Army vs Navy track meet! I rode up with Barrett's parents and his little brother Sammy. On my way down, I started reading The Shack. I got about half way through the book by the time we got to West Point and let me tell you, of what I have read, that book is fantastic! I couldn't stop reading it! I know mom has it at home so I didn't take Anne's to finish it, so I'm planning on grabbing it and finishing it next time I go home for the weekend.
     Anyway, we get to the track meet and Barrett's grandparents (Meemaw and Grandad/The General) were there too! Oh my goodness, I love those two like they are my real grandparents. So precious. The weather was surprisingly nice considering we were in New York in the beginning of April! The track sits literally right on the edge of the Hudson River so you better believe it was wiiiindy. My heavens was it windy. Barrett runs the steeplechase and if you don't know what that is, here is a very basic explanation, 7.5 laps around the track and 5 barriers to jump over (kind of like hurdles but much bigger). The catch is that the 5th barrier has a giant water pit that is about 3 or 4 ft deep. So they hurdle over the first 4 barriers and with the 5th one, they jump on the barrier and push off of it to try and jump over the water. It is the most insane race ever. He had an awesome race and came in 2nd! The meet was tied going into the last event, the 4x400m relay. I'm sad to say that Army lost...but it was such a great race!
     After the race, I rode with Barrett back to his aunt's house in Pennsylvania. We were all starving by the time we got on the road so we stopped for dinner at...McDonald's!  So typical of us. I got one hamburger, fries, and a sweet tea. My beloved Barrett got 4 McDoubles, fries, a vanilla milkshake, and a sweet tea. He ate all of his and almost all of my fries..... He ate all of this in about 20 minutes. I swear this boy must have a tape worm or something. When we finally got back to Anne's house, we were all pooped. We watched tv for a little while and then all went to bed. It was a very uneventful night not including the McDonald's eating contest Barrett decided to partake in on the way back.
     Sunday morning, I was woken up by Barrett the Easter bunny who had gotten my a beautiful assortment of flowers! Easter lilies, daffodils, roses, and irises! We went to brunch and then to a cute little park along the Susquehanna River! We played frisbee, walked the dogs, and relaxed. It was so enjoyable just to spend time together doing absolutely nothing.
     I hope your Easter weekend was as delightful as mine! Have a great week!

My Easter flowers :)

love yall!

I need prayers yall...

Hello my dear friends!

        I have a MAJOR prayer request. I have 2 tests tomorrow and they just happen to be in my hardest classes, math and econ. My math test is from 9:30-10:45 and econ is from 12:30-1:45. My math test is super, super important because it will be the deciding factor in whether or not I have to retake the class. So if you could just remember me and shoot me a little prayer, it would be much appreciated!

        Also, I have another request. I’m about to get real honest here so brace yourselves. I have been feeling really down about myself lately. I’m not sure why but a lot of it is with my image. I don’t like what I see in the mirror and it just makes me feel sad all the time. I know that God made me in his image and he made me how I am for a reason but right now, I am having a hard time accepting that. I haven't felt this way in a long time and it scares me. 

Thanks you so much for your prayers :)

Love yall!

my girls

Hello everyone! I’m back! And I promise this blog will be a lot less depressing than the last one I wrote…it will actually be one of the happiest! I want to take a moment and talk about three of my best friends in the whole world.  And yes I realize that I’m leaving out quite a few people but I just want to highlight three of them. So no hard feelings J

Caroline Caldwell

            I have known Caroline since before we were born. I know that this probably doesn’t make any sense but it totally does. You see, our grandparents (my dad’s parents and her dad’s parents) were best friends, our parents were best friends, and now we are best friends! We like to call ourselves “The Legacy.” And yes, I capitalized it. That’s how awesome it is.

            Caroline and I have so many fun memories from when we were younger. One specific memory is probably the best and funniest, but I can’t go into further detail…it is still a sore subject for the parties involved J Anyway, Caroline and I danced, cheered, and swam together all throughout high school. There isn’t a single moment that I don’t miss. We have had so much fun together and sometimes I would KILL to go back in time and experience them again. Cheerleading states. Enough said. Expect this time, we wouldn’t get screwed over by those stupid judges. 

            She has been such a huge part of my life and I know she will continue to be in the future. We have grown so much in our friendship. Caroline is such a woman of God and she has taught me so many things about myself whether she knows it or not. Caroline is one of the more encouraging women I know. She knows everything there is to know about me. All those little weird things we all have, yeppp she knows them all. If something big, small, happy, or sad happens, she is one of the first people I want to tell or go to for comfort. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better friend. Here is a link to her blog!

Jenny Lanzara.

            Jenny and I go back to around the 6^th grade in science class. We got yelled at for ‘playing beauty salon’ because we were braiding out hair….I know exactly what you are thinking, uhh how ridiculous!? My thoughts exactly. Jenny has been apart of my life through thick and thin. This is one girl I can ALWAYS count on. I called her at midnight crying one night back in high school and she came over in the blink of an eye. I feel like every outrageous thing I have ever done, jenny has been there right next to me. Dance central. Enough said.

            I really couldn’t imagine my life without this girl. She drives up to Harrisonburg all the time to visit and we always have a blast! This past weekend she came to visit and we literally didn’t do anything but it was so much fun. We watched TV, read The Hunger Games (BEST BOOKS EVER), and baked delicious cookies. We have discovered that every time she has come to visit, there has been some kind of winter weather. It’s wonderful and kind of bad at the same time but we love it! It could only get better if she went to school here ;)

          Jenny and I have been there for each other through so much. When one of us is going through something tough, we are always there for each other. There have been several times when I have been at a low point in my life and she has been there to pick me up. Even though we aren't the best with sharing our feelings but after every long break from school, we both end up hugging and in tears. I think that speaks for itself when it comes to our friendship. Here is a link to her blog!

Megan Brooks

            Where do I even being with Megan?! For those of you who don’t know, Megan was my roommate freshman year! She was legit a gift from God. I remember being so stressed looking for a roommate on the JMU class of 2014 facebook group looking for a potential roommate. I felt like everyone on the page was not the kind of roommate I was looking for. I was about to just go with a random roommate when I got a Facebook message out of the blue from…Megan! It was like we dated or something for a few days before we decided to live together! haha it was such an awkward period but once it was over, things were great!

            Megan and I have only known each other for 2ish years but she is one of those friends that I feel like I have know my entire life. We did so many goofy ‘freshman’ things last year and I wouldn’t take them back for anything. I remember one of the first weeks of class, we were doing something that was probably embarrassing (even thought we weren’t) and some guy passed us and said ‘pshh freshmen!’ it was so funny and so ridiculous! We just laughed all the way back to our dorm and we still laugh about it today!

            Living with someone really tests a relationship in a good way and a bad way. Megan and I really never had any fights and rarely got on each other’s nerves! We were for real a perfect match to share one of those tiny dorm rooms!

            She is another girlfriend who knows everything about me. She is my go to girl for everything! Megan is a girl who always knows what to say no matter what the situation is. If I am in a spiritual low, she knows just what to say to encourage me and get me out of my hole. She is going to be one of my housemates next year and I cannot wait!

I have the greatest friends in the entire world. They are such women of the Lord and I cant’ even tell you how thankful I am for them. Without them, I don’t know where I would be.  I love you girls so much :)

major reality check

It’s day 1 of classes and I already feel like I’m drowning. I have no idea why I am feeling so overwhelmed but all I can do is cry. I just want to go home. I miss my friends and family more than ever and it’s killing me. Since I got back to Harrisonburg on Saturday evening, all I have done is cry. Ask Barrett if you don’t believe me. I’m sure he is getting just as sick of it as I am. I know I am being very real and open about this so I’m sorry if it freaks yall out. I just needed to get this out. Thank you for being so understanding and accepting :)

       I had my first class of the semester this morning at 8am and I already have an 8-page paper due in less than a month. The paper is so extensive that I don’t even know where to start (this is my main reason for crying). I don’t know any of the information for my paper because it’s all about the geography and sociology of my parents, their parents, their parents, etc. My parents are so wonderful and asked me to send them the guidelines so they can start writing down different aspects of their lives and their parents lives that I need for this stupid paper.

       Not sure how it happened, but I only have 1 class on Mondays and Wednesdays and it’s an 8am. Tomorrow I have math and macroeconomics. I am scared out of my mind for macro. Everyone I have talked to says I am going to seriously struggle in this class. Thanks for the positive encouragement, yall…I only hear horrible things about econ classes in general and I am totally freaking out. I have econ on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30-1:45, so if yall could carve out that little time slot to pray for me, I would REALLY appreciate it.

       A bunch of you have be asking me to post about the holidays and I sincerely apologize that I haven’t posted about it yet. I got my tonsils out and just laid around the house all of break and never really got on my computer. I will be working on a post about the holidays for the next few days.

  

Thanks for you prayers, I could really use them right now.

love yall :)