Welp Friday I turned the big 2-2. Every year it's the same, I don't feel any older at all. I suppose it is weird though because I used to look at Seniors and say, "Omg they are so old." Yep that's me now, a 22 year old stuck in a Sophomore body. 

It was a glorious day. People went out of their way to make me feel loved. It was so special. This was the first birthday I really didn't want or expect anything to be made a huge deal and it was a million times better than all the others before. I am really grateful for Jesus answering my prayers from that week. He worked through people to make me feel ridiculously loved and cherished. So thanks to everyone who contributed to that day because it was the best. 

My favorite picture of the night.

Oreo cupcakes.

So many laughs.

You know me, lovin food.

Look at that face.

P.S.- I found out that September 16th is Mexican Independence day, even cooler. 

{Weekend tafting}

tafting with adrie and april 

This weekend I finally got some much needed Vitamin D. I literally haven't seen the sunlight pretty much all summer! Some friends and I went to Lake Travis on Saturday. The lake is the lowest I have ever seen, so many islands! After being crispified, we went to Ape's and had pizza while watching the OC. I LOVE THE OC. Judge me if you want, Seth Cohen will always have my heart. 

I just love Adrie and April. April and I always just get each other. I love her so deep. I'm just really grateful that I have been able to have a friendship with her friends from school because that is so rare. Adrie is seriously the bomb and I have grown to really love her. Totally awesome fun times to be had with those two. Can NOT wait to go to Chicago again in the fall to visit them!!! :)

Also, today Micah informed me that he pooped in the dug out at one of his baseball games......how? Gross. That kid keeps me young.

{Independence Day!}

Happy 4th of July!!! I love wearing red white and blue. And I really love American flags. So grateful our country was founded on biblical principles. So thankful for freedom!! 

P.S.-  April and I painted our nails alternating colors--Red, White, Blue--with sparkles. Awesome.

{She's here]

APEY HAS A BLOG!
Yippee skippee my best-es-test friend in the world made a blog! Finally.
You should read it. Because she is, hands down, the most hilarious person I know.
Here is our most recent photo together at her precious brother's wedding!
I wish I could describe how much you mean to me, Ape. You're the bee's knees :)
I love you oh-so-dearly!!

Happy Birthday to you!!

Happy Birthday to YOU,

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Happy Birthday dear Laur Baur,

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

Today you are 21!

Wanna read 21 reasons why I love you? I know you do...

1. You are my best friend.
2. You are so loyal.
3. You are beautiful.
4. You are hilarious.
5. You love teen novels like me.
6. We named every Disney movie today with "animal companions."
7. You have beautiful brown eyes that do not look like poop even though you say that all the time.
8. You cry with me.
9. You are such a good listener.
10. We have known each other for so long. A decade to be precise. 
11. Everyone thought we wouldn't stay friends in college. How wrong were they?!
12. We have the same personality type. ESFJ's UNITE!!
13. We wear the same size clothes. Great for sharing. And being twins.
14. On the twins note, we like the same food. All food. 
15. We have the same love language :) Quality times are the best times.
16. You are so giving. 
17. You can sleep forever. Weird that I'm bringing this up? No. I love it.
18. You are so supportive.
19. You are so godly. I find myself naturally gravitating to your encouragement.
20. You have the same major as me!! We are the same person geez. {Insert high five/hug here}
21. The last and final thing: Heather described our friendship this morning as unconditional love. I don't know if I've ever seen it the way she was describing us. How we can fight and get annoyed and laugh and cry together but still love each other so deeply. Monday night is the best example, we can literally scream at each other with tears covering our cheeks and still end up embracing. It's funny how I picture our friendship in my head. I know we will always be friends. I know it. If you don't know why, see this post. 

Obviously 21 reasons I love you will never describe the friendship I have with you. You mean so much to me Lauren Marie Christensen. More than I could ever explain through email, texts, phone calls, notes, photobooth videos, wall posts or just words in general. My heart instantly feels fuller around you. 

I love you so much my dearest friend. This special day is YOURS. You rock.

Someday we'll have precious children like this. But for now, let's pretend these happy preshies are us, celebrating YOU :)

21. 21. 21. 21. 21. 21. 21.

sista sista.

Dear Lauren,
I'm finally doing a post about you. I know that it has bothered you that I haven't haha. I just have so much, too much to say about you. I don't even know where to start! Here goes....

Laur, there are many things I love about you but the first that comes to my mind right now is the knowledge that you will always be there for me. What a comforting thought! When I visualize my life I see a few people standing next to me as the scenes change behind us. Jesus, my family, Apey, and you. I don't know if I've ever really developed that thought till now but I really do see that in my mind all the time! It's a combination of two things: 1. you are an amazing friend and 2. I never want to lose you. I will expand on point 1. You always listen to me, whether I'm sad or happy or mad or scared or worried or stressed. I find so much comfort when I think that I know I can always come to you and talk. And I do always come to you. I love that you are so wise. Whenever I talk to you about things, I know I'll get a good response. I love that sometimes those good responses aren't what I always wanna hear, and even though I may react badly to that, I love that you care enough to tell me I'm being ridiculous. I love that when I found out about my dad, you held me while I cried. I love that every time I am sad, I can be completely broken with you and not have to think about judgement. I really really love when I can be there for you when you are sad, I love it when you walk in my room after a hard day and crumple onto my bed and I scratch your back. I love how you love your family. I love how you genuinely care about everyone's life. I love how you ask a million questions to people when you first meet them! You make me laugh. I love to laugh with you. We both love the same things: coke, nail polish, reading (teen books), sci fi, mushy gushy movies, foooooooood, sunshine, etc etc etc. I love that you are so intentional. I love that you are bible study/discipleship chair, I'm so proud of you!! I'm so proud of who you are and how much you've grown since 6th grade. You are such an amazing woman. You are so loyal and caring. You are so selfless to help me with Tshirts every time. You are so understanding! I love that we are both non-confrontational but we can confront each other ;) I love that we can talk about what we struggle with and it's usually the same thing.

Your friendship means so much to me my precious sister. One of my favorite things is hearing songs or seeing movies or reading quotes that remind me of our friendship. The best thing about us is that we have been friends for a decade :) I cannot wait to graduate and teach together. I can't wait to have little play-dates with our kiddies! I am constantly reminded of the verse in Philippians 1:3 when Paul says, "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God." That's how I feel about you Laur. I am so thankful for you. For who you are. For your selfless friendship. For your example.

I can't even imagine how much He loves you, so lavishly, wildly and immensely!

I love you more than I can explain, my best friend.

anna sheridan.

Hi my friend. Today I wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I'm so grateful for you my best friend and roommate. I can't believe it's been almost 3 years since I met you in line at Fright Night. Thank goodness for Tri-Delt :) 

I love laughing with you, making funny voices, eating too much, watching movies, crying, talking, spazzing out, screaming taylor swift songs at the top of our lungs, shopping together, vacations (so many), taking pictures, sharing clothes, reading blogs together, braiding your hair and watching you make the same lunch every day haha. There are so many more but most of all I love that you are a leader. I love watching you lead your 50 freshmen in FLO and being such a good example. I love that we share the same ideals. I love that you never give up. I love that you're positive. I love that you always make me laugh. I love that we are complete freaks together. I love that you are my best friend. I love that you always want us to say goodnight before going to sleep. I love sending you pictures on our phones. I love our inside jokes. I love that you share a love for our Jesus. I love talking about deep things.

You are so beautiful Ans. You are so dear to me. So so grateful for you and the friendship we share. 

We'll be friends forever. 

bye bye 2010.

january

my favorite event. nerds4life.

february

sing & snow.

march

rodeo & robots.

april

dia & dances.

may

boat times & birthdays.

june

weddings & reunions.

july

friends visit austin.

august

soaking up the last of summer.

september

21 & and the best trip ever.

october

homecoming festivities.

november

thanksgiving & the end of football.

december

christmas time is the best time.

bye bye 2010, you were good to me.

warning sign.

i have two favorite bands. mumford & sons and coldplay. 

coldplay was the first cd i ever bought and i never get sick of them.

this post goes out to my bestie anna. driving around d-town listening to this song last night brought me happiness.

i love that feeling. full.

 music does bring me happiness. so do my best friends.
do me a favor and listen to this song.

i miss you ans, loves ya!

chi-town.

it's been a while.  i've miss you, blog.

chicago is lovely. if it wasn't for the sub-arctic temperatures, i'd live there in a heartbeat. this weekend was so necessary. it was such a treasure because i got to see my best friend's life and understand her more. the gap between our college lives in austin and our college lives at school has been closed, i love that. seeing the sites and being touristy with april was just so....fun (for lack of a better word). sushi, laughing, spending money, walking and walking, late night pizza, people watching, salvation army, riding trains, tea, shopping, and talking. breathing. just breathing in the city. as i looked up at all the high buildings that made me feel so small, i couldn't help but contemplate the vastness of God. kinda freaks me out. i miss the air in chicago. the brisk wind that made me catch my breath and the impossible attempt to hold on to it like a fleeting thought. the miles of ground so hard and stable. stability. it was good to just be this weekend with "no regrets," as my dad would say.

as i grope for words to illuminate my excursion, i find that i can only settle on the deep friendship that i so appreciate. my bosom friend april. constant and true. what a treasure. i hope i can bless someone as much as she has with her shear ability to be afriend. the very essence of the definition. friend- a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter. love her.

well enough of that. on to pictures.

pumpkin spice cupcake. yum.

big red chair.

argo tea.

nervous about my first cab.

freezing at lake michigan.

beeeeaaaaaan.

rawr.

jump cuz i'm happy!

we'll meet again soon, chicago. sometime in the spring.

kitty kat.

Happy birthday to my best friend slash roommate Kathryn! I LOVE YOU KATH, you rock my world.

captivated

Tonight Lauren and I went out to a random spot and looked at the stars while listening to worship music. It was bliss. I am in love with these lyrics from Captivate Us by Watermark:

Your face is beautiful
And Your eyes are like the stars
Your gentle hands have healing
There inside the scars
Your loving arms they draw me near
And Your smile it brings me peace
Draw me closer oh my Lord
Draw me closer Lord to Thee

Captivate us, Lord Jesus
Set our eyes on You
Devastate us with Your presence
Falling down
And rushing river, draw us nearer
Holy fountain consume us with You
Captivate us Lord Jesus, with You

Your voice is powerful
And Your words are radiant bright
In Your breath and shadow
I will come close and abide
You whisper love and life divine
And Your fellowship is free
Draw me closer O my Lord
Draw me closer Lord to Thee

Let everything be lost in the shadows
Of the light of Your face
Let every chain be broken from me
As I’m bound in Your grace
For Your yoke is easy, Your burden is light
You’re full of wisdom, power and might
And every eye will see You

In the first verse it talks about how His eyes are like the stars and it made me want SO bad to be with Him in that moment. It seems so tedious being on the Earth just waiting to be with Him for eternity. Life is so beautiful here I can't even imagine how crazy awesome it's going to be in Heaven. Friggin gorgeous. BAH. Can't wait. Also, I decided I'm finally going to finish the book Captivating because it was given to me last year but I never actually read it. Hooray. Welp not much in this post but oh well it's my jumbled up thoughts thrown onto the paper....or screen I should say. Peace out.

1231 D

So this year was pretty much a homer as far as roommates go. Literally hit it out of the park. Just kidding. But seriously. Memories: Midnight blading, monkey bread, dance parties, sitting in the middle of the living room in the dark around a candle, roomie dinners (only lasted a week), anna always saying goodnight and no one replies, kathryn ALWAYS sick, jessica taking a million showers, porch time...all the time, having the best neighbors everrrr, community night, JILLIAN, lifting with candles, shower drain always getting clogged, anna's naked dancing....questionable, 4 on 1 wrestling drew and still getting dominated, sock wars with bo, movie nights downstairs, sonic runs, studying....not, mariokart, random decorating, eating alllll the time, telling each other everything, cleaning only when our parents come in, going to church together, lauren and her lifetime movies, mandi's goodbye notes, losing our trash can, kathryn's note to herself to turn off the stove, "confrontational" notes at the beginning of the year, 8am roomie bike-rides, rappelling out of window with sheets, sharing clothes, quote board, herbert and carlos RIP, construction fireplace, power puff girls, don, talking in accents, trips to houston, nude4eva, playing in the rain, pita chips and artichoke dip, deeeeep convos, pranks, stalking in general, SING.

Welp, pretty much love my roommates a ridiculous amount. Kathryn- mommy of the house, so full of joy and always happy no matter what, I love you. Jessica- always asking how my day goes and laughing at me even when I'm stupid, I love you. Mandi- bike-rides with you are the best. You are the best listener I know and you are SO real, I love you. Lauren- my best friend since 6th grade, we've been through so friggin much. So glad that we became better friends than we ever were, I love you. Anna- can't believe I met you in line at fright night and you are practically my twin. Laughing with you is the best, I love you. All 5 of you are one of the biggest blessings ever and I'll never forget my amazing Sophomore year full of fun. I don't know what I would have done without each and every one of you. Thanks for putting up with my bizarre behavior 24/7 and random outbursts of hyperness.

Love you POD.