Better late than never

1. There is a booster seat in the back of your car
2. You can name all the sharks found in the waters around Hawaii because you have played so many games of go-fish with a specialized card pack
3. You know how to make the perfect grilled cheese
4. You are constantly cleaning the kitchen
5. You have seen all the family friendly movies in theaters within a week of their premiere dates
6. You can name all the characters on Phineas and Ferb
7. You know that "guess what" does not actually mean you should guess. It means you are to listen because you are not going to guess and you will be subsequently told what
8. You could give a Vegas dealer a run for their money in shuffling and dealing cards because of how many card games you have played
9. You find yourself checking passengers' seat belts and telling people to "buckle up" when they are in your car
10. It is "normal" to hum the Narnia theme song during every day activities to make them more epic
11. You have minor panic attacks when you are in public and a kid is not in sight
12. You know way too many parenting debates from eavesdropping at the pool
13. You recognize all the moms at the pool and know which kids they go with (you might even know some names)

Beautiful things about charlottesville

1. The view of the lawn. It is so beautiful in every season. It is different and it's a great way to notice the change of seasons.

2. The plethora of greenery and trees

3. The gardens

4. The East Asian studies room

5. The abundance of restaurants

6. Seeing people who actually live in Charlottesville during runs in neighborhoods. I often forget that people live in Charlottesville. I am surrounded by college students day in and day out and I forget that others share this beautiful city with us.

7. Cookout peanut butter fudge oreo milkshakes

8. Everything bodo's bagels

9. House Dressing

10. The Janitor that helped me in the Physics building when I got a nosebleed. She's an angel.
11. The leaves on the trees in the fall
12. Trick or treat on the lawn
13. The sunset on the lawn
14. The lawn
15. The weathered bricks walls all along the downtown mall
16. The uneven walkways
17. The amazing sunsets
18. The smell outside when there is warm weather
19. The Christmas lights on fraternity houses
20. Eppie's Santa Monica salads
21. Twilight
22. The fields on fields
23. The silhouettes of the mountains in the distance
24. Running buddies
25. The sunrise sky visible on the way to downtown
26. The Rivanna trail
27. Carter's Mountain
28. Sunsets on Barrack's Road
29. Sunsets on the top of Culbreth Garage
30. The heat wave in Mem Gym
31. Seeing people cozy in their apartments with lit windows

When I think of the little time we have left, my heart is noisy. There is no other way to describe it. It is a mix of emotions, and when I try to write about what I'm feelings, words fail the chaos that is my heart. As we have always said, WAGE. WAGE to describe our friendship. WAGE to describe you. WAGE to encapsulate your beauty. WAGE to sum up what you mean to me. WAGE to even scratch the surface of what we have been to one another.

First of all my love, congratulations on your engagement. No one could be happier than me. I am praying for you. I am praying for your new life with this man. I am so encouraged by the ways  I have seen him push you to grow in grace and nudge your weaknesses. I truly believe that you and he are different in many ways, but these differences compliment one another and bring two people together who have different backgrounds and histories. You have the one similarity that is of any importance: you love Christ. I can't wait to see how you will continue to grow with this man, as a living image of Christ's love for the church. Your relationship preaches the gospel to me. I pray that you two will continue to glorify God throughout your whole lives. There is no other purpose for which we were made.

Secondly, just know that you will be missed. There are so many things I will miss about having you here:

• I will miss carpooling with you to all church events
• I will miss our late night talks and movie sessions
• I will miss spending the Fourth of July with you and watching fireworks with you
• I will miss watching movies with you
• I will miss eating ice cream with you
• I will miss sharing music in the car
• I will miss being passionate and watching your body language when you get really excited about something
• I will miss your sweet spirit
• I will miss your entertaining and hilarious stories that only happen to you
• I will miss your enthusiasm
• I will miss the way you really listen to me
• I will miss the way you teach me how to be a better friend
• I will miss the way you push me towards Jesus
• I will miss the way your hugs feel
• I will miss laughing with you
• I will miss reminiscing with you on weird things we have done in the past summers
• I will miss your crazy cars with broken electrical gadgets
• I will miss hearing about you making cookies

And my heart hurts for selfish reasons. You have been the best friend I have ever had. You have walked with me the longest and you know me the best. We think about the world in the same way. And besides our sisters, I haven't met many who share that with us. I love how we are so different, yet the same mind in two separate bodies. 

But thirdly, I am so excited to see what is in store for you. You are precious to me. And I can see the way that you are now precious to this man. I know that he will love and cherish you. I love that he sees the beautiful things about you that makes you unique. And my prayer is that he will continue to cherish those things that make you so special until the day you die. You are one of the best people that I have ever met. I am so happy for you, and if you are going to have to be away from me, I guess this is the reason that I would choose for the occasion.

Fourthly, I just want to say thank you. There are so many reasons that I am thankful for you, but I will try to just list a few. You are the most faithful and loyal friend I know. I have never worried about you leaving or walking out of my life. I know that I can tell you anything and you will not abandon me. You are understanding. You really seek to feel what others are feeling and embody multiplying others' joys and dividing sorrows. You are the best listener. I know that when I tell you something, you listen to every word and do so because you really want to know - you never listen because you are required to or because I expect you to. You are joyful. You know that we laugh the most together. I mean, come on, you had to take tylenol after coming to my house when we were kids. You are a steadfast follower of Christ. You teach me so much through your example and encouragement. I am thankful that we never have to say goodbye because eternally we are sisters in Him.

You are so dear to me. I don't know how else to close this, than by saying, I am honored to call you my best friend. I am so incredibly thankful to be a part of your life and to have you in mine. I love you more than life. WAGE. 

Songs I Play on Repeat 2012

1. You Got It Bad/Because of You - Justin Bieber
2. Payphone - Maroon 5
3. Come Wake Me Up - Rascal Flatts
4. We Are Young - Boyce Avenue
5. Wanted You More - Lady Antebellum
6. If I Die Young - Justin Robinett and Michael Henry
7. Never Gonna Leave This Bed - Justin Robinett and Michael Henry
8. Drunk - Ed Sheeran
9. Be Alright - Justin Bieber
10. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye - Luke Bryan
11. Drunk on You - Luke Bryan
12. All Too Well - Taylor Swift
13. Lego House - Ed Sheeran
14. Because of You - Ne-yo
15. Don't Wake Me Up - Chris Brown
16. Let Me Love You - Ne-yo
17. Your Hand in Mine - Explosions in the Sky
18. Angel with a Shotgun - The Cab
19. Pour Me Out - He is We
20. Thunder - Katy McAllister
21. Holocene - Bon Iver
22. Holocene - Kate McGill 
23. Small Bump - Ed Sheeran
24. Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran
25. Come Wake Me Up - Ed Sheeran
26. Shadows - David Crowder Band feat. Lecrae
27. American Secrets - Parachute
28. Here With You - Asher Monroe
29. Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson
30. 
    

Then and Now: Across the Years

Then...

Now...

Winter Break Bucket List

1. Go to the Festival of Lights and ride the Ferris wheel
2. Practice portion control and healthy eating
3. Have a quiet time everyday
4. Go to Davis's basketball games
5. Play basketball at Nottaway
6. Cook something for Christmas dinner
7. Go to the Eastern Market
8. See Skyfall
9. See Rise of the Guardians
10. Watch Batman Begins
11. Get new clothes
12. Go to Passion 2013
13. Go ice skating
14. Lose weight
15. See the lights at Meadowlark
16. Take a good picture of the four kids
17. Take lots of pictures
18. Apply to internships
19. Get my eyebrows waxed
20. Get a cute Christmas outfit
21. Get my hair cut
22. Enjoy everything that I eat
23. Love recklessly
24. Go to the chiropractor
25. Whiten my teeth
26. Call and write a letter to Grandma

Also from the past

Good Things:

1. Pink Starbursts
2. Shooting Stars
3. Twilight
4. Breezes that make long grasses ripple
5. Cornfields
6. Smores
7. Adrenaline rushes
8. Challenges
9. Balloons
10. Helium
11. Golden retriever or golden lab puppies
12. those moments when we’re singing in church and the instruments stop for a chorus and the congregation is singing acapella and it gives you just a taste of how great heaven is going to be
13. Sunsets
14. Lakes
15. Inside jokes
16. Vulnerability
17. Quoting movies
18. Driving with the music blaring and the windows down
19. The beach
20. Good novels
21. Red skittles
22. Looking through the church bulletin and seeing that there is good music in the service
23. Swimming at night
24. Honesty
25. City landscapes at night when they are lit up and you realize how much planning and effort it took to make the whole city
26. Bubble gum
27. Realizing your favorite TV either comes on tonight or that it came on last night and it’s waiting on tivo
28. Reading what people think about you
29. Turning in an assignment or exam that you feel really good about
30. Walking into the house and smelling that something delicious was made
31. The smell of freshly mowed grass
32. Hershey’s chocolate
33. The sound of frogs at night
34. Fireflies
35. Eating freshly picked berries
36. Coming home from a successful shopping trip
37. Finishing something that you have been dreading doing
38. The sound of a ball on a baseball bat
39. Ice cream cones
40. Handwritten letters
41. Getting a good grade back on a test or paper
42. Watching movies for the first time and not knowing what is going to happen
43. Modern Family
44. Acoustic music
45. The smell of a bookstore
46. Feeling good about your body and weight
47. Finishing a good book
48. Endorphins
49. Old pictures
50. Music