My Golden Birthday {A Different Kind of Birthday}

This week I turned 25 on the 25th!

It was a different kind of birthday. A birthday that exceeded my expectations. A birthday that was just what my heart needed. 

I have to admit, I had low expectations. We found out a few months ago that Andy was going to be out of town for work Sunday-Wednesday the week my birthday fell on Monday. I had to put on my big girl panties and stay home & go to work. I was kind of sad but I planned on hearing from all my loved ones, getting take-out, and watching good TV. That's exactly what happened! I also got fun mail- a wonderful package from my Nana and Papa with a beautiful jacket & shirt and sweet cards!  

I ended the day by blowing out a candle that sung happy birthday to me Haha 

Honestly, I still went to bed feeling sad that I didn't get to hug the necks of my favorite people. I didn't get to see my family and friends that I have always celebrated with, and that made me sad. But, hey, adult life tends to throw you curve balls. I'm thankful for another year!!

Then came Tuesday. Tuesdays have become one of my most favorite days. I get to study the bible with  my sweet friends who welcomed me with open arms, who have made me feel a part of their group since day 1. Sweet Becky had made a delicious cake to celebrate my birthday along with Nikalee's birthday that was a couple of weeks ago. I also received a neat gift from Nikalee that I can't wait to hang!

I went home feeling so grateful for these women who have become such sweet friends in the past few months. 

Then came today. I got to my home school, after visiting another school, and my co-workers had decorated my desk and baked me a cake!! Carolina is an amazing baker too, so that was such a nice gift!! So thoughtful, and such a fun way to celebrate during our lunch break!! 

To top it off, Andy arrived home with a neatly wrapped, little gold box. I could not believe what was inside!! He gave me an absolutely beautiful diamond necklace!! He sure is good at pulling off surprises. And I was the most excited to hug and kiss him after 3 nights away!

My 25th birthday held much more significance than just celebrating another year. It helped me realize that while I didn't get to celebrate my birthday with everyone I've always known as my people, my village, I got to celebrate with  my new village. The village I'm building here in Lewisburg. A village of people who are so thoughtful and so caring. 

I'm grateful for my different kind of birthday. My birthday that exceeded my expectations. My birthday that was just what my heart needed. 

A Day in the Life of Newlyweds

After seeing Andrea's link up earlier this week, I thought I should do a day in the life post to {maybe} help me get back in the swing of blogging ;-) My life looks quite a bit different since my last day in the life post almost 18 months ago! 

I decided on yesterday, Thursday April 21st. We never have plans on Thursday, so here is a look into our typical day. 

My alarm goes off at 6:15. I may or may not have pressed snooze ;-)
(& to go a long with my fun fact from my last DITL post, I still end up getting up at an odd time after pressing snooze ;-) 

By 7:30, I'm showered and ready to go. Andy gets up in time to kiss me goodbye and send me off :-) I usually eat my breakfast on the way to work and this morning I had eggs. 

I'm itinerant, so I go to several different schools throughout the week. Thursdays are spent at my elementary school. I arrive at 7:45 and quickly check my email and gather materials for my first few sessions. 

My first therapy session starts at 8:00 and I have 30 minute sessions until about 1:00 with a couple 30 minute breaks in between. 

Lite Brite! Throwback much?! ;-) 

One of my students was absent, so at 10:30 I got a break to eat a snack and enter data from the morning. 

Before my 12:30 session, I had a quick lunch and caught up on some of my favorite blogs :-) 

My afternoon sessions started up at 1:00 and I'm finished giving therapy by 2:30. 

From 2:30 to 3:15 I put away materials, enter data, and do any IEP work that needs to be done. 

My work day is over at 3:15. Andy usually picks up the mail on his way home from work since he passes the post office, but since we got a yellow slip yesterday I decided to go on my way home to get the package :-) 

It was my latest Lula Roe order! 

Then to my surprise, I had a package waiting at our doorstep too :-) 

Of course, I opened both packages when I got inside. The surprise package was a birthday gift from Barrett! So cute and the candle smells ah.mazing!

I spent about an hour relaxing, having a snack, and catching up on my favorite vlogs. 

Now, anyone that knows me knows I love a good nap. My sleep schedule is definitely not the best but it is what works for me. I'm the most productive at home when I take a nap, and this particular day, I didn't get much sleep the night before. So around 5:00 I laid down to rest and wait on Andy to get home :-) 

There's my handsome husband! 

Around 5:45 I dozed off and took a nap until about 7:00. I sure do have a wonderful husband! He takes this time to relax himself and then cook us dinner. I've told him many times to wake me before he starts cooking, but he claims to enjoy it so I don't argue with that ;-) On the menu this night was parma rosa chicken pasta and a spinach salad. 

Andy and I are both night owls so we spend the most time together in the late evenings. From about 7:30-9:30 we hung out on the couch, watched TV, and talked about our days. At 9:30 we started cleaning the kitchen and I folded some laundry. 

I love a nice, clean kitchen :-) 

 At 10:30, I got in bed to watch a episode of Chopped while Andy did his bible study. 

And my sound machine is turned on and I'm ready to sleep at 12:45. Goodnight world! 

2016 Chocolate Festival

You know you live in a fun town when they have a chocolate festival! I invited my Mom and my bridesmaids to town, because what better way to reunite than with chocolate!?  Of course, #adultlife happens and several of my girls couldn't make it but I had such a fun time with my Mom, sisters, and Meghan! 

The most memorable part of the day wasn't even the yummy treats. It ended up SNOWING all day. On April 9th. This was not something these Carolina girls were used to. It wasn't as cold as we thought it would be though and it was pretty neat to see snow falling among the blooming flowers and trees Ha! 

See the snow? It would fall really hard, then stop, then start again! Such weird weather.

Saturday night we had reservations at a farm to table cafe. It was absolutely divine. You could taste the fresh ingredients!

You really can't take us anywhere though because we managed to set a napkin on fire! Ha ha No one was harmed ;-)

We ended the weekend with a wonderful church service on Sunday morning. I love having my family and friends visit our little mountain town. We always have so much fun!

March Highlights

Well, hello there blog! March has come and gone & I have a few highlights to cover. March brought us more snow, wedding fun, and Easter. 

First up, the last weekend of February we attended Andy's law school friends Joel and Ellen's wedding in Huntington. It was a beautiful celebration to kick off our 2016 wedding season! Haha

A random 60 degree day in the middle of winter called for walking the streets of downtown!! Amen.

But then some more snow the next Friday for good measure ;-) 

The unexpected snow day was on the first Friday of March, so that weekend I got to arrive to Charlotte early and surprise my mom at school! The weekend also included a fabulous shower for my girl Mindy and a celebration of Anna's birthday :-) 

The very next weekend Andy and I headed back to Charlotte to celebrate the wedding of Lindy and Sean! It was an absolutely gorgeous day and a good time with friends and family! 

I officially said goodbye to my NC license plate. You can take the girl out of Carolina, but you can't take the Carolina out of the girl ;-) 

Finally, the last weekend of March we celebrated Easter. I use the word "celebrated" loosely because unfortunately I came down with an awful respiratory infection the night we got to Andy's parents. Thankfully, Andy still got to spend time with his brothers fishing and he attended his home church. I was basically couch and bed ridden the entire weekend, and really the whole next week as well. I was very happy to see my fever gone on Tuesday. 

The highlights of my sick weekend were a package from my Nana, Papa, and Aunt Darlene, the above photo from my Mom who was in San Fran for the weekend, and the basket of goodies the Easter bunny brought to Andy's parents ;-) 

March wrapped up with this view. I'm thankful for a month {mostly} filled with fun. The countdown to summer has definitely already started!!