Peaks, Pits, Praises, Prayers

This week has been exciting for my little family. We have had to adjust to our new member Remy and learn how to live again with a little one. She is such a little joy and so fun to play with. I am so glad that we have brought her into our family and made her our own. This week has been a week of adjustments for all of us and so far I think we have adapted pretty well. School and work are still crazy and coming home to this little ball of energy just makes things even more interesting.

Yes she does sleep like this with as many toys as she can around her. She likes to touch all of them and have them in close reach of her. She's a little spoiled already. 

Peaks: This week my constant peak has been coming home to Remy and having her to play with. She has so much love for us and it is so encouraging to walk in your door after a day at work and see her happy face. She just loves to greet you at the door. 

Pits: My main pit this week has been missing my little sisters basketball games. She plays on Tuesday and Friday nights most of the time and I have class on Tuesday nights so I always miss those games. She is a senior so I feel like I'm missing out on so much and I hate not being able to go to all of her stuff. 

Praises: Having such an amazing support system through Jarr. He really is so supportive and comforting to me everyday. I can't imagine not having him always praying for me and encouraging me to follow my heart and chase my dreams. 

Prayers: I would like to ask for continued prayers for my family. We are healing slowly and just need all the prayers we can get. Losing someone is never easy and everyone heals differently afterwards. 

What are your Peaks, Pits, Praises, and Prayers this week? 

I'm linking up at these parties!

New Member of the Family

This past Saturday we adopted a beautiful little girl we named Remy. She is a full blood German Shepherd and is such a little cutie. She is such a smart girl and has already learned so much in the last few days we have had her. She is only 8 weeks old and about 10 pounds already, she is going to be a big girl. 

This is a picture of us bringing her home on Saturday. She is such a good car rider already and just falls right asleep. 

The toughest part in bringing her home was introducing her to my pumpkin Eli. He is very unsure of having a new puppy in the house and is skeptical of her. But so far they have been steering clear of each other and when they are brave enough to sniff the other one they are very nice. 

This face has become my weakness, I just love her so much already and I can't imagine not having her in our lives. We are so excited to teach her everything and to see how she develops as a dog. She is so playful and fun and has become just another part of the family. 

How could I ever say no to this face? She is a little snuggler and loves to cuddle with mom and dad. 

We already have had our first bath and she was so tuckered out afterwards that she slept in dad's arms for a while and then mom's. She loves to be held and snuggled, unfortunately she's going to get so big that this is the only time we will be able to spoil her like this. Plus Jarr is very specific about things we can and can't do with her, like how we talk to her, treats, playing, snuggling, and training. We want her to be the best possible dog so sometimes that means we can't always be the nice fun parents we want to be. 

Our girl just loves to sleep in crazy positions like this. She is such a funny little one. I am so glad we have her and I know she is going to continue to bring joy to our lives. 

What have you done to introduce a new family member into your house? 

Peaks, Pits, Praises, Prayers

This has been a long week but it has also been a week with many little blessings. Sometimes it's amazing how God hides little blessings throughout your day to show you just how loved you are. Make sure and check in this weekend for the new addition to our family! I can't wait for you all to meet our new baby!

This is me in Australia on my graduation trip from high school. 

Peaks: This week I received an I-Pad mini for one of my college classes this semester and that was a major Peak! I get to use it all semester and it has been so much fun to play on! I love all of the cool things you can do on it!

Pits: Monday of this week was Matthew's 24th birthday. He died way to young and too soon. I will forever miss him and he will always be in my heart. That has made this week a little bit harder then most but I know that he wouldn't want  me sitting in misery and wants me out living life to the fullest like he always did.

Praises: This week has been difficult but I'm praising God for all of the amazing family and friends I have been blessed with to keep my spirits up when I am feeling down. I have had so much love this week from them that my heart fills so full and blessed.

Prayers: I would like to continue to ask for your prayers for my family. This week especially has been hard for us and the healing is a long process but everyday I know it gets a little bit easier. My little sister is playing in a basketball tournament this weekend and I am asking for prayers for her team and keeping them safe. Also my cousin is coming home on leave at the beginning of February from being deployed in Korea and I just ask that he has safe travels and makes it home safely.

What are you Peaks, Pits, Praises, and Prayers this week?

I'm linking up at these parties!

Kitchen Hutch Remodel

So we recently moved into a bigger house so we could have more room. Just another rental until we graduate and get big kid jobs. I don't know if all rentals are like this but everyone I've lived in has about zero cabinet space in the kitchen. Now a lot of college students don't cook but I do. I love to cook and I need space in my kitchen for my pops, pans, odds, ins, and food! So when we found the new place I noticed the lack of cabinet space once again and decided to do something about it. 

I got on Craigslist and looked until I found an old wooden hutch that I could get for a reasonable price and redo. Of course when we went to pick it up Jarr gave me the "are you serious right now, this is hideous" look. I just smiled and said you know I can work magic when I have an idea. 

The above picture is of the original hutch I purchased off of craigslist. Please ignore the stuff in the background this was in the middle of moving. 

So I cleaned the hutch really really good which it needed very badly, it smelled like a house from the 70's. It looked like a house from the 70's, and it reminded me of my grandma's house. I'm sure that most of you can relate to that. 

Please ignore my very lived in kitchen with the trash can and Eli's litter box. What we did was paint this bad boy about 95 million times to get her white. I used 3 coats of primer to get rid of the dark wood color and then two coats of Benjamin Moore Antique White to get her this lovely cream color. I replaced her knobs with some I got a Lowe's that I like the color of better. 

And we put chicken wire on the inside of the doors so you can see in the cabinet. I LOVE the way this piece turned out and I am so proud of my beauty. It took about a week to paint her, letting each coat dry overnight. I didn't put any kind of sealant on her I just let her drive for a week before we put anything on her and she seems to be taking everything well. I absolutely love how much storage she provides and I am so happy with my remodel. 

Here is the finished product complete with decorations on top. 

What do you think about my new kitchen storage? 

I'm linking up at these parties this week! 

Peaks, Pits, Praises, Prayers

Holiday season's are always hard. Things get crazy with people traveling and families all try to spend as much time together as they can. As I've mentioned many times before I have a big crazy Southern family. We get together and have feasts and make amazing memories. I love my family with all of my heart and I am so blessed to have them in my life. 

Well this holiday season we had a tragedy, someone in my family passed away. My other half, my partner in crime, my kindred spirit, was killed tragically in a car accident the week before Christmas. So this holiday season hasn't felt like fun. It's been sad and lonely. Someday I'll post more about this, its still too soon to talk much about it. 

Some weeks are just harder then other ones and this one has been tough. Starting back to school has been a lot tougher then I thought it would be. 

Peaks - Starting school this week I realized that after this semester I will have a whopping 10 hours left to graduate. It's getting real folks!!! Tonight is my little sisters high school basketball Homecoming and she is a senior! It will be nice to see my family at this and spend time with them again. 

Pits - Hearing a song on the radio that makes me break down. Last night me and Jarr were sitting in a restaurant waiting for our dinner to arrive and a song came on in the background and I broke down. Little things like this will always be hard. 

Praises - For Jarr, he has been my rock through everything. Always bringing a smile to my face and giving me a shoulder to lean on. He's the best and I praise God for giving me he continued strength and comfort in the form of Jarr. 

Prayers - I ask that you pray for me, my family, and our community. I'm from a small town and this has hit us hard. The loss is great and our hurt is continuous. 

What are your Peaks, Pits, Praises, and Prayers this week? 

Growing Up And Being Called a Kid

This post is going to be a little different from most of my posts but I feel like its time to talk about it. This may offend some people but that is not the intention for this post. This post is based completely on my opinions and thoughts. 

I am young, I am in my early twenties and for some people this means I haven't lived long enough to know much. In my short twenty-ish years I have watched many people close to me pass away, raised my little sister, worked a full time job while being a full time student, dealt with extreme physical hardship, and been told I was incapable of things because of my age more times then I can count. 

One of the most frustrating things about being part of the Millennium generation is the way other generations look at us. We are irresponsible, unreliable, and know nothing about the real world because we are too young to understand. However, for most of the people in my generation this is untrue, we raised ourselves a lot of the time. Most of us had TV baby-sitters, parents who worked 2-3 jobs, and were helping do chores and cook dinner by 10. These aren't bad things they are just the reality of having parents who did everything to make ends meet. 

One of the most important things I have learned in college is not to judge a person based on their age, gender, nationality, or my first impression. What's that saying, "Never judge a book buy its cover?" This is taught to all of us at such a young age and yet very few follow this. 

So I want to encourage all of you to take a step back, really look at the person who you are talking down to. Make sure this "kid" you think knows nothing hasn't watched a parent die, raised younger siblings, worked since 14 to help put food on the table, or raised themselves. How do you know they haven't gone through more then you in their short years of life. 

Because unfortunately the reality is that more of us have dealt with hardships at a young age then you. More of us have had to grow up so fast we missed a lot of what you think we should be doing. So take a look around next time before you just assume we are young kids with no idea what's going on in the world. 

First Day of School

Even as a Senior in college the first day of class still feels like the first day of school in elementary school. You get nervous to meet your teachers and you don't know what to expect for the coming semester. As I prepare myself to start one of my final semesters of college I feel like the 1st grader again getting ready for Mrs. Burchfield's class and having no idea what to expect. 

 Praising him through everything and praying continually this semester is one of my main goals this year.

That's part of growing up that they don't tell you about, it gets easier but some of it will always be the same. The nervousness you get sitting down in a classroom for the first time hoping you got a good seat  and your professor isn't a total flop. As I start classes this week I have all new binders and notebooks, that I specially selected for this semester. That's one part of being a kid that you never grow out of, getting cool school supplies is always fun, the bad part is as a college kid you buy them yourself. 

I'm taking 15 hours this semester as well as working full time still, just like all the other semesters I've had in college, but this one is extra special because at the end of it I will have 7 hours left in my college career. I will be part time next semester and graduating in December. The real world just keeps getting closer and closer to being here.

My motto for this semester is to Pray More and Worry Less. 

On my first day of school it will be a little different then every other day, it's a new beginning of sorts. New classes, teachers, and faces. Lots of new things to learn and new people to meet. 

What do you do on your first day of school that's special?