lots to do this week, but not too worried... i semi-enjoy most of my classes this semester, work and reading for classes can just be really time consuming.

currently i am listening to band of horses. oldies but goodies. i really love his voice and their style.... it reminds me of summer and josh and the outer banks. some of my favorite things. i have the winter blues so listening to this is making me crave warmer weather even more... i have just decided to give up on a real winter this year since it has been semi-cold and semi-awkward-warm all season, which of course is not a good temperature because i just never know what to wear. so im just giving up and ready for spring. anyone with me on that?

so ive been playing with my camera lots inside and think im ready to show my favorite room in our little apartment- our bedroom. i like it best because it reminds me of our wedding, its eclectic, and the perfect combination of funky and serene and ive added lots of personal touches.

this is when you first walk in our room- old apartments have surprisingly big bedrooms. 

few things:

- headboard is from home emporium 

- linen duvet w/shams is from target

- the teal sham is from anthropologie

this is what is above our headboard.

the frame on the left is our vows (pinterest project)

the frame on the right is our first dance lyrics hung the moon by drew & ellie holcomb (my favorite) i cut a doily in the shape of a moon and tied yarn around it.

 here is the far wall from the first picture. the lantern is from our wedding that lined the aisles.

the floral art above is from a thrift store and super victorian. 

 window treatments can be pricey- i got these curtains from tuesday morning.

i made the curtain tie back from an old doorknob set. just washed it, painted it and 

josh screwed it in the wall. total was $6.

(notice the paper in the old window to keep the wind from knocking it against the wood at night- these windows are ollllddd!)

(heres an awful picture of it by itslef- couldnt get the lighting right)

a gift from his parents across the pond- we love it.

my side of the bed.... we love maps.

 this map is on the other side of the window.

turtle knobs on my nightstand.

this is the wall directly across from our bed. (closet & bathroom on the sides)

- home is where you are: urband outfitters

- the green turtle: joshs first christmas gift to me

- the art inside the brown frame: from paris

- made the j&a frame

-glued fabric inside matted part of the frame above the j&a

exiting the room is our bookshelf

 to the right of our bed., behind the entrance door.

i made the H out of fabric scraps.

again from home emporium- seriously can find some neat stuff in there.

voila! there is our bedroom. and here is our tiny bathroom:

i love decorating. i love going to a home that you actually want to be in. i think that is important. making a house a home doesnt have to be pricey either.

welp, gotta go do some homework... oh the joys of being a student.

our home.

some stuff...

this week has been long but in a good way. tuesday was a special day. six months. thats how long weve been married. i do not know what to say. its gone by so fast and yet so slow all at the same time. its crazy... when we first got married i felt like we were playing house. like it was gonna go back to  dating and not living together. but it never did and now it just feels.... right, natural, normal, sweet. so we split snow crab legs and a couple sides at AW Shucks- so delcious. i love crab. and later we talked about what we wanted the next six months to look like. some goals. we have a lot ahead of us. josh is wading into high waters with student teaching. i am in school doing 18 credits. young life starts in february. but right now i am not scared. we are on the same page and know our limits and needs and everyday is a new day to wake up and learn to love each other and be selfless- some days are harder but were learning and i dont think that learning will ever stop.

we are also headed to EUROPE this may- a little 2nd honeymoon/graduation trip to see his parents- they live in Belgique (belgium that is) i am currently in french and trying so hard to learn- its hard even my french professor says. but it would not be possible if it werent for the amazing wedding gift from his parents. we really are so grateful and excited. no set-in-stone plans yet but paris is a definite and were exploring ireland too! josh is graduating and will be looking for a full time teaching job for next year! thats a big prayer that he gets one but we are totally trusting the Lord and his will and for him to lead us to exactly where we need to be.

big things coming up for this year.... and its a learning process. we are excited/nervous/happy and i am just so blessed to do this all with josh.

this year is rolling on into february and i am excited. excited for this unseasonably warm weather to turn into real warm weather. i feel loved lately. and it is so sweet.

weekly highlights:
saturday night hung out with girls most of the day and then had a little sleepover with my grassfield team- jess & janis-  after mrs.gfield. felt loved and so glad i have a female teammates again!

tuesday camel & tmot came over to bake a cake for shannons birthday. have not hung with them in a long time so it was sweet to catch up. sad i had class to go to instead of delivering the cake with them, but glad she was loved on a special day.

wednesday had birthday lunch with shannon camel and jess.

thursday hung out with katie hardy which is always delightful.

and thursday night abbey & mirmaid came over to help me study.... although we didnt get much of that done! mir surprised me with a cake. loved that thanks mirmir.

last night i got a ton of texts from some of my favorite people. they were at the all staff yl conference in orlando and drew & ellie holcomb were playing. recieved lots of texts and even more when they played our first dance song hung to moon. thanks so much megan, katie hackett, ryder & libby. LOVED THAT.
katie even sent me this special video:

sometimes i have a hard time loving myself. i am thankful for the people God placed in my life to remind me of how loved i am.... and i must remember that God loves me more than tenfold that amount.

some stuff...

a little journey.

sunday was one of my favorite days in a really long time. we woke up and had nothing to do that day. josh decided to surprise me with what he called "a journey." i love surprises. so josh told me to dress warmly, scarves hat gloves, the whole shabang. i had no idea where we were going or how we were getting there. and i was super excited. we walked down stairs and boarded the HRT bus route 16. this three minute bus ride took us to the tide. (the new light rail system in norfolk)

we toured through downtown on the tide and got of at the macarthur square station. we walked past some of the tallest buildings in norfolk- it seemed unreal that we actually live here because i really only see these buildings from afar. but when theyre right up close i felt like i was in a big city. 

i still had no idea where we were going. but then we approached waterside. i asked if that was our destination. thank goodness no. waterside norfolk could be really cool. but its not. norfolk needs to hype it up for sure.

we walked around the buildings and back to the water where all the ships are. and i saw what we were doing. we were riding the ferry to portsmouth! i love boat rides. this was a good surprise. 

we enjoyed a pretty chilly stroll through high street.

Col. William Craford- founder of Portsmouth VA

we were headed to our lunch destination. this was a surprise too. a really good one.

this place was absolutely delicious. called the bier garden. the place was opened by a german couple with the help of their daughter and son. they serve authentic german food and have over 350 different kinds of beer. it was so good. we both had bratwurst, spatzle, and the most delicious fries ive ever had. josh ordered Schneider Aventinus Eisbock and I had a Franziskaner Dunkel. (yes i really enjoyed it and drank it all)

we went to an antique store on our way back to the ferry and found a little splurge for our home- but most definitely worth it. itll be shown on my home blog posts soonish. we also found a little birthday gift for joshs dad- it was too perfect to pass up even though his birthday is a while away.

we strolled along the water and took some pictures of norfolk and portsmouth as the sun was setting. still trying to figure out my camera but it starts somewhere so i got a lot of good practice.

solar powered boat- josh loved it

here are some photos i cant take credit for- josh likes to play with the camera too:

the sun was down and it was freezing!

he likes to turn the shutter speed wayyyy down and blur lights

its nice to have someone know me so well and love me despite that. i seriously could not have asked for a better husband. girls, dont settle, because this seriously is worth it all. the time the effort the fights. i am so blessed. 

a little journey.

happy happy weekend.

just wanted to pop in and say happy weekend. i just got an email from odu. and i am currently on the deans list! this is really really super exciting for me. when i went to TCC (local community college) i made the deans list, but that was cake compared to these higher level classes at odu. not to mention last semester i took 18 credits- a very heavy course load that required a ton of work.

i am so proud. i think thats okay. i dont mean to brag. but this really is a big deal for me and my family.

so far, im on the track to graduate Cum Laude.

this gives me a lot of motivation to do well this semester- which i have been wanting.

happy weekend everyone. we are going to celebrate this weekend!

happy happy weekend.

special education.

lately, the idea of me being involved with special education has been thrown at me. not overwhelmingly, but i can definitely see a subtle pattern lining up in my life involving special education. i am not sure if it is coincidence or if God is trying to rely a message to me.

about two years ago or so, josh and i went down to the 1st street jetty in va beach. this is where we first talked about us becoming us. our first kiss. and the first time i think either of us were honestly real with a person of the opposite sex. so we went here to sit on the rocks and look at the stars that are tragically dimmed by the city lights. we like to just sit and be there. listen to the water. and just be still for a bit. well that time we were there, a new park had been constructed right by these rocks. its a park for everyBODY. 100% handicapped accessible. i thought it was so neat. and then pondered what it would be like to have a disabled child. i asked josh what he thought. he said it would be ours and a child of God and that we would love it just the same. i knew that. but deep down my heart had fear that i wouldn't be able to do it.

i admitted that night that i was afraid of special ed (sped) kids and people. ive never really been involved with them. never been in an inclusion class or anything. its a foreign world to me. and it kinda scares me.

this year i started subbing in Chesapeake. i had my first try with sped kids when i subbed at my old elementary school, Greenbrier Elementary. There were about ten kids who were in an out of the class and did certain subjects with another teacher and were in my class sometimes. It was different and kind of weird actually. But a neat experience since most school systems are moving toward inclusion classrooms. I couldn't stop talking about these 3rd grade kids who I got to know and love in just a day.

but i still thought that the older they get the scarier it is.

I subbed two weeks later at my old high school, Hickory. It was for a computer class. That is when I fell in love. I was in the classroom with seven sped kids. each very unique. One boy was on the verge of a break down and I did not know what I would do. the boy next to him calmed him down and showed the most sincere compassion I have ever seen anyone give to anyone. my heart melted and i shed a few tears so utterly and completely moved by these kids. i still talk about that instance today it moved me so much.

currently i am taking two sped classes for college. and my historical methods class has two special ed students in it. they make me laugh. seriously. they are also extremely intelligent. when i was in my sped class on tuesday night my heart leaped when we were talking about kids and i reflected back on those times i subbed and the previous day with the boys in my college class.

i do not know what any of this means. but i do know that my heart has been moved from fear to compassion right before my eyes. i hope and pray this continues to happen in other areas of my life. fears moved to something greater. how great is our God that he would show us the realness of his heart and ours.

special education.

my best friend.

monday my best friend came to visit. she served as maid of honor in our wedding and did a phenomenal job planning and being there for me... itll be my turn one day to return the favor and i am beyond excited because this girl deserves it all. she planned my bachlorette party and it was absolutely perfect. by far one of my most favorite days of my life. i can only describe how i felt as loved.

she is BOMB at cake pops and cupcake bites. she also knows my deep love for Marie Antionette.

cail (thats what i call her. she calls me al) and i have been best friends since 1997- 2nd grade. we were in the same class for 3rd grade and moved next door to her in 3rd grade. most of my early childhood memories include this girl and pretending were animals in the yard or mermaids in her pool. she moved to italy in 5th grade. back in 8th grade. and then to MD in 9th. but weve kept close and visited. and shes my best friend. and one of the people that loves me best and knows me well. she is also my fashion icon. not only did she plan the best bach party ever, she helped me make the dreadful ribbon wall and pretty much kept me sane during my engagement. she also bought me a pitcher from anthro that i desperately wanted and she knew no one else was going to buy it. she is so sweet.

it was nice for her to visit. she saw our apartment. left us love on our giant white board. and we had the best time.

she is going to be the best mom ever because she is so patient. well most of the time. she sat with me in the SS office for an hour. listening to an awkward women yell at someone the phone half the time. we had fun watching the social security tv and watching awful acting from this guy below and some old lady. the government really knows how to advertise easy online help.

 then we ate at one of josh and my favorite places. its a staple to go here when visiting the area. we also saw al doumar. the son of abe doumar, inventor of the cone. possibly the cutest old man on earth. doumars still uses the first ever cone machine. delicious. i get a cheeseburger with egg over easy on top, fried, and a vanilla coke. for dessert a ringo with strawberry icecream (hot fudge and crushed up cone on top). is your mouth watering like mine when i typed this?

cail sported these all day. i made them for christmas for her. i found some on her etsy favorites and decided to make them for her. not pictured is the purse she got me- my new favorite im going to carry forever.

we went to james harris house to watch the sugar bowl. (although if were being real, we didnt watch any of it... i dislike watching football on tv they stop the clock too much) we hung out with a bunch of our friends. everyone here loves caileigh. i love that about here.

the next morning before she left norfolk, we had to go to the donut dinette. yet another on of my favorite parts about ghent. the best breakfast cooked right in front of you. and the best donuts ever (yes better than krispy kreme id say) so delicious.

her visit was short but full of laughter and fun. i miss her but love that we are in each others lives for so long. and that shed drop everything if i needed her to. hopefully her boyfriend jimmy can visit next time too.

today i got a facial. if you have never gotten one, or gone to a spa, start saving change up for one. caileigh got me this as a birthday gift and i just now used it. oh how i loved it so so so so much.

heres to best friends. the friends that your soul dances when theyre around. i have lots of those friends.

ive been taking lots of pictures with the camera. home photos coming soon. and perhaps a new computer for me?! (YAYYYYY ** ecstatic dancing and joyful giddiness**)

my best friend.