best days of my life

2012-02-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

where to begin?! sooo much has happened. the christmas season came and went. new years came and went. our cancun trip came and went. whewwww! that last one there was something i had been looking forward to since dan and i were engaged!

so, i guess i should start with christmas? it was a good time with friends and family and celebrating the birth of our Savior! :)

our new year's eve was great! we have some friends (spencer & breanna) who we've become very close to in the past 1.5 years or so. well, spencer & dan decided to surprise us girls with a day in downtown chicago! so, we all got up super early and took the train. lots of monopoly deal was played that day. :) well, we had a great day but then on the way home the train in front of us hit a car and someone in our train had a heart attack. sooooo, we didn't get home until around 4:30 or so. needless to say, the next day we were all kinda tired :) oh well, it was well worth it!

our trip to cancun was a blast! we got it as a wedding gift but couldn't go for our honeymoon because my lung collapsed while we were engaged and i couldn't fly. so we decided to take it this year. i'm not even going to start naming all the things we did because there are way too many to count, so i'll just tell you that it was the most memorable trip i'll ever take. yeah, our honeymoon was a ton of fun, but this...well, we knew each other so much better and it gave us something to look forward to for a while.

there was something else that happened in january that is WAY more important than anything else i've said in this post yet. our friends spencer and breanna gave their lives over to Christ. we are soooooo thankful for their decision! :) we love you guys!

some christmas pictures....

i had to post this one. sometime if you see my dad...just ask him about his secret obsession with angry birds. :) i'm just kidding dad...i love you!

now for chicago....

cancun...

these huge balls were so much fun! we could actually take them and run across the water. or attempt to anyways! :)

ok so dan will probably kill me when he sees i posted this next one. but i couldn't resist. i mean seriously, every single time i see this picture i laugh. haha, it completely cracks me up!

dan probably wouldn't have convinced me so hard to take my picture with this guy if he knew he would have to tip him...lesson learned...mexicans in cancun do anything to get your money...seriously...

a nice and fun snorkeling trip! :)

and to finish it up...a picture of myself and my beautiful sister in our sweet new p.j. bottoms mom got us! :)

have a great weekend!!

why i love my job

2011-12-09T05:32:00.001-08:00

It's been a year since the Davis family entered my life. What a year it's been. I appreciate this family so much and I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to work for them. In many ways, it makes me want to have kids. The laughing, smiling, memories, fun times, silly jokes, secrets shared for no one else to hear. Those are the things I love. In other ways, I don't want to have kids for a really long time because of this job. The discipline, the tears, the arguing, the I-always-want-to-give-them-what-they-want-but-they-can't-always-have-it (wow, I don't even know if you can do that :), and all those other little things that are hard to deal with. But all-in-all, this job has made me so excited for the day when kids come into our life.

Enjoy some pictures of a few of the things that remind me why I love my job :)

Looking in my mirror to see this smiling little boy looking at me :)

Errands I run...especially cookie cottage! Yum!!!!

The reminder that this typical 12-year-old boy has a gecko in his room that loves to eat crickets. All day yesterday and all morning today I've heard these guys chirping like there's no tomorrow. The problem with these specific crickets? You can't smash them because they actually do serve a purpose.

Walking in the house to see this barricade of cars made by a 6-year-old. After he asks me if I like it and I reply "yes," he goes on to play for hours. Ahh...little boys

I'm not so sure if I'm really thankful for this Christmas decoration or not. Yes, it has delicious candy. Yes, it sits on their kitchen counter. Yes, I'm in the kitchen all the time. Yes, I eat most of the candy cane kisses. Yes, I am the one who refills it so the family doesn't even notice if any are missing. No, don't go buy any...they're wayyyy too addictive!

Have a great weekend!!

2011-11-18T10:16:00.001-08:00

See this guy?

That's my amazing hubby. And this handsome man has a birthday today! 24. Wow, seriously? If you saw him in the past two weeks you probably would've never guessed he was near that old with his hair being a curly mess... Don't worry, I gave him a haircut this past week, so he doesn't look like he's 16 anymore :)

Many of you probably know Dan and you also probably know that he has a spunk for life and he is almost always happy! Okay, so maybe every once in a great while he has a bad day...but he almost always has a smile on his face! Many of you probably also know that he has an EXTREMELY contagious laugh. Once you get this guy laughing, the whole room will be. He seriously has the best laugh I've ever heard :)
So...Happy birthday to my wonderful and amazing husband!

I love you so much!

2011-11-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

I decided today just to share a song with you. If you want, look it up on youtube and listen to the beautiful melody. The words are inspiring, convicting, and touching. A good reminder to keep striving to glorify HIM because there is nothing better. Enjoy!

Knowing You

by Graham Kendrick

All I once held dear, built my life upon,

all this world reveres and wars to own,

all I once thought gain I have counted loss,

spent and worthless now compared to this.

Chorus: Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You.

There is no greater thing.

You're my all, You're the best, You're my joy,

my righteousness; and I love You, Lord.

Now my heart's desire is to know You more,

to be found in You and known as Yours,

to possess by faith what I could not earn,

all surpassing gift of righteousness.

Oh, to know the power of Your risen life,

and to know You in Your suffering,

to become like You in Your death,

My Lord, so with You to live and never die.

2011-11-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh....another wedding coming up. I LOVE weddings! The way the bride and groom look at each other; the love flowing between them. The way it reminds me of our wedding day. The happy emotions, the lovey-dovey feelings, everything. Well, this wedding hits VERY close to home.

My mom's side of the family is pretty unique. I have two uncles that could be my brothers. Brant is almost 22 by now and Bryce is two weeks younger than me, so 19. No, we do not call them uncle Brant and uncle Bryce. That would be WAY too weird. I can remember the good ol' days in my grandparents woods. It was always Brant, Bryce, Chase, Drew and I. Throwing walnuts at each other pretending we were at war. Climbing trees just to put up a rope to call it a tree house. Running through the woods and climbing through the old rock pile to try and find 'hidden treasures' such as cool rocks or oddly shaped twigs. Yes, those were the good old days.

Bryce and Brant

Bryce and I were always close. We got along really good and I never really realized how much our friendship meant to me until I got older. Once my grandparents moved to Chicago with the boys and we moved back to Bluffton is when I really started to realize what a big part of my life they are. Holidays became more exciting and get-togethers became more special!

My Mom's family a few years ago...

Ok so all of those last two paragraphs weren't even supposed to make it in there. Whew! Good memories are a great thing! :)

Me and Bryce a long time ago

So, the engagement. Riiiight... My wonderful uncle Bryce recently got engaged to Andrea! Woohoo...good news, Andrea is from Bluffton...sooo, what does that mean for our family here in Bluffton? More good news, there is a good chance they'll end up living close! Yayyy! So, congrats Bryce and Andrea! We're so happy for you guys and look forward to the wedding! Love you both!

He may be bigger, but I'm still older... right Nana? :)

2011-10-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday I told you all that all of the girls (besides my sister :) are engaged or married. Well, I want to talk about two of those special girls today.

The twins. These girls hold a VERY special place in my heart. I spent a month with them in Taylor a few summers back, and I gotta say that that was one of the best summers I've ever had! We had SO much fun!!

Josh & Jenn are getting married in 2 weeks! Woot! I have to ask Amber for sure, but last I talked to her, her and Brad were hopefully getting married in Feb!! But I haven't even told you the best part!.......

They will only be living 2 hours from me!!!!! WOOHOO! 2 hours seems EXTREMELY close if you think that they were hoping to stay in Taylor, which is 7 hours! Yikes! But there's even MORE good news.....

They will only live 20 minutes apart from each other! Ok, I'm pretty sure God had His hand in there :) Now to give you a little idea how much time they've spent a p a r t...when I lived with them in Taylor (2 years ago), the most they had been apart was 9 HOURS! How crazy is that?! I know they've been apart more than that now, but most of their life has definitely been together! Whew! Anyways, Dan & I look forward to seeing them in 2 weeks and reuniting with a few long lost friends down in Taylor! Congrats girls! Love ya both!

2011-10-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

I have way too many things I could write about. Maybe it's because so many things have been going on. Maybe because I haven't written in my blog in months. Maybe both.

Whatever it is, I can only choose so much stuff to write about. Let's go back a while. First of all, every girl in my wedding (besides my sister...we'll give here a few more years :) is engaged or married! Whew! I got married a year and a half ago and NONE of them were even engaged! Now that's a busy year! :)

Dan and I had our first year anniversary. And on a side note...the cake from our wedding was terrible! We threw it out on our first bite! But hey, at least my wedding dress still fit :) It was fun listening to our wedding service and being reminded of some very key points. We look forward to many more years together!

We went to Myrtle Beach, SC with my family for a wonderful vacation. We had great weather and had a blast just being a family!

My brother Chase & Dan's brother Matt are rooming together at Purdue :) Dan & I will hopefully visit soon...

Drew, Hannah, & I got in a car accident which totaled my rav4...yes, this was a sad experience. I simply LOVED my vehicle. On the positive side, my amazing hubby got me a pretty sweet new car :) The experience of wrecking was definitely one that rocked our world. After an older lady pulled out in front of me and we flew into the ditch and flipped at least three times, we knew God had sent angels to look after us. None of us were hurt very badly, but both of my siblings had concussions. Thankfully Drew pulled out of his pretty quick, but Hannah is still recovering. Pray for healing!

Almost too many birthdays to mention! Gracie, Mom, Hannah, Drew, Joel, Matt, Ben, & Dad. Yikes! Happy birthday to you all! :)

On Dad's birthday, we were once again reminded that God has angels watching over us. Dad & some guys were headed out to celebrate his birthday for lunch and were in another accident. The outcome could have been worse, but thankfully the guys were ok. Praise be to God!

That sums up quite a bit.

Thankfully winter is a-comin' and we will be able to relax a bit more with Dan's work slowing down. First though, let's get through harvest. :)

Ten Months...and Still Happy

2011-03-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, Dan & I have been married almost ten months now! I seriously can't believe it! I can honestly say that it has been the most incredible, amazing, life changing, adjusting, BUSY ten months of my life. I remember when Dan & I were engaged I was talking with a newlywed girl and she asked if we were busy. I laughed and said, "yeah, this is by far the busiest that my life has ever been!" She informed me that it would only get busier. I was laughing pretty hard inside because I was absolutely, 100% positive that it could NEVER get busier than it was then. I later told Dan what she had said, and we both laughed... well, I think we now know what she meant. :)

So here are some pictures from throughout the last ten months :)

In front of our house

Our honeymoon-Marco Island

Running in Circles...

2011-01-21T05:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it's been a long time since I've posted. To tell you the truth though, today's blog title tells you how my life has been going. :) Since I've last posted here are some things that have happened in my life...

-Christmas has come and gone
-My sister Hannah was in the hospital
-I got a new job
-One of Dan's cousins got engaged to one of my good friends

There's much more, but that's a quick view of our winter so far. So, about Christmas (whew!)! We counted a total of Christmas' to be 10-11. Sadly, we didn't make it to all of them, but we sure wish we could have! I think we went to 7 or 8 though! So, I think Christmas was definitely the busiest time of our married life so far!

About Hannah being in the hospital. Let me tell you, this was the scariest day of my life...by far! It was Thanksgiving weekend and we were at my grandparents in Chicago when it all happened. We woke up Sunday morning to Hannah being awake, but unresponsive. She just would stare ahead blankly, hardly move, but definitely knew what was going on around her. We called the EMS and they rushed her to the hospital. Besides Mom & Dad, the rest of us had to wait hours before we knew anything that was going on. Thankfully the next day she came out of it little by little. The ruled it as a seizure. Probably the most common question I get about it is, "Will it ever come back?" Well, no one really knows! We're just thankful she's okay today!

My new job. I'm not officially a nanny in Fort Wayne for a WONDERFUL family! (I still have my job at OCI, but it's only for two mornings a week.) I got up to Fort Wayne every day to pick up the kids from school. All three children are school-age, so I drive up to Fort Wayne to pick the youngest one up at one. Two days a week I go to their house for a whole day (laundry, grocery shopping, a little bit of cleaning), and the other three days I go up to just pick up the kids and stay with them until the parents come home. They are an amazing Christian family who have trained their children to behave and respect very well! I thank God for this amazing opportunity!

The engagement. Mark & Stacy were both in our wedding, and now both of us get to be in theirs! Mark is Dan's first cousin, and Stacy has been one of my close friends for about 1.5-2 years. We're both so excited for them and we're really excited to be in a wedding together...again! ;)

Dan & I are doing great! It's crazy to think that on Feb 15th, 2010 we got engaged and that it's almost been a year! We both enjoyed our first Christmas together so much! Our love for each other continues to grow with each day that passes, and we thank God for each other every single day!

One last thing before I go (I better post now, who knows when I'll post next! :)) I recently downloaded a song on my iPod that I had heard tons of times but had never really thought about the words. It's called "What it Feels Like" by FFH. The chorus says,

"And this may not be the road I would choose for me, but it still feels right somehow. And I have never felt You as close to me, as I do right now. So this is what it feels like to be led."

I don't know what you're going through today, but just always remember that if you're trusting in God, it's going to be okay. You're probably like, right Caitleigh, you have no idea what I'm going through. You're right, I don't. But I do know that I've been in the position where I feel like it's never going to get better, like I'm living in this world aimlessly, and that it won't ever get better. Well, God has a plan. Go onto youtube and listen to this whole song. It talks about falling apart and getting all of God. This world is about Him, He created it for His glory. It's not about us. Depend on God, it's better that way. I hope that at some point in our life we can say, "So this is what it feels like to be led." He is in control. Everything He does has a rhyme and reason, we just might not know the whole picture yet.

the wedding...

2010-10-22T06:22:00.001-07:00

Well, my best friend Haley is married. Sunday morning before the wedding, Haley & I both got in our wedding dresses and got a few snap-shots (we also made our men get in some of them too :)) It was so much fun for both of us! The whole weekend was great! I had so much fun just seeing Haley in a gorgeous white dress and thinking back only a few months ago when that was me! What a great weekend!!

before church on sunday...

us with the guys :)

april, amber, beth, audrey, katie, rachelle, & me

:)

best friends

2010-09-08T05:52:00.000-07:00

well, my best friend haley & i always had a dream together. here's what it's been for years...

me: we should just go find an apartment after high school and grow to be old maids together!

haley: yes! let's do it!

that was our dream. we told people about it. and that's what we planned to do. just have fun together and be together.

well, both of us liked someone in the young group. i liked dan, she liked a guy named ryan. well, little did we know that dan liked me, and ryan liked haley. so...in the past couple of years, our dream together has changed. it has now become...

me: ok, so maybe we won't grow old together as old maids. let's just make sure we get married around the same time!

haley: oh man, i don't know if it's going to work perfectly, but OKAY...let's do it!!!

haley was planning on going to college, and i was planning on just working after high school. she was absolutely FOR SURE that i was going to get married right out of high school, and i was FOR SURE she would at least get a proposal right out of high school. i knew she didn't necessarily want to get married right away, so i didn't know if our dream would ever work out.

two saturdays after dan & i got home from our honeymoon, we got a little visit from haley....and ryan :) yes, they're engaged to get married on october 10th! YAY!! so our dream is coming true! five months after haley was in my wedding, i get to be in hers! CONGRATS RYAN & HALEY!! WE'RE SO HAPPY FOR YOU! :)

pictures from the wedding...

2010-07-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

we got the cd of pictures from jenna and have real pictures of the wedding!! :) so i thought i would post a few!

time flies!!

2010-06-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

again i'm sitting here at mom's doing laundry. only this time it's totally quiet. the younger kids and dad & mom went to taylor this weekend. which is what got me thinking about this post. in a few days, it will be a year since i first left to go to taylor. time really, truly does fly! soooooo much has happened since then. i'm going to be honest, i'm going to miss not going down this summer a ton. i'm pretty sure that was one of the most fun summers i ever had. i met three of my best friends, had a care-free month, goofed off every evening, met more amazing people, and just plain HAD THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE! now don't get me wrong here, i wouldn't change where i am today...i wouldn't change it for the world! marrying my best friend is the absolute best thing ever and i would never ever change it! so, enjoy these pictures (which, by the way, some of them have probably been posted in the past)!! :)

the wedding...

2010-06-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

well, right now i'm sitting at mom's waiting for my laundry to get done. wow, just two and a half weeks ago i barely worried about laundry...or cooking...or cleaning...man, a lot has changed!! including that now get to be with my best friend every single evening and morning! i get to spend the rest of my life with him!! woohoo!! :) so, we had an amazingly fun weekend on may 29th & may 30th. with pictures saturday morning, graduation at 3, and the rehearsal supper, rehearsal, and singing all after that. wow. the next day was even better! we had so much fun! thanks to everyone who had a part in our awesome weekend!! enjoy the pictures!

the whole wedding party...

me and hay...buddies for a lifetime

amber, drew, jenn, chase, me, & dan

:)

me and the girls :)

hannah & bubba

the princess with her honey :) (we don't know why, but she's always called colt her honey)

me with my good ol' brothers :)

this little princess just loved to get her hair done...

happy birthday mom!!!

2010-04-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

so, yesterday was my dear mother's birthday!! happy birthday mom!! thanks for everything you do!!!!!!!

sorry for putting this picture of you on dad...but just remember...it's for mom!! ;)

i love you mom!! thanks again for everything!! :)

it's almost time...

2010-03-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

well, i can officially say, "next month i'm graduating!" but i can add an additional, "next month i'm getting married!" so, it's absolutely CRAZY to think that two days i've always looked forward to are going to happen one day after another! graduation's the 29th & our wedding's the 30th!

anyways, i was looking through some pictures from these past couple of years and decided i would post a few...

:)

engagement pictures

2010-03-16T21:14:00.001-07:00

well, we took a few of our engagement pictures, thanks to sam & kristen!! it was a fun day for all four of us, and the weather cooperated great!

enjoy!

~the story~

2010-03-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

our first picture together :)

Well, this is extremely embarrassing because I think it's been about 7 months since my last post. I've just been REALLY busy. I'm not even sure I'll keep my blog...but I thought I would at least post about something very exciting that has happened in my life these past couple of weeks.

To be totally honest, it's been going on for a little over two years. Two years ago on January first, I first saw the man I was going to marry. Dan Kaehr and I are engaged to be married May 30th, 2010!!!

Here's our story...We were both ice skating in the coliseum in Fort Wayne. I never remember seeing him before that. I'm pretty sure God just plain opened my eyes that day. I remember looking over and seeing a very good-looking, studly, athletic, godly, nice, sweet guy over across the way and I told myself, "I'm going to marry that guy someday." I'm pretty sure I knew his name because his little brother Matt and my older Chase were best friends when they were younger.

He now gets to experience having sisters!!!!

**When Dan and I talk about how we didn't know each other before it just boggles our minds. I can remember Matt coming over all the time when we were little and Dan can remember Chase coming over. But not once do we remember each other!**

Ok, back to the story :) We played some hockey together that day and the more I got to know him, the more I knew I was going to marry him. Ice skating was the first day he ever remembers me too. After that day he said that he really liked and respected me, but wasn't totally for sure if it was God's will that he marry me or not. Chase and Dan were amazing friends and hung out a lot (which was really handy for me to see him :), so I also got to get to know him really well. A few months after ice skating, I remember telling my mom that I really liked and respected Dan a lot but didn't have 'true feelings' for him but that I was going to for sure marry him!

Last May, Dan said that God hit him in the head with a baseball bat and told him that he was going to marry me. Then this past summer I went to Taylor, MO for a month in July. One of my goals while going was that I was going to try to sort out my feelings to see if they were just my own thoughts or if they really were from God. A month passed. My feelings got stronger. I knew I was going to marry the man of my dreams. I got back from Taylor and told mom, "there is no one else in this world that I even want to marry."

this was this past summer...

As time passed the next few months, I kept praying about everything but also remembered to keep an open mind. In September, he put the proposal in to marry me. He knew it wasn't time yet, but he wanted Ed to know his feelings for me. I had no idea he had talked to Ed. A few weeks ago the proposal started going through, and on February 14th I got the name. I knew as soon as I did that I was going to say yes.

Feb 14th was when his good friend got married and I was helping cater at that wedding. We worked with each other all day, but I was so excited about who the proposal was from that it was barely even awkward working with him. Every time I saw him I just smiled and kept working. We only talked a few times.

I woke up monday morning and I knew without a doubt that I was going to be engaged to Dan Kaehr by the end of the day. AND I WAS!!! Praise God!

We are both so happy to be together and we are so excited to start our life together. All the thanks and praise goes to God for bringing our lives together! A huge thank you also to our parents who are being very supportive and very welcoming to both of us as we both have new families to enter!!

So, I hope this wasn't too long and boring! I hope you enjoyed it!

:) i love this guy :)

catch up post!

2009-08-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

ok, so what if it's been a few weeks since i've last posted. ok, maybe more like a few months. but...i've been pretty busy lately! so, i DO have an excuse!! :) i'll make a quick run-through of things...first of all, i am OFFICIALLY A SENIOR!!, i got my senior pictures taken, some of my family members have had birthdays, i drove 5 hours BY MYSELF to see some wonderful friends, the taylor invite has come and gone, and i have a very bad case of senioritis. ok, so those are only a few things that have happened...tons more has!! so, enjoy the pictures!!!

a few senior pix...

drew & joels birthdays were last month...happy birthday boys!!!!

i visited the twins & emily in morton...ok, little story about this one. just for everyone's knowledge...124 has a little detour. so make sure you know the real way for the short cut before you take it!! :) it made for an interesting first half of my trip & it was definitely an experience & definitely worth getting lost!!! :)

now for the invite picture...this was our bluffton group!!!

and finally....a hilarious story about my senioritis...this past friday i was helping at a wedding reception. carla (my boss), hannah f.(a co-worker & friend), and i were in the kitchen getting everything ready. we were talking about the many engagements lately. well, somehow hannah and i got onto the subject of school, but carla's mind was still on the engagements. carla turned to me and asked randomly, "you have a really bad case of boyitis...don't you?!"

well, needless to say hannah and i both thought she said senioritis, so i replied, "yes, it's horrible. i can't wait to graduate!" and hannah said, "oh man, i can tell! she's gotten bad and it's rubbing off on me!" carla was VERY surprised! i think she was actually speechless (which is very rare :)...love ya, carla!)

so, finally we got everything figured out (we explained to her that we thought she said senioritis...but i don't think we had her totally convinced :)), but at the time, it was very hilarious!! :) i think that one will be floating around work for a while! whew, thanks for a huge laugh though, girls!! :)

so, all in all...these past few months have been pretty good (ok, except for a few stolen pink starbursts!! haha :))

finally!!!

2009-07-30T21:00:00.001-07:00

well, here is my first post since i've been home! i got home this past sunday, but have been really busy...so, sorry for not posting anything! i remember the whole reason i got this blog...so that while i was at HIS ranch, i could keep in touch with my friends and family back home. HA! a lot of good that did me! :) oh well!!

so, the most frequent questions that i have gotten asked since i've been home were, "what did you do down there," and "what was the best part"? and i usually say, well, "i did the odd jobs." i thought i would be working with the kids and horses all the time, but really i didn't at all. i helped with the kids a few times, but i didn't do like anything with the horses! i was thinkin i would ride every chance i got, but i ended up riding once! ahh! so, the odd jobs included: shingling, de-tarring, digging holes, baling, pulling weeds, watering...

the best part...well, that's a toughy! to be real honest, i don't have just one specific thing! i loved getting to know everyone better!

so, another interesting thing...i'm usually a night owl...but here i found out that i really honestly don't have to have much sleep at all (i'm pretty sure the twins found out they were night owls too :)) our earliest time to bed was midnight...every other night it was at least an hour or so after that. one night we tried to pull an all nighter and we were going to take a looooong walk at 6 a.m., but fell asleep at 5:30! call us crazy...but it was a blast!! :)

so, enough was said with all that! here are the pix....

amber, me & jenn

watchin the race!!!!!

our blitz group...nick, renee, clint, caleb, amber, garrett, jimmy, me, & megs (jenn is taking the picture)

this was one of our late nights (can ya tell? :))...

what ever loser :)

at the fair

tate, amber, jenn, & me

nick was the boss of the roof...haha!

emily, me, amber & jenn

jenn, amber, & me

jenn, me & amber

oh yeah....

jenn, me & tate at 6 flags...

tate, jenn, me & amber

jenn & i

one last question that i usually get is, "are you glad to be back?" well, in some ways yes, and other ways, no way! i miss the people like crazy!! :( but it's nice to come back to my family & stuff. but i lived with norm and sally and imagine being with your friends ALL the time! it was awesome! i was hardly ever apart from them! it was so much fun! i'm so thankful for such an awesome experience!!!

hello from taylor

2009-07-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

well, here i am....finally! we didn't have a computer for a while and i have been EXTREMELY busy lately! this past week and a half has gone extremely fast! i've been enjoying it soooo much, but i miss my bluffton friends & family tons too! :( we have been working hard on the ranch. i'm not going to say tons, but i do have a few pictures for ya'll to look at! so....here are a few of them....

me & megan before church

megan, jennifer, emily, me & amber

megan & i after our 11:30 p.m. swim in the lake :)

jennifer, me, & jodi

amber, emily, jennifer, & me before church

me and abe

jennifer and i making supper :) (there's my real meal, mom :)

watching fireworks

jennifer, megs & me

rafting

2009-06-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

well, this past weekend the graduates and incoming seniors went rafting! woohoo! it was a blast! we had SOOOOO much fun! no one got seriously injured (well that i know of anyways :), so that was a huge plus! the river was 9 or so feet above what it was supposed to be, so that just made it more exciting! bigger waves! but, it was also more dangerous! we met at the country church at 8 thursday morning and drove until around 2 in the afternoon to west virginia. at our nice, comfy hotel we had a sand volley ball court, and of course, that's where all the games of euchre started! we played tons of it! thursday night we ate at dirty earneys (mmmmm...good!) then we had a nice sleep and got up plenty early to go hit the water. we rafted only a little on friday and then we got to our campsite. it truly was a site! whew! we had no electric and were soaked from the water already. keep in mind im one who HATES to be in wet clothes! ugh! but, despite that fact....we still had a blast! well, we rafted on saturday and hit the big waves! in our raft, only one of us fell out...good job, Sam, you made it more fun and funny that way! =D well, that is pretty much all...except for the slap-happiness on the way home and minor details like that! thanks for a great trip everyone!!

our 900 foot bridge!!

um yeah...about these two...

yep...here's the bathroom...

the good ol boys...

chase and i before we left....

kira

2009-06-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

well, kira has been here since august, and man have we had fun! but tomorrow, she leaves to go back to germany! =( i am going to miss her sooooo much! it was so sad saying goodbye! the thought kept going through my mind, "i'm probably never going to see her again!" well,hopefully i do someday! maybe i'll go over there or something! well, now i'm rambling on! anyways, last wednesday night, haley, mary, kira and i went to ft wayne. we went shopping (tried on dresses at von maur...woohoo :), ate at biaggis, went to the photo booth (of course), and then went to dq for ice cream! we had a blast! we also took tons of pix! so, here's a few of them!

wow...

hay is just too cute in this pic not to put it on here!! <3

i love you kira! don't forget us back here in this little town called bluffton! haha.... =D

school's out!

2009-05-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

well, i have been doing absolutely horrible on keeping up on the blog...so i apologize for that! anyways, yesterday was officially our last day of school. we had a half day...and it's so weird thinking that i don't go back for a while! yesterday morning at school, some of us high schoolers made pancakes and smokies for the other high schoolers and middle schoolers. when i got to school, i realized that i had forgotten a little 'ka tradition!' on the last day of school, we usually park anywhere in the driveway...it just makes the day more interesting. this year we all were in one huge lump in the middle, with hannah f. blocked in (thanks to chase & clint :) so here are some random pics from this past school year! enjoy!

the seniors

yeah, don't ask about this one...lol

dipping strawberries! (this was AFTER the chocolate war :)

shell, me, grace, chase, hay, & luke

me and hay with our random picture taking :)

um grace?

clint, chase, me & han

mary, grace, hay, katie, & me

what great pilots! =D

so, as a few last comments...we'll miss you seniors a ton, but wish you the best in the future! and, to the juniors...WE ARE NOW SENIORS! WOOHOO! =D

mckenna update

2009-05-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

well, sorry it took so long for me to post some pics of sweet little mckenna...but here are the few i promised. as of how she's doing...well, they are not going to amputate her foot as of now. many more surgeries are yet to come tho. and these surgeries aren't just anything tiny. every one is very serious and crucial in her foot healing process. so keep praying! i told ann this past weekend that we had people praying, and she said, "Thank you so much! All the prayers help a lot, so just thanks!" so, i want to tell all of you...THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR MCKENNA!!

happy mother's day!

2009-05-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

well, i thought it was totally appropriate to say a huge thanks to my wonderful mother for all that she does for me and my siblings!

mom- i love you!! thanks for all you do! you're the best! ~cait

Please Pray....

2009-05-08T20:37:00.001-07:00

many of you have probably heard, but 4-year-old mckenna mcnabb had an accident on sunday. her foot got caught under a lawn mower, and it was damaged very, very badly.

a lot of you probably remember when kevin mcnabb was burnt over 90% of his body. well, kevin is her dad. the family has had quite a few struggles.

mckenna has been in the hospital these past few days, and tonight they found out that they may have to amputate her foot. kevin and ann are in the tough position of choosing whether to amputate it or try and somehow let it heal. it's not looking good. they have 24 hours to decide, so your prayers are critical right now.

please pray for wisdom for kevin and ann, and also for healing for little mckenna!

chase works for kevin and ann, so chase, mom, and i went to the hospital yesterday to visit. mckenna was a happy little girl. i'll post pictures of her later so you can put a face with the person you're praying for.

thank you for your prayers! every single one counts!!

happy birthday to.....

2009-05-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

HANNAH!!

sunday was my dear sister hannah's birthday! it's kinda weird because now she can say she's a teen! yep, that's right...the big 13! wow! now my parents have 4 teenagers in the house! woohoo! well, anyway, a few random bits about hannah...

**she has gorgeous blondish colored hair which i'm jealous of
**she is extremely organized...all the time...that one actually kinda depresses me =D
**she used to love playing house
**she has a beautiful face, a wonderful smile, and a laugh that's contagious
**she LOVES to babysit...so if you ever need a babysitter, call her up!
**she got barefooting for a split second...it's better than what i did!!
**she is a kind, loving, sweet, compassionate, and awesome person with a wonderful personality!!

those are only a FEW things about her! i could go on and on and on and on! i love you hannah! happy birthday!! =D

welcome home, joel!

2009-04-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

well, as you can tell by the title, my uncle joel is home for a short visit! woohoo! on tuesday, the jim rinks went out for supper at bandidos for grandpa and joel's birthday. we had a lot of fun! of course, with luke, dad, and joel all there, it makes it loads of fun...even if there is teasing involved (thanks luke, you really brighten up the family =) so, here are a few pics from the other night....

grandpa and hannah

colt, chase, & hannah

grandma, me, & joel

me and mom

gracie, drew, saige, & jamie

jaxson, colt, & joel

here is one of the few pics i actually got of brinlee not covering her eyes. haha.

the brothers =D

joel, saige, & gracie

joel, we're looking forward to a great couple of weeks while you're home!!!!!

me n bekah

2009-04-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

well, saturday was nothing but a fun day! after a shower for wendy, bekah and i got together and rode dirt bikes, took a walk, and then in the evening we sat in the hot tub!

bekah's first attempt

hahahaha...

yes, we rode on the same bike...but that was the most fun i think! we were a little scrunched and one time i slipped off the back but hey! we had a blast!

woohoo!!

after the hot tub!!

all i have to say is....I LOVE WEEKENDS!! =D

it's been wayyyyy too long!

2009-04-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

wow! i didn't realize how long it had been since i last posted something until today! =D thanks for the reminder, tiff!

last summer, our family traveled to myrtle beach, SC. we had a blast! dad, the boys and i went deep sea fishing, we all went to a waterpark, and hannah, colt, dad, & i went para-sailing! woohoo! what a great time!!

Just Having Fun...

2009-04-11T18:48:00.001-07:00

we're a random kind of family...so here's our few random photos..... =D

randomness...

2009-04-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

well, i don't have tons to post about, so i thought i would post random pictures that i find of my family & friends! some of them are pretty old, so just enjoy! so, here are my random photos...

pictures from Mexico

2009-03-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

stuck...

2009-03-27T23:28:00.000-07:00

well, the only reason that i haven't been updating my post lately is because this past week i was in agua prieta mexico! the week has been awesome! i have met so many new people and i love the kids at the orphanage. well, the plan was that we were leaving tomorrow for home, but, because of a few 'problems' with the weather, we are now staying in phoenix until monday.

today we got up around 6 and headed here to phoenix. the awesome thing about this whole situation is that we have 2 whole days to tan. we have a pool and hot tub, and the awesome sunshine! woohoo to hot weather! the bad thing about this whole situation is that i really want to go home! thankfully, there are 11 of us who got stuck down here. hannah, sam, connie, ben, mitch, dana, bruce, mallory, rachel, & john are all stuck down here with me!

well, not tons happening...we might go to the phoenix church tomorrow if we get directions and a car. we'll see! thanks to hannah, i got a whole case of pringles for my birthday! hmm, let's see, what else is exciting? oh yeah, the pool view is great...we have palm trees surrounding us, the cool water in case we get to hot tanning, and the hot tub for tonight!

i'll get some pics from agua prieta to the blog whenever i get home, but for now, this will have to do! so, to all of you blufftonites....i heard it's kinda chilly there or cloudy or something so i'm sorry for that! welp, hope you all have a great weekend!

the past weekend...

2009-03-14T21:45:00.001-07:00

well, as i sit here trying to think of words to describe friday and saturday night, i can't really think of any! i could say marvelous, wonderful, great, awesome, magnificent, and so on, but that just wouldn't be enough! the ka students had an awesome time! it was so much fun! it was really weird because usually i'm like extremely nervous and jittery, but i wasn't! well, i wasn't until i was waiting for my signal to walk in! then, it got pretty bad! but, about the play...friday night...we had a few screw ups, but thankfully in VOG, we covered the big one up! saturday, not much went wrong! we had a few awkward pauses, but other then that, we were all extremely satisfied!

luke gave an awesome speech after the play was over...and he made pretty much all of us girls cry! mrs. k came up to get her flowers and i think that's when i mostly lost it!

we then all went to quinn and sarah's for an extremely fun cast party! so what if the pyramid didn't work out and we all came crashing down on each other while trying not to squish each other too bad?! we had a blast! with the emperor's new groove (which, by the way, DOES have llamas in it :), the guys wrestling, jamison's shoes being 'stolen', and everything else, it all made the night even better!!! so, thanks to the awesome cast of prayin', preachin', and a herd of llamas!

well, along with the extreme excitement of last week came an extremely hard thing to accept! our awesome and loved teacher, mrs. kipfer, is leaving ka. whenever she told us, i could have cried, but i think it was so much of a shock, that no tears came! we will miss her very, very much, but at the same time we respect her decision in moving on from ka.

so mrs. kipfer, we will miss you dearly! thank you for your guidence, Godly example, love, patience :), kindness, plays, teaching, and everything else! you were/are truly an awesome example, and someone whom we all look up to! we love you!

so, i guess i'll end on a happy note now...all-in-all, the play was awesome and we had a great time doing make-up, hair, costumes, and just plain acting crazy!

oops....

2009-03-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

ok, i'm really sorry about a BIG mistake i made on my last post...the play is at 7:30...not 7:00...the doors open at 7 though, so feel free to come then! again, sorry for the mistake!! thanks & once again, hope to see ya there!!

the play!

2009-03-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

well, this week is one of the most important weeks for the kingdom academy high school! tech week! woohoo! it is also one of the easiest! the whole morning in school is spent running lines, putting on make-up, trying costumes, more lines, getting organized, getting stressed (hahahaha..you have NO idea :), laughing, messing around, being crazy, and running scenes over and over and over and over again!! then, in the afternoon, we get back to a little bit of school work :(...but that's ok! then, on monday and tuesday nights, we have practice at 6:30 sharp. but, the most important practice of all comes on thursday night at 6:00. dress rehearsal! imagine adding all of the following things together, and you have what our dress rehearsal is half-way like: make-up, costumes, every girl running around trying to get their hair done & make-up done perfect (i'm pretty sure the girls get into that part more than the guys :) laughing, running the whole play, excitement, nervous feelings, and of course, having the time of our lives!! kinda stressful...but extremely fun! so, on friday and saturday nights, we get all of the jitters out of us, quick try to say our lines before we go onto stage, and, of course, try to have fun...but that last one isn't hard to do!

well, anyway, about the actual play nights...here are most of the details...on both friday & saturday, the play starts at 7. on friday, if you get there earlier, you get a better seat...first come, first serve!! on saturday though, we are having a dinner, so the people who reserved a table get front row seats, and there will be chairs set up behind for all of those who come just to watch the play! also on friday night, our alumni will be doing intermission, so that will be a huge plus! tickets will be sold at the door for $5 each...with children 10 and under free! so, hope to see ya'll at kingdom this weekend...and when i say that, i think i speak for the whole cast of prayin', preachin', and a herd of llamas!! and don't forget, if you can't come, and want to help out with something...feel free to keep the play, its actors, and director in your prayers...this is all for God's Glory!

the weekend

2009-03-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

well, this past weekend reminds me why these are the best days of my life! it was the bluffton invite for the young group on sat and sun, and i had some awesome fun with some of my friends! jenna, haley, julie, & mary all came over to stay the night on saturday night. i think we laughed so hard that we all could say we got an awesome ab workout! :) before julie got to my house, me, jenna, hay, & mary attempted to open starbursts using only our teeth and tongues...let's just say that was a little embarassing! then we played a game in which we laughed even harder! oh my! let's just say that during that game, a few of us were on the floor laughing! yeah...i know...it was bad!! but oh well, it was a blast! then of course there was the talking and whispering and laughing even more! jenna, hay, & i all tried something that i don't think any of us had ever tried. the three of us slept in a twin sized bed! i think it took us about, oh, maybe a half an hour to forty-five minutes to get situated...and when we finally did, i got shoved off thanks to the other two stooges! anyway, the squeezing was extremely fun, but hay moved to the floor in the middle of the night. i can't quite figure out why she wasn't comfy! hmm...it's a mystery to me! :) it was a great weekend! thanks so much girls...i love ya!!

check out the pyramid...with little gracie right on the top!

jenna, me, hay, & mary

this was our first try at fitting into the bed...it didn't work! :)

happy birthday chase!!

2009-02-26T17:44:00.000-08:00

well, it's been forever since i've posted, so i first wanted to say sorry for that!! secondly, i wanted to give a HUGE happy birthday to my dear big brother...Chase!! this saturday, chase, will become an adult...that's right, 18! i seriously can't believe it!

chase in mexico....what a stud!!

dad, me & chase

so anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHASE! love ya!!

Taylor

2009-02-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, my family (minus Joel & Gracie) drove 7 hours to Taylor, MO. We had an awesome time with Shon, Peg, & their wonderful family! We had so much fun laughing, singing (great singing, huh guys?? :), and driving crazily!! Saturday night, some of us 'older kids' had a great time watching Cars with the 'younger kids' :)!! On Sunday morning, I got up with Alicia, Megan, Adrianne, & Maria and went horseback riding at the Ranch!! So, thanks so much to the Shon Haerr Family!! We had a blast & can't wait to come out again!!

hannah, me, mom, drew, dad, colt, & chase

dallas, me, hannah, mom, travis, drew, dad, colt, chase, parker, & tyler

dallas, me, tyler, hannah, chase, & drew....and yes, dallas & tyler are really that tall :)!!

colt, parker, & travis

**In case you didn't know, during the month of July, I'll be living at HIS Ranch with Norman & Sally! I hope to help with the Ranch, get closer to Taylor people, and give all the glory to God while I'm there! Although I'll miss the y.g., my family, and my great friends, I know that I'll have an awesome time!! **

come one, come all!

2009-02-05T17:33:00.001-08:00

i just wanted to inform everyone that kingdom academy's play is march 13th and 14th. i don't know the time and stuff yet, but don't forget to mark your calenders! the title of this years play is prayin', preachin', and a herd of llamas...hope to see ya'll there!!

here are a few pics from plays in the past....

what are we to do with a two-year-old?!

2009-02-03T18:14:00.001-08:00

life as a two-year-old can be kinda rough...especially if you want candy! here's a little story about my sweet little gracie anne...

tonight gracie asked mom if she could have some candy. mom replied, "no, not now." about 15 minutes later, mom was walking through the kitchen, and something caught her eye under the table. it was a barefooted, little munchkin kicking her feet happily. mom peeked under the table to see gracie anne on her stomach eating away at a three musketeer and tootsie rolls. needless to say, it was put to a halt quite abruptly. after a little swat, a talking to, and a warm bath, gracie was sent to bed. sleep tight squirt! we love you!!

she's full of it!!

wendy & preston

2009-01-29T15:31:00.000-08:00

i have no idea why my eyes are closed...oh well!!

well, i'm sure a lot of you know about wendy and preston, but in case you don't...wendy and preston are engaged!! ahh!! wendy and i went to ka together for 4 years, and she is the sweetest thing ever! she always has good advice, and always is there to make you laugh!

don't ask :)

so many things happened when us girls got together. we would talk (of course), go out to eat at the depot, watch movies, vandelize, and much, much more!! i think one of our favorite memories together was when she came to stay the night at my house, we took window paint and toilet paper, went tping, and came home. well, on our way up the lane, we saw a tractor in the middle of the field by our house. i knew it was our neighbor's, but i had never painted a tractor before! so, wendy and i ran out to the tractor and wrote our neighbors a WONDERFUL note (ok, maybe it wasn't wonderful, but we had fun :)! well, anyway, thanks wendy, for the awesome memories!! i wish you both the best!!

**also, if you ever get a chance, ask wendy or preston to tell you their story...it's pretty amazing how God worked in both of their lives to bring them together!**

hay & i

2009-01-26T14:20:00.001-08:00

hay & i after our high school play...

well, here's my first post about my best friend, haley! hay and i have so much fun together...she is most of the reason that i can say that these days are the best days of my life!!! every time we get together, we make tons of memories! whether it's late night talks, speaking in our own language (don't ask :), watching movies, listening to pump up and country music, going to mc donalds late at night (oh, around 11 or so) for strawberry milkshakes, or any of the other great things we do together, we always have fun!!

me & hay at his ranch...what a picture!! :)

another thing about haley...she is such a servant (as you can tell by the pic). she is always willing to help and doesn't always even have to have all the credit go to her! wow, what a girl! :D

just bein' crazy!!!

some things about haley and i have changed becuase we have been around each other for so long. let me expain...hay used to be an extremely quiet, shy person, and i used to be so crazy that sometimes i don't think my friends could stand me (not that i'm that much different:). well, anyway, hay and i have rubbed off on each other so much! she is no longer real quiet or shy...and on the flip side, i'm not near as crazy as i used to be (of course, when we are together, we are both just crazy!!!). so, thanks hay for the great, awesome memories and for always being there! so here's to you hay...grasshopper, xx, california boy, country boy, 93, dean, mo, ha, carl, j-new, clifford :)....i love ya!

what's in a name?

2009-01-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

caitleigh (kate-lee)

yep, that's right...that's how ya say my name! now, most of you probably knew that, but for those of you who didn't...now you do!! here's a little history on my name...before i was born, my parents had two names picked out. if i was a boy, i would be colt. if i was a girl, i would be aliza. one day (just a few days before i was born), my mom was at my grandma's house getting something out of the fridge. while she was looking, she saw a small butter dish with the name 'eliza' written on it. when she asked my grandma what it was, my grandma replied, "oh, that's for joel's (my uncle) pet rat." well, let's just say that my mom HATES rats (and mice, for that matter), and she was NEVER going to name her daughter after a rat! so, when i was born, they came up with carli, but weren't quite settled on it. finally, after a day and a half in the hospital, the nurse came in and told my parents that they had to name me before we went home. mom mentioned the name 'caitleigh' to dad, and he loved it! so, that's how i got my name!! woohoo!!

some people ask if i prefer any other names. sometimes i get called cait, but usually only my close friends and family call me that! if i ever travel, i usually tell people to call me cait so they can at least remember my name! caitleigh is a pretty hard one to remember!! so, there's the history of my name...in case you ever wondered!! :)

the best parents

2009-01-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

well, i have talked about my siblings, but now it's time that i share about my wonderful, awesome, loving parents!! woohoo!! as you can tell by the first sentence of this posting, i love my parents very much!! although we can disagree a little bit...most of the time, we are great friends!! dad works hard at troxels selling tractors and other stuff like that. mom is a wonderful stay-at-home mother! it's funny becuase a few years ago, i would have to admit that i didn't have an extremely good relationship with my parents. i mean, yeah, we got along and stuff, but i couldn't tell them everything...well, things and people change. i tell my mom almost every single thing that happens to me. when i get home from a young group thing, i pretty much tell her almost all the good and bad things that happen! and of course, her and dad give me wisdom beyond belief! thank goodness for that! dad is a great worker, and he is usually very patient with me...especially when i don't get up in the mornings and he has to come get me out of bed. it usually ends up being around, oh, maybe 3 or 4 times...sorry, dad! thanks for your patience!

i praise God for the wonderful examples of my parents!! they are great lights to all of us kids! i love you both! keep up the great work!!

random pictures of fun...

2009-01-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

not the best days

2009-01-16T04:13:00.000-08:00

well, many of you probably know that in june 2007 i had some problems with my lung...well, let me give you the little story...it really started in march of 07. i had a little bit of pain in my left lung, but i didn't tell mom because i didn't want to worry her. as time went on, i totally forgot about the 'little' pain. on a monday in june, i went to a young group thing in leo, and it started really hurting then. i told mom, and the next day she took me in. the next thing i knew was that i was in the hospital with oxygen, an iv, and everything else!

before we had gone to lutheran in ft. wayne, we had gone to the dr in bluffton. they didn't find anything at first, but when they did, they called mom and told me to get in there...my mom, instead of taking me to bluffton's hospital, took me straight to lutheran. the dr in bluffton said that i had a collapsed lung (which was only 20%). when we got to lutheran, they didn't believe us that i had a pneumothorax because i wasn't struggling for breath and i wasn't hurting all that bad. but my lung was now 50% collapsed. well, that didn't matter, they put me on oxygen. i hate being put on oxygen.

just to let you know how much my breathing had diminished without me knowing (it had decreased over time so i didn't even notice anything), here's a little piece of info about it...the drs get uncomfy whenever your breaths per minute get below 18, well, mine was down to 9. praise to God that i wasn't struggling for breath, or else i would have had to be put on a vent, and that was the only thing i didn't want to happen!

the next day, i had surgery. let's just say that the pain was so horrible, that i got stuck on morphine (woohoo :)! thanks to all the visitors who came and saw me, but i probably don't remember any of you too well. one person that i do remember is my uncle mark gerber. i remember him laughing at me (not meanly, of course! I was laughing too)! i also remember that is was hilrious! my speech, i think, was slurred, and i couldn't stay awake! well, anyway, sorry i don't remember much more...i was pretty drugged up!

i spent a total of 9 days in the hospital, and they were some of the worst days of my life...until the next year came...but that's a whole other story! people ask me if i'm cured for life...well, we hope so. one of my drs said that he has never seen anyone have problems after this kind of surgery (i have had a few little things with my lung). so, thanks for all the prayers that everyone prayed for me! every single prayer helped! thanks also for the many, many, many cards! they were so encouraging!! so, with all of that being said...who knows, maybe i'll tell a little more in depth of WHY my lung collapsed and what happened the following year...but for now, this little post was good enough (i hope :)! Praise God!!

brother days

2009-01-15T06:14:00.001-08:00

well, now that i've talked about my wonderful sisters, i HAVE to tell about my awesome brothers!! chase is seventeen going on eighteen! he enjoys outdoor work and loves to mess around with friends (dirt bikes, snowmobiling, snowboarding), and who knows what else they do!? Drew is a 8th grader at norwell, and he's playing football next year. man is he getting buff!! weight lifting takes over some of his time, so i guess the buff part is nature for him now. Colt and Joel are little buds. Colt is 11 and Joel is 6. They love to play outside together and love to play tractors! they bring joy to the supper table with their many, many stories about school and everything else! i love all of them so much!! they are great friends...thanks boys!!

why 'best days of my life?'

2009-01-14T13:40:00.001-08:00

some of you may be wondering why i named my blog 'best days of my life.' well, it's really quite simple! my years in high school right now are awesome!! i have awesome friends and family that are always surrounding me, an amazing young group that i can always count on, and, of course, my Lord and Saviour who has saved me from my sins!! although life right now can be stressful at times (thinking about college, and life after high school), it is so much fun! hanging out with friends, watching movies, and being a teenager is great!! i love it!! right now, there are no words can describe the tons of memories that i am making! woohoo!!

sister days

2009-01-13T13:13:00.001-08:00

as you may know, i have two gorgeous, wonderful sisters that i love very much! hannah lea is 12 and gracie anne is 2. hannah and i are complete opposites! hannah is a total clean freak, and well, not to say that i'm not clean or anything, but, i'm usually in a huge hurry and well, things in my room just aren't as orderly as i would like them! gracie anne is my little angel. even though she is extremely spoiled, her bright smile can change my attitude from unhappy to very happy! thanks girls! i love ya!!