Summer fun...and insanity!

It's been a crazy last couple of days...INSANE(which explains my extreme lack of posting). 

My cousins were in from Texas, and they stayed at my grandparents so we drove there several times last week. And Saturday we went to the lake! IT. WAS. SO. MUCH. FUN! My aunt could not move the next day- literally, could not move. 

 The house some church members were loving enough to have us over at!

The fantastic tube and all the cousins, (from L to R) Jman, Hannah, Hope, Sarah, Bailey, Sonia, and William.

A super cute picture of Sonia!

Dad, Hannah and I!

Sarah and Sonia jumping in the lake!

A little tubing action!

Hannah and I riding on the back of the pontoon!

Sonia and her new best friend Alex :)

Overall, it was a very fun day! I think I was one of the only ones who came out not sunburned, and not sore! And even though I am very tired from such a long and insane week- it was lots of fun and we made some Pinterest crafts! This weekend is going to be kind of crazy- but lots of fun! Anyway- have a great rest of your week! 

~Bailey

It's Summer!!!

Even though it's technically been summer for quite some time, it's just now feeling like it.

And sadly the business of summer has hit, and though it is wonderful- it is sometimes a bit crazy.

We've had VBS this week, and I've been with three year olds, and wow. I am so tired. They are CRAZY. But I love them and I constantly have a cloud of little children surrounding me and about four children asking to hold my hands. Apparently they don't understand that when I have one kid on each hand it means I don't have any more hands to go around...so they just grab my arm instead. But I'm totally okay with it...mostly because I just love them :)

This weekend is going to be packed and I'm so excited about it!

I have a 16th birthday party for one of my best friends at the lake on Friday, Amanda and Nick find out that same day if lil' Land is a boy or girl(what do you think??? Tell me please!). I think that the baby (who is already moving inside it's mama!) is a boy! I plan to go scrapbook shopping Saturday for more scrapbook stuff for this lil' peanut...We of course have church on Sunday and who knows what else it will bring!

Oh, but yesterday- I finished Little Women. It was tragic. But yet amazing. Very bittersweet. And that's all I can say. I just LOVE that book.

Oh and it's almost been a year since the Taylor Swift concert :) Such WONDERFULLY AMAZING memories :):):)

We've been swimming a whole lot this week- in fact we are going swimming today with some friends!

I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has to hold- and I can barely wait until Summer With the Arts!

What have you all been up to this summer so far?

Have a great rest of the week!!!

~Bailey

Quite a lovely weekend :)

I wake up and walk into the living room.

It's quiet. Scary quiet.

The kind of quiet when there are no boys in the house.

And I close my eyes and try to capture the moment.

The boys are at church camp for the weekend, without dad this year...we'll see how this goes :). Just kidding, they're going to do wonderfully! We are doing a little something for them while they are away :) that we are all SO excited about, and I will post pictures once they get home!

And even though the quiet is SO SO SO very nice, it is very weird without them here. But I have to say I kinda enjoy the peace and quiet...and card making and piano playing without disruption! It's very nice...and it's going to be quite a lovely weekend.

But I'm praying God will move in their hearts while they are gone, and that they would stay safe while having so much fun!

Now- I'm off to work on a secret project and enjoy the peace and quiet of a house with no little brothers :)

Summer thoughts...

I find it incredible that while we are struggling it brings us so much closer to God, and how much more aware we are of other people's difficulties. Don't you?

This past semester, there were tears so many days, all I could do was rely on God to bring me through each day. I had to remember daily this was the plan He had for my life, and everything had a purpose.

And when exams were over and I finished my bible study...I wasn't making time for God, wasn't giving it as much importance as before and most importantly wasn't continually thanking Him for bringing me through such a tough semester.

Yesterday, well actually this has been brewing in my little mind for quite some time, I realized, God brings us through such tough times so that we will grow stronger in Him and grow closer to Him- and after that struggle is over CONTINUE to grow closer to Him.

And so this summer...I'm going to do whatever it takes to grow closer to God. To make sure that when I start next semester I have the fruit of the spirit flowing out of my mouth. To make sure that I continually have the right attitude about school, knowing that God is and always will be by my side.

To make sure that I will always remember this summer, the summer of 2012, as one of spiritual growth and nearness to my Savior. To be able to look back and know that God changed my heart forever this summer, that I grew closer than ever to my Savior and will be ready next semester for whatever challenges he places in front of me.

Lord, 
Use me. Strengthen me. Help me grow in you. Shine your love through me in the words I speak. Help me love you more than I have ever loved you before. Show me your unfathomable love and help me grasp that in every area of my life. Lord, help me love you with an unconditional love, so that I will be prepared for wherever you are going to take me.


~Bailey

What are some of your summer thoughts?

Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"

The famous saying from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And yesterday, with several of my closest friends, we went to see the newest modern take on Snow White, also entitled, Mirror Mirror(starring Lily Collins and Julia Roberts). 

Source: rachel-tw.com via Luke on Pinterest

And let me tell you, it was very, very good. One of the best new movies I have seen in a while. There was no language, or bloody violence. There was fighting, but nothing major. Overall it was totally clean, and I was so happy about that. The acting at a few points was a little cheesy, but for the most part was really good!

It has a great love story for the girls, lots of fighting for the boys and of course a few laughs here and there! There were little secrets hidden throughout the story that in the end shock you when they are finally revealed. The plot is altered a bit from the original Snow White, which is good because I wasn't ever a huge fan of Snow White.

But this story- I really loved it. Great plot(and love story), plenty of fighting, a good amount of humor...and it was clean!

If you are looking for family friendly movie to go see, I highly recommend Mirror, Mirror! It's at the High Point dollar(now $1.50) theater...but I'm hoping it will soon be on DVD! It was just a great movie! And that's all I have for you on this fine Wednesday morning!

~Bailey

Counting down....

I'm counting down the days....

Until school is out...that is six.

Until the pool is open so we can spend long days there just hanging out.

Until Summer With the Arts 2012, which is going to be incredible(thanks to the wonderful Paige).

Until I get to spend unending hours with my best friends giggling and talking...and giggling and talking some more.

Until I can work on my book for hours on end.

Until my 15th birthday and I get my permit...speaking of that I FINISHED DRIVERS ED!!!!!!

Until we know if baby Land is a girl or boy...which is around 26ish days...not that I'm excited or anything :).

But...I'm also trying to savor each day and find the little treasures and things the Lord brings me through each day.

And each day the Lord is bringing me more joy than I ever thought could be possible. It's been great. Especially now that my favorite college students are home and they just drop by for a few hours and we all talk and laugh and have a great time, fun times.

And yes, I'm counting down the days until each of the things above happens, but more importantly I'm searching and seeking daily the things God brings me each day to bless me and bring me joy.

What are you most excited about this summer?

~Bailey

I'm still here...or I am now!

Hello friends, it's been a while(for me at least)! We have been at the beach, actually we just got back Saturday. It was glorious...the weather was amazing! This year we went to Hilton Head Island in SC with my family, my best friend's family and the boys brought a friend! Here are some pictures from our week!

 All of the girls...except for Sonia, she didn't want to pose for the picture :)

 The beautiful view from our back deck...that's the beach in the distance, be jealous :) We had direct beach access from our backyard!

 Emily and I thought it would be cute to take a shadow picture!

 J-man, Bradley(their friend) and William

 Emily and I!

 See, Sonia really was with us, and by the way, she loves her new hair-do!

 I was just checking out the beautiful view.

 Us posing in front of a church that survived the civil war!

 The pool and hot tub from the balcony.

 The boys sand castle from the epic sand castle battle.

 And the girls castle...come on! Give us props, we had a bridge, wall, towers and everything! 

And our beautiful(huge) house! How I miss it so!

Anyway- it was an amazing trip and was so relaxing, just what we all needed. 

Yesterday was Mothers' day, so all of my dad's side of the family came over for dinner, we had the best time! Amanda(and her super cute little tiny baby bump) and Nick came too! It was the perfect ending to a perfect week! Have a wonderful week...I will be back soon- I promise!

~Bailey

And my heart just keeps growing...

All of you know about my adopted big sister Amanda and her husband Nick, both whom I love so dearly.

A few weeks ago(almost a month actually) they told us something that excited us(excited is an understatement), but we couldn't tell anyone- no one.

And before they told us, I thought that my heart was full that I couldn't make room for anything else at that time...but oh was I wrong.

Yesterday, they finally told everyone.

And you see why I am BEYOND EXCITED, little Land is on his or her way!!! I am going to be an aunt :):) We are all so very excited. And my heart is already filled with so much love for lil' Land. 

My Amanda, who I met when I was five, is going to be a mom- I can't even wrap my mind around that thought. It's about all I can think about. And this summer...I will be making a scrapbook for this little person :) and you know how thrilled I am about that! 

And when I saw the ultrasound of that lil' guy yesterday... my heart was in awe of what God is doing. Isn't it amazing how God continually stretches your heart...and for such a little person!  

I love you lil' Land!!! 

With all the love in the world, your Aunt B.

A summer in review...

June 4th- the summer started out with Amanda and Nick's wedding, in which I was a bridesmaid! It was a beautiful wedding and a great weekend!



June 30th- THE TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT!!! Me and Emily Grace went to the Taylor Swift concert as my(suprise) birthday present! You see, my dad surprised us with tickets 3 days before the concert! We had the best day together and will always remember it!





July 18th-22nd- Summer with the arts! It was so much fun and I had a great time with all of the kids in my group! Sadly, I have no pictures! Sorry!

July 25th- 30th- MFuge at North Greenville! I was there on my birthday so I got a little surprise bday party! We had the best time! Camp was awesome, one of the pictures is of my small group, which I got very close to throughout the week and one of my and two little girls on mission site one day! Over all camp was AMAZING!


Thats all the girls that came to camp in my dorm at my party!


Me and two of the little girls on site, Darcy and Julia.


Me and Amanda, who came with us!


My small group from the week.


My dorm on my bday!

August 6th-13th- We just got back from the beach yesterday and it was amazing! So- here are a few pictures, some of the only ones we took...I mean when you are having such an awesome time when do you stop to take pictures(except at a Taylor Swift concert!)!!!







And now...August 14th, as summer comes to a close, and school starts on Tuesday, I look back on this summer and see how blessed I have been to have such an awesome summer! And- most of you who read my blog, have been part of it! I'm so thankful to have had such an amazing summer with my friends and family! I hope that you had just as fun of a summer as I did!

~Thanks for reading~ Bailey~Psalm 56:3~

I'm alive....

I really am alive, I promise! I have been so busy the last couple of weeks, its been insane! I just got back from camp on Saturday at about 2:30, and it was amazing! I learned so much and grew in my faith tremendously! We all had such a great time, but I don't have time to do an in-depth post about it now. Then before I left for camp we had Summer With The Arts, so I am exhausted! School starts back very soon and i can't say I'm dreading it or excited about it. Just somewhere in the middle I guess, it's just sad to see the summer coming to an end so quickly! Oh- and Emily Grace and I hung out today and I saw Hairspray for the first time...AMAZING! I loved it.

Anyway- just wanted to leave you a quick note saying I'm alive and well!

~Bailey~Psalm 56:3~