Last Night Home!

I move back to Memphis tomorrow!

I spent my afternoon watching Charlie play volleyball, and the rest of my evening packing. I have a little left to go---but it's my bedtime! Ha.

There's something weird going on at our house right now. I don't know if it's someone pulling a prank and trying to be funny or what. There's some ridiculously immature kids around here, that's for sure. So, it wouldn't surprise me one bit. But, we're doing a whole bunch of yard work and we have soakers and 2 sprinklers set up to water the sod on our front&side hills. One of the sprinklers is hooked up to a faucet in our garage, and the other sprinkler is hooked up to the faucet on the other side of the house. We turn them off any time we leave the house. Well, the past two time that Charlie has had a volleyball game, we have come home to the side sprinkler turned on. Both times the faucet is BARELY turned. Tonight we came home and along with our sprinkler on, our mail was on our front porch. Our mail lady NEVER puts in on the front porch. Even if we have a package. It's something small that's going on, but it sure is irritating and completely inconsiderate. That's money going right down the drain.

Anyway, I have a busy week ahead. Along with working different events for opening week, classes starting, and painting to do, I'm able to go back to my middle school volleyball girls! I've missed them and can't wait to get back on track.

Oh! I've also lost another pound and a half. Exciting!! :)

I hope you have had a great day. To God be the glory, forever.

Bailey

Quick update!

Hey y'all.

Surprise, surprise--I let my commitment to this poor blog go ago, again. Whoops.

Just a quick little update--

I'm doing another "weight-loss..spiritual growth..better "me for the Lord" kind of challenge again. Tomorrow will be two weeks and I have 8 weeks left. I'm working pretty hard at it so far. I enjoy being challenged. And I've lost a pound already!

I'm helping with the Brighton Middle School volleyball team once again this fall! Everything is put on hold right now because I had to be approved through the board. I've missed a week of their season, which stinks, but I've been able to do other things in place of it to keep me busy. :)

I move back to Memphis this Friday!! I'm so excited. Not necessarily to be out of the house again, but to be able to find somewhat of a routine. I was telling my mom the other day that these past two weeks have been the longest weeks of my life. I used to look back and say "Man...where did my week go?!" It's hard on me to be lazy. I tend to get nervous. Ha.

Luke and I are diving into getting involved in the college ministry at Bellevue. With school starting back up, there's plenty of things to do and opportunities laid before us. We're attending the Passion conference with about 30 others in January!! I couldn't be more excited. It's going to be INSANE. I can't wait.

My sissy has started her sophomore year in high school. :( She's grown up so much..
Out of everything..I love watching her play volleyball the most. I swear she is a mini-me. Everything she does. I get to watch her again tonight...while watching a one year old little boy. Two blessings at once! It'll be a fun night. :)

I have lunch with my friend (and new roommate!), Lindy May today. She is so precious and loves the Lord. I can't wait to see what this semester has in store for us.

Maybe I'll post again tonight. But I probably won't. ;)

I hope y'all are having a blessed day so far! Let me know if there's anything I can pray for you about!

Bailey

Illinois :)

Well, so much for blogging everyday!

Since I last blogged, I have been to frosh camp once and finished my last orientation session.

This week my family and I are at my Granny's house in Moline, Illinois for our annual family reunion. We love this time of year. Charlie brought her friend, Carrie Taylor, this year while I am by myself. She's a sweetheart though.

Today we went to lunch at the local Mongolian Grill around here--our favorite place to eat! My cousin Teena and her two sweet kids met us up. I brought home plenty of leftovers for supper tonight...I just love it. We don't really have plans for the rest of the day, so I guess I'll be on the computer contacting my August Frosh Camp kids and reading my new book. :) I don't remember how to relax. This is new to me.

I am working on setting up a Google+ account. If you have one, contact me so we can be acquainted on it!

I plan on blogging again later tonight. I don't know what I will blog about, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Bailey

Beach, Burns, and Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!

We woke up this morning and headed straight out to the beach, of course! Mom was too burnt from yesterday (bless her heart---she's a redhead), and dad was also pretty red. So, it was just Charlie and I, and we had a blast! We laid out for a bit, got in the water, and started volleying back and forth when a couple guys asked us if we wanted to start a game. We then accumulated some more people during our mile walk to the beach net, and ended up playing for an hour straight. It was so fun and definitely a work out! We had a blast, yet again.

Later this afternoon we went in, showered up, and went store hopping with mom and dad. They have some crazy souvenirs out there for sure. haha. We finally went to eat at "The Lucky Snapper" and were completely disappointed. I don't know if we were expecting something totally different or what. Although the food was terrible, the view was great! We were seated by an open window that overlooked the dock and boardwalk here in Destin. It was really neat.

After supper we went exploring on the boardwalk and listened to the live 80s-rocker-wanna-be band (they were really good, however) in order to waste time for our 8:00 boat ride!
Dad made reservations last night for a 100 passenger boat that was going out into the ocean to have "front row seats" to the Destin fireworks show. We thought it was a neat idea, and we were warned that we needed to be ready to line up an hour before we loaded. That lady sure knew what she was talking about! They weren't loading our trip until 8:10, but we walked by after supper and there were people standing in line at 6:45! After walking around, we made it in line at a great spot and got on and in seats just fine. What an AMAZING time we had! We didn't realize that "front row seats" literally meant "a couple hundred yards from the dune where they set them off and the first boat in line to see them." It was so neat. We could turn around and see the city of Destin and the bridge full of people coming to watch. We also saw every other firework lit up along the beach! After the show was over, the captain took us on a 40 minute boat rode out in the middle of no where. It was a cool, breezy, and dark night, and we had a great one. :)

The view from the restaurant!

Charlie&Mom at supper

Dad and I

Charlie and I at the boardwalk!

Family photo :)

The henna tattoos that us girls got today! 

(Mine is the foot)

On the boat!

Our fourth of July this year has set the bar high for the rest of them. There's just something about being at the beach that I have fallen in love with.

Aside from the fun boat rides, food, and shopping, I just praise our great Lord that we live in the country we do. Although people talk so bad about how our country is headed for the dumps, it could be so much worse. We have more freedoms than anyone has these days, and I couldn't be more thankful. I hope you stop and take a second to step back and realize how blessed we truly are. God bless America.

Happy fourth of July, everyone. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be an American.

Ocean&Parasailing

Today was so fun!

I woke up at 8:30 this morning and had my devotion out on the porch of the condo. You can see the ocean from our condo, and it was so beautiful! The weather was perfect, and the noise of the ocean and people playing on the beach was so relaxing. It was an awesome setting to study the word of God. What a great way to start the day!

We headed to the beach around 10 and was there for most of the morning/early afternoon. I met someone that goes to Houston High School here in the Memphis area!! I couldn't believe it! Our family loved being in the water, and Charlie and I got to play volleyball. It was so fun!

We also went parasailing today! I truly believe that the pictures are more fun than the actual sailing in the sky. They are so funny to me! It was an adventure, and all four of us did it. It was a neat adventure! :) I'll post a few pictures and maybe you'll think they are funny...

I also had the best seafood I have ever had tonight. We went to "Old Bay Steamer" here in Destin, and it was absolutely AMAZING. I even got the Royal Red shrimp with the heads on them. It was a neat restaurant, and again, it was SOOO good. 

After supper we went around town a little and shopped around at the local tourists shops. They are so overwhelming! It was fun making fun of the wackiest stuff, though. Today was just such a great day. I'm ready for the beach tomorrow! 

I hope you all had a great day. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you!

We're here!!

We made it to the beach!!

Our goal was to leave this morning at noon, and one thing about our family is it takes FOREVER to get out the door if we're headed somewhere. But, we were in the truck and ready to go at 11:40. :) What an accomplishment!

Before we left we all had a few things to take care of around the house. Mine was painting. :)
One of my cousins from Illinois has a teacher-friend that she showed my paintings to, and the lady turned around and ordered 5 boards!! She has a 5 year old daughter. She is decorating her room and loved my stuff. I finished the touch-ups and sent those out this morning. I'm excited to see what she thinks!
Thanks, Mrs. Tricia for the order!

These are the boards I sent out this morning. 

We drove to drop my car off at campus, and then headed to Olive Branch, MS to where the plane is. We flew one of Dad's pilot buddies' Baron. It's so tiny, but we are so grateful! I have always had problems with my ears, and in April we took the Baron to Illinois to visit family, and flying was so painful. I was a little nervous, but with all of my medication in me--it was bearable this trip! We landed in Destin a little after five, went to the condo, and where's the first place we went after unpacking? Wal-mart. We just couldn't resist I guess. 

We have pretty much chilled all evening in the condo. It's so cute! Around 10:30 we decided to walk around and then headed down to the beach. It was so beautiful! 

I just wanted to keep you posted. We have an exciting (we plan on anyway) day ahead of us tomorrow. So, I'm headed to bed. I'll leave you with a few pictures from the flight and tonight. I hope you all had a great day. Thanks for reading!

On the way to the airport!

In front of the Baron

Mikey loved the airflow during the taxi.

The ocean!!

Our nice little ocean walk :)

Bailey

Welcome back!

It's been a while.

I know I said back in January that I would try to make this an everyday thing, and I knew back in January that it probably wouldn't happen, but I am feeling inspired and motivated again. So, I am just going to pick up where I am right this minute and go from there.

This is the first full week I have had off since my spring break (which was in March). I am an Orientation Guide & Frosh Camp Counselor at the University of Memphis this summer, and boy is it keeping me busy! I really love it though. I couldn't see myself doing anything else these few months. With that said, I spent my week off working full time at the daycare. I sure missed some of those kids! It has been hit and miss when I can make it over there, and I haven't been able to work there for about two months. It was good to be back, but I am also ready to get back to campus.

I have been home this week, and it's been pretty nice. If you know me, you know that my baby sister is my world. It's been so great seeing her everyday. She's actually in bed next to me right now watching a movie while I type. I just love and miss her so much. We're both stoked about me having this week (and a half) off though for the simple fact that we are heading to the BEACH tomorrow! I haven't been to the beach since I was 6 years old (I went to Disneyworld for my 6th birthday) and Charlie has never been to the beach. She, mom, and I have been shopping and getting pedicures in preparation to go. We are so excited! Daddy is flying us out tomorrow in the Baron (a four seater personal plane) around two, and the four of us will be in Destin until Wednesday afternoon. We can't express how anxious we are. With our crazy schedules growing up, we have never really had a family vacation for just the four of us. It will be different! I plan on updating this during our visit, so check back for a few pictures. ;)

Another exciting thing going on is Luke and my involvement within the college ministry at Bellevue. It has taken me a year to get my feet wet within the church because it was truly a culture shock for me. I was scared that would happen, but I am stoked I am finally diving in. Luke has been to a few services/outings without me because of my schedule, but I think I like that. He already has a feel for how things go and knows a few more people than I do (he has grown up with most of them) so it makes the transition a bit easier since they already know who I am through Luke...well sort of. We're joining a college co-ed sunday school class together! He will, of course, go without me the first time, but I will be able to make it consistently after this Sunday. It's just nice following his lead. I am so thankful I have Luke by my side--especially through my spiritual walk. I could not thank him enough.

One more thing--I am on a mission to lose 15 pounds by the end of the summer. I am doing a "Challenge" with a group of ladies from different states through one of my old (and favorite) teachers. It's about physical, emotional, and spiritual growth--not just "weight loss." The Challenge is a life style change...not a diet program. I have dropped 3.1 pounds in the last two weeks, and I can't wait to work hard (after vacation, of course) to meet my goal. I haven't been this motivated and dedicated to get back to feeling good in a long time, so I am excited to prove to myself I can do it. I'd appreciate the prayers, also! It's tough to live away from home with an inconsistent schedule and follow the "rules" of eating healthy. But I am busting my tail! I want more than anything to finish the last month strong. 

I know this post was kind of long, but I guess I had a lot to share. I'm excited about the next few weeks ahead. Thanks for taking the time to be interested in what's going on in my crazy world. I hope you have a blessed night, and here's a verse to think about--it's from my devotion today: 

"Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love." Psalm 48:9. 

Thank the Lord for his unfailing love.

Bailey

Tetherball.

Do you remember that game that is on every elementary school campus in the United States? Tetherball? Well, the main concept of this game is easy. You hit the ball. You hit it in every direction, with every level of strength, and even with your words. Well, I think yesterday, I was that ball. It was a long and emotionally draining day. I'm butting heads with family that I love a lot for all of the wrong reasons. And it hurts. I feel bruised, beaten, and sore. It's exhausting disagreeing over stupid things. Things that you haven't done but you are approached with bitter accusations anyway, things that you don't understand, and worst of all---things that call for absolutely no need for immaturity, yet people find a way to spit in your face. It just doesn't make sense. Do you remember the term "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."?? I do. And that's what I've been telling myself the past couple of days. BUT, I know the Lord as a plan, and he is my ultimate provider. He loves me beyond what I could ever think possible, and my heart and life are in his hands. I will continue to follow him no matter who disagrees. He has the plan. Not me or anyone else. And thank you, Jesus, for that.

Just to add to the emotional stage I passed through yesterday, Luke's dad, Mr. Sean's, cancer is back. We don't have any answers. But, I will keep you updated. Prayers for patience, wisdom, strength, attitudes, and peace are strongly encouraged. STRONGLY.

On the other hand, work was good Tuesday. :) The kids are completely warmed up to me, and I am beginning to understand and realize each of their personalities. We have a few siblings enrolled-and even the siblings are way different. I love my job. I really do.

The kids have grasped most of the concept of UNO (They are 3/4 years old). & even if they haven't, they have learned their colors by playing! It's a neat way to guide children's learning by being creative while you have fun, too. :)

This is Amir. (like "a mirror"..ha) He just turned three, and he's in the middle of learning his letters. he knows his ABCs, but he doesn't understand what each letter looks like. But, yesterday we worked on his name for about 30 minutes. It was neat to see the results from repetition and how determined he was to understand! He's a bit of a sneaky kid, so it was awesome to see him settle down and work at something. :)

Here he is showing me how to draw, well it started out as a "happy face" and ended up being something like a stick figure. Oh well, it made him happy!

Last night Madison, Taylor, and I went to Chik-fil-A here on campus. After that, we came back to the dorm and had a fun dance session in the room. It was so hilarious. It started out just playing old N*SYNC and Britney Spears songs, and by the end of the night, we had the disco ball and video camera going. It was a blast.

and this was only the beginning... :)

It was a relaxing ending to a stressful day. :)

TODAYYYYY. ---> January 27, 2011.

I had my two most frustrating classes with breakfast and a WONDERFUL (I might add) nap in between. :)

I worked this afternoon, and the kids were crazy. CRAZY. In EVERY class. All ages. It was insane. Maybe it

was the weather change.lol. I have no idea. Hardly any, if at all, wanted to listen. They were bickering all day

with each other. Hitting and pushing. But, we made everyone get along, and forced it to be a good day. :)

Madison's writing a paper right now while I blog. I had to pull up the Mac photo booth (the program that

works with my webcam), and it never fails, she sees it and stands in her chair, and there we go! Snapping

pictures! It cracks me up that something so simple can put the both of us in the most giggly mood... :)

Last but not least. I just want to share how the Lord has been working around me lately. Tonight, I'm going to focus on Luke. It's just a couple small things, but that's what makes life matter most, right?

1. He joined a new discipleship group at Bellevue. He's the youngest one in there. The next oldest? 22 (I think). The oldest? In his 60s. He just showed up one night. God's truly guiding him into finding out what a true man is. Amen to that. :)

2. He's been asking for the Lord to use him. He helped an older lady the other night with money to put gas in her car. We have no idea who she is or where she's from. But, she wasn't broken down in the cold that night. :)

3. He's been talking to a younger teammate of his about God and a true relationship with him. Long story short, he's going to go over Crazy Love by Francis Chan (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) with him beginning tomorrow morning as the beginning of a possibility discipleship opportunity. What a blessing for both guys.

4. He hasn't been working lately due to basketball season and Bass Pro's hours/scheduling. We've both been talking about possibilities for him to maybe find another part time job that's a little more flexible, or when he should start looking, etc. Today at his bball practice, one of his assistant coaches randomly approached him and asked him if he would be interested in reffing 4th/5th grade basketball games on Saturdays. He'll make 25 bucks a game and average about $125 every Saturday. Two of his favorite things--kids&basketball--while making money...not too shabby. :) We're both excited and relieved. :))

5. He is going to start volunteering at Impact here in Memphis. It's like a food pantry set up for the lower income families that don't have a lot. They can come there and get free groceries, and there's also clothes and such. Sort of like a Goodwill. I have a class Saturday morning, but I'll be joining him the very first chance I get!

I am beyond excited to see what the Lord is doing with him. Especially when he's mine. ;) He has become such a true gentlemen. Not only physically, but in the heart. I've seen such a positive change in him over the last year, and I'm anxious to see what is next. I love him a lot, and I am so blessed that the Lord allows us to know what it's like to have each other. Some people get frustrated with us. I'm not saying we're not a teenage couple, because we are. We're only (just shy of) 19. But, our faith in the Lord has helped us grow together, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I love you, Luke Berry. Keep pressing on towards the goal. :)

I hope y'all have a wonderful night. I'm here for each and every one of you. Even for those who don't know me, but follow my blog anyway. God loves you. Never forget that. Good night. :)

First Monday of the year.

So, today I would consider this Monday as the first Monday of the year. I moved in a couple weeks ago on Monday and then we had MLKJ day last Monday. But, today my schedule was full throttle, and that's the way I want and like it to be. :)

I had an 8:00 class and a 10:20 class this morning. I used my hour and a half break I had in between classes to finish my Frosh Camp counselor application! I'm really excited. I have my interview Wednesday before my Morale Captain meeting, so I'll keep you posted!

I worked at the daycare today. I love it there. The highlight of the kids day was getting our new pet! We added a rabbit to the 2 birds and hamster we have. :) The kids' faces were priceless when it was brought in. The rabbit came from the Memphis humane society where they rescue animals. In honor of the rabbit being lucky to be alive, the kids named him "Lucky." It was hilarious watching them flock towards wherever Amanda (one of the other teachers) walked with him in her hands. They followed her around and watched every move. It was absolutely precious! The kids couldn't wait to show Lucky off to their parents. & sure enough, they dragged them in one by one to visit our new pet rabbit. :)

I hope you had a great day!

2 Weeks.

Boy, two weeks have passed since I have last blogged, and I am just now finding the time/patience to sit down and type. A LOT has happened in the last two weeks. Things have changed. Life has changed. But, God has a plan.

On an index card, I have everything over the past 2 weeks written down day by day with what I did. I have a few pictures to go with it, but I figured you'd get bored with me explaining my life the way I had planned. I decided I'd just post a few highlights.

I'm seriously wanting to blog everyday. I promise! I just, I guess moving back to Memphis a couple of weeks ago shook things up. So, I have to get in a groove again. But anyway, here's a few highlights...

Some of the U of M's cheerleaders performed at one of the private schools that Luke played a couple of weeks ago. The younger kids and high school cheerleaders loved it! I had a class with one of the guys (the red-headed one) so it was neat to see him again...

I moved back in again 2 weeks ago Monday. I found out a friend I know through softball moved in next door. Small world. haha. Madison and I spent about 2 hours 2 nights in a row hanging out with three of our neighbors. It was cool to catch up and just chill and laugh!...

This is Brittaney. (The softball girl I know).

Our building also had it's first fire alarm of the winter. & it had to fall on one of the coldest days of this season yet. The alarm went off when Madison was in the middle of her shower. That was one of our worst fears..haha! All I could think about was her freaking out when she heard it, slipping, and hurting herself. So, here's Momma Bailey rushing to the bathroom door making sure she's ok. I asked her, "Madison! What can I do to help you??" Her reply? "Turn around so I can put clothes on!!" Oh man. We died laughing. It was hilarious. We ended up standing outside for 45 minutes with 2 friends that we graduated with, Brittaney, and a girl that was coloring her hair when the alarm sounded...

Here's the girl that was coloring her hair. She took the clip out, and her hair was literally frozen. It didn't budge. The next two girls are Caitlyn and Courtney.

Poor little Madison.

The next picture is just a random picture of Luke and I before one of his games. :)

One of the big highlights this last week was a gospel concert that was put together as a benefit for St. Jude. Being a Morale Captain, it was required of me to attend, so I dragged Madison who dragged Taylor along with me. It was all three of our first gospel concert, and it was great! Definitely TOTALLLLLYYYY different then what I'm used to, but it was awesome. We had a great time...

Two of these girls reminded us of Willow Smith and Nicki Minaji!

Kyle & Sam (MCs with me) getting down!

The three of us on our way back to the dorm!

:)

I officially started working at the daycare this week. However, I'm not working with the school-aged kids (7 yrs.+) (Thank goodness!!). I am teaching the 3&4 year olds and a few kindergarteners! I absolutely love it. I know there will be days that I'm exhausted and grouchy, but I'm really excited. The kids are so sweet. They continually ask me to read them books. That's really one of the main focuses of that daycare, even when I was there as a student-to instill the love of reading. The kids are great. They need discipline though. :) A few of the kids wanted to play dress up, so that's what we did! They were so sweet and happy to pretend to be someone else for a few minutes. The little girl, Riley, was showing me her dress when her father came and got her. She was so excited to show him her princess outfit! The kids really are precious. I love them already...

Jeff as a business man and Landon as a firefighter!

& here's Riley as a princess!

There's just something about being called "Ms. Bailey." I can't wait 'til the day when that's how all of the kids will know me. I can't wait to have my own classroom. :)))

This week I got a new app on my phone--Faceinhole. It's where you take pictures of people and fill holes in other pictures. Here's a few that I made. I sent two of them to my mom. They cracked us up...

Luke and I. It makes me laugh every time I look at it!

One of my favorite foods of all time!

&&&&& of course. My favorite character in the entire world. :)

Wednesday, I got the cravings for a midnight snack. So, I pulled out a pack of pizza rolls that we have in our freezer and decided to throw them in the microwave. However, they were completely un-edible by the time I was through with them! My cooking skills proved to be an epic (and eternal) fail. Within 30 minutes, I had around 46 comments on the picture that I posted on facebook. It was the funniest thing Madison and I went through all day.

I don't know how, but yes, I burned the INSIDE of the pizza roll...

Friday, we had a SNOW DAY!! It was the ice that was a problem, but that's ok. I didn't have to go to class or

work. instead, I went over to Natalie's house and chilled there ALL day. (until supper when I had pizza with

Luke!) It was so nice. We never turned the TV on. Not once. We had our computers and our chatting to keep us

busy. i don't think she knows how much I appreciate her. Here's a few pictures from our day. She's going to kill

me... ;)

Gator stayed with me Friday night. Brittaney wasn't home this entire weekend, so we decided to leave a few notes on her door. Needless to say, they were hilarious jokes. We love her so much!!

We also went to iHop at midnight. It's now a tradition. We go every time she stays with me. It's our favorite thing to do together. We usually order breakfast, but this time Gator decided to order chicken strips. She started feeling sick in the middle of supper, so she got a to go box. I don't have ketchup in the dorm, soooo we took it!! We left the waitress a $5 tip though. We hope she understands... :)

It was nice having a day to do nothing but laugh.

Luke and I have had some hit and miss opportunities to have some time together these past few days. When we do meet up, it's usually spur of the moment and only for a couple of hours-if that. He brought me Starbucks one night at work and "cordially invited" me to a late supper at his house. (He wrote out an invitation and taped it to my cup). It was sweet and creative. :) We randomly met up last night after work at 10:00 for O'Charley's! I was really excited..I love their soup!! This morning I had a hard time waking up. I was run down from this week, and I was really stuffy and slow. So, instead of attending church, we went to his house and watched the sermon live on the internet. I love Brother Steve Gaines. He gives it to you straight from the Word. It's awesome to hear/see what God lays before me every day and Sunday morning through His word. :) Following the sermon, Luke and Mrs. Ronda made a shrimp and rice dish for lunch, and we had that before I had to go to work. It was a nice and comfy Sunday. :)

My schedule and stress is starting to pick up. I'm excited about what's to come, but anxious at the same time. I've hit an obstacle already, and it will probably only be tougher. I just keep reminding myself to follow the Lord. He will take care of me and any situation that comes my way. I belong to Him.

Remember that throughout the week, you can't do anything alone. It's hard not to "do it yourself," but, those are the times that turn out to be the worst. Give it to the Lord, and his blessings will head your way. Keep your head up as you go throughout this week. I love you all.