picture this!

two of my favorites :)

Bradee came over to watch the Chiefs play the Broncos. It was very intense...Monster was not too concerned. 

purple lilies and roses

Korey sent me flowers! the 19th marked a month of us being a couple and I had this lovely surprise on the front porch that afternoon. they are beautiful. 

sweet Connor

I babysat this little guy a couple of times this past week. I met him and his mom through Gymboree! It's nice to be able to help them out. We watched lots of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, read some books, and danced. 

I love his face!

this is from Josh's wedding last September. I'm excited for Ashley and him to be here this week! 

xoxo,

H

it's the most wonderful time of the year...

hello friends.

I've said this multiple times but can you believe how quickly this year is going?! It's crazy to think that in a WEEK it will be December. What a whirlwind these past 9 months have been. The thought that I have been home that long is very hard to wrap my mind around. I have changed so much: physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. I've been on the go and pretty busy lately that I haven't had time to slow down and reflect on it. That's why I'm so looking forward to Christmas break. I will still be working 4 days a week (I added Fridays back to my schedule at Gymboree..the extra money will be a blessing as will the extra kiddo time!) but I will have time to rest and hang out with Monster :) oh! my parents, too.

Other fun things coming up include:

1. Being involved in my church's Christmas program!
we've been rehearsing every Wednesday since mid-August. I've met a lot of new people and of course have gotten to sing...a lot. I'm an alto in the large ensemble choir and in the quintet I'm apart of I'm a soprano. I really have enjoyed the process of learning the music and being apart of a group of people who enjoy music and Jesus! The performances are in a couple of weekends. The link below will take you to more info if you would have ANY interest in attending! (You can just copy and paste the address to your search bar) I know that's a crazy request but it really is going to be a great time celebrating the Savior's birth!

http://fbcbluesprings.org/events/first-christmas/

2. Christmas time
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but the entire "Holiday Season" is a beautiful time. I don't mind the cold weather, there are twinkly lights everywhere, Starbucks has their Caramel Apple Spice, and people are attempting to be more loving :)

3. a trip to Chillicothe
I've talked to Shannon about coming and spending some time with her in Chillicothe! this means at least one movie day where we stay in our pajamas all day and watch movies, late night talks about the meaning of life (or boys, whatever), and getting to see all the other wonderful people that I grew up with!

4. a trip to Indianapolis!
"but Hannah...why would you be flying on a plane by yourself to Indianapolis?!" Uhhhh because my boyfriend lives there! silly goose. I'll be leaving on a Saturday and staying until Thursday. That's a whole six days with that boy who I like a lot! This long distance relationship has proven to be not so fun - very doable and will be so worth it - but very tough. We are both so excited to get more than just a weekend together and to be able to ring in the New Year together!

5. lots of family time
Thanksgiving will be such a great time - Josh and Ashley are driving in from Waco so we've got family at our house this year. I'm very excited (it might have something to do with not having to travel).

I LOVE OUR FAMILY. 

I sincerely hope that each of you have a wonderful holiday season. Please be safe driving, caroling, and eating lots of turkey.

xoxo,
H

life as of late

here are some pictures of life lately!

Monster fell in love with Korey

Shannon was crowned Homecoming Queen at Westminster! Her mom sent me this picture and I immediately called her, squealing with excitement. She is the best :) 

Monster and I napped...

Betsy, Madeline, Mr. Goodwin, (Queen) Shannon, Meredith, Lily, and me!

I went to Fayette, MO to see Meredith's senior soccer game at Central Methodist. it was great to see these girls again! and our band teacher, Mr. Goodwin :)

We celebrated Halloween at Gymboree! 

always a cat

Monster being cute..

fall beauty

can't get enough!

I cut the hair around Monster's ears so he is even cuter now. (and looks less like a girl...)

before

after

Annie, me and Bradee

Life is going well! I'm enjoying work and school. It's going by very quickly - that is for sure!

xoxo
H

That Boy Who is My Friend

Korey and I met our 8th grade year. Korey was home schooled at the time - his family had moved to Chillicothe just 4 months prior to us meeting. One of my friends, Laura, went to church with him and wanted us to meet. Now remember we're like, what, 13? at the time so by "meet" I mean say "hi" the next time we might just HAPPEN to be in the same place.

that same place happened to be a Chillicothe Hornet football game. I remember Laura grabbing me, taking me to the end of the bleachers and saying "This is Korey!" I remember saying something to the effect of "Hi..nice to meet you!" and then Korey gave me one of the most awkward high fives I've ever received. As my friends and I were walking away I remember shrugging and saying, "well..he's home schooled...so he's just a little weird."

After talking on MSN (instant messaging) pretty much every night the rest of 8th grade and that summer, we were going to be going to the same school. Our interaction was still limited - we didn't have any classes together. We did have a special moment in the day though - I'd leave freshman english class and he'd be leaving another class - we'd pass each other in the hall and always acknowledge one another with a head nod and a small "hi!" then later that night we'd get online and talk like we were best friends - so funny to think about now!

Sophomore year we had a couple of classes together. Mrs. Rule's English class and a history class. Mrs. Rule still claims today that she is the one who brought us together. We started spending more time together because of the plays we got involved with. We then began the typical high school "on and off again" relationship. We were young, silly kids who didn't know exactly what they wanted.

Though we were these silly kids, we were forming a friendship that was real. He quickly became one of my best friends - someone I knew I could always turn to in times of need. He is hilarious - something that I love about him. His family is incredible as well and that has really shaped him to be an awesome man. We kept in contact after high school - updating each other on our lives and such. One word I'd use to describe Korey is "constant." He was always there for me.

Have you ever had a favorite pair of sunglasses? You love to wear them whenever you get a chance. You get excited when it's sunny because you get to wear those glasses! You feel pretty neat when you have them on. Then one day you look for them and can't find them. You search frantically but come up short. If you're like me you get legitimately sad! Those things were the best! You go for awhile without them...you decide you need to move on from those beauties and have to buy a new pair - ick. Replacements. When you wear those "poser" sunglasses you remember how much better you looked in the favorite pair. I've caught myself thinking "man..these glasses SUCK compared to the other ones." You start to remember all the good times you had in those sunglasses...all the memories...you even start to appreciate what those sunglasses meant to you even more now that they're gone...

okay okay I know this sounds silly. but this is how it felt when Korey was no longer in my life.
for a period of 7-8 months this past year, Korey and I had no contact with one another. He was in a relationship with some one and I was dealing with my fun life issues of depression, drugs, and alcohol oh my! (see what I did there?) I remember the moment I realized how much I missed him - I was driving away from my life in Springfield, following the Uhaul with my life packed in it, and I called him. I had to leave a message...telling him that I had made some pretty big changes and wanted to talk to my best friend about it. After there was no answer, I quickly realized that I had lost my favorite pair of sunglasses.

When I finally found those sunglasses this past June, I decided to never lose them again. I let him know that I was here to stay...or "in it to win it" as I like to say. That no matter what, even if we would never be anything romantic again, that I NEED him in my life as a friend. we are once again best friends. he's...the greatest. on October 19 I became his girlfriend once again. and we are doing quite well.

he lives 500 miles away. this is no fun. I am going to Indianapolis December 28 for New Years and we're very excited.

we're very excited to see where our journey takes us.

Another Year Older

I turned 22 on the 18th of October and let me tell you - it was a day to remember. The entire weekend was one to remember, actually. What happened you ask? Well by golly let me tell you.

Before I tell you what I did for my birthday weekend I have to introduce you to my boyfriend - yes you read that correctly - BOYFRIEND. I am still very excited to be able to call him that again (again? yes...I'll explain later). His name is Korey and I am quite fond of him. I am also very fond of this picture of us. It is my favorite so far.

Korey, the boyfriend.

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND 2013

(I love my birthday. A lot. Probably too much if you ask my mother and father.)

Thursday 10/17

Korey arrives at our house after driving from Indianapolis 8 hours away. We had not seen each other in over a year. It was a JOYOUS reunion. After catching up and such I took him to Gymboree to show him where I hang out with the kiddos. Then we went to Olive Garden and stuffed our faces. After dinner we drove to Blue Springs and spent the evening with my small group getting ready for a church event. It was a small group so it was a good time for Matt and Holly (the leaders) to get to know him - Matt asked lots of questions. (He approves of him, and I trust his opinion!) After life group we went home and hung out with my parents. 

Friday 10/18 - DAY OF MY BIRTH

Sonic photoshoot

After sleeping in (a birthday treat for sure!) Korey and I got ready and went to Cracker Barrel in Independence. I was so excited about this meal. I love that place. Then we went to the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City! We both will happily say that we have our nerdy sides (one of us more than the other...aka Korey). We had a blast walking through the exhibits and discussing the pieces of art. We eventually got kind of tuckered out and decided we should get home to let Monster out - after getting drinks at Sonic of course. Happy Hour and my birthday? It HAD to happen. We got home, played with Monster, and waited for dad to get home from work. When he got home we drove to the Carrabba's in Independence to meet mom. Then our good friends the Prewitt's showed up to surprise me! I was very excited to see them and was so glad they were able to be there. We ate our (delicious) food, they sang to Happy Birthday to me, and then headed home! Bradee was waiting at the house - we were going to play games! My good friend Jessica and her boyfriend Logan were driving up from Springfield, too. While we waited for them to arrive we watch the Cardinals play on tv. At this point I was a very very happy 22 year old. I had my very favorite people around me. After Jess and Logan got there we played Taboo and a couple of other games. It was so fun. I'm so glad they could be here! 

the girls! friends since high school :)

the boys! friends since...that night :)

Logan, Jessica, Bradee, Monster, me and Korey :)

happy happy happy!

Saturday 10/19

Korey and I went to Fort Osage to explore the national landmark! It was really neat to be able to see a piece of history that is pretty close to Lee's Summit! We spent a good amount of time exploring the soldier's barracks and then learned a lot at the fur trading post. 

history

he knew LOTS

opossum for dinner, anyone?

we walked down to the river!

our new friend, Wooly. 

3-D ready to go! 

After exploring the 1800's we traveled back to 2013 and found a Sonic just in time for Happy Hour! Then we drove to Barnes & Noble and walked around the store. For dinner mom made a delicious meal of chicken and stuffing. It was so good. Then the 4 of us went to the IMAX to see the movie Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. It was fun! 

Sunday 10/20

Sunday morning was the first time that I got to sing in the praise team - it was Team 3's time to shine! I had to be at the church at 8 AM which was...okay - it was not fun. Early morning Hannah is not a delight. But I was excited that Korey would get to be there the first time I was singing up front. Our team and worship choir did really well  - it was fun! After I sang in the second service Korey and I went downstairs to my Sunday School room with Joyce. We helped with the kiddos - they were definitely curious about Korey. After church we went to eat at Porky's, a great BBQ place in near Grain Valley. Then we drove to my cousin Harper's house to celebrate her 3rd birthday! Korey had to leave around 3 to get back to Indiana. It was a tough goodbye - I felt like he had just gotten there! We said goodbye and I went back in and played with Harper - that helped cheer me up a little :) 

I loved every moment of this weekend. So many memories were made. I'm very excited to see how my 22nd year of life pans out!

my sweet grandma Carol sent me these beautiful lilies - my favorite!

this was my birthday cake! mom and dad are the best!

xoxo,

H

A Week in the Life of Hannah Morgan

I'd like to think that lately my life has become pretty "routine" so I thought I'd share with you what my weeks like - I know you're super excited. Here we go:

Monday

wake up around 10:00 (a HUGE blessing)

take Monster out

shower

eat lunch

work* 11:45-5:15

*work consists of assisting in teaching the Sports class at Gymboree 12-1:00. we cover a different sport about every 3 weeks. these past couple of weeks we've done Track & Field. this includes hurdles, long jump, relay races, and obstacle courses. now, imagine watching 3 and 4 year olds doing all those grown up sounding things and PLEASE smile, because you know it's adorable. and trust me - it is. 

after Sports class there is our School Skills class. it's a preschool alternative parents can choose for their 3-5 year old. we work on letters, numbers, arts and crafts, fine motor skills, writing, and sequencing - just to name a few. I have learned so much from helping Ms. Jenny - about being a teacher, being patient, and how important it is to have Germ-X nearby at all time. 

from 3:15-5:15 I work the playgym - when the facility is open for kids and parents to come and just play without it being structured. when you're the teacher doing the playgym you will make phone calls, get things ready for the upcoming weeks, and clean all those toys.*

get off work

eat dinner with mom & dad

take Monster to dog park

watch tv/finish up homework/troll the Internet/eat snacks

watch at least one episode of Friends or Grey's Anatomy

go to sleep 

Tuesday

wake up at 7:45 (sometimes 8:00) 

take Monster out

shower

leave house by 9:00

drive to Warrensburg*

*driving to Warrensburg consists of listening to music, trying to wake myself up, and preparing for the day of classes ahead. I have found this is a great time to pray. I pray about literally everything. I think I could be considered like, an ADHD Prayerer? is that a thing? it is now. I'll be praying for my teachers and asking the Lord to give them wisdom and I'll see a billboard about a construction company and then start praying/asking God about like, how do You make their minds be able to build a house? that's just an example, I'm sure there are weirder ones than that.*

arrive in Warrensburg around 9:30/9:40

park across from library

walk to class*

*classes consist of Physics for Teachers 10:00-11:50, Foundations of Education 12:30-1:20, and Collaborating with Families of Exceptional Children 2:00-3:15*

leave Warrensburg

get to Lee's Summit around 4:15

let Monster out/feed him

relax for a little bit

leave for work at 5:00*

*work on Tuesday night is a Level 4 and Level 5 class. these kiddos are the best. they've been pretty much the same kids since I started in February so they know me and we're best friends - at least in my mind.* 

leave work around 8:00

go home

talk with mom and dad

watch tv/eat dinner/troll Internet

SLEEP (Tuesday nights I am exhausted.)

Wednesday

wake up around 8:30 

take Monster out 

shower

go to work at 9:30*

*work on Wednesdays consists of Level 4, 5, and 3 classes. these have been growing in numbers with more kids the past couple of weeks so they've been really fun.*

leave work around 1:00

go home

eat lunch

let Monster out/feed him/play with him

go back to work around 3:00*

*work at 3:00 is another playgym - phone calls, cleaning, and preparing.*

leave work at 5:15

go home

quickly eat dinner

drive to Blue Springs for choir rehearsal*

*on September 11th I auditioned for First Baptist's praise team. this would be a spot on one of the "leading teams." after anxiously waiting over the weekend I got an email on Monday telling me that I had been placed on a team - Team 3! I was (still am) very excited. I'm excited to be able to keep singing and using my voice to worship. Joining the praise team means that I'm now a member of the big church choir, too AND I've become apart of the choir that puts on the Christmas program - First Christmas. we practice at 6:30 every Wednesday night for the program in December. it's going to be great! I've been put in a quintet for that, too - singing soprano..yay! exciting things - all in the Lord's plan :) ****Mrs. Rule if you are reading this? I took your advice - thank you for saying something.*

drive home

watch tv/talk with parents/troll Internet

sleep! 

Thursday

*see Tuesday 

*my Thursdays are very similar to my Tuesdays except (thankfully - a blessing) I do not work in the evenings. 

get home around 4:15

relax/work on homework

eat dinner with mom & dad

go to Life Group at 6:30*

*Life Group consists of meeting with a group of about 8 adults, doing a Bible study and eating snacks together. it's been really great getting to know some other people that go to First and just being involved with adults.*

watch tv/finish up homework/troll the Internet/eat snacks

watch at least one episode of Friends or Grey's Anatomy

go to sleep 

Friday

sleep in sometimes* (it's glorious)

*sometimes means that I will doing my 30 hours on observation at Voy Spears Elementary in Lee's Summit on Friday mornings. We've set it up to do 9:30-12:30 on Fridays and that same time slot on Mondays to get my 30 hours done.* 

take Monster out

shower

do all the homework

watch TV

wear pajamas

play with/walk Monster

eat dinner out with mom & dad

get a Redbox

stay up later

sleep 

Saturday

sleep in mostly always

bum around

homework

volunteer*

*Saturdays have been the day that I've been able to some volunteering for Crossroads - the hospice company where my dad is a chaplain. I've sat with the same patient a couple of times now. I take my homework so it has been a blessing for me as well letting his wife get out of the house for a couple of hours. 

hang out with parents

see Bradee - we've gone shopping a couple of Saturdays!

eat dinner out or in

get another movie

stay up kinda late

sleep!

Sunday

wake up around 7:45 (sometimes later, sorry mom)

take Monster out

shower

get ready for church

dad drives us to Blue Springs

worship at 9:00

help teach the 4 year olds in the Yellow room with Ms Joyce at 10:30*

*the Yellow room is probably one of my favorite things all week. I adore those kids. 

leave church to go home

PUT ON SWEATS - my favorite thing

take Monster out

eat lunch at home

watch Chiefs/nap on couch

finish homework

bum around 

hang out with parents

eventually get to sleep after Internets/snacks/tv

Well there you have it. my week - exhilarating, huh? you know what? I love it. I love being busy, having a job, playing and learning with all the children, hanging out with my parents and playing with Monster. typing this all out has once again reminded me of just how crazy it is that I'm here, doing all these things, when 8 months ago I no longer wanted to be alive. 

The Lord has turned my world upside down and changed it only for the better. I'm not that girl anymore. I still struggle with things that she went through, but I'm a new creation in so many ways. it's SO....UGH I can't even think of a word worthy of how I feel - I'll work on that. 

thank you for reading this. I really enjoyed typing all these words. 

I hope your week has started well.*

it's OCTOBER - so crazy. my birthday is in 10 days! eeeeep! 

*please please please take a moment to take a deep breath and thank God for creating this crazy, beautiful, and messy world. I think the world needs our prayers and good thoughts now more than ever. that also goes for the person sitting next to you, the barista at Starbucks, and the cashier at Target - they all need your love, thoughts, and prayers. and if you start praying for strangers someday you'll be the stranger being prayed for (did any of that make ANY sense?)*

I love you, Jesus loves you and MAN does He want you to know that. 

xoxo,

H

A Weekend at Westminster

as mentioned a couple of posts ago in my "things coming up" segment (that sounds so official!) I had a trip to see my friend Shannon planned. Shannon's 22nd birthday was September 16th so on the 13th I went to Westminster College in Fulton, MO to spend the weekend with her. 

on the road there...

I got there Friday afternoon and waited for her to get out of class. We joyously hugged hello (her hugs are the BEST) and took my stuff into her dorm. She's an RA so she has a room all to herself. Part of her being an RA includes doing fun activities with her hall - things like water balloon fights and slip 'n slides. we ran to a dollar store, got balloons, and filled those babies up. talk about a good time. Westminster is a small, private school and it was so cool to see how different the student life is there compared to a "big" school like MSU. kids (I say kids because it was the freshman quad and I felt ANCIENT) hung out all around with each other. 

after an intense water balloon fight and some slippin' 'n slidin' (I watched that part) we ate some dinner that was prepared by the dining hall. burgers, hot dogs, fries, and some very yummy cookies. we sat around and talked with the students. I met a lot of people and they were so so nice. I kept telling Shannon how nervous I was - it'd been so long since I'd been around lots of people "my age" besides Bradee and Annie! It was silly to be nervous, but a perk to having Shannon as a close friend? you can tell her you're nervous and she will roll her eyes in a nice way and say "oh stop." and it somehow helps you not be so nervous. 

Friday night we hung out with Shannon's sorority sisters - something else I was nervous about. once again I was shown I had no need for fear - these girls were great. I really really enjoyed talking with them. of course we talked about boys a lot, so who wouldn't like that? ;) 

on Saturday morning we slept in and then another good friend from high school, Madeline came! we three girls ate brunch with other RAs before going to the football game. it was a beautiful day and Shannon let us wear some of her Blue Jays gear so we didn't stick out TOO much :) 

sports!

after the game Madeline's twin sister, Meredith got to town. it was so great to see her again - I saw her earlier in May when I stayed in Chillicothe with Shannon. we stopped by the JV soccer game and then went to a hog roast. (if I had to sum up the weekend in a couple of words I'd choose food, sports, and friends. I ate SO much and watched a lot of sports!)

after the hog roast (with the pig's head on display and everything) we went back to Shannon's room. Meredith and I took a nap - I don't remember planning that? it just happened and it was glorious. then we went back out to hang with the Theta girls. 

Sunday morning we got up and met Shannon's parents, Dave and Cindy, in Columbia for lunch. it's ALWAYS great seeing them - especially when they graciously buy our Olive Garden. we caught them up on our lives and ate yummy food. we then drove back to Fulton and Shannon opened her birthday presents which made me (really selfishly, I know) excited for my upcoming birthday. she got really cute things, including a sewing kit and CUTE sewing box from her parents. 

we then said our goodbyes, got some last minute "you can do it" advice from Cindy and hugged goodbye in the parking lot, making plans for the next time we'll see each other. 

Meredith, Shannon, me, and Madeline

I'm SO glad we got to spend time together. lots of laughs and memories made. can't wait to do it again!

xoxo,

H

A Night with Mumford

hi, friends :)

on June 17th my parents, my cousin Ronda and I went to the Mumford & Sons concert in Bonner Springs, KS.

it was fantastic.

Ronda and I went ahead of my parents to stake out a place to sit. it was really great getting to spend some time with just her - we're usually surrounded by our family haha so we got to chat and be excited together. I was a giggling MESS with excitement, y'all.

we arrived before the gates were opened so the line was ridiculous, but our wait was not very long and of course it was perfect for prime people watching.

all those people 

we got in there and put our blankets down on the grass. my dad had a great idea of bringing plastic we had used to wrap my bed in while it was storage to put on the ground first and then put our blankets on that in case it was wet. (did that make ANY sense?) Ronda and I quickly found out that yes, that was a great idea, BUT as we sat there...we slowly started to slide down the hill. it was really funny and we decided to nix that and just use the grass. 

our seats on the lawn!

The two opening bands were really great and fun. I honestly can't remember their names which is awful of me, but they were fun! Mom and dad got there and about an hourish later Mumford came on. I had decided to go to the bathroom thinking "they won't come on while I'm in there!" HA. they did. I was in a bathroom stall when they started their set with "Babel." I was SO MAD. but when I got out of the bathroom I waited at the top of the hill and got to experience the song "Little Lion Man" alone - something I don't regret. It was incredible. they are so fantastic live. 

It was such a fun night. I'm so glad I got to experience with my parents, too. I know that on the surface it may sound lame to people my age or whatever, but my parents are cool -ok? and Ronda is, too  :)

LOVE THEM SO MUCH

 This night 

was one of those 

that will be counted as "my favorites." 

xoxo, H

oh - hi, September!

Hello, friends :)
a lot has been happening around here!
Let me update you:

on August 11th the parentals and I went to Starlight Theatre in KC to see my little cousin, Karson sing before the main stage show - Footloose. She sang really well and the show was pretty good. It was the first production I'd seen since leaving MSU in February...talk about some emotions. I was afraid I was going to have this freak out moment of "oh my goodness...what am I doing? I miss this - I want to be back on the stage." I was very relieved to not have those thoughts. I do miss singing - but I am taking steps to get that back in my life (I'll explain later.) I know that I'm where I'm supposed to be and that feeling - that peace? is indescribable.

Starlight!

me and pops

I got another haircut...I went to a salon in downtown Lee's Summit and the guy who did it wanted to "have some fun." so...I got an asymmetrical cut.

as you can see - one side is shorter than the other. it's different, but it has really grown (pa ha) on me. I've gotten the hang of styling it and really enjoy the ease of getting ready!

On the 17th we got together with some family and had a fun day out! We ate at Pizza Street, went to a park, and then fed some animals! It was great to see the kids and be able to play with them. 

Harper in action

Syd flyin' high!

all the kids (and dad)

just feedin' an elk

After feeding the animals we ate dinner at our house and spent more time together. It was a warm day but a good day! My mom has the best ideas.

On our last official night of summer, Bradee and I watched Singin in the Rain and ate Panera on her couch. It was good to talk through our nerves about school starting - I really love that girl. 

on August 20th I started classes. the night before I was mess of nerves. I was so...afraid. Afraid of the new school, the people, the teachers, classes - everything. If you know me you know I don't like to do things that I'm bad at. at MSU I had gotten used to the campus, I had a ton of friends, and - until things started going downhill- I had a great outlook on what my future held. I saw going to UCM and being the New Girl as this challenge that I didn't even want to take on. I hate getting lost, I hate small talk, and I hate just not knowing things. I just hated the thought of starting over. Thankfully the Lord is in control and I'm not, right? sheesh. 

first day of school outfit

I started the day with the things that I could control. I got a new skirt and shirt so I felt comfortable (maxi skirts are heaven) and I also felt confident - my hair cooperated and my face wasn't acting up too badly :) I had laid my outfit out the night before so I wasn't rushed after showering - this eased my mind tremendously.  I had made my lunch the night before and it was ready to go but..it stayed at the house because I totally spaced on grabbing it. But at least I made it! 

Classes were great. I really like all my teachers. I go to Warrensburg on Tuesday/Thursday for 3 classes, 10:00-3:15. and I'm also in 2 online classes. Talk about homework! I've been able to keep up with everything and it's the third week in, so I'm not too overwhelmed just yet. I look forward to going to class, which is new and refreshing. I had forgotten how much I LOVE school...I am such a teacher's pet. It's a little ridiculous. Overall I can say that my prayers have been answered - I am surviving, learning, and enjoying all the hard work that I'm putting in. It's so wild to look back at a year ago and see how much I've changed and grown for the better. 

I'm still loving working with the kiddos in Sunday School. Joyce and I moved rooms and moved up with the kids on Promotion Sunday, so it's been fun being in a new room and meeting some new kids.

a balanced meal

my friend, Madison

Work at Gymboree is still going well. I find it funny that it's even called work. I get to play with kids and watch them learn and grow. I've learned so much about myself, too. It's been really eye-opening in a lot of aspects. One of my "students" from my Level 4 class (level 4 is 16-22 month olds), Brynnley, has stolen my heart. She is a sweetie and her parents are really great. One night she brought me a flower and it made my WEEK.

Now, I cant leave without a picture of Monster, right? He's still the best puppy ever. He is a ball of energy and brings me so much joy. He will be 8 months old on the 17th! 

wind in your hair...

Things that are coming up:

a visit to see my friend Shannon!

Mumford and Sons concert

Grey's Anatomy season premiere. 

Autumn

My birthday! :)

Thank you for reading all these words!

I love you very much. 

xoxo,

H