Halloween 2014 Photoblog

Rusty black gate down the road: perfect photo op for Halloween! As you can see, Jeffrey was a skeleton and I was a pirate (again).

 

Here he is with one of his friends from kindergarten. Oh, to be six years old again! :P



There is no way to properly caption this picture.

 

 I know it's a little late, but here are some pictures from Halloween! After having a mini-photo-session near a spooky-looking gate at the end of our street, we took my brother Jeffrey to a trunk-or-treat at a nearby church. He had a blast, and he and I spent a good four minutes trapped in a hamster wheel together. We also played a game with chocolate- and lemon-cupcakes as prizes and took a hay ride across the Wrightsville Beach area. Jeffrey said it was the best Halloween ever, and hey, I got a cupcake out of it, so I'd say it was a win-win scenario!

Now that Halloween is over, I can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas! What kind of plans are you making for the holiday season so far?

xoxo,

Ireland



Thoughts on Cozy.

Today I was reading one of my favorite blogs (written by Nancy Rue) and she posed several questions about the "longing to belong" and what "cozy" looks like. Here is my response.

 Cozy is my family gathered around a wood-burning fireplace. Listening to my favorite music. Rereading the Lily books. Dancing while my dad plays guitar. Beautiful clothes that don't get in the way while I'm doing things. Seeing the beach for the first time in six months. Conversation that flows like water.

It is an inner warmth that comes from feeling close to love. It is a clear conscience, a new slate, a tingly feeling that starts in your soul and spreads all the way throughout your body. It is letting God be God and being who you were truly made to be. It is honest but safe. It is belonging. It is unaffected and there is not mask to cover it up. Cozy.

I don't feel cozy all that often. But there are moments, here and there, a few seconds where I laugh and forget about my problems or I embrace the exquisiteness of God a little bit more. Mostly it feels like a process, like I'm getting closer to it but I'm not quite there yet.
 
Oh, how I long for coziness in relationships. To me that sounds close to perfection. I have a few friends that I catch glimpses of it with, and I don't appreciate it enough because I'm obsessed over wanting more. I'm moving in two weeks to a new city, and I'll be going to a public high school for the first time... I so want to meet some girls and guys that I can have close friendships with.
 
Because that is part of the essence of cozy. Closeness.

Feeling alone in a crowd is the opposite of cozy, which is basically how I felt in middle school. The loneliness was overwhelming and the not-wanting-to-live feeling was much too painful. I went into survival mode, and life was just so hard. I don't ever want to feel that way again. I have Jesus, and because of Him I am not alone, even when it feels that way. I want to hug that truth around the nakedness of my soul and believe it with every fiber of my being.

That is cozy. And that is unshakable. And that is what I want.

Spring Break in Tennessee (All of It)

Waiting for mom and dad's plane to arrive back

In addition to what you saw in the pictures, I...

 

Went to see Captain America on Tuesday with my aunt, uncle, and cousin.

Saw The Amazing Spiderman 2 on Wednesday with my grandmother and brother.

 

Watched Frozen for the first time several times, courtesy of the Dishners.

 

Ate delicious home-cooking, including a banana pudding that my Nana made with Jeffrey.
 

 Got together with everyone on my mom's side of the family, most of whom I haven't seen in a whole year.

Wished my grandmother Mary a happy 68th at her birthday party.
 

 And picked up my parents on Thursday afternoon from the airport.

 

 

So there you have it, folks. That was my Spring Break in Tennessee... all of it.

 
Part 1: The Cookout
Part 2: The Zoo
Part 3: Thrifting with the Girls

xoxo,

Ireland

Spring Break in Tennessee: Part 3

Southport is great. Definitely. But I lived in Knoxville for thirteen years, and I have some amazing friends there! Last week I got to see a bunch of them and we had such a great time.

After hanging out at Kathryn and Jessica's house, we went to Goodwill and Karm to go on a thrift store scavenger hunt and ended up taking a bunch of awesome, ridiculous pictures that still make me laugh to look through them. And when I say laugh, I mean I am CHUCKLING and SNORTING. It is not glamorous but I wouldn't want it to be... I mean, hello, laughing is fun. Okay, I'm not just sure where I went with that... let's move on and just look at pictures <3



Kathryn (left) and Maddie looking through the books.



 

 

One of our scavenger hunt lists.

 

 

Look at her hand! HEHEHEHEHE!!!!

 

 

Who knows?

 

 

I think these may be the most unflattering shirts on the planet.

 

We are rockstars. In shiny green satin.

From left: Jessica, Samantha, Kathryn, me. Let me just tell you, these girls are awesome-- they are kind, friendly, faithful friends, and I am so thankful they are a part of my life.



 I do not have the right words to describe our outfits in this one. But I will try :)

I am one of the reupholstered cushions on an old lady's couch. Samantha is a  teenager from the 1980s getting ready for her glamour shot. Kathryn is... a gaudy eskimo? And Jessica is a furry red monster with an affinity for Western culture. Maddie is just plain cute.

 

I hope these pictures make you smile like they do me!

xoxo,

 

Ireland