Thankful

This past week, I have had the word "thankful" shoot out of my mouth more often than I think I've ever said it. I started to realize, every time I had said it, I really meant it with all my heart. The school year has begun...my senior year has begun...and I have begun to taste this season of thankfulness. A sweet friend of mine left a letter on my desk last week with a beautiful tangerine paint sample stuck inside. Knowing the color of tangerine can brighten my day, my heart skipped, and then I turned it over. Written on the back was a verse that I don't recall hearing before, from the book of Hosea. Hosea is also not a book that I usually go straight too either, but after reading it several times to really grasp what this verse was saying, I got it. Well, at least I understood as much as I could, without saying that I understand every aspect of what this verse was intended for...but for me...in this season of life that I have been given...I got it.

"Sow for yourself righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, that he may come rain righteousness upon you." Hosea 10:12

There are countless ways I am thankful for since the end of July, and it seems as if more and more blessings have been pouring in without me even noticing until I really stop to think. It is such a refreshing feeling to grab a hold of the blessings. The word blessing is used so lighthearted these days, I don't even like saying it within this context, but this is what it is, blessings. I don't think I would be able to be thankful for the people and situations in my life as they are today, given a year ago, but this is why this is my season of thankfulness...and my goodness am I thankful!

"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:13-14


//Meredith//

The Future Mrs. McConnell

The past two weeks have been a whirl wind of emotions and non stop going going going. Today has been my first quiet day to sleep in and enjoy the beauty of relaxing. I am realizing as I am typing, that being a busy bee is what I had wished for the past two months during my dreadful quiet summer days. There are so many things to share I don't know where to begin, but I guess I will start with this...

I AM AN ENGAGED WOMAN!!!!!

I couldn't be more overflowed with joy when I think back to the moment James got down on one knee and then when I think towards the future of spending the rest of my life with the man of my dreams. I am humbled and overwhelmed that the Lord has chosen James as my husband. He couldn't have chosen a more perfect man to match my heart. On July 30, 2013, James and I started our journey to become Mr. & Mrs.!!

Knowing James and I were headed to Charleston 3 days later to celebrate Lindsay (his sister) and her future baby, Henry, we decided to hold off on making our engagement public so we could surprise his siblings when we arrived. I don't know if you guys understand how hard this was for me! I was about to explode, but luckily I was able to call a couple people; including my family! The NEXT day I received these at my doorstep from one of my very best friends, Katherine, AND my roommates showed up as well! I have the sweetest friends!!

Luckily I was able to hold my tongue on social media until we arrived in Charleston, and then as soon as we got there Maddie left to run an errand! More waiting, and then we finally shared and it was such a sweet moment! I love James's siblings like my own and I can't wait to have 3 new sisters and 3 new brothers! Let me also add...I will also become an aunt for the first time to beautiful Abiella & soon-to-be baby Henry!! Mmmm family is a wonderful and necessary part of life and an even bigger family is more incredible than I could have imagined. 

Charleston, You have brought upon a lot of sweet memories.

how CUTE is my fiance!?

xxx, Meredith

A Glance into "5th grade" Me

Before I share about our trip to Hilton Head, I will share a little email I received from my dad a couple of days ago. He had recently discovered an old email that I had sent to him way back in 2002.

Here's 5th grade me...can you find me? Yes. far left with the baby blue pajamas.

Enjoy.

hey dad!  heres a list of my favorite things u were wanting.
*favorite food: brownies, candy, popcicles, corn, and cheese dip
*favorite flower: tulips and roses
*favorite song: sadie hawkins dance, when i call on Jesus, complicated, sk8r boi, and everywhere
*favorite color: blue and green
*favorite movie star: Jennifer Aniston and Amanda Bynes
*favorite movie: Big Fat Liar, Princess Diaries, tuck everlasting, and sweet home alabama
*favorite store: LTD2, Bath and body works, and ZainyBrainy
*favorite role model: Lindsey, Whitney and Brittney Boyd, Mary-kate and Ashley
*favorite show: Lizzie Mcguire, Boy Meets World, American Dreams, and So Little Time
*favorite subject: math, PE, Bible, and recess
*favorite teachers: Mrs.Casady, Mrs.Wilder, Mrs. Malone, and Ms.Stinson
*favorite sport: soccer and cheerleading
*favorite animal: Penguin
*favorite name: Jeff and Hannah
*favorite bible character: Matthew, Luke, and Jesus

Obviously, there are some things that haven't changed among my favorite things, but I will leave that to you to figure out what those are or aren't.

Stay tuned for the most memorable trip to HHI yet. Including a broken bone, thunderstorms, a smashed face, and that's not even the half of it.

My Second Home

Tomorrow, James and I are road tripping to the place my heart loves the most, Hilton Head, South Carolina. My second home. Although, I have many "homes," this island, holds a place in my heart that no matter how hard other cities and towns try to squeeze in, there will always be a space for Hilton
Head.

I grew up going to Hilton Head every year for the week of July 4th, and the memories are ones that I will cherish for a lifetime. We have missed going the past couple of years due to things like being on summer staff in Colorado, or just deciding to change up vacations, but this year we are back in action and I couldn't be more thrilled! Although, when we go, we tend to eat at the same restaurants, visit the same shops, and stay at the same places, (almost as if it's ritual), the redundancy is left behind when we arrive. I could visit the same Harbor town, with the same red and white lighthouse every year because of all of the many flavors of emotions I feel.

 I am overflowing with excitement on top of everything because this year I have the pleasure of bringing James!! Yay! (might I add, I have never taken any other person on this vaca.) I can't wait to share all about this week and all the new memories we made!!

Whether it's a cookout, a lake trip, a beach trip, or any other festivities you and your friends might be having, I hope everyone is safe and enjoys this fun filled week. Happy 4th of July!!

Cold Tangerines

I haven't been on this baby in quite awhile. Looking back through old posts from this time last year, my summer has quite a different feel than last. Last summer was filled with taking my first trip to Charleston, taking YoungLife friends to Windy Gap, being out in Colorado for a month while I was on summer staff at Crooked Creek Ranch, and everything in between. This summer I have a lot more down time, and a lot more me time.

I am currently curled up in my apartment, in Milledgeville, watching the rain pour like I've never seen, whilst watching E news and a mug filled with coffee ice cream. Many would read and think, wow that sounds peaceful and cozy. Well......it is. And I am SO thankful for this moment right now. This summer hasn't been one that I thought it would look like, but after reading, "Cold Tangerines," by Shauna Niequist, I have tried to discover the little celebrations in my day to day even if it is that E news is on and I'm obsessed with Guiliana Rancic and I want to cut my hair again because of her even though I would never forgive myself if I actually went through with it. Mrs. Niequist has taught me that celebrations don't just have to be when we celebrate birthdays, holidays, and the end of school (even though those are WONDERFUL to celebrate!). Celebrations can be about having a cold tangerine, and that is what I am discovering. Within the past month, these are some celebrations worth sharing.

I spent the month of May with my very best friend and we love to celebrate with chikfila ice cream

Dinner with friends before many move away

Spent a lovely night at the Marietta square when some of my friends and I sat down next to THIS.

When Derek and Kari Beth became Mr. and Mrs. Chitwood!!

seeing old but beautiful friends

Road tripped from the wedding all the way to Nolensville, Tennessee, (my new favorite town), to surprise James' family!! I also got to finally meet Abiella, one of THE greatest bundles of joy to celebrate!!

Arrington Vineyards with the Mcconnells, wine never tasted so good.

my handsome boyfriend is always worth celebrating

What are some of the little things you've found in your every day life worth celebrating?

What is unseen

Today I am weary. 

I am weary of my thoughts concerning the pain and heartache of this world. 

I am saddened each time I read or hear about the news more and more as the days pass by.

Sometimes this fear of the world and what could happened consumes my thoughts before any action I take.

I was talking about this to one of my very best friends the other day and she told me that these horrible things that "could" happen, aren't anything that I can control. 

To live in a state of fear and let it consume you, isn't living, and it isn't showing the Lord that you trust Him with your life and with the plans He has for you.

I think this is something that is very hard for me, and as soon as I feel as if I'm letting the control of my life go, and into the Lord's hands..this feeling of wanting control comes back.

This is something I dealt with a lot in Colorado last Summer.

I think this is just one of my many struggles that, obviously, won't be connected to any sort of "formula."

I think that's why the Lord's relationship with us is so special.

Getting to a certain point with the Lord isn't enough.

Pursuing Him daily even in the confusion, heartache, pain, and anger is.

Today, I'm taking a breath, and stepping back from being so "quick to anger."

Today I am digging in to 2 Corinthians and letting God breathed word sink in to my yearning soul.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

"You Can't Play Cards Here"

On this fine long weekend, I got to hang out with these wonderful people in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina.

Our original plan was to go skiing in Boone, Nc, and this was going to be James' gift to me for my 21st birthday!!! (best boyfriend award right??) But.... there was a quick change in plans when the warm front came in and the majority of the snow turned muddy. We were bummed because Emily and I had never been skiing and were really excited about it, but that didn't stop us from finding something adventurous to do.

On Friday, James and I loaded up the car when he got off work, and headed to Lilburn, Ga to pick up Derrick and Emily (we also headed to Lilburn only knowing we are going to Asheville with no other details....ahhh panic). We headed to Asheville and stayed in a boys camp, thanks to Emily's connectionsssss!!!! AND it was freeeee. SCORE.

Saturday we headed in to the city to find exciting local restaurants and cool mountain shops. The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was exciting, and there were too many dreads on heads to count (yes I'm referring to dreadlocks. It's just cooler to refer to them as dreads, well at least that's what I heard). We then headed to the beautiful Grove Park Inn and walked around to catch glimpses of the breathtaking view.

How beautiful is this place?! STILL the perfect birthday getaway.

By dinner time we were winding down and the boys were dying to take Emily & I to this place called the Grey Eagle to eat to-die-for hush puppies and listen to mumford & sons type music. I was pumped. I love the idea of chowing down on a bunch of appetizers while listening to live music. We arrive...and...well it went a little different as planned.

1. I get the mark of hey-you-aren't-21-so-let-me-black-sharpie-all-over-both-hands

2. THE MAN WAS RUDE

3. We walk in and we are the only people there...besides the cook and bartender

4. THERE ARE NO TO-DIE-FOR HUSHPUPPIES

5. We have two hours before the band starts to play

6. THE BARTENDER WAS RUDE

......then we had the brilliant idea to play cards..pitch to be exact. Just a little harmless competition between girls & boys. Then the following hostile man comes into the picture.

(bodyguard with bald head, glasses, and sleeve tattoos leans over our little table of four): "Um. You guys can't play cards here."

(one of us laughs): "Are you serious?"

Bodyguard: Yes. (sternly)

Emily: (laughs) "We've been playing for the past 30 min. and no one has said anything to us."

Bodyguard: (bobble head )"WELLL, I am TELLing you now."

OH NO HE DIDNT.

Long story short...that little mess set James over the edge, and he had no problem walking straight up to the bartender and letting him know how our experience had gone that night at the Grey Eagle while taking his tab back. We walked right out the door, but not without asking for our money back for the show.

As we drove away we started coming up with "what we should have done" scenarios which involved James fake crying, punching the bodyguard AND bartender, and asking the bodyguard to join in our game, which left us all in tears of laughter, which made out for a great night. We decided to end our night at a local coffee shop and tasted some heavenly hot chocolate. 

The next day we woke up thinking we were going to spend the day hiking before we went home, (obviously we thought a lot of things during this weekend that went differently) but ended up walking around the little town of Black Mountain, and venturing in to probably one of the most beautiful college campuses I've ever seen at Montreat College.

After this visit, we jumped in the car, made a pit stop at the Tanger Outlets, and headed home just in time for Revenge!!!

mmm. My weekend is complete.

meredith. 

Jingle Jam

My mom won tickets to star 94's Jingle Jam concert & she invited me!! I wasn't sure who many of the artists singing were until they actually were singing their hit songs, but it ended up being a lot of fun! Who knew this british guy named Ed Sheeran was a teen heart throb (seriously, I had no clue I could experience the screams I heard when his name was even mentioned), and who knew the latest American Idol winner, Phillip Phillips was someone I actually really enjoyed listening to.

For any of you that don't know what Jingle Jam is, it is a concert that is put on by star 94 radio, and they ask 6 artists to perform 5 or so songs, and the last person sings a whole set list. This lucky one that sang their whole set was none other than Ed Sheeran. Seriously guys, ha I had no clue who this guy was and yet my ears were ringing the screams were so loud. Now, the 6 artists that performed (in order) were: Andy Grammer, Grace Potter, Alex Clare, Phillip Phillips, Jason Mraz, and Ed Sheeran.

We got to sit in the club level!!

Grace Potter killin it.

Phillip Phillips

On top of the awesome people watching at a place that supports many different tastes in music, the middle-aged women dancing around us to the one and only rockstar Grace Potter all the way to the "Ginger Jesus" Ed Sheeran...I('m serious guys...that quote was on a poster by two teenage girls), it was quite a show & I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was when J Mraz asked everyone to turn their phone lights on, it was soo pretty.

Now I will leave you with a new favorite song of mine...

Enjoy.

Lately

Life lately has been quite peaceful; filled with lots of sleep and the people that warm my heart. 

Everyone meet my boyfriend. 

Wearing some sort of santa/pimp hat, casually drinking starbucks with an oh-so-loved shirt of his that has "plenty of holes to tell plenty of stories", so he says.

This wonderful boyfriend of my mine just so happened to take me to the Nutcracker and sit through a ballet where I soaked in the elegance, grace, and beauty of it all. There were around 30 little girls as mice, gum drops, lamb chops, and so on...and we couldn't get over how adorable they were. James was cackling so hard at one point, this lady turned around to see what was going on (apparently The Nutcracker isn't supposed to be funny). These little girls were waving at their parents, running back and forth, and just looking as precious as they could be.

The next day, I packed up my car and headed home for a long but needed month of Christmas break. James came along for the weekend, and we ended up going ice skating with a college group from a church that his best friend is an intern with. Although ice skating isn't something I die to do, it was definitely memorable...

As you can see, they are professionals, and they were getting plenty of looks from people petrified they were going to run in to them.

Baby, it's Cold Outside

I wish. Where's the cold weather? I never thought I'd say this, but I want the chill in the air that makes it feel like Christmas!!

Finishing my first semester of the Early Childhood Cohort...I feel so free!! This semester has probably been the hardest semester of my life along with many different emotions. Things changed a lot this semester, but I'm hopeful to see the outcome of the changes starting Spring semester along with when I get to be with my Kindergarten babies!!

I am SO excited to be home with my family and have sporadic hang outs with my sweet friends that live near me, or near enough to meet up. I am excited for all the Christmas movies (thank goodness for ABC family), and decorations all throughout my town.

I get to be an elf on the square, you guys, it is going to be so much fun. Picture it...

Sadly, I don't have to wear an elf outfit like zooey, but I do get to watch the joy of little kids visit Santa himself.There are so many things I am excited for over the next month, and I can't wait to start the festivities on Friday. My wonderful boyfriend is taking me to see the Nutcracker, and then it's all uphill from there.

In the meantime, I will be listening to my new favorite Pandora station: She and Him

Zooey is full of Christmas spirit.

Happy Halloweeen

In the spirit of Halloween, I'd like to say...

Halloween is an exciting day for me because of all the candy.

My mom actually would take my candy away and I could only pick three things a day, because otherwise I'd eat. it. all.

Carving pumpkins has never been my strong suit, but I try. And then I get frustrated and only have holes throughout my pumpkin.

 I've never missed dressing up for halloween...even in highschool

 In elementary school we didn't go trick or treating, but we went to a "reformation celebration" at my church

 As you can see, I had no problem with midriff, at church, at the age of five.

When you are a Younglife leader and you attend farm-o-ween you WILL end up getting pied in the face...which is fun too. But whatever you do on Halloween have fun and get back to the classics of bobbing for apples and playing games!! My friends and I are in to that sort of thing.

I'm excited to attend our halloween party hosted by this beautiful messy faced girl.

Dress up. Be scared. & Eat some candy. Lots of candy.

& Have a happy halloween!!!

On the Lookout

"Knowing that your future is absolutely assured can free you to live abundantly today. I have prepared this day for you with the most tender concern and attention to detail. Instead of approaching the day as a blank page that you need to fill up, try living it in a responsive mode: being on the lookout for all that I am doing. This sounds easy, but it requires a deep level of trust, based on the knowledge that My way is perfect." -Jesus Calling

Being on a YoungLife team allows you to go on weekend getaways to have bonding time with the team. Our team decided to go to Lake Allatoona and stay at one of our fellow team members lake house.  I wasn't really sure what to expect and I wasn't really sure I wanted to go. These past couple weeks have been extremely tiresome, and have almost made my body ache because I have been so busy. I started to develop headaches for no reason. I would try to sleep them off, and they just kept coming up. All I wanted to do was to rest. Rest, but not have anything on my mind while I rested.  This wasn't going to happen, because I have been swimming in work & outside projects. I felt almost as if this "getaway bonding trip" was just another thing on my schedule I had to take part in. I didn't have a lot of emotion about the upcoming weekend as Friday rolled around, and we were headed for Atlanta. I packed up, loaded up on gas, picked up a friend, grabbed lunch, got my bangs trimmed, forgot my purse at the salon, went back and grabbed it, was scared to death by an innocent homeless woman that knocked on my window, drove through atlanta, got my emissions done, surprised my mom at work, took a quick trip to the mall, and then it was smooth sailing to the lake house.
(2011 YL lake trip)

Okay, so maybe I had a lot of things to do before I finally arrived, but I don't go home very much so I thought I'd check it all off at once. When I arrived, I was greeted with smiling faces, loud music, and the smell of yummy food. We spent the night eating, playing embarrassing games, and spending quality time with each other. The next morning came, and I came across my devotion that said the excerpt I wrote at the beginning of this post. My day changed in an instant. My view of the day changed in an instant actually. I went on a morning walk around the lake with a really wonderful friend of mine, and it was absolutely breathtaking outside. The air had a morning warmth to it. You know when you walk outside, and you can feel that it is going to be a warm day, but there is a slight chill in the air? That's how it felt. It was such a refreshing feeling spending my morning in the fresh, warm air.

HOKAY.
Some of you might be thinking: (if you're on my younglife team) "We didn't go to the lake this weekend", or (if you're my hair cutter) "I didn't cut your bangs", or (even my mom) "You didn't surprise me at work." welllllllll....all of these things happened, but back in March. I know you're probably wondering why this is just now being posted, but I was going through my blog and realized I had never finished/published this post. So I read through what I had written and thought...interesting, I really really needed this. You know when you read a letter from someone, or read an old journal entry, and you think, "Wow!", if that wasn't God's perfect timing, I don't know what is. So here it is, my post about my younglife team's getaway that ended with stronger friendship and deeper understandings of each other. The more I dive in to this year, the more it is easier to get too busy for the important things. Important things are different for everyone, just make sure YOUR important things are what is held high in your day to day routine.

Now on to some Pumpkin carving!!!! Happy almost Halloweenie!!

It's Fall, Ya'll!!

Fall is here, and I am so excited!! Scarves, boots, cardigans, pumpkins, Starbucks, blankets, and beautiful changing leaves!! I LOVE FALL!! I am so excited that there is a chill in the air, and we are getting closer to Halloween and Thanksgiving...which means we are also closer to CHRISTMAS!! I can't get ahead of myself though...I have a lot going on before Christmas break.

Don't get your hopes up...this is no tutorial...just me, obsessing over things like fall, ombre wreaths...But how awesome is this?? There's a website that lists over FIFTY different DIY wreaths. Pretty awesome...I guess I'll plug it, since I took her wreath picture and all...DIY wreaths

The last couple weeks have flown by, and I think it's about to get even faster. I do want to take a couple minutes to RAVE about a wedding I was able to attend because it just so happened to be my boyfriend's sister!! It was the cutest/craftiest wedding I've been to on plantation land near Charleston, SC. Lindsay's colors were yellow and gray and they were accented fabulously about the wedding. Two things that caught my eye though...1. Kids table (who would have thought?!) & 2. A candy bar! AND every candy was either yellow or gray...perfect. Between her mom and brother singing her down the aisle, and dancing with my new 6 year old boy friend, I'm pretty sure it was a night to remember. Here are some snapshots...

YAYY! Happy newly married life Lindsay Dammeyer!!

Ps. A couple days after we drove home...the Mcconnell's got MORE beautiful news. The precious little 2-yr-old girl that has been in the process for about a year now of being adopted is HOME in the states!!! You can read about that here!!!

XOXO

O and Ps Ps. I love my greek family.