3 days left // 3 days remaining

I.  She liked to think of that frozen pond as her future.  Beautiful at first glance, announcing its depth with every cracking step.  But it would hold her.
II.  C.S. Lewis:  "If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get closer to, or even into, the thing that has them."
III.  Perspective:  3 days left // 3 days remaining
IV.  She was ear buds playing her favorite songs and socks for warmth not for style.  She was adventure and somehow, she only knew that from what small town Indiana had to offer.
V.  They always told her she could sleep when she died, so she taught her thoughts to keep her up until dawn.  Maybe, though, if she slept, she could become those thoughts rather than simply thinking them.  Releasing them from the sheets so she could grow was better than hiding what she could be in the first hours of the morning.
VI.  So if you see her in a photograph, know that genuine happiness was a crinkled nose above a smile.  Maybe she truly was happy.
VII.  The only place she wanted to be is here, enveloped by the blue.

Spring Break 2013

I'm blogging these photos mostly because the temperature isn't supposed to rise above 20 degrees this week.  I miss warmth and sand and ocean and tanned skin already, and it's only the beginning of December.

This April, we traveled to South Carolina for spring break.  I've been to Hilton Head Island since I was a baby, but this was the first time we went as a family of thirteen.  The Four saw the ocean for the first time, and we got to introduce them to all our favorite traditions.  (Honestly, that was the best part.)  We spent ten amazing days - swimming, relaxing, and playing.  We also did a little exploring around Savannah, Georgia.  It is one of my favorite cities!  (I tried to convince my mom that I should go to the art school there, but it didn't work :P)

My brain is in finals mode, so I'm going to let these photos tell you more my words can right now.

one frame | december

You will meet people who understand things in you that you yourself cannot make sense of.  You will meet people who see things in you that you thought didn't exist.  Cherish those people.  Ask them how they really - deep down - are doing.  Encourage them.  Laugh at the things worth laughing at (there are a lot) and sympathize with the things worth struggling over (there are a lot of those too).  Rant and vent, but thank them for listening ears, and learn to have the same.  Talk about what God is doing.  Plan crazy trips and adventures even if they don't happen immediately; someday, you will make them happen.  Be exactly who you are around them.  Call them what you want: sisters, soul-mates, besties.  You will meet people who want to do these things with you - call them friends.