thankfulness.

I love this time of year.

People smiling from ear to ear, the willingness to give without expecting anything in return, love flowing from the hearts of most everyone. The holiday season really is the most wonderful time of the year. As much as I love how thankful we all get during these few months, I just can't help but think how awesome it would be if we stayed this thankful every day of every year, not just when it's expected of us. It keeps us humble and allows us to see things in a more refreshing perspective, both of which, I believe, bring us closer to who we were created to be.

I hope I never live a day without saying at least a hundred "thank you"s. I hope I never take a breath without immediately thanking the one who supplied it. I pray I never grow tired of being grateful for all the little and big things I get blessed with. And may I never forget how to separate the really important things from the not-so important ones.

If I listed all the things I am thankful for, the list would never, ever end. There are, however, a few that I am extra thankful for and would gladly shout them out from a mountaintop if I were on top of one. :)

my husband.

my family.

my second family.

the three ladies I count on most.

my very best friends (all in one place at the same time, might I add).

my favorite city.

brilliantly-colored sunsets.

God's creation at the tip of my fingers.

my church.

my alma mater.

My advice to you? Be thankful. And be intentional about it.

Always.

Always.

Always.

As much as I hate to say goodbye to my second favorite month, my heart is exploding at the thought that the one month I wish would last and last begins tomorrow. I'm so ready for you to be here, December! I'm certain that you will make my heart beat a thousand beats a minutes just by showing up.

"If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily."

-Gerald Good

first glimpse of Christmas.

our first home is officially decorated in greens and reds and anxiously awaiting the arrival of...

SANTA!

I am so excited to celebrate this Christmas season together with my husband. Even though this is technically our ninth Christmas, we vowed to start fresh just a few months ago. This year of firsts has already been incredible, and it's only been a little over four months! EEEK! This first Christmas will be one straight out of my dreams, of that I am confident.

Yesterday was so much fun, and looking at all this Christmas decor for the next month will be blissful blissful blissful. There's no other person on the planet I'd rather share a home, a life, endless possibilities, and a million dreams with. Especially during my most favorite time of year.

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."

-Norman Vincent Peale

jump for joy.

happy Thanksgiving from me to you!

I hope your day was as exciting and family-filled and fat-producing and perfect as mine was!


"Thanksgiving day come, by statute, once a year; to the honest man, it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow."
-Edward Sanford Martin

let's hear it for the birthday boy!

On my list of favorite people, there's this one boy who has been at the top longer than most of the people whose names are also listed. I'd say they were the lucky ones, but we all know that spot belongs to me. This boy was born on this day in 1988, exactly four months and nine days before me. I met him in the seventh grade, he asked me to be his girlfriend in ninth grade, we got engaged last September, and became husband and wife four months and three days ago. To a lot of people, he's just another guy in the world. In fact, there are billions of people who don't even know he even exists. But, to me, he's so much more than that. And, today, he gets to be just as special to everyone else as he is to me every day.

I could go on for days and days about how much he means to me and how much I love him and how much pride I have because of him, but most of you have heard the stories over and over again. He's the most unique person I've ever met, his heart is the biggest heart in the whole world, he still makes me weak in the knees with just one look even after all these years, he turns every occasion into a special one, and the best part of him being alive is that I get to live in the world with him.

My prayer for his twenty-third year is that he keeps growing, keeps seeking, keeps putting his whole heart into everything he does, keeps running after the Lord with all he's got, keeps believing in miracles, and keeps shining his light for everyone to see. There are so many things I hope he gets to do and see and experience this year, and I can't wait to be his biggest fan through it all. More than anything, though, I pray that all of his dreams come true. Today and every day.

if his love for me as a braceface doesn't reveal his heart of gold, I'm not sure what else will.

happy birthday, Teesh!

I hope you know how much better the world is just because you're in it.

Especially my world. :)

none of it could ever be enough without you.

Nine years. One hundred and eighty seven episodes. Over eight thousand scenes. Millions of fans. It's hard to believe that it all ends today. The last time a scene will ever be rehearsed and filmed.

I can remember seeing the previews for this new show when I was just a mere freshman in high school. The first episode, on September 23, 2003, was actually the first time my boyfriend (now husband) ever watched TV together. I had no idea that those two things would become so important to me, even to this day. I was hooked from the very first episode, and I still, to this day, haven't turned back.

I've been fortunate enough to take several road trips to Wilmington and grow to love that glorious place as much as (if not more than) my own home, meet some incredible people while galavanting, establish my very own P. Sawyer and B. Davis in our own teensy land of Tree Hill, meet most of the cast, and experience so many other little things that have grown to be some of the biggest things to me. Not to mention how I got to experience every bit of it with my best friend/soulmate. Yepp, that's totally my favorite part. :)

Allow me to give you a mini-slideshow of my time spent in Wilmington over the past two years. They've been some of the best times of my life, and I'll never ever forget a single memory. It may not be Tree Hill anymore to everyone else, but that's what it will always be to me.

#GoodnightTreeHill

"Tree Hill is just a place somewhere in the world. Maybe it's a lot like your world, maybe it's nothing like it. But if you look closer, you might see someone like you."

-Lucas Scott