The best visits are with the ones you love...

his weekend I was able to head home and smooch on the newest member of our family. My brother and sister-in-law came up from Wilmington and brought the prince himself, Finn. It was so great to all be hanging out as a family. 

We even brought my grandmother over so that she could see her great-grandchild for the first time. To have 4 generations in a room was awesome. She was absolutely smitten and he fell asleep right in her arms.

I did my best to try to become the favorite aunt. Not really sure how much it worked :-) I tried my hardest though. I got him smiling, so I must have done something right.

Scott and Megan are such great parents. It is so weird and yet very cool and neat to see my brother doing such an amazing job as a dad. They both make me so proud to be their sister.

Dad having some play time with Finn before going to church.

It's official. I have the quietest, most content and  best nephew in the world! 

there's nothing cuter than you kid...

After 22 hours of labor, he is finally here! and i am completely smitten. i am finally a first time aunt and could not be more proud of my brother and sister-in-law. such perfect parents to a perfect baby boy.

i was completely torn and heartbroken that i could not be there the day of the birth due to having to present my final project in order to graduate (which i thankfully passed) and was so bummed to not be a part of one of the most important days in my brother's life. but after a long week of school work, a long drive from boone to wilmington, i was able to finally go see my nephew.

he is more perfect then i could ever imagine. he never cries. he whimpers for food and then just chills out like all is well with the world. he sleeps, smiles and makes the best faces. i could not have been more excited to change a diaper or hold this baby (even after his full diaper leaked all over me - could have cared less!)

here's to you bro and megs - so proud of you! and here's to you finn - you were well worth the wait!

I really am thankful!!!

I had this post sitting on my desktop for days and just realized that I never posted it. Whoops! Pretend it is almost Thanksgiving day as you read!

As a wonderful, food-filled day is approaching, I suppose I should express my love and gratitude for everything I am thankful for. I’ve seen people constantly updating their facebooks daily with items they are thankful for. I am truly blessed and have a hard time just narrowing it down to only 25 (I say 25 because there are only 25 days in November before Thanksgiving.)

So here is my list:

-Family – they have to be first. They are who made me who I am today. Their constant love and support constantly blows my mind. I don’t say it enough for how thankful I am. I can not even begin to imagine my life without any of them and I am truly blessed to have them in my life.

-Friends – life would be miserable without them. My friends constantly brighten my day and make me laugh. They have the best shoulders to cry on and ears for listening.
-Puffs Plus tissues with lotion – these are a lifesaver! After finally getting over a gruesome cold, these tissues truly put my nose at ease. You would think after going through about 4 boxes of tissues my nose would be raw but these wonderful pieces of heaven speak true to their commercial – a nose in need deserves puff indeed!
-Cold medicine – considering the previous item on the list, this goes hand-in-hand – Equate brand nighttime/daytime cold medicine definitely a cold miracle
-Hot showers – something so simple that I take granted for daily.
-One bedroom apartments – Don’t get me wrong- I have had some great roommates who are some of my closest friends – but MAN do I love living alone. I don’t have to be considerate! (Haha) I can clean whenever and I can’t get mad about it because it is my mess. I love leaving the bedroom and bathroom door open. I don’t worry about where my roommates are when it’s late at night and they aren’t home yet. I don’t know what I’ll do if I ever have to go back to having roommates.
-Chrysalis – words cannot express my gratitude for the experiences I have had with Chrysalis. I am just in love!
-Best friends – I feel like this is pretty self-explanatory. The greatest gift I have ever been given.
-Sleeping – I just love sleeping. Nothing is better than curling up with cushiony covers and being so comfortable you don’t want to move. A comfortable bed is something I definitely take for granted.
-Beautiful weather – I love walking outside in just jeans, chacos and a sweatshirt and it feel absolutely perfect.
-Courage – so thankful that I have overcome so many obstacles in my life with even just the smallest amount of courage
-Charlie Brown – what a pal, that guy! One of my favorite parts of Fall – watching Charlie Brown specials on TV. My sweet baboo!
-Becoming an Aunt – I have never been so happy before! I cannot wait to spoil this baby boy and just love him unconditionally! The end of April cannot get here soon enough!
-Music – I love that I have music for ANY mood I am in. It definitely makes my life happy.
-Love of Books – I think I am fortunate enough that school did not cause me to hate reading. Of course, I don’t like reading forced material but I still love to read a good book. I hope that as a teacher I can pass on to my students a future in a love for reading.
-Photography – Over the past few years I have discovered this love for photography and taking pictures. I am so blessed to be given the opportunities to expand my love by being a camp photographer and learning new things in a free photography class at school.
-Children – I am incredibly thankful that I have a strong love for children and teaching them. I can’t wait to have my own classroom and I hope my love for children will get me through the hardships that come with education
-Hot Chocolate – Hot chocolate just warms the soul – I have found that Swiss Miss trumps Nestle but who knew Land o’ Lakes could make some bangin’ mint hot chocolate?
-Morningstar foods – as a fairly new vegetarian I am so thankful for Morningstar foods – who knew veggie meat could taste so real!
-Parents who pay for things – I am SO incredibly thankful for having parents that could pay my way through undergraduate school, my apartment, my cell phone and my car. I forget these things often but they sure mean a lot to me.
-Good food that reminds me of other things – I don’t really know how to describe this except for there are times when I eat something, smell something or hear something and it reminds me of really great memories. I am thankful for memories.
-Snow – truly a beautiful gift from God and I am thankful that I get to sit here and watch it fall peacefully as I write this
-Fuzzy socks – they keep your feet warm and are fuzzy – enough said
-Laughing – I love to laugh and I am so thankful to have so many things in my life that allow me to laugh and have a good time
-My life – I am just incredibly blessed and thankful for the life I have. I am happy. I rarely have complaints. I have a great and supportive family. I have amazing friends. I don’t think I could do any better.