Puppies and Snow

Two of my favorite things in the world: puppies and snow. My roommate got my her fiancé a husky puppy for Christmas. Unfortunately he lives in Raleigh so we only get to see Kona every now and the . Luckily this weekend Hinson will be heading to Nashville for his bachelor weekend and we're on dog duty for two weeks. :) She is in that very hyper stage and when I was walking her this morning it was all I could do to keep her mind focused. She wanted to chase every single flake in the air. It was her first experience with snow and she absolutely loved it. When I took her back in she stood at the back door and barked until someone let her out on the deck. We bought her a little sweater and going to attempt to take her sledding. Happy snow day to all!! 

No Greater Bond

I was adopted when i was three years and I was blessed enought to be able to remain with my biological sister and brother. My baby sister was only six months and ever since we were tots we've been inseparable. I used to hold her and feed her bottles, I saved all the best barbies and baby dolls for her. When she didn't like carrots and mom still made her eat them, I took the hit and ate both of our servings (I hated them too). I can't imagine growing up without her. We're as different as night and day yet somehow we make it work. She was the cheerleader/dancer diva type, I was the soccer/nature tomboy type. But I was at every single football/basketball game and competition and she was there on the front bleacher at every single soccer game. When I left for college four years ago, I left a piece of my heart back home. I called home every day just to talk to her. She always always knows what to say and I am thankful that I was able to go home this weekend and spend it with her. We spent all day Saturday shopping and eating sushi. I think I have a six pack from laughing so much at our childhood memories. A sister is really and truly the greatest gift this life has to offer. 

Heart Snow Full

I find myself writing this blog post with a full heart. Over the weekend I was able to spend some time with a former youth minister and his lovely wife, Lena who is from South Africa. Her sister and children came and visited for a few weeks and I was blessed with opportunity to meet them last night and today. I came back into Boone yesterday after a girls trip to Greensboro to see Jason Aldean and received a call asking if I was free that evening to babysit. I love kids and was thrilled to help a family that I love dearly. I drove to banner elk to meet them just in time for the snow to begin to fall. Having lived in South Africa their whole lives, the kiddos had never seen snow! I quickly scrambled around the house scraping up every piece of clothing that might possibly fit them and bundled them up and hurried them out to view this spectacle. Seeing the joy on their little faces was worth hanging out in the freezing temps. I finally coaxed them into bed around midnight only to find them hovered around the couch at 7am ready to go again. By that time there was still enough snow to sled and play so we headed back into the arctic. We played for a few hours while the snow was melting but they had a blast. When you're surrounded by happiness it's hard not to find yourself filled with it as well. I got so much pleasure just watching their little faces marvel at the beauty of it all. I feel lucky to have shared in this incredible memory of their first snow. 

Family Matters

I woke up to the sweetest thing this morning. Actually i was quite irritated. I heard incessant knocking and ringing of the doorbell at the lovely hour of 7:30. Both of my roommates were already gone for the day so I had no choice but to drag myself from my tomb of covers. I thought it was one of my neighbors playing a prank and was already preparing my angry tirade. However to my great surprise it was my mom and grandmother! They came up early this morning and decided to come visit me before heading to a conference at noon. It was the best surprise especially since I'm just now getting over the flu. I know I don't see them enough and don't want to ever take them for granted. I'm so grateful for the short time that I got to spend with them this morning. 

Positive Post It

I'm sure if you were on campus your eyes were treated to a a beautiful sight. All around campus people posted messages of encouragement on post it notes. They were left on library tables, treadmills, bathroom sinks, stairwells, anywhere and everywhere. My heart was overwhelmed with joy. I am in complete awe of how wonderful our fellow classmates are. In this time when we have lost so many, it's nice to know that we can band together for a greater purpose. It's one of the many reasons j chose to be a part of the Appalachian family. We are not merely a student body, we are truly a family. I applaud each and every person who took part in this movement and hope that you were as touched as I was. 

It's a Beautiful Day!

I woke up this morning to a big fluffy face staring at me. It was my best friends Golden Doodle Darla begging me to take her outside. As I walked outside, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was almost 40 degrees at 8:00am. In Boone, that's practically summer! I ran inside and woke my roommate up and begged her to go hiking with me. After living here for four years, we've pretty much covered all the most popular hiking spots. However the one that somehow never made our list was the fire tower out by Moses Cone. So today we decided to complete the tower hike. It was the perfect hike and the view was absolutely spectacular. When we finished we stopped by Canyons in Blowing Rock and then went to the greenway. Everywhere we went, app state students were flooding the area. I guess we were all getting a little stir crazy. Days like today rarely happen in Febraury and rest assured that we  mountaineers did not take it for granted. 

My New Mom

I just received a Skype call from my future host mom, Elena. I am so thrilled to finally hear from her and I am excited to learn more about her and her family. She is an event planner and owns her own business. She lives with her husband and their two small girls, Chloe and Ella. She is originally from the Netherlands but moved to Spain after she met her husband David. They have hosted two other students, one from Australia and one from Germany and she says the girls are excited to have a "sister" from America. Seeing it all come together so smoothly reassures me that what I'm doing is the right thing for me at this time.    

SNOW MUCH FUN!!!

When we got the first big snow in Boone over Halloween weekend I was out of town for a wedding and missed it! I was so upset! Last night after the big win ( Go Pats!) I went to bed and as I was falling asleep, I wished for a blizzard! I was so excited to wake up this morning! I heard the wind howling like it was going to blow my little house in Vilas away! However, I'm an early riser and can never sleep past 7:00 am and when I opened the window, there wasn't a flake in sight. I was sad but I began my day anyway. I went downstairs and did yoga with my roommate and then showered and began getting ready for work. By the time I looked out my window again, it was snowing!! I was elated! I love love love love fresh snow! And sometimes ya have to accept the fact that it will blow horizontally and the wind will knock you over. But hey, snow is snow.