saying goodbyes & other laughing moments

my sweet abby girl is almost to texas by now.
she & her mama, one of my dearest friends,
packed up yesterday, heading to Texas Christian University.

if you've read my blog over the last few years
you've heard me share about abby.
i truly love this child as if she were my own.

i'm so excited for her to be heading out, bravely, to another state

all on her own!

abby girl, i'm praying for you.

while i'll miss you terribly, i look forward to seeing what all this next year 

will become for you!

i know you will do great things!!

~~~

it's truly a strange emotion when happiness and sadness are all mixed up together.
when you are genuinely happy for another person,
yet the thing you're so happy about for them
is actually something so tender, dare i say sad, for you.

at the risk of sounding ridiculously over dramatic
this time last year, when we took savannah to college...
that was without a doubt the second hardest season of my life.

i used to pride myself ( ha!) in the fact that i was not a sappy teary emotional person.
yeah. whatever.
those days are gone.

so that particular day,
i had pep talked myself into not crying in front of her.
we had done all we (the parents) needed to do in her dorm room
& it was time for us to leave.
i stepped out around the corner as the emotions began to overwhelm me.
i was not going to do that.
not there.

other parents were walking by
other , non-emotional parents & i was thinking,
 "what the heck? why aren't you a wreck too?
why are you looking at me like, oh, first timer?"
turns out,  i couldn't suck it up.
i walked around the corner to smk's room,
all red splotchy faced and all
& mumbled "bye sweetie".
it was ridiculous.

i cried off & on for weeks.
weeks i tell you.
actually i cry anytime i really think about it, a year later.

now let me explain.
i know she's happy & in a great place & technically not far away
&
i know this is just part of life.
my mind knows all of that.
but entering that phase, that phase that as parents we truly begin preparing for
from the day they were born
was finally here.
the leaving phase.
& that part, my heart still has trouble with
and
probably always will.

as  mamas we carry our babies who are completely dependent upon us for 40 weeks.
once we give birth & the cord is cut
we, in small tiny, yet monumental ways
prepare them for their independence, for their independence from us.

we wean them from breast to bottle
we potty train them & cheer when they can do it all by themselves.
we teach them to walk & do it all by themselves
we cheer as they cross each developmental milestone
we tell them they'll be just fine at school. all day. by themselves.
we continue to prepare them & encourage them in all they do.

& then we wake up one late summer day
& the car in the driveway is all packed up.
their bedroom is mighty empty.
they have their new, own address.
& it's time to go.
we cheer them on & tell them how proud we are of them
& they can do it.
all by themselves.
& you know what the funny thing is?

they already know this.
after all,
it's what we've been preparing them for all along...



truvy ( in Steel Magnolias) said,
"Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."
joy & sadness all mixed together....
i might just have to agree

(abby's best friend is heading to UGA

& currently going through rush.

crossing my fingers she pledges AXO with savannah!)

god speed sweet abby!!

i love you!

DIY for the college girl & back to school

we loaded up the car sunday & moved savannah in to her sorority house at school.

yes, school cranks up mighty soon down here 

with my other girls beginning monday!

as much as savannah loved life in the co-ed dorms at UGA

she is thrilled to be in the sorority house.

earlier this summer i posted an instagram about some crafts she created for her room.

she really enjoyed what turned out to be easy peasy creations

that are each very thoughtful in nature.

her rommate made the "he will cover you" on an 11x14 piece of wood. 

stained first & then painted.

savannah printed off an enlarged silhouette of the state of georgia

& laid it on her canvas, painted over with gold metallic acrylic

& then removed the silhouette. she then painted a heart over atlanta/athens area.

the smaller 4x6 canvas with the lyre, the symbol for her sorority.

again using gold metallic craft paint.

then she made these beauties after being inspired by a similar craft on

pinterest.

she took 2 11x14 stretched canvas & painted over them with a gold/bronze metallic craft paint.

she then laid removable sticky letters down

to form the words from this famous hymm.

she then using a dry foam brush technique

painted over the gold/bronze & the letters with a creamy acrylic paint.

then removed the letters super easy without taking any paint off.

 

her friends went nuts.

wouldn't these be awesome in 24x36 format too?

so crafted more.

she made bailey & her roommate at ole' miss

each a canvas with their favorite scripture

done in the same technique, just different colors.

savannah made herself the psalm 103 to add to her menagerie of

other goldy metallic crafts for her room.

you might recall my own DIY jewelry board from this post

which was done on a large 24x36 cork board.

savannah's room isn't large enough for that size 

so she crafted one, with the help of dan, a tad smaller.

we used the door knob thingies from hobby lobby

& upholstery tacks around the perimeter

& then just push pins for the smaller pieces.

with the board being covered in burlap, earrings will easily hang freely from the fabric.

ta-da!

psalm 103. 1-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
  Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
 who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
 who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
 who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

sorority formals & surprise parties

 

for years i worked primarily weekends & holidays.

since leaving my position at the hospital

i have loved being available & free for whatever comes up.

even if i have a photo session i still have the majority of the weekend

wide open!

being one of "those moms" who has an insatiable need to capture

all her children's moments on film

missing much of savannah's days at UGA has been toughie.

surely you can relate.

she had asked, weeks ago, if i'd come up & photograph her and trevor 

before her AXO formal.

wouldn't miss that for the world!

while no parents were on the lawn of the sorority house

& she was so kind to make sure that my feelings weren't hurt

if i just dropped them off there

i do treasure the shots i captured of them before joining up with the rest of the crew!

it was originally forecast to rain

but thankfully they had a spectacular spring day instead!

& i loved snapping a few in front of the honors college too.

bowties?

can i get an amen!

 

 

 

caroline rode to athens with me

& we had such a sweet time together.

 

the glorious sky on the ride up...

 

earlier in the week i received a call from the mama of one of caroline's

best friends.

two her girlfriends had planned a surprise party for her,

complete with all the details.

starla & kristin took care of everything!

can you imagine...5th graders planning a day for their friend.

honestly it was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done 

for one of my girls.

& amazingly...it stayed a surprise!

everything was pink

starla's mama baked a delicious cake from a family recipe

topped with buttercream frosting!

 

 what a blessing these girls are 

in caroline's life. 

they are sweet girls, smart girls,

& are obviously great friends to each other.

so glad i was able to be at both events for my bookends!

ya'll come back & visit this week 

as i have two super giveaways for you!!

~~~

"Here on this Holy ground
You made a way for peace
Laying your body down
You took our rightful place
This freedom song is marching on"

chris tomlin