Pictures

We are visiting Virginia!! We got here late Tuesday night after catching a few days of spring break at home. Mom, Crey, and I are leaving (too) early Tuesday morning. Dev left this morning (too early as well). 

Mostly we have just been looking around at the area. We have looked at our house, gone on nature trails, tried out some new restaurants, walked along Virginia Beach, and today toured College of William and Mary. 
After we dropped off Dev this morning at the airport, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed out to Williamsburg. From there, we proceeded to stop at the nearest 7-eleven (twice) and then park in the corner of a parking lot and nap. At 10, we went to a William and Mary information session and tour. I enjoyed that a lot. It was really helpful and touring the campus was awesome. The campus is beautiful. It has so much character, history, and lovely greenery. I love the traditions, the community feel, the trees, and the quaint feel. After the tour we headed home and took another couple of hours to relax. The weather today was finally nice, so we took a walk through a woodsy area next to the lock park, which was really pretty (I'll post pics in next post) and it felt good to finally be able to enjoy being outside. 

Sooo yeah that was today. It's been a great visit so far, and it's just good to be able to spend time together with family. 

Homeless

Saturday night was the last time in my house. It kind of set in on Sunday when I woke up, but it still doesn't feel like we're moving, because all of the furniture and a lot of stuff is still there. The emptiness of my room got me though. Nothing in the closet, stuff that is getting packed for Virginia piled up in the corner, and everything else cleared off. I will never again wake up in that room, opening my eyes to that gorgeous blue color that I now wish was there longer. I will never sit by our fireplace, dance around our kitchen, play bounty hunter around the huge backyard with cousins/ brothers. I think in a lot of cases, it's the memories there that are hard to leave behind. I know that is true in this case, because our family (as in, the Kirbys) have been occupying this house for like 30 years. I have been going there basically since I was born, and I still can recall Grandma Camps, playing in the pool outside, making forts in the living room, dressing up in the girls room, cuddling up with cousins to watch movies, and navigating through the basement where Grandma would sit for hours surrounded by fabric and watch Star Trek. However, I think it is also the fact that we are leaving home. And of course I feel at home at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but it isn't quite the same. It isn't totally my space, and even when we are a little more settled in in a few months, it still won't feel like our home. That for me is the hard part of not moving directly into a new home.

I'm currently getting too emotional writing about this. I have a lot more to say though, and more updates to give, but for the sake of time and making this post a reasonable length, I will save it for another day.

I think I'm just going to have to accept the fact that this move may never really set in. And that's okay. It's probably better this way anyways, because it will save a lot of tears and heartache :)

Time for a life update!!

~About two weeks ago we got our house ready for showing/ pictures. About nine days ago was the first day our house was technically on the market. Yesterday, we got not just one offer, but TWO. It is amazing that our house is sold and it's really starting to hit me. I have one more month in this home. I remarked to mom yesterday how apparently God really wanted us to move. So, between now and February 27, we will be packing, clearing, cleaning, and deciding what all we want to bring with us while we stay at Grandma and Grandpa's for three months. It's going to be hard. And not that I don't love their house, but I'm not thrilled to be staying there for so long. For me it is hard to focus there and I really want a home space that I can call my own. But I'll make the best of it. I'm sure they will be some of the fastest months of my life.

~In other less important news, I took the SAT this morning. I didn't think it was awful, just really long.

~I found my driver's license!! Nothing like one week without it to show me how much I really love driving myself around.

~Mom lost her voice, so communicating at my house is basically a never-ending game of charades.

~I think next week or something I may vlog a house tour or something. I want to have lots of memory of this place.

~My trust in God recently has become more prominent than ever. In everything that happens I am able to think positively and realize that God has a plan. It has really decreased my stress level, which is really essential right now. The more that I pray and read the Bible, the closer I feel to God and I can see him working in my life! It feels great.

~I have a huge paper due Monday that I haven't started. I have to go through eight books and write 6-8 pages. Ha. Wish me luck!

Hope you're having a lovely day! Adios :)

Lately I've really realized that it's hard to describe your family to someone. Sure, you can relay a couple of jokes or pictures, but for someone who has never been around them, it's not the same. That foreign person will have never heard the laughter of the cutest group of kids on the planet, seen them change from babies to hilarious middle-schoolers, felt a hug from their arms, held them in their lap, witnessed every humorous moment, seen their smiles, listened to their stories, and experienced their personalities. No picture shown or story told can convey the atmosphere of love that is present whenever everyone is together. It is a special feeling, a bond that is so strong it brings joy into your heart just experiencing it. It is knowing that no matter what happens, the love we have for each other, and for everything that each person is, runs deeper than the harsh words that are occasionally spoken. I have never loved so much as when I am together with my cousins. They are, by far, my most favorite people on the face of the earth, and I really can't imagine what life would be like without them.

Tomorrow is Christmas. Excuse me but when did this happen? I don't really feel in the spirit very much. It feels like the holidays came too soon. There are two things that I'm really looking forward to tomorrow though; giving the gifts that I got for my family, and eating sticky rolls. Honestly I'm so much more excited to give my gifts than I am to receive, mostly because I'm not expecting to get anything. We already all got new phones, so we aren't doing anything else present-wise. I just wanted to get gifts for my family because of course I love them. This is the first year when I can really say that I am so much more pumped to give. Because this is the first year when I actually thought out gifts for everyone in my family and went out and bought them with my own money. It really feels good knowing that I got something perfect that each person will love and that I can bring a smile to their face. It sounds super cheesy, but I'm just so excited. Also, it has sunk in recently that experiences are way more valuable than gifts. These moments that I am having with my family and friends right now won't last forever, and I really want to embrace and appreciate them while they're here.
The best thing about this holiday season by far has been the relaxation that I have been doing and seeing family and friends. This is the last Christmas until who-knows-when that I will be spending with all of our family. Which is sad since I will miss them like crazy because I love them like crazy, but I'm just enjoying the time we have with them right now. I love spending time with the Kirby side of the family. They make me so extremely happy and I don't know where I'd be without them.

This post is so cheesy it's not even funny. But you see what I'm sayin.

Other things:
Just finished the season of Amazing Race. I was so upset when Adam and Bethany didn't win. I love them so much.

I absolutely love the way God created people. No two people are exactly the same; each individual has their own strengths, talents, and flaws. Why do we need to criticize people's flaws when God made them to be just how he wanted? A person is not defined only by what they do well or what they don't do well. A person is defined as everything that they are: their talents, their struggles, their experiences, their attitudes. And sometimes a person's limitation in one area can lead them to excel in another area. I love how there is something good to be found in every person, although it can't always be seen or even the person hasn't found it. I think that it is important to not judge people for where they are in their lives because I believe that people do change. I know I have changed a ton, just in the past couple of years, and it's not fair to judge anyone for the way that they were. It's not fair to judge anyone at all, because you can never know what kind of battles that person is fighting that you can't see. We should only praise God for people's strong qualities, and not criticize them for not having every perfect quality. Because really no one does. And if everyone was good at everything, no one would be amazing at anything.
I'm sorry this was all over the place but I felt the need to express my thoughts. I love the complexity of human lives so much. And the fact that there have been around 108 billion unique individuals on this earth is remarkable to me.
God is truly amazing.