coming soon

as of right now, we are in our last day of the Memphis trip with 140ish eighth and ninth grade crazies. tonight, I will be driving the black burb for the last time **praises** for the long haul back to northwest Arkansas. no doubt, we have had our ups and downs on this trip, but for the most part it has been a blast serving alongside our incredible students and leaders. the picture above is from 4 years ago when I was a leader on the Memphis trip. this is me and one of my bests about mid-week. what our faces are saying: exhausted, kids be cray, get me out of this gym, & I need veggies. 

here are some things you have to look forward to in the next week: Memphis in pictures, traveling yoga, & favorite things {spring}. see y'all then!

{yoga} lately

some things I am currently learning: 1. I am strong enough to get up in a forearm stand **arm muscles for once in my life** 2. trying things that I don't think I am capable of helps tear down walls, & 3. confidence is more beautiful than anything else.

this past week in class there was a fraction of the normal amount of people. this can only mean one thing: we will have room to practice inversions. being relatively new to having arm muscles, I tend to shy away from anything that would expose this weakness, BUT that day was different. there was a light inside me that made me try this seemingly unachievable feat. I kicked up a few times by myself into a forearm stand (the arm balance that uses the most shoulder muscles, which I'm not convinced I have yet). then the instructor came over to offer a little support, and it happened. yes, he helped me balance out, but then he let go. and I didn't fall!! who is this person?!

it's moments like these that remind me to try new things because you will never know how strong you are until you take the first step, and you actually might surprise yourself!

**this week is going to be all kinds of messed up, but I promise a {week}end update from Memphis is coming**

the old black burb

no, the title of this post is not a typo. this is what I will be driving this coming week for the spring break mission trip I am leading. why is this a big deal? 1. because it clearly is the coolest vehicle going on the trip. 2. my whole 8th grade cell group will fit in it. 3. I have to tow a trailer behind it. **insert wide-eyed emoji here** 4. did I mention there will be a trailer in tow behind this thing??? 5. the front seat is a bench seat. yes, my cool factor just went WAY up.

a little about the trip: there are 174 people going (leaders included) on this 8th & 9th grade mission trip **translation: no sleep, crazed little peoples, & sassy pants all week**. we are going to Memphis to partner with Memphis Athletic Ministries in their gyms for the week. this is our 5th or 6th year going and is by far my fav trip we go on! for a lot of these kids, it's their first out-of-comfort-zone trip they go on. it is so fun to watch them grow over the week that we are there and then for a while after they get back!

we are leaving today & won't be back for another week. things you can look forward to when we get back: great pictures, great stories, & great memories. see ya in a week!

freedom

it is amazing to me that freedom and peace that can come after a crazy week of confusion and frustration. in the past week I have found out three pieces of information that have given me immense peace about my decision to go to Regent: 1. I may have found a place to live/roommate for this fall **insert fist pumps, leg kicks & shimmies** 2. they found an incredible replacement for me at my current job! she is gonna kill it!! 3. there has been a chain holding me back for way too long that was just unlocked and ditched this afternoon **can I get an amen?!**

there is literally nothing holding me back from feeling great about this decision & start this next stage of life in Virginia! literally when #3 happened this afternoon I wanted to yell, laugh, jump, & leap... but I guess that's not super socially acceptable especially while in walmart :)

and to top it all off, I got a free travel mug from the new Walmart to-go convenient store this morning. yay for kicking off this spring break mission trip with 140-ish junior high kids off right!!

[reading] lately

I can officially add another book to my "been there, read that" list: bossypants by Tina Fey. you know those books where you laugh out loud and make a fool of yourself in front of your roommates, yeah that's this book. it was a great, easy, relaxing read that was definitely much needed right after finishing generous justice and while reading reason for God. there were several times I thought **oh gosh, this woman reads my mind!** because I've literally had those exact thoughts before. ok, maybe not as funny as the way she wrote them, but same idea :)

the next book I have begun is the classic, Jane Eyre. I am so excited to read this book because it's one of those classics about women just like my absolute fav, pride and prejudice. after that, I will start on my "to read [for law school]" list that I've been putting off **gotta start somewhere, right**

here's to killin' goals & takin' names!

weekend update

this weekend was full. my brother's girlfriend, tiffany (known to Haitians as stifani), stayed with me from last Wednesday through Saturday evening. time with Tiff is always refueling, especially when it consists of: celebrating pi day, avoiding working out but eventually caving for a brisk uphill walk, food adventures, pillow talks, and waking up in the middle of the night to her sleep talking. oh yeah, and I guess we hung out with my brother too.

this past Friday, the rest of my families came in town, including my "god-family". I am the oldest of 4 kids in my family. one boy, three girls. when the kaigs come in town, we add three more godsisters to the mix + tiffany... and well, that makes for one glorious time! we toured the you of a on Saturday for one of my sisters & two of my godsisters which was so fun to show off the number one school in my heart. **woo pig** other things we did: ate great food, walk, played nerts, showed them my "manrepeller" dance moves, ate great food, laughed, ate great food, crystal bridges... oh, and we ate great food. **might have gained a few lb's this weekend...worth.it**

clear eyes. full hearts [& bellies]. can't lose.

the inevitable

there is a reason I don't love to make decisions. I have peace about it one minute and then something happens that makes me totally rethink that decision. it's inevitable & it makes me uneasy. these are times when I have to remind myself of why I had peace about this decision in the first place, but sometimes that doesn't cut it.

there are too many variables to consider in big decisions, and sometimes you just don't wait to think through them all. if I hadn't already committed, right now I'd be even more of a mess than I was a few weeks ago living in the unknown. one of my partners in my current job will most likely be moving out of state for a different job. that throws a huge wrench into my decision making process because I was counting on him to be the consistency that our students need. even still, I have to trust that God loves these students even more than I do and will take care of them throughout all of the crazy change. another wrench: I received an email yesterday from one of my other law school choices with quite a large scholarship offer. **woof** what am I supposed to do with that?! good thing I didn't really love the school when I went to visit I guess? wrench number three: the school that offered the scholarship is most likely where an old beau of mine will end up for the next five-ish years. why is that a factor? well, let's just blame this one on the fact that men's minds are like waffles & women's minds are like spaghetti.

men can compartmentalize everything, just like those little squares in waffles. women think more like spaghetti... all of the things muddle together and get tangled up. it can make us crazy at times, but it also can be of great benefit because some factors really should be considered alongside each other. the key is to figure out which noodles should be mixed together and which shouldn't. wrench number three is a noodle that just needs to get thrown out... maybe that's the tester one you throw on the ceiling to make sure it's done or maybe the one that inevitably gets stuck in the pan when plating your spaghetti. either way, it's not going on the plate, or bowl, or whatever you choose to eat spaghetti off of tonight. so here's to being a crazy mess & leaving some noodles behind.

**ps I am still excited about Virginia**