Thankful Thursday

1. I am thankful for the amazing things my church is doing for the community this week during The Big Serve and The Wee Serve.

2. I am thankful for the opportunity to teach an undergraduate class this fall and accomplish one of the things on my bucket list.

3. I am thankful for tuition remission. If it weren't for that, I don't know if/how I would earn my Masters degree.

4. I am thankful for the experience to work with wonderful students at an outstanding University.

5. I am thankful for the do-over button God has provided me with. I have learned so much about myself, life and love over the last year and a half. I am slowly gaining my confidence back.


What are you thankful for?

Blissfully Burton

friendships

I found this on Pinterest and just had to share.
As we get older, there are some friends that we grow apart from and others we're able to always pick up right where we left off.
I am so thankful to have the close friendships I do have.
I feel blessed to have amazing friends.

Fall Love

I cannot wait for the fall! It's my absolute favorite season. 


I love the taste of pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks...
The sound of rustling autumn leaves under my feet...
The smell of mulled cider candles...
Hay rides...
Apple cider...
Halloween...
Thanksgiving...
Uncle John's Cider Mill...
My favorite sport: football....
The beautiful colors all around....
The fun fall fashion: boots, scarves and hats....

What do you love about fall?

My weekend in pictures

My brother and his family came down to visit me and Matt this past weekend. We had a blast in Chicago at the Shedd Aquarium and at the beach on Lake Michigan. Here's my weekend in pictures . . .

Happy Friday!

I LOVE Fridays! I thought I'd post a little bit of everything on today's post.

Here's what I've been loving lately . . .

1. Matthew

2. the beach

3. my cottage

4. mango passionfruit smoothies from Uptown Cafe

5. roadtrips to visit friends and family

6. planning for the fall....a trip with friends, grad classes, another year with amazing students, and my trip to New Orleans in September....and new wardrobe ideas. :)

7. catching up on other blogs and finding daily inspiration in them

8. GracePoint (my church) valpograce.com (I will be baptized the end of this month!)

9. my dog, Ellie Mae

10. daily email chats with my beautiful future sis-in-law, Amanda

Here's what I'm looking forward to this weekend . . .

1. my brother, Mark, and his family are coming to visit!

2. I get to see my super adorable nephews

3. Chicago tomorrow. YAY!

4. Introducing my church with my family

5. the beach

6. snuggling with Matt & Ellie Sunday night

7. NO homework! :)

Here's the music I've been loving and listening to lately . . .

1. OneRepublic, Good Life

2. Nicki Minaj, Super Bass

3. Adele, Rolling In The Deep

4. LMFAO, Party Rock Anthem

5. Britney Spears, I Wanna Go

6. Afrojak, Take Over Control

7. Patrick Stump, Lupe Fiasco, This City

And SO many more, but that's just a sample.

Have a FABULOUS weekend!

Thankful Thursday Link-Up

Thankful Thursday Link-Up

 Hope you join in on the fun!

*The rules are very simple: be a follower of my blog, add my Thankful Thursday picture below on your post, and link my blog address in your post!

1. I'm thankful for tonight being my LAST summer grad school class.  Only 4 more classes to go.

2. I'm thankful for my job and the amazing opportunities it has given me.

3.  I'm thankful for my brother, Mark, and beautiful future sis-in-law, Amanda and my two adorable nephews who are visiting me and Matt this weekend.

4. I'm thankful I live close to Chicago. LOVE going into the city for day trips!

5. I'm very thankful for the blessings from God over the last year (Matthew).

*Remember to add your actual blog post; not your blog address so visitors will read your Thankful Thursday post. If you don't have a blog and you want to play, leave your thankful thoughts under the comments! Be sure to check out other people's posts! :)

Thankful Thursday Link-Up:

1. Megan at Blissfully Burton

R & R

Last weekend Matt and I experienced some much needed R & R (rest and relaxation). We traveled 4 hours north to visit my grandparents.

1st stop: the Richards (my mom's parents) Lake George, MI

We arrived Friday afternoon after a vet appointment in the morning for Ellie Mae. *She did so great at the new vet!

My grandparents are in their 60's (I know...ahhh! They are young!) and they are so active. They're now retired and enjoying every day with each other. I love it. My grandma is super competitive and games are very popular in my family.

First game: rings. Also known as washers. It's basically a hole in the ground or like the picture below (part of a PVC pipe in the ground) and you try to get the metal rings in or near the hole in the ground. It's kind of like horseshoes. The gals won! Oh yeah, my grandma likes to play gals vs. guys. :)

Second game: ladder ball. Also known as tailgate toss or "hillbilly golf." LOL. I believe the gals won this game as well (we let the guys win one of the rounds).

We finally ate some dinner after many rounds of both games. Matt and my grandma were hilarious to watch - they are both extremely competitive. There were a lot of laughs and dancing on mine and my grandma's part. I love her.

After dinner, it's tradition to play cards. My personal favorite game: hand and foot. Here are the rules and instructions on how to play: hand and foot card game. The gals won . . . again.

The next morning, Matt wanted a hand and foot rematch before we left. The guys won.

Next stop: the Graham's (my dad's parents) Harrison, MI

Norm and Sandy are in their 70's, so they are a little more laidback and enjoy relaxing a bit more. They live right on the lake. After brats and burgers, Ellie Mae and I went for a swim. We had so much fun. I love spending time with my dog.

We also celebrated my dad's big 5-0 birthday! Ellie Mae even got to enjoy some ice cream (she licked everyone's plates).

It's tradition at the Graham's to go for a boat ride on the Pontoon after dinner. I love these. I remember going on them when I was a little girl, snacking away on Teddy Grahams and sipping on juice boxes.

We built a fire and ate my favorite summer campfire snack: S'mores. I have been waiting all summer to have these. I ate 2. :)

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend! I didn't think about work (for once) and truly enjoyed some much needed R & R.