i will rise, because the weak are made strong.

There's so much I need to say. So many people I need to thank. ...

This week was finals week for me. It was laid out kinda like this... Wednesday: Medical Surgical, Thursday: Behavioral Health, Friday: Pharmacology. I'm surprised I didn't just go insane. Seriously...the stress! But, as completely terrified as I was, I jumped in and prepared to conquer and kept my nose in a nursing book for a week straight.

But let me take a step back...

This semester. Gosh. It's been the hardest semester of my college career. By far. There were many tears shed. Many desperate prayers made. Many times I really didn't think I was going to make it through with passing grades. It was really rough.

Some of the roughness, I will admit, was my own fault. I didn't put in enough effort in the beginning of the semester and kind of dug myself into a hole. Some of the roughness came from my teachers. Some of the roughness came from life in general...sickness, family situations, etc. 

But MY GOD! My God is pretty amazing.

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

My hardest class this semester was Med Surg. I am not proud to admit, but I failed many a test in that class. I was back and forth from failing to passing to failing again. Honestly, mostly failing. (By the way, in nursing school you have to make a 78% to pass. Anything below is failing. A 77.9999 is failing.) I went into my 75 point final with a 78%. No wiggle room there. And I was so so nervous. Like, I think I might have to puke kind of nervous.

I passed that test with an 86%.

I came out of the testing room and was just so happy! I hugged the first person I saw. (Thank you Tamara for that hug.) And I raced across the parking lot so I could call my mom and dad (my biggest cheerleaders). I passed!

Thursday I had Behavioral Health and then Friday (today) Pharmacology. I passed them both. And I am a free lady! And in the fall I will be a third semester nursing student! Who knew!

I'll tell ya who... God knew. He knew all along.

He knew that this semester I needed to learn a few lessons...possibly the hard way. He knew that I was where I was supposed to be, even if I didn't know it. He knew that I could do it, even if I didn't think I could.

I came home from my last final today and ate lunch with my mom and just started crying. I remembered where I came from months ago with my grades to where I ended up and it's just overwhelming and it blows me away.

So...thank you's. I've got quite a few. You know, you really cannot do nursing school alone. You can't. It's impossible. These amazing people have surrounded me and supported me and I love them.

Thank you to my parents first of all. They have hugged me when I cried. They've lectured me when I needed it. They've prayed for me constantly. Loved me unconditionally. Thank you.

To my sister and best friend, Annie. I love that beautiful girl! She gave me pep talks. She quizzed me numerous nights, even though she was so tired and ready to go to bed. She bought me flowers on a rough day.

To my best friends, Bethany and Emily. Thank you for all the encouraging texts. Thank you for the prayers. Thank you for the hugs (even the ones given from miles away). I love you both dearly.

To my coworkers who cheered me on, Cyndi, Kayla, and Irina. My weekend buddies.

To my amazing, hardworking, smart, and funny classmates. Cordie, Robin, Haley, and so many many more. You all are going to make awesome nurses.

To my YouTube tutor, Michael Linares. You don't even know me, but your videos helped me incredibly! (If you are a nursing student you must look this guy up! So helpful!)

To Kathy, who took over my responsibilities at church with our small group for several weeks so I could stay home and study.

To my freshman girls who I have in small group. Thank you for praying for me and hugging me. You all are amazing girls and I love you.

To Tim and Miranda, my boss and supervisor at work. Thank you for giving me a month's leave of absence so I could focus completely on school.

Before and after all three of my finals I played Hillsong in my car. And I just worshipped. Because no matter what happened, God is good.

No power can stand against You. No curse assault Your throne. No one can steal Your glory. For it is Yours alone. I stand to sing Your praises. I stand to testify. For I was dead in my sin. But now I rise. I will rise, as Christ was raised to life. Now in Him, now in Him, I live.

-I Will Rise

Christ alone, Cornerstone. Weak made strong, in the Savior's love. Through the storm, He is Lord. Lord of all.

-Cornerstone

So...one year of nursing school down, one to go! I'm ready.

So I have this friend. And she's pretty much amazing.

Emily and I met through our blogs close to two years ago.  We started e-mailing and chatting on facebook...all the time.  You know, tell-tale signs of total best buds. ;)  But there was a bit of a downside to our friendship...12 hours of drive time separated us.  We didn't let that stop us though.  A couple different times we started planning trips to get together and meet in person.  They never worked out though.

But!  Last week...a week ago today in fact, we were able to meet, for the first time, face-to-face.

Talk about a neat experience!  This one definitely makes it to the top of the list.

We met at Cracker Barrel first and had breakfast together.  The first time we saw each other my family and I were on one side of the Cracker Barrel porch and Emily and her family came around the corner on the other side.  We kind of fast-walked to each other and hugged and smiled.  Epic, movie worthy stuff there, I'm telling you.

After Cracker Barrel, we went to the mall.  They had a Barnes and Noble, a Starbucks, a movie/music store and a Bath & Body Works...which equals a pretty fantastic time.

{We found these in Barnes and Noble and thought it great photo opportunity.}

So, to Emily...
Thanks for meeting me.
Thanks for putting up with my Doctor Who obsession.
Thanks for praying for me.
Thanks for being the macaroni to my cheese and the peanut butter to my jelly.  (Hehe!)
Thanks for being my bestie.

{Photo credit to my dad and Emily.}

Thank you, Lord for...

{in no particular order}

• answered prayer.
• exceeded expectations.
• my one of a kind, amazing family which includes:
• my daddy, who puts everyone else first and is always there when I need him.
• my mama, who always gets up from what's she's doing to give me a hug and always reads my school papers before I turn them in.
• my brother Zachary, who still gives me hugs even though he's 15 and helps me with all my technical problems from changing a light bulb that's too high for me to reach to fixing my iTunes.
• my sister Anna (or Annie, or Annie Beth), who listens when I have a stinky day, who will sing and dance with me at the drop of a hat, and who is my best friend in the world.
• my brother Logan, who is always willing to do me a favor, who will be able to pick me up some day, I promise, and who can always make me laugh.
• new friends.
• girl's days out with my sister.
• my besties. <3
• good listeners.
• people who understand perfectly when I expect to be the only one.
• music.
• good books.
• my coworkers.
• soft tissues.
• cranberry sauce.
• coffee...in particular mocha's.
• independence.
• unlimited texting.
• my warm bed (even though it squeaks sometimes).
• chorded songs on the internet.
• my camera.
• Your word...that gives me exactly what I need exactly when I need it.
• love.
• my Jesus.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Don't forget to remember all the things you're thankful for. 

Isn't this^ cute. ;)

A small note...from me.

What do you think about the change?

I, personally, am loving it! :-D

I won a blog design in Emily Grace's photo contest, Breathe, and she's been working on my design for the past little bit.  Big, huge, thank you to her! You can go check out her blogs here and here.

Leave me a comment and let me know your favorite thing about the new look.
Oh, and don't forget about my photo contest here!

And because I think this post needs a photo...here is one I found on weheartit.
  Anybody else super excited about fall nearly being here?

{credit}

I'm {driving} on sunshine...and don't it feel good.

{credit}

{credit}

Guess what?!

I passed my driver's test!!

And I'm just super excited and happy and blessed...and can drive independently!  *grins...real wide*

P.S. BIG thank you to my dad who taught me how to parallel park and worked with me on it several days last week!  You're the best, Daddy!

100th Post!

^Do you see that?^

Guess who's on their 100th blog post?

That would be me. ;) 

So, I was trying to figure out what to do for this post.  I had my first photo contest in honor of it but I didn't really know what to do for the actual 100th post.  I thought, why not thank my lovely followers for stickin' with me for all these (sometimes meaningless and very random) posts. ;)

Sometimes I don't really grasp the fact that 60+ people read this humble little blog of mine filled with all my thoughts and happenings of my life.  I started it one random day when I was about 15 and never dreamed it'd get this big.  I didn't even know if I'd stick with it.  And now, the thought of not blogging... Wow.  Better not even dwell on that too long. 

Somewhere on this blogging adventure I've fallen in love with it.  And having/ getting to know all of you is like icing and sprinkles and syrup all mixed into one, on this bloggy cake of goodness.  If that makes any sense at all.  So thank you so much followers and readers of HEllo highLIGHTS! :)

It's been 100 posts.  And I hope there will be many more to come. 

And the Winner is...

I want to thank everybody who participated in the contest! I really appreciate it and hope you all had as much fun as I did. :)

I have decided...I'm going to break one of the rules. lol I'm taking out the rule that said you had to know the character name. Some of them were really hard to remember and most of the people who entered didn't know them. So, if you didn't know some of the names, no worries! The rule is officially gone. ;)

Now, onto the main event!



#1: "We thought you was a toad!"

Answer: "Oh Brother Where Art Thou", Delmar

{This is the one movie that's not totally on my favorites list. The reason it's on here is because my mom loves it. And she'll go around the house saying this quote. In the character's voice. ;) It's really funny! Love ya mom!}

Correct answers: julie, Polka Dot, Anna, Becca, Zach



#2: She's great. She's really exotic! She's a Princess! She's Polynesian- well half Polynesian, and half American. She's Amnesian.

Answer: "Dave", Dave
Correct answers: Nobody







#3: "When a man is a widower why do we say he was widowed? Why don't we say he was widowered? Just wondering."

Answer: "Sleepless in Seattle", Annie

Correct answers: julie







#4: "I got here first. Get a roof."

Answer: "Iron Man 2", Rhodey

Correct answers: Anna, Zach





#5: Character 1: "It's Thanksgiving."
Character 2: "Yea, to you it's Thanksgiving; to me it's Thursday."

Answer: "Rocky", Character 1: Adrian, Character 2: Rocky

Correct answers: Nobody



#6: "Just put 'em in the wash; they'll be grand."

Answer: "Leap Year", Declan or Anna

Correct answers: Polka Dot, Anna, julie, Zach


#7: "Marriage is the promise of eternal love. As a man of honor I cannot promise eternally what I've never felt momentarily."

Answer: "Kate & Leopold", Leopold

Correct answers: Zach



#8: Character 1: "Once before I said goodbye to a man going to war. He never came back."
Character 2: "Ask me nicely."

Answer: "Robin Hood" (2010), Character 1: Marion, Character 2: Robin

Correct answers: Polka Dot, Zach, Anna

#9: Character 1: "All we needed was a little more of...this."

Character 2: "But you just gestured to all of me."

Answer: "How To Train Your Dragon", Character 1: Stoik (dad), Character 2: Hiccup

Correct answers: Anna, Polka Dot, Zach, julie

#10: Character 1: "Ridiculous. For argument's sake, what day is it there?"

Character 2: "April 14th, 2004.

Character 1: "No. It's April 14th, 2006."

Character 2: "It's the same day two years apart."

Answer: "The Lake House", Character 1: Kate, Character 2: Alex

Correct answers: Zach, julie

#11: "The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

Answer: "Rocky Balboa", Rocky

Correct answers: Zach, julie, Anna

#12: "The third step is the hardest!"

Answer: "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time", Dastan

Correct answers: Lauren Nicole, Anna, Zach, Polka Dot







#12: Character 1: "Why are you staring at me?"
Character 2: "I don't know. It's just that...it's like you escaped from a Hallmark card or something."

Answer: "Enchanted", Character 1: Gissell, Character 2: Robert

Correct answers: Emily, julie, Lauren Nicole



#14: "Glad I could catch the train!"


Answer: "Toy Story 3", Buzz Correct answers: Lauren Nicole, Zach, Anna



#15: Character 1: "What is it you really like to do?"
Character 2: "Eat!"

Answer: "Julie and Julia", Character 1: Paul Child, Character 2: Julia Child

Correct answers: julie, Zach, Anna, Polka Dot



#16: Character 1: "The subway is probably quickest."
Character 2: "Me in a metal tube, deep underground with hundreds of people in the most aggressive city in the world."
Character 1: "Right. Let's take a cab."

Answer: "The Incredible Hulk" (2008), Character 1: Betty, Character 2: Bruce Correct answers: Lauren Nicole, Zach, julie, Anna








#17: "What happened to the 'there isn't a jar in the world I can't open' stuff? Wait, did you actually find a jar you couldn't open? What was in it? Were there pickles in it? Where's the giant jar of pickles?"

Answer: "Monsters vs Aliens", B.O.B

Correct answers: Zach, Anna








#18: "I don't know much about God or Jesus, but I can promise you His arms are meant for you."

Answer: "The Ultimate Gift", Jason

Correct answers: Polka Dot, Lauren Nicole, Emily








#19: Character 1: "My feet are sweating."
Character 2: "Do we need to a news flash every time your body does something?"

Answer: "Ice Age", Character 1: Sid, Character 2: Diego

Correct answers: Anna, Lauren Nicole, Emily, Zach






#20: Character 1: "I love daisies."
Character 2: "You told me." Character 1: "They're so friendly. Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?"

Answer: "You've Got Mail", Character 1: Kathleen, Character 2: Joe

Correct answers: Becca, Zach, Anna, julie

{Not my photos.}

Annnddd the lucky winner is... *drum roll*
Zach! You win with 15 correct answers! Great job and congratulations! This awesome button was made for our prize by my wonderful friend Danielle. (Thanks girl!!) You now have bragging rights! :)


Thank you again! I had a lot of fun! Maybe we'll do it again sometime. :)

Night all!

So Thankful!

Many times during the holiday seasons we'll get so stressed and caught up in making everything just right that we miss the real reason of it all. I know, I've been guilty of this very thing. But, today I really wanted to focus on being thankful. God has blessed me incredibly!

This is a list of just a few things I'm thankful for. It'd be impossible to list them all. ;)

*Jesus Christ...for saving my life!

*My amazing family, for always being there and supporting me.

*The incredibly encouraging friends God's given me. I love you!

*For my church family. You are awesome!

*That I'm making good grades in school and at the college. I'd never be able to do it without the Lord keeping me motivated and being with me through every Medical Terminology test. ;) And my mom being there, praying for me, and teaching me every step of the way.

*Music. Encouraging, uplifting, Christian music that I can learn things from.

*I'm thankful for YOU! Yes, you read right my dear bloggers. You have brightened many a day.

*That I haven't wrecked a vehicle. Thank you, Lord!

*For a great day! Happy Thanksgiving!

~~~

We got to host Thanksgiving this year at our house! Even though it took a lot of preparation, it was a lot of fun! Here's pictures of my wonderful family and friends eating Thanksgiving dinner:

This would include my grandparents, great grandma, 2 sets of uncles and aunts, a family friend, and my brother and me. (I'm in the brown...back right corner.)

Here's the second table which includes my parents, brother, sister, and 2 cousins.

All in all we had about 16 people over. :) My baby cousins put on a show for us, singing and dancing. They were SO cute!

We're getting ready to go pick out our Christmas tree! (I soo can't believe Christmas is almost here...again! lol) It's something we do every Thanksgiving...put up our Christmas tree. I can't wait! Be ready for a post on our tree soon. :)

I hope everyone had a fantastic day! Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Don't forget! The Movie Quotes Contest answers and winner will be up Sunday! So if you haven't entered your answers, hurry fast! ;)

New "Do"...Plus a Special Thanks

I got my hair done today! I really feel like a new person. Haha! ;) I got it cut, permed, and got my brows waxed.


Anyway, wanted to show you my new look. :) What do ya think?

Good-bye hair... I got about 5 inches cut off.

And the finished product...*drum roll*...twa-da! Do you like it? I know I do!

Now...if all you're thinking is "Whoaa...poofy!" some of that will go away. ;) lol

I think this picture is my favorite one. :)

I want to say thank you BIG time to my awesome brother, Zachary, who took these pictures of me. And not only that, but put up with my clothes changing and girly poses. ;) But! It doesn't stop there! Ya know the picture of me laying in the yard? Zach got up in a tree to take that! Yes, you read right...a tree! So, thanks again Zach!

But, as much as I'd like to brag on my brother, I have a few other very special people to thank as well. Today is veteran's day. And I'd like to recognize the amazing men and women who have served and are serving currently for our country (my Daddy included). *applause* Thank you so much!!

This song by Mark Schultz is really great! Please take a few minutes to listen to it. God bless! :)

New Look

Hi all! Well...I decided to do a little makeover on my blog, as you can probably see. ;) I hope you like it! I know I do. A big thanks to my good friend Danielle over at "My Life" Author: God who was a great help! Don't you love having friends with technical knowledge when you don't possess any? ;)

Danielle also introduced me to Shabby Blogs which is where my background and several of my accessories came from. If you're looking at re-doing your blog, I recommend them. They have some really cute stuff.

Anyway, if you'd like you can skip on over to the side bar and vote on my poll about the new design. Thanks you all! Have a blessed weekend!