... I am good at copying and pasting....

Saw this over on another blog and thought it might be kind of fun.... so here it goes....



1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while your blogging?

I am typically blogging in the studio during my lunch... so I am usually eating a bag of steam fresh veggies and have my nalgene of water.



2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?

Hum... hard one... I would say my friends and family, but they are not things. They are incredible people who I love more than I could ever let them know! A thing I could not live without... my cellphone... I use it a lot. (email, keeping in touch with my family and friends, surfing the internet.... It is not my crackberry as I can live with out for a day or two at a time... but it is usually close at hand)


3. Beach, Mountains, or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?

Mountains.... Since we built our family mountain house, I have fallen completely in love with the mountains. I do enjoy the beach and farms, but I always get to the mountains and feel like all is well again!



4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty?

Cleaning my bathtub and shower. My bathtub is really kind of too big.... it requires either climbing into the tub to get the back corner or using the swiffer with a towel on the end to get to the back. And my water at the house is pretty hard, so it is sometimes very hard to really get the hard warter scum off..... :-(


5. Who do people say you remind them of?
My mother... I love her dearly and we are a lot alike. People tell me our mannerisms are very similar and well, when we are on the phone we sound just alike. I cannot believe I am about to admit this on my blog... but I did not realize until a few years ago just how much we sound alike on the phone. I had just gotten to my parents house from Clemson and no one was home. So I pick up my cell phone and called what I think is my mom's cell phone and in turn call their landline at the house. When I pick up the landline, I say hello into the landline phone, and of course hear it coming out my cellphone at which point I start talking to who I think is my mom. When I cant hear her reply, I start saying "Mom... I cant hear you... you are breakin up...." at which point I realized I was talking to myself! So yes. One the phone, we do sound very much alike......



6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying home with the fam?

I like a good mix of both. I like to go out with my friends and have a good time, but I dont want to do that every night. Some nights I like to just chill at home. So a few times a week with friends is great because then I get a few nights a week at home too! Its the best of both worlds!



7. What's your all time favorite movie?

I dont have one... I have 3..... and all three are chick flicks. I like the movies where the guy gets the girl in the end! My 3 favorits are The American President, The Wedding Date, and Love Affair! All soo good!



8. Do you sleep in your make-up or remove it like a good little girl every night?

Nope. I wash my face every night.... my skin is WAY too oily not to! Its bad enough already... It would be totally horrible if I tried to sleep in make up!



9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?

I really want to pick up playing the cello again and I really want to learn to play the piano.

10. What's one strange thing you're really good at?

I cant think of anything strange I am really good at.... I guess my friends from college would say that I am pretty good at the Clooodles and maybe the Cameos from Cranium....

11. What first attracted you to your spouse?

Come on now... we all know I am not married... but the first thing I notice about guys are their eyes and their smiles!

12. What is something you love to smell?

The smell of the fall air...cool and crisp with a slight smell of someone burning a campfire or something... Ahhh... heaven!

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.

I tend to speak my mind..... and sometimes too much.....

14. When you have extra money, what's the first thing you think to do with it?

I am a broke graduate student... I dont ever have extra money.... but if I did, I would probably splurge on something... shopping or possibly a pedicure or something for myself. Just depends on the mood I am in at that time.

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?

I l ove to laugh out loud! I dont know what makes me laugh the hardest though.... probably being around my good friend Joanna's brothers.... those boys are very funny and will make you laugh until your sides hurt!

16. Where is your favorite place to shop?

Probably TJ Maxx... I love to find good deals! But after that, probably Belks.... nothing too exciting.....

17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?

Spend more time with family and friends... sometimes being in school is hard because it can be very hard to get away, even for the weekend!

18. Are you a big spender or frugal?

I like to find good deals!!! But periodically I will splurge on something special (my Digital SLR for example was a huge splurge, but I love it and it has been well worth the investment!)

19. Who is your favorite character of all time?

I dont have an all time favorite character....

20. Would you want to be famous?

Not really. I love the life I have been blessed with!

Happy First Birthday, Sarah Boyd!!!

I will never forget the morning of October 25, 2008. That week had been a doozie at school and I had found out one of my best friends had cancer. By the time Friday night came and I finally got into bed, I was totally and utterly drained.... mentally, physically, and emotionally spent. I got in bed fairly early for a Friday night and just kept reminding myself that no matter what was going on in my life, that God was in control and His perfect will sovereign. I never thought that Friday night that my life would be forever changed the next day. I will never forget my Saturday morning though.

About 9 am on Saturday morning, I got a phone call from my sister. It was a bit odd because it was so early for a Saturday morning, but not totally odd to hear from her given a major player in my thesis research had been in Clemson from Arizona and because she knew I was stressed out. BUT... after the few minutes of small talk of her asking about my week and how school was going, she told me that she and Chad were at the hospital, and the sweet baby (who we did not know the sex or name of) would be coming into our world that day! At that moment, I was filled with shear joy! I remember packing and getting dressed as fast as I could so that I could get to Columbia. I knew she was going to be in labor for hours, but I did not want to miss one minute with my family and I just wanted to get to the hospital! Within 3 hours of getting the initial phone call, I had showered, packed, driven 2.25 hrs from Clemson to Columbia, dropped my dog off at my parents house, and then driven to downtown Columbia to the hospital.

Hours later, Sarah Boyd Horne was born. She came into the world around 8pm on Saturday, October 25, 2008. She was perfect. From the moment I first saw her, I was totally in love! Unfortunately, because of her laid back personality and not crying after she was born, she spent a week in the NICU for an infection. But, two days after she was born, the family finally got to scrub up and go into the NICU and hold that sweet baby girl. Its amazing how much I love my niece! I was totally and utterly in love... I can only imagine how much I will love my own child now that I know how much I love her!

The past 12 months have flown by. I can't believe she is already ONE! She is an incredible little girl with a great personality, blue eyes that will get her anything she wants, and a smile that makes my heart melt! Below are some pictures from the past year with the amazing, sweet baby girl that I am blessed to call my niece!

The Morning after she was born...

I finally got to hold her!!!

The Morning she came home... in the dress my sister wore home from the hospital.

Thanksgiving at the Hefners (about a month old)

Christmas Eve, 2008

February, 2009-- Just hanging out

March 2009, I babysat her one day during my spring break

Channing and SB on Saturday April 4, 200-- Bridal Brunch before Channing and Blake's wedding

Easter Sunday, 2009

SB's Baptism, May 2009

4 Generations (from left), my sister, SB, Baba (my maternal grandmother), and my mom

Late May, 2009

Summer 2009 at the lake house

Early October 2009

It is well...

Life is an endless roller coaster. The scary drops, the exhilarating ups, and the times when it seems we are just creeping along not going up or down... just a plateau in life. I am definitely in an exhilarating up right now. I don't know how life could get much better! I know I have said that before.... but I am way to blessed not to say that! I have an incredible family who support me constantly, greater friends than I could ever deserve or ask for, I serve an awesome God who loves me despite my faults... I could not be more blessed or be happier!

I am crazy in love with life... now why it is great, this summer when I was struggling, all the time. If I did not have the hard times, I would not know how great the good times are. If I did not have the lows, I would not realize how out of control and powerless I am and, thus would not see how in control and totally powerful (and awesome) God is.

Life is Good. In fact, Life is great!

The Lake! (and at sunset it is even better!)

The unexpected... a rainbow during a break in the rain.

The Mountains...

My life long dream of being an architect slowly becoming my reality!

(This is my arch + Health people during our tour of the ORs at MUSC last week)

I just heard this song. and I like it a lot.

As I have said before... I am a pandora radio junkie! Nothing like free online radio that you can customize!!! Anyways... I heard this song called I'm Alive last night while I was working in the studio. I like it.... plus I like that it is Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews... interesting mix!


Sorry I don't know how to include the youtube video here... but link is in the word "this" above!

...just a dog.....

Read this on someones blog and thought I would post it here because I think it is sweet!
In the past few years since we got Whit for my dad after my dad got sick, I have become quite the dog lover. I cant imagine life without Cadie and Whit (my parent's dogs), or my sweet Riggs. I am now and will forever be a dog person!
(and I do have a special place for spaniels, in particular!)

It's Just a Dog

From time to time people tell me, "Lighten up, it's just a dog," or,
"That's a lot of money for just a dog." They don't understand the distance traveled,
the time spent or the costs involved for "just a dog."
Some of my proudest moments have come about with

"just a dog." Many hours have passed and my only company
was "just a dog," but I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog,"
and, in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog"
gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably
understand phases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise,"
or "just a promise."
"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence
of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy.

"Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that
makes me a better person. Because of "just a dog"

I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future.

So for me, and folks like me,
it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes
and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past
and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and
diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not
"just a dog" but the thing that gives me humanity
and keeps me from being "just a human."

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog."
just smile....because they "just don't understand."

- Anonymous

Cadie on the chair she is NOT supposed to be on! :-)

Whit at his favorite place... Lake Murray waiting for the ball to be thrown!


From left to right, Riggs, Whit (in mid-air), and Mackie playing ball at the lake house!

Riggs!!! My Sweet Boy!!!

Cadie (left) and Whit (on the sofa they are also not supposed to be on)

Cadie and Riggs (on the sofa at the lake, which they are allowed on)

Riggs when he was a wee baby in front of Riggs Hall

(both named after former Clemson President Walter Merritt Riggs)

Whit at the mountain house

Sweet Sarah Boyd

I have not done a blog post about Sweet Sarah Boyd in a while... So here ya go!!! She is just shy of a year old... hard to believe in 3 weeks she will be 1!!!! What a year!!! I cant believe how much I love her and how wonderful she is!!!


Enjoy these pictures... they are from Friday night (Oct 2)!

(I LOVE LOVE LOVE it when she cuddles in like that!!!)

SB loves her Maddie! and my Mom LOVES SB!

Music to my ears...

As one of my friends had on their facebook status... "Im over September.... This has been a really rough month.." Ditto. Yes. But in these times of trouble, turmoil, suffering, etc I have always found that God uses the stormy seasons of life to pull me closer to Him. I always find comfort reading different passages in scripture about suffering, rejoicing in our suffering, and perseverance.... God's perfect will and plan. They all bring comfort.
For me though, since I listen to music all the time, I also find that certain song lyrics get stuck in my head and help remind me of my focus... especially since I tend to listen to more Christian/praise music when I am faced with adversity. So. Here are a few songs that have hit home with me in the past few weeks, and especially in the last few days. (If these are duplicates of previous music to my ears posts... sorry.) (oh and this time I decided to put links you tube so you can listen if you have never heard them before....I could not find all of them, but I found some)

Stand Amazed (by 33 Miles)
You will be my strength when I am weak
When I wanna give in and not turn the other cheek
Let this be the prayer that I speak...That I speak...
When all the lights go down and the world is quiet
No one is aroundI wanna be the same man that'll serve you then
Like I serve you now
That my convictions never change
O let my need for you remain
As real as the moment I was saved
So I will always stand amazed

From the Inside Out (Hillsong United)
A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame my heart and my soul,
Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord, Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out


Shine (Salvador)
As simple as a passing smile
Or listening a little while
To someone that's convinced that they are in this all alone
Here's my chance to share the news
To introduce the good that's You
Here You go again, You never cease to blow my mind

Lord let me shine, shine like the moon
A reflection of You in all that I do
Lord let me be a light for Your truth
Light of the world, I wanna be used to shine for You

You're the love that we all need
You lift us up to our feet
You hold the key to eternity
The King of Kings alive in me.

You Rescue Me (Salvador)
Aching in a place that only I can see
Tears have a way of catching up to me
All it ever takes is a glimpse of something free
Like birds in flight
So I'm giving up on clarity
Cause I want to trust where I cannot see and

You rescue me, You hear my cry
You shelter me through the night
And You are my strength when I am in need
You are my God, You rescue me

Caught between the ocean and eternity
Broken by the weight of my attempts to be
Everything that everyone expects of me
This time, and every time

So I'm giving up on my righteousness
Cause grace, alone, will give me rest cause

You rescue me, You hear my cry
You shelter me through the night
And You are my strength when I am in need
You are my God, You rescue me

Amazing Grace (Newton)
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snaresI have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.